THE POEM, THE DREAM AND THE PASTORAL LANDSCAPE:
A PROLOGUE TO SPENSER'S RED CROSSE KNIGHTE
Stephen L. K a r c h e r
B.A.,
U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a a t I r v i n e , 1969
A THESIS SUBMITTED I N P A R T I A L FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF A R T S
in t h e Department
of
English
@
Stephen L. K a r c h e r
1983
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
November 1983
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DEGREE:
Karcher, Stephen Lawrence
Master of Arts
TITLE OF THESIS:
The Poem, the Dream and the Pastoral Landscape:
A Prologue t o Spenser's Red Crosse Knighte
EXAMINING COMKITTEE:
Chairperson:
Professor Michael Steig
Bf.ofessbr %s;ph Gallagher
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Associate Professor of Engl i s h , SFU
rrotessor John M i l l s
Professor of English, SFU
Professor John Allan
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Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, UBC
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N0v/83
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I t i s understood t h a t c o p y i n g
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T i t l e o f Thesis/Project/Extended
Essay
I
The Poem, t h e Dream and t h e P a s t o r a l Landscape:
S p e n s e r ' s Red Crosse K n i g h t e
Author:
(signature)
KARCHFR. S t ~ w I _ a w r e ~ ~
( name 1
(date)
A Prologue t o
~
~
iii
ABSTRACT
T h e pastoral mode, t h e pastoral tradition, has been a major force
active in the genesis o f poets f o r t h e last 2000 years.
Within t h e English
t r a d i t i o n Blake, Milton, Shelley, Keats all b e g i n t h e i r poetic endeavours
w i t h i n the pastoral mode.
B u t it is t h e work o f Edmund Spenser t h a t
marks t h e t r u e entrance o f the form i n t o English poetry, f o r Spenser was
the f i r s t poet o f d e p t h t o take u p t h e pastoral form and can himself be
seen as i t s most acute and sympathetic devotee.
than a simple l i t e r a r y convention.
T h e pastoral i s f a r more
It posits a world o f poetic c o n t i n u i t y
between i n n e r and outer, and t h u s an imaginative mode o f being, t h a t has
the power t o totally transform what we might call the world o f experience.
It becomes t h e p o i n t o f entrance o f t h e y o u n g poet i n t o t h e imaginal realm,
the place o r g r o u n d o f h i s b i r t h .
The work o f Jung, E r i c h Neumann and,
p a r t i c u l a r l y , t h e radical revisioning o f psychology embodied in the work o f
James Hillman p r o v i d e a method t h r o u g h which t h e h i s t o r i c and c u l t i c
o r i g i n s o f pastoral in the I d y l l s o f Theocritus ( f l . c. 280 B.C.)
may be seen
as an i n i t i a t i o n process i n v o l v i n g t h e psychodynamic o f dream.
T h e Idylls, t h e f i r s t manifestation o f t h e pastoral as a l i t e r a r y form
in Western Culture, become a dream-series,
t h e evolution o f a dream-ego
o r persona w i t h i n a pastoral /psychic landscape that, because o f i t s opening
t o t h e archetypal dimension,
a culture.
i s c r u c i a l t o t h e psychological evolution of
T h i s pagan/classical process, c e n t e r i n g o n t h e c u l t f i g u r e o f
t h e g o d D i o n y s o s I H a d e s as t h e soul's deepest u n d e r w o r l d dominant a n d
i n v o l v i n g t h e reunion o f t h e split archetype puer-et-senex
through the
c o n s t e l l a t i o n a n d mediation o f anima, c a n b e compared w i t h t h e process
i n v o l v e d in b o t h t h e Shepheardes Calender ( S p e n s e r ' s f i r s t major p a s t o r a l
poem) a n d w i t h t h e e v o l u t i o n o f t h e p a s t o r a l landscape in h i s w o r k as a
whole.
Within t h e Faerie Queene t h i s t e n s i o n b e t w e e n t h e p a g a n o r i g i n s
o f t h e p a s t o r a l f o r m a n d t h e poem's o v e r t C h r i s t i a n Cabalist a n d B r i t i s h
n a t i o n a l i s t e t h o s becomes t h e m o t i v a t i n g f o r c e b e h i n d t h a t poem's
e x t e n d e d n e k y i a o r night-sea j o u r n e y .
T h e poem becomes a n a t t e m p t t o
i n c o r p o r a t e t h e imaginal immediacy o f t h e p a g a n l p a s t o r a l f i g u r e s w i t h i n
t h e m o r a l / s p i r i t u a l dimension i n h e r e n t in a C h r i s t i a n mythos, a n a t t e m p t
t h a t i s c o n t i n u a l l y d a r k e n e d by those same p a g a n f i g u r e s .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Chapter
......................................
Introduction. .................................
Abstract
I
II
The S t r u c t u r e and Dynamics
of t h e Psyche
VII
..............................
Art and Time: The Kairos ...................
The Origins and Conception of Pastoral.. .....
The Poem a s Dream: Phenomenology.. .......
The Idylls ...................................
The Simple Shepherds' Boy ..................
VIII
The Faerie Queene a s Alchemical Vessel..
lIl
Iv
v
VI
IX
....
...................................
Bibliography. ................................
Conclusion
iii
1
7
23
37
52
65
107
135
175
179
F o r t h e l a s t 500 years,
since t h e v e r y i n c e p t i o n o f E n g l i s h as a modern
l i t e r a r y language a n d t r a d i t i o n ,
Virgil's advice t o t h e y o u n g poet t o stay
w i t h i n t h e p a s t o r a l mode until fully f l e d g e d a n d o n l y t h e n t o t a k e o n t h e
w i d e r forms o f e p i c has echoed t h r o u g h t h e h a l l s o f E n g l i s h p o e t r y .
Milton, Shelley,
Blake,
Keats, t o name but a few, a l l o r i g i n a t e themselves w i t h i n
t h e p a s t o r a l mode b e f o r e p a s s i n g o n t o t h e e p i c compositions t h a t f o r m t h e
c e n t e r o f t h e i r oeuvre.
B u t it i s in Spenser t h a t V i r g i l ' s a d v i c e a n d t h e
f o r m it p o s i t s find t h e i r most a c u t e a n d s y m p a t h e t i c devotee.'
T h e pastoral
r u n s l i k e a n i n f o r m i n g link t h r o u g h o u t a l l o f h i s major p o e t r y .
And the
c o n t i n u i n g e v o l u t i o n o f t h a t landscape a n d i t s i n h a b i t a n t s w i t h i n t h e b o d y
o f h i s w o r k ( t h e Shepheardes Calender,
B k V I o f t h e Faerie Queene, t h e
Epithalamion) c a n b e seen as a s o r t o f t o u c h s t o n e o f h i s poetic g r o w t h a n d
a r e f l e c t i o n o f t h e enormous i n t e r e s t in p a s t o r a l t h a t i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f
t h e Elizabethan p e r i o d , t h e E n g l i s h Renaissance.
So a n e x p l o r a t i o n o f t h e
n a t u r e o f p a s t o r a l p o i n t s n o t o n l y t o a sense o f i t s importance f o r a series
o f major p o e t s but t o i t s place in t h e p o e t i c p r o c e s s i t s e l f , a n d t o i t s c r i t i c a l
r e l a t i o n w i t h w h a t is, perhaps, t h e g e r m i n a l p e r i o d in a h i s t o r y o f modern
E n g l i s h l i t e r a t u r e , o n e t h a t succeeding g e n e r a t i o n s h a v e c o n s i s t e n t l y looked
t o for guidance a n d inspiration.
B u t t h e p a s t o r a l i t s e l f i s a v e r y p a r t i c u l a r a n d e l u s i v e proposition,
one t h a t c r i t i c s h a v e g r a p p l e d w i t h in m a n y a n d v a r i e d ways.*
Faced w i t h
i t s e n d u r i n g a n d c r e a t i v e i n f l u e n c e it w o u l d b e a l l t o o facile t o dismiss t h e
form, a n d V i r g i l ' s advice, as s i m p l y d o s o m e t h i n g small b e f o r e y o u d o
something big, a clich;
t h a t belies t h e d e p t h i n h e r e n t in b o t h t h e recom-
mendation a n d t h e form i t s e l f .
T o reduce pastoral t o a longing f o r r u r a l
o t i u m o r t o see it as m e r e l y a phenomenon o f l i t e r a r y h i s t o r y , a s o r t o f
r h e t o r i c a l gymnasium, u n d e r m i n e s a sense o f i t s essential being, i t s c a p a c i t y
t o s e r v e as a n i n i t i a t i o n o r e n t r a n c e i n t o a w o r l d b e y o n d i t s e l f , a c e n t r a l
w o r l d o f e p i c dimension.
F o r p a s t o r a l i s m u c h more t h a n a v a g u e wonder-
land, a simple collection o f streams, g r o v e s , f l o c k s a n d s h e p h e r d s t h a t
s e r v e t o house t h e p a t h e t i c f a l l a c y o r t o s u p p l y t h e i n f a n t p o e t w i t h harmless t o y s o n w h i c h t o c u t h i s teeth.
It p o s i t s n o t a l i t e r a l landscape,
how-
e v e r r u s t i c , nostalgic, c o n v e n t i o n a l o r allegorical but a s t a t e o f being, a
poetic c o n t i n u i t y o f i n n e r and outer, experiencing subject and experienced
o b j e c t t h a t leads t o t h e u p w e l l i n g o f s o n g o r poem.
A n d it i s t h i s connec-
t i o n between man a n d landscape, between h e r d s m a n / m u s i c i a n a n d flock, a
c o n n e c t i o n f e l t o r sensed r a t h e r t h a n t h o u g h t ,
t i o n o f t h e form.
t h a t i s central t o a defini-
A s Leo M a r x states in T h e Machine in t h e Garden:
It i s as if t h e consciousness o f t h e musician s h a r e d
a p r i n c i p l e o f o r d e r w i t h t h e landscape and, indeed,
It e v o k e s t h a t sense
with the external universe
o f r e l a t e d n e s s between man a n d not-man w h i c h lends
metaphysical aspect t o t h e mode
it i s located
in a m i d d l e g r o u n d somewhere between, y e t in t r a n s cendent relation t o t h e opposing forces o f civilization and n a t ~ r e . ~
...
...
I would suggest t h e pastoral genre represents n o t a "civilized" l i t e r a r y
c o n v e n t i o n o r a n i n s t i n c t f o r t h e " n a t u r a l " but t h e e n t r a n c e i n t o a n a c t i v e
a n d e v e r - p r e s e n t i m a g i n a t i v e mode o f being, a t r a n s c e n d e n t middle g r o u n d ,
t h e realm o f t h e mediatrice, o f p s y c h e o r soul.
R a t h e r t h a n b e i n g a n emblem
f o r one s i d e o f a p o l a r opposition, t h e n a t u r a l as opposed t o t h e real, it
p o i n t s t o a n d somehow encompasses a realm in w h i c h these o p p o s i n g forces
are united, o r r a t h e r , transcended, an esse-in-anima
o r being-in-soul o u t
o f w h i c h t h e poem i t s e l f a n d t h e i n d i v i d u a l poetic consciousness a r e b o r n .
B u t h e r e a c r i t i c a l d i s t i n c t i o n must b e made, a d i s t i n c t i o n between
t h e pastoral impulse, what M a r x calls sentimental pastoralism o r "infantile
wish f u l f i l l m e n t dreams, a d i f f u s e nostalgia a n d a naive a n d anarchic
primitivism,114 a n d i t s complex, l i t e r a r y o r symbolic equivalent.
Literalized
e i t h e r as a r t o r as action, made i n t o an ethos o r seen as a p h y s i c a l need,
t h e pastoral feeling-tone,
t h a t l o n g i n g f o r a pre-lapsarian state, falls i n t o
t h e same subject-object dichotomy, t h e same polarization, t h a t t h e complex
o r symbolic f o r m seeks t o b r i d g e .
hobby-farms,
Literalized, t h i s longing-back leads t o
communes a n d camping t r i p s , back-to-nature movements o r
t o t h e i r c i v i l i z e d equivalents--poems
l i k e windflowers,
folksongs, a w a n d e r i n g w i t h t h e nymphs.
conscious archaisms,
For it i s o n l y in t h e hands o f a
poet o f d e p t h t h a t t h i s longing-back i s transmuted.
It comes t o relate n o t
t o a l i t e r a l landscape as such, but t o t h e poetic, soul-full mode o f being
t h a t landscape, t h a t l o n g i n g somehow represent.
opposition, t h a t o f t h e l i t e r a l a n d t h e creative,
A n d it i s i n j u s t this
t h e l i t e r a l a n d t h e imaginal
5
t h a t we find t h e c e n t r a l tension o f t h e pastoral mode as it separates from
t h e pastoral impulse:
T h e mythical c o n f r o n t s t h e logical, assimilating it t o
t h e concerns o f human existence.
T h e act o f imagin a t i v e r e c o v e r y o f what was f o r m e r l y p r o j e c t e d
separates t h e created r e a l i t y o f p o e t r y from
t h e p r e s e n t e d r e a l i t y o f t h e objective world.6
...
Pastoral as a poetic i n i t i a t i o n proposes a reclamation a n d transformation
o f t h e experience o f t h e w o r l d as a chaotic a n d alienated other.
It i s
c e n t r a l t o t h e awakening o f poetic consciousness w i t h i n t h e i n d i v i d u a l poet
a n d opens t o a n epic realm a n d an epic journey,
t o what J u n g has called
t h e realm o f t h e a r c h e t y p e s .
T h e r a d i c a l p r o c e s s o r t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f con-
sciousness t h a t i n h e r e s in t h e f o r m p r e s u p p o s e s a r a t i o n a l o r l i t e r a l i z e d
awareness c u t o f f from t h e d e p t h s o f t h e soul.
A n d it has been i n v o l v e d
w i t h t h e genesis of poetic consciousness f o r t h e l a s t 2000 years.
A s such,
it f o r m e d a c e n t r a l c o n c e r n o f b o t h Spenser a n d o f t h e Elizabethan Renais-
sance, t h a t p e r i o d t h a t g a v e birth t o E n g l i s h as a modern l i t e r a r y language.
B u t t o examine t h i s process o f soul, t o g i v e it g r o u n d as a c r e a t i v e r e a l i t y
r a t h e r t h a n a l i t e r a r y a r t i f a c t , we m u s t turn f i r s t n o t so much t o l i t e r a r y
o r h i s t o r i c a l s c h o l a r s h i p as t o psychology, t h e science o r logos o f t h e soul.
F o r it i s o n l y in terms o f a psychological p e r s p e c t i v e t h a t we may c o n s i d e r
w h a t Leo M a r x calls t h e "metaphysical aspect" o f t h e mode, w h i c h i s "located
in a middle g r o u n d somewhere between y e t in t r a n s c e n d e n t r e l a t i o n t o t h e
o p p o s i n g f o r c e s o f c i v i l i z a t i o n a n d nature117 as a n e v e r - p r e s e n t process o f
t h e o b j e c t i v e p s y c h e and, c o n g r u e n t l y , as a c o n t e m p o r a r y imaginal experience.
NOTES
Spenser it was who, o f a l l E n g l i s h w r i t e r s , f l e d g e d t h e f o r m most
fully, a d a p t i n g it t o v a r i o u s s t y l e s , a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g i t s v e r s a tility--a t r u e i n h e r i t o r o f Theocritus.
T h e sequence o f ecologues
r e p r o d u c e s t h e u n c l u t t e r e d Zeitgeist o f Greek p a s t o r a l l i k e
n o o t h e r w o r k in t h e language.
...
A n t h o n y Holden;
G r e e k Pastoral Poetry,
Books, 1973), pp. 32-3.
(Harmondsworth : Penguin
The l i s t o f p o e t s w h o h a v e c r e a t i v e l y r e s p o n d e d t o t h e p a s t o r a l i s
v i r t u a l l y endless.
V i r g i l , Spenser, Milton, Blake, Shelley, Keats
and, in o u r o w n time, D u n c a n a n d S p i c e r a n d Wallace Stevens a r e
examples.
T h e c r i t i c s , too, h a v e been numerous a n d d i v e r s e . I
would m e n t i o n : Leo Marx, T h e Machine in t h e Garden, (New Y o r k :
O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1964) ; William Empson, Some V e r s i o n s o f
Pastoral, ( N e w Y o r k : New Directions, 1950); Thomas G. Rosenmeyer, T h e G r e e n C a b i n e t : T h e o c r i t u s a n d t h e European Pastoral,
( B e r k e l e y : U n i v . o f C a l i f o r n i a Press, 1969); C. J. Putnam, V i r g i l ' s
Pastoral A r t , ( P r i n c e t o n : P r i n c e t o n U n i v . Press, 1970) ; Hallet
Smith, ( i n ) E l i z a b e t h a n Poetry, ( C a m b r i d g e : Cambridge U n i v . Press,
1952) pp.1-63.
See also A r t h u r 0. Lovejoy e t al, A Documentary
H i s t o r y o f P r i m i t i v i s m a n d Related Ideas, ( B a l t i m o r e : U n i v . o f
Baltimore Press, 1935), a n d Leo M a r x ' e x t e n s i v e b i b l i o-s r a.p h y. in
T h e Machine a n d t h e d a r d e n .
Marx, p. 23.
Marx, p. 11.
T h e a d j e c t i v e imaginal comes f r o m t h e F r e n c h Islamic scholar H e n r y
C o r b i n who d i s t i n g u i s h e d it f r o m t h e d e r o g a t o r y c o n n o t a t i o n o f
'imaginary.'
He p r o p o s e d t h i s t e r m ( o r a l t e r n a t i v e l y m u n d u s imaqinalis) as p o i n t i n g t o a n o r d e r o f r e a l i t y t h a t i s o n t o l o g i c a l l y n o less
real t h a n p h y s i c a l r e a l i t y o n t h e one hand, a n d s p i r i t u a l o r i n t e l l e c t u a l
T h e characteristic faculty o f perception within
reality o n the other.
t h e m u n d u s imaginalis i s i m a g i n a t i v e p o w e r w h i c h n o e t i c a l l y o r cognit i v e l y i s o n a p a r w i t h t h e p o w e r o f t h e senses o r t h e i n t e l l e c t .
R o b e r t Avens,
p. 8.
I m a g i n a t i o n i s Reality,
(Dallas :
S p r i n g Pub.,
N o r t h r o p F r y e , T h e C r i t i c a l Path, ( Bloomington :
1971), p. 98.
Marx, p. 23.
198O),
I n d i a n a U n i v . Press,
THE STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS
OF THE PSYCHE
I t seems as i f i t were only through an experience
of symbolic reality that man, vainly seeking his own
can find his way back to a world i n
existence
which he is no longer a stranger.
...
- C . G. Jung,
The A r c h e t v ~ e sand the
Collective Unconscious
Abbreviations used in t h i s section a r e :
CAS -
Jolande Jacobi, ComplexlArchetype/Symbol, Bollingen Series
LVII, ( P r i n c e t o n : Princeton U n i v . Press, 1974).
ACU -
C. G. Jung, T h e Archetypes and t h e Collective Unconscious,
CW 9, pt. I, Bollingen Series XX, (Princeton: Princeton
U n i v . Press, 1980).
SD
C. G. Jung, T h e S t r u c t u r e and Dynamics o f t h e Psyche, CW 8,
Bollingen Series XX, (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1969).
-
F r e u d a n d Jung, t h e f o u n d e r s a n d p i l l a r s o f t h e m o d e r n science o f
p s y c h o l o g y , b o t h g r o u n d e d t h e d e v e l o p i n g science in w h a t J u n g w o u l d come
t o call t h e complex, "emotionally t o n e d g r o u p s o f r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s as specific
f a c t o r s d i s t u r b i n g t h e normal c o u r s e o f t h e p s y c h i c association process"
(CAS, 7 ) .
These autonomous c l u s t e r s o f image a n d a f f e c t , p e r c e i v e d by
F r e u d as t h e neuroses, were o b s e r v e d as a d i s c o n t i n u i t y in t h e f i e l d o f
consciousness a n d p r o v i d e d t h e f i r s t p r o o f o f " t h e e x i s t e n c e o f an unconscious realm whose manifestations w o u l d h a v e t o b e t a k e n i n t o account in
a n y p s y c h o l o g i c a l statement" (CAS, 7 ) .
In J u n g i a n t h e o r y , t h e complexes
c o n s i s t " p r i m a r i l y o f a n u c l e a r element, a v e h i c l e o f meaning w h i c h i s b e y o n d
t h e realm of t h e conscious w i l l
. . . and
s e c o n d a r i l y o f a n u m b e r o f associa-
t i o n s c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e n u c l e a r element, stemming in p a r t f r o m i n n a t e d i s p o s i t i o n a n d in p a r t f r o m i n d i v i d u a l e x p e r i e n c e " (CAS,
8-9).
What we k n o w
as t h e ego, t h e conscious i d e n t i t y o r "I" is, in J u n g i a n t h o u g h t , one among
many o f t h e s e complexes.
It i s u n i q u e in t h a t it f o r m s t h e c e n t e r o f o u r
f i e l d o f conscious awareness, but i s mobile o r labile,
having a fluctuating
composition w h i c h "can b e u n d e r s t o o d as a n image o r r e f l e c t i o n o f a l l t h e
a c t i v i t i e s c o m p r e h e n d e d by it" (SD,
324).
A d y n a m i c model o f t h e t o t a l p s y c h i c f i e l d e v o l v e d in w h i c h t h e unk n o w n o r u n c o n s c i o u s e x i s t s in a p o l a r r e l a t i o n t o t h e e g o as c e n t e r o f
consciousness but, w i t h Jung, c o n t a i n i n g t h e i n h e r e n t i m p l i c a t i o n t h a t
o t h e r c e n t e r s may e x i s t t h a t l i e o u t s i d e t h e ego-awareness.
Within t h i s
o v e r a l l field, in J u n g ' s view, t h e complexes a c t as b o t h m e d i a t i n g e n t i t i e s
a n d as s t r u c t u r a l p r i n c i p l e s , t h e "innumerable l i t t l e n o d a l p o i n t s " in w h i c h
" t h e e n e r g y c h a r g e o f t h e unconscious p s y c h e i s c o n c e n t r a t e d " (CAS, 24).
A c t i n g "in a m a n n e r o f speaking,
as t h e c e n t e r o f a magnetic f i e l d " (CAS,
29), t h e y c l u s t e r a b o u t them b o t h r e p r e s s e d p e r s o n a l material, o f t e n r o o t e d
in t h e emotional matrix of infancy o r associated w i t h traumatic experience,
and also what Jung came t o call archetypal o r mythological material, contents o f a realm o f the unconscious t h a t cannot be reduced t o repressed
personal experience.
It i s t h i s archetypal material that,
in Jungian theory,
llpresumably forms the s t r u c t u r a l dominants o f t h e psyche in general" (CAS,
31).
It is precisely here, in the problem o f t h e n a t u r e o f t h e archetypal
contents o f t h e complex o r t h e neurosis, t h a t F r e u d a n d J u n g p a r t e d company.
For in Freudian analysis and theory, t h e "complex is inseparably
l i n k e d w i t h the individual's p r i v a t e l i f e a n d rooted in t h e emotional experience o f h i s earliest years."
T h e y are " w i t h o u t exception symptomatic o f a
d i s t u r b e d instinctual life" (CAS, 21) and, as such, are subject t o a reduct i v e analysis, grounded in personal traumata t o be overcome b y an egoconsciousness which is thereby led t o a more successful adaptation t o the
c u l t u r a l norm, a process t h a t is the reflection o f " t h e conflict between the
p r i m i t i v e sexual urges o f man and t h e moral and social constraints imposed
upon him" (CAS, 2 0 ) .
Jung's view o f t h e complex d i f f e r s considerably
from Freud's and it was the development o f t h i s a t t i t u d e t h a t led t o t h e i r
decisive split, t h e evolution o f Jung's l a t e r psychology, and t h e p a r t i c u l a r
relevance of h i s work f o r a consideration o f psycho-dynamics as an otherthan-personal science.
Jung's early work w i t h p s y c h o t i c and clinically incurable schizophrenic
patients a t t h e Burgh'dlzli Clinic, coupled w i t h h i s classical and philosophical
education,
led him t o make several p e r t i n e n t observations:
first,
t h a t the
material presented t o him in t h e r a v i n g s o f h i s patients was not simply
chaotic b u t contained a s o r t o f i n n e r coherence o r o r d e r o f meaning;
second, t h a t t h i s o r d e r o f meaning was remarkably similar t o widely dispersed
mythological motifs w i t h which h i s patients obviously had no conscious contact; third, t h a t t h i s material, observable
in b o t h severely deranged patients
and in several d i f f e r e n t mythological systems was also observable in t h e
dreams,
fantasies and compulsive behaviour o f t h e normal citizens o f contem-
p o r a r y Europe; and, finally,
t h a t a dialogue t h r o u g h some sort o f image-
process w i t h these archaic vestiges,
which presented themselves as autonomous
personalities, o f t e n produced a remarkable alteration in the course o f t h e
patierit's disease.
T h u s h e was l e d t o i n f e r t h e existence and t h e c o n t i n u i t y
o f a realm o f t h e unconscious psyche t h a t exists p r i o r t o the ego-identity,
i t s o r i g i n s most p r o b a b l y co-eval w i t h t h e o r i g i n o f humanity itself.
This
realm, which h e came t o call t h e collective unconscious, is r e f e r r e d t o in
many mythico-religious systems simply as God, a psychological (as opposed
to metaphysical o r theological) term which denotes highest meaning o r significance.
Within t h e collective unconscious, p r o v i d i n g i t s organizing prin-
ciples, are t h e archetypes,
I'
. . . factors and motifs t h a t arrange
the
psychic elements i n t o c e r t a i n images, characterized as archetypal, but in
such a way t h a t t h e y can be recognized o n l y from t h e effects they produce.
They e x i s t preconsciously and presumably t h e y form the s t r u c t u r a l dominants
o f t h e psyche
...a
special psychological instance o f t h e biological ' p a t t e r n
o f behavior' which g i v e s all t h i n g s t h e i r specific qualities" (CAS, 31).
In Jungian t h e o r y it i s t h e a r c h e t y p e t h a t lies behind ( o r above o r below) t h e complex, a highly numinous and a t t r a c t i v e force which gives t h e
complex i t s characteristic form and p r o v i d e s t h e dynamis o r energy t h a t
collects and organizes t h e forms o f experience and the personal material
t h a t accrue t o it.
T h e archetypes operate along a spectrum which J u n g
often compared t o a spectrum o f light, w i t h t h e r e d end comparable to
animal o r instinctual behavior a n d t h e u l t r a v i o l e t end to the reflection o f
-
i n s t i n c t as image.
He d r e w a s h a r p d i s t i n c t i o n between t h e a r c h e t y p e as
s u c h ( a n s i c h ) a n d t h e a r c h e t y p a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n , between " t h e non-percept i b l e o n l y p o t e n t i a l l y p r e s e n t a r c h e t y p e a n d t h e p e r c e p t i b l e actualized,
r e p r e s e n t e d a r c h e t y p e o r a r c h e t y p a l imagett (CAS, 35).
It i s t h e complex
w h i c h p r e s e n t s u s w i t h " t h e image o f a p s y c h i c s i t u a t i o n [ w i t h ] a p o w e r f u l
i n n e r coherence
. . . its
degree o f autonomy" (SD,
modified i n s t i n c t s t t (SD,
o w n wholeness and, in addition, a r e l a t i v e l y high
96).
123).'
T h u s "complexes m i g h t b e compared t o
B u t t h e p o w e r f u l a f f e c t o f t h e complexes,
t h e i r autonomous b e h a v i o u r a n d i n t e r n e c i n e c o n f l i c t s , also l e d t o t h e conc l u s i o n t h a t o n b o t h a n i n d i v i d u a l a n d a collective level " t h e p s y c h e i s n o t
a homogeneous s t r u c t u r e but a p p a r e n t l y consists o f h e r e d i t a r y u n i t s o n l y
loosely b o u n d t o g e t h e r a n d t h e r e f o r e it shows a v e r y m a r k e d t e n d e n c y t o
s p l i t i n t o p a r t s " (SD,
121), a s i t u a t i o n t h a t c a n lead, in e x t r e m e cases, t o
t h e t o t a l e c l i p s e o f ego-consciousness a n d a s c h i z o p h r e n i c f r a g m e n t a t i o n o f
personality.
A s we h a v e seen, in F r e u d i a n t h e o r y t h e unconscious c a n b e
emptied, t h e r e p r e s s e d c o n t e n t s assimilated by t h e ego.
tice,
however,
In J u n g i a n p r a c -
t h i s r e d u c t i o n o f p e r s o n a l material i s o n l y one stage in a n
a n a l y t i c p r o c e s s t h a t engages t h e ego in a n a c t i v e dialogue w i t h t h e archet y p a l g r o u n d o f i t s b e i n g , c r e a t i n g a n extreme t e n s i o n o f opposites.
o u t o f this intense dialogue t h a t t h e transcendent function i s born,
a b i l i t y t o s y n t h e s i z e p a i r s o f opposites in a symbol" (CAS,
2
T h i s m e d i a t i n g , b r i d g e - b u i l d i n g q u a l i t y o f t h e symbol
may b e r e g a r d e d as one o f t h e most i n g e n i o u s a n d s i g n i f i c a n t d e v i c e s o f t h e p s y c h i c economy.
F o r it concounterweight to the inherent
stitutes the only
dissociability o f t h e psyche
in t r a n s c e n d i n g t h e
t h e symbol
o p p o s i t e s by uniting them in i t s e l f
m a i n t a i n s p s y c h i c l i f e in a c o n s t a n t f l u x a n d c a r r i e s
...
...
"the
99) w h i c h J u n g
saw as t h e b a s i s o f t h e r e l i g i o u s a n d c u l t u r a l l i f e o f h u m a n i t y :
...
It i s
-
...
it o n w a r d t o w a r d i t s d e s t i n e d goal
as a n e x p r e s s i o n o f t h e l i v i n g movement o f t h e p s y c h i c p r o c e s s
(CAS, 98).
...
J u n g s t a t e s t h a t we l i v e immediately o n l y in t h e w o r l d o f images, t h a t
is, a l l e x p e r i e n c e , w h e t h e r sensory,
intellectual,
u s by t h e p s y c h e a n d t h e p s y c h i c image.
religious, i s mediated t o
T h e a r c h e t y p e a n s i c h may b e
conceived o f as a s h a p i n g o r o r g a n i z i n g p r i n c i p l e o p e r a t i v e b o t h w i t h i n t h e
p s y c h e a n d w i t h i n t h e biological a n d p h y s i c a l spheres, as t h e w o r k o f c e r t a i n m o d e r n p h y s i c i s t s posits.s
It i s a b r i d g e w h i c h connects i n n e r a n d
o u t e r r e a l i t y a n d g i v e s t o l i f e i t s i n n a t e meaning, d i r e c t i o n , o r p u r p o s i v e ness.
B u t t h e a r c h e t y p e i s consciously available t o u s o n l y as image o r
symbol, a n image o r symbol t h a t i s a t once t h e p r o d u c t o f a n i n t e n s e i n n e r
dialogue w i t h i n a n i n d i v i d u a l p s y c h e a n d a t t h e same time t h e c a r r i e r o f a
c u l t u r e ' s h i g h e s t meaning, a mediator between g o d a n d man.
I f t h e image
r e p r e s e n t s t h e meaning o f t h e i n s t i n c t 4 a n d t h e a r c h e t y p e a n s i c h t h e
dynamic c o n f i g u r a t i o n t h a t shapes o r c r e a t e s b o t h i n n e r a n d o u t e r r e a l i t y ,
t h e a r c h e t y p a l images o f a n i n d i v i d u a l o r a c u l t u r e r e p r e s e n t t h e meaning
o f l i f e i t s e l f as p e r c e i v e d by t h a t i n d i v i d u a l o r c u l t u r e .
o f t h e p s y c h e i s movement.
B u t t h e basic law
A s H e r a c l i t u s ( o f t e n q u o t e d by J u n g ) states:
" T h e o n l y thing c o n s t a n t i s change."
It also seems t h a t a basic law o f ego-
consciousness i s stasis, a d e s i r e t o formalize in time a n d space,
o f linear thought,
-
i t s e n d u r i n g p o s i t i o n in t h e cosmos.
in t h e modes
A s t h e ego d i f f e r -
e n t i a t e s i t s e l f f r o m t h e p r i m o r d i a l g r o u n d o f t h e a r c h e t y p e s it i d e n t i f i e s
w i t h a n d f o r m s images o f c e r t a i n o f t h e a r c h e t y p a l c o n t e n t s which,
c o d i f i e d form, become t h e dominant values o f t h e conscious field,
J u n g calls t h e c o l l e c t i v e consciousness o r c u l t u r a l canon.
in a
f o r m what
As this is
necessarily one-sided o r selective, t h e unconscious constellates i t s e l f in a
compensatory fashion a n d those c o n t e n t s o f t h e unconscious most opposite
t o t h e collective dominants a c q u i r e a h i g h e r a n d h i g h e r e n e r g y charge for,
according t o Jung, t h e p s y c h e above all aims a t wholeness.
widens, t h e u n i n c l u d e d p s y c h i c material,
before been p r e s e n t in consciousness,
As t h e g u l f
w h i c h has n o t necessarily ever
b u r s t s t h r o u g h t h e t h r e s h o l d o f con-
sciousness in dreams a n d visions o r , f a i l i n g t o find access t o dialogue, as
neurotic o r compulsive d i s t u r b a n c e s in t h e i n d i v i d u a l a n d mass movements,
wars and social upheavals o n t h e c u l t u r a l plane.
T h e i n d i v i d u a l and t h e
c u l t u r e find themselves embroiled in a n i n t e n s e c o n f l i c t o f opposites o u t o f
which t h e new symbols o r c a r r i e r s o f meaning a r e b o r n .
T h u s t h e un-
conscious processes reveal a p u r p o s i v e aspect t h a t supersedes t h e i r causal
o r i r r u p t i v e nature, w h i c h lies in t h e assimilation o f h i t h e r t o u n k n o w n cont e n t s t o consciousness a n d t h e c r e a t i o n o f a new, more complete, o r h i g h e r
awareness o f t h e t o t a l i t y o f t h e a r c h e t y p a l field.
B u t t h e p o i n t o f focus, t h e makeweight in t h i s process o f p s y c h i c
change i s always t h e i n d i v i d u a l p s y c h e a n d t h e ego's a b i l i t y t o see i t s e l f
as t h e objective content o f a g r e a t e r p s y c h i c whole.
A n d it is t h e dream
w h i c h i s t h e f i r s t angelos o r messenger o f t h e new gods o r archetypes as
t h e y approach t h e f i e l d o f consciousness,
those "actors in o u r dream" (SD,
t h e stage o n w h i c h t h e complexes,
I
97) w h i c h a r e t h e reflections o f t h e arche-
typal, announce t h e a d v e n t o f t h e unknown.
The dream, f o r Jung,
i s "a l i t t l e h i d d e n door in t h e innermost a n d
I
most secret recesses o f t h e soul, o p e n i n g i n t o t h a t cosmic night which was
psyche l o n g b e f o r e t h e r e was a n y ego consciousness,
a n d which will remain
psyche n o matter how f a r o u r ego consciousness may e x t e n d " (CAS,
125).
I
It i s a spontaneous self-portrayal,
in symbolic form, o f t h e actual situation
I
in t h e unconscious (SD,
awareness,
263) and, in t h e n a t u r e o f a symbol o r symbolic
reaches o u t , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h r o u g h t h e f i g u r e o f t h e dream-eqo,
t o weave b o t h conscious a n d u n c o n s c i o u s t o g e t h e r , t o re-place t h e ego in a
matrix o r field t h e e x t e n t o f which i s t h e source o f life itself.
It w o u l d b e
d i f f i c u l t t o over-estimate t h e d e p t h o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f these angelos o r
messengers, o r i g i n a t i n g as t h e y d o in a realm in w h i c h time a n d space
themselves a r e p u r e l y r e l a t i v e , t h e realm o f p s y c h e o r soul:
If it w e r e p o s s i b l e t o p e r s o n i f y t h e unconscious, we
m i g h t think o f it as a c o l l e c t i v e human b e i n g combining t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f b o t h sexes, t r a n s c e n d i n g
y o u t h a n d age, birth a n d death, and, f r o m h a v i n g a t
i t s command a h u m a n e x p e r i e n c e o f one o r t w o million
it w o u l d b e a dreamer
years, p r a c t i c a l l y immortal
it w o u l d h a v e l i v e d countless
o f age-old dreams
times o v e r a g a i n t h e l i f e o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l , t h e family,
t h e t r i b e a n d t h e nation, a n d it w o u l d possess a
living sense o f t h e r h y t h m o f g r o w t h , f l o w e r i n g a n d
t h i s b e i n g dreams
[ i t ] seems t o b e
decay
n o t a p e r s o n but something l i k e a n unceasing stream
o r p e r h a p s ocean o f images a n d f i g u r e s w h i c h drift
i n t o consciousness in o u r dreams o r in abnormal
states o f m i n d (SDP, 350).
...
...
...
...
T h u s it i s t h a t t h e a r c h e t y p e s t h a t c r e a t e a n d g i v e f o r m t o a l l o f o u r
l i v e s f i r s t manifest themselves in dreams o r visions.
In f a c t all o f o u r
c u l t u r e m i g h t b e c o n c e i v e d o f as a n i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h t h e d r e a m i n g o f t h a t
cosmic man, a n i n t i m a t i o n t h a t goes f a r t o w a r d s e s t a b l i s h i n g a common base
f o r poem, p h i l o s o p h y ,
r e l i g i o n , science,
seeing them as h a v i n g a common
o r i g i n a n d a common s t r u c t u r e t h a t we c o n t a c t nightly in dream.
p a r t i c u l a r conscious w o r k o f t h e dreamer,
The
p o e t o r p r o p h e t e n t a i l s "a t r a n s -
l a t i o n o f t h e timeless e v e r p r e s e n t a r c h e t y p e i n t o t h e
. . . language o f t h e
p r e s e n t " (SDP, 204) a n d t h e c o n s e q u e n t t r a n s l a t i o n o f t h a t p r e s e n t language
in t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e a r c h e t y p a l source.
"If t h i s i s successful,
then the
w o r l d as we p e r c e i v e it i s r e - u n i t e d w i t h t h e p r i m o r d i a l e x p e r i e n c e o f
mankind
. . . the
h i s t o r i c a l u n i v e r s a l man in u s joins h a n d s w i t h t h e new-
b o r n i n d i v i d u a l man" (SDP,
380).
T h e phenomenology o f t h i s process, w h i c h J u n g called t h e i n d i v i d u a t i o n
process a n d w h i c h c u l m i n a t e s in t h e emergence o f t h e a r c h e t y p e o f t h e Self
o r A n t h r o p o s , o c c u p i e d a l l o f h i s l a t e r l i f e a n d c e n t e r e d in h i s w o r k w i t h
t h e processes a n d h i s t o r y o f alchemy.
A t t h e e n d o f . h i s life, in Aion,
he
came t o see t h e s e alchemical processes as a g r a n d metaphor f o r t h e p s y c h i c
processes i n v o l v e d in h i s t o r y i t s e l f .
A n d t h o u g h t h e complexities o f t h e
process a r e b e y o n d t h e scope o f t h e p r e s e n t discussion, we c a n g a i n a
sense o f t h e o r d e r o r h i e r a r c h y o f a r c h e t y p e s t h a t ,
in J u n g i a n t h e o r y ,
seem t o p r e s i d e o v e r t h e v a r i o u s stages o f t h e way.
T h e p r e d o m i n a n t a r c h e t y p a l metaphor o r motif, one t h a t seems t o p r e side o v e r t h e e n t i r e process, i s t h a t o f t h e descent t o t h e u n d e r w o r l d , t h e
n e k y i a o r n i g h t - s e a j o u r n e y in s e a r c h o f t h e h i d d e n g o d o r d e u s absconditus,
s p i r i t h i d d e n in t h e d e p t h s o f t h e unconscious, a living s p i r i t unavailable
t o t h e highly d i f f e r e n t i a t e d ego t h a t i s assimilated t o i t s c o l l e c t i v e norms.
It i s s p i r i t t h a t has become unconscious, become water, w a t e r t h a t "is also
t h e fluid o f t h e i n s t i n c t - d r i v e n body, blood a n d t h e f l o w i n g o f blood, t h e
o d o r o f t h e beast, c a r n a l i t y h e a v y w i t h passion1' (SD, 19).
T h i s descent
t o t h e d e p t h s seems a l w a y s t o p r e c e d e a n ascent, t h e c r e a t i o n o f a h i g h e r
awareness o r new r e b i r t h o f s p i r i t .
T h e dream o f a m o d e r n theologian,
q u o t e d by J u n g in A r c h e t y p e s o f t h e Collective Unconscious, p r e s e n t s t h e
m y t h in immediate t e r m s :
...
I saw o n a m o u n t a i n a kind o f C a s t l e o f t h e
I w e n t a l o n g a r o a d t h a t seemed t o lead
Grail.
s t r a i g h t t o t h e f o o t o f t h e m o u n t a i n a n d up it.
B u t as I d r e w nearer I discovered t o m y great
d i s a p p o i n t m e n t t h a t a chasm separated me f r o m
t h e mountain, a d e e p darksome g o r g e w i t h u n d e r -
w o r l d l y w a t e r r u s h i n g a l o n g t h e bottom. A steep
p a t h l e d d o w n w a r d s a n d toilsomely c l i m b e d up a g a i n
o n t h e otherside.
B u t t h e p r o s p e c t l o o k e d uninviting a n d I awoke ( A C U , 1 9 ) .
T h e d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n o f a conscious ego, i t s emergence f r o m t h e unconscious m a t r i x ,
i t s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h a n d a d a p t a t i o n t o c o l l e c t i v e social
norms, i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f w h a t J u n g calls t h e f i r s t s t a g e o f life, a stage
t h a t c a n b e seen as o p e r a t i v e w i t h a n i n d i v i d u a l p s y c h o l o g y a n d t h e p s y c h o logy o f a culture.
B u t as t h e m i d p o i n t i s r e a c h e d a n d passed, a n
enantiodromia o c c u r s .
T h e p s y c h i c e n e r g y t h a t h a s f l o w e d i n t o t h e ego r e -
v e r s e s d i r e c t i o n in w h a t seems t o b e a n a t t e m p t t o turn t h e f o c u s o f unconsciousness f r o m t h e o u t e r t o t h e i n n e r , t o turn t h e e g o b a c k o n i t s e l f
a n d r e l a t e it t o t h e d e p t h s f r o m whence it came.
T h e f i r s t archetypal
f i g u r e t h a t t h e e g o m u s t come t o t e r m s w i t h i s t h e shadow, t h e l i v i n g p a r t
o f t h e p e r s o n a l i t y t h a t seems t o c o n t a i n a l l t h a t we w i l l n o t admit a b o u t o u r selves, a l l t h a t seems ugly, weak,
t h e ego's p e r s p e c t i v e , e v i l .
criminal,
p e t t y , maladapted and,
from
5
B e h i n d t h e a r c h e t y p e o f t h e shadow,
w h i c h i s "a tight passage, a
n a r r o w d o o r whose p a i n f u l c o n s t r i c t i o n n o one i s s p a r e d w h o goes d o w n t o
t h e deep well" ( A C U ,
21) lies t h e a r c h e t y p e o f t h e anima a n d " w i t h t h e
a r c h e t y p e o f t h e anima we e n t e r t h e realm o f t h e g o d s " (ACU,
i s soul,
"quick-moving,"
" c h a n g e f u l o f hue,"
"twinkling,"
28).
Anima
"something l i k e
. . . w h i c h reels d r u n k e n l y from flower t o flower a n d lives
o n h o n e y a n d l o v e . . . b e i n g t h a t has soul i s living b e i n g . . . w i t h h e r
a butterfly
c u n n i n g p l a y o f i l l u s i o n s t h e soul l u r e s i n t o l i f e t h e i n e r t n e s s o f m a t t e r
t h a t does n o t w a n t t o l i v e
t h a t man s h o u l d fall,
. . . she
i s full o f s n a r e s a n d t r a p s in o r d e r
should reach t h e earth, entangle himself t h e r e and
s t a y c a u g h t " ( A C U , 26).
With anima we r e a c h " t h e w o r l d o f water, w h e r e
a l l l i f e f l o a t s in suspension; w h e r e
. . . the
soul o f e v e r y t h i n g l i v i n g be-
n d that; where I experience t h e other
gins; w h e r e I am i n d i v i s i b l y t h i s a
in m y s e l f a n d t h e o t h e r t h a n m y s e l f e x p e r i e n c e s me" (ACU,
21-2).
Anima o r soul embraces a r a n g e o f e x p e r i e n c e t h a t i s well nigh i n e x h a u s t H e r manifestations r a n g e f r o m t h e s i r e n , mermaid o r nixie, who in-
ible.
fatuates a y o u n g man a n d s u c k s t h e l i f e o u t o f h i m t o t h e f i g u r e o f Sophia,
t h e Queen o f Heaven who i n s t r u c t e d B o e t h i u s l o c k e d in h i s tower, o r t h e
V i r g i n Mother o f Christ.
does d o u b l e duty.
B u t in J u n g i a n t y p o l o g y t h e f i g u r e o f anima
She i s b o t h anima mundi, t h e soul o f t h e world,
the
p s y c h e in a l l h e r manifestations t h a t i s t h e a r c h e t y p e o f l i f e i t s e l f and,
w i t h i n a masculine p s y c h o l o g y o r t h e p s y c h o l o g y o f a masculine c u l t u r e ,
t h e c o n t r a s e x u a l a r c h e t y p e w h i c h has a c o u n t e r p a r t in a feminine psychology, t h e animus.
For, as J u n g states,
opposite sex up t o a p o i n t
" E i t h e r sex i s i n h a b i t e d by t h e
. . . biologically
speaking.
It i s simply t h e
g r e a t e r n u m b e r o f masculine genes t h a t t i p s t h e scales in f a v o r o f masculin-
ity.
T h e smaller n u m b e r o f feminine genes seems t o f o r m a feminine charac-
ter, w h i c h u s u a l l y remains unconscious because o f i t s s u b o r d i n a t e p o s i t i o n "
(ACU,
28).
If t h e c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h t h e shadow s e r v e s as t h e a p p r e n t i c e piece
in a psychological evolution, t h e c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h anima i s t h e masterwork.
It i n v o l v e s a r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t a l l t h e e r o t i c obsessions, t h e b e w i l d e r -
ing emotional tangles,
w i t h i n himself,
t h e d r i v i n g compulsions o f a man's l i f e o r i g i n a t e
in h i s o w n d e e p e r ( a n d d a r k e r ) n a t u r e , t h a t t h e o u t e r
w o r l d as h e e x p e r i e n c e s it, h i s loves, h i s fate, a n d h i s death, a r e i n e x t r i c a b l y b o u n d up w i t h h i s o w n p s y c h i c n a t u r e .
Anima
i s the personification
of soul a n d h e r emergence as a p e r s o n i f i e d f i g u r e f r o m t h e feminine m a t r i x
-
o f t h e unconscious, t h e G r e a t M o t h e r as n o u r i s h i n g a n d d e s t r o y i n g force,
i s t h e c r i t i c a l p o i n t in a p s y c h o l o g i c a l e v o l u t i o n .
depth--Apuleius
c a l l e d it
"We s i n k i n t o a f i n a l
'a kind o f v o l u n t a r y d e a t h '
...
O n l y when
all props- and crutches a r e broken, a n d n o cover from t h e r e a r o f f e r s
e v e n t h e s l i g h t e s t hope o f s e c u r i t y , does it become possible f o r u s t o e x perience a n a r c h e t y p e t h a t up till t h e n h a d l a i n h i d d e n b e h i n d t h e meaningful nonsense p l a y e d o u t by t h e anima.
%, j u s t
T h i s i s t h e a r c h e t y p e o f mean-
as t h e anima i s t h e a r c h e t y p e o f l i f e itself1' ( A C U , 32).
T h e a r c h e t y p e o f meaning o r s p i r i t ,
t h e wise o l d man, magician o r
B r o t h e r John, i s b o t h t h e goal a n d t h e s t a r t i n g p o i n t o f t h e process a n d
e x i s t s in a highly p a r a d o x i c a l r e l a t i o n t o t h e soul.
He, "who symbolizes
t h e p r e - e x i s t e n t meaning h i d d e n in t h e chaos o f l i f e " i s " t h e f a t h e r o f t h e
soul a n d y e t t h e soul,
in some miraculous manner, i s also h i s v i r g i n mother,
f o r w h i c h reason h e was c a l l e d by t h e alchemists t h e ' f i r s t son o f t h e mother"'
(ACU,
35).
These t h r e e a r c h e t y p e s , t h e shadow, anima a n d wise o l d man,
"are o f a kind t h a t c a n b e d i r e c t l y e x p e r i e n c e d in p e r s o n i f i e d f o r m
...
but t h e process i t s e l f i n v o l v e s a n o t h e r class o f a r c h e t y p e w h i c h one c o u l d
call t h e a r c h e t y p e s o f t r a n s f o r m a t i o n .
T h e y a r e n o t personalities, but a r e
t y p i c a l situations, places, w a y s a n d means t h a t symbolize t h e kind o f t r a n s formation in q u e s t i o n " (ACU,
37-8).
To begin t o appropriate t h i s psychological discussion t o a consideration
o f pastoral a n d i t s r e l a t i o n t o p o e t i c p r o c e s s we m i g h t o b s e r v e t h a t it i s
w i t h i n a p a s t o r a l landscape t h a t , t r a d i t i o n a l l y , t h e f i r s t c o n t a c t w i t h these
archetypal figures occurs.
T h i s i s imaged in G r e e k m y t h by P a r i s o r
Anchises o n Mt. Ida, by t h e r e c u r r e n t p r o p h e t i c m o t i f o f t h e herdsmen
w i t h i n t h e Homeric poems and,
in J u d e o - C h r i s t i a n m y t h , by t h e w a n d e r i n g
p a t r i a r c h a l h e r d s m e n a n d t h e s u d d e n r e v e l a t i o n s o f Yaweh o r t h e s h e p h e r d s
a t t e n d a n t o n t h e birth o f C h r i s t .
often suddenly and terrifyingly,
T h e d e u s a b s c o n d i t u s r e v e a l s himself,
t o t h e man w i t h d r a w n f r o m t h e enclosing
ethos of h i s c o l l e c t i v e norm, a Pan w h o " g l i d e s among t h e r e e d s in t h e
haunted noontide h o u r p l a y i n g o n h i s pipes a n d f r i g h t e n i n g t h e shepherds"
(ACU,
17).
A n d t h e p a s t o r a l landscape i t s e l f , p a r t i c u l a r l y in G r e e k m y t h ,
i s a l i v e w i t h wood-nymphs,
nixies, d r y a d s , s p i r i t s o f f o r e s t , f i e l d a n d
stream t h a t a r e t h e p r i m i t i v e p r e - f o r m s o f anima.
two things.
T h u s we m i g h t o b s e r v e
F i r s t , t h e pastoral, as p l a c e o f f i r s t c o n t a c t w i t h t h e h i d d e n
g o d m i g h t b e said t o b e p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y c o n g r u e n t t o dream, t h e place in
which, for m o d e r n man, unconscious a r c h e t y p a l c o n t e n t s a r e f i r s t revealed.
It i s in t h e p a s t o r a l /dream t h a t o n e e n c o u n t e r s those a r c h e t y p e s t h a t c a n
b e e x p e r i e n c e d in p e r s o n i f i e d form.
T h i s i n s i g h t leads u s t o a place where
we m i g h t c o n s i d e r p a s t o r a l as b o t h a s u b j e c t i v e a n d a n o b j e c t i v e process,
an o p e r a t i v e w i t h i n b o t h a n i n d i v i d u a l p s y c h o l o g y a n d t h e h i s t o r y o f a c u l ture, w i t h o u t a p e r s o n a l i s t i c o r r e d u c t i v e a n a l y s i s o f i t s contents.
It also
m i g h t allow u s t o a p p l y t h e tools o f d r e a m a n a l y s i s t o t h e w o r k o f a r t o n
-
t h e basis o f a g r a n d analogy b e t w e e n i n d i v i d u a l a n d h i s t o r i c a l psychological
processes.
Secondly, i f p a s t o r a l /dream i s t h e landscape in w h i c h t h e
archetypes f i r s t manifest themselves as t h e y move t o w a r d t h e t h r e s h o l d o f
consciousness,
then, h i s t o r i c a l l y , t h o s e p e r i o d s most c o n c e r n e d w i t h pastoral
w i l l also e v i d e n c e a considerable p s y c h i c upheaval, a r a d i c a l s h i f t in t h e
dominants o f t h e c o l l e c t i v e o r c u l t u r a l canon.
pastoral as dream-landscape,
In fact, a c o n c e r n w i t h t h e
a n i n t e n s e c r e a t i v e a c t i v i t y w i t h i n t h e pastoral
form m i g h t b e seen as a s i g n i f i c a t o r o f i n t e n s e p s y c h i c change.
To
examine t h i s t h e s i s a n d t o g a i n a c l e a r e r p i c t u r e o f t h e p l a c e o f t h e pastoral /
dream w i t h i n t h e i n d i v i d u a l a n d c o l l e c t i v e a r t i s t i c gestalt, we turn t o t h e
w o r k o f a second generation o f Jungian theorists, p a r t i c u l a r l y t o E r i c h
Neumann who,
in Jung's words,
"succeeded in c o n s t r u c t i n g a unique h i s t o r y
o f t h e e v o l u t i o n o f consciousness a n d a t t h e same time r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e
b o d y of m y t h as t h e phenomenology o f t h i s same evolution.l16
Neumann's
lifelong concern w i t h t h e psychology o f t h e c r e a t i v e o r a r t i s t i c personality
in i t s relation t o t h e historical process a n d t o m y t h make h i s work p a r t i -
c u l a r l y germane t o a discussion o f t h e relations between psychology, h i s t o r y
and a r t .
