dan simmons’ hyperion and the fall of hyperion
TRANSCRIPT
1
Ennobling SF: Intertextuality, Metafiction and Philosophical Discourse in
Dan Simmons’ Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion
Masterarbeit
Zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades
Master of Arts (MA)
an der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
vorgelegt von
Philip Steiner, BA
Am Institut für Anglistik
Begutachter: Wolf, Werner, O.Univ.-Prof. Mag.art. Dr.phil.
Graz, 2020
2
Table of Contents
0. Introduction ..................................................................................................................3
1. The Hyperion Cantos: A Synopsis ...........................................................................4
2. From Romanticism to the Pulps to High Literature: Science Fiction’s
Complex Journey towards Cultural Appreciation ................................................5
3. Defining the Literary Landscape of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion . 10
4.Ennoblement through Intertextuality: The Blending of Literary
Characters and Works in The Hyperion Cantos ................................................... 15
4.1 Embedding the Tale of Beowulf ................................................................................ 16
4.2 A Modern Take on the Canterbury Tales ................................................................ 18
4.3 An Vision of Societal Decay: The Morlocks and Eloi of The Hyperion Cantos ...... 19
4.4 A Touch of Intermediality: Musical References to The Wizard of Oz ..................... 21
4.5 Gibson and his Cyberspace: A Conceptual Foundation .......................................... 23
4.6 Further Examples and Concluding Remarks........................................................... 25
5. To Inherit the Noble Spirit of Romanticism: The Life and Works of the
Romantic Poet John Keats and their Representations and Functions in
Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion .......................................................................... 27
5.1 A Romantic Perspective: Romantic Features and Themes in Hyperion and The Fall
of Hyperion ...................................................................................................................... 28
5.2 Creating an Intertextual Character: The Re-narration of the Life and Death of
John Keats ....................................................................................................................... 31
5.3 The Poetry of Keats: Intertextual and Meta-functions in The Hyperion Cantos .... 36
5.4 From Greek Mythology to Keats to Simmons: The Theme of the Fall of the Titans
in Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion ............................................................................ 40
6. Traces of a Prestigious Genre: The Artist Novel in Hyperion and The Fall
of Hyperion: ..................................................................................................................... 47
6.1 The Role of Language and Literature in The Hyperion Cantos ............................... 47
6.2 What it Means To Become a Poet: The metafictional Theme of “The Poet’s Tale”
………………………………………………………………………………………53
3
6.3 “I am not creating a Poem. I am creating the Future”: The central Metalepsis in
Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion ................................................................................ 56
7.Noble Intertextual Divinity: Religious Perspectives on Ethics, Armageddon
and Evolution .................................................................................................................. 59
7.1 Discussing Jewish Theology in The Hyperion Cantos: “The Abraham Dilemma”.. 60
7.2 A Technology Centered Allusion to Christianity: The Christian Doctrine of
Resurrection and Divine Empathy ................................................................................. 64
7.3 The Final Atonement: The Symbolic Intertextuality of Yeats’ “The Second
Coming” and “The Book of Revelation” ........................................................................ 67
7.4 Musings on the Ascension of Man and Machine: The Central Role of Teilhard de
Chardin’s The Phenomenon of Man ............................................................................... 71
8. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 76
9. Bibliography: .............................................................................................................. 78
0. Introduction
For decades, science fiction authors have had the reputation of paying considerably more
attention to intellectually stimulating concepts than to literary artfulness. However,
contemporary SF novelists such as Dan Simmons, Cixin Liu, Haruki Murakami, Margret
Atwood, and William Gibson do much more than simply create vast, interplanetary, narrative
universes filled with alien creatures, or exhilarating futuristic scenarios. These authors have left
behind the often-rigid prose styles of their forefathers Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clark, and Philip
K. Dick, to indulge in a more stylistically complex way of writing. In this thesis on
intertextuality, metafiction, and philosophical discourse in modern science fiction, I will focus
on a series by one of these authors, namely the Hugo award-winning Hyperion Cantos by Dan
Simmons.
In his best-selling novels, Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion Dan Simmons unleashes
an array of intertextual references to Greek mythology, English literature (such as The
Canterbury Tales and Beowulf), poetry (most importantly John Keats’ epic poems “Hyperion”
and “The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream”), religious texts, and well-known science fiction authors
such as Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells, and William Gibson. Furthermore, it is a metafictional work
that deals with the aesthetic and stylistic challenges of writing, as well as the cultural importance
4
of high literature, implicitly put forth by the metaleptic pen of one of the main characters, the
poet Martin Silenus.
I will showcase in my master’s thesis that Simmons not only employs literary devices
such as intertextuality, metafiction, metalepsis, and mise en abyme for the sake of cunning
artistry but also purposefully utilizes them to achieve three distinct objectives. Firstly, discourse
on literature, including questions of cultural value, theoretical matters, and aesthetics, is put
forth. Secondly, Romantic ideals regarding the arts and a possible union between humanity and
nature are evoked and juxtaposed with ecological and religious issues. Thirdly, philosophical
discourse on artificial intelligence, virtual reality, posthumanism, and techno-dependency is
foregrounded and discussed. Consequently, this thesis will highlight that The Hyperion Cantos
are among those modern sci-fi works in which the sophisticated employment of literary devices
creates a literary experience, both stimulating to the mind and the senses.
1. The Hyperion Cantos: A Synopsis
It is important to acknowledge at this point that this thesis will deal exclusively with the first
two installments of The Hyperion Cantos. Due to the immense scope of the series, the follow-
up novels Endymion and The Rise of Endymion will not be part of the analysis. This is, however,
also due to stylistic and theoretical reasons because although the story of The Hyperion Cantos
is continued in the Endymion novels these works differ greatly from their predecessors in style
and narrative structure.
Now, to render my analysis more accessible it seems key to provide a synopsis of the
plot of the two Hyperion novels. The books revolve around seven protagonists sent on a
pilgrimage to the legendary time tombs on the mysterious planet Hyperion. They are informed
by the CEO of the Hegemony Meina Gladstone that the tombs will open around the time of
their arrival and that they must reach them before the alien intruders, the Ousters, manage to
claim the tombs and the mysterious secrets awaiting within them. These characters are the priest
Lenar Hoyt, the Consul (whose name is not given), the poet Martin Silenus, the scholar Sol
Weintraub, the detective Brawn Lamia, the templar Het Masteen, and Colonel Fedmahn
Kassad. Aside from short transitional scenes in which the reader follows the pilgrimage of these
characters, the first novel is split into six chapters in which the pilgrims (except Het Masteen)
tell their individual stories to each other. All of these stories are connected one way or another
to the planet Hyperion and the legendary monstrosity known as the Shrike, a spiky, time-
traveling demon from the future that torments the inhabitants of Hyperion. In the second novel,
5
the pilgrims are hunted by the Shrike in the area around the time tombs whilst a massive military
conflict between the Hegemony and the Ousters takes place in the orbit of Hyperion, a war that
subsequently expands to a Hegemony wide crisis threatening all of mankind. In the meantime,
a reconstructed personality, called cybrid, of the Romantic poet John Keats searches for the true
reasons behind said conflict and uncovers that it is all part of an insidious scheme planned by
the TechnoCore, a complex community of originally ‘enslaved’ yet now independent AI that
has formerly pledged loyalty to mankind. A colossal plot unfolds itself, involving both the past,
the present, and the distant future.
2. From Romanticism to the Pulps to High Literature: Science Fiction’s
Complex Journey towards Cultural Appreciation
When we analyze The Hyperion Cantos, one of the first aspects that strikes the eye is the
stylistic complexity of these texts. Throughout Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, a vast
amount of metafiction and intertextuality is embedded, foregrounding the texts’ connections to
other works of literature as well as cultural and literary issues. Furthermore, perspectives of
narration are constantly shifting with each character telling their tale in radically different styles.
This is, for example, apparent when we compare “The Soldier’s Tale” and “The Poet’s Tale”,
the first of which follows an action-based, fast-paced, and straight forward style, while the
second is heavily structured featuring allusions, intertextual references, sequences of
metafiction, and to an extent even theoretical exposition. For a great number of SF readers, this
sense of decisive literary structure can have a rather alienating effect. After all, for the largest
part of the 20th century, SF works were primarily known for their accessible prose, their
concept-driven style, and a focus on scientific extrapolation rather than artistic experimentation.
Thus, to many avid science fiction readers a work such as The Hyperion Cantos, with its
conceptual focus on high literature, e.g. the poetry of John Keats, its complex and fragmented
plot, and its continuous foregrounding of philosophical discourse might be distinctly unfamiliar.
However, it is important to keep in mind that genre definitions can at times be quite
deceiving as the mainstream often fails to account for the vast diversity within a literary field
such as SF. Still, as faulty as genres might be, they are nonetheless essential to contextualize
works in terms of their literary tradition. Henceforth, this section of my paper is dedicated to
two primary objectives. Firstly, a rough outline of the relationship between Science Fiction and
6
the two poles of high culture and mainstream culture. Secondly, the location of The Hyperion
Cantos between these poles and in the vast ocean of SF sub-genres.
According to Bould and Vint (1), the term science fiction was coined by William Wilson
in 1851 and eventually popularized by Hugo Gernsback. As Bould and Vint state, Gernsback
initially coined the term “scientifiction” in 1916 and only began to use the term science fiction
in 1929 (2). Henceforth the genre of science fiction emerged, over a century after the first text
that is canonically considered as science fiction, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, was published.
In general, it is a quite interesting phenomenon that those canonized works which were only
retrospectively defined as science fiction, like the works of Shelley, Verne, Edgar Allan Poe,
and H.G. Wells, kept their status as high literature while modern works that were published
during the pulp era were rather viewed as mainstream literature. As Roberts (228) points out, it
was in the early 20th century when a clear division regarding literature about technological and
scientific advancements took place. This was due to the fact that the high cultural and primarily
technology critical modernist authors consciously distanced themselves from the popular
authors who were more positively disposed towards technological progress. Those modernist
authors who wrote high literature science fiction during this era include according to Roberts
(233), Aldous Huxley (Brave New World), Yevgeny Zamiatin (We), Karel Čapek (R.U.R), and
Fritz Lang (Metropolis). Additionally, Roberts (233) points out that these “Anti-Machinists”
(232) wrote science fiction that was almost exclusively dystopian. It is also noteworthy that
these dystopian works are to this day perceived as high literature. According to Roberts (253),
it was during the same era that the literary movement of the pulps emerged and started to
popularize a more technology-positive low-brow form of science fiction.
As Bould and Vint (41) put it: “ The beginning of SF as a new kind of literature occurred
in the context of an expanding magazine market in which a recognizable generic “brand” was
increasingly a factor in financial success.” It was during this time of the 1930s that science
fiction became a highly prolific and popular genre of high commercial value. As Roberts (256)
remarks, the literature of the pulps was simplistic, reactionary, and primarily focused on
amusement. As the number of 20th-century authors who dedicated themselves to high literature
increased, so did also those writers multiply who wanted to write popular fiction. Still, Roberts
underlines that even though the science fiction of the pulp era was crude and simple in terms of
its literary aesthetics, it was nonetheless a vigorous movement that shaped the evolution of the
genre decisively. Furthermore, as Bould and Vint (42) highlight, it was during this era that
popular SF broke through in other media as well, such as comic strips (43) and SF movies (45).
Bould and Vint (44) state also that many histories of SF perceive the superhero comics that
7
emerged at this time as a side phenomenon that tinged the public’s perception of science fiction
and added to the genre’s characterization as low-brow literature.
What followed from the 40s till the 60s was the so-called golden age of SF. Roberts
(287) outlines that this era was shaped in particular by John W. Campbell and his Astounding
magazine, whose vision it was that science fiction would evolve from generic pulp texts to a
new kind of literature. As Bould and Vint (76) show, this new kind of Campbellian literature
was primarily realized in the sub-genre “hard SF”. This style of science fiction was a
continuation of the Gernsbackian tradition as it focused on plausible scientific extrapolation
and orderly logical narratives. It was also, as Bould and Vint (76) underline, an attempt to
clearly distinguish science fiction from the fantasy genre. Indeed, the golden age brought forth
many of today’s most popular science fiction authors, such as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein,
and Arthur C. Clark, and while its restrictive literary aesthetics might often appear outdated
today, its grand ideas revolving around artificial intelligence, extraterrestrial contact and space
travel are still at the very heart of modern SF.
With the end of the golden age, the predominance of hard SF also came to an end. As
Bould and Vint (106) state, the 60s movement of postmodernism popularized by authors like
John Barth, Joyce Carol Oates, and Thomas Pynchon left a decisive mark on the science fiction
of the time. Even though many authors stuck to the Campbellian model of hard SF, a great
number of authors, such as Thomas Pynchon, William Burroughs and Angela Carter embraced
the literary developments of the time and incorporated them into their SF writing. Furthermore,
Bould and Vint (109) argue that modernist techniques of writing celebrated a comeback in
science fiction with authors like John Brunner, Brian Aldiss, and Philip José Farmer. Butler
(145) mentions that some of the most important and influential modernist SF writers of this new
wave of science fiction were Philip K. Dick, J.G. Ballard, Ursula K. Le Guin, Joanna Russ, and
Thomas M. Disch. Additionally, Enns (2) highlights that Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451,
published in 1953, was one of the first SF works of this era that reached both mainstream literary
success and significant recognition by critics. Concluding, Bould and Vint (124) outline that
this period saw an important professionalization and diversification for the literary genre of SF.
The stylistics of the genre became more varied, authors become more professional novelists as
compared to many of the hack writers of the pulp era, and with the rise of SF studies academic
and critical recognition ensued. Roberts (377) remarks that it was at this time, that many SF
authors attempted to reinvent the genre by enriching it with new stylistic and aesthetic ideas as
well as the integration of marginalized groups such as women, ethnic minorities, and people
following alternative ways of living. However, the golden age ‘hard SF’ remained popular and
8
successful, and as Roberts (377) highlights, a considerable number of SF readers were not
pleased with the new experimental tendencies in the genre.
As Butler (137) outlines, both science fiction and postmodernism are literary
phenomena that are exceedingly difficult to define. Nonetheless, he argues that due to the
interplay of postmodern writing and science fiction in the 1960s and 70s and the continuation
of this relationship in the 80s and 90s an approach that takes both of them into account is fruitful
and partly also necessary. Butler (138) continues, by stating that especially a metafiction
centered form of postmodern science fiction was prevalent in the 1980s and 90s, with some
noteworthy examples being Philip K. Dick’s Valis, Jack McDevitt’s Ancient Shores, and Dan
Simmons’ Hyperion. Furthermore, according to him (144), the cyberpunk movement is today
perceived as the primary postmodern SF movement of the time. Roberts (440) too foregrounds
that there are countless definitions of both postmodernism and science fiction, yet according to
him, cyberpunk with its focus on collage, quotation, intertextuality, its rhapsodical depletion of
human emotion, its representation of surfaces rather than depth, and its focus on a changing
present instead of a historical past is decisively postmodern. Roberts (440-441) also quotes Dani
Cavallaro (52), who argues that the Gibsonian cyberculture with its concept of cyberspace as a
form of hallucination is intrinsically postmodern and ambiguous. From Cavallaro’s perspective,
cyberpunk has influenced modern theories of epistemology and agency as it fused ideas of
mythology and technology. Additionally, also Bould and Vint (154) claim that the cyberpunk
movement, with William Gibson’s Neuromancer being a paradigmatic example, was the
quintessential SF subgenre of its time. Furthermore, the authors argue that cyberpunk has been
the one literary phenomenon in the field of SF that was the most effective in bringing academic
recognition to the genre.1
It is at this point that my short survey of the literary evolution of SF comes to an end,
not because the genre ceased to evolve after the 90s — that would be far from the truth — but
because it is here that we come full circle. SF started canonically with the high literature
scientific romances of authors like Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jules Verne. And after
roughly half a century in which the popular mainstream mode of the pulps and the comic stripes
prevailed, authors have managed to reestablish the genre within high cultural and academic
discourse. As I have showcased, the second half of the 20th century has been a phase of
conscious ennoblement and diversification of the genre as a considerable number of authors
1 It should be noted at this point that this thesis will not deal with postmodernism in detail. The intrinsically
complex nature of defining postmodernism would otherwise demand an amount of attention that would go far
beyond the scope of this thesis. Thus, the term postmodernism is employed solely as a tool in the categorization
of Dan Simmons’ The Hyperion Cantos and the work’s respective literary tradition.
9
expanded its stylistic and thematic conventions. And among these authors, we find also Dan
Simmons.
Indeed, with the postmodern and modernist tendencies of late 20th century SF in mind,
Dan Simmons’ The Hyperion Cantos seems relatively simple to contextualize in the vast genre
pool. Still, it lies in the nature of such a voluminous and genre-bending series such as The
Hyperion Cantos that allocation to a subgenre is easier said than done. The most fitting term
that I have come across in my research would be the subgenre of postmodern space opera as it
is discussed by Gary Westfahl (206). Although this term itself is not wholly unproblematic it
still represents the best effort regarding the genre allocation of Hyperion and The Fall of
Hyperion. Westfahl (206) argues that this new form of the space opera subgenre emerged at the
end of the 20th century. Some texts that fit into this subgenre are according to him (206), Bruce
Sterling’s Schismatrix and Schismatrix Plus, Michael Swanwick’s Vacuum Flowers, Ian M.
Banks Culture novels, and Dan Simmons’ Hyperion series. These works have in common that
they deal with traditional motives of space opera (such as extraterrestrial contact, space travel,
imperialism, and far-fetched technological progress), aspiring to the same sense of epicness,
yet that they do so in a cynical and sometimes even pessimistic manner concerning the future
of humanity. Furthermore, these modern space operas tend to tackle the themes of their
predecessors in a more critical, diversified, and textually rich manner. They tend to feature a
great variety of different intelligent life forms, worlds in which the colonial fantasy of a universe
dominated by humanity is purposefully negated, hyper-technological means of transportation,
intertextual and intercultural references and allusions, and the juxtaposition of overt seriousness
with an escapist sense of adventure. Westfahl (206) calls into question if these features alone
are enough to render these works truly postmodern and suggests, that one could also label them
as sophisticated space operas instead. However, I would argue that despite the complicated
nature of the term “postmodern” the subgenre of postmodern space opera is still useful for two
major reasons. Firstly, because it allows for a connection and comparison to the postmodernism
and modernism inspired SF literary movement that emerged in the 60s and continued to evolve
towards the end of the 20th century. Secondly, like the initial postmodern literary movement
and its associated SF authors, it foregrounds a process of ennoblement. The late 20th-century
postmodern space opera is a clear attempt to take the traditional mainstream pulp genre of the
space opera and to evolve it into something new that is thematically and stylistically complex,
diverse, and closer to the ideals of high literature.
A further interesting classification comes from Roberts (314-315), who argues that
during the golden age also a science fiction literature grounded in religious discourse emerged.
10
He mentions the Hyperion series as one of the most important works of this literary tradition
that fuses religious dialectics with generic science fiction themes. Since Hyperion and The Fall
of Hyperion are full of allusions to Christianity and Judaism as well as sequences of religious-
philosophical discussion centered on the theories of St. Teilhard De Chardin this categorization
is definitely justified.
As I have highlighted, Dan Simmons Hyperion series is deeply grounded in the literary
traditions of both postmodernism and modernism inspired new wave SF and religious SF. The
works are furthermore modern space operas that deal with many of the common motives of this
subgenre. However, they do so in a refined manner and in an attempt to ennoble the genre via
literary devices such as intertextuality, metafiction, and stylistic approaches aligned with high
literature.
3. Defining the Literary Landscape of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion
As I have drawn attention to in the previous chapter, in Dan Simmons’ novels Hyperion and
The Fall of Hyperion several literary devices are employed for narrative and stylistic purposes
as well as with the aim of literary ennoblement. Therefore, before delving into a thorough
analysis of these works, it is essential to define some major techniques appearing in the texts
which are all aligned under the term ‘self-referentiality’, namely intertextuality, metafiction,
mise en abyme, and, in most instances as a special case of (implicit) metafiction, metalepsis.
The first important distinction that has to be made is the difference between
heteroreference and self-reference, according to Wolf (2009: 18) the two fundamental forms of
reference within a theory of self-reference. Wolf (2009: 18) states that heteroreference is
commonly defined as the default quality of a sign, which is, to refer to an object that does not
lie within its own semiotic system. It is therefore a reference that points to an element of the
world outside of language and the media. As a basic example, the word ‘apple’ refers to the
extratextual fruit known as apple. In contrast to heteroreference, Wolf defines self-reference as:
[…] a usually non-accidental quality of signs and sign configurations that in various
ways refer or point to (aspects of) themselves or to other signs and sign configurations
within one and the same semiotic system or ‘type’ of which they are a part or ‘token’
rather than to (an element of) reality outside the sign (system). (2009: 19)
Hence, the primary difference between heteroreference and self-reference is that the
former points towards a reality outside of language and media, whilst the latter refers to other
elements of language and/or forms of media. Wolf (2009: 18) mentions right from the start that
11
in the light of poststructuralism and radical constructivism this distinction may seem
problematic. Clearly, if our reality is inherently constructed through language, then how can we
ever really point towards something outside of language. Nonetheless, Wolf (2009:18) states
that this distinction between heteroreference and self-reference regarding their relationship with
the outside world and semiotic systems is fundamental when we analyze media, as it is common
sense that there is a general difference between, for instance, the representation of reality in
texts, films, and video games, and the actual reality. Wolf (2009: 23) also highlights that the
opposition heteroreference vs. self-reference constitutes a continuum with two poles on which
references can be located, rather than a strict dichotomy. Instead, as he argues, in the world of
the media, references frequently display both heteroreferential and self-referential qualities. An
example of this could be the quotation of a historical document in a novel. The essential quality
of this reference might be heteroreferential, as it points to occurrences in the extratextual reality.
However, as the source of the historical information is a text, there is also a self-referential
quality to it. Nonetheless, as Wolf highlights, Jakobson’s poetic function (2009:19),
intertextuality (2009:19), metafiction (2009:35), mise en abyme (2009:50), and metalepsis
(2009:50) are all inherently self-referential. Since the core literary phenomena that will be
analyzed in this thesis are intertextuality and literary devices that are either inherently
metafictional or have a strong metafictional potential, such as mise en abyme, a closer look at
these self-referential techniques is warranted.
The term ‘intertextuality’ was originally coined by Julia Kristeva. The core of Kristeva’s
definition (85) is that works of literature are always amalgamations of texts and ideas by other
authors. Thus, in a sense, all texts are engaged in an act of intertextual relation. A similar
understanding of the phenomenon of intertextuality was also proposed by literary theorist and
author Roland Barthes. In his essay “La mort de l'Auteur” Barthes states:
(a text) but is a space of many dimensions, in which are wedded and contested various
kinds of writing, no one of which is original: the text is a tissue of citations, resulting
from the thousand sources of culture. (Barthes 4)
Hence, to theorists such as Kristeva and Barthes, a text is always a conglomeration of
ideas, phrases, and concepts rather than an original work. However, there is a distinct problem
with this definition that renders it exceedingly unpractical for a literary analysis of intertextual
references. If every work of literature is inherently intertextual, then how can we adequately
analyze intertextuality as a distinct literary phenomenon? Therefore, I will utilize a different
definition of intertextuality in this thesis. Namely, the one used by Wolf, and Broich and Pfister.
12
According to Wolf (2009: 60), intertextuality is best defined as a deliberate reference to
or a relationship with a pre-text that can either be real or fictitious. This definition is made with
reference to Broich and Pfisters’ theoretical work Intertextualität: Formen, Funktionen,
anglistische Fallstudien, published in 1985. Clear examples for this definition would be, a
character in a novel quoting a Shakespeare poem, the implementation of a well-known scene
from another work of art, or the use of a character from another fictional text as a synonym —
for example, Frankenstein’s monster is employed in The Hyperion Cantos as a synonym for the
Shrike (Hyperion 2232).
As has been already addressed, metafictional literary techniques are also key
components of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. To enable a full understanding of these
devices it is necessary to take a glimpse at their theoretical foundation, metareference.
