(1982) is the third book of Banville's science tetralogy (1976-86). As the subtitle suggests, the book is a befitting interlude to the series, in its ability to reassess the first two books' treatment of the creative process, as is seen in Copernicus' and Kepler's dilemmas (
Doctor Copernicus, 1976;
Kepler, 1981), and to start a sustained critique of the limits of language that will be further explored in
Mefisto(1986).
The Newton Letterplots the very process of questioning the epistemological premises of the search for knowledge that all these scientist-characters had embarked on: Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton. It draws attention to the challenge of corroborating subjective experience against the objective methods of their disciplines. This interludic…
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Citation: Palazzolo, Pietra. "The Newton Letter: An Interlude". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 November 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=90, accessed 23 April 2024.]