NOTES
Also important in t h i s r e g a r d i s Jung's observation t h a t " t h e behaviour
o f new contents t h a t have been constellated in t h e unconscious but
are n o t y e t assimilated t o consciousness i s similar t o t h a t o f complexes"
(SD, 121), t h a t is, t h e y act as "the a r c h i t e c t s o f dreams a n d o f
symptomsr1 (SD, 101).
Most simply, a symbol, as opposed t o a s i g n o r allegory which designates in abbreviated fashion a k n o w n content, i s "an expression f o r
something t h a t cannot be characterized in a n y o t h e r o r b e t t e r way"
(CAS, 85), and it acts as " t h e psychological mechanism t h a t transIt i s t h u s a p a r t o f t h e human w o r l d o f
forms e n e r g y " (SD, 45).
meaning r a t h e r t h a n t h e p h y s i c a l w o r l d o f b e i n g ( r e f e r e n t ) a n d it
attempts t o express something in terms o f i t s meaning o r relation t o
human experience f o r which no v e r b a l /intellectual concept y e t exists.
As t h e Greek r o o t o f t h e w o r d (symballon) suggests, it i s something
"woven together," hence c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f a l i v i n g e n t i t y (CAS, 95)
and, as such, it i s highly numinous o r mysterious.
It forms an
analogy t o t h a t state o f awareness that, according t o Jung, i s t h e
goal o f t h e religious i n s t i n c t , a coincidenta oppositorum o r union o f
conscious and unconscious processes.
See, in t h i s respect, Jung's w o r k in " S y n c h r o n i c i t y : A n Acausal
Connecting Principle," ( S D ) a n d M-L v o n Franz, Number a n d Time
and On Divination a n d S y n c h r o n i c i t y .
This i s discussed e x t e n s i v e l y in llPsychological Factors in Human
Behaviour" (SD) where J u n g considers t h a t " I n s t i n c t as an ectopsychic factor would p l a y t h e r o l e o f a stimulus only, while i n s t i n c t
as a p s y c h i c phenomenon would be an assimilation o f t h i s stimulus
t o a pre-existent p s y c h i c p a t t e r n " (SD, 115).
He differentiates f i v e
main g r o u p s o f i n s t i n c t i v e factors--hunger, sexuality, a c t i v i t y , reflection and c r e a t i v i t y , a n d sees, in t h e r e f l e c t i v e factor, whereby
"the stimulus is more o r less wholly transformed i n t o a p s y c h i c content, t h a t is, becomes a n experience," t h e " c u l t u r a l i n s t i n c t p a r
excellence."
F u r t h e r , t h e r e are several modalities t h r o u g h which t h e
i n s t i n c t s operate which may be seen as expressions o f human will.
The most important o f these modalities i s t h e v e r t i c a l axis, t h e relat i o n o f s p i r i t and matter and, t h o u g h b o t h a r e manifested t o u s in
terms o f psychic image, "in c i v i l i z e d peoples t h e r e seems t o e x i s t a
sharp d i v i s i o n between t h e t w o categories."
It i s w i t h i n t h i s modality
t h a t t h e c r e a t i v e / r e f l e c t i v e i n s t i n c t a n d t h e transcendent f u n c t i o n
operate in t h e i r most developed forms f o r "it would not be too much
to say t h a t t h e most c r u c i a l problems o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l and o f society
t u r n upon t h e way t h e p s y c h e functions in r e g a r d t o s p i r i t a n d
matter" (SD, 120).
A concise d e s c r i p t i o n o f these archetypes as t h e y involve themselves in
the therapeutic processes i s contained in t h e i n t r o d u c t o r y c h a p t e r s t o
b o t h Aion, CW 9, pt. I 1 a n d T h e Psychology o f t h e Transference, CW 16.
Erich Neumann, T h e H i s t o r y a n d O r i g i n s o f Consciousness, Bollingen
Series X L I I, ( P r i n c e t o n : Princeton U n i v . Press, 1973), p. x i v .
I
111
A R T A N D TIME:
THE KAIROS
P r e c i s e l y because f o r u s t h e symbol c r e a t i n g collect i v e forces o f m y t h and religion, r i t e s a n d festivals
t h e creative
h a v e l o s t most o f t h e i r e f f i c a c y
p r i n c i p l e in a r t has achieved a u n i q u e prominence
t h e c r e a t i v e i n d i v i d u a l exemplifies t h e utmost
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n possible in o u r time
the world
h e c r e a t e s i s t h e o n l y adequate image o f t h e p r i m o r dial one reality.
...
...
...
-
- E r i c h Neumann,
A r t and the Creative
IInconsc~ous
Abbreviations used i n this section a r e :
ACrU
PP
-
-
Erich Neumann, A r t and the Creative Unconscious, Bollingen
Series L X I , ( Princeton : Princeton U n i v . Press, 1974).
James Hillman e t al, Puer Papers, (Dallas:
1979).
Spring Pub.
The w o r k of E r i c h Neumann r e v o l v e s a r o u n d t h r e e major concerns, all
of w h i c h complement, e x t e n d and consolidate Jung's pioneering endeavours
in t h e f i e l d o f d e p t h psychology.
He i n t e r e s t s himself p r i m a r i l y in t h e con-
gruence between t h e e v o l u t i o n o f consciousness in t h e i n d i v i d u a l o n t h e
one hand, a n d t h e e v o l u t i o n o f consciousness w i t h i n t h e collective, in
humanity as a whole, o n t h e other.
He sees t h e two as analogous processes
t h a t may b o t h b e d e s c r i b e d in t h e same m y t h i c terms, so t h a t t h e g r o w t h
of consciousness w i t h i n t h e i n d i v i d u a l i s u n d e r s t o o d as r e c a p i t u l a t i n g t h e
o r i g i n and g r o w t h o f consciousness w i t h i n h u m a n i t y as a whole.
There i s
a d i r e c t c.ongruence between microcosm a n d macrocosm a n d these c o n g r u e n t
processes d i r e c t l y affect one another or, in alchemical language,
so below."
"as above,
In a d d r e s s i n g t h e r e l a t i o n o f a r t t o these c o n g r u e n t psychological
processes, Neumann developed b o t h a d i s t i n c t psychology o f t h e a r t i s t i c
personality a n d a psychological view o f t h e a r t i s t in relation t o h i s h i s t o r i c a l
milieu w h i c h c e n t e r o n t h e transpersonal a r c h e t y p e o f t h e Feminine, t h e
Great Mother as Sophia o r Anima Mundi.
1
T h e basic t e n e t o f Neumann's w o r k o n t h e c r e a t i v e processes o f t h e
unconscious a n d t h e i r r e l a t i o n t o a r t , time a n d t h e i n d i v i d u a l m i g h t most
simply be stated as follows:
...
t h e transpersonal c a n e x p r e s s i t s e l f o n l y t h r o u g h
t h e medium o f man a n d takes f o r m in him t h r o u g h c r e a t i v e
t h e a r t a n d music, dance a n d p o e t r y o f
processes
t h e c u l t ( A C r U , 87).
...
So from t h e v e r y f i r s t ,
f o r Neumann, man i s a c r e a t o r o f symbols.
The
creative f u n c t i o n o f t h e unconscious, c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h a t u n k n o w n in
n a t u r e w h i c h engenders t h e forms o f t h e e x t e r n a l world,
b r i n g i n g f o r t h forms o f i t s o w n
I'
is continually
. . . w h i c h c r y s t a l l i z e i n t o symbolic
s p i r i t u a l f i g u r e s e x p r e s s i n g man's r e l a t i o n t o b o t h t h e a r c h e t y p a l w o r l d
and t o t h e w o r l d in w h i c h h e l i v e s
. . . h e c o n s t r u c t s h i s characteristic
spiritual-psychic w o r l d from t h e symbols in which he speaks a n d t h i n k s o f
the world a r o u n d him but also from t h e forms a n d images which h i s
numinous experience arouses in him" ( ACrU,
84-5).
In t h e original, p r i m i t i v e o r p r i m o r d i a l state,
"man's emotion in t h e
presence of t h e numinosum leads d i r e c t l y t o expression."
T h e creative
function of t h e psyche i s accompanied by an automatic reaction o f consciousness which seeks " t o understand, t o i n t e r p r e t , t o assimilate t h e t h i n g
b y which it i s overwhelmed."
T h r o u g h t h i s process t h e r e occurs a t a
v e r y e a r l y stage "a r e l a t i v e f i x a t i o n o f expression
traditions arise
. . . which,
. . . [and]
definite
f i x a t e d as m y t h a n d cult, become t h e dog-
matic heritage o f t h e g r o u p " ( A C r U ,
84-5).
W i t h the progressive differen-
tiation o f ego-consciousness a n d t h e consequent r i s e o f i n d i v i d u a l i t y w i t h i n
the g r o u p o r collective,
" t h e i n t e g r a l situation in which t h e c r e a t i v e element
in a r t i s one w i t h t h e l i f e o f t h e g r o u p disintegrates.
"
Poets, painters,
dancers and musicians a l l become separate professional classes p r a c t i c i n g
specific a r t i s t i c functions a n d " t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e g r o u p preserves o n l y
a receptive relation i f any, t o t h e c r e a t i v e achievement o f t h e a r t i s t "
(ACrU, 88).
B u t even t h o u g h w i t h i n t h e i n d i v i d u a l t h e unity o f psychic function-
ing disintegrates, t h e g r o u p as a whole remains "an i n t e g r a l psychic field."
And,
"just as in dreams those s t r u c t u r e s necessary f o r t h e whole o f t h e
personality a r e animated in such a way as t o compensate f o r t h e onesidedness o f conscious l i f e
. . . t h e r e e x i s t s between members o f a g r o u p
a compensating mechanism which--quite
c u l t u r a l authorities--tends
a p a r t from t h e d i r e c t i v e s o f t h e
t o r o u n d o u t t h e g r o u p lifet1 ( A C r U , 89).
So,
w i t h i n an e v o l v i n g c u l t u r a l g r o u p o r field, two p s y c h i c systems arise and
-
a r e differentiated.
One, t h e collective consciousness o r cultural canon
which "sets i t s decisive stamp on t h e development of t h e individual," is
embodied in a c u l t u r e ' s p r i e s t s , doctors, professors and politicians.
Side
by side with t h i s is "the collective unconscious in which new developments,
transformations, revolutions and renewals a r e a t all times foreshadowed"
(ACrU, 89)--the domain of a culture's a r t i s t s , poets and prophets.
So long a s t h e cultural canon remains in a n elastic relation to t h e
collective unconscious, t h e artist's work seems t o be t h a t of growing into
a tradition and effecting a gradual change o r repersonification of t h e
archetypal images from within t h e tradition itself.
This is what Neumann
calls the second s t a g e of a r t ' s relation to i t s time and an example of this
process might be t h e gradual transformation of t h e image of t h e Madonna
within nearly two thousand y e a r s of Christian Art.
But, a s J u n g a s s e r t e d
in "On Psychic Energy" ( S D ) , t h e libido o r energy-charge of t h e psyche,
though tending towards equilibrium, does not operate in man in a continuous stream.
In its p u s h towards t h e establishment and broadening of
consciousness, psychic e n e r g y seems to manifest through a complex system
of opposites, creating a growing tension t h a t leads to progressive differentiation and polarization of those opposites and a quantum-leap o r sudden
emergence of a new symbol t h a t transforms o r reconciles t h e seemingly
irreconcilable conflict on a new o r higher level, t h e tertiam non d a t u r .
It is h e r e that we encounter t h e third s t a g e of t h e relation of a r t to
its epoch, what Neumann calls a r t a s "compensation for t h e cultural canon"
a s opposed to ( f i r s t ) t h e primordial unity and (second) t h e a r t i s t ' s work
within t h e canon.
In t h i s stage, "we g o back to t h e immediate presence
of the creative numinosum" (ACrU, 95) and a r t replaces religion o r myth
a s t h e prime vehicle o r c a r r i e r of divine revelation:
-
T h e need of his t i m e s works inside t h e a r t i s t without
his wanting it, seeing it o r u n d e r s t a n d i n g its t r u e
significance. In t h i s s e n s e he is close t o t h e s e e r ,
t h e prophet, t h e mystic. And it is precisely when
he does not r e p r e s e n t t h e existing canon b u t transforms and o v e r t u r n s it t h a t his function r i s e s to t h e
level of t h e sacral, for then he gives u t t e r a n c e to
t h e authentic and direct revelation of numinosum
(ACrU, 97).
Once t h e unity of t h e psychic field is broken and t h e a r t i s t is no
longer contained within a n d supported b y t h e vessel of his c u l t u r e ,
"the relation of t h e creative man to himself involves an e n d u r i n g and insuperable paradox" (ACrU, 186).
H i s innate receptivity, imaged b y t h e
predominance of t h e Mother a r c h e t y p e within his psychology, t u r n s him
away from t h e collective world of t h e f a t h e r s , t h e institutional canon, and
makes him s u f f e r acutely from his personal complexes.
But, because he
"always experiences his personal complexes along with their archetypal
correspondences" ( ACrU, 186) this suffering, from t h e o u t s e t , is more
than a private o r personal dilemma.
It is also a c a r r y i n g of those funda-
mental human problems inherent in a n y archetypal situation.
"This funda-
mental fact constellates t h e profound personal ambivalence of t h e creative
man
. . . as
t h e myth p u t s it, only a wounded man can be a healer
...
because in his own s u f f e r i n g t h e creative man experiences t h e profound
wounds of his collectivity a n d his time, he c a r r i e s d e e p within himself a
regenerative force capable of bringing forth a c u r e not only for himself
but also for t h e community" ( ACrU, 186).
The c o n t r a s t between t h e two s t a t e s of a civilization o r c u l t u r e , between a balanced c u l t u r e , in which each of t h e supreme values of a canon
is directly reinforced b y a controlling archetype, a n d a disintegrating
culture, in which t h i s equilibrium is lost and t h e unconscious is thereby
activated, is examined in A r t and t h e Creative Unconscious.
But, a s we
-
have seen, t h e seat o r focal point o f t h i s radical s h i f t in values, t h e place
where,
in a time of upheaval and change, t h e new archetypal contents
emerge i s t h e p s y c h e of t h e i n d i v i d u a l a r t i s t o r c r e a t o r separated from
his c u l t u r a l canon.
2
Consequently,
" t h e c r e a t i v e a r t i s t whose mission it
is t o compensate for consciousness a n d t h e c u l t u r a l canon i s usually an
isolated i n d i v i d u a l
. . . who
must d e s t r o y t h e o l d o r d e r ( w i t h i n himself)
t o make possible t h e dawn o f t h e new" ( A C r U , 94).
psychologizing o r seeing-through,
It i s t h r o u g h t h i s
t h r o u g h t h e experience o f h i s own com-
plexes as imaginal realities w i t h a g r e a t e r t h a n personal g r o u n d 3 t h a t t h e
a r t i s t becomes a messenger o r angelos, a mediator between t h e conscious
and unconscious aspects o f h i s c u l t u r e in t h e same way a recollected
dream a c t i v e l y mediates between t h e disparate elements of o u r i n d i v i d u a l
psyches.
He himself takes h i s place w i t h i n a g r e a t e r dream, in Jungian
terms t h e dream o f t h e Self o r A n t h r o p o s w h i c h encompasses all o f
humanity, a n d becomes a mouth, t h e d i r e c t expression o f a dialogue w i t h
"the unconscious man w i t h i n u s who i s changing."
T h e p s y c h i c process represented by t h i s interchange between conscious and unconscious contents is, however, a n y t h i n g but smooth and
continuous.
I n h e r e n t in it, a t least i n i t i a l l y , i s t h a t enantiodromian
s t r u c t u r e t h a t gives r i s e t o transcendent o r symbolic r e a l i t y t h r o u g h
an extreme polarization o f opposites a n d a quantum leap, a new,
and sudden transformation o f values.
radical
T h u s t h e phenomenology o f a r t as
a compensatory factor, where it "rises t o t h e level o f t h e sacral,"
seems
not o n l y b o u n d up w i t h t h e c o n f l i c t o f t h e collective canon and t h e compensating constellation o f unconscious contents, but also
the c r i t i c a l moment o r "opening in t h e web o f fate
is drawn tighter o r broken through
w i t h t h e kairos,
. . . when
. . . t h i s opening
the pattern
in t h e w a r p lasts
only a limited time and the 'shot' must be made while it is open" ( P P , 153).
4
J u n g described t h e present e r a a s just s u c h a kairos, a critical moment,
one t h a t will have far-reaching consequences for t h e history of mankind:
We a r e living in what t h e Greeks called t h e Kairos--the
right moment--for a metamorphosis of t h e gods, of t h e
fundamental principles a n d symbols. This peculiarity
of o u r time, which is certainly not of o u r conscious
choosing, is t h e expression of t h e unconscious man
within u s who is changing. Coming generations will
have to take account of this momentous transformation if humanity is not to d e s t r o y itself through t h e
might of its own technology and science ( P P , 4 ) .
And the form, t h e literary g e n r e w e know a s pastoral, was created in
another s u c h kairos, t h e collapse of t h e Hellenic Civilization t h a t preceded
the rise of the Roman Empire-State a n d , even more centrally, t h e emergence
of t h e Christ-figure that was to dominate t h e course of Western Civilization
for the next 2000 years.
It is, in fact, t h e only enduring literary g e n r e
the Hellenistic e r a has produced.
If we can distinguish t h r e e critical
moments in t h e history of Western (literate) Culture, they would certainly
seem to c e n t e r in t h e collapse of Greek Culture and its assimilation by t h e
emerging Roman Republic; t h e transformation of t h e Republic into an
Imperial State governed b y a god-emperor which made possible t h e rise
of Christianity a s a dominant political force;
and t h e phenomenon we call
the Renaissance which provides a critical watershed between t h e Christian
Middle Ages a n d what w e now know a s a secular modern civilization.
The
pastoral a s a n a r t form is intimately bound u p in each of these critical
moments.
It was originated by Theocritus, who has proven to b e t h e
Hellenistic Era's most enduring literary figure, in Alexandria about 280
B.C.
It was codified and extended b y Virgil, considered by succeeding
generations a s t h e single greatest literary figure of classical antiquity,
as Augustus came t o power a n d t h e Jast vestiges o f t h e Republic fell away,
and it was a v i r t u a l obsession w i t h many o f t h e k e y f i g u r e s o f t h e English
Renaissance, forebears of a c u l t u r e that, t h r o u g h t h e extended B r i t i s h empire, would dominate t h e last p a r t o f t h e C h r i s t i a n era.
Thus, we m i g h t v e n t u r e t o say t h a t pastoral presents us, on an a r t i s t i c
o r poetic level, w i t h t h e image o f a process which somehow embodies a potential f o r t h e connection between p a s t a n d f u t u r e , between t h e individual,
h i s c u l t u r e , a n d " t h a t unconscious man w i t h i n u s who i s changing,"
is i n h e r e n t in t h e kairos.
that
A s s u c h it would be p r e s i d e d o v e r by a specific
god o r a r c h e t y p e a n d in it t h e r e would i n h e r e a specific a n d a special t a s k :
T o have n o r e a l contact w i t h t h e forces t h a t are shaping
t h e f u t u r e would b e t o fail t h e kairos o f transition.
To
come t o terms w i t h t h i s kairos would mean d i s c o v e r i n g a
connection between past a n d f u t u r e .
For us, individuals,
makeweights t h a t may tip t h e scales o f h i s t o r y , o u r t a s k
thus the
i s t o discover t h e p s y c h i c connection
kairos, t h i s u n i q u e moment o f w o r l d h i s t o r y becomes a
t r a n s i t i o n w i t h i n t h e microcosm, man, w i t h i n u s each indiv i d u a l l y as we s t r u g g l e w i t h t h e connections between p a s t
a n d f u t u r e , o l d a n d new, expressed a r c h e t y p a l l y as t h e
p o l a r i t y o f senex a n d p u e r (PP, 4).
...
The a r c h e t y p e senex-et-puer,
o l d man a n d y o u n g man, embodies the
s p i r i t u a l connection for, as J u n g said,
"the s p i r i t was conceived o f as
senex e t juvenes simul--an o l d man and a y o u t h at once1' ( ACU,
38).
6
In a c r i t i c a l time o f t r a n s i t i o n t h i s archetype i s constellated as a s p l i t o r
polarity, and it i s t h e i r reunion, t h e mission o f t h e creative a r t i s t , which
provides t h e link t h r o u g h which t h e s p i r i t o f an age i s connected t o t h e
Eternal S p i r i t .
B u t t h i s connection i s a psychic connection.
And the
specific task i n h e r e n t in t h e kairos, a n d in t h e pastoral form, involves
the creation o f a p s y c h i c r e a l i t y .
b y senex-et-puer,
Though t h e form i t s e l f i s p r e s i d e d o v e r
another a r c h e t y p e i s constellated by t h e pastoral process,
that of t h e soul herself o r , more properly, soul a s anima, t h e soul's personified image of herself a s a transcendent, mediating reality.
This perspective enables u s t o see pastoral a s t h e place a n d t h e
process whereby an a r t i s t is f i r s t opened t o t h e archetypal realm, where
his personal complexes a r e seen through o r psychologized, and he engages
the archetypal forces a t work behind both his personal psychology and
the psychology of his culture.
It creates in him a sense of his whole
culture a s a dream, merges him with t h e psycho-dynamics operative within
the entire psychic field of his world.
This process is not only critical to
his own evolution, b u t t o the evolution of his c u l t u r e a s a whole, for it
is only t h r o u g h imaginal o r reflected contact with the emerging unconscious
forces t h a t a c u l t u r e in a s t a t e of transition can experience these hidden
gods a s anything o t h e r than a disastrous eclipse of all that was formerly
held precious.
This work with dream, t h e creation of soul o r imaginal
awareness may t h u s be said to be t h e critical t a s k in the time of t h e kairos.
For when "heaven has become for u s t h e cosmic space of t h e physicists,
and the divine empyrean a fair memory of t h i n g s t h a t once were
...a
secret u n r e s t gnaws a t t h e root of o u r being" (ACrU, 2 4 ) a n d t h e only
guides we have a r e those messengers from t h e d a r k wells of eternal night.
So t h e pastoral form p r e s e n t s u s with neither t h e representation of
a literal landscape nor a s e t of allegorical o r conventional figures but with
the potential for a certain s t a t e of being, a psychologized o r imaginal
awareness t h a t might best be described a s embodying a poetic connection
o r continuity on t h e imaginal plane between inner a n d o u t e r , herdsman
and landscape, the focus of which is feeling, i.e.,
t h e emotions, intuitions,
sensations of t h e herdsmanlpoet a s opposed t o his rational o r intellectual
awareness.'
F u r t h e r , it i s associated w i t h c r i t i c a l moments o f change,
when t h e a c c u m u l a t i n g e n e r g y c h a r g e o f t h e unconscious i s r e a d y t o manifest
as a symbol,
a n d w i t h t h e a r c h e t y p e s o f t h e d e u s absconditus, t h e p u e r -
senex u n i o n a n d t h e emergence o f anima o r soul.
-
It p r e s e n t s a manifest
analogy t o t h e w o r l d o f dream a n d t h e dream-work c r i t i c a l t o p s y c h i c
change, a n d p r o v i d e s a sense o f t h e manner in w h i c h t h e y a r e o p e r a t i v e
w i t h i n b o t h microcosm a n d macrocosm, i n d i v i d u a l a n d c u l t u r e , in a c o n g r u e n t a n d p a r a d o x i c a l way.
6ut t o engage t h e specifics o f t h i s analogy, a n d
t o r o o t t h e a r c h e t y p a l b a c k g r o u n d in a s p e c i f i c h i s t o r i c a l s e t t i n g , we turn
now t o t h e o r i g i n s o f p a s t o r a l p o e t r y i t s e l f , t o t h e poet a n d t h e poems t h a t
f i r s t g i v e it f o r m w i t h i n t h e b o d y o f Western C u l t u r e .
NOTES
1.
...
h e r e I wish only to s t r e s s t h a t t h e Good ( o r t h e Terrible)
Mother is among o t h e r t h i n g s a symbol for t h e determining influence
of t h e archetypal world a s a whole
in which t h e phylogenetic
development of consciousness a n d t h e ego is repeated ontogenetically
[if] t h e normal individual is refrom o u t t h e archetypal world
by his institutional education towards identification with
leased
t h e f a t h e r archetype and so becomes a well adjusted member of his
t h e creative man s t a n d s in conflict with t h e
patriarchal g r o u p
with his predominant mother archetype
world of t h e f a t h e r s
must take t h e exemplary way of t h e hero, must slay t h e
[he]
father, dethrone t h e traditional canon and seek an unknown directing authority, namely, t h e self t h a t is s o h a r d to find, t h e unknown
Heavenly Father ( ACrU, 184-5).
...
...
...
...
...
...
2.
One of t h e fundamental facts of creative existence is t h a t it produces
something objectively significant for c u l t u r e , b u t a t t h e same time
these achievements always r e p r e s e n t subjective phases of an individual
development ( ACrU, 190).
3.
See also in this r e g a r d J u n g l s discussions in "Psychology and Literat u r e " and "On t h e relation of Analytical Psychology to Poetry" (CW 15).
I am assuming that t h e work of a r t we propose to analyse, a s well a s
being symbolic, h a s i t s source not in t h e personal unconsciousness of
the poet, b u t in a s p h e r e of unconscious mythology whose primordial
images a r e t h e common heritage of mankind. I have called t h i s s p h e r e
the collective unconscious t o distinguish it from t h e personal unconscious. The latter I r e g a r d a s t h e sum total of all those psychic
processes and contents which a r e capable of becoming conscious and
often do, b u t a r e then s u p p r e s s e d because of t h e i r incompatibility
and kept subliminal. A r t receives t r i b u t a r i e s from this s p h e r e too,
but muddy ones; and t h e i r predominance, f a r from making a work of
a r t a symbol, merely t u r n s it into a symptom. We can leave this
level of a r t without injury and without r e g r e t to t h e purgative methods
employed b y Freud (CW 15, p. 80).
He f u r t h e r goes on t o distinguish two attitudes of t h e artistic personality toward t h e "autonomous complext1 of t h e creative work for,
"the nascent work in t h e psyche of t h e a r t i s t [is] a s an autonomous
complex" (78). The orientation of t h e a r t i s t toward t h e work may
be introverted, in which he a s s e r t s his own conscious intentions and
aims against t h e demands of t h e object (73) and identifies himself
( h i s ego /historical consciousness) with t h e creative process, o r
e x t r a v e r t e d , in which t h e material seems to have a [ v e r y refractory]
will of its own quite different from his conscious intentions. Jung
characterizes t h e f i r s t t y p e b y Schiller's plays o r Faust I , a n d t h e
second b y Zarathustra o r Faust I I , and considers t h a t these attitudes
result in two v e r y different s o r t s of poetry, one t h a t "appeals much
more to o u r aesthetic sensibility because it is -complete in itself"
(Pope's Rape of t h e Lock) and t h e o t h e r which " g r i p s u s so intensely
it seldom affords u s a purely aesthetic enjoyment" ( 7 7 ) (Blake's
...
Prophetic Poems).
B u t b o t h o f these a t t i t u d e s c a n n o t o n l y co-exist
w i t h i n t h e same poet but, "the same poet can adapt d i f f e r e n t a t t i t u d e s
toward h i s w o r k a t d i f f e r e n t times" a n d "the question, as we now see,
t h e complication grows even worse
i s exceedingly complicated
when we consider t h e case o f t h e poet who i d e n t i f i e s w i t h t h e c r e a t i v e
t h e manner o f composition
process.
F o r s h o u l d it turn o u t t h a t
i s a subjective i l l u s i o n
t h e n h i s w o r k would possess symbolic
qualities t h a t a r e o u t s i d e t h e range o f h i s consciousness" ( 7 6 ) .
But
in a n y case, it i s t h e "impact o f t h e a r c h e t y p e
[which] enthralls
and overpowers
[ w h i c h ] l i f t s t h e idea h e i s seeking t o e x p r e s s
a n d evokes in u s all those beneficent forces
out o f t h e occasional
t h a t e v e r a n d anon have enabled humanity t o find a r e f u g e from e v e r y
p e r i l a n d t o o u t l i v e t h e longest night." From t h e p o i n t o f view o f
l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m t h i s discussion ends in p r o f o u n d confusion.
...
...
...
...
...
...
I quote h e r e from t h e w o r k s o f James Hillman, t h e prime exemplar o f
a third generation of neo-Jungian t h i n k e r s , whose w o r k I w i l l use
extensively l a t e r in t h i s essay.
H i s w o r k i s p a r t i c u l a r l y r e l e v a n t because it c e n t e r s o n a phenomenological d e s c r i p t i o n o f a r c h e t y p a l f i g u r e s
a n d situations as psycho-active forces o p e r a t i v e simultaneously w i t h i n
the individual a
nd the culture.
I m i g h t also n o t e in passing t h a t
Neurnann's d e s c r i p t i o n s o f t h e v a r i o u s stages o f a r t a n d i t s r e l a t i o n t o
h i s t o r y a r e n o t t o b e t a k e n as an o n l y h i s t o r i c a l r e a l i t y but may also
be simultaneously p r e s e n t in a n y g i v e n h i s t o r i c a l moment.
The w o r s h i p o f t h e emperor as a god, as t h e c e n t r a l g o d t o w h i c h
citizens o f Rome owed allegiance transformed t h e p o l y t h e i s t i c base o f
Roman r e l i g i o n i n t o a monotheistic s p i r i t u a l s t r u c t u r e c o n g r u e n t t o
t h e p o l i t i c s o f Empire. Without t h i s development, w h i c h allowed t h e
assimilation o f " C h r i s t " t o "god-king" a n d facilitated t h e a b s o r p t i o n
o f t h e Imperial State by t h e o r t h o d o x C h r i s t i a n Bishops ( c f . t h e
Donation o f Constantine), C h r i s t i a n i t y would h a v e remained one o f
many p r i v a t e mysteries w i t h o u t a political base.
See in t h i s r e g a r d
Jung's Aion (CW 9, pt. 11).
See also E r n s t R o b e r t C u r t i u s - E u r o ~ e a nL i t e r a t u r e a n d t h e L a t i n
B o l l i n g e n Series X X X V I , (New Y o r k :
Pantheon Press,
pp. 98-101, f o r t h e widespread prevalence o f t h i s m o t i f in
late a n t i q u i t y .
1
J u n g d i f f e r e n t i a t e d f o u r functions o f consciousness--thinking, feeling,
sensation a n d i n t u i t i o n ; a n d a r r a n g e d them in t w o p o l a r groups, t h e
"rational" faculties o f thinking a n d feeling, a n d t h e " i r r a t i o n a l "
faculties o f sensation a n d i n t u i t i o n .
Each i n d i v i d u a l ( a n d each c u l t u r e )
may b e c h a r a c t e r i z e d by t h e predominance o f o n e function.
Thus the
relation o f t h e f u n c t i o n s t o one another a n d t o t h e t h r e s h o l d o f
W i t h t h e a d d i t i o n o f a n indicaconsciousness m i g h t b e diagrammed.
t i o n o f t h e p r i m a r y d i r e c t i o n o f flow o f l i b i d o e n e r g y , i.e.,
outward
t o t h e object ( e x t r a v e r s i o n ) o r i n w a r d t o t h e subject ( i n t r o v e r s i o n ) ,
t h i s r e l a t i o n may b e said t o p r o v i d e a s o r t o f map o f conscious
functioning.
In t h e case o f an e x t r a v e r t e d thinkinq type, a t y p e
w h i c h seems t o p r e d o m i n a t e in Western C i v i l i z a t i o n ( a n d in Jungls
c l i n i c a l p r a c t i c e ) t h e schema w o u l d look l i k e t h i s :
1
THINKING
2
SENSATION
(THRESHOLD
OF
CONSCIOUSNESS)
Those f u n c t i o n s t h a t a r e f a r t h e s t away f r o m t h e thinking dominant a r e
engaged by t h e p a s t o r a l a n d t h a t f u n c t i o n most d i s t a n t f r o m t h e dornin a n t [ f e e l i n g ] w h i c h "marks t h e h i g h e s t d e g r e e o f s u b j e c t i v a t i o n o f
t h e o b j e c t " (SD, 123) a n d expresses t h e "truth o f t h e h e a r t , t h e
s u b t e r r a n e a n dream r e a l i t y " ( A C r U , 1441 i s pastoral's p r i m e concern.
It i s i n t e r e s t i n g in t h i s r e s p e c t t h a t , in English, t h e w o r d " f e e l i n g "
c a n denote a l l t h e f a c u l t i e s o f consciousness save f o r t h o u g h t .
Iv
T H E ORIGINS AND CONCEPTION OF PASTORAL
Now as m y men were o n t h e i r way I said a w o r d
t o them: Y o u think y o u a r e o n y o u r way b a c k
now t o y o u r o w n beloved c o u n t r y , but C i r c e has
i n d i c a t e d a n o t h e r j o u r n e y f o r us, t o t h e house
o f Hades a n d o f r e v e r e d Persephone t h e r e t o
c o n s u l t t h e soul o f T i r e s i a s t h e Theban.
-
O d y s s e y X,
561-5
t r a n s . Richmond L a t t i m o r e
H i s t o r i c a l l y , t h e f a t h e r of t h e form a n d feeling-tone we k n o w as
pastoral, t h e p o i n t a t w h i c h
I'
. . . c e r t a i n elements,
a l l y in t h e w o r k o f p r e d e c e s s o r s o r contemporaries,
appearing incident-
a n d responding t o
some temper o f t h e age, a r e f u s e d by t h e alchemy of a p a r t i c u l a r p e r s o n a l i t y
in time a n d space i n t o a new a n d t y p i c a l form,"'
BC)
.
i s T h e o c r i t u s ( f l . c. 280
V i r g i l ' s Ecoloques, Spenser's Aeqloques, Milton's Lycidas, Shelley's
Adonais a l l p a y t r i b u t e t o h i s Bucolic
use.
B i o g r a p h i c a l l y , n o t too m u c h
i s k n o w n o f T h e o c r i t u s , t h o u g h m u c h may be, a n d is, c o n j e c t u r e d .
about 310 B.C.,
Born
a n a t i v e o f Syracuse, h e s t u d i e d medicine a n d p o e t r y
u n d e r P h i l e t u s o n t h e i s l a n d o f Cos, t h e s i t e o f a major s h r i n e o f Asclepius
and t h e r u r a l r e t r e a t f o r a significant g r o u p o f Hellenistic literati, a n d
became a y o u n g e r member o f w h a t was k n o w n as t h e Coan school o f p o e t r y ,
which,
as f a r as s c h o l a r s h i p c a n determine, was " u n u s u a l f o r i t s e x p r e s s i o n
of w i t a n d f e e l i n g in a simple a n d d i r e c t manner.'14
H e appealed unsuccess-
fully t o t h e a s c e n d a n t H i e r o o f S y r a c u s e f o r p a t r o n a g e (280 B.C.),
travelled,
then
a l b e i t somewhat r e l u c t a n t l y , t o A l e x a n d r i a , w h e r e h e was associ-
a t e d w i t h t h e c o u r t o f Ptolemy II ( P h i l a d e l p h i u s ) a n d w i t h t h e L i b r a r y u n d e r
Callimachus.
A l t h o u g h h e seems t o h a v e e n j o y e d a c o n s i d e r a b l e t h o u g h n o t
s t e l l a r l i t e r a r y r e p u t a t i o n in t h e metropolis, a b o u t
270 B.C.
he returned
t o Cos, t r a v e l l e d t o M i l e t u s t o v i s i t a b o y h o o d f r i e n d w h o h a d e s t a b l i s h e d
a medical p r a c t i c e t h e r e , a n d v a n i s h e d i n t o t h e m i s t s o f time.
T h e o c r i t u s m u s t b e seen a g a i n s t a specific h i s t o r i c a l b a c k d r o p , t h a t o f
Hellenistic Greece, Magna Graecia, one g e n e r a t i o n a f t e r t h e d e a t h o f A l e x a n d e r
t h e Great, t h e d i v i s i o n o f h i s world-embracing e m p i r e among h i s l e a d i n g
generals, a n d t h e B a t t l e of l p s u s (302 B .C.)
w h i c h defined t h e power
s t r u c t u r e of t h e e m e r g i n g states, t h u s f r e e i n g Ptolemy I, t h e f i r s t E g y p t i a n
F
ruler, t o set his house in o r d e r .
Part of doing so, along with t h e establish-
ment of t h e most extensive bureaucracy in t h e ancient world, was t h e creation of t h e Great Museum and t h e Library, a n attempt to a t t r a c t scholars,
poets and philosophers to the new regime.
T h e house is quite in o r d e r now.
Alexandria h a s become t h e g r e a t metropolis of t h e new Greek Empire, t h e
oikoumene, a society in which t h e individual is no longer defined in terms
of membership in a specific polis b u t is more o r less a t large in an increasingly cosmopolitan and bureaucratic civilization.
A generation of colonial
migrations has scattered Greek citizens all o v e r t h e face of t h e known world,
and the lure of t h e new and glittering metropolis h a s engendered a mass
exodus of t h e society's bright young men from traditional c e n t e r s of culture.
Scepticism, which has fully emerged a s both a philosophical stance and a
-
popular mindset, and t h e contact with Oriental a n d Egyptian elements, have
completely changed t h e n a t u r e of religion.
otherwise, p r i v a t e mysteries, abound.
Cult figures, orgiastic and
T h e public face of religion might
best be seen in t h e deification of political leaders, t h e dead Alexander and
t h e living Ptolemy Philadelphius who proclaimed himself a god a n d , in t r u e
Egyptian fashion, married his s i s t e r Arsinoe whom he also declared divine.
The mythos of Hellenic Greece has essentially become scholarship, t h e
systematic s t u d y and highly conscious use of formula o r rhetorical device,
which is reflected in t h e e r a ' s t a s t e for t h e miniature, t h e precious and t h e
crafted.
Classical o r a t o r y has become s e t declamation.
And both a r e in
service of t h e new god-king, whose Great Museum and Library, with i t s
h u n d r e d s of patronized scholars, poets and philosophers, provides a
cultural lingua franca.
At t h e time of Theocritus' sojourn in Alexandria
it was administered b y Callimachus (who also, e x officio, acted a s tutor to
t h e Royal Family)--an e x t r e m e l y H o r a t i a n f i g u r e ,
learned, q u i t e p u b l i c in a
highly i n t e l l e c t u a l way, a n d d e f i n i t e l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e s t a t u s quo.
who c r i t i c i z e d t h e o r d e r o f t h i n g s , as Soltades v i s
marriage, met p a i n f u l a n d u n t i m e l y e n d s .
:v i s
Poets
Ptolemy's incestuous
We a r e p r e s e n t e d w i t h t h e p i c t u r e
o f a c u l t u r e t h a t , t h o u g h seemingly v i t a l , i s massively o v e r - e x t e n d e d a n d
disjointed w i t h i n itself.
T h e r e i s a tremendous i n f l u x o f unconscious c o n t e n t
in t h e lowest levels o f society ( t h e c u l t s ) a n d a t o t a l f i x a t i o n o f t h e collec-
t i v e canon t h a t i s e n f o r c e d in a b r u t a l a n d highly e f f e c t i v e manner.
Further, historians o f religion consider Hellenistic Alexandria t o b e a
g r e a t r e l i g i o u s m e l t i n g p o t o f Western C u l t u r e .
O u t o f t h i s tremendous
concatenation o f c u l t u r a l a n d r e l i g i o u s elements g r e w several u n d e r g r o u n d
r e l i g i o u s manifestations, Alchemy, Gnosticism, t h e I s i s / O s i r i s C u l t , a l l o f
w h i c h w o u l d s e r v e as shadows t o t h e e m e r g i n g Empire-State a n d t h e s p i r i t u a l
empire o f O r t h o d o x C h r i s t i a n i t y .
Emphasizing as t h e y d o a n i n d i v i d u a l con-
t a c t w i t h God as e x p r e s s e d t h r o u g h imaginal processes, a v i s i o n o f d e i t y
t h a t i n c l u d e s b o t h good a n d e v i l a n d a m u l t i p l i c i t y o f p s y c h i c centers, t h e y
w o u l d a l l b e a c t i v e l y p e r s e c u t e d by t h e e m e r g i n g monotheistic civilizations.
In t h e face o f a l l t h i s ,
" t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y c u l t u r e d Greek, t h e p r o f e s -
sional man o r b u r e a u c r a t c a u g h t up in t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e m a c h i n e r y o f one
h
o r t h e o t h e r o f t h e H e l l e n i s t i c kingdoms, c o u l d r a i s e h i s eyes, in imaginat i o n a t least, t o t h e limitless h o r i z o n o f m o u n t a i n a n d plain, f o r e s t a n d
p a s t u r e a n d t o t h e contemplation o f l i v e s passed o b s c u r e l y
...
and
lt6
s u r e l y t h i s melancholy l o n g i n g - b a c k s t r i k e s a r e s o n a n t c h o r d in o u r souls.
F o r it i s a n impulse t h a t seems always t o a r i s e w h e n t h e collective w o r l d
t h a t s u r r o u n d s u s i s alienated f r o m o u r s u b j e c t i v e c e n t e r , f r o m t h e feeling
l i f e of o u r soul.
A n d we may d r a w f a i r l y p r e c i s e analogues o n t h i s basis
between H e l l e n i s t i c Greece,
Renaissance man c o n f r o n t i n g t h e t o t a l
.
41
secularization o f t h e Medieval C h u r c h , t h e g r e a t Romantic poets facing
t h e t e r r o r s o f t h e I n d u s t r i a l Revolution, a n d t h e a r t i s t today, presented
w i t h t h e g r i m realities o f a monolithic techno-consumer society.
But, as
we have seen, in t h e hands o f a poet o f depth, a c r e a t i v e man in Neumann's
sense o f t h e word, t h i s longing, t h i s personal s u f f e r i n g , i s transmuted i n t o
symbol.
A landscape emerges t h a t i s n o t t h e d i s t a n t mountains a n d pastures
b u t t h e i r imaginal equivalents, a p s y c h i c o r imaginal r e a l i t y t h a t i s peopled
b y p s y c h i c o r imaginal beings.
A n d t h o u g h it may p r e s e n t u s w i t h
the
image of t h e old, it i s also t h e g r o u n d a n d b i r t h - p l a c e f o r t h e emergence
o f t h e new.
Thus:
...
it would b e a n e r r o r t o t h i n k t h a t Theocritus'
Herdsman-Poet m y t h a n d t h e g e n r e o f t h e Pastoral
Idyll w h i c h h e made i n t o i t s l i t e r a r y vehicle merely
reflected, in microcosmic form, t h e s p i r i t o f t h e
age.
If t h i s w e r e so, t h e Pastoral I d y l l s could b e
seen as a n e n t i r e l y t y p i c a l p r o d u c t o f t h e Alexand r i a n age, whereas in f a c t t h e y a r e in many ways
highly u n t y p i c a l
T h e pedantic preoccupations
o f t h e s c h o l a r l y poets o f h i s age find l i t t l e place in
t h e Pastoral I d y l l s , a n d T h e o c r i t u s responded t o h i s
age's a n t i q u a r i a n i n t e r e s t s in t h e r e v i v a l o f o l d forms
w i t h t h e c r e a t i o n o f a new a n d unusual form. 7
...
In t h e m y t h o f t h e Herdsman-Poet,
a n d t h e u n i q u e a n d poetic landscape
which he inhabits, T h e o c r i t u s b r o u g h t together what was h i g h e s t a n d lowest
in t h e c u l t u r a l values o f h i s time a n d gave birth t o a new a n d v i v i d symbol
t h a t was a t t h e same time a h a r k e n i n g back t o t h e dream o f a n e a r l i e r culture.
T h u s t h e "small but complete w o r l d o f t h e Pastoral I d y l l s " actively
resists "what,
a f t e r Leo Marx, we could call t h e 'counterforce' o f t h e
oikoumene, t h e inhuman scale o f i t s power a n d organization,
the multitude
and v a r i e t y of t h e peoples who crowded i n t o i t s shelter a n d u n d e r i t s
banners.'18
T h r o u g h a n o r g a n i z a t i o n o f what are, in many ways, t h e most
neglected a n d despised elements o f h i s collective canon,
he g i v e s u s a
specific image of t h a t p r o c e s s of transmutation w h i c h r e s u l t s in t h e emergence
of a new myth, a p o t e n t i a l h e a l i n g agent f o r t h e sickness o f h i s age.
T h e o c r i t u s ' work,
p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e f i r s t seven I d y l l s w h i c h a r e con-
sidered t h e most truly pastoralg a n d were presumably w r i t t e n o n Cos, a r e
b o t h highly t r a d i t i o n a l a n d highly original.
"There is h a r d l y a single motif
o r theme in T h e o c r i t u s ' p a s t o r a l p o e t r y w h i c h does n o t h a v e i t s r o o t s in
earlier l i t e r a t u r e , a n d y e t it i s equally t r u e t h a t n o t h i n g l i k e T h e o c r i t u s '
Pastoral I d y l l s h a v e e v e r been w r i t t e n before. 1110 These poems, tw, in
C u r t i u s ' words,
" o f all a n t i q u e poetic genres
greatest influence. "11
. . . had,
a f t e r t h e epic, t h e
T h e p r i m a r y m y t h i c sources o n w h i c h T h e o c r i t u s
drew stem f r o m b o t h Homer a n d Hesiod, but center p r i m a r i l y o n t h e I l i a d
and t h e Odyssey.
A n d t h e y reveal a deliberate process o f selection.
For
in choosing o u t those f i g u r e s a n d motifs associated w i t h t h e l i f e o f t h e
herdsman a n d i g n o r i n g t h e h e r o i c endeavours t h a t seem t o form t h e o v e r t
focus o f t h e Homeric Epics,
T h e o c r i t u s i s h a r k i n g back t o a p r e - p a t r i a r c h a l
civilization, t o a time w h e n society as we know it was p r e - l i t e r a t e a n d seminomadic, dependent o n t r a v e l l i n g flocks o f animals o r , even earlier, u p o n a
quasi-mystic i d e n t i t y between t h e h u n t e r a n d h i s p r e y .
If we psychologize
o r i n t e r i o r i z e t h i s notion, w e a r e l e d i n t o a p a r t i c u l a r fantasy o f T h e o c r i t u s
as a highly l i t e r a t e scholar-poet who i s engaging t h e p r i m o r d i a l p r e - f o r m s
o r archiac motifs t h a t l i e b e h i n d t h e intellectual systems of h i s day, j u s t as
t h e Homeric poems l i e b e h i n d a l l Hellenic Culture.
J u n g describes j u s t s u c h
a process:
It always seems t o u s as if meaning--compared w i t h life--were t h e y o u n g e r event, because we assume, w i t h
some j u s t i f i c a t i o n , t h a t we assign it o f ourselves, a n d
because we believe, e q u a l l y r i g h t n o doubt, t h a t t h e
g r e a t w o r l d c a n g e t along w i t h o u t b e i n g i n t e r p r e t e d
B u t how d o we a s s i g n meaning? From what source, in
t h e l a s t analysis,
d o we d e r i v e meaning? T h e forms
we u s e f o r a s s i g n i n g meaning a r e h i s t o r i c a l categories
t h a t r e a c h f a r b a c k i n t o t h e m i s t s o f time
Interp r e t a t i o n s make u s e o f c e r t a i n l i n g u i s t i c matrices t h a t
a r e themselves d e r i v e d f r o m p r i m o r d i a l images.
From
w h a t e v e r side we a p p r o a c h t h i s question, e v e r y w h e r e
we find o u r s e l v e s c o n f r o n t e d w i t h t h e h i s t o r y o f language, w i t h images a n d m o t i f s t h a t lead s t r a i g h t b a c k
whose concretet o t h e p r i m i t i v e wonder-world
ness dates f r o m a time when consciousness did n o t
think but o n l y p e r c e i v e d
T h o u g h t was essentia l l y r e v e l a t i o n , n o t i n v e n t e d but f o r c e d u p o n u s o r
bringing c o n v i c t i o n t h r o u g h i t s immediacy a n d a c t u ality.
T h i n k i n g o f t h i s kind precedes t h e p r i m i t i v e
ego-consciousness, a n d t h e l a t t e r i s more i t s o b j e c t
so we also h a v e a p r e - e x i s t e n t
t h e n i t s subject
thinking, o f w h i c h we a r e n o t aware so l o n g as we a r e
s u p p o r t e d by t r a d i t i o n a l symbols o r , t o put it in t h e
l a n g u a g e o f dreams, so l o n g as t h e f a t h e r o r t h e king
i s n o t dead.
...
...
...
...
'*
Mi r c e a Eliade has shown
A H i s t o r y o f Religious ldeas, l 3 t h e
c u l t u r e t o w h i c h t h i s p r e - e x i s t e n t thinking b e a r s w i t n e s s n o t o n l y preceded
t h e a g r i c u l t u r a l a n d w a r r i o r societies o f t h e West, w i t h t h e i r emphasis o n
Logos a n d p a t r i l i n e a r succession, but was f l o u r i s h i n g a n d stable f o r a
p e r i o d o f up t o 350,000 y e a r s b e f o r e t h e emergence o f w h a t we k n o w as
history.
A n d t h e major r e l i g i o u s t r a d i t i o n o f t h e s e c u l t u r e s i s Shamanism,
in w h i c h a n i n i t i a t e , a f t e r a l o n g a n d p a i n f u l p r o c e s s o f p s y c h i c transformation,
repeatedly undertakes journeys t o the underworld for t h e health and
salvation o f h i s tribe.
G a r y S n y d e r , a c o n t e m p o r a r y poet-anthropologist,
also examines t h e s e c u l t u r e s in T h e O l d Ways.
He maintains, in w h a t may
b e a c o n t e m p o r a r y f a n t a s y of t h e pastoral, t h a t " t h e u p p e r p a l e o l i t h i c was
t h e original a f f l u e n t society
week [ a n d ]
. . . there
t o civilization."
w o r k e d a n a v e r a g e o f 15 h o u r s a
w e r e n o p o o r people
Further,
was j u s t 'seed syllables'
. . . they
. . . Landless
paupers belong
"in t h e p r i m a l d a y s o f t h a t e n e r g y flow,
language
. . . t h e sense o f t h e u n i v e r s e as f u n d a m e n t a l l y
s o u n d a n d s o n g b e g i n s poetics
. . . out
o f t h e h e a l i n g songs,
songs t h a t
were o b t a i n e d by people w h o g o t p a r t i c u l a r l y s t r o n g p o w e r v i s i o n songs
-
and went back for more, evolved specialization:
medicine person a s a singerlhealer.
fellows Plato wanted to kick o u t
. . . the
shaman o r
That comes to u s in history a s t h e
. . . The
cultures] is not personal glory nor riches.
reward of heroism [within these
The reward is dreams. 1114
This whole imaginal nexus, and t h e implicit connection of t h e poet and t h e
shaman, is vividly presented in what is, according to Steven F. Walker,
another one of Theocritus' sources, Euripedesl Rhesos, a contemporary work
drawing heavily on and radically reinterpreting t h e Iliad.
In t h i s play, t h e
Thracian Shamanic Tradition is explicitly linked to t h e appearance of herdsmen, and t h e d i s a s t e r which overtakes t h e protagonist Hektor is directly
connected t o his failure to listen to t h e t r u t h t h a t "is available, if a t all,
only to those who listen t o d a r k n e s s when clearer false voices a r e a t hand. 1115
A picture emerges of pastoral a s a v e r y highly sophisticated presentation of
a psychic o r imaginal s t a t e of being, a symbolic o r literary analogue to t h e
dream of a n earlier culture.
This conclusion is strengthened when we consider t h e third major sourcethat Theocritus drew on, a f t e r Homer and Euripides, that of t h e literary
mime,
...a
g e n r e dealing primarily with u r b a n life and low life
sub-literary form of entertainment for t h e u r b a n masses.
'11'
...a
These mimes
presented specific scenes of everyday life and lower class c h a r a c t e r s in a
mode which Frye has called a dead center of complete realism.
But when
we also consider that all of Theocritus' pastorals p r e s e n t a "mixed radical
of presentation:
narrative ( t h e narrative frames), dramatic ( t h e mime
elements p r o p e r ) and lyric ( t h e s o n g s )
we become aware of t h e fact
that these realistic elements appropriated from m i m e a r e fused with lyric
and mythic material in s u c h a way t h a t they p r e s e n t a dual o r paradoxical
focus.
T h u s , "what accounts for t h e difference between pastoral and
iP
nonpastoral mimes i s something N o r t h r o p F r y e considered t o b e a phenomenon
unique t o modern w e s t e r n l i t e r a t u r e
ironic."'*
. . . t h e emergence o f t h e m y t h in t h e
T h i s consideration s u p p o r t s a n d completes t h e analogy between
t h e dream a n d t h e p a s t o r a l poem for, as we have seen, t h e dynamic
of a
dream i s an attempt t o link (symballon) t h e unconscious o r pre-conscious
material, expressed in i t s own language as imagelmyth, w i t h t h e actual
state o f conscious awareness, a n attempt t o translate o r enlarge t h a t conscious awareness, t o g i v e it a sense o f t h e imaginal o r archetypal m a t r i x
b e h i n d t h e q u i t e mundane e v e n t s it f i n d s i t s e l f engaged in.
B u t t h i s analogy between pastoral, specifically Theocritan pastoral, as
the p o i n t o f o r i g i n o r a r c h e o f t h e genre, a n d a n i n i t i a t i o n process i n v o l v -
ing a transformation o f consciousness t h r o u g h dream o r vision, i s s u p p o r t e d
-
by more t h a n metaphorical evidence.
