La realite ne se forme que dans la memoire.Proust Chapter fifteen VIRTUAL M M!

R" #er$thin% a&tual must 'e transformed '$ ima%ination into somethin% purel$ e(periential) that is the prin&iple of poesis. The normal means of ma*in% the poeti& transformation is lan%ua%e) the +a$ an e#ent is reported %i#es it the appearan&e of 'ein% somethin% &asual or somethin% momentous, tri#ial or %reat, %ood or 'ad, e#en familiar or - ne+. . statement is al+a$s a formulation of an idea, and e#er$ *no+n fa&t or h$pothesis or fan&$ ta*es its emotional #alue lar%el$ from the +a$ it is presented and entertained. This po+er of +ords is reall$ astoundin%. Their #er$ sound &an influen&e one/s feelin% a'out +hat the$ are *no+n to mean. The relation 'et+een the len%th of rh$thmi& phrases and the len%th of &hains of thou%ht ma*es thin*in% eas$ or diffi&ult, and ma$ ma*e the ideas in#ol#ed seem more or less profound. The #o&al stresses that rh$thmi&i0e some lan%ua%es, the len%th of #o+els in others, or the tonal pit&h at +hi&h +ords are spo*en in Chinese and some less *no+n ton%ues, ma$ ma*e one +a$ of +ordin% a proposition seem %a$er or sadder than another. This rh$thm of lan%ua%e is a m$sterious trait that pro'a'l$ 'espea*s 'iolo%i&al unities of thou%ht and feelin% +hi&h are entirel$ une(plored as $et. The fullest e(ploitation of lan%ua%e sound and rh$thm, assonan&e and sensuous asso&iations, is made in l$ri& poetr$. That is +h$ I ha#e &onsidered this *ind of literar$ &omposition first) not, as some people ma$ suppose, 'e&ause it is someho+ superior to other *inds, the oldest or the purest or the most perfe&t sort of poetr$. I do not thin* it has an$ hi%her artisti& #alue than narrati#e poetr$ or prose. 1ut it is the lit2
C3APT R

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erar$ form that depends most dire&tl$ on pure #er'al resour&esthe sound and e#o&ati#e po+er of +ords, meter, alliteration, rh$me, and other rh$thmi& de#i&es, asso&iated ima%es, repetitions, ar&haisms, and %rammati&al t+ists. It is the most o'#iousl$ lin%uisti& &reation, and therefore the readiest instan&e of poesis. The reason +h$ l$ri& poetr$ dra+s so hea#il$ on the sound and the emotional &hara&ter of lan%ua%e is that it has #er$ s&ant materials to +or* +ith. The motif 8the so2&alled &ontent9 of a l$ri& is usuall$ nothin% more than a thou%ht, a #ision, a mood, or a poi%nant emotion, +hi&h does.not offer a #er$ ro'ust frame+or* for the &reation of a pie&e of #irtual histor$. :ust as the &omposers of plain2son% had to e(ploit the rh$thms and a&&ents of their Latin te(ts and the re%isters of human #oi&es 8the &ulti#ation of the eunu&h &hoir stems from this musi&al need9, 'e&ause the$ had none of the resour&es of meter, pol$phon$, *e$note and modulation, nor instrumental support to +or* +ith, so the l$ri& poet uses e#er$ qualit$ of lan%ua%e 'e&ause he has neither plot nor fi&titious &hara&ters nor, usuall$, an$ intelle&tual ar%ument to %i#e his poem &ontinuit$. The lure of #er'al preparation and fulfillment has to do almost e#er$thin%. The #irtual histor$ that a l$ri& poem &reates is the o&&urren&e of a li#in% thou%ht, the s+eep of an emotion, the intense e(perien&e of a mood. This is a %enuine pie&e of su';e&ti#e histor$, thou%h usuall$ it is a sin%le episode. Its differen&es from other literar$ produ&ts are not radi&al, and there is no de#i&e &hara&teristi& of l$ri&

&omposition that ma$ not also 'e met in other forms. It is the frequen&$ and importan&e of &ertain pra&ti&es, rather than their e(&lusi#e use, that ma*e l$ri& poetr$ a spe&ial t$pe. <pee&h in the first person, for instan&e, ma$ 'e found in 'allads, no#els, and essa$s) 'ut there it is a de#iation from the usual pattern, and in the l$ri& it is normal. =ire&t address to the reader ma$ 'e found in roman&es, 'allads, no#els 'ut in the l$ri& su&h lines as> 3ast thou named all the 'irds +ithout a %un? or> @e#er see* to tell th$ lo#e Lo#e that ne#er &an 'e told or> Tell me, +here is fan&$ 'red La realite ne se forme que dans la memoire.Proust Chapter fifteen VIRTUAL M M!R" #er$thin% a&tual must 'e transformed '$ ima%ination into somethin% purel$ e(periential) that is the prin&iple of poesis. The normal means of ma*in% the poeti& transformation is lan%ua%e) the +a$ an e#ent is reported %i#es it the appearan&e of 'ein% somethin% &asual or somethin% momentous, tri#ial or %reat, %ood or 'ad, e#en familiar or ne+. A statement is al+a$s a formulation of an idea, and e#er$ *no+n fa&t or h$pothesis or fan&$ ta*es its emotional #alue lar%el$ from the +a$ it is presented and entertained. This po+er of +ords is reall$ astoundin%. Their #er$ sound &an influen&e one/s feelin% a'out +hat the$ are *no+n to mean. The relation 'et+een the len%th of rh$thmi& phrases and the len%th of &hains of thou%ht ma*es thin*in% eas$ or diffi&ult, and ma$ ma*e the ideas in#ol#ed seem more or less profound. The #o&al stresses that rh$thmi&i0e some lan%ua%es, the len%th of #o+els in others, or the tonal pit&h at +hi&h +ords are spo*en in Chinese and some less *no+n ton%ues, ma$ ma*e one +a$ of +ordin% a proposition seem %a$er or sadder than another. This rh$thm of lan%ua%e is a m$sterious trait that pro'a'l$ 'espea*s 'iolo%i&al unities of thou%ht and feelin% +hi&h are entirel$ une(plored as $et. The fullest e(ploitation of lan%ua%e sound and rh$thm, assonan&e and sensuous asso&iations, is made in l$ri& poetr$. That is +h$ I ha#e &onsidered this *ind of literar$ &omposition first) not, as some people ma$ suppose, 'e&ause it is someho+ superior to other *inds, the oldest or the purest or the most perfe&t sort of poetr$. I do not thin* it has an$ hi%her artisti& #alue than narrati#e poetr$ or prose. 1ut it is the lit2
C3APT R

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657

erar$ form that depends most dire&tl$ on pure #er'al resour&esthe sound and e#o&ati#e po+er of +ords, meter, alliteration, rh$me, and other rh$thmi& de#i&es, asso&iated ima%es, repetitions, ar&haisms, and %rammati&al t+ists. It is the most o'#iousl$ lin%uisti& &reation, and therefore the readiest instan&e of poesis. The reason +h$ l$ri& poetr$ dra+s so hea#il$ on the sound and the emotional &hara&ter of lan%ua%e is that it has #er$ s&ant materials to +or* +ith. The motif 8the so2&alled &ontent9 of a l$ri& is usuall$ nothin% more than a thou%ht, a #ision, a mood, or a poi%nant emotion, +hi&h does.not offer a #er$ ro'ust frame+or* for the &reation of a pie&e of #irtual histor$. :ust as the &omposers of plain2son% had to e(ploit the rh$thms and a&&ents of their Latin te(ts and the re%isters of human #oi&es 8the &ulti#ation of the eunu&h &hoir stems from this musi&al need9, 'e&ause the$ had none of the resour&es of meter, pol$phon$, *e$note and modulation, nor instrumental

