Post-War Doubts
In a world rife with war and devastation, man must seek an inner courage to combat and transcend the tragedies that surround him. Many postwar Americans of the 1960's also experienced a sense of tragic loss and betrayal as a result of what several described as an unnecessary war which challenged their traditional customs and beliefs. The following poems by Lawrence Ferlinghetti suggest the futility of human purpose and certainty, much like the works of Hume. In a time of doubt, man responds by feeling alienated and victimized. As Edward Edinger suggests in Ego and Archetype (1972), "For the present those aware of the problem are obliged to make their own individual search for a meaningful life. Individuation becomes their way of life" (Edinger 107). Lawrence Ferlinghetti, as well as others of the Beat Generation, suffers in the hands of a seemingly cruel and indifferent society, from which faith and science provide little comfort. An archetypal interpretation here provides a moral background to understand more easily this sense of spiritual estrangement.
False Windmills and Demented Roosters in the Poetry of Ferlinghetti
According to Plato's theory of mimesis, all ideas emerge from God, and external reality represents an illusion of an "ideal" higher in the universe. Therefore, existence rests upon many levels, beginning with God's perfect idea on the first, the earth as an imperfect imitation on the second, man the craftsman's representation on the third, and the artist-portrayer's likeness on the fourth. Consequently, Art, per se, serves as an imperfect human attempt to depict the true "model" (Plato 321-333). In essence, reality to the artist-creator exists solely within his perception, since he merely represents an imitation of imitations. Thus, in Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poem "In Goya's Greatest Scenes We Seem to See," "we " as modern man "seem" to see the literal description of the events surrounding Goya's "Etchings on the Disasters of War"; however, one actually views Ferlinghetti's fifth-level interpretation, which according to Plato stands further yet removed from reality. Hence, although truth never changes, man's perception of the ideal varies. In retrospect, both Goya's and Ferlinghetti's concepts of reality appear authentic, but neither proves accurate. The conflict of appearance and reality remains unsolved, and since modern man cannot identify any one particular view as reality, he thus becomes overwhelmed by feelings of uncertainty and loss of purpose. Ferlinghetti reiterates these attitudes in his poem "In Goya's Greatest Scenes We Seem to See," as well as in "In Golden Gate Park That Day" and "Sometime During Eternity."
The philosophy of existentialism provides one approach to interpreting the appearance –reality conflict. A by-product from Victorian doubt and an outgrowth of World War I and II, existentialism includes the Platonic concept of reality and appearance, and further stresses a loss of man's place in society. To the existentialist life appears futile and chaotic; therefore, man must superimpose a personal meaning upon its apparently chaotic reality. Alone and alienated from the universe, man must create a form of order from absurdity. Logically speaking, this subjective reality produces a self-conscious technique in which life appears as a mere illusion. Psycho-analyst Carl Jung further explains the dichotomy between the real and the Platonic ideal in his theory that modern man's disuse or abandonment of the recurring archetypal patterns and motifs within the subconscious past also leads to his loss of purpose or direction in society (Jung 69). Thus, man becomes alienated in a seemingly chaotic world. In Ferlinghetti's poetry, the author compares the archetypal Edenic Garden to the deteriorating values of the twentieth century. Although Ferlinghetti's lack of definite stanza divisions and use of free verse seem at first illogical, a free flowing rhythm points to his self-conscious technique, not only to produce a unity of mood, but even more, to reveal the author's self-imposed order of imagery and contrast underlying a seemingly disjointed composition. Although the reality or meaning behind "In Goya's Greatest Scenes . . . " initially appears illusory, the author subsequently proves it to be quite deliberate. Ferlinghetti suggests here that any comparison to the Platonic world proves illusory because Platonism involves an "ideal" toward which man strives. The paradox is obvious, however. Existentialism purports no absolute values; hence, any form of struggle toward perfection proves ultimately futile. Consequently, perception, as in mimesis, takes precedence over reason.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti's uses the archetypal themes of loss of purpose and identity in his interpretation of Goya's famous etchings "The Disasters of War" to correlate past experiences of human cruelty in warfare with that of a deterministic America consuming itself through mechanization. Following World War II and the Korean Crisis, alienation and disillusionment became the predominant themes of British and American literature, and during the postwar years, individuals began questioning the true necessity or honor of armed combat which rendered men destitute and cost the lives of thousands for what appeared a worthless cause. As a result, depression and lack of direction became the obstacles against which man would struggle in a chaotic world. For example, in "In Goya's Greatest Scenes . . ." one discovers the central theme of "suffering humanity" in which the pain of bloodshed and despair play the dominant role in the life of modern man. Ferlinghetti depicts humanity as "writhing" and "in a veritable rage of adversity," "groaning" with "babies and bayonets." By contrasting "babies and bayonets," one easily senses the author's bitterness toward a civilization which would allow its youth to sacrifice their lives for an unnecessary object. The action occurs"In an abstract landscape of blasted trees bent statues bats wings and beak slippery gibbets cadavers and carnivorous cocks and all the final hollering monsters of the 'imagination of disaster' [.]