/
It i s a cliche o f modern scholarship
to say t h a t t h e r e l i g i o u s experience o f a Greek o f a n y p e r i o d i s a v a s t l y
d i f f e r e n t thing t h a n o u r own.
T h e gods, many r a t h e r t h a n one, entwined
themselves in d a i l y l i f e t o a degree t h a t is, t o us, v i r t u a l l y incomprehensible. .
T h i s i s in itself, however, a simplification.
W.K.C.
Guthrie,
in T h e Greeks
and T h e i r Gods, d i f f e r e n t i a t e s between t h e state c u l t s o f t h e Homeric o r
Olympian deities a n d a s o r t o f u n d e r l a y e r o f cthonic worship t h a t preceded,
formed a cocrnterpart to,
religion.
a n d emerged f r o m t h e dominance o f t h e Olympian
These c u l t s c e n t e r e d a r o u n d t h e f i g u r e s o f DionysosIHades a n d
Asklepios, a n d i n v o l v e d a personal, non-rational contact w i t h a s o r t o f
u n d e r w o r l d divinity t h a t t r a n s f o r m e d o r i n i t i a t e d t h e i n d i v i d u a l t h r o u g h experience o f a n ecstatic o r non-rational state o f being.
These c u l t i c prac-
tices emerged in f o r c e during t h e Hellenistic Era w i t h t h e fragmentation
and o v e r t politicalization o f state religion.
Theocritus' I d y l l s a r e shot full
o f Dionysian imagery a n d some contemporary scholarship r e g a r d s t h e
vineclad c u l t i c g r o t t o c f Dionysos a n d t h e nymphs as a source o f t h e
Theocritan locus amoenus.
One poem in fact,
I d y l l XXVI, d i r e c t l y
describes a D i o n y s i a n i n i t i a t i o n in terms o f t h e death a n d dismemberment
of Pentheus ( a d i r e c t r e f e r e n c e t o ~ u r i p i d e sBacchae)
'
a n d proclaims:
i c a r e n o t f o r h i m o r anyone
who i s Dionysos enemy-N o t e v e n if h e should s u f f e r
a worse f a t e l 9
F u r t h e r , T h e o c r i t u s s t u d i e d medicine a t Cos, t h e major s h r i n e o f Asklepios,
and was connected all h i s l i f e w i t h Nikias, a dear f r i e n d a n d p r a c t i t i o n e r
o f Asklepian medicine.
Asklepios too was a cthonic d e i t y and an Asklepian
c u r e i n v o l v e d much more t h a n h e r b s o r bloodletting.
put t h e p a t i e n t t o sleep, t o 'lay him down'
o f Asklepios
. . . t h e c u r e . . . usually
"The method i s t o
. . . in t h e p r e c i n c t o f t h e temple
takes place as a r e s u l t o f a v i s i o n
o r dream e x p e r i e n c e d in sleep. 1120
T h e o c r i t u s envisioned h i s pastoral p o e t r y as a "cure f o r love " :
T h e r e i s n o remedy f o r love, Nikias,
n o u n g u e n t , n o salve-e x c e p t t h e Muses.
T h a t ' s a gentle
medicine, a n d pleasant f o r mortals,
but h a r d t o find--as y o u know well
b e i n g a p h y s i c i a n a n d favored
by t h e Nine.21
A n d t h o u g h t h e Greeks h a d many words (eros, agape, p h i l e ) t o denote t h e
d i f f e r i n g experiences o f what we in English call love, t h e love h e r e spoken
o f i s n o t o n l y e r o t i c but obsessional, a l i t e r a l loss o f soul, a projection
of what i s most d e s i r e d (i.e.,
god, s p i r i t ) onto t h e l i t e r a l b o d y o f another.
It i s t h i s obsession o r p r o j e c t i o n t h a t i s t h e disease we seek t o cure, t h i s
physicalization o r l i t e r a l i z a t i o n o f desire, as we e n t e r t h e Asklepian antron,
t h e earth-pit,
t o i n c u b a t e o u r dreams, a n d t h e r e t o await t h e voice o f t h e
god t h a t i s h i d d e n in o u r disease.
So we emerge w i t h a definite t h o u g h complex p i c t u r e o f what t h e
pastoral i s as a psychodynamic force operative w i t h i n b o t h t h e i n d i v i d u a l
and w i t h i n a n overall p a t t e r n of c u l t u r a l h i s t o r y .
Placed in a schema o f
psychic levels, a Jungian geographical fantasy o f soul, it presents an
image o f t h e time when man was one w i t h h i s animal o r i n s t i n c t u a l nature,
in d i r e c t communion w i t h t h e Great Mother who nourishes all o f life.
It
is also a process, an i n i t i a t o r y process founded in dream-incubation t h a t
represents a n d facilitates an imaginal r e v e r s i o n t o t h a t primordial state
o f identity.
A s such it i s t h e p o i n t o f f i r s t contact w i t h t h e deus
absconditus o r h i d d e n god, symbolized by t h e noon h o u r sacred t o Pan,
the d i v i n e t e r r o r v i s i o n f a l l i n g o n man q u i t e separate from h i s c u l t u r e ' s
conscious awareness o f s p i r i t .
It i s p r e s i d e d o v e r by t h a t h i d d e n god
t h r o u g h the a r c h e t y p e of puer-senex,
t h e dual a r c h e t y p e which represents
t h a t s p i r i t u a l connection o f p a s t a n d f u t u r e t h a t i s imaged in t h e kairos,
the c r i t i c a l p o i n t when changes in t h e unconscious man can manifest as
symbol.
It becomes t h e place a n d t h e process t h r o u g h which t h e s p l i t in
the puer-senex archetype, t h e d i s j u n c t i o n between y o u n g a n d old, t r a d i t i o n
and emergent s p i r i t , p a s t a n d f u t u r e i s healed t h r o u g h t h e emergence o f
new psychic contents.
T h i s healing i s effected t h r o u g h , a n d in many ways
consists of, t h e constellation a n d experience o f t h e MotherIFeminine as
anima o r soul,
f o r " t h e o l d sage a n d t h e y o u n g g o d (puer-senex) are t h e
archetypal forms in w h i c h t h e masculine i s connected t o t h e Great Mother
as Sophia"
** o r transcendentlimaginal
reality.
F u r t h e r , t h e pastoral as i n i t i a t i o n represents a c r i t i c a l moment in t h e
evolution o f t h e poet, o f t h e poetic genius o r s p i r i t ,
c u l t u r a l process.
t h a t i s parallel t o t h i s
It i n v o l v e s a withdrawal o f projections, a deliteralization
o f t h e c o m ~ l e x e s . in w h i c h t h e v a r e ~ u l l e dback from t h e f i e l d o f literalized
-
awareness a n d , t h r o u g h image, open to an archetypal d e p t h , n a t u r e in-here
and n a t u r e out-there experienced a s a synchronous and imaginal reality.
A consciousness is born t h a t experiences t h e s e "little nodal points" a s images
which open to a fearful and wonderful landscape, a consciousness that moves
...
"warily in t h e wisdom of f e a r through t h e empty places of o u r inscapes
never losing touch with t h e flock of wayward complexes, t h e small f e a r s and
excitations. "23
It is t h e place where, in t h e words of James Hillman, a
prime exemplar of what we might call t h e t h i r d o r contemporary generation
u s and t h e central
of neo-Jungian t h i n k e r s , t h e imagination begins to live journey, t h e image of o u r lives, opens o u t before us.
T h u s pastoral poetry, in its origins a n d in i t s dynamics, p r e s e n t s us
with a detailed a n d specific literary analogy to t h e process of dream-incubation.
It both s u g g e s t s t h a t this process is a n initiatory s t a g e in t h e creation
of poetic awareness and indicates that a consideration of t h e pastoral poem
a s dream is a procedure based on t h e ontology a n d genesis of t h e form
itself.
It is in t h i s light t h a t I propose to examine t h e Idylls of Theocritus
a s a dream-series and in s o doing, using Theocritus a s a s o r t of arch;
or
pre-form of t h e g e n r e a s a whole, hope to throw light on both t h e specific
n a t u r e of pastoral a s initiation and, given t h e paganlclassical content of
Theocritus' work, on t h e s e v e r e conflicts S p e n s e r will face in attempting a
Christian pastoral.
It is t h i s conflict t h a t will d r i v e him to embark on t h e
great epic q u e s t of t h e Faerie Queene, an attempt, in his own words, "to
moralize my song," t h a t is, to unite t h e feeling immediacy of t h e pagan
pastoral with t h e morallspiritual dimension inherent in a Christian mythos.
And a s a deliberate aid in t h i s exploration, I t u r n to t h e work of James
Hillman, t h e g r e a t e s t of t h e contemporary phenomenologists of t h e image,
.
not so much for a scientific description o f objective fact as for a phenonemological sense of what the psyche might want from us, a sense o f what i t
might be like to enter those dark halls of Hades.
NOTES
Anna Rist, Trans., The Poems o f Theocritus, (Chapel H i l l :
of N o r t h Carolina Press, 1978), p. 14.
Univ.
For a detailed discussion o f Theocritus' influence o n l a t e r l i t e r a t u r e
see Thomas G. Rosenmeyer, T h e Green Cabinet: Theocritus a n d
the European Pastoral T r a d i t i o n , ( B e r k e l e y : U n i v . o f Cal. Press,
1969). a n d Steven F. Walker. Theocritus. TWAS 609. [Boston:
~ w a y n ePub. (G. K. Hall), i 980). ~ l s o ' ~ o l d e n 'i n
siroductory
material in h i s Greek Pastoral Poetry.
Almost all information about Theocritus i s culled from events described
in t h e poems themselves.
Walker a n d Holden present t h e most comprehensive attempts t o assemble t h e information and t o p r e s e n t
The results
Theocritus as a u n i q u e i n d i v i d u a l in a specific setting.
are, in many ways, q u i t e d i f f e r e n t .
T h e information here, a n d in
t h e following discussion o f Hellenistic Civilization summarizes material
i n t h e i r treatments, in Rist's i n t r o d u c t o r y material a n d in: Loeb
Classical L i b r a r y , Greek Bucolic Poets, ( H a r v a r d , 1960) ; T . B. L.
Webster, Hellenistic Poetry a n d A r t , (London : Methuen, 1969) ;
F. A. Wright, A H i s t o r y o f L a t e r Greek L i t e r a t u r e , (London: Routlege
and Kegan Paul, 1951); W. W. Tarn, Hellenistic Civilization, (New Y o r k :
Meridian Books, New American ~ i b r a r y m a n F.
d W. Walbank,
The Hellenistic World, (Cambridge:
H a r v a r d Univ. Press, 1982).
A fascinating examination o f t h e period, r e v o l u t i o n a r y in b o t h content
and approach,is John Onians, A r t a n d T h o u g h t in t h e Hellenistic Aqe,
(London : Thames and Hudson, 1979).
Walker,
p. 125.
The most important form, however, in which t h e East c o n t r i b u t e d a t
t h i s time t o t h e Hellenistic C u l t u r e was in t h e field n o t o f l i t e r a t u r e
b u t o f c u l t : t h e r e l i g i o u s Syncretism which was t h e most decisive fact
in t h e l a t e r phase begins t o take shape in t h e f i r s t p e r i o d o f t h e
Hellenistic era.
Hans Jonas, T h e Gnostic Religion, (Boston : Beacon
Press, 1963), p. 20.
Rist, p. 14.
Walker, p. 31.
Walker, p. 32.
See G i l b e r t Lawall, T h e o c r i t u s ' Coan Pastorals, (Cambridge: H a r v a r d
Univ. Press, l967), a n d Walker, p. 34 f o r p a r t i c u l a r s o f t h i s view.
Walker,
p. 115.
Curtius, p. 187.
C.
G. Jung, T h e A r c h e t y p e s a n d t h e Collective Unconscious, (CW 9,
pt. I ) , p. 33.
Mircea Eliade, A H i s t o r y o f Religious Ideas, T r a n s . Willard R. T r a s k ,
( C h i c a g o : U n i v . o f Chicago Press, 1978), Vol. I, pp. 5-28.
G a r y S n y d e r , T h e O l d Ways,
1977), pp. 35-7.
( S a n Francisco:
C i t y L i g h t s Books,
R i c h a r d Emil B r a u n , Trans., Euripedesl Rhesos, ( O x f o r d :
U n i v . Press, l978), n o t e t o 1. 1239.
Walker,
p. 121.
Walker,
p. 123.
Walker,
p. 124.
B a r i s s Mills, Trans.,
P u r d u e U n i v . Press,
T h e I d y l l s o f Theocritus,
1963), p. 104.
Oxford
(West L a f a y e t t e :
A Note o n T r a n s l a t i o n s : T h e s t a n d a r d t e x t ( f o r r e a d e r s o f G r e e k ) i s
by A.S.F. Gow.
It c o n t a i n s G r e e k a n d f a c i n g page E n g l i s h p r o s e
t r a n s l a t i o n s a n d is, in Walker's words, " B e y o n d p r a i s e " in t h a t it
'lfulfills t h e aim o f a n e d i t i o n cum t r a n s l a t i o n a n d commentary w h i c h i s
T h e poetic translat o make a d i f f i c u l t t e x t t h o r o u g h l y accessible."
t i o n s o f T h e o c r i t u s a r e those o f t h e Loeb Classical L i b r a r y ( J . M.
Edmonds) w h i c h r e n d e r s h i m i n t o Elizabethan ( a n d b o w d l e r i z e d )
diction, t h a t o f B a r i s s Mills, t h a t o f A n n a Rist, a n d t h a t o f A n t h o n y
Holden. A l l l i n e r e a d i n g s c i t e d in t h i s essay w i l l b e f r o m Mills1
translation.
T h e b e s t way t o g e t a t a sense o f T h e o c r i t u s ' poetic
immediacy i s t o r e a d M i l l s a n d R i s t t o g e t h e r .
W. K .C. G u t h r i e , T h e G r e e k s a n d T h e i r Gods, ( B o s t o n :
Press, 1955), pp. 248-9.
Beacon
Mills, p. 42 ( I d y l l X I ) .
Neumann,
p. 77.
James Hillman, Pan a n d t h e Nightmare, ( D a l l a s :
19791, p. 1.
S p r i n g Pub.,
THE POEM AS DREAM:
PHENOMENOLOGY
And once t h e complexity has reached t h a t of t h e empirical man, his psychology inevitably merges with t h e
psychology actualizes t h e
psychic process itself
unconscious u r g e to consciousness [ a n d ] is doomed to
therein precisely
cancel itself out a s a science
it reaches i t s scientific goal.
...
...
-
C. G. J u n g SD,
The soul doesn't want to be understood; t h e soul wants
to be known.
- Robert Kelly
223
Abbreviations used i n this chapter :
RP - James Hillman, Revisioninq Psychology, (New York:
Colophon, 1 9 7 5 ) .
Harper
Heretofore, t h e formal discipline of psychology and that of literary
criticism, what Frye calls t h e poet's social compliment, have had a t best
a tenuous relationship.
The psychologist t e n d s t o appropriate t h e work
of a r t to an exterior cause o r i n t e r e s t , seeing it a s either t h e product of
an individual pathology which it seems to explain o r a s t h e exemplum of a
previously defined universal process.
Taken t o a n extreme, the first
approach leads to such ludicrous v e n t u r e s a s a n attempt to define Rilke's
poetry a s "anal-retentive" because he s a t on his poems for s o long.
The
second approach, predominant in most Jungian criticism, is more subtle but
just a s unsatisfactory, for it leads t o a definition of t h e work according
to the symbols it contains, symbols t h a t a r e pre-arranged in an operational
value-hierarchy t h a t exists outside t h e work itself.
The critic, however,
has a different problem, for he often totally ignores o r grapples unsuccessfully with t h e relation of a r t to psychic life a s a whole, both to dream,
t h a t fundamental process of soul embodying a totally imaginative connection2
with reality ( i n which w e all, somehow, a r e poets) and with t h e locus of
the peculiar power of a r t a s psychagogia, a leading o u t of t h e soul.
In t h e
past few y e a r s , however, both t h e aims a n d , more important for us, t h e
approaches of psychology have been radically redefined in t h e work of what
we might call phenomenologists of t h e image, principally in t h e works of
James Hillman and t h e g r o u p of psychologists, poets and scholars that have
gathered around him.'
H i s thought c e n t e r s itself primarily in classical
notions of t h e soul a s a nexus o r mediating realm t h a t registers the significant in symbolic o r imaginative terms, and in t h e stories of the gods, in
classical myths, a s they in-form2 t h e modes of o u r being:
3
B y soul I mean, f i r s t o f all, a p e r s p e c t i v e r a t h e r
t h a n a substance, a viewpoint towards t h i n g s r a t h e r
t h e w o r d r e f e r s t o t h a t unt h a n a thing i t s e l f
k n o w n component w h i c h makes meaning possible,
t u r n s events i n t o experiences
b y soul I mean
t h e imaginative p o s s i b i l i t y in o u r natures, t h e experiencing t h r o u g h r e f l e c t i v e speculation, dream
image and fantasy--that mode w h i c h recognizes all
realities as p r i m a r i l y symbolic o r metaphorical (RP, x )
...
...
.
Hillman follows J u n g in c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t t h e p r i m a r y data o f t h e psyche is
image. " E v e r y single feeling o r observation o c c u r s as a psychic event b y
f i r s t forming a fantasy image
. . . [it]
must g o t h r o u g h a psychic organi-
zation in o r d e r t o happen a t all" (RP, x i ) .
A n d h e places psychology
d i r e c t l y at t h e service o f t h a t image-making f a c u l t y o f soul:
Here I am moving t o w a r d a psychology o f soul t h a t
i s based in a psychology o f image. Here I am sugg e s t i n g b o t h a poetic basis o f mind a n d a psychology
in t h e processes o f imagination (RP, x i ) .
that starts
...
I n h e r e n t in t h e image i s t h e a r c h e t y p e o r , t o follow Hillman's personified
perspective, t h e God, as "the deepest p a t t e r n s o f psychic functioning,
the
roots o f t h e soul g o v e r n i n g t h e perspectives we have o f ourselves and t h e
world" (RP, x i i i ) .
The i n d i v i d u a l i s always contained w i t h i n one o r a set
o f these Gods (RP, 192) which a r e "a manner o f existence, an a t t i t u d e
towards existence and a set o f ideas" (RP,
130).
A r c h e t y p a l psychology,
Hillman's term f o r t h e a c t i v i t i e s he engages in,thus
"implies t h a t all know-
ing may be examined in terms o f these p s y c h i c premises
. . . we
would
s t a r t o f f by looking a t all knowledge as t h e expression o f ideas t h a t have
psychic premises in t h e archetypes" (RP,
132).
A n d c r u c i a l t o t h i s move
i s " t h e insistence o n t h e mythical p o l y t h e i s t i c perspective
. . . [for]
psychic
complexity r e q u i r e s all o f t h e Gods, o u r t o t a l i t y can o n l y b e contained b y
a pantheon" (RP, 222).
T h u s h e t u r n s t o Greece, a p a r t i c u l a r Greece
which " r e f e r s t o a historical and geographical psychic region
. . . an
i n n e r Greece o f the mind" because it provides "a polycentric p a t t e r n o f t h e
most r i c h l y elaborated polytheism o f all c u l t u r e s and so is able t o hold t h e
chaos o f t h e secondary personalities and autonomous impulses o f a field, a
time o r an individual" (RP, 29).
Within t h i s personified, polytheistic model o f t h e psychic cosmos human
n a t u r e i t s e l f is seen as 'la composite o f multiple psychic persons who reflect
t h e persons in myth" and t h e "I1Io r experiencer "is also in a myth" (RP,
177).
O u r emotions, affects, thoughts, behaviours "belong t o t h e arche-
types as these affect u s t h r o u g h t h e emotional core o f t h e complexes"
(RP, 176).
T h i s gives an e n t i r e l y new cast t o t h e notion o f therapy, one
t h a t we can wholeheartedly appropriate t o t h e s t u d y o f l i t e r a t u r e no matter
what God o r belief-system is predominant in o u r own personal c r i t i c a l
religion.
It i s a notion o f therapy t h a t i s removed from b o t h t h e banalities
o f behaviourism and t h e hypostasis o f a p a r t i c u l a r psychological process,
a psychological monotheism :
T h e r a p y o r analysis is not something t h a t analysts d o
w i t h patients; it i s a process t h a t goes on intermitt e n t l y in o u r individual soul-searching, o u r attempts
a t understanding o u r complexities, t h e c r i t i c a l attitudes,
prescriptions and encouragements we g i v e ourselves.
We are all in t h e r a p y all the time insofar as we are
involved w i t h soul-making
analysis goes o n in
t h e soul's imagination and n o t o n l y in t h e clinic. A n d
it i s t h i s i n t e r n a l sense o f t h e r a p y t h a t I ask y o u t o
bear in mind as we proceed (RP, x i i ) .
...
T h e r a p y here comes t o mean a care f o r those powers in a soul, those mult i p l e gods o r archetypes " t h a t a r e inhuman o r d i v i n e " a n d " t o care f o r these
powers i s t h e calling o f t h e therapeutes, a term which o r i g i n a l l y meant
'one who serves the gods1" (RP,
192).
The speciality o f t h e therapeute,
which in t h i s sense may c e r t a i n l y be said to include t h e l i t e r a r y c r i t i c ,
57
becomes llinteriority a n d t h e psychic realities t h a t a r e beyond t h e body and
mind in its narrow human sense.''
In this perspective t h e task "was t o
draw t h e soul t h r o u g h recognition closer t o t h e Gods, who a r e not human
but to whose inhumanity t h e soul is inherently and priorly related, " for
within this model, "the human was unthinkable without i t s i nhuman background
. . . to be
c u t off from personified archetypal reality meant a
soul c u t off" (RP, 192-3).
So t h e r e is a fundamental distinction made between psyche a n d human
that can be said to e x t e n d to all realms of knowledge.
And if, following
Hillman, we conceive "each human being to b e defined individually and
differently b y t h e soul
. . . then
o u r essentially differing human individu-
ality is really not human a t all, b u t more t h e gift of a n inhuman daimon
who demands human service" (RP, 175).
This b e a r s directly on dream
for, in Hillman's words, o u r dreams a r e "the best model of t h e actual
(inhuman) psyche, f o r t h e y show it personified, pathologized and manifold.
In them t h e ego is one among many psychic persons
. . . they
show t h e
soul a p a r t from life, reflecting it b u t just a s often unconcerned with t h e life
of the human being who dreams them.
Their main concern seems to be not
with living b u t with imagining" ( RP, 175).
If we entertain t h i s description
of dream in relation to ego, we see t h a t it easily can be extended t o include the poet in relation to a poem, which functions, according t o J u n g ,
a s a complex, a n autonomous factor o r God in t h e psyche with its own
demands and d e s i r e s t h a t a r e q u i t e similar to this description of dream and
quite often independent of o r in conflict with t h e demands and desires of
the ego for life.
And it also may b e said to somehow include o u r relation
to t h e poem a s reader.
For t h e
recollection of a dream by ego-conscious-
ness is a poetic act, placing t h e ego within an imaginal cosmos t h a t it is
required t o enter.
A p o e t t o o i s r e q u i r e d t o e n t e r a n imaginal w o r l d , t o
place himself in a r e l a t i o n t o t h e poem as h e g i v e s it image o r c r e a t e s it in
t h e f i e l d of consciousness.
T h i s same p r o c e s s a n d t h i s same independence
o f t h e d r e a m l p o e m l c o m p l e x may b e s a i d t o o c c u r as we r e a d t h e poem, as
we image o r c r e a t e it w i t h i n o u r o w n p s y c h i c field.
4
T h u s we c a n speak o f
a m u t u a l i t y o f poem a n d dream, see them as m u t u a l in b o t h t h e i r process
\
o r f u n c t i o n , t h e i r psycho-dynamic v i s a v i s r e a d i n g o r c r e a t i n g consciousness a n d as m u t u a l in t h e i r o r i g i n , in t h e "poetic b a s i s o f mind,"
the
p r i m a c y o f t h e imaginal o r image m a k i n g soul, i t s independence o f t h e
human.
T h i s p o s i t i o n i s e x p l i c i t l y a p p r o a c h e d by Hillman h i m s e l f as h e
p r e s e n t s case-material t h r o u g h t h e images o f a D. H. Lawrence n o v e l in
o r d e r t o " e x h i b i t a g a i n t h e c o n n e c t i o n between p s y c h o l o g y a n d l i t e r a t u r e
and t o suggest
. . . i t s interchangeability.
11
b
So it i s o n t h e b a s i s o f Hillman's i n s i s t e n c e o n a n d e x p l o r a t i o n o f t h e
p r i m a c y o f t h e imaginal,
i t s s e l f - d e f i n i n g a n d all-encompassing n a t u r e a n d
i t s fundamental r o o t in dream, t h a t we c a n p o s i t a m u t u a l i t y between poem
a n d dream t h a t enables u s t o make use o f h i s r a d i c a l i n s i g h t s i n t o t h e
n a t u r e o f psyche-logos t o i l l u m i n a t e t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f consciousness
t h a t o c c u r s as a p o e t e n t e r s , c r e a t e s h i m s e l f in t h e imaginal realm.
And,
i f we remember t h a t " t h e enemy i s t h e l i t e r a l a n d t h e l i t e r a l i s n o t t h e
concrete f l e s h but n e g l i g e n c e o f t h e v i s i o n t h a t t h e c o n c r e t e
magnificent c i t a d e l o f metaphors" (RP, 1741,
. . . is a
we a r e also in a p o s i t i o n t o
consider p a s t o r a l as a p r o c e s s o f successive i n t e r i o r i z a t i o n c o n g r u e n t t o
t h e action o f a dream o n consciousness a n d t o evaluate a g i v e n p a s t o r a l
sequence as s u c c e s s f u l t o t h e d e g r e e t o w h i c h it r e f l e c t s o r i n c a r n a t e s
t h a t i n t e r i o r i z a t i o n , g i v e s t h e e g o l c o n c r e t e a home in t h e soul.
-
The primary distinction t h a t Hillman makes, one t h a t seems t o inform
all of his work, distinguishes between t h e dayworld, t h e world of literalized
thought o r action and t h e nightworld o r underworld ( c t h o n ) , t h e world of
image, t h e reflection of t h e psyche of those instinctual energies that a r e
the basis of o u r lives.
These two worlds a r e simultaneous, their simul-
taneity being imaged b y t h e fact that Zeus a s Zeus cthonios coincides undistinguishably with Hades, King of t h e Underworld.
One b r o t h e r sees t h e
universe, t h e flow of experience from above and t h r o u g h t h e light; one from
below and into d a r k n e s s .
directly t o t h e underworld.
Hillman connects t h e dream and t h e dream-life
Hades, in classical mythology, was conceived
of a s t h e final e n d for each soul and t h u s , for Hillman, becomes t h e telos,
t h e final e n d and goal of e v e r y soul and e v e r y soul process.
This is a
radical redefinition of t h e n a t u r e of dream, p u t t i n g it not a t t h e service
of t h e daylife, t h e Herculean ego, sending messages to guide that ego towards a more successful adaptation t o reality, b u t a t t h e service of Hades
o r d a r k n e s s , suggesting a principle active in dream ( a n d if t h e r e is a
mutual basis of dream and poem in a "poetic basis of mind," active in poems
a s well) t h a t would wrest t h e soul out of life, o u t of t h e simple world of
action.
"Everything would become d e e p e r , moving from visible connection
to invisible ones, dying o u t of life.lf6
I f we g r a n t t h e mutuality of poem
and dream t h i s is a v e r y fruitful insight.
It s u g g e s t s a psychic ground
for t h e fact t h a t t h e poetlpoem a r e a t war with simple reality.
The work
of a r t becomes, in alchemical terms, an o p u s contra naturam.
A second underworld aspect of dream a n d , given their mutuality, of
poem a s well, Hillman deals with in t h e term pathologizing.7
If t h e dream1
poem is defined in terms of t h e underworld t h e n t h i s gives a particular
importance t o images of inverted o r a b e r r a n t behaviour, death, d a r k n e s s ,
wounding and decay, images of cthonic deity.
These images become speci-
fic places where t h e collapse of o u r literal modes of thought, o u r nonpsychologized identification with experience is taking place.
This trans-
mogrification, a s it were, of o u r daylight consciousness, a process t h a t
I1wrests it out of t h e merely natural"
8
and has refuge in images of death
and decay c e n t e r s in another fundamental principle of soul, t h a t of reversion to archetype.
As we have seen, t h e clearest exposition we have of
the archetypal lies in myth.
T h e r e is a fundamental movement in t h e soul
that utilizes pathological images of d a r k , death, decay to lead t h e e v e n t s
of experience back to their g r o u n d in t h e archetypal, t h e myth.
This
process reaches out to encompass, to mythologize, all of life, all of t h e
many images t h a t constitute o u r behaviour, o u r experience images that
a r e psychic in origin b u t mistakenly identified with t h e external world o r
the human ego.
If we view t h e pastoral a s a place where t h e young poet
is born, then i t s concern with myth, love and d e a t h becomes much more
than an excuse to indulge in lovelorn flattery o r elaborate conceit, a s o r t
of rhetorical gymnasium.
The images of experience, t h r o u g h links with
the underworld, a r e pulled back t o their archetypal source and a new reality,
a psychic reality is opened, one t h a t has, potentially, power to transform
the world, bringing "things f o r t h f a r s u r p a s s i n g h e r [Nature's] doings,
with no small argument t o t h e incredulous of t h a t f i r s t accursed fall of
9
Adam. 'I
But t h e gods, t h e archetypal f i g u r e s of myth d o not come to u s
directly.
Hillman is v e r y careful t o differentiate between t h e realm of
spiritlvision and t h e realm of psychelsoul o r dream, a differentiation that
occupies much of his work and t h a t will concern u s in t h e later discussion
of t h e central conflicts of t h e English Renaissance.
These gods come
r a t h e r t h r o u g h a set of in-between figures, o u r f r i e n d s , o u r parents, t h a t
r u d e drunk o n t h e c o r n e r last night.
These in-between figures, n e i t h e r
human n o r divine, n e i t h e r personal n o r a r c h e t y p a l but both, c o n s t i t u t e a
w o r l d t h a t was once called t h e metaxy.
They, j u s t because o f t h e i r i n t e r -
mediate status, form t h e w o r l d o f t h e poem o r dream, a world t h a t e x i s t s
in t h e middle, a link.
mediating function.
T h e y a r e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f soul in h e r classical
Hillman's radical i n s i g h t in t h i s area has t o do w i t h
t h e n a t u r e o f t h e dream-egolo as one o f those intermediate figures.
Just
as he redefines t h e n a t u r e o f dream, d i s s o l v i n g i t s d a y w o r l d connections,
so he makes t h e dream-ego independent o f a d a y - w o r l d o r objective identification.
T h e "me" in t h e dream i s n o t t e l l i n g t h e "me" in t h e w o r l d how
t o handle my latest c r i s i s .
Rather, t h e dream-ego becomes a n apprentice
in t h e u n d e r w o r l d , l e a r n i n g how t o die, how t o de-literalize itself, how
t o see t h r o u g h t h e events of t h e w o r l d a n d connect w i t h t h e i r d e p t h in
t h e d a r k halls o f Hades.
If we follow t h e connection
between dream a n d
poem, t h e dream-ego becomes t h e persona, a n d t h e entrance o f t h e persona
i n t o t h e poetic world, h e r e t h e pastoral landscape,
i t s behaviour and evolu-
t i o n w i t h i n t h a t w o r l d i s c r u c i a l t o t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n t h a t t h e y o u n g poet,
dreaming, seeks.
F r e u d once said t h a t dreams a r e t h e guardians of sleep.
A n d as we have seen, in a n ultimate sense, all o f o u r lives may b e said
t o r e f l e c t t h e dreaming o f t h e Gods, t o image those archetypal persons.
T h e poet seeks t o e n t e r t h a t dream o f t h e w o r d w h i c h i s t h e i r dream of
t h e w o r l d and t h e n t o awake w i t h i n it.
I h e r e e n t e r t a i n a deliberate fantasy, a restatement o r re-vision o f
these poems as we m i g h t dream them in o r d e r t o open a sense o f t h e i r
subjective immediacy, t o g i v e them a g r o u n d in o u r experience t h a t i s a t
once personal a n d archetypal.
In t h i s fantasy,
as we follow T h e o c r i t u s
-
t h r o u g h t h e r i t u a l baths, p a s t t h e p a i n t i n g o f Venus r i s i n g from t h e foam,
t h e statues o f Hypnos and Onieros, a n d o n i n t o t h e c e n t r a l chamber t o
await t h e pleasure of t h e god, we walk at once in t h e endless vales o f
psyche, in t h e w o r l d o f Hellenistic Greece a n d in o u r own subjective depth.
A n d let no one underestimate t h e power and importance t h a t inheres in
this ritual.
force.
For we, as he, l i v e in a world dominated b y light, reason and
In so lopsided a cosmos t h e d a r k counterforce i s growing.
a choice.
We have
We may e i t h e r experience t h e r e a l i t y o f t h e counterforce in
dream, in t h e image, o r c o n f r o n t it as an implacable fate.
NOTES
Hillman's major titles, p u b l i s h e d by H a r ~ e rC o l o ~ h o n . New Y o r k . a r e
T h e M y t h o f ~ n a l ~ s i 1s978) , ~ e v i s i o n i l ; ~ s ~ c h b l o ~
( t ;h e majorwsource
o f t h e f o l l o w i n g discussion) (1975), a n d T h e Dream a n d t h e U n d e r w o r l d
(1979).
A l s o o f i n t e r e s t a r e P u e r Papers, (Dallas: S p r i n g Pub., 1979);
F a c i n g t h e Gods, (Dallas: S p r i n g Pub., 1980); a n d F a t h e r s a n d Mothers,
S p r i n g , 1973: collections o f monographs by Hillman a n d r e l a t e d t h i n k e r s
t h a t a d d r e s s themselves t o t h e i n - s i g h t i n g o f m y t h i c f i g u r e s as forces
a c t i v e in t h e soul.
He has also p u b l i s h e d a series o f a r t i c l e s o n image
( S p r i n q , 1977-9) a n d o n t h e phenomenology o f alchemical symbolism
( S p r i n g , 1980-1).
Related w o r k in l i n g u i s t i c s a n d language has been
done by Paul K u g l e r , T h e Alchemy o f Discourse, ( L e w i s b u r g : B u c k n e l l U n i v . Press, 1 9 8 2 ) ~a n d in p s y c h i c a s t r o l o -g -y in t h e Renaissance
b y Tom Moore, T h e Planets Within, ( L e w i s b u r g :
B u c k n e l l U n i v . Press,
1982).
i
Hillman's r e v i s i o n i n g o f p s y c h o l o g y i s also a r e v i s i o n i n g o f i t s language,
f o r h e i s b o t h t h e most poetic o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l w r i t e r s a n d a c t i v e l y
One e x p r e s s i o n
c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e dynamic q u a l i t y o f w o r d as angelos.
o f t h i s c o n c e r n i s a re-seeing o f c e r t a i n k e y e x p r e s s i o n s s u c h as in-form,
r e - v i s i o n as a t r a n s i t i v e v e r b , i n - s i g h t as a t r a n s i t i v e v e r b .
These
terms w i l l b e u s e d in Hillman's manner t h r o u g h o u t t h e thesis.
T h o u g h Hillman's w o r k has moved more a n d more t o w a r d s a considerat i o n o f t h e a r c h e t y p a l as it manifests in language a n d w h a t h e calls
t h e " p h y s i o g n o m y o f t h e w o r l d " ("Anima Mundi," S p r i n q , 1982, pp.
71-94), 1 am p r i m a r i l y c o n c e r n e d h e r e w i t h h i s p i o n e e r i n g w o r k w i t h
m y t h as p s y c h o - a c t i v e f o r c e because it seems p a r t i c u a r l y germane t o
t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f a n a n t i q u e t e x t as a n immediate document o f t h e
soul.
If we e n t e r t a i n t h i s fantasy, t h e m u t u a l o r i g i n a n d dynamic o f t h e
poem a n d t h e dream, o u r c o n t a c t w i t h e i t h e r m i g h t b e d e s c r i b e d as
c o n g r u e n t processes.
Thus:
In t h e a n a l y t i c process, when t h e p a t i e n t i s a s k e d t h e meaning o f h i s
o w n dream, t h e p a t i e n t ' s ego becomes t h e i n t e r p r e t i v e ' c r i t i c ' o f h i s
o w n 'text.'
It i s a f o r m o f i n t r a s u b j e c t i v e c r i t i c i s m w h e r e b y one complex, t h e ego, i s c r i t i c i z i n g t h e f a n t a s y p r o d u c t s o f t h e o t h e r unconscious complexes
B u t w h o i s d e f i n i n g whom? I s t h e ego
g i v i n g meaning t o t h e soul, o r i s t h e soul g i v i n g meaning t o t h e e g o ?
t h e a c t u a l p o l y v a l e n t meaning o f t h e dream (poem) i s a u t h o r e d
by t h e soul. Each new i n t e r p r e t a t i o n t h e ego 'sees' in i t s 'own'
dream t e x t i s l i k e p e e l i n g a n o t h e r l a y e r o f f t h e m y s t i c onion. What
t h e e g o sees l i t e r a l l y in t h e dream i s t h a t p a r t o f t h e p e r s o n a l i t y
t h a t it c a n n o t see t h r o u g h m e t a p h o r i c a l l y ( K u g l e r , T h e Alchemy of
Discourse, pp. 112-2).
...
...
James Hillman, "Salt,"
Pub., 19821, p. 135.
in lmaqes o f t h e U n t o u c h e d , ( D a l l a s :
Spring
Hillman, Dream a n d t h e U n d e r w o r l d , p. 30.
Hillman, Dream a n d t h e U n d e r w o r l d , pp. 5,
153, 146, 158.
54,
128-30,
Hillman, Dream a n d t h e U n d e r w o r l d , p. 129.
S i r P h i l l i p S i d n e y , T h e Defense o f P o e t r y , (ed.) L e w i s Soens,
( L i n c o l n , Neb.: U n i v . o f N e b r a s k a Press, 1970), p. 10.
Hillman,
Dream a n d t h e U n d e r w o r l d , pp. 101-4.
VI
T H E IDYLLS
T h e n Pentheus cried out, "Women what
do you mean to do?" Autonoa shouted,
"You'll find that out before there's time
for an answer. I'
- Theocritus, I d y l l X X V l
trans. Bariss Mills
The p r e c e d i n g discussion of t h e creative process enables u s t o view
pastoral p o e t r y as an i n i t i a t i o n t h r o u g h which t h e poet i s opened t o t h e
archetypal dimension.
His personal psychology, t h e c o n f i g u r a t i o n o f h i s
complexes, i s seen t h r o u g h and h e engages those archetypal forces o r Gods
t h a t a r e in-forming b o t h h i s personal psychology a n d t h e psycho-dynamic o f
h i s c u l t u r a l field as a whole.
The a r t i s t becomes angelos o r messenger
(albeit oftimes u n w i t t i n g o r u n w i l l i n g ) f o r those p a r t s o f t h e psychic field
t h a t are f a r t h e s t removed from t h e values o f h i s c u l t u r a l canon o r collect i v e consciousness, which might be said t o best compensate t h a t canon's
p a r t i c u l a r development.
T h i s results, potentially, in a move towards
psychic wholeness o r re-engagement w i t h t h e t o t a l i t y o f the f i e l d i n which
t h e c u l t u r e a n d t h e i n d i v i d u a l s w i t h i n t h a t culture,
cosm, can be said t o exist.
microcosm and macro-
I would suggest t h a t t h i s consideration, along
w i t h t h e pastoral's h i s t o r i c relation t o t h e kairos o r c r i t i c a l moment in
psychic evolution, must inform a n y discussion o f a specific pastoral sequence.
In t h i s light I propose t o examine two d i f f e r e n t pastoral sequences t h a t have
emerged at t w o separate c r i t i c a l moments, t h e Theocritan o r Hellenistic
kairos in which t h e form originated, and t h e Spenserian o r Elizabethan
kairos t h a t was i t s renaissance in modern English Literature.
Each series
will be discussed as t h a t dreaming o f t h e c u l t u r e t h a t r e s u l t s in t h e ernergence o f new p s y c h i c contexts, contexts t h a t a r e b o t h image a n d perspect i v e s o n image.
These perspectives, t h o u g h d i f f e r i n g considerably in o v e r t
content, w i l l be seen as mutually associated w i t h HadesIDionysos, t h e u n d e r w o r l d dominant o f t h e deepest mysteries o f t h e soul.
T h r o u g h t h i s dis-
cussion I hope t o demonstrate t h e c o n t i n u i t y o f t h e pastoral process, i t s
archetypal dimension,
a n d t o examine the highly d i f f e r i n g responses o f
-
those underworld dominants to the activities of t h e collective consciousness,
t h e Gods taken u p by and identified with t h e ego-awareness of the time.
Within this perspective, the dichotomy between t h e personal and t h e
collective becomes a t best a descriptive o r tactical tool r a t h e r than a prescriptive o r definitive categorization.
As Hillman has demonstrated, the
individual ego is always within one o r another of t h e archetypal dominants
and these Gods a r e "a manner of existence, an attitude towards existence
and a s e t of ideas.
Thus, "all knowledge [ i s ] t h e expression of ideas
t h a t have psychic premises in t h e archetype."l
F u r t h e r , in his re-visioning
of the Jungian concern with the symbolic o r archetypal content of dream,
which has produced volumes of mythological amplification of specific symbols,
he concludes t h a t "archetypal here refers to a move one makes rather than
a thing t h a t is. I' 5
Rather than pointing a t something archetypal points
to something, and thicis value. By attaching 'archetypal' t o an image we enoble o r empower t h e image
with t h e widest, richest and deepest significance.
'Archetypal' a s we use it is a word of importance
( i n Whitehead's s e n s e ) , a word t h a t values. 4
Archetypal, collective (whether referring to conscious o r unconscious)
o r transpersonal, all refer to a mode of seeing, an imaginal valuation o r
valuing of t h e imaginallinhuman a s opposed t o a literalization of t h e personal, a n appropriation of archetypal value b y ego.
It is just this arche-
typal o r imaginal perspective, this seeing through t h e events of t h e literally
human t h a t is a t t h e c e n t e r of t h e pastoral mode a s a process of poetic
initiation, a process of making soul o r creating imaginal awareness.
Literature, a s we know it is inseparable from t h e overall psychic field
o r process, in fact may be said to constantly image the actions of the
p s y c h i c t o t a l i t y as a dream does w i t h i n t h e (seemingly) microcosmic f i e l d
o f the individual.
a n d t h e dream.
In t h i s r e s p e c t we speak o f t h e m u t u a l i t y o f t h e poem
A n d o u r choice o f v i e w p o i n t o n t h e dream, o p e n i n g it t o
t h e p e r s p e c t i v e o f t h e Gods o r r e d u c i n g it t o t h e confines o f t h e p e r s o n a l l
human, may also b e said t o o p e r a t e in o u r a p p r o a c h t o t h e poem.
We may
examine t h e poem in t e r m s o f t h e conscious/unconscious c o n f l i c t o f a n indiv i d u a l a r t i s t o r we may r e f e r t h a t c o n f l i c t t o t h e p s y c h i c f i e l d as a whole,
t h e macrocosm, t h u s r e n d e r i n g t o t h e Gods t h e s e r v i c e t h a t those ancient
therapeutes provided.
Pastoral, as t h e d r e a m i n g o f a c u l t u r e , i s in a specific r e l a t i o n t o
d e u s absconditus, t h e s p i r i t l g o d s l a r c h e t y p e s most h i d d e n f r o m t h e ones i d e d development o f t h e c u l t u r a l c a n o n o r c o l l e c t i v e consciousness.
t h e place w h e r e those h i d d e n Gods w i l l f i r s t manifest themselves.
It i s
But the
collective consciousness i s also p r e s e n t e d in t h e dreamlpoem as a God o r
a r c h e t y p a l dominant, as t h e a r c h e t y p a l dominant o f t h e dream-ego.
And,
I w o u l d suggest, t h i s conscious dominant may n o more b e r e f e r r e d t o t h e
p e r s o n a l p s y c h o l o g y o f t h e p o e t t h a n t h e u n d e r w o r l d o r h i d d e n aspects o f
t h e dreamlpoem may b e r e d u c e d t o h i s i n f a n t i l e sexual fantasies, a l t h o u g h
in b o t h cases these personal a t t r i b u t e s a r e c o n t a i n e d w i t h i n t h e a r c h e t y p a l
o r mythic perspective.
T h e poemldream becomes t h e dance o f t h e Gods a n d
t h e i n d i v i d u a l ego-consciousness i s as m u c h a p r o d u c t o f t h e i r i n t e r a c t i o n
as i s t h e unconscious f o r c e t h a t opposes it.
A s J u n g states, t h e ego-complex
i t s e l f "can b e u n d e r s t o o d as a n image o f a l l t h e a c t i v i t i e s comprehended by
it.l15
A n examination o f t h e T h e o c r i t a n o r Hellenistic kairos, however, p r e s e n t s u s w i t h a p a r t i c u l a r problem, f o r we h a v e l i t t l e o r n o b i o g r a p h i c a l
information about Theocritus t h a t could amplify h i s relation t o t h e cultural
69
canon a n d p r e s e n t u s w i t h a n image o f t h e poet t h a t i s a t once personal a n d
archetypal.
T h e o c r i t u s as a personal f i g u r e has, f r o m o u r perspective,
merged almost e n t i r e l y w i t h t h e m y t h o f t h e Herdsman-Poet t o w h i c h h i s
p o e t r y g a v e birth.
B u t , as t h e discussion in C h a p t e r I V reveals, we d o
have several salient facts t o consider, f a c t s t h a t emerge from t h e poems
themselves,
f r o m a consideration o f t h e c i v i l i z a t i o n as t h e fantasy o f h i s t o r )
reveals it t o us, a n d from t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s i n h e r e n t in what b i o g r a p h y we
have.
These facts m i g h t b e concisely s t a t e d as follows:
( 1 ) t h a t pastoral
o r i g i n a t e d w i t h T h e o c r i t u s ' I d y l l s a n d i s t h u s a v e r y late o r sophisticated
form,
t h e p r o d u c t o f t h e e n d o f a c i v i l i z a t i o n r a t h e r t h a n i t s beginnings;
( 2 ) that Theocritus
q u i t e p o s s i b l y was i n v o l v e d w i t h t h e c u l t i c practices o f
dream-incubation and t h a t these p r a c t i c e s may b e said t o i n f o r m h i s p o e t r y ;
( 3 ) t h a t t h i s p o e t r y i s fundamentally d i f f e r e n t from t h e majority o f t h e w o r k
o f h i s contemporaries and, t o a n e x t e n t f a r g r e a t e r t h a n t h e i r work, has
s u r v i v e d t h e passage o f centuries;
( 4 ) t h a t t h i s p o e t r y i s intimately associ-
a t e d w i t h a p a g a n l p o l y t h e i s t i c mythos a n d m i g h t b e said t o act as a vessel
f o r i t s imaginal s u r v i v a l ; a n d ( 5 ) t h a t it i s intimately i n v o l v e d w i t h t h e r e v i s i o n o r restatement o f Homeric motifs as disconnected from t h e i r specific
cultural origins.
O n t h i s basis we can e n v i s i o n t h e T h e o c r i t a n I d y l l s as
an a r c h e o r o r i g i n o f t h e pastoral process as a l i t e r a r y form, see T h e o c r i t u s
as a q u i t e m y t h i c f i g u r e a t t h e head o f t h i s t r a d i t i o n a n d view t h e Hellenistic
k a i r o s as t h e end-point o f a c u l t u r e , a c r i s i s t h a t r e s u l t s in a n alchemical
sublimation o f i t s gods a n d values i n t o a t o t a l l y imaginal conception.
T h i s o p e r a t i o n g i v e s r i s e t o a view o f t h e poems as seeds o r scintillae
t h a t a c t t o i n s u r e a n imaginal s u r v i v a l o f t h e p o l y t h e i s t i c persons o f t h e
soul in t h e face o f t h e oncoming d e i f i c a t i o n o f a t o t a l l y centralized nationstate (Rome), a t o t a l l y centralized notion o f s p i r i t ( C h r i s t ) , and a totally
-
centralized ego-structure ( t h e rational-scientific ethos).
Spenser, o n t h e o t h e r hand, t h e Spenserian k a i r o s , p r e s e n t s u s w i t h
a q u i t e different situation.
T h e Renaissance has been c h a r a c t e r i z e d as t h e
re-emergence o f soul a n d o f a c o n c e r n w i t h t h e p a g a n g o d s as t h e manifold
p e r s o n s o f t h e soul a f t e r f i f t e e n c e n t u r i e s o f C h r i s t i a n domination.
The
c e n t r a l a c t i v i t y of many o f t h e k e y f i g u r e s o f t h e Renaissance (Pico,
Ficino,
Leonardo a n d Spenser himself) seems t o b e i n v o l v e d w i t h t h e a t t e m p t t o
e f f e c t some kind o f r e c o n c i l i a t i o n between t h e o v e r t C h r i s t i a n rnythos a n d
t h e p a g a n f i g u r e s i n h e r e n t in t h e m u l t i p l i c i t y o f soul.
T h e Spenserian
poems may b e seen as t h e g r o u n d o f t h a t a t t e m p t a t r e c o n c i l i a t i o n a n d o f f e r
u s a v i s i o n o f t h e a c t i o n o f those d a r k (i.e.,
o n t h e dominant C h r i s t i a n mythos.
f r o m harmonious and,
hidden o r repressed) figures
A s we w i l l see, t h i s i n t e r a c t i o n i s f a r
I w o u l d suggest, o f t e n r e s u l t s in a f r a c t u r i n g o r
o p e n i n g o f t h e c u l t u r a l dominants t o a d a r k e r r e a l i t y t h a t t h e y w o u l d e x c l u d e
o r destroy.
It is, alchemically,
a r e d u c t i v e p r o c e s s a n d c a n b e said t o
c e n t e r in t h e c o n f r o n t a t i o n between t h e u n d e r w o r l d values o f t h e p a g a n m y t h o s
a n d those aspects o f t h e C h r i s t i a n m y t h t h a t a r e most opposed t o t h e p o l y theistic viewpoint:
t h e d u a l i t y o f good a n d e v i l o r s p i r i t a n d matter, t h e
h e r o i c o r c o n q u e r i n g ego, t h e t r a n s c e n d e n t n a t u r e o f d e i t y , a n d t h e
C h r i s t i a n v i s i o n o f t h e e n d o f a l l time, t h e d e a t h o f d e a t h i t s e l f .
Further,
t h e Elizabethan k a i r o s may b e c h a r a c t e r i z e d by t h e image o f B r i t a i n poised
o n t h e brink o f a tremendous colonial expansion, a n e x p a n s i o n t h a t , in t h e
n e x t few c e n t u r i e s , w i l l come t o i n c o r p o r a t e most o f t h e k n o w n w o r l d .
The
d a r k forces e m e r g e n t in t h i s k a i r o s m i g h t b e seen as o p p o s i n g t h e enormous
e n e r g y mobilized by t h e h e r o i c ego a n d we may e n v i s i o n t h i s k a i r o s as a
m i d p o i n t o r enantiodromia o f t h e h e r o i c ego itself, a n omen o f t h e change
of expansion i n t o i t s o p p o s i t e a n d a n i n t i m a t i o n o f t h e s e c r e t i d e n t i t y o f
those o p p o s i t e s in a n image o f godhead t h a t i n c l u d e s b o t h good a n d e v i l .
T h i s v i e w o f p a s t o r a l as t h e dream-landscape o f a c u l t u r e , seen a t
t w o d i f f e r i n g moments o f i n t e n s e p s y c h o l o g i c a l change, a f f o r d s u s a s o r t o f
s h i f t i n g c r i t i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e that, w h i l e s t a y i n g w i t h i n t h e specifics o f a n
image, o f a n i n d i v i d u a l poem, may o p e n o u r awareness o f t h e image t o t h e
a r c h e t y p a l value, d e p t h a n d m u l t i p l i c i t y o f t h e realms o f p s y c h e itself,
w h e r e w h a t we k n o w as h i s t o r y , a r t a n d dream find a m u t u a l o r i g i n in t h e
image o r t h e imaginal.
We must remember too t h a t w i t h i n p s y c h e all h i s t o r y
i s simultaneously p r e s e n t a n d t h a t t h e c u l t u r a l p e r i o d s we examine a r e also
contemporary states o f being.
We e n t e r a d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e T h e o c r i t a n
I d y l l s as b o t h a d e l i b e r a t e f a n t a s y o f h i s t o r y a n d a n e v e r - p r e s e n t state o f
t h e soul.
T h e consequent e x t e n s i o n o f t h i s h i s t o r i c a l f a n t a s y in a discussion
of t h e S p e n s e r i a n k a i r o s may also b e seen as contemporary,
sounding a sort
of w a r n i n g o r a l t e r n a t e p e r s p e c t i v e o n t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f t h a t h e r o i c / e n c y c l o p e d i c ego t h a t i s p r e s e n t i n b o t h o u r c u l t u r e a n d i n t h e p r i v a t e recesses of
each o f o u r i n d i v i d u a l souls.
I N I T I A L DREAM:
SONG OF T H E L l N O S
(Idylls I and II)
Idyll I o f T h e o c r i t u s opens w i t h a r i t u a l e x c h a n g e o f compliment t h a t
may b e s a i d t o g r o w o u t o f t h e " o r i g i n a l p o e t r y t h a t i s t h e s o u n d o f run-
ning w a t e r a n d t h e w i n d in t h e trees. 11 6
T h y r s i s : T h e w h i s p e r i n g o f t h a t p i n e t r e e by t h e s p r i n g
i s sweet music, goatherd, a n d y o u r piping
i s sweet too.
