Term Paper on "Crashaw Passivity as Active and the Publicly"

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Crashaw

Passivity as Active and the Publicly Private in the poetry of Richard Crashaw: Two Tellings of Teresa's Tale

Richard Crashaw's place in the canon of English poetry has been problematic either since his poetry was first published, in one view, or only since the early twentieth century when his work was reexamined with renewed interest and respect (Perry, 1; Low, 242; Gallagher, 278). Upon reading even the most respected of his verses it is fairly easy to ascertain the fundamental reason for this problem; though his verses are full of compelling imagery and present a strong message and motive, they are not (at least at first glance) intellectually deep or complex and instead appear to be rather superficial if strongly-felt descriptions of the Divine, or of the human experience of the divine (Gallagher; Perry). A close reading of two of Crashaw's poems that deal most directly and explicitly with many of the unique and controversial themes and images that typify Crashaw's work -- "A Hymn to the Name and Honor of the Admirable Saint Teresa" and "The Flaming Heart," both of which deal with the same concrete subject matter of the ecstasy of Saint Teresa in her religious revelations -- shows that this appearance of shallow description is deceptive, perhaps purposefully so, and is in fact a part of the point Crashaw is trying to make.

This paper will argue that a close examination of Crashaw's poems and the specific devices, words, and images used reveals a strong and cohesive statement regarding the nature of the divine experience. In arguing this point, the understanding presented by Low of Crashaw's concept of a "conquering passivity" (248) is highly

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useful, and a rejection of the argument made by Davis that Crashaw's poetry is a mix of the meditative and liturgical modes described by low, but rather that it typifies Davis' own description of the contemplative mode: "a record of or wish for direct mystical experience of God rather than a mimesis of experience; it invites the reader, to whom it speaks directly, to seek or share understanding of something intensely private, thus tending to be difficult in its imagery and to proceed not by a neat psychological structure but associatively" (107). A close reading using these lenses reveals a richly detailed and consistent representation of the human experience of the divine as an act that is active in its passivity, with the choice and the willingness to become passive and to conquer through submission to God's love, and with Crashaw's explicit attempt to make public the private act of divine communion through the eroticism and the physical description embedded in his works. In this way, Crashaw is revealed to be not only paradoxically problematic in terms of the reception and criticism surrounding but is also shown to embrace paradox and certain ambiguities in his meaning.

"A Hymn to the Name and Honor of the Admirable Sainte Teresa"

The deceptive simplicity and directness of Crashaw's poetry is immediately observable in the first lines of this poem: "Love, thou art Absolute sole lord / of Life and Death (1-2). Already Crashaw has stated his thesis; he does not embed it in the subtext of the poem for the reader to tease out, nor does he build a case for it only to reveal it explicitly with a neat turn of phrase at the end of the poem, as Donne might. Instead, he presents a succinct and even trite assessment of "Love" without any prior explanation, suggesting to the careless reader that what follows is a simple oratory to the glories of romance and interpersonal love. What actually follows is, of course, a much different discussion on the nature of divine love, and the relationship between the human experience of romantic or passionate love and the human experience of divine love. It is truly this latter type of love that Crashaw refers to, as the poem makes explicitly clear, however the line between the experience of divine love and the experience of physical human love is purposefully blurred. To prove his point, Crashaw's speaker says, they will not turn to "Men of Martyrdom," invoking a clear and definite connection between death and the divine, or at least faithfulness, but instead will turn to one so young that, "Scarse has she learn't to lisp the name / of Martyr," the embodiment of life and youth and thus the antithesis of death, who yet contemplates death and its potential for divinity in a highly precocious manner (5; 15-6). Already there is a sense of submission or passivity in this central figure of Teresa (named only once in the entire length of the poem), who is eager to give herself in death for the further testament and experience of her love for the divine and the love received in return.

Even from these first scattered thoughts of Crashaw's poem, then, Low's concept of the conquering passivity can be plainly demonstrated in the child Teresa. Not simply willing but eager to face death if it means a reunification of her soul with the divine, the point the Crashaw began with -- that love is lord of life and death -- is already illustrated in this description, and is clearly tied to the subject of an active passivity. There is a wisdom and a willingness in the desire for death to accept the love from the divine and give herself over to the love of the divine in a manner that will allow for her transcendence of this world and a conquering of the list of mortal arrogances that Crashaw dismissed before introducing the child. It is not the active activity of the "Souldiers, Great and tall" or those that can "Speak lowd into the face of death" that will demonstrate the means by which divine love is truly experienced and through which it holds sway over life and death, but through the far more passive action of a child who simply feels the love run through her and is willing to abandon herself to it (4; 8). Even without further detail given, the simple and direct juxtaposition of the natural passivity of a child with the strong and explicit action of the soldier, and indeed the rejection of the latter in favor of the former, makes it clear that in Crashaw's view it is passivity which conquers and fulfills the promise of divined and of human love.

These opening passages and images also demonstrate to some degree Crashaw's desire to make public the otherwise highly private experience of divine love and faith. Again, the fact that the girl Teresa is barely able even to speak the word "martyr" makes it impossible that the thoughts Crashaw (or his speaker) makes the reader privy to are sentiments that Teresa is able to express externally; these are necessarily private and internal conclusions and assessments on her part, becoming public only in their direct physical manifestation when that occurs. Again, this contrasts directly with the highly public actions of the soldiers and of the well-known martyrs, whose faith and deeds can only be publicly demonstrated, or who at least are known for these public demonstrations. The masculine and the active are necessarily public in their formation and their display, whereas the true love that is the lord of life and death -- that divine love experienced by Teresa even as a child -- must necessarily be private and personal in its manifestation. It would not even be necessary for Teresa to publicly acknowledge or demonstrate her faith at all for it to be complete and compelling for Teresa herself, while at the same time her private and internal sentiments must be made public if they are to be compelling for others. Crashaw's description takes on an almost voyeuristic quality in its description of the private passivity that so consumes and motivates Teresa's inner drives, and this is only strengthened by the introduction of sexual imagery that further explains the nature of divine love and Teresa's experience of this love as at once physical and entirely beyond the physical realm.

This imagery enters innocently enough with a reference to Teresa's virginity, with the speaker commenting, "Nor has she e're yet understood / Why to show love, she should shed blood" (21-2). This fairly explicit reference to the act of feminine deflowering, which though a proof of love is yet violent and bloody, is again intensely personal and, from the feminine perspective, at once passive and active. The female is the recipient, by nature's design, in the act of consummating love, and this she is the passive acceptor of love; she provides space to be filled by that love, and is thus made capable of truly conquering and melding with that which enters her. At the same time, this Teresa is unaware of this violent aspect of physical love and its evidence, but knows only the aspect of being filled by love. There is still a distinct eroticism to this description of divine love,… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Crashaw Passivity as Active and the Publicly" Assignment:

“

Hello! Before I begin, I just want to warn you that Crashaw may be a bit off-putting. I hope this is not a problem!

This paper should be a close-text analysis of one or two of Richard Crashaw*****'s poems, although the bulk of the essay can certainly focus on a section of one of the poems. The poems that can be used are *****"The Flaming Heart*****" and/or *****"A Hymn to the Name and Honour of the Admirable Saint Teresa.*****" References to other Cravashian poems may be useful.

The topic of the paper was free, but I would like it to be Crashaw*****'s interest and exaltation of what the critic Anthony Low terms *****"Conquering passivity*****"* (Low 248).

