Islands of the Imagination. Transformation from Mythical Places in Ancient and Modern Thought

Sabine Mercer

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Essay from the year 2004 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: Distinction, James Cook Uni...

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Essay from the year 2004 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: Distinction, James Cook University (James Cook University), course: Strangers in the South Pacific, language: English, abstract: The tradition of island imaginings in European thought existed long before explorers were actually able to reach far away islands and give first-hand accounts of their encounters and observations. Myths of islands are of an extreme age and deeply rooted in European culture, where they were subjected to ongoing transformation by writers of various periods in history. Story telling about islands stretches back thousands of years: from early island myths in antiquity, to explorers, poets and philosophers in the Age of Discovery; from idealizing nature and islanders, to islands that acted as vehicles for social criticism and reflection on social conditions in Europe. The island setting was originally employed as a site and inspiration for spiritual, emotional, or psychological transformation, as a kind of incubator for the initiation and fostering of an individual's growth. The specific workings of the archetypal place as an agent of change involved a morally challenging confrontation in a magical setting. Appropriate conduct and prudent behaviour opposite the unfamiliar, followed by the resolve of a potentially dangerous situation or conflict, enabled the shipwrecked to finally leave the island and return to their respective societies. This essay provides a historical overview of the island tradition in European literature and links it specifically to the islands of the imagination where the writer travels behind or in front of his or her time envisaging a better world - utopias often take the form of a subversive analysis of contemporary society. Islands and island dwellers were often envisaged as superior versions of the countries and peoples who imagined them, an idea that survived and came to the fore in the positivist scientific and rationalist discourse of the Enlightenment. Island-stories are always set distant in time and place and the remoteness and finite dimensions of islands seemed perfect for constructing a compressed and complete universe, a miniature world, solely governed by the poet's ideals and ideas.