support to +or* +ith, so the l$ri& poet uses e#er$ qualit$ of lan%ua%e 'e&ause he has neither plot nor fi&titious &hara&ters nor, usuall$, an$ intelle&tual ar%ument to %i#e his poem &ontinuit$. The lure of #er'al preparation and fulfillment has to do almost e#er$thin%. The #irtual histor$ that a l$ri& poem &reates is the o&&urren&e of a li#in% thou%ht, the s+eep of an emotion, the intense e(perien&e of a mood. This is a %enuine pie&e of su';e&ti#e histor$, thou%h usuall$ it is a sin%le episode. Its differen&es from other literar$ produ&ts are not radi&al, and there is no de#i&e &hara&teristi& of l$ri& &omposition that ma$ not also 'e met in other forms. It is the frequen&$ and importan&e of &ertain pra&ti&es, rather than their e(&lusi#e use, that ma*e l$ri& poetr$ a spe&ial t$pe. <pee&h in the first person, for instan&e, ma$ 'e found in 'allads, no#els, and essa$s) 'ut there it is a de#iation from the usual pattern, and in the l$ri& it is normal. =ire&t address to the reader ma$ 'e found in roman&es, 'allads, no#els 'ut in the l$ri& su&h lines as> 3ast thou named all the 'irds +ithout a %un? or> @e#er see* to tell th$ lo#e Lo#e that ne#er &an 'e told or> Tell me, +here is fan&$ 'red hardl$ seem li*e personal apostrophe) the addi&tA iB. ioiuial ratlin I hitC e(hortator$. In refle&tin% on l$ri& e(pression in the li%ht of other literar$ +or* +e shall find, presentl$, that neither the person spea*in% nor the person spo*en to is an a&tual human 'ein%, the +riter or the reader) the rhetori&al form is a means of &reatin% an impersonal subjectivity, +hi&h is the pe&uliar e(periential illusion of a %enre that &reates no &hara&ters and no pu'li& e#ents. Dhat a poet sets out to &reate, rather than +hat he feels or +ants to tell us, determines all his pra&ti&es, and leads to the esta'lishment of literar$ forms li*e the l$ri&, the roman&e, the short stor$, the no#el. Criti&s +ho do not re&o%ni0e this uni#ersal aim of e#er$ art, and e#er$ +or* of art, are easil$ misled '$ usa%es that ha#e meanin%s in art quite different from their meanin%s in real dis&ourse) su&h &riti&s assume that a poet +ho sa$s $ou, +ithout puttin% the +ords into the mouth of a &hara&ter addressin% another, is spea*in% to the reader) and that the most nota'le &hara&teristi& of l$ri& poetr$the use of the present tense means that the poet is utterin% his o+n momentar$ feelin%s and thou%hts. The stud$ of tense and its literar$ uses is, in fa&t, a re#ealin% approa&h to the pro'lem of poeti& &reation) and n%lish is a parti&ularl$ interestin% lan%ua%e for su&h a stud$, 'e&ause it has &ertain su'tleties of #er' formation that most other lan%ua%es la&*, nota'l$ the pro%ressi#e forms I am doin%, I +as doin%, I ha#e 'een doin%, et&., as distin&t from the formal &on;u%ates> I do, I did, and the past parti&iple tenses.4 In the use of #er' forms one finds de#i&es that dis&lose the real nature of the literar$ dimension in +hi&h the ima%e of life is &reated) the present tense pro#es to 'e a far more su'tle instrument than either %rammarians or rhetori&ians %enerall$ reali0e, and to ha#e quite other uses than the &hara&teri0ation of present a&ts and fa&ts. As soon as +e pass from the intensi#e, small form of the l$ri& to +or*s of %reater &ompass, +e en&ounter a ne+ dominant elementnarrati#e. This element is not un*no+n in l$ri& #erse, 'ut it is in&idental there)

A!n the other hand, it la&*s independent forms &orrespondin% to die Eren&h imperfe&t and definite past tenses. !ur present perfe&t &orresponds to the Eren&h past indefinite, 'ut the distin&tion 'et+een ;/etais and ;e fus +e &annot ma*e +ithout &ir&umlo&ution. n+itrnif Virtual Memor$ Mir d+elt amon% the untrodden +a$C, or> . sunn$ shaft did I 'ehold, Erom s*$ to earth it slanted, are narrati#e lines, 'ut the$ onl$ ser#e to introdu&e a situation, an ima%e, or an o';e&t for refle&tion and emotion. Dhen, ho+e#er, narrati#e is treated as the &entral motif of a &omposition, a ne+ fa&tor is introdu&ed, +hi&h is story interest. This &han%es the entire form of thou%ht +hi&h %o#erns the +or*. A &ourse of impersonal happenin%s is a stron% frame+or* for the ma*in% of a poeti& illusion) it tends to 'e&ome the %round plan, or plot, of the entire pie&e, affe&tin% and dominatin% e#er$ other means of literar$ &reation. Personal address, for instan&e, +hi&h is usuall$ a rhetori&al de#i&e in l$ri& +ritin%, 'e&omes an a&tion in the stor$, as one fi&titious person addresses himself to another. Ima%er$, +hi&h is often the &hief su'stan&e of a l$ri& poem, and ma$ appear to 'e %enerated '$ free asso&iation, ea&h #ision e#o*in% another,6 is no lon%er paramount in narrati#e poetr$, and no lon%er free) it has to ser#e the needs of the a&tion. If it fails to do so, the +or* loses the or%ani& &hara&ter that ma*es poetr$ seem li*e a pie&e of nature thou%h e#er$thin% in it 'e ph$si&all$ impossi'le. @arrati#e is a ma;or or%ani0in% de#i&e. It is as important to literature as representation to paintin% and s&ulpture) that is to sa$, it is not the essen&e of literature, for 8li*e representation in plasti& art9 it is not indispensa'le, 'ut it is the stru&tural 'asis on +hi&h most +or*s are desi%ned. It underlies the Great Tradition of poeti& art in our &ulture, mu&h as representation underlies the Great Tradition in s&ulptural and pi&torial art. The profound influen&e of narrati#e on an$ literar$ +or* into +hi&h it enters is most per#asi#el$ sho+n in the &han%e of tense from the present, +hi&h is normal for l$ri& e(pression, to the perfe&t, the &hara&teristi& tense of stor$. <in&e most literature is narration, the perfe&t tense is '$ far the most &ommon #er' form in fi&tion. It is so a&&epted that it does not seem to require e(planation, until +e refle&t on the fa&t that da$dreamoften re%arded as the sour&e of all literar$ in#entionis usuall$
6

iFi

<helle$ 'uilt the first three se&tions of his !de to the Dest Dind '$ means of su&h dreamli*e &on&atenation of ima%es. 101 The Maklnx of the Symbol formulated In 3ie pieiienl leiise. =a$dream U\ a -3ICI2.>I Hil pielendinI, 4.J. of init*o2'ollo#o, a*in to the ima%inati#e pla$ of &hildren) the stor$ is li#ed in the tellin%, 'oth '$ its author and '$ the listeners. If the purpose of literar$ art +ere, as Tolstoi maintained,K to ma*e the reader li#e in the stor$, feel +ith the &hara&ters, and #i&ariousl$ e(perien&e their ad#entures, +h$ is not the present its natural tense, as it is in free ima%ination? 1e&ause literature, ho+e#er fantasti&, emotional, or dreamli*e, is ne#er present fantas$, ser#ed '$ 'are ideas of a&tion and emotional situations, #oluntaril$ as in pla$ or in#oluntaril$ as in dream. Virtual life, as literature presents it, is al+a$s a self2 &ontained form, a unit of e(perien&e, in +hi&h e#er$ element is or%ani&all$ related to

e#er$ other, no matter ho+ &apri&ious or fra%mentar$ the items are made to appear. That #er$ &apri&e or fra%mentation is a total effect, +hi&h requires a per&eption of the +hole histor$ as a fa'ri& of &ontri'uti#e e#ents.L A&tual e(perien&e has no su&h &losed form. It is usuall$ ra%%ed, un2a&&entuated, so that irritations &ut the same fi%ure as sa&rifi&es, amusements ran* +ith hi%h fulfillments, and &asual human &onta&ts seem more important than the 'ein%s 'ehind them. 1ut there is a normal and familiar &ondition +hi&h shapes e(perien&e into a distin&t mode, under +hi&h it &an 'e apprehended and #alued> that is memor$. Past e(perien&e, as +e remem'er it, ta*es on form and &hara&ter, sho+s us persons instead of #a%ue presen&es and their utteran&es, and modifies our impressions
M L

Leo Tolstoi, What is Art?

