Anne Skyvington
  • Writing
  • Mythos
  • Travel
  • Australia
  • Book Reviews
  • Poetry
  • Memoir
  • Publishing
  • Guest Post
  • Psychology
  • home
  • ABOUT
  • Contact

Anne Skyvington

The Art of Creative Writing

  • Writing
  • Mythos
  • Travel
  • Australia
  • Book Reviews
  • Poetry
  • Memoir
  • Publishing
  • Guest Post
  • Psychology
Emotions and HealthWriting

Melancholia

written by Anne Skyvington October 20, 2012

Many well-known writers down through the ages have suffered from melancholy or melancholia. This sort of ongoing negative feeling that artistic people often suffer from is different from everyday sadness or occasional bouts of depression that many of us feel from time to time. Extreme emotional sensitivity basic to melancholy (often referred to as ‘clinical depression’ today) seems to go hand in hand with the desire and ability to put pen to paper. Melancholy also seems to be, at least in part, an inherited condition or predisposition, leaving one open to more serious forms of mental illness. When I say ‘in part’ I mean that environment also plays a huge role in the ultimate outcome and expression of the disorder; possibly the solitary life of the writer contributes to it also.

the-vivisector

Australian author Patrick White (1912-1990) preferred not to seek treatment for his ongoing depression, which is well documented in his autobiography and biographies, because he felt that his creativity might be prejudiced if he were ‘cured’ or medicated. One of his novels, The Vivisector, presents the artist as a doctor, who analyses people like a surgeon cutting into bodies. White fell out with many of his friends during his lifetime, because of his mood swings and his tendency to treat people badly at times of stress. But he has always been forgiven by the reading populace, because of the amazing body of work he left us.

English speaking authors who wrote about their melancholy include Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), John Keats (1795-1821), Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), and Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) to name but a few. Johnson lived to a reasonable age, but the others died young as a result of their melancholic personalities. Two of them, Wolf and Plath, committed suicide when subject to depression.

When I use the word ‘melancholy’ and ‘melancholia’ instead of the more modern term ‘depression’, it seems to englobe the positive connections seen or felt by the authors themselves, as well as the negative connotations of illness and misery.

I’m not suggesting that you have to be mentally ill or melancholic to write well.  Furthermore, there are great sportive people, politicians and people from all walks of life, who suffer from depression and bipolar illness. Still, as someone with an interest in this subject, I find it fascinating that so many writers fall into what I call the melancholia category.

an-unquiet-mindKay Redfield Jamison suffers from bipolar illness, which used to be called ‘Manic-Depression’. She documents the illness vividly in her memoir An Unquiet Mind. She actually embraces her bipolar, because of her heigthened imaginative capacity and the enjoyable ‘highs’ she experiences.

She is also able to keep her illness in check, as she is a psychiatrist specialising in Lithium, the main mood stabiliser for sufferers.

This is a wonderful read on the subject of bipolar illness.

Melancholia was last modified: February 6th, 2020 by Anne Skyvington
differences between depression and melancholiaexamples of well-known artists throughout history who suffered from melancholiais melancholia inherited?what is melancholia and how does it differ from depression?
0 comment
0
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Anne Skyvington

I have been a reader/writer all of my life as far back as I can remember. Blogging has opened me up to another world, where I can share my skills and continue to create through word and picture. Writing is about seeing the world and recreating it for others to see through different eyes.

previous post
Buddhism for Westerners
next post
Poetry of Place: Down Under

You may also like

Hurrah Helen Garner!

March 2, 2016

Visions of South Africa: a creative couple...

August 31, 2015

Oxford Revisited 2014

July 28, 2014

Favourite Places in Brisbane

May 12, 2013

Randwick Writers’ Group: Sharing Writing Skills

May 7, 2020

The Narrative Arc

March 17, 2018

New Family New Decade and a New...

January 7, 2014

Alone not lonely in Apartheid South Africa

December 17, 2018

Western Influencers Down Through The Ages

June 5, 2018

Creative Nonfiction: a modern genre

September 27, 2012

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

About The Author

About The Author

Anne Skyvington

Anne Skyvington is a writer based in Sydney who has been practising and teaching creative writing skills for many years. You can learn here about structuring a short story and how to go about creating a longer work, such as a novel or a memoir. Subscribe to this blog and receive a monthly newsletter on creative writing topics and events.

Buy Karrana my debut novel from Amazon online

EBook Cover

My How To book about Writing A Novel: The Big Picture

The Craft of Writing Included in Top Creative Writing Blogs

Top 30 Creative Writing Blogs, Websites & Influencers in 2020

Connect With Me

Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest Linkedin Youtube Email

Recent Posts

  • Have You Ever Experienced The “Numen”?

    April 27, 2022
  • I visit the Ukraine in 1968

    February 25, 2022
  • In Search of a Voice

    February 19, 2022
  • Armidale: The Gang of Four

    February 18, 2022
  • KARRANA: A Professional Review

    February 11, 2022

I’ve joined ALLI

About The Author

About The Author

Anne Skyvington is a Sydney-based writer and blogger. <a href="http://anneskyvington.com.au She has self-published a novel, 'Karrana' and is currently writing a creative memoir based on her life and childhood with a spiritual/mystical dimension.

Popular Posts

  • Randwick Writers’ Group: Sharing Writing Skills

    May 7, 2020
  • 5 Further Publishing Facts

    April 1, 2020
  • Symbolism of Twins

    October 2, 2017
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin

&copy: 2021 Anne Skyvington. All Rights Reserved. Site by Nate Hoffelder.


Back To Top