Crashaw is sometimes admired for the strength and emotionality of his metaphysical poetry, but he is often criticized for both his off-putting, *****"grotesque*****" metaphors and his *****"unthinking*****" and intellectually uninteresting poetry. Crashaw lacks the wit of Donne, yet goes further than the latter in the use of the erotic to describe mystical experiences, which offends many readers sensibilities. While this may be true, I believe that Crashaw*****'s verse is far from unthinking, and that his far-fetched imagery is not gratuitous (question for later: is it effective, though? certainly in shocking us!). Rather, his discordia concors seeks to express not only of the difficulty of describing divine love with human language, and the ecstatic yet disorienting feeling that such love produces, but also of the paradoxical nature of man*****s love for the Creator--a love that is active and powerful in its submission and passivity.

In this sense, Crashaw*****'s devotional poetry can be termed *****"femenine*****"--and even, perhaps, *****"feminist*****". Women are not simply the recurrent objects of his admiration in his oeuvre. Indeed, the stance of the speaker himself could be described as *****"feminine*****" in its focus on *****"passive*****" suffering and enjoyment, especially when contrasted to the style of other metaphysical poets such as Donne, who is so famous for his *****masculine persuasive force***** (*****"On his Mistress,*****" line 4).

(words such as *****"passive*****" are tricky since Crashaw*****'s very point is how passivity is not at all--or perhaps not just-- passive when it comes to spiritual adoration.)

On the *****"Conquering weakness*****" and *****feminism***** ***** Crashaw seems to suggest, not necessarily that women have the ability of behaving *****"manly*****", but that men more ought to learn from women. It is not simply about learning about the behavior of female saints either; the focus on the erotic--and specifically the erotic from a female perspective--suggests not only that divine love is a gratifying, enjoyed experience, but also that female sensuality has something to teach man in both his sensible and spiritual affections. The feminine erotic experience resembles the dynamic through which human beings ought to love god.

Female: passive/active receptor/giver of pleasure, pleasure happens in the wound-- spiritual /stigmata, etc.

On language/erotic and grotesque metaphors

a strange language that, at its best, simultaneously abuses and appeals to poetic sensibility just as St. Teresa*****'s stigmata delights her ***** and flagellates her flesh. --> (my sentence, just like the paragraphs above, go ahead and use what seems good!)

Important terms/concepts/ideas- (which will probably be need to be used and explained)

discordia concors

paradoxes

grotesque, baroque

Counter-reformation, Council of *****, Catholic+ High Church Anglican v. Puritan

devotional, meditation

Low (who coins the phrase *****"conquering passivity*****" should be cited and mentioned in the essay if the phrase is used. I will upload the essay in which he talks about this:

*Anthony Low, *****"Richard Crashaw*****" in The Cambridge Companion to English Poetry: Donne to Marvell, ed. Thomas N. Corns (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993) 242-252.

--

Please make sure that the paper has a clear thesis that is proven via textual evidence and an*****s throughout the essay! I will upload a lot of material (critical essays on Crashaw). Not all of it has to be cited, but it should be read! The poems that the paper should focus on are available in any library, but they are also online (beware- some editions don*****'t include the entirety of *****"The Flaming Heart*****"- I am copy-pasting the poems down here just in case, but please cite from a book rather than this! I am providing a google book link) Please provide line number, etc when you quote a poem, or need to make a reference to the text to prove a point.

Google book:

http://books.google.cl/books?id=PZNaAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=es&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

In this book, *****"The Flaming Heart*****" is in page 200 and *****"A Hymn...*****" is in page 67

-

Here is the text of the poems- don*****'t quote from these as I got them from websites that might be inaccurate, and the archaic spelling is confusing. Quote from the google book above if necessary.

28. A Hymn to the Name and Honor of the Admirable Sainte Teresa

By Richard Crashaw (?1613*****1649)

Fovndresse of the Reformation of the Discalced Carmelites, both men and Women; a Woman for Angelicall heigth of speculation, for Masculine courage of performance, more then a woman. Who yet a child, out ran maturity, and durst plott a Martyrdome.