E. D. 1ateson, in English Poetry and the English anguage, p. NN, quotes an interestin% passa%e from Geoffre$ <&ott/s !he Architecture of "umanism in this &onne&tion> The detail of the 'aroque st$le is rou%h. ... It is rapid and ine(a&t. 1ut the purpose +as e(a&t, thou%h it required Oine(a&t/ ar&hite&ture for its fulfilment. The$ Pthe 'aroque ar&hite&tsQ +ished to &ommuni&ate, throu%h ar&hite&ture, a sense of e(ultant #i%our and o#erflo+in% stren%th ... a hu%e %i%anti& or%anism throu%h +hi&h &urrents of &ontinuous #i%our mi%ht 'e &on&ei#ed to run. A la&* of indi#idual distin&tness in the parts . . . +as thus not a ne%ati#e ne%le&t, 'ut a positi#e demand. Their Oine(a&tness/ +as a ne&essar$ in#ention. And 1ateson %oes on> The 'aroque st$le is rapid and ine(a&t> it is rapid because it is ine(a&t. And so +ith poeti& di&tion. The st$le of su&h poets as Thomson, "oun%, Gra$, and Collins is a rapid st$le) 'ut their di&tion is &on#entional. And the di&tion is &on#entional 'e&ause the st$le is rapid. A more pre&ise and &on&rete di&tion +ould ha#e destro$ed the impression of rapidit$ that the st$le &on#e$s. It is onl$ 'e&ause the indi#idual +ords attra&t so little attention to themsel#es that the poetr$ is a'le to attain its unri#alled and almost headlon% sense of mo#ement. miAPTKM if Virtual Memory 263 '$ *no+led%e R thin%B thai CU1F after, thin%s that &han%e one/s spon2laneoun e#aluation. Memor$ is the %reat or%ani0er of &ons&iousness. It simplifies and &omposes our per&eptions into units of personal *no+led%e. It is the real ma*er of histor$2not re&orded histor$, 'ut the sense #$ history itself, the re&o%nition of the past as a &ompletel$ esta'lished 8thou%h not &ompletel$ *no+n9 fa'ri& of e#ents, &ontinuous in spa&e and time, and &ausall$ &onne&ted throu%hout.5 Dhitehead has remar*ed on the pe&uliar aloofness of the past from all our +ishes and stri#in%s, as somethin% formed and fi(ed, +hereas the present is still amorphous, unused, un fashioned.F To remem'er an e#ent is to e(perien&e it a%ain, 'ut not in the same +a$ as the first time. Memor$ is a spe&ial *ind of e(perien&e, 'e&ause it is &omposed of sele&ted impressions, +hereas a&tual e(perien&e is a +elter of si%hts, sounds, feelin%s, ph$si&al strains, e(pe&tations, and minute, unde#eloped rea&tions. Memor$ sifts all this material and represents it in the form of distin%uisha'le e#ents. <ometimes the e#ents are lo%i&all$ &onne&ted, so that sheer remem'erin% &an date them +ith respe&t to ea&h other) that is, in a #i#id re&olle&tion of 8sa$9 &omin% do+n a hill, the sense of 'ein% hi%h up and of treadin% dr$ %ra#el has mer%ed into that of a&&elerated motion, of the hori0on/s liftin% all around, of pla&es near the 'ottom of the path) and the +hole series of &han%es ma$ 'e remem'ered. An$ spe&ial ad#enture alon% the +a$ then finds its

temporal frame in the memor$ itself. 1ut most e#ents are re&alled as separated in&idents, and &an 'e dated onl$ '$ 'ein% thou%ht of in a &ausal order in +hi&h the$ are not possi'le e(&ept at &ertain times. The other items in this &ausal order are one/s #arious other memories, 'ut the order itself is an intelle&tual s$stem. "oun% &hildren ha#e no histori&al sense. The past is simpl$ 'efore) +here +e +ere $esterda$ and +here +e +ere three da$s a%o are not meanin%ful e(pressions unless the t+o pla&es ha#e 'een other+ise identified and &onne&ted +ith
5

Cf. Geor% Mehlis, =as aesthetis&he Pro'lem der Eeme % ogos, VI, 474F2ANS 4NM2 4KL9> The eni%mati& depths of memor$ ha#e ne#er 'een plum'ed and e(hausti#el$ sear&hed '$ an$ man. . . . a&h life2span or%ani0es itself into a parti&ular ne(us of e#ents +hi&h +e &an re&all and in +hi&h +e ma$ d+ell. . . . These +orlds of e(perien&e and memor$ are our permanent possessions. . . . The$ ha#e the #irtue of finished produ&ts ... a &ompleteness +hi&h the present does not ha#e.
e

<ee <$m'olism> Its Meanin% and ffe&t, espe&iall$ pp. 5K257.

PART

6FL

44 !he &a'ing of the (ymbol

those relati#e dates. 1efore +e *no+ an$ names for the da$s of the +ee*, for the months, for the times of da$, e#en #er$ re&ent memories ha#e no order. Children/s e(perien&es either still 'elon% to the spe&ious present 2li*e the 'ump that still hurts2or the$ ha#e 'e&ome re&olle&tions, and 'elon% to an essentiall$ timeless past. #en our personal histor$ as +e &on&ei#e it is, then, a &onstru&tion out of our o+n memories, reports of other people/s memories, and assumptions of &ausal relations amon% the items thus furnished. It is '$ no means all re&olle&tion. De are not reall$ a+are of our e(isten&e as &ontinuous. <ometimes the memories of different pla&es and a&ti#ities in +hi&h +e ha#e found oursel#es are so in&on%ruous that +e ha#e to re&all and arran%e a series of inter#enin% e#ents 'efore +e reall$ feel &on#in&ed that t+o su&h di#erse situations 'elon% to the same life. spe&iall$ +hen memor$ is #er$ #i#id it has no &ontinuit$. The deepl$ impressed in&ident seems to rise out of the past all alone, sometimes +ith su&h e(traordinar$ detail that it su%%ests an e(perien&e ;ust passed, s&ar&el$ modified at all '$ o'li#ion as $et) then, althou%h the remem'ered e#ent ma$ 'e of old standin%, it seems as thou%h it had 'een $esterda$. Re&ent memories, on the other hand, ma$ e(ist as mere a+areness of fa&ts, +ithout emotional tone, +ithout an$ detail, and e#en 'e&ome &onfused +ith ima%ined e#ents, so +e &an trul$ sa$> I remem'er that it happened, 'ut I &annot &learl$ re&all ho+ it +as. The primar$ illusion &reated '$ poesis is a histor$ entirel$ e(perien&ed) and in literature proper 8as distin&t from drama, film, or pi&tured stor$9 this #irtual histor$ is in the mode t$pified '$ memor$. Its form is the &losed, &ompleted form that in a&tualit$ onl$ memories ha#e. Literature need not 'e made out of the author/s memories 8thou%h it ma$ 'e9, nor does it ne&essaril$ present e#ents e(pli&itl$ as some'od$/s memories 8thou%h it ma$ do so9, 'ut the mode in +hi&h e#ents appear is the mode of &ompleted e(perien&e, i.e. of the past. This e(plains +h$ the normal tense of literar$ narration is the past tense. The #er' form 2a purel$ lin%uisti& fa&tor2effe&ts the literar$ pro;e&tion '$ &reatin% a #irtual past. This past, ho+e#er, +hi&h literature en%enders, has a unit$ that a&tual personal histor$ does not ha#e) for our a&&epted past is not entirel$ e(periential. Li*e our apprehensions of spa&e, of time, and of the for&es

