Liturgy, imagination and poetic language : a study of David Jones's The Anathemata.

Abstract

The thesis seeks to attempt an examination of David Jones's long poem The Anathemata primarily from a theologically informed standpoint. It sets out to understand, from the literary-critical point of view, the forces and influences that have come together in order to make the poem. At the same time, it is aware of and tries to explore the theological, liturgical and mythological material which provides Jones with both the background to and the content of his poem. It is argued that the form of poem, its linguistic content and the experience of reading it, are best understood in terms of pilgrimage and that such a metaphor is best suited to encompass both its huge scale and its attention to detail.
From an overall examination of the available secondary literature, the thesis proceeds examine something of the experience of reading the poem, whether or not the poem can be conveniently understood as an epic and what Jones himself thought he was doing, at the same time his own theoretical stance is illuminated by reference to other contemporary thinkers.
An extensive examination of the terms 'myth' and 'anamnesis' and the backgrounds and links between the two both in general and within the context of the poem precede chapters which explore the language of the poem both in terms of stylistic features and also in terms of the literary sources on which Jones draws and which make up the intertexual space within which the poem exists. These matters are further examined in a discussion of the most significant themes with which the poet works in the course of The Anathemata. Finally, some account is given of the formal shape of the poem before a 'commentary' or 'paraphrase' of the poem draws out, in context, the significant features.