The Executioner's Boots: The Ficton of John montague

pe e I Execu ione 'sBoo s: Fic iono John I The opposi e sho e un eils i sel , B igh in de ail as a pain ing, Alone, bu equal o he mo ning. " The Poin " no unusual o a poe o u n o ic ion a somepoin in his ca ee , inding in he scope a o ded byna a i e an oppo uni y oex end con ex ualise he mo e a empo al ocus o he poe y. Typically, he p oduce one o wo no els cha ac e ized by easy elegance o language a he han by o mal in en i eness: Ch is ian omances, Ka anagh's Ta y Geo ge Ba ke 's The Dead A Gi l in Win e and These ic ions a e ine i ably o e shadowed by hei w i e s' poe ic achie emen s o he ex en ha i is nea ly impossible o ead he p ose wi hou e e ing i somepoin oou knowledge o he poems. The p ose w i ings a ea oncean al e na i e o anda glosson hepoe y. Whe e he poems deal in ellipses and in he emblema ic o symbolic ans o ma ion which sna ches he ly ic momen ou o ime, he ic ionsse e as documen s o eco d and ecall, and acknowledge empo ali y and his o y. While John Mon ague's poe y has ended owa ds he longe hy hms o he sequence, his a ou ed o ms as p ose w i e ha e been hesho s o yand heno ella a he han hemo eexpansi e la i udes o he no el. Nine ea ly s o ies we e ga he ed in Dea h o a Chie ain and O he S o ies ollowed o e wo decades la e by The Los (1987); he e ha e also been occasional uncollec ed sho s o ies.' S a ing om he p emise ha he wo bodies o w i ing a e in e connec ed, i is he in en ion he e o look a Mon ague's ic ion in , he ligh o his poems. Mon ague's poems gene ally eschew na a i e,e en when, asin The G ea hey a e p esen ed as a g oup wi h a p e a o y no e , Dea h Chie ain and S o ies (London: and Kee, 1964); TheLos Me cie P ess, 1987); An Gael, (New Yo k, Summe " A P izeGi ing " , The I ish Times, 26 Augus 1988, '. The G ea Cloak (Dublin: The Dolmen P ess, 1978). IRISH UNIVERSITY REVIEW ou lining he " Plo " o hee en s owhich hey e e and which hei o ganiza ion. The book emains an assembly o indi idual as does and When na a i e is I in o he poe y, i is associa ed wi h c uel y and dys unc ion. In Wild Dog Rose " , i s collec ed in Tides 3 and la e included as he inal sec ion o The Field,', he old woman who is i s has a s o y o ell; i cons i u es he cen al sec ion o he poem: And he e whe e he shines in he hedge she ells me a s o y so e ible ha I y o push i away, my bones mel ing. 17). I is a s o y o an a emp ed ape. The squalid encoun e is edeemed only by he p esence o he i s bea en blossoms holding ou symbolic oken o necessa y esilience in he ace o iolence. P oseis he no mal mediumo ic ional na a i e, bu Mon ague , on a ew occasions essayed he p ose poem, mos ema kably " Coming E en s " (T, p. 26). This has as i s subjec a la e six een h - cen u y pain ing by he Flemish pain e Ge a d Da id which depic s " The Judgemen o Cambyses " , wi h a cha ac e named being skinned ali e in he p esence o Cambyses. The scene is ich his o ical and na a i eassocia ions, allo which Mon agueje isons in his ende ing o he pic u e. His desc ip ion becomes as sel - consciously de achedas an ana omy lesson: " a man being layed " . Fou c a smen a econce ned wi h he igu eon he able: oneis opening hele a m,ano he li ingaway he igh nipple, a hi d incising he igh a m while he las (his kni e caugh be ween his . ee h) is unwinding he esul s o his labou so as o display he ich ne wo k o eins unde he skin o he le leg. The anonymi y o he e en hesi a es be ween he uni e sal and he , pa icula ; he ex i sel is non - commi al as o i ssigni icance: The whole scene may be in ended as an allego y o human su e ing bu wha he line o pe spec i e leads us oadmi eis he b owncal skin o hep incipal execu ione 's boo s. (T, p. 26) 3. Tides (Dublin: The Dolmen P ess, 1970). Subsequen e e ences o his edi ion ex abb e ia ed o T. 