Friday, November 28, 2014
Augustine
http://www.transpositions.co.uk/2013/08/the-senses-are-not-content-to-take-second-place-body-art-and-temptation-in-augustines-confessions/
Augustine's Confessions
Augustine’s Confessions is an autobiography of Augustine’s life. He wrote it in the years of 397 to 430. It consisted of him retelling many parts and
specific stories of his life. He was a highly
religious Christian towards the end of his time and confessed many of his sins
and negative thoughts in the work.
The genre of the confessions is non-fiction and one
of the main themes is God and Augustine tells of his conversion to Christianity. The first book accounting his childhood
begins focusing on God. “What have I to
say to Thee, God, save that I know not where I came from, when I came into this
life-in-death—or should I call it death-in-life? I do not know, I only know
that the gifts Your mercy has provided sustained me from the first moment: not
that I remember it but so I have heard from the parents of my flesh, the father
from whom, and the mother in whom, You fashioned me in time.” This first section in his work illustrates
his focus on God and Christianity.
Throughout the text he views himself as a sinner,
specifically the pear tree incident where him and some friends stole pears off
a tree and threw them to hogs. He
states, “Our only pleasure in doing it was that it was forbidden.” The whole work is a confession of his
wrongdoings in an apologetic standpoint.
Augustine refers to God in his work closely and intimately. I found the pear tree incident comparable to
that of current times. I argue similar
situations are present today among both children and adults. He states, “For once I had gathered them I
threw them away, tasting only my own sin and savoring that with delight; for if
I took so much as a bite of any of those pears, it was the sin that sweetened
it.” People often act out of impulse and do something or disobey authority
“just to do it”.
I found Augustine’s
Confessions very interesting in the reality of it and coming straight from
the source of one man’s account of his own life and personal experiences and
feelings. Augustine says, “I came to
Carthage where a cauldron of illicit loves leapt and boiled about me. I was not
yet in love, but I was in love with love, and from the very depth of my need
hated myself for not more keenly feeling the need.” While reading the text, I appreciated his honesty
and the detailed description of his feelings.
His honesty and trueness in his work makes it relatable to today despite
how long ago Augustine lived and when the confessions were written.
Question
for the class:
·
List some
comparisons of the work to modern culture. How Augustine acted? How he felt? Are
there any types of work that closely compare to the his confessions?
·
List some
differences to modern culture.
·
List some
recurring themes
·
Do some research
and find more information about Augustine. What was the culture like? Was he
ever persecuted for his religion?
Work Cited
Puchner, Martin.
"Augustine’s Confessions" The Norton Anthology: World Literature.
Shorter Third Ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 832-858.
Print.
Daodejing by Laozi
The
Daodejing is an old Chinese text that was produced during the sixth through the
third centuries. The author is not
entirely known but is said to be Laozi, a master. The work is an instruction manual to the
people on how to rule and gain power and success. It is based on “nonaction” and passiveness. The chapters are in rhythmic verses and it is
of a philosophical genre. The genre of
the text evokes that of mysterious instruction and deep thinking.
I found the text very interesting in the way of the
unknown. The first time I read through
it, I found it strangely complicated and confusing but then once I read the
introduction and learned some of the background on it, I found it easier and
more enjoyable to read. As I went on, I
appreciated the simplicity and language of the text. For example, in the XXXVIII chapter it
states, “A man of the highest virtue does not keep to virtue and that is why he
has virtue. A man of the lowest virtue never strays from virtue and that is why
he is without virtue.” The way I
interpreted this section was relating to being humble and not searching and
constantly striving for virtue and esteem.
I argue, instruction similar to this text exists today. Words of wisdom continue to be passed down
through word of mouth and in religious texts.
One thing I found odd in the text was the reference
to “The Way” and “The Virtue”. I found
the text interesting due to how different it was. I have little background in ancient
literature and the Daodejing was unlike anything I have read before. As I studied the text, I found the text
artful and beautiful in its language and simplicity.
