Byron, Nietzsche, and the Mystery of Forgetting
In the article Byron, Nietzsche and The Mystery of Forgetting, James Soderholm exploits the similarities between Wilhelm Nietzsche and Byron's play Manfred, along with the irony of mindful forgetfulness. Manfred is a play best known for its shocking plot, but even more shocking the reality that encouraged Byron to write the play. Crafted after his own life, the show opened a gateway to freedom for Byron from the loneliness of his secrets. Thus helping him deal with the pain. As an intentional result of the plays release Byron enjoyed the humiliation that his two ex-lovers; ex-wife Annabella Byron, and half-sister Augusta Leigh had to endure in England while he lay low out of town. One of the most important scenes in Manfred is when a discouraged boy calls upon spirits to help him do what he could not, forget the past and move on. Next he was, instead, handed eternal memory. In real life Lord Byron wished he could escape from the mistakes he made in the past. In his heart he knew the mind is a wonderful thing, but can not erase what is real. If Byron could intentionally forget anything he wished, I'm sure after the play was released would be the time to use the skill. Nietzsche mentioned the concept of mindful forgetfulness in several of his own writings such as a series of books entitled Daybreak, Disadvantages of History for Life then again in Essay of the Genealogy of Morals. Even though one could say Nietzsche was an "expert" in the art of consciously forgetting Nietzsche wouldn't except that his mind was actively forgetting. An example is this quote by thee refusing to believe that the plot for Manfred had been taken from a previous play written by Goethe entitled Faust,
"I have no word, only a glance, for those who dare to pronounce the word Faust’ in the presence of Manfred".
Another example is when Nietzsche contradicts himself when he writes an article summarized by James, "We must fasten on those qualities most admirable in our heroes and neglect what is contradictory, absurd, or otherwise disagreeable in their works." Nietzsche puts Byron before him as a hero, when Byron is no such thing. Byron, Nietzsche and The Mystery of Forgetting is about James pointing out the paradoxes of Nietzsche excessive writing on the mechanics of forgetfulness yet indulges in forgetting himself.
My favorite part of James Soderholm’s article is where he quotes Kierkegaard,
"The more poetically one remembers, the more easily one forgets, for to remember poetically is actually only an expression of forgetting". The quote makes you question what forgetting really is to the mind. If you remember only the good, you’re forgetting the bad. If you remember the bad you’re often forgetting the good. To think poetically is to look at everything with a new eye, and see beauty. So no matter what situation placed in, you’re always mindfully forgetting certain aspects. As for choosing your memorize, I’m not sure if that can be done. Automatically when a person goes through a tragic experience I believe the mind blocks the pain and fear that you at one time felt, but is easier to survive without. Over the summer I was in a small car crash. When my friend and I finally got home after the scene we tried to bring up the emotions we felt while it was happening, but neither of us could remember. This is one of my only stories of active forgetfulness that I recall. The concept of the mind and why it chooses some memories while discarding others is interesting. I think it’s a good concept for James to bring in with romantic poets since romanticism is about being more actively involved with your natural abilities. Maybe there is a way to control what you remember, or maybe more access to the mind would make situations even more difficult to forget. James mentions that Wordsworth is a "lover of memory" and can even recall the garments he wore on certain days. This could be why the romantic poet Lord Byron had such a hard time coping with his mistakes, he was so in tuned that his mind wouldn’t let him free. Just like with Byron I feel like remembering everything would make it difficult to be happy. Nietzsche said it best, "There could be no happiness, no cheerfulness, no hope, no pride, no present, without forgetfulness".
In the article Byron, Nietzsche and The Mystery of Forgetting, James Soderholm exploits the similarities between Wilhelm Nietzsche and Byron's play Manfred, along with the irony of mindful forgetfulness. Manfred is a play best known for its shocking plot, but even more shocking the reality that encouraged Byron to write the play. Crafted after his own life, the show opened a gateway to freedom for Byron from the loneliness of his secrets. Thus helping him deal with the pain. As an intentional result of the plays release Byron enjoyed the humiliation that his two ex-lovers; ex-wife Annabella Byron, and half-sister Augusta Leigh had to endure in England while he lay low out of town. One of the most important scenes in Manfred is when a discouraged boy calls upon spirits to help him do what he could not, forget the past and move on. Next he was, instead, handed eternal memory. In real life Lord Byron wished he could escape from the mistakes he made in the past. In his heart he knew the mind is a wonderful thing, but can not erase what is real. If Byron could intentionally forget anything he wished, I'm sure after the play was released would be the time to use the skill. Nietzsche mentioned the concept of mindful forgetfulness in several of his own writings such as a series of books entitled Daybreak, Disadvantages of History for Life then again in Essay of the Genealogy of Morals. Even though one could say Nietzsche was an "expert" in the art of consciously forgetting Nietzsche wouldn't except that his mind was actively forgetting. An example is this quote by thee refusing to believe that the plot for Manfred had been taken from a previous play written by Goethe entitled Faust,
"I have no word, only a glance, for those who dare to pronounce the word Faust’ in the presence of Manfred".
Another example is when Nietzsche contradicts himself when he writes an article summarized by James, "We must fasten on those qualities most admirable in our heroes and neglect what is contradictory, absurd, or otherwise disagreeable in their works." Nietzsche puts Byron before him as a hero, when Byron is no such thing. Byron, Nietzsche and The Mystery of Forgetting is about James pointing out the paradoxes of Nietzsche excessive writing on the mechanics of forgetfulness yet indulges in forgetting himself.
My favorite part of James Soderholm’s article is where he quotes Kierkegaard,
"The more poetically one remembers, the more easily one forgets, for to remember poetically is actually only an expression of forgetting". The quote makes you question what forgetting really is to the mind. If you remember only the good, you’re forgetting the bad. If you remember the bad you’re often forgetting the good. To think poetically is to look at everything with a new eye, and see beauty. So no matter what situation placed in, you’re always mindfully forgetting certain aspects. As for choosing your memorize, I’m not sure if that can be done. Automatically when a person goes through a tragic experience I believe the mind blocks the pain and fear that you at one time felt, but is easier to survive without. Over the summer I was in a small car crash. When my friend and I finally got home after the scene we tried to bring up the emotions we felt while it was happening, but neither of us could remember. This is one of my only stories of active forgetfulness that I recall. The concept of the mind and why it chooses some memories while discarding others is interesting. I think it’s a good concept for James to bring in with romantic poets since romanticism is about being more actively involved with your natural abilities. Maybe there is a way to control what you remember, or maybe more access to the mind would make situations even more difficult to forget. James mentions that Wordsworth is a "lover of memory" and can even recall the garments he wore on certain days. This could be why the romantic poet Lord Byron had such a hard time coping with his mistakes, he was so in tuned that his mind wouldn’t let him free. Just like with Byron I feel like remembering everything would make it difficult to be happy. Nietzsche said it best, "There could be no happiness, no cheerfulness, no hope, no pride, no present, without forgetfulness".
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