D. H. LAWRENCE: MYSTICAL POET OF EARTH (UNCONSCIOUS, BLOOD-CONSCIOUS, SHIMMERING; ENGLAND)

DEBORAH ELLEN BRASSARD, Purdue University

Abstract

To appreciate Lawrence's poetry it is necessary to understand the elements of his mystical thought which permeate his canon. In order to demonstrate this the dissertation first discusses Lawrence as a mystic, citing critics who both defend and argue against him as such. Lawrence's particular brand of nature mysticism is then compared and contrasted to various types of mysticism, and discussed in terms of typical Eastern and Western trends of mystical thought. Once Lawrence is established as a mystic, the dissertation focuses on his poetry, using selected critics and many of Lawrence's own essays in its explications. Lawrence's is fundamentally a nature mysticism, but it is uniquely itself. Lawrence not only borrows ideas from other types, he incorporates many original ideas into his vision. That vision is most like, but not identical to, the Hinduism of Sankara. A close look at the language Lawrence uses throughout his essays provides a lexicon with which to talk about the various aspects of his vision. These terms greatly assist in the interpretation of the poems. The poems are divided into types, shimmering, animal, plant, love, and are explicated in terms of how they demonstrate Lawrence's mystical ideas. Central to his vision are the concepts of the fourth dimension, unconsciousness, the symbolic death of three-dimensional sensibilities, and blood-consciousness. In the shimmering poems Lawrence used darkness and light as symbols to create a vision of his mystical beliefs for the reader. The animal poems trace the speaker's development of mystical awareness by demonstrating his growing ability to comprehend animal consciousness. By becoming one with the other--the snake, whale, and tortoise--the speaker becomes one with the cosmos. Having achieved mystical awareness, the speaker describes the plants in the plant poems as symbolic representations of fourth dimensional being. Finally, the love poems demonstrate the importance Lawrence gives to sex as the human experience of fourth dimensional unconsciousness.

Degree

Ph.D.

Subject Area

Literature

COinS