September 17, 1956
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Septmbe 17 196 TH MIHIGN DIYPage Fifteen
Ken ner (111( Pearce Will Be Teacingii A Select Gr * p ofStde
Wo7/ith An.FEye to tdeF.l.ire
IDyaill Staf 'WiL
K(r--NNU IR is stingm Perce Ci
Ifromn the University, student -' 'tS )
* remarked tast summer. Ineed.
students complained (contentedly)
that if "Kenneris' t in lis oftie
he's in Pearce's, or vice verisa.
They wiere tking about former
Uivcersity English Professoi Don -
atd R. Pearre, nemi teachiga
jthe Saotai Baitbara division of thet '
University oftCadiforni and Pio-
fessor lice-h Keniner, new fioe
year head of the Engtistieprt
meait thee.{ W v
Kenniet, Cisiting I n;tish lectur- '
er here tast sienme r, wshen con-
fronsted with the "statling" state- y
ment, taugtiingty a i d e ni e d hit 4 s,
brow-n eyes, ciiimented about his
critic friend: "Mi. Pearce is cap
abte of taking advanctage of op- -
portunities swhen he has them. /5
"Besides," lie shrueged his tean
shoulders, "ou iust dots't steal
rational human beinigs exce pt siithW
big btaek carsr" usint a etiicte
(which Kennci does oftenc not be-
cause he can't spea k in any othe
form, but because this points up .. what the
- the peculiar branod of ticicculosity f- ttkngh h ee
in cliches). atritkn nteseey
PC ce xpline bi de. sore(like Wordsworthi or playing withg
from the University a s the be-acosoagdelk h
ginnn., m' ew e epise,"no Cartesian noon. Well, he shoots the s
giningof ne enerpise "nt white-flying Logos (Greek wordd
thfbecauseta mle enn oa, prta ulu h vent any of miy owin volition.' of ouri cudture'), the albatros, ofGa
Asked what factors stand out nmost orsc y"P~c et i
in the move frona Michigan to h net sonietop" ofrc hist hhd ois- '
SnaBraaPerepridhadontpohihedcotnft:"Simply getting my family si tere uc.: "So the crew curses him, calls 4
In one piece anod helping theem to him egg'lead. They're rig'ht isn that i
lieth hcieonei'smde e-he let theta diiwn." t
likethechane oce t's ade We Most Itellectuals toay become '
havse al11 been profoundly a t home
in An Arbor; and anIy uproat ing I "lonely, compislsive babblei's" likin',
's certain to be a period of th tiin" ariiner, Pearce accuses.. l
Mrs. -Pearce, -ho once spent i
two years in California is less a-or- IMatking" Peace .* 1
- leases classrooms before anyone
else, because. "'ee realty said all
I have to say-and itihin mica-
sites Pearce v-os talkicig about the
New tonaiaa sientific explanatiuon
ot the wiorldt havin'-ircached il-a
acebetienia16tt0 iid 178t.
"motiv e orspivicesli life biegan
to appeai secondary and iliusoiy,
lie saiidaind though Keaits, Shelley,
Woirdswoirtl and Cots iidge itried to
bridge the gap betaecn science and
Senmotion, they "fell in it. Peaice
added that Yeats in oui timie, has
-- -buidged that tCp.
- - ' 'a Reincai tation
W HN EB UNwas about t
t ublish his work on Joyce, he
decided, never having been in Eu-
h ropemuch less treland, to find
sonmeone who'd been there to check
ayes his details on Ireland. Be
' ~learned through a Santa Barbara
friend, Ken Millar, that Pearce
would hate "firsthand" knowledge.
vOn his way to Ness York, "t -emnt
to Ann Arbor to see him. When he
firsot saw me, his jaw dropped-I
didn't know why till later in the
haave learne" evening, when he showed me a
picture of Yeats at eighteen. I
be intellectually created. Yeats i might've been a reincarnation."
sitting up in a tower writing about Kenner's dark complexion and
it.", wiry brow-n hair do r es em bl e
This is partly a heroic, partly Yeats, though he is taller probably
a whimsical solution to the prob- than Yeats (about a foot taller
lems of the romanmtic poet-"the than hi. blond friend Pearce).
-English romantic poet was oper- Pearce spent a year in Iceland,
atiiig in a tradition which placed and compliments Kenner (who has
before us an enigmatic na ture,"I never been in Europe) on "the
Kenner asserts, The figure in the, marvelous svay Ice described Dub-
tower -Yeats -is pouring forth t in, just from what he'd re.ad in
emotional responses; at the age l Joyce. That's what you can do
of 35, he is about ready to ouit with great artists like Joyce, you
tis." know-his descriptions are true."
