Caedmon by Denise Levertov: God and Creation
The Inspiration of Caedmon
The poem "Caedmon," written by Denise Levertov, enlists readers to learn more about God and creation and by doing so expands their understanding of the universe. At one point or another in life, people go through stages where they have no inspiration and sometimes shrink back from something that they think is too complicated to achieve. Therefore, they are limiting themselves and their undeveloped talents, much like Caedmon was before his sudden inspiration by the messenger of God.
The story of the poet Caedmon and his sudden inspiration is recounted in the Venerable Bede 's Ecclesiastical History. In the following lines of the poem "Caedmon" when he is asked to contribute to the songs, he feels that it is impossible and that if he were to attempt to sing, he would break their verses like a clumsy dancer:
All others talked as if
talk were a dance.
Clodhopper I, with clumsy feet
would break the gliding ring. (1575)
When anyone would try to nudge him forward to contribute, he would always use the excuse that he was a cowherd to escape the passing of the harp and retreat back to the barn with the animals. He would feel content and at home amongst the animals where he was not forced into improvising verses to keep the banquet lively. While he is sitting amongst the animals, the event occurs that changes his life. In the following lines of "Caedmon," he describes the angel that suddenly appears in front of him:
Until the sudden angel affrighted me - light effacing
my feeble beam,
a forest of torches, feathers of flame, sparks upflying: (1575-76)
The next few lines are in conjunction with a similar event that is recounted in the Bible. In the poem "Caedmon," the event is described as follows:
but the cows as before
The poem "Caedmon," written by Denise Levertov, enlists readers to learn more about God and creation and by doing so expands their understanding of the universe. At one point or another in life, people go through stages where they have no inspiration and sometimes shrink back from something that they think is too complicated to achieve. Therefore, they are limiting themselves and their undeveloped talents, much like Caedmon was before his sudden inspiration by the messenger of God.
The story of the poet Caedmon and his sudden inspiration is recounted in the Venerable Bede 's Ecclesiastical History. In the following lines of the poem "Caedmon" when he is asked to contribute to the songs, he feels that it is impossible and that if he were to attempt to sing, he would break their verses like a clumsy dancer:
All others talked as if
talk were a dance.
Clodhopper I, with clumsy feet
would break the gliding ring. (1575)
When anyone would try to nudge him forward to contribute, he would always use the excuse that he was a cowherd to escape the passing of the harp and retreat back to the barn with the animals. He would feel content and at home amongst the animals where he was not forced into improvising verses to keep the banquet lively. While he is sitting amongst the animals, the event occurs that changes his life. In the following lines of "Caedmon," he describes the angel that suddenly appears in front of him:
Until the sudden angel affrighted me - light effacing
my feeble beam,
a forest of torches, feathers of flame, sparks upflying: (1575-76)
The next few lines are in conjunction with a similar event that is recounted in the Bible. In the poem "Caedmon," the event is described as follows:
but the cows as before
Cited: Heaney, Seamus. The Redress of Poetry. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Groux, 1995. Levertov, Denise. "Caedmon," The Norton Anthology of Poetry. 4th ed. Ed. Margaret Ferguson, Mary Jo Salter, Jon Stallworthy. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1996. 1575-76. "The Inspiration of Caedmon." 123HelpMe.com. 01 Apr 2014 .