Man and God in the Works of Robinson Jeffers

Man and God in the Works of Robinson Jeffers by Marlan Beilke, B. A. .subtitted in partial fulfillment of the recpirenentsLfOr-the- degree of Master of Artsin English THE UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA HOBART November, 1972 Man and God in the Works of Robinson Jeffers by Marlan Beilke, B. A. submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Art's in English THE. UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA HOBART November, 1972 STATEMENT "Man and God in the Works of Robinson Jeffers" is a pro- duct of my long-standing interest in the poetry of Robinson Jeffers. As such, the commentary contained herein reflects my own ideas and observations which have not been recorded previously. This material has never been submitted to nor ac- cepted by any institution of higher learning for any under- graduate or advanced degree. Furthermore, in an effort to maintain a clear view of the subject, I have endeavoured to avoid conscious or subsonscious paraphrasing of the work of others. On the few occasions when it was necessary to make reference to other works, due mention has been made in the neighboring text; a glance at the bibliography will provide' the full particulars of the work in question. But perhaps I may be pardoned one plagiarism which is lift- ed verbatim from the cautionary note preceding S. S. Alberts' monumental A Bibliograrhy of the Works of Robinson Jeffers of 1933: TO THE READER Who faulteth not, liveth not who mendeth faults is com- mended: The printer hath faulted a little: it may be the author oversighte& more. Thy paine (Reader) is the least; then erre not thou most by misconstruing or sharp censur- ing; least thou be more uncharitable, then either of them hath been heedlesse: God amend and guide us all. --Robartes on Tythes 40 Camb. 1613. Signed, \ Mar an Beilke, Sutter Creek, California, November, 1972. Table of Contents Title 06 0000 , 0•000W• 0 - 10• EP Page i Statement. •• •• • •- •• • • •• • OOO . OO • Page ii Table of Contents • ..-0•00• Page iii Summary • OOOOO . 0 • • .-00.••• • Pages . iv-v Main Text••.• OOOOOO •••• 0 •••• Pages 1-254 Preface • ..• • •WO,V• • • •00• Pages 1-6 Chapter One: The Early Years (1887-1923) Pages 7-60 The Early Years: God Pages 7-41 The Early Years: God, A Summary Pages 41-43 The Early Years: Man Pages 44-55 The Early Years: Man, A Summary Pages 56-60 Chapter TWQ: The Middle Years (1924-1940) Pages 61-174 The Middle Years: God Pages 61-116 The Middle Years: God A Summary Pages 116-118 The Middle Years: Man Pages 119-169 The Middle Years: Man-A. Summary Pages 170-174 Chapter Three: The •Final Years (1941-1962) Pages 175-249 The Final Years: God Pages 175-201 The Final Years: God A Summary Pages 202-203 The Final Years: Man Pages 204-245 The Final Years: Man A Summary Pages 246-249 Conclusion OOOOOO •• OOOOOOO Pages 250-254 Bibliography 0 • 0 • • • • • • Pages 255-258 Acknowledgement 0 0000 0 , 000• ••• • • Pages 259-260 -iv-- SUMMARY Man and God in the Works of Robinson Jeffers Two of the greatest.questions-any man can ask and attempt to answer in his lifetime were consistently handled by Robinson, Jeffers . in his poetry: "Nho is God?" and "What is man?" This thesis attempts through extensive reference to Jeffers' inner- most-thoughts.as faithfully recorded in his short poems to plot the•record of the poet's wrestling with "these questions; old coins /Rubbed faceless, dateless." Robinson Jeffers' consid- erations of the primordial human yearning for God and the con- jectural provenance of man rank him in the rare company of the. great poets. Over the; years Robinson Jeffers wrote little Which reveal- ed a basic new. concept of God, but he did much to emphasize and elUcidate the nature and divine attributes of God. With man the case.: s somewhat different. Jeffers view of man did 'alter-- slightly. The early Jeffers anticipated the possibility of man embracing a rational; and natural deity.. Experienceindidat- A§Uotherwise and the poet's view of man t never warm or encomi- astic, became colder stilLand more searchingly realistic. • The appalling spectacle of the Second' World War only served: to vin- dicate Jeffers , harsh view of man, a view Which he staunchly held.to his death. On the other hand, Jeffers' vision for man, based as it is on the poet's love of his God, did not alter over the years. Robinson Jeffers felt from the outset that man, while he had not yet begun to attain his spiritual potential, had an honor- able future before him. Even in his own lifetime, Jeffers held that man already possessed the wherewithal (but none of the resolve) to "choose truth" at last. This discrepancy between man's potential and his actual performance deeply grieved and dismayed the poet of Tor House. To the end,. however, Rob- inson Jeffers cherished the