The High Courts of Love + The 14th of February

Note:  I have chosen to arrange this post so that the historical background of St. Valentine's Day appears before my personal discourse and discovery of the Day for Love.  If you are less interested in the data, and would prefer to just observe insight from another perspective, I would suggest scrolling down to just below the Roses are Red poem to the paragraph beginning, "So I am not sure any of this work..."

Whichever point you find yourself on the continuum of St. Valentine's Day sentiment, I do not believe a heart exists outside of, or beyond, its spectrum of influence.  Sure, many see only the bad, and those of such opinion may readily contest my belief.  Yet, I would remind the skeptics that negative associations remain to be emotions, and humans have yet to discover how to avoid the affects of emotion.  Thus, Cupid's arrow still carries the sting, and his arbitrary target practice renders February 14th an annual excuse to disdain love.  But why let the American commercialization of yet *ANOTHER* holiday control the possiblity or mask the opportunity for something good?  For me, I had just lost contact with what the day was purposed to acheive.  It can't be all bad (as much as I think that would be easier), so I went on a quest to redeem the chubby cherib.  As [almost] always, I googled it.  

For starters, who is Mr. Valentine?  Well, there are actually 2 known martyrs of this appelation: St. Valentine of Terni (AD 197) and St. V. of Rome (AD 269).  However, by the time these two Casanovas were linked to the romance of 2.14, they had become one memory.  Not much is known of Val, except that he/they was/were buried on the Via Flaminia on the day we now celebrate. 

So, how did these two young chaps get hooked up on the love train?  The historical data, as it relates to the romantic tradition, actually presents a sketchy link.  Yet, as the origins of V-day, the subject remains worthy of consideration. The medeival acta, or "acts" of the saints appear in the haiographical Legenda Aurea [a.k.a.: The Golden Legend (the G.L. from here on), circa 1260 AD, is the Medeival equivilent of today's Harry Potter or Twighlight series--the "everyone-and-their-mother has read/loved/watched the movie/bought the T-shirt" fad.  However, instead of twisting tales of vampiers, warewolves and witchery, the G.L. records the fanciful accounts of the Saints as an anthology.]  Anyhow, the historical records state that Val was a Christian who came into contact with the Roman Emperor Claudius II.  Claud kind of liked Val, so the Emporer tried to convince Val to convert to pagaenism in order to save his life.  Val wouldn't concede, and in reply, he offered an audacious presentation instead, trying to convert Claud to Christianity.  Well, Val's "Come to Jesus" session didn't sit so well with Claud, who was not exactly enthused by Val's blatant disrespect.  And immediately, Claud called for Val's execution.  Suggestively, while awaiting his death, Val healed the blind daughter of his jailer.  A seemingly random point, but the significance ties in to the story at a later crossroad. 

So, those are the key points as recorded in the G.L., commonly accepted to be largely representative of historical fact. As for the modern romantic connection, we can attribute to the great "historical investigations" of American Greetings.  As posted on the history.com website (submitted by none other than American greetings), we read the story of a harsh Roman Emperor Claudius II who would not allow his soldiers to marry because he believed they would be less-effective warriors.  The love-crazed St. Valentine believed so faithfully in love, that he would secretly officiate the marriages of the soldiers.  When Claud discovered this treason, he ordered Val be put to death.  And then, while imprisoned before his execution, St. Val fell in love with the jailer's daughter, who would come to visit him everyday leading up to his death.  The day of his execution, February 14th of the 2nd or 3rd century, St. Val allegedly wrote the first "valentine" to Miss Jailer's Daughter, signing the note, "From your Valentine..."  Thankfully, history.com concedes the potential mysticism of this lore, a legend that most-certainly romanticizes the tale of a Christian martyr.  


From the 3rd century A.D., no St. Val romantic reference appears in literature until the 14th century, A.D.,  when Chaucer ushers in the use of the Saint's Day in reference to a season when birds meet to find their mate.  The poem, Parlement of Foules, was commissioned for the wedding of the 15-year olds, Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia.  Cute. 