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i5 Virtual Memor$

6F5

that &ontrol us, our sense of the past deri#es from memories mi(ed +ith e(traneous elements, assumptions and spe&ulations, that present life as a &hain of e#ents rather than as a sin%le pro%ressi#e a&tion. In fi&tion, ho+e#er, there is nothin% 'ut #irtual memor$) the illusion of life must 'e e(periential throu%h and throu%h. The poeti&all$ &reated +orld is not limited to the impressions of one indi#idual, 'ut it is limited to impressions. All its &onne&tions are lived &onne&tions, i.e. moti#ations, all &auses and effe&ts operate onl$ as the moti#es for e(pe&tation, fulfillment, frustration, surprise. @atural e#ents are simpl$ the molds in +hi&h human e(perien&es are &ast) their o&&urren&e has to 'e inherent in the stor$ +hi&h is a total action. Consider, for instan&e, the perfe&tl$ natural storm in the 'allad of <ir Patri&* <pens> it is a ps$&holo%i&all$ moti#ated ne(t step after his defiant sailin% from @or+a$ 'e&ause the inhospita'le @or+e%ians ha#e taunted him. @or is it introdu&ed as mere &han&e, 'ut one of his men predi&ts it> I sa+ the ne+ moon late $estreen Di/ the auld moon in her arm) And if +e %an% to sea, master, I fear +e/ll &ome to harm. In a&tual life +e often ma*e su&h reasona'le predi&tions) and if the e(pe&ted e#ent does not o&&ur, the predi&tion is soon for%otten. 1ut in poetr$ nothin% is for%otten e(&ept '$ persons in the stor$. If the reader for%ets, he +ill 'e reminded 8assumin% that the stor$ is +ell told9) for the poet/s &on&eption in&ludes nothin% that does not ser#e the narrati#e, +hi&h is the su'stan&e of his &reation. Refle&tions, des&riptions, and %emli*e lines, and e#en &hara&ters are ;ust parts of the tale, or )hat is told. @arrati#e, then, has al+a$s the sem'lan&e of memor$, more purel$ than a&tual histor$, e#en the personal histor$ that +e treat as our o+n memor$) for poetr$ is &reated, and if its e#ents 'e 'orro+ed from the artist/s memor$, he must repla&e e#er$ non2e(periential fa&tor in his a&tual past '$ elements of purel$ e(periential &hara&ter, ;ust as a painter su'stitutes purel$ #isual appearan&es for the non2#isual fa&tors in ordinar$ spa&e per&eption. The poet ma*es a sem'lan&e of e#ents that is e*perience+li'e, 'ut uni#ersall$ a&&essi'le) an o';e&tified, depersonali0ed memor$, entirel$ homo%eneous, no matter ho+ mu&h is e(pli&it and ho+ mu&h impli&it.

n !he &a'ing of the (ymbol The &ontrast 'et+een the &haoti& ad#an&e of the a&tual present and the sur#e$a'le form of remem'ered life has 'een remar*ed '$ se#eral artist2philosophers, nota'l$ Mar&el Proust, +ho maintained that +hat +e &all realit$ is a produ&t of memor$ rather than the o';e&t of dire&t en&ounter) the present is real onl$ '$ 'ein% the stuff of later memories. It +as a pe&uliarit$ of Proust/s %enius to +or* al+a$s +ith a poeti& &ore that +as a spontaneous and perfe&t formulation of somethin% in a&tual memor$. This intense, emotionall$ &har%ed re&olle&tion, &ompletel$ arti&ulate in e#er$ detail, $et as sudden and immediate as a present e(perien&e, not onl$ +as the &atal$st that a&ti#ated his ima%ination, 'ut also &onstituted his ideal of poeti& illusion, to 'e a&hie#ed '$ the most &ons&ious and su'tle *ind of stor$2tellin%.
PART

Literature, in the stri&t sense, &reates the illusion of life in the mode of a #irtual past. Poesis is a +ider term than literature, 'e&ause there are other modes of poeti& ima%ination than the presentation of life throu%h lan%ua%e alone. =rama and its #ariants 8pantomime, marionettes9 and mo#in% pi&ture are essentiall$ poeti& arts in other modes that I shall dis&uss in a su'sequent &hapter) the$ emplo$ +ords in spe&ial +a$s, and sometimes e#en dispense +ith them alto%ether. The illusion the$ &reate is

#irtual life, an e(periential histor$, 'ut not in the mnemoni& pro;e&tion, not a #irtual Past. That mode is pe&uliar to literature in the narro+ sense of #er'al art+or*s of ima%ination to 'e heard or read. The perfe&t tense is a natural de#i&e for ma*in% and sustainin% an illusion of finished fa&t. Dhat &hallen%es the theorist is, rather, the o&&asional use of the present tense in narrati#e, and espe&iall$ its normal use in l$ri& poetr$. It is the present and the present perfe&t that require e(planation. The role of these forms in the &reation of #irtual histor$ sheds some interestin% li%hts on the nature of memor$) for memor$ has man$ aspe&ts +hi&h ps$&holo%ists ha#e not dis&o#ered, 'ut of +hi&h the poet, +ho &onstru&ts its ima%e, is a+are. 1ut a poet is not a ps$&holo%ist) his *no+led%e is not e(pli&it 'ut impli&it in his &on&eption of the ima%e. The &riti&, anal$0in% the +a$ the remem'ran&e of the #irtual Past is made, is the person +ho is in a position to dis&o#er the intri&a&ies of real memor$ throu%h the artisti& de#i&es that a&hie#e its sem'lan&e. There are &ertain ordinar$, non2literar$ uses of the present tense that
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indi&ate its possi'ilities for &reati#e purposes. Its offi&ial use is, of &ourse, to desi%nate a&tion o&&urrin% at the time of spea*in%. Grammarians usuall$ &ite the present indi&ati#e of a #er' first, and in tea&hin% a lan%ua%e +e tea&h it first, as thou%h2it +ere the most ne&essar$, most useful form. A&tuall$, it is little used in n%lish) +e rarel$ sa$ I %o, I +ait, et&., 'ut %enerall$ su'stitute the pro%ressi#e form. The reason is that the pure present refers to a momentar$ performan&e, the parti&iple +ith I am to a sustained one, an a&ti#e state) an immediate a&tion ta*in% pla&e is usuall$ apparent, and does not need to 'e mentioned)N so, +hen +e tal* a'out present a&ts, +e normall$ do so to e(plain our immediate 'eha#ior as part of a protra&ted a&tion, and therefore use the pro%ressi#e present> I am %oin% home. I am +aitin% for a 'us. The most important use of the pure present is in the statement of %eneral fa&ts su&h as the la+s of nature, or of relations amon% a'stra&t &on&epts, li*e the propositions in an al%e'ra 'oo*. <&ien&e and philosoph$ and &riti&ism are normall$ +ritten in the pure present) 6L26 T L is read t+o plus t+o e,uals four, not equaled or is equalin% or +ill equal. The present tense in su&h a &onte(t is the tense of timelessness.- It is used +here time is irrele#ant+here a'stra&t entities are related, %eneral truths e(pressed, or mere ideas asso&iated apart from an$ a&tual situation, as in re#erie. Perhaps it is this timeless &hara&ter of the pure present that ma*es %rammarians addu&e it first of all the tenses) it is li*e a modulus of #er' &on;u%ationa form some+here 'et+een the infiniti#e, +hi&h merel$ names an a&tion +ithout assertin% its o&&urren&e at all, and the tenses +hi&h not onl$ indi&ate 'ut date it. In literature, the pure present &an &reate the impression of an a&t, $et suspend the sense of time in re%ard to it. This e(plains its normal use in l$ri& poetr$. Man$ &riti&s, assumin% that the present tense must refer to the present moment, ha#e 'een led '$ this supposed %rammati&al e#iden&e to 'elie#e that l$ri& poetr$ is al+a$s the utteran&e of the poet/s
N

(&ept for the frequent statementsI thin* . . ., I don/t 'elie#e . . ., I feel . . .) su';e&ti#e a&ts 'ein% unapparent '$ themsel#es.
K

In the literature of epistemolo%$, the o'ser#ation of this timeless use of the present ma$ 'e found in C. I. Le+is/ Analysis of &eaning and .aluation, p. 54.

