Binding the time in the era of war and influenza In The Wasteland and Second Coming
Abstract:
This paper deals with reading of the Post- World War I literature, an epic modernist poem The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot and The Second Coming by W.B. Yeats with Alfred Korzybski's concept of ‘General Semantics’ of which ‘time binding’ is an integral part. The Great War (1914-1918) was a defining moment in European and world history. It also had a profound effect on cultural and literary sensibilities, which emerged a new wave of literature- Modernism. The most influential poems of the 20th century, The Wasteland and the Second Coming are a metaphor for the devastated landscape of post-war Europe. As Korzybski describes the unique quality of humans is what he calls "time-binding - the capacity of an individual or a generation to begin where the former left off". The Wasteland connects different tales and allusions from antiquity and situates them all in the modern era of Europe. Furthermore, in the world's destructive "widening gyre," the Second Coming offers the possibility of rebirth. Both these poems are proving themselves to be exemplars of a “time binder”. As Elizabeth Outka's 2019 essay "Modern Influenza" posed the dilemma, ' A death in battle could be seen as courageous, but a death from influenza?'," this work also examines the impact of the "Spanish Flu" in these modernist texts. As Korzybski suggested humans can have 'knowledge about knowledge', and 'knowledge about knowledge about knowledge' and gave a concept of ‘Time Binders’. Yet much of this knowledge skips out of the time-binding mechanism of Literary Historiography.
Keywords: Time binding, The Wasteland, Second Coming, Alfred Korzybski, Elizabeth Outka, Pandemic, War.
Introduction:
"The word is not the thing" (Korzybski)
Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski was a Polish-American philosopher and scientist who was the founder of the field of general semantics, which is the study of human evaluation and communication. He spent many years studying the structure of human language and thought and developed a theory that aimed to improve human communication and thinking.
Korzybski believed that traditional ways of thinking and communication were no longer adequate for understanding and navigating the rapidly changing technological and social landscape of the time. He argued that the human ability to use abstract symbols and language had led to a disconnection between humans and reality and that this disconnection was responsible for many of the problems faced by society. He proposed that by understanding and applying the principles of general semantics, individuals could improve their ability to evaluate and communicate information, leading to more effective thinking and problem-solving.
Korzybski wrote several books on the subject, including his most famous work "Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics" which was published in 1933. The book has been considered the foundation stone of general semantics and has been widely read and studied.
Korzybski's theory of General semantics is a system of thought that aims to improve human communication and understanding. The theory of general semantics gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly in the United States, where it was embraced by educators, scientists, and artists. Korzybski's ideas were seen as a way to improve thinking and communication in a rapidly changing world, and they continue to be studied and applied in various fields today, such as education, psychology, and communication. Korzybski's theory of General semantics is based on the idea that people's understanding of the world can be improved by becoming more aware of the ways in which language shapes their perceptions.
"The human individual is capable of 'time-binding' and of 'self-reflexiveness'; he is capable of transmitting culture and of self-improvement." (Korzybski)
One of the key concepts of Korzybski's theory is the idea of "time-binding," which refers to the unique ability of human beings to accumulate and transmit knowledge across generations. the concept of "time-binding" was first introduced by Alfred Korzybski in his book "Manhood of Humanity," which was published in 1921 by E. P. Dutton. In this work, Korzybski proposed and explained in detail a new theory of humankind, where mankind is considered a "time-binding" class of life, performing time-binding by transmitting knowledge and abstractions through time which becomes accreted in cultures. Korzybski argued that this ability has played a crucial role in human evolution and civilization, but it also leads to a tendency to reify and hypostatize abstractions, which can lead to confusion and misunderstanding.
According to Korzybski, the capacity for time-binding is what allows humans to learn from the past and build on the knowledge and achievements of previous generations. He believed that by becoming more aware of the ways in which language shapes their perceptions, people can improve their ability to time bind and, in turn, improve their understanding of the world.
Alfred Korzybski's Time-Binding theory is a significant contribution to the field of general semantics, which is a study of human evaluation and communication. This ability, according to Korzybski, separates humans from other animals and has played a crucial role in human evolution and civilization. Korzybski argues that the ability to time-bind has allowed humans to build upon the knowledge and experiences of previous generations, leading to advances in science, technology, and culture. He also asserts that this ability is not innate but rather something that must be developed and nurtured through education and training. He believed that by understanding and applying the principles of general semantics, individuals could improve their ability to evaluate and communicate information, leading to more effective thinking and problem-solving.
However, Korzybski also recognized that this ability to time-bind could be problematic, as humans tend to identify with their abstractions and ignore the differences between them and reality. This leads to a tendency to reify and hypostatize abstractions, which can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. He believed that by developing the ability to evaluate abstractions and their relations to reality, individuals could improve their ability to think critically and make more accurate evaluations.
To sum up, Korzybski's Time-Binding theory is a fundamental concept in general semantics, it highlights the unique ability of human beings to accumulate and transmit knowledge across generations, and emphasizes the importance of education and training in developing this ability.
