[Peake] And in small compass the dark waters cram
New Faustian Man
Tho' one did fling the fire;
Heaven flow'd upon the soul in many dreams
Of high desire..
Thus truth was multiplied on truth, the world
Like one great garden show'd,
And thro' the wreaths of floating dark up-curl'd,
Rare sunrise flow'd.
Maelström of passions in that hidden sea
Whose waves of all-time lap the coasts of me;
And in small compass the dark waters cram.
― Mervyn Peake
Comments
Take me to the moon
Voted
Sorry, I don't get it...
It's just poetry, nothing game related. So nothing to get really, other than the meaning ofc.
That's why... I don't get the poetry...
"And in small compass the dark waters cram"
wtf does that mean? but don't worry, I'm a poet-noob
Peake is a fairly mysterious author, by profession he was a fantasy writer, so it's a little difficult to know precisely what he means. A background in the philosophy of C.G. Jung would probably help if you wished to decipher this poem in particular.
'small compass' = small place, the consciousness of the subject of the poem in this instance; 'Maelström of passions' = emotions/drives; 'dark waters' refers to unconsciousness and unconscious forces judging by his mention of 'gods' prior to this, I assume he's using 'gods' in the Jungian sense. Overal I believe he's refering to some form of mystical experience, 'while the gods laugh' suggests a loosening of the hold on consciousness by the archetypes, then the rest is the expression of that experience. 'cram' suggests it might not be altogether pleasant.