Now, the connection has been made.  France becomes the center of the world during the Early Renaissance and Enlightenment Periods.  The world comes together in Paris and explores life, learning and love.  On St. Valentine's Day in 1400 A.D., the High Courts of Love are established in Paris.  The special court deals with matters between lovers, betrayal, and the abuse of women.  Interestingly, the judges in the courts are elected by the women.  And the basis of their selection, a poem submitted by applicants.  These poems came to be known as, Valentines.  The earliest surviving record of such a Valentine is scribed by Charles d'Orleans from the 15th century who was being held in Captivity in England.  His submission was a poem for his wife, and in French, it reads:

Je suis desja d'amour tanné
Ma tres doulce Valentinée...
Charles d'Orléans, Rondeau VI, lines 1–2
The proliferation of this idea lead to an onslaught of literary references, and soon, the idea of Valentine's Day as a special day for lovers became tradition. An interesting note, we are all familiar with, "Roses are red. Violets are blue...," but the origins of this poem are actually from Edmond Spencer's, The Fairee Queen. The original text reads...

"She bath'd with roses red, and violets blew,
And all the sweetest flowres, that in the forrest grew."

Grammar's Garland Nursery Rhymes took off on this epic piece of literature and offers us,

The rose is red, the violet's blue
The honey's sweet, and so are you
Thou are my love and I am thine
I drew thee to my Valentine
The lot was cast and then I drew
And Fortune said it shou'd be you.

So, I am not sure if any of this work has acted to redeem or expose the origins of the Holiday for the Heart, but for me, I think I am ready to reclaim St. Valentine's Day, fable or fact. I do tend to question tradition--and not to rebel against tradition alone for rebellion's sake--but so that I do not forsake the richness and fullness of its origins. To take a retrospective glance reveals the rose-scented road that has brought us to dancing teddy bears and kiss-print boxers. This discovery liberates me to decide for myself whether, or not, this is an occasion I will accept, reject, or choose to redeem.

And the verdict. For me, I think this one may take some intentional redemptive measures, but I am none-the-less confident it can be done. Over the years, I have bounced between being jaded (wearing black on Feb. 14), rebellious (Single's Awareness Day! YAY!) and/or compensating (Jesus is my Valentine--true, but not legitimately the spirit of the day). As for today, I will choose to redeem. Because Valentine's Day IS a day for lovers. So, although I have no such attachment in 2011, I can recognize the holiday each year, but without feeling any pressure to compensate or yield.

I think of it like this. I am not Muslim, so I do not feel the need to participate in the fasts of Ramadan. Yet, I also feel no need to criticize, react, nor justify my absence in the festivities. Conversely, I am a person who loves God and Jesus. There are many days which carry a special significance to my faith. Passover, for example. Although I am thankful for the covenant between God and Abraham every single day, the Passover feast is a special time for me to fully embrace the gift of God's goodness. I just imagine a young boy in Jerusalem, participating in the ceremonies of the sacrificial lamb for the first time. Passover would be a yearly festival known to the young boy since his birth. Yet on this year, the festival carries unprecedented excitement, honor and significance--an experience that will hang heavily in his heart until the day of his death.

For me, I think I would like to look at Valentine's Day as such. No red balloons or boxed chocolates for me right now, but that is perfectly okay. I am presently not of station to participate in V-Day, but just as the young boy experiences the the yearly festivals since birth, his waiting period does not spoil his anticipation with shame or resentment, but he can cherish the day that he should be the one to bring the family sacrifice to the altar. Even now, I can see the goodness, and one day, if/when it is my turn to "carry the lamb to the altar," I will be ready to meet the occasion with steadfast joy and profound understanding and humility.


So, my charge to the Beyonce Crew/Single Ladies and the Bachelors 'til the Rapture--time for us all to sluff-off the shame+guilt associated with not appearing on Cupid's hit list, and maybe even be thankful for another year of escaping the crazy, toxic venom of Chunk's arrows. 

