The Anatomy of Anatomia: Dissection and the Organization of Knowledge in British Literature, 1500-1800

Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2009 The na atomy of anatomia: dissection and the organization of knowledge in british literature, 1500-1800 Matthew cottS Landers Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Landers, Matthew Scott, "The na atomy of anatomia: dissection and the organization of knowledge in british literature, 1500-1800" (2009). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1390. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1390 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE ANATOMY OF ANATOMIA: DISSECTION AND THE ORGANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE IN BRITISH LITERATURE, 1500-1800 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fi lfi llment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of English by Matthew Scott Landers B.A., University of Dallas, 2002 May 2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Because of the sheer scale of my project, it would have been impossible to fi nish this dissertation without the opportunity to do research at libraries with special collections in the history of science. I am extremely greatful, as a result, to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation at the University of Oklahoma for awarding me a fellowship to the History of Science Collections at Bizzell Library; and to Marilyn Ogilvie and Kerry Magruder for their kind assistance while there. In addition, I would like to thank the James Smith Noel Collection for awarding me with two fellowships to conduct research at their immense holdings in Shreveport, Louisiana. In particular, I would like to thank the Noel Collection’s curator, Robert C. Leitz III, for his continued support and enthusiasm for my project and career. Without the help of these collections my dissertation would have been a shadow of its current form. I would like to acknowledge as well the superior qualities of the individuals who compose my dissertation committee. Each has added signifcantly to this project in his or her own way. The director of my dissertation, Kevin L. Cope, is a man of unmatched energy and profound learning. I have found myself looking to his polymath example countless times as the scope of my subject threatened to grow beyond my ability to manage. Withhout his aid, both professionally and personally, this dissertation might have become an albatross. Elisabeth Oliver has been an endless source of encouragement and professional rigor. Whether I needed advice about my subject, or I simply needed to talk about job market anxiety, her door has always been open to me. I cannot thank her enough for showing interest in my ideas (as malformed as they were at times). I have only known William Boelhower for three years, but his infl uence on my life and scholarship will be permanent. Not only is Dr. Boelhower a sage and deeply concerned teacher, he is one of the kindest people I have ever met. I feel tremendously lucky to have met and ii worked with him these past few years. Countless people have been generous with their time and energy throughout this process. In particular, I want to thank George Rousseau, Irwin Primer, David Mazella, Anne Gardiner, Robert Hamm, Brannon Costello, Dan Novak, Mark Pedreira, Dale Katherine Ireland, Martha Lawler, Dan Mangiavellano, Joseph Brown and Lisa Moody. Finally, I would like to thank my family for enduring with me. I could not have fi nished without their support and understanding. I want to dedicate my dissertation to my mother, father, wife and two incredible children. It is for them that I have toiled. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS AKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................................................ii ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................v INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER ONE THE PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE GREEK AND ARABIC COSMO- ANATOMICAL TRADITION.......................................................................................................13 CHAPTER TWO EARLY MODERN DISSECTION AND LITERARY ORGANIZATION: THE ANATOMIES OF ANDREAS VESALIUS, HELKIAH CROOKE, AND ROBERT BURTON...............................43 CHAPTER THREE SEMEIOLOGIA AND THE POETICS OF ANATOMY IN JOHN DONNE’S ANATOMY OF THE WORLD.................................................................................................................................82 CHAPTER FOUR THE FORENSICS OF NARRATIVE: ANATOMY AND MEMORY RECONSTRUCTION IN STERNE’S TRISTRAM SHANDY................................................................................................115 CHAPTER FIVE ANATOMY AND THE ENCYCLOPEDIC PLAN: CHARTING THE “WILDERNESS” OF KNOWLEDGE............................................................................................................................147 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................178 WORKS CITED..........................................................................................................................184 VITA............................................................................................................................................192 iv ABSTRACT This dissertation develops a conceptual history of human anatomy, both as a discipline and as an epistemological model. Building on recent scholarship in the history of science, I argue that the basic organization of anatomical inquiry inspired a number of literary productions during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This project counters important critical trends of the last fi ve decades, which have focused on the ambiguous characterization of an anatomical genre without providing suffi cient medical context. I argue that intellectual history reveals a persistent epistemological analogy between the body and textual arrangements of human knowledge. By examining this analogical structure, it is possible to theorize about the components and requirements of anatomical inquiry. Chapter One examines the religious and contexts of anatomy in ancient Greece and medieval Persia and Arabia. In looking at the cosmological doctrines of both societies, I attempt to answer questions about the absence of human dissection in ancient cultures. In the process I identify an alternative mode of inquiry, which I call cosmo-anatomy. Chapter Two discusses the infl uence of Andreas Vesalius’ famous De humani corporis fabrica on the organization of anatomical texts in seventeenth-century England. I contend that Vesalius’ innovative text sets the stage for both medical and literary anatomical arrangements, including such works as Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy. Chapter Three discusses the poetic backlash against Copernican physics in John Donne’s Anatomy of the World. I contend that Donne adapts his ‘anatomy’ to reveal the fundamental infl uence of traditional cosmologies on the semiotics of metaphysical poetry. Chapter Four explores the narratological structure of Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy. I investigate the role of memory reconstruction in shaping Tristram’s autobiography, highlighting, in the process, the infl uence of Enlightenment theories of the brain on the digressive condition of Sterne’s narrative. Chapter Five considers the importance of the anatomical analogy on v philosophical encyclopedias of the eighteenth century. I look as well at Leibniz’s plan for the universal library, arguing that the structure of anatomy infl uences Enlightenment attempts to organize vast amounts of information in a meaningful manner. vi INTRODUCTION Medical tradition records an infl uential meeting between the physician Hippocrates and Democritus, the fi fth-century Greek philosopher from Abdera. Narrated in a series of eight letters and arranged like an epistolary novella, the story portrays Democritus fi rst as a man who “has lost his reason;” who is “constantly wakeful night and day, laughs at everything large and small, and thinks life in general is worth nothing.” Hippocrates reports the concerns of the Abderites, who, fearing for the life of their most important citizen and for the health of the city itself, send for the famed physician in an effort to “heal a city, not just a man” (Hippocrates 57). Hippocrates arrives in Abdera to fi nd Democritus sitting under a tree next to a stream, “writing something with inspired intensity” (77). Hippocrates comments on the scene: He had a papyrus roll on his knees in a very neat manner, and some other book-rolls were laid out on both sides. And stacked around were a large number of animals, generally cut up. He sometimes bent and applied himself intensely to writing, sometimes he sat quietly attentive, pondering within himself. Then after a short time of this activity he stood up and walked around and examined the entrails of the animals, set them down and went back and sat down (75). After being

Load more