According to Wolf (2009: 22), metareference is a specific form of self-reference that includes
a meta-dimension. Wolf (2009: 22) argues that in comparison to other forms of self-reference:
Metareference goes one step further: it establishes a secondary reference to texts and
media (and related issues) as such by, as it were, viewing them ‘from the outside’ of a
meta-level from whose perspective they are consequently seen as different from
unmediated reality and the content of represented worlds. (Wolf 2009: 22)
Wolf (2009: 30) points out that three concrete criteria constitute such a metareference.
The first of these criteria is a quality of deliberate self-referentiality that can extend from the
text itself to a complete branch of media, and eventually always entails the text’s status as a
token of a set of media. The second trait is that metareferential passages have an either overtly
or covertly self-reflexive quality that goes in its discursive functions beyond a purely formal
relationship (e.g. similarity and difference) with other elements within the same system. The
third necessary aspect is that a metareference puts forth self-reflexive content on a specific
medium, or system, and related topics, on a meta-level that is either present or implied, with
the traceable intent of raising at least to a minimal degree a sense of awareness of meta-
phenomena in the reader. In the course of this thesis, the term metafiction, which is synonymous
with metareference and specifically tailored towards an analysis of meta-phenomena in
literature, will be employed as the key concept for the analysis of instances of metareference.
Metafiction, which is frequently defined as ‘fiction about fiction’, is one of the key
literary techniques employed in Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. Wolf (2009: 31-32)
criticizes this definition as reductionist and not accountable for the considerable number of
other aspects of media discourse that metafiction is part of. Therefore, as with the device of
2 Further references to book one of The Hyperion Cantos will be abbreviated with H.
13
intertextuality, a different definition is needed that can account for greater complexity. One
such explanation of the term is put forth by Waugh (20), who defines metafiction as a form of
writing that foregrounds its fictionality either overtly or covertly. Another vital definition is
also proposed by Scholes (106), who argues that metafiction is a style of writing that deals with
literary discourse in a self-conscious manner. These definitions fit well with the metafictional
tendencies of Simmons’ novels, for example with the paradoxical relationship between the poet
Martin Silenus and his muse, the Shrike. Furthermore, as Wolf underlines (2009: 31)
metafiction can refer to individual passages, a complete novel, or even a whole genre.
Regarding different forms of metafiction, Wolf (2009: 37-38) proposes the
classification into four pairs, with each pair consisting of two opposed forms. For example,
Wolf distinguishes between intracompositional (direct) and extracompositional (indirect)
metafiction. As Wolf (2009:38) explains, the difference is that direct metafiction operates solely
within the text itself (for example a first-person narrator commenting on his own writing), while
indirect metafiction points to other elements and topics within the media or other works (e.g. a
fictional author discussing the general process of character creation). The second pair would be
explicit vs. implicit metafiction. Both my examples for direct and for indirect metafiction would
constitute an explicit discussion of a media-related topic. In contrast, implicit metafiction would
be a reference that draws attention to its fictionality or media related discourse without
explicitly stating this intention. examples of this could be major stylistic irregularities, like a
missing chapter or a break in the rhyme scheme of a poem. These deviations would then allow
the artist to put specific words or concepts into the spotlight, via which a meta-comment could
be generated. A typical implicit metafictional device is, for example, metalepsis. The next pair
foregrounded by Wolf (2009:38) is generally mediality centered vs. truth/fiction centered
metafiction. The central idea behind this distinction is that there are metafictional remarks and
devices which are solely centered on general medial matters, as opposed to metafiction that is
centered on a critical discussion of reality, fiction, and perceptions of reality. The last pair put
forth by Wolf (2009:38) is critical vs. non-critical metafiction. Hence, we can basically
distinguish between metafictional statements that form a critical comment on language and/or
media and those instances of metafiction only employed for creative or entertainment purposes.
Wolf (2009:38) also highlights that these distinctive aspects can be combined. For example,
during the analysis of The Hyperion Cantos, we will encounter numerous instances of indirect,
explicit, metafiction on the importance and potential of literature.
Two further essential devices, which as stated by Wolf (2009: 50) are often employed
in a metareferential manner, are metalepsis and mise en abyme. However, Wolf (2009: 60)
14
underlines that both of these devices are not exclusively metareferential, with metalepsis being
to a greater degree inherently metareferential than mise en abyme. These two devices are then
defined in the following manner. According to Wolf:
“Metalepsis is a transmedial device with a highly implicit metareferential potential that
consists in a violation of the conventionally assumed autonomy of a represented world
by a paradoxical transgression (in thought or deed) of the border separating its inside
from the outside”. (W. Wolf, personal communication, January 22nd, 2020; cf Wolf
(2020). ”Aesthetic Illusion and the Breaking of Illusion in Ancient Literature?” )
A typical example of such a metalepsis would be a character of a text meeting the author,
therefore implicitly breaching the ontological border between the fictional world of the text and
reality. Mise en abyme then is defined by Wolf (2009: 56) as: “the ‘mirroring’ of parts of the
totality of a framing or embedding higher level of a semiotic complex (text, work, performance)
in a discernible unit located on an embedded lower level.” A generic example of this can be
found in the introductory scenes of many horror movies. These films commonly start with the
characters watching a horror movie themselves, the story of which then foreshadows the course
that the movie will take.
Concerning writing that involves such metafictional techniques, Puschmann-Nalenz
(88) highlights that it can also be taken to its theoretical extreme as avant-garde authors
overindulge in their deconstructionist efforts. Consequently, many overly metafictional works
end up being more interesting in terms of their theoretical ideas than regarding the stories they
tell. As examples of writers with such a tendency, Puschmann-Nalenz (88-89) mentions
Nabokov, Barth, and Borges. Wolf (2009: 68-69) outlines that it was the postmodern ‘literature
of exhaustion’ that played a decisive role in the rise of this excessive meta-trend that tends to
go to such lengths in its emphasis on the deconstruction of media and language that the
connection to an extramedial reality is frequently lost. As Wolf (2009: 69) stresses, this
postmodern tendency to focus on metareferential discourse whilst neglecting the representation
of the reality outside of media can be problematic with respect to the primary function of media,
namely, to contribute to culture via the mirroring of and commenting upon real-world issues.
As Wolf fittingly puts it:
Indeed, this self-reflexive tendency may be likened to a man who, in the face of the
oncoming winter, should build a house for shelter but instead endlessly reflects on the
tools he should use for that purpose, so that the winter comes and the house is not built.
(Wolf 2009: 69)
Bishop and Starkey (132) outline that this critical view of communication, and most
importantly language, is central to postmodernism. They highlight that postmodernism
15
emphasizes the unreliability of language and renounces the idea of grand truths. Incorporated
in this view is according to Bishop and Starkey (132) an acceptance that all writing is eventually
a failed act of communication and that these failures should be embraced. These observations
align themselves also with Umberto Eco’s work ”Innovation & Repetition: Between Modern &
Postmodern Aesthetics”, in which he (203) argues that the focus of the modern avant-garde on
artistical concepts of repetition, such as collage, intertextuality, and meta-art/fiction constitutes
a literary counter-movement to the Romantic concept of original art. Consequently, this
postmodern mindset incorporates a radically skeptical view of not just language, but also
writing, and in particular of high literature with its aspirations towards literary perfection and
grand truths.
One of the key points of this paper is that metafiction, mise en abyme, and metalepsis
can, however, also be utilized to quite the opposite effect, namely to strengthen the aesthetic
illusion of a text rather than shattering it with relentless academic fervor. As Wolf (2009: 71-
72) emphasizes, literary devices such as metafiction or metalepsis can foster aesthetic illusion
instead of breaking it. He highlights that beneficial functions of metafiction on the reader's
immersion range from its potential to render scenes exceedingly amusing, to the satisfactory
quality of playful interaction with the text, up to intellectual stimulation as the reader tries to
follow the references in a detective-esque manner to excavate their hidden meaning. As I will
showcase in my thesis, intertextuality and metafictional devices are employed in Hyperion and
The Fall of Hyperion to the effect that they enhance the reader’s experience along these lines,
while also posing fascinating questions regarding language, literature, and culture as a whole.
4. Ennoblement through Intertextuality: The Blending of Literary
Characters and Works in The Hyperion Cantos
One of the primary literary devices employed in The Hyperion Cantos is intertextuality.
Throughout Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, numerous other literary works are overtly or
covertly alluded to, adding bits and pieces of their narrative worlds to the textual dimension of
the two novels. This key role of intertextuality is already apparent when we take a look at some
of the main characters’ names. There we have the satyr-esque poet Martin Silenus, Brawne
Lamia, who is named in reference to Keats’ poem “Lamia” and his beloved Fanny Brawne,
Rachel and Saria Weintraub, both named after biblical figures, and Colonel Fedmahn Kassad’s
mysterious love interest Moneta/Mnemosyne, a double reference both to the titan/goddess of
memory in Greek and Roman mythology and to the character of the same name in Keats’
16
Hyperion poems. Essentially, this list could go on and on stretching over at least one to two
pages since every second or third character or place in the novels is named in reference to a
historical figure or a work of art. However, such a list would be beside the point as it would
rather seem like a display of overwhelming proliferation rather than of artfully interwoven
intertextual references. And clearly, many readers might befall a sense of chaotic amalgamation
as they are confronted with these myriads of intertextual references on their journey through
the world of The Hyperion Cantos. However, I would argue that a considerable number of the
intertextual references in Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion foreshadow and underline
essential aspects of these novels and thus purposefully extend the story and world of the novels.
Furthermore, the references to canonical works of literature like Beowulf, The Canterbury
Tales, and H.G. Wells The Time Machine add a sophisticated finesse to the novels as they are
imbued with centuries of high literary tradition, and hence themself ennobled. Consequently,
the following subchapters will be dedicated to a detailed analysis of some particularly
fundamental examples of intertextuality in The Hyperion Cantos and their narrative and
discursive functions.
4.1 Embedding the Tale of Beowulf
One anglophone classic that is repeatedly referenced in The Hyperion Cantos is Beowulf. Most
of these intertextual references to the old epic poem appear in Silenus’ tale. For instance, the
poet is shown to draw a comparison between life in the artist community on Hyperion and one
of the main settings in Beowulf (H 180). “It was only Hrothgar’s claustrophobic mead hall with
the monster waiting in the darkness without.”, the character says, equating the City of Poets
with Hrothgar’s legendary hall. This intertextual comparison is then also extended to
incorporate the characters and the plot:
We had our Grendel, for sure. We even had our Hrothgar if one squints a bit at Sad King
Billy’s poor slouched profile. We lacked only our Geats; our great, broad-shouldered,
small-brained Beowulf with his band of merry psychopaths. So, lacking a Hero, we
settled into the role of victims and composed our sonnets and rehearsed our ballets and
unrolled our scrolls, while all the while our thorn-and-steel Grendel served the night
with fear and harvested thighbones and gristle. (H 180)
Here, the Shrike, the primary foe of The Hyperion Cantos, takes the intertextual role of
the old English devourer of men, Grendel, both concerning its monstrous power and its brutal
actions. Furthermore, Sad King Billy becomes in a parodical sense the legendary warrior king
Hrothgar. However, the one main character that would make the reference complete is simply
17
absent. On Hyperion, no mighty, bloodthirsty Beowulf able to defend the people is found. And
so, the peasants of the artist colony can only hide in their houses behind the non-protective
walls of their weak king’s mead hall. In a sense, this lack of heroic character can even be read
as a meta-comment on the story of the Old English epic poem and can hence pose several
questions. What would have been the grim fate of Hrothgar and his people without a great hero
coming to their rescue? Would they have accepted their fate as victims, like their modern
equivalents living on the planet Hyperion? And might the outcome have been a sinister epic
with a murderous monster at its center, instead of a hero?
The primary function of these references, however, is their intertextual representation
of the Shrike. There we have a gruesome monstrosity with “eyes like ruby lasers burning
through blood-filled gems (H 222)”, reminiscent of Grendel’s “flaming eyes (Beowulf l.726)”,
roaming the streets of Keats in the middle of the night (H 180), - tearing people apart until there
is nothing left (H 222), echoing the line “swiftly thus the lifeless corpse was clear devoured”
(Beowulf ll.742-744). In the course of The Hyperion Cantos, the intertextual metaphor of the
Shrike as Grendel appears continuously. For example, Grendel (the Shrike) appears at the point
in “The Poet’s Tale” when Silenus is thinking about taking his life and the agony caused to the
community by the demonic being reinvigorates his creativity (H 216). Furthermore, the
destructive effect that the community’s own weapons had on their “mead hall” in the fight
against the Shrike is highlighted (H 160). Additionally, it is described as “a sheet-metal Grendel
born in hell” (The Fall of Hyperion3 161). Even though some of these references are rather
minor nudges towards Beowulf and may not be significant by themselves, I would argue that
they play an important role in the continuous evocation of the literary relationship between the
two Hyperion novels and Beowulf.
The intertextual reference to Beowulf nears completion when finally Beowulf emerges
— or rather, two Beowulfs. Eventually, both Kassad (TFOH 431) and Lamia (TFOH 498)
manage to kill the Shrike. Kassad travels hundreds, perhaps thousands of years into the future
to take part in the war against a whole army of Shrikes, whilst Lamia kills the one Shrike that
exists in the present. Henceforth, the question arises who of them may serve as the intertextual
heir to Beowulf’s warrior throne. Arguably the stout colonel Kassad who fights and slays the
monster in physical combat (e.g. TFOH 402-403) appears to be the obvious choice. However,
an interesting passage at the end of the Hyperion novels suggests otherwise. Here (TFOH 513)
the poet states: “All right. I think. We have patrols- mech and human – and our Grendel-Shrike
hasn’t made an encore appearance yet … but be careful, OK?” Which is answered by Brawne
3 Further references to the second book of The Hyperion Cantos will be abbreviated with TFOH.
18
Lamia with the words: “Don’t forget” […] “I’m the Grendel killer.” This is the first and only
time in the novels that a character is overtly named in a synonymous manner to Beowulf,
namely as “Grendel killer”. The once unbeatable monster has finally found its true master,
facing a similar fate to that of Grendel at the hand of Brawne Lamia, the Grendel killer. Thus,
I would argue that it is essentially this character who fills the gap and so completes the reference
to Beowulf.
4.2 A Modern Take on the Canterbury Tales
Another quite telling example of intertextuality can be found early on in the novels (H 25). Here
the character Martin Silenus recites a passage from The Canterbury Tales. These lines from the
“General Prologue” (ll. 854-560) of Chaucer’s famous work originally mark the beginning of
the first pilgrim’s tale, the story of the knight. In the same way, in Hyperion, the poet Martin
Silenus is shown to use this phrase to introduce the tale of the first pilgrim, Father Lenar Hoyt.
Furthermore, one could argue that the basic plot of Hyperion is referencing Chaucer’s famous
work on a structural level as both texts make use of a frame tale in which a group of pilgrims
tell each other their tales while traveling together. This intertextual structural reference is
evoked once again at the beginning of each character’s story as they are tellingly named: “The
Priest’s Tale”, “The Soldier’s Tale”, “The Poet’s Tale”, “The Scholar’s Tale”, “The Detective’s
Tale” and “The Consul’s Tale”. As W.A. Senior (214) outlines, there are furthermore some
distinct similarities between the pilgrims’ stories in The Hyperion Cantos and The Canterbury
Tales. Colonel Fedmahn Kassad mirrors Chaucer’s Knight as he tells a story dedicated to values
of knightly conduct like chivalry, love, and the honorable codex of a true warrior combined
with his pursuit of an unattainable lady; Father Lenar Hoyt’s tale echoes in its focus on spiritual
temptation and the search for true redemption “The Parson’s Tale”; the tale of the poet Martin
Silenus with his story about the devil embodied by the Shrike is reminiscent of the three rogues
from “The Pardoner’s Tale”; the story of the scholar Sol Weintraub has parallels with the
Clerk’s tale with its tragic rendition of a relationship between parents and their child; the Consul
takes the position of the Man of Law who puts forth ethical discourse and tells a tale of separated
lovers and tragic loss; and Het Masteen becomes the dead man who tells no tale. As W.A.
Senior (214) highlights, only “The Detective’s Tale” seems devoid of reference to “The
Canterbury Tales”.
Even though, all of these references are rather minor literary nudges towards The
Canterbury Tales they nonetheless serve a considerably valuable purpose. Specifically, the
19
quotation of a passage from the “General Prologue” and the titles of the individual chapters
foreground overtly that there is a connection between Hyperion and Chaucer’s legendary work.
Henceforth, these references will slightly alter the way that readers familiar with The
Canterbury Tales will imagine Simmons’ characters and their journey and will infuse the story
with a touch of Chaucerian flair. These readers will be triggered to keep looking for further
clues for connections between these two texts. Consequently, they might stumble upon the
probably most prominent similarity between the two texts. Namely that both works are attempts
at a critical discussion of their author’s cultural backgrounds with a specific focus on the
viewpoints of individuals. Naturally, the topics vary. Simmons’ Hyperion novels with their
critical focus on the cultural importance of literature, environmentalism, and the risks of
artificial intelligence and other future technologies goes clearly far beyond the primary issues
of Chaucer’s work. Still, they share a number of discursive themes with one another, as both
The Hyperion Cantos and The Canterbury Tales discuss issues of ethics, religion, love, warfare,
and culture.
4.3 An Vision of Societal Decay: The Morlocks and Eloi of The Hyperion Cantos
Another classic work of fiction that is repeatedly alluded to and referred to in the Hyperion
novels is The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. This intertextual relationship is particularly
interesting as it is gradually built up over the course of the novels and is only revealed in its full
significance towards the end of The Fall of Hyperion. At the center of this intertextual
connection lies the Wellsian dystopia of a society of Morlocks and Eloi (Wells 61). The general
idea behind this concept is that in the far future mankind would undergo a devolution due to
technological progress rendering the typical human resourcefulness obsolete. In The Time
Machine, this regression of human capabilities leads to a two-class society, consisting of the
Eloi, a beautiful and completely incompetent upper class, and the Morlocks, a grim primitive
working class that provides for the Eloi yet also uses them as a source of food.
The first time that H.G. Wells’ novel is alluded to in The Hyperion Cantos is in “The
Priest’s Tale”. In this section of the novels, the character Father Dure — whose travelogue is
narrated by Father Lenar Hoyt — finds himself in a community of childlike, dwarfish,
unintelligent humans called the Bikura (H 52). These beings greatly resemble the description
of the Eloi in The Time Machine (Wells 24, 26, 29) as they are described as sexless, childlike,
uniformly dressed simpletons with a sort of cherubic look (H 53). It is also noteworthy to
underline that the reason for the Bikura’s devolution is shown to be technological, as the
20
cruciform, the gift of the Shrike, has rendered them immortal with the repercussion of a
continuous regression of mental and physical capabilities with every rebirth (H 90). It is also
highlighted that the Shrike residing in a temple deep under the earth serves as the guardian of
the Bikura, thus giving it at least a Morlokisch function (H 79). I would argue, however, that
this allusion to The Time Machine is in terms of its intertextual potential rather of a parodical
nature and does not yet overtly foreground the true role that the Eloi/Morlock metaphor plays
for the narrative of the Hyperion novels.
The significance of the allusion becomes clearer when H.G. Wells’ work is directly
referenced (H 227). Here the poet Martin Silenus is shown to compare himself with an Eloi
gaining weight in a dilapidated dome, waiting for the inevitable appearance of his Morlock, the
Shrike. This statement is particularly remarkable as it is true not only of Silenus himself but
also of all the other members of the artist community. As I have already addressed in the section
on Beowulf, Sad King Billy and his creative peasants are all essentially harmless artists unable
to defend themselves against the Shrike. Henceforth, they resemble the Eloi in their complete
helplessness against the monstrosity that is harvesting them one by one.
The Morlocks are then mentioned a second time (TFOH 160) when Martin returns to
the dome to complete his opus magnum. However, in this section, they are only casually
mentioned, and the Shrike, as Silenus’ muse, is referred to as something else than the Morlocks.
Henceforth, it seems that this particular reference is rather a direct employment of Wells’
Morlocks, and the function of it seems to be primarily to reinvoke the aforementioned scene
from Hyperion and to thus highlight that Silenus is the last surviving “Eloi” of his artist
community.
Eventually, the intertextual allusion to The Time Machine is brought to its climax when
the real nature of the relationship between the Hegemony of Man and the TechnoCore is
revealed. When the powerful AI Ummon tells the Keats cybrid that the whole modern human
civilization with its technologies of instant teleportation and instant communication is only a
complex plot of the TechnoCore to harvest the computing power of the neurons of billions of
people (TFOH 282), it becomes clear who the Eloi and the Morlocks in the world of the
Hyperion novels truly are. Indeed, if we take a closer look at the description of the Eloi/Morlock
relationship in The Time Machine (Wells 61), significant similarities to the relation between the
Hegemony and the Core are apparent. Here the Morlocks are described as originally
“mechanical servants” who had been able to reverse the power structure of their society after
the Eloi “decayed to mere beautiful futility”. The Morlocks are also still maintaining their old
masters, because of “ancient and departed necessities”. These descriptions are not too far from
21
the developments in the Hegemony. In the world of the Hyperion novels too, it is addressed
that artificial intelligences originated as servants of humanity until they became so powerful
and humanity so dependent upon them that they rose to the throne, literally feasting on homo
sapiens’ brains (TFOH 279-282). I would argue that this connection between the two plots of
The Hyperion Cantos and The Time Machine is the primary function of the repeated allusion to
H.G. Wells’ classic work. Simmons takes the core concept of Wells’ novel and inserts it into
another more modern, futuristic setting on a rather opulent cosmic scale, thus fostering a
Wellsian Parody of our own advanced human societies, their growing dependence on
technology, and the risks that the evolution of AI could hold in store.4
4.4 A Touch of Intermediality: Musical References to The Wizard of Oz
Another interesting intertextual reference that occurs at both ends of Hyperion and The Fall of
Hyperion is the incorporation of the two songs “We are Off to See the Wizard of Oz” and “Over
the Rainbow” from the movie The Wizard of Oz. I would argue that these references are at least
partly intermedial as the characters are depicted singing them and as it is through the music and
the lyrics that the reference is made. Furthermore, it is an intrinsic quality of these references
that they are meant to push the reader towards listening to these songs and investigating their
role within the two novels. I would further argue that these references fulfill distinct functions
concerning the tone of the respective scenes and the establishment of an intermedial connection
between the plot of the novels and the movie.
For example, the accompaniment of the ending of Hyperion with the song “We are Off
to See the Wizard of Oz” (H 481-482) plays a decisive role in the shaping of this epilogue. In
the movie The Wizard of Oz, this song appears several times (The Wizard of Oz 32:18 - 33:40,
38:47-39:12, 47:30 - 47:55, and 52:50- 53:15) accompanying the addition of each of Dorothy’s
comrades to the journey. As the characters stroll towards the home of the mysterious wizard
hoping that their deepest wishes will be granted by him this song repeatedly sets a light and
uplifting mood. At the end of Hyperion too, this song accompanies a group of characters on
their journey to a magical and mysterious being on their search for wish fulfillment. This
reference is taken almost over the top as the characters walk hand in hand, perfectly
synchronous, singing loudly (H 482), thus perfectly mirroring the respective scenes from The
Wizard of Oz. However, the happy mood of the song and the movie scenes in which it features
4 Another reference that is at least worth mentioning is the time tomb of the Sphinx in The Hyperion Cantos with
its power to allow time traveling (TFOH 502). This is a clear allusion to the Sphinx in The Time Machine in
which Wells’ protagonist hides the time machine (Wells 85).
22
is invoked in a rather gallows humor like sense as Simmons’ characters are portrayed as being
aware that it is no friendly wizard that awaits them, but rather a supernatural, evil monstrosity.
In a similar fashion, the song “Over the Rainbow” and its role in the final scene of The
Wizard of Oz are played on and employed to set a certain tone before the epilogue of The Fall
of Hyperion. It is important to highlight at this point that this song appears several times in the
course of the movie, with the most prominent parts being early on in the scene in which Dorothy
sings “Over the Rainbow” while dreaming about a magical, faraway land (The Wizard of Oz
05:00 -08:00), and at the end of the movie as an outro when Dorothy awakes in her bed
surrounded by family and friends (1:40:00 -01:41:42). I would argue that Simmons rather plays
upon the tone and the narrative functions of the latter. There are three reasons for this
observation. Firstly, both in The Hyperion Cantos and The Wizard of Oz “Over the Rainbow”
appears after the tension has been resolved, serving the function of an outro. Secondly, in these
two works of fiction, the song is employed right after the last wish has been granted5. Thirdly,
both scenes share a similar emotional tone as a sense of relaxation, happiness, and ease defines
them.