Thus, the author pictures an abstract representation of reality, produced on canvas and peopled with individuals "so bloody real it is as if they really still existed." Similarly, vivid images of turmoil, death, and the occult describe the combatants to create the single mood of the horror and futility of man-the-sufferer within a disjointed environment. Clearly, Ferlinghetti's chthonic garden with "blasted trees," "bent statues," "gibbets," "cadavers," and "monsters" represents the setting of an inverted archetypal paradise.Since no definite reality can be ascertained, perception alone forms the determinant. At first glance, the order of "In Goya's Greatest Scenes . . ." appears illogical because the poem follows no conventional chronology. Nevertheless, through the literary devices of perception, i.e. contrast and imagery, Ferlinghetti unites the selection in theme and intent. For example, the monstrous people who only appear to be real in Goya's painting do actually exist in America, as Ferlinghetti suggests in the opening of the second stanza. Moreover, by seeing the past in the present, the author arranges the poem as an archetypal metaphor emphasizing the waste and futility of modern human life. While the image conveyed in the first stanza depicts people who seem real, it only reflects Goya's perception of the obvious suffering in war. However, the second section portrays actual individuals "further from home" or, in a sense, further from their own connection with reality, in which they are unknowingly brainwashed by "bland billboards/ illustrating imbecile illusions of happiness." The setting shifts from Europe to America, and now the monsters exist, not as individuals actively participating in their own destruction, but rather as Americans passively incapacitated and losing their unique identities from the general and internal mechanization of the age. Consequently, as time passes, man becomes more alienated from his Edenic primordial past. Similarly, the war image emphasizes the "writhing and groaning" of known suffering; whereas, the last division refers to the "imbecile . . . happiness" of American citizens oblivious to their fate. Moreover, Goya's reality involves the conflict of man versus man, while Ferlinghetti's concept shifts to man versus machine. Thus, the age of automation replaces the Edenic ideal, making communication itself even more futile. In essence, the second image proves more tragic, since its characters fail to realize that the "painted cars" with "strange license plates" symbolize the instruments of their death, which will carry them beyond mortality into the unknown. In Ferlinghetti's terms, "They still are ranged along the roads plagued by legionaires' false windows and demented roosters ." Man, therefore, has not changed in the past centuries; he is still plagued by false dreams and insane cries of false prophets. Ironically, both the windmill and the archetypal mandala, as well as the rooster, serve as archetypal symbols for cyclical time which is either "false" or "demented," again suggesting an inverted Edenic setting described first in Europe and finally in America. To the postwar existentialist, no progress has ever been achieved, and none is to be expected. Consequently, the author points to a cruel reality in which all men are destined to suffer, in an absurd world in which nothing is to be attained.
Ferlinghetti reinforces the futility theme in "In Golden Gate Park That Day," an existential parody in the form of a lament. The plot, straightforward and narrated from the third person omniscient point of view, suggests that the author "seems to see" the past in the present. The reader views the progress of the poem through the analysis of recurring images and symbols which, to the existentialist as well as to the Platonist, represents a subjective reality again based upon one's perception. Recurring phrases such as "thru the enormous meadow / which was the meadow of the world" and "without looking at each other" serve as clues which unite "In Golden Gate . . ." structurally and thematically. Here, Ferlinghetti stresses life's absurdity and purposelessness by satirizing the archetypal Edenic paradise through the substitution of an existential Adam and Eve entering "the meadow of the world." For example, the couple is "coming along / thru the enormous meadow," but in this particular circumstance, the Garden of Eden is not situated in the lush primeval setting, but rather in Golden Gate Park of San Francisco from which modern urban man serves to establish his line. However, Adam, as the archetypal hero, appears no longer strong and virile, but now "wear [s] green suspenders" as the symbol of his impotence and constitutional frailty. In his hand, the new prototype "carry[s] an old beat-up flute" which represents the existential loss of spirit, soul, or imagination from which man can regain his place in society. By the same token, the archetypal Eve "hands out individually" "a bunch of grapes" "to various squirrels," but this time, not as an image of mankind's harmony and order in the divine plan; instead, she commits the act "as if each / were a little joke." Thus, Ferlinghetti enhances the absurdity and disjunction of men in twentieth-century society as the satire becomes progressively more tragic. As the Edenic couple enters the archetypal "meadow of the world," they sit "down together on the grass. At a very still spot where the trees dreamed and seemed to have been waiting thru all time for them [.]
