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Feb 14, 2008

Rodney rated it:

O.K., so Graves was dead wrong about the Celts. Still, the "White Goddess" thesis--that patriarchal invaders suppressed the mother-goddess religions of the Aegean and Ancient Near East, traces of which managed to survive in Europe, especially in the minstrel lore of Ireland and Wales--is thanks to Graves now part and parcel of the modern. The real fun of the book isn't so much in its truth as the getting there: a waterslide ride of educated guessing, crossword logic, and speculative bu More...

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Jun 25, 2007

Jessica added it

this is a massive endeavor and will take an eternity to read. while i love cross-referencing the divine feminine through the mystical traditions, i can only take this book in small doses. imagine the densest, darkest fudge. this is not for the faint of heart, but a great resource. i don't want to have to give it back to ira unread, so wish me luck!

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Sep 09, 2011

Celestial rated it:

Whilst some have disputed Graves historical inaccuracies, im not reading this for its historical account, but rather for its mytho-poetical inventiveness and inspiration, of which I would say that it delivers handsomely.

The attempt to reconcile the Ancient Hebrew, Greek and Celtic civilizations with an Aegean/Tuath De Danaan Diaspora is fascinating and demands that the reader have a fairly wide background in cultural and mythological studies.

Speculating on the Cad Goddeu More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 12, 2007

Erik rated it:

I would call this Joe Campell's Power of Myth for grownups. I've been thinking about this book recently, but I have to admit I never got more than halfway with it. Nobody else I know has either, but what I did take from it was worth the struggle. Hopelessly inadequate summary: Graves belives that literature and poetry are magic, REAL magic. These arts objectively conjure effects the same way a ritual is supposed to work, to make a deity present in the mundane world through a charm, a rhythm, eve More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2008

Ange rated it:

It's almost impossible to read the Plath study without this book; apparently, it was a huge influence on Plath while she was at Cambridge (in the flat where she died, there was a poster of the White Goddess tacked to the pantry door). The book is more interesting for the mythological and folkloric tidbits than the unifying thesis, at this point.

I think the mythological connections are sound, but I have some trouble believing that each and every "true poet" since the advent o More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 19, 2008

Chris rated it:

A controversial classic and certainly not for all tastes. Graves' erudition in ancient literature and mythopoetics is well known (e.g. his classic reference works on Greek mythology) but his thesis in this book has been contested in many quarters (and proved incorrect in some anthropological aspects) and struck me as largely speculative, although I really can't make a judgment since I'm not well read in this area. I can say that reading this book did spur me to read up on Irish and Welsh myth. More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 30, 2011

Христо rated it:

Преклонете глава пред величието на “Бялата богиня” на Робърт Грейвс!
http://www.knigolandia.info/2011/02/blog...

Ревюто на тази книга доста се забави. Трябваше да отлежи. Искаше си смесването на купищата чудесии, които съжителстват сред безкрайните страници, тяхното преплитане в обща хармония, за да реша сам за себе си какво е значела за мен книгата. Защото след нея човек започва да цени повече Смисъла, скрит зад съдържанието.

“Бялата богиня” ми показа толкова много More...

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Sep 21, 2010

Henry added it

Astonishing. By Graves' claim, the measure of a poet is by his accuracy/faithfulness in depicting the (actual) White Goddess, thus proving the truth and source of his mystical inspiration. All the Welsh stuff goes far above my head but he cites some instances from pre-modern English poetry (pp. 426-36):
- Shakespeare's Venus & Adonis, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and more seriously in the Tempest
- Donne's "A Fever"
- Keats' "Belle Dame Sans Merci"
- Nimory More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 02, 2010

Welwyn rated it:

This is a great book. Graves is best known for his novels I Claudius or his poetry (which was his favorite form of writing), but this work about the grammar and connectedness of myth is a scholarly epic, profoundly interesting and peppered with references to support his "alphabet of the trees" and their use as at least an Iron Age "code" which Druids and perhaps others used to teach and remember their oral knowledge from generation to generation. There has been debate rega More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 23, 2010

David rated it:

All right, let me honest and start by saying this was totally my favorite book in the entire universe when I was, like, 11. Hands down. It gave me my first sense of what scholarship might be - if it were actually fun.

Now I did end up becoming a professional scholar, and one who probably does have too much fun for his own good, so perhaps a word here is in order.

Those people who say the book provides zero evidence for its points - all I can say is, "yeah, that's right. It More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 13, 2010

Clay rated it:

This book was a revelation to me when I first read it, sometime back in the '70s -- but I wanted to try it again to see if I was merely hung over from the '60s, or there was something deeper going on.

After re-reading it, I have to say it is a powerful work, though it was made more powerful then by the fact that it preceded the mythological studies of Joseph Campbell, and thus had the advantage of the shock of the new.

"The White Goddess" is, however, several book More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Old-Barbarossa rated it:

Rambling nonsense when he steps beyond what he knows.
Most of his ideas on the "tree alphabet" are his own and sourceless. Unfortunately a lot of the celtic magic industry owes too much to this as a gospel of sorts. Better and more scholarly book are out there if you can be bothered looking. But they are without the glamour of Graves which I suppose is part of the attraction to the sidhe huggers.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Michael rated it:

I got kicked in the face by this book. For real, it walked up to me, said "i will kick you in the face." I ignored it's warning, and woke up 2 months later with a shattered jaw and lots and lots of information about poetry and bards. Wonderful read if you've ever had a sneaking suspicion all of your favorite "myths" had a certain aura to them.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 21, 2012

Rosemary rated it:

Graves uncovers ancient tree alphabets and maps the relationship of language and poetry to Goddess worship.

