'They come into it': The muses of Medbh McGuckian

Borbála Faragó*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Book/Report typesChapterpeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

The most enigmatic participant in the performance of inspiration is the imaginary subject who, in one way or another, exerts authorial influence on the completion of the work. Whether imagined or real, this person, the muse, functions as the created projection of the work's singularity. In simpler terms, he or she becomes an essential participant in the performance of inspiration. This chapter concentrates on the figure of the muse in Medbh McGuckian's poetry, and looks at its different guises as women, men, angels and readers. The ancient, pre-Platonic (and plural) muses embodied the power of language, which is their 'gift' to humans. Because the human mind at that time was conceptualised as a receptor, rather than as the originator of language, the muses were credited with creativity and expression. They had authorial power, which they exercised through love. Situated at the threshold of the unattainable divine and the empirical human spheres, they metaphorically represented the ambiguity inherent in desire. The desire of the human mind to apprehend divinity is the driving force behind most of the ancient articulations of creativity. Because desire plays such a fundamental role in human creativity, it is not surprising that there is often a phantom participant in the performance of inspiration. Whether functioning as a subject or as an object of desire, the 'spectre' of another person usually accompanies poetic expression, and this is particularly true of Medbh McGuckian's work.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Poetry of Medbh McGuckian
Subtitle of host publicationThe Interior of Words
PublisherCork University Press
Pages162-176
Number of pages15
ISBN (Print)9781859184653
StatePublished - 2010
Externally publishedYes

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