You'll t a k e t h e second p r i z e
a f t e r Pan
...
G o a t h e r d : Shepherd, y o u r s o n g i s sweeter t h a n t h e water
t h a t tumbles a n d splashes d o w n f r o m t h e r o c k s .
I f t h e Muses g e t t h e ewe f o r t h e i r p r i z e ,
y o u ' l l w i n t h e s u c k i n g lamb
(11. 1-12)
...
J u s t a f t e r t h i s o p e n i n g exchange t h e s h e p h e r d T h r y s i s i n v i t e s t h e g o a t h e r d
t o p l a y o n h i s pipes.
B u t t h e g o a t h e r d r e f u s e s f o r "we n e v e r p i p e a t noon,
f o r f e a r of Pan, who's r e s t i n g then."
He, in turn, asks T h r y s i s f o r h i s
c e l e b r a t e d s o n g o f Daphnis' d e a t h a n d o f f e r s t h e s h e p h e r d a n i v y - w o o d c u p
a n d t h e m i l k i n g o f a she-goat as a n inducement a n d r e w a r d f o r t h e song.
T h e bulk o f t h e poem i s composed o f t h e g o a t h e r d ' s l e n g t h y d e s c r i p t i o n o f
t h e c u p (11. 38-70) a n d t h e song o f T h r y s i s ,
Daphnisl lament ( 1 1. 70-150).
T h i s Lament d e s c r i b e s t h e e v e n t s o f Daphnis' death, w h e n h e was "wasting
in love,"
m o u r n e d by h i s flocks, t h e w i l d animals o f t h e h i l l s , a n d h i s fellow
herdsmen.
A n d t h o u g h t h e gods Hermes a n d P r i a p u s a r e b a f f l e d by h i s
malady, it seems t h a t A p h r o d i t e i s somehow responsible.
She comes t o him
"hiding h e r a n g e r w i t h a c r a f t y smile" a n d h e lashes o u t a t h e r , c a l l i n g
h e r " C r u e l K y p r i s , v e n g e f u l K y p r i s , K y p r i s h a t e d by mortalst1 a n d vows
t o b e h e r enemy e v e n p a s t death--"Even
enemy o f Love."
prophecy :
in Haides,
Daphnis will b e a n
A n d as t h i s b e a u t i f u l y o u n g man d i e s h e u t t e r s a
Bear violets, you brambles,
and you t h o r n s , b e a r violets.
Narcissus bloom on juniper,
and let e v e r y t h i n g grow askew.
Let t h e pinetrees grow p e a r s
now t h a t Daphnis is dying.
Let t h e s t a g h a r r y t h e hounds,
and t h e owls upon t h e hills
outsing t h e nightingales.
After t h e lament of Daphnis, which is punctuated by variants of t h e refrain
"Begin t h e pastoral s o n g , d e a r Muses, begin t h e pastoral songl1 t h e poem
itself e n d s with t h e gift of t h e c u p to T h r y s i s and an image of t h e goatherd's nannies frisking about, threatening t o rouse t h e old phallic Billy
(11.
150-60).
The figure of Daphnis, though mythically e ~ u s i v e ,is~ a t t h e center of
this pastoral world.
T h e animals and the o t h e r herdsmen and even t h e
gods in a certain s e n s e look to him for recognition.
So we may see him
a s an heroic p u e r figure, a virginal p u e r , who embodies o r s t a t e s on t h e
level of heroic myth t h e basic values of an ideal bucolic existence.
characteristics define t h i s c h a r a c t e r within t h e poem:
Two
his intimate connec-
tion with n a t u r e and his s t u b b o r n insistence on chastity, a love of t h e
nymphs, those animating s p i r i t s of virgin field and stream who a r e conspicuously absent a t his d e a t h .
These two interdependent qualities place him
in a special relation t o a specific goddess, Artemis, t h e goddess p a r excellence of t h e untouched, t h e unspoiled ( b e it psychic o r literal), t h e goddess
of virginal nature.
As s u c h , t h e r e c l u s t e r about him o t h e r young puer-
heroes devoted t o this goddess, Actaeon and Hippolytus, who met with
similar fates.
Daphnis is in love with Artemisian n a t u r e , t h e realm of t h e nymphs,
t h e p u r e , t h e simple, t h e unspoiled.
In him we might s e e a n ego-dominant
of Theocritus' own identity, for t h e y s h a r e a common birth-place, Syracuse,
a n d a common n a t u r e , a l o v e o f t h e r u r a l landscape a n d t h e joys o f simple
song.
For Daphnis i s b o t h a h e r d and a singer:
o u t o f t h e simple harmony
in w h i c h h e l i v e d comes t h e d u l c e t s o u n d o f h i s voice,
as t h e e p i t h e t "sweet"
in c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h s o n g r e s o u n d s t h r o u g h o u t t h i s h i s poem.
Theocritus,
too, as a y o u n g man o n Cos, e n j o y e d t h i s easy h a r m o n y a n d saw it as a n
analogy t o a s i m p l e r l i f e a n d a simpler s i n g i n g , f o r t h e l i t e r a t i o n Cos o f t e n
d i s g u i s e d themselves as h e r d s m e n in t h e i r elaborate games a n d plays.
The
new pastoral, h o w e v e r , b e g i n s h e r e n o t w i t h D a p h n i s ' l i f e but w i t h h i s death.
B u t l e t u s pose a q u e s t i o n .
J u s t who i s it t h a t s i n g s t h e lament o f
Daphnis, who laments him, sees h i s d e a t h as t r a g i c ? T o whom i s t h e ego o f
t h e dreamer so a t t a c h e d ?
Thyrsis."
"I am T h y r s i s o f Aetna, sweet i s t h e voice o f
We meet t h i s T h y r s i s in t h e o p e n i n g l i n e s o f t h e poem as h e ex-
changes compliments w i t h a n unnamed goatherd.
high light o f t h e sun, t h e noon-light,
B o t h f i g u r e s s t a n d in t h e
but it i s o n l y T h y r s i s w h o may s i n g
here, u n a f r a i d o f Pan, a t home in t h e light o f Helios/Apollo.
T h e link
between D a p h n i s a n d T h y r s i s i s s t r e n g t h e n e d , f o r A p o l l o i s A r t e m i s ' b r o t h e r
a n d ~ a ~ h (nt hee l a u r e l ) ,
g o d o f light.
t h e s o u r c e o f Daphnis' name, i s s a c r e d t o t h e
F u r t h e r , T h y r s i s i s a s h e p h e r d and, as such, i s t o w a r d s t h e
t o p of t h e r u r a l p e c k i n g o r d e r which,
in r u r a l G r e e k society, i s f a i r l y
rigidly s t r a t i f i e d i n t o C o w h e r d ( D a p h n i s ) , S h e p h e r d ( T h y r s i s ) , a n d goath e r d who, in t h i s poem, does n o t e v e n h a v e a name.
T h e goatherd, in
r u r a l society, was q u a l i t a t i v e l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m h i s c o n f r e r e s , b e i n g r e g a r d e d
as s u p e r s t i t i o u s , animalistic a n d undependable.
B u t it i s t h e goatherd, t h a t
lowest a n d most s u p e r s t i t i o u s of r u s t i c s , who o f f e r s T h y r s i s a n i v y - w o o d
c u p as a n i n d u c e m e n t t o s o n g a n d r e w a r d s h i m w i t h t h e gift o f t h e c u p
a n d t h e m i l k i n g o f a she-goat as t h e song comes t o a n end.
T h e goatherd's
-
gift t h u s acts as b o t h e f f i c i e n t a n d f i n a l cause o f t h e song and, by analogy,
of Daphnis' d e a t h in image, in t h e images o f t h e poem.
So t h e images g r a v e n
o n t h e c u p may b e seen t o contain, hold, e x p l a i n t h a t d e a t h as t h e image o f
t h e c u p contains t h e poem, as t h e c u p i t s e l f h o l d s wine.
This c u p is t h u s
t h e k n o t in t h e dream, t h a t paradoxical place where i t s meaning i s most
deeply twisted, least ego-syntonic,
t h e place where t h e r e i g n i n g ego-
dominant i s l e d f u r t h e s t i n t o t h e darkness.
T h i s c u p i s d e s c r i b e d in considerable d e t a i l in (11. 28-70).
It i s n e w l y
made o f ivy-wood, contains t h r e e elaborated images, a n d i s b o r d e r e d w i t h
an i n t e r t w i n i n g s t r a n d o f i v y .
T h e images a r e o f a v i n e y a r d "loaded w i t h
r e d - r i p e c l u s t e r s " in w h i c h a y o u n g boy, o s t e n s i b l y set t h e r e t o g u a r d t h e
grapes,
...
weaves a p r e t t y c r i c k e t cage
o f asphodel b o u n d r o u n d w i t h rushes,
a n d takes more pleasure in h i s weaving
t h a n care f o r h i s wallet a n d h i s vines.
O n e i t h e r side o f t h e b o y a r e t w o v i x e n s :
One goes up a n d d o w n t h e vine-rows, stealing
t h e r i p e grapes, while t h e o t h e r concentrates
a l l h e r c u n n i n g o n t h e b o y ' s leather bag,
v o w i n g she'll n e v e r l e t h i m alone
till she's made away w i t h h i s b r e a k f a s t .
Opposite t h i s f i g u r e a r e "a woman s u c h as t h e gods m i g h t make" a n d "two
handsome long-haired men" who "contend w i t h one another in t a l k i n g " while
"her heart is untouched
. . . their
c e n t r a l image i s o f a fisherman,
eyes a r e hollow, b u t in vain."
an " o l d fisherman a n d a jagged r o c k o n
w h i c h t h e o l d man b u s i l y g a t h e r s h i s g r e a t n e t f o r a cast
he's g r e y - h a i r e d ,
The
h e has t h e s t r e n g t h o f y o u t h . "
. . . and
though
It i s t h i s image-nexus,
I would suggest, t h a t may b e said t o s i g n i f y t h e dream's deepest meaning.
In t h e poem T h y r s i s i s d i r e c t l y associated w i t h ApolIolHelios.
And
in t h e Laws, Plato, whose philosophy may b e said t o c o n s t i t u t e a dominant
of t h e Greek intelligentsia as a class q u i t e separate from t h e common g r o u n d
o r common man, attempted t o create a s o r t o f monotheism o f light o r StateC h u r c h w h i c h subsumed all t h e o t h e r deities in "a joint c u l t o f Apollo and
t h e sun-god Helios t o which
attached.l18
flict.'
. . . the
h i g h e s t political o f f i c e r s w i l l be
Within t h i s view, moral e v i l i s equated w i t h psychological con-
For in h i s attachment t o " t h e transcendent rational self, whose
perfect unity i s t h e guarantee o f immortality,"10
Plato did not so much
ignore t h e i r r a t i o n a l forces o f t h e other, d a r k e r deities as subordinate them
t o t h e rational Socratic psyche and a p p r o p r i a t e t h e i r highest functions t o
t h a t o f t h e rational
T h u s t o T h y r s i s , as an avatar o f t h i s dominant,
the c o n f l i c t in Daphnis' fate between A r t e m i s I A p o l l o o n t h e one hand, and
ArtemisIAphroditelHekate in which h e r t e r r i b l e death-dealing side i s revealed
as "potnia theiron,
evil, a t r a g e d y .
Lady o f t h e ~ e a s t s " ' * o n t h e other, is an unqualified
B u t t h e goatherd a n d t h e c u p reveal a s h i f t o f perspec-
tive, a s h i f t in t h e ego-dominant t h a t could encompass t h i s t r a g e d y in a
complete re-vision.
It i s a movement o f image, in image a n d t h r o u g h image
t h a t seems t o indicate, from i t s own perspective, t h a t t h e t e r r i b l e deathdealing side o f Mother-Nature,
t h e toils a n d s u f f e r i n g s o f Eros, t h e conflict
o f t h e gods, have a n e n d and a goal in themselves t h a t may transcend o r
encompass more t h a n t h e ApolloIHelios perspective c a n know.
It suggests
t h a t knowledge i s more t h a n just light.
The f i r s t a n d most immediate analogy between e v e n t s o f t h e poem and
images o n t h e c u p b i n d s t h e fate o f Daphnis t o t h e image o f t h e y o u n g b o y
in h i s fanciful nymphic weaving.
B o t h a r e absorbed in an i n n o c e n t l v i r g i n a l
realm and b o t h will be ravaged, t h e i r innocence r u p t u r e d by t h e forces o f
AphroditeIEros.
It is significant in t h i s r e g a r d t h a t t h e boy weaves aspho-
dels, t h e only flower in Hades, and t h a t t h e red-gold foxes a r e Aphroditets
animals.
A link between t h e two g o d s inherent in t h e death is established.
Hades is involved in erotic experience.
This descent carries u s to t h e
second image, t h a t of t h e beautiful woman "like a goddess" and her two
love-slaves, t h e image of Aphrodite morpho, love in t h e realm of generation, t h e world t h a t Daphnis/Apollo and Plato with him would refuse o r
purge.
Erss.
The t h i r d figure, t h e old fisherman, is outside t h e torments of
But he is not just age t h a t has passed beyond t h e sensuous dream-
ing of youth.
H e is both young a n d old, combines t h e g r e y hairs of wis-
dom with t h e s t r e n g t h of a youth, a fact t h a t has escaped e v e r y major
commentator on t h e poem.
To amplify t h i s image let us t u r n to t h e Pattern-
Poems, Hellenistic poetry designed t o b e inscribed on votive objects quite
similar to t h e ivy-wood c u p , which reflect t h e period's immense interest in
the relation of objet d t a r t and language, a n interest in t h e image t h a t s p e a k s .
These poems a r e definitely known to Theocritus, in fact one of them ( T h e
Pipes) is considered to be his work.
It contains a reference to Simias, t h e
author of t h e poem here quoted, a n acknowledgement of Theocritus' literary
indebtedness and a s source of his own nickname a n d persona, Simichidas.
This poem "seems to have been inscribed on t h e wings of a statue, perhaps
a votive s t a t u e , representing Love ( E r o s ) a s a bearded child ":
Behold t h e r u l e r of t h e deep-bosomed Earth,
t h e t u r n e r upside-down of t h e Son of Acmon
(Heaven), and have no f e a r t h a t so little
a person should have s o plentiful a c r o p of
beard to his chin. For I was born when
Necessity bare rule, a n d all c r e a t u r e s ,
moved they in Air o r in Chaos, were kept
t h r o u g h h e r dismal government f a r a p a r t .
Swift-flying son of C y p r i s a n d war-lord
Ares--1 am not t h a t all all; for b y no
-
force came I i n t o rule, but by gentle willed
persuasion, a n d y e t a l l alike, Earth, deep
Sea, and b r a z e n Heaven, bowed t o my behest, and
I took t o myself t h e i r olden sce t e r a n d
made me a judge among Gods. l?
So, from t h e p e r s p e c t i v e o f t h e cup, a movement in image t h r o u g h
image, t h e w o r l d of Mother-Nature where we a r e sons o f C y p r i s a n d Ares,
desire and strife, becomes t h e f i e l d in w h i c h a n d t h r o u g h which consciousness may arise, a t r a n s f o r m i n g consciousness imaged by t h e bearded b o y o r
t h e fisherman, a union o f senex a n d p u e r .
the process, t h e
A n d if it i s not t h e goal o f
experience o f t h e feminine, o f eros a n d strife, death a n d
darkness, demands r e c o g n i t i o n as t h e g r o u n d o f consciousness, a perspective
The female
which i s much d i f f e r e n t from t h a t o f D a p h n i s / A p o l l o / T h y r s i s .
d i v i n i t i e s o f ArtemisIAphroditelHekate can be seen t o act as sacrificial agent,
n u r s e and f r i e n d t o a u n i o n o f male w i t h male, senex-et-puer,14
t h a t some-
how involves the experience o f love a n d death, t h e experience o f soul, a n d
becomes t h e soul's redemption t h r o u g h r e f l e c t i o n in poem and a r t .
B u t what i s t h i s new m y t h i c p e r s p e c t i v e t h a t opens t h e dominants o f
consciousness t o a new a n d imaginal awareness o f love a n d soul and death?
Quite o f t e n in an analysis, which, as we have seen,consists
o f an intense dream-incubation,
in many ways
t h e o r i g i n a l dream o f an analysand as he
enters t h e vessel o r e a r t h - p i t g i v e s a paradoxical a n d succinct image which
i s b o t h a synopsis o f t h e p r e s e n t c o n d i t i o n o f t h i n g s in t h e psyche and a
prognosis o f t h e o v e r a l l development o f t h e analysis, i n d i c a t i n g which gods
and which agons will b e i n v o l v e d in t h e cure.
Such i s t h e case here.
For
t h r o u g h t h e image o f t h e b o y o n t h e c u p b o t h T h y r s i s and Daphnis, as
Theocritus' ego-dominant a n d i t s c u l t u r a l substratum, are moved towards a
new image-nexus,
that o f the vine and the vineyard.
And surrounding the
boy, and all t h e f i g u r e s o n t h e cup, a r e i n t e r t w i n i n g strands o f i v y .
Both
of these p l a n t s a r e sacred t o a god t h a t i s seemingly q u i t e inimical t o
Appollonian consciousness, t h e g o d Dionysos, t h o u g h t h e y p r e s e n t q u i t e
d i f f e r e n t aspects o f his n a t u r e .
T h e vine, t h e v i n e y a r d , t h e c r u s h i n g o f
-
t h e grapes, a l l p r e s e n t t h e g o d as b i o n o r i n d i v i d u a l consciousness, a l i f e
%o warm a n d i n t e n s e t h a t one l i v i n g thing i n f l i c t s u p o n another t h a t
irreconcilable opposite o f l i f e :
death."15
T h u s t h e lament o f Daphnis,
T h y r s i s ' song, i s r e v e r t e d t o another a r c h e o r o r i g i n , one t h a t i s p r o f o u n d l y
shadowed.
T h i s new o r i g i n i s t h e song o f t h e linos, t h e song o f lamenta-
tion s u n g a t t h e h a r v e s t o f t h e grapes, t h e i r t r e a d i n g o r c r u s h i n g w h i c h
i s p r e p a r a t o r y t o t h e emergence o f t h e wine, t h e vintage.
The original
depiction o f t h i s s o n g of t h e linos i s o n t h e shield o f A k i l l e u s in t h e l l l i a d
( X V I I I , 561-73),
a n image u p o n which T h e o c r i t u s drew.
T h e c u p may b e
seen as a r e - v i s i o n o f t h a t Homeric irnagelartifact, t h e movement from an
i n s t r u m e n t o f war t o one o f sacrifice a n d celebration.
T h e plight o f t h e soul deserted by s p i r i t , by Daphnis' r e f u s a l o f eros,
by t h e Homeric o r Platonic defeat o f Aphrodite, i s imaged in t h e second
i d y l l l d r e a m o f t h i s series ( I d y l l II, T h e Spellbinders) w h i c h acts as a d a r k
mirror t o t h e first.
In t h i s poem a y o u n g woman, Simaitha, a n d h e r s e r v a n t
leave t h e c i t y a n d g o d o w n t o a d a r k harbour.
Simaitha i s deeply troubled,
T h e sea i s s t i l l a n d t h e w i n d i s still,
but t h e t r o u b l e in my b r e a s t
i s n e v e r still, a n d I burn
f o r him who made me a shameful thing (11.
34-7).
She makes a n i n c a n t a t i o n t o Selene:
F o r I'll s i n g s o f t l y t o you,
goddess, a n d t o Hekate underground,
b e f o r e whom e v e n t h e dogs s h i v e r
as she passes o v e r t h e g r a v e s o f t h e dead
( 15-9).
a n d f o r t h e d a r k blood o f corpses
...
and she t u r n s a n i y n x , a magic wheel,
burning barley, bay leaves and
h u s k s t h a t a r e t h e bones, b o d y and h e a r t o f Delphis,"smooth-skinned
Delphis,"
t h e b e a u t i f u l y o u n g man who has seduced a n d t h e n deserted her.
Her passion f o r him consumes h e r and she vows t h a t i f she cannot "bind
him w i t h my love charms
gates o f Haides
. . . b y t h e Fates,
. . . such evil drugs
he'll d o h i s k n o c k i n g o n t h e
I keep f o r him" ( 11, 158-62).
When t h e p u e r - s p i r i t refuses psyche o r soul a n d t h e femininity,
suffer-
ing and i n t e r i o r i t y t h a t psyche entails, t h e soul's viewpoint "appears in the
long hollow depression of t h e valley, t h e i n n e r a n d closed dejection
see t h i s soul r e a c t i n g w i t h anima resentments, jealousy,
. . . attachments
. . . we
spite, pettiness
t o sensations a n d memories"16 t h a t culminate in those de-
s t r u c t i v e acts imaged in t h e Oresteia.
B u t we can turn t h i s conflict, see
t h r o u g h it in another way t h a t connects t h e p u e r - s p i r i t t o t h e femininity o f
image:
"
. . . to
put it another way, t h e p u e r takes i t s d r i v e a n d i t s
goal l i t e r a l l y unless
. . . the
fantasy t h e p u e r impulse.
11
soul can contain, n o u r i s h and elaborate in
17
From a Dionysian perspective t h e death o f Daphnis i s seen as t h e death
o f t h e linos, t h e t r e a d i n g o r c r u s h i n g o f t h e grapes.
O n Archaic vase paint-
i n g s t h e i n s t r u m e n t s o f t h i s t r e a d i n g were superhuman sileni o r satyrs,
b u t in Hellenistic times these f i g u r e s were replaced b y erotes o r cupids,
minions o f Aphrodite,18 which leads u s t o i n f e r a . g r o w i n g awareness o f t h e
mythic r o l e o f e r o t i c experience in t h e opening o f t h e s p i r i t t o t h e d a r k and
t h e feminine, t o t h e experiences o f love, fate and death.
T h e Dionysian
perspective a t t r a c t s t h e feminine "drawing it f o r t h l i k e t h e sap in plants,
t h e wine,
t h e m i l k t h a t flows a t h i s b i r t h " l 9 as opposed t o t h e Apollonic
t h a t i s c o n t i n u a l l y chasing fleeing maidens.
Dionysos does not establish
b o r d e r s a n d d e f i n i t i o n s but "in him b o r d e r s join t h a t w h i c h we usually believe t o b e separated by b o r d e r s
. . . so t h a t
we cannot t e l l whether h e i s
mad o r sane, sexual o r psychic, male o r female, conscious o r unconscious. 1120
Dionysos reincorporates all those aspects o f experience t h a t were t h r o w n o u t
o f Plato's Republic.
B u t most centrally, t h r o u g h h i s bisexuality, he "com-
bines n o t o n l y male a n d female, active a n d passive [but]
together l i f e a n d death.lt2'
. . . also b r i n g s
T h e c e n t r a l meaning o f Dionysos i s h i s relation-
s h i p t o t h e u n d e r w o r l d o f t h e soul:
Dionysos, L o r d o f
Through
him t h e h o r r o r a n d obscenity, t h e i r r a t i o n a l pathology o f l i v i n g f i n d a
p s y c h i c g r o u n d , a r e no longer s h r i e k i n g exiles in a s u n l i t world.
h o r r o r and
This
s u f f e r i n g a r e " f o r t h e sake o f t h e soul, whose subconscious
dominants a r e Hades a n d Dionysos a n d Persephone.
We move from t h e
v i n e t o t h e vintage, a n image o f s p i r i t t h a t i s t h e p r o d u c t o f intense underg r o u n d fermentation, a n d t h a t aspect o f t h e g o d t h a t inheres in t h e i v y :
A special aspect o f l i f e i s here disclosed, i t s least
warm, almost uncanny aspect, also p r e s e n t e d in t h e
snake. Such i s zoe ( i n f i n i t e l i f e ) r e d u c e d t o i t s e l f
y e t f o r e v e r r e p r o d u c i n g i t s e l f . 24
Daphnis dies a n d w i t h him dies t h e v i r g i n a l puer-ego,
t h e h i l l s o r t h e purity o f a single vision.
t h e simple r e t r e a t t o
B u t in t h e emergent w o r l d of
t h e dream a n d t h e poem a cold u n d e r w o r l d s u r r o u n d s t h i s death, i s f o u n d
o r created t h r o u g h it, a n animal eros o f image a t a c o l d a n d inhuman depth.
Dionysos a n d Hades a r e one, says Heraclitus, a n d Hades above all i s t h e
cold p s y c h i c w o r l d o f t h e eidola, t h e image.
W i t h t h e gods d e a t h as b i o n
o r linos t h e doors t o t h e u n d e r w o r l d open:
T h e images in Hades a r e also Dionysian--not f e r t i l e
in t h e n a t u r a l sense, but in t h e p s y c h i c sense,
T h e r e i s a n imagination below
imaginatively fertile.
t h e e a r t h t h a t abounds in animal forms, t h a t revels
a n d makes music. T h e r e i s a dance in death.25
It is to this realm t h a t Daphnis descends while his prophecy of a n a t u r e
completely transformed, a n a t u r e in which e v e r y t h i n g grows askew, where
what is bitter b e a r s fruit and t h e night b i r d s sing, lingers on behind him.
And if t h e dream has a message a s well a s a prognosis, we may imagine
it in relation t o a certain consciousness, t h a t of a young and gentle man,
v e r y learned, involved with a highly intellectual and quietistic philosophy.
On t h e one hand he is eager for preferment on t h e basis of his gifts, and
on t h e o t h e r holding back from t h e maelstrom of experience.
might simply s a y :
The dreams
There is too much s u n , too much consciousness.
violence to your soul and your shadow.
You do
T h e r e is a life and a music that
opens before you which you must see a s a gift of t h a t god who dwells in
t h e d a r k s you ignore.
THE CENTRAL DREAMS:
KOMOS
(Idylls Ill-VI)
In ldyll I l l , T h e Goatherd's Serenade, we meet a f u r t h e r elaboration
of t h e f i g u r e introduced in ldyll I , h e r e a t a "seemingly more realistic level
. . . t h e amorous poet-goatherd . . . t a k e s on t h e tinge of fantasy which
was to make it for later y e a r s s o captivating a Hellenistic motif, epitomized
in t h e visual a r t s b y t h e satyr-figures, those demons of t h e Arcadian landscape, human in t h e i r a r t and goatish in their instincts, to whom Theocritus'
goatherds bear particular affinity. ,126
Our c u r r e n t goatherd, leaving his flocks grazing on t h e mountainside,
is off t o s e r e n a d e his sweetheart Amaryllis:
I g o t o s i n g t o Amaryllis
while my she-goats graze o n t h e hill
a n d T i t y r o s h e r d s them (11. 1-3).
He i s c a u g h t in t h e toils o f Eros, "his f i r e b u r n s me, e a t i n g t o t h e bone,"
linking him t o t h e love-sick f i g u r e s in t h e c e n t r a l panel of t h e ivy-wood cup.
However, he also connects w i t h Daphnis, f o r h i s love i s a "dark-eyebrowed
nymph,"
n o t a human, a n d as s u c h he suggests a s o r t o f t r a n s i t i o n .
Further
he i s a social grotesque, a c o u n t r y b u m p k i n o f t h e lowest class who, in
p r e s e n t i n g t h i s serenade, i s a p i n g a c i t y custom called t h e Komos a n d i t s
song t h e
p a r a k l a u s i t h y r o n "whereby late r e v e l l e r s made t h e i r way t o t h e i r
mistress' door t o demand admittance f i r s t w i t h music a n d song and, t h a t
failing, w i t h assaults o n t h e door or, alternatively,
leaving t h e s u i t o r t o
lie a t t h e door t o impress o n t h e l a d y t h e earnestness o f t h e suit. ,127
T h e g o a t h e r d h e r e f i g u r e d i.s c e r t a i n l y n o e r o t i c hero.
He i s awkward,
superstitious, t o t a l l y u n s u b t l e a n d obviously n o g r e a t shakes as a lover.
He languishes in f r o n t o f h i s sweetheart's cave, separated from h e r b y o n l y
an i v y - f e r n screen, t h r e a t e n s t o tear up h i s i v y w r e a t h a n d " s t r i p o f f my
coat and leap i n t o t h e waves from t h e place where Olpis t h e fisherman
watches for tunny" ( 1 1. 33-5) and, finally,
launches i n t o h i s song :
Now my right eye's t w i t c h i n g
Does t h a t mean I'll see h e r ?
I'll lean against t h i s p i n e t r e e
Maybe she'll look out,
a n d sing.
if h e r h e a r t i s n ' t a l l stone (11. 49-52).
B u t bet-iind
t h e c i t y custom h e i s unsuccessfully emulating, a p a r t o f t h e
sophisticated machinery o f a n u r b a n Eros, lies another custom, i t s m y t h i c
root so t o speak, t h a t o f t h e Komos as a Dionysian procession, a c a r r y i n g
of t h e god a n d a phallos t h a t connects t o t h e r u s t i c Dionysia, t h e emergence
o f t h e g o d among men t h a t i s t h e o r i g i n o f A t t i c New Comedy.
There is
also an i n t r i c a t e v e r b a l i n t e r p l a y connecting t h e name o f t h i s procession
( Komos) w i t h t h e name Komatus ( Koma-atos,
comatose, deep sleep) which
f i g u r e s p r o m i n e n t l y in Idyll V a n d l d y l l V I I , a n d also p o i n t s a t Daphnis,
deep in sleep's b r o t h e r , death.
So t h e r e i s a deepening implied h e r e t h a t leads beyond t h e simply ludicrous, a deepening t h a t would lead t h e a r c h e t y p a l significance o f t h e death
o f Daphnis t o r e g i s t e r in a personal awareness t h a t can see t h r o u g h t h e
events o f i t s life.
B u t l e t u s again consider o u r goatherd.
he describes himself as "snub-nosed,
stub-bearded,"
a description that
etymologically connects him d i r e c t l y t o b o t h Theocritus,
Simichidas, and t o t h e Hellenistic satyr-figures,
In lines 10-11
h i s nickname
t h e consorts o f DionysosIPan.
This character i s t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a persona o r dream ego u n d e r a new
archetypical c o n f i g u r a t i o n a n d as such represents
t h e poet's f i r s t entrance
i n t o t h e w o r l d o f bucolic a r t , t h e w o r l d as dream o r psyche.
B u t t h e dream-
ego e n t e r s t h i s w o r l d w i t h a load o f unconscious exteriorizations, customs/
images t h a t t h o u g h t a k e n up in t h e i r c i t y forms have t h e i r o r i g i n s in h i s
own psychic r e a l i t y .
T h e y c a r r y p r o f o u n d overtones o f deepening o f which
he i s unaware but w h i c h a r e a c t i n g on him nevertheless, c r e a t i n g t h e incidents o f h i s life.
So o u r g o a t h e r d i s a b r i d g e , an entrance, t h e bringing
back o r r e v e r s i o n o f t h e e x t e r i o r i z e d / u r b a n forms o f what was o r i g i n a l l y a
r u s t i c /psychic phenomenon.
A n d when, in h i s serenade ( 1 1. 52-74),
Hippomenes, Adonis,
h e compares himself t o
Endymion, a n d Jason ( a l l o f whom a r e heroic f i g u r e s
whose experiences w i t h t h e feminine ended in t r a g e d y ) a n d h e threatens
t o "sing no more, but l i e h e r e where I ' v e fallen a n d l e t t h e wolves eat me"
there i s a s t r a n g e l y ambiguous sense t o t h e comparisons, one t h a t b o t h
mocks a t t h e dream-ego's seriousness and, a t t h e same time, creates an
uneasy awareness o f t h e d e p t h t o w h i c h these e x p e r i e n c e s open:
L i k e Hermes w i t h Hercules, we t a k e t h e dream-ego
[ p e r s o n a ] as a n apprentice, l e a r n i n g t o familiarize
i t s e l f w i t h t h e u n d e r w o r l d by l e a r n i n g how t o dream
a n d l e a r n i n g how t o die.
It w o u l d s t i l l c l i n g t o t h e
r e a c t i n g l i t e r a l l y t o w h a t i s v i s i b l e as
physical
if it w e r e c o r p o r e a l
a n d c a n n o t see t h r o u g h t h e
other figures
Again, in t h e language o f
H e r a c l i t u s ( f r . 21, K i r k ) : 'what we see w h e n asleep
The first task
i s t o protect that
i s sleep1
sleep, w h e r e p r o t e c t i o n means seeing in t h e slee
w a k i n g t h e dream-ego [ p e r s o n a ] w i t h i n i t s dreazi8
...
...
...
...
...
T h i s c i r c l i n g o f t h e a r c h e t y p a l b a c k t o w a r d t h e p e r s o n a l a n d t h e subsequent c r e a t i o n o f awareness in dream o f t h e s h i f t i n g o f t h e dominant gods
t h a t l i e b e h i n d t h e p e r s o n a l i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f t h e e x t e n d e d dream series
a n d also may b e s a i d t o c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e awareness o f t h e w o r l d as a poem,
as t h e d r e a m i n g o f g o d s r a t h e r t h a n a n e x p r e s s i o n o f t h e o r d e r s o f meaning of t h e r a t i o n a l A p o l l o n i c ego.
T h i s p r o c e s s i s c a r r i e d f u r t h e r in Idyll
IV, B a t t u s , w h i c h p r e s e n t s u s w i t h t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n between Battus, a goath e r d , a n d C o r y d o n , a cowherd, a n d c e n t e r s o n a w o u n d t h a t B a t t u s receives
when h i s f o o t i s p i e r c e d by a t h o r n .
striking incongruity.
B u t e v e n in t h e names t h e r e i s a
C o r y d o n , whose name means "Lark1' a n d as a c o w h e r d
i s a t t h e t o p o f t h e r u r a l p e c k i n g order, i s t h r o u g h o u t t h e poem completely
literal-minded.
B a t t u s , o n t h e o t h e r hand, whose name means "Stammerer"
a n d connects h i m t o Simichidas a n d t h e o t h e r g o a t h e r d l s a t y r f i g u r e s , e x h i b i t s
t h r o u g h o u t , as R i s t states,
character.
"
"an agile m i n d a n d t o n g u e " a n d a n "imaginative
29
T h i s c o n v e r s a t i o n opens w i t h B a t t u s ' q u e s t i o n o f C o r y d o n .
F o r it seems
C o r y d o n i s t e n d i n g t h e h e r d f o r a n absent herdsman w h o has gone o f f t o
compete in t h e w r e s t l i n g a t Olympia, a "match f o r H e r a k l e s in m i g h t a n d
main.
Battus:
Corydon:
Battus:
Cor don:
T e l l me, C o r y d o n , whose cows a r e t h o s e ? Philondas'?
No, t h e y ' r e Aigon's.
H e g a v e them t o me t o g r a z e
A n d t h e c o w h e r d himself--where has h e disappeared t o ?
H a v e n ' t y o u h e a r d ? M i l o n t o o k him t o t h e Alphos.
When did h e e v e r set e y e s o n w r e s t l e r ' s o i l ?
C o r y d o n : T h e y say he's l i k e H e r a k l e s in s t r e n g t h a n d toughness.
Battus:
A n d I'm a b e t t e r man t h a n Polydeukes, mother says.
...
T h e h e r d , meanwhile, i s w a s t i n g away a n d immediately calls t o m i n d t h e
animals l e f t m o u r n i n g a t Daphnis' d e a t h a n d h i s e q u a l l y Herculean r e f u s a l o f
Eros, o f t h e animal e r o s o f image.
D a p h n i s d i e d t o s p i t e Eros.
o n t h e o t h e r hand, has n o t r e f u s e d A p h r o d i t e ' s call.
Battus,
He has l o v e d Amaryllis,
a v e r y human A m a r y l l i s , a n d h e r d e a t h has l e f t h i m in considerable p a i n :
L o v e l y Amaryllis, we'll n e v e r f o r g e t you,
e v e n in death. Y o u alone were as d e a r t o me
A b a d s p i r i t r u l e s m y f a t e ( 1 1. 38-40).
as m y goats, when y o u died.
T h i s p a i n i s associated in t h e poem w i t h b o t h a w o u n d a n d w i t h B a t t u s ' sensit i v i t y t o animal sensation a n d t h e w o r l d o f f e e l i n g it connotes.
examine t h e l i t e r a l occasion o f B a t t u s ' wounding,
t h a t physicalizes h i s pain.
t h e i n c i d e n t in t h e poem
C o r y d o n ' s m e n t i o n o f Amaryllis,
love, sets o f f a s t r a i n o f melancholy r e f l e c t i o n .
Let us
B a t t u s ' lost
Corydon responds t o t h i s
melancholy w i t h a s t r i n g o f c h e e r f u l p l a t i t u d e s ,
Console y o u r s e l f , d e a r B a t t u s . T h i n g s may b e b e t t e r
tomorrow. While t h e r e ' s l i f e t h e r e ' s hope. O n l y
t h e dead
h a v e none. I t ' s god's will, w h e t h e r we h a v e s u n o r r a i n
( 1 1 . 41-3)
but B a t t u s f e n d s h i m o f f a n d sends h i m c h a s i n g a f t e r a g r o u p o f calves t h a t
a r e g n a w i n g o l i v e shoots in a n e a r b y o r c h a r d .
B a t t u s has e a r l i e r stated
t h a t h i s loved one was "dear t o me as my she-goats", and as h e follows
Corydon up t h e hill h e i s "gawking a t a heifer."
T h e movement o f animal
eros t h a t connected him t o h i s goats a n d h i s g i r l f r i e n d i s duplicated in image.
As he r e f l e c t s o n h i s pain, a t j u s t t h a t moment t h e wound occurs, h i s bare
foot i s p i e r c e d by a t h o r n :
Look here,
here under
Curse that
after her.
wound,
Corydon! B y heaven, a t h o r n ' s got me
t h e ankle.
How long these spikethorns are!
It p r i c k e d me when I was gaping
heifer.
Do y o u see i t ?
What a tiny
t o stop a g r o w n man!
(11.49-53)
...
Foot wounds and feet, t h e place o f contact w i t h t h e e a r t h world, are a
basic p u e r l s p i r i t motif and say something basic about h i s condition.
puer's "stance,
m e
h i s position i s marked in s u c h a way t h a t his connection w i t h
res extensia i s h i n d e r e d
. . . This
t e n d i t s e l f step by step. l l 3 O
consciousness cannot walk and t h u s ex-
T h e wound, connected as i t i s here w i t h t h e
psychic r e f l e c t i o n o f animal energies, constellates t h e anima and p r o v i d e s t h e
p u e r s p i r i t w i t h entrance t o h e r w o r l d o f p s y c h i c containment t h r o u g h t h e
awareness o f t h e emergent dream-ego.
Daphnis refused t h i s world, as did
Ageon w i t h h i s Herculean p h y s i c a l i t y t h a t C o r y d o n echoes.
neither refuses t h e p a i n n o r dies from i t - - r a t h e r
Battus, however,
h e i s mastered b y it.
There begins a process o f r e f l e c t i o n a n d containment t h a t affects a p r o f o u n d
alteration in t h i s consciousness.
So f a r we have been presented w i t h various
dream-egoslpersonae t h a t share one characteristic :
o r monotheistic.
t h e y are single-focused
Daphnis i s obsessed w i t h p u r i t y I A r t e m i s , Corydon and
Aegon w i t h action1Heracles a n d t h e b u m p k i n goatherd w i t h chasing h i s l o v e r 1
Aphrodite.
A l l may be characterized by t h e i r single focus a n d will t o action
and t h u s reflect a masculine-dominated hero-consciousness,
ego.
The image o f t h e wound opens another alternative,one
a cerebralized
t h a t Hillman
examines in h i s w o r k w i t h t h i s archetype:
T h e wound w h i c h i s so necessary t o i n i t i a t i o n ceremonies
ends t h e state o f innocence as it opens [ t h e p e r s o n a l i t y ]
in a new way
[ t h e wound] r e f e r s t o t h e decomposit i o n o r decentralization o f consciousness i n t o primordial
regions o f organs, complexes, erogenous zones
j u s t t h i s i s constellated by t h e wound w h i c h joins in one
Dionysos was Zoe,
t h e psyche a n d t h e l i b i d i n a l b o d y
t h e d i v i d e d - u n d i v i d e d l i f e force, what we today call lib=
Woundedness i s i n i t i a t o r y t o meeting Dionysos.
It
s t a r t s us in t o t h e s u b t l e body.31
...
...
...
...
B a t t u s celebrates t h i s amina-l n a t u r e , w h i c h i s created in him b y reflection o n t h e p o i n t a t w h i c h love a n d d e a t h intersect.
t o be wounded b y it.
A n d he will continue
A t t h e close o f Idyll I V h e asks C o r y d o n if t h e o l d
man (Ageon's f a t h e r ) i s " s t i l l a f t e r t h a t black-eyebrowed d a r l i n g . "
answers w i t h an emphatic a f f i r m a t i v e .
Corydon
"Good w o r k o l d lecher," B a t t u s responds,
" y o u come o f t h e s a t y r - k i n d a n d c a n h o l d y o u r own w i t h t h e rough-legged
Pans" (11. 56-61).
In d o i n g so he a f f i r m s b o t h t h e serpentine flow o f zoe
a n d i t s continual anima-tion o r r e f l e c t i o n as image.
T h i s p o i n t s t o another
f i g u r e , a c e n t r a l f i g u r e in t h e Homeric mythos t h a t t h e dream-series seeks t o
re-vision,
a young-old man who i s connected t o t h e libidinous depths.
it p o i n t s another s o r t o f wound-image,
And
a n image o f continual wounding a n d
healing, t h e image o f Odysseusl scar t h a t i s c e n t r a l t o Hillman's discussion
o f t h e puer-senex archetype:
A s i n g u l a r d i f f e r e n c e between Ulysses a n d t h e o t h e r
wounded heroic f i g u r e s we h a v e mentioned i s t h a t
Ulysses does n o t d i e f r o m t h e g o r i n g
On t h e
one hand i s i s puer--always l e a v i n g f o r another place,
nostalgic a n d l o n g ~ n g , l o v e d by t h e women he refuses,
o p p o r t u n i s t i c a n d t r i c k y , f o r e v e r in danger o f drowning. On t h e o t h e r h a n d h e i s father, husband, captain,
I would
w i t h all t h e senex q u a l i t i e s o f s u r v i v a l
suggest t h a t h i s m u l t i p l e r e l a t i o n s w i t h anima, implied
by t h e scar a n d s u f f e r i n g t h a t lie in h i s name, i s t h e
secret o f h i s e p i t h e t p o l y t r o p o s , 'of many turns,' o r
...
...
-
...
' t u r n e d in many ways'
He i s n o t innocent because o f h i s i n h e r e n t wound w h i c h i s also t h e symbolic
i n c o r p o r a t i o n o f female f e c u n d i t v . 32
So it i s t h r o u g h t h e wound, t h e c o n t i n u a l wounding a n d r e f l e c t i o n t h a t
constellates anima, t h a t t h e dream-ego,
t h e nascent poetic awareness, i s
led towards a contact w i t h t h e D a r k Father, Dionysos as Zoe o r Hades, a n d
i s i n v o l v e d in t h a t god's c o n f l i c t a n d s u f f e r i n g as absconditus, h i s d i v i s i o n
in consciousness i n t o p u e r and senex.
Within t h i s dream-series t h a t con-
f l i c t and i t s healing now emerge in t h e f i g u r e o f Odysseus, who comes t o
t h e f o r e in t h e n e x t t w o poems.
It i s t h e c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h t h i s f i g u r e
as a puer-senex u n i o n t h a t seems t o p r e s e n t t h e dream-ego's mission a n d
t h e poet's birth.
F o r o f all t h e Homeric heroes it i s Odysseus who e n d u r e d
t h e u n d e r w o r l d journey,
consulted w i t h blind Tiresias a n d was r e u n i t e d w i t h
h i s son and h i s w i f e a f t e r h i s arduous t w e n t y y e a r journey.
I d y l l V,
Lacon a n d Komatus
p r e s e n t s f o r t h e f i r s t time in t h e dream-
series an obvious c o n f r o n t a t i o n between a y o u n g a n d a n o l d man, a n d it results in an i n i t i a l f o r m o f t h e i r union, t h e p u e r (Lacon t h e shepherd)
forced t o g i v e o v e r t o t h e senex (Komatus t h e g o a t h e r d ) in a s i n g i n g contest, a contest o f images.
It i s t h e most polarized o f t h e I d y l l s a n d it
begins w i t h a h a r s h a n d a b r u p t exchange o f accusation:
Komatus : Goats, s t a y away f r o m t h a t shepherd, L a k o n
o f Sybaris.
He stole my g o a t s k i n yesterday.
Here, lambs. Away from t h a t s p r i n g .
Don't y o u see
Lakon :
t h a t Komatus who stole my pan-pipe r e c e n t l y ?
Komatus: What p i p e was t h a t ? Where did you, S y b y r t a s ' slave
e v e r g e t a p i p e ? A n d w h y a r e n ' t y o u satisfied
t o p l a y a s t r a w f l u t e anymore, l i k e K o r y d o n ?
B u t what s k i n
T h e p i p e L y k o n gave me, M i s t e r Free.
La k o n :
did L a k o n e v e r steal from y o u ? Tell me, Komatus.
Y o u r master, Eumaras, n e v e r slept o n one.
Komatus : T h e dappled s k i n K r o k y l o s g a v e me, t h e d a y
A n d you, thief,
h e sacrificed t o t h e nymphs.
b u r n e d w i t h e n v y then, a n d now you've s t r i p p e d
me naked (11.1-13).
The e v e n t u a l u n i o n (Komatus' v i c t o r y ) echoes o n a n imaginal plane
t h e f i r s t i n i t i a t i o n t h a t Lakon s u f f e r e d a t Komatus' hands ( a n d o t h e r p a r t s
o f h i s anatomy) a n d t h e whole tone o f t h e poem resounds w i t h t h e violence
o f t h a t f i r s t i n i t i a t i o n , b e i n g harsh, a b r u p t a n d d e r i s i v e :
I'm in n o h u r r y , but it vexes me t h a t y o u
d a r e t o look me in t h e face--you t h a t I t a u g h t
when y o u were a child.
See what k i n d n e s s comes t o !
Raise wolf-cubs, o r p u p p i e s r a t h e r , t o d e v o u r you.
Lakon:
What good thing did I e v e r learn, o r hear
from you, y o u envious n a s t y l i t t l e fellow?
Komatus: When -I made y o u squeal w i t h pain, a n d t h e she-goats
bleated, a n d t h e he-goat leaped u p o n them.
Lakon:
May y o u r g r a v e b e
deeper t h a n t h a t t h r u s t ,
y o u hunchback.
B u t come here.
S i n g y o u r last song.
(11. 35-44)
Komatus:
no
It also r e f l e c t s t h e b o u n d o r compulsive state o f b o t h figures,
for both are
revealed as slaves a n d o n t h e d a y a man becomes a slave Zeus takes away
h a l f o f h i s psyche, i.e.,
h e i s b o u n d t o t h e l i t e r a l world.
The e n t i r e poem, f r o m t h e f i r s t contact a n d i n i t i a l w r a n g l i n g o v e r t h e
location o f t h e contest,
in w h i c h Lakon a n d Komatus t r y t o tempt each o t h e r
i n t o t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e bowers (11. 44-62),
exchange o f t o p p i n g couplets (11. 80-140),
t o t h e contest i t s e l f w h i c h i s an
i s a constant i n t e r p l a y o f i n s u l t
a n d innuendo t h a t c o n t r a s t s t h e n e x u s o f image a n d allusion w h i c h s u r r o u n d s
each character.
cool water,
T h e o l d man, Komatus, conjures up oaks, t w o s p r i n g s o f
bees, honey a n d
birds.
Daphnis, lambs a n d nymphs.
Lakon i d e n t i f i e s himself w i t h Apollo,
Komatus i s t h e Muse, goats,and
g i r l while L a k o n i s Apollo, sheep, a n d much devoted t o boys.
rosebeds, acorns a n d doves,and
loved b y a
Komatus i s
h e o f f e r s t o h i s loved one a b e a u t i f u l bowl
by Praxitiles while L a k o n o f f e r s h i s boy-love a d o g t o hunt beasts a n d t h e
sacrifice of a b l a c k ewe.
F i n a l l y Komatus, who t h r o u g h o u t t h e poem has
e x h i b i t e d a v e r y t r i c k y , c r a f t y nature, enrages Lakon t o t h e p o i n t where
he fails in h i s singing,
r e d u c e d t o sexual i n s u l t .
T h e judge awards t h e
p r i z e t o Komatus (1. 138-40) a n d h e e x u l t s in h i s v i c t o r y :
Komatus:
Now, a l l my f l o c k o f goats,
s n o r t f o r joy.
See what a good l a u g h I'll have
aqainst L a k o n t h e S h e ~ h e r d , f o r I ' v e won t h e lamb
a t last.
I'll leap sky-'high f o r you. Be m e r r y
my h o r n e d goats. I'll t a k e y o u a l l tomorrow
for a dip in S y b a r i s pond. Y o u there,
y o u w h i t e billy-goat, I'll g e l d y o u if y o u d a r e
mount one o f my shes, b e f o r e I ' v e s a c r i f i c e d
t h e lamb t o t h e nymphs.
T h e r e h e goes again!
I f I d o n ' t c a s t r a t e you, l e t them call me
Melanthios i n s t e a d of Komatus ( 11. 141-8).
So i n i t i a l l y we may say t h a t t h e poem stems from t h e senex viewpoint,
a consideration t h a t i s s t r e n g t h e n e d by t h e f a c t t h a t Komatus (coma-atose
o r deep sleep) seems t o connect d i r e c t l y t o t h e main-line o f t h e dream-series'
evolution.
He i s goatherd, c r a f t y - s i n g e r ,
collects about him many images
related t o Dionysos (bees, h o n e y ) a n d i s r e l a t e d t o Odysseus ( t h e p u e r senex u n i o n ) t h r o u g h t h e Melanthios analogy a n d h i s evocation o f " t w o
s p r i n g s o f cool water,''
a n echo of t h e s p r i n g s o n Phaiakia, t h e source o f
Odysseusl j o u r n e y home.
B u t Komatus i s w i t h o u t h i s skin, a n d :
What i s i m p o r t a n t in t h i s c o n t e x t [ t h a t o f t h e p u e r - s e n e x ]
i s t h a t t h e experimental f a n t a s y b i n d s t o q e t h e r e l e c t r i c i t y
a n d t h e s k i n , ' s u g g e s t i n g it i s - t h e c r a c k l i n g c u r r e n t in t h e complexes w h i c h appear o n t h e s k i n
a 'sparkling
o v e r ' o f mind t o b o d y
Is this not the story o f
Icarus, who f e l l i n t o t h e ocean because t h e s u n b u r n e d
h i s w i n g s ? If so, t h e n p e r h a p s it i s t h e I c a r u s - w i n g e d
s p i r i t , t h e p u e r a e t u r n u s who l i v e s in a special r e l a t i o n
to the skin.jS
...
...
Without L a c o n l p u e r , Komatus i s w i t h o u t h i s s k i n , w i t h o u t h i s own
futurity, t h e c r a c k l i n g c u r r e n t o f t h e s p i r i t .
T h i s i s o n l y o f f e r e d by con-
nection w i t h t h e p u e r a n d it i s imaged in t h e poem in a special way, t h r o u g h
Lacon1s association w i t h t h e b l a c k ewe, t h e c t h o n i c sacrifice.
This, along
w i t h Komatus' dual i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h b o t h Melanthios ( t h e t r a i t o r - g o a t h e r d ) ,
o r goatherd as t r a i t o r ) a n d w i t h Odysseus, i s t h e c e n t r a l k n o t o r t w i s t in
t h e dream t h a t i n v o l v e s them b o t h w i t h t h e h i d d e n god, w i t h Dionysos as
Hades.
The l i n e u p o f image in t h e poem, a p a r t from t h e black ewe, seems q u i t e
predictable.
SenexIKomatus i s associated w i t h oaks (Zeus' t r e e ) , c u l t i v a t e d
rosebeds, c r a f t e d g i f t s , a n d t h e p u e r I L a c o n w i t h boys, lambs, nymphs a n d
Daphnis/Apollo.
T h i s l a t t e r association reveals t h a t he, Lacon, i s u n d e r
t h e same a r c h e t y p a l dominant as T h y r s i s , t h a t t h e p u e r aspect o f t h e dreamer
i s dominated b y t h e Apollonic, a perspective which, as we have seen, refuses
t h e r e a l i t y o f t h e image a n d darkness, t h e animal eros o f soul.
Thus a
v e r y i m p o r t a n t d i f f e r e n c e between t h e two f i g u r e s lies in t h e n a t u r e o f t h e i r
sexuality, t h e e x t e n t o f i t s literalization.
Komatus, t h o u g h o r i g i n a l l y Lacon's
lover, i s now devoted t o women, as Lacon i s t o boys.
incorporated, in t h e senex viewpoint,
He has somehow
t h e anima-ted eros o f Battus.
Yet
at t h e same time it i s Komatus who i s d r i v e n t o achieve a reconciliation w i t h
Lacon, one t h a t Lacon would s p u r n .
A n d he achieves t h i s v i c t o r y , n o t
o v e r Lacon but o v e r Lacon's literalization o f desire, t h r o u g h h i s c r a f t , h i s
w i t and h i s p e n e t r a t i n g force.
From t h e senex p o i n t o f view, w h i c h has h e r e i n c o r p o r a t e d anima a n d
i s associated w i t h Dionysos, Lacon's h i g h - f l o w n ( a n d Apollonic) p u r s u i t o f
boys i s a n ostentatious literalization, a p u r s u i t which, g i v e n h i s social
status, takes h i m much above himself, makes him p r i d e f u l a n d p u f f e d - u p
and blind t o h i s i n t r i n s i c nature:
Greek pederasty, according t o George Devereaux, was
"a kind o f l u x u r y p r o d u c t , perpetuated by b e i n g
assigned a n o v e r - i n f l a t e d value.
