KananHejmanowski
ProfessorKnapp
English3331
7December2024
SmokeandMirrors:Dante’sReviewofDeSelby(Part1)
InAugustof2023,Irishsinger-songwriterHozierreleasedhisthirdstudioalbum, Unreal Unearth,analbumlooselybasedonmyownwork, Inferno. Thefirstsongonthealbumistitled “DeSelby(Part1)”,apoemwhereinHozierissingingtoaloverwhoIbelievetohavepassedon intotheafterlife.Thesongreferencesthelover,thedeep,achinglongingthatthesingerfeelsin theirabsence,andthelingeringconfusionastowhyasupposedlymercifulGodwouldsteal awaysomethingsoprecious.HalfofthesongisinEnglish,buttheentireoutroissunginIrish, bothoftheofficiallanguagesofHozier’scountrybeingutilizeddespitethefactthatmostmedia producedinIrelandisdonesoinEnglish.Thesongis,consideredasawhole,averymodern interpretationoftheclassicalneoplatonistconceptoftheunseenandunexperiencedworld.
Oneoftheschoolsofthoughtthatinfluencedmanyofmyworksandmyphilosophiesis Neoplatonism,andparticularlytheideathattheworldasweexperienceitismerelyacopyofthe trueworld,whichwecanneverhopetotrulyunderstand.Theclosestthathumanscancometo experiencingthe“true”worldisthroughart,whichcopiesnotthefalseworldthatweexperience, butrealityasittrulyis.Hozierseemstoemulatethisideaaswell,asinthethirdverseof“De Selby(Part1)”,hesings,“But,still,themind,rejectin’thisnewemptyspace/Fillsitwith somethin’orsomeone”(Hozier,“DeSelby(Part1)”).Inthisline,Icanseethattheartistis
strugglingwiththelinesbetweenourworldandtheworldbeneath,theworldthatwecannever hopetoexperiencefully.Themindrejectsthefactthatwecannotseethatworld,andashumans, ascuriouscreatures,welongtoseewhatwecannotsense.So,wefillinthosegapswithartand poetrythatisanattempttocatchaglimpseintotruereality Hoziermaybespeakingdirectly aboutthespaceleftbehindbythepassingofalover,buteventheloverwasonlyamirrorimage oftheirtrueself.Whatthemindfillsinthatgapwithisanythingthatresemblestheirtrueimage, anythingthatapersonleftinourrealitycangrasponto.
Inanotheroneofmyownworks, La Vita Nuovo,thereisasimilarmirrorimage,a womandescribedasaveilbetweentheprotagonistandhistruelove,Beatrice,who,likethe loverin“DeSelby(Part1)”haspassedon.WhileHozierneverspecificallystatesthatheisusing someoneelsetodistracthimselffromeitherhisloverorthememoryofthem,hedoessay“Your reflectioncan’tofferaword/Totheblissofnotknowing”(Hozier,“DeSelby(Part1)”).
Specifically,thementionofareflectionisveryreminiscentoftheideaofaveilwoman.Thevery purposeofaveilwomanistoserveasadistraction,andyet,thatpurposeisdefeatedbythe necessityforaveilwomaninthefirstplace.Ifonelovesawomansomuchthattheyfeelthey mustputabarrierbetweenthem,inlifeorindeath,thereisnothingthatabarriercantruly accomplish.Hozierseemstoacknowledgethishimselfwhenhesaysthathislover’smirrorholds nothingtothem,totheirreal,livingimage.Thatmirror,thatveilwillneverbeenough.This,too, alsoreferstotheneoplatonicideathattheworldthatweinhabitandexperienceisnotthe“true” world,butaworldmadeofformsandsmokeandmirrorsthatwillneverbequiteenoughforus withoutthemimeticrepresentationsofartandmusictoopenoureyesevenafractiontothetruth ofwhatwecannotsensuallyexperience.Themirror,asHoziersings,cannotholdacandleto whathecannolongerexperience.Then,hecontinues,describingthesereneblissthatcomes
beforehavingandlosingsomeonesointenselyinfatuatingthattheyrequireaveil.Thisbefore, theblissofnotknowing,iscomparabletotheblissofthoseinPlato’sallegoryofthecavebefore theyventureforthandseetheworldasittrulyis.Itisverydifficulttoleavethatkindof ignorancebehind,butoncesomeonehasevenaglimpseofthetrueworld,thereisnogoingback.
