A Concept of Death in Literature

The concept of death is as complex as its variations. The English philosopher Francis Bacon called it “the least of all evils”. The perception of death evolved and drastically changed Our perception of life which is not that exuberant. The death is strongly connected with its rituals which were different in the West and in the East. The death brings questions that have to be answered and concern the existential problems. Be it as it may, the concept of death will always have an open window to shape  the perception of life itself. The death provokes, shapes the literary concepts of the notion. The cultures were developed by its profound meaning. It has changed the Western culture. We use to say “My death”, “His death” – it reflects Our present life.

-‘Now everything is OK, but, My Dear, what will You do after my  death …?’

We tend to personalize death, the artists and philosophers perceived death in a different manner – it is a deep and profound notion. It doesn’t reflect mortality or immortality; yet, everything philosophers write about concentrate on a world they live in; One has to accept it, follow the unwanted changes. The time is cruel, it terrorizes Us, the world we live in experiences a trauma of loss, it happens everyday, therefore, major trends in philosophy, theology and religion are noted in this profound sense of dissatisfaction with the world we live in.  

Willingly or not, death has to be understood. Western tradition celebrates death, it is irreversibly connected with the biblical sin, the idea of the sin and the fall. The fall resulted in death. Notwithstanding the fact that it is a myth, it became a very powerful one, most of Us will take it for granted and will see that the fall has got its cause in sexuality and death.  Before the fall there was no sexuality and desire. However Christian tradition offers some kind of compensation – Heavens. Moreover, the fall made the men responsible for the death.

The fall is a total contradiction to life, the connection between desire and mortality is crucial, it wouldn’t have been important if it had not been for the fall. Eve was a very curious creature, she ate the apple of knowledge and thought that ‘enough is enough’. But it was not. She must have known that, the theological texts indicate, she must have, namely, no ones pays for cows when the milk is free. It was a cause and it was an effect.

Mortality is a finite stage of life, One calls it punctuation of life, full stop, the end. There aren’t any question marks.

Original sin is a focal point, still, a myth is a myth, it is a perfect example of ‘enough is never enough’. It is a desire which originates from Our dissatisfaction, unhappiness, and unfulfilled great expectations. Everything seems to be illusionary.

The concept of soul is filled with doubt, it is a doubt if there is something better out there, doubt is stronger than faith. Without a cloud of doubt, it is fear, uncertainty. The fall is a symbol of death, whereas, the pulse is a symbol of life, unfortunately, it is also a measure of how close One is to encounter death, the weaker and simpler to count it is, the inevitable comes.

Soul was perceived as uncontrollable matter; something new, yet, driven by death.

Leave me, O Love, which reachest but to dust; 

And thou, my mind, aspire to higher things; 

Grow rich in that which never taketh rust; 

Whatever fades but fading pleasure brings. 

Draw in thy beams and humble all thy might 

To that sweet yoke where lasting freedoms be; 

Which breaks the clouds and opens forth the light, 

That both doth shine and give us sight to see. 

O take fast hold; let that light be thy guide 

In this small course which birth draws out to death, 

And think how evil becometh him to slide, 

Who seeketh heav'n, and comes of heav'nly breath. 

Then farewell, world; thy uttermost I see: 

Eternal Love, maintain thy life in me. 

Sir. Phillip Sydney

The desire is so profound and so great that it is burning up, it shows You how fragile Your life is. Desire as much as death is a negative feeling, it promises the fulfillment that will never come:

Thou blind man's mark, thou fool's self-chosen snare, 
Fond fancy's scum, and dregs of scattered thought ; 
Band of all evils, cradle of causeless care ; 
Thou web of will, whose end is never wrought ; 
Desire, desire !  I have too dearly bought, 
With price of mangled mind, thy worthless ware ; 
Too long, too long, asleep thou hast me brought, 
Who shouldst my mind to higher things prepare.
But yet in vain thou hast my ruin sought ; 
In vain thou madest me to vain things aspire ; 
In vain thou kindlest all thy smoky fire ; 
For virtue hath this better lesson taught,—
Within myself to seek my only hire, 
Desiring nought but how to kill desire.   

Sir. Phillip Sydney

One has a chance to live with a desire only if One accepts this paradox, however in Romanticism, the only way to escape from destructive desire is death. Desire gives Us pleasure, the ecstasy of death is understood as freedom. The celebration of death at the funerals became a tradition and a custom which is expressed by flowers and mourning.  

 Bibliography:

Northon Anthology of English Literature, vol.1