The study examines gradation as a central mode of 18 th century thought. Originally a structural notion in the natural sciences, gradation underwent a change in the 17 th century to become a major descriptive trope for gradually intensifying patterns of change. As a trope that extends across disciplinary boundaries, gradation became an important aesthetic concept of the period in areas as diverse as rhetoric, aesthetics, dramatic art, and music.

Autorentext

Janine Firges, Universität Konstanz.