BLAKE -by T.S. Eliot
By T.S. Eliot
I
....It is important that the artist should be highly educated in his own art; but his education is one that is hindered rather than helped by the ordinary processes of society which constitute education for the ordinary man. For these processes consist largely in the acquisition of impersonal ideas which obscure what we really are and feel, what we really want, and what really excites our interest. It is of course not the actual information acquired, but the conformity which the accumulation of knowledge is apt to impose, that is harmful. Tennyson is a very fair example of a poet almost wholly encrusted with parasitic opinion, almost wholly merged into his environment. Blake, on the other hand, knew what interested him, and he therefore presents only the essential, only, in fact, what can be presented, and need not be explained. And because he was not distracted, or frightened, or occupied in anything but exact statement, he understood. He was naked, and saw man naked, and from the centre of his own crystal. To him there was no more reason why Swedenborg should be absurd than Locke. He accepted Swedenborg, and eventually rejected him, for reasons of his own. He approached everything with a mind unclouded by current opinions. There was nothing of the superior person about him. This makes him terrifying.
II
But if there was nothing to distract him from sincerity there were, on the other hand, the dangers to which the naked man is exposed. His philosophy, like his visions, like his insight, like his technique, was his own. And accordingly he was inclined to attach more importance to it than an artist should; this is what makes him eccentric, and makes him inclined to formlessness.
But most through midnight streets I hear
How the youthful harlot's curse
Blasts the new-born infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the marriage hearse,
is the naked vision;
Love seeketh only self to please,
To bind another to its delight,
Joys in another's loss of ease,
And builds a Hell in Heaven's despite,
is the naked observation; and The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is naked philosophy, presented. But Blake's occasional marriages of poetry and philosophy are not so felicitous.
He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars.
General Good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite, and flatterer;
For Art and Science cannot exist but in minutely organized particulars....
via festivaldepoesiademedellin.org
"There is a party amidst the void"
6 Comments:
Blake was a god among pantheons framing such greats as Rilke and Mallarme. Both Jim Morrison and William Burroughs slaked their thirst from the springs located in the high pastures. And now in
2009, the world's coolest rocker soars above the Elysian fields where 'people have the power,'our very own, Patti Smith.
Z.
Eliot's no slouch, either.
Hardly read Eliot. The sound of him seems fussy whereas the others represent to me, hardcore rock and roll (if I may say so.) Pure bollock naked intellectual wank-fests suit me better. I didn't see Eliot as making me want to wank.
Truth is, I have lost interest in books, bin like this for nearly 2 decades. Best ever read? The Count of Monte Cristo, 8 volumes in French, took me two weeks. What a story - recommend it to anyone thinking of embarking on revenge.
I won't read the vomit of others until I myself make a contribution and it has been judged by those who choose to read the vomit of others. Blatantly.
Apart from getting dragged in, reading always seems boring, such a waste of "time". Totally with the Koji - seeking mentor to assist with 'declutching.'
Z.
Do yourself a favor, read Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.
It'll have you wanking all over the place.
Thanks for the recommend - I am not optimistic, but if it's as exciting as you say, I will invest and bore you with some commentary.
Z.
It revolves around an extraordinary form of vengeance. You should love it.
I look forward to your commentary, either way.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home