The Wasteland and Time Binding
T. S. Eliot wrote a poem known as The Waste Land, which is recognized as one of the most significant poems of the twentieth century and a key piece of modernist poetry. The 434-line poem was initially published in 1922. First appeared in two different countries: the UK ( Eliot's The Criterion- October issue) and the United States ( The Dial- November issue).
The poem has five sections, each exploring themes of sorrow and disappointment through various narrations and philosophical reflections. The first section, "The Burial of the Dead," establishes these themes, the second, "A Game of Chess," delves into them through personal experiences, the fourth, "The Fire Sermon" offers a reflection on death and self-denial with influences from Augustine of Hippo and Eastern faiths. The final section, "What the Thunder Said" concludes with a vision of judgment after the short poetic supplication in "Death by Water."
The Wasteland is an epic modernist poem that connects different tales and allusions from antiquity and situates them all in the modern era of Europe. Through its allusions, Eliot presents a world that is fragmented and chaotic, a metaphor for the disillusionment and despair that many people felt in the aftermath of the war. Eliot uses the technique of montage, which is a collage of various cultural and literary references, to create a sense of the simultaneity of different historical periods, and to suggest that the past, present, and future are all interconnected. ‘... its self-sufficient juxtaposition without copulae of themes and passages in a dense mosaic’ (Bloom). This concept of simultaneity is a reflection of the idea of time-binding, which suggests that the past and the present are always in a state of flux and that the future is always being shaped by the past.
The poem binds together different historical periods, cultures, and literary traditions in order to comment on the present. The poem is also a commentary on the present, specifically the post-World War I Europe and its aftermath. By binding together different historical periods and cultures, Eliot creates a sense of historical continuity and interconnectedness that highlights the ways in which the present is shaped by the past.
The Waste Land makes extensive use of mythological and literary allusions to convey the themes and ideas of the poem.
The myth of The Fisher King is a symbol of the sterility and decay of modern society.
Unreal City,
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.
The myth of a Dying God, the god Attis in Phrygian myth, dies and is reborn, symbolizing the cycle of death and rebirth in nature. In the poem, Eliot uses this myth to suggest that traditional values and beliefs have died in the modern world and are in need of rebirth.
What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish?
The myth of Tiresias, a Greek myth who appears in the poem, is a blind prophet who has lived both as a man and as a woman. He serves as a metaphor for the way in which people maneuver and manipulate one another in order to achieve their goals.
I Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives,
By binding together different literary traditions and cultures to make a commentary on the present, specifically post-World War I Europe and its aftermath. The poem references various European cultures and historical periods, particularly in the section "The Burial of the Dead." For example, he references the legends of the Fisher King, which is a symbol of the sterility and decay of modern society, and the grail legend, which is associated with the Fisher King and the quest for spiritual and cultural regeneration.
The poem references Indian culture and mythology in the section ‘What the Thunder Said.’ For example, he references the Upanishads, an ancient Indian text, with the line: "Shantih Shantih Shantih". Also, the poem references the god Shiva, who is associated with the destructive power of the universe, with the line: HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME.
Aa well it references Greek mythology, particularly in the section "The Fire Sermon." For example, he references the figure of Tiresias, who appears in both Greek and Roman mythology, with the line: I Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives. And Egyptian culture and mythology, particularly in the section "The Fire Sermon." For example, he references the Sphinx, an ancient Egyptian symbol of mystery and riddle, with the line: Unshod. How hast thou been, / With the other men?
Furthermore, references Christian culture and theology, particularly in the section "What the Thunder Said." For example, he references the Bible with the line And at my back I always hear / Time's winged chariot hurrying near. And Chinese culture, particularly in the section "A Game of Chess." For example, he references the Chinese poem The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter with the line And I will show you something different from either / Your shadow at morning striding behind you / Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you
In addition, T.S. Eliot in The Wasteland draws on a wide range of literary traditions. Eliot references multiple passages from the Bible throughout the poem. For example, in the section "The Burial of the Dead," he quotes from the Book of Revelation: And at my back I always hear / Time's winged chariot hurrying near. Multiple plays by Shakespeare in the poem, particularly in the section "The Fire Sermon." For example, he references the play "Troilus and Cressida" with the line: Sweet Thames, run softly till I end my song; Othello, referenced in the line I had not thought death had undone so many.
Along with this, Eliot references multiple modern literary works in the poem, particularly in the section "The Fire Sermon." For example, he references the poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" with the line: Shall I at least set my lands in order? and eastern texts and ideas in the poem, particularly in the section "What the Thunder Said." For example, he references the Upanishads with the line: "Shantih shantih shantih" (line 425).
T.S. Eliot combines many historical eras to portray the concepts and ideas of the poem through allusions to various mythologies, literary customs, and cultures. The use of allusions, montage, and commentary on the present, make "The Waste Land" a time-binding poem that connects the past and the present and creates a sense of continuity between different historical periods and cultures.
The Second Coming and Time Binding
"The Second Coming" is a poem written by the Irish poet W.B. Yeats in 1919. The poem reflects on the aftermath of World War I and the collapse of societal order that Yeats saw in the world around him. It explores themes of chaos, destruction, and the cyclical nature of history.
