Baudelaire & Tolkien: A Search for Melody
Hello again. This is Altalena and welcome back to An Aesthetic Education. Today is our final episode of our first series. For those of you who have listened since the beginning, thank you for your support. As I said in the very first episode, the purpose of this podcast was to provide a forum for the discussion of art, literature, beauty, and aesthetics. To explore the creative arts from all angles and provide inspiration to those who listen to pursue their own creative dreams. In this first series, we have been able to touch upon a number of topics to give a small sense of the vastness of the subject matter that we are dealing with. There is so much more still to learn, to discuss, and to be inspired by. That being said, I want Series 2 to be even more thoughtful, in depth, and involved for our audience. As I begin working and planning Series 2 there will be a break from our regular posting schedule of a new podcast every Wednesday. That’s not to say that there will be no new episodes at all. Be on the lookout for a few special episodes and interviews by following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts as well as on our Instagram at Altalena.art. So, let’s jump right into to our main discussion on the importance of melody in our understanding of Aesthetic Beauty.
Charles Baudelaire, the preeminent French poet, and critic wrote a number of pieces on aesthetics and the arts that were extremely influential on the symbolist movement of the late 19th century. Baudelaire drew many of his ideas from the mainstream philosophies of romantic aesthetics. He was particularly influenced by the work of France’s leading romantic artist, Eugene Delacroix. Baudelaire’s writings on aesthetics, while popular in his own lifetime, took on greater significance after his death in 1867. His formulations on the importance and power of aesthetics possessed a level of certainty and strength that allowed for his ideas to influence the development of many different artists and movements towards the end of that century. Of course, Baudelaire wrote about the entire gamut of ideas as it relates to aesthetics, art, and beauty. But today I want to focus only on one particular quote of his, which he wrote in 1846 where he said:
“The appropriate way to determine whether a painting is melodious is to look at it from a distance so as to be unable to comprehend its subject or its lines. If it is melodious, it already has a meaning and has taken its place in the repertory of memories.”
What does it mean for a painting to be melodious? Baudelaire, when speaking about a visual art, chooses to define the essence of understanding a painting by using a musical reference. One based around sounds not visuals. It stems from the need for art to in some way reflect a sense of harmony between the creative and the individual. When the sounds of the various instruments come together in an orchestra you find the melody. Individually, the instruments, while beautiful, do not hold the same power. But together they form something even greater than the sum of their parts. For Baudelaire, the ability to step back and see something not within the minute structure of all the individual elements, but rather as a complete image allows for the possibility of finding the melody within the work. If the melody is there, if it contains a level of beauty and truth within the confines of its work, it is because it reaches out to one’s memories. Art must have a place within an individual’s repertory of memories for it to be appreciated and have purpose. Within that space of memory and creativity it can lift back the veil on the hidden beauty of our lives. It is those moments that we often don’t notice or fully appreciate in the first instance, yet they can be looked back upon with fondness. Art in all its forms, be it poetry, literature, paintings, sculpture, or music, raises the mind of the individual to be a receptacle of thoughts and feelings that are often difficult to comprehend. Now this point would lead us down the rabbit hole of the symbolist movement and Baudelaire’s influence on their work. Because how Baudelaire attempts to reconcile the difficulty of understanding these complex emotions is to connect them with imagery and sensations that evoke something within one’s soul. I would be more than happy to discuss these ideas all day. It is a fascinating topic, but one that we will save for a future discussion. Once you start trying to differentiate the purpose of a symbol or allegory, it is a slippery slope. Instead, I want us to keep in mind what Baudelaire said about the importance of a work of art having a melody and being connected to memory, as we take a look at how another writer developed these ideas in a very different context. Let’s take a step forward in time, out of the 19th century and into the 20th and hear from one of the most wonderful writers, philologists, and intellects to ever work at Oxford University, J.R.R. Tolkien.