I would argue that in both of these scenes from Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion the
musical references to The Wizard of Oz can play a decisive role in the forging of the emotional
tone as they infuse said scenes with a comical, uplifting, and at times even gallows humor like
note. Naturally, as with all intertextual references, this effect is completely dependent on the
individual recipient’s perception, as only those readers familiar with these songs – and more
importantly, with the movie — are enabled to spot the reference. They are thus added to the list
of intricate puzzle pieces waiting to be unfolded by a keen eye. In comparison to the other more
broadly employed intertextual references, for example, the lavish amount of allusion to and
references of John Keats’ life and works6 it can be argued that the functionality of these
references for the plot is rather meek as their discovery does not highlight or foreground major
aspects of the story. However, I would argue that the emotional tone and intermedial quality
potentially generated by these references in said scenes renders them effective and worthwhile
to note.
5 It might be, however, an important difference that although the wishes of each of Simmons’ pilgrims are
fulfilled in relation to the Shrike, the monster still does not actively fulfill them.
6 Keats life and works will be dealt with in considerable detail in chapter 7.
23
4.5 Gibson and his Cyberspace: A Conceptual Foundation
The majority of the intertextual references embedded in the narrative of Hyperion allude to
classical works of literature. However, Simmons also refers to contemporary authors. For
example, there are a considerable number of recurring references to the works of William
Gibson. In fact, “The Detective’s Tale” is filled with homages to Gibson’s novels and concepts.
For instance, there are several names and terms used in this chapter that echo Gibson’s works.
1. The hacker BB Surbringer, whose name could be an allusion to the cyberspace cowboy
Bobby Quine from Gibson’s short story “Burning Chrome”. 2. A legendary hacker called
Cowboy Gibson who allegedly managed to enter the Core is mentioned (H 393). 3. Datasphere
junkies like BB are referred to as cyberpukes, which is clearly a humorous reference to the
genre of cyberpunk (H 344). 4. Well-known Gibson neologisms appear, like simstim (H 344),
deck (H 393) and black ice (H 394). These terms were officially coined by Gibson in his short
story “Burning Chrome”. Such references alone should already have a quite distinct aesthetic
effect on anyone familiar with Gibson’s works and cyberpunk literature in general. However,
seemingly even more effective are the allusions to Gibson interwoven into Simmons’
descriptions of the TechnoCore. For example, Simmons describes the Core (his version of
cyberspace) the following way:
Frozen fountains of fireworks. Transparent mountain ranges of data, endless glaciers of
ROMworks, access ganglia spreading like fissures, iron clouds of semisentient internal
process bubbles, glowing pyramids of primary source stuff, each guarded by lakes of
black ice and armies of black-pulse phages. (H 395)
The dataspheres traveled by human operators are often compared to complex cities of
information: towers of corporate and government data, highways of process flow, broad
avenues of datumplane interaction, subways of restricted travel, high walls of security
ice … beneath the shifting ocean-fluid of the matrix proper, a busy subterranean life of
data moles, commlink worms, reprograming bacteria (TFOH 273)
There are many of these passages scattered throughout The Hyperion Cantos filled with
typically Gibsonian expressions like ROMworks, datumplane, black ice, ice and the matrix. I
would argue that these sections are part of a conscious homage employed by Simmons to foster
a deep intertextual connection between his novels and Gibson’s oeuvre, especially concerning
topics such as virtual reality, the digitalization of the mind, and AI. To further highlight this
intertextual relationship, it is then also necessary to take a comparative look at a typical
cyberspace description by William Gibson, in this example from “Burning Chrome”:
24
Ice walls flick away like supersonic butterflies made of shade. Beyond them, the matrix’s
Illusion of infinite space. It’s like watching a tape of a prefab building going up; only the
tape’s reversed and run at high speed and these walls are torn wings. (Gibson 189)
There is a significant similarity in style and themes between these passages by Simmons
and Gibson’s part. Firstly, both authors use ice as a metaphor for a certain technological
otherworldly coldness, as well as in the sense of Gibson’s abbreviation of Intrusion
Countermeasures Electronics. Secondly, they share a tendency to portray data as abstract
buildings. Simmons uses the more concrete ideas of pyramids, towers, and highways, whereas
Gibson displays more abstract, prefabricated buildings. Additionally, both authors conjure up
the image of walls. Thirdly, all of these paragraphs share a sense of the animalistic, with the
sections from The Hyperion Cantos focusing more on micro bacterial animals and worms,
whilst Gibson employs the metaphor of a butterfly. Fourthly, in terms of aesthetics, there is a
similar flair to these descriptions, as they combine in a rather uncanny manner the familiar and
the unfamiliar; the natural and the unnatural; the world of the meat and the datumplanes. I would
argue that Simmons’ TechnoCore is a clear-cut reference to Gibson’s cyberspace; an
intertextual allusion that is essential in how it shapes the representation of virtual reality in
Hyperion.
This rather overt intertextual relationship functions as a thematic vehicle that takes Gibson’s
futuristic visions regarding AI, VR, technological dependency, and the transhumanist ideal of
the digitalized mind and connects them to Simmons’ portrayal of these themes. A connection
that is realized in the dangerous plans of the free artificial intelligences of the TechnoCore
(TFOH 281-282), the multidimensional and complex nature of virtual realities (e.g. H 395,
TFOH 273), the horrifying vision of forcefully immersed minds doomed to suffer excruciating
pains in a digital realm (TFOH 256), the extreme societal dependency on advanced technologies
like the farcasters and the fatline (e.g. TFOH 480-481), and lastly, the multiple transcendental
states of the Keats cybrids, for example, the storage of his personality in the Schrön loop (H
402) and the transcendence of the second cybrid to the Core after his death (TFOH 475). All of
these examples build upon the conceptual foundation of typically Gibsonian themes, yet instead
of copying Gibson’s ideas Simmons takes each of the themes a step further as he sets up vast
virtual landscapes, envisions a completely connected future humanity unable to live without
their tools, and explores diverse visions of AI.
25
4.6 Further Examples and Concluding Remarks
Aside from the aforementioned examples of intertextuality in The Hyperion Cantos, there are
a great number of other, more minor intertextual emergences. Other referenced works in these
novels include Dante’s Divine Comedy (TFOH 303 and 366), Milton’s Paradise Lost (TFOH
288 and 306), Peter Pan by J. M. Berrie (TFOH 205-208), Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (H 223
and TFOH 14) as well as the works of the famous painter Hieronymus Bosch (H 109 and TFOH
304). Again, I would argue that all of these references serve minor yet effective literary
functions. Dante’s Divine Comedy — most likely alluding to “Inferno” — is mentioned and
juxtaposed with a reference to Hieronymus Bosch to infuse the labyrinth filled with corpses,
which Father Dure has to traverse, with a fundamentally hellish flair (TFOH 303-304). Milton
is primarily employed to allude to the conflict between heaven and hell that he sets up in
Paradise Lost and to compare it with the war waged by the Ultimate Intelligence of the
TechnoCore against the UI of mankind (TFOH 288). The Peter Pan reference only extends
over one scene (TFOH 205-208) starting with a short synopsis of its storyline which is then
overtly compared to the love story between Brawne Lamia and Johnny, the first Keats cybrid.
Aside from minor similarities, like the cybrid’s theoretical immortality which echoes Pan, the
kid who can never grow old, the Core being his Neverland, and Lamia being his Wendy, the
primary importance of this reference lies in its effect on character development as the
importance of this story for Lamia is highlighted. Shelley’s man-made monster then emerges
in two scenes with regard to two quite interesting contrary assertions. In Hyperion (233) it is
employed as a synonym for the Shrike, highlighting its terminator-esque origin as a killer
machine supposedly created by humanity. In contrast, in The Fall of Hyperion (14), the
potential positive side of intelligent machines is foregrounded via the reference to the
Frankenstein monster syndrome. Here it is implied that people would always think the worst of
AI due to their inner bias and that the savior figure of the Keats cybrid is indeed an example
that goes against this bias. These references to Shelley’s classic work are just minor sprinkles
on the intertextual icing of the Hyperion novels. Nonetheless, they can be analyzed as comments
on a possibly diverse future of AI concerning good and evil machines.
As I have showcased in this chapter, there are a considerable number of intertextual
references in The Hyperion Cantos serving specific narrative functions such as foreshadowing,
the infusion of scenes with a certain emotional tone, and the highlighting of philosophical
themes. Still, with the overarching intertextual nature of the novels, it seems partly questionable
if all of the intertextual references in The Fall of Hyperion actually have such important
functions. Henceforth, there are also scholars critical of the quality of this abundant amount of
26
referencing, like Christopher Palmer (77-78), who argues that it is rather hard to find concise
points of interaction between all these literary texts and Simmons’ The Hyperion Cantos.
Therefore, Palmer claims that it is rather an act of showing-off. As there are several references
and allusions that only appear casually and without a clear narrative purpose, one could
definitely argue that a number of them fall into the category of a creative but empty textual
amalgamation. However, even if one agrees at least partly with Palmer, there is still another
point that begs to be discussed. Namely, the creative and receptive value of such references. As
Senior W.A. (220) highlights, the continuous insistence on and foregrounding of intertextual
references in The Hyperion Cantos specifically with regard to works from different genres, is
too central to these novels to be put aside as simple proliferation. W.A. continues to point out
that Simmons employs this arsenal of referencing of fantastic texts to imbue his texts with a
similarly fantastic atmosphere. Naturally, this is a rather aesthetic viewpoint as W. A. is
decisively more concerned with the way these references connect genre typical conventions and
aesthetics than with the narrative functions that they may or may not entail. Still, I would affirm
his assessment, especially since the ideal of genre-bending is exceedingly central to these novels
and Simmons’ literary work in general. For the most part, as has been shown in this chapter,
recurring intertextual references and allusions do serve important narrative functions in The
Hyperion Cantos. Concerning those who do not, I have to partly agree with both Palmer and
Senior W.A. Although Palmer is overall too dismissive in his assessment, the point can be made
that several references are rather examples of high literary ingratiation than purposeful
intertextuality. However, as W.A. rightly points out, the novels’ construction as a vast
intertextual ocean fueled by streams of different genre conventions and fantastic allusions does
add a great deal of colorfulness to the literary world of The Hyperion Cantos. Without this
union of stylistic variety, a significant part of the novels’ appeal would be missing.
Additionally, the creation of such a dense collage of references to prestigious works of fiction
adds a certain high cultural flair to the Hyperion novels as the literary visions of the revered old
masters are woven into the fabric of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion and lend the novels
their elegance and sophisticated appeal.
27
5. To Inherit the Noble Spirit of Romanticism: The Life and Works of the
Romantic Poet John Keats and their Representations and Functions in
Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion
The central literary figure in Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion is the Romantic Poem John
Keats. This fact is established early in the novels in “The Poet’s Tale” and is continuously
reinforced in multiple ways. Firstly, The Hyperion Cantos are named after Keats’ poems
Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. Secondly, the two novels are filled with Keats’ works and
references to them, most of which are directed towards Keats’ Hyperion epics. Thirdly, Keats
himself is represented in the form of two personality reconstructions aptly named Keats cybrids.
Fourthly, even John Keats’ death is reenacted. Lastly, at the beginning of The Fall of Hyperion
we find the words “To John Keats Whose name was Writ in Eternity” (TFOH 0); a respectful
alteration of the inscription on Keats’ real tombstone on which it says” Here lies One Whose
Name was writ in Water”7. This multifaceted homage to the “purest of all poets” (H 214) is
embedded within a broader discourse on language, literature, and philosophy that is strongly
influenced by Romanticism, a literary era of which Keats was one of the most famous
figureheads. Considering all this, it seems unquestionable that the grand homage to Keats that
is one of the core aspects of The Hyperion Cantos also serves as a bow towards this bygone
master of the poetic craft. And it constitutes in a metafictional manner a humble attempt to
follow in the footsteps of Keats and thus create a truly high literary work of science fiction. As
I will showcase in this chapter, this constant literary evocation of Keats and his works is
significantly more than a clever act of ‘showing off’. Instead, a sophisticated intertextual and
metafictional narrative is formed in which Romantic features and the life and works of the
Romantic poet John Keats are fused with typical Sci-Fi tropes and philosophical discourse on
humanity’s future to foster a distinct literary experience. Hence a noble literary vision of the
future is established filled with the artistic spirit of John Keats and the age of Romanticism.
7 https://wordsworth.org.uk/blog/2018/04/16/the-gravestone-of-john-keats-romancing-the-stone/
28
5.1 A Romantic Perspective: Romantic Features and Themes in Hyperion and The Fall of
Hyperion
As I have highlighted in the introductory paragraph to this chapter, the literary era of
Romanticism plays a decisive role in Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, both in terms of the
key role of the Romantic poet John Keats and the implied worldview of the novels. This is
already apparent with respect to the numerous names of Romantic artists appearing in the
novels, such as Brawne Lamia’s father Byron Lamia (e.g. TFOH 148), the two Keats cybrids,
the second Keats cybrid’s pseudonym Joseph Severn (e.g. TFOH 3), named after the Romantic
painter and close friend of John Keats, and Leigh Hunt (e.g. TFOH 156), Gladstone’s close
advisor who is named after James Henry Leigh Hunt, a Romantic poet, critic, and close friend
of John Keats. Because of this essential role that the Romantic mindset plays in the Hyperion
novels, this subchapter will be dedicated to a laying-bare of the Romantic basis of The Hyperion
Cantos.
The first challenge that this endeavor poses is that Romanticism was, indeed, a lively
and diverse movement that evolved across the arts in both the USA and Europe. Therefore, it
is difficult to find a definition able to incorporate the entirety of this era’s creative legacy.
However, since the aim of this thesis is not to discuss Romanticism at large, an adequate and
rather practical definition needs to be found. Such a definition that fits exceedingly well with
the analytical purposes of my thesis is proposed by Ferber, who defines Romanticism in the
following way.
Romanticism was a European cultural movement, or set of kindred movements, which
found in a symbolic and internalized romance plot a vehicle for exploring one’s self and
its relationship to others and to nature, which privileged the imagination as a faculty
higher and more inclusive than reason, which sought solace in or reconciliation with the
natural world, which ‘detranscendentalized’ religion by taking God or the divine as
inherent in nature or in the soul and replaced theological doctrine with metaphor and
feeling, which honored poetry and all the arts as the highest human creations, and which
rebelled against the established canons of neoclassical aesthetics and against both
aristocratic and bourgeois social and political norms in favor of values more individual,
inward and emotional. (Ferber 10-11)
A quick look at this definition already reveals the many points of contact between The
Hyperion Cantos and the era of Romanticism. Especially the highlighting of the imagination as
a particularly powerful tool to interpret the universe and connect with it is constantly
foregrounded in Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. For example, both the poet Martin Silenus
and John Keats are portrayed as prophetic figures possessing a metaphysical sense of artistic
29
sensibility that grants them visions of the future and faraway events (e.g. H 192 and TFOH
400). This supernatural creative power is specifically highlighted when it is made clear that
Silenus’ Hyperion Cantos are an epic version of the story of the novels (H 476). This concept
of imagination, and especially poetry, as a means for a deeper understanding of the universe,
fits exceedingly well with the Romantic ideal of the metaphysical nature of art. As Gardner
(278) outlines, although the literary movement of Romanticism was not homogenous in its
discourse about art, there is still a common theoretical denominator, namely the potential of art
to reveal metaphysical truths. This idea, so Gardner (280), was also central for German
philosophers such as Hegel, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. As I will showcase in more detail in
chapter six, this notion lies at the very heart of The Hyperion Cantos.
Furthermore, there are also several sequences dedicated to an ecological theme within
Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. For example, the capitalistic downfall of the natural
paradise that was the Consul’s homeworld Maui Covenant is narrated, as the annihilation of the
planet’s nature, most importantly the swimming islands and the hyperintelligent dolphins, is
displayed (H 463). Also, the preservative efforts of the templars of Muir, who are involved in
an intergalactic ecological endeavor to reconcile humanity and nature (TFOH 150), are
repeatedly brought to the reader’s attention and contrasted with the terrible effects the
Hegemony’s terraforming has had on multiple worlds (TFOH 370). Lastly, one of the most
expressive examples of the environmentalist discourse within The Hyperion Cantos is the
portrayal of the Ousters as a positively naturalistic antithesis to the ecological catastrophes that
the Hegemony of Man has brought upon the environment. This is due to the fact that the Ousters
are shown as human yet alien creatures that have adapted to live in equilibrium with nature, and
even in outer space (TFOH 435-436), as well as because of their role as the central opposition
to the destructive, unnatural TechnoCore (TFOH 439).
The third Romantic feature of the Hyperion novels is their strong incorporation of
religious discourse. At the center of this religious theme are the Jewish scholar Sol Weintraub,
who is on a desperate search for both a deeper understanding of God and a cure for his
daughter’s illness, and Father Paul Dure, a follower of the theories of St. Teilhard. Towards the
end of The Fall of Hyperion, the perspectives of both characters align themselves. Firstly, Sol
Weintraub concludes that if there is a God, he would have to be an incomplete being, evolving
as humanity evolves, set on an evolutionary trajectory towards love (TFOH 493). Secondly,
Father Dure is shown to constantly reinforce the Teilhardian religious philosophy of a divine
evolution of all consciousness towards a so-called Omega point, a mergence with God, and
consequently, a progression towards divine love (e.g. H 37, and TFOH 108). Eventually, Dure
30
is elected as pope (TFOH 483) and thus it is implied that he will lead the catholic church on a
new path towards a more natural and less transcendental understanding of God. These examples
of religious discourse are clearly infused with a Romantic spirit as they incorporate a discussion
of God and religion that is presented on a more personal and earthly level. After all, the
theological promise of St. Teilhard, which is reinvigorated in these novels, is that God lies
literally in front of us as we evolve towards love and perfection (de Chardin 266-269).
Another Romantic element of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion is the social critical
way these aforementioned points on art, nature, and religion are put forth. In Hyperion, a highly
subjective and personal mode is chosen for these topics, as most of the first book is narrated by
the characters from their own points of view. This fits exceedingly well with Ferber’s
highlighting of the Romantic tendency to stress individual perspectives and subjectivity.
Furthermore, examples like Silenus witty discourse on language and literature, the ecological
criticism voiced by both the Consul and the templars, and the presentation of the decrepit
techno-dependency of the people, for example, the farcasters and humanity’s slavish
relationship with the TechnoCore, are all presented in an extrapolative manner that foregrounds
these issues with regard to contemporary cultural and technological developments. For instance,
the possible loss of true literature and the consequential deterioration of mainstream culture are
highlighted numerous times in “The Poet’s Tale” (e.g. H 179, 201 and 205); the portrayal of
the destruction and capitalization of Maui Covenant’s nature is exceedingly reminiscent of the
ongoing demolition of earth’s ecosystems for economic means (H 463-464); and the
technological and social blackout caused by the destruction of the farcaster net serves as a
graphic warning against modern developments towards extreme dependence on technology
(TFOH 480-481). Hence, a critical perspective on these issues is deeply ingrained in the implied
worldview of the novels.
A final Romantic aspect that I would like to foreground is the key role of Greek
mythology in Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. As Yujie Su (2) highlights, especially the
second wave of British Romantics including Keats, Shelley, and Byron was decisively shaped
by a fascination for Greek mythology. This enthusiasm for ancient Greek myths is also a
significant feature of Simmons’ Hyperion novels. For example, there is Chronos Keep (H 412),
obviously named after the Greek Titan Chronos, Silenus is described as a satyr (H 23), the
Odyssey is briefly referenced (TFOH 247), and the nine Muses, the ancient Greek goddesses
of art are mentioned (H 207), as well as their mother the Goddess of storytelling Mnemosyne
(H 162). However, the most important mythological topic is the theme of the fall of the Titans
(H 224-225). This grand Greek myth which revolves around the overthrow of the original gods,
31
the Titans, by their offspring, the Olympians, is one of the primary motives of The Hyperion
Cantos. It is especially significant because it is the foundation of Keats’ poems “Hyperion” and
“The Fall of Hyperion: A dream”, which deal with the demise of the Titans and the resistance
of the Titan of light, Hyperion. Via the intertextual connections to Keats’ Hyperion epics, this
theme is adopted in Simmons’ Hyperion novels and employed as a foundational analogy for
the negative implications of the advent of artificial intelligence, which may one day, like the
Olympians, push the self-proclaimed human Titans from their throne.
As I have outlined in this subchapter, The Hyperion Cantos have several highly
Romantic notions interwoven into their science-fictional fabric. Upon this Romantic literary
ground, John Keats walks through the Hyperion novels and becomes their primary symbol for
the cultural importance and power of poetry. The aforementioned points, regarding literature,
ecology, religion, social critique, and Greek mythology, have only been briefly touched upon
here in order to foreground their Romantic appeal. In the chapters and subchapters to come,
these aspects will be analyzed in considerable detail concerning their roles within the narrative
of The Hyperion Cantos, their functions with respect to the implied worldview, and the literary
and philosophical questions they pose.
5.2 Creating an Intertextual Character: The Re-narration of the Life and Death of John
Keats
Throughout Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, there are a great number of scenes in which
bits and pieces of John Keats’ life are either re-narrated or drawn attention to. At the center of
these references are the two so-called Keats cybrids, both of which play important roles in the
course of the story. The first of these cybrids, Johnny, appears primarily in Hyperion in “The
Detective’s Tale” as a client of Brawne Lamia and her beloved. He is eventually shot (H 408),
slightly after he manages to store part of his artificial personality in Brawne Lamia’s head via
a so-called Schrön loop (H 402). Additionally, it is also mentioned (H 408) that Lamia is
pregnant by Johnny. This first Keats cybrid is then later annihilated in his true digital form by
the powerful AI Ummon (TFOH 291). Furthermore, at the beginning of The Fall of Hyperion,
a second Keats cybrid awakens, who lives under the pseudonym Joseph Severn, named after
the English painter and friend of John Keats. This recreated poet is then able to follow the
adventures of the pilgrims in his dreams (e.g. TFOH 14). Later on (TFOH 400), the second
Keats cybrid follows the collapse of the Hegemony and experiences the suffering of the whole
universe in his dreams in verse form as he is about to die of tuberculosis in Rome in what
32
appears to be the re-staged death8 of the original Romantic poet John Keats. As I will showcase
in this subchapter, these scenes infused with biographical details of the life of John Keats are
employed for both metafictional and story-related purposes.
Aside from the numerous references to his works, the character of John Keats appears
actually relatively late in the first novel of The Hyperion Cantos. In “The Detective’s Tale”,
Brawne Lamia, — whose name, as I have underlined before, is a combination of the title of
Keats’ poem “Lamia” and the last name of his fiancé Fanny Brawne —, is hired by the first
Keats cybrid Johnny to solve a mysterious murder case, namely the killing of his physical form
a few days before. The first scene in which biographical information on John Keats is brought
to the table is when Johnny explains what he is to Brawne (H 337-339). Here it is stated that
Johnny is a personality reconstruction, a cybrid of the Romantic poet John Keats, who was born
in 1795 and died in 1821 of Tuberculosis (H 339). It is furthermore highlighted that this
recreation was based on letters, biographies, diaries, written accounts of close friends, and most
importantly Keats’ poetry (H 337-338). I would argue that this explanation of where the data
for the personality reconstruction came from has a quite amusing implicit metafictional layer
to it. After all, Dan Simmons must have consulted the same kind of sources when he
‘constructed’ the two Keats characters. Hence, this description of the replicational process of a
Romantic poet by AI is presented in a way that is highly similar to the way authors transform
historical figures into characters of their novels. This presentation of Keats’ life is then
continued a few pages later (H 346) where it is drawn attention to that Brawne Lamia reminds
Johnny of John Keats’ fiancé Fanny Brawne. It is also highlighted here that Keats died almost
completely alone in Italy, save for one good acquaintance who took care of him, that he thus
felt abandoned by his loved ones, and that he asked for unopened letters of Fanny and a lock of
her hair to be buried with him. A final considerably important biographical section in Hyperion
(H 370) includes an almost one-page long paragraph on the struggles of John Keats. Here his
doubts, his poverty, and the full maturation of “his poetic powers” which only came to him as
he was about to be consumed by a horrible disease, are outlined. It is also explained how Keats
lead a painful and lonely existence, as he spent his last months in Italy nursed by Joseph Severn
and Dr. Clark. The biographical paragraph on this page is particularly significant as it serves
two distinct purposes. Firstly, it foregrounds the original poet’s death and the emotional
situation he was in during his final days, thus rendering the character of the first Keats cybrid
8 To avoid confusion: If one wants to be precise Keats actually dies four times in The Hyperion Cantos. I have
decided to focus on the two deaths that are given the greater attention in the narrative, since of the other two
deaths one happens off-screen, and one is not accompanied by a scene that incorporates biographical aspects of
John Keats life.
