The Muse
I sent around these questions via email maybe 9 months ago, with the promise that I would summarize the responses and give my own position. I will fulfill that promise soon, but I wanted to post the questions first, for a refresher, and to allow others who haven't commented yet to comment.
Because I don't understand what people mean when they talk about the muse: Thanks for your time, you who respond.
1. Do you believe in the Muse? If yes, continue to the rest of the survey. If not, why? and then you're done.
2. What is the Muse? [this is a question of ontology. Is the muse a material substance, an immaterial substance, or God? Immaterial substances are angels, which come in two kinds, fallen and unfallen. If the Muse is an immateral substance, is it a fallen or unfallen angel, and how do you know? If the Muse is a material substance, like the brain, is it distinct from chance? If the Muse is God, is it God's substance, or a Divine attribute, like His providence? If so, why is the term Muse used?]
3. How do you feel about question 2? Do you think this kind of question removes us from the reality of the Muse rather than bringing us closer to it? Or do you think that this question helps us to understand the Muse better? Why do you feel this way?
4. What is the relation between the Muse in Homer and the Muse you believe in?
Thanks,
Whiskey
posted by Whiskey at 7:10 PM
4 Comments:
1) Yes, conditionally
2) I beleive that for certain poets, (those that acknowledge Muses, out of actual belief and not poetic convention)what they call "The Muse" is a function of mind. It is comparable to something Bruce Lee once said. Basically, if you train every day, honing your skills to their peak, when you are in a fight you do not hit. "It hits all by itself." Of course what that "it" is, is the instinctification (if you'll allow me that word)of practised action, whereby thought, even will, is absent from the equation, given the right circumstance. In my own writing, there will be times when I "feel" a poem brewing in my head. I sit and write. Sometimes it appears within fifteen minutes fully formed. Other times the feeling just needs to be swallowed. I haven't "practised" enough, and i can't seize it and make use of it. Rarely, rarely, I believe God moves certain poets with a Grace beyond mortal power. I might put Dante in this category...I think I'd obviously put David. But outside scripture I feel its imprudent to claim divine assistance...not that it doesn't happen, but that we have no way to spot it as such, beyond pure virtuosity.
1. Yes.
2. I think it has to do with the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, who sheds light on the poetic truths of the world for those who are receptive. I think God uses different means to do this, including angels, and I'm following the Fathers on this (though I can't produce a reference just now, I'll get back to you with that)--they baptized the Muse along with many other pagan deities and made it out to be the Holy inspiration. I suppose it is an "attribute" of God if you consider divine inspiration an attribute. We call it the Muse because the Greeks formed the Western poetic mind and gave it the habit of personalizing every good thing--that is, making it into a person or putting it under a certain person or deity's control. It's the Western love of metaphor, and an altogether healthy thing.
3. Question 2 is good because I think it's important to see the continuity we have with the pre-Christian West in this matter--that we have redeemed it and carried it on.
4. I agree with St. Clement of Alexandria, that God gave a unique sort of revelation of Himself to the Greeks through poetry and philosophy. Not all of Homer was inspired by any stretch, but some of it certainly was. This could get us into the question of what inspiration is and what the various levels are (Homer is not on par with the Bible), etc.
1. Yes.
2. That is, I do believe there is a driving force behind the act of poesis - for pagans, I think it was the highest way in which they could both praise and imitate God; that is, the Muse became the means by which one can come closest to making words 'flesh', or give life to our greatest thoughts. I agree with Windmilltilter that poesy is somewhat instinctual, and some are given a greater sensitivity to it than others, but I also think that instinct a grace, and the skill a God-given talent. It is also helpful to think of the Muse in metaphorical terms, as Mr. Flyte has pointed out. It is apt that the Greeks made the Muse feminine -for the making of poetry involves a sort of 'active passivity' that is present in the act of procreation, but can also be found in the soul's relation to God. The image of Dante comes to mind here, as he is, throughout the Divine Comedy, led ultimately by a Divine Muse, but until he can come to a full understanding of the Beatific Vision, must be led through the guise of a lesser one. But this begs the question, 'Is there more than one Muse?' To that I guess I would say that the Holy Spirit (the true breath of God) is behind all that is great and true in poetry, pagan or Christian; but that poetry can also be influenced by lesser (human wisdom) and even diabolical forces, if a poet chooses to invoke them.
3. The Muse, like the Mind, remains somewhat a mystery, but as Catholics, we hold a special allegiance to mysteries, and know that even if they can't be fully grasped, they can still be contemplated - and ought to be. Understanding the Muse helps us understand the nature of poetry, and our familiarity with it gives us the ability to discern between, let's say, a very good modern poem and a very bad one.
4. Having just said the above, I don't think the two Muses are as far off from each other as we might first believe.
Okay, this is for tagging me with the five weird habits meme. You've been tagged for the Seven Times Seven meme. Details on my blog.
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