The author uses the close affinity of Nature for man here as the only Romantic touch to the poem because at this moment the two are subject to the harmony of Nature. Nevertheless, instead of reciprocating love and understanding, the new archetypes "sat" "and ate oranges / without looking at each other." Clearly, Ferlinghetti's satire on modern love shows how individuals no longer feel emotionally attached as helpmates toward one another, but rather, act cold and narcissistic, instead. Ironically, the archetypal couple thoughtlessly disregards any form of affection for one another. "After eating the oranges, they . . . put the peels in a basket which they seemed to have brought for that purpose" [.] Yet strangely enough, the insignificance of the act illustrates how out of touch with reality the characters truly feel. Although the man and woman remember the details, they actually forget their overall purpose in being "in the meadow of the world." Instead of concerning themselves with a new beginning, the pair lie futilely upon the grass while Eve watches the flying birds and wonders "if they [too] were questioning existence / or trying to recall something forgotten." Thus, Ferlinghetti heightens the tragic effect by having the new prototypes realize that they have lost something yet cannot recall it. According to existentialism , modern man has lost his bearings and must attempt a new beginning for himself. The couple in the poem make no effort to start anew, but "just lay there looking up / at nothing," while Eve fingers "the old flute" which nobody today plays. And ultimately, the "certain awful look / of terrible depression" overtakes them.
Ferlinghetti reiterates the uncertainty theme in "Sometime During Eternity," a poignant satire on Christianity. In the poem, the writer traces the life of Jesus Christ "from some square-type place / like Galilee" until "They stretch him on the Tree to cool." Couched in the Beat jargon of the fifties, the narrative progresses in phrases with no end punctuation to create a monstrous rhythm that typifies modern man's boredom and indifference to life's futility. In essence, Christiantiy no longer serves its archetypal, symbolic function to identify and define man. Consequently, disorientation and alienation result. Summarizing Jung concept, Edward Edinger writes in Ego and Archetype:"We seem to be passing through a collective psychological reorientation equivalent in magnitude to the emergence of Christianity from the ruins of the Roman Empire. Accompanying the decline of traditional religion there is increasing evidence of a general psychic disorientation, We have lost our bearings. Our relation to life has become ambiguous. The great symbol system which is organized Christianity seems no longer able to command the full commitment of men or to fulfill their ultimate needs. The result is a pervasive feeling of meaningless and alienation from life. Whether or not a new collective religious symbol will emerge remains to be seen "(Edinger 107).
Thus, the archetypal hope rests in the replacement of a religious symbolism now dead to American society as a whole; yet to modern man in this traditional stage, there remains little apparent assurance. Life seems futile. The manner in which the author presents the narrative also reflects a degree of uncertainty. For example, Ferlinghetti provides neither the definite time in which Jesus—the Judeo- Christian archetypal Savior—lived, provided, or gave the names of the prophets. In other words, "Sometime during eternity / some guys show up" reveals the author's sarcasm by stressing that the Christian hope "shows up real late," and therefore, almost too late to be credible. Life proves so uncertain that man fails to believe or hope, even when "It's all writ down / on some scroll-type parchments . . . around the Dead Sea somewhere, Christ's ministry / is described as one who /. . . starts wailing and claiming he is hip to who made heaven and earth and that the cat who really laid it on us is his Dad."To be precise, the message proclaimed that Jesus declared Himself to be the son of God and presented a plan for man's hope and salvation. Nevertheless, Ferlinghetti 's satiric language ridicules a useless life or religion in which "His just hang there . . . real dead" with no hint of resurrection or certainty for modern man. in retrospect here, just as "In Goya's Greatest Scenes We Seem to See," man is still plagued by "false windmills and demented roosters"; yet, his reality portrays a world of dark humor and despair. Consequently, although the conflict between appearance and reality inherits its foundation in Platonic criticism, it required twentieth-century man to revitalize the dilemma. After being torn by the doubt of the Victorian Age and the destruction of World Wars I and II, men suffered not only physically but also spiritually and emotionally to the extent that they questioned all values, hopes, certainty, and purpose in life. As a result, writers turned to the philosophy of existentialism, which viewed the world as in a natural state of chaos, absurdity, and futility from which the only order to be attained was self-imposed. The Beat poet and existentialist Lawrence Ferlinghetti confronts the issue of man's uncertainty and lack of purpose in his poems "In Goya's Greatest Scenes We Seem to See," "In Golden Gate Park That Day," and "Sometime During Eternity."Realizing that no absolute reality exists, Ferlinghetti relies upon human perception as the guide in discovering reality. Thus, as did Plato in his theory mimesis, the author relies upon symbols and images; through them, he protests modern man's lack of progress, certainty, and hope. Indeed, upon final analysis, Ferlinghetti's satire on a mechanized society, a dead Christianity, and man's utter despair in a world of apparent meaninglessness reveals a hopeless existence filled with irony and skepticism.
Works Cited for Ferlinghetti: Poet of Uncertainty
Edinger, Edward F. Ego and Archetype: Individuation and the Religious Function of the Psyche. Baltimore: Penguin Books, Inc., 1973: 107.
Jung, C. G. Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Vol. 9, Part 1 of The Collected Works of C.G. Jung. Bollingen Series XX. Sir Herbert Reid, Michael Forham, Gerhard Adler, editors. New York: Pantheon Press, 1959: 69.
Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. Richard Ellman and Robert O'Clair, eds. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1973.
Plato. The Republic of Plato. Francis MacDonald Cornford, Trans. London: Oxford University Press, 1941: 321-322)