One term that came up several times in the text was
myriad, linked with creatures. I have
seen this word before; however, I did not know the meaning. I looked it up and it is defined as great,
many or infinite in number. One place
myriad is used in one of the chapters is, “The way is empty, yet use will not
drain it. Deep, it is like the ancestor of the myriad creatures.” In this section, I considered it to be
referring to the predecessor of innumerable creatures.
Question
for the class:
·
How does this
text compare to current works of literature of our culture?
·
Lists some symbolism
within the work?
·
How do you view
the instruction and behavior the text suggests? Do you agree or disagree with
teachings?
·
List some
differences to modern culture.
·
How does Chinese
literature that is produced today compare to the Daodejing?
·
Do some research
and find more information about the authors of the text? Who? Why? When?
Work Cited
"Myriad."
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/myriad>.
Puchner, Martin.
"Daodejing/ Laozi." The Norton Anthology: World Literature.
Shorter Third Ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 780-790.
Print.
The Trojan Women - Modern Take of the Play - Movie Released 1971
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067881/
The Trojan Women By Euripides
The Trojan Women by Euripides is an ancient masterpiece that
shamelessly depicts the tragedy of war.
The play was released in the year 415 B.C and it is based on the
Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta and focuses on the suffering of the
Trojan women and children held captive by the Greeks following the fall of
their city. Euripides proves to be an
artist in his writing by the way he describes the situations and illustrates
the emotions of the characters. Based on
the play, Euripides views war negatively and holds the women as outstanding and
just.
Work Cited
Grene, David.
"The Trojan Women." Euripides III; Hecuba, Andromache, the Trojan
Woman, Ion,. Vol. VI. New York: Random House, 1958. 206-264. Print.
Puchner, Martin.
"Euripides: Medea." The Norton Anthology: World Literature.
Shorter Third ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 525-528.
Print.
Reader Response: Metamorphoses by Ovid
Metamorphoses by Ovid is a beautifully written piece of
literature that is both interesting and thought provoking. Metamorphoses
is a collection of physical transformations.
It first begins with a description of the creation of the earth and then
includes several stories of accounts of love and passion gone wrong. I found this text quite enjoyable and
entertaining due to the detailed descriptions, the beautiful language and the
fascinating tales. Most of all I really
appreciated the language of this poem.
One particular quote from the text I found beautifully explained was in
the description of the creation of the earth, “Now when that god (whichever one
it was) had given chaos form, dividing it in parts which he arranged, he molded
earth into the shape of an enormous globe, so that it would be uniform
throughout.” All through the text, Ovid
tells the stories artfully. He is very
descriptive in his writings and evokes the feelings of the characters well.
Overall, I found the reading
understandable and reasonably easy to follow.
One thing that was interesting to me was the focus on the rape of
women. It made me wonder if that was a
common occurrence in that time. The
introduction of the text tells of the hypocrisy of the Roman sexual customs and
etiquette. It states that the main way
Rome was supplied with offspring was through the rape of Sabine women. I found this text relatable in the
description of love, feelings and desires.
People in modern culture still have the same feelings of love towards
others. One things that particularly
relates to today is the taboo of incest.
The incestuous relationship between Myrrha and her father Cinyras was
referred to as evil and breaking Nature’s law.
This social rule of abstaining from incest still remains in most
cultures today.
Metamorphoses
is made up of fifteen books and was written around 8 C.E. Ovid was a Roman poet who lived from 43
B.C.E. to 17 C.E. The genre of his
writings was epic poetry and the main topics he wrote about were relationships,
sex and retelling of myths. Ovid’s
poetry is well known and influenced many in the Middle Ages and in the
Renaissance.
I thought the reading was very
interesting and different compared to other things I have read. The main focus of Metamorphoses is “change”
with there being a collection of stories rather than having one main character. I enjoyed reading the poems because they had
an interesting story line and the dramatic change of the characters. There were no particular terms I had to look
up or was confused by; however, the footnotes were very helpful.
Questions
for the class
·
List some similarities or
reoccurrences of characters from other readings we have done in class.
·
Did you find any symbolism within
the story?
·
List some comparisons of the
story to modern culture.
·
List some differences to modern
culture.
·
What was the significance of the
metamorphoses associated with love gone badly?
Work Cited
Puchner, Martin.
