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< Previous Page | Next Page > Chapter 3c: Dramatic AllegoriesIn writing about The Assembly of Gods, scholars have recognized the strong connection between the poem and medieval drama, particularly the morality plays.*E.g. Triggs (Assembly lxi-lxiii), Potter 25, O’Reilly 60. It may seem strange that this text which, as Gradon points out, is the epitome of literature made up of static pictures has for Triggs a “dramatic picturesqueness” (lxiii) and is for Collier “very dramatic, and far less dull than most pieces of the kind ” (quoted in Assembly lxiii). After quoting the description of Vice on his serpent, Lewis says, “Such merits as the work has, turn mainly on this kind of vivacity. The strife between moral personifications has something of the stir of real battle” (Allegory 261). Instances of dramatic presentation appear throughout the poem. Aeolus’ appeal to Diana for grace, and Apollo’s statement about Aeolus’ tears (211-21), Attropos’ plea before the gods at Apollo’s table (444-525), the reconciliation of Freewill and Virtue (1219-53) and the discussions between Morpheus and the dreamer (e.g. 1470-81) are just a few examples. The poem seems to fluctuate between static visual images and dramatic exchanges and monologues. This conflict between the stillness of many of the poem’s visual images and the dramatic quality of other parts of the narrative creates a contrast in the poem that highlights both the visual and the dramatic nature of the dream. By drawing attention to these two modes of storytelling the poet again emphasizes the constructedness of the text and the role of the visual in the poem. In addition to containing dramatic elements, the poem is connected to the morality dramas by the use of themes and characters common in those dramas. According to Spivack, “Four themes of medieval allegory supply the content for the entire body of English Moralities, . . . the Summons of Death, the Debate of the Soul and the Body, . . . the Parliament of Heaven” and the psychomachia or conflict of spiritual opposites (63, 72-73). Among the themes of morality plays that W. A. Davenport lists are, “the conflict of Reason and Sensuality within Man, the fall into sin brought by the exercise of free will, the debate of the daughters of God, and the coming of Death” (94). And for Potter, “The pattern of these dramas is not one of combat, but rather a sequence of innocence/fall/redemption” (8).*Pageants and other dramatic spectacles also used these popular themes. For example, in 1362 a tournament was held in Cheap in which knights dressed as the Seven Deadly Sins and challenged all comers (Pederson 13). The various lists differ significantly from each other, but it is possible to find nearly all of these themes in The Assembly of Gods. The poem uses dramatic characters in much the same way that it uses motifs from the visual and literary arts. Triggs explains,
The references to characters and images that readers of the poem would already know and have associations with connect the poem to the network of dramatic allegorical images and ideas that filled medieval England. By this connection, the poet lends authority and interest to his own work and extends the importance of the accord of reason and sensuality to the morality plays. One of the poem’s most important dramatic moments comes at its climax. When the dreamer asks Doctrine to explain how reason and sensuality can be brought into accord, Doctrine, rather than explain the vision further, takes part in a brief play which reveals the answer. In fact, she seems quite consciously to take on a role, acting surprised to learn of Reason and Sensuality’s agreement. The use of drama at this point could indicate the value of drama as a tool for instruction, but as with the visual and literary elements of the poem, the poet instead underscores the inability of outward expressions, visual, auditory or literary, to express significant meaning without the aid of reason. The drama and the interpretation of it which follows come at the close of the narrator’s dream. They bring together all of the themes of the poem and resolve, for the dreamer at least, the question about the accord of reason and sensuality. The drama begins with Death entering the arbor. Doctrine explains that there is no one in the arbor that is within Death’s power except the narrator, and the narrator says, “when I herde hyr with hym comon thus,/ I me withdrew behynde Morpheus” (1938-39). This image nicely symbolizes the way that the narrator relies on his senses throughout the drama. When the play ends, the dreamer comes out from behind Morpheus confused and sad. He says,
The dreamer has seen and heard the drama, but he seems to have learned by this point in the dream that seeing and hearing alone are not enough to help him understand. He says to Doctrine, “that matyr can I nat wynne/ Without your helpe & benyuolence/ Theof to expresse the verray sentence" (2000-02). Doctrine then gives her interpretation. The dreamer, overcome with gratitude says, “Well was she worthy to be called Doctryne,/ Yef hit had be nomore but for the solucion/ Of my demaunde and of thys straunge vysyon” (2021-23). The fact that Doctrine’s interpretation of the drama is little more than a restatement of Reason’s dialogue symbolizes the coming together of reason and sensuality. The narrator has learned that he must combine reason, the instruction of Doctrine, with sensuality, the vision provided by Morpheus, and, having learned this lesson, he finds that the information that comes through his senses matches up precisely with the interpretation of Doctrine. For the dreamer, reason and sensuality have come into accord. His question about the accord of reason and sensuality has been answered explicitly by the statement of Doctrine. He has learned the lesson about the interpretation of allegory, as evidenced by his mistrust of the vision alone. In addition, he has literally experienced the accord of reason and sensuality in the convergence of Doctrine’s statement and the actions on the surface of the dream. Having learned that lesson and having brought reason and sensuality to accord the dreamer is now ready for his dream to end. The literary, visual and dramatic allegories that make up the surface of The Assembly of Gods are conventional, but the poet not only combines them in interesting ways but adapts them to emphasize the role of reason and sensuality and to stress that the two must come together if these various forms of allegory are to be properly understood. The dreamer experiences the vision in a variety of sensory ways, but in each case he cannot understand the meaning of the poem simply through the information that comes to his senses. He cannot understand the meaning of the sensory perceptions he receives or of Doctrine’s explanations until he finds an accord between the two. His experience parallels that of the reader and in the end he learns the “verray sentence” (2002) of his vision and the answer to the question which brought it on. Most importantly, he personally experiences the accord of reason and sensuality which prepares him for and brings him to the end of his dream. < Previous Page | Next Page > |
ContentsChapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3: Literary, Visual and Dramatic Allegories Chapter 4: Death and the accord of Reason and Sensuality Appendix 1 Appendix 2: Critical response to The Assembly of Gods |
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