4. The Rough Field (Dublin: The Dolmen P ess, 1972). Subsequen e e ences o edi ion in he ex abb e ia ed o THE FICTION ejec ing he his o ical and na a i e aspec s o Da id's pain ing, makes i a momen o iolence and s ippingba e, in he ex eme sense. The execu ione s and onlooke s a e dis inguished he ic ims by hei clo hes, " iche mine " and " b owncal - skin " , I by hei se eni y o exp ession: " mild admi a ion " . And, as we he pain ing h ough Mon ague's commen a y, wea ealigned l wi h hoseexecu ione s and onlooke s;we oo a e in i ed " o admi e " ou a en ion is inally di ec ed no o he in icacies o lesh and he o su e ing bu o hecal - skin boo s, a e ac s omano he , mo e commonplace skinning, now ans o med by he skill o a I , c a sman. I he e isa companionpiece o " ComingE en s " in Tides, i is " Li e which imagina i elyexplo es he su aces o a woman's body as poses o d awing s uden s. An opposi ion is se up in he poem l be ween he g o esque sensual o men edasce icism and celeb a o y accep anceo he body's o e ings. A he end, he " simply human " is d awn in o an a ul neu ali y: On ca idge pape an a myo pencils deploy silen ly o lu e he in o hei i I ne o lines while om abo e he chilled, c amped body blossoms a la e lowe : he i ed smile. I In " Coming E en s " he p og ess o en y in o he " ich ne wo k o eins " isdi e ed owa ds he ma ginal con igui y o he execu ione 's boo s; he possibili y o lus ul ea o a woman's bodyin " Li e Class " esol es i sel in a ne o lines. The images o pain and iolence which ind hei way in o Mon ague's poe y h ough modes associa ed wi h na a i e - s o y - elling, he useo p ose - o e a key o heepig aphs o his collec ion Dea h o a Chie ain. I s o iginal epig aph was o ha e been a passage om Joyce's Po ai o he A is as a Young Man: REVIEW 7 I ea him. I ea his ed immed ho nyeyes. I is wi h him I mus s uggle all h ough he nigh ill day comes, ill he o I lie dead, g ipping him by hesinewy h oa . . . Till wha ? Till he yield o me? No. I mean him no This was d opped in a ou o some lines om John Hewi 's in ima e wo ld o imagina ion and amily: and he which also e e o a s uggle, his ime in he , I w es led wi h my a he in myd eam, and in ha d eam emembe ed who we we e, and why weshould no s uggle, he and I . . . The s o ies in Dea h o a Chie ain a e implici wi h s uggle con lic . E en when no ha m is mean , e en when he e ememb ance o why he e should be no s uggle, he wo ld o s o ies is agmen a y and i en. In his hey con as wi h p edominan mo emen o Mon ague's poe y, which is , owa ds ecogni ion and in eg a ion; hese may be achie ed in - " E e y hing ou casual mo ning o low onedi ec ion " ( " The siege o Mullinga " , ACL, p. 60) - o in so ow, as in he a i ma ion no hing dies, ha e en bi e ailu e memo y g ows " in Win e " , ASD, p. 19). The endency owa ds my hopeia in he poe y,in which he de ails o li e ake on symbolic o emblema ic signi icance unde some go e ning idea, inds i s coun e balance in he s o ies. In " The Siege o Mullinga " Mon ague seemed o dance ligh ly on he g a e o an old in alida ed my h - " Pu i an I eland's dead and my h o and - while o e inga newonein i s s ead. Bu in Occasion o Sin " ,as o y which is oughly con empo a y wi h . ha poem, a young F ench womaniscon on ed by " Pu i anI eland " no qui e dead andgoneye . " TheC y " ellshow asuccess ul jou nalis , e u ns on a isi o his na i e Uls e and en e s in o he inbuil small - own ensions o he place be o e being ebu ed as an ou side , , while ano he s o y, " The New Enamel Bucke " , also explo es he di isions in Uls e socie y and he iolence ha . a he ime o i s 5. See Mon ague's commen s in " Wo k You P og ess " , I ish Uni e si y Re iew, 12, (Sp ing p. 49. 