Greek homosexual
c o u r t s h i p was 'conspicuous display' in Veblen's sense.
It was highly stylized; it was ostentatious a n d elaboIt was t h u s in one sense analagous
rately chivalrous.
t o t h e l a t e r European fashion o f c o u r t l y love--that is,
it was more a matter o f p u b l i c p o s t u r e t h a n o f p r i v a t e
sexual orientation; it was a n elaborate ame whose
r e w a r d s were more social t h a n sexual. 37
The p u e r ' s loss, i d e n t i f i e d as he i s w i t h DaphnisIApollo,
the Pan-pipes,
i s t h e loss o f
n o t o n l y a loss o f t h e a b i l i t y t o s i n g spontaneously w i t h t h e
voice o f t r a d i t i o n b e h i n d him ( a t r a d i t i o n o f m y t h a n d c r a f t i n h e r e n t in
senex/Komatus/Odysseus) but also a loss o f h i s r e l a t i o n t o dream, f o r it i s
DionysosIPan who i s t h e b r i n g e r o f t h e g r e a t ( a n d o f t e n t e r r i f y i n g ) visions
which connect t h e light a n d t h e darkness.
So b e h i n d Lacon's literalized
homo-eros i s a n imaginal sense, a d e s i r e f o r i n t e r c o u r s e w i t h t h e s p i r i t , a
s p i r i t t h a t in many ways has moved on, abandoning b o t h t h e Homeric t r a d i t i o n ( w h i c h Komatus i s enslaved b y ) a n d t h e Platonic/Apollonic v i s i o n o f
l i g h t w h i c h dominates Lacon.
T h e conjunction o f Lacon w i t h t h e black ewe
o r cthonic sacrifice i s c e n t r a l here, t h e p u e r ' s assimilation to t h e new god,
who i s a g o d o f light a n d darkness, a god o f Hades o r image.
I f we, and
Komatus, miss t h i s aspect o f Lacon's n a t u r e :
t h e r e w i t h we have missed t h e s p i r i t u a l significance
implied by Dionysos p u e r , a n d we have misapprecia t e d t h e wine, t h e theatrical a n d i t s tragedy, t h e
s t y l e o f madness a n d phallicism, a n d o t h e r aspects
the culture, inspiration
o f his nature and cult
a n d i r r a t i o n a l excitement o f t h e puer. 35
...
Within t h i s dream b o t h f i g u r e s a r e slaves, b o u n d t o a n e x t e r n a l realit
b u t it i s Komatus who forces t h i s realization o n Lacon.
It i s h e who is
b o t h l u s t y a n d anima-ted and, a t t h e same time, well aware t h a t he must
forestall t h e o n w a r d - f l o w i n g of t h e p h a l l i c force, o f i t s literalization,if
victory
castrated
his
in image i s n o t t o r e b o u n d o n himself, if he himself i s n o t t o b e
a n d come t o b e called Melanthios.
He too must g i v e o v e r in
image, must g i v e b a c k t h e p i p e s t o t h e p u e r if h e i s t o b e released from
bondage, a bondage t o t h a t rampant a c q u i s i t i v e Homeric l i b i d o imaged by
Odysseus' r e l a t i o n t o t h e Cyclops who, antagonized b y t h e hero's p r i d e a n d
acquisitiveness, called down t h e vengeance o f Poseidon /Father upon him,
t h e vengeance o f t h e untamed sea.
But, further,
t h i s poem-dream,
t o grow d i r e c t l y o u t o f language.
much more t h a n all t h e others, seems
It stems f r o m t h e c o n f l i c t in words be-
tween Lacon a n d Komatus r a t h e r t h a n a n emerging p i c t o r i a l image.
As s u c h
it could be said t o grow o u t o f t h e p u e r a n d senex dimensions o f language
itself.
Paul K u g l e r states in T h e Alchemy o f Discourse t h a t t h e Greek
phonetic word-complex t h a t reveals t h e a r c h e t y p a l presence o f t h e god
Dionysos resounds w i t h all h i s d i s t i n c t i v e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s :
coming one (elusomai), ( 2 ) f e r t i l i t y (elentherios),
f u t u r e tense:
" ( 1) t h e f u t u r e
( 3 ) f u t u r i t y (grammatical
elentherios) , ( 4 ) female s e x u a l i t y a n d androgeny (Eleuthera) ,
and ( 5 ) loosening o r f r e e i n g (eleutheros) ," t h i s last specially used as a n
opposite o f slave.
and book. 36
A n d it also connects, in a c u r i o u s way, f r e e a n d wine
A s we have seen, Dionysos
L o r d o f Souls can see t h r o u g h
life i n t o d e a t h a n d "approximation t o t h e hermaphrodite i s a d e a t h experience;
t h e movement i n t o d e a t h proceeds t h r o u g h b i s e x u a l i t y .
consciousness a r e what Dionysos involves. "37
Death a n d bisexual
Lacon's assimilation t o image,
t o t h e u n d e r w o r l d experience, h i s u n i o n w i t h t h e cthonic sacrifice,
h i s imaginal force.
It releases KomatusIsenexlOdysseus from h i s l i t e r a l
bondage t o t h e a n t i q u e t e x t , h i s l i t e r a l presence in book.
comes alive,
releases
i s released from t h e shades o f t h e past.
Language i t s e l f
T h r o u g h t h e s h i f t in
dominants o f t h e puer-senex union, t h e r e i s a " s h i f t in t h e l i n g u i s t i c mode
which opens t h e p e r s o n a l i t y t o i t s i n t e r i o r a r c h e t y p a l thesaurus, a psychic
d i c t i o n a r y w h i c h imaginally b i n d s together t h e i n c o n g r u o u s medley o f rneani n g s attached t o similar phonetic p a t t e r n s . u38
Language i t s e l f i s f r e e d from
t h e monotheistic o r Apollonic,
f r o m t h e grammarian o f t h e mind.
So if t h e p u e r / L a c o n i s b r o u g h t home in image, u n i t e d t o senex a n d
-
anima, t h e senex/Komatus now m u s t g i v e o v e r t h e v i c t o r y , s a c r i f i c e h i s
p r i z e ( t h e lamb) t o t h e N y m p h s a n d b a t h e h i s f l o c k in S y b a r i s ' pool w h i c h
i s owned by Lacon's master.
Lacon's t h e a t r i c a l i t y ,
h i s phallicism, h i s
excitement become image, a n imaginal / a e s t h e t i c excitement.
We a r e called
t o e n t e r t h a t p a r t o f t h e dream t h a t i s f a r t h e s t away f r o m t h e dominant
senex, t h e f a d i n g p r e s e n c e o f L a c o n l p u e r w h i c h i s t h e theme o f ldyll V I .
ldyll V I i s a b e a u t i f u l poem, a d i s t i n c t c o n t r a s t t o ldyll V, a n d it
acts as a m i r r o r t o ldyll V in t h e same way t h a t t h e S p e l l b i n d e r s m i r r o r e d
T h y r s i s ' song.
T h e s i n g e r s in t h e poem a r e D a p h n i s a n d Damoitas, t w o
y o u n g men, t h o u g h one i s s l i g h t l y o l d e r t h a n t h e o t h e r :
Damoitas a n d D a p h n i s t h e c o w h e r d
once g a t h e r e d t h e i r h e r d s t o g e t h e r
in o n e place, Aratos.
The chin
o f o n e was g o l d e n w i t h down,
t h e o t h e r ' s b e a r d was h a l f g r o w n .
A n d beside a s p r i n g t h e y sat d o w n
t o g e t h e r in t h e summer n o o n
a n d sang.
A n d D a p h n i s began,
f o r h e f i r s t p r o p o s e d t h e m a t c h (11.
1-9).
T h e t w o y o u n g men s i t t o g e t h e r b e s i d e a s p r i n g in t h e summer noon
and s i n g i n t e r l o c k i n g songs.
T h e y d e s c r i b e t h e love o f Galatea, a sea-nymph,
a n d Polyphemos t h e cyclops, l o o k i n g d o w n o n t h e t w o as i f l o o k i n g i n t o a
pool o f c r y s t a l w a t e r .
B u t u n d e r n e a t h t h e whole poem i s a sense o f h o v e r -
ing danger, e v i d e n c e d n o t o n l y in t h e lurking f a t e o f t h e m a t u r e
Polyphemos,
who i s h e r e p o r t r a y e d as a y o u n g man, but e v e n more in t h e s t r a n g e cont r a s t b e t w e e n t h e b e a u t y o f t h e s e f i g u r e s , t h e gentleness a n d t h e humor,
\
a n d t h e s t r a n g e a n d e e r i e violence o f t h e
t h e i r Homeric b a c k g r o u n d .
& from
w h i c h t h e y stem,
Daphnis takes Galatea's p a r t , s h e who is a sea-nymph assoc:iated with
both milk(ga1a) and t h e milk-white foam of t h e sea.
S h e is both t h e nourish-
ment of milk3' and t h a t cunning play of illusion t h a t is Cypris, who was
born from t h e foam and f r o t h , Venus Anadyomene.
Polyphemos, pelting his flocks with apples
Calatea is calling t o
both a love-gift and a symbol
of life, and "she dances in t h e b r i g h t waves t h a t s p a s h gently," flirting
"lightly a s a thistledown in fine summer weather."
Daphnis takes her p a r t
a s she chides Polyphemos a s "a backward lover and silly goatherd."
Damoitas gives Polyphernos' answer:
But
he r e s i s t s h e r in o r d e r t o tease h e r ,
to lure her onto t h e land, t o force h e r to "make me with her own hands a
bed on this fair island."
t
He looks in t h e sea and s e e s himself a s beautiful,
dismisses t h e prophesies of Telamos, and s p i t s t h r e e times on his breast t o
ward off an evil fate.
Daphnis and Damoitas kiss, exchange gifts a n d s i n g
with all their animals skipping around them.
Neither wins.
Both a r e un-
beatable.
All around this beautiful poem hover t h e shadows of fate and death-Polyphemos' fate a s described in t h e Odyssey, his brutal n a t u r e t h e r e ,
and the s t r a n g e air of unreality t h a t s u r r o u n d s t h e courtship, which is t h e
eternal conflict of male a n d female, poet and Muse, that Yeats called t h e
bobbins on which all t i m e is bound and wound.
This hovering a i r of
beauty that is shadowed b y loss and d e a t h seems t h e gift of t h e Dionysos
puer a s he emerges from Hades, a n d it is t h e gift of a new kind of poetry
that offers to t h e senex ( t h e Homeric figures a n d traditions) a new s o r t of
existence.
It is a poetry t h a t s e e s t h e s e myths a s interior, ever-changing
figures expressing t h a t constant interplay between male phallus and teasing
muse, disconnected from cultural icons, heroic figures o r t h e patronized
praise of a self-divinized prince.
And it is a poetry hitherto unknown in
.
Greek c u l t u r e , w h e r e a l l a r t i s i n t i m a t e l y t i e d t o a specific t r i b e o r c i t y state o r r u l e r , a p o e t r y t h a t celebrates t h e emergence o f p s y c h e h e r s e l f as
an individually experienced being.
It i s a p o e t r y a t once a r c h e t y p a l a n d
personal in a b e a u t i f u l , m y s t e r i o u s way, a t once humble a n d humorous y e t
p o w e r f u l e n o u g h t o l a s t f o r t h e n e x t 2000 years.
T h e poem is, in i t s decep-
t i v e l y light a n d i n s i g n i f i c a n t way, a n i n f l u x o f s p i r i t in a w o r l d dominated
by t h e material a n d c l u t c h i n g a t t h e past, a p o t e n t i a l f o r r e d e m p t i o n o f t h e
n a t u r a l w o r l d e n v i s i o n e d by Daphnisl p r o p h e c y a n d t h e p u e r l s acceptance o f
t h e small, t h e personal, h i s acceptance o f soul a n d o f death.
t a i n s a p r o p h e c y a b o u t t h e e n t i r e H o m e r i c I G r e e k Pantheon:
A n d it conthey are
shadowed by a n oncoming fate a n d w i l l emerge t h r o u g h t h i s fate as timeless
figures,
unconnected t o a l i t e r a l i z e d enactment, t h e timeless b e i n g s o f t h e
e v e r - p r e s e n t imaginal soul a n d t h e language it creates.
IDYLL VII :
T H E H A R V E S T HOME
(Culminating Vision)
Idyll V I I , T h e H a r v e s t Home, i s s i n g u l a r in many ways.
revelation o f the author precisely
qua
It i s
"
. ..a
poet, made t h r o u g h t h e medium o f t h e
bucolic a r t w h i c h was h i s own, a n d o f w h i c h it s t a n d s as p e r h a p s t h e most
highly w r o u g h t a n d s i g n i f i c a n t example. ""O
T h e poem relates w h a t seems
t o b e a specific i n c i d e n t in T h e o c r i t u s l life, a j o u r n e y h e made w i t h t w o
f r i e n d s t o a H a r v e s t Home, a r i t e s a c r e d t o Demeter, a t a f r i e n d ' s f a r m o n
t h e i s l a n d o f Cos.
T h e p a t h t h e y t o o k f r o m t h e C i t y o f Cos t o t h e o u t l y i n g
farm may s t i l l b e traced, but " t h e bulk o f t h e poem i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h a
g o a t h e r d who, a f t e r g r e e t i n g T h e o c r i t u s as Simichidas ( h i s p o e t i c nickname),
pronounces o n contemporary l i t e r a r y c o n t r o v e r s y and, b e i n g invited, sings
an impassioned a n d e x q u i s i t e song t o which t h e t r a v e l l e r matches one from
h i s own r e p e r t o r y . "
T h e o c r i t u s a n d h i s friends, who fade from s i g h t
d u r i n g t h i s encounter, t h e n continue o n toward Phrasidamusl farm and
a r r i v e at t h e H a r v e s t Home, t h o u g h a significant alteration in o u r perception
o f t h a t r i t e o c c u r s t h r o u g h t h i s visitation.
The i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f Lycidas, t h e s t r a n g e f i g u r e who appears in t h e
center o f t h e poem, has generated a n enormous amount o f scholarly controversy.
While t h e o t h e r figures in t h e poem can be i d e n t i f i e d w i t h a degree
of certainty, t h i s one seems t o actively r e s i s t b e i n g concretely linked.
is and has been called a man, demi-god,
He
a satyr, a goatherd, a l i v i n g statue.
The ambiguity i s highly s i g n i f i c a n t a n d indicates a psychic force at w o r k
t h a t reaches o u t t o encompass a n d f r u s t r a t e any l i t e r a l form o f t h o u g h t t h a t
it encounters.
It i s t h i s f i g u r e t h a t i s at t h e center o f t h e new Theocritan
pastoral, a re-vision o f t h e ancient Homeric wanderer:
. . . t h e T h e o c r i t a n m y t h o f t h e herdsman-Poet
celebrated a n d j u s t i f i e d t h e b r e a k which t h e Greeks
o f t h e OikoumenS h a d made w i t h t h e local conditions
a n d c u l t u r e o f t h e olis, a n d encouraged them t o
meet t h e challenae o t h e i r new rootlessness.
It i s
as if Theocritus-had said something t o t h i s effect
t o h i s contemporaries: You a r e sophisticated Universal Men o f t h e oikoumenE, and y e t y o u belong
t o t h e timeless pastoral landscape which s u r r o u n d s
t h e rootless c i t i e s in w h i c h y o u l i v e
Make t h e best
o f it; and, if y o u can, make music. 4 2
5-
B u t what i s t h i s timeless landscape, t h e g r o u n d which Lycidas i n h a b i t s ?
When he greets T h e o c r i t u s as Simichidas, h i s e v o l v i n g dream-ego o r persona,
Lycidas asks him where h e i s going, mocks h i s haste, and l a u g h i n g l y asks
if he i s speeding o f f t o some merchant's "wine-press gates."
Simichidas
replies t h a t he " t r a v e l s t o a H a r v e s t Home" t o honor "fair-robed Demeter."
L e t u s compare t h i s image of Demeter "who has heaped t h e i r floor w i t h a
r o l l i c k i n g measure o f b a r l e y " w i t h t h e Derneter who closes t h e poem, who
appears " w i t h sheaves a n d poppies in b o t h h e r hands ":
Poppy heads appear among t h e symbols p o i n t i n g
t o t h e Eleusinian Mysteries
the
image of t h e queen o f t h e u n d e r wevokil;q
orld.
...
It i s t h r o u g h t h i s evocation, t h a t o f Demeter as Persephone, t h a t she too
l i n k s w i t h Hades a n d g i v e s t o Mother Nature an e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t meaning.
She becomes a " t e r r e pur, below a n d beyond a n d maybe p r i o r t o t h e g r o u n d
we touch. 1'44
T h i s change in h e r image, from Demeter o f t h e f e r t i l e fields
to Demeter as Persephone o r c t h o n suggests t h e re-creation o f t h e e n t i r e
e a r t h as p s y c h i c g r o u n d .
T h e change b o t h frames a n d r e s u l t s from t h e
central section o f t h e poem, t h e songs o f Lycidas a n d Simichidas.
t h e i r raison d'etre,
t h e i r whole p s y c h i c t h r u s t .
Lycidas s i n g s f i r s t (11. 144-199).
a peculiar t w i s t .
It i s
He sings a love-song,
L y c i d a s wishes " f a i r sail" t o Agenanax,
but one w i t h
h i s lover, in h i s
journey to Mytelene o n Lesbos, t h a t magical island o f Sappho, o f love and
love-poetry.
He shall have t h i s f a i r sail "when t h e wet sou'wester chases
t h e waves t o w h e r e t h e K i d s set in t h e evening and Orion in t h e morning
plants h i s feet o n t h e ocean floor."
Both the Kids and Orion the Hunter
are constellations a n d images associated w i t h Dionysos in h i s sacrificial aspect,
processes o f t h e g o d c o n g r u e n t t o t h e wine press, t h e t r e a d i n g o f t h e grapes,
t h a t lie b e h i n d t h e s u f f e r i n g s as we see here, o f b o t h gods a n d men, o f a n
individual and a culture:
F a i r s a i l shall Agenanax have t o
Mytelene,
so h e save Lycidas
f r o m A p h r o d i t e ' s oven,
f o r t h e love o f him i s t h e hot
b l a s t t h a t consumes me.
T h r o u g h h i s s o n g L y c i d a s t r a n s f o r m s t h i s " h o t b l a s t " i n t o t h e image o f t h e
halcyons, m y t h i c a l s e a - b i r d s s a c r e d t o A p h r o d i t e , a n d t h r o u g h t h i s r e v e r s i o n
t h e "hot b l a s t " becomes a spell t h a t calms t h e sea, t h e r a g i n g o f p s y c h i c
storms, a n d a s s u r e s t h e l o v e d one, Agenanax, of a safe v o y a g e t o h i s h a v e n
o n t h a t magical i s l a n d o f love-poetry,
brates this arrival,
h i s name, Agenanax,
celebration,
sing."
t h e loved-one-as-poem.
s u r r o u n d e d by images o f f l o w e r i n g ,
in e v e r y c u p . "
L y c i d a s cele-
"pledging t o mind
O n t h a t day, t h a t e t e r n a l moment o f
" T w o s h e p h e r d s shall p i p e t o me
. . . and
T i t y r u s nearby will
T i t y r u s s i n g s o f D a p h n i s ' death, o f how h e l o v e d a human girl,
t h e n "wasted l i k e t h e snows."
B u t he reveals behind t h a t death a n d i t s
virginal t r a g e d y another perspective.
"He shall s i n g o f t h e goatherd,
Komatus, enclosed in a g r e a t c o f f e r , alive."
T h e d e a t h o f Daphnis, t h e
r e n d i n g a n d s o r r o w t h a t E r o s produces, opens t o a n image o f Komatus a l i v e
but sealed in a c o f f i n a n d " t h e Muse h a d h o n i e d n e c t a r s p i l t o n h i s lips."
L y c i d a s w o u l d g l a d l y s e r v e t h i s f i g u r e who r e f l e c t s t h e futurity o f t h e
c u l t u r e itself.
H e e n d s h i s s o n g w i t h a paen t o him, w i s h i n g t h a t h e m i g h t
" h e r d y o u r f i n e g o a t s o n t h e h i l l s i d e s a n d l i s t e n t o y o u r voice as y o u l a y
a n d w a r b l e d s w e e t l y u n d e r t h e o a k s o r pines, d i v i n e Komatus."
Thus
b e h i n d Lycidas, w h o a s g o d a n d as f a t h e r bestows t h e g r e a t e r i n i t i a t i o n
o n Simichidas, t h e r e l i e s Komatus, t h e d e a t h - i n - l i f e w h i c h t r a n s f o r m s Daphnis'
simple w o r l d i n t o a rich a n d h o n i e d s i n g i n g t h a t echoes d o w n t h e c o r r i d o r
o f centuries.
Simichidas r e s p o n d s ( I 1
character.
. 144-1 9 9 ) ,
but h i s s o n g i s completely d i f f e r e n t in
It i s r e a l i s t i c , u r b a n e , physical, a n d unsublimated.
T h e subject
o f h i s song, however, i s n o t Simichidas himself, w h o "loves h i s girl M y r t o
as goats l o v e t h e s p r i n g , "
o f d e s i r e f o r a boy."
but A r a t u s who " h a r b o r s in h i s b r e a s t t h e s t i n g
T h u s h e takes up t h e same theme t h a t L y c i d a s
addressed, the love of older man for younger, b u t s e e s Lycidas' plight
through t h e f i g u r e of Aratus, a personal friend, t h e "dearest of men t o me."
He begins his s o n g with a call on t h e "noblest of gentlemen, Aristus, whom
Apollo himself would not b e g r u d g e to s t a n d with his lyre and sing beside
t h e Delphian tripods."
At Delphi, Apollo, to whom "all t h e divisions of
song a r e directed,1145connects directly to Dionysos, to his ivy-respect, for
it was "Dionysos who f i r s t s a t on t h e tripod, performing t h e role of t h e
oracle-giving Themis. 1146
So when Simichidas calls on Aristus to "witness how Aratus b u r n s to
the marrow for love of a boy," he is invoking t h e transformational power
zoe, t h r o u g h t h e figure of a particular friend.
of poetry, s o n g in relation to He sees t h a t archetypal
quality in an event of his own life and t h u s in-
carnates it in t h e metaxy, t h e mediating realm of t h e individual psyche.
Further, he places t h i s power in relation to t h e young-old man e r o s that
his friend A r a t u s s u f f e r s from in a projected o r unpsychologized way, a
reflection of Lycidas' plight c a u g h t in t h e hot blasts of Aphrodite's oven.
Simichidas then calls on Pan t o deliver t h e boy "unsued into my friends'
hands, whether it be Philinus o r whether another," and t h r e a t e n s Pan with
a series of v e r y unpleasant physical torments if he fails to come t h r o u g h :
"be bitten all o v e r your hide, a n d s c r a t c h yourself with your nails, your
bed be of nettles."
Pan is a peculiar deity.
He is both t h e god of rustic
song, t h e i n s p i r e r of g o a t h e r d s , and a union between Dionysos ( t h e goatsacrifice) a n d Hermes (who rules Arcadia and invented t h e pan-pipes),
t h e guide of souls in t h e underworld and t h e b r i n g e r of dreams.
Pan is
to deliver t h e boy-love b u t is f r e e to change his shape, in fact is invoked
here to pull t h e boy down t o t h e underworld and to deliver his simacrulum,
his dream-form, t h e image of desire.
If he fails to do so, he will be caught
in t h e same s o r t of e x t e r i o r i z a t i o n t h a t t o r m e n t s A r a t u s .
Finally, Simichidas c a l l s o n t h e "Loves" t o " s t r i k e me w i t h y o u r bows
t h e l a n g o r o u s Philenus, t h e w r e t c h w h o no-wise p i t i e s m y f r i e n d . "
works:
A n d it
"he's a l r e a d y r i p e r t h a n a p e a r a n d t h e women c r y , A l a s ! y o u r
y o u t h f u l f l o w e r fades, Philenus."
T h e image o f t h e b o y separates f r o m t h e
l i t e r a l b o y who, r i p e as a pear, i s r e a d y t o fall, decay, release h i s concrete reality i n t o i t s psychic equivalent.
L y c i d a s w i t h a l a u g h bestows h i s olive-wood s t a f f o n Simichidas, a n d
T h e o c r i t u s a n d h i s f r i e n d s c o n t i n u e o n t o t h e H a r v e s t Home (11. 205-239)
w h e r e "all t h i n g s smelt o f a r i c h h a r v e s t a n d fruiting."
T h e y b r e a k a cask o f
wine w i t h t h e " f o u r - y e a r seal o n i t s head" a n d t h e w i n e mixes w i t h water f r o m
t h e h o l y s p r i n g o n Apollo's mountain.
It calls up a r i c h image o f human
passion i n t e r m i n g l e d w i t h t h e i n d e s t r u c t i b l e l i f e o f zoe, l i f e w i t h o u t end,
i n f i n i t e life.
It i s in t h i s i n t e r f u s e d dimension t h a t t h e poem rests4' a n d
t h e p r o f o u n d imaginative t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n h e r e n t in w h a t we c a l l p a s t o r a l
f i n d s i t s goal.
T h e poem i t s e l f i s a p a t h t o t h a t goal, a process t h a t c e n t e r s .
in t h e love a n d r e u n i o n b e t w e e n y o u n g man a n d o l d in t h e futurity o f a
p u r e l y imaginal realm.
Lycidas, a n a r c h e t y p a l g o d - f a t h e r ,
p o i n t s t h e way
w i t h h i s o w n s u f f e r i n g a n d t h e i n c a r n a t i o n o f it in t h e w o r l d o f a r t .
Simichidas r e f l e c t s t h a t fruitful s t r u g g l e in h i s o w n p o e t r y , seeing t h r o u g h
t h e e v e n t s o f h i s d a i l y l i f e t o t h e d i v i n e g r o u n d b e n e a t h them in s u c h a
way t h a t t h e w o r l d a r o u n d h i m becomes a metaxy, a m e d i a t i n g realm a n d
i n t e r f u s i o n , a truly animated creation.
T h e love b e t w e e n L y c i d a s a n d
Simichidas i s e x p r e s s e d in L y c i d a s ' gift o f h i s olive-wood s t a f f t o Simichidas
and his subsequent incarnation i n t o t h e h i g h e r w o r l d o f bucolic a r t .
Simichidas r e t u r n s t h a t love,
r e t u r n s it in h i s o w n p o e t r y .
need humans, human mouths, t o d i e t h r o u g h a n d t o change.
F o r t h e gods
A n d t h e last
l i n e s o f t h e poem echo t h e f i n a l r e t u r n o f t h a t g r e a t w a n d e r e r Odysseus
w h o was e n j o i n e d by T i r e s i a s t o t r a v e l until someone t o o k t h e o a r o n h i s
s h o u l d e r f o r a w i n n o w i n g fan.
T h e r e h e was t o p l a n t t h e o a r a n d s a c r i f i c e
t o a l l t h e g o d s as a s i g n o f h i s f i n a l homecoming w h i l e t h e goddess h e r s e l f
s t a n d s a n d smiles " w i t h wheat-sheaves a n d p o p p i e s in h e r hands."
NOTES
Hillman, Revisioning Psychology, p. 130.
Hillman, Revisioning Psychology, p. 132.
Hillman, " A n Inquiry i n t o Image,"
in S p r i n g 1977, p. 83.
Hillrnan, " A n I n q u i r y i n t o Image,"
p. 82.
S t r u c t u r e and Dynamics o f t h e Psyche, p. 324.
Jung,
Snyder, p. 36.
See Lawall, T h e o c r i t u s Coan Pastorals, pp. 24-8, f o r a discussion
o f t h e h e r o i c dimensions o f t h i s f i g u r e as a n idealization o f pastoral
values; a n d Gow, Theocritus, p p . 1-3, f o r t h e classic consideration
o f sources.
E. R. Dodds, T h e Greeks a n d t h e I r r a t i o n al,
Calif. Press, 1951), p. 221.
(Berkeley:
Univ. o f
Dodds, p. 231.
Dodds, p. 213.
Dodds, p. 216.
Tom Moore, "Artemis a n d t h e Puer," in Puer Papers, p. 174. Moore
examines several p u e r deaths in light o f a n Artemis-Dionysos collaboration.
Greek Bucolic Poets, Loeb Classical L i b r a r y , (Cambridge:
U n i v . Press, 1977), pp. 491-3.
Harvard
For a detailed discussion o f t h i s double a r c h e t y p e (puer-et-senex)
and i t s r e l a t i o n t o Mother a n d t o Hero, see Hillman, "Senex and Puer,"
in Puer Papers, pp. 3-53; a n d " T h e Great Mother, h e r Son, h e r Hero,
a n d t h e Puer," in Fathers a n d Mothers, pp. 75-127.
C a r l Kerenyi, Dionysos: A r c h e t y p a l lmaqe o f I n d e s t r u c t i b l e Life,
Bollinaen Series L X V . 2. (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 19761,
64. See also W. F. -0tt0, Dionysos: M y t h a n d Cult,
S p r i n g Pub., 1981), p. 153-6, f o r a n extended examination o f t h e
n a t u r e o f these t w o Dionysian siblings.
allas as:
J
Hillman,
Puer Papers, p. 62.
Hillman,
Puer Papers, p. 67.
-
Kerenyi,
erotes.
Dionysos, p. 66-7,
o n t h e wine-press,
t h e linos a n d t h e
Hillman, M y t h o f A n a l y s i s , p. 287.
Hillman, M y t h o f A n a l y s i s ,
p. 275.
Hillman, M y t h o f A n a l y s i s ,
p. 280.
Hillman, M y t h o f A n a l y s i s , p. 277.
Hillman, M y t h o f A n a l y s i s ,
p. 278.
K e r e n y i , Dionysos, p. 64.
Hillman, Dream a n d t h e U n d e r w o r l d , p. 45.
R i s t , p. 46.
R i s t , p. 46
Hillman, Dream a n d t h e U n d e r w o r l d , p. 117.
st, p. 52-3,
f o r a v e r y c o g e n t d i s c u s s i o n o f t h i s poem.
Ilman, P u e r Papers, p. 102.
Ilman, P u e r Papers,
Ilman, P u e r Papers, p. 102.
R a n d o l p h Severson,
p. 133.
Walker,
Hillman,
" P u e r ' s Wounded Wing,"
in P u e r Papers,
pp. 106-7.
" G r e a t M o t h e r a n d t h e Puer,"
p. 43.
Paul K u g l e r , T h e A l c h e m y o f D i s c o u r s e : S t u d i e s in J u n g i a n T h o u g h t ,
L e w i s b u r g : B u c k n e l l U n i v . Press, l 9 8 2 ) , pp. 84-8.
K u g l e r , p. 88.
K u g l e r , p. 89.
See Hillman, P u e r Papers, pp. 38-43, o n t h i s a s p e c t o f anima t h a t
" e x p r e s s e s t h e d e p e n d e n c y o f t h e e g o o n t h e anima f o r i t s life."
T h e image in t h e Idyll l i n k s , in a p a r a d o x i c a l fashion, t h e n o u r i s h ing m i l k a n d t h e p l a y o f i l l u s i o n s .
Rist, p. 81.
Rist, p. 81.
42.
Walker, p. 30.
43<
Kerenyi, p. 37.
44.
Hillman, Dream a n d t h e Underworld, p. 37.
45,
"Hymn t o Delian Apollo," in Homeric Hymns, t r a n s . C h a r l e s Boer,
(Dallas: S p r i n g P u b . , 1979), p . 150.
46.
Kerenyi, p. 21 1.
47.
A description/evocation of a v e r y similar Dionysian g r o u n d is
found in Euripides' T h e Bacchae:
T h e g r o u n d t h e r e flows with milk a n d
Flows with wine a n d flows with
Honey from t h e bees.
Fragrant a s Syrian frankincense
t h e pine fumes
...
T h r e e Plays of Euripides. ( t r a n s . ) Paul Roche, (New York:
W. W. Norton, 1944), p. 83.
VII
THE SIMPLE SHEPHERDS' BOY
Vocatus atque non vocatus
Deus aderit.
i t u s created, t h e f o r m we now k n o w as
pastoral, p r o p o s e s a c o n n e c t i o n o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l p o e t t o t h e a r c h e t y p a l
g r o u n d , t h e g h o s t a n d g o d voices, t h a t i s b o t h g r o u n d e d in dream a n d
f i n d s i t s f o c u s in a complete metamorphosis o f w h a t we m i g h t c a l l e x p e r i ence.
It was c r e a t e d in a p a r t i c u l a r k a i r o s , o r c r i t i c a l moment, w h e n t h e
manifest p e r s o n s o f t h e soul a c t i v e in t h e maintenance o f a c u l t u r e d r a w
b a c k i n t o d a r k n e s s t o seek r e b i r t h in a t o t a l l y imaginal conception.
This
new birth i s b r o u g h t a b o u t by t h e uniting love o f y o u n g a n d o l d man
(puer-et-senex)
a n d it redeems t h e time,
recreating t h e mythic ground.
T h e process i s mediated by anirna o r soul a n d it i n v o l v e s c o n t a c t w i t h ,
a n d in many w a y s assimilation to, t h e soul's deepest u n d e r w o r l d dominants,
Dionysos, Hades a n d Persephone.
In t h i s sense t h e f o r m moves in t w o d i r e c -
tions, as a n i n i t i a t i o n p r o c e s s t h a t i n v o l v e s c o n t a c t w i t h d e a t h a n d t h e f e c u n d
u n d e r w o r l d o f Dionysos /Hades, a n d as w h a t Hillman calls a r c h e t y p a l t h e r a p y ,
therapy o f a n archetype.
F o r it i s t h e c o n s t e l l a t i o n o f t h e p u e r - s e n e x arche-
t y p e as a s p l i t t h a t i s o f c r u c i a l i m p o r t a n c e t o a t r a n s i t i o n a l generation,
it Hellenistic,
E l i z a b e t h a n o r contemporary,
be
a n d it also seems t o b e o f c r u c i a l
importance t o t h e s p i r i t g r o u n d i t s e l f , t h e g o d as absconditus:
...
we k n o w t h a t t h e h i s t o r i c a l d i s o r d e r s o f t h e d a y
a r e n o t m e r e l y o u t s i d e a n d t h a t we a r e n o t merely pass i v e s u f f e r e r s c a u g h t in t h e case o f w o r l d h i s t o r y
B e h i n d it a l l i s t h e a r c h e t y p a l s p l i t between p u e r a n d
senex, b e g i n n i n g a n d end, t e m p b r a l i t y a n d e t e r n i t y .
T h e r e f o r e , o u r c o n c e r n m u s t b e w i t h a r c h e t y p a l t h e r a.p -y
o r therapy o f a n archetype
r e g a r d i n g -the s p l i t s
g o i n g o n a r o u n d u s a n d in w h i c h we a r e c a u g h t as manif e s t a t i o n s o f a n a r c h e t y p a l s p l i t t h a t c a n b e s t b e app r o a c h e d w i t h i n o u r i n d i v i d u a l souls.1
-. . .
..
...
T h i s d o u b l e view o f p a s t o r a l p o e t r y , p a r t i c u l a r l y in view o f i t s r e l a t i o n
t o dream, emphasizes t h e r e c i p r o c a l r e l a t i o n between d i v i n e a n d human seen
in t h e H a r v e s t Home a n d t h r o w s i n t o s h a r p r e l i e f t h e n a t u r e o f t h i s p o e t r y
as process, as p s y c h i c o r imaginal e n c o u n t e r a n d healing.
In t h i s sense,
t h r o u g h o u r p a r t i c i p a t i o n in t h e w o r k o f a r t a n d in t h e dream-life it engenders, we a r e n o t o n l y dreamers a n d a r t i s t s ,
but become a s o r t o f shaman.
" T h u s we a r e m a k e w e i g h t s in t h e h i s t o r i c a l t r a n s i t i o n a n d w h a t we d o w i t h
our life is o f historical import
. . . it i s t h e way
h i s t o r y i t s e l f may b e
washed a n d healed."*
T h e S p e n s e r i a n k a i r o s a n d t h e Spenserian pastoral, however, i n v o l v e
us w i t h q u i t e a d i f f e r e n t vision.
Edmund Spenser was t h e f i r s t E n g l i s h
C h r i s t i a n p o e t o f a n y d e p t h t o t a k e up t h e p a s t o r a l f o r m a n d h e w r o t e a t
a time w h e n t h e Reformation, t h e e n s u i n g r e l i g i o u s p e r s e c u t i o n s a n d t h e
r i s e o f E n g l i s h nationalism opened a g r e a t a n d h o s t i l e gulf between h i s o w n
g e n e r a t i o n a n d a sense of c o n t i n u i t y w i t h t h e past.
Religious a n d moral
values a r e highly p o l a r i z e d a l o n g b o t h C h r i s t i a n a n d B r i t i s h Nationalist lines,
a n d t h e c o m b i n a t i o n o f these values expresses i t s e l f as a sense o f h i s t o r i c a l
mission, a mission t h a t i n v o l v e s t h e arrangement of, among o t h e r t h i n g s ,
t h e p a g a n l p o l y t h e i s t i c m y t h o s a r o u n d c e r t a i n c u l t u r a l dominants, t h e
dominants o f t h e e v o l v i n g B r i t i s h Empire.
T h e u n d e r w o r l d , so c e n t r a l t o
T h e o c r i t a n p a s t o r a l , i s t h o r o u g h l y contaminated w i t h shadow, b o t h t h e shadow
of C h r i s t i a n i t y w h i c h sees Hades as Hell a n d t h e shadow o f ElizabethIGloriana
who sees o p p o s i t i o n as e v i l .
T h e u n d e r w o r l d i t s e l f i s b a r e l y p r e s e n t in
Spenserls e a r l y p a s t o r a l s a n d in t h e Faerie Queene it acts in d i r e c t opposit i o n t o t h e poem's conscious purpose, i n f o r m i n g t h e f a i l u r e o f t h e heroic
q u e s t t h a t i s c e n t r a l t o i t s imaginal method.
T h i s i s a n enantiodromia o f
t h e h e r o i c e g o i t s e l f , a c h a r a c t e r s t r u c t u r e i n h e r e n t in b o t h t h e C h r i s t i a n
r e l i g i o n a n d in i t s p o l i t i c a l reflection, t h e emergent B r i t i s h I m p e r i a l State.
T h i s k a i r o s i n v o l v e s t h e re-emergence o f soul a n d o f soul values a f t e r
f i f t e e n c e n t u r i e s o f C h r i s t i a n domination a n d it i s r e f l e c t e d in a r e d u c t i v e
o p e r a t i o n o n t h o s e ruling c u l t u r a l dominants.
A sense o f conscious n a t i o n a l p u r p o s e o r mission was v e r y g r e a t in
Spenser, as h i s w o r k w i t h t h e d e v e l o p i n g E n g l i s h poetic language, h i s
c o n c e r n w i t h t h e r e l i g i o u s p r o b l e m s o f h i s day, a n d h i s deep i n t e r e s t in
f u s i n g Classical a n d B r i t i s h t r a d i t i o n s reveal.
V e r y e a r l y in h i s w o r k h e
i n v o l v e s h i m s e l f w i t h t h e p u e r - s e n e x a r c h e t y p e , bringing t o g e t h e r a y o u n g
a n d a n o l d man, C u d d i e l p u e r a n d T h e n o t l s e n e x o f t h e F e b r u a r y Aeglogue,
in h i s f i r s t major poem, t h e p a s t o r a l sequence o f t h e Shepheardes Calender.
B u t Cuddie, who l a t e r laments h i s l a c k o f i n s p i r a t i o n , remains r e s o l u t e l y
-
h o s t i l e w h i l e T h e n o t subsides i n t o a w e l t e r o f p l a t i t u d i n o u s ministration.
T h e F e b r u a r y Aeglogue i s w h a t we m i g h t call a dream w i t h i n a dream.
T h e Calender opens, in J a n u a r y , w i t h C o l i n C l o u t ' s lament f o r h i s lost love,
Rosalind, o n e in w h i c h he, a s h e p h e r d ' s boy, compares himself t o t h e w i n t e r
T h u s Colin, in whom, as E. K. states,
landscape t h a t s u r r o u n d s him.
" t h e a u t h o r ' s selfe i s shadowed,''
i s a w i t h e r e d y o u t h , a p u e r senilis, o l d
b e f o r e h i s time a n d in a s t a t e o f p r o f o u n d c o n f l i c t .
state o f being.
F e b r u a r y opens t h a t
C o l i n f a l l s a p a r t i n t o p u e r a n d senex a n d t h e c o n f l i c t
between them i s e x p l o r e d :
C u d d i e : Ah, f o r p i t t i e , w i l l r a n k w i n t e r ' s r a g e
these b i t t e r b l a s t s n e r e gin tasswage?
L e w d l y complainest t h o u lasie ladde
Thenot:
3
o f Winter's wracke, f o r m a k i n g t h e e sadde (11. 1-10).
C u d d i e a n d T h e n o t b a n t e r a n d b i c k e r , e x c h a n g i n g image a n d i n s u l t much
as did Lacon a n d Komatus.
Cuddie (as p u e r ) is:
e r e c t t a i l e ( p e r k e as peacock),
t h e bull ( r o n t e s ) , t h e
f l o w e r i n g , t h e budding branch, t h e "greene,
"
t h e successful lover, t h e "smirke,"
(as senex) i s :
t h e "smoothe,"
"soveraigne of seas,"
"reeme w i n t e r ' s chamfered browes
p u c k e r s t h e heart."
t h e "lythe."
Thenot
chill, cold, crooked, "wrye,"
. . . which cruddles
the
t h e blood and
T h e antagonism between them develops a n d soon
centers o n t h e theme o f love, o f e r o t i c experience, t h a t is Colin's problem
in January and, as in Theocritus, i s b o t h t h e disease which pastoral seeks
t o c u r e and t h e method by w h i c h t h a t c u r e i s effected:
Cuddie: Ah, foolish o l d man, I s c o r n t h e y s k i l l
t h a t wouldest me my s p r i n g i n g y o u t h t o s p i l l
...
Thenot: T h o u a r e a fon, o f thy love t o boste,
A l l t h a t i s l e n t t o love, w y l l b e loste (11. 51-70).
Cuddie t h e n issues a d i r e c t challenge, comparing h i s herd, so "smoothe,"
so "smirke,"
t o Thenot's animals w h i c h a r e "So lustlesse they, so weak,
so wan I clothed w i t h c o l d a n d h o a r y w i t h f r o s t . "
He continues t h i s
accusation o n a personal level, e q u a t i n g sheep a n d shepherd:
"The r a t h e r
Lambes have been s t a r v e d w i t h cold I A l l f o r t h e i r Maister i s lustlesse and
old.
I'
Thenot dismisses t h i s c h a r g e ( a n d C u d d i e ) as "a bubble blown up
w i t h breath", but he i s o b v i o u s l y q u i t e rankled.
He responds w i t h a moral
fable, t h e Fable o f t h e Oake a n d t h e B r e r e which, as he informs us, was
once t o l d by T i t y r u s , a hallowed name t h a t evokes b o t h Chaucer a n d V i r g i l
a n d who f o r Cuddie ( t h e p u e r aspect o f Colin) i s " t h a t good o l d man,"
t h e positive o r n o u r i s h i n g senex.
B u t Thenot appropriates t h e tale t o h i s
own purpose a n d it i s a t t h i s p o i n t t h a t t h e negative senex takes over:
T h e framework o f t h e fable p o r t r a y s , w i t h a comedy o f
age's p a t aphorisms a n d y o u t h ' s rigid denials, t h e
h e a l t h y r i t e o f s p r i n g ; but t h e fable p o r t r a y s a t r a g i c
a n d wasteful p e r v e r s i o n o f t h e h e a l t h y contest o f y o u t h
...
a n d age. L i k e Colin's w i n t r y m i n d
t h e fable
reveals t h e t r a g i c d i s t o r t i o n o f t r u e , v a l i d
accommodation. 4
...
Thenot, as Colin's senex aspect,
h i s " w i n t r y mind,"
of t h e ( g o o d l y ) Oake a n d t h e (foolish, p r i d e f u l ) B r e r e .
tells t h e s t o r y
The goodly t r e e
i s aged but i s "mightely pight, t h r o u g h l y r o o t e d a n d o f wondrous height."
Now, however, he i s "beaten w i t h stormes,"
" g r e y mosse m a r r e d h i s rine."
"wasted w i t h wormes" and
B y h i s side g r o w s t h e b r a g g i n g Brere,
"embellisht w i t h blossoms f a y r e " t o whom t h e shepherd's d a u g h t e r s come
t o "peint t h e i r girlonds."
A l l t h i s attention, o f course, makes t h e B r e r e
"wexe so bold" t h a t he "snebbes" t h e good Oake and, j u s t as Cuddie r a i l i n g
o n Thenot as seen t h r o u g h Thenot's eyes, a r r o g a n t l y compares h i s "sinamon
-
smell" w i t h t h e "mouldie moss" o f t h e Oake.
fast, submits in silence.
T h e Oake, humble and shame-
He, as Thenot, again seen t h r o u g h h i s own eyes,
-
" g e n t l y takes t h a t o n g e n t l y came."
A c l o y i n g atmosphere o f guilt and
self-righteousness rises from t h e fable as t h e B r e r e I C u d d i e i s forced i n t o
t h e position of villain.
What i s n a t u r a l a n d multidimensional has effectively
become moral a n d static.
What i s sweet, f r a g r a n t , evocative o f r i s i n g eros
has e f f e c t i v e l y become lewd, lazy,
proud:
We have let t h e basic dualism o f t h e s t r u c t u r e force
u s i n t o t a k i n g a stand, t h e familiar ego stance o f a
It i s t h i s d i v i s i o n
~ o s i t i v eo r neaative wosition.
i t s e l f a n d n o t what we judge t o b e p o s i t i v e o r negat i v e t h a t p u t s i n t o senex consciousness
Whenever we u s e these reasonings, whenever we
t a k e a position t h a t i s anti-psychological o r antieros it i s t h e senex speaking. S a t u r n i s n e v e r in
He p r e v e n t s t h e connecf a v o r w i t h woman o r wife.
t i o n between eros a n d p s y c h e
forgetting that
p s y c h i c r e a l i t y i s p r i m a r y a n d t h a t p r i m a r y in psychic
r e a l i t y a r e t h e fantasies, feelings a n d values o f eros.5
4
....
...
Finally, t h e r e comes a d a y w h e n t h e Husbandman w a l k s by.
The
B r e r e in a l l h i s f l o w e r i n g g l o r y "causeless complained a n d l o w d l y cried,"
l a u n c h i n g i n t o a l o n g complaint a g a i n s t t h e adjacent Oake, t h a t so inflames
t h e Husbandman t h a t "in a f u r i o u s heate h e l a y s t h e o l d t r e e lowe."
t h e B r e r e , however, c o n f r o n t s t h e c o l d snows o f w i n t e r "nowe,
was seen him neere."
in t h e dust,"
When
n o succore
He r e p e n t s , too late, h i s g r i e v o u s s i n a n d " t r o d d e
meets h i s r i c h l y d e s e r v e d f a t e f o r s c o r n i n g eld, a n e l d t h a t
in i t s e l f i s h o l y :
F o r it i s t h e senex too who c r e a t e s . t h e g e n e r a t i o n problem
a n d t h e g e n e r a t i o n gap.
T h e senex conceives in terms o f
time, succession a n d t h e p a t r i a r c h a l v i s i o n o f f a t h e r s a n d
sons.
When we u s e t h i s language we a r e again u n d e r senex
domination.
D e s p i t e t h e b l e s s i n g s it o f f e r s o f p a t r o n a g e
a n d p a t r i m o n y , c a s t r a t i o n i s i n h e r e n t in t h e generational
model; K r o n o s w h o c a s t r a t e d h i s f a t h e r has c a s t r a t e d h i s
fatherhood. 6
We e n c o u n t e r in T h e n o t as senex, as "Colin's w i n t r y mind,"
t h a t t h r i v e s o n negation.
tension
walls.
It
. . . through
a consciousness
It " b u i l d s ego by k e e p i n g t h e opposites in extreme
i t s r u l e s a n d laws t h a t maintain b o r d e r s , categories,
7
It i s o b v i o u s by t h i s p o i n t t h a t t h e whole tale i s t o l d f r o m Thenot's
p o i n t o f view.
He seeks t o d r a w C u d d i e (as Colin's p u e r aspect) i n t o h i s
system, t o d e f i n e h i m w i t h i n it a n d t o o c c u p y in Cuddie's s e n s i b i l i t y t h e
place t h a t T i t y r u s does.
O f T i t y r u s C u d d i e states:
" T h e y bene so well
thewed, a n d so wise I What e v e r t h a t good o l d man bespake."
w i l l h a v e none o f it.
w i t h it:
B u t Cuddie
H e r e j e c t s t h i s model o f t h e w o r l d a n d T h e n o t along
"So l o n g h a v e I l i s t e n e d t o thy speche / t h a t g r a f f e d t o t h e g r o u n d
i s my b r e c h e
. . . B u t l i t t l e ease o f thy
shepherd, t h e d a y i s nigh wasted."
t h e problem.
In r e j e c t i n g t h e tale,
l e w d tale I t a s t e d I H y e thee home
In d o i n g so h e moves u s t o t h e c r u x o f
t h e implicit identification w i t h t h e B r e r e
.-'
a n d t h e s t u l t i f y i n g moral allegory it r e p r e s e n t s he also r e j e c t s t h e senex in
himself,
t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f union.
C u d d i e i s hostile t o winter, as s p r i n g
always is, t h e h o s t i l i t y o f a c o n t r a r y state in which, as Blake says "Opposit i o n i s t r u e Friendship."
B u t as t h e n e g a t i v e senex comes t o equate s p r i n g
w i t h sin, as t h e i n t e r p l a y and secret i d e n t i t y o f t h e opposites i s subsumed
i n t o a moral d u a l i t y C u d d i e must, in o r d e r t o s u r v i v e a t all, r e j e c t n o t
o n l y w i n t e r but t h e e n t i r e senex com@lex, h i s skill, h i s endurance, a n d
t h e deepening implied by t h e "sicknesse" of t h e Oake, h i s "canker wormes"
a n d "woundes wyde."
Presented in s u c h m o r a l l n e g a t i v e terms t h e r e i s n o
chance f o r a rapprochement w i t h t h e senex, a union, a n d t h i s bodes disaster
f o r y o u n g man a n d o l d man alike:
However we conceive t h e tasks o f youth, o r t h e beginning o f things, t h e y cannot b e accomplished w i t h o u t t h e
s p i r i t u a l connection.
Initiation i n t o reality is not to
t a k e away t h e i n i t i a n t ' s r e l a t i o n w i t h t h e p r i m o r d i a l o r i it i s n o t a de-mythologizing i n t o h a r d r e a l i t y
gins
[it] softens r e a l i t y by filling in i t s b a c k g r o u n d
Traditional
w i t h l a y e r s o f mythological p e r s p e c t i v e
i n i t i a t i o n o f t h e p e r by t h e p o s i t i v e senex confirms t h i s
s t a t i n g t h a t he, t h e myth, so easily wounded,
relation
e a s i l y s l a i n y e t always r e b o r n i s t h e seminal s u b s t r a t u m o f
all enterprize.
Some s u b s t i t u t e s f o r i n i t i a t i o n instead sever
t h i s relation
[ t h i s ] r e f l e c t s a senex p e r s o n a l i t y
,
t h a t i s threatened by i t s o w n child, i t s o w n phallus, i t s
o w n poetry.8
...
...
...
...
...
. .
T h u s t h e obstacles t o t h e puer-senex union, t h e i n i t i a t i o n o f t h e p u e r
by t h e p o s i t i v e senex, l i e w i t h i n t h e senex r o l e o f t h e archetype.
This i s
in d i s t i n c t c o n t r a s t t o Theocritus' v i s i o n in Idyll V (Lacon a n d Komatus)
where it was t h e p u e r who was c a u g h t up in a n ostentatiously l i t e r a l
reality.
In fact,
t h e whole n a t u r e o f t h e senex in t h e t w o d i v e r g e n t visions
i s s t r i k i n g l y dissimilar.
reconciliation,
Where Komatus was l u s t y , anima-ted,
d r i v e n toward
a t t e m p t i n g t o d r a w t h e p u e r - s p i r i t i n t o h i s psychologized
vision, h e r e it w o r k s in reverse.
Thenot, Colin's senex pole, i s t o t a l l y
un-erotic,
austere, c r a b b e d a n d c o n c e r n e d m a i n l y w i t h t h e rigid enforce-
ment o f h i s m o r a l i s t i c will, c r e a t i n g a r o u n d h i m a w o r l d s i n g u l a r l y l a c k i n g
in soul, anima, t h e feminine.
c t h o n i c sacrifice,
Y e t a t t h e same time, as w i t h Lacon a n d h i s
u n i o n w i t h t h e senex seems t o r e p r e s e n t t h e o n l y p o s s i b i l i t y
o f redemption from an o n l y literal reality:
F o r it h a d been a n a u n c i e n t t r e e ,
S a c r e d w i t h many a mysteree,
A n d o f t e n c r o s t w i t h t h e p r i e s t e s crewe,
A n d o f t e n hallowed w i t h h o l y w a t e r dew.
B u t s i k e fancies w e r e n f o o l e r i e
A n d b r o u g h t t h e oake t o t h i s miserie ( 1 1. 207-12)
Without a c o n n e c t i o n t o w h a t e v e r it i s t h a t lies b e n e a t h a l l t h e moralizing a n d neglect, t h e l i t e r a l h i s t o r y a n d r e j e c t i o n o f Roman Catholicism
i m p l i e d by t h e " p r i e s t e s crewe,"
dewe,"
without t h e real n a t u r e o f t h e "holy water
t h e y o u n g man a n d t h e o l d man f a l l a p a r t .
