Cædmon and the gift of song in Black Mountain poetry

Abstract

Robert Duncan’s and Denise Levertov’s poetic interpretations of Bede’s account of Caedmon depict him as the origin of poetic subjectivity, a gift from others and for others. In Duncan’s account the visiting figure becomes Friend Song, and the external command to sing is transformed into an envoy for Duncan’s own works. Levertov’s poem cultivates an alliterative line that draws on the wellspring of Anglo-Saxon verse while playing with the shape of the line. Caedmon retreats among his cattle, ‘dumb among body sounds,’ and finds there a command to join the dance. In both accounts poetic inspiration constitutes a fusion of body and song, and this embodiment resonates with the songs of voices, calling Caedmon and the poets who join with him into a realm of endless giving, ‘into the world that’s all of song/commingling,’ in Duncan’s words, connecting medieval and modern verse.