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Causley and Folklore: Ghosts, Fairies and Mermaids
Born and bred in Launceston, Cornwall, Charles Causley had the fair county in his blood. Causley’s poetry was seeped in rich Cornish folkloric tradition, as he grew up hearing ghost tales and fairy stories in his hometown. Given the spooky season we inhabit, here at The Maker we thought it might be fun to explore how Causley utilised folklore, ghosts and all manner of creatures in his creative work.
Where to begin? The pickings are rich and many. We could first discuss Causley’s use of Cornish legends, which have become mythologised through his poems. Causley’s work The Mermaid of Zennor retells the Cornish folktale of the same name. Causley adapts the original tale which focuses on the Bretton princess, Asenora, who was nailed to a barrel and cast out to sea by her husband, the King of Bretton, as punishment for her suspected infidelity after she became pregnant. Ansenora washed up on the Cornish shore. Here she founded a church in Zennor, bringing Christianity to the area.
Causley adapted this tale, creating a magical and joyful novel. Causley utilised his local heritage to inform his work, showing the importance of Launceston and wider Cornish folklore in forming his thematic drive as a writer. Furthermore, this work was written with children in mind. Causley’s work was also key in informing the next generation’s appreciation of local heritage and knowledge of folkloric tradition.
Causley also included many ghostloric themes in his poetry, which borrowed from local tradition. A great example of this is his poem, ‘By St Thomas Water’ which details Causley as a child with his friend, Jessie, visiting the ‘haunted’ St Thomas’s church. The poem is every inch as creepy and exciting as you can imagine, including a particularly gripping section where the speaker tells a local superstition that if you put your ear up to the stone outside the church door you can hear the dead talk. Seriously worth the read.
Causley’s work is living proof of the rich folkloric traditions of Cornwall, as the writer borrowed from numerous local tales to create engaging, shocking, hair-rising stories around his Cornish heritage. Key to how Causley communicates these tales in exciting ways is his use of form and tone. Causley is often cited for his unfashionable use of the ballad form in the 20th century. Yet despite its being out of favour during the period, the ballad leant well to Causley’s mystical tales. The rhyming structures and use of strict pentameters gave the work a song-like, whimsical quality, using the form to celebrate the fantastical nature of Cornish legend. This idyllic tone can be seen in poems such as ‘Seasons of North Cornwall’ where Causley describes his home with a nostalgic mysticism.
It is important also to note the oral roots of formal poetry. The forms Causley employed kept strict rhyme schemes so they might be easily memorised, designed to be spread and spoken aloud. By adopting the methods of his ancestors who passed these forms along, Causley sets out to carry on Cornish folkloric tradition into the future. Folkloric poetry is designed to be spoken aloud and Causley’s Cornish burr in recordings of himself reading his own poetry adds a level of magic to the experience, bringing the mysticism of the Cornish landscape alive. Listen to Causley’s recordings here: https://poetryarchive.org/poet/charles-causley/.
Folklore is a rich cultural resource that can be tapped into to create fantastic and whimsical stories, but helps us to understand and connect to our local heritage more personally. Perhaps you might use your local folklore in your own work?
It’s there waiting for you, so dig in.
Written by Anna Craig, The Maker’s digital intern