You wrote, "What about the medieval realities—moral, spiritual, symbolic, eschatological—that were essential to social order, cultural flourishing, and mental health in pre-modern Europe? They are pushed into the background, or maybe even booted off the stage."
Divine Providence was at work when The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler (1980) 'jumped' into my hands four days ago at a rural lending library as if commanding, "READ ME!"
Your quote is precisely descriptive of what occurred when the First Wave was beginning to be challenged by the Second Wave.
Now we are experiencing the surmounting of the Second Wave by the AI fueled Third Wave.
There are chilling conclusions to the impending cresting that is dwarfing our feeble breakwater.
I hope to try to get a men's conference here in Texas to discuss this situation and raise awareness.
I'm only 150 pages in but it is worth the read for perspective.
Thank you for the comment, Mike. I'm not familiar with that book by Toffler, but from what I read on the book's Wikipedia page, it looks interesting and topical!
It's available to read at Internet Archive and as I jumped ahead I found a critical section where he posed a list of hypotheticals that need to occur to PREVENT the end of the nuclear family. It is eerie in its exactness from 45 years ago.
This was, as usual, beautifully written and philologically insightful. You hit the mark when you wrote, “Modern folks like us, if we want to rediscover reality, must learn to think allegorically.” I was going to say something about the chances of this happening in a large way in today's era, but I won’t. I want to be positive.(!)
In response to your rhetorical question about Mr WS, the answer has to be 'It's a magical process, ultimately (I like to think) inspired by the Holy Spirit, who infused his thought, his experiences, his reading, his imagination ...'
An insightful, comprehensive yet condensed literary history of allegory and “realism,” and the shift in values they embody. You’re a wonderful writer and this clarified and validated so many things for me. As I think I may have mentioned to you before, I recently published a novel called THE MEDIEVALIST about a Carmelite friar and medieval historian steeped in the spiritual psyche of the Middle Ages, who finds himself caught up in the power-hungry and corrupt materialistic world of contemporary Hollywood. It combines realism and allegory in the very way you describe, contrasting the “two worlds” through the noir mystery/thriller genre. I’m getting 5-star reviews, but had hoped to find a readership among online scholars and medieval-interest groups, but aside from Professor Rachel Brown at U of Chicago, I haven’t had much luck. I don’t know why. Wouldn’t medievalists want to see these ideas we all talk about acted out in real life? If you would, Professor Keim, I’d be happy to send you a copy (dangsten@yahoo.com). Sorry to go on so long, but I just know you and your fellow medievalists would love this story. Thanks for listening, and keep up your excellent work.
I appreciate this comment, David, and thank you for offering to send a copy of the book. The problem is that if you send me a copy, I will feel obligated to read it, and I know that I will not be able to read it anytime soon! Lately I have had almost no time for reading anything outside of the texts that I really need to read for professional purposes, and I already have a long novel that I want to read when I find some time—my bookmark is currently on page 17, and the horrible truth is that it has been on page 17 since January!
After pondering Shakespeare’s characters in Othello in the allegorical fashion you explain so well, I arrived at an entirely different conclusion. You state, “In a medieval play, her name could have been Love.” And further state that her name represents “those who choose to love boldly in this vale of tears and sin.” Followed by the comparison with the followers of Jesus who were persecuted.
I disagree. Rather, I think Desdemona’s name could be Feminine Folly. This play is not a tragedy because of the goodness of the characters, although they had many good points. It is about each one’s inner flaw that leads him to follow a fatal attraction to its ultimate consequence — death.
A lovely young woman in the first flower of her youth is a great prize, and very vulnerable, not just because of her physical weakness, but because of her inner tendency to “follow her passion” that entices her into the dark, exciting side of life (in this case represented by the dark-skinned Othello).
A good father is deeply aware of this possible fate for his daughters, much to his heartbreak sometimes. He is his daughter’s protector until he entrusts her into the care of a good husband. But when she disobeys her father, and gives her heart to the wrong guy and runs away from her safe home, what is her fate? Death. In the play, Desdemona shares, or maybe is the cause of, the fate of all the characters involved in following their own passion. A gruesome pile of dead bodies testifies to the consequence of loving boldly, which is a defiant choice to have it “my way.”