One of the most prominent images in the poem is the "widening gyre," which is a metaphor for the spiral of history and the way that society is constantly in flux. The "widening gyre" suggests that the world is spiraling out of control and that the past is no longer a guide for the present.
Another important image in the poem is the "falcon" that "cannot hear the falconer." This image is a metaphor for the way that people have become disconnected from their traditions and their past. The falcon represents the individual, who is no longer able to hear the guidance of their practices, represented by the falconer. This image also relates to the idea of the breakdown of order and the emergence of chaos.
The poem also makes use of Christian imagery and allusions, particularly the idea of the "Second Coming" in the title. This refers to the return of Jesus Christ, and it serves as a metaphor for the emergence of a new era or a new order in the world.
Lastly, Yeats alludes to the myth of the sphinx, which is a creature that is part lion, part bird, and part human. The Sphinx is a symbol of mystery and enigma, and its presence in the poem suggests that the world is becoming more challenging to understand and predict.
"The Second Coming" is a poem that uses a variety of myths, allegories, and images to convey its themes of chaos, destruction, and the cyclical nature of history which connects to poem to the present contemporary time.
Impact of this poetry in the present
According to the debate, both poems effectively capture the chaotic, disillusioned existence of post-World War I Europe. Both employ a range of myths, allegories, and pictures to express their themes of chaos, devastation, and the cyclical nature of history that relate the poem to the current modern era. The allusions to many mythology, literary conventions, and civilizations, blend several historical eras to illustrate the themes and ideas of the poem. The Waste Land and The Second Coming is a time-binding poem that links the past and the present and establishes a feeling of continuity across many historical eras and civilizations via the use of references, montage, and commentary on the current.
Humans are capable of having "knowledge about knowledge," "knowledge about knowledge about knowledge," etc., according to Alfred Korzybski. It promotes human growth in comparison to other worlds, such as the animal world. Though are we? Through their poetry, T. S. Eliot and W. B. Yeats gave us a glimpse of the post-War world, but even now, we can still see that many nations throughout the world are still engaged in conflict for a number of causes, and conflicts are still raging. Recently, the globe was split in two by the most dreadful conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
The Influenza Pandemic
“To die in the war was one thing, but to die in influenza was quite another” (Outka).
The modernist components of The Wasteland and The Second Coming, two modernist poems that are both seen through the lens of war, assist to feed the erasure of the pandemic by instantiating the gaps and silences. “We are trained in modernism to see the trauma of the war but not the trauma of the pandemic” (Outka). In her 2019 book, "Viral modernism: The Influenza Pandemic and Interwar Literature," Elizabeth Outka uncovers the subtly but significantly present viral sorrow inside renowned modernist literature that is not often perceived in light of the pandemic.
The letters from Eliot to his mother, friend Henry, and Charlotte Eliot, which Elizabeth Outka studied and cited from secondary sources, hint at the ongoing presence of influenza during the publication of The Wasteland. The virus struck the couple in December 1918, during the second wave in England. Eliot was extremely weak as a result of the sickness. His maid also developed pneumonia, and Viven, his wife, was ill in the latter stages. In his poem The Wasteland, Eliot made connections between influenza, dryness and the environment, and his nervous collapse. He writes about "a new form of influenza… which leaves extreme dryness and a bitter taste in the mouth" in his "London Letter" published in the Dial in July 1921.
Similarly, W. B. Yeats saw his wife defenseless during the devastating second wave of the epidemic in November 1918. In order to combat the illness, he and his pregnant wife George rented a home in Dublin. There was a pandemic in the city, infecting between 600,000 and 800,000 individuals. Although it was tough for the pregnant woman to survive, George managed to do so. As the violent cataclysm unfolds, Yeats “Yeats brings us into a violent cataclysm as it unfolds, one that telescopes between an internal, bodily apocalypse and the vast societal breakdown wreaked by a pandemic level (Outka)” The "blood-dimmed tide" brought to mind violence that crept into bodies and violently perverted what it discovered for Yeats' readers in 1920.
Conclusion:
The Wasteland and The Second Coming are two of the most influential poems of the 20th century. They are a metaphor for the devastated landscape of post-war Europe and serve as powerful examples of time binding. Through their allusions and imagery, they remind us of how the war and the influenza pandemic have shaped the present and continue to shape the future. As Korzybski's concept of ‘General Semantics’ highlights, “the capacity for accumulating racial experience, enlarging it, and transmitting it for future expansion — is the peculiar power, the characteristic energy, the definitive nature, the defining mark of man” (Korzybsky). Is it true that people are time binders, though? Both of these poems alluded to the situations of war and influenza, which we have lately experienced in our times. Were we able to prevent humanity from learning from the past, as this poetry does?
People have the ability to learn from the past, they have the ability to bind time by connecting with past experiences and using them to better understand the present and shape the future. The reference to war and influenza in these poems is an indication that these events are not isolated incidents but have recurred throughout history. However, it seems that humanity has not fully learned from these past experiences, as evidenced by the fact that these devastating events continue to occur in our present time. This implies that we have not been able to prevent them from happening again, despite the fact that we have the ability to learn from the past. This highlights the importance of truly examining and understanding the lessons of the past in order to create a better future.
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