Sabinet | Charles Darwin, die natuurwetenskappe en die verwondering in T T Cloete se poësie
n Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe - Charles Darwin, die natuurwetenskappe en die verwondering in T T Cloete se poësie
Source : Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, Volume 49, Issue 4, Dec 2009, p. 547 - 562
Keyword(s) : Afrikaans, Afrikaanse poesie, Alfred Russel Wallace, Amazement, Birds of paradise, Charles Darwin, Evolusie, Evolution, Galapagos Islands, Galapagos-eilande, HMS Beagle, Paradysvoels, Poetry, T T Cloete, The origin of species and Verwondering
In T T Cloete se digbundels is sy belangstelling in die natuur en die natuurwetenskappe dominante temas. Die digter is besonder belese in veral die eksakte en biologiese wetenskappe. &apos;n Studie van Cloete se poësie toon hoedat hy sy wye kennis vernuftig met die hulpmiddels van die poësie orden en verrassende verbande aantoon. Opvallend is ook die wyse waarop hy &apos;n religieuse en spesifiek Christelike perspektief in sy poësie aan die orde stel en onbeskaamd as belydende Christen skryf. Studies het reeds aangetoon dat Cloete se religieuse perspektief veel minder tradisioneel as dié van &apos;n digter soos Totius is en selfs sommige aanvaarde religieuse opvattings uitdaag en die leser tot nadenke stem. Die evolusieleer het die afgelope 150 jaar tot hewige debatvoering gelei en die mens se wêreldbeeld ingrypend beïnvloed en / of gewysig. Debatvoering oor hierdie radikale en invloedryke wetenskaplike perspektief duur voort en lei steeds tot hewige polemiek (bv. oor die kreasionisme). Cloete skram nie weg van hierdie onderwerpe nie en in heelparty gedigte besin hy oor die ontstaan van die skepping en die ontwikkeling van lewe op aarde.
As a result of his keen (although lay) interest in natural science, Charles Darwin (1809-1882) agreed to serve as "unpaid gentleman&apos;s companion" to the captain of the HMS Beagle during its voyage from 1831 to 1836. Darwin&apos;s observations during the journey (especially those made on the Galápagos Islands across from the coast of Ecuador) inspired him to formulate a controversial theory on the evolution of species, which he published as The origin of species in 1859. Two hundred years after Darwin&apos;s birth and a hundred and fifty years after the publication of his epoch-making work, Darwin is still being widely discussed, revered and denigrated.
In Cloete&apos;s poetry, nature and natural science are dominant themes. The poet is so well-read in these that a poet, Daniel Hugo, once remarked that "[t]e veel van sy verse lyk na berymde artikels uit die National Geographic" [too much of his poetry looks like rhymed articles from the National Geographic]. However, a careful study of Cloete&apos;s poetry shows how he skilfully uses the tools of poetry to establish surprising connections. Also striking is the way in which he introduces religious and specific Christian perspectives in his poetry, unashamedly confessing to his Christian beliefs and verbalising the "Godsopenbarende kwaliteit van die dinge eksplisiet of implisiet" [God-revealing quality of the objects explicitly or implicitly] (Bernard Odendaal). H Ohlhoff summarises this skill by saying that Cloete does not shy away from the exact sciences, "maar hy het die gawe om dit literêr om te skep, te verwerk en uiteindelik ook in &apos;n veel wyer verband, dié van God se werksaamheid in die skepping, te plaas" [but he has the gift to recreate it in literature, to adapt it and eventually also place it in a much wider context, that of God&apos;s activity in creation].
Studies by M E Bosman and Bernard Odendaal have already shown that Cloete&apos;s religious perspective is much less traditional than that of a poet such as Totius (pseudonym for J D du Toit), even challenging some religious premises and prompting the reader to think anew. Some of the important themes in the natural sciences that have led to vehement debates and influenced and/or changed people&apos;s world-views dramatically over the last 150 years, are evolution theory and theories about the origin of the cosmos and life on earth. Debates about these radical and influential scientific perspectives are continuing and have resulted in vigorous polemics (e.g. about creationism) as was reflected in the Afrikaans media during the Darwin celebrations in 2009.
Cloete&apos;s poetry does not shy away from inter alia "controversial scientific subjects" in a number of poems, and he contemplates the origin of creation and the development of life on earth. The reader is led to consider Cloete&apos;s views on creation and evolution. In this article the emphasis will be on the role of evolution in Cloete&apos;s poetry and how he uses a well-known observation by one of the main exponents of evolution theory in one of his poems, "toegedig aan Alfred R. Wallace", to present a text that expresses wonderment at a natural phenomenon.
Persistent Link : https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC20169