To all my Romeos and Juliets, Ferdinands and Isabellas, Guineveres and Lancelots, Edwards and Bellas, Bennifers and Brangelinas--equally time to stop taking for granted the goodness of Valentine's Day by cheapening it with false love or gifts not worthy to be brought to the altar. To bring back the metaphor, families would literally spend an entire year's wages just to bring a worthy sacrifice to the temple--all in hopes of begging God to remember their covenant. The promises of their faith rested in their traditions. Imagine the streets of Jerusalem perverted with paper cut-outs of lambs and pigeons and cotton-stuffed animals that perhaps even sing the scriptures. Impossible.  But if the Jews forget the origins of their traditions, perhaps this possibility becomes plausible, and even logical, considering the costs. Yet, what a profound detriment tied to the loss of the heritage of such rituals. And if the annual sacrifice could be purchased at a market on your way to the altar--with little, or no, effort and from only an hour's wages--would the redeeming covenant retain its potency? Suggestively, perhaps the real "gifts" of St. Valentine's Day have been muffled in the convenient markets filled with paper cut-outs and plush toys masquerading as the true gifts, leaving the Lover's Day empty or cheapened. 

 

Perhaps when the brokenness of Valentine's Day is restored, all hearts can be truly filled on February the 14th--either through God's gift of romantic love, or the hope found in God's love for romance.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Valentine's Day. Stay dusty.

This is a first. Nightminds by Missy Higgins

Soooo.. not my typical post.  I just learned I have a video on my computer! ha.  i'm a little behind, to say the least.  This is Nightminds by Missy Higgins.  Don't go listen to her right away--I don't hold a stick!  But this is sometimes what happens as a result of "inclement weather conditions."  I haven't sung "in front of people" since high school, so here's to regaining my youth!  ha. 

Enjoy.  Thanks for stopping by. 

The Soul Selects Her Own Society

The Soul Selects Her Own Society [Emily Dickinson, c. 1862]: 