In late 1951, Tolkien was attempting to get The Lord of the Rings published. With Allen & Unwin proving to be reticent about publishing the work, Tolkien approached Milton Waldman of Collins Publishing. In an effort to demonstrate to Mr. Waldman that The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion were connected and interdependent, Tolkien wrote a lengthy letter providing a deep insight into the world, language, and stories he had created. An important aspect of Tolkien’s creative consideration was the lack of stories and legends built into the English language. He bemoaned how in comparison to other cultures be it ancient or otherwise, England seemed to lack foundational myths. His passion was for myths and fairy stories, not allegory, but rather heroic legend that crossed that bridge between fairy-tale and history. Accordingly, Tolkien says in the letter to Mr. Waldman that “Myth and fairy-story must, as all art, reflect and contain in solution elements of moral and religious truth (or error), but not explicit, not in the known form of the primary ‘real’ world.” Tolkien’s premise in relation to the creation of art and the development of his stories is based upon the intertwining of truth and myth. These pieces are akin to the branches of an old tree that come together to form a complete being. In a similar vein to Baudelaire, Tolkien’s work requires an understanding of a larger picture and perspective, you need to see the bigger story that surrounds the events that occur in Middle Earth, in order to appreciate the intricate details and nuances.
Considering the many different pieces that make up Tolkien’s world its languages, its people, its history, and its stories, we might ask ourselves what is this epic’s primary concern? Why did Tolkien spend the majority of his career working on these myths and fairy stories? How can we as readers begin to understand the melody of his creation? In his letter to Milton Waldman, Tolkien answers this question when he says, “It is, I suppose, fundamentally concerned with the problem of the relation of Art (and Sub – creation) and Primary Reality.” For Tolkien, the act of creation takes on a primary concern. There is no higher achievement or greater purpose than the creation of something beautiful. Tolkien’s world begins with a cosmogonical myth entitled: the Music of the Ainur. Where God is revealed, and creation begins. In its simplest of forms, it is music that God utilizes to will things into existence. It is the search for the right melody, the right notes, a way to create something beautiful. Tolkien, like Baudelaire, finds that art in its purest sense must contain an element of melody, as it is the melody itself that wills art into existence and allows it to find a place within an individual’s memories. The greatest “magic” that Tolkien bestows on the inhabitants of Middle Earth is the ability to create art. He says speaking of the Elves: “Their magic is Art, delivered from many of its human limitations: more effortless, more quick, more complete (product, and vision in unflawed correspondence). And its object is Art not Power, sub-creation not domination and tyrannous re-forming of Creation.” Tolkien gave the Elves the gift of aesthetic philosophy. Through their intelligence, their desire, and their divine spark they are able to bring light and beauty unto the world. Out of the darkness that existed before the music of Ainur, there came a purpose and light to follow forward. I like to think that in some small way Tolkien is telling us that the study of aesthetics can help us to not lose our way in the dark.
If the Elves create for beauty’s sake, then the enemies within Tolkien’s world, the dark forces of Morgoth or Sauron, which are only concerned with domination, create to destroy. In order to dominate they spread darkness, division, and hatred. Sowing the seeds of distrust and creating something that is so profoundly lacking in anything that can be called art that it is the polar opposite to the purpose of the world’s creation. This is the conflict between good and evil, light, and dark, art and domination that permeates throughout Tolkien’s work. The entire premise for the The Lord of the Rings begins with the creation of the one ring and ends with its destruction. Beauty that creates art and uplifts the individual vs. an intoxicating beauty that creates misery, jealousy, and brings people to their lowest state. Through the twists and turns of his story, Tolkien show us the wonders and the dangers that lie in the act of creation. The characters in his stories that fall to darkness are unable to step back and see the bigger picture. They got stuck looking at the tiny details, the little victories, the insignificant glories, and jealousies and in doing so lost sight of the painting in its complete form. They did not listen to Baudelaire; they could not find the melody or connect true beauty within the repertory of their memories. It is only in that instance, where we lose sight of the bigger picture, that art can be deprived of its purpose and beauty can be lost. But no matter the circumstances and no matter how difficult and fraught with danger the act of creation might seem, Tolkien never leaves us in doubt that those moments of beauty are worth it.
As he says so eloquently in The Riddle of Strider:
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
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Thank you for listening.
