Inner_Journeys

Understanding the concept of inner journeys has allowed a better understanding of myself, individuals and the world. It is through the knowledge gained in the two poems, Of Eurydice by Ivan Lalic and The French Prisoner by Janos Pilinszky, that I can incorporate this concept into everyday life. An inner journey is an experience that develops a person through new challenges and inspires them to discover ‘one’s self’. They can occur over a short period of time or even extend over a lifetime. It is through facing these hardships that a person can strengthen themselves from within. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail…” From straying off the path, one can change their view or outlook on themselves, individuals and the world. In Of Eurydice, Orpheus is faced with many inner journeys while on his physical journey to save his wife Eurydice. Throughout the poem we see how his reaction has affected his life now. [Orpheus must face the gods of the underworld and overcome his fear so he can return with his wife. However one error lets him lose her all over again but this time he can never get her back.] When he returns, he reflects on what he has lost and how he can only blame himself for what has happened. Now he must face a life alone and full of regret. However, he understands that he can learn from his error, “Afraid, and hideously enriched.” The imagery used throughout the poem changes to express the changes in what Orpheus is feeling. In the first stanza, dark imagery is used such as darkness devoid of time, black and coals. These words are symbolic of the way he feels. In the second stanza the imagery changes to words that express his passion such as crimson fear and blood-heavy eyes. Metaphors and personification are used frequently throughout the poem. The metaphor, ‘gnawed to the bone by the walls’ invisible sneers’, shows his realization that he was being ridiculed by the gods all along. However he learnt that he could blame no one but himself and therefore must leave with dignity as when he went to save Eurydice. In the line, ‘nor running for the doors of the sun’ it describes what he feels life will be like when he returns without Eurydice, that he isn’t looking forward to returning at all. Orpheus has learnt a lesson from his mistakes during his inner journey. He was tricked by the gods of the underworld and he realises this in the line, ‘vapourised on the coals of wisdom in your eyes’. Orpheus now realises that the gods knew all along that he would not be able to rescue Eurydice as his love for her, although strong enough to let him face his fears in the underworld, was too strong to keep him from looking at her for one moment. Through the inner journey Orpheus faced, I can understand that by facing our fears we can achieve marvelous things. Even if it seems as though a fear will interrupt and affect our journeys in life, it can strengthen and motivate us to strive for our best and to achieve what we want. The In The French Prisoner, the persona faces an inner journey based on a memory of something that happened in his past. This memory has haunted him throughout his life. He saw the pain and desperation the prisoner went through and yet didn’t do anything to save him from starvation. He’s now consumed by this memory and full of regret and guilt. He reflects on how this memory has affected his life now after so many years. This revealed in the personification, “And from my ears, from my eyes, my mouth the scorching memory roars at me.” Emotive language is used when describing the prisoner’s actions to show his desperation to not die of starvation. Examples shown are the nouns and adjectives smuggled, gulping, revulsion, joy, shame, desperate and furious. These all highlight the prisoner’s despair. Personification, such as “the organs savaging each other, forced to tear from each other their last shreds of kinship,” are used throughout the poem. It is also a metaphor in the sense that it shows the prisoner has lost his dignity as his body shows its survival techniques, of the organs working against each other. Repetition of the words ‘if only’ constantly remind us that this memory is always with the narrator and his inner journey has continued throughout his life even as “I am strolling here…” years later.