FK

PART

ii !he &a'ing of the (ymbol

o+n 'eliefs and a&tual feelin%s.7 1ut I maintain that l$ri& &omposition is art, and therefore &reati#e) and the use of its &hara&teristi& tense must ser#e the &reation that is pe&uliar to this *ind of poetr$. As alread$ said earlier in this &hapter, the sem'lan&e most frequentl$ &reated in a l$ri& is that of a #er$ limited e#ent, a &on&entrated 'it of histor$2the thin*in% of an emotional thou%ht, a feelin% a'out someone or somethin%. The frame+or* is one of o&&urrent ideas, not e(ternal happenin%s) &ontemplation is the su'stan&e of the l$ri&, +hi&h moti#ates and e#en &ontains the emotion presented. And the natural tense of &ontemplation is the present. Ideas are timeless) in a l$ri& the$ are not said to ha#e o&&urred, 'ut are #irtuall$ o&&urrin%) the relations that hold them to%ether are timeless, too. The +hole &reation in a l$ri& is an a+areness of a su';e&ti#e e(perien&e, and the tense of subjectivity is the /timeless0 present. This *ind of poetr$ has the &losed &hara&ter of the mnemoni& mode, +ithout the histori&al fi(it$ that out+ard e#ents 'esto+ on real memories) it is in the histori&al pro;e&tion +ithout &hronolo%$. L$ri& +ritin% is a spe&iali0ed te&hnique that &onstru&ts an impression or an idea as somethin% e(perien&ed, in a sort of eternal present) in this +a$, instead of offerin% a'stra&t propositions into +hi&h time and &ausation simpl$ do not enter, the l$ri& poet &reates a sense of &on&rete realit$ from +hi&h the time element has 'een &an&eled out, lea#in% a Platoni& sense of eternit$. This timelessness is reall$ one of the stri*in% traits of man$ memories. The re&olle&tion of moods and attitudes, li*e sprin% fe#er or pen2si#eness, normall$ has no referen&e to spe&ifi& o&&asions, $et su&h an e(perien&e is on&e and for all familiar, and rises in re&olle&tion +ith the #i#idness of somethin% #er$ re&ent. !ften the remotest &hildhood moods &ome 'a&* suddenl$ +ith a &ompletel$ un&hronolo%i&al freshness) $et
7

<ee, for e(ample, =. G. 1rinton/s arti&le, The pilo%ues of 1ro+nin%> Their Artisti& <i%nifi&an&e, in Poet ore, IV 84K769, +hi&h lists the follo+in% &on&lusions > 849 That 1ro+nin% uniforml$ treats the epilo%ue as an element, not of dramati&, 'ut of l$ri& poetr$. 869 That +ith him it approa&hes the form of the soliloqu$, and is intended to 'rin% a'out a dire&t and personal relation 'et+een himself and his reader. 8M9 That his epilo%ues are the onl$ portions of his +ritin%s in +hi&h he a#o+edl$ drops the dramati& turn of his %enius and e(presses his o+n sentiments as a man.
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+e do not meet them as ne+, li*e the a&tual present, 'ut as old pos; sions !ur memor$ of persons +ith +hom +e ha#e li#ed usuall$ has this timeless &hara&ter. to f/rrT/ U 1 frVm A/ U Dith it< UmeIess/ Personal WUa&ter to har at #e poetr$, 2 is natural enou%h that +e find the perfe&t and Pluperfe&t the normal tenses for &onstru&tin% the frame of impersonal ph$si&al e#ents. In simple dis&ursi#e statement of histori&al fa&ts one uses onl$ the past tenses. 1ut poeti& statement has a different aimB its XY VZntJ.infVrm PeVP:e Vf +hat has happened and +hen['ut \ &reate the 3lusion of thin%s past, the sem'lan&e of e#ents li#ed and felt, li*e an a'stra&ted and &ompleted memor$. Poets, therefore, e(ploit the

%rammati&al #er' forms for e#er$ shade of immedia&$ or indire&tness, &ontinuit$ or finalit$, that is, for their po+er of shapin% #irtual e(perien&e rather than for their literal fun&tion of namin% a&tions and datin% them. <o +e en&ounter the present tense, e#en here, in its Wtime2ess &apa&it$, and also in some others. !ne of these is the +ell2*no+n histori&al presentC +hi&h hei%htens the #i#idness of an a&tion '$ tellin% it as thou%h it +ere no+.C This de#i&e &an 'e #er$ effe&ti#e, 'ut has 'een so 'latantl$ used '$ ;ournalists and no#i&es that it has 'e&ome an o'#ious tri&*. It is interestin% to note that +hen a real master emplo$s t, the present tense usuall$ has another ;ustifi&ation than to hi%hli%ht the a&tion. There is a %enuine Whistori&al presentC in the WRime of the An&ient Mariner> <+iftl$, s+iftl$ fle+ the ship, "et she sailed softl$ too) <+eetl$, s+eetl$ 'le+ the 'ree0e2!n me alone it 'le+. !hZ dream of ;o$Z is this indeed The li%hthouse top I see? Is this the hill? is this the *ir*? Is this mine o+n &ountree? The present tense does indeed intensif$ the sudden ;o$ of the Mariner as he re&o%ni0es his home port, 'ut it does more than that> it ends the #o$a%e, as Wno+C al+a$s ends one/s su';e&ti#e histor$. The stor$ &ul minates in the Mariner/s return as the past &ulminates in the present @ote ho+ the landin% 8des&ri'ed in the past tense9 ma*es a &aden&e 6NJ
PART

] !he &a'ing of the (ymbol

that ends +ith another histori&al present, e#en o#erflo+in% into a future tense, to reinfor&e the effe&t> I sa+ a thirdI heard his #oi&e> It is the hermit %oodZ 3e sin%eth loud his %odl$ h$mns That he ma*es in the +ood. 3e/ll shrie#e m$ soul, he/ll +ash a+a$ The al'atross/s 'lood. The most interestin% use, ho+e#er, of the present tense in narrati#es that reall$ mo#e in the past, is a use that has ne#er, to m$ *no+led%e, 'een re&o%ni0ed as a te&hni&al a&hie#ement at all. Perhaps literar$ &riti&s ha#e missed it 'e&ause the$ are in&lined to thin* of a poem as somethin% the poet says rather than somethin% the poet ma'es, and +hat he sa$s is not enhan&ed '$ this su'tle pla$ of tenses) I mean the min%lin% of past and present &onstru&tions that is &ommonl$ found in 'allads, espe&iall$ in the openin% and &losin% stan0as. It is a %rammati&all$ in&onsistent pra&ti&e, 'ut so +idespread that it o'#iousl$ has an artisti& mission. It does not ma*e the impression of a sole&ism, nor disorient the reader +ith re%ard to the time of the a&tion. Usuall$ it passes unnoti&ed. In old traditional 'allads the di&tion is often so &olloquial that one mi%ht as&ri'e the ina&&ura&$ of tense to popular &arelessness) 'ut one &ould hardl$ allo+ it on su&h %rounds in the e(&ellent 'allads +ritten '$ modern poets2The Rime of the An&ient Mariner, The Lad$ of <halott, or Goethe/s rl*oni%, in all of +hi&h it o&&urs, and is usuall$ not e#en remar*ed. It is one of the 'alladist/s de#i&es, and +as used as naturall$ '$ re&ent as '$ an&ient poets +hen the 'allad spirit +as upon them. To addu&e some e(amples from the store of anon$mous n%lish poetr$> in The ^ueen/s Marie,4J the first three stan0as mi( present and past tenses) stan0as four and fi#e are in the past) si( mi(es the tenses a%ain) se#en and ei%ht are in the present) after that the &onne&ted a&tion 'e%ins, Marie is %ot up from her &hild'ed to ride +ith the queen, enters din'ur%h, is a&&used and &ondemned. All this &onne&ted a&tion, the

