The poem “Caedmon,” written by Denise Levertov, enlists readers to learn more about God and creation and by doing so expands their understanding of the universe. At one point or another in life, people go through stages where they have no inspiration and sometimes shrink back from something that they think is too complicated to achieve. Therefore, they are limiting themselves and their undeveloped talents, much like Caedmon was before his sudden inspiration by the messenger of God. The story of the poet Caedmon and his sudden inspiration is recounted in the Venerable Bede’s Ecclesiastical History.
In the following lines of the poem “Caedmon” when he is asked to contribute to the songs, he feels that it is impossible and that if he were to attempt to sing, he would break their verses like a clumsy dancer: All others talked as if talk were a dance. Clodhopper I, with clumsy feet would break the gliding ring. (1575) When anyone would try to nudge him forward to contribute, he would always use the excuse that he was a cowherd to escape the passing of the harp and retreat back to the barn with the animals.
He would feel content and at home amongst the animals where he was not forced into improvising verses to keep the banquet lively. While he is sitting amongst the animals, the event occurs that changes his life. In the following lines of “Caedmon,” he describes the angel that suddenly appears in front of him: Until the sudden angel affrighted me – light effacing my feeble beam, a forest of torches, feathers of flame, sparks upflying: (1575-76) The next few lines are in conjunction with a similar event that is recounted in the Bible.
In the poem “Caedmon,” the event is described as follows: but the cows as before were calm, and nothing was burning, nothing but I, as that hand of fire touched my lips and scorched my tongue and pulled my voice into the ring of the dance. (1576) In Chapter 6, Verse 6 of Isaiah, Isaiah is told to prophesy and he is unwilling, much like Caedmon was unwilling to contribute to the passing of the harp. Isaiah has a similar experience when an angel confronts him in the following lines of the Bible:
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged. ‘ (Isaiah 6:6) The burning coal and the flame symbolize the purification of Isaiah and Caedmon, enabling Isaiah to speak and Caedmon to sing. The usage of a burning coal and flame reminds readers that “all sin is forgiven because of a sacrifice. The sacrifices on the temple altar point to the ultimate sacrifice of the Savior Jesus.
God sovereignly and graciously forgave Isaiah’s sin” (Isaiah 6:6). Caedmon is given the chance to contribute as Isaiah was given the chance to prophesy. Both of them, in turn, teach others about God and creation. The angel that appeared before Caedmon was an epiphany, god-sent to give Caedmon inspiration so that he could join in with the others into the dance. In the last two lines of the poem, the words “into the ring of the dance”, are set off from the others to draw the readers’ attention to those words: and pulled my voice nto the ring of the dance. 1576) Speech and song are dances, in one form or another.
Before his vision of the angel, Caedmon stood outside the dance but when he is finally inspired, when the angel pulls the words from his mouth, he is able to join into the dance and therefore spreading his knowledge of God. After this event, in which he was commanded to sing the creation of the world, he does so in the poem “Caedmon’s Hymn. ” As Isaiah was commanded to prophesy his knowledge of creation, Caedmon was made able to sing verses of creation.
It is human nature to wish for order instead of chaos and in “Caedmon,” Denise Levertov gives readers a form of order to better understand life and why everything is the way it is. The poem itself envelopes readers in a pleasing sensation for in several cases she uses alliteration. In line 18, the constant ‘s’ is repeated as alliteration: “from shadow to shadow / slow in the wake,” and in line 27, the constant ‘f’ is repeated: “a forest of torches, feathers of flame, sparks upflying:” This repetition gives a flowing sensation to the poem, therefore making it more enjoyable for readers.
Many people ask “Why is this the way it is? ” and many people do not have answers, but in the Bible and in poems such as “Caedmon” and “Caedmon’s Hymn,” some answers are given to these thought provoking questions. Inspiration is what creates tomorrow, and as Caedmon chose to go with his inspiration and teach others, many others are given similar chances. As said in the movie “Gladiator,” “What we do in life, echoes in eternity. “