LOVE, thou art Absolute sole lord

Of Life and Death. To prove the word,

Wee*****l now appeal to none of all

Those thy old Souldiers, Great and tall,

Ripe Men of Martyrdom, that could reach down 5

With strong armes, their triumphant crown;

Such as could with lusty breath

Speak lowd into the face of death

Their Great Lord*****s glorious names, to none

Of those whose spatious Bosomes spread a throne 10

For Love at larg to fill, spare blood and sweat;

And see him take a private seat,

Making his mansion in the mild

And milky soul of a soft child.

Scarse has she learn*****t to lisp the name 15

Of Martyr; yet she thinks it shame

Life should so long play with that breath

Which spent can buy so brave a death.

She never undertook to know

What death with love should have to doe; 20

Nor has she e*****re yet understood

Why to show love, she should shed blood

Yet though she cannot tell you why,

She can Love, and she can Dy.

Scarse has she Blood enough to make 25

A guilty sword blush for her sake;

Yet has she*****a Heart dares hope to prove

How much lesse strong is Death then Love.

Be love but there; let poor six yeares

Be pos*****d with the maturest Feares 30

Man trembles at, you straight shall find

Love knowes no nonage, nor the Mind.

*****Tis Love, not Yeares or Limbs that can

Make the Martyr, or the man.

Love touch*****t her Heart, and lo it beates 35

High, and burnes with such brave heates;

Such thirsts to dy, as dares drink up,

A thousand cold deaths in one cup.

Good reason. For she breathes All fire.

Her weake brest heaves with strong desire 40

Of what she may with fruitles wishes

Seek for amongst her Mother*****s kisses.

Since *****tis not to be had at home

She*****l travail to Ã Martyrdom.

No home for hers confesses she 45

But where she may Ã Martyr be.

Sh*****el to the Moores; And trade with them,

For this unvalued Diadem.

She*****l offer them her dearest Breath,

With Christ*****s Name in*****t, in change for death. 50

Sh*****el bargain with them; and will give

Them God; teach them how to live

In him: or, if they this deny,

For him she*****l teach them how to Dy.

So shall she leave amongst them sown 55

Her Lord*****s Blood; or at lest her own.

Farewel then, all the world! Adieu.

Teresa is no more for you.

Farewell, all pleasures, sports, and ioyes,

(Never till now esteemed toyes) 60

Farewell what ever deare may be,

Mother*****s armes of Father*****s knee.

Farewell house, and farewell home!

She*****s for the Moores, and Martyrdom.

Sweet, not so fast! lo thy fair Spouse 65

Whom thou seekst with so swift vowes,

Calls thee back, and bidds thee come

T*****embrace a milder Martyrdom.

Blest powres forbid, Thy tender life

Should bleed upon a barborous knife; 70

Or some base hand have power to race

Thy Brest*****s chast cabinet, and uncase

A soul kept there so sweet, Ã´ no;

Wise heavn will never have it so.

Thou art love*****s victime; and must dy 75

A death more mysticall and high.

Into love*****s armes thou shalt let fall

A still-surviving funerall.

His is the Dart must make the Death

Whose stroke shall tast thy hallow*****d breath; 80

A Dart thrice dip*****t in that rich flame

Which writes thy spouse*****s radiant Name

Upon the roof of Heav*****n; where ay

It shines, and with a soveraign ray

Beates bright upon the burning faces 85

Of soules which in that name*****s sweet graces

Find everlasting smiles. So rare,

So spirituall, pure, and fair

Must be th*****immortall instrument

Upon whose choice point shall be sent 90

A life so lov*****d; And that there be

Fitt executioners for Thee,

The fair*****st and first-born sons of fire

Blest Seraphim, shall leave their quire

And turn love*****s souldiers, upon Thee 95

To exercise their archerie.

O how oft shalt thou complain

Of a sweet and subtle Pain.

Of intolerable Ioyes;

Of a Death, in which who dyes 100

Loves his death, and dyes again.

And would for ever so be slain.

