''The Anathemata'' is an

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

by the British poet David Jones, first published in England in 1952. Along with 1937's ''

In Parenthesis ''In Parenthesis'' is a work of literature by David Jones first published in England in 1937. Although Jones had been known solely as an engraver and painter prior to its publication, the book won the Hawthornden Prize and the admiration of wri ...

'', it is the text upon which Jones' reputation largely rests.

Summary

The poem is a symbolic, dramatic anatomy of historical western culture. Composed of eight sections, it narrates the thought processes of one cambrophile (lover of all things Welsh) English

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

at Mass over the span of roughly seven seconds. Section I: "Rite and Fore-time" begins during a mid-twentieth century Mass, but quickly shifts to contemplate prehistoric ritual and myth-making. In the following sections, "Middle-sea and Lear-sea", "Angle-Land", and "Redriff", Jones' poem considers the theme of nautical navigation. Throughout, several ships in distinct historical periods sail westward from Troy to Rome (following the fall of Troy), then around Western Europe to the English coast (ca. 400AD), and finally to London via the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

in the mid-nineteenth century. Section V, "The Lady of the Pool", is an extended monologue of sorts given by one Elen/Helen/Helena/Eleanore, a personification of the city of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in the mid-fifteenth century. In section VI, "Keel, Ram, Stauros", the ship(s) we have been following explicitly becomes the World Ship, with the divine Logos for keel, and the Cross (''stauros'') as a mast. Finally, section VII, "Mabinog's Liturgy", concerns the Mediaeval Welsh celebration of Christmas Mass, while section VIII, "Sherthursdaye and Venus Day", centres on

The Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, '' The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic, 700 x 880 cm (22.9 x 28.8 ...

and

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

. While in this brief summary and indeed upon first reading the poem's structure may seem chaotic, Thomas Dilworth has celebrated ''The Anathemata's'' wide-open form as unique in being formally whole. Dilworth notes that the structure produced by Jones' poetry is a "symmetrical multiple

chiasmus In rhetoric, chiasmus ( ) or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek , "crossing", from the Ancient Greek, Greek , , "to shape like the letter chi (letter), Χ"), is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses ...

," evident in Jones' manuscripts of the poem from its inception. He then provides the following illustration of its form:
((((((((O)))))))), in which the Eucharist--at center and circumference of this structure--is contained by and contains everything that the narrator daydreams about. Symbolically, the meaning of anything and everything has its ultimate expression in the sacrament, which confirms that meaning.

Allusions

"Anathemata" is Greek for "things set apart," or "special things." In lieu of any coherent plot, notes William Blissett, the eight sections of Jones' poem repeatedly revolve around the core history of man in Britain "as seen joyfully through Christian eyes as preparation of the Gospel and as continuation of Redemption in Christendom, with the Sacrifice of Calvary and the Mass as eternal centre." This revolving structure reflects Jones' belief that cultural artefacts of the past lived on within specific cultures in a continuous line of artistic interpretation. As such, the text is densely allusive, and moves freely between old/

middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

early modern The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

modern English Modern English, sometimes called New English (NE) or present-day English (PDE) as opposed to Middle and Old English, is the form of the English language that has been spoken since the Great Vowel Shift in England England is a Count ...

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

, and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. In this respect, it is similar to ''

The Cantos ''The Cantos'' is a long modernist poem by Ezra Pound, written in 109 canonical sections in addition to a number of drafts and fragments added as a supplement at the request of the poem's American publisher, James Laughlin. Most of it was wr ...

'' of

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...

, or

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's ''

Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It was published in instalments starting in 1924, under the title "fragments from ''Work in Progress''". The final title was only revealed when the book was publishe ...

'', and can confuse and mislead the over-attentive but impatient reader.

Criticism

Thomas Dilworth has asserted that the reason that Jones' poetry is not widely read today is the "general neglect of ''The Anathemata.''" This is owing to his publisher for decades not listing it as poetry or Jones as a poet. Despite this, ''The Anathemata'' was well received by Jones' fellow poets. For example, W.H. Auden described it as "very probably the finest long poem written in English this century," and

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

felt that it secured Jones' status – along with

, and

– as a master of English

Modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

. John Berryman of the ''

New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' gave the poem a glowing review, calling it "sinewy, inventive, sensitive, vigorous, devoted, not at all a crackpot or homiletic operation. (...) I will not call it parasitic, for it enjoys its own materials; but is it epiphytic? Here is where criticism of the brilliant thing must begin." Finally, the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' also gave a favourable review, but also accurately forecasted Dilworth's lament that it would be ignored: the text "bristles with too many arcane allusions for a reader to grasp the meaning within its magic without a great deal of that 'mugging-up' which shatters the poetic illusion."

External Links

Link to Internet Archive Text

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anathemata Books by David Jones (artist-poet) 1952 books Epic poems in English 1952 poems