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RobertGraves(1895-1985)Englishpoet,classicalscholar,novelist,andcritic.EnglishLiteratureCeciliaH.C.LiuRobertGraves•BorninWimbledon,southLondon•NotgraduatedfromOxfordUniversitybutjoinedin1914theBritishArmy.•DuringWorldWarIGravesservedalongsideSiegfriedSassoonintheRoyalWelchFusiliers.TheregimentwasinvolvedinsomeoftheheaviestfightingontheWesternFront.GraveswasseverelywoundedontheSommeandbeinglistedbymistakeinmilitarycasualtiestroubledhimadecade.RobertGraves•ThecontroversialautobiographyGoodbyetoAllThat(1929),achronicleofthedisillusionedpostwargeneration,becameahugebestsellerbutalienatedseveralofGraves‘friends,notablySassoonandEdmundBlunden.•In1926GravesmovedtoEgypttoworkasaprofessorattheUniversityofCairo.(Source)RobertGraves•PerhapsbestknownforthehistoricalnovelI,Claudius(1934),withitssequelClaudiustheGod(1943),autobiographicalwarmemoirsandcontroversialstudyTheWhiteGoddess(1948),inwhichGravesrejectsthepatriarchalgodsassourcesofinspirationinfavorofmatriarchalpowersofloveanddestructiveness.TheMuse,orMoon-goddess,inspirespoetryofamagicalquality,incontrasttorational,classicalverse.RobertGraves•Gravesconsideredhimselfprimarilyapoet,buthecouldnotlivebypoetry.Hisearlylyricswerewritteningloomy,late-Romanticstyle.Hislaterworksdealtmainlywithloveandmarriage,birthanddeath,oftensetwithinamythologicalframework.ClassicalliteratureandmythologybecameGravesaconstantsourceofinspiration.HisviewsonintuitionandpoetryGravessummarizedinhisessay'TheCaseforXanthippe'(1960).•AccordingtoGraves,womenandpoetsarenaturalallies.Abstractreasoningisapredominantlymalefieldofthought,andrationalschoolingdiscouragesintuitivethought.Abstractreason,formerlytheservantofpracticalhumanreasons,haseverywherebecomeitsmaster,anddeniespoetryanyexcuseforexistence.•Reasonfailstopromptthewritingoforiginalpoems,andshowsnosparkofhumororreligiousfeeling.Philosophy,underthenameofabstractreasoning,isantipoetic.RobertGraves•Inthe1940sGravesbecameinterestedinmythsandhistory.StudiesofgoddessloreledhimalsoreinterpretthegenealogyofJesus,andrewritetheGospels.InthehistoricalnovelKingJesus(1946)hepresentedJesusasasageandpoet,andrejectedthemysticalVirginBirthdoctrine.•From1961to1966GraveswasProfessorofPoetryattheUniversityofOxford-hewas66whenhedeliveredhisfirstlectureinthisoffice.RobertGravesRobertGraves•WithLauraRidingGravescollaboratedonanumberofliteraryprojects,buttheirpersonalrelationshipwasunderminedbyinfidelities.•ASURVEYOFMODERNISTPOETRY(1927),publishedbySeizinPress,containedcloseanalysisbyRidingwhichinfluencedtheNewCriticism.Bytheendofthe1930stheirpathsseparated.Ridingmarriedin1941SchuylerB.Jackson(d.1968).GravesfellinlovewithBerylHodge,thewifeofhisfriend,withwhomhereturnedtoMallorcain1946andmarriedherin1950.LauraRiding1901-1991•SincetheageoffifteenpoetryhasbeenmyrulingpassionandIhaveneverintentionallyundertakenanytaskorformedanyrelationshipthatseemedinconsistentwithpoeticprinciples;whichhassometimeswonmethereputationofaneccentric.~RobertGraves(source)RobertGravesImage:RobertGravesMajorca©LeoFuchs1962Idolization/worshipofwomen•Graveshadtwowives,butidolizedandlovedvariousotherwomen.Inhisthirtiesandearlyforties,hewasinvolvedwithLauraRiding,afellowpoetandcritic;inhisfiftiesandsixties,hismuseswerebeautiful,talented,twenty-ishwomen.•GraveslikedFrost,JohnCroweRansom,andE.E.Cummings(hisAmericandiscoveries);foundsomeredeemingqualitiesinEliotandDylanThomas;foundnoredeemingqualitiesinYeats,Pound,orAuden.TheWhiteGoddess•TheWhiteGoddessisoneofthenamesgiventotheEarthMother;theMoongoddess,toVenus,Astarte,Lilith,Belili,theMuses,theThreeGracesandtoinnumerableotherfemaledeities.Sheisfoundinthemythsandlegendsofallcultures.•Thiswasanature-basedreligionwhichinvolvedcloseobservationandcelebrationoftheseasonsandofthemoonandtheplanets.Itsbiblewaswritteninthestarsforalltosee,anditshymnswerethesongsofbirdsandthesighingsofthebreeze.TheworshipoftheWhiteGoddessreacheditshighestlevelinthetimeoftheMinoans(say1600BC).•Inthatperiod,thesea-tradingMinoanscarriedtheirreligionfromtheirportsintheMediterraneanasfarasIrelandinthewest;andtotropicalAsiaintheeast.Ofthegoddess-templesfounded,thehighestmayhavebeenthatofSapphoontheislandofLesbos.Thegoddess-templesareofgreatimportancetoscholars,fortheyarethesourceofthealphabetweuse;themusicalscalesweuse,oftheconceptofpoetry,ofthecalendar,ofastronomyandhistory,andofformalmathematicsandthesciences.TheWhiteGoddess•Thisculturefellinacataclysminapproximately1600BC,butwasresumedbyAchaeans(proto-Greeks),andbyothercivilizationshonoringthenaturegoddess.Thetemple'sroleatthepinnacleofhumancultureandachievementlasteduntilthesecondcenturyannodomine,whenthehighpriestessofthetempleofIsiswasmurdered.ThefallofthetempleontheNilemarkedtheendofgoddess-worshipasamanifestorestablishedreligion,andthebeginningoftheGoddess'longcareerinhiddenreligion,thatis,intheoccult.TheWhiteGoddessReference•TheFallenTemple:ASearchfortheWhiteGoddess.20Feb.2006•RobertGraves.Biography.20Feb.2006•TheRobertGravesArchive.20Feb.2006ht