We a r e t r a p p e d in t h e
n e g a t i v e t i n c t u r e , t h e s t e r i l e l u c u b r a t i o n s o f t h e n e g a t i v e senex a n d " e v e r y w h e r e t h e ceremony o f innocence i s drowned."
T o g e t a c l e a r e r idea o f j u s t w h a t t h e a n c i e n t m y s t e r y i s t h a t lies a t
t h e h e a r t o f t h e matter, we turn f r o m F e b r u a r y a n d C u d d i e as p u e r t o
O c t o b e r a n d C u d d i e as senex.
In t h e w o r d s o f E. K.,
who i n t r o d u c e s t h e
poem :
In C u d d i e i s set o u t t h e p e r f e c t e p a t t e r n o f t h e
Poete, w h i c h finding n o maintenance o f h i s s t a t e
A n d h i s studies, complayeth o f t h e contempte o f
P o e t r i e a n d t h e causes t h e r e o f .
Pierce, t h e f o i l f o r C u d d i e in t h i s Aeglogue, opens w i t h a n accusation:
C u d d i e , f o r shame, h o l d up thy h e a v y heade
Whilome t h o u w o n t t h e s h e p h e r d s l a d s t o leade
In rymes, in r i d d l e s a n d in bidding base,
Now t h e y in t h e e a n d t h e e in sleepe a r t d e a d ( 1 1 . 1-6).
...
-
Cuddie, t h e perfect p a t t e r n of t h e poet, t h e poet's spiritual function, is
in sleep, his head is heavy and weighed down.
According to R. 9 . Onians,
"the spirit in t h e head was t h e genius [ a n d ] t h e r e is f u r t h e r reason to
believe t h a t what survives death, what goes to t h e nether gods is t h e
genius."9
T h u s Cuddie's genius o r psyche ( h e a d ) moves toward death
and he himself is heavy, burdened, d e p r e s s e d .
a r e dead in him and he in sleep is dead.
dream?
H i s "rymes and riddles"
But of what, then, does Cuddie
Simply p u t , it is sustenance, nourishment, endurance, a deep in-
spiration and sustaining breath:
Cuddie: Piers, I have piped e r s t so long with payne,
That all mine oaten reeds bene r e n t and wore.
And my poor Muse has s p e n t h e r spared s t o r e ,
Yet little good has got, and much less gayne ( 1 1 . 7-10).
--
Piers has several suggestions to cheer Cuddie up.
with a specific twist.
The first is honor but
It is t h e honor of acting a s agent of t h e same re-
pression t h a t he himself was threatened with a s p u e r / y o u t h / s p r i n g :
Piers: Cuddie, t h e p r a y s e is b e t t e r than t h e price
The glory much g r e a t e r than t h e gayne
0 what an honor it is to restraine
T h e lust of lawless youth with good advice ( 1 1. 19-22).
This dubious honor Cuddie dismisses:
"Sike p r a y s e is like smoke."
honor did not answer him earlier and it does not s e r v e now.
Such
So Piers
t r i e s again:
Abandon then t h e base and vile clowne,
Lift u p t h y selfe o u t of t h e lowly d u s t
And s i n g of bloody Mars, of war and q u e s t s ,
T u r n thee to those, t h a t wield t h e awful crowne ( 1 1 . 37-40).
Cuddie's answer is quite simple and it "speaks to his condition."
To sing
of g r e a t e r t h i n g s is impossible when all t h e g r e a t deeds and all the g r e a t
men exist only in t h e past and in d e a t h :
But a h Mencoenas is yclad in claye
And g r e a t Augustus long ago is dead;
All t h e worthies biggen wrapt in lead,
That matter made for Poets on t o play (11. 61-64).
The contemporary world, t h e world around him, is "nought worth a pease"
for everything of worth e x i s t s in t h e past.
t h e Brere.
Cuddie here suffers the fate of
He has no shelter in t h e p a s t , in tradition, no living connection.
But he reveals a subtle b u t v e r y important characteristic, one that he s h a r e s
with Thenot.
That characteristic is literalism.
He confuses o r conflates t h e
past and death so that death itself, t h e e n t r a n c e to the Halls of Hades,
becomes an only literal o r only temporal reality, a historical hypostasis.
And this leads to t h e v e r y core of t h e problem:
Cuddie: Whoever c a s t s to compasse wieghtye prise,
And thinks t o throw out thonderinq words of threate,
Let power in lavish c u p s and t h r i f t e bits of meat,
For Bacchus f r u i t is friend to Pheobus wise.
Thou kenst not Percie, how t h e ryme would rage.
0, if my temples were distained with wine,
And g i r t in girlonds of Yvie twine,
How I could r e a r e t h e Muse on stately stage (11. 103-10).
Cuddie laments t h e lack of a specifically Dionysian inspiration, one
t h a t , s u r r o u n d i n g his genius (temples), links t h e vine and t h e ivy.
and Bacchus, p u e r and senex.
Phoebus
He is unable to connect with this underworld
figure because he is unable t o experience death a s anything o t h e r than a
literal reality.
He remains caught in an identification with t h e literal year,
a senex without a p u e r in October and a p u e r without a senex in February.
As we have seen, t h e imagery t h a t brings d
in
~ t h e~ re-union
t
Theocritus all c e n t e r s around t h e cult figure of t h e god Dionysos.
t h e Homeric Hymn:
As in
we, t h e poets
begin
and e n d o u r singing
t h r o u g h you-a n d i t s impossible without you
without remembering you
we can't remember o u r sacred song. 10
Dionysos, a p e r - s e n e x union which transforms,''
is invoked parti-
cularly in his senex aspect a s Lord of Souls, King of t h e Underworld.
"One
aspect of life is riven in o r d e r t h a t another, t h e psychic and called death,
can reach awareness. " I 2
Cuddie, in February, was unable t o connect with
his senex p a r t n e r because t h a t figure inhabited, created around him, a
specifically dualistic, moral, and unpsychological landscape.
Here Cuddie,
a s g e n u s or typos of t h e species poet, is unable to connect with his qenius
o r daimon because he himself has become senex in the same s o r t of landscape.
The genius of Cuddie, who p r e s e n t s to u s t h e g e n u s Poet is no other than
Colin Clout, "For it is Colin fittes s u c h famous flight to scanne," and t h e r e
is a distinct b a r r i e r between them.
In fact, one might s a y , they inhabit
two completely different worlds :
The pastoral tradition Spenser inherited was divided in
vision. To pastoral had gravitated many of t h e crucial
and unresolved conflicts of Renaissance thinking: n a t u r e
and a r t , otherworldliness and secularism, Christianity
and Paganism, reason and emotion. Not only was pastoral
a vehicle for these divisions in thinking, it was itself
marked b y t h a t division. This division in pastoral is, I
believe, t h e p r o p e r s t a r t i n g point for a n y analysis of t h e
Calender.
The Renaissance pastoral tradition a s Spenser inherited it was
b y the conflict between "Mantuanesque" and "Arcadian" pastoral.
riven
Briefly,
t h e Mantuanesque "takes a s i t s ideal t h e Judeo-Christian pastor bonus, t h e
shepherd unwaveringly committed t o his flock and to t h e requirements for
eternal salvation."14
F u r t h e r , "as an instrument of Christian polemics,
119
pastoral's s e n s e of multivalence
conflict of good and evil."15
2
. . . is transmuted
into a simplistic Christian
This allegorization gives rise to the expression
of specific attitudes towards t h e world and towards love and femininity:
The same contemptus mundi which colors Mantuanesque
pastoral's perspective on t h e city and t h e court colors
a s well its perspective on love
Underlying the
Mantuanesque attitude toward love is t h e fear that love,
since it involves a loss of reason, is an instrument of
t h e devil seducing man t h r o u g h Woman-Eve into e r r o r
and sin. f 6
...
Arcadian pastoral on the other hand "exists in praise of woman and the
joys of satisfied love. l t l '
It t h u s c e n t e r s itself in t h e necessity of erotic
and irrational experience and takes a s its ideal t h e pastor felix.
Unlike the
Mantuanesque which "perceives t h e world a s an unceasing combat between
-
--
virtue and vice, mens and s e n s u s
...
[ i t ] attempts to create a world in
which man's instincts and desire for otium can be satisfied."'*
If we keep
in mind t h e distinction Leo Marx makes between simplelnaive and complexl
literary pastoral and its resonance in the division between literal and imaginal
realities, t h e Arcadian landscape becomes t h e entrance to o r embodiment of
the world of dream o r psyche.
Colin Clout e x i s t s only in this world, in
what E. K . calls the Plaintive Aeglogues: I , VI, X I , X I I .
The others,
Recreative and Moral, containing a Mantuanesque admixture of allegory and
moralizing, s u r r o u n d him on all sides.
If, however, Colin as genius exists
in an Arcadian landscape t h a t evokes the world a s dream, here it is a very
bad dream, a recurring sense of loss, of mourning, of heaviness, sorrow
and desolation.
It images t h e plight of t h e poetic genius lost in the
Christian world, another major concern of Hillman's work with anima and t h e
puer-senex archetype:
L o n g ago a n d f a r away f r o m C a l i f o r n i a a n d i t s action,
i t s concern, i t s engagement, t h e r e t o o k place in Byzantium, in t h e c i t y o f C o n s t a n t i n o p l e in t h e y e a r 869, a
C o u n c i l o f t h e P r i n c i p a l s o f t h e H o l y Catholic C h u r c h ,
a n d because o f t h e i r session t h e n a n d a n o t h e r one o f
t h e i r sessions a h u n d r e d y e a r s p r i o r (Nicaea, 787), we
a r e a l l in t h i s room t o n i g h t .
Because a t t h a t C o u n c i l in Constantinople, t h e soul lost
i t s dominion.
O u r a n t h r o p o l o g y , o u r idea o f human
n a t u r e , d e v o l v e d f r o m a t r i p a r t i t e cosmos
to a
dualism o f s p i r i t ( o r m i n d )
a n d matter. A n d t h i s
because a t t h a t o t h e r Council, t h e one in Nicaea in 787,
images were d e p r i v e d o f t h e i r i n h e r e n t a u t h e n t i c i t y .
...
...
We a r e in t h i s room t h i s e v e n i n g because we a r e moderns
in s e a r c h o f a s o u l
We a r e s t i l l in s e a r c h o f t h a t
third place; t h a t i n t e r m e d i a t e realm o f p s y c h e - - w h i c h i s
also t h e realm of images a n d t h e p o w e r o f imagination-f r o m w h i c h we w e r e e x i l e d by theological s p i r i t u a l men
more t h a n a t h o u s a n d y e a r s ago. l
...
T h e move f r o m a Classical t o a C h r i s t i a n cosmos was t h e move f r o m a
t r i p a r t i t e cosmos o f s p i r i t ,
soul, a n d b o d y t o a d u a l i t y , a dichotomy o f
s p i r i t ( w h i c h i s identified w i t h mind) a n d matter.
T h e mediating realm,
t h e realm o f p s y c h e o r s o u l was put a t t h e s e r v i c e o f a disembodied s p i r i t .
B u t in s p i t e o f T e r t u l l i a n ' s i n s i s t e n c e t o t h e c o n t r a r y ,
naturally Christian.
and rebirth.
t h e soul i s n o t
She c a r r i e s a d e e p b a c k l o g o f d a r k e r images o f s p i r i t
A n d it seems t h a t j u s t h e r e we c o n t a c t w h a t i s b o t h t h e
c e n t r a l c o n f l i c t in t h e Shepherdes C a l e n d e r a n d t h e c e n t r a l meaning o f w h a t
we c a l l t h e Renaissance f o r , a c c o r d i n g t o Hillman,
o t h e r p e r i o d terms
. . . t o u c h e s t h e soul
Renaissance, " u n l i k e some
in i t s r e b i r t h f a n t a s y
Renaissance idea i s a f a n t a s y r o o t e d a r c h e t y p a l l y in t h e p s y c h e
i s n o t a historian's invention:
Renaissance i s a w o r d u s e d by t h e v e r y
people of t h a t time a b o u t themselves. 1120
"classical p o e t r y , moral essays,
sophy.
. . . the
. . . It
T h e people o f t h a t time loved
h i s t o r y a n d b i o g r a p h y a n d Platonic philo-
B u t if we p s y c h o l o g i z e t h e i r love, we w i l l see t h a t w i t h i n t h e o v e r t
s u b j e c t m a t t e r was a l a t e n t a n d p o w e r f u l p s y c h o l o g i c a l c o n t e n t :
t h e pagan
myths
. . . from
t h e v e r y b e g i n n i n g in P e t r a r c h t h e i n n e r content o f t h e
materials was t h e m y t h i c a l persons a n d ideas f r o m a p r e - C h r i s t i a n polyt h e i s t i c world. ,121
Nowhere i s t h e c o n t r a s t a n d h o s t i l i t y between these two cosmoses more
apparent t h a n in t h e A u g u s t Aeglogue, a poem modelled o n two Theocritan
I f we i n - s i g h t t h e poem t h r o u g h t h e image o f t h e ivy-wood bowl o f
topoi.
ldyll I a n d t h e singing-match of ldyll V, one t h a t specifically involves a
senex-puer
reunion
a s t r i k i n g c o n t r a s t emerges, one t h a t p u t s a n e n t i r e l y
d i f f e r e n t p e r s p e c t i v e o n t h e a p p a r e n t l y harmonious resolution o f t h e poem.
Simply put, t h e t r i p l e image o f t h e ivy-wood c u p contains death, s u f f e r i n g
and loss o f innocence and, t h r o u g h t h e young-old eros it evokes, relates
them t o t h e Dionysian i v y , t h e o p e n i n g o f t h e u n d e r w o r l d o r realm o f soul.
T h e poetic e q u i v a l e n t in A u g u s t ,
however, t h e "mazer w r o u g h t o f maple
warre" i s o f an e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t o r d e r .
Here t h e r e i s no opening t o a
g r e a t e r realm but o n l y what Blake would call a negation.
T h e image o n
t h e mazer shows:
T h e r e b y i s a Lambe in t h e Wolves jawes
B u t see, how f a s t r u n n e t h t h e shepherd swayne
T o save t h e i n n o c e n t f r o m t h e beastes power
A n d h e r e w i t h h i s shephooke h a t h him slayne (11. 31-4).
The w o r l d i s d i v i d e d i n t o Good (sheep, shepherd) and E v i l (Wolfe,
death).
T h e shepherd1Good t h e n slays death, leaving o n l y t h e Good as a
real ontological p r i n c i p l e .
Willie a n d Perigot's s i n g i n g match f u r t h e r s t h e
same motif, collapsing t h e T h e o c r i t a n puer-senex conflict i n t o a facile
i d e n t i t y , t h e seriousness o r g r a v e n a t u r e o f Perigot's love-encounter i n t o
a shimmering v e r b a l surface,and
a n y sense o f multivalence at all i n t o t h e
jovial a w a r d i n g o f p r i z e s t o b o t h singers.
A s in F e b r u a r y t h e r e i s n o
fecund c o n f l i c t because t h e r e i s n o acknowledgement o f t h e Other, t h e
Dark Adversary.
T h e necessity, reality, t h e v e r y existence of d a r k , death,
erotic suffering is denied, and along with it t h e e n t r a n c e to t h e imaginal realm
o r underworld.
The e n d of August points t h i s out.
Colin, t h e dream-ego
o r persona t h a t is a potential for t h e puer-senex union and t h e forlorn
champion of an Arcadian o r dream-landscape, is represented b y a song.
It
is a lament for d e a t h , a longing for e n t r a n c e t o death's kingdom:
Here I will dwell a p a r t
In gastful g r o v e therefore, ti1 my last sleepe
Doe close mine e y e s
...
Helpe me, y e baneful1 b y r d s , whose shrieking sound
Is sign of d r e e r y d e a t h , my deadly c r y e s
Most ruthfully to t u n e (11. 168-174).
There is a particular reason for Colin's longing for and inability to
e n t e r the realm of d e a t h , of Hades, and it is of crucial importance for,
according t o Hillman, "this movement of r e b i r t h from natural existence to
psychological existence requires a preceding o r simultaneous dying
. . . the
Cod of t h e Renaissance and of all psychological renascences [is] Hades,
archetypal principle of t h e deepest aspect of t h e soul. 1122 The Christian perspective, however, with i t s moral dualism, i t s equation of god and light, and
its literal a n d apocalyptic vision makes t h i s descent impossible.
For it has al-
ready been accomplished once and forever in t h e person of Christ himself:
A t h i r d reason for o u r difficulty with t h e underworld is
o u r Western Christian perspective. Between u s and t h e
underworld s t a n d s t h e figure of Christ a s h e was pres e n t e d by t h e early Church f a t h e r s
Let u s compare:
O r p h e u s and Dionysos went down to redeem close personal
Hercules had t a s k s t o learn
But Christ's
loves
mission to t h e underworld was to annul it t h r o u g h his resurrected victory over death. Because of his mission all
Christians were forever exempted from t h e descent
W e shall all rise. The eternal life is not in t h e underworld
b u t in i t s destruction.23
...
...
...
'
...
Colin Clout, his songs, his dilemma, his promise, r u n throughout
t h e Shepheardes Calender like a haunting, r e c u r r i n g dream.
Though he
makes o n l y f o u r personal appearances, he i s c o n s t a n t l y alluded t o as a model,
a potential savior, a paragon o f pastoral song who c a n put t h e w o r l d in o r d e r .
Cuddie's p r a i s e of him in October i s echoed b y Hobinnol in A p r i l a n d June,
by Perigot in A u g u s t a n d by Thenot in November.
Colin's presence in t h e
series n e v e r changes; he i s always t h e same melancholy m o u r n i n g figure,
lovesick a n d y e a r n i n g f o r death.
He opens t h e series in J a n u a r y as a
shepherd's b o y who i s synonymous w i t h t h e d r e a r w i n t e r landscape.
June he i s of a " r y p e age, ravaged by time in p a s s i n g weares
wexen old."
In
. . . which
In November he i s Winter itself, a n d in December he compares
himself t o a r a v a g e d Tree, t h e v e r y symbol Thenot used t o denote t h e negat i v e senex.
h i s age
He t h u s haunts t h e series as a p u e r senilis,
. . . and
s t r u g g l i n g against h i s oldness
...
"both older than
He has n o t o n l y h i s
-
own problems but he has by h i s t o r i c a l necessity t h e collective problem
...
it i s a r e f l e c t i o n of t h e t r a n s i t i o n and, as J u n g says, n o t o f o u r conscious
choosing.
It r e f l e c t s t h e unconscious man w i t h i n who i s changing. 1124
Colin's h i s t o r i c a l mission m i g h t b e s t b e seen in terms o f t h e r e s u r r e c t i o n o f t h a t ancient m y s t e r y t h a t lies a t t h e c e n t e r o f t h e Oake, t h e transformation o f a n d u n i o n w i t h t h e senex t h r o u g h contact w i t h t h e underworld.
It i s t h i s t h a t becomes t h e quest o f t h e Red Crosse Knighte, who seeks h i s
Father's wisdom, t h e gift o f Holinesse, a n d it r e q u i r e s a v e n t u r e i n t o unc h a r t e d g r o u n d , a d a r k a n d sudden landscape t h a t i s impossible w i t h i n an
o v e r t l y C h r i s t i a n cosmos.
and darkness.
C h r i s t h a r r o w e d Hell, proclaimed a n e n d t o death
A n aspect o f Dionysos, however, lives f o r e v e r in t h e d a r k -
ness and as zoe f o r e v e r enweaves t h e i n d i v i d u a l consciousness w i t h i t s
cold s l i t h e r i n g d e p t h s a n d i t s limitless expanse o f e n e r g y .
It i s t h e ab-
sence o f j u s t t h i s energy, t h i s i n s p i r i n g f o r c e a n d depth-memoria,
that
-
creates t h e w i n t e r - w o r l d o f Colin Clout a n d s u r r o u n d s t h e quest o f t h e Red
Crosse Knighte, a q u e s t f o r a d i r e c t experience o f t h e d i v i n e unmediated by
a t r a d i t i o n a l theology.
. . . the
sented w i t h
F o r it i s in t h e f i g u r e o f Dionysos t h a t we are prerenewal o f t h e H i g h God t h r o u g h h i s most physical
y e t psychological son, a t t h e c e n t e r o f whose c u l t from t h e earliest times i s
. . . the
m y s t e r y o f n u r s i n g and o f psychological r e b i r t h t h r o u g h under-
world depths.
11
25
The w o r l d o f t h e poet i s t h e imaginal world, t h e realm o f image, psyche,
soul o r dream.
In t h e Shepheardes
Calender t h a t realm i s laden w i t h
theology, w i t h s p i r i t u a l truth unassimilated t o image a n d w i t h l i t e r a l o r
rational r e d u c t i o n .
T h e image o r dream has lost i t s potency, i t s a b i l i t y t o
t r a n s f o r m o r transmute experience in f a v o r o f i t s f u n c t i o n as significator
o r sign :
Now a t Nicaea a subtle a n d d e v a s t a t i n g d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n
between t h e adoration o f images a n d
was made
t h e f r e e formulation o f them o n t h e one h a n d a n d t h e
v e n e r a t i o n o f images and t h e a u t h o r i z e d c o n t r o l o v e r
between t h e image as such, i t s
them o n t h e o t h e r
power, i t s full d i v i n e o r a r c h e t y p a l r e a l i t y , a n d what
t h e image represents, p o i n t s to, means.
T h u s images
one's spontaneous imagery i s
became allegories
n o l o n g e r presences
spurious, demonic, d e v i l i s h
o f t h e d i v i n e power. 2 6
...
...
...
...
T h i s i s seen most c l e a r l y and c r u c i a l l y in t h e Calender in t h e devaluat i o n o f Pan, t h e v e r y g o d o f h e r d s a n d herdsmen, half goat a n d h a l f human
and b r i n g e r o f dreams.
E. K.,
in t h e commentary o n A p r i l ,
summarizes
t h i s e m p t y i n g o f image in f a v o u r o f r a t i o n a l s i g n i f i c a t i o n o r meaning.:
B u t h e r e by Pan a n d S y r i n x i s n o t t o b e t h o u g h t e
t h a t t h e shepherde meant those Poetical Gods
by Pan i s h e r e meant t h e most famous a n d v i c t o r i o u s
King, h e r highnesse Father, late o f w o r t h y
memory, K. H e n r y t h e eyght.
A n d by t h a t name,
oftymes (as h e r e a f t e r appeareth) b e n o t e d k i n g s
a n d m i g h t y potentates: A n d in some places
C h r i s t himself, who i s t h e v e r y Pan a n d g o d of
Shepherdes.
...
-
Pan, t h r o u g h o u t t h e series, a p p e a r s in many allegorical guises but
n e v e r as himself, as t h e s o r t o f luminous n a t u r a l f o r c e t h a t hovers, i n s p i r -
ing a n d f r i g h t e n i n g , a r o u n d a l l o f T h e o c r i t u s ' g o a t h e r d s a n d i s i n c a r n a t e in
t h e f i g u r e o f Lycidas.
He has become a m a r k e r , a sign, an a l l e g o r y a t
b e s t f o r t h e h i g h e s t conscious v a l u e in a n y g i v e n p e r s o n a l cosmos.
t h i s d e a t h o f Pan one thing i s announced:
was t h e p s y c h i c connection.
procession,
1127
With
"What h a d soul lost it; o r lost
F o r it i s Pan, a member
o f t h e Dionysian
w h o " c a r r i e d t h e s h i e l d o f Dionysos o n t h e m a r c h t o I n d i a 1128
who was a t a l l times "considered t o b e t h e i n i t i a t o r o f a l l k i n d s o f dreams
a n d v i s i o n s a n d especially t h e i n s t i g a t o r o f s u d d e n a n d v i o l e n t t e r r o r .
11
29
He was a "mantic g o d a n d t h e teacher o f Apollo in t h e a r t o f d i v i n a t i o n .
A s Ephialtes,
t h e demon o r e v i l s p i r i t o f nightmares,
11
30
h e sent a dream so
p o t e n t t h a t " e v e n o n w a k i n g we find it impossible n o t t o believe them real
. . . the
v i v i d n e s s o f t h e n i g h t m a r e e x p e r i e n c e has g i v e n r i s e t o t h e
belief in p e r s o n i f i e d Gods o r demons:
o f religion.
113'
t h e n i g h t m a r e i s t h e e x p e r i e n t i a l base
A n O l d Testament p a r a l l e l t o t h i s dream m o t i f would b e t h e
b a t t l e o f Jacob w i t h t h e A n g e l (Gen. 32: 22-32),
a n d t h e w i t h e r e d thigh
t h a t Jacob came away w i t h becomes a s i g n o f t h e w o u n d o r laming t h a t opens
t h e p e r s o n a l i t y t o t h e imminent p o w e r o f t h e n o n - l i t e r a l world.
T h e second
s o r t o f dream t h a t Pan b r i n g s , w h i c h may b e seen t o r e l a t e t o o r proceed
o u t o f t h e first,is
t h e h e a l i n g o r i n c u b a t i o n dream in w h i c h " t h e god, demon
o r h e r o a p p e a r s t o t h e dreamer a n d c u r e s h i m e i t h e r by personal i n t e r v e n t i o n o r by t e l l i n g him t h e t h e r a p y . 1132 T h i s s o r t o f dream o r v i s i o n connects
t h e a r c h e t y p a l / d i v i n e a n d t h e human / p e r s o n a l in a c o n t i n u o u s interchange.
It i s e x e m p l i f i e d by t h e e x c h a n g e between L y c i d a s a n d Simichidas j u s t as
t h e n i g h t m a r e i s by D a p h n i s ' death.
A f u r t h e r p a r a l l e l w o u l d b e t h e dream
o f Jacob in t h e w i l d e r n e s s w h e r e "he dreamed, a n d b e h e l d a l a d d e r set up
o n t h e e a r t h a n d t h e t o p o f it r e a c h e d t o heaven, a n d b e h e l d t h e angels
h i s association w i t h d a r k n e s s a n d death,
t h e C h r i s t i a n cosmos o f t h e
Shepheardes C a l e n d e r cannot i n c l u d e t h e r e a l i t y o f t h e g o d Pan.
Conse-
q u e n t l y , it r e j e c t s b o t h t h e r e a l i t y o f dream o r image a n d t h e i n h e r e n t possi-
bility t h e r e i n o f a p e r s o n a l l y e x p e r i e n c e d c o n t a c t w i t h t h e d i v i n e , o n e t h a t
leads t o a r e j u v e n a t i o n o f t h e image o f senex o r F a t h e r .
T h i s t e n s i o n be-
tween t h e moral o r Mantuanesque stream, t h e C h r i s t i a n cosmos, a n d t h e
need o f C o l i n C l o u t in h i s A r c a d i a n landscape t o e n t e r t h e realm o f death,
c r e a t e s a t e n s i o n w h i c h v i b r a t e s t h e s e r i e s o f poems a p a r t .
Spenser, in
t h e p e r s o n a o f t h e Red Crosse K n i g h t e , m u s t move f a r t h e r i n t o t h e d a r k n e s s
in s e a r c h o f t h e p u e r - s e n e x u n i o n .
If we v i e w t h e Calender as a n a t t e m p t a t a dream-series
o r i n i t i a t i o n r i t e r o u g h l y c o n g r u e n t t o T h e o c r i t u s ' I d y l l s , several s t r i k i n g
c o n t r a s t s emerge.
divided.
F i r s t , t h e f i g u r e s o f p u e r a n d senex remain r e s o l u t e l y
T h i s i s seen n o t o n l y in C u d d i e a n d Thenot,
but in C o l i n himself
who images t h i s c o n n e c t i o n in a n e g a t i v e form, as w i t h e r e d y o u t h o r p u e r
senilis.
Secondly, t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f d e a t h t h a t b e g i n s t h e T h e o c r i t a n r i t u a l
i s o n l y p o s s i b l e h e r e a t t h e e n d o f t h e series, as C o l i n in December g i v e s
himself up t o " d r e e r y ,
t i m e l y death.''
It i s t h i s death, t h e r u p t u r e o f t h e
v i r g i n a l ego, t h a t m a r k s t h e t r u e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e e n t r a n c e t o t h e p a s t o r a l
o r imaginal landscape.
F o r h e r e a third a n d c r u c i a l c o n t r a s t emerges.
The
deep p o e t i c j o y t h a t T h e o c r i t u s e v i n c e s in t h e H a r v e s t Home does n o t come
t o Spenser until a f t e r t h e e p i c j o u r n e y s o f t h e F a e r i e Queene, in t h e v i s i o n
o f C o l i n piping t o t h e Muses o f Book VI, w h i c h r e t u r n s u s t o t h e p a s t o r a l
landscape, o r in t h e Epithalamion w i t h i t s r i c h i n t e r f u s i o n o f p a g a n a n d
C h r i s t i a n i m a g e r y t h a t "seems t o bring t h e whole cosmos w i t h i n t h e r a n g e
o f a poet's m a r r i a g e . " '
34
Thus, t h e r e i s a d i r e c t c o n t i n u i t y between C o l i n C l o u t a n d h i s e x t e n s i o n
i n t o t h e w o r l d of F a e r y l a n d e o r soul in t h e dream-egolpersona o f t h e Red
Crosse K n i g h t e .
A t t h e c e n t e r of t h e i r likeness i s t h e i r melancholy temper,
Colin's c o n s t a n t m o u r n i n g a n d pining b e i n g echoed in t h e R.C.K.
"of h i s c h e e r e
. . . too
solemne sad" ( I , i, 2 ) .
who i s
B o t h a r e plagued w i t h a
S a t u r n i a n n a t u r e t h a t i n d i c a t e s t h e p r e s e n c e o f t h e n e g a t i v e senex a n d i n v o l v e s
them w i t h a p r o b l e m o f t h e F a t h e r .
B o t h , too, a r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e miss-
ing feminine, t h e m i s s i n g anima o r soul, f o r C o l i n in h i s lovesickness may b e
c h a r a c t e r i z e d as a n affect-ego,
t h e anirna a r c h e t y p e .
a n e g o u n d e r t h e s t r o n g pull o r compulsion o f
T h i s possession c a n b e seen in those o f h i s songs t h a t
attempt t o image a t r a n s c e n d e n t o r imaginal feminine f i g u r e ( A p r i l
and
November) a n d m i g h t b e compared w i t h Idyll V I a n d t h e image o f Galatea.
B u t t h e f i g u r e s in b o t h songs e x i s t o u t s i d e o f t h e p a s t o r a l landscape, one
b e i n g i d e n t i f i e d w i t h E l i z a b e t h ( a n d a l i t e r a l r e a l i t y ) a n d one w i t h D i d o ( a n
historical past).
Colin, as dream-ego,
c a n connect w i t h n e i t h e r .
T h e R.C.K.
too i s wedded t o t h i s task, a d i r e c t i o n t h a t i s imaged in h i s p l e d g e t o
Cloriana:
"
. . . her
g r a c e t o h a v e w h i c h o f a l l t h i n g s h e most did c r a v e "
( I , i, 3) a n d in h i s mission i t s e l f , h i s a t t e m p t t o r e s t o r e t h e k i n g d o m o f
Una, t h a t " l o v e l y ladie" t h a t " r o d e h i m f a i r e beside" ( I , i, 4).
Both are
encircled, in t h e i r attempts, by t h e same r a t i o n a l / a l l e g o r i c a l aspect o f
senex mentality.
C o l i n i s s u r r o u n d e d by t h e Mantuanesque landscape t h a t
denies t h e e x i s t e n c e o f l o v e a n d death, a n d t h e R.C.K.
i s encased in j u s t
t h a t s o r t o f moralism, t h e full a r m o r of a C h r i s t i a n knight, w h i c h h e wears
but has y e t t o p r o v e ( I ,
i,l).
H i s armor, in t h e c o u r s e o f t h e Book, i s
s t r i p p e d f r o m h i m a n d it i s o n l y a f t e r t h i s has o c c u r r e d t h a t h e i s given,
o n Mt. Contemplation, a n image o f S p i r i t u a l T r u t h , t h e dream o f Jacob's
Ladder.
128
T h e a n a l o g y b e t w e e n t h e R.C.K.
further,
R.C.K.'s
i
a n d C o l i n may b e c a r r i e d one s t e p
i n t o a comparison t h a t l i n k s t h e i r b e s e t t i n g sin, t h a t o f Price.
g r e a t e s t t r i a l s a n d h i s u l t i m a t e h u m b l i n g a n d defeat come a t t h e
h a n d s o f Pride, t h r o u g h h i s s o j o u r n in h e r House a n d h i s c a p t u r e by
O r g o g l i o t h a t " g y a n t P r o u d " who was " g r o w e n g r e a t t h r o u g h a r r o g a n t de-
light" ( I , vii, 10).
Colin, too,
t r a c e s h i s plight t o t h i s source,
n o t t o love
i t s e l f but t o t h e p r i d e t h a t calls up u n r e q u i t e d love as a c o u n t e r .
P r i d e i s a r e f u s a l o f Pan o r o f dream.
In December h e states:
B u t a h s u c h p r y d e a t l e n g t h was ill repayde,
T h e s h e p h e r d s God ( p e r d i e God was h e none)
M y h u r t l e s s e pleasaune did me all u p b r a i d e ,
M y freedom lorne, m y l i f e h e l e f t t o mone.
L o v e t h e y h i m called, t h a t g a v e me checkmate (11.
Colin's p r i d e in h i s s i n g i n g ,
"wiser Muses,"
This
45-53).
h i s i n t e l l e c t u a l t a l e n t s t h a t endear him t o t h e
i s echoed in R.C.K.'s
p r i c e in t h e s t r e n g t h o f h i s s t r o n g
right arm a n d s e l f - v a u n t e d a b i l i t y t o see, unaided, what i s moral o r v i r t u o u s
in a n y situation,
t o u n e r r i n g l y choose t h e right way, t h e way o f light a n d
virtue:
A h l a d i e ( s a i d he) shame were t o revoke,
T h e f o r w a r d f o o t i n g f o r a n h i d d e n shade.
V i r t u e g i v e s h e r s e l f e light, t h r o u g h d a r k n e s s e
f o r t o wade (I, i, 12).
B u t R.C.K.,
a p r o u d v i r g i n who "no untruth h e k n e w " ( I ,
p a r t e d f r o m h i s l a d y Una, a n d h i s mission, by a dream.
t h a t i n a u g u r a t e s t h e whole a c t i o n o f Book I:
T h e God obayde, a n d c a l l i n g f o r t h s t r a i g h t way
A d i v e r s e dreame o u t o f h i s p r i s o n d a r k e
D e l i v e r e d it t o him, a n d d o w n did l a y
His heavie head
( I , i, 49).
...
i, 53) i s
It i s t h i s dream
T h e dreams a n d e v i l s p r i t e s stream up f r o m t h e u n d e r w o r l d t h r o u g h t h e
i v o r y gate, t h e o n e " f a i r e f r a m e d o f b u r n i s h e d i v o r y " ( I , i, 40), t r a d i t i o n a l l y
t h e source of false o r misleading images, a n d c a l l up a n allusion t o t h e false
dream t h a t l e d Agamemnon t o h i s d i s a s t r o u s p l u n g e i n t o b a t t l e b e f o r e t h e
gates o f T r o y .
B u t Onians c o n n e c t s t h i s i v o r y d i r e c t l y t o t h e t u s k o f a
w i l d boar a n d sees t h e f u n c t i o n o f these dreams as n o t " t o deceive
[ b u t ] t o i n f l i c t i n j u r y , chaos o r havoc. ''35
...
A s s u c h t h e y pathologize
con-
sciousness, s e r v e n o t p r i m a r i l y t o lead one a s t r a y but t o open t h e too-literal,
too-arrogant ego t o t h e r e a l i t y o f d e a t h a n d decay.
Ultimately, t h i s leads
t o t h e a r c h e t y p a l g r o u n d b e h i n d t h a t ego's o v e r l y r a t i o n a l a n d self-enclosed
consciousness, a n d t o a s h i f t in t h e dominants o f a c u l t u r e , t h e emergence
o f a new g o d o r gods.
T h i s would c e r t a i n l y seem t o b e b o r n e o u t in t h e R.C.K.'s
gress.
later pro-
T h e c h a i n o f actions set o f f by t h i s dream separates him f r o m U n a
a n d leads him t o c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h Orgoglio, a n d imprisonment in Orgoglio's
d u n g e o n w h i c h leaves him "a r u e f u l l spectacle o f d e a t h a n d g h o s t l y d r e e r e "
( I , vii, 40),
t o t a l l y d e p e n d e n t o n t h e a i d o f a d i v i n e f o r c e b e y o n d himself,
the intervention o f Arthur.
T h e whole episode i s t h u s a d i r e c t e x p o s u r e
t o t h e n i g h t m a r e aspect o f Pan, t h e t e r r o r a n d w o u n d i n g t h a t opens t h e
b e i n g t o a realm b e y o n d i t s e l f .
T h i s i s not, however, a theological e x p e r i -
ence, n o t something c o n c e i v e d in t h e mind:
T h i s r e a l i t y c a n n o t b e b o r n e home in a b s t r a c t concepts
we m u s t b e p a r a l y s e d a n d s u f f o c a t e d by t h i s
r e a l i t y as if t h e r e w e r e something in consciousness t h a t
i s always in flight f r o m ' t h e h o r r o r '
i t s numinous
power r e q u i r e s a commensurately o v e r w h e l m i n g idea:
t h r o u g h nightmare t h e reality o f t h e natural god i s
revealed. 36
...
...
-
T h r o u g h t h i s e x p e r.ience, t h e a r c h e t y p a l a n d t h e p e r s o n a l come i n t o communion, a d i r e c t l y e x p e r i e n c e d communion t h a t i s a r e s u l t o f t h e o p e n i n g
t o d e a t h a n d t o dream.
A n d from t h i s p o i n t o f view, t h e whole o f t h e
Faerie Queene may b e imagined as t h e slow c i r c l i n g b a c k t o image o f t h e
w o r l d of m i n d o r experience, a p r o c e s s t h a t culminates in Book V I w i t h t h e
r e t u r n t o pastoral and the final exhaustion o f allegory and history, o f t h e
senex p r e s e r v e o f t h o u g h t , measure, b o r d e r , r u l e :
In t h e Book o f C o u r t e s y , Spenser t a k e s u s i n t o t h a t
p a r t o f t h e p s y c h e t h a t i s a s o u r c e o f b o t h allegories
a n d judgements, a ' p r i m i t i v e ' p l a c e s e l f - h a u n t e d by
m i g h t y f o r m s t h a t move s l o w l y t h r o u g h t h e m i n d in
d a y d r e a m a n d n i g h t m a r e . 37
O r , as Hillman w o u l d put i t :
Senex consciousness i s f i n a l l y a t r e s t in t h e imaginal
realm
[ i t ] d r i v e s u s t o w h e r e we c a n think n o
These a r e t h e borderlands, a borderfurther
t h e opposites present
line condition [where]
Images a r e
themselves as i n d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e
m e r e l y themselves
there is nothing t o affirm o r
d e n y . 38
...
...
t i s at t h i s borderline,
...
...
...
in t h e w o r l d o f image, t h a t we e n c o u n t e r Dionysos
as L o r d o f Souls a n d t h e realms o f s o n g t h a t come w i t h him.
borderlands o f o u r psychic geography.
place:
neither t h i s n o r that,
"He r u l e s t h e
T h e r e t h e D i o n y s i a n dance takes
a n ambivalence." 39
His i s a profoundly
w o u n d e d consciousness but one t h a t leads, as in t h e Harvest-Home,
r i c h and honied singing.
g r e e t i n g o f t h e gods,
to a
It i s a t r a n s m u t a t i o n o f o u r d a i l y experience, a
in a truly e n s o u l e d creation,
t h e world o f the greater
pastoral :
Now a l i s done, bring home t h e b r i d e a g a y n e
B r i n g home t h e t r i u m p h o f o u r v i c t o r y
B r i n g home w i t h y o u t h e g l o r y o f h e r gaine,
W i t h ! joyaunce bring h e r a n d w i t h j o l l i t y .
N e v e r h a d man more j o y f u l l d a y t h a n t h i s ,
Whome h e a v e n w o u l d heape w i t h b l i s .
Make feast t h e r e f o r e now a l l t h i s l i v e l o n g day,
T h i s d a y f o r e v e r t o me h o l y is,
P o u r o u t t h e wine w i t h o u t r e s t r a i n t o r stay,
P o u r o u t n o t by cups, but by t h e b e l l y full
P o u r o u t t o a l l t h a t will,
A n d s p r i n k l e a l l t h e postes a n d wals w i t h wine,
T h a t t h e y may sweat a n d d r u n k e n b e withall.
C r o w n e y e Bacchus w i t h a coronall,
A n d Hymen also c r o w n e w i t h wreathes o f vine,
A n d l e t t h e Graces dance u n t o t h e r e s t ;
F o r t h e y c a n d o it b e s t :
T h e whiles t h e maydens doe t h e y r c a r r o l l sing,
T o w h i c h t h e woods shal a n s w e r a n d t h e y r eccho ring
(Epithalamion, 11,
241-60).
I f we v i e w t h e Shepheardes Calender, Spenser's f i r s t major work, as a
failed pastoral, as a n i n i t i a t i o n o r dream-series t h a t did n o t cohere, t h a t
f a i l u r e c e n t e r s in Colin's l o v e s i c k a n d unredeemed m o u r n i n g a n d (as Colin's
p u e r aspect) in C u d d i e ' s alienation f r o m a s p e c i f i c a l l y D i o n y s i a n i n s p i r a t i o n .
B o t h g r o w d i r e c t l y o u t o f t h e C h r i s t i a n I M a n t u a n e s q u e landscape t h a t s u r r o u n d s them a n d i t s r e f u s a l o f d e a t h a n d dream
as does t h e v e r y s t r u c t u r e
o f t h e Shepheardes C a l e n d e r in w h i c h t h e u n d e r w o r l d o r unconscious comp o n e n t s o f t h e c u l t u r e are, a t best, m e r e l y suggested.
Queene, however,
With t h e Faerie
Spenser fully engages t h o s e unconscious forces.
T h e poem,
t h o u g h it i s i n i t i a l l y i n f o r m e d by t h e p a r a d i g m o f t h e h e r o i c q u e s t , j o u r n e y s
i n t o an u n d e r w o r l d realm f r o m w h i c h it n e v e r r e a l l y emerges.
The split
between conscious a n d unconscious components o f t h e c u l t u r e i s fully p r e s e n t
in t h e poem,though
it i s o n l y a d m i t t e d in t h e c o n c l u d i n g stanzas t h a t t h e
u n d e r w o r l d o r unconscious f o r c e s c a n n o t b e r e d u c e d t o a moral / s p i r i t u a l
definition.
T h e Faerie Queene i t s e l f , f r o m t h i s viewpoint,
becomes a n e x -
t e n d e d dream-series o r n i g h t - s e a j o u r n e y t h a t p a r a l l e l s t h e process set o u t
in t h e c e n t r a l T h e o c r i t a n I d y l l s .
w i t h the archetypal ground,
It i s a vessel t h a t p r o v i d e s an e n c o u n t e r
t h e underworld,
an e n c o u n t e r t h a t s l o w l y r e t u r n s
t o and transforms t h e i n d i v i d u a l /collective ego-consciousness t h r o u g h a reappropriation of s p i r i t by t h e image making powers o f t h e soul.
This process
i s imaged by t h e rejuvenation of t h e pastoral landscape in B k . V I and moves
toward a w o r l d t h a t holds in one, i f o n l y f o r a f l e e t i n g moment, t h e feeling
immediacy of t h e pagan pastoral and t h e m o r a l / s p i r i t u a l dimension inherent
in a C h r i s t i a n mythos, t h e married w o r l d o r metaxy o f t h e Epithalamion.
It i s also imaged in t h e transformation o f t h e s t r u c t u r e o f t h e Faerie Queene
itself, from t h e heroic /encyclopedic endeavour described in Spenser's i n t r o duction, a monumental compendium o f all t h e moral Isenex
virtues, to the
incomplete and open form o f t h e poem as he l e f t it, a poem t h a t has gaping
wounds and, p a r t i c u l a r l y in Book VI, will admit o f no f i x e d interpretation.
For c e n t u r i e s poets and c r i t i c s alike have remarked o n t h e dream-like
qualities o f t h e Faerie Queene but, I would suggest,
it would be a mistake t o
a t t r i b u t e these qualities t o t h e poem's conscious purpose.
It i s r a t h e r the
intense c o n f l i c t between conscious and unconscious components o f t h e poem
t h a t gives r i s e t o i t s peculiar and elusive q u a l i t y .
A n d t h o u g h an examina-
.
t i o n o f t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f t h e conscious/unconscious poles o f such an extended
and complex w o r k must o f necessity be incomplete a n d sketchy, t h i s may be
said t o be t r u e o f a n y consideration o f such a monumental, confusing and
seminal work.
F u r t h e r , I would suggest,
it is just here, in t h e conflict
of conscious and unconscious forces, t h a t we encounter t h e central k n o t o r
dramatic focus o f t h e poem.
A consideration o f t h e poem's conscious/uncon-
scious b i f u r c a t i o n and t h e action o f t h e unconscious o r u n d e r w o r l d components
o n t h e dominants o f i t s collective canon i s essential t o an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f
b o t h t h e p s y c h i c t o t a l i t y o f t h e poem and i t s place in what we have been
considering as t h e g r e a t e r pastoral tradition.
1
.
NOTES
1.
Hillman, Puer Papers, p. 9.
2.
Hillman, Puer Papers, p. 8.
3.
Edmund Spenser, Poetical Works, e d . J. C. S m i t h a n d E. de Selincourt,
r e v . ed.
( O x f o r d : O x f o r d U n i v . Press, l 9 7 9 ) , p. 424. A l l f u r t h e r
references t o t h i s w o r k appear in t h e t e x t .
4.
P a t r i c k Cullen, Spenser, M a r v e l l a n d t h e Renaissance Pastoral,
(Cambridge:
H a r v a r d U n i v . Press, 1970), p. 26.
5.
James Hillman, " T h e Negative Senex a n d a Renaissance Solution,"
in S p r i n g , 1975. p. 82.
6.
Hillman,
" N e g a t i v e Senex,"
p. 83.
7.
Hillman, " N e g a t i v e Senex,"
p. 90.
8.
Hillman,
9.
R. B. Onians, T h e O r i g i n s o f E u r o p e a n T h o u q h t ,
P u e r Papers, p. 29.
C a m b r i d g e U n i v . Press,
(Cambridge:
l954), p. 132.
10.
" T h e H y m n t o Dionysos ( I II ) ,I1 in Homeric Hymns, p. 7.
11.
Hillman, P u e r Papers, p. 31.
12.
Hillman, P u e r Papers, p. 31.
13.
Cullen, p. 26.
15.
Cullen, p. 19.
16.
Cullen, pp. 22-23.
17.
Cullen, p. 25.
19.
Hillman, P u e r Papers, p. 54.
20.
Hillman, R e v i s i o n i n g Psycholoqy, p. 194.
21.
Hillman, R e v i s i o n i n q Psychology, p. 194.
Hillman, R e v i s i o n i n g P s y c h o l o g y , p . 206.
23.
Hillman, D r e a m a n d t h e U n d e r w o r l d , p. 85.
Hillman,
P u e r Papers, pp. 10-11.
Hillman, M y t h o f Analysis, p. 274.
Hillman,
Puer Papers, p. 56.
Hillman,
Pan,
-
p. x x i i .
Hillman, Pan, p. x i x .
Hillman,
Pan,
p. 60.
Hillman,
Pan,
-
p. 60.
Hillman, Pan, p. I x i i .
Hillman, Pan, p. 43.
See also Dodds, T h e Greeks a n d t h e I r r a t i o n a l , pp. 102-35.
H u m p h r e y T o n k i n , Spenser's C o u r t e o u s Pastoral,
Press, 1972), p. 14.
(Oxford :
Clarendon
Onians, p. 242 ( n o t e ) .
Hillman, Pan, p. I x i i i .
Isabel McCaffrey, Spenser's A l l e g o r y ,
Press, 1976), p. 415.
( Princeton :
" T h e Negative Senex,"
p. 275.
Hillman, T h e M y t h o f Analysis,
p. 275.
Hillman,
Princeton Univ.
Vlll
THE FAERIE QUEENE AS ALCHEMICAL VESSEL
...
it indeed i s n o u g h t but f o r g e r i e
Fashion'd t o please t h e eies o f them t h a t pas,
Which see n o t p e r f e c t t h i n g s but in a glas:
Yet i s t h a t glas so gay, t h a t it can blind
T h e wisest sight, t o think t h a t g o l d i s bras.
VI, intro.,
5
T h e F a e r i e Queene i s a n e n c y c l o p e d i c poem w i t h a p r o n o u n c e d moral1
didactic purpose.
A n y p s y c h o l o g i c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e poem must, t h e r e -
fore, f i r s t c o n f r o n t t h e q u e s t i o n o f t h e poem's c o n s c i o u s p h i l o s o p h y o r religious symbology.
F r a n c e s Yates,
in T h e O c c u l t P h i l o s o p h y in Elizabethan
England, c o n s i d e r s t h i s conscious p h i l o s o p h y o r s y s t e m o f b e l i e f t o b e a
specific s o r t o f Neoplatonism, "an i n t e n s i f i e d C a b a l i s t Neoplatonism o r
Cabalist N e o p y t h a g o r i a n i s m w i t h i t s emphasis o n n u m b e r o f w h i c h John Dee
was a l e a d i n g e x p o n e n t
. . . [it
was] t h e t h o u g h t o f a 'more p o w e r f u l
philosophy' l e a d i n g t o a w o r l d wide r e f o r m i n g movement w i t h Queen Elizabeth
I in t h e l e a d i n g r o l e
....
T h i s w h i t e magic o r C h r i s t i a n Cabalist Neoplatonism i s a m p l y d e s c r i b e d
in Yates' w o r k and,
I w o u l d suggest, may b e s a i d t o f o r m t h e c o l l e c t i v e
canon o r conscious p u r p o s e o f t h e poem.
It i s a mode o f s p i r i t u a l i n c o r p o r a -
t i o n t h a t was seen as possessing t h e a b i l i t y t o u n i t e a l l t h e d i v e r g e n t s t r a i n s
o f occult philosophy,
m y t h a n d r e l i 9 i o u s t e a c h i n g in a m y s t i c p r o o f o f t h e
truth o f t h e C h r i s t i a n r e v e l a t i o n .
It was highly ascensionist, c o n c e r n e d
w i t h t h e realms o f t h e a n g e l i c h i e r a r c h y a n d t h e h e a v e n l y One; highly
evangelical,
s e e k i n g t o assimilate
a l l o t h e r magico-religious t r a d i t i o n s t o
t h e C h r i s t i a n m y t h ; p r o f o u n d l y i n f o r m e d by t h e C h r i s t i a n d e f i n i t i o n o f evil,
seeing t h e p r o b l e m o f e v i l as stemming f r o m a h u m a n misuse o f d i v i n e
gifts;
and, p a r t i c u l a r l y in t h e w o r k o f J o h n Dee, p r o f o u n d l y i n v o l v e d w i t h
t h e messianic r o l e a n d s a c r e d moral d e s t i n y o f B r i f a i n .
Yates maintains
t h a t "Dee was t h e t r u e p h i l o s o p h e r o f t h e E l i z a b e t h a n A g e a n d Spenser,
as i t s e p i c poet, r e f l e c t e d t h a t p h i l o s o p h y . " *
A n d s h e d e s c r i b e s Spenser's
epic composition as "a g r e a t magical Renaissance poem, i n f u s e d w i t h t h e
w h i t e s t o f w h i t e magic, C h r i s t i a n Cabalist a n d Neoplatonic,
h a u n t e d by a
. . . a n d p r o f o u n d l y opposed t o b a d magicians
a n d necromancers a n d b a d r e l i g i o n . . . t h e w h i t e magic o f t h e p u r e imperial
good magician a n d s c i e n t i s t
r e f o r m i s o p p o s e d t o t h e b a d necromancy o f i t s enemies.
11
3
O v e r t l y t h e enemies of t h e Elizabethan r e f o r m a r e Catholicism, s u p e r s t i t i o n a n d those n a t i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t s t h a t oppose t h e e x t e n s i o n of t h e
sacred d e s t i n y of t h e B r i t i s h Imperial State.
necromancers e s p o u s i n g a b a d r e l i g i o n .
These, o v e r t l y , a r e t h e b a d
B u t t h e s e b a d necromancers o r
b l a c k magicians, b e h i n d t h e i r contamination w i t h shadow, r e v e a l a n i m p o r t a n t
unconscious c o n t e n t t h a t m i g h t b e a p p r o a c h e d t h r o u g h a c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f
another c o n t e m p o r a r y t r a d i t i o n , t h a t o f alchemy.
T h o u g h Yates b r i e f l y d i s -
cusses alchemical material, she sees it m a i n l y a s one more element t h a t was
f u s e d i n t o t h e d e v e l o p i n g C a b a l i s t I H e r m e t i c p h i l o s o p h y o f w h i c h t h e Faerie
Queene i s a r e f l e c t i o n .
