Sublimity
Anne Carson, one of the most famous writers and poets of the modern world, is famous for her gift of incorporating different literary styles in her masterpieces. Her works are full of creative inspiration combined with deep analysis of ideas and thoughts expressed by the prominent writers and theorists of the past. Thus, the concept of sublimity takes one of the central places in the book by Carson “Decreation: Poetry, Essays, Opera” which is the work dedicated to the analysis of creative activities by such famous authors as Homer, Virginia Wolf, Longinus, Michelangelo Anotinioni and many others. This paper will focus on the ideas by Longinus and Antonioni on the concept of sublimity and on their impact upon the world outlook of Carson as a writer and as an ordinary person.
The book by Carson is neither prose nor poetry, it is a combination of both. The ideas of Longinus are first touched upon by the author in her essay “Foam (Essay with Rhapsody): On the Sublime in Longinus and Antonioni”. Carson is completely obsessed with the Longinus’ definition of sublimity and with its description. The author calls sublimity to be “a documentary technique” (Carson, 45) and quotes Longinus for his argument to develop her idea: “Longinus’ point is that, by brutal juxtaposition of coordinate nouns or noun clauses, Demosthenes transposes violence of fists into violence of syntax. His facts spill over the frame of their original context and pummel the judges’ minds.
Watch this spillage, which moves from the man who hits, to the words of Demosthenes describing him, to the judges hearing these words, to Longinus analyzing the whole process, to me recalling Longinus’ discussion of it and finally to you reading my account. The passionate moment echoes from soul to soul.” (Carson, 46) Thus, the concept of passionate moment becomes central for Carson in literature, and Longinus’ influence is evident in her trying to eliminate herself from her works and put that passionate moment in the shape of quotes instead (Longinus, 2001).
The influence by Antonioni is also evident in the works by Anne Carson. The major idea that is represented by the films of this famous Italian director “The Red Desert” and “The Adventure” is the alienation in which the modern world exists, the desire that people have to be out of this alienation and their state while they feel this desire. Carson absorbs Antonioni’s principles and bases one of her sublimes “Ode to the Sublime by Monica Vitti” on the plot of the film. “Red Desert” is the story of a young woman, Giuliana, who is distressed by the society and feels that everyone has left her on her own.
Her husband, Ugo, and his friend Corrado Zeller understand her differently and the former is too busy to take care of her, while the latter wants to persuade her to leave with him. Monica Vitti, starring as Giuliana in this film, performed a perfect image of a mentally healthy person who is nervous and able to see the harsh reality of the modern world although others think she is ill. Vitti is starring in “The Adventure” as well and also depicts the concept of loneliness while her heroine’s boyfriend and best friend fall in love when looking for her who vanished during a yacht trip (Carson, 148).
Here is the moment when sublimity breaks out in the film in the shape of Giuliana’s desire not to be present at all the event that she has to face in her life. While considering Monica Vitti’s roles as purely artistic characters, Carson relates her experiences to her own, being familiar to the hardships of family life. So, another sublime of hers titled “Mia Moglie” (My Wife in English) develops this topic and reflects not only the film characters portrayed by Vitti or other actors but the personal emotions of the author.
Yet, the personal ideas of Carson on sublimity and its main principles also emerge in the book by this famous author. When the moment is fitting, after her sublimes, the author introduces the essay “Totality: The Colour of Eclipse”, making use of the ideas of other famous literary creators. She compares the concept of sublimity with the eclipse of the sun, but also makes use of allusions to her own experiences in marriage and other spheres of life. Carson compares her understanding of sublimity to walking in the huge shadow of the moon or waking up in the wrong direction as if perceiving your dream as reality which can neither be confirmed nor denied (Carson, 149).
Sublimity, as for Carson, is necessary to the writer in order not to become the central point of his or her own works. Different authors are focused on telling their life stories and making the reader learn about his or her life experience. However, Carson is bound to destroy this principle in the literature by annihilating her “self” from her works. Anne Carson, as if led by Longinus and Antonioni, tries to depict the objective reality in the shape of emotions her works.
While making use of the emotions of the film characters, the authors obviously depicts her own feelings. However, the reader is not aware of this because he or she is watching and looking for the passionate moment in each of her works. The sublimes by Carson are bright examples of her understanding of sublimity. For example, the “Ode to the Sublime by Monica Vitti” reflects the personal emotions of the author through the words that are spoken on behalf of the Italian actress and her heroine in the “Red Rose”:
My husband shrugs when I say so, my husband shrugs at everything.
The lakes where his factory has poisoned everything are as beautiful as Bruegel.
Do you know that in the deepest part of the sea everything goes transparent? asks my husband’s friend …
Corrado and I say Do you know how afraid I am?
Everything requires attention, I never relax my neck even when kissing Corrado.
(Carson, 150)
In these lines, the very essence of sublimity lies – the desire to annihilate oneself from everything that surrounds him or her and confusion about the future:
I had only one question What shall I do with my eyes?
(Carson, 150)
The same can be said about another sublime titled “Mia Moglie” which depicts the family relations between Giuliana and Ugo, but the allusions to the collapsed marriage of Carson can also be observed. The very sublime is rather pessimistic and reflects the emotional state of the author, although her own intention was to not to be a person anymore but pure emotions:
Greener than grass, I am and dead –
Or almost, I seem to me…
(Carson, 152)
So, the concept of sublimity, and sublimes as its reflections, are one of the peculiar features that Anne Carson brought to literature. Of course, her ideas are based on the thoughts by Longinus, Antonioni and others, but her own creative mind transformed them into a single concept that serves as a guide for writers and poets. Carson’s private life also gave the reasons for her to work on sublimity and to try to get rid of being a person and feeling all the pain people can feel. The author did this also for the purpose of creating perfect works that are not biased by writer’s opinion but are presented as the works existing themselves (Longinus, 2001). Anne Carson made use of Longinus’ ideas about the great writing and, having incorporated them, can be nowadays called a great writer.
Works Cited
Longinus, and G. M. A. Grube (Translator). On Great Writing. Hackett Pub Co Inc, 2001.
Carson, Anne. Decreation: Poetry, Essays, Opera. Knopf, 2005.