In regards to Keats "Negative Capability", someone proposed that he is speaking of humility. I respond:
The great thing about humility is that is it, positively, counter productive. Humility is the acceptance and patience for reality. But when one is humble, reality changes. When we decide to be happy, we begin to find reasons to be happy. When we don't have an answer, and we accept that and move on, answers begin to pop out of the wood work. it's not a magical solution, because in it's very definition it must be sincere. One cannot say "I am now humble, now I deserve the bounty of humility." But rather it is in many ways unconscious and subtle. It is a perfect law of honesty. It is the language of God. Truth cleaves to truth, and light to light. I suppose, karma.
It does make sense that in order to be close to beauty, you must be content with what is before you. To be discontent means you are not satisfied with the beauty you see. Those who delve into the beauty about them are capable of examining and plunging in to feel excellently the essence of the beauty. Unfortunately, Keats seems to imply that to strive for greater reason and greater meaning means that one is discontent. They are "irritable reaching after fact and reason". I agree that it is genius to find happiness in an imperfect world and amongst "uncertainties, mysteries, doubts", but the idea is contradictory in that the mere endeavor to have capability amongst the negative, means that one is digging up the positive and exposing and discovering a better way of being. They are not just "capable" anymore. They are "champion".
Friday, December 3, 2010
Thoughts on "Negative Capablity"
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