long-term hope that man. might one day "Come of age", that, in the words of an old friend, human- ity might "pass through the present crisis, and emerge in a complete renascence of godliness." The searing impact of Jeffers' religious experience pro- vides the core for his poetry. More than any other factor, Robinson Jeffers' theology is central to the understanding of what he actually wrote. His view of the omnipotent, monistic, self-torturing God of fate is the nrimum mobile of Jeffers' achievement as poet. Because he is so intensely religious, Jeffers has been intensely misunderstood in his own secular age. The God whose signature is the beauty of things is undeniably present in the natural world Jeffers felt to be divine. But an order of men devoutly in tune with the God of Robinson Jeffers' poetry is yet to be born. Man and God in the Works of Robinson Jeffers Preface In the decade since Robinson Jeffers , death, critical commentary has begun to challenge the notion that Jeffers' ideas re- mained constant and static throughout his career. It is under- standable how early commentators reached such conslusions. Jef- fers' ideas were scarcely conventional, and they were repeated-- with emphasis--at various times in Jeffers' mature work. The nature of the ideas, the consistent and solid backing which Jef- fers gave them, and their steadfast, persistent reiteration provided the basis for the initial assumptions of arrant rep- etition on Jeffers' part. That such assumptions were hasty or premature and often re- flected the individual's misreading (or, still worse, distor- tion) of Jeffers , ideas generally passed unnoticed. Much of the inaccurate comment came from high places, and some as Jef- fers loconically pointed out, was even intended to be friendly. All too often the startling nature of the ideas themselves led commentators to transpose their own notions for Jeffers' con- cepts. In an Imagist age, few were prepared to credit the advant- ages to a poet of a firm ideological framework--particularly so if that framework cut across the contemporary critical biases. In an age of skepticism and turmoil a staunch poetical ideoli -2- ogy seemed anachronistic. Some merely dismissed Jeffers as a ranting nihilist who sought to destroy all that was sacred and dear; Jeffers the poet who offered no alternatives. With the passing of time and the arrival of more conscientious commentators, the allegations of senseless nihilism and of vain repet- ition became increasingly less tenable. Jeffers' mature published works span the thirty-nine tur- bulent years between 1924 and 1963, Robinson Jeffers' lifetime saw two world wars, the ascendancy and triumph of science and technology, the Great Depression,. and America's rise to. status as world power (let alone myriad personal events of import). Such events deeply influenced Jeffers' poetry. Ideas are:mod- ifieciby the events: of the age in which they "occur. It is a fascinating task to attempt. to catalogue the flow of Jeffers' ideas and to determine whether these ideas were modified, em- bellished, - reinforced, or clarified over the years. If, however, his flow of ideas is not presently obvious to us, in all likelihood the fault is not Jeffers'. Few modern poets employ his abiding clarity and forthrightness. Any vol- ume of Jeffers' mature work contains many of his major Ideas-- openly stated. Should the ideas elude us, the fault is more likely in ourselves that we are the more accustomed to vagueness than to vision. Any contemporary consideration of Jeffers' id- eology should seek to dispel some of the confusion which still beclouds those ideas; as well, such a commentary should attempt to gather and summarize Jeffers basic ideas. Because of the remarkable scope of Robinson Jeffers' poetry, a complete study of the formulation of his ideas is a major undertaking. An inventory of Jeffers ideas (as express- ed in his poems) might include the following wide-ranging cat- egories: God, man, nature,. death, history (and: the concept of culture-ages),. science, art. the .prophet in America, and the - hature. of human society. Although Jeffers. managed- ,sometimes in spite of his aesthetic principles--to comment intensively upon these issuesi his primary and permanent concerns were With ., the elemental:. questions of every age,. Robinson Jeffers unremit- tingly sought the truth concerning the most basic questions'an intelligent human being can ask: "Who is God?"" and "at is man?" Theser were the. major issues.with which. Jeffers wrestled. throughout his long career as poet. Robinson Jeffers' ideas of God and man are cardinal to his entire:career and provide therefore the- • nucleus for any study which attempts to trace . the poet's central themes. Such a study, however, must be delineated still further.

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