33
more authentic and relatable. Secondly, it also foreshadows the death of the second Keats cybrid
Joseph Severn as this historical death of the Romantic poet John Keats is reenacted in The Fall
of Hyperion.
Eventually, the representation of John Keats in Hyperion ends with Johnny’s death (H
408-409). There are two significant biographical details to this scene. The first of these elements
is that the Keats cybrid dies in Brawne Lamia’s arms and calls her “Fanny” right before he
fades away. Keats once wrote to Fanny Brawne in a letter (Complete Poetical Works 385) that
his final hour and her loveliness are the “two greatest luxuries” occupying his mind and that he
would wish that he could have both together eventually. It was thus seemingly an important
wish of John Keats to die in the company of Fanny Brawne, a wish which was sadly not granted
to him. In this sense, this death scene in Hyperion becomes something akin to a fictional gift to
John Keats. At least in Hyperion, he is allowed to die in the company of his loved one. Secondly,
an intertextual element, the last poem of John Keats “This living hand, now warm and capable”
is employed to further strengthen the romantic atmosphere of the scene. According to Corcoran
(342-343), this last of Keats’ poems can be analyzed in a number of ways regarding possible
meanings and addresses. However, Corcoran (344) highlights that Fanny Brawne was likely
the addressee, thus rendering it a love poem. Hence, it is no coincidence that this poem is
intertextuality embedded in a scene that involves Johnny’s death and his love interest Brawne
Lamia. I would argue that both of these aspects are distinctly functional in the way they merge
the life of the Romantic poet John Keats with the narrative of The Hyperion Cantos.
In The Fall of Hyperion, the biographical aspects are presented in a quite different and,
as I would argue, more condensed manner. The primary portion of them is situated in several
scenes forming a re-narration of John Keats’ final days in Rome. Due to the machinations of
the TechnoCore, the second Keats cybrid, alias Joseph Severn, and Gladstone’s advisor Leigh
Hunt, end up on a mysterious planet, — presumably the original earth —, in Rome (TFOH
328). Already at the end of this scene (TFOH 330), Severn is shown to feel a sense of weariness
and sickness, which later turns out to be tuberculosis. Consequently, the reader encounters
several scenes in which the last days of John Keats are narrated. On a surface level, these
sequences constitute a fictionalized retelling of Keats’ final days and thus include conversations
about the setting of the Piazza di Spagna (e.g. TFOH 363-366 and 379), discourse on poetry
(e.g. TFOH 365, 383-384 and 401), sections about John Keats’ family and friends, specifically
the real Joseph Severn (TFOH 381), his brother Tom (TFOH 388), Dr. Clark (TFOH 389), and
Fanny Brawne (TFOH 401), and his eventual death (TFOH 454) topped off with the inscription
of the words “HERE LIES ONE WHOSE NAME WAS WRIT IN WATER” on his tombstone
34
(TFOH 469). However, on a closer look, these sections unfold a vigorous indirect, partly
explicit, and partly implicit metafictional theme that is all the more fascinating as it fits
exceedingly well with the biography of John Keats. The central question that is raised here is:
What is a true poet?; and it is put forth in a highly self-conscious manner centered on Keats’
biography.
Throughout Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, the metafictional aspect of artistic
authenticity is evoked several times, mostly concerning the Keats cybrids. For example, the
first Keats cybrid is shown to clearly dispute the assertion that he is John Keats (H 346-347).
This explicit metafictional claim, that there is a major discrepancy between the original
Romantic poet John Keats and the cybrids is also highlighted in The Fall of Hyperion. For
instance, the second Keats cybrid is shown to emphasize the point that he is far from possessing
the artistic genius of John Keats. “I am a Simulacrum” (TFOH 71) is stated by the character,
who is then shown to elaborate on this topic by pointing to his complete lack of poetic creativity.
Both assertions serve to establish a fundamental metaphysical and metafictional claim: A poet
cannot be replicated. No matter how close such a cybrid could be to the original person, the
original’s creative power cannot be reproduced. The poet’s essence — we could call it John
Keats’ soul — is simply missing. Interestingly, however, this notion on the artificial replication
of a legendary poet serves only as the first basic argument in the theme of true artistic
authenticity and the question regarding the nature of a poet. This is noteworthy because the
sense of failure and incompleteness that is displayed through the characters of the two cybrids
is an intrinsically Keatsian trait and thus strongly connected to his biography. And it is primarily
in the sections displaying the final days of John Keats that this aspect is brought to its thematic
climax. In one of these scenes, the second Keats cybrid is shown to quote one of John Keats
letters, stating:
“I have left no immortal work behind me — nothing to make my friends proud of my
memory — but I have lov’d the principle of beauty in all things, and if I had had time I
would have made myself remember’d.” (TFOH 401)
This short section which can be found in one of Keats’ letters to his beloved Fanny
Brawne (Complete Poetical Works 428) is highly representative of the sense of defeat that befell
Keats in his last months. Thus, a great sense of sadness lies within these lines as it is clear that
the young poet was convinced that he could have created great poetry yet believed to have had
failed to do so with the short amount of time he was granted upon this earth. I would argue that
this feeling of artistic failure is central to the concept of the Keats cybrids in The Hyperion
Cantos. This is especially apparent when close to his death the second Keats cybrid is shown
35
to realize that he is not the chosen one, but “merely a poet dying far from home” (TFOH 427).
Nonetheless, as the second cybrid is shown to realize, he — and in extension, both cybrids and
the Romantic poet John Keats — is “The One Who Comes Before” (TFOH 452), not the chosen
one, but the one who paves the way for humanities evolution towards divine empathy (TFOH
452).
As I will discuss in more detail in the next chapter, it is highlighted in The Fall of
Hyperion that at the basis of the creation of the two Keats cybrids lies the attempt of creating a
suitable vessel for divine empathy (TFOH 425). In connection to this, it is also established that
the Romantic poet John Keats was a being that was already capable of a nearly divine sensibility
(TFOH 425), an aspect which strongly echoes the assertion made by the character Martin
Silenus in Hyperion that Jon Keats was “the purest of all poets” (H 214). If combined with a
certain perspective on Keats biography, this fact presents the death of the second Keats cybrid
in a quite fascinating metafictional light. Keats wrote many of his most acclaimed works in
1819 when he was already quite ill with tuberculosis. Now if we look at the progression of the
second Keats cybrid’s abilities in The Fall of Hyperion it is curiously obvious that the artistic
sensibility of the cybrid steadily increases in power as he approaches death. After all, his power
to dream the lives of the Hyperion pilgrims eventually culminates in the ability to seemingly
access all of the conscious universe and dream of it in verse on his deathbed (TFOH 400). Now,
if we take the facts that Keats wrote his presumably best works towards the end of his life, and
that he was, — as the aforementioned letter to Fanny from 1820 shows —, convinced that he
was still improving, and combine them with this idea of death as the moment in which the artist
possesses the greatest poetic sensibility, an interesting implicit metafictional concept unfolds
itself, which suits the narrative of The Hyperion Cantos perfectly. With this concept in mind,
the complete restaging of John Keats’ death by the TechnoCore becomes quite suitable for the
internal logic of the plot, as it suddenly becomes clear that the goals of the TechnoCore could
only be potentially fulfilled if Keats ascended on his deathbed rather than becoming the one
who paves the way.
Henceforth, I would argue that the employment of John Keats biography, and most
importantly his final days, in Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion is done to a highly diverse
and effective purpose. Through these references, questions regarding artificial intelligence, the
true nature of the poet, and artistic authenticity are put forth in a highly metafictional manner,
both explicitly and implicitly. Eventually, the two Keats cybrids, and so John Keats himself,
36
are rendered in a metafictional manner as demigodly artists, who through the metaphysical
power of true poetry play a key role in humanity’s ascension towards true empathy.9
As a final point in this subchapter, I would like to highlight that I have refrained from a
detailed examination of the biographical sequences and references appearing in The Hyperion
Cantos in terms of their historical accuracy. As far as my research has shown at least the primary
elements, such as the direct quotations10 (H 371, TFOH 401 and TFOH 409), the people close
to John Keats, and the cornerstones of Keats life and death are accurately represented11.
However, I would argue that concerning these biographical sections, historical accuracy is only
of secondary importance. It has rather been my primary concern to highlight the functions of
the sequences, both with regard to the overall plot and metafictional topics.
5.3 The Poetry of Keats: Intertextual and Meta-functions in The Hyperion Cantos
As I will showcase in the next subchapter, the most significant of the poetic works of John
Keats that are incorporated and referenced in Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion are his two
Hyperion epics. However, there are also other poems by Keats which are employed in the course
of The Hyperion Cantos for numerous purposes. One of the most expressive of these
intertextual references to John Keats’ works is embedded in the death scene of the cybrid
Johnny Keats at the end of “The Detectives Tale” (H 409 - 410). In this grand finale of Brawne
Lamia’s story, we witness the passing away of a personality reconstruction of John Keats whose
death is accompanied by the recitation of two poems by Keats, namely “The day Is gone, and
all its sweets are gone” and “This living hand, now warm and capable”. Arguably, both of these
poems play a vital role in the way they frame the scene and in terms of their connections to the
plot of the novel. For example, “the day is gone, and all its sweets are gone” is in its essence a
Romantic elegy to the death of nature during Winter. Especially the later lines of the poem have
a strong sense of wintry coldness as a metaphor for the death of a loved one:
Faded the flower and all its budded charms
Faded the sight of beauty from my eyes,
Faded the shape of beauty from my arms,
Faded the voice, warmth, whiteness, paradise —
Vanished unseasonably at shut of eve,
9 This will be discussed in more detail in chapter 6. 10 These quotations can be found in The Complete Poetical Works and Letters of John Keats pp. 363, 428, 446. 11 The webpages https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-keats and
https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Keats have been consulted to at least partially assess the accuracy of
the biographical elements of John Keats life presented in The Hyperion Cantos.
37
When the dusk holiday — or holinight —
Of fragrant- curtained love begins to weave
(Keats, “The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone” ll. 5-11),
There are a number of ways in which these two themes can be analyzed in terms of their
connection to the plot of Simmons’ Hyperion. Firstly, the sensation of coldness and loss of the
lovely outside world can naturally not only be viewed from an external but also an internal
perspective. The idea behind this is that the death of nature that Winter brings with it is a mirror
image of the receding warmth in Johnny’s body, and the loss of his loved one Brawne Lamia
and the outside world, as he slowly fades away. Secondly, the nature in the poem is
romanticized and effeminate, in particular in the first four lines, which is interesting because in
this context it again foregrounds the perspective of the dying Keats cybrid. As he dies, his
beloved Brawne Lamia is taken away from him. From this point of view, the poem is rendered
a natural description of a beautiful woman that becomes blurry and loses its charm as the
coldness overtakes the senses of the beholder.
Even greater is the power of intertextual connection and foreshadowing in the second
quoted poem “This living hand, now warm and capable”. In this Romantic poem, Keats puts
forth a character who declares that if he died, he would haunt the other person until they wished
to be dead themselves. Henceforth, as is the crux of the poem, the addressee should be quite
wishful for the survival of the narrator. Simmons makes use of this poem’s theme in a distinct
manner. The cybrid Johnny Keats does haunt Brawne Lamia, indeed. She not only carries his
offspring in her womb but also his mind in a data storage attached to her brain (H 417). Yet,
whilst referencing the poem, Simmons slightly alters its meaning, this time through the context
in which it is placed. Rather than a dark promise of making those who faulted the narrator wish
they were dead, the loving relationship of Brawne and Johnny seems to suggest a mixture of
hope and regret. Thus, the third line “So haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights” takes
the shape of a hopeful promise of reunion, while in the fourth line “That thou wouldst wish
thine own heart dry of blood” the narrator of the poem expresses the negative emotional effect
that his death will have on Brawne Lamia in a rather regretful tone. Consequently, Simmons’
application of this poem has a two-directional intertextual effect as it transforms the way the
reader perceives both Keats’ poem and the story of Hyperion. This effect is further enhanced
when “This living hand, now warm and capable” comes up again in The Fall of Hyperion
(TFOH 270). Here, we get another significant example of direct metafiction. It is mentioned by
the second Keats cybrid that the first Keats cybrid often came to an archive to ponder upon the
two poems “The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone” and “This living hand, now warm and
38
capable” to find a deeper understanding of his existence and inevitable death (TFOH 270). As
the second Keats cybrid stumbles upon these two poems he is shown to be especially drawn to
the second one. Consequently, a short literary analysis of the poem’s meaning in the context of
the first novel Hyperion ensues.
Brawne Lamia had taken this as almost a personal message from her dead lover, the
father of her unborn child. […] It was not a message across time to Brawne, nor even a
contemporary lament for Fanny, my single and dearest soul’s desire. I stared at the faded
words — the handwriting carefully executed, the letters still quite legible across the gulf
of time and language evolution — and remembered writing them in December 1819
[…] (TFOH 270-271)
In this sequence, the reader is confronted with a second personality reconstruction of Keats
analyzing a poem written by the original John Keats, and, most importantly, commenting upon
a possible interpretation of it. In terms of implicit metafiction, there is much to unpack here.
The first aspect that calls for analysis is the interesting relationship that both cybrids are shown
to have with the work of the real John Keats. The simple fact that the first cybrid is looking for
his individual meaning of life within what is technically his own poetry foregrounds a sense of
distance between this cybrid and the original Romantic poet. On the one hand, the Keats cybrids
should be real replications of John Keats, having excess to his complete memory. Yet, on the
other hand, there is still something missing, a certain artistic essence that left Keats after his
death, metaphysically speaking, and could not be regained when the cybrids were constructed.
As I have already addressed in the previous subchapter, this lack of creative power is an
essential trait of the Keats cybrids. As a defining aspect of the real John Keats’ personality, it
constitutes a personal and emotional gap between the reconstructions and him that is shown to
be unbridgeable. Hence, essentially both Keats cybrids are left to their own devices to analyze
these poems on their search for themselves. This sense of distance between what we are made
to believe are essentially identical personalities is all the more interesting as it is shown to
somewhat apply to the two cybrids themselves.
The dramatic context in which “This living hand, now warm and capable” is employed in
Hyperion definitely calls for an analysis that would include the notion of a romantic gesture
that the poem seems to entail in its context. That this was partially intended is obvious as it is
exactly such an analysis of the poem’s purpose in the scene in Hyperion that is negated by the
second Keats cybrid, as can be seen in the above-quoted passage. Following this annulation of
the seemingly obvious symbolic function of “This living hand, now warm and capable” we then
have a few lines in which the presumably true memories of when John Keats himself wrote this
poem are foregrounded. These memories serve as support of the second cybrid’s opinion on the
39
poem. Naturally, if he were a complete replication of John Keats, he would have to know what
the initial reasoning behind the poem was? Or maybe not? Since it is mentioned that the first
Keats cybrid had spent days reading John Keats poetry trying to fully contemplate the poems
as well as his own existence (TFOH 270) it seems not too far-fetched to assume that the second
Keats cybrid is supposed to equally lack the artistic, emotional and personal insight to fully
judge the meaning of the original John Keats’ poem. Furthermore, it is also implied that the
second Keats cybrid does not have access to all the ‘new’ memories of the first cybrid.
Therefore, there is clearly a gap of knowledge and emotion between the two cybrids themselves.
Even though “This living hand, now warm and capable” is then linked to Keats’ “Hyperion”
(TFOH 271) a curious recipient is still prone to ponder upon this issue and to wonder which
analysis of the poem might be, indeed, the right one. When we once again look at this issue
from a metafictional perspective an interesting possibility unfolds itself. Since the implied
worldview clearly entails the proposition that the cybrids are, indeed, imperfect copies of John
Keats, the metafictional argument is put forth that there might be more to a poet’s personality
— possibly even a divine essence— than the physical structure of his brain. This statement then
opens a fascinating possibility regarding the functions of Keats’ poems “The day is gone, and
all its sweets are gone!” and “This living hand, now warm and capable”, namely that in some
way the Keats cybrids are meant to be distinct beings with their own, personal interpretations
of these poems. This conclusion then paves the way for another interesting metafictional
assumption that is consistently put forth in The Hyperion Cantos. Great poetry evolves through
the centuries. As people change and societies with them, so do the interpretations of poems. As
the emergence of these two poems in the respective scenes shows, the reception and thus the
meaning of poetry can be highly dependent on context. Surely, the poems always keep their
original message, yet at the same time, there is always something added to them when they
emerge in a different context. I would argue that it is exactly this adaptability of poetry that
makes an intertextual implementation of poems like “Hyperion” and “The Fall of Hyperion: A
Dream” in a modern work of science fiction possible12.
12 Other poems by John Keats can be found on the following pages: H 241-242, TFOH 135, TFOH 383, and
TFOH 516.
40
5.4 From Greek Mythology to Keats to Simmons: The Theme of the Fall of the Titans in
Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion
It is, however, not only poetry that has the power to be adaptable while keeping its core message
and imagery intact. As is exceedingly clear from its influential role in today’s media landscape,
Greek mythology is one of the most transformable sets of texts created by humanity. Mediated
via the poetry of John Keats, the myth of the fall of the Titans, the overthrow of the Titans by
their offspring, the Olympian Gods, becomes the key mythological text within Hyperion and
The Fall of Hyperion. As Martin Silenus is shown to state in “The Poet’s Tale”
I retitled my poem The Hyperion Cantos. It was not about the planet but about the passing
of the self-styled Titans called humans. It was about the unthinking hubris of a race which
dared to murder its homeworld through sheer carelessness and then carried that dangerous
arrogance to the stars, only to meet the wrath of a god which humanity had helped to sire.
(H 224)
This is one of the most important paragraphs of the whole novel as it is the first time that the
main theme of the novels and Silenus’ poem is made explicit. Silenus becomes the poetic
historiographer of the downfall of the titans called humans, who after having destroyed their
own homeworld are falling prey to a god, they themselves had helped to create. Namely, AI,
embodied by the Shrike and the TechnoCore13. Another aspect of exceeding importance
regarding this passage is that it is via this revelation that the fact is foregrounded that the
quotations from “Hyperion” and “The Fall of Hyperion”, as well as in extension the
mythological basis of the poems, will serve as a mise en abyme in the narrative of The Hyperion
Cantos. This is especially important as both John Keats’ poetic masterworks and Simmons’
novels share a common mythological theme. As I will showcase in this subchapter, there are
several direct quotations of passages from Keats’ Hyperion epics in Hyperion and The Fall of
Hyperion, and these citations are employed for two key reasons. Firstly, via the intertextual
connection between these works and Simmons’ Hyperion novels the narrative of The Hyperion
Cantos is shaped in a highly specific way concerning the aesthetic makeup of the story,
instances of foreshadowing, and the implied worldview of the texts. Secondly, the mise en
abyme established by the insertion of these passages from Keats’ Hyperion epics is utilized in
order to highlight philosophical discourse and metafictional themes.
The first reference to Keats’ Hyperion poems is Martin Silenus’ statement “there is no
death in the universe” (H 16). This line is a direct quote from Keats’ “The Fall of Hyperion”
13 This thematic connection to Keats Hyperion epics and mythological story of the fall of the Titans are also
drawn attention to later in The Fall of Hyperion (TFOH 57-58 and 168-170).
41
(“The Fall of Hyperion”14 l. 399) and it is followed in the next paragraph by seven more lines
(“TFOH” ll. 400-406) from this section of the epic poem. At this point in the novels, readers
hardly know what the books are about. Henceforth, there is only a small chance that a reader,
even one highly literate in Romantic poetry, could be able to grasp the connection between
Simmons’ novels and the two epic poems by John Keats. However, as the story of Hyperion
begins to unfold, slowly but gradually parallels between these quotations and the narrative
emerge. For example, if we take the “There is no death in the universe“ quotation, later
examples of supposed immortality, such as Silenus’ constant struggle to prolong his life span
with so-called Poulsen treatments (H 14 and 233) or the grotesque, constant rebirth of the
Bikura (H 87-88) in “The Priest’s Tale”, are intertextually compared to the immortal Greek
gods in Keats’ Hyperion poems. Additionally, there is one minor detail hidden in this first
handful of lines quoted from Keats’ “The Fall of Hyperion”. Namely, that Simmons has slightly
altered the original line “no smell of death - there shall be death” (“TFOH” l. 400) to “no smell
of death – there shall be no death” (H 16). This is indeed only a small detail. Still, I would argue
that it is a quite effective variation in terms of how it foreshadows the topic of immortality
which is a reoccurring element in The Hyperion Cantos.
In the second highly significant passage in which Keats’ Hyperion poems are quoted,
an interesting intertextual comparison between Keats’ Saturn and Simmons’ King Billy is
established (H 104). Here the first seven lines from Keats’ “Hyperion” are quoted by Martin
Silenus while he is shown to look sadly upon a statue of his long-lost friend King Billy, the
former ruler of the artist colony of Hyperion. This passage too is primarily interesting in
retrospective after the recipient has read “The Poet’s Tale”. It is particularly significant as it
retrospectively establishes an intertextual metafictional theme, namely the portrayal of King
Billy as Saturn. Indeed, on a closer look, a number of peculiar similarities emerge between these
two characters. Like Keats’ Saturn (“Hyperion”15 Book I. ll.55-57) King Billy is a ruler living
in exile (H 210). And like Saturn’s Titan brethren (“H”, Book II. ll.15-16), King Billy’s citizens
are former cultural gods, artists, who were once praised and idolized, yet have forfeited their
place in a world that has lost its appetite for real art (e.g. H 215). Similar to the great king of
the Titans portrayed by John Keats (“H” Book II. ll. 156-160), King Billy tries to motivate his
followers to resist and fight the degeneration (H 213). And just as Saturn is defeated (“H” Book
I. ll. 58-59), so is he too eventually beaten and loses his realm (e.g. H 232).
14 In further references Keats’ “The Fall of Hyperion” will be abbreviated with “TFOH”. 15 In further references Keats’ “Hyperion” will be abbreviated with “H”.
42
This metafictional theme in which the fall of the arts is implicitly equated with the fall
of the Titans is a key concept of “The Poet’s Tale”. It is here that questions on the essential
value of language and the arts are continuously discussed and highlighted via the character
Martin Silenus16. It is specifically at the end of this chapter in Hyperion, that this metafictional
juxtaposition of Saturn and King Billy is taken to its logical extreme. Here (H 230), two
passages from Keats’ “The Fall of Hyperion” are quoted and juxtaposed with the horrific
death17 of King Billy at the hands of the Shrike. In the first of these passages, taken from Keats
“The Fall of Hyperon” (ll.364 - 375)18, the poet in Keats’ poem reflects upon his mortality and
the sadness of the scene, as he beholds Saturn and Moneta, and prays that death may finally
liberate him. These lines are then quite remarkable if compared to the situation in Simmons’
narrative in which they emerge. Essentially, I would argue, that they are meant to reflect the
thoughts of the poet Martin Silenus, as he observes the downfall of both humanity’s literature
and the arts community of Hyperion. In this sense, the poet Martin Silenus is rendered in a
comparable way to Keats’ poet, as both of them are left to the poetical documentation of the
momentous happenings they are chosen to perceive. However, if we focus on King Billy, there
is an equally interesting meta-dimension to this first quotation. King Billy reads these lines as
he sets Silenus’ poems aflame, and so the Shrike appears, set to extinguish his life. We could
argue that the power of poetry has once more taken over the fictional reality of The Hyperion
Cantos. After all, these words signal that King Billy has a death wish, which seemingly
summons the Shrike to grant the request. This connection is especially compelling when we
consider the paradoxical relationship between Silenus’ creativity and the Shrike19 (H 225).
After all, Silenus’ is shown to be convinced that his poem has given birth to the Shrike, which
would mean that the Shrike’s existence is somewhat dependent on the existence of his writing.