And lives, and dyes; and knowes not why

To live, But that he thus may never leave to Dy.

How kindly will thy gentle Heart 105

Kisse the sweetly-killing Dart!

And close in his embraces keep

Those delicious Wounds, that weep

Balsom to heal themselves with. Thus

When These thy Deaths, so numerous, 110

Shall all at last dy into one,

And melt thy Soul*****s sweet mansion;

Like a soft lump of incense, hasted

By too hott a fire, and wasted

Into perfuming clouds, so fast 115

Shalt thou exhale to Heavn at last

In a resolving Sigh, and then

O what? Ask not the Tongues of men.

Angells cannot tell, suffice,

Thy selfe shall feel thine own full ioyes 120

And hold them fast for ever there

So soon as you first appear,

The Moon of maiden starrs, thy white

Mistresse, attended by such bright

Soules as thy shining self, shall come 125

And in her first rankes make thee room;

Where *****mongst her snowy family

Immortall wellcomes wait for thee.

O what delight, when reveal*****d Life shall stand

And teach thy lipps heav*****n with his hand; 130

On which thou now maist to thy wishes

Heap up thy consecrated kisses.

What ioyes shall seize thy soul, when she

Bending her blessed eyes on thee

(Those second Smiles of Heav*****n) shall dart 135

Her mild rayes through thy melting heart!

Angels, thy old freinds, there shall greet thee

Glad at their own home now to meet thee.

All thy good Workes which went before

And waited for thee, at the door, 140

Shall own thee there; and all in one

Weave a constellation

Of Crowns, with which the King thy spouse

Shall build up thy triumphant browes.

All thy old woes shall now smile on thee 145

And thy paines sitt bright upon thee,

All thy sorrows here shall shine.

All thy Suffrings be divine.

Teares shall take comfort, and turn gemms

And Wrongs repent to Diademms. 150

Ev*****n thy Death shall live; and new

Dresse the soul that erst they slew.

Thy wounds shall blush to such bright scarres

As keep account of the Lamb*****s warres.

Those rare Workes where thou shalt leave writt 155

Love*****s noble history, with witt

Taught thee by none but him, while here

They feed our soules, shall cloth Thine there.

Each heavnly word by whose hid flame

Our hard Hearts shall strike fire, the same 160

Shall flourish on thy browes, and be

Both fire to us and flame to thee;

Whose light shall live bright in thy Face

By glory, in our hearts by grace.

Thou shalt look round about, and see 165

Thousands of crown*****d Soules throng to be

Themselves thy crown. Sons of thy vowes

The virgin-births with which thy soveraign spouse

Made fruitfull thy fair soul, goe now

And with them all about thee bow 170

To Him, put on (hee*****l say) put on

(My rosy love) That thy rich zone

Sparkling with the sacred flames

Of thousand soules, whose happy names

Heav*****n keep upon thy score. (Thy bright 175

Life brought them first to kisse the light

That kindled them to starrs.) and so

Thou with the Lamb, thy lord, shalt goe;

And whereso*****ere he setts his white

Stepps, walk with Him those wayes of light 180

Which who in death would live to see,

Must learn in life to dy like thee.

29. The Flaming Heart

By Richard Crashaw (?1613*****1649)

Vpon the book and Picture of the seraphicall saint Teresa, (as she is vsvally expressed with a Seraphim biside her)

WELL meaning readers! you that come as freinds

And catch the pretious name this peice pretends;

Make not too much hast to***** admire

That fair-cheek*****t fallacy of fire.

That is a Seraphim, they say 5

And this the great Teresia.

Readers, be rul*****d by me; and make

Here a well-plac*****t and wise mistake.

You must transpose the picture quite,

And spell it wrong to read it right; 10

Read Him for her, and her for him;

And call the Saint the Seraphim.

Painter, what didst thou understand

To put her dart into his hand!

See, even the yeares and size of him 15

Showes this the mother Seraphim.