6. Mon ague had been wo king on Hewi 's poe y a he ime o a Chie ain being p epa ed o he p ess, con ibu ing an essay on Hewi o Poe y in Sp ing 1964. THE FICTION was s ill la gely And in he da kly comic i le s o y, o a Chie ain " , he bi e ailu e o Coo e's a emp o ind connec ion be ween heea ly I ish umulus builde sand los ci iliza ions behind he Cen al Ame ican py amids does no b eed any edemp i e memo y; ins ead, he dies wi h poin less digni y an e sa z megali hic omb. The opening s o y o he collec ion displays con lic g aphically in heigh ened a mosphe e o a boa ding - school se ing. I desc ibes howa newlya i ed ma ine Deanisb ough downbyaspon aneous o he boys unde his cha ge. As in se e al o he s o ies, he ocuso he na a i e is unce ain; i es s ully nei he wi h heDean's o iew no wi h ha o hepupils,bu shi s omoneside o he I o he . In he cu iously de ached elling, only he con on a ion is heigh ened; i enac s in na a i e o m wha is ound mo e acu ely in E en s " . The inal s age o he ebellion agains he Dean is by his singling ou one pa icula boy as he objec o his I con emp uous au ho i y; he o he s eac , and I I hedange ousaloo ness which had been his powe wasnowswep away om him;hewas nolonge a p ies o a pe soninau ho i y, bu me ely someone who had humbled and hu ano he pas endu ing. The boys' ebellion is a once an adolescen disco e y o hei own abili y o wi hs and and subdue an unwa an ed imposi ion, and an exposu e o he shallow ounda ions o he es ain s ope a ing on hem. The inal momen o he s o y has he boys sca e ing ou side " wi h wild and joy ul c ies " , bu he sense is one o dispe sal, no cohesion. Fo hem he episode hasal eady becomea pa o he pas ; i does no su i e as a cons i uen o hei u u e. Dispe saland disin eg a ion unde lie he s o ies. Thenine eensix ies seemed o p omisea loosening o he old es ain s, and in " A Change o Managemen " Mon ague ehea ses his a ou i e heme o a new I eland coming in o he ascendan , shedding he old pie ies. Such elease is gained only h ough esigna ion. As new s uc u es a e , es ablished, he ee spi i o C onin,a w i e who migh - jus migh - c oss o e om po en iali y o achie emen , qui s his job in he public se ice, and is spun o om he cen alized cohesion o economic p og ess; bu o people like he p o agonis he e was no eal escape le , no e en he e: he mos hey could hope o ind was someone unde whose di ec ion hey migh gi e hei bes . Besides, was i such a c iminal hing o wish o lead an o dina y li e? IRISH REVIEW A childhood yea ning o anscend he o dina iness o a m li e isa he basiso " TheOklahoma Kid " ,asadly o an expedi ion o he local own see a cowboy ilm. young na a o , h ee o ou en husias s hi e a l excu sion; he e ening is a iasco, and he g ea expec a ions end wi h he child and his companions making hei unde he sco n ul eyes o he ownsmen. is, a ,oneo success ul s o ies in he collec ion. Bu Mon ague I some hing o he o i , by addinga pos sc ip . igh he he e, and any hing u he will only spoil i " , says he I o ell how se en een yea s la e " li e a codicil " mid - way h ough a jou ney down he cen e o he g own man suddenly ecognised himsel as " he Oklahoma Coun yTy one " . l Thisdelayed ecogni ion leads o a ce ain dispe sal o he hes o y,mo ingi om ic ion oanecdo e by i s I I is an unusual u n o a sho s o y, bu no o a poem, simila u n is o en used, al hough o di e en e ec . In I poe y, he equen ly desc ibes a emembe ed inciden om he and hen,in he inals anzao lines, shi sab up ly oa la e ime, I l " The Wa e Ca ie " and " Like Round My Childhood " , " TheCoun yFiddle " ,' " The Cage " and " A , Tongue " In hese, he u nopens up hepoem's signi icance;i an e icien way o achie ing he ans o ma ion o he pa icula , allowingi sau a oca yo e o a imeou sidei s own.Mon agueuses ha echnique o " ca y o e " o some hing app oaching he same pu pose in his no ella The Los No ebook. The ecollec ion o ane en hi y yea s be o e is old i s as a s o y, bu hen