If we follow this metafictional connection between the existence of the character of the Shrike
and the writing of Silenus, in a sense, an ulterior motive is granted to the Shrike, as it would
naturally try to prevent the destruction of the basis of its own existence. Additionally, the final
words King Billy is shown to utter in this scene “Destroy it” (H 231) and their reception by
16 This metafictional theme will be dealt with in close detail in the next chapter.
17 It is revealed later in The Fall of Hyperion that King Billy somehow survives this incident and is held hostage
on the Shrike’s tree of thorns (TFOH 257). In the scene itself, however, it is relatively clear that he is killed.
18 It is also worthwhile to note that the first line of the quotation is altered. Simmons writes „Without story or
prop“ instead of Keats‘ „Without stay or prop“. Although this is only a minor detail, I would still argue that it
draws additional attention to the metafictional theme of „The Poet’s Tale“.
19 This is another metafictional point that will be analyzed in more detail in the next chapter.
43
Silenus, add further value to this observation, as Silenus understands that King Billy wants him
to destroy the Shrike by reducing the poem to ashes.
Closely following the first quotation, eight more lines from Keats’ “The Fall of
Hyperion” are cited by the character King Billy. In Keats’ work (“TFOH” ll. 232-239) these
lines are the poet’s description of Moneta, the goddess of memory. Here, her face is described
as pale and beautiful yet marked by the sickness of immortality, doomed to never encounter
death. One could argue that these lines are not as intertextually fitting as the quotation before.
After all, Moneta (or Mnemosyne) is already a character in The Hyperion Cantos, namely the
lover of Kassad and mysterious companion of the Shrike (H 162-163). Instead, the lines are
used to introduce the Shrike, — also seemingly an immortal being —, which appears only a
handful of sentences later on the same page (H 230). However, I would argue that although the
character of Moneta is already intertextually occupied, there are still some metafictional
intertextual aspects to the implementation of these lines from Keats’ The Fall of Hyperion.
Firstly, Moneta was the Roman name for the ancient Greek Goddess of memory and
storytelling, who was also the mother of the nine muses20. Since it is highlighted that the Shrike
is the source of Silenus’ creativity (H 225) an at least partial identification of the Shrike as
Moneta makes sense. Secondly, there is an obscure moment of embrace in this scene as the
Shrike lifts up King Billy and impales him. This then can be perceived as a purposeful inversion
of the role of Moneta in Keats’ poem as the goddess of memory tries to ‘lift up’ Saturn in a
positive manner instead, by lamenting his fall (“TFOH” ll. 330-346). Thirdly, in Keats’ text
(“TFOH” 92) it is Moneta who reveals the story of the fall of the Titans to the poet. Similarly,
it is the Shrike who grants Silenus visions of the future and the past via the pain it causes. This
is most apparent when Silenus himself is impaled on the tree of the Shrike and continues to
produce poetry while he is suffering excruciatingly (TFOH 256). It is in this scene of horrific
agony (TFOH 256-257) that an important intertextual, indirect, explicit metafictional comment
on the relationship between art and pain is established. Here, Silenus is shown to quote another
nine lines from Keats “The Fall of Hyperion” (“TFOH” ll. 168-176), two of which are repeated
(“TFOH” 175-176).
…Thou art a dreaming thing:
A fever of thyself — think of the Earth;
What bliss even in hope is there for thee?
20https://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanisMnemosyne.html#:~:text=As%20a%20Titan%20daughter%20of,before%
20the%20introduction%20of%20writing.&text=Finally%20Mnemosyne%20was%20a%20minor%20oracular%
20goddess%20like%20her%20sister%2DTitanesses
44
What haven? Every creature hath its home;
Every sole man hath days of joy and pain,
Whether his labours be sublime or low —
The pain alone; the joy alone; distinct:
Only the dreamer venoms all his days,
Bearing more woe than all his sins deserve. (TFOH 256)
In Keats’ The Fall of Hyperion these words are said by Moneta to the poet. The key message
of this passage is that poets are dreamers who have such a strong artistic sensibility that they
can never be fully at peace. There is no haven for the poet because he/she is always dreaming,
always restlessly reflecting upon the world and his/her fellow beings. Thus, the poet (“the
dreamer”) can never be fully content as he consumes the suffering of the universe and is
inherently forced to ponder upon it. And so, the poet suffers much more than he/she deserves
as he/she “venoms all his days” with the problems of the world. This image of the poet as a
being that both suffers and creates because of his/her heightened artistic sensibility is another
one of the central elements of The Hyperion Cantos. This is made exceedingly clear in this
scene (TFOH 256-257), as Silenus is shown to understand that pain is “the universe’s gift” to a
poet and thus his primary source of inspiration. As he is displayed as suffering unbelievable
agony on the Shrike’s tree of thorns, whilst still working on his Cantos, this is made quite clear,
especially since it is mentioned that Silenus was eventually able to finish his opus magnum on
the tree (TFOH 504). This is furthermore emphasized as it is revealed that The Fall of Hyperion
is narrated in first-person by the second Keats cybrid who experiences the adventures of the
other main characters in his dreams (e.g. TFOH 14). As I have highlighted before, this
sensibility of the second Keats cybrid for human pain develops continuously until he suffers
visions of the pain of the complete conscious universe on his deathbed (TFOH 400). This too
strengthens the intertextual connection between the two works as Keats’ aptly titled “The Fall
of Hyperion: A Dream” (or in some versions, “A Vision”) also takes place in the dream of a
poet. It is also vital to highlight at this point that Keats believed that the suffering of the world
was necessary for true creativity. As Stein (386) underlines, Keats perceived suffering as an
essential aspect of becoming an artist. To exemplify this, Stein cites Keats from a letter that he
wrote in 1819. “Do you not see how necessary a World of Pains and troubles is to school an
Intelligence and make it a soul? A place where the heart must feel and suffer in a thousand
diverse ways” (Complete Poetical Works 370). As is showcased in the abovementioned
examples of Silenus’ creativity and the Keats cybrid’s connection to the universe, the poet
45
becomes an embodiment of this artistic philosophy of suffering as the origin of artistic
sensibility.
Another highly important passage from Keats’ “Hyperion” is placed in the last
conversation between the second Keats cybrid and Ummon. Here (TFOH 422 - 423) Ummon
is shown to cite the speech of the Titan Oceanus (“H” Book II. ll.178 – 230 and l. 243). This is,
indeed, the longest Keats quotation in The Hyperion Cantos. And it is also one of the richest in
meaning. In Keats’ "Hyperion”, it is in this speech that Oceanus tries to convince his fellow
Titans of the irreversibility of their downfall. He is shown to argue that it is simply part of the
natural circle that those who rule are eventually overthrown by other beings who are more
powerful and beautiful. As an example, Oceanus mentions his successor Poseidon, who is from
his point of view more beautiful and mightier and thus reigns rightfully (“H” Book II. ll. 231-
240). Interestingly, Simmons has chosen to have Ummon quote this passage. After all, in the
case of The Hyperion Cantos, it is the TechnoCore that is about to surpass humanity, as new
rulers of the universe. However, there is naturally a twist to the quotation, and it is explained
shortly after. Namely, that there are those artificial intelligences (the Ultimates) residing in the
TechnoCore who perceive the evolution towards the next stage in consciousness as more
important than anything else. By having the character Ummon quote this passage, it is made
clear that this AI thinks differently. Ummon is shown to perceive the evolutionary project of
the Core as a threat to his position in the hierarchy and also to his own existence (TFOH 423-
424). Once again, a passage from Keats’ “Hyperion” is utilized in the form of an inversion here.
The idea that it is a natural part of the universe that more powerful beings will always emerge
and seize power is the central position of Oceanus in Keats’ “Hyperion”. Here it is presented in
a critical manner through the character Ummon, one of the greatest thinkers of the TechnoCore
(TFOH 279), as it is made clear that neither the second Keats cybrid nor Ummon truly believe
these words (TFOH 423). It is rather an argument that is made to be refuted right away.
However, it serves an interesting function as it personalizes and diversifies the artificial
intelligences of the TechnoCore once more. Via this quotation from “Hyperion” and the
continuing discussion afterward, the reader learns several things about the AI of the
TechnoCore. Firstly, it is highlighted that AI too can be able to feel emotions (at least in the
fictional universe of The Hyperion Cantos) such as an intrinsic wish to survive, fear, and lust
for power. Secondly, it once again establishes the notion of different camps in the TechnoCore,
of which one or the other could be on mankind’s side. Thirdly, it can even be perceived as a
display of a manipulative effort on the part of Ummon. After all, Ummon is quoting a passage
from a work of Keats to a being that is essentially Keats himself whilst then continuing to ensure
46
the second Keats cybrid of his goodwill towards the advancement of humanity’s evolution,
especially concerning the reasoning behind Keats’ own existence (TFOH 426-427). I would
argue that this passage is implemented in a quite functional manner in terms of how it develops
a very specific philosophical outlook on evolution and AI, via the incorporation of the rather
fatalistic mindset portrayed by Keats through the Titan Oceanus.
The last quote from Keats’ Hyperion poems that I would like to draw attention to is
cited on the final page of The Fall of Hyperion (TFOH 517). Here, Brawne Lamia is shown to
remember the last five lines (“TFOH” Canto II. ll. 58-62) of her beloved’s (and thus John
Keats’) unfinished masterwork “The Fall of Hyperion”. I would argue that this is the most
masterfully employed Keats quotation in the Hyperion novels as it serves as a perfect mise en
abyme, regarding many of the now resolved storylines of the plot. In these final lines of Keats’
“The Fall of Hyperion” Hyperion is the last of the Titans willing to fight and thus he sets out to
meet the Olympians in battle. Hence, in the final scene of Keats’ second Hyperion poem, the
Titan of light becomes the last beacon of hope. It is exactly this aspect of Hyperion as a symbol
of hope and optimism that is expertly harnessed on the final page of The Fall of Hyperion.
Firstly, the theme of the Titans and humanity’s downfall under the hands of their successors,
the TechnoCore, is resolved positively. Although the Hegemony lies in ruins, humanity has
survived the conflict and has thus been granted another chance to better itself and strive towards
union with the natural universe. Secondly, the second Keats cybrid’s digital persona is stored
in the board computer of the Consul’s ship (TFOH 515) and so the final exit of the spaceship is
also a moment of hope for him, and naturally also Keats. The implication seems to be that this
time John Keats’ story does not end with these lines but is continued onwards to new artistic
adventures. Lastly, this promise of hope can also be extended to each of the surviving
characters. For example, there is hope for the catholic church because of the new pope Teilhard
de Chardin (Father Dure) (TFOH 483). There is also hope for Sol Weintraub and Rachel, as he
walks into the light carrying the baby towards a faraway and uncertain future (TFOH 504).
Most importantly, however, hope for herself and the universe resides in Brawne Lamia’s belly
in the form of a child with a divine purpose. Thus, the story of The Hyperion Cantos ends,
imbued with a noble light of hope — The spirit of the Titan Hyperion.
47
6. Traces of a Prestigious Genre: The Artist Novel in Hyperion and The Fall
of Hyperion:
Another literary aspect of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion that warrants an in-depth analysis
is the embedded Künstlerroman, a prestigious genre occupied by brilliant high literary writers
like Hermann Hesse, Jack London, and James Joyce. For the largest part, this artist novel is
located in “The Poet’s Tale”, in which the artistic evolution of the poet Martin Silenus is
portrayed. It is in this section of the novels that intertextuality and metafictional literary devices
are employed most ardently. And as I will showcase, it is also at its clearest in this chapter that
Dan Simmons aims to ennoble his space opera with a strong focus on literature and its cultural
and metaphysical importance. For roughly fifty pages, bursting with intertextual references and
metafictional discourse on the nature of art and language, the character Silenus narrates his
career, all the way from his brain-damaged beginnings on the toxic planet Heaven’s Gate, to
literary stardom as the most popular poet of the Hegemony of Man, to his life in exile on the
planet Hyperion. Furthermore, it is in this section that the metafictional foundation of the novels
is explained. This basis is Silenus’ epos “The Hyperion Cantos”, intertextually based on the
epic poems “Hyperion” and “The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream” by John Keats, and together with
these Romantic poems it serves as the guiding mise en abyme within. However, the
Künstlerroman does not come to an end with “The Poet’s Tale”. It is rather continued
throughout Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, as it is only at the end of the two novels that
the poet Martin Silenus is victorious on his quest to complete his opus magnum. This artistic
journey is accompanied by an ongoing discussion on literary theory, the origin of creativity,
and the metaphysical potential of true art. Henceforth, the artist novel centered on Martin
Silenus, which is one of the core concepts of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, will be the
main item of analysis in the following subchapters.
6.1 The Role of Language and Literature in The Hyperion Cantos
Right from the start of the Poet’s tale, it is made clear that discourse on language and literature
will play a major role in this section of the novels.
In the beginning was the Word. Then came the fucking word processor. Then came the
thought processor. Then came the death of literature. And so it goes. (H 179)
At first, this passage seems rather like a representation of the massive ego of the
character Martin Silenus. However, at a closer look, these phrases reveal a quite distinct
48
indirect, explicit metafictional comment on the series and its underlying literary concept. “In
the beginning was the Word” proclaims Silenus and thus references the first verse of the
“Gospel of John”. However, there is a sharp difference between the original biblical phrase and
Silenus’ claim. In the Bible “the Word” and “and the Word was God” are clearly intended to
refer to the relationship between the World and God. The Bible thus places God at the beginning
and as the origin of all things, the alpha. In contrast, in Silenus’ tale “the Word” is synonymous
with language and stands for the defining importance of our linguistic capabilities for our
species. Through the voice of Silenus, the statement is made that when the first word was
spoken, humanity was born. In fact, for the character Martin Silenus language, most importantly
in its highest form, literature, is God. It is the essence of all that makes us human. Henceforth,
the “death of literature” brought upon by technology that can process both language and
thoughts is a metaphor for the fading away of our humanity. Two pages later, Martin Silenus is
once again shown to state: “In the beginning was the Word (181).” Once more, literature is
rendered divine and juxtaposed with the idea of God as Silenus continues to declare “And the
Word said, ‘Let there be Life’!” This is a clear allusion to the third verse of Genesis, since here
it says, “And God said, let there be light”. And so, through the mouth of the character Martin
Silenus the divinity of language and his own birth are both addressed in the same breath, thus
highlighting the important role the poet will play.
The intrinsic necessity of language for human thinking and communication is
furthermore displayed on the example of Silenus’ fate. During a one and a half century-long
journey through space in cryogenic sleep, Silenus experiences severe brain damage in the left
hemisphere of his brain and loses almost his complete vocabulary (H 187-188). After this
incident, he is left with only nine words, which are all rather coarse expressions (H 188). A
truly dire state for the self-proclaimed prophet of language, which is further emphasized when
the character comments upon the challenges of daily communication (H 189 and 192) and on
his lack of words to satisfy his creative urges (H 190).
To further dramatize the importance of language, not only for a poet but for a human
being in general, the poet is then shown to quote several well-known authors and philosophers.
For example, Bertrand Russel, who argued that language is not only needed to express ourselves
but even as the very basis of our thoughts (H 191). However, the truth/fiction centered
metafictional — or one could say also metalinguistic — discourse here is more varied. The
pages 190 to 192 are dedicated to a theoretical discussion of the power of language. This section
of theoretical discourse is initiated with a quote by William Gass, who said: “Words are the
supreme objects. They are minded things (H 190).” This citation refers back to the idea
49
regarding language that is already proposed on the first page of “The Poet’s Tale”, namely that
language is something divine; that words are things with a certain sense of spirit. Additionally,
the character Martin Silenus is shown to argue that words also have their pitfalls (H 191). After
all, our language shapes and distorts our perception of reality since it is through words and
cultural concepts that we structure our cognitive reception of the world around us (H 191). This
indirect, truth/fiction centered metafictional and to an extent, even metaphysical stance on
language is continued when the poet says:
Here is the essence of mankind’s creative genius: not the edifices of civilization nor the
bang-flash weapons …It might be argued that the Siamese-twin infants of word/idea are
the only contribution the human species can, will, or should make to the raveling
cosmos. (H 191)
Thus, language, and in logical extension also literature, is from the point of view of this
character the greatest accomplishment of humanity. A metafictional point that is then brought
to its conclusion on the next page (H 192). Here, Silenus is shown to argue that “The Word”,
as a placeholder for language, was brought into this world by humanity and has become the
fundamental basis of our reality, our universe. Henceforth, the character claims that the poet,
the master of language, is the only human being who can bring true change to our universe by
connecting multiple realities. Yet what is the threat that the poet must fend off to protect
humanity? And what is the change that has to be brought upon the world of The Hyperion
Cantos? There are two answers to these questions.
The first issue concerning the future of humanity is the “death of literature” (H 179).
One clear message of “The Poet’s Tale” is that with the advent of ever more sophisticated
technology the language capabilities of humanity are slowly dwindling into non-existence.
Thus, seven hundred years in the hypothetical future, in the universe of The Hyperion Cantos
artistic language is truly in danger. This is for example showcased, when Martin’s publisher
Tyrena Wingreen-Feif remarks casually that literacy has decreased in the Hegemony to a point
at which less than eleven percent of the population can read and the number of active readers
of literature has dwindled to under one percent (H 201). This issue of cultural loss is furthermore
illustrated on the example of Silenus publications and their sales. The first book that the
character publishes is The Dying Earth21 (H 195). This initially highly artistic work is then
reduced by the publisher Tyrena Wingreen-Feif to a short text of highly commercial nostalgia,
filled with verse devoid of artistry (H 195). It is then also underlined on the same page that it is
a major success with already two and a half billion sold copies in the first four months. Later,
21 This is an obvious intertextual reference to the novel series The Dying Earth by Jack Vance.
50
the character publishes his second work, the first definitive part of the Cantos (H 202-203), an
epic poem full of philosophy and artistic experimentation that is deemed “a masterpiece” (H
203) by his publisher. This ambitious work of playful artistry is only sold 23 638 times in the
first year after publication (H 203), and is so, far from being a commercial success in the over
a hundred billion people strong Hegemony (H 201). Additionally, it is addressed that this work
of poetry received overwhelmingly bad reviews and is ironically only appreciated by the AIs
of the TechnoCore (H 204). I would argue that the success of the former fictional text and the
failure of the latter form an implicit, critical metafictional comment on the cultural state that
the Hegemony is in. As it is put forth through the voice of Silenus that his ambitious first poem
of the Cantos was meant to “rediscover the voice of some of the ancients” (H 203) it stands for
much more than only the work of this one pretentious character. With its commercial failure of
reaching only approximately 0,000023638 % of the Hegemony’s population, it symbolizes, at
least to a certain degree the death of high literature.
What is depicted in both of these examples, the decreasing readership and the lack of
popularity of high literature, is a hypothetical future in which electronic media prevail as the
written word slowly fades away. This dominance of the electronic form is once again
foregrounded when it is drawn to the reader’s attention that Silenus’ successful follow-up novel
Dying Earth III introduces itself to the reader via a twenty seconds long, interactive,
pornographic holograph (H 205). We can safely assume that this portrayal of a future in which
qualitative literature and philosophical art are devoured by commercial, electronic arts plays
not only a role for the narrative of The Hyperion Cantos but also serves as a critical comment
on contemporary cultural developments, and most likely even as a warning. There is a clear
agenda here to celebrate human ingenuity regarding language use and to remind the reader of
the beauty and worth of true literature. And embedded within this implied worldview lies a
distinct fear of a future devoid of such qualitative art. To an extent, this dramatic prophecy of
the “death of literature” (H 179) conceived thirty years ago might be overly dramatic. After all,
as Milliot (2017) points out, the print market has continued to grow, slowly but steadily. And,
for example, Watson (2018) underlines that alone in the USA 675 million books were sold in
2017, which is over two books per person. Naturally, these numbers do not account for the
quality of these hundreds of millions of books, and only a minor percentage of them are works
of high literature. Still, overall, literature seems to be more alive than it ever was. Nonetheless,
recent years have seen an extreme expansion of electronic media with video games alone
51
generating 1,5 times the revenue of book sales in 201722. The written word might not yet lie in
its death throes, but electronic media have definitely pushed it from the entertainment throne.
Hence, the fear remains that appreciation for literature might fade away eventually; a fear of
losing language and that which makes us truly human; an existential angst that is vividly
represented through the voice of Martin Silenus.
Thus, as language, our defining human trait, fades away in the world of The Hyperion
Cantos the downfall of humanity’s soul seems inevitable. Yet, who could become the prophet
of literature and thus save the Hegemony from the cultural grave? Without question, the poet,
the bringer of language, must rise and lead the way. This metaphysical and indirect, explicit
metafictional idea is fully articulated when Martin Silenus is shown to state grandiosely:
To be a poet, I realized, a true poet, was to become the Avatar of humanity incarnate,
to accept the mantle of poet is to carry the cross of the Son of Man, to suffer the birth
pangs of the Soul-Mother of Humanity. To be a true poet is to become God. (H 192)
Henceforth, the issues of art, language, and religion are merged into one being, the poet.
Language as the distinct and outstanding feature of humanity is portrayed as our true essence
and the poet as the being that masters language and utilizes it to change and expand our cultural
reality, who accepts the burden of the cross, becomes a creator, and in a sense even God. And
as Silenus reclaims his former vocabulary and thus becomes a reborn poet (H 193), it is clear
that this lot falls to him, the bringer of language conceived by fate itself. However, Martin
Silenus represents only one side of the coin regarding the power of language and literature. The
poet takes the role of a prophet, as he predicts, through his poetry, the future of the Hegemony
and tries to prevent the death of literature via his artistic endeavors. Still, he does not become a
savior figure.
This brings us to the second issue that is presented with regard to language, literature,
and the future of humanity, namely the fate of the universe itself. Indeed, a poet becomes the
true savior of the universe. Yet it is John Keats, reborn, or rather reconstructed, by artificial
minds, who is chosen to save the day. As I have highlighted in the previous chapter, there are
two Keats cybrids in The Hyperion Cantos, both of which play important roles in the course of
the story.
Towards the end of The Fall of Hyperion, it is revealed that the primary reason for the
creation of these two personality constructs was to create a human/machine hybrid of such
perfection that it would become the incarnation of empathy (TFOH 425). This is explained by
22 Concerning the revenue generation of books and video games I have compared data from
publishingperspectives.com and theesa.com. (The links can be found in the bibliography.)
52
one of the highest artificial intelligences of the Core, Ummon. Here, the AI is shown to state
that the original poet John Keats was close to divinity, which was the primary reason for his
selection. This supposed perfection of the Romantic poet John Keats is already addressed earlier
in the two novels, when Martin Silenus mentions Keats as “the purest of all poets” (H 214) and
it is underlined again when he is compared to Jesus Christ by the leader of the Hegemony Meina
Gladstone (TFOH 58).
If all the aforementioned descriptions regarding Keats and the two cybrids are taken into
account — the continuously highlighted nearly-divine sensibility of the original poet John
Keats, the role of the first cybrid in the conception of a human deity of empathy (or God), and
the second cybrid’s intrinsic, artistic connection with the universe — the poet John Keats
becomes the saving grace of humanity. Henceforth, we come full circle as the abovementioned
metafictional statements on language and literature put forth through the character Martin
Silenus become embodied in the poet John Keats, or more precisely his two personality
constructs. I would argue that this equation of high literature with the evolution of humanity
towards a higher form of being, constitutes a clear metafictional argument on the level of the
implied worldview. In the world of The Hyperion Cantos, language, in particular literature, is
foregrounded as the essence of humanity, as our greatest gift, and our most powerful potential
on our search for God. There is something deeply metaphysical about this assertion, as both
Armageddon and human transcendence are put in direct relation with the cultural evolution of
humanity. This metafictional concept can also be found in other texts. The general notion that
pure literature has to be more than a commercial endeavor, and must be an attempt to create
new worlds, alternative realities, and has to develop our sensibilities and our understanding of
the universe on a non-materialist level is also put forth by Simmons in his novels Endymion and
The Rise of Endymion, concerning literature, architecture, and philosophy, and more recently
in his two novels Ilium and Olympos, focusing on the works of Homer, Shakespeare, and Proust
Consequently, as I have underlined, the metafictional discourse in Simmons’ Hyperion
and The Fall of Hyperion foregrounds two key literary aspects, primarily but not exclusively
communicated through the fictitious voice of the poet Martin Silenus. Firstly, the central role
that language, in particular poetry, plays for the narrative of the novels is foregrounded and
repeatedly stressed. Secondly, discourse on language and the arts is put forth with the capability
to not only create awareness of the fictitious nature of the texts at hand but also to underline the
cultural and metaphysical importance of language for human civilizations.