+or* of one da$, is told in the past tense, to the end of the stor$. In <ir Patri&* <pens, the first stan0a is in the present, the se&ond
4J

Most, if not all, su&h old 'allads are *no+n in man$ #ersions. The #ersion here referred to is that %i#en in !he 3*ford 4oo' of 4allads.
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in the past, the third 'e%ins in the present perfe&t and ends in the pro%ressi#e pure perfe&t 8+as +al*in%9. Dith the re&eption of the letter, the ad#enture 'e%ins, and the narrati#e pro&eeds in the past tense until the disaster is o#er) the last three stan0as, +hi&h are an aftermath, are in the present a%ain. If no+ +e turn to The Rime of the An&ient Mariner, +e find the same mi(ture of tenses. The first stan0a is in the pure present) the se&ond must 'e dis&ounted, sin&e it is dire&t dis&ourse) the third, fourth, and fifth are mi(ed. Then 'e%ins the real stor$, in dire&t dis&ourse, and told in the past e(&ept for t+o stan0as 8the ones +hi&h emplo$ a %enuine histori&al present9 until the tale is told and the Mariner spea*s of +hat is present. !nl$ at the #er$ end, the impersonal narrati#e is resumed, and in those t+o &losin% stan0as the tenses are mi(ed a%ain> The mariner, +hose e$e is 'ri%ht, Dhose 'eard +ith a%e is hoar, Is %one) and no+ the Deddin%2Guest Turned from the 'ride%room/s door. 3e +ent li*e one that hath 'een stunned, And is of sense forlorn) A sadder and a +iser man 3e rose the morro+ mora. #en the use of hath and is in the simile, thou%h formall$ &orre&t, is unusual, as the tense in su&h a relati#e &lause usuall$ &onforms to that of the main &lause. The stri&tl$ a&&urate form is here used in its stri&tl$ a&&urate sense, +hi&h is timeless, sin&e the referen&e is not to an$ parti&ular one +ho had 'een stunned. This tou&h of timelessness is e(a&tl$ +hat the poet +anted. In Tenn$son/s famous 'allad, The Lad$ of <halott, the first se#en stan0as, +hi&h tell a'out the pla&e, the lad$, her life and her son%, the &urse, the mirror, and the +e', are in the present tense. In the ei%hth stan0a2the last one of Part II2the perfe&t is introdu&ed almost imper&epti'l$. After that, the a&tion pro&eeds from a definite o&&asion 8Lan&elot/s ridin% '$9 to the end, and is told &onsistentl$ in the past tense. The prin&iple %o#ernin% su&h usa%e seems to 'e, that e#er$thin% needed to &reate the &onte(t of the stor$ is presented as a dateless &ondition. This is true to the nature of memor$) all our rele#ant *no+led%e 6N6
PART

44 !he &a'ing of the (ymbol

is impli&it in the re&olle&tion of a past e#ent, 'ut is not itself remem'ered as of that time. It is the a&ti#e histori&al en#ironment, not the histor$ itself) and in poetr$, +here the sem'lan&e of li#ed histor$ is &reated, and its frame+or* of impli&it *no+led%e has also to 'e &reated '$ e(pli&it tellin%, the sense of the differen&e 'et+een e#ents and their moti#atin% &ir&umstan&es is often %i#en throu%h the pla$ of tenses, that ma*es the time sense indefinite for e#er$thin% 'ut the a&tion itself. This is, of &ourse, not a rule, 'ut a de#i&e +hi&h ma$ or ma$ not 'e used. There are 'allads in +hi&h the present tense ne#er o&&urs 8e.%. Cler* <aunders9, and some +here it is used in midst of the narrati#e to indi&ate a s*ip in the a&tion. In 1innorie 8themati&all$, I #enture to sa$, one of the oldest le%ends in all our lore9, the stor$ is

told in the past tense to the point +here the prin&ess lies dead 'eside the +eir, and the harper &omes '$> And +hen he loo*/d that lad$ on, 3e si%h/d and made a hea#$ moan. 3e/s made a harp of her 'reast2'ane, Dhose sound +ad melt a heart of stane. 3e/s ta/en three lo&*s o/ her $ello+ hair, And +i/ them strun% his harp sae rare. 3e +ent into her father/s hall, And there +as the &ourt assem'led all. Thus the narrati#e pro&eeds a%ain, in its natural form. !ne of the most unusual and 'rilliant manipulations of tense in narrati#e poetr$ o&&urs in Goethe/s rl*oni%> This 'allad is, throu%hout, a masterpie&e of rhetori&al stru&ture for poeti& effe&t.44 There are onl$
n

An almost in&redi'le tension is set up and &onstantl$ hei%htened '$ ,uestions on all le#els of spee&h and e(perien&e) first the poet/s impersonal question> Der reitet so spat dur&h @a&ht und Dind? The 'rief narrati#e introdu&tion is the ans+er. Then the father/s inquir$> Mein <ohn, +as 'ir%st du so 'an% dein Gesi&ht? to +hi&h the &hild replies +ith another question> <iehst, Vater, du den rl*oni% ni&ht? =en rlin*oni%, mit Iron und <&h+eif? The father thro+s in a sin%le line of reassurin% repl$> Mein <ohn, es ist ein @e'elstreif. Then &omes the soft lure of the Alder Iin%, and the &hild/s more ur%ent question Mein Vater, mein Vate, und horest du ni&ht
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four lines of impersonal statement 'efore the dialo%ue ta*es o#er entirel$, and those four lines are in the present tense. The poem ends, similarl$, +ith four lines of narrati#e, all in the present, e(&ept the #er$ last> =em Vater %rauset/s, er reitet, %es&h+ind, r halt in den Armen das a&h0ende Iind. rrei&ht den 3of mit Miihe und @ot) In seinen Armen das Iind +ar tot. 8The father is sha*en, he rides apa&e, The &hild is moanin% in his em'ra&e) 3e rea&hes the house, in fear and dread) The &hild +ithin his arms +as dead.9
3ere the sudden in&ursion of the past tense &loses the ad#enture and the

poem, +ith the po+er of a full

&aden&e2the perfe&t tense, a&&omplished fa&t. The pure present there ser#es t+o effe&ts at on&eits &hara&ter of 'ein% out of time helps to &reate the unreal atmosphere in +hi&h all the questions and #isions arise, and its immedia&$the .for&e of the histori&al presenthei%htens the a&tion. Eurthermore, of &ourse, it prepares the effe&t of the time shift in the &losin% line. The normal fun&tion of the past tense is to &reate the histori&al pro;e&tion, i.e. the appearan&e of e#ents in the mnemoni& mode, li*e a realit$ li#ed and remem'ered. People ta&itl$ a&*no+led%e this offi&e of the per2 Das rlen*oni% mir l&ise #erspri&ht? <oon the %host himself spea*s in the interro%ati#e mood> Dillst, feiner Ina'e, du mit mir %ehn? And the &hild, a%ain>

Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst, du ni&ht dort rl*oni%s To&hter am dustern !rt? In this +a$ the +hole spoo* is &reated out of un&ertainties, so the final de&larati#e> I&h lie'e di&h, mi&h rei0t deine s&hone Gestalt) Und 'ist du ni&ht +illi%, so 'rau&h i&h Ge+altZ &omes +ith a terri'le for&e, that eli&its the &r$> Mein Vater, Mein Vater, ;et0t fasst er mi&h anZ and ma*es the #er$ &risis seem li*e a solution, ;ust 'e&ause it is fa&t, and 'rea*s the tension of so mu&h questionin%> rl*oni% hat mir ein Leids %ethanZ/ This is supreme &omposition, from the first +ord to the last. 6NL
PART n

