"Things Grow New": The Aesthetic of Wonder in G. K. Chesterton
"Things Grow New ": The Aesthetic of
Wonder in G. K. Chesterton examines Gilbert Keith Chesterton's aesthetic
of wonder with a special emphasis on the pastoral tradition. Though
Chesterton was not himself a pastoral poet, his idyllic musings, country
settings, Virgilian references, political vision (Distributism), and
even generic inversions hold pastoral implications. The chief
implication is not that the old pastoral territory was reinstated but
that by capturing the wonder of things anew, we suddenly realize that
our local habitations hold the real potential of the pleasant land or locus amoenus.
Chesterton's pastoral motif proves a rich avenue to treat his aesthetic
of wonder. T. S. Eliot wished "to see that the work that [G. K.
Chesterton] did in his time is continued in ours" (Conlon 532). Toward
that end, the following critical chapters are complemented by an
appendix of poetry written by the present author and inspired by
Chesterton's aesthetic.