Yeats'Pom ESTABLISBING his major pee-
log P m for English in Santa Bar-
- EATS tS Iit'in" to abolish the banB enner says in that assured
1Newtonian nature: Newton'a manner ot his that some studencts
univere gives you atoms, gravity, call 'arrogane-but he's good."
so the tomanic poit casa't think that 'Englisha is not a subject and
aIbout isature, ice has to feel -ibout canncot be tauight. Butt it is an 01p-
it, says Kenn~er. Ns'etoncopcened ain cortuinity for a t u d y iin g a iside
intees inaybihcand'iaga-ra eof thinegs, ad things that
m wiheur iIicle i foaundinccc liai:e' ls 1i-hr
Ciii; licieci' la te-iceeuek Ii et I Must lie-tleleinely today: you
ticeical _l l.%a itoo}i,.e cia- Iejst study Eetisth ccidiyoutll be
PEARCE AND KENNER
ky will, at the age of 401, be glad to b
if them with the aid of a back-
ground of Rlgabethan virtues:
'alling liac Our Sidney,' and con-
sidering it a "discourtesy" for
deatha to coome to him. Yeats also,
accordin' to Benner, w'as writing
about a type, like Sherlock
Holmes, who v-as capable of ever'y-
thinog and possessed encyclopedic
know-lecdge. 'tn other words, Yeate
os try-icg to britg back Into poli-
tces a character v-ho ts good in!
esvrything. A lord masyor today
tinicks hie on 'lit to be popular with
peotple inssteade of the peopole tink-
ng tbey 0ought to be popular with
hun," ttcnner Oquipcs.
ried: tIthink oure threce childienc's HEsolution, which Bennei nmd Reodr
wll lourishc taheeat least t seeITTeRco-er
nio ireavon why the 'shcoeulic't." nic e hopei-i to d i e- ie pine -LONG the sease lhne.Peaerce
Bennic whosi.; isthe f(lierof !s~ itlsay, addinge to lies Anocient
fecur cilra-e s ~ _ ;r"Its tmeti i ileitkt; f en Macricier -- hi--citthemetheet sa-I
ha z icer c p ict ci of the-er life- awilltt ryc isorkice" outorintciatioesn,
ler ismcccis e t iitiits ex cil scien-itists as recortlers, will
en ScliUilcecAcid I oe tfeic nIeeccipsudnts neoteinpecourecul cctuire and Icelay
clicint e sel--ie d r'c dceccingc
ltcin itnPocci- sett tocel tre' o liiescsiMarniteicce
lie~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~~ Fc"i i e l ec ie 0 eecrsi e liAe'-i ciie-~ c-el cii i 'tic'e s tleescee
cc ccTee t cY'e pi cc iicisen tci c ic c-Ic'-cs-ili cccndi1li
(-chasciiit-TI isicoc-fccIi e1
ccl a iu l o e o i n
asc.i cii ,ed E c I.ccciie 's ite'
letv ci e-v;e est cc wishiec ( li k- smccl fite-ccv aced edds t hiait
heo c .m e_ tteeiec" 55dmn5 Ii- ccciii mem ii'kiil i llwe ltiIe cc puseI neclesnger I h eitk
uccaceciii elm r c ;c isis ,Cli cccii cKBen- recIn-,a rk caboucit IhIie Y- mis batik ftreeIs aced svilenstly, culttue is is n
nier sacys. Ii c ingt:eI ce-ik Mr.I cliiier of disiegractincg'" Utice tI,
'hetonc-ncealso K mitt Uswl."Tisii i ae i :c-s - set rsegeYeats'ice vsays ,manessptesmccis a m(ces
lacko enar-aso vie-ir'v'I ifcrPae tiseoni"thce tferaaid edigeeof the liii-
peating Santa B em b it i5 ihalite' bmetIatlf oe: hca ssie'i
(if a gradua tt school.'ITie necsbo mnbtlfonwihi thi
est oue is 2011 metes awais Abo~t lee class, both unute Yeats' ear- is afticscssure.
this Ksester crascks: "We'llI be treecc ly, mccidls- amid late- sorks, giving Ye-its is the only poest sincee
tf-om theeuiceaeer pressure a emrad b';,,g, alusat notes, toe instance.Sicakespc eae o toe some thinegs
scol pests onaiacollegecof exacm- effrct oasse'is yof the death oa hemis cmacicsc 't all wthaShakespceare,
inn veyhn nwt eei tfre snls t mionIlJohnsonvandmuelMa- Puere saysssnetveravsscto arg-
a-ill be useful1 in prelimuiary cx-orRbtGegy.u n.
anms." AsciiPearce: Most graed Yeats'psem, "n Memory of "Yeats us a lbt' 'nd complex old
choao.s'ste imntellectua lly timid, Ma jar Roabert Gregory," Kenner- bird, whmo recreaed-c the Englitsh
Se hf-n e p r eating, a nd, cev en says, begins by 'chcoinig an earlier lyric-h' macde it think, not ait-
as-hamed. Whaet the answsaer is, I poem, "Thee Wild Swans- at Coole." tily, sentimentailly, pathetically, asr
don't knost, but I thinck it's found Yeats arots in it of several people moony-jussie, andsihe articula teda!
