I want to visit Copenhagen.
Yesterday, as I was attempting to read Sidney's 'Defense of Poesy', a phrase gnawed its way in and found a little nest for itself in my head- the 'golden world'. Sir Sidney propounds that Poets are different from all other men, and even get one upon Nature because they have the ability to create or present things better than they really are, and so inspire others to realise those images. While nature's world is 'brasen', that of the poets is golden. Herein lies the beauty and use of poetry- its chief aim is to delight and instruct.
I'm not sure how this is related to any desires to go globe-trotting, but those are the wishes it sparked off. I was suddenly reminded of the Little Mermaid (I mean the character from Hans Christian Anderson's tragic story, not the happy, singing Disney one, though I do love her in all her red haired glory), and her not-so-happy stint on Earth. Why was she inspired to come up, to rise through the waves and visit the never-never land of the shore? She heard the stories, she saw the princes. She felt the undeniable call of love. And for that, she was ready to sell her most prized possession, her voice.
What the Little Mermaid fell prey to is readily gauged- the golden world of stories, of poetry. Did she find what she sought? For a brief period, yes. The brasen world soon asserted itself however, and she was left with two rather terrible choices (va! Greek tragedy indeed!): either kill the Prince and his bride, or kill herself. Unsurprisingly (being a fairy tale heroine and all) she chose the latter. And, paradoxically, gained immortality that way.
It's funny to imagine a story book character falling in love with the world of stories. I don't hold 'human' characters in the same regard, but someone so TOTALLY make believe dying to actually meet reality, it's a strange concept. Hans Christian Anderson had a beautiful idea, and it's the tribute to that idea that I wish to view. We never think of longing from the other side, do we?
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