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themes in greek literature
historical fiction analysis
themes in greek literature
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Myth Story Rough Draft
The castle was a silhouette in the setting Truculentus Sun, its gold walls matching the liquid gold of the still fervent globe. In the castle, past the rattle of cooks, tailors and servants sat Vetus, king of the Truculentiens, savior of the people. His physical demeanor was contradictory to his power: While during his prime, he was a ruthless leader, obliterating all who were in his interest, today he sat in a pathetic heap. His ninety-nine year old body failed to support the weight of the gold he was wearing, his bald head was covered liver spots, which was still evident despite it being covered in a salty concoction that distantly resembled sweat. He coughed and fell to the floor.
In the castle grounds, a handsome, suave man pulled his long blond curls out of his metal laced helmet. His smile cried Irene, but his eyes betrayed Poseidon. Standing at six foot two inches, his voluminous muscles trembled as he shakily read the the scribbled writing on the scroll. The peace negotiations with the city state Sapientia had taken a toll on Old King Vetus’ once steel heart. As his son, he was to take over the entire kingdom. He got onto his horse and trotted to the the castle. As he thought of all the people that he was now in charge of and what they stood for, war and violence, he was reminded of how sick it all was, the blood, the heartlessness, the suffering. He was now a the supreme symbol of all that. Suddenly, his teeth ground and his forehead wrinkled as King Exspes struggled to control his anger. His feet pressed against his horse, and the rural landscape blurred into a sea of blues and greens. People, horses, carts, buildings are were just blots on a canvass.
Exspes’ knuckles tapped feverishly and pe...
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...s. Everything was a blur of red, the red of the enemies uniforms and the red of his men's blood. He saw a blur and shot, then another and another. Then, there was a gasp. Everyone around him stopped and gazed at what was happening. His own wife had been covered by blood and he had shot her. He gave a cry, and then The Great Highness Exspes, king of the Truculentiens, savior of the people, fell to his knees.
Of course Truculentus, the great city of war eventualy defeated Sapientia and the kings were set to meet at the now defenseless castle. Poor Exspes was inconsolable and had to be dragged to the ceremony. When taking his enemies sword, Exspes embraced him, about to break down. On his way back to the ship, he kissed the bloodsoaked land which he had unknowingly murdered his wife. As he left sobbing, the blood rose out of the ground and became the pomegranate tree.
In this paper, I will argue that although the surface meaning of this passage is the slaughter of the suitors by Odysseus and his men, the deeper meaning of the passage is the
Aeschylus’ tragic trilogy, the only play to survive from Ancient Greece, repeatedly calls our attention upon a central concept of justice: justice as revenge. This is a relatively simple concept, with a powerful emotional appeal, linking vengeance to the family and their feelings for each other and for their collective honor. However, one must look past this superficial theme in order to fully appreciate and understand the depth and beauty of Aeschylus’ work, and regard it as a philosophical investigation into the concepts of justice rather than a great artistic fiction or a poetic exploration. The former approach is unfortunate because the Oresteia is not a rational argument. It is, on the other hand, an artistic exploration of abstract and theoretical issues. What matters in this case is the complexity of the feeling that emerges from the characters, the imagery, the actions, and the ideas in the story. In other words, the writer is dealing with a case of how human bei...
The myths mentioned by Richard Howells diversify in five installments, “Women and Children First!”, ‘We Shall Die Like Gentlemen’, ‘Be British!’, ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee’, and ‘The Unsinkable Ship’. These myths are a combination of different characteristics the attitudes of people should direct their lives, the behaviors of gender concerning with age, and the ideals of the ship itself.
Throughout the Iliad the warriors' dream of peace is projected over and over again in elaborate similes developed against a background of violence and death. Homer is able to balance the celebration of war's tragic, heroic values with scenes of battle and those creative values of civilized life that war destroys. The shield of Achilles symbolically represents the two poles of human condition, war and peace, with their corresponding aspects of human nature, the destructive and creative, which are implicit in every situation and statement of the poem and are put before us in something approaching abstract form; its emblem is an image of human life as a whole.
Gardner, Helen. “Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from “The Noble Moor.” British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955.
In her poem "Myth," Natasha Trethewey uses mythology, a unique structure, rhyme pattern, and punctuation to make form and content inseparable. Each of these elements serves to share the stages of grief one goes through one feels at the death of a loved one as well as the feelings of deep loss and longing.
How is the word myth used popularly? In today’s society, myths are more commonly referred to as a story that is known amongst a group that may or may not have any truth or validity to it. These type of stories have been told from one generation to another generation with a common theme every time it is said or repeated. I remember growing up my older sister would scare us younger kids with the urban myth of Candyman. This was during a time before I even knew about the movie, and for her, it was a way to scare us kids out of our wits. She would tell us about this story of a slave who returns from the dead as a ghost who was in search of revenge and could only be summoned by saying his name five times while facing a mirror.
Myths the stories of old, how the ancients explained the creation of the world and how the human race came to be. Myths can be viewed as outdated and no longer needed. However, myths are still important today. This is the point that Joseph Campbell, and Bill Mayer discuss at Skywalker Ranch in The Power of Myth. Joseph Campbell famous mythologist is interviewed by Bill Mayer about myths from different cultures and how they are still important today. This interview makes the point that myths, although centuries old are still used today, in both popular media and other aspects of culture.
Mythology is known as a collection of myths, mainly belonging to a specific religion or cultural tradition. Mythology is known worldwide and is passed down, usually orally, to the youth. Mythology cannot be proven to be completely true, due to the lack of verified written proof. The three in this section include; Hindu, Egypt, and African each has their own way of how the world was created.
These pages begin with the mortal illness of Octavian’s twenty-nine year old mother, Cassiopeia, from smallpox. Octavian (age 16), is with her until the so-called scientists (or self-styled philosophers), of the Novanglian College of Lucidity chase him away to undertake “cures” that are extremely painful and make the illness much worse. She dies and an autopsy is begun. At this point Octavian forces his way into the room. He fights with one of those men cutting his mother’s body until he understands this is a fight he cannot win. At this point Octavian realizes his “nothingness” and leaves the room. He now knows he is a helpless slave. He feels his helpless condition is worse than death. That night he runs away from his owners.
Gioia, Dana, and X.J. Kennedy. "Oedipus the King." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Compact Edition, Interactive Edition. 5th ed. New York: Pearson; Longman Publishing, 2007. 887-924. Print.
“The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.
According to Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth, one archetypal mythic hero appears in diverse cultures in different forms. Two protagonists in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki share similar heroic characteristics despite their different backgrounds and cultures.
Like the Iliad, the Odyssey had many violent and action scenes. Odysseus’s encounter with the Cyclopes, Polyphemus, entranced the reader with many cacophonous images. "Up fr...
Shakespeare has created the character of Othello to be a ‘hero of the ancient world‘ (Helen Gardner,1995), in spite of this there are certain circumstances beyond his control that contribute to the downfall of Othello. Othello proves to himself and everyone around him that he is a noble warrior that deserves a certain level of respect. Society doesn’t have a problem with Othello leading the Venetian army but does oppose to the marriage of Othello and Desdemona.