Problematic Figurations of the Nation As I-Land: A Phenomenological Report on Half-Knowledge from "Any Isle of Lethe Dull"‪.‬

On ne concoit pas comment I's aurait disparu (1) THE FIGURATIVE PROBLEMATIC I WISH TO MAP IS ANTICIPATED BY GILLIAN Beer's article "Discourses of the Island," in which she argues that "the concept of ['British'] nationhood ... relies upon the cultural idea of the island." This reliance draws strength, in turn, from the word-play legible in the spelling of Island as "Iland" in important influences on British Romanticism, such as the King James Bible, Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton: "The word 'island' has a peculiar force in English which emphasizes its connection with individualism. The sounded 'I' at the beginning of the word creates a habituating consonance between the ego and the island." (2)