Theme of Temperance in The Faeirie Queene
The themes of temperance, that being the employment of restraint, or at least moderation, especially in the yielding to personal appetites or desires, and of intemperance, the submitting to such desires, pervade Book Two of The Faeirie Queene. Prior to describing individual rooms within the Castle of Alma, it is useful to briefly discuss how the idea of the castle functions within the Book. Spenser compares the towers of the structure with towers at Thebes and Troy, which stand as monuments to individual According to Berger, Alma's Castle functions as an 'archetype of human temperance'; Spenser specifically describes the building in terms of the human body, relating it to Christian teachings; in the first canto, he states:
Of all Gods workes, which do this world adorn,
There is no one more faire and excellent,
Then is mans body both for powre and form,
Whiles it is kept in sobre government...
Spenser's statement borrows from the polemic of St. Augustine, which states 'there is no need... that in our sins and vices we accuse the nature of the flesh to the injury of the creator, for in its own kind and degree the flesh is good.' (Berger) Alma's castle represents this 'good flesh'. Throughout canto IX the reader is shown that the inordinate uses of the flesh, intemperance, that permeate all other cantos of book II, are not the only possible uses of the flesh, as represented by the actions of Guyo.
Concerning the interior of the castle, the Kitchen is described in detail, in terms which can be directly related ...
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...; ...some could not abide to toy, All pleasance was to them briefe and annoy: This fround, that faund, the third for shame did blush, Another seemed envious, or coy, Another in her teeth did gnaw a rush. (Stanza 35)
Throughout Book II Guyon is seen to exert his aversion to pleasure, as he crushes and smashes the illusions of intemperance in canto XII, and shrugs off temptations in canto VII. Here, in Alma's parlour, these temptations, the passions, are also present, however they are subdued, natural and not corrupting. Whilst still seen as flaws in man, they are accepted; as in all things, moderation is the key. As Berger comments, whereas Guyon rejects passions as 'unbefitting an excellent man, here they are not considered as a negative.
"They turn casually to look at you, distracted, and get a mild distracted surprise, you're gone. Their blank look tells you that the girl they were fucking is not there anymore. You seem to have disappeared.(pg.263)" In Minot's story Lust you are play by play given the sequential events of a fifteen year old girls sex life. As portrayed by her thoughts after sex in this passage the girl is overly casual about the act of sex and years ahead of her time in her awareness of her actions. Minot's unique way of revealing to the reader the wild excursions done by this young promiscuous adolescent proves that she devalues the sacred act of sex. Furthermore, the manner in which the author illustrates to the reader these acts symbolizes the likeness of a list. Whether it's a list of things to do on the weekend or perhaps items of groceries which need to be picked up, her lust for each one of the boys in the story is about as well thought out and meaningful as each item which has carelessly and spontaneously been thrown on to a sheet of paper as is done in making a list. This symbolistic writing style is used to show how meaningless these relationships were but the deeper meaning of why she acted the way she did is revealed throughout the story. Minot cleverly displayed these catalysts in between the listings of her relationships.
In William Golding’s “Lord Of The Flies”, a group of boys is stranded on an island that completely changes them. The boys turn totally different from how they act from society as if they were putting on masks. It’s not just the boys that wear masks, but a lot of people try to hide from other people. What a mask does is that it hides a person’s trait and shows something completely different. I have made a mask like one of the boys, Ralph, that tries to show that he’s a leader, but hides a different personality. Here are some of the qualities of my mask.
There are any kinds of masks. There is the story; the masks are the masks that tell
Primary source: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls pages (68, 112, 280, 180-181, 225, 212-213)
Throughout his life... was a man self-haunted, unable to escape from his own drama, unable to find any window that would not give him back the image of himself. Even the mistress of his most passionate love-verses, who must (one supposes) have been a real person, remains for him a mere abstraction of sex: a thing given. He does not see her --does not apparently want to see her; for it is not of her that he writes, but of his relation to her; not of love, but of himself loving.
An act of infidelity was no disgrace, always provided that one preserved the form of polite society…Any knight who contented himself with wedding a virgin before himself having grown practiced in adultery and carried off several trophies of the chase was unworthy of his spurs. Adultery was a social diversion for the upper classes. A knight had to have a lady whom he worshiped…Church and state tolerated the adulterous relationship…It was the thing to choose a celestial patroness…(1)
Gies, Frances, et. al. Life in a Medieval Castle. New York: Thomas Crowell Company, 1974.
Did you know that Henry I was the first monarch to use Windsor Castle as a home? During his reign, the wooden keep and walls were replaced with stone and served as a stronger structure for the castle to survive upon. Windsor Castle has housed many kings and queens throughout its lifetime, and has become a monument in England’s history. It has been refurbished over the years, but still has remained with the same layout. The interior is the extent of the changes made around the castle over its lifetime, besides the walls being substituted with stone.
The importance of costume in the theatre cannot be rated too highly, for it is not only an outward and immediately visible medium of expression for the actor himself but it is significant of the dramatic values which he is suppose to portray (Brooke, 1). The colors, texture and shape of a costume can create a feeling of the character that the actor may not be able to portray. There is not any definite information on what exactly the Greeks used for costumes because so much time has elapsed since the original records were taken. Most information is based on the different artifacts that were found, such as paintings and pottery. Sometimes hints of what was worn could be found in the plays themselves.
A strong example of this flattery is seen in line 297, “What say’st thou, noble heart....
“… gave details of the house: it was white with black doors fitted with iron bars; four rooms were stuccoed, but other parts were less finished; the front floor was stone slabs. She loc...
Antonio that he will take a pound of flesh if the money is not repaid
“If half thy outward graces had been placed upon thy thoughts and counsels of thy heart! But fair the well, most foul, most fair. Farewell, the pure and impiety and impious purity. For the I’ll lock up all the gates of love and on my eyelids shall conjecture heading to turn ...
Antonio and Shylock are both successful entrepreneurs in Venice but they both have different attitudes and experiences. When Antonio is asking Shylock for the loan he says, “Within these two months – that’s a month before this bond expires – I do expect, return of thrice times the value of this bond.” (1.3.169-170). Antonio and Shylock both are well off and successful businessmen. Antonio, being a man who is treats everyone nicely, lends his good name to Bassanio to woo Portia. Shylock on the other hand, could never do that and is a very greedy man who asks for three times the value of the loan. Also, Antonio is a risk taker and thinks things will always go the right way for him and his success will continue, which is shown when he accepts the high interest rate and the bizarre payment if the money isn’t received. Shylock handles his business straightforward and charges interest because it is his job, although being a very high amount and if it isn’t carried out, Shylock gets his payment of one pound of flesh. Shylock is depicted as the greedy businessman while Antonio is the nice man who tries his luck.