!he &a'ing of the (ymbol

feet 8note ho+ its te&hni&al name 'espea*s its formulatin% and definin% po+er9, '$ a#oidin% it +hen the$ tell the mere plot of a literar$ +or*. In outlinin% the a&tion of a stor$, poem, or film, +e ha'ituall$ use the present tense, for +e are not composing the a&tion into an$ artisti& form. The un+ritten rule that su&h paraphrases are properl$ reported in the present sprin%s from a %enuine poeti& feelin%) the past tense +ould ma*e that 'are statement of plot pretend to literar$ status, and as literature it +ould 'e atro&iousl$ 'ad. <o +e *eep our s$nopses in the timeless present to indi&ate that +e are e(hi'itin% materials, not presentin% elements, of art. Le%end and m$th and fair$ tale are not in themsel#es literature) the$ are not art at all, 'ut fantasies) as su&h, ho+e#er, the$ are the natural materials of art. 1$ their nature the$ are not 'ound to an$ parti&ular +ords, nor e#en to lan%ua%e, 'ut ma$ 'e told or painted, a&ted or dan&ed, +ithout sufferin% distortion or de%radation.46 1ut literature proper is the use of lan%ua%e to &reate #irtual histor$, or life, in the mnemoni& mode the sem'lan&e of memor$, thou%h a depersonali0ed memor$. A le%end presented as stor$ is as ne+ a &reation as an$ +or* Dhereof the plot has ;ust 'een in#ented) for apart from the tellin%, the a&tion or plot is not a +or*, it &reates no &omplete and or%ani0ed illusion of somethin% li#ed, 'ut is to literature +hat an armature or a rou%hl$ shaped 'lo&* is to s&ulpturea first shape, a sour&e of ideas. The &hief e(hi'it of the artisti& use of tense, throu%hout m$ lin% dis&ussion, has 'een the art of an&ient 'allad ma*ers, from +hom some modern poets ha#e learned their trade) so it is surprisin%, not to sa$ dis&on&ertin%, to find that some re&o%ni0ed e(perts on the popular 'allad maintain stoutl$ that it is not literar$ art at all, 'ut 'elon%s to the primiti#e matri( of spontaneous fantas$. Eran* <id%+i&*, for instan&e, in his little 'oo* !he 4allad, ma*es this point emphati&all$. A 'allad, he sa$s, is, and al+a$s has 'een, so far from 'ein% a literar$ form that it is, in its essentials, not literar$, and ... has no sin%le form. It is a genre not onl$ older than the pi&, older than Tra%ed$, 'ut older than
46

Tliis &ir&umstan&e +as pointed out to me '$ the illustrator 3elen <e+ell, +ho has %i#en mu&h thou%ht to the relations 'et+een literature and paintin%, and the ri%hts of 'oth to the +ellsprin%s of popular lore.
ls

!he 4allad, pp. 5+-. i5 Virtual Memor$ 6N5

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literature, older than the alpha'et. It is lore, and 'elon%s to the illiterate. <o far, so %ood) if literature is ta*en in its stri&test sense, as an art of letters, then, of &ourse, the poetr$ of illiterate so&ieties is not literature. 1ut +hen Professor <id%+i&* sa$s that the 'allad is not poetry, I must disa%ree. The fa&t that e#er$ 'allad has se#eral #ersions, and therefore no single form, does not mean that it has no form. M$ths are lore) the$ ha#e no meter, no &hara&teristi& phrases, and are ;ust as often re&orded in #ase paintin%s and 'as2reliefs as in +ords. A 'allad, ho+e#er, is a &omposition) and althou%h it is protean, not 'ound to one &ompletel$ determinate form, it is essentiall$ poeti&. Li*e all personall$ transmitted +or*s2fol* son%, litan$, and dan&e 8e#en toda$9, the li#in% 'allad has an open form) it &an sur#i#e mu&h #ariation, 'e&ause the &on&eption of it is not &ompletel$ #er'ali0ed, althou%h the ma;or de&isions in its pro%ress are all made. Li*e a fi%ured 'ass, it in#ites ela'oration. The essentiall$ poeti& nature of the fol* 'allad is +ell attested '$ a pra&ti&e +hi&h de#eloped as soon as su&h popular &ompositions +ere +ritten do+nthe &ustom of furnishin% a runnin% paraphrase '$ means of mar%inal %losses. This paraphrase is *ept in the .present tense, and e(presses the proto2poeti& fantas$, the pure plot, +hi&h mi%ht ;ust as +ell 'e em'odied in a pla$, a tale, a frie0e, a tapestr$ series, or an opera. The 'allad, on the other hand, normall$ uses the tense of true narrati#e) it &reates a poeti& illusion in the literar$ mode, thou%h its #er'ali0ation is pre2literate. Dhat ma*es it memora'le is not the plot as su&h, 'ut the poemthe &reated pie&e of #irtual histor$, +hi&h is a non2dis&ursi#e e(pressi#e form. The often repeated assertion2on +hi&h Professor <id%+i&* insists that a 'allad has no author, that it is a %roup produ&t, emotion &r$stalli0ed in a &ro+d, seems to me to 'e +ithout foundation. @o one has e#er *no+n a &ro+d to in#ent a son%, althou%h su&&essi#e mem'ers ma$ ela'orate one, addin% stan0as or proposin% parodies, on&e its poeti& theme, rh$me s&heme, and tune ha#e 'een proposed 8the meter is usuall$ di&tated '$ the tune9. The idea &omes from one person) and a serious son%, su&h as a spiritual, is usuall$ presented in a &omplete form, ho+e#er simple. The &ro+d adopts it) and if the son% finds fa#or, and is handed 6NF
PART

44 !he &a'ing of the (ymbol

on, its authorship is soon o's&ured, thou%h the &omposer ma$ ha#e lo&al fame as one frequentl$ inspired.4L The &on&ept of the fol* as a perfe&t demo&ra&$ of talent is a pseudo2ethnolo%i&al fi&tion +hi&h arises, I 'elie#e, from the anon$mit$ of fol* art. 1ut, to return to the 'allad, it is hi%hl$ impro'a'le that no one in#ented su&h a poem as The Dife of Usher/s Dell. @o matter ho+ man$ #ersions there ma$ 'e, someone &omposed the tale ori%inall$ in meter and rh$me, and furnished the poeti& &ore of all #ariants that ma$ 'e %athered under its title. Is this open form an essential &hara&teristi& of the true 'allad? If the true 'allad is an ethnolo%i&al &on&ept, $es) 'ut if one re%ards it as a poeti& &ate%or$, no. Dritin% do+n the +ords of a 'allad does not destro$ it, thou%h its so&iolo%i&al fun&tion ma$ 'e altered or e#en destro$ed. Theoreti&all$, all its #ersions &ould 'e +ritten do+n, none made pre2eminent, e(&ept in pra&ti&e, '$ popular fa#or, on&e e#er$'od$ has a&&ess to all of them. The fa&t is, of &ourse, that editors and pu'lishers mediate 'et+een the pu'li& and the +or*, and standardi0e the #ersions of their &hoi&e) the ethni& effe&ts of litera&$ &annot 'e e#aded.