At the beginning of human history, Eve was tempted by the devil and attracted by the fruit. She took what she wanted. She disobeyed. What was her fate? Death for us all.
Our modern era’s most destructive success is its sanctioning of selfish desires and passions, and recasting them as the highest virtue. To reiterate, I think Desdemona is not Shakespeare’s word for love. Her downfall represents Folly, and all its consequences.
I see where you're coming from, and I sympathize with the notion that Desdemona made a foolish or at least rash decision in marrying Othello, but the difficulty with your interpretation is that it conflicts strongly with the majority of Desdemona's life and character as presented to us by the text of the play: Shakespeare consistently portrays her, especially toward the end, as a woman of heroic, even saintly, virtue. I don't know if you have access to the Arden edition of the play, but the Introduction in that edition (by E. A. J. Honigmann) gives excellent insight into how Shakespeare crafts Desdemona as an exemplar of Christian love. You don't have to agree with Honigmann's interpretation, but it would certainly give you food for thought!
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I searched in vain on the internet for the Arden edition you reference that gives insight into "how Shakespeare crafts Desdemona as an exemplar of Christian love." Unfortunately, the version of the introduction that I was able to find invariably contained "a new, illustrated introduction by leading American scholar Ayanna Thompson, which addresses such key issues as race, religion and gender, as well as looking at ways in which the play has been adapted in more recent times." In fact, the revised introduction is a rant about race, and little else, including religion or gender. Desdemona is barely mentioned. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the "food for thought" in the revised introduction that dominates search versions of the Arden edition of the play has shades of one color only; race, racism, and racist.
I needed to read this just now Robert.
You wrote, "What about the medieval realities—moral, spiritual, symbolic, eschatological—that were essential to social order, cultural flourishing, and mental health in pre-modern Europe? They are pushed into the background, or maybe even booted off the stage."
Divine Providence was at work when The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler (1980) 'jumped' into my hands four days ago at a rural lending library as if commanding, "READ ME!"
Your quote is precisely descriptive of what occurred when the First Wave was beginning to be challenged by the Second Wave.
Now we are experiencing the surmounting of the Second Wave by the AI fueled Third Wave.
There are chilling conclusions to the impending cresting that is dwarfing our feeble breakwater.
I hope to try to get a men's conference here in Texas to discuss this situation and raise awareness.
I'm only 150 pages in but it is worth the read for perspective.
Thank you for the comment, Mike. I'm not familiar with that book by Toffler, but from what I read on the book's Wikipedia page, it looks interesting and topical!
It's available to read at Internet Archive and as I jumped ahead I found a critical section where he posed a list of hypotheticals that need to occur to PREVENT the end of the nuclear family. It is eerie in its exactness from 45 years ago.
This was, as usual, beautifully written and philologically insightful. You hit the mark when you wrote, “Modern folks like us, if we want to rediscover reality, must learn to think allegorically.” I was going to say something about the chances of this happening in a large way in today's era, but I won’t. I want to be positive.(!)
Thank you for the comment, Steve! (And yes, any sort of large-scale return to allegorical thinking will be an uphill battle, to put it mildly...)
An excellent post, as always.
In response to your rhetorical question about Mr WS, the answer has to be 'It's a magical process, ultimately (I like to think) inspired by the Holy Spirit, who infused his thought, his experiences, his reading, his imagination ...'
I loved this magical essay. Thank you.
You're welcome!