I think this is a must-have for any poet, or at least a must-read. Not to say that it's unflawed, and not to say it's an easy read! It's very long for one thing, and as it is essentially a scholarly treatise, some may find it boring. Also I suspect the scholarship may be open to question, the conclusions coloured by Graves's personal thinking. However, it must of necessity cont More...

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Feb 20, 2012

Michael rated it:

If you drew a Venn diagram of unreadable books and unputdownable books, this would be in the small area of intersection. It reads like the death-evacuation of a brilliant and eccentric mind.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 01, 2008

Nikki rated it:

I find this book particularly overrated. It is used as a basis to establish a geneaology for modern paganism. However, it is one supposition based upon another. Very faulty logic.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 10, 2011

Larry rated it:

This is a difficult read so if you're not a lover of mythology, it's not for you. However, if you want to take the next leap Graves is the man you're looking for. Brilliant!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 11, 2011

Bev rated it:

Francesca Lia Block made me read this. I have no idea if this man is insane or not but I was young enough when I read it that it blew my mind anyway.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 23, 2009

Steve rated it:

"What is the use or function of poetry nowadays?" is a question not the less poignant for being defiantly asked by so many stupid people or apologetically answered by so many silly people."

"Since the age of fifteen poetry has been my ruling passion and I have never intentionally undertaken any task or formed any relationship that seemed inconsistent with poetic principles; which has sometimes won me the reputation of an eccentric."
"...I am still am More...

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May 27, 2010

Ben rated it:

The White Goddess is the quintessential text on scholarly abduction (at least in the field of Old English prosody). I would not be surprised if the entire argument turned out to be fiction, but Graves manages to make his case for polyvalent symbols within poetic grammar so fascinating it hardly matters. Penultimately, the White Goddess tangentially raises many of the questions addressed more directly in the work of Michel Foucault (particularly notions of 'Truth Books,' 'Experience Books,' and More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 27, 2008

Charles rated it:

This book is absolutely fascinating and an all-time favorite of mine. It ties together ancient history, poetry and myth, drawing from traditions around the world.

What this book isn't: traditional history or scholarship. As wikipedia puts it, "Graves openly considered poetic inspiration, or "Analepsis" as he termed it, a valid historical methodology." It is easy to see why New Age, Wikka and other modern syncretic traditions have seized on this book as a touchsto More...

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Sep 10, 2008

Josh rated it:

Graves's phrase for what he does is "poetic scholarship," and I'm tempted to be generous and believe that what he means here really is thought that is associative and fleet, as opposed to simply lazy. The scholarship borders on parody: Graves's assertions are made on what is essentially zero evidence. But he follows his hind without faltering once, and by the time 500 pages is up, you do feel a sort of Palace of Wisdom effect has been achieved.

Where does that leave us? For More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 09, 2010

Cwn_annwn_13 rated it:

A lot of what Graves theorized in The White Goddess has been disproven since. Here and there I ran across stuff I can agree with or think hey maybe he is on to something but overall I don't jibe well with much in the White Goddess. The biggest thing is he tries to draw all these parallels and relations between Indo-European and Hebraic stuff. Its possible Graves was a well meaning (but wrong) guy but I think its just as likely he was intentionally putting out nonsense to muddy the water. Its har More...

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Apr 28, 2010

Michael rated it:

I used to think this book had it all - then I went to uni and found his ideas on many things were silly.

No archeological basis for an age of matriarchal religions.
His sense of history was crazy.
His poetic sense thinly disguised egotism, wilful and ultimately harmful to all around him.

Interesting to read William Graves' 'Wild Olives' memoir of 1950s in Majorca, as his son.

5 comments like

May 03, 2008

Tony rated it:

A brilliant epic work about the meaning of poetry and Myth. A beautiful historical cultural journey into a pre rational world view. A lot of the facts" have ben disputed and some shown to be false, but the richness of understanding in here is just amazing.

This book introduced me to the idea of magic as being a a essential quality of being human. Also the idea of poets as being the bearers of the spiritual; heart of society. There are long descriptions of how pre patriarchal god More...

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Jul 15, 2011

Gwnhwyfer added it

From the bibliographies of Scott Cunningham's Magical Herbalism (1982) and Wicca (2004), Ann Moura's Green Witchcraft II (1999), and Ellen Dugan's Garden Witchery (2003). Recommended Read. Cunningham (2009) notes: "Perhaps the book that has had the greatest effect on modern Wicca. A poetic investigation in the Goddess".

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Dec 23, 2011

Georgina rated it:

A truly amazing book, in which Graves looks at the language and meaning of poetic myth. My own copy is yellowing and well-thumbed, and crammed with tiny bits of paper with scribbled notes. As Graves himself said 'But it is only fair to warn readers that this remains a very difficult book, as well as a very queer one, to be avoided by anyone with a distracted, tired or rigidly scientific mind..'. That said it is well worth the effort!

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Oct 07, 2009

Paul rated it:

"...I cannot make out why a belief in a Father-god's authorship of the universe, and its laws, seems any less unscientific than a belief in a Mother-goddess's inspiration of this artificial system. Granted the first metaphor, the second follows logically--if these are no better than metaphors...."

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Sep 09, 2011

Juan added it

Es un libro muy interesante, pero hay que ser experto en mitología y religiones antiguas o poeta, o las dos cosas, para poder seguirle. Uno nunca sabe dónde acaba la tremenda erudición de Graves y empieza su fabulación poética. No es una lectura ligera, en cualquier caso.

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Mar 10, 2009

J.P. rated it:

Robert Graves is fantastic. This book is out there. He makes some "interesting" leaps which would lead me to believe he is on drugs... but on the whole it is a really fun read. His argument provides a fascinating overview of european mythology in the process.

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