T h i s approach,
however, does a p r o f o u n d i n j u s t i c e
t o t h e alchemical p e r s p e c t i v e and, t h o u g h it s e r v e s t o elucidate w h a t we
m i g h t c o n s i d e r t h e poem's conscious p u r p o s e , completely f r u s t r a t e s a n
acknowledgement o f t h e p s y c h i c t o t a l i t y of t h e w o r k .
in t h e " s t r e a m i n g s o f t h e Nile,"
Alexandria,
Alchemy o r i g i n a t e s
t h e p r e - C h r i s t i a n melting-pot o f Hellenistic
f o r a l l o f t h e o r i g i n a l alchemical t r e a t i s e s w e r e in G r e e k a n d
may b e d i r e c t l y t r a c e d t o t h e H e l l e n i s t i c ~ r a .O ~
f t h e manuscripts that
contained a l a t e r r e d a c t i o n o f these o r i g i n a l s ,
" p a r t went t o t h e Byzantine
Empire, v i a Constantinople, a n d t h e r e s t t o t h e O r i e n t a n d r e t u r n e d t o
Europe v i a t h e ~ r a b s . " ~T h e y r e - e n t e r e d t h e E u r o p e a n t r a d i t i o n " v i a
S o u t h e r n F r a n c e a n d S i c i l y from t h e 1 0 t h C e n t u r y o n w a r d s when E u r o p e
became connected w i t h t h e O r i e n t by t h e crusades.l16
T h i s material p r o v o k e d
a n enormous i n t e l l e c t u a l a c t i v i t y among C h r i s t i a n scholars t h a t o f f e r s a
garallel t o t h e l a t e r Cabalist e f f o r t s a t i n c o r p o r a t i o n a n d . I would suaaest.
is also paralleled b y t h e s o r t of critical approach t h a t Yates' work embodies.
J u n g , a t t h e end of several decades of work with t h e alchemical material,
a work t h a t in i t s earlier phases was also a n attempt t o e q u a t e Christ and
t h e lapis, examines these "attempts t o e q u a t e t h e alchemical ideas t o t h e
~ h r i s t i a n " ' and concludes t h a t t h e r e is a psychic element in alchemy that
profoundly r e s i s t s this assimilation.
H i s conclusions, I would s u g g e s t , a r e
of crucial importance to what we might consider t h e unconscious pole o r
t h r u s t of t h e Faerie Queene :
Although alchemy was undoubtedly influenced b y s u c h comparisons, t h e stone [ t h e lapis o r goal of t h e alchemical process] cannot be traced to Christ despite all t h e analogies.
It was t h e mystical p r o p e r t y of alchemy, t h i s 'stone t h a t
was no stone,' o r t h e 'stone t h a t hath a spirit' and is found
in t h e 'streamings of N i l e . '
It is a symbol t h a t cannot be
explained away a s yet another superogatory attempt to obs c u r e t h e Christian mystery
clear attempts were made
to assimilate t h e alchemical ideas t o t h e Christian,
though, a s Elezear's t e x t shows, t h e r e was an unbridgeable
gulf between them. The reason for t h i s is t h a t t h e symbol
of t h e stone, despite t h e analogy with C h r i s t , contains an
element t h a t cannot be reconciled with t h e purely spiritual
assumptions of Christianity. The v e r y concept of t h e stone
indicates t h e peculiar n a t u r e of t h i s symbol. Stone is t h e
essence of e v e r y t h i n g solid and e a r t h l y . It r e p r e s e n t s
feminine matter and t h i s concept i n t r u d e s into t h e s p h e r e of
.
s p i r i t and its symbolism. The Church's hermeneutic allegories
were not t h e source of t h e lapis symbol b u t
were used b y t h e alchemists in o r d e r to justify it
the
stone was more than an incarnation of God, it was a concretization, a materialization t h a t reached down into t h e darkn e s s of t h e inorganic realm o r even arose from it, from that
p a r t of t h e Deity which p u t itself in opposition to t h e Creator
[ i t ] included regions, like t h a t of hellfire, which were
we may suppose t h a t in
t h e dominion of t h e devil
alchemy an attempt was made a t a symbolic integration of
evil
an extension of redemption beyond man to matter
...
...
...
...
...
...
6
.
This discussion is highly important because it reveals that alchemy,
t h e alchemical vision in which "the unconscious p s y c h e and matter a r e not
differentiated," works "without a n y conscious religious o r scientific program."
T h i s i s a n a p p r o a c h t h a t i s "common t o b o t h alchemy a n d a n a l y t i c p s y c h o logyu9 and, as J u n g states,
m i g h t b e seen as a r i s i n g " f r o m t h a t p a r t of
t h e D e i t y w h i c h put i t s e l f in o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e C r e a t o r . "
It i s t h e one ele-
ment in t h e Cabalist-Neoplatonist amalgam t h a t r e s o l u t e l y r e s i s t s t h e a r c h i t e c t u r a l , numerological, w h i t e magic i n h e r e n t in i t s C h r i s t i a n s p i r i t u a l
vision.
Alchemical imagination, i m a g i n a t i o n as alchemical,
is from t h i s
p e r s p e c t i v e in a v e r y p r e c i s e r e l a t i o n t o soul a n d t h e v i e w p o i n t o f soul as
Hillman e n v i s i o n s it, t h e l o n g hollow d e p r e s s i o n s t h a t t h e soul feels when
it i s d e s e r t e d by s p i r i t .
F o r n o t o n l y does alchemy h a v e a n i n t i m a t e con-
n e c t i o n w i t h d a r k n e s s , m a t t e r a n d e v i l , but t h i s c o n n e c t i o n reveals i t s
underworld root.
It i s a b a p t i s m in t h e u n d e r w o r l d , a n u n d e r w o r l d vision,
and, as such, it p r o v i d e s t h e o n l y r e a l connection, w i t h i n t h e C h r i s t i a n
Cabalist c o n t e x t ,
w i t h t h a t Hades/Dionysos,
t h e L o r d o f Souls, who i s t h e
k e y t o t h e dilemma o f C o l i n C l o u t in t h e Shepheardes Calender.
So we may c o n s i d e r these t e x t s as r e p r e s e n t i n g a n imaginal seed o r
vessel f o r t h e s u r v i v a l o f a p r e - C h r i s t i a n mode o f p s y c h i c f u n c t i o n i n g t h a t
is q u i t e congruent w i t h o u r previous discussion o f t h e Theocritan I d y l l s
a n d t h a t may b e s t b e a p p r o a c h e d t h r o u g h t h e w o r k o f t h e d e p t h psychologists.
A n d a c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y h i s t o r y o f alchemy s t r e n g
ens t h i s a n a l o g y between alchemical o p e r a t i o a n d t h e p s y c h i c perspective,
f o r t h e r e d i s c o v e r y o f alchemy in o u r time was e f f e c t e d by Jung, v i r t u a l l y
single-handedly,
a n d h i s l a t e r w o r k r e f e r s t o it c o n s t a n t l y as t h e most
a p t metaphor f o r t h e o p e r a t i o n s o f t h e o b j e c t i v e p s y c h e .
Hillman's l a t e r
w o r k i s also p r o f o u n d l y i n f o r m e d by t h e alchemical v i s i o n a n d h e b r i n g s
t h i s v i s i o n i n t o c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h n o t o n l y t h e psychological but also t h e
a r t i s t i c - l i t e r a r y p r o c e s s as we h a v e b e e n c o n s i d e r i n g it.
a c c o r d i n g t o Hillman, t h e s p i r i t :
In alchemy,
-
--
...
...
seems d i f f e r e n t l y imagined
in t h e h e r o m y t h s
t h e p s y c h e moves mainly by means o f t h e w i l l i n t o a n
In alchemy, it seems t o
enlargement o f rational order.
b e a n e n l a r g e m e n t o f imagination, a f r e e i n g o f f a n t a s y
f r o m v a r i o u s i m p r i s o n i n g literalizations.
When J u n g
s h i f t e d t h e main analogy f o r t h e i n d i v i d u a t i o n process
f r o m t h e h e r o m v t h s in Svmbols o f T r a n s f o r m a t i o n ( i n
~
(in ~ e r ~ a n ,
German, 1911) t6 ~ s ~ c h o l a&n d~ Alchemy
E r a n o s L e c t u r e s 1936 a n d 1937). one r e s u l t was also a
s h i f t from t h e r a t i o n a l a n d v o l u n t a r y faculties o f t h e
soul t o i t s third f a c u l t y , t h e imagination o r memoria
e v e n t h e fight w i t h t h e d r a g o n in J u n g ' s alchemical account o f it (CW 12, p. 437) d i f f e r s f r o m St.
George's b e h a v i o u r . T h e alchemical h e r o i s d e v o u r e d
by t h e dragon, o r , as we w o u l d say, imagination t a k e s
t h e alchemical way
i s t h e d i s c i p l i n e of
over
10
fantasy
...
...
...
....
So alchemy o f f e r s n o t a symbol-system,
a h i e r a r c h y of value, but a n imaginal
viewpoint, c o n c e r n e d w i t h u n d e r w o r l d a n d soul t h a t , in a C h r i s t i a n context,
b e it o v e r t l y C a t h o l i c o r C h r i s t i a n Cabalist, m i g h t b e c o n s i d e r e d as t h e
great repressed.
It o p e r a t e s t h r o u g h image as p r o c e s s a n d opposes t h e
c e n t r a l i z i n g s p i r i t u a l monotheism t h a t , as we h a v e seen in t h e p r e v i o u s discussion o f t h e C o u n c i l o f Nicaea, p u t s t h e image-making p o w e r s o f soul a t
t h e mercy o f t h e r a t i o n a l - s p i r i t u a l f a c u l t y .
A prime concern o f that
rational-spiritual viewpoint i s t h e d u a l i t y o f s p i r i t and matter and t h e transcendent n a t u r e o f s p i r i t .
Alchemy,
however, i s immanent and, as J u n g
states, i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e i n t e g r a t i o n o f e v i l .
A n d b o t h these systems
o f b e l i e f h a v e a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c mode o f psychological o p e r a t i o n w h i c h t h r o w s
their contrasting natures i n t o s h a r p relief.
T h e O c c u l t T r a d i t i o n , as Yates d e f i n e s it in h e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f
Cabalist a c t i v i t y in E l i z a b e t h a n England, has a p a r t i c u l a r c o n c e r n w i t h
melancholy.
I n h e r e n t in t h i s b o d y o f t h o u g h t i s a p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h t h e
Saturnian, t h e h u m o u r melancholicus, as a means o f p s y c h i c ascension.
She quotes f r o m P a n o f s k y ' s s t u d y o f melancholy:
T h e h u m o u r melancholicus, when it t a k e s f i r e a n d glows,
g e n e r a t e s t h e f r e n z y ( f u r o r ) t h a t leads u s t o wisdom a n d
t h i s o c c u r s in t h r e e d i f f e r e n t forms c o r revelation
r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e t h r e e f o l d c a p a c i t y o f t h e soul, namely
t h e imagination (imaginato), t h e r a t i o n a l ( r a t i o ) a n d t h e
mental (mens)
when t h e soul soars completely t o t h e
i n t e l l e c t it becomes t h e home o f t h e h i g h e r demons f r o m
whom it l e a r n s t h e secret o f d i v i n e matters, as f o r
i n s t a n c e t h e law of God, t h e a n s e l i c h i e r a r c h y
just
as t h e S y b i l p r o p h e s i e d Jesus C h r i s t l o n g b e f o r e h e
appeared. 1 1
...
...
...
T h i s v a l u e s y s t e m ( i m a g i n a t i o n t o reason t o i n t e l l e c t ) a n d t h e ascensionist
n a t u r e o f i t s s p i r i t u a l v i e w p o i n t i s g i v e n image in t h e Faerie Queene in
t h e house o f Alma (11, i x , 49-58).
T h e most i n t e r e s t i n g aspect o f t h e
image i s t h e t o t a l l y s u b o r d i n a t e r o l e p l a y e d by Phantastes, who c o r r e s p o n d s
t o t h e imaginatio, t h e imaginal p o w e r s o f t h e s o u l :
-
A n d a l l t h e chamber f i l l e d was w i t h flies,
Which b u z z e d a l l about, a n d made s u c h sound,
T h a t t h e y encombered a l l men's e a r s a n d eyes,
L i k e many swarmes o f Bees assembled r o u n d ,
A f t e r t h e i r h i v e s o f h o n e y d o abound,
A l l these were i d l e t h o u g h t s a n d fantasies
Shews, visions, sooth-sayes a n d prophecies;
A n d a l l t h a t f a i n e d is, as leasings, tales a n d lies (11, i x ,
51).
T h i s i s in d i r e c t o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e alchemical f a n t a s y as Hillman d i s cusses it, "a s h i f t f r o m t h e r a t i o n a l a n d v o l u n t a r y f a c u l t i e s o f soul t o i t s
third f a c u l t y , t h e imagination,"
w h e r e t h e c o n c e r n i s w i t h t h e "spontaneous
fantasies o f t h e p s y c h e as e x p r e s s e d in alchemical f o r m u l a t i o n s a b o u t redemption."'*
I w o u l d suggest,
bifurcated and that,
in t h i s respect, t h a t t h e poem i t s e l f i s h i g h l y
in t h e widest sense,
t h e d r a m a o f t h e poem i s i n h e r e n t
in t h e alchemical o p e r a t i o n s o f t h e v i l l a i n s o f t h e piece, s u c h as Archimago,
o n t h e h e r o i c f i g u r e s who are, in essence, p u e r - h e r o e s i d e n t i f i e d w i t h t h e
c u l t of Elizabeth, a "heroic mother-son b a t t l e f o r w h i c h St. George a n d
t h e D r a g o n has become t h e major Western p a r a d i g m . 1113
T h e F a e r i e Queene moves o u t f r o m a p a s t o r a l landscape in Book I a n d
r e t u r n s t o t h a t landscape in Book V I .
procession o f t h e successful hero-son,
B u t the r e t u r n i s not t h e triumphant
r a t h e r q u i t e i t s opposite.
The Blatant
Beast escapes f r o m Calidore's c l u t c h e s a n d :
...
r a u n g t h t h r o u g h t h e w o r l d againe,
A n d r a g e t h sore in each d e g r e e a n d state;
Ne a n y is, t h a t may h i m now r e s t r a i n e ,
(VI, xii,
He i s g r o w e n so g r e a t a n d s t r o n g
...
40).
I would s u g g e s t t h a t t h i s f a i l u r e o f t h e e p i c q u e s t i s d i r e c t l y i n f o r m e d by a
specific alchemical operation, t h e p u t r i f a c t i o , a n d t h a t t h e p a g a n c o n t e n t s
o f t h e poem a r e a c t i n g in a n alchemical manner o n t h e h e r o i c - C h r i s t i a n ego
dominants o f t h e Collective Consciousness.
T h i s r e t u r n t o pastoral is t h u s
a r e t u r n t o dream, fantasy, t h e a b e r r a n t a n d pathological o r u n d e r w o r l d
n a t u r e o f t h e w a n d e r i n g s o f psyche.
T h e alchemical v i e w p o i n t w i t h i t s
u n b r i d g e a b l e gulf between p a g a n a n d C h r i s t i a n becomes t h e p r i m e unconscious c o n t e n t o r new symbol o f t h e dream-series.
It acts o n t h e dominant
(conscious) c o n f i g u r a t i o n o f t h e dream-ego in t h e same way t h a t t h e
DionysosIHades c o n f i g u r a t i o n a c t e d u p o n t h e dream f i g u r e s in t h e c e n t r a l
Theocritan Idylls.
I f we v i e w t h e p a s t o r a l landscape as t h e landscape o f soul as dream,
where t h e v a s t reaches o f t h e imaginal p s y c h e i n t e r f a c e w i t h t h e i n d i v i d u a l
t h r o u g h t h e complexes, we c a n p o s i t a p r o g r e s s i o n w i t h i n Spenser's w o r k
from t h e C a l e n d e r t h r o u g h t h e Faerie Queene t o t h e Epithalamion t h a t
parallels t h e T h e o c r i t a n I d y l l s a n d o f f e r s u s a u n i q u e p e r s p e c t i v e o n t h e
Faerie Queene i t s e l f .
It becomes a v a s t alchemical r e t o r t in w h i c h t h e
ruling c u l t u r a l dominants, as e v i n c e d in t h e h e r o i c dream-egos,
a r e opened,
t h r o u g h a c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h t h e most n e g l e c t e d aspects o f t h e t o t a l p s y c h i c
field,
t o c o n t a c t w i t h t h e D a r k Father, Dionysos as Hades o r L o r d o f Souls.
T h e Shepheardes Calender m i g h t b e s a i d t o b e c o n g r u e n t t o Idyll I,
t h e Death o f Daphnis, a n d t h e Epithalamion t o ldyll V I I , t h e i n c a r n a t i o n o f
s p i r i t w i t h i n a metaxy, a n i n t e r f u s e d realm in w h i c h t h e a r c h e t y p a l i s
p r e s e n t in t h e e v e n t s o f d a i l y life, w h e r e l i f e i t s e l f i s imaginal.
The events
o f t h e Faerie Queene i t s e l f m i g h t b e s a i d t o o f f e r a n analogy t o t h e c e n t r a l
T h e o c r i t a n I d y l l s in w h i c h t h e p u e r - s e n e x s p l i t i s approached t h r o u g h a
s h i f t in t h e dream-ego's awareness.
t h e futurity o f t h e spirit,with
This, t e n t a t i v e l y ,
provides the puer,
access t o a n anima-ted consciousness a n d
contact w i t h a senex f i g u r e t h a t d r a w s o u t t h e feminine a n d i n c o r p o r a t e s it
in s u c h a way t h a t "feminine p a t t e r n s c a n weave t o g e t h e r p u e r a n d senex
r a t h e r t h a n d i v i d e them f u r t h e r t h r o u g h t h e p e n c h a n t
. . . for
heroics. 1114
T h o u g h t h e r e a r e many p r o t a g o n i s t s in t h e monumental s t r u c t u r e o f
t h e Faerie Queene, a l l may b e c h a r a c t e r i z e d by one dominant feature, t h e i r
heroic stance, j u s t as t h e conscious o v e r v i e w o r manifest p u r p o s e o f t h e
poem may b e seen t o r e s i d e in i t s a r c h i t e c t u r a l , h i e r a r c h i c a l f o r m a n d i t s
heroic p u r p o s e :
gentle d i s c i p l i n e
"to f a s h i o n a gentleman o r noble p e r s o n in v i r t u o u s
..
;
and
In w h i c h I h a v e followed all t h e a n t i q u e Poets h i s t o r i -
call, f i r s t Homere, who in t h e Persons o f Agamemnon a n d Ulysses b o t h ensampled a good g o v e r n o r a n d a v i r t u o u s man. 1115 T h i s p e r f e c t n o b l e gentleman i s t o b e imagined in A r t h u r a n d h i s c o n s t r u c t i o n accomplished by t h e
creation o f a t o t a l o f t w e n t y - f o u r Books, s e t t i n g o u t t h e " A r i s t o t e l i a n
virtues,"
twelve p r i v a t e and twelve public.
T h e Faerie Queene h e r s e l f i s
e x p r e s s l y i d e n t i f i e d w i t h E l i z a b e t h in t h e i n t r o d u c t o r y l e t t e r t o Raleigh,
t h e d e d i c a t i o n t o t h e poem i t s e l f , a n d in each o f t h e i n t r o d u c t o r y passages
p r e c e d i n g t h e i n d i v i d u a l cantos.
books a n d fragments o f a seventh,
O f t h i s monumental e d i f i c e we h a v e s i x
fragments o f a book q u i t e fittingly
called by Spenser t h e B o o k o f Constancie.
The fragmented state o f t h e
-
poem i s i t s e l f a m e t a p h o r f o r t h e o v e r a l l a c t i o n o f t h e d r e a m o r unconscious
t h r u s t o f t h e material: a n a t t e m p t t o fracture,open,
fragment the heroic
a n d a r c h i t e c t u r a l v i s i o n o f t h e Elizabethan e g o w i t h i t s l i t e r a l i z e d idealization o f Elizabeth t h e queen a t t h e center o f a h i e r a r c h y w h i c h i s constantly
t h r e a t e n e d by t h e d a r k f o r c e s o f decay, chaos a n d b e s t i a l e v i l .
a n d h i s enemy, t h e u r o b o r i c s e r p e n t ,
is thus
The hero
"the paradiqm f o r the kerne
s t r u c t u r e in o u r p e r s o n a l a n d c o l l e c t i v e consciousness,"16
for,
it m u s t b e
insisted, t h e r a t i o n a l / h i e r a r c h i c a l a n d h e r o i c e g o i s m a n i f e s t l y s t i l l w i t h u s :
Were we t o b e i n t e r v i e w e d by a n a b o r i g i n a l a n t h r o p o l o g i s t from A u s t r a l i a f o r o u r 'dream,' o u r 'Gods1 a n d o u r
lcosmology,' t h i s w o u l d b e t h e s t o r y we w o u l d t e l l .
We
w o u l d t e l l o f t h e s t r u g g l e each d a y b r i n g s t o Ego who
must r i s e a n d d o b a t t l e w i t h Depression a n d Seduction
a n d Entanglement, so as t o k e e p t h e w o r l d safe f r o m
Chaos a n d E v i l a n d Regression, w h i c h c o i l a r o u n d it l i k e
a Swallowing Serpent
o u r civilization's excessive
a c t i v i s m i s a l l t o k e e p b a c k t h e night o f t h e Serpent,
r e q u i r i n g a m o n o t h e i s t i c singlemindedness, a c y c l o p s 1
dynamism
t h i s i s t h e s u s t a i n i n g m y t h we m u s t t e l l
t o a c c o u n t f o r o u r s t r a n g e ways: w h y we a r e a l w a y s
a t war, w h y we h a v e eaten up t h e w o r l d , w h y we h a v e
so l i t t l e i m a g i n a t i v e power, a n d w h y we h a v e o n l y o n e
God a n d He so f a r away.17
...
...
A s we h a v e n o t e d e a r l i e r , t h e o v e r a l l movement o f t h e Faerie Queene
i s t o w a r d s e x h a u s t i o n o f t h e h e r o i c and, c o n g r u e n t l y ,
a l l e g o r i c a l / r a t i o n a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n t h a t come w i t h it.
o f t h e realms o f
A n d , as we h a v e seen,
in a C h r i s t i a n c o n t e x t t h e h e r o i c q u e s t i n v o l v e s a t r e m e n d o u s imaginal
violence, a v i o l e n c e t o t h e imaginal,seen
in t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n C h r i s t ' s
descent t o t h e u n d e r w o r l d o f image, a mission o f d e s t r u c t i o n , a n d t h o s e o f
t h e p a g a n heroes w h o d e s c e n d e d t o l e a r n o r redeem a p e r s o n a l love.
But
t h e p a g a n m y t h s c o n t i n u e t o e x i s t w i t h i n t h e Faerie Queene, a n d t h o s e
"manifest p e r s o n s o f t h e s o u l " seem t o p r o v i d e b o t h a r e c u r r i n g i m p e t u s
a n d a s h a d o w i n g o f t h e h e r o i c s p i r i t u a l mission t h a t seems time a n d a g a i n
to frustrate,
f r a c t u r e , o r fragment t h e establishment o f a p e r f e c t w o r l d o r d e r .
I would suggest t h a t it i s j u s t t h i s dynarnis t h a t p r o v i d e s a central model o f
t h e poem in i t s p s y c h i c t o t a l i t y a n d goes f a r t o w a r d s e x p l a i n i n g t h e sometimes c o n f u s i n g and f r u s t r a t i n g n a t u r e o f i t s imaginal interactions.
To elucidate this, l e t u s turn t o a b r i e f consideration o f t h e poem's
o v e r t psychological method :
Lo, I t h e man whose Muse whilom did maske,
As time h e r taught, in lowly shepherdes weeds,
Am now e n f o r s t a f a r u n f i t t e r taske,
For t r u m p e t s s t e r n e t o chaunge mine oaten weeds
Fierce wars a n d u n f a i t h f u l loves shall moralize
my song ( I , intro., 1.)
...
The f i r s t act o f t h e poet i s t o put o n a moral dimension, a moral t h r u s t
towards achievement.
T h e ego as h e r o i s mobilized.
T h e field in which
t h i s heroic achievement i s t o be accomplished i s t h e n called up:
Help then, 0 h o l y V i r g i n chiefe o f nine,
T h y weaker novice t o p e r f o r m e thy will,
L a y f o r t h o u t o f t h i n e e v e r l a s t i n g scryne,
T h e a n t i q u e rolls, which t h e r e lie h i d d e n s t i l l ( I , intro.,
2).
The w o r l d o f Faerie opens, t h e a n t i q u e r o l l s o f t h e soul w h i c h contain i t s
vast, potent a n d manifold processions o f image:'
A n d w i t h them eke, 0 Goddesse heavenly b r i g h t ,
M i r r o r o f Grace a n d Majestie divine,
Great L a d y o f t h e greatest Isle, whose light
L i k e Phoebus lampe t h r o u g h o u t t h e w o r l d d o t h shine,
Shed thy f a i r beames i n t o my feeble e y n e ( I , intro.,
4).
We a r e presented w i t h a n archetypal c o n f i g u r a t i o n o r c l u s t e r o f symbols
which includes t h e s h e p h e r d ( C o l i n ) o f t h e Calender become a moral k n i g h t hero, t h e landscape o f t h e soul in w h i c h t h i s h e r o i c quest i s t o be achieved
by a moral reduction, a n d t h e Great Goddess i d e n t i f i e d w i t h Elizabeth and
Apollo, t h e g r e a t o r n o u r i s h i n g M o t h e r as Light a n d Power.
The implicit
enemy o f c o u r s e i s t h e snake, Hades as daimonion, t h e c t h o n i c p o w e r o f
t h e feminine, a n d a l l t h a t t h e h e r o i c ego deems immoral.
But there is a
secret t w i s t h e r e t h a t , a t t h e outset, i n f o r m s t h e mission's f a i l u r e .
All o f
t h e k n i g h t l h e r o e s o f t h e Faerie Queene may b e seen as p u e r f i g u r e s ,
for
all, a t t h e outset, a r e y o u n g , i n e x p e r i e n c e d , s e e k i n g t o w i n fame, g l o r y ,
approval, a n a p p r o v a l c o n f e r r e d n o t by t h e F a t h e r but by t h e Mother,
g r e a t Gloriana Elizabeth, she o f light:
Hero, p u e r a n d son a r e in one basic r e s p e c t a l l t h e same:
youth.
Y o u t h c a r r i e s t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f becoming, o f
s e l f - c o r r e c t i n g g r o w t h , o f b e i n g b e y o n d i t s e l f ( ideals )
since i t s r e a l s a r e in s t a t u s nascendi. So it i s d e c i s i v e
since t h i s y o u t h i s t h e
how we e n v i s i o n t h i s y o u t h
emergence o f s p i r i t w i t h i n t h e p s y c h e . l 8
...
In c o n t r a s t t o t h e Calender, we h a v e h e r e a dream-ego a c t i v a t e d by
t h e p u e r - s p i r i t r a t h e r t h a n k e p t a p a r t f r o m it.
Colin a n d Cuddie are fused
a n d n o l o n g e r u n d e r t h e domination o f t h e n e g a t i v e senex o r T h e n o t p e r spective.
C o l i n l p u e r has become a hero, f o r s a k e n h i s oaten weeds a n d
h e r e i s seen as f u n c t i o n i n g u n d e r t h e aegis o f t h e Mother.
The puer is
i d e n t i f i e d w i t h t h e hero-son o f t h e G r e a t M o t h e r who in turn i s i d e n t i f i e d
w i t h o n l y h e r light side, as t h e a l l - b o u n t i f u l Elizabeth.
H e r e we come t o
t h e c e n t r a l k n o t o f t h e Faerie Queene, a n a t t e m p t t o s h i f t t h e p u e r consciousness f r o m i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h t h e Mother-Son c o n f i g u r a t i o n i n t o a
u n i o n w i t h senex as Dionysos o r Hades.
F o r " t h e y o u n g dominant o f r i s i n g
consciousness t h a t r u l e s t h e s t y l e o f t h e ego c a n b e d e t e r m i n e d by e i t h e r
t h e p u e r ( a n d senex) o r by t h e s o n a n d h e r o ( a n d Goddess). ,119
--
When t h e p u e r - s p i r i t i s i d e n t i f i e d w i t h t h e m o t h e r a p a r t i c u l a r s o r t
of consciousness a n d a c t i v i s m o c c u r s :
We a r e so used t o assuming t h a t t h e son o f t h e g r e a t
Mother appears as a b e a u t i f u l ineffectual who has laid
h i s testicles o n h e r a l t a r a n d nourishes h e r soul w i t h
h i s blood, and we a r e so used t o b e l i e v i n g t h a t t h e
h e r o - p a t t e r n leads away f r o m her, t h a t we have lost
s i g h t o f t h e role o f t h e Great Goddess in t h a t w h i c h i s
closest t o u s : o u r ego formation. T h e adapted ego
o f r e a l i t y i s in h e r 'yoke,' a meaning o f Hera, j u s t as
t h e words Hera a n d h e r o a r e t a k e n by many scholars
If in t r a d i t i o n a l C h r i s t i a n heroics
t o b e cognate
t h e k n i f e slays t h e evil, in Greek m y t h i c t h o u g h t t h e
knife is the evil
L e t u s once look closer a t t h e
k n i f e ( w h i c h animals don't have) a n d i n t e r i o r i z e , psychologize aggression in terms o f o u r v e r y d e f i n i t i o n o f
consciousness: t h e logos s w o r d o f discrimination in
t h e hands o f t h e heroic ego in h i s mission t o clean up
t h e mother-benighted world.
What we have t a k e n f o r
consciousness, t h i s too has been determined by t h e
Mother. T o b e conscious has meant a n d continues t o
mean: t o kill. *0
...
...
The movement i n v o l v e d in t h e p r o g r e s s i o n f r o m Shepheardes Calender
t h r o u g h Faerie Queene t o Epithalamion i s q u i t e a bit more complex t h a n in
t h e T h e o c r i t a n Idylls, f o r in a Greek o r p r e - C h r i s t i a n cosmos woundedness
i t s e l f i s d i r e c t l y i n i t i a t o r y t o meeting t h e D a r k God.
T h e Hellenistic cosmos
o f t h e I d y l l s seems t o b e u n i n v o l v e d w i t h t h e tremendous e n e r g y o f t h e
heroic ego w h i c h must h e r e b e allowed t o exhaust i t s e l f b e f o r e t h e p e r - s e n e x
union can occur.
T h i s may b e explained by t h e v e r y n a t u r e o f t h e senex
pole in a Greek cosmos, in Komatus' v e r y nature.
B u t whatever t h e case,
h e r e t h e p u e r proceeds f r o m a pastoral landscape dominated b y t h e
Mantu-
anesque1Thenot v i s i o n t h r o u g h a n i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h t h e Great Mother and
t h e heroic q u e s t towards t h e puer-senex union.
In t h e course o f t h i s t h e
h e r o himself becomes t h e p r i m e v i c t i m :
In t h e m i x t u r e o f t h e t h r e e components--man, mother,
snake,--the snake loses i t s life, t h e man loses h i s snake,
but t h e mother has h e r h e r o
by l o s i n g cthonic
consciousness, w h i c h means h i s p s y c h o i d daimon r o o t
t h a t t r a i l s i n t o t h e ancestors in Hades, [ t h e h e r o ] loses
h i s r o o t in death, becoming t h e real v i c t i m o f t h e 'Battle
...
...
for Deliverance1
because t h e heroic way goes
against t h e snake, it is secretly a self-destruction.21
Whatever t h e psychic necessities involved in t h e creation of heroconsciousness and its extreme development within t h e Christian mythos,
t h e Faerie Queene p r e s e n t s u s with i t s enantiodromia o r defeat:
the
failure of Calidore's mission t o chain t h e Blatant Beast, a principle of evil
that is inherent in language itself;
t h e exhaustion of allegory in Book VI;
and the v e r y fragmented s t a t e of t h e poem itself, i t s woundedness, incompleteness, t h a t may be said to image a victory of t h a t God who in himself is most discontinuous.22
The pagan gods participate in this process
from the beginning, for a s soon a s t h e terms of battle a r e announced in
t h e opening stanzas "angry Jove an hideous storme of raine / did pour
into his Leman's lap so fast / t h a t e v e r y wight to shroude it did constrain"
( I , i , 6), and t h e f i r s t of t h e heroic egos is d r i v e n into t h e wandering wood
of psyche t o meet with his f i r s t monster.
The encounter of t h e R.C. K . with t h e foul monster of Error, "halfe
like a s e r p e n t horribly displaide / b u t th'other half did woman's shape
retain" ( I , i , 14), is, in a way, a s o r t of introductory paradigm for t h e
action of t h e pagan myths throughout t h e poem.
And t h e metaphor of
water r u n s t h r o u g h t h e f i r s t Canto, t h e storm released by Jove sinking into
the d e p t h s of Hades, into t h e house of Morpheus ( I ,
i , 39-40) t o rouse u p
those false dreams t h a t p a r t t h e R.C.K.
from t r u e Una and supply t h e
impetus for t h e e n t i r e action of Book I .
It is a s if this a n g r y storm is
like t h e "flood of t h e Nile1' in stanzas 21-22, which produces "ten thousand
kinds of c r e a t u r e s partly male I and partly female of his fruitful seed I
Such ugly monstrous shapes elsewhere may no man readell ( I ,
1, 21).
B u t o f c o u r s e t h e r e i s a p a r a d o x i c a l r e l a t i o n between t h e R . C . K. a n d
t h e monsters h e perceives, f o r it i s o n l y in light o f h i s o w n consciousness
t h a t t h e c r e a t u r e s o f t h e imaginal p s y c h e become monstrous.
This relation
i s s u c c i n c t l y e x p r e s s e d in t h e ambivalence o f language d e s c r i b i n g h i s f i r s t
e n t r y i n t o t h e unconscious, h i s e n c o u n t e r w i t h E r r o r :
B u t f o r t h i n t o t h e darksome hole h e went,
A n d looked in: h i s g l i s t r i n g a r m o r made
A l i t t l e glooming light, m u c h l i k e a shade,
B y w h i c h h e saw t h e ugly m o n s t e r p l a i n e ( I ,
1, 14).
T h i s secret i d e n t i t y n a g s a t us, c r e a t e s a n amorphous unease j u s t as t h e
c o n t r a s t between t h e allegorical d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e monster as " E r r o r " a n d
h e r v i v i d , immediate imaginal p r e s e n c e n a g s a t us.
We may d o away w i t h
t h i s " h o r r o r " by l a b e l l i n g it, but a p a r t o f u s i s somehow a t t r a c t e d as:
T h e r e w i t h she spewed o u t o f h e r filthy maw
A flood o f p o y s o n h o r r i b l e a n d blacke,
F u l l o f g r e a t lumps o f f l e s h a n d g o b b e t s raw,
Which s t u n c k so v i l e l y t h a t it f o r s t h i m slacke
H i s g r a s p i n g hold, a n d f r o m h e r turn h i m backe:
H e r vomit full o f bookes a n d p a p e r s was,
W i t h l o a t h l y f r o g s a n d toades w h i c h e y e did lacke,
A n d c r e e p i n g s o u g h t way in t h e weedy g r a s ( I , 1, 2 0 ) .
J u s t as t h e h o r r o r a n d vileness o f t h e image d r a w s t h e knight f u r t h e r
a n d f u r t h e r i n t o b a t t l e , t h e r a t i o n a l o r a r c h i t e c t u r a l consciousness i s l e d
f u r t h e r a n d f u r t h e r i n t o p s y c h e in a n a t t e m p t t o bring o r d e r t o all t h i s
v i l e imaginal confusion.
A n d we as r e a d e r s a r e l e f t w i t h a s t r a n g e unease
q u i t e similar t o t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h i s scene, t h e R.C.K .Is b a t t l e s w i t h
E r r o r , as r e f l e c t e d in a p a s t o r a l landscape,
where,
A c l o u d o f combrous g n a t t e s d o h i m molest,
A l l s t r i v i n g t o i n f i x e t h e i r feeble stings,
T h a t f r o m t h e i r noyance h e no w h e r e c a n r e s t ( I ,
1, 23).
I would s u g g e s t t h a t it i s j u s t t h i s sense o f unease t h a t i s t h e poem's unconscious p u r p o s e , a n unease t h a t r e t u r n s u s a g a i n a n d again t o t h e image
as separate f r o m i t s a l l e g o r i c a l d e f i n i t i o n a n d f r u s t r a t e s o u r r a t i o n a l a b i l i t y
t o dismiss o r d e n y t h e phenomena o f t h e imaginal psyche.
T o n k i n d e s c r i b e d t h e p r o g r e s s i o n i n t o Book V I ,
We a r e led, as
"into that p a r t o f the
p s y c h e t h a t i s a s o u r c e o f b o t h allegories a n d judgements,
a 'primitive'
place s e l f h a u n t e d by m i g h t y f o r m s t h a t move slowly t h r o u g h t h e m i n d in
23
daydream a n d n i g h t m a r e . "
A n d I w o u l d suggest, f r o m t h i s v i e w p o i n t ,
t h a t t h e r e a l h e r o o r , r a t h e r , a n t i - h e r o o f t h e Book i s Archimago who,
in league w i t h Pluto, M o r p h e u s a n d Proserpine, calls up those dreams t h a t
lead t o t h e R.C. K.'s demise,
In fact,
h i s e x h a u s t i o n , a n d h i s admission o f defeat.
I w o u l d s u g g e s t t h a t it i s Archimago as senex, as D a r k F a t h e r , who
informs t h e p r o g r e s s o f t h e F a e r i e Queene as a whole.
He i s a senex
f i g u r e v e r y c o n g r u e n t t o t h e O l d Oak, f o r Archimago i s in league w i t h
those d a r k p o w e r s t h a t s e n d image a n d also, j u s t as t h e oak,is
t h e p r i e s t e s crewe,"
i d e n t i f i e d w i t h Catholicism a n d magic.
"crost w i t h
B u t at his
core h e i s t h a t d a r k s p i r i t w h i c h r e v e a l s i t s e l f in a dream, a s p i r i t most
opposite t o t h e ruling conscious h i e r a r c h y .
Book I o f t h e F a e r i e Queene i s g e n e r a l l y c o n s i d e r e d t o p r o v i d e t h e
poem's v e r t i c a l axis, t h e h e i g h t s a n d t h e d e p t h s o f i t s vision.
t h e c o n t e x t f o r a l l t h e o t h e r b o o k s o f t h e Faerie Queene
longest reach,
. . . the
It " p r o v i d e s
. . . has t h e
t h e d e e p e s t resonance, t h e most highly generalized s t r u c t u r e
h i s t o r y o f t h e Red Crosse K n i g h t e in t h e poem t r a c e s a p a t t e r n
more i n c l u s i v e t h a n t h a t e n a c t e d by a n y o t h e r o f t h e heroes; it exemplifies
t h e imitatio C h r i s t i , t h a t r e t r o s p e c t i v e t y p o l o g y made available by t h e New
Covenant."
24
So in B o o k I we c a n see most c l e a r l y t h e p o l a r i z a t i o n in-
h e r e n t in t h e poem's o v e r t conscious p u r p o s e .
T h i s p o l a r i z a t i o n i s most a p p a r e n t in t h e t w o v e r s i o n s o f light t h a t
i n f o r m t h e e n t i r e book, a c o n t r a s t t h a t i s b r o u g h t t o a climax in t h e
R.C.K.'s
fight w i t h t h e D r a g o n t h a t i s t h e book's c o n c l u d i n g episode.
Isabel M c C a f f r e y maintains t h a t :
S p e n s e r ' s images in C a n t o X I a r e n o t o n l y r e c a p i t u l a t i v e
in t e r m s o f t h e t r a d i t i o n but in t e r m s o f h i s o w n a l l e g o r y .
N o t o n l y i s t h i s d r a g o n t h e a r c h e t y p e a n d summation o f
i t s t h r e e analogies--Error; t h e ' d r e a d f u l d r a g o n w i t h a n
h i d e o u s t r a i n u n d e r L u c i f e r a ' s feet' iv, 10; a n d Duessa's
monstrous beast--but t h e l e n g t h y description o f him
assimilates many o f t h e o t h e r k e y images o f B k . I. T h e
ominous shadow i s h e r e ('made w i d e shadow u n d e r h i s
h u g e wast') a n d t h e hollow g l a d e in w h i c h t h e d r a g o n ' s
e y e s a r e set i s t h e o r i g i n a l o f t h e 'hollow cave' o f E r r o r
the
( I , 11 a n d t h e d w e l l i n g o f D e s p a i r ( I X , 33)
i n i t i a l simile makes t h e D r a g o n a n i n s t a n c e o f t h e false
heroic, a l l u d i n g t o A r t h u r ' s s h i e l d w i t h i t s ' b l a z i n g
b r i g h t n e s s ' a n d ' f l a s h i n g beames.'
T h e actual shield
p a r t a k e s o f t h e t r u e Sun's n a t u r e , t h e Dragon's eyes
o f t h e p o w e r o f t h e false s u n s
11 25
...
...
T h e light t h a t informs t h e high e n d o f t h e conscious/unconscious a x i s
of t h e F a e r i e Queene i s t h e b r i l l i a n t light o f A r t h u r ' s shield.
T h i s shield
was :
all o f diamond p e r f e c t . p u r e a n d cleene
It f r a m e d was, one massie e n t i r e mould,
H e w n o u t o f adamant r o c k e w i t h e n g i n e s keene ( I , v i i ,
When h i s s h i e l d i s u n v e i l e d , " t h e light w h e r e o f
t h r o u g h t h e aier threw,
33).
. . . such blazing
brightness
t h a t e y e m i g h t n o t t h e same endure'' ( v i i , 19).
It
i s a p r o o f a n d specific a g a i n s t a l l "magicke a r t s " a n d "bloudie w o r d s o f
bold Enchanters" (vii,
35).
m e t r i c a l (diamond-faceted)
national hero.
T h i s image i s o f a p e r f e c t , p u r e a n d geomonotheism t h a t i s associated w i t h t h e r i s e o f a
In face o f t h i s light t h e f i g u r e s o f t h e u n d e r w o r l d vanish.
A n d in t h e shadow o f t h i s g r e a t light, I w o u l d suggest, t h e u n d e r w o r l d
i t s e l f becomes e v i l , a p r o f o u n d l y B l a k e a n s p e c t e r o f e v i l .
What i s opposed
o r o p p o s i t e i s contaminated by shadow, by t h e e v i l o r i n f e r i o r i t y t h a t a n
i n d i v i d u a l o r a n a t i o n r e f u s e s t o admit a b o u t i t s e l f .
fashion,
In a psychological
t h i s goes a c e r t a i n way t o w a r d s e x p l a i n i n g t h e e x t r e m e b i f u r c a t i o n
o f t h e poem.
B u t it w o u l d b e u n f a i r t o t h e conscious v i s i o n o f t h e poem t o maintain
t h a t t h e underworld ( h e r e equated w i t h e v i l ) i s totally destroyed.
The
U n d e r w o r l d t o o has a moral purpose, a n a p p r o x i m a t i o n t o t h e C h r i s t i a n
p a r a d o x o f t h e p a r a b l e o f t h e f o r t u n a t e fall.
This s o r t o f perspective i s
a t t h e h e a r t o f t h e r e l i g i o u s i n s t r u c t i o n t h a t t h e R.C .K.
receives a t t h e
h a n d s o f Fidelia o n t h e H o l y Mt. o f Contemplation ( I , x, 12), where h e r
" s u n n y beamesl' w h i c h " r o u n d a b o u t h e r head did s h i n e l i k e heaven's lighti1
illuminate a book "wherein d a r k e t h i n g s are writ,
h a r d t o understand."
The
s o r t o f i l l u m i n a t i 0 she p r a c t i c e s may b e seen in t h e H o l y Hermit's l a t e r conf l a t i o n of " t h e h i g h e s t mount,
s u c h a one, as t h a t m i g h t y man o f God
...
d w e l t f o r t y d a y s upon1' w i t h t h e " s a c r e d hill a d o r n e d w i t h fruitful olives1'
a n d t h a t "pleasant mount, t h a t i s f o r ay, t h r o u g h famous p o e t s v e r s e each
w h e r e renowned'' ( I , x,
53-54).
A J e w i s h a n d a Pagan symbol a r e equated
w i t h a C h r i s t i a n symbol a n d t h e C h r i s t i a n m y t h becomes t h e revealed truth
a g a i n s t w h i c h t h e o t h e r s a r e measured.
l sabel M c C a f f r e y examines t h i s
t e n d e n c y o f Spenser t o allegorize o r pass moral judgement o n t h e f i g u r e s
o f t h e U n d e r w o r l d in t e r m s o f A r t h u r ' s b a t t l e w i t h Orgoglio, t h e G i a n t o f
P r i d e who i s t h e c o n j u n c t i o n o f e a r t h a n d a i r :
Again, w h e n A r t h u r f i g h t s O r g o g l i o in C a n t o v i i i , t h e
g i a n t d i r e c t s a misaimed blow a t him a n d b u r i e s h i s o w n
F o r t h i s s t r o k e Spenser devises
c l u b in t h e g r o u n d .
a n o t h e r stanza l o n g simile, c o m p a r i n g it t o Joves' t h u n d e r b o l t h u r l e d in w r a t h f u l mood, t o w r e a k e t h e guilt o f mortal
B u t O r g o g l i o i s a m o r t a l sin; how t h e n c a n h i s hurtsins.'
ling c l u b b e 'like' t h e b o l t d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t s i n f u l h u m a n i t y ?
Spenser w a n t s u s t o see t h e s e l f d e s t r u c t i v e c h a r a c t e r 26
o f sin, t h e way it c a n b e u s e d by God a g a i n s t i t s e l f
'
...
....
-
I would suggest t h a t t h e salient p o i n t in t h i s discussion is i t s sympathy
w i t h t h e conscious moral v i s i o n o f t h e poem itself.
Virtually every critical
discussion of t h e Faerie Queene is in t h i s s o r t o f conscious collusion w i t h
the poem's o v e r t purpose, w h i c h serves t o reinforce a moral judgement o n
t h e pathology i n h e r e n t in soul a n d t o enclose soul phenomena w i t h i n a monotheistic o r s t r u c t u r a l i s t model.
as we have it, a pathologized,
B u t t h i s ignores t h e presence o f t h e poem
incomplete and wounded e n t i t y , wounded
t h r o u g h t h e i n t e r v e n t i o n o f t h e d a r k forces as fate.
judgement,
T h i s in i t s e l f i s a
f o r it i s a psychological t r u i s m t h a t a n y psychic force n o t g i v e n
access t o dialogue,
n o t g i v e n significance in i t s own r i g h t , w i l l be confronted
in the e x t e r i o r w o r l d as fate.
We have been c o n s i d e r i n g t h e Faerie Queene as p a r t o f a pastoral
-
sequence, w i t h a p e r s p e c t i v e o n pastoral as a process rooted in dream, in
t h e ynderworld, w h i c h i s c o n g r u e n t l y operative o n b o t h a c u l t u r a l and
an i n d i v i d u a l level.
-
T h e operation o f t h e archetypal dominants o f t h e
Elizabethan c u l t u r a l consciousness can be seen as imaged in t h e s p i r i t u a l evol u t i o n o f t h e heroic f i g u r e s in t h e poem a n d t h e monotheistic, c e n t r a l i z i n g
and hierarchical process t h e y imply.
B u t t h e most significant features o f
a dream are those images a n d perspectives t h a t are f a r t h e s t away from t h e
dominants o f t h e dream ego,
conscious canon.
which might be said t o best compensate t h e
It i s t h e alchemical perspective t h a t i s o f c r i t i c a l importance
here, a perspective that,
according t o J u n g and Hillman, i s t h e most a p t
metaphor we have f o r t h e w o r k i n g o f t h e objective o r imaginal psyche.
i s a perspective that,
according t o Jung,
It
"cannot be reconciled w i t h t h e
p u r e l y s p i r i t u a l assumptions of ~ h r i s t i a n i t ~ , " ~
and,
'
as such, it may be
seen as r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e perspective o f t h e soul and i t s u n d e r w o r l d
dominants within t h e conscious field of a predominantly spiritual civilization.
But it is a perspective t h a t , since t h e Council of Nicaea, h a s been consistently approximated to t h e rational-spiritual faculty.
When image becomes
icon t h e fantasies of t h e soul a r e seen a s representations of ideas o r
spiritual-transcendent t r u t h .
So t h e presence within t h e poem of specific
alchemical f i g u r e s , figures taken up from alchemical treatises is, ultimately,
irrelevant to an understanding of this mode's t r u e significance a s t h e unconscious pole of t h e poem.
From t h e perspective of t h e conscious dominant
they become o n e more icon, pagan images to b e subsumed and successfully
relegated to a subordinate place in t h e ruling Christian hierarchy.
The key
here is t h e concept of t h e alchemical operatio a s a way of e n t e r i n g t h e unconscious a s p e c t s of t h e poem, a viewpoint t h a t takes u s back to Jung's
original idea of t h e symbol a s process o r linking r a t h e r than a s overt content.
It is a way of seeing t h a t proceeds from t h e unconscious o r underworld, a
baptism in t h e underworld t h a t is a constant underworld vision.
And it
operates in a light f a r different from t h e hard gemlike flame of A r t h u r ,
"a dubious, indeed a sulphurous light"28 t h a t is "in many respects equal
to t h e lumen naturae.
This was t h e real source of illumination in alchemy"
and, a s Mercurius, "must signify t h e unconscious itself
. . . s o much
29
did
the alchemist s e n s e t h e duality of his unconscious assumptions t h a t in t h e
face of all astronomical evidence he equipped t h e Sun with a shadow."
30
It is operation with t h e shadow s u n , t h e Sol Niger, t h a t in-forms alchemical
procedure, a light which grows from t h e "darksome hole" of Error, t h e
"deep d a r k n e s s e d r e d " of Archimago, t h e "hollow cave
. . . dark,
doleful,
dreare" of Despair, and it gives quite another perspective on t h e fight of
St. George and t h e Dragon t h a t is Book 1's central conscious paradigm:
In alchemy t h e dragon i s also c r e a t i v e Mercury and is
also a f i g u r a t i o n o r p r e f i g u r a t i o n o f t h e p u e r . K i l l i n g
the dragon in t h e h e r o m y t h means n o t h i n g less than
killing t h e imagination, t h e v e r y s p i r i t t h a t i s the way
and the goal. T h e dragon, l e t u s remember, i s not a
snake at all, it i s a f i c t i t i o u s animal, a n imaginal instinct,
and t h u s t h e i n s t i n c t o f imagination o r t h e imagination
as a v i t a l i n s t i n c t i v e force.31
B u t how does t h i s process o r perspective operate w i t h i n the n a r r a t i v e
s t r u c t u r e of t h e Faerie Queene? We f i r s t encounter it in the f i g u r e o f
Archimago, t h a t "bold bad man" who:
...
choosing o u t few words most h o r r i b l e
A n d he b a d awake blacke Plutoes g r i e s t l y Dame,
A n d cursed heaven and spoke r e p r o a c h f u l shame
O f highest God, t h e L o r d o f l i f e a n d light;
A bold bad man t h a t dar'd t o call b y name
Great Gorgon, p r i n c e o f darknesse and dread night ( I , i, 37).
His e v i l n a t u r e and, consequently, t h e n a t u r e o f evil, is allegorically revealed
t o u s from the conscious viewpoint t h r o u g h h i s identification w i t h Catholicism
and black magic, and also t h r o u g h h i s "Pleasing words" t h a t "could file h i s
tongue as smooth as glass" ( I , i, 35).
T h i s aspect o f h i s n a t u r e reveals
t h a t he is congruent w i t h the Blatant Beast o f Book IV, a p r i n c i p l e o f e v i l
t h a t i s inherent in language, a d e s t r u c t i v e o r decentralizing tendency that,
according t o Jung's e a r l y work w i t h t h e psychic association process and
Kugler's extension o f t h a t work in archetypal linguistics, is a mode o f unconscious o r soul functioning.
Taken i n t o therapy, t h i s approach becomes
an attempt to "open t h e ego t o t h e language o f t h e imaginal, t o loosen the
grammar and syntax which r e s t r i c t t h e person's clinical p i c t u r e t o one mean-
ing
. . . founded o n t h e primacy of
t h e imaginal and i t s inherent polysemy
[it] works instead t o f r e e t h e soul's plurivocal discourse by p r e s e r v i n g t h e
m u l t i p l i c i t y of archetypal image meanings t h r o u g h a calculated ambiguity. 11 332
-
Within t h e o v e r a l l a l l e g o r y o r i c o n o l o g y o f t h e F a e r i e Queene, i t s conscious lexicon, Archimago i s seen as a n e c e s s a r y p a r t o f t h e R.C.K.'s
train-
ing, p a r t o f t h a t d i s c i p l i n e t h a t enables h i m u l t i m a t e l y t o d i s t i n g u i s h truth
f r o m e r r o r , t o r e f e r b o t h image a n d l a n g u a g e t o t h e r e v e a l e d truth o f a
He i s r e f e r r e d t o t h e C h r i s t i a n i c o n o f t h e p a r a b l e o f t h e
s p i r i t u a l system.
f o r t u n a t e fall, a n d a c q u i r e s a s i n g l e meaning.
B u t alchemically t h i s opera-
tion is quite different:
Sol i s rightly named t h e f i r s t a f t e r God, a n d f a t h e r a n d
b e g e t t e r o f all, because in h i m ' t h e seminal a n d formal
v i r t u e o f a l l t h i n g s whatsoever lies hid.' T h i s p o w e r i s
It i s a h o t demonic p r i n c i p l e o f life,
called sulphur.
h a v i n g t h e closest a f f i n i t i e s w i t h t h e s u n in t h e e a r t h ,
t h e central f i r e o r ignis ghennalis ( f i r e o f hell).
Hence
t h e r e i s also a Sol N i q e r , a b l a c k s u n w h i c h coincides
w i t h t h e n i g r e d o a n d p u t r i f a c t i o , t h e s t e n c h o f death.
