Faculty Brown Bag with Prof. Carla Thomas Wednesday, 3/30 @ 10am (Zoom)

Our third Brown Bag talk of the semester will feature Dr. Carla María Thomas on Wednesday, March 30th at 10am (on Zoom). Prof. Thomas' talk is titled “Þe Æfter Lihten”: Erasure, Intimacy, and Light in “The Grave and Pandemerica.”

Their abstract:

In the Early Middle English poem “The Grave,” a speaker informs you, the singular reader, that a grave has been awaiting you since birth. Aside from a passing reference to worms eating your corpse, the poem does not vividly describe death like other medieval soul and body poetry. Instead, the poem emphasizes the loss of intimacy, both the loss of a loved one’s presence and the loss of their physical touch. Thanks to living with COVID-19 for over two years, we have experienced an unprecedented amount of isolation in our otherwise globalized world: hospital visitation, travel, and socializing restrictions have resulted in lost moments of crucial intimacy. 

Scholars often read one line of “The Grave” as “incomplete” or “erased” before the scribe copied it. The speaker remarks that no one will visit you in yourgrave, nor will they be able to open it. Then, line 21 reads, “and þe æfter lihten,” which is often translated “and come after you” or “and let light in around you.” I think we should read this as “and afterward lighten you” instead because “lihten” commonly meant “to lighten a burden,” “to comfort.” In reading this medieval erasure of intimacy, I contemplate my loss as well as my gains in Pandemerica: the quality of intimacy has surpassed the previous quantity, and I find myself more “comforted” than before even while longing for a partner I haven’t seen in almost two and a half years.

"The Reunion of Soul and Body. From Blair's 'Grave' illustrated by W. Blake'' (1895); from William Blake, Painter and Poet by Richard Garnett. Work is in the public domain. File from Wikimedia Commons, "William Blake, painter and poet (page 53).png".

image credit: brown paper bag by clikr, licensed under CC0 / public domain declaration