53
6.2 What it Means To Become a Poet: The metafictional Theme of “The Poet’s Tale”
Throughout “The Poet’s Tale” the reader follows the artistic path of the character Martin
Silenus. In the course of this tale, Silenus rises from a supposedly lousy pulp writer to the level
of a true poet inspired by the gods themselves. The first essential stage on this path is Silenus’
literary education and his first poetry written on earth. Early on (H 184) it is foregrounded that
Silenus knows from a young age that he will become a poet. In the same breath (H 184-185), it
is also mentioned that an education strictly focused on classical literature plays an important
role in the character’s poetic evolution and his distrust of “the material side of the universe” (H
185), meaning science and technology. It is then highlighted (H 185-186) that Silenus’ early
poetry is of considerably low quality and that due to the extremely elitist literary convictions of
his teacher Don Balthazar he never shows his early writings to his teacher. These passages on
Silenus’ early years can already be read as a foreshadowing of the poetry that Silenus attempts
to write in the course of the novels. For example, the importance of classical literature points
towards what later becomes central in the form of John Keats’ poetry. Moreover, the
metaphysical and literature-based perspective that is a key aspect of this character is underlined.
The second stage of Silenus’ artistic evolution is his first attempt at the Cantos (H 193-
194). In this section, the poet regains his lost language capabilities and thus returns to classical
poetry for inspiration. The central passage of this part features a number of different stylistic
comments on poets such as Byron, Keats, Yeats, and Milton and discusses essential aspects of
their work, such as the cleverly cynical style of Yeats, and Keats’ celebratory use of language.
Through these references, explicit metafictional discourse on important aspects of well-written
poetry is put forth, as we imagine Silenus’ attempt to create poetry with “feel for place”,
“control of imagery”, “sense of doom”, “measured nobility” and “radical playfulness”.
However, the different stylistic remarks on the writings of these classical authors are only of
secondary concern in this passage. What is instead commented upon is the need to find one's
own authentic style as a writer, instead of giving in to the overwhelming urge to copy the old
masters.
As I have pointed out in the previous subchapter, this work of poetry is then completely
dissected and commercialized by Silenus’ publisher Tyrena Wingreen-Feif (H 195) and a
second attempt of Silenus to achieve commercial success with a true work of art fails miserably
(H 203). This marks the beginning of the third stage, the poet’s hack writing career. There is an
essentially direct, explicit metafictional aspect to this particular part in the artistic evolution of
the poet narrated by the character himself. For example, Silenus is shown to comment on his
work the following way:
54
It isn’t hard being a hack writer […] My research was meager, my plots formulaic, my
characters cardboard, my prose preliterate […] (H 206)
This short description is filled with the typical literary criticism that pulp SF received
during the magazine era. Thus, when we consider the implication that such writings constitute
the mainstream in Simmons’ fictional world and that Silenus is essentially shown to write pulp
SF (H 206), this section becomes a parodical play on the history of science fiction as it lets us
envision a distant future in which pulp fiction with all its literary shortcomings has again
become the primary form of the literary mainstream.
In a similar fashion, the continuous praise of language and high literature put forth
through this character, and the portrayal of his goal to create a science fiction epic that could
go toe to toe with the old masters, call to mind another era in the history of SF, namely the New
Wave that started in the 60s with its modernist and postmodernist tendencies. The final stage
of Silenus’ literary path, his frenetic attempt to write a masterpiece in homage to John Keats’
“Hyperion” and “The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream” (H 228 and 233) becomes also an act of
attempted ennoblement of the literature of the Hegemony, and so it echoes the efforts of authors
like Ballard, Russ, and Bradbury.
Additionally, many of the central aspects of the artist novelette within Hyperion can
also be taken as indirect, implicit metafictional comments regarding Simmons’ own writing
process of The Hyperion Cantos. For example, just like his character Silenus, Simmons too
seems to have been exceedingly influenced by high literature and tries to infuse his writing with
aspects of and references to the writings of poets like John Keats and Yeats. This is especially
interesting with regard to the aforementioned passage on the styles of different poets (H 193-
194). Many of the characteristics mentioned in this passage like “sense of doom”, “obscure,
scholastic arrogance”, “celebration of the language”, “touch of horror”, “worship of the
physical”, and “control of imagery” are part of the Hyperion novels and either embodied or
displayed through certain characters or applied in terms of radical stylistic changes or
alternating genre tropes. Lastly, Silenus is also a reflection of the author’s own efforts to
increase the prestige of the genre, as the Hyperion novels with their amalgamation of typical
SF tropes and intertextual references to high literature, their high density of metafictional
remarks, and their strong bridging of genre boundaries represent a clear effort to ennoble
science fiction.
Eventually, the question at the heart of the metafictional theme of “The Poet’s Tale”
warrants discussion. What is the source of true creativity? Approximately in the middle of his
tale, Martin Silenus’ “muse” disappears (H 207). “WHAT DID I DO WITH MY MUSE?” the
55
poet asks himself, and thus a paragraph filled with discourse on the nature of real creativity is
introduced.
For those who do not write and who never have been stirred by the creative urge, talk
of muses seems a figure of speech, a quaint conceit, but for those of us who live by the
Word, our muses are as real and necessary as the soft clay of language which they help
to sculpt. When one is writing – really writing- it is as if one is given a fatline to the
gods. (H 207)
This indirect, explicit metafictional passage embodies a decisive claim concerning the
origin of human creativity. The reader is asked to envision the ancient Greek divinities of art,
the Muses. It is thus shown that for the character Martin Silenus his muses are, although not
necessarily existing in human form, as real as language itself. Additionally, the metonym of
language as clay, which can with the help of divine inspiration serve as the material for a
masterpiece of a literary sculpture, is a key concept here. The last line then sums up the whole
metafictional argument as the poet is shown to state that to be truly creative feels like being
directly connected to the gods.
Furthermore, it is also showcased how Silenus tries to retrieve his muse through other
measures (H 207). For example, the character is depicted to lament that neither his beautiful art
collection nor the wonderful nature of distant worlds is able to reinvigorate his creativity. It is
further commented upon that alcohol and drugs also fail to invoke a true creative spirit within
Silenus. A final attempt to find his muse is then shown as Silenus joins King Billy’s artist colony
on the distant, backward world of Hyperion (H 215-216). However, both the absence of
advanced technology and the presence of a great number of fellow artists fail to spark a glimmer
of creativity. Via these examples, typical stereotypes regarding artists and the nurturing of their
creativity through alcohol, drugs, other works of art, and good company are decisively put aside.
Henceforth, at this point, the obvious conclusion of the character’s lack of creativity appears to
be that true creativity may come from within.
But his muse returns to Martin Silenus, and it turns out to be exactly the opposite of a
benevolent, divine, guiding hand. Instead, the Shrike, the Lord of Pain, becomes the poet’s new
source of inspiration. What emerges is a strange and paradoxical symbiosis between the poet
and the embodiment of human agony. A connection that is then fleshed out in numerous scenes
of The Hyperion Cantos. For example, it is mentioned that Martin Silenus himself summoned
the Shrike in a metaphysical, artistic manner (H 225). Secondly, the causality between Silenus’
creativity and the Shrike’s massacres is showcased as the poet’s creative phases always start
and end with the bloody actions of the Shrike (e.g. H 220, and TFOH 169). Lastly, Silenus is
shown to be only able to finish the poem as he suffers unbearably, his body impaled on the
56
Shrike’s Tree of Pain (TFOH 504). Via this revelation, two important aspects are underlined.
Firstly, that the connection between the agony caused by the Shrike and the creativity of Martin
Silenus is essential for the plot. Secondly, the aforementioned artistic theory of John Keats with
regard to a connection between creativity and human suffering is once more put into the
spotlight.
6.3 “I am not creating a Poem. I am creating the Future”: The central Metalepsis in
Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion
The last metafictional element that needs to be addressed is the essential role of the concept of
metalepsis in The Hyperion Cantos. In the course of the novel, and in particular, in the tale of
Martin Silenus, the transgression of narrative boundaries is a recurring literary phenomenon.
For example, it is foregrounded that there is a paradoxical connection between the Shrike and
Silenus, as the poet is shown to be convinced of the idea that his Hyperion Cantos brought forth
the Shrike, yet at the same time could not have been created without the Shrike’s actions (H
226). Now, the chicken and egg paradox that is presented in this section left aside, this is clearly
a metalepsis, as it is a decisive transgression of ontological borders that one character takes the
position of the author and uses his pen to create another character situated on the same diegetic
level.
Another interesting aspect is Martin Silenus’ revenant characterization as satyr. Firstly,
the poet is named after Silenus, the ancient Greek father of the satyrs, and teacher and
companion of Dionysus. The legend goes that Silenus was always drunk, had knowledge of
magic, and could predict the future23. This is a description that is also quite reminiscent of
Simmons’ character Martin Silenus as he too is depicted as being constantly drunk, absorbed
by metaphysical ideas of art and language, and is also supposedly able to predict the future via
his writings. Henceforth, right from the start, the name of the character foreshadows his role in
The Hyperion Cantos. Furthermore, the image of Martin Silenus as satyr is already put forth at
the beginning of the two novels (H 23) as the character is described as having a “satyr’s smile”,
and it is then at its most obvious in “The Poet’s Tale”, when Silenus employs the service of a
biosculptor who transforms him into an authentically looking satyr (H 216). Although the poet’s
portrayal as the satyr Silenus is rather a simple intertextual reference to Greek mythology than
23 The information on the ancient Greek mythological creatures of the satyr and Silenus was taken from:
https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Creatures/Silenus/silenus.html
57
an actual metalepsis it still highlights the metaleptic nature of the poet as it points continuously
to his metaphysical writing talents and his prophetic role.
At the end of Silenus’ tale, we find another instance of metalepsis. Here the story ends
with a final comment on the central role of his poem. “In the beginning was the Word. In the
end … past honor, past life, past caring … In the end will be the Word” (H 233). Similarly to
the first example, this is again not strictly a metalepsis. However, after a whole chapter that is
dedicated to the equation of language with divine essence and the poet with God, there is also
to this section at least a sense of boundary transgression. After all, it is true that past everything
“will be the Word” and it is the author who will eventually bring the narrative to an end with
the last word. As this passage is once more highlighting the role of Silenus as the poet chosen
to artistically document the end of the world, the role of the poet is again intermingled with the
author himself. Additionally, several other explicitly metafictional remarks are connecting the
character with the author, such as Silenus’ depiction as a divine literary instrument of prophecy
(H 179-181), and as God (H 192). Most significantly, however, this metaleptic connection is
fostered via the poet’s characterization as an author attempting to write a homage to high
literature (H 203) and in particular John Keats’ works “Hyperion” and “The Fall of Hyperion”
(H 224-225), which completely mirrors Simmons’ own efforts in Hyperion and The Fall of
Hyperion. In consideration of these examples, it seems quite clear that Silenus is supposed to
be not only a character but rather a humorous embodiment of the author himself that has been
sneaked into the novels.
Nonetheless, it needs to be emphasized that all of the abovementioned passages are still
only partly metaleptic. Firstly, because they only hint at the transgression of narrative
boundaries that lies at the core of The Hyperion Cantos. And secondly, because they could also
simply be treated as acts of an unreliable narrator — a term that is easily applied to Silenus, as
the poet is portrayed as a brain-damaged, excessively drinking, drug-abusing maniac with a
propensity to exaggerated and overly metaphysical storytelling. It is only at the end of the first
novel (H 476) that the metalepsis becomes fully realized when Silenus exclaims:
“Do you want me to read it? Do you want me to read it to you? It’s flowing again. Read
the old parts. Read the Cantos I wrote three centuries ago and never published. It’s all
here. We’re all here. My name, yours, this trip. Don’t you see … I’m not creating a
poem, I’m creating the future!” (H 476)
It is left open how much of the poet’s Cantos are supposed to be a true representation
of the narrative of the novels itself. However, there are some sections in which parts of Silenus’
Cantos are highlighted. For example, towards the end of “The Poet’s Tale” (H 230) King Billy,
58
the ruler of the planet Hyperion, reads aloud two paragraphs of Silenus’ poem. These sections,
however, are direct quotations from “The Fall of Hyperion” by John Keats. It can thus be
inferred that the fictional epic poem written by the character Martin Silenus is at least in some
parts meant to be a direct rewriting of Keats’ work. Therefore, at least those passages consisting
of the poetry of Keats cannot be perceived as a clear-cut representation of the narrative of
Simmons’ The Hyperion Cantos. As I have highlighted in the previous chapter, they rather
serve as instances of mise en abyme that mirror parts of the larger plot of the two novels through
the foregrounding of similarities between Simmons’ novels and Keats’ poems. Still, Silenus’
claim quoted above implies that there are at the very least also some parts in the fictional poem
of the character that are meant to be identical with the story of Hyperion and The Fall of
Hyperion.
Although these instances of metalepsis could potentially break the illusion as they
clearly foreground the textuality of the texts at hand, I would argue that they instead enhance
the aesthetic illusion. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the character of Martin Silenus
is so authentically represented in all his madness, egotism, and literary fanaticism that the
metalepsis itself becomes a seemingly natural attribute of him. This works especially well
because the character is represented as decisively unreliable. Secondly, as I will also showcase
in the following chapters, the world of The Hyperion Cantos is to such a large degree bursting
with literary playfulness and intertextual- and metafictional allusions that both the paradoxical
relationship between the poet and the Shrike and the central metalepsis are simply rendered a
natural part of the narrative world rather than foregrounding devices of the fictionality of the
texts. This holds true in particular in “The Poet’s Tale” because it is such an overly structured
and artistically abundant chapter that the reader starts to eventually take its metafictionality for
granted. If the complete two novels were structured in such a manner, there would be the risk
of losing the meta-value and self-awareness of the references at hand. However, I would argue
that it is exactly because the rest of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion is written and structured
in a completely different manner, focusing for example on a straightforward action narrative in
“The Soldier’s Tale” and on the dramatic rendition of personal loss in “The Scholar’s Tale”,
that this does not occur. Furthermore, the primary metafictional and intertextual motifs fostered
in the tale of Martin Silenus are only occasionally alluded to afterward. This renders them
conspicuous artifacts placed amidst typical storytelling, redirecting the reader’s attention to
their intertextual and metafictional properties and their essential role for the plot. Like ennobled
particles of SF narration that sparkle with a sophisticated glimmer for the avid, curious
recipient.
59
7. Noble Intertextual Divinity: Religious Perspectives on Ethics,
Armageddon and Evolution
Throughout Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion Simmons alludes to many of the foundational
religious issues of Judeo-Christian culture. The reader encounters theological musings on the
story of Abraham, who was willing to sacrifice his only son Isaac to prove the depth of his faith
to God; the Christian doctrine of resurrection is displayed, technologically embodied in the
form of the parasitic cruciform, and juxtaposed with the rebirth of the poet John Keats, who
becomes in many respects a grand, artistic reference to Jesus Christ and the Christian ideal of
true compassion; whilst “a rough beast slouches towards Bethlehem” (Yeats, “The Second
Coming” ll.21-22) fire rains down from the sky and Armageddon is proclaimed by fanatic
religious groups believing that humanity’s devastating actions committed against nature have
finally unleashed the wrath of the universe; and evolution itself becomes a religious and
philosophical issue as both humanity and the artificial intelligences of the TechnoCore strive
for their ascendance towards godhood, based upon the theories of St. Teilhard de Chardin. As
Roberts (XVII) outlines, there are a number of quintessential Christian elements in The
Hyperion Cantos which are employed in the construction of a galactic conflict between good
and evil. He highlights that all the way from its theological opening of a priest searching for
evidence for the divinity of Jesus Christ, to the parasitic, seemingly godly technology of the
cruciform, to the eventual battle between the principles of empathy and malice, the novels
portray “a fundamental opposition between Protestant/humanist technology and Catholic
magic” essential to SF. Because of the importance of these religious aspects for The Hyperion
Cantos, Roberts (315) aptly categorizes the series as one of the essential works of SF centered
on religious discourse. With this focus on religious and ethical discourse in Hyperion and The
Fall of Hyperion Simmons follows a literary tradition established by high cultural authors like
John Milton, John Keats, Mary Shelley, William Butler Yeats, and James Joyce. I would argue
that this philosophical dimension is definitely part of an attempt to infuse The Hyperion Cantos
with a serious and sophisticated tone and to thus add them to the ranks of high literature. Due
to this centrality of religious motives in Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion the following
chapter will be dedicated to a thorough exploration of the theological and religious-
philosophical references displayed and their functions within the narrative of The Hyperion
Cantos.
60
7.1 Discussing Jewish Theology in The Hyperion Cantos: “The Abraham Dilemma”
One of the main topics of religious discourse in the Hyperion novels is the so-called Abraham
Dilemma. At the core of this issue lies Genesis 22, the passage in the Old Testament in which
Abraham is ordered by God to sacrifice his only son Isaac to prove his faith. This murderous
act is then, however, interrupted by a godsent angel who assures Abraham that he has shown
his conviction and thus proven his fear of God. In Hyperion and the Fall of Hyperion, the Jewish
scholar of history and classical studies Sol Weintraub is displayed as someone who is at odds
with the relationship between humanity and God that is portrayed in Genesis 22. This
intellectual conflict is triggered by two events: Firstly, a recurring dream in which a godlike
figure orders Sol to sacrifice his daughter on the altar (H 254-255); and secondly, a sudden
illness that befalls his daughter Rachel and lets her age backward (H 262). Struck by the cruel
fate of Rachel and the similarities between his dream and the story of Abraham and Isaac Sol
Weintraub decides to commit himself to a critical study of one of the founding myths of
Judaism. This quest for a deeper understanding of the relationship between mankind and God
can be divided into three stages: One of discovery and critical research, a second stage marked
by cynicism and denial, and a third stage of acceptance and understanding. I would argue that
in the course of these three phases a theological argument encompassing a multifaceted
reflection on the story of Abraham and Isaac is put forth. The first stage is introduced via a
sinister dream in which a powerful voice accompanied by two flying red orbs utters the
following commandment:
Sol! Take your daughter, your only daughter, Rachel, whom you love, and go to the
world called Hyperion and offer her there as a burnt offering at one of the places of
which I shall tell you. (H 254)
A quick comparison of this passage to the common English translation of Genesis 22
showcases clearly that this is meant to be a reference to the story of Abraham and Isaac as most
of it is quoted word for word.
He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of
Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I
shall tell you.” (Gen. 22:2)
As the dream continues, Sol sees his daughter laid out naked on an altar and finds a
large knife in his hand. The voice then informs Sol that the future of humanity depends upon
his obedience, which is promptly denied by the old scholar as he throws the knife into the
darkness. A few pages later (H 260), a mysterious accident occurs in the time tombs leading to
61
Rachel’s contraction of Merlin’s disease (H 262). The mysterious dream returns (H 269), and
it is highlighted that the character Sol Weintraub has become aware of the devious connection
between this nightmare and the tragic fate of his daughter; an awareness that launches his
interest in the story of Abraham (H 270). What follows are several scenes in which Sol is shown
to attempt to gather further information on Genesis 22. The first significant moment on this
search is a discussion between him and a Rabbi (H 276). In this scene, a critical discussion
ensues in which Sol Weintraub is displayed to argue that the role of God in the story of Abraham
and Isaac seems quite questionable to him. Is it not severely problematic if an ethical system,
like Judaism, is based on a story in which an almighty God forces a man to kill his son simply
to test the depth of his obedience? And what does this tell us about the God that is dependent
upon such a display of power, even if he intervenes eventually? These are the primary questions
posed in this scene, and the Rabbi fails to answer them satisfactorily. Driven by these musings
Sol continues his intellectual search. The next step of this phase consists of dialogues between
the scholar and an imagined God (H 291-293, and 296). In these dialogues, fundamental ethical
questions are being raised, like: Who is truly innocent? Could it be right to sacrifice the life of
an innocent person in certain situations? And if not, was this maybe the lesson that Abraham
had to learn before he could become the father of the people of Judea? Out of these questions,
a much broader ethical theme evolves. I would argue that it is in these sequences that the tragic
fate of Sol’s family, Rachel’s sickness and his wife Sarai’s death (H 301), is juxtaposed with
the historical atrocities committed against the Jewish people (H 296 and 303) and thus puts
forward a highly specific theological and ethical theme. The central argument that is thus raised
is the following. What for did Abraham show his obedience, and how could the Jews be the
chosen people, if Sol’s family, and in extension the Jewish people, are doomed to endure a
sheer endless cycle of suffering and injustice? Can a God who allows such a universe be truly
good? Eventually, this phase of Sol’s search for a deeper understanding of his Jewish religious
heritage culminates in Sol’s composition of his book The Abraham Dilemma (H 299).
The second stage of Sol’s search for a deeper understanding of the relationship between
God and humanity is then represented in the form of the conclusions that the character implicitly
draws in his book The Abraham Dilemma. The core idea at this stage is that humanity is not
anymore in need of a totalitarian God demanding obedience (H 309). Either God must take
responsibility for his people and thus show his love for them (H 309), or, if God turns out to be
the perpetrator of humankind’s suffering, humanity must take action against their divine
dictator (TFOH 227). This is the essential position that the scholar Sol Weintraub is shown to
take at this stage. The foundation of these assertions then is portrayed in a highly personal
62
manner. The injustice that the universe commits against Rachel, and has, throughout human
history, committed against the Jewish people, is continuously displayed together with the
character’s theoretical musings (e.g. H 296, 303, 309 and TFOH 226-227, 237). I would argue
that this adds both a personal and a religious validity to the critical questions posed by Sol. How
could a loving father not despair when he is about to lose his only daughter? And how could
there be no sense of doubt in the hearts of many Jewish people regarding the benevolence of
God after millennia of never-ending persecution? In this sense, the religious desperation of the
chosen people is foregrounded in a personalized manner, and in combination with a very
specific theological view on Genesis 22 and the Old Testament in general. Namely, a dualism
of cynicism and denial reflected in Sol Weintraub’s conclusion that even if there is a God
demanding obedience and suffering, humanity would have to finally deny him.
The final stage of Sol’s search is then again introduced via the dream (TFOH 236). Once
more the devious divinity asks for the life of Rachel Weintraub. And again, Sol refutes this
order:
“There will be no more offerings, neither child nor parent. There will be no more
sacrifices. The time of obedience and atonement is past. Either help us as a friend, or go
away!” (TFOH 236)
Yet, it is in this scene that a fundamental change occurs, as Sol finds out that the voice
that he hears in the dream is neither the voice of God nor of the Shrike, but rather the voice of
his daughter Rachel (TFOH 237). It turns out that it is Rachel Weintraub herself, the young
woman plagued by an aging disease about to end her existence, who asks her father to take the
role of Abraham, and thus sacrifice her not out of obedience but out of love. Struck by this
revelation Sol is forced to reinterpret the complete situation, and with it, Genesis 22. There is a
significant break with respect to the implied worldview apparent in this scene. Up to this point,
the message of the novels concerning good and evil, in particular with regard to the evaluation
of the story of Abraham and Isaac, seems relatively clear cut. The sacrifice of a loved one out
of obedience to a godly being is displayed as unethical, which naturally translates over to God’s
role in Genesis 22 in a critical manner. However, there are several essential points to this scene
that change exactly these implications for the implied worldview. Firstly, it is relatively clear
at this point that there is no hope for baby Rachel, except maybe the mysterious sacrifice of her
involving the Shrike. Secondly, Sol is not asked to sacrifice his daughter out of obedience but
out of love for her and humanity. And thirdly, it is Rachel herself who appears in Sol’s
mysterious dreams and pleads for the offering of herself. Just like the character Sol Weintraub,
it is suddenly also imposed on the reader to reevaluate the situation and the ethical and religious
63
message of the novels. This becomes even clearer when just a handful of pages later (TFOH
242), Sol is shown to decide that real faith means to fully trust those we love, and thus hands
his daughter over to the Shrike. The powerful conclusion to this act of Sol Weintraub and his
intellectual search for a deeper understanding of the relationship between God and humankind
is then presented towards the end of The Fall of Hyperion.
