That which is excellent, brilliant, perfect, admirable and elevated in relation to the genre or context to which it belongs
The term sublime is used when you want to give an account of what is considered excellent, brilliant, perfect, admirable, beautiful, very great and very high in terms of and in relation to the genre or context to which it belongs.. For example, "the presentation of the Philharmonic was a truly sublime event."
Association with art and literature
It is a concept especially associated with art and literature and that is why it is widely used in both contexts to precisely indicate the excellence of a theatrical piece, a written work, a plastic work, among other alternatives. .
Origin of the term
Meanwhile, the origin of the term dates back many years, it is believed between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC, attributing it to the Greek writer and rhetoric professor Longinus, who mentioned this maximum aesthetic category in his work called On the Sublime to qualify those artistic creations that are capable of conquering and causing maximum delight in readers or viewers.
Keys to achieve a sublime work
In that work, Longino, proposed five different ways through which to reach or reach the sublime, through important thoughts, strong emotions, correct diction, coherent arrangement of words and making use of certain figures, both in speech and in thought. . But it also gives a special value and importance to the talent and passion of the artist or author, since without these two innate qualities it is very difficult to achieve the degree of sublime in a creation.
This treatise was able to be during its time and long afterwards, because it remained an influential text in other times, a great teaching about those who in literature or in art can be classified as sublime.
As mentioned above, the concept describes that extreme beauty plausible to generate in whoever contemplates the sublime fact a fascination that of course goes far beyond any rationality.
Meanwhile, for many years, even centuries, that concept that was developed by Longinus remained practically hidden and unknown to most human beings, until approximately the sixteenth century in which some authors such as Francesco Rebortello popularized it again through the reissue of Longinus' classic work, then, little by little it was imposing itself and it can be said that it was rediscovered at the time of the period known as Renaissance.
Although, it is worth noting, that his maximum use and popularity would be achieved some time later at the request of the Baroque and Romantic movements.
Things that cause delight and high enjoyment
Now, we must emphasize that although, as we said, the concept was born associated with art and literature to express the greatness that some works were able to achieve, with the passage of time and its fantastic diffusion, the term sublime has been transferred to others. fields and activities and that is why it is also used to refer to those things that cause delight and high enjoyment, also to people who perform some extraordinary work or performance in their tasks.
So the concept is applied to indicate the perfection of a pictorial work and a theatrical work but also the exquisite cake that they make in a cafeteria that we usually go to: “the chocolate cake that they make in the confectionery on the corner of my house is sublime ”. "The tennis player's performance during his last game was sublime, the best we have seen him do in his career."