ailed by a e ma h. The alue o he s o y es s no in i sel bu in i s o ma i e impac on he na a o . The inal s o y in Dea h o a Chie ain, " A Ball o Fi e " , also an icipa es The Los No ebook in some espec s. B ough o an awa eness o he li e and dea h o a neighbou , he a is Michael Go man inds himsel dis u bed by he undi ec ed ene gy o he mon hsin heman's li e. He i s sees he man on No embe , day on which he lea es a pain ing un inished, no seeing any i end - poin o he low o colou on o hiscan as. Onlya e and wi hd awn neighbou has been ound dead his basemen la doesGo man ace in o he pain ing again. Chosen Ligh (London: Macgibbon and Kee, 1967). Subsequen e e ences edi ion in he ex abb e ia ed o THE FICTION He placed i on he easel; i s li ing spaces s a ed back a him, a chaos o un ul ilmen .Then he eached o a b ush and began o wo k. Ac oss he da kexpanseo he can as, a line began ode elop. A i s ail,likeand elec ic wi e, i g ews onge , mo e de ined. I became a dancing, independen line, ull o wei d ene gy, and so ly adia ing ligh . I an igh ac oss he can as un il, comple ingandculmina ing hepic u e, i inished in a smo he ed I explosion o colou , like a ball o i e. (p. 174). I mo emen owa ds a is ic comple ion is, howe e , a s a egy o jus as much as is he o ced concen a ion on he cal skin boo s in " Coming E en s " ;Go man isseeking o assuage he eelings by his encoun e s wi h his neighbou . The i le o Los No ebook e e s o a jou nal, since los , which I w i en du ing he summe o 1950 while he na a o was a isi o o Flo ence; he no ella ep esen s i sel as a ecollec ion o ha los season. The na a o looks back knowingly o momen when he began o pu on knowledge. Mo e han he no ebook has been los , i is sugges ed: inhibi ion and igno ance ha e beenshed in hecou se o a passage om innocence o expe ience. The no ebook is wice los in he s o y. Sho ly a e he young man e u ns o his amily home in Uls e he jou nal goes missing o a ew days, o be ead bysomeone unknown. I again disappea sdu ing he ensuing h ee decades, lea ing he e en s o be e old in he o m o ic ion, wi h e ospec ion subs i u ed o in ospec ion. The accoun we a e gi en is unde s ood o be a once a e - explo a ion o ha . summe and a econs uc ion ha o e lays he aw elling o he o iginal.The accoun ends p o ec i ely wi h indica ions as o how he los no ebook, and by ans e ence The Los No ebook, should and should no be ead. I The idea o i being ead by he w ong pe son, by someone i unsympa he ic o he ex eme eelings displayed in he commen a y and he d awings, he sc awls o wo young people so in ol ed wi h each o he , some imes in ange , some imes in pleasu e, illed me wi h age and dismay. . . . he idea ha someone should look a ou join e o s wi h censo ious eyes was almos a sac ilege. Lo e o lus , loa hing o iendship, i was ou s, a h us ing om ou so di e ing wo lds owa ds eedom, owa dsease. Wha happened be weenuswasa s umbling owa ds some hing wi hou which wo equal beings canno su i e,some hingcalled hones y. IRISH UNIVERSITY REVIEW These embedded ins uc ionson how o ead sugges ha hones y ha d - won p i ilege, no o be unde s ood by ou side s. Theaccoun su ounded by sel - awa eness, gained h ough he shedding o awkwa d adolescen sel - consciousness. Now, whe e he had been ingenuous, he no ella is a ul. The inciden a he end, when he no ebook is aken and i s in imacies looked o e by some inde e mina e o he , is a ewo king o an ac ion o be ound in Mon ague's poe y. I occu s mos a heendo " AllLegenda y Obs acles " , when he old lady clea sa on he ain window o look ou a he lo e s on he pla o m as he:, Mo e in o he we da kness Kissing, s ill unable o speak. (ACL, p. 16) The indi idual expe ience o lo e o sexuali y o su e ing is gi en o ce by he p esence o an excluded onlooke . The bu gomeis e s bo h " ComingE en s " and " The