Outer Reaches of the Palindrome Page: 27
View a full description of this thesis.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
bear a resemblance to the sequential alphabetical reversal of palindromes. Unfortunately, I
cannot present any of the author's works as evidence, for a mere handful of fragmented lines
survive. The only argument I can make for his inclination toward shock is that shock led to his
demise. Offended by Sotades'unsavory portrayal of him in poetry, King Ptolemy the II of Thrace
had Sotades rounded up, enclosed in a lead coffin, and thrown into the sea.21 Sotades was
amongst the first clowns martyred for clowning. At the very least, it seems as though a primal
structure expressed itself through Sotades in two of many possible ways: thematically and text-
visually.
Maybe this structure, with its multiple faces of expression, is at the core of forgotten
human experience that psychologist Carl Jung calls archetypes, images retrieved from genetic
22
memory.22 According to Campbell, such images and symbolism exist between the departure and
return points of the schizophrenic voyage:
... [man] has both an inherited biology and a personal biography, the "archetypes of the
unconscious" being expressions of the first. The repressed personal memories, on the
other hand, of the shocks, frustrations, fears, etc., of infancy, to which the Freudian
school gives such attention, Jung distinguishes from that other and calls the "personal
unconscious." As the first is biological and common to the species, so this second is
biographical, socially determined, and specific to each separate life. Most of our dreams
and daily difficulties will derive, of course, from the latter; but in the schizophrenic
plunge one descends to the "collective," and the imagery experienced is largely of the
order of the archetypes of myth.23
I want to take this exploration a little bit further and propose the actual structure of the journey to
be an archetype of the collective unconscious. Something recalled from genetic memory. The27
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This thesis can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Thesis.
McConnell, Michael Constantine. Outer Reaches of the Palindrome, thesis, December 2003; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4407/m1/30/: accessed May 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .