Liminality and Bachelardian Space in Herbert Mason’s Gilgamesh
David Capps
Publication: Volume 2 Issue 2
Abstract
This paper explores Herbert Mason’s rendition of Gilgamesh as a work that navigates the loss of friendship, and self in terms of Gaston Bachelard’s concept of ‘poetic space.’ In the first section the paper foregrounds the relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh in terms of Hegelian recognition. It argues that this recognition informs both the depth of their friendship and Gilgamesh’s sense of loss upon Enkidu’s demise. In the second section, using the work of Victor Turner, the paper develops a notion of Gilgamesh as a figure undergoing a liminal passage as he searches for immortality. In the concluding section, it shows that Bachelardian spaces underlie Mason’s poetic representation of Gilgamesh as a liminal figure.
Keywords: Bachelard, Gilgamesh, Herbert Mason, Enkidu, hybrid, poetics of space, lyricism, Victor Turner, Hegel, Recognition, Liminality, Intimate Immensities, Aggregation, Poetic Image, Oneiric Value
David Capps (cappsdavid@gmail.com) is a Professor of Philosophy at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, USA. He earned a doctorate from University of Connecticut where he specialized in analytic epistemology, and an MFA in poetry from Southern Connecticut State University. His research interests include theories of epistemic justification, the debate between liberalism and conservativism in the epistemology of perceptual belief, the relationship between poetry and propositional knowledge, and the nature of metaphor.