This dissertation aims at the articulation of the shaman-poet in the poetic tradition. It presents American poet Jim Morrison as the shaman artist whose life and poetry are analyzed as belonging to the tradition of poets Plato called possessed by furor poeiicus. This tradition, which is to find its prime in the writings of the Romantic poets, states that poetry is a secret language, based on feeling and imagination, that speaks to the heart of men about the sacred and universal, i. e., natural, quality of the human soul. The shaman-poet, thus, belongs to a tradition that goes back thousands of years to a time when the primitive man used to be in touch with a magical understanding of his environment on a regular basis, in contrast to the extremely rational perception of the world by modem man. The poetry of Jim Morrison is presented here as a representative of this sacred language that tells of this magical perception, long-forgotten, though never completely erased from the human mind. Hence, it is to be seen not only as a bridge to the spiritual realm of feeling and imagination, but also as a technique for ecological survival in this current rational and secular era.
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Jim Morrison: The Articulation of the Shaman-Poet in the Poetic Tradition
This dissertation aims at the articulation of the shaman-poet in the poetic tradition. It presents American poet Jim Morrison as the shaman artist whose life and poetry are analyzed as belonging to the tradition of poets Plato called possessed by furor poeiicus. This tradition, which is to find its prime in the writings of the Romantic poets, states that poetry is a secret language, based on feeling and imagination, that speaks to the heart of men about the sacred and universal, i. e., natural, quality of the human soul. The shaman-poet, thus, belongs to a tradition that goes back thousands of years to a time when the primitive man used to be in touch with a magical understanding of his environment on a regular basis, in contrast to the extremely rational perception of the world by modem man. The poetry of Jim Morrison is presented here as a representative of this sacred language that tells of this magical perception, long-forgotten, though never completely erased from the human mind. Hence, it is to be seen not only as a bridge to the spiritual realm of feeling and imagination, but also as a technique for ecological survival in this current rational and secular era.
Vision and Desire: Jim Morrison's Mythography Beyond the Death of God.
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The poetry of Jim Morrison, as opposed to his lyric verse, has been the subject of little critical examination. The aim of this paper is to open up an understanding and interpretation of a mythographic landscape developed by Morrison in his response to existence in a demythologised western culture.
Through the use of the Greek myth of Oedipus in its entirety, as opposed to the two most universally known events of the adult Oedipus' life, discussion here will attempt to demonstrate that Morrison developed a cohesive, holistic vision of the human condition of existence in the world, and presented a path of possibility for transcending its conflict. Indeed, it is proposed here that Morrison draws a clear path to and framework for living beyond the death of God.
For structure, discussion will be framed around not only the Oedipal myth, but also the "Three Metamorphoses" found in Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, a transformational trinity which is easily aligned to the story of Oedipus. Critical theory will be drawn from mythology, principally through the work of Joseph Campbell, existentialism, from the work of Soren Kierkegaard and Jean-Paul Sartre, psychoanalysis, drawing mainly from Sigmund Freud, Julia Kristeva and Jacques Lacan and philosophy, based largely though not exclusively, in Friedrich Nietzsche' s The Will to Power.
It is recognised that a great volume of biography and related commentary regarding Morrison has focus upon aspects and interpretations of his work that are not here under examination, and cite a significant volume of literature which has influenced him. Due to limitations of space within the parameters of this project, it has been impossible to address all works and persons that can be attributed as having influence, and notable omissions include, but are not limited to, the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud, the works of William Blake not noted in this paper, The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, and The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley, which is noted only briefly. Further to this Morrison drew on a vast knowledge of Greek myth, and most often cited is the myth of Dionysus, though it should be kept in mind that many other Greek mythic figure are apparent in his writing.
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Ellen Jessica Greenham
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The poetry of Jim Morrison, as opposed to his lyric verse, has been the subject of little critical examination. The aim of this paper is to open up an understanding and interpretation of a mythographic landscape developed by Morrison in his response to existence in a demythologised western culture.
Through the use of the Greek myth of Oedipus in its entirety, as opposed to the two most universally known events of the adult Oedipus' life, discussion here will attempt to demonstrate that Morrison developed a cohesive, holistic vision of the human condition of existence in the world, and presented a path of possibility for transcending its conflict. Indeed, it is proposed here that Morrison draws a clear path to and framework for living beyond the death of God.
For structure, discussion will be framed around not only the Oedipal myth, but also the "Three Metamorphoses" found in Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, a transformational trinity which is easily aligned to the story of Oedipus. Critical theory will be drawn from mythology, principally through the work of Joseph Campbell, existentialism, from the work of Soren Kierkegaard and Jean-Paul Sartre, psychoanalysis, drawing mainly from Sigmund Freud, Julia Kristeva and Jacques Lacan and philosophy, based largely though not exclusively, in Friedrich Nietzsche' s The Will to Power.
It is recognised that a great volume of biography and related commentary regarding Morrison has focus upon aspects and interpretations of his work that are not here under examination, and cite a significant volume of literature which has influenced him. Due to limitations of space within the parameters of this project, it has been impossible to address all works and persons that can be attributed as having influence, and notable omissions include, but are not limited to, the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud, the works of William Blake not noted in this paper, The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, and The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley, which is noted only briefly. Further to this Morrison drew on a vast knowledge of Greek myth, and most often cited is the myth of Dionysus, though it should be kept in mind that many other Greek mythic figure are apparent in his writing.
.
.
Ellen Jessica Greenham
.
.
.
.
