Thomas Traherne, “Wonder,” “Innocence,” “The Anticipation"

[@Tasman_Tea]

Came across your video when doing some online exploration of Traherne (just out of personal interest). Thank you for your discussion of Traherne and some of his poems! I found your thoughts, including Traherne's apparent lack of emphasis on the cross, engaging and insightful. Thanks again!

[@Loveformeditation33]

Thank you !

[@paulewingmusic]

Gerald Finzi's Dies Natalis are based on The Poems of Traherne - including The Wonder. It's a wonderful cantata, which is extremely helpful in unlocking the depth of Traherne's passion for the return to innocence and the power of his imagination.

[@franklinballard1109]

Dies Natalis is a masterpiece.

[@afloweroflove]

Thoroughly enjoyed this Dr. Masson.

[@LitProf]

Glad to hear it!

[@nishanthk5306]

Thank you for your 'wonder', sir It'll help me for the exam tomorrow 😄

[@paulewingmusic]

I'm gently disappointed that you chose not to unpack the preparative by Traherne, as I personally am fascinated by the idea of Pre-existence which I beleive that poem particularly about. Do you have any thoughts on that subject anywhere I can involve myself with? thank you in advance!

[@LitProf]

It’s a non-Christian doctrine that he probably derives from Pythagoras/Plato and his idea of reincarnation. Cf. the closing section of the Republic, often known as The Myth of Er.

[@paulewingmusic]

@@LitProf Thank you so much! I will look into this. Wordsworth also touches on it in ntimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood circa 1807. "Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting. The soul that rises with us- our life's star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar. Not in entire forgetfulness, And not in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory do we come From God, who is our home."

[@LitProf]

You are correct, but Wordsworth admits that it is a non-Christian concept.

[@barbarag.5521]

I don't "get" Traherne. All that innocence, light, purity - is it mysticism, or mockery? Thank you for your lecture.

[@LitProf]

Mysticism

[@TheExceptionalState]

"He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. A mystic, is amongst other things, a person who experiences him/herself as a child of God, ie not God but of the same nature. People who "get" this "get" Traherne.