However, it doesn’t seem that is what Wilson means when he writes the word melancholy. The primary example that he draws upon is the life and work of John Keats, a man who resisted falling into depression and despair despite an incredibly painful life. In fact, he says, Keats found beauty in his pain that transcended his suffering. In Keats mind, melancholy was not the dulling of emotion and experience, but rather a sharp feeling of anguish. That doesn’t sound like depression to me, it sounds like something much more interesting.

Why does Keats call that inspirational anguish melancholy? He’s not talking about depression. Instead he is taking a page from John Milton who in 1633 invented an entirely new kind of Melancholy in his poem “Il Penseroso”:

“Hail divinest Melancholy,
Whose Saintly visage is too bright
To hit the Sense of human sight;
And therfore to our weaker view,
Ore laid with black staid Wisdoms hue.”

Milton’s Melancholy is a radiant goddess of inspiration, cloaked in blackness so that men would not be overcome by the sight of her. This isn’t depression at all. Milton’s redefinition of melancholy might be painful, but it is never dreary. Rather than being a pit of despair, Milton sees melancholy as the wellspring of genius.

Just for fun here are links to excellent annotated copies of Milton’s poems “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso” which were written as a pair and make a lot more sense if they are read together.

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/l'allegro/
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/penseroso/

And for contrast a expression of a more tradtional melancholy:

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2008/07/01

Huan is the Nietzschean:”..to seek the greatest of challenges and obstacles in order to overcome them. This brings out the greatest creativity of a human being, and it would feel extraordinarily meaningful. In essence, the worst things get, the stronger the “enemy”, the more thrilling and meaningful it will be to defeat them.”

Two classic ways of dealing with the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”–both better than wallowing in melancholy.

For one to experience true happiness, he/she must know what pain and sorrow feel like, and thus, Wilson urges people to wallow in melancholy to renew their idea of happiness. Like Charlotte said, if you are happy all the time, you live in a paradox. If you feel all different kinds of happiness all the time, then the lowest level of happiness, or the closest level to melancholy, will feel like sadness or depression.

While I don’t agree with the extent of Wilson’s proposal, he had the right idea. It will also lead to appreciation and gratefulness, which are some of the highest form of happiness, in my opinion.

It seems that Wilson is simply suggesting that in order to avoid this catastrophy, we must remove ourselves from happiness and open ourselves up to melancholy. The problem with this argument is that it would convince no one, and as Professor Furrow pointed out it could easily lead to no good.

As for Charlette’s question of what other options there are for living life, I’d say the “love of suffering” mentality is quite a bit more meaningful and effective. Mainly this isn’t to say that one must remain in a state of melancholy all the time, but to seek the greatest of challenges and obstacles in order to overcome them. This brings out the greatest creativity of a human being, and it would feel extraordinarily meaningful. In essence, the worst things get, the stronger the “enemy”, the more thrilling and meaningful it will be to defeat them. This will allow one to avoid complacency and mindless pleasure seeking, and fully disclose themself to the absurdity of life.

I would like to think that this is what Wilson was hinting at, but at least from the quote Professor Furrow posted it seems like Wilson completely failed the delivery of the idea.

That seems to be what Wilson’s article hints at somewhat–if we superficially experience “happy happy happy!” then we would be living a paradox, so we need to embrace the good and the bad in order to really live life.

But… what are we looking for in life then if not happiness? Is that not what most strive for? I guess people are never supposed to really reach their happy conclusion—they are always supposed to be working towards that goal, and enjoy working for it. We have to “enjoy the journey” as the cliché says.

Eric G. Wilson asked, “How can so many people be happy in the midst of all the problems that beset our globe — not only the collective and apocalyptic ills but also those particular irritations that bedevil our everyday existences, those money issues and marital spats, those stifling vocations and lonely dawns?”

I do not think people can deal with all of that. I am only aware of a few major problems that we are experiencing on this world and I am already on the verge of despair. I think it is a defensive mechanism for people to be ignorant. If a person were to live his/her life constantly aware of all the suffering happens in this world, he/she would probably be extremely miserable. It may be unfortunate that people are like this, but can we really expect for the majority to be any different?

My own method of overcoming ignorance and despair (to be aware of serious issues but not give up) is to dull everything down. Whenever I encounter negative events, I view it as objectively and neutrally as possible (even things that are happening to me personally). As a result, I am “unhappy” a lot less, but I also do not feel the heights of happiness that I did before. When good things happen, I do not see it as exciting anymore.

I wonder what other people do. Do you sacrifice the peaks and the trenches of your emotions to avoid the lowest times, or do you “embrace” it all like Wilson suggests? If neither, what else can be done to live life?

If we stop thinking about “I want to be happy I want to be happy I want to be happy”, would that really change our lives much? I do think that I, among many people, obsess about happiness too much, and that relaxing a bit on that issue may help. However, would we really be doing anything differently? We would still be attempting to accomplish what we want in life… ultimately, to be happy… or what?