in Coleridge's 'Biune at the A- who ha d died, and a-ho symbolize mnode of thimnkin" as- well as at feel--
'ient Marnner. certaini develop ments, ha ving beenin,
And isn thue story Coleridge tls, driven toard destruction. Yeatssmiait m
lies Pearce's major concern withadsteMjra umtayoal background-both teachers are
today's world. Be remarks thatCanadian-or perhaps it is a sort
s omewhere in , the course of the
last 200-250 ye.ars, the capital "I" Books by Kenner: "Paradox of "mental telepathy" that Pearce
nntthecuafull ed ese a iss., n andtrtdeliberatelyery nd eofr 'eqrntl Pound" int(1951)seseanddWynd-tel dfEvr Psnd"(n92ateriandtsierinmaeremarkablyrabl
deserte.d the arena of public affairs hm Lewis" (19 51; "Dublin's similar ways, And if summer
and of compreheensive action, The Joyce" (5956). Essays: on T. S. Pac-Kenrsuet hc
Intllctul' jb, eacesay ito Eliot, W. B. Yeats, Pound, Wil- natboks on July 9, they will fnd
IntellecmuCarl joWilliamssaMarianneoan instance of this tendency:
reunite himself with other Intel- lSpeakinglof Teate'mpoemi"The
lectuate withouttlosing intellectual PMooreth etc. Knnr ai
'entitas or comamunitas." Essays by Pearce: on Dante, iPhas esfted Moon,"lBonnatsaid
Beferring to the Mariner, Pearce WKneatsw isb W. , IYet, There is not a recognizable na-
sys the Mariner as captain of his Wyda ewsranz Kafka, others on the as- ture here, Benner says, sitting on
ship should have been in his cabin pets of western drama and top of his des-k, characteristicathy
or attending t the welt.are o i olm of moenirtiim crossing ammo leg over the other
crew-"Isted we fid him on the problemsofmoderncriticism. periodically, and "the moon leas to
lceady.tiiiti ieecctrc, yu lcc
e ltce ship-
.T11
'(5cc -
cue i geici ls arr
t slu 111:- seI -es'aeel Ni c ic s cc
opleratiuin,"Kt-tr tellsi css cs
.Yeacts ue a s' u da eb. Andc
hse cccit exctl59 sece
lisis ths omity kindcfinuformen
tioni Nc euonciii sealith."
"The Weld Sws eat'uCeosle",be-
lies-sesneius wshisrcc Yiats cv
most inetee 5stig acid at his moesst
amilil-houcs Yeaits sees "tringc- out"
somnethinge" ethisseas in 1919),isisd
using a very rommncthceme; ice is
achcloredswieethe beidscams go,
amcd they sieves die.This is like
Beauts' "Ode to a Nihtincgale, bust
Yeats awemitt mmrtimesthan Becats.
A hates Yeats poem, The Double
Yision of Michael Robartes' show's
forces cumioussly frightening and
inipersoncal. The first stana is
one semtence, amid Yeats' mimid's
eye is working; "there te no mir-
coring as in Newton, just feeling,
The sphinx in the poem equals
kmioledge, and gazes at the uni-
verse lie knows; the buddhia equals
hove, and gazes at the universe it
loves. Neither notice the girl danc-
ing between them. Bore, time is;
vamnquished," Benner interprfeks,
and you no longer feel hike its
helpless victim, You forget youth's
emotion-that doesnit matter any
more las it did to Wordsworth
and other romantics).
'Yeats said that the Newtonian
view a nd poetic view must be held
simultaneoush'."
W ITH TBAT, Bennmer abrumptly
left the room -- he alway's
lilce-cot ,5 cii i loud Ciii t oce tlcP
ucehcs -ucsecuci svhcls ille:'_ esc
p Alm-s d 0 ---so Seve. rsa"1 a
Nvleclassic seased theeim
taiskv-es han'ede cr to lice' Unt-
lishe departnment lie's-ys mmeelta-
titely. Beet uentil mecccntly, they
laseect tak leuit s erioueslythes'svo
aicec elddoloetic,-acrimmciiitoo ser-
hous aboaut kmradua~te scehools"
Howsevsereneraspvecifies that
11cc facthotetry us concerntedawith
knostlec -.e' not vomceonme's palpitat-
ing soul, 'hues somnetinge to teacih,
;INBUD TO the, ma Pearce's
' commenestary onc"sieve critics."
This niovencent, he r e m a r U s,
scow' more or Ic.sa the ordinary
stuff of criticism has value io,
that it rescused h i te r a r y stuidy
"from the damp embrace of ncaive
biographism." Bust, by concentrat-
ing solely on anm art object for its
ow-n sauke new critics have handed
study of literature over "to the
priestesses of the test tube and
bell jar, a-ho huddle over micro-'
scopic details."
Pearce's solution: Recover the
imedieval "grammatical mode" of
confronting the world. Emancipate
nese critieism from the unnmitigat-
ed prencise thsat anymis'vlencpoem or
crt object is thee only asic in the
unive'rse, ancd can be considered
out of relation withnever-ythinmg
else, 'tf you kncow Yeats' Iast
poenshe adds, "you can m appre-
Iciato his- first poems."