L i k e M e r c u r i u s , Sol in alchemy i s ambivalent. 3 3
Alchemy i s a puer-senex vision w i t h
T h e k e y w o r d h e r e i s ambivalent.
r o o t s in t h e d a r k n e s s , t h e u n d e r w o r l d , t h e unconscious, t h a t w h i c h t h e
C h r i s t i a n dominant sees as e v i l .
From t h i s p e r s p e c t i v e t h e R.C.K.
and
Archimago a r e t w o p a r t s o f a whole, t h e d a y - s u n o r p u e r w i t h w h i c h t h e
R.C. K. i s e x p r e s s l y i d e n t i f i e d
a n d t h e senex as Sol N i g e r .
To-
g e t h e r t h e y a r e a p u e r - s e n e x u n i o n t h a t i s r o o t e d in t h e u n d e r w o r l d o r
unconscious, t h e limitless d e p t h o f soul.
light b r i n g e r ( p u e r ) ,
B u t t h e R.C.K.
as L u c i f e r o r
in h i s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h hero-son c u l t o f Elizabeth,
r e j e c t s t h e u n d e r w o r l d senex.
In f a c t in h i s b a t t l e w i t h t h e d r a g o n h e
goes o n t o a t t e m p t t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e e n t i r e House o f Hades, h i s o w n
imaginal i n s t i n c t .
So t h e alchemical o p e r a t i o n i n h e r e n t in Archimago's
"choosing o u t few w o r d s most h o r r i b l e , "
g r i e s t l y dame,"
w h i c h " b a d awaken b l a c k Plutoes
h i s c u r s e s w h i c h "Spoke r e p r o a c h f u l shame o f h i g h e s t God,
t h e L o r d o f l i f e a n d light" a n d " d a r e d t o c a l l by name g r e a t Gorgon,
p r i n c e o f darknesse and dread night" may b e seen as an attempt t o f r a c t u r e
t h a t s p i r i t u a l perfection t h a t would relegate all soul phenomena t o a subordinate place in a conscious lexicon, a s p i r i t u a l l y monotheistic philosophy.
It i s an attempt t o introduce just t h a t s o r t o f calculated ambiguity t h a t
would "open t h e ego t o t h e language o f t h e imaginal
polysemy
. . . and i t s inherent
. . . by p r e s e r v i n g t h e m u l t i p l i c i t y o f archetypal
image meanings."
And,
Above all it b u r n s and consumes. T h e l i t t l e power o f
s u l p h u r [ w h i c h we may r e g a r d as t h e volatile q u a l i t y o f
language] is s u f f i c i e n t t o consume a s t r o n g body. T h a t
t h e s t r o n g body i s t h e sun [ w h i c h we may see as t h e conscious lexicon] i s clear from t h e s a y i n g 'Sulphur blackens
t h e sun and consumes it.' There it causes o r signifies
the putrifactio
i t s putrifying e f f e c t is also u n d e r stood as i t s a b i l i t y t o c o r r u p t . S u l p h u r i s the cause o f
imperfection in all metals, the c o r r u p t o r o f perfection,
causing blackness in e v e r y operation. 34
...
T h i s alchemical operation images f a i r l y precisely t h e effect o f Archimago's
i n i t i a l machinations o n the R.C. K.
The dream images he calls u p from Hades,
coming where t h e knight in slomber lay,
T h e one upon h i s h a r d y head him plast,
A n d made him dream o f loves and l u s t f u l play,
T h a t nigh h i s manly heart did melt away ( I , i, 47).
T h e R.C.K.,
become liquid in t h i s "great passion o f unwonted l u s t
...
started up as i f seeming t o mistrust some secret ill," ( I , i, 49), and h e
confronts a false Una who attempts t o inflame him f u r t h e r .
T h i s makes a n
inroad i n t o h i s shining moral armour, b lackens it w i t h doubt a n d m i s t r u s t :
"her d o u b t f u l l words made t h a t redoubted k n i g h t suspect h e r truth"
(I,
i, 53).
A n d it ends, in h i s final encounter w i t h Archimago's images
t h e n e x t morning, by inflaming him in such a way t h a t he i s d r i v e n t o
the House o f Pride and h i s fateful encounter w i t h Orgoglio which corresponds
t o the n i g r e d o o r death.
I
B u t t h i s alchemical o p e r a t i o n c a n n o t b e r e d u c e d t o a completely iconographic interpretation.
Seen o n l y as i c o n it becomes a metaphor f o r t h a t
p a r a b l e o f t h e f o r t u n a t e f a l l t h a t r e s u l t s in t h e achievement o f a h i g h e r
Christian vision.
T h i s o p e r a t i o n i s a baptism, a n d t h e Cabalist i n t e r p r e t e r s
o f alchemical t e x t s c o n s t a n t l y compared it t o t h e d e a t h o f t h e o l d Adam a n d
h i s r e s u r r e c t i o n in C h r i s t .
B u t it i s a baptism in t h e u n d e r w o r l d t h a t i s
a n u n d e r w o r l d vision, t h e c o n s t a n t p r e s e n c e o f blackness, t h e imperfectibility a n d f e m i n i n i t y o f m a t t e r , t h e p r e s e n c e o f DeathIHades as a n imaginal
r o o t o f t h e s o u l t h a t i s e x p r e s s e d in t h o s e " d o u b t f u l w o r k d s " w h i c h c r e a t e
ambiguity, ambivalence,
shadow a n d u n c e r t a i n t y .
It c a n t h u s b e seen as
a mode o f o p e r a t i o n w i t h i n language t h a t i s c o n t i n u o u s l y i n v o l v e d w i t h t h e
f a i l u r e o f t h e h e r o i c q u e s t t o e r e c t a complete s p i r i t u a l v i s i o n in t h e kingdoms of t h e soul.
T h e o n l y c o u n t e r p a r t t o t h e luminous r o l e o f s u l p h u r ,
t h e p u e r aspect o f t h e R.C. K.,
i s t h e d a r k senex, Archirnago as Hades.
It i s o n l y t h i s c o n n e c t i o n t h a t c a n p r e v e n t t h e l i t e r a l i z a t i o n o f t h e p u e r ' s
h o t i m p u l s i v e d r i v e s a n d t h e violence t h a t ensues when t h e p u e r i s in a n
unconscious i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h t h e hero-son o f t h e g r e a t Mother.
-
It s u r -
rounds, shadows, r e l a t i v i z e s t h e t h r u s t t o w a r d h e r o i c achievement t h r o u g h
ambivalence, a m b i g u i t y a n d h o r r o r , a n d also t h r o u g h beauty, f o r t h e s u l p h u r
is:
p r a i s e d as t h e a r t i f i c e r o f a t h o u s a n d t h i n g s , as t h e h e a r t
o f a l l t h i n g s , a s t h a t w h i c h endows l i v i n g t h i n g s w i t h
understanding, as t h e begetter o f e v e r y flower o n h e r b o r
t r e e and, f i n a l l y , as t h e p a i n t e r o f a l l colours. 3 5
A s s u c h it m i g h t b e seen a s t h a t f l o w e r i n g o f language so e v i d e n t in t h e
Faerie Queene t h a t in m a n y cases a c t s in o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e moral t h r u s t o f
t h e allegory.
T h i s a m b i g u i t y , w h e t h e r it opens t o h o r r o r o r b e a u t y , b o t h
so necessary t o t h e soul, c o n t i n u a l l y makes inroads, o n t h e l e v e l o f language,
o n t h e m o r a l - s p i r i t u a l premises o f t h e c u l t u r a l e g o dominants.
It m i g h t
b e s t b e imaged as t h a t d o u b t o r unease t h a t b e s e t s Phantastes, o r as t h e
c l o u d o f g n a t s t h a t s u r r o u n d s t h e s h e p h e r d in I, 1, 23, t h e r e f l e c t i o n in
a pastoral-dream landscape o f R.C.K.'s
enounter w i t h the dragon o f Error.
It i s a n a c t i v a t i o n o f t h a t p a r t o f t h e soul, t h e i m a g i n a t i o o r memoria,
w h i c h leads t o a dissatisfaction,
control.
unease, u n r e s t w i t h t h e h i g h e r p o w e r s in
It i m p u g n s t h e i r perfection,
a n d highly s u b t l e manner.
c o r r o d e s o r b l a c k e n s i t in a c o n t i n u a l
A n d i t would lead t h e p u e r - e g o t o a specific
realization:
. . . there
h e learnes t h r o u g h a voice w h i c h l a t e r t u r n s
o u t t o be Saturn's that sulphur i s held a prisoner at the
command o f h i s o w n m o t h e r
h e was i m p r i s o n e d because in t h e v i e w o f t h e alchemists h e h a d shown h i m s e l f
too o b l i g i n g t o h i s mother. 36
...
So t h e a c t i o n o f t h e senex-Archimago as Sol N i g e r o n t h e R.C.K.
as
puer i s c o n g r u e n t t o t h e a c t i o n o f Komatus o n Lacon in t h e T h e o c r i t a n
Idylls.
It i s a n a t t e m p t t o d i s s o l v e t h e o v e r t dominant o f t h e p e r f i g u r e
(Lacon w i t h Apollo, t h e R.C.K.
w i t h E l i z a b e t h / m o t h e r / A p o l l o ) a n d a move-
ment t o w a r d s a p u e r - s e n e x u n i o n t h a t c a n release t h e D i o n y s i a n o r p u r e l y
imaginal p e r s p e c t i v e s w i t h i n language i t s e l f .
t h i s process,
A n d a d i r e c t expression o f
t h e alchemical p u t r i f a c t i o , may b e seen in t h e w o u n d i n g o f
c e r t a i n t y in t h e r e a d e r o f t h e poem, in t h e c o n t i n u a l o p e n i n g o f c o u n t e r p e r s p e c t i v e a n d imaginal u n r e s t .
T h i s s o r t o f ambivalence, w h i c h leads u s t o r e t u r n a g a i n a n d again t o
t h e image as o p p o s e d t o i t s allegorical significance,
i s d i r e c t l y o p e r a t i v e in
what is, in m a n y ways, one o f t h e most f r u s t r a t i n g passages o f t h e Faerie
Queene, t h e d e s t r u c t i o n of t h e Bower o f B l i s by G u y o n a n d t h e Palmer in
Bk. 11, Canto xii, w h i c h i s imaginally i n f o r m e d by t h e c o n f l i c t between
seeming a n d b e i n g , p a g a n image a n d C h r i s t i a n icon.
language in t h e passage,and
i t s c o n t r a s t w i t h t h e m o r a l allegory, has b e e n
much discussed ( a n d much rationalized).
terms o f content.
The vivid nature o f
,
B u t t h i s ambivalence e x i s t s also in
T h e C a n t o opens w i t h t h e passage between t h e n a r r o w
s t r a i t s o f t h e G u l f o f Greedinesse a n d t h e Rock o f V i l e R e p r o a c h w h i c h
o f f e r s a n e x p r e s s a n a l o g y t o Scylla a n d C h a r i b d i s in t h e Odyssey.
In fact,
t h e e n t i r e c a n t o i s modelled o n t h e O d y s s e y w i t h t h e S i r e n s and, above all,
Circe's i s l a n d b e i n g t h e p r i m e a r c h e t y p e s f o r topoi.
B u t again,
v e r y topoi, t h e i r presence, t h a t makes u s w o n d e r .
it i s these
F o r t h e Palmer, G u y o n
a n d t h e Boteman passe t h e G u l f e a n d t h e R o c k u n s c a t h e d , t h e Palmer giving them a p p r o p r i a t e names f o r Guyon's e d i f i c a t i o n in passing, w h i l e in t h e
Odyssey t h e i n f a m o u s S c y l l a l e t n o s h i p p a s s w i t h o u t e x a c t i n g h e r t o l l o f
human flesh.
T h a t t e r r o r a n d i t s imaginal immediacy lead u s t o q u e s t i o n t h e
easy passage j u s t as t h e i n c r e d i b l y b e a u t i f u l l a n g u a g e w i t h w h i c h Spenser
f i g u r e s t h e B o w e r leaves u s w i t h s u c h a s t r a n g e sense o f unease a t i t s destruction.
Yes, we c a n r a t i o n a l l y u n d e r s t a n d t h i s v i o l e n c e f o r it has b e e n
allegorically well prepared.
B u t t h e b e a u t y a n d t h e l a n g u a g e h a u n t us,
r e t u r n u s a g a i n a n d a g a i n t o t h e image i t s e l f , j u s t as c r i t i c s r e t u r n a g a i n
a n d a g a i n t o t h i s passage.
We a r e c a u g h t w i t h i n t h e imaginal, w i t h i n i t s
p r o f o u n d ambivalence o r a m b i g u i t y a n d t h i s ,
unconscious t h r u s t o f t h e poem.
I w o u l d a g a i n suggest, i s t h e
A n d a final consideration might b e t h e
c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n C i r c e ' s i s l a n d a n d Acrasia's b o w e r , a n a n a l o g y w h i c h i s
specifically made, e v e n d o w n t o t h e p a r a l l e l b e t w e e n Odysseus' c o n t a c t
w i t h Hermes a n d t h e H e r m e t i c n a t u r e o f t h e Palmer's s t a f f (11, x i i ,
41).
When t h e palmer releases t h o s e h e l d u n d e r A c r a s i a ' s sway, t h e y become men
again, a r e r e t u r n e d f r o m animal f o r m t o human,
did u n m a n l y lookel' ( I t ,
xii, 86).
but
In t h e Odyssey,
" y e t b e i n g men t h e y
however, t h e men t h a t
sees as " t h e m i n d o f b e a s t l y man."
A n d t h e c o n t r a s t leads u s t o wonder, a
w o n d e r i n g t h a t in i t s e l f dissolves t h e r a t i o n a l o p p o s i t i o n .
T h e hero-son model o f t h e ego is, as we h a v e seen, a model whereby
t h e p u e r i s assimilated t o t h e G r e a t Mother, a n d it p r o v i d e s a n enormous imp e t u s t o t h e ego t o d o b a t t l e f o r t h e light m o t h e r ( E l i z a b e t h ) a g a i n s t t h e
D a r k M o t h e r as dragon,
serpent, o r M a r y Queen of Scots.
In a n y case, it
i s a n a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f p u e r l s p i r i t t o a " c i v i l i z a t i o n r u l e d by t h e mother o r
by t h e senex whose snakes h a v e gone i n t o t h e sewers."
s p i r i t " w i t h o u t wisdom,
consciousness. "37
T h i s leaves t h e
w i t h o u t c t h o n i c d e p t h s , v i t a l imagination o r p h a l l i c
Further,
Whenever we a r e sons o f t h i s G r e a t Feminine, t h e
Woman i s idealized
feminine i s e x p e r i e n c e d as 'great.'
We look t o t h e w o n d e r f u l woman t o b e o u r salvat i o n , w h i c h t h e n constellates t h e o t h e r side, b e t r a y a l
a n d d e s t r u c t i o n . 38
...
T h e feminine i s "magnified i n t o a magna m a t e r whom one succumbs to,
w o r s h i p s o r battles, but w i t h whom o n e n e v e r s i m p l y p a i r s as equal t h o u g h
different.'13'
Dominating t h e Faerie Queene,
p r o v i d i n g i t s i n i t i a l impetus
a n d o v e r t guiding light i s t h e d i v i n i z e d f i g u r e o f Elizabeth.
p r o v i d e s u s w i t h a n o t h e r model o f t h e feminine,
B u t Book V I
a p a s t o r a l v i s i o n in which
a l l t h e immense mythological significances a r e d r a w n o u t of t h e w o r l d and
o u t o f t h e heavens a n d a d i f f e r e n t s o r t o f woman i s p r e s e n t e d :
She was t o weete t h a t j o l l y s h e p h e r d e s lasse,
Which p i p e d t h e r e i n t o t h a t m e r r y r o u t ,
T h a t j o l l y s h e p h e r d w h i c h t h e r e p i p e d was
Poor C o l i n C l o u t
Pipe j o l l y shepherd, p i p e t h o u n o w apace
U n t o thy love, t h a t made t h e e low t o l o u t :
T h y l o v e i s p r e s e n t t h e r e w i t h t h e e in place,
T h y love i s t h e r e a d v a u n s t t o b e a n o t h e r Grace ( V I , xt 16)*
...
B u t l e t u s once a g a i n place t h e movement o f t h e poem--the e x h a u s t i o n o f
t h e heroic, t h e shadowing o f t h e h i e r a r c h i c a l l C h r i s t i a n by t h e chaoticlpagan,
t h e defeat of t h e r a t i o n a l a n d allegorical in f a v o u r o f image, t h e movement
from a d e i f i e d t o a p e r s o n a l l y e x p e r i e n c e d f e m i n i n e - - w i t h i n a h i s t o r i c a l cont e x t , one t h a t may account f o r b o t h t h e t r e m e n d o u s e n e r g y p o t e n t i a l o f t h e
heroic ego a n d f o r t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g mobilization o f t h e forces o f t h e imaginal
psyche, a p e r s p e c t i v e w h i c h m i g h t g i v e u s a b e t t e r sense o f t h e p a r t i c u l a r
Elizabethan k a i r o s .
When Spenser composed t h e Faerie Queene B r i t a i n was
o n t h e v e r g e o f a tremendous colonial expansion.
T h e d e f e a t o f t h e Armada
and B r i t i s h domination o f t h e seaways t h r o u g h p r i v a t e e r s s u c h as D r a k e
and Raleigh h a d c l e a r e d t h e way f o r t h e emergence o f t h e B r i t i s h Empire.
Raleigh h a d e s t a b l i s h e d t h e f i r s t colonial f e e l e r s in Virginia, a n d t h e Reformat i o n a n d establishment o f a s t a t e c h u r c h w i t h t h e m o n a r c h as i t s head gave
r i s e t o a n a t i o n a l religion, a r e l i g i o u s nationalism, t h a t w o u l d e x p a n d t h e
canon o f B r i t i s h c u l t u r e until it came t o encompass most o f t h e globe, claiming nation a f t e r n a t i o n a n d c u l t u r e a f t e r c u l t u r e until B r i t a i n , f r o m a p o o r .
island c o u n t r y , a s o r t o f p o o r r e l a t i o n t o E u r o p e a n c u l t u r e , became t h e
monarch o f t h e globe, a t t h e head o f a n Empire o n w h i c h t h e s u n n e v e r set.
Her f i r s t r e a l colonial e x p e r i m e n t s were b e i n g conducted,
in Ireland, a landscape which,
stumbling block.
in Spenser's time,
t o t h i s day, remains h e r major sore p o i n t o r
Spenser's b i o g r a p h y o f f e r s a f a i r l y p r e c i s e analogy t o
this historic state o f affairs.
Just as t h e c o u n t r y h e l i v e d in, Spenser b e g a n l i f e as a p o o r cousin.
Not much i s k n o w n o f h i s birth a n d e a r l y c h i l d h o o d save t h a t h e most
p r o b a b l y came of p o o r p a r e n t s , was e d u c a t e d a t t h e M e r c h a n t T a y l o r s School
and a t C a m b r i d g e as a sizar, o r p o o r scholar, a n d t h a t h e c o n s i s t e n t l y
sought a f f i l i a t i o n w i t h n o b l e houses o n t h e b a s i s o f h i s scholastic achievement.
He was accounted a scholar by his contemporaries, read Greek, Latin and
Romance Languages, and was deeply involved with ecclesiastical controversy,
aligning himself with some of t h e more radical Protestant elements.
Very
early on he saw t h e potential relation of psychomachia, t h e manipulation of
psychic image, to these religious and national ideals, a s is evidenced b y his
work a s a translator of van d e r Noodt's "Theatre of t h e World."
He was
also deeply involved with Neo-Platonic Philosophy, having read Bembo, Ficino
and Pico's commentaries on t h e Platonic t e x t s a s well a s t h e t e x t s themselves,
and with t h e history and mythic background of his own country a s evidenced
by a wide reading of Chaucer and t h e Ancient Briton Chronicles.
He had a
very high idea of what poetry might be and of i t s place in a national cult u r e and deliberately s e t out to c r e a t e a British Epic, on t h e lines of t h e
Roman o r Italian epics, t h a t would f u s e all t h e s e disparate streams and put
them a t t h e service of t h e moral education of t h e British aristocracy, to
help in t h e creation of a g r o u p of knightly c o u r t i e r s who would be t h e extensions of t h e power of t h e QueenIMother.
T h u s t h i s synthesis of antique
materials from vastly differing sources and c u l t u r e s offers an imaginal parallel
to what would b e t h e British Colonial Empire, in which African, Indian,
scores of native o r primitive cultures were hierarchically subordinated to
Queen, God and t h e British Flag.
But Spenser's d e s i r e for court position was f r u s t r a t e d .
At t h e time
of t h e composition of t h e Shepheardes Calender he was eagerly awaiting a
preferment to court.
When that preferment came, it was a posting to Ire-
land a s Lord Gray's s e c r e t a r y , an Ireland t h a t came to in-form more and
more of t h e poet's landscape, becoming t h e literal scene of t h e final books
of t h e Faerie Queene.
It was of all possible t h i n g s , t h e most inimical to
t h e dominants ruling his collective consciousness :
F o r Renaissance Europe i n t e r e s t e d in t h e g r e a t v a r i e t y
o f man t h e l r i s h and t h e i r way o f l i f e were a fascinating case. T r a v e l l e r s came f r o m as f a r as Bohemia a n d
T w o main
w r o t e d e s c r i p t i o n s o f l a n d a n d people
v i e w s were c u r r e n t in Spenser's time.
Either t h e y were
seen as living in primal innocence
o r , where e x p e r i e n c e d as hostile, t h e y were cruel, licentious a n d
however viewed
i d o l - w o r s h i p i n g degenerate man
b o t h k i n d s o f people were r i p e f o r r e f o r m a t i o n a n d
they
t h e i r l a n d s f o r occupation a n d colonization
were arch-enemies, t r a i t o r s , forces f o r u n r e s t a n d
champions o f chaos .40
...
...
...
...
Spenser's d e p a r t u r e f o r Ireland, a landscape r e m a r k a b l y c o n g r u e n t t o
t h e aged oak, combining a vast a n t i q u i t y a n d t h e w o r k o f t h e D r u i d s a n d
"priestes crewe,"
may b e seen as foreshadowed in Colin's acceptance o f
" d r e e r y death.''
T h e p u e r f i g u r e emerges from t h e shadow o f t h e negative
senex and, u n d e r t h e aegis o f t h e QueenIMother,
dragon-ridden landscape as R.C.K.
t o those mother-cursed rebels.
proceeds t o clean-up t h e
or, as L o r d Grey, t o deal a f i n a l blow
A n d f o r Spenser, as poet, t h i s I r e l a n d
p r o v i d e d t h e imaginal landscape a n d f i g u r e s o f h i s greatest p o e t r y , h i s
greatest personal happiness ( h i s marriage), a n d h i s greatest t r a g e d y , when
h i s desire t o e s t a b l i s h a noble house, a h i e r a r c h y o f e n d u r i n g value,
foundered w i t h t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f Kilcolman in a n l r i s h u p r i s i n g .
It i s truly un-
fortunate t h a t t h i s i n t e r p l a y o f events, g i v e n imaginal f o r m in t h e Faerie
Queene, was n o t p e r c e i v e d by h i s contemporaries.
F o r we m i g h t have been
spared 400 y e a r s o f b r u t a l colonization a n d l i t e r a l violence t h a t has b r o u g h t
us t o a p r o f o u n d ecological and psychological crisis:
A t a r e c e n t symposium o n t h e 'Theology o f S u r v i v a l ' it
was g e n e r a l l y agreed t h a t t h e t r a d i t i o n a l C h r i s t i a n a t t i tudes--rejection o f t h e p a g a n belief in t h e divinity o f
n a t u r e a n d t h e designation o f man as t h e c e n t e r w i t h
all n a t u r e s u b s e r v i e n t t o him, have c o n t r i b u t e d t o o v e r population, a i r and. water pollution, a n d o t h e r ecological
F o r several c e n t u r i e s t r a d i t i o n a l theology has
threats.
t e n d e d t o create an absolute gulf between man a n d n a t u r e
[ a n d t h o u g h ] t r a d i t i o n a l r e l i g i o n as a n o u t w a r d f o r m
...
o f w o r s h i p has come t o b e meaningless f o r many people
t h e basic convictions a n d premises u p o n which a
c u l t u r e i s built a r e n o t o n l y d e r i v e d f r o m but identical
w i t h r e l i g i o u s conviction
modern r a t i o n a l l y minded
man may b e shocked t o realize t h a t h i s o w n a t t i t u d e towards n a t u r e a n d s u r v i v a l a r e t h e e x p r e s s i o n o f religious
values .41
...
...
T h e p u e r f i g u r e r e p r e s e n t s t h e futurity o f s p i r i t , t h e s p i r i t o f t h e
future,just
as t h e senex r e p r e s e n t s t h e s p i r i t o f t h e past.
In t h e Faerie
Queene t h e p u e r i s i d e n t i f i e d w i t h t h e hero-son o f t h e Great Mother and i s
so t i e d t o a n enactment o f a continual b a t t l e f o r supremacy o v e r t h e d r a g o n
w h i c h i s b o t h self-defeating and r e s u l t s in considerable compulsive violence.
The w o r l d a r o u n d u s bears witness t o t h a t violence,
dimension.
a violence o f epic
In fact, t h e h e r o a n d t h e epic a r e i n e x t r i c a b l y i n t e r t w i n e d .
B u t expressed as dream,
pose i s revealed.
r a t h e r t h a n as l i t e r a l r e a l i t y , a s o r t o f h i d d e n pur-
H a r r y Wilmer, a J u n g i a n psychologist, has observed a
special g e n r e o f dream t h a t emerges when t h e ego o f t h e dreamer i s dominated by t h e h e r o archetype.
T h i s s o r t o f dream-series i s unusual a n d
"seems t o be a phenomenon in i n d i v i d u a l s who believe t h e y have t o leave
messages f o r t h e w o r l d in a r t , w r i t i n g , teaching o r s p i r i t u a l guidance.
Such would c e r t a i n l y characterize t h e Elizabethan ego.
I1
42
He t h e n observes
that:
T h e psychology o f t h e h e r o i c ego seems t o u n d e r l i e t h e
heroic psychology o f t h e epic dream series.
The m y t h
o f t h e h e r o must b e allowed t o p l a y o u t i t s own enormous
energy
t h e grandiose s t y l e o f these 'epic' p r o d u c belongs t o t h e r h e t o r i c o f t h e a r c h e t y p e o f
tions
t h e heroic ago.43
...
...
As t h e Faerie Queene progresses, t h e reader a n d t h e k n i g h t s - e r r a n t a r e
d r a w n f a r t h e r a n d f a r t h e r i n t o t h e landscape o f F a e r y l a n d a n d t h i s landscape becomes more a n d more c o n g r u e n t w i t h t h a t o f ~ r e l a n d , ~an~ imaginal
i
I r e l a n d t h a t comes t o dominate Spenser's imagination j u s t as t h e l i t e r a l landscape came t o p l a y a g r e a t e r a n d g r e a t e r p a r t in h i s personal life.
Also,
as t h e poem proceeds, w e note t h a t t h e n a r r a t i v e s t r u c t u r e begins t o loosen,
t h e self-contained u n i t s o f Books I a n d II open t o t h e s p r a w l i n g tableau o f
Ill a n d I V a n d t h e feminine, in t h e p e r s o n o f Britomart, assumes a more
active and personal character.
Proteus himself ( I V , xii,
28-35),
B u t Book I V closes w i t h an attempt t o bind
t h e Protean force o f change.
And this
polarizes t h e s i t u a t i o n in s u c h a way t h a t t h e forces o f darkness, t h e savages
o f Books V and VI, a r e placed in extreme c o n t r a s t t o Talus a n d Artegall,
t h e most violent o f t h e heroic ego-figures:
So p r o f o u n d was t h e a n t i p a t h y o f c u l t u r e t o c u l t u r e t h a t
comment, by t r a v e l e r from a f a r o r b y a n t i q u a r i a n scholar
r e s i d e n t there, i s almost all o f t h e same p a t t e r n . These
men are savages, t h e i r marriage customs a n d acknowledgement o f b a s t a r d s a r e heinous.
T h e i r assemblies f o r lawg i v i n g must b e p r o s c r i b e d : t h e i r mode o f s e t t l i n g bloodT h e b a r d s must
f e u d by blood-money encourages murder.
b e put down, t h e i r eloquent e x h o r t a t i o n silenced. T h e
g r e a t f o r e s t s must b e c u t t h r o u g h b y rides, f o r d s des t r o y e d a n d b r i d g e s built, f o r b r i d g e s a r e defensible.
Roads must b e cleared o f those o f i t i n e r a n t habit, be t h e y
learned men o r craftsmen plying t h e i r skills, s t r o n g vagabonds, dispossessed u n f o r t u n a t e s , loose women o r wanderT h e glibb a n d mantle must b e forbidden.
ing minstrels.
How t o e f f e c t all t h i s was t h e problem.45
Wilmer stated in h i s observations o n t h e epic dream series t h a t t h e
heroic ego must b e allowed t o p l a y o u t i t s enormous energies, a n d it i s t h e
landscape o f Faery, t h e imaginal Ireland, t h a t p r o v i d e s a stage o n w h i c h
and in which t h i s may o c c u r so t h a t i t s l i t e r a l enactment becomes unnecessary.
The heroic ego e n e r g y i s exhausted,
limited, t r a n s f e r r e d , g i v e n a sense o f
i t s own limitations a n d a hint o f i t s mistaken aims j u s t as t h e R.C.K.
was
effectively d e s t r o y e d t h r o u g h a c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h h i s o w n Pride, a m i r r o r
o r image t h a t t h e landscape p r o v i d e s him.
T h i s landscape, t h e I r e l a n d o f
soul, generates enemy a f t e r enemy in a truly Protean fashion, always
c h a n g i n g i t s scope a n d dimension.
o f R.C.K.,
A n d in so doing, it exhausts t h e e f f o r t s
Guyon, A r t e g a l l a n d Calidore by simply a b s o r b i n g t h e i r violence
and r e t u r n i n g it t o them in image j u s t as a Tai C h i master r e t u r n s t h e force
o f an a t t a c k t o t h e attacker.
For t h e many enemies o f t h e h e r o - k n i g h t s a r e
always bestial, monstrous o r feminine, a n d some element o f them always escapes in one o r another fashion--thus
Duessa t h o u g h s t r i p p e d a n d seen in
h e r t r u e form as L a d y Death; t h u s G r i l l e a t t h e e n d o f Book II, t h a t small
p a r t o f human n a t u r e t h a t chooses t o remain bestial; t h u s t h e Blatant Beast
a t t h e e n d o f Books V a n d VI, a q u a l i t y o f e v i l i n h e r e n t in language itself
t h a t might b e re-visioned as an unconscious o r Dionysian mode o f associat i o n t h a t frees t h e w o r d from i t s o r t h o d o x grammatical o r lexical definition.
If we consider all t h e arch-fiends,
e v i l sorceresses, dragons a n d monsters
in t h e r a m b l i n g t a p e s t r y o f t h e Faerie Queene f r o m a viewpoint opposed t o
t h e rulina conscious dominant, we realize t h a t it i s t h e i r presence t h a t
energizes a n d motivates t h e e n t i r e dream-series.
T h e fact t h a t t h e y a r e
seen as e v i l a n d must b e d e s t r o y e d i s t h e single l u r e t h a t energizes t h e
heroic ego.
T h u s t h e presence o f e v i l becomes d i r e c t l y responsible f o r t h e
erection o f t h e v a s t e d i f i c e o f t h e poem and, paradoxically, f o r i t s failure;
f o r these f i g u r e s a r e e t e r n a l l y r e c r e a t i n g themselves a n d e t e r n a l l y remain
j u s t o u t o f reach o f all t h e lances, swords a n d f l a i l s o f t h e heroes.
They
a r e t h e voice o f t h e D e v i l in a n age o f t h e god-chosen hero a n d t h e i r
message m i g h t b e stated t h u s :
A l l Bibles o r sacred codes h a v e been t h e causes o f
t h e following e r r o r s :
T h a t man has t w o e x i s t i n g principles, vis,
1.
a b o d y a n d a soul.
T h a t e n e r g y called e v i l i s alone f r o m t h e b o d y
2.
a n d t h a t Reason called good i s alone f r o m t h e Soul.
T h a t God w i l l t o r m e n t man in E t e r n i t y f o r follow3.
ing h i s energies.
B u t t h e f o l l o w i n g c o n t r a r i e s t o these a r e t r u e :
T h a t man has n o B o d y d i s t i n c t f r o m h i s Soul f o r
1.
t h a t called B o d y i s a p o r t i o n o f Soul d i s c e r n e d by t h e
f i v e Senses, t h e c h i e f i n l e t s o f Soul in t h i s Age.
E n e r g y i s t h e o n l y l i f e and i s from t h e Body and
2.
Reason i s t h e b o u n d o r o u t w a r d c i r c u m f e r e n c e o f E n e r g y .
3.
E n e r g y i s E t e r n a l D e l i g h t . 46
T h e landscape o f I r e l a n d , a n imaginal Ireland, c o n t a i n s t h e energies
o f t h e h e r o i c ego j u s t as t h e landscape o f dream c o n t a i n s o u r d a y w o r l d
fantasies o f action a n d pathologizes them, e x h a u s t i n g t h e ego-energy in
endless complication o r , as w i t h t h e R.C.K.,
a n d t h e false Una, misdirect-
ing them a n d e m b r o i l i n g u s in r e p e a t e d obsessional e n c o u n t e r s until a n
awareness i s f o r c e d o n us, a n awareness t h a t involves, as J u n g states, a
moral defeat o f t h e ego.
A n d , in so doing, a new awareness i s created,
one t h a t s h i f t s t h e p u e r - h e r o i d e n t i f i c a t i o n t o new imaginal g r o u n d .
The
defeat o f t h e hero-ego b r i n g s r e f l e c t i o n a n d t h i s constellates t h e feminine
as anima r a t h e r t h a n as G r e a t Mother, as f i e l d r a t h e r t h a n enemy, g e n e t r i c e
o r dragon.
It b r i n g s t h e feminine close t o t h e personal,
as in Colin's
v e r s i o n o f t h e f o u r t h Grace as h i s p e r s o n a l love, a n d establishes that,
V i r t u e s seat i s deepe w i t h i n t h e mynd,
A n d n o t in o u t w a r d shows, but i n w a r d t h o u g h t s
defined (VI, intro.,
5).
T h i s t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i s i n h e r e n t in t h e f i g u r e o f Archimago, t h e image
associated w i t h H a d e s / d r e a m / P e r s e p h o n e t h a t opens t h e a c t i o n o f t h e e n t i r e
poem and,
I would suggest, p r o v i d e s t h e unconscious o r u n d e r w o r l d d e t e r -
minant o f t h e e n t i r e edifice,
birth f a n t a s y o f t h e soul.
a Hades-figure t h a t i s at t h e root o f t h e reT h i s i s a n alchemical v i s i o n f o r , as J u n g states,
-
t h e alchemical f a n t a s y i s t h e shadow o f t h e C h r i s t i a n dominant.
It emerges
f r o m t h e shadow o f t h e h e r o i c C h r i s t i a n m y t h w h e n t h a t h e r o i c e n e r g y
e x h a u s t s itself.
T h e alchemical v i s i o n r e s u l t s in "a s h i f t f r o m t h e r a t i o n a l
a n d v o l u n t a r y f a c u l t i e s o f t h e soul t o i t s third f a c u l t y ,
t h e imagination o r
memoria." 47 T h e c r u c i a l d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e h e r o - m y t h w h i c h i s e x hausted in t h e Faerie Queene a n d t h e alchemical f a n t a s y t h a t ,
I would sug-
gest, i n - f o r m s t h a t e x h a u s t i o n , i s t h a t :
T h e p r o c e s s i s r a t h e r male t o male t o h e r m a p h r o d i t e
a n d o n l y t a k e s p l a c e w i t h i n t h e female as material a n d
vessel.
T h e r e seems a s u b t l e y e t c r u c i a l d i f f e r e n c e
b e t w e e n t h e alchemical c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e movement o f
s p i r i t ( p u e r ) a n d t h i s same movement in h e r o m y t h s
a n d f a i r y tales.
There the hero i s unthinkable without
.48
h i s o p p o s i t i o n t o a G r e a t Goddess
...
Alchemy,
fantasy,
t h e shadow o f C h r i s t i a n i t y , w h i c h o p e r a t e s t h r o u g h dream,
imaginal o p e r a t i o n s o n m a t t e r a n d i s imaged in t h e Archimago figure,
i s a puer-senex v i s i o n .
" T h e t r a d i t i o n o f alchemy p a i r s t h e p u e r f i g u r e s
mainly w i t h senex ( a s y o u n g a n d o l d M e r c u r y , a s C h r i s t puer-et-senex,
K i n g a n d K i n g ' s son) ; n o t w i t h t h e mother.
lPg
And,
as
if we s t a n d w i t h i n
t h e shadow r a t h e r t h a n t h e r a t i o n a l / e n c y c l o p e d i c light o f t h e Faerie Queene,
a shadow t h a t i s u l t i m a t e l y v i c t o r i o u s ,
t h i s alchemical f a n t a s y becomes t h e
p r i m e symbolic c o n t e n t o f t h e dream, i t s k n o t ,
c u p o f t h e T h e o c r i t a n dream-series.
congruent w i t h t h e ivy-wood
T h e poem becomes a v a s t enactment
o f a specific alchemical operation, t h e p u t r i f a c t i o , a p e r s p e c t i v e t h a t enables
u s t o make sense o f t h e poem as we h a v e it, t o see t h r o u g h t h e incompleteness, t h e o v e r t moralisms a n d unease t h e y create,
t h e exhaustion o f the
heroic, all t h e c r i t i c a l complexities t h a t r e v o l v e a r o u n d i t s s u n d r y a n d
v a r i o u s use o f symbols,
t o a mode o f o p e r a t i o n t h a t i s i n h e r e n t in t h i s
v e r y mode o f b e i n g , one t h a t i s c r u c i a l t o t h e E l i z a b e t h a n k a i r o s as it i s
to ours :
G e t t i n g rid o f a n d g i v i n g up t h i s c o m p l e x i t y t h r o u g h a n y
f o r m u l a f o r o v e r c o m i n g opposites, o r d r o p p i n g out, o r
[ t h i s ] i s less a n o v e r c u r i n g misses p s y c h i c r e a l i t y
coming a n d a g e t t i n g rid t h a n it i s a decay, a decomposing of t h e w a y in w h i c h we a r e composed.
T h i s t h e alchemists c a l l e d t h e p u t r i f a c t i o , t h e slow time p r o c e s s o f
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n t h r o u g h a f f l i c t i o n , wastage a n d moral h o r r o r .
B o t h h e r o i c g e t t i n g - r i d a n d p a s s i v e giving-up a t t e m p t t o
but t h e c u r e i s
speed deca a n d h a v e done w i t h it
t h e decay
...
.YO
...
So we may a t t r i b u t e t h e p e c u l i a r i t i e s o f t h e p o e m l d r e a m d i r e c t l y t o
t h e mode of i t s alchemical operation, t h e p u t r i f a c t i o , a n d see t h r o u g h t h e
r h e t o r i c of t h e poem in t h e same way.
F o r if t h e p u t r i f a c t i o i s t h e e x -
h a u s t i o n o f t h e heroic, a n d t h e h e r o i c idiom may b e said t o stem f r o m t h e
p u e r ' s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h t h e hero-son o f t h e G r e a t Mother, t h e n t h e
r h e t o r i c o f t h e p u e r , t h e h i l a r i a a n d t r i s t i a , t h e h e i g h t s a n d t h e depths,
w i l l f o r m t h e o v e r t s t y l e o f t h e imaginal edifice.
A n d if we compare t h e
Faerie Queene w i t h t h e c e n t r a l T h e o c r i t a n I d y l l s we see b o t h a
congruence,
t h e c e n t r a l i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e s h i f t in dominant o f t h e p u e r - f i g u r e f r o m
A p o l l o n i c / l i t e r a l t o D i o n y s i a n /imaginal,
and a s t r i k i n g contrast, t h e vast
e x t e n t o f t h e p s y c h i c mobilization necessary f o r t h e w o u n d i n g o f t h e
h e r o i c ego.
T h e p a s t o r a l landscape, t h e p a s t o r a l mode, i s a c e n t r a l f e a t u r e in
Spenser's w o r k .
It i n - f o r m s t h e Shepheardes Calender, emerges a t t h e
e n d o f t h e Faerie Queene as b o t h t h e landscape o f image as removed f r o m
r a t i o n a l l h i e r a r c h i c a l consciousness o r a l l e g o r y a n d as t h e s i t e o f Colin's
v i s i o n o f t h e f o u r t h Grace, a n d it i s t h e landscape o f t h e Epithalamion,
which i s a personal world, a n individual vision o r metaxy that, without
t r a n s c e n d e n t i n f l a t i o n , i s t h e home o f a l l t h e m a n i f o l d gods, t h e manifest
persons o f soul.
I w o u l d s u g g e s t t h a t t h e c e n t r a l v i s i o n o r new symbol
o f t h e F a e r i e Queene i s t h u s t h e alchemical v i s i o n o f t h e p u t r i f a c t i o w h i c h
o f f e r s a n immediate a n a l o g y t o t h e p s y c h i c o p e r a t i o n s o f I d y l l s I l l - V ,
the
c r e a t i o n o f a n u n d e r w o r l d awareness in d r e a m a n d t h e s h i f t o f t h e p u e r s p i r i t f r o m a l i t e r a l t o a n imaginal v i e w p o i n t .
A n d i f t h i s dream-series has
a n o v e r t message, it may b e as r e l e v a n t t o u s in o u r dependence o n a
r a t i o n a l - s c i e n t i f i c cosmos as it was t o t h e Elizabethan heroic-ego poised o n
t h e brink o f w o r l d conquest.
F o r t o "anyone in t h i s c u l t u r e a t t h i s time
t h e b a t t l e w i t h t h e m o t h e r a n d t h e h e r o i c stance o f t h e ' f i r s t h a l f ' cannot
b e but a r c h e t y p a l l y w r o n g . " 5 7
A v e r y i m p o r t a n t w a r n i n g emerges f r o m
t h i s alchemical o p e r a t i o n , a w a r n i n g we t o o may t a k e t o h e a r t in t h e k a i r o s
o f the twentieth century:
J u s t as t h e g o d s c a n r e d r e s s ego h y b r i s in t h e p s y c h e
w i t h n e u r o s i s o r psychosis, so c a n t h e y w o r k t h e i r
w a y s in t h e a r c h e t y p a l f i e l d o f m a t t e r t o compensate
f o r man's impious a t t i t u d e t o w a r d n a t u r e .
Human awareness, a t t i t u d e s a n d actions may b e o f g r e a t s i g n i f i c a n c e
in t h e e v o l u t i o n o f t h e cosmic o r g a n i s m as well as in t h e
s h a p i n g o f t h e responses o f t h e ' w o r l d soul1--whether it
c o n s t r u c t i v e l y cooperates w i t h man o r d e s t r u c t i v e l y
52
sabotages, i n d u c i n g w o r l d p s y c h o s i s a n d d e s t r u c t i o n .
NOTES
Frances A. Yates, The Occult Philosophy in t h e Elizabethan Aqe,
(London: Routlege and Kegan Paul, 1979), p. 95.
Yates, p. 104.
Yates, p. 107.
Marie-Louise von Franz, Alchemy, (Toronto:
1980), p. 43.
Inner City Books,
von Franz, Alchemy, p. 41.
von Franz, Alchemy, p. 41.
C. G. J u n g . Mysterium Conjunctionis, Bollingen Series X X ,
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1 9 7 7 ) , (CW l 4 ) , p. 450.
J u n g , Mysterium Conjunctionis, p. 451.
von Franz, Alchemy, p p . 39-40.
Hillman, "Great Mother and Puer,"
p . 79.
Yates, p . 53.
Hillman, Great Mother and Puer," pp. 78-9.
Hillman, "Great Mother and Puer," pp. 78-9.
Hillman, "Great Mother and Puer," p. 115.
"Letter t o Raleigh," in Spenser, Poetical Works, p. 407.
Hillman, "Great Mother and Puer," p. 111.
Hillman, "Great Mother and Puer," p. 1 1 1.
Hillman, "Great Mother and Puer," pp. 101-2.
Hillman, "Great Mother and Puer," p. 76.
Hillman, "Great Mother and Puer," pp. 106-7.
Hillman, "Great Mother and Puer," p. 113.
...
t h e relationship
Dionysos, t h e y s a y , has several mothers
an interruption in t h e
between his mothers is discontinuous
another archetype is actirelation between mother and child
vated t o which t h e son also belongs and t h i s o t h e r archetype is a s
...
...
s i g n a l t o h i s f a t e as i s t h e m o t h e r f r o m whom h e i s separated.
Hillman, "Great I l l o t h e r a n d Puer," p. 94.
H u m p h r e y T o n k i n , Spenser's C o u r t e o u s Pastoral ( O x f o r d :
Press, l972), p. 14.
Clarendon
M c C a f f e r y , p. 133.
M c C a f f r e y , p. 192.
M c C a f f r e y , p. 193.
Jung, M y s t e r i u m C o n j u n c t i o n i s , p. 451.
Jung, M y s t e r i u m C o n j u n c t i o n i s , p. 99.
Jung, M y s t e r i u m C o n j j u n c t i o n i s , p. 96.
Jung, M y s t e r i u m C o n j u n c t i o n i s , p. 97.
Hillman,
"Great M o t h e r a n d Puer,"
p. 79.-
K u g l e r , p. 91.
Jung, M y s t e r i u m C o n j u n c t i o n i s , pp. 94-95.
Jung, M y s t e r i u m C o n j u n c t i o n i s , p. 114.
Jung, M y s t e r i u m C o n j u n c t i o n i s , p. 114.
Jung, M y s t e r i u m C o n j u n c t i o n i s , p. 114.
Hillman,
"Great M o t h e r a n d Puer,"
p. 114.
Hillman,
"Great M o t h e r a n d Puer,"
p. 113.
Hillman, "Great M o t h e r a n d Puer,"
p. 114.
Helena S h i r e , A P r e f a c e t o Spenser,
1978), pp. 56-7.
(New Y o r k :
E d w a r d C. Whitmont, P s y c h e a n d Substance,
N o r t h A t l a n t i c Books, 1980), p. 49.
H a r r y A . Wilmer,
Longman Group,
( Richmond, Calif. :
" E p i c Dreams a n d H e r o i c Ego,"
in S p r i n g , 1977,
p. 48.
" T h e presence o f I r e l a n d in Spenser's p o e t r y i s now actual, now o f
Epithalamion celebrates h i s a c t u a l w e d d i n g in
e x e m p l a r y force.
M u n s t e r a t midsummer
in C a n t o IX, B o o k II it appears by name
in t h e t o r m e n t s o f t h e g n a t s in t h e B o g o f A l l e n
it has moreover
been s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e t o p o g r a p h y o f G u y o n ' s voyage, d e v i s e d in
symbolic t e r m s a n d d e s i g n e d t o bring t o m i n d t h e v o y a g i n g o f classical
...
...
h e r o t o w a r d s h i s objective, b e a r s also a c u r i o u s resemblance t o t h e
a p p r o a c h by sea t o S m e r w i c k H a r b o u r
Grantorto, t h e great
w r o n g o f r e b e l l i o n whom A r t e g a l l t h e n f i g h t s in s i n g l e combat, wears
t h e armour o f a n I r i s h galloglas
in t h e l a s t book as we h a v e it
t h e landscape i s e x p r e s s l y I r e l a n d " Shire, pp. 62-3.
...
...
Shire, p. 57.
William Blake, " T h e M a r r i a g e o f Heaven a n d Hell," in Complete P o e t r y
a n d Prose o f William Blake, ed. D a v i d V. Erdman (New Y o r k : A n c h o r
Books, 1982), p. 39.
Hillman, "Great M o t h e r a n d Puer,"
p. 78.
Hillman,
"Great M o t h e r a n d Puer,"
p. 78.
Hillman,
"Great M o t h e r a n d Puer,"
p. 78.
Hillman,
"Great M o t h e r a n d Puer,"
p. 91.
Hillman, "Great M o t h e r a n d Puer,"
Whitrnont,
p. 63.
p. 115.
CONCLUSION
I f t h e conventional pastoral i s dead in form, it i s
because i t s qualities o f soul s u r v i v e , as a necessary
adjunct t o an a r t more a n d more conditioned by t h e
s p l i t in society from which pastoral was born. We
need more t h a n e v e r t o s i n g o f Galatea now t h a t h e r
beach i s b e i n g tarmacked o v e r as an international
a i r p o r t . A n d as t h e modern a r t i s t - c r i t i c applies contemporary techniques o f analysis t o works o f e v e r y
age and veins o f pastoral are s t r u c k l i k e gold in t h e
most u n l i k e l y q u a r r i e s , we have conclusive p r o o f t h a t
t h e pastoral e t h i c i s a constituent o f t h e a i r by which
p o e t r y breathes.
- A n t h o n y Holden,
Greek Pastoral Poetry
T h e Shepherd, g o a t h e r d o r cowherd, t h e man isolate a n d d r i v e n back
o n himself in t h e u n c u l t i v a t e realms o f n a t u r e has been a major source o f
i n s p i r a t i o n a n d v i t a l i z a t i o n f o r Western C u l t u r e since i t s beginning.
We have
o n l y t o think o f Abraham a n d Isaac, o f Hesiod, o f Paris o r Anchises o n Mt.
Ida, t o r e k i n d l e t h e dream in o u r hearts.
T h e process o f successive i n t e r i -
orization i s l a i d o u t o v e r t h e procession o f millenia.
I t s nearest kin might
be f o u n d in t h e o n l y poetic statement o f one o f t h e most p r o f o u n d t h i n k e r s
o f t h e T w e n t i e t h C e n t u r y , C. G. J u n g :
Whereupon t h e dead were s i l e n t
a n d ascended l i k e t h e smoke
above t h e herdsman's fire, who
t h r o u g h t h e ni ht k e p t watch
o v e r h i s flock.
7
The p a s t o r a l ethos has been, f o r m y r i a d centuries o f a n o v e r l y e x t r o v e r t e d Western mind, a way b a c k t o t h a t glorious, t e r r i b l e and i n f i n i t e l y
f e r t i l e s o u l l m i n d t h a t precedes t h e ego's minute existence.
t h e l i t e r a l hills, groves,
A n d though
shepherds have passed, t h e r e c o n f r o n t s u s
n i g h t l y t h e limitless expanse o f t h e i r r e v e r b e r a t e a n d endless kingdoms.
It i s w i t h i n these kingdoms t h a t we contact t h e archetypes, what Marie-
Louise v o n F r a n z describes as,
h i g h e r e n e r g y loads.
". . . engines,
so t o speak, t o produce
A s J u n g expressed it, t h e a r c h e t y p e i s a phenomena
t h a t produces e n e r g y , a n d is, t h e r e f o r e negentropic
creates t h e h i g h e r states o f energy.'12
. . . which
really
T h e reversal o f e n t r o p y t h a t comes
about t h r o u g h t h i s dreaming-back i s q u i t e c o n g r u e n t t o t h e "leaping,"
the
sense o f water f l o w i n g up-stream t h a t characterizes one o f t h e earliest
manifestations o f t h e DionysosIZeus c u l t in Crete, a p r a c t i c e described b y
In t h i s ceremonial dance, t h e
b o t h Jane H a r r i s o n a n d C a r l K e r e n ~ i . ~
Kouretes ( y o u n g men o r p u e r f i g u r e s ) dance before t h e All-Father a t h i s
birth w i t h c l a s h i n g o f s p e a r a n d shield.
T h e y b e g h i m t o "leap f o r us,"
t o turn t h e e v e r - d o w n w a r d c o u r s e o f simple n a t u r e b a c k o n i t s e l f , t o b r i d g e
t h e u n s p e a k a b l e gulf b e t w e e n d e a t h a n d r e b i r t h .
W i t h Theocritust poetry
t h i s c u l t i c i n v o c a t i o n e n t e r s t h e realms o f Western l i t e r a t e t r a d i t i o n a n d
e v e r y major E n g l i s h p o e t since a n d i n c l u d i n g Spenser has gone t o t h e endless well o f p a s t o r a l t o b e b o r n .
T h e e n t r a n c e i s s t r a n g e a n d eerie--no one
who sets f o o t i n t o t h e u n k n o w n woods remains t h e same:
M o d e r n man h a s put h i s t r u s t in domesticated language,
t h e tame j a r g o n , t h e h o u n d s o f i n t r o s p e c t i o n
These, too, a t t h e o v e r p o w e r i n g w i l l o f t h e Goddess o f
any t r u e e n t r y
i n n e r n a t u r e , h a v e come t o d o g h i m
i n t o t h e u n k n o w n i n t e r i o r , t h e f o r e s t o f t h e psyche, ent a i l s a b r e a k i n g up o f t h e m e n t a l i t y t h a t e n t e r e d t h e
We who s t a r t o u t as s k i l l f u l h u n t e r s
woods
become
as m y s t e r i o u s a n d untamed as t h a t we s o u g h t
t o overcome. 4
...
...
...
...
...
It i s h e r e t h a t t h e t r u e n a t u r e o f t h e p a s t o r a l beckons, f r o m t h e g r o v e s ,
grottoes, streams, o f p s y c h e o r soul.
again, leads u s on, t o dream.
A n d i t s endless f e r t i l i t y ,
time a n d
NOTES
C . G . Jung, V I I Sermones ad Mortuos, ( t r a n s ) H . G. Baynes,
(London: Robinson and Watkins, l 9 6 7 ) , p. 34.
Marie-Louise von Franz, On Divination and Synchronicity, (Toronto :
Inner C i t y Books, 1980), p. 105.
Kerenyi, p. 226 ff.
Tom Moore, "Artemis and the Puer," p. 175.
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