The Soul selects her own Society—

Then—shuts the Door—

To her divine Majority—

Present no more—


Unmoved—she notes the Chariots—pausing—
At her low Gate—

Unmoved—an Emperor be kneeling

Upon her Mat—


I've known her—from an ample nation—
Choose One—

Then—close the Valves of her attention—
Like Stone—



Language is both beautiful and beguiling. Developed systems of ideological transference offer the ability to communicate ideas, emotion, and experience through both the written and spoken word. This same liberty is paradoxically confining, in that, no one word or phrase can carry the same significance for any two beneficiaries of its freedom. Authors utilize this paradox through the written word by embracing the variety and complexity of language, using its multiple layers of connotations and symbolism. Cherished authors of prose are exonerated for their ability to paint a clear picture with their words through explicative and lengthy descriptions; however, this sovereignty over language employed by prose is not a tool available through poetry. Poets are bound by structure, rather open or closed, thus restricting and confining a poet’s choices. It is this economy and creativity of expression that merits the art form’s nomenclature; the word poetry is appropriately rooted in the Greek verb poieo: “to create.” Poetry is a succinct and abstracted creation. Every word is a specific choice and the colors and variations in the connotations of words are embedded assets. Conversely, the abstracted structure that defines the poet’s portrayal of an experience or emotion offers the reader an enhanced, mystical freedom in his interpretation. Due to the creative subtleties found in poetry and prose, there are often many layers of understanding one can glean from any one text. Emily Dickenson is a master of this treasured efficiency of language, although a rebel in the face of standard poetic conventions and metaphoric symbolism. Exposing one interpretation of Dickenson’s poem, The Soul Selects Her Own Society, Dickenson offers her readers a raw and unique metaphorical presentation of the intellectual process of refinement against Society through her innovative style, use of symbolism, rhythm and grammatical structure.
Many of Dickenson’s poems are untitled pieces and she is notorious for not following typical poetic conventions; therefore, titles and grammatical disregard are noteworthy clues to the deeper meanings in her poetry. Upon initial analysis of the title and opening line to The Soul Selects Her own Society, the reader is immediately alerted to the opposition and supremacy of the soul over its society. As the vast majority of Dickenson’s poems do, these allusions refer to much more than the obvious spiritual sentiments they invoke. Dickenson’s accessible society was Newfoundland America during the mid to late1800s and a heated battle brewed between academic and social intellectualism met by its counterpart, American Transcendent Thought. Transcendentalism maintains that the Self is divine and intuition informs the physical and empirical states in order to reach a “transcendent” spiritual euphoria. This philosophy was developed in direct rebellion to the doctrine of the Unitarian Church. The most influential propagates of this theory were contemporaries such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and George Ripley. Due to Emerson’s central involvement in this movement and his alleged influence in the works of Dickenson, Dickenson herself is said to be a follower of this philosophy. In the title and opening line of her poem, Dickenson alludes to the Self, or Soul, and its dominion over its Society. This is largely reminiscent of the ideals and terminology of the Transcendentalist Movement. The unmistakably intentional repetition of the initial consonant sound /s/ in the title also emphasizes these qualities’ thematic importance. On one level, Dickenson’s poem narrates an intellectual transformation, embracing the proprietary rights and absolute individualism embedded in the ideals of transcendentalism. As introduced in her title, every aspect of her poem and every foot in each meter can be interpreted as informants in the revolution of her thoughts towards the supremacy and superiority of the individual Soul.
Throughout Dickenson’s poem, there is a strong tendency towards common religious and spiritual symbolism accompanied by fervent convictions and contradictions in regard to their significance. In the first stanza, Dickenson depicts the Soul, or “individual,” as it embraces its autonomous sovereignty and rejects the Divine Majority, perhaps a reference to the Trinity or strict Doctrine of the Unitarian Church. With the introduction of more than ephemeral, temporal decisions within a society, these spiritual references merit Dickenson’s ideals and offer permanence and divine significance. As the Soul “shuts the door—” and the Divine Majority is “Present no more,” Dickenson’s dissention of societal norms offers an additional intransient quality to her divine selection. The obtrusive gesture of shutting a door lends a sense that this “door,” often a symbol for opportunity or a an entryway to a particular ideology, is not being left open a crack to allow for re-entry, but it is eternally closed upon rejection. This stanza could serve as a realization of and protest against the prominent social and academic “Harvard intellectualism” of her time. Similarly, in the third and final stanza of her work, Dickenson writes, “Then—closed the Valves of her Attention/Like Stone.” The narrator is closing herself off from other possibilities as an act of protection and preservation. The combination of symbolic valves and stone are complex and unconventional. The imagery of Valves conjures connections to the heart, and the heart to the soul. The mention of stone is a common symbol of things interminable or unalterable which are brittle and difficult to move or alter, which could signify permanence and solidarity. Another suggestion may be that the stone is referring to a precious stone, such as a treasured pearl that would require special protection during its harvesting. This interpretation would unify the connection between the delicate valves of a heart and the precious stone. Her soul, the stone is the ultimate realization of spirituality, so she must guard it. Perhaps by closing other valves, the Soul is preserving her very essence and divinity like a treasured pearl in an oyster shell. At the time this poem was written, c. 1862, Dickenson had given herself to strict seclusion and solitude. The majority of her social interaction was through poems and letters and she immersed herself whole-heartedly in her academic evolution and development, perhaps an act of preservation of her soul. Throughout Dickenson’s poem, she employs the use of eternal and spiritual terminology to validate her transcendental ideas and support her reclusive lifestyle as a means of preservation in the face of a society ruled by rigid and “unfounded” doctrine.
