Is Muse for Real?

Muse is an integral constituent of the creative world. Artists, writers, sculptors and actors seek its blessings regularly. Interestingly, muse is not a mystical shower of ideas but a tangible source of inspiration, of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something which results in creative brilliance. Whether it is engrossing literature, hyper realistic paintings or superlative acting, every performing and non-performing art depends on it.

When the muse strikes at the right time and in the right avatar, magic happens, resulting in the genesis of incredible works. These are etched in the history for their uniqueness.

So, what exactly is a muse?

The question might sound idiosyncratic because most of us believe that “muse” is a person. However, it is not true. Muse changes its hues and colors depending on its solicitation. For example, as a verb it means “to ponder”. When a person ruminates upon a specific aspect of creative or noncreative thought it is termed as “musing”.

When this word is used as a noun, it means a human being, especially the fairer sex, and this is where it suffers yet another identity crisis. The reason being that muse could be anyone and anything. It could be nature, music … anything which enhances an artist’s creative quotient.

A muse simply inspires and influences!

Then why do we relate muse with women, especially women with unmatched beauty, intellect and substance. The answer lies in Greek mythology. The folklore mentions nine muses or goddesses who ruled over the arts and sciences, and offered inspiration in those domains. These women were daughters of Zeus the Lord of all Gods and Mnemosyne the Goddess of memory.

One needs to understand that memory played an important role back then as there were no tools like books or paper to record creative scribbling. No wonder then, Mnemosyne, a Titaness was looked up to by scores of imaginative individuals. Mentioned below are the names of nine muses and the artistic element synonymous with them.

Calliope – Epic poetry.
Clio – History.
Erato – Love poetry.
Euterpe – Music.
Melpomene – Tragedy.
Polyhymnia – Sacred poetry.
Terpsichore – Dance.
Thalia – Comedy.
Urania – Astronomy.

We can court with the above muses anytime, especially when we fail to come up with compelling content. Whether it is pen, paint or performance, every art form needs a muse for a successful culmination. Incidentally, muse cannot be forced to oblige. It strikes at the most unexpected time. And when it does it offers dramatic moments of insight. It turns into a source of creative energy that manifests, evolves and flows through the veins of the creator.

So, the next time you run short of inspiration, invoke one of the muses. You may or may not be obliged.