Ifwecontinueonintoadeeperlookattheanagogicalmeaningofthepoem,thereisno shortageofroomforinterpretationonthespiritualmeaningthatitcouldbealludingto.Hozier referencesGoddirectlytwiceinthesong,sayingfirst,“Thelikesofadarknesssodeep/That God,atthestart,couldn’tbear”,andthen,later,“NoclosercouldIbetoGod/Orwhyhewould dowhathe’sdone”(Hozier,“DeSelby(Part1)”).Tosomebelievers,theselinesmayseembold, evensacreligious,butIseethemratherasareferencetocreationism.Specificallyinthefirst referencetoGod,HozierissayingnotthatGodwasincapable,perse,ofbeingaloneinthe universe,butratherthatthereisadeeplongingtobeknownthatevenGodfeels.Whyelsewould Godhavecreatedtheuniverse,theEarth,andman,ifnottobeknown,tobeseenand worshipped?Withsomethingaspreciousasaloverthatdrivesonetosongbeingtornaway,it verywellmaybetheclosestahumancancometounderstandingwhatthatacheis.Themention ofdarknesshasatwofoldmeaning,oneliteralandoneanagogical.Theliteralmeaningof darknessisthephysicaldarknessthatHozierisexperiencing,perhapsthedarknessofafuneral oranemptyhouse,coupledwiththeemotionaldarknessthatfollowsanypassing.The anagogicalmeaningisthedarknessthatpersistedbeforeGodcreatedlight.Thatdarknessmay havebeenaphysicaldarknessaswell,butitismoreaboutthepressingdarknessandemptiness ofthedarknessofanexistencewithoutGod,asHozierisexperiencingthedarknessofalife withouthislover.Inaway,heisafoiltothatveryemptiness,onlywithoutthepowertocreate hisloveronceagain.Thesecondreference,theonetobeingclosetoGod,isagaintwofold.What
Godhasdoneisobviouslythesourceofallgreatnessandjoyintheworld,butalsothesourceof greatsufferingandloss.Inthefaceofsaidloss,andinthefaceoftheemptydarknessmentioned earlier,HozierfeelsthathecanunderstandGod,thatheisclosetohimmentally,ratherthan physically Again,HoziermaybeclosetoGodphysicallyinthesenseof,perhaps,beingina churchforafuneral,butthereisnogreaterunderstandingofthemotivesoftheAlmightythan whenwehumansarefacedwithsomethingthatwefearthatwewillneverunderstand.Yet Hozierclaimstounderstand,andperhaps,inaspiritualsense,hedoes.
“DeSelby(Part1)”maynotseemparticularlyallegoricaluponfirstlistenorread,but thereisallegoricalmeaningwhenyouconsiderthelyricsintandemwiththetitleofthesong.De SelbyisthenameofafictionalphilosopherandscientistdiscussedatlengthinFlannO’Brien’s The Third Policeman Innovelform,DeSelbyisconsideredtobesomewhatofalunatic,aman whobelieves,similarlytomanyneoplatonists,thatlifeisexperiencedbyhumansonlyinshort, staticbursts.HealsosetsouttodestroytheuniverseinGod’sname,usingascientifictechnique thatheclaimstohavediscovered.Atfacevalue,“DeSelby(Part1)”canbeconsideredaplea,a songsungbyalonelylover.However,consideringthecontextofthetitle,despiteitnotbeing furtherreferenced,thesongtakesonanalmostfanaticalmeaning.Itisnolongeraboutthat desperatelover,butinsteadabouttheinsanity,theveryfragility,oflifeandourexperiences.The mirrorimagesarenowlessofareflectionofalover,butaphysicalbarrierbetweenthelifewe liveandthelifethatHozierlongstoexperience,theshortstaticburstsarenolongerenoughfor him.Intheoutro,theIrishsectionofthesong,Hoziersaysthathislover is light,that“Artisa transformation/Itisadarkart”(Hozier,“DeSelby(Part1)”).Thosearethefinallinesofthe songthatswellwithmultiplevoicesjoininginforthefirsttime.ItisasthoughHozierhimself recognizesthatthroughhisownart,hehascreatedalongingthathecannolongerlookpast.Itis
notjustaneedtoseehisloveragain,itisaneedtoexperiencetheuniverseasittrulyis,aneed sodeepthathe,likeDeSelby,woulddestroywhattheGodheempathizeswithtofulfil.Weas thelistenercanunderstandthatdespairifweunderstandwhythesongistitledasitis.Thereisa paralleltobedrawnbetweenDeSelby,themadphilosopher,andHozier,ifweonlyknowwhat tolookfor.
