Attempt to define Epiphany from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

So in an attempt to keep with Professor Sexson’s suggestion that we start with the details and form a general definition from that I figured that I would begin with actual passages from the book, try and figure out what each individual passage is saying about epiphany and then try to form those ideas into a more cohesive definition. So, here it goes a list of passages and my thoughts on them hopefully followed by some sort of rough idea of what exactly an epiphany entails.


1. The first clear sign of an epiphanic moment I saw in the chapter was on page 121 when both Mole and Rat are in the boat. The line goes, “Then a change began slowly to declare itself. The horizon became clearer, field and tree came more into sight, and somehow with a different look; the mystery began to drop away from them.”

These lines suggest in such a beautiful way not a complete moment of clarity but instead a process of elucidation where surroundings are suddenly seen better

2. “O, Mole! The beauty of it! The merry bubble and joy, the thin, clear happy call of the distant piping! Such music I never dreamed of and the call in it is stronger even than the music is sweet! Row on, Mole row! For the music and the call must be for us.”(Page 122)

The way that Rat remarks that “the call must be for us” made me think that maybe an epiphany is not just a great illumination or understanding but maybe also an illumination of a direction or a call toward a specific course. So instead of my original view of epiphany as a moment maybe it is also a movement, a pull forward towards some sort of further revelation?

3.“Breathless and transfixed the Mole stopped rowing as the liquid run of that glad piping broke on him like a wave, caught him up, and possessed him utterly. He saw the tears on his comrade’s cheeks, and bowed his head and understood. For a space they hung there, brushed by the purple loosestrife that fringed the bank; then the clear imperious summons that marched hand-in-hand with the intoxicating melody imposed its will on Mole, and mechanically he bent to his oars again. And the light grew steadily stronger, but no birds sang as they were wont to do at the approach of dawn; and but for the heavenly music all was marvelously still.”(Page 123)

A few different parts of this passage particularly stuck out to me and added to my own definition of epiphany. In specific the description of an epiphany as something forceful and invasive and almost controlling with phrases such as “possessed him utterly” and “imposed its will” were new to my original idea of epiphany. This passage changed an epiphany to me from just an experience of incredible awe and clarity to a moment and feeling so overwhelmingly engulfing that one has no choice but to become completely absorbed by it, whether they want to or not.

So from the chapter as a whole and from looking at some specific passages I have come to view an epiphany as not only a feeling but also a force. Something so powerful it cannot be ignored (and should not be ignored) as it seemingly completely overtakes the person (or rat or mole) who is experiencing it. A point in time where “the mystery begins to drop away” and a moment of such complete illumination and clarity occurs that the way towards what you seek is undeniable. It would also seem that this specific sensation is full of feeling “wonderfully as peace and happy” while still remaining powerless against its greatness. I have a feeling that as this class goes on this very rough, working definition will grow from a few lines to a few paragraphs that will hopefully become a bit clearer than this. Overall from what I can tell and epiphany is something so contained within one’s own mind and experience that it is simply indescribable.