"Euripides: Medea." The Norton Anthology: World Literature.
Shorter Third ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 525-564.
Print.
Catullus at Lesbia's by Sir Laurence Alma Tadema
http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/tadema/paintings/5.html
Catullus (84-54 B.C.E)
Catullus was an ancient poet who was born into an aristocratic family in Italy. His poems refer to his lovers, enemies and mention the great female Greek poet, Sappho. He talks about his uninterest towards Caesar and is known to be an anti political writer.
Work Cited
Puchner, Martin.
"Catullus." The Norton Anthology: World Literature.
Shorter Third ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 565-572. Print.
Reader Response: Medea by Euripides
Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy that depicts the pain
and passion of love and relationships in this case the horrific consequences of
a scorned woman. Medea was written by Euripides and was first performed in the year
431 B.C.E. One thing that made me want
to keep reading was the transformation of Medea’s feelings and character. In the beginning Medea is feeling completely
helpless and wishes death upon herself but as the story continues her feelings morph
into anger and desperation. Throughout
the play my feelings shift from pity to anger and disgust as she begins
unmercifully murdering others to get back at Jason. Medea
proved to be a horrific yet entertaining piece of literature that kept me
interested throughout the whole story.
One thing I found odd in the text was Medea’s
ability to convince Pelias’ daughters to boil him alive in order to make him
immortal. I thought about this and considered
the several references to magic and witchcraft.
One reason why I think the daughters might have believed Medea was because
she very persuasive and was skilled in magic so it made a little sense to me
that the daughters believed her considering the circumstances. On the other hand, I found the quarrel
between Medea and Jason was easily comparable to our culture. Their responses to each other were typical to
many current breakups. Medea was listing
all the things she did for Jason and then Jason brushed it off and tried to
justify his behavior by making excuses and offering her money. At one point he responds with, “I won’t
discuss this with you any further. If you’d like me to help you and the
children with money for your exile, then just say so.” I found the whole breakup situation and their
arguing quite comparable and prevalent in many current relationships.
The introduction in the text tells
us some information about the author.
Euripides was well known in his time being one of the three famous
Athenian tragedians whose work still survives from that time period. He lived from 480-406 B.C.E. and wrote many
plays but only won first prize for four of them. Euripides wrote how things were and often
questioned the gods and Greek myths resulting in him being quite controversial
during his time. We know from the culture that it was a time for wealth and
success for Athens at that time due to the defeat of the Persians. The genre of Medea can be categorized as a Greek tragedy.
Overall, I found the text as a disastrous
love story in the ancient Greek culture.
I considered it a fairly easy read; however, I did look up the meaning
of the terms strophe and antistrophe.
Strophe is defined as “the part of an ancient Greek choral ode sung by
the chorus when moving from right to left.”
Antistrophe is the response to the previous strophe by the chorus. These two terms related to the chorus of the
story. Throughout the plot, the chorus
comes in and out stating their opinions on the current situations. In some parts of the story, they sympathize
with Medea and in others they strongly disagree with her actions.
One thing I found interesting in the story of Medea
was how relatable it is to our current culture.
The story begins in a state of distress with the nurse wishing things
would not have happened the way they did and describing Medea’s internal
turmoil. Medea is in major suffering due
to Jason leaving her for the princess of Corinth. The nurse describes Medea’s current state,
“She won’t touch food; surrendering to pain, she melts away her days in tears,
ever since she learned of this injustice. She won’t raise her face; her eyes
are glued to the ground. Friends talk to her, try to give her good advice; she
listens the way a rock does, or an ocean wave.”
This statement describes the utter defeat and worthlessness Medea is
feeling. She is so broken by the loss
and betrayal of her husband that in the end she ends up doing awful things just
to get back at him. I found this story
and the description of Medea’s feelings quite comparable to modern times. Even though this text was written so long ago
I would argue little has changed in the feelings and behavior of people
concerning love and relationships. You
often hear of the people doing terrible things to spouses and family members
even today. It reminded me that people
are people and the play of Medea depicts that the current generation still shares
very similar experiences and feelings to those in history.
Question
for the class:
·
If the story
went on what do you think would happen to Medea? Would the gods punish her?