AssomeonewhowroteduringatimewhereLatinwasthewidelyaccepted“intellectual language”,andyetchosetowriteinItalian,mynativelanguage,Icanalsorecognizethe significanceofHozierchoosingtowritetheoutroofthesonginIrish.Vernacularisdeeply importantnotjustbecauseitallowsforaccessibilitytomedia,butalsobecauseofasenseof culturalpreservation.Irelandtechnicallyhastwoofficiallanguages,EnglishandIrish,butmost peopletherespeakEnglishinday-to-daylifeandmostmediathatisproducedorconsumedin thecountryisinEnglish.SoIsuppose,inaway,thatthisissomewhatofaninversionofthe reasonthatIwroteinItalian.Yet,itisnotentirelyaninversion.Idonotclaimtoknowexactly whyHoziersingsthisparticularsectionofthesonginIrish,butIcantheorizethatitisfortwo potentialreasons.OnemaybetoappealtoIrishspeakers,butgiventhecomplexityoftherestof thesong,Idonotthinkthatthereasonissimplythatsurfacelevel.Ibelievethatthissectionof thesongissunginIrishatleastinpartasanodto,again,thedualnatureoflife.Halfofthesong isinplainEnglishthatmanypeopleworldwidewillunderstandwithoutanyfurtherresearchor thought,andtheotherhalfisinalanguagethatwilltakesometranslation,evenformostpeople inIreland,tofullyunderstand.Thesideoflifethatwearesimplyunabletoexperience,thetruth oflife,requirestranslationthroughartandphilosophy,justastheoutroto“DeSelby(Part1)” likelyrequirestranslationtounderstand.Evenwithinthatreasoning,though,thereisanothernod toduality Themusicandthemelodyarebeautifulandhauntingevenifthelistenerhasnoidea
whatthemeaningofthewordstrulyare.Wecanappreciatethebeautyoftheformsthatwe encounterevenifwehavenoideawhatorwheretheirtrueformishoused,butittakessome workandinterpretationtoevenbegintounderstandwhattheytrulymean.Theuseofboth languagesissomethingthatIcanappreciatenotonlyasaphilosopher,butassomeonewho wroteinmultiplelanguagesformyownreasons.
Thesong“DeSelby(Part1)”byHozierisnotjustasong.Itisapoem,itisastatement,it isaself-containedphilosophysettomusic.Itisabeautifulexampleofhowanagogicalmeaning goesfurtherthanplainwords,thereisallegorywovenintotheverytitleofthesong,andnearly everylinecanbeinterpretedusingneoplatonicphilosophicalconcepts.Truly,thissongcontains adepththatIbelievetobeimportantnotjusttomodernmusic,buttothewaythatpeople experiencetheworldthatwearecontainedin.
Bibliography
Hozier-Byrne,Andrew.“DeSelby(Part1).” Unreal Unearth,firsted.,Rubyworks
Records,2023,track1. Youtube,https://youtu.be/vf3hbGMwsM8?si=AIv5DIfZbQL7S_MC