With a sudden clarity which went beyond the immediacy of his pain or sorrow, Sol
Weintraub suddenly understood perfectly why Abraham had agreed to sacrifice Isaac,
his son, when the Lord commanded him to do so. It was not obedience. It was not even
to put the love of God above the love of his son. Abraham was testing God. By denying
the sacrifice at the last moment, by stopping the knife, God had earned the right — in
Abraham’s eyes and the hearts of his offspring — to become the God of Abraham. […]
Abraham came not to sacrifice, but to know once and for all whether this God was a
god to be trusted and obeyed. No other test would do. (TFOH 491)
This paragraph perfectly sums up the final position that the character Sol Weintraub is
shown to take regarding the story of Abraham and Isaac. Here a sense of depth and
understanding is shown, which the conclusions of stages one and two lack. It is the portrayal of
the deep conviction that the story of Abraham and Isaac cannot only be read in terms of an
almighty God testing the obedience of a mortal but also in terms of a mutual chance to establish
a relationship. Eventually, it was only through Abraham’s conviction to carry through an
unethical deed that the God of the Old Testament was enabled to show his own determination
to care for Abraham, and thus for all of humanity. As is then proposed (TFOH 492-493), it is
because of this mutual relationship between humanity and God that both can be part of an ever-
changing, ever-evolving universe. In this sense, the parable of Abraham and Isaac as it is
discussed by the character Sol Weintraub in The Hyperion Cantos serves as a powerful vehicle
for the transportation of a continuous and multifaceted discussion of the age-old question on
the nature of our connection to a higher power. Naturally, all the viewpoints which are put forth
in the course of Sol’s quest for understanding are justifiable. After all, the story of Abraham
and Isaac is despite its shortness a powerful and complex parable that can be viewed from
multiple angles, and it is similarly to the “Book of Job” also a controversial tale that easily
sparks religious critique. Nonetheless, there are two reasons why I would argue that in terms of
the implied worldview of the Hyperion novels this final consolidation between God and Sol
Weintraub which is intertextually mediated through the parable of Genesis II enjoys preference.
Firstly, in light of the trajectory of Sol’s complete journey, and specifically concerning Sol’s
final decision to trust and offer his daughter, there is a climactic quality to this insight which
raises it above the critical and dismissive conclusions that Sol is shown to draw earlier in the
64
novels. Secondly, the eventual alignment of the scholar’s conclusion of The Abraham Dilemma
with other religious and metaphysical themes, such as Teilhard De Chardin’s concept of the
Omega point and the ascension of mankind towards divine compassion through the union of
the Keats cybrid Johnny and Brawne Lamia (TFOH 492-493), substantially highlights its
importance for the narrative of The Hyperion Cantos. Henceforth, the quintessential closing
image regarding “The Abraham Dilemma” is one of compassion and mutual dependence
between God and his people.
7.2 A Technology Centered Allusion to Christianity: The Christian Doctrine of
Resurrection and Divine Empathy
In the course of The Hyperion Cantos several recurring Christian symbols shape our perception
of the narrative world, most importantly with regard to the dichotomy of good and evil. Two
central ones of these symbols are the cruciform, a parasitic persiflage of the Christian idea of
resurrection through Christ, and the metaphysical insistence on love as a key force in the
universe. This subchapter will be focused on the analysis of these two symbols and their
essential role concerning the religious implied worldview in Hyperion and The Fall of
Hyperion.
The cruciform is one of the major Christian symbols employed in The Hyperion Cantos,
a role that is continued and even extended in the follow-up novels Endymion and The Rise of
Endymion. It makes its debut appearance on the stage early on in Hyperion, in the tale of Father
Lenar Hoyt. In this narration of the travelogue of Father Paul Dure, read by Lenar Hoyt, a both
strangely Christian and occult ceremony takes place during which Dure is granted the cruciform
by the Shrike (H 79). From the perspective of the reader, the Shrike is in this scene clearly
presented as a sinister parody of Jesus blessing Dure in a dimly lit, obscure cavern with a
parasitic growth that only resembles the Christian cross on a decisively shallow level. However,
the perspective of the character is presented in a quite contrary manner. Dure is shown to
express in his diary that he experienced a feeling of “exaltation rather than fear” (H 79) as “the
affirmation of such demons or the summoning of Satan can affirm the reality of their mystic
antithesis – the God of Abraham” (H 79). This general positive stance is already built up earlier
(H 64), when Father Dure is shown to make the fatal assumption that the insistence of the Bikura
on the cruciform and them “belonging to the cruciform” would be a clear indicator of an old
Christian tradition kept up by these obscure beings. Although Dure is displayed as being aware
of the devilish nature of the Shrike (H 79), this positive disposition towards the cruciform and
65
the supposed religious affiliation of the Bikura cloud the character’s perception of the evil
nature of the cruciform. This is especially apparent after the ceremony when the Bikura
announce that Dure “will be of the cruciform now and forever”, and Father Dure answers with
“amen” (H 80).
However, this sense of dramatic irony (as the reader is already vaguely aware of the
dark implications of the cruciform) vanishes already two pages later, when Dure finds out that
the cruciform is in reality an invasive parasite that has spread through his whole body (H 82).
The evil nature of the cruciform is then revealed to its full extent when Dure is shown to make
two fatal observations. Firstly, the incurable cruciform forces him to stay with the Bikura and
enforces this with the infliction of excruciating pain (Hyperion 83). Secondly, just like the
Bikura, he is doomed to endless circles of artificial resurrection through the power of the
cruciform, which would eventually also degenerate his body and mind (H 87-88 and 99). In this
manner, the cruciform is rendered the complete antithesis of the Christian doctrine of the
resurrection. Instead of resurrection through the love of God, the victims of the parasite are
doomed to an eternal existence of devolution and agony. A nightmarish existence, which Father
Paul Dure is not even able to end when he nails himself to a so-called tesla tree, a tree that
releases extremely high doses of voltage (H 99). Instead, Dure is forced to undergo seven years
of suffering, death, and resurrection until he is found by Lenar Hoyt (H 100), whose body he is
then doomed to inhabit through the cruciform. Eventually, it is revealed that the cruciform is
an invention of the TechnoCore, and that its true purpose is to transform billions of human
beings into Bikura-like creatures whose neurons would serve the sinister purposes of the core
forever (TFOH 473).
Now, the question arises. What could be the true symbolic meaning of the cruciform?
Is it meant to be a horrifying display of what it could mean to be immortal? Or rather, a depraved
product of the technological hubris of humanity? A posthumanist vision of a truly digitalized
mind, perhaps? I would argue that all of these points are implied to a certain degree. From a
religious point of view, the cruciform definitely constitutes a meditation on the Christian
doctrine of the resurrection and its multiple implications and theoretical problems. What is the
difference between the Christian promise of resurrection and the immortality granted by the
cruciform? asks Father Dure himself (TFOH 232), and with him, the reader is also asked to
ponder on this issue. An answer could be that the immortality granted by the cruciform is simply
portrayed as a material perversion, which, in an antithetical manner incarcerates and
degenerates the soul, rather than freeing it from the shackles of matter. Following this train of
thought, the symbolic function of the cruciform is also easily applied critically to the age-old
66
dream of humanity to achieve immortality through concoctions, obscure rituals, and
technological means, in particular with regard to the posthumanist dream of the digitalized
mind. From a religious-philosophical standpoint, all of these attempts at immortality fail to
achieve the essential goal that serves as one of the fundamental notions of the Christian doctrine
of the resurrection, namely freedom. Without the aligned concepts of death and the liberation
of the soul, immortality becomes a material prison and a curse of everlasting degradation. This,
I would argue, is perhaps the central philosophical implication of the cruciform in The Hyperion
Cantos.
It is then noteworthy that the good counterpart to the TechnoCore and its parasitic
mechanism of resurrection is also of a technological nature. The Keats cybrids, reincarnations
of “the purest of all poets” (H 214), are situated at the center of the second primary allusion to
Christianity, namely true love and compassion. As has already been outlined, the two Keats
cybrids are of central importance, both in terms of them symbolizing the metaphysical power
of literature, which is one of the core ideas of The Hyperion Cantos, as well as in terms of their
homodiegetic actions with respect to the human evolution towards divine compassion. Johnny,
the first cybrid, plays an essential role as he becomes the father of the human vessel of divine
empathy (TFOH 425 and 515), whilst the second Keats cybrid is able to influence the fate of
humanity due to his empathic connection with the universe, as he turns the Hegemony against
the TechnoCore (TFOH 472-473). In many respects, these resurrected versions of John Keats
are presented in a quite Jesus-esque manner. Firstly, John Keats is resurrected with a divine
purpose. Secondly, the cybrids, and thus also the Romantic poet, play a significant role in the
human ascension towards true empathy and love. Thirdly, in the general opposition of good vs.
evil, the Keats cybrids are portrayed as the antithesis to the Shrike, which is the primary evil in
The Hyperion Cantos. Fourthly, as I have already mentioned, the second Keats cybrid is even
overtly compared to Jesus Christ by Meina Gladstone (TFOH 58).
This prophetic, Christian role of the Keats cybrids is quintessential for several reasons
and is quite telling regarding the religious, ethical, and philosophical makeup of the Hyperion
novels. I would argue that the most striking aspect of it is that advanced technology, especially
AI, plays such a central role both in terms of the creation of evil and of good in The Hyperion
Cantos. A central aspect of this Christian representation of AI is that a simple demonization is
avoided. Certainly, the negative side of advancements in the field of AI is prevalent, with the
TechnoCore, the cruciform, and the Shrike being the primarily evil examples. However, there
is also the representation of the TechnoCore as a complicated and diverse community of
artificial intelligences, especially considering ethics (e.g. H 281), and one should not forget that
67
the savior figure John Keats, is also embodied as an AI in The Hyperion Cantos. Essentially,
the Hyperion novels entail a theological discussion on AI and the progression of humanity
towards a stage of greater wisdom and ethical conduct that could be phrased in a two-part
argument. Firstly, the evolution of humankind should follow an enlightened path towards the
Christian ideal of true empathy, with respect to love and compassion. Secondly, AI could be
detrimental to this effort, yet it could also play an important positive role in our ascendance
towards this sense of divine empathy and love.
7.3 The Final Atonement: The Symbolic Intertextuality of Yeats’ “The Second Coming”
and “The Book of Revelation”
One of the prevailing religious images of The Hyperion Cantos is Armageddon. There are a
considerable number of ways in which this end of days is played upon and foregrounded. As I
have already highlighted, the notion of the cultural death of humanity put forth through the
character Martin Silenus is one of them. A similar apocalyptic quality can also be attributed to
the plans of the TechnoCore concerning the complete enslavement of humanity through the
cruciform. However, there are several other interesting ways in which Armageddon is portrayed
and underlined in the Hyperion novels. For example, Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming” is
repeatedly referenced and employed to foster a mysterious and religious sense of the
apocalypse, in particular with respect to the portrayal of the Shrike as the Antichrist.
Furthermore, the planetary destruction presumably caused by the Ousters — yet as it turns out,
done by the TechnoCore — echoes imagery from “The Book of Revelation”. This catastrophe
of fire raining down from the sky, carried out by angelic beings, the Ousters, is then rendered
even more biblical as it is revealed to be part of a prophecy on the revenge of the universe
against mankind and its ecological crimes. As will be showcased in this subchapter, these
intertextual references, and religious and eco-critical allusions form a specific depiction of the
downfall of humanity.
I would argue that the essential intertextual references on the end of the world, are the
ones to William Butler Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming”. This poem is alluded to several
times in The Fall of Hyperion and always in terms of the apocalyptic message it entails. For
example, a discussion between Sol Weintraub and Father Dure on the true nature of the time
tombs and the Shrike is introduced by Sol via the words “some rough beast is slouching toward
Bethlehem to be born” (TFOH 225). The conversation that ensues from this remark is then
centered on the idea that the time tombs might be “the new Bethlehem” and the Shrike the
68
Antichrist, born to take over this fallen world. The poem is then mentioned a second time in
connection with the apocalyptic theme of the fall of the Hegemony of Man in a dialogue
between the second Keats cybrid and an archivist (TFOH 293-294). In this scene, however, it
is only briefly employed to foreground the possibility of the birth of the antichrist once again.
Most powerful in terms of its intertextual meaning is however the last reference to Yeats’ poems
(The Fall of Hyperion 442-443). In this scene, the whole second stanza is quoted by Sol
Weintraub as he muses on the meaning of his journey and the future of his daughter and the
Hegemony while lying in the shadow of the sphinx. It is in this scene that references to Yeats’
poems are most present and significant, as two of his poems are juxtaposed with one another,
namely “A Prayer for my Daughter” (TFOH 442) and “The Second Coming” (TFOH 443).
Both of these poems are repeatedly employed in The Hyperion Cantos with regard to specific
themes. As I have already outlined, “The Second Coming” is continuously alluded to in
connection to Armageddon. In stark contrast, “A Prayer for my Daughter” is referred to
concerning the fate of Sol’s daughter Rachel Weintraub (H 309 and TFOH 442). These two
poems then frame the thoughts of the character as his mind is shown to wander from the tragic
destiny of his daughter to the apocalyptic fate of the whole universe. However, as Sol is shown
to reminisce on the meaning of the second stanza of Yeats’ “The Second Coming”, the literary
inquisition of Yeats’ poems conducted by the character comes to a sudden halt, as the sadness
of his daughter’s fate is shown to overwhelm him. Therefore, there is not another overt
connection made between Armageddon and Yeats’ “The Second Coming”. Yet, I would argue,
that as the reader has already been acquainted with this association earlier in The Fall of
Hyperion, the parallels are apparent enough without directly addressing them. Several lines in
this section of “The Second Coming” fit exceedingly well into this part of the narrative of The
Hyperion Cantos. For example, in the poem, it says:” Surely, a Second Coming is at hand”
(l.10), which by itself foregrounds once more the apocalyptic crisis that the Hegemony of Man
is in. Furthermore, a character being “somewhere in the sands of the desert” (l.13) observing
“A shape with lion body and the head of a man” (l.14) is mentioned in Yeats’ poem, which is
the exact situation of Sol Weintraub in this scene. Also, “And what rough beast, its hour come
round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? (ll.21-22) reminds the recipient once
more that the “second coming” might bring forth the antichrist, a symbolic role that the Shrike
holds throughout the two novels. Hence, in this particular scene, intertextual references to the
poetry of William Butler Yeats are employed in a diverse and highly functional manner,
especially with respect to the primary connection of “The Second Coming” to the end of the
world.
69
Furthermore, concerning Armageddon, I would argue that one of the most significant
allusions is constituted by the planetary destruction supposedly caused by the Ousters, and the
religious and eco-critical framing of it. During the climactic phase of the Hyperion novels, the
‘supposed’ Ousters attack God’s grove, transforming it into a fiery hell (TFOH 372-373). This
destruction through fire echoes the “Book of Revelation” with its overarching emphasis on the
fire employed by God and his servants to clean the world of the sinners. Ironically, the leading
religious group on God’s Grove, the templars, are shown to believe that they will be spared due
to a certain prophecy (TFOH 371). According to this prophecy, the Ousters are the part of
humanity that managed to align itself with the natural cosmos, rather than subduing and
destroying it, and will thus safe the Hegemony by severing its bond with the parasitic
TechnoCore; a process of cleansing in which the eco-conscious worlds, such as God’s Grove,
will naturally be spared (TFOH 369-370). Additionally, the fiery attack on the planet God’s
Grove is rendered even more akin to the great battle between good and evil in “Revelation”
when we consider the contrary depictions of the Ousters employed in the novels. On the one
hand, the Ousters are portrayed as belonging to the darkness and the role of the Nemesis of
mankind (H 189) and are even mentioned to be akin to an “Old Testament plague" (H 141), yet
on the other hand, they are also described as winged beings (TFOH 436), and the bringers of a
new dawn of symbiosis between humanity and the natural world (TFOH 371). These different
depictions of the Ousters as either evil or good alien creatures also foster two competing
symbolic visions. With reference to “Revelation”, the Ousters can be either identified with the
evil beings on the side of Satan, or they can be positioned on the opposite side, as the angelic
servants of God purging the Hegemony from its sins24. Similarly, the portrayal of the Shrike is
subject to change in the course of The Hyperion Cantos. Primarily, the time-traveling machine
monstrosity is depicted as a murderous demon and possible Antichrist, which aligns it quite
fittingly with the sinister apocalyptic vision constructed through the references to Yeats’ “The
Second Coming”. Nonetheless, there are also the images of the archangel of the final atonement
and a divine catalyst, attributed to the Shrike by the Church of the Shrike (TFOH 337) and the
Templar Sek Hardeen (TFOH 370). Additionally, it should be noted that the AI Ummon is
shown to reveal eventually (TFOH 424-425) that there is more than one Shrike. Ummon
explains in this scene that in two distant futures both humanity and the artificial intelligences
24 In light of the eventual plot twist, during which it is revealed that it was in fact the TechnoCore that
attacked God’s Grove and Heaven’s Gate (TFOH 437-438), the intertextual bond between the attacks and
“Revelation” crumbles slightly retrospectively. Nonetheless, I would argue that in the scenes on God’s Grove, the
grand allusion to “Revelation” is clearly palpable, and significant in terms of its intertextual symbolism.
70
of the TechnoCore have managed to create godlike beings, so-called ultimate intelligences (UI),
and that both UIs have created Shrikes and have sent them back in time to serve their interests.
Hence, at least one evil and one good Shrike are roaming the plains of the planet Hyperion,
which in a sense renders both its depiction as Antichrist and as a divine catalyst appropriate.
Lastly, in both of the respective scenes on God’s Grove (TFOH 334-342 and 368-373),
there is a decisive focus on the ecological sins of mankind. Here we have the highlighting of
humanity’s destruction of the earth (TFOH 337), — as it is explained that during the attempt of
creating a mini-black hole, the team in Kiev accidentally dropped it into the core of the earth
—, as well as the foregrounding of other intelligent species who have been eradicated by
humankind (TFOH 337 and 370), and those planets that were destroyed because of human greed
(TFOH 370). That mankind will have to atone for its sins is then exclaimed with sheer biblical
pathos by the head of the Church of the Shrike:
“All who have inherited the Sins of Adam and Kiev must suffer the consequences of
murdering their homeworld, of extinguishing other species.” (TFOH 337)
This sentence strongly underlines the religious and ecocritical essence of these scenes,
as the concept of original sin is juxtaposed with a critical worldview regarding humanity’s
conduct towards the environment and other species. It is also clearly no coincidence that this
dramatic rendition of the apocalypse, combined with religious and ecocritical themes, is at its
most distinct on a planet that is thematically dedicated to the famous American environmentalist
John Muir. For example, the Templars of God’s Grove, — which is essentially a gigantic,
planetary natural preserve —, are referred to as the brotherhood of Muir (TFOH 334). As Van
Hise (108) outlines, John Muir’s environmentalism was an exceedingly religious one, as he
perceived all of nature as a pure manifestation of God. This religious perception of nature and
the preservation of nature is absolutely central to the depiction of the brotherhood of Muir and
their planet God’s Grove. This combination of religious motives and ecocriticism is in general
of key importance to the novels, as there are several scenes in The Hyperion Cantos in which
either ecocritical points are forwarded or an almost metaphysical vision of a symbiotic co-
existence between humanity and the natural cosmos is established. Primary examples for the
first of these points are the ruination of Maui Covenant (H 463-464) and the terrible destruction
of the ecology of the planet Garden due to terraforming (TFOH 370). In particular, the
ecological disaster on a planet that is literally called Garden could not be a more telling example
of ecocriticism. In terms of the latter, the metaphysical vision, the quintessential example is the
rendition of the Ouster community, which seems to be at a perfect equilibrium with nature
(TFOH 435-436). However, I would argue that the thematic combination of religious and
71
ecological themes is at its most pronounced, and at its most symbolic regarding Armageddon,
in the two scenes on God’s Grove (TFOH 334-342 and 368-373). Due to the plethora of
religious discourse, apocalyptic imagery, and ecological discussion these two scenes foster a
highly dramatic and effective portrayal of the Apocalypse caused by humanity’s harmful
conduct towards mother nature.
7.4 Musings on the Ascension of Man and Machine: The Central Role of Teilhard de
Chardin’s The Phenomenon of Man
At the center of the religious-philosophical theme of The Hyperion Cantos lies a grand
theological proposition. In its everlasting process of evolution, the conscious universe is set on
a path towards godhood. As has been mentioned before, the key feature of this evolutionary
deification is love, divine empathy that finds its most genuine representation in true literature.
This proposition is based upon the writings of the French Philosopher and Jesuit Priest Pierre
Teilhard de Chardin. Throughout Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion the theories and ideals of
this influential thinker permeate the complete narrative, and function as the philosophical glue
that binds everything, from the metafictional musings of the poet Martin Silenus, to the grand
intertextual connection between Greek Mythology, Keats’ poetry and a hyper-technological
future, to questions concerning AI, theology, and philosophy, together. As I will showcase in
this final subchapter, this deep intertextual embedding of Teilhard’s philosophy into the fabric
of the novels plays a decisive role in Simmons’ attempt to merge science fiction with a high-
cultural philosophical discourse on humanity’s place in the universe. In this sense, it can be
perceived as the most purposeful attempt within Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion towards
the fostering of a truly noble, sophisticated, and modern sci-fi literary experience.
Already in Hyperion in “The Priest’s Tale” the connection to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
is brought to the reader’s attention. Right at the start of this chapter (H 26), it is made clear that
Father Paul Dure is an homage to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Firstly, the description of his
outer appearance as “tall, thin, ascetic, with white hair” is essentially a portrayal of Pierre
Teilhard de Chardin25. Secondly, like Teilhard de Chardin was, Dure is pictured as a Jesuit
Priest and as a man of science. Thirdly, it is stated right away that Dure is a follower of St.
25 Compare to the following images:
1. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: http://www.artnet.com/artists/philippe-halsman/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-
JX_vRzdSoyCQKz_LfvUDcA2
2. De Chardin holds a skull of a Peking man he found in China. https://www.ctvnews.ca/china-to-repair-
cave-where-peking-man-fossils-found-1.410939
72
Teilhard. Eventually, this portrayal of Father Paul Dure as a personification of Pierre Teilhard
de Chardin is brought to its grand finale when the Jesuit Priest is proclaimed as Pope Teilhard
I towards the end of The Fall of Hyperion (TFOH 483). Hence, the incorporation of Pierre
Teilhard de Chardin is, together with the portrayal of John Keats, amongst the most overtly
pronounced representations of a historical person in The Hyperion Cantos. Additionally, it is
noteworthy, that St. Teilhard is also the first heterodiegetic figure of whom a representational
character appears on the stage. Later on (H 37), the importance of the theories of Teilhard de
Chardin is again highlighted as Teilhard’s concept of a God uniting the personal and the
universal, the En Haut (Above) and En Avant (Ahead) is mentioned (e.g. de Chardin 259).
Interestingly, the theories of St. Teilhard vanish from the screen after these two scenes for a
while. It is only later, in The Fall of Hyperion that more substantial theological discussions on
the topic ensue and finally become an integral part of the story.