Massac e w ,* hegiggling ho el - maids in " T acks " (T, o ame hee en s andemo ions,gi ing hem de achmen and dis ance. In The Los No ebook he ini ia o y e o icism o he expe ience which cons i u es he is ans o med in o an e o icism o ecall in he sjuze . The na a o oo, by i ue inexo able empo ali y and econs i u i e memo y, has become an obse e o hosee en s h ough which, asa pa icipan , he had eed in o adul hood. The Flo ence jou nal had been a p oduc ion; in addi ion o he jo ings and poems by he young he e we e he gi l's line d awings and commen s. These o e ed ano he pe spec i e and we e, Mon ague sugges s, pe haps he mo e hones pa o he documen . As ew i en by he na a o , he iewpoin is occluded by his need o y again, shaping he e en sand emo ions in he ligh o an acqui ed wisdom. In he p ocess she is ma ginalized, i no qui e w i en ou . Bu maybe she does no need a secondgo; he e is he implica ion ha she had been able oge igh he i s ime. Fo he he a ai was an episode a he han an epoch, a bes a emission in he cou se o " a kind o despoiling. an endless disappoin men " (p. 95). He, on he o he hand, is absol ed om any guil in his de ilemen , o i had been ini ia ed be o e hey me ; i has i s o iginsin he amily,andpa icula ly in he unhappy c o he b o he . The e, whe eshe had looked o ullin imacy,she had been ejec ed andsupplan ed. Thesexual and a is icene gy o he li e isgene a ed by he ailu e o ha lo e. 8. A Slow Dance (Dublin: The P ess, 1975) p. 41 7 THE FICTION A pe sis en sub - ex in The Los No ebook is he uneasy be ween he I ishman, cowed by his sense o he pas , I he ene ge ic p esen o Ame ica as embodied in Wandy; i is an encoun e which akesplacein Flo ence,ase ing which epi omizes he I weal h o con inen al Eu ope. This ic ionalaccoun can bese he epo o ial elling o a con empo a y and pa allel In an a icle o The Bell, " Fellow T a elling wi h Ame ica " , Mon ague desc ibed his pa icipa ion in a semina on I Ame ican a Salzbu g in 1950, o ganized by Ame ican academics o delega es d awn om a a ie y o Eu opean coun ies. The exci emen he oppo uni y i a o ds is empe ed by an ambi alence ega ding he hegemony which he U.S. exe s o e Eu ope. Mon ague ep esen s himsel as being inadequa ely equipped I odeal wi h he si ua ion. (I hink he modes ly included himsel as an " a e age " s uden .) I The a e age I ish s uden , as p oduced by ou uni e si ies, is a behind in luency o languages, humili y be o e achie emen , o jus plain sa oi i e. He is gauche, eage pe haps, bu mo e I a ogan and p ecious han his coun e pa s ab oad. His aul s l a e e lec ed in he cul u al a mosphe e o a coun y: he e is no ac i e sense o Eu opean cul u e, bu a kind o sel - conscious, isola ed b a ado wi h he a is in he in idious posi ion o spi i ual di ec o o he I isa si ua ion ela ed o ha on which Mon ague d aws o The Los No ebook; he a is ic ichness o Eu ope becomes an a ena in which he I ish and he Ame ican, cul u al ou side s bo h and alien o ha ichness, can mee and eac . In he unse led and unse ling wo ld o hei passion, he wo a e su ounded by he mu e ixi ies o pain ing and sculp u e. The names umble h ough he ex : Bo icelli, Michaelangelo, Ti ian, Della Robbia . . . some wen y o mo e, e e ences ac ingasaso o ixa i e on expe ience.Thea - wo ksha e a his o y, and i becomes he young man's s a agem olea nand elay i o his companion. She, on he o he hand, is mo e a ac ed o he pain ings o Mond ian, oo com empo a y o ha e a his o y, oo insc u able o ell a s o y. The gi l has al eady unde gone an emo ional and e o ic wounding, and is he less ulne able o he wo. The culmina ing momen o hei ela ionshipis hisanalpene a ion o he body,bu his is immedia ely ollowed by Wandy's accoun o he pas . Thee ec o wha she has o say is o exclude he man. E en in ha culmina ing momen he has The Bell. (June p. 25.