<in&e an$ poem *no+n '$ heart ma$ 'e +ritten do+n, the 'allad, thou%h not literature in its pristine state, +as destined to become a literar$ form) and man$ #ersions of orall$ remem'ered 'allads +ere artisti&all$ interestin%, +ell 'alan&ed and e#en su'tle. As soon as the$ appeared in print the$ furnished the literate and literar$ +orld +ith a hi%hl$ &hara&teristi& form. This ne+ form, ho+e#er, is not for sin%in%) it is not e#en for re&itation, 'ut2li*e most full2fled%ed literature2for readin%. Professor <id%+i&*/s stout insisten&e that the 'allad is not poetr$ ma$ rest not on an$ misunderstandin% of the 'allad form 8+hi&h +ould 'e most unli*el$ in a person of his qualifi&ations9, 'ut on +hat I +ould &onsider a too narro+ &on&eption of poeti& art> the identifi&ation of this There is an interestin% stud$ '$ lsa Mahler of the Russian dir%e as a spe&ies of peasant poetr$. The metri&al form, the fi%ures of spee&h, and other ru'ri&s are traditional) 'ut e#er$ +oman is e(pe&ted to 'e a'le to e(tempori0e the dir%e for her dead 8this is a feminine offi&e9. @aturall$, talent and ima%ination differ +idel$) 'ut ea&h dir%e, +hi&h is &ertainl$ pure fol* poetr$, is al+a$s the +or* of one poet. <in&e &ustom demands a ne+ poem for e#er$ o&&asion, there is no &ause to +rite do+n e#en the 'est. <ee lsa Mahler, 6ie russiche !oten'lage, "ire "tuelle u. di7ht8erische 6eutung.
C3APT R

i5 Virtual Memor$

6NN

art +ith its o+n hi%hest de#elopment, +hi&h is literar$ in the stri&t sense, a ma*in% of &ompletel$ fi(ed, in#aria'le, #er'al stru&turesfi(ed '$ 'ein% +ritten do+n ab initio, '$ their authors. <u&h poems are to fol* poetr$ +hat so2&alled art son%s are to fol* son%) 'ut fol* son%, the simple air +ith #aria'le te(t and an$ sort, or no sort, of a&&ompaniment, is still musi&, and nothin% 'ut musi&) and the traditional 'allad +ith its numerous #ersions, some &rude and some formall$ 'eautiful, is still poetr$ in the literar$ mode of #irtual memor$. Perhaps the stri&t #ie+ of literature as readin% matter sprin%s from an una#o+ed 'ut quite ;ustified protest a%ainst a popular theor$, held also '$ man$ aestheti&ians, that the printed +ord is an enem$ of poeti& e(perien&ethat all poetr$ and 8some sa$9 e#en all prose should reall$ 'e read aloud, and that silent readin% is onl$ a poor su'stitute for hearin% the spo*en +ord. Perhaps the notion that literature 'e%ins onl$ +ith letters is simpl$ a 'it of o#er2&ompensation in opposition to this fairl$ +idespread 'ut superfi&ial do&trine. The art of printin%, a&&ordin% to the oral theor$ of poetr$, has depri#ed us of mu&h literar$ pleasure, for our a'ilit$ to preser#e innumera'le +or*s from o'li#ion has 'een 'ou%ht at the pri&e of our real e(perien&e of them. Dords, li*e musi&, are essentiall$ somethin% for ph$si&al hearin%.45 If Professor <id%+i&*/s prin&iple of datin% literature from the ad#ent of litera&$ is indeed a re#olt a%ainst su&h a theor$, I &an onl$ assent in spirit e#en +hile I &riti&i0e his o+n definition of poetr$. The treatment of poetr$ as ph$si&al sound &ompara'le to musi& rests, I 'elie#e, on an utter mis&on&eption of +hat a +riter &reates, and +hat is the. role of sound in that &reation. There is poetr$ that profits '$, or e#en demands, a&tual spee&h4J 8_. _. Cummin%s, for instan&e, %ains tremendousl$ '$ 'ein% read aloud) +here +ords are used impressionisti&all$ and not intended to 'e d+elt upon and e(amined for a literal meanin%, re&itation is an asset, for it does not allo+ one to stop, 'ut for&es one to pass o#er the pro'lemati& +ord and re&ei#e onl$ the impression it is

45

The e(pression of this #ie+ '$ Cal#in <. 1ro+n, :r., in his &usic and iterature9 A 7omparison oj the Arts has alread$ 'een quoted and dis&ussed in Chap. 7, pp. 4ML2 4M5B
4F

Man$ people assume that #er$ sonorous or musi&al poetr$, espe&iall$, loses its 'eaut$ if it is not spo*en. 1ut su&h poetr$ is, in fa&t, the easiest to hear in+ardl$.
6N

PART

] !he &a'ing of the (ymbol

desi%ned to ma*e9. 1ut mu&h poetr$ and nearl$ all prose should 'e read some+hat faster than the normal rate of spee&h. East spea*in% does not meet this demand, 'e&ause it 'e&omes pre&ipitous. <ilent readin% a&tuall$ is faster, 'ut does not appear so, 'e&ause it is not hurried at the qui&*er tempo, +hereas ph$si&al enun&iation is. The ima%es +ant to pass more s+iftl$ than the spo*en +ord. And furthermore, in prose fi&tion as +ell as in a %ood man$ poems, the #oi&e of a spea*er tends to intrude on the &reated +orld, turnin% formal l$ri& address, su&h as>

I tell you, hopeless grief is passionless

into %enuine spee&h, addressed '$ the poet/s pro($2the spea*er2to another real person, the listener.4K A no#el that &enters &hiefl$ in the &reation of #irtual personalities almost al+a$s suffers, +hen read aloud, '$ the peripheral presen&e of the reader 8fair$ tales, ad#enture stories, and mediae#al roman&es are not %reatl$ influen&ed in this +a$9. The surest si%n that +ritin% and readin% do not sap the life of poeti& art is the histori&al fa&t that the true de#elopment of su&h art2the emer%en&e of its spe&ial forms, 'oth in poetr$ and prose2ta*es pla&e in a &ulture onl$ after +ritin% is esta'lished. It is the literate poet +ho This #ie+ is &orro'orated in the +ords of 3. D. 1o$nton, +ho +rote, nearl$ half a &entur$ a%o> !utside of poetr$ there are fe+ forms of literature +hi&h are not as +ell or 'etter off +ithout the interposition of the #oi&e. The reason appears to 'e that a printed
pa%e empo+ers the ear +ith a fa&ult$ of rapid hearin%. The in+ard ear ma$ re&ei#e an impression quite as surel$ as the out+ard ear, and far more rapidl$. Printed +ords represent sound rather than form to most people. . . . 8Pa&e in Readin%, in :ournalism and iterature, and 3ther Essays,

WThe &onfusion 'e&omes e#en more disastrous +here the dire&t address is put into the mouth of a &hara&ter, and presupposes a respondent not a&&ounted for in the poem, e.%.> Ia$, 'ut $ou, +ho do not lo#e her, Is she not pure %old, m$ mistress? or> Let us %o then, $ou and I, Dhen the e#enin% is spread out a%ainst the s*$ Li*e a patient etherised upon a ta'le. !ne re&ent &riti&, Morris Deit0, has proposed as an o'#ious interpretation, that Prufro&*a fi&titious person, an element in the poeti& +holeta*es the reader into his &onfiden&e, that +e are to see ourselves +al*in% +ith him do+n half2deserted streets, and that the poem does not &reate, 'ut re#eals, Prufro&*/s and our o+n inde&isi#enessZ 8<ee Philosophy of the Arts, p. 7F.9
C3APT R

i5 Virtual Memor$

6N7

e(plores the man$ te&hni&al means of +hi&h his art permits, in#ents ne+ st$listi& elements, and e(tends his desi%ns to en&ompass more and more material. !nl$ in +ritin% &ould prose 'e&ome an artisti& medium at all. This and all other spe&ial forms ha#e %ro+n up, I 'elie#e, '$ the e(ploitation of alternati#e te&hniques) e#er$ means of &reatin% the poeti& illusion produ&ed its o+n *ind of &omposition. To tra&e this

e#olution of the %reat literar$ forms, ea&h on the stren%th of its pre2eminent de#i&es, is the readiest +a$ to demonstrate that all &reati#e +ritin% is poesis, and so far as it +or*s +ith +ords alone, &reates the same illusion> #irtual memor$, or histor$ in the mode of an e(perien&ed Past.