01-25-2015, 06:01 AM
616,
OK, I've thought about this. Here is my problem with this poem. We don't know what aspect of life or archetype that this Isis is supposed to be. There is nothing of her inherent characteristics that would fit with this poem as shown by the Wiki quote below:
"Isis was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the patroness of nature and magic. She was the friend of slaves, sinners, artisans and the downtrodden, but she also listened to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats and rulers... Isis is also known as protector of the dead and goddess of children." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis
As to Crowley's remark, it is taken out of context. That is to say when the writer quotes the passage he leaves out the context of Crowley's quote. Regardless I doubt there is anything in the full passage that supports the contentions of the poem. Still this would be fine. One can use Isis as a metaphor for whatever one wants, however, it must be made clear what connection that metaphor has to reality. Without that grounding we are left with a short fantasy piece and nothing more. The metaphor is broken, it could be anything from a succubus to war, neither of which has anything to do with the historical Isis. So without some explanation about why this Isis is the polar opposite of the historical Isis, and what this "Isis" is supposed to represent instead and why, we are left with confusion. Blake did a similar thing with Satan, in his poem "Milton", but then again that was an epic poem and Blake created his own mythology from the very beginning. So obviously it is possible to re-characterize a mythological figure, but it takes more than a half page poem, no matter how great the poet
Dale
OK, I've thought about this. Here is my problem with this poem. We don't know what aspect of life or archetype that this Isis is supposed to be. There is nothing of her inherent characteristics that would fit with this poem as shown by the Wiki quote below:
"Isis was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the patroness of nature and magic. She was the friend of slaves, sinners, artisans and the downtrodden, but she also listened to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats and rulers... Isis is also known as protector of the dead and goddess of children." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis
As to Crowley's remark, it is taken out of context. That is to say when the writer quotes the passage he leaves out the context of Crowley's quote. Regardless I doubt there is anything in the full passage that supports the contentions of the poem. Still this would be fine. One can use Isis as a metaphor for whatever one wants, however, it must be made clear what connection that metaphor has to reality. Without that grounding we are left with a short fantasy piece and nothing more. The metaphor is broken, it could be anything from a succubus to war, neither of which has anything to do with the historical Isis. So without some explanation about why this Isis is the polar opposite of the historical Isis, and what this "Isis" is supposed to represent instead and why, we are left with confusion. Blake did a similar thing with Satan, in his poem "Milton", but then again that was an epic poem and Blake created his own mythology from the very beginning. So obviously it is possible to re-characterize a mythological figure, but it takes more than a half page poem, no matter how great the poet
Dale
How long after picking up the brush, the first masterpiece?
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.