In contrast to Hyperion, there are several highly significant scenes in The Fall of
Hyperion in which Teilhard’s theories are overtly discussed and highlighted. One fascinating
aspect of this continuous discourse is that Teilhard’s key proposition of the total consciousness
of the universe evolving towards godhood (de Chardin 271) is taken up and interpreted by
several different characters. For example, in a peculiar dinner scene (TFOH 107-109) a
discussion of the influence of Teilhard’s primary premise on the catholic church occurs. Three
significant opinions are expressed in this scene. The first one is a short and general introduction
to the topic via the character of Monsignor Edouard, an influential cleric, and close friend of
Father Dure. In his sentences, the first clear definition of Teilhard’s theorem regarding a
universal evolution towards a divine state is put forth: “St. Teilhard felt that all of life, every
level of organic consciousness was part of a planned evolution toward ultimate mergence with
the Godhead” (TFOH 108). This theory is then linked again to Father Dure by the second Keats
cybrid (alias Joseph Severn), the first-person narrator of The Fall of Hyperion. From him, we
get a second, more critical perspective, as Severn is shown to skeptically reflect on the role a
technological abomination like the cruciform could play in Teilhard’s theory. The final
highlighted perspective on St. Teilhard’s work is the view of Councilor Albedo, the envoy of
the TechnoCore. Interestingly, the AI Albedo is also displayed as someone aware of the
implications of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s work. When he is asked by Monsignor Edouard
about the Core’s supposed endeavor at the creation of a God, Albedo answers that it is rather
an attempt to explore the possibilities of the theological theories established by Teilhard and
Dure by creating the most powerful AI (TFOH 109). This juxtaposition of different viewpoints
already highlights the major distinction between a religious understanding of Teilhard’s theory
73
and a rather technological, positivistic one. Here, the catholic church is presented as a
community that aims towards an understanding of the metaphysical dimensions of a
relationship between God and humanity. “To help mankind to know and serve God” (TFOH
108) is according to Monsignor Edouard the goal of the Catholic church. In this manner,
Teilhard’s theoretical work becomes another tool in humanity’s venture towards a greater
knowledge of its role in the universe. In contrast, the viewpoint of the TechnoCore is presented
as a purely logical extension of Teilhard’s ideas. Evolution is seen as a mechanical process with
the definitive final stage of godhood. What is naturally entailed in this assumption is that such
a process could be influenced, augmented, and accelerated. However, it is already implied in
this scene that there is something fundamentally wrong and unnatural about this “rational” view
on evolution towards divinity. In particular, the critical perspective of the Keats cybrid, which
is conveniently placed between the explanations of these two characters, foreshadows and
highlights the dark side of technological tampering with evolution. Although the true origin of
the cruciform has not yet been revealed at this point in the novels, the reader is still prone to
draw a connection between the blasphemous immortality granted by this artifact and the
possibly sinister implications of the TechnoCore’s plans.
This discussion of both the Hegemony’s and the Core’s attempts to reach God is later
picked up again in a scene depicting a conversation between Sol Weintraub and Paul Dure
(TFOH 164-165). Here, it is once more foregrounded that there is an odd similarity between
the goals of humanity and the artificial intelligences, namely: “To know God,” […] “Or failing
that, to create him” (TFOH 164). As this conversation is continued later on (TFOH 225-227),
a short theological discussion ensues incorporating both Sol’s critical views on Judean theology
and Dure’s Teilhardian beliefs. Symbolically, this point of intersection between Jewish and
Christian theology is exceedingly vital as it is through these two religious perspectives that the
future course of the narrative is hypothesized upon. At this moment in The Fall of Hyperion,
the scholar Sol Weintraub is a broken man, who has lost his faith in the God of Abraham and
views the future of the universe from a quite desolate point of view (TFOH 226). In sharp
contrast, Father Dure is displayed as a man of faith who had to endure unspeakable agony
which, however, has only reinforced his religious convictions (TFOH 226). In the same scene,
the reader is confronted with two quite contrary religious-philosophical positions. As has been
outlined before, at this point in the novels Sol is convinced that humanity shall deny God their
obedience (TFOH 226) and fight God (TFOH 227). In sharp contrast, Dure’s subtle, hopeful
vision of humanity’s evolution towards a better and more benevolent existence is presented.
This Teilhardian perspective is eventually at its most overtly pronounced in another theological
74
discussion scene, one between the second Keats cybrid, Father Paul Dure, and Monsignor
Edouard (TFOH 301-302). Here, the Keats cybrid explains to the two catholic clergymen what
the AI Ummon has revealed to him (TFOH 301). A triune human ultimate intelligence has
evolved in the future and its empathy part has fled back in time to thwart the sinister plans of a
machine UI (TFOH 286). A discussion of the theological implications by the three characters
is subsequently shown. This divinely evolved human consciousness is then referred to as
Teilhard’s Omega Point God (TFOH 301). It is finally in this scene that it is made absolutely
clear that St. Teilhard’s concept of the evolution of consciousness towards godhood in what he
calls the Omega point (De Chardin 268-269) is central to the story of Hyperion and The Fall of
Hyperion. The essential conflict becomes one of Teilhardian divinities, instances of
consciousness evolved to the Omega point. These two ultimate intelligences become
metaphorical extrapolations of the positive and negative implications of Teilhard’s grand
theory. Will the technological hybris of man, most pronounced in the logical and emotionless
divinity of AI, be the final stage of the universe’s evolution? Or will love prevail? Will those
human qualities that we deem most noble and divine, empathy, love, and honest compassion,
be the defining factors of the Omega point? These questions lie at the very heart of The
Hyperion Cantos and they are continuously reinvigorated through overt references to St.
Teilhard’s theory.
However, Teilhard’s religious philosophy becomes even more central to the message of
The Hyperion Cantos when we investigate its covert workings, namely those elements of the
narrative in which his theological musings are enacted, namely love, poetry, and religion.
According to Teilhard de Chardin (266), love is a biological aspect of all life, and it is the
essential energy that pushes the evolution of the conscious universe further. “Driven by the
forces of love, the fragments of the world seek each other so that the world may come to being”
(de Chardin 266-267). A closer look at the preceding subchapters of this chapter on intertextual
religious philosophy should make one thing clear, a Teilhardian understanding of love lies at
the absolute core of the Hyperion Canto’s religious worldview. There we have: Sol Weintraub,
who travels through the whole universe searching for a cure for his daughter’s illness till he
eventually reaches Hyperion — all out of love to Rachel; the Keats cybrids, replications of “the
purest of all poets” (H 214), who find an empathetic connection to the universe and father the
vessel for divine empathy; and the Ousters, a group of angelic alien human beings who have
become one with the natural universe. All three of these examples fit together with Teilhard’s
concept of a universal love (de Chardin 266-267) that will be the final stage of humanity’s (and,
in fact, all consciousness’) evolution. Furthermore, Teilhard argues that there is already a
75
presence of universal love in specific areas of human culture, most importantly “pure religion”
and “pure poetry” (266). Here we have once again two core themes of The Hyperion Cantos
served on a silver plate.
As I have showcased in this chapter, the search for a deep and untainted religious
understanding of the relationship between humanity and God is a central aspect of Hyperion
and The Fall of Hyperion. Discourse regarding this issue is spread out all over the two novels
and is employed to continuously foster a reflective atmosphere. The climax of this search for
pure religion is presented as Sol Weintraub comes to his final realization:
There was room for some sort of God not in the web between the walls, nor in the
singularity cracks in the pavement, nor somewhere out before and beyond the sphere of
things … but in the very warp and woof of things. Evolving as the universe evolved.
Learning as the learning-able parts of the universe learned. Loving as humankind
loved.” (TFOH 493)
Here, once more the religious musings displayed through the actions and thoughts of several
characters converge with the central ideas of Judeo-Christian theology and St. Teilhard’s grand
evolutionary vision. Additionally, love as the most powerful force in the universe (TFOH 492)
is placed as the defining factor of pure religion; the essential aspect of a relationship between
God and humankind; the energy that drives all of consciousness towards a divine existence.
“Pure poetry“ (de Chardin 266) too should ring a loud bell in the avid The Fall of
Hyperion aficionado’s mind. After all, a grand portion of the two novels is dedicated to
reflections on the power of language and literature, and the question of what it means to become
a true poet. As I have showcased, — especially, in the two preceding chapters —, the reader is
confronted with theoretical and metaphysical discourse on literature through the eyes of the
poet Martin Silenus and the Keats cybrids. These artist characters are displayed as having an
intimate relationship with the universe. Martin Silenus is presented as a prophet of literature,
who manages in an exceedingly metaleptic fashion to document the future via his pen. The two
Keats cybrids then are displayed as playing an essential role in the conception of a godly being
of divine empathy and as having a deep connection to all of humanity, both of which is implied
to be based on pure artistic sensibility. This metaphysical portrayal of true literature as a
gateway towards godhood is clearly a mergence of Romantic art philosophy and the theological
understanding of poetry as an instance of universal love put forth by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
As I have showcased in this subchapter, the Teilhardian religious philosophy of a
conscious universe evolving towards godhood defined by love as its core force is one of the
fundamental intertextual aspects of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. I would argue that it is
also the most striking example of literary ennoblement in The Hyperion Cantos, as Simmons
76
utilizes it to foster a highly intricate message regarding high literature, religious and
philosophical discourse, and a critical perspective on contemporary cultural and technological
developments. In the construction of this coherent implied worldview that incorporates all of
these aspects to create a sophisticated piece of Sci-Fi literature that could one day be ranked
among the great literary works of our time shines through.
8. Conclusion
As I have showcased in this paper, intertextuality, metafiction and philosophical discourse have
considerable potential when it comes to the conception of sophisticated SF narratives. Dan
Simmons’ Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion are great examples of how intertextuality and
metafiction can be applied in order to create a fictional world filled with colorful imagery,
boundary transgressing characters, grand revelations, noble gestures, and thought-provoking
discourse. His numerous intertextual connections to other well-known texts, such as the Bible,
Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Yeats’ “The Second Coming”, H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine,
and Gibson’s oeuvre forge a multidimensional textual world, which is subject to constant
change brought upon it by the recipient’s possible interpretations. In particular, the omnipresent
references to Keats’ epic poems “Hyperion” and “The Fall of Hyperion: a Dream” and the
consequent implementation of the ancient Greek mythological story of the fall of the Titans as
a grand allegory for the dangers of humanity’s hubris, constitute quite clearly a celebration of
human artistic ingenuity. Furthermore, the prestigious genre of the artist novel is incorporated
and taken to its logical extreme, as poetry is rendered divine and the poet Martin Silenus
becomes the metaleptic co-creator of his own fictional universe. This boundary transgression
of a character that documents and influences the plot of the novel he himself is a part of shapes
our image of the narrative world, as we are made to envision a universe full of poetic meaning
and structure. Additionally, it continuously reinvigorates paradoxical notions within the novels,
keeping attentive readers guessing and hypothesizing. I would argue that it is exactly the
intelligent way in which such literary devices are employed in the narrative of Hyperion and
The Fall of Hyperion that enables these texts to incorporate a vast amount of intertextuality,
metafiction, and philosophy, without the story becoming pretentious and impenetrable. This is,
particularly the case as reductionist postmodern ideas about literature are left aside, to instead
create a solemn literary experience that pays homage to the great works of humanity’s artistic
history. Thus, rather than simply laying bare the fictionality of The Hyperion Cantos, these
techniques are employed in powerful passages filled with philosophical discourse on the
77
material and spiritual future of the cosmos. Hence, everything, from the hubris of humanity in
its never-ending ambition to create more sophisticated machinations to dominate the universe,
to the search for God that lies at the heart of all religions, to ecological visions of a faraway
future in which humanity might live in harmony with nature, becomes part of a grand literary
vision merging the past with the present and the distant future. In the end, all of this is united
through St. Teilhard’s grand vision of a conscious evolution towards the Omega point, as love,
humanity’s greatest and most powerful emotion, becomes the defining factor of mankind’s
progress towards a better understanding of itself and the universe. In this manner of tackling
complex issues and juxtaposing them with one another to forge an inspiring and thought-
provoking narrative, The Hyperion Cantos have become one of the classic texts of modern SF.
Dan Simmons himself has authored several other such highly sophisticated works of
science fiction, for example, the follow-up novels to The Hyperion Cantos, Endymion and The
Rise of Endymion, and the hugely intertextual and metafictional books Ilium and Olympos.
Furthermore, several other modern SF authors walk on the path towards literary ennoblement
and reach for the heavenly bodies of high literature. For instance, there is Cixin Liu, the shining
star on today’s Chinese SF sky, whose Remembrance of Earth’s Past Trilogy features lengthy
metafictional passages on photography, character creation, and literary analysis. Another author
of SF works who has undisputedly already acquired a significant worldwide reputation is
Haruki Murakami. Novels like Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World and Kafka
on the Shore earned him critical acclaim with their combination of typical SF and cyberpunk
elements and aspects of fantasy and magical realism. Additionally, one author who simply must
be mentioned when talking about high literature modern SF is Margret Atwood. Although her
novels differ considerably from typical works of science fiction, her dystopian visions, like The
Handmaids Tale and Oryx and Crake, with their eerily tangible depictions of technological
progress gone wrong paired with recurring metafiction on storytelling and the cultural
importance of literature are key works of modern SF. Lastly, there is William Gibson, the father
of cyberpunk. Gibson’s works, like the Sprawl Trilogy (also known as Neuromancer Trilogy)
and his Idoru Trilogy are filled with intertextual and metafictional passages and a strong sense
of pastiche, and continue to be a major influence on contemporary SF authors, for example, as
I have showcased, Dan Simmons.
Hopefully, SF authors like Dan Simmons, Cixin Liu, Haruki Murakami, Margret
Atwood, and William Gibson will continue to provide us with artistic musings on the future of
humanity, so that we will not be doomed to stumble through the darkness whilst our societies
are set on a seemingly never-ending trajectory towards ever greater technological advancement
78
and efficiency. After all, progress should always be accompanied by an equal measure of
awareness. May we hope that concerning topics such as the cultural evolution of humanity,
ecological issues like climate change, our religious beliefs, and the seemingly inevitable advent
of powerful AI, the light of Hyperion will keep guiding us on our path towards Omega.
Anon rushed by the bright Hyperion;
His flaming robes streamed out beyond his heels,
And gave a roar, as if of earthly fire,
That scared away the meek ethereal Hours,
And made their dove-wings tremble. On he flared …
(TFOH 517, quoted from Keats’ “The Fall of Hyperion: a Dream”, Canto II ll. 58-62)
9. Bibliography:
1. Alighieri, Dante. (1320/1995). Divina Commedia [The Divine Comedy]. Everyman’s
Library. London
2. Anderson, Porter. (2018). “StatShot Annual Publisher Survey Puts 2017 Estimated US
Revenue at $26.2 Billion”. Publishing Perspectives. Washington. URL:
https://publishingperspectives.com/2018/07/us-statshot-publisher-survey-2017-
estimatesrevenue/#:~:text=Online%20Sales%3A%2043.2%20Percent%20Print%2C%
2027%20Percent%20Ebook&text=The%20top%20line%20offered%20in,2017%2C%
20representing%202.72%20billion%20units. Accessed September 9th, 2020
3. Author unknown. (~1100/2002). Beowulf. Translated by Slade, Benjamin. Online.
https://www.heorot.dk/beowulf-rede-text.html. Accessed on November 2nd, 2020
4. Barrie, J.M. (1911/2014). Peter Pan. Puffin Book. London
5. Barthes, Roland. (1967/2013). “La mort de l'Auteur” [The Death of the Author].
Translated by Richard Howard. URL: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-
Death-of-the-Author-Barthes-Howard/37f1ea1a2a479167792e59cce83f8d8b219f8f3d.
Accessed November 5th, 2020
6. Bishop, Wendy and Starkey, David. (2006). Keywords in Creative Writing. All USU
Press Publications. URL: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/158
7. Bould, Mark and Vint, Sherryl. (2011). The Routledge Concise History of Science
Fiction. Routledge. London and New York
8. Britannica.com. „John Keats“. URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-
Keats. Accessed December 11th, 2020
79
9. Butler, Andrew W. “Postmodernism and science fiction”. In. The Cambridge
Companion to Science Fiction. Ed. James, Edward and Mendlesohn, Farah. Cambridge
University Press. (2003/2004). Pp. 137-148
10. Cavallaro, Dani. Cyberpunk and Cyberculture. London: The Athlone Press, 2000.
11. Chaucer, Geoffrey. (1476/1961). The Canterbury Tales. In. The Works of Geoffrey
Chaucer. Ed. F. N. Robinson. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton.
12. Corcoran, Brendan. „Keats's Death: Towards a Posthumous Poetics“. In. Studies in
Romanticism, Summer, 2009, Vol. 48, No. 2. (Summer, 2009). The Johns Hopkins
University Press. pp. 321- 348. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25602195. Accessed
December 11th, 2020
13. Creator unknown. (1937). De Chardin holds a skull of a Peking man he found in China.
(1937). Digital Image. URL:https://www.ctvnews.ca/china-to-repair-cave-where-
peking-man-fossils-found-1.410939. Accessed December 5th, 2020
14. De Chardin, Pierre Teilhard. (1955/2008). Le Phenomén Humaine [The Phenomenon of
Man]. Harper Collins Publishers. New York
15. Eco, Umberto. ”Innovation & Repetition: Between Modern & Postmodern Aesthetics”
In. Daedalus, Vol. 134, No. 4, 50 Years (Fall, 2005). The MIT Press on behalf of the
American Academy of Arts & Sciences. pp. 191-207
16. Enns, Anthony. "The Poet of the Pulps : Ray Bradbury and the Struggle for Prestige in
Postwar Science Fiction". Belphégor - Littérature populaire et culture médiatique
(2015). URL: http://journals.openedition.org/belphegor/615. Accessed September 4th,
2020
17. Entertainment Software Association. (2018). “US Video Game Industry Revenue
Reaches $36 Billion in 2017”. URL: https://www.theesa.com/press-releases/us-video-
game-industry-revenue-reaches-36-billion-in-
2017/#:~:text=Hardware%20and%20software%20both%20see,ESA)%20and%20The
%20NPD%20Group. Accessed on September 8th, 2020
18. Ferber, Michael. (2010). Romanticism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University
Press. New York
19. Gardner, Sebastian. “The Romantic Metaphysical Ideal of Art”. In. European Journal
of Philosophy, Volume 10. Issue 3. (December 2002). UK. London
20. Garland, Judy. “Over the Rainbow”. The Wizard of Oz. Composed by Arlen, Harold.
Lyrics by Harburg, E.Y. Leo Feist Inc, 1939.
80
URL:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSZxmZmBfnU. Accessed on October 12th,
2020
21. Garland, Judy/ Lahr, Bert/ Ebsen, Buddy and Bolger, Ray. “We’re Off to See the Wizard
of Oz”. The Wizard of Oz. Composed by Arlen, Harold. Lyrics by Harburg, E.Y. Leo
Feist Inc, 1939. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm3ypbAbLJ8. Accessed
on October 12th, 2020
22. Gibson, William. (1982/2016). “Burning Chrome”. In Gibson, William. Burning
Chrome. London: Gollancz. P. 179-204
23. Greekmythology.com.“Silenus”.URL:https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Creat
ures/Silenus/silenus.html. Accessed October 12th, 2020
24. Halsman, Philippe. (1950/72). Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Digital Image.
URL:http://www.artnet.com/artists/philippe-halsman/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-
JX_vRzdSoyCQKz_LfvUDcA2. Accessed December 5th, 2020
25. Hrsg. v. Broich, Ulrich / Pfister, Manfred. (1985/2011). Intertextualität: Formen,
Funktionen, anglistische Fallstudien. De Gruyter
26. Keats, John. (1818/2015) “Hyperion”. In. Keats‘ Hyperion. FB & c. Ltd. London
27. ---. (1819) “The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream”.
URL: https://johnkeats.uvic.ca/poem_hyperion_a_dream_canto_i.html (Canto I) and
https://johnkeats.uvic.ca/poem_hyperion_a_dream_canto_ii.html (Canto II) Accessed
on November December 14th, 2020
28. ---.”The day Is gone, and all its sweets are gone!”. (1819). URL:
https://allpoetry.com/Sonnet.-The-Day-Is-Gone. Accessed on November 10th, 2020
29. ---.“ "This living hand, now warm and capable". (1819). URL
https://poets.org/poem/living-hand Accessed on November 10th, 2020
30. ---. (1899). The Complete Poetical Works and Letters of John Keats. Cambridge Edition.
The Riverside Press. Cambridge. England.
URL: https://library.um.edu.mo/ebooks/b31333084.pdf. Accessed on December 9th,
2020
31. ---. ”Lamia”. (1820/2008). URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2490/2490-h/2490-
h.htm. Accessed on October 12th, 2020
32. Milliot, Jim. (2018). “Sales of Print Books Increased, Slightly, in 2017”. Publishers
Weekly.URL:https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-
news/publisher-news/article/75735-sales-of-print-books-increased-slightly-in-
2017.html. Accessed on September 8th, 2020
81
33. Milton, John. (1667/1975). Paradise Lost. ed. Elledge, Scott. Norton & Company. New
York-London
34. Palmer, Christopher. “Galactic Empires and the Contemporary Extravaganza: Dan
Simmons and Iain M. Banks”. In. Source: Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1, On
Science Fiction and Queer Theory (March 1999). SF-TH Inc. pp. 73-90
35. Poetryfoundation.org. „John Keats“.
URL: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-keats. Accessed December 11th,
2020
36. Puschmann-Nalenz. (1992). Science Fiction and Postmodern Fiction. Peter Lang
Publishing, Inc. New York.
37. Reynolds, Ian. (2018). ”The Gravestone of John Keats: Romancing the Stone”.
URL:https://wordsworth.org.uk/blog/2018/04/16/the-gravestone-of-john-keats-
romancing-the-stone/. Accessed December 15th, 2020
38. Roberts, Adam. (2016). The History of Science Fiction. Second Edition. Palgrave
Macmillan. London
39. Senior, W.A. “Dan Simmons's Hyperion Cantos: The Fantasy Within”. In. Hungarian
Journal of English and American Studies (HJEAS), Vol. 18, No. 1/2, Lifelong Search
for Meaning: Special Double Issue in Honor Of Professor Donald E. Morse (Spring-
Fall, 2012). Centre for Arts, Humanities and Sciences (CAHS). pp. 213-226
40. Shelley, Mary. (1818/2016). Frankenstein. Arcturus Publishing Limited. London
41. Simmons, Dan (1989). Hyperion. Doubleday. USA
42. Simmons, Dan (1990). The Fall of Hyperion. Doubleday. USA
43. Scholes, Robert (1970). “Metafiction”. The Iowa Review 1.4: p. 100-115.
44. Stein, Atara. “Fictionalized Romantics: Byron, Shelley, and Keats as Characters in
Contemporary Genre Fiction”. In. Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, Vol. 13, No. 4.
(52) (2003). International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts. pp. 379-388
45. Su, Yujie. „Greek Mythology in 18th-to-19th English Romantic Poetry“. In. Open
Access Library Journal (OALibJ) , Volume 3 (2016). Wenzhou University, Wenzhou,
China; and Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea.
URL:https://m.scirp.org/papers/69757#:~:text=Those%20romantic%20poets%20were
%20inspired,freedom%20in%20nature%20or%20art.&text=But%20two%20generatio
ns%20of%20romantic,needs%20further%20reading%20and%20exploration. Accessed
December 5th, 2020
46. The Wizard of Oz. Directed by Victor Fleming. Loew's Inc. 1939.
82
47. Theoi.com. “Mnemosyne”.
URL:https://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanisMnemosyne.html#:~:text=As%20a%20Tita
n%20daughter%20of,before%20the%20introduction%20of%20writing.&text=Finally
%20Mnemosyne%20was%20a%20minor%20oracular%20goddess%20like%20her%2
0sister%2DTitanesses. Accessed. December 15th, 2020
48. Van Hise, Charles R. “John Muir”. In. Science, Feb. 2, 1917, New Series, Vol. 45, No.
1153. (Feb. 2, 1917). pp. 103-109. American Association for the Advancement of
Science. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1641544. Accessed December 5th, 2020
49. Waugh, Patricia (1984). Metafiction –The Theory and Practice of Self-Conscious
Fiction. Routledge. New York
50. Wells, H.G. (1895/2017). The Time Machine. Harper Collins. London
51. Westfahl, Gary. “Space opera”. In. The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction. Ed.
James, Edward and Mendlesohn, Farah. Cambridge University Press. (2003/2004). pp.
197-208
52. Wolf, Werner. (2009). Metareference across Media: Theory and Case Studies. ed.
Werner Wolf in collaboration with Katharina Bantleon and Jeff Thoss. Rodopi. New
York
53. ---- (2020).” Aesthetic Illusion and the Breaking of Illusion in Ancient Literature?”
Norbert Bachleitner/Achim Hölter/ John McCarthy, eds. Taking Stock: Twenty-five
years of Comparative Literature research. AFAVL (Internationale Forschung zur
Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft 200). Leiden: Brill. 341-371, p.
363.
54. Yeats, Butler William. (1920). “The Second Coming”. Taken from
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43290/the-second-coming.Accessed
November 19th, 2020
55. ---.(1921). “A Prayer for my Daughter”. Taken from: A Prayer for my Daughter by W.
B. Yeats - Poems | poets.org. Accessed December 5th, 2020