An insightful, comprehensive yet condensed literary history of allegory and “realism,” and the shift in values they embody. You’re a wonderful writer and this clarified and validated so many things for me. As I think I may have mentioned to you before, I recently published a novel called THE MEDIEVALIST about a Carmelite friar and medieval historian steeped in the spiritual psyche of the Middle Ages, who finds himself caught up in the power-hungry and corrupt materialistic world of contemporary Hollywood. It combines realism and allegory in the very way you describe, contrasting the “two worlds” through the noir mystery/thriller genre. I’m getting 5-star reviews, but had hoped to find a readership among online scholars and medieval-interest groups, but aside from Professor Rachel Brown at U of Chicago, I haven’t had much luck. I don’t know why. Wouldn’t medievalists want to see these ideas we all talk about acted out in real life? If you would, Professor Keim, I’d be happy to send you a copy (dangsten@yahoo.com). Sorry to go on so long, but I just know you and your fellow medievalists would love this story. Thanks for listening, and keep up your excellent work.
https://www.amazon.com/Medievalist-David-Angsten/dp/B0DYVMSN95/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0
I appreciate this comment, David, and thank you for offering to send a copy of the book. The problem is that if you send me a copy, I will feel obligated to read it, and I know that I will not be able to read it anytime soon! Lately I have had almost no time for reading anything outside of the texts that I really need to read for professional purposes, and I already have a long novel that I want to read when I find some time—my bookmark is currently on page 17, and the horrible truth is that it has been on page 17 since January!
Ha! No worries. I understand completely. We are all struggling with the information overload. Hope you’ll find a chance some day. Thanks again!
After pondering Shakespeare’s characters in Othello in the allegorical fashion you explain so well, I arrived at an entirely different conclusion. You state, “In a medieval play, her name could have been Love.” And further state that her name represents “those who choose to love boldly in this vale of tears and sin.” Followed by the comparison with the followers of Jesus who were persecuted.
I disagree. Rather, I think Desdemona’s name could be Feminine Folly. This play is not a tragedy because of the goodness of the characters, although they had many good points. It is about each one’s inner flaw that leads him to follow a fatal attraction to its ultimate consequence — death.
A lovely young woman in the first flower of her youth is a great prize, and very vulnerable, not just because of her physical weakness, but because of her inner tendency to “follow her passion” that entices her into the dark, exciting side of life (in this case represented by the dark-skinned Othello).
A good father is deeply aware of this possible fate for his daughters, much to his heartbreak sometimes. He is his daughter’s protector until he entrusts her into the care of a good husband. But when she disobeys her father, and gives her heart to the wrong guy and runs away from her safe home, what is her fate? Death. In the play, Desdemona shares, or maybe is the cause of, the fate of all the characters involved in following their own passion. A gruesome pile of dead bodies testifies to the consequence of loving boldly, which is a defiant choice to have it “my way.”
At the beginning of human history, Eve was tempted by the devil and attracted by the fruit. She took what she wanted. She disobeyed. What was her fate? Death for us all.
Our modern era’s most destructive success is its sanctioning of selfish desires and passions, and recasting them as the highest virtue. To reiterate, I think Desdemona is not Shakespeare’s word for love. Her downfall represents Folly, and all its consequences.
I see where you're coming from, and I sympathize with the notion that Desdemona made a foolish or at least rash decision in marrying Othello, but the difficulty with your interpretation is that it conflicts strongly with the majority of Desdemona's life and character as presented to us by the text of the play: Shakespeare consistently portrays her, especially toward the end, as a woman of heroic, even saintly, virtue. I don't know if you have access to the Arden edition of the play, but the Introduction in that edition (by E. A. J. Honigmann) gives excellent insight into how Shakespeare crafts Desdemona as an exemplar of Christian love. You don't have to agree with Honigmann's interpretation, but it would certainly give you food for thought!
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I searched in vain on the internet for the Arden edition you reference that gives insight into "how Shakespeare crafts Desdemona as an exemplar of Christian love." Unfortunately, the version of the introduction that I was able to find invariably contained "a new, illustrated introduction by leading American scholar Ayanna Thompson, which addresses such key issues as race, religion and gender, as well as looking at ways in which the play has been adapted in more recent times." In fact, the revised introduction is a rant about race, and little else, including religion or gender. Desdemona is barely mentioned. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the "food for thought" in the revised introduction that dominates search versions of the Arden edition of the play has shades of one color only; race, racism, and racist.