·
Did you find any
symbolism within the story?
·
List some
comparisons of the story to modern culture.
·
List some
differences to modern culture.
·
Do some research
and how did divorce work in that culture? What was the process and what were
the social and financial consequences for the man and the woman?
Work Cited
"Antistrophe."
Dictionary.com. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/antistrophe>.
Puchner, Martin.
"Euripides: Medea." The Norton Anthology: World Literature.
Shorter Third ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 525-564. Print.
"Strophe."
Dictionary.com. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/strophe>.
Sappho
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/10607569/A-new-Sappho-poem-is-more-exciting-than-a-new-David-Bowie-album.html
Sappho: Incomplete Poems
http://treasures.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/Fragment-of-a-Lyric-by-Sappho
Many of Sappho's poems are incomplete and are only fragments due to the deterioration of materials and the length of time ago they were produced.
Many of Sappho's poems are incomplete and are only fragments due to the deterioration of materials and the length of time ago they were produced.
Sappho (630 B.C.E)
Sappho is an ancient Greek poet who is was born on the island of Lesbos, off the Asia Minor. She referred to same-sex relationships in her work and her poems inspired the development of the modern term lesbian. We know little of that time period concerning of the attitudes towards Sappho and how she was viewed in a very male dominated society. Sappho's poems were meant to be acted out in plays, not meant to be read in a book. Her poems are intense and very emotional, often referring to strong feelings of love, hate and desire.
Work Cited
Puchner, Martin.
"Sappho" The Norton Anthology: World Literature.
Shorter Third ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 467-474.
Print.
The Mask of Agamemnon?
An archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann discovered this mask and claims it is the death mask of Agamemnon and dates it back to the time of The Illiad.
http://homepages.wmich.edu/~johnsorh/Myth/not.mycmask.html
http://homepages.wmich.edu/~johnsorh/Myth/not.mycmask.html
The Illiad: The Wooden Horse
A depiction of the wooden horse that lead to the fall of Troy.
http://fantasy-faction.com/2013/foundations-of-fantasy-the-iliad
The Illiad by Homer
Class Notes
- We don't really know who Homer was. He was possibly a foreigner. The style of the writing indicates one author.
- In Medias Res - meaning in the middle of things. Book I of The Illiad begins in the middle of war after ten years of battle. Many things are assumed to be known of that culture.
- Kleos - honor/reputation, street credentials, spiritual
- Xenia - quest, friendship, reciprocation
- Chryse - place
- Chryses - priest
- Chrseis - daughter
Other Names for the Greeks
- Achaens
- Danaans
- Myrmidons
- Argives
Other References for the Characters
- Achilles - fleet footed, the runner
- Hera - white-armed
- Athena - grey eyed
- Hector - horse breaker
Work Cited
Puchner, Martin.
"Homer: The Illiad." The Norton Anthology: World Literature.
Shorter Third ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 121-177.
Print.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Gilgamesh and Enkidu
http://www.learner.org/courses/worldlit/gilgamesh/explore/slideshow.html#slideshow_2
Gilgemesh and Enkidu Slay the Great Giant Humbaba
http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/world/mideast/mi-wtst.htm
Tablet XI of Gilgamesh Located at the British Museum
<http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/t/the_flood_tablet.aspx>.
The Epic of Gilgamesh (1900-250 B.C.E)
The epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamia piece of literature and is one of the earliest known works of the world. The author is unknown and records show the story was passed along gradually over time. The tale consists of king Gilgamesh of Uruk and his search for immortality. He is defined as "two-thirds divine and one-third human". The epic tracks Gilgamesh's transformation from a abominable and cruel king in the beginning to a thoughtful and esteemed ruler. Along the way he meets a wild man named Enkidu and they grow to be close friends. The two men, battle beasts and face many trials along their adventure. Some themes of the story include power, love, sex, gods and death. The story of Gilgamesh is a gripping ancient masterpiece that is a must read!
Work Cited
Puchner, Martin.
"The Epic of Gilgamesh" The Norton Anthology: World Literature.
Shorter Third
Ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 33-88. Print.
Ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 33-88. Print.
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