Even Dickenson’s conventions advocate social antagonism; her signature divergence from the rigid iambic pentameter and the grammatical confines of her time parallel this transcendent rebellion toward strict religious doctrine. Throughout the poem, she rebelliously employs the use of the hyphen to give breadth and dramatics to the rhythm of her work. This stylistic decision was highly unconventional while she was writing and it allowed for her to break from the standard structure of the Shakespearian confines of iambic pentameter. Her stanzas are structured into two functioning units, where the first line is significantly longer than the second. The meter and rhythm of the poem is repeated in the first and second stanzas; however, in her final stanza, the second and fourth lines are two-word phrases, “Choose One.” and “Like Stone.” Both of these phrases are emphatic and definite. Their concise presentation even more dramatically illuminates their significance in the poem as appropriately final. Also, words are unconventionally capitalized throughout the verses, which draw attention to them within the phrase. Words such as: Soul, Chariots, Valves and Stone, all had common interpretations in poetry and Dickenson used these standard images in new ways to strike a contrast with previous understandings. Dickenson was well read in both classic and modern literature and would have been keenly aware of the effect this tool would have on her reader. She could draw attention and speculation to an idea by simply presenting it differently than it would typically be shown. However, these innovative attempts were not respected in her time, and were even rejected posthumously, as most of her poems were edited upon publication to match the conventional rhythm and grammatical patterns. This eccentric innovation in her work provides a perfect framework for the conversation she desired with her society.
The antonymic aspect of this poem is equally alluring as Dickenson’s subversive doctrinal and structural rebellion. Throughout the poem, paradoxical pairs are introduced to highlight the dichotomy of the freedom in embracing transcendental thought. Action partners from the first stanza such as, “Selects/Shuts,” and the final stanza, “Choose/Close,” personify the delicate balance between two inversely related Emersonian principles of selection and exclusion. Outlined in Spiritual Laws, the selection of one marks the exclusion of others. Through the implied acceptance of solidarity and rejection of “society,” one is not limiting animating influences, but expanding the possibilities found within the soul. Conversely, in the second stanza, Dickenson refers to the Soul as “Unmoved” in response to an Emperor or suitor’s presentation. “Unmoved” is repeated in the stanza to emphasize the inaction and steadfast focus of the soul. The solicitation of the emperor could further symbolize regality and statis, and her rejection of his advances could be a metaphor for her sovereign status as queen of her own soul. The interesting aspect of this repetition is the resolute inaction characterized in stark contract to the indomitable action of the first and final stanzas’ duos.
The story told in this poem could easily be and often is interpreted as a love poem, or a poem embracing the ideals of reclusiveness, but I think the much more alluring layer as an audience is defined by the emergence of a dignified intellectual. The poem offers action in the face of motionless and the choice of one in the midst of many options. The contradictory aspects presented console me, in that I can relate to the academic path, which often resembles the exclusion and denunciation of all other ideologies upon of the selection of one. In stride with Dickenson’s poem, I also can tend to resent popular socio-cultural norms because they often resembles a rigid set of unfounded and superficial standards, much like the arbitrary doctrine that the transcendentalists fought against the Unitarians. I sometimes sense the desire within me to reject the “royal suitors” of alluring materialism “kneeling upon [my] mat” and choose from among the “ample nation” of discordant doctrine and philosophy One valve to my heart. It would be this conviction that I would fully embrace and close around me as a protective barrier surrounding my soul. I recognize the divinity within every soul, as a special calling or desire God placed within us. Dickenson embraced solitude and written correspondence as a means of protecting her most precious soul, but I feel that through emphatically selecting one philosophy, which leads to thee rejection of all others, one can find some sense of euphoric spiritualism.
For a woman rarely-seen and known for her simple white dress, Dickenson has left a profound impact on the innovations of modern poetry and thought. She was a contemporary of her time, not afraid to stand against social, religious, or literary norms in order to accomplish her goals. Her understanding of language and its employment during her lifetime is remarkable. Although just at a dozen of her over eighteen-hundred poems were published during her lifetime, in a society that did not respect women as academic equals, Dickenson was regarded privately as a gifted poet and fearsome intellectual and her ingenious approach to poetry merits her as one of America’s most treasured poets.