Mythological allegory in Sidney's Arcadia

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1974

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By defining poetry as "an arte of imitation," but the poet as a maker of "golden" worlds unlike any that "nature bringeth foorth," Sidney, in his Defence of Poesie, seemed to contradict himself. Scholars are divided into those who believe that he advocated the imitation of probable actions in the world of nature and those who believe he advocated the imitation of Ideas in the mind of God. A middle position is presented here: that in writing the Arcadia Sidney imitated mythological actions which, in turn, imitated divine Ideas. Since, according to Neoplatonic thought, the Ideas were manifested at four levels of being, each mythic action imitates, not one level, but four. In ascending order of proximity to the Godhead, the levels are the natural, the cosmological, the astrological, and the theological. In the 1593 Arcadia, the characters of Basilius, Pyrocles, Musidorus, Plangus, and Erona all have mythological counterparts, and the major actions in which they participate have mythological parallels. Basilius, like Saturn, misunderstands an oracle, opposes generation, reigns during a time of peace (or a golden age), and ultimately falls from power. At the natural level, he represents Time (which brings some lives to a close but also brings other lives into being), the harvesting (which cuts down what has ripened, to make way for new growth), and false opinion (which he bases on mere appearances instead vii of on Ideal Reality). At the cosmological level, Basilius represents the contemplation of divinity, but also a turning away from the world and its obligations. At the astrological level, he corresponds to a predisposition to melancholy and passivity, but also to intelligence and wise counsel. At the theological level, he represents the spiritual death that precedes regeneration and renewal and the fallen condition of man that precedes redemption. His recovery suggests the resurrection of the body, at the end of time. Pyrocles, as a type of Hercules, fells tyrants (or monsters), kills a lion, dresses in women’s clothing, quells rebellions, rescues two people from imprisonment (or Hades), and marries a beautiful maiden. At the natural level, he defeats sensuality, cowardice, wrath, and other disorderly emotions. At the cosmological level, he represents human love for the World Soul, the love of the World Soul for the Angelic Mind, and the love of the Angelic Mind for the Godhead. Moreover, Pyrocles overcomes transience and unites himself with eternal Youth. At the astrological level, he is a type of sun-god, who defeats winter and brings life above ground in the spring. At the theological level, he is a type of Christ, who harrows Hell, survives a death sentence, and marries the Church. Musidorus is a type of Apollo, who falls in love, pursues a reluctant maiden, disguises himself as a shepherd, and defeats a tyrant (or monster). At the natural level, he is associated with springtime, sunlight, and reason. In the winter, his power wanes; inviii the spring, it revives. At the cosmological level, he represents the Sun, who overcomes primordial moisture so that the world, can be formed.. Moreover, in the Angelic Mind., he symbolizes the Idea that, by attracting the love of the World Soul, engenders the world of nature. As a type of Apollo, Musidorus, when he tempers his powers, overcomes corruption; when he fails to control his own force, he fosters corruption. At the astrological level, he corresponds to the director of the Muses, who maintains universal harmony among the spheres. Since Apollo, by directing the spheres, influences affairs on earth, Musidorus corresponds to those astrological influences that reinforce divine Providence. At the theological level, he symbolizes Christianity, which conquers error (a monstrous snake or Python). While disguised as the shepherd, Dorus, he symbolizes grace. His ultimate victory over the death sentence represents the recovery of innocence, or redemption. Plangus and Erona together are types of Hippolytus who are punished for failing to pay due respect to the god of love. Plangus and Pyrocles together are also types of Hippolytus (and Bellerophon), who reject the amorous attentions of lascivious older women. As a type of Bellerophon, Pyrocles defeats a chimerical monster. (Since the revised Arcadia is incomplete, the story of Plangus remains unresolved.) At the natural level, Pyrocles defeating the monster of lust represents Virtue astride the Pegasus of Fame. At the cosmological level, Pyrocles, as a type of Bellerophon, symbolizes the vapors that are conveyed upward by the sun (the winged Pegasus). Like Bellerophon, he rises only to fall to earth ix again: for mortals, moral victories are never final. Hence, Pyrocles has to fight repeated battles. Like earth and water, he cannot remain aloft. Erona’s imprisonment also represents the separation of the elements, the gross, earthly part always falling below. At the astrological level, Pyrocles and Plangus, as types of Bellerophon, are predisposed to undertake high enterprises. Theologically, in repulsing amorous older women, they are types of Christ who resist the Antichrist (Anteia). Because the Countess of Pembroke knew that Sidney intended the revised Arcadia to be a heroic poem, she removed from the 1593 edition those passages that showed the heroes to be licentious and the heroines unchaste. As a heroic poem, it contains epic machinery, but only at the allegorical levels, not in the literal plot. Events that seem improbable at the literal level are allegorically appropriate to the foreconceit. If the reader recognizes that the groundplot of the Arcadia is mythological, and if he searches for the mysteries that Renaissance Neoplatonists associated with mythology, he will find that the unity of this heroic poem resides, not in the literal action, but in the foreconceit that accanpanies the mythological actions. The pagan gods and heroes who correspond to Sidney’s characters are present, but unseen. Although their presence provides additional delight, Sidney seems to have used it as a way of progressing towards, rather than a means of moving away from, the theological level. The foreconceit of the Arcadia is an affirmation of the dignity of man, who possesses the freedom and the power to ascend to God.

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