Transparency And Dissimulation: Configurations ... Apr 2026

The monograph by Verena Olejniczak Lobsien , published by De Gruyter in 2010, explores the complex "configurations" of Neoplatonism in 16th and 17th-century English literature. Lobsien argues that Neoplatonism functioned as a dynamic imaginative force—a "configuration" that allowed authors to navigate the tension between the visible and the invisible, the material and the divine.

This research was conducted within the "Transformations of Antiquity" collaborative research center in Berlin. It emphasizes that Neoplatonism was not just "inherited" from the past but was actively transformed. These transformations often involved a hybridity of ideas, where Neoplatonic love and beauty were negotiated alongside skepticism and the shifting religious identities of the Reformation. Transparency and Dissimulation: Configurations ...

: The acknowledgment that these truths are often hidden, veiled, or "dissimulated" behind complex allegories and poetic forms. This duality reflects a broader Renaissance anxiety regarding the reliability of perception and the nature of truth. Key Literary Figures and Applications The monograph by Verena Olejniczak Lobsien , published

Lobsien traces these philosophical strands through the works of several major English authors, with a particular focus on: It emphasizes that Neoplatonism was not just "inherited"

: Specifically, the study looks at The Faerie Queene , where Neoplatonism provides the framework for understanding aesthetic perfection and moral virtue.