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Topic: McCarthy's Western Novels
Thread: The Wanderer, Blood Meridian, and Ubi Sunt

Total messages for all days: 3

The Wanderer, Blood Meridian, and Ubi Sunt	Clement	1/22/2010
From The Wanderer, possibly one of our oldest English poems: Where is the horse gone? Where is the rider? Where is the giver of treasure? Where are the seats at the feast? Where are the revels in the hall? Alas for the bright cup! Alas for the mailed warrior! Alas for the splendour of the prince! How that time has passed away, dark under the cover of night, as if it had never been! From BM: Where is yesterday? Where is Glanton and Brown and where is the priest? He leaned closer. Where is Shelby, whom you left to the mercies of Elias in the desert, and where is Tate whom you abandoned in the mountains? Where are the ladies, ah the fair and tender ladies with whom you danced at the governor's ball when you were a hero anointed with the blood of the enemies of the republic you'd elected to defend? And where is the fiddler and where the dance? I can't find anything in the forum search. Anybody know if there is any crit out there about McCarthy and Old English poetry? I suspect The Exeter Book was perused more than once by our man.

The Wanderer, Blood Meridian, and Ubi Sunt	JackaLupe	1/23/2010
And where are the Barbarians (C.P. Cavafy), the Senators et al?

The Wanderer, Blood Meridian, and Ubi Sunt	KevinM	1/23/2010
That's very interesting, Clement. When I first read the "frailty of all things revealed at last" line in TR I thought, Dang, I've seen that before. McC does seem to have a medieval view of the world -- It's a tenuous place. Change = decay. Evil is an active force. The real world is symbolic of another one. Distrust/idolization of the female. Pilgrimages ...

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