Wonderful piece. I've long admired Kenneth Burke's argument for the comic frame of acceptance in Attitudes Toward History but never considered Sisyphus in that context. With your reading of Ovid and Bergson in mind, I feel he is perhaps its great mythological avatar.
If it's just what he does, then isn't it a metaphor for all of philosophy and metaphysics (Sisyphus is Plato)---once you think you've got to an answer, someone refutes it and you're back to square-one.
And if it's a punishment, then isn't it a metaphor for a woman's period--constant companion.
This is wonderful. The sculptor I work with has done multiple variations of the Sisyphus theme, including one called Telos, in which the figure is contemplating the stone as if questioning whether to take up his burden.
I've been working on a piece on humour for my own substack and one of the images I plan on referencing comes from stand-up comedian Charlie Demers, who likens the delivery of a joke to throwing a stone through a window to create stained glass. One must break the initial expectation to create a new pattern - a pattern that may be transcendent. That formula works for humour, but it works for other forms of insight as well. I can well imagine a Sisyphus victimized by his punishment, breaking that frame of reference and embracing the challenge of his task. Stained glass. Thank you for this thoughtful article.
The most recent, and also trenchant, treatment of Sisyphus might be Ben Stiller's TV series "Severance."
Wonderful piece, Hollis. Thank you. I think I'll go listen to Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" on repeat for a bit.
I love this except now that song is in my ear!!!! :)
One is reminded of Hopkins' poem "As kingfishers catch fire":
"...deals out that being indoors each one dwells,
Selves, goes itself; _myself_ it speaks and spells,
Crying: What I do is me, for that I came."
If your gloss on Sisyphus is correct, that's just what he's doing.
I love, love, love this!
Sisyphus rocks :)
Wonderful piece. I've long admired Kenneth Burke's argument for the comic frame of acceptance in Attitudes Toward History but never considered Sisyphus in that context. With your reading of Ovid and Bergson in mind, I feel he is perhaps its great mythological avatar.
It has really surprised me how much of a later bloomer Sisyphus is.
If it's just what he does, then isn't it a metaphor for all of philosophy and metaphysics (Sisyphus is Plato)---once you think you've got to an answer, someone refutes it and you're back to square-one.
And if it's a punishment, then isn't it a metaphor for a woman's period--constant companion.
This is wonderful. The sculptor I work with has done multiple variations of the Sisyphus theme, including one called Telos, in which the figure is contemplating the stone as if questioning whether to take up his burden.
I've been working on a piece on humour for my own substack and one of the images I plan on referencing comes from stand-up comedian Charlie Demers, who likens the delivery of a joke to throwing a stone through a window to create stained glass. One must break the initial expectation to create a new pattern - a pattern that may be transcendent. That formula works for humour, but it works for other forms of insight as well. I can well imagine a Sisyphus victimized by his punishment, breaking that frame of reference and embracing the challenge of his task. Stained glass. Thank you for this thoughtful article.