This is the mistresse flame; and duteous he

Her happy fire-works, here, comes down to see.

O most poor-spirited of men!

Had thy cold Pencil kist her Pen 20

Thou couldst not so unkindly err

To show us This faint shade for Her.

Why man, this speakes pure mortall frame;

And mockes with female Frost love*****s manly flame.

One would suspect thou meant*****st to print 25

Some weak, inferiour, woman saint.

But had thy pale-fac*****t purple took

Fire from the burning cheeks of that bright Booke

Thou wouldst on her have heap*****t up all

That could be found Seraphicall; 30

What e*****re this youth of fire weares fair,

Rosy fingers, radiant hair,

Glowing cheek, and glistering wings,

All those fair and flagrant things,

But before all, that fiery Dart 35

Had fill*****d the Hand of this great Heart.

Doe then as equall right requires,

Since His the blushes be, and her*****s the fires,

Resume and rectify thy rude design;

Undresse thy Seraphim into Mine. 40

Redeem this injury of thy art;

Give Him the vail, give her the dart.

Give Him the vail; that he may cover

The Red cheeks of a rivall*****d lover.

Asham*****d that our world, now, can show 45

Nests of new Seraphims here below.

Give her the Dart for it is she

(Fair youth) shootes both thy shaft and Thee

Say, all ye wise and well-peirc*****t hearts

That live and dy amidst her darts, 50

What is*****t your tastfull spirits doe prove

In that rare life of Her, and love?

Say and bear wittnes. Sends she not

A Seraphim at every shott?

What magazins of immortall Armes there shine! 55

Heavn*****s great artillery in each love-spun line.

Give then the dart to her who gives the flame;

Give him the veil, who gives the shame.

But if it be the frequent fate

Of worst faults to be fortunate; 60

If all*****s prÃ¦scription; and proud wrong

Hearkens not to an humble song;

For all the gallantry of him,

Give me the suffring Seraphim.

His be the bravery of all those Bright things. 65

The glowing cheekes, the glistering wings;

The Rosy hand, the radiant Dart;

Leave Her alone The Flaming Heart.

Leave her that; and thou shalt leave her

Not one loose shaft but love*****s whole quiver. 70

For in love*****s feild was never found

A nobler weapon then a Wound.

Love*****s passives are his activ*****st part.

The wounded is the wounding heart.

O Heart! the Ã¦quall poise of love*****s both parts 75

Bigge alike with wound and darts.

Live in these conquering leaves; live all the same;

And walk through all tongues one triumphant Flame.

Live here, great Heart; and love and dy and kill;

And bleed and wound; and yeild and conquer still. 80

Let this immortall life wherere it comes

Walk in a crowd of loves and Martyrdomes

Let mystick Deaths wait on*****t; and wise soules be

The love-slain wittnesses of this life of thee.

O sweet incendiary! shew here thy art, 85

Upon this carcasse of a hard, cold, hart,

Let all thy scatter*****d shafts of light, that play

Among the leaves of thy larg Books of day,

Combin*****d against this Brest at once break in

And take away from me my self and sin, 90

This gratious Robbery shall thy bounty be;

And my best fortunes such fair spoiles of me.

O thou undanted daughter of desires!

By all thy dowr of Lights and Fires;

By all the eagle in thee, all the dove; 95

By all thy lives and deaths of love;

By thy larg draughts of intellectuall day,

And by thy thirsts of love more large then they;

By all thy brim-fill*****d Bowles of feirce desire

By thy last Morning*****s draught of liquid fire; 100

By the full kingdome of that finall kisse

That seiz*****d thy parting Soul, and seal*****d thee his;

By all the heav*****ns thou hast in him

(Fair sister of the Seraphim!)

By all of Him we have in Thee; 105

Leave nothing of my Self in me.

Let me so read thy life, that I

Unto all life of mine may dy.

THANKS!!! *****

*****

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