Stephen Dobyns’ poem “The Street” on Balthus’ painting The Street affirms his belief “that no one can see his neighbor” due to people’s concerns with their personal duties in their ordinary paths of life (1). Balthus illustrates people’s compulsion with menial tasks as blinders obstructing vision to the outside world. He positions each subject of the painting to symbolize his or her inherent dexterity and purpose within the society. However, we pick up on his theory that individuals become consumed with their selfish pursuits forming weak and divided communities. Dobyns elaborates on Balthus’ painting to transparently elucidate the deliberation behind the work of art. The structure of Dobyns’ poem reflects the systematic steps of people within the painting as he plainly interprets their motives. In separate stanzas, he relates the story of each person in the painting to reveal their deliberate duties. This emphasizes the artist’s vision of the world. Through poetry, Dobyns brings life to the differing individuals, allowing the reader to enter more fully into the vision of the painting.
Balthus’ simplistic painting spotlights the people’s daily tasks, allowing Dobyns' to observe the importance and value in the many components of a society. Balthus’ painting
The Street exemplifies an unyielding, and captivating society jumbled with multiple roles that distract the reader from honing in on one person. Hughes regards the majority of Balthus’s themes to be defined within a meticulous and peculiar setting (Marks 49). In accordance to the order of the stanzas, the reader is introduced to the central figure within Balthus’ painting. The carpenter’s stark white clothing, ironically contradicts the story Dobyns infers. The blue collared wo...
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...ves. Dobyns uses imagery and expressive words to reiterated the emphasized features within the painting. We can conclude from the straightforward words of Dobyns that individuals within a society must connect and communicate in order to successfully build relationships and community.
Works Cited
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"Dobyns, The Street." Dobyns, The Street. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2014.
King, Janna. "Dobyns, Stephen 1941–." American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies, Supplement 13. Ed. Jay Parini. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 73-92. Scribner Writers on GVRL. Web. 16 May 2014.
Marks, Claude. World Artists, 1950-1980: An H. W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1984. 48-49. Print.
"Stephen Dobyns." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 May 2014.
Contextual Theory: This painting depicts a portrait of life during the late 1800’s. The women’s clothing and hair style represent that era. Gorgeous landscape and a leisurely moment are captured by the artist in this work of
The artists Jean-Honore Fragonard and Jaques-Louis David both successfully embody their respective stylistic differences. Fragonard’s style of painting is Rococo, which is characterized by its softness, asymmetry and curviness. Contrasting these ideals is David’s style of painting, Neo-Classicism. Neo-Classicism is synonymous with strong gestures, symmetry, and solidness. Two works that best exemplify the ideals of each style of painting are Fragonard’s The Swing, 1767 and David’s The Death of Socrates, 1787. Although at first glance, it is easier to focus on how each work is different to the other, one can argue that they are similar in theme. Both The Swing and The Death of Socrates are works that deal with the theme of decision making. However, they differ in how each work portrays the theme of deciding. While The Swing focuses on infidelity and the process of deciding, The Death of Socrates makes it clear that loyalty to government is stronger than the ties of friendship or acquaintance. By examining use of light, form, subject matter as well as other artistic elements, one can see how each artist conveys a message by utilizing their style of art.
Bibliography:.. Works Cited Meyer, M., Ed., (1999). Bedford Introduction to Literature, 5th Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin.
... study for the overall concept they appear rather as abstract patterns. The shadows of the figures were very carefully modeled. The light- dark contrasts of the shadows make them seem actually real. The spatial quality is only established through the relations between the sizes of the objects. The painting is not based on a geometrical, box like space. The perspective centre is on the right, despite the fact that the composition is laid in rows parallel to the picture frame. At the same time a paradoxical foreshortening from right to left is evident. The girl fishing with the orange dress and her mother are on the same level, that is, actually at equal distance. In its spatial contruction, the painting is also a successful construction, the groups of people sitting in the shade, and who should really be seen from above, are all shown directly from the side. The ideal eye level would actually be on different horizontal lines; first at head height of the standing figures, then of those seated. Seurats methods of combing observations which he collected over two years, corresponds, in its self invented techniques, to a modern lifelike painting rather than an academic history painting.
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Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
All of Camus' writings may be viewed as a quest for meaningful values in a world of spiritual aridity and emptiness. He begins with man's despair, estrangement, fear, suffering and hopelessness in a world where is neither God nor the promise that He will come- the fundamental absurdity of existence- but ultimately affirms the power of man to achieve spiritual regeneration and the measure of salvation possible in an absurd universe. This radical repudiation of despair and nihilism is closely bound up with his concept of an artist. Camus conceives of art as a way of embracing a consciousness of the absurdity of man's existential plight. But art becomes a means of negating that absurdity because the artist reconstructs the reality, endowing it with unity, endurance and perfection. By taking elements from reality that confirms the absurd existence, an artist attempts to correct the world by words and redistribution. Thus the artist never provides a radical transformation of reality but a fundamental reinterpretation of what already exists. He provides a new angle of vision of perceiving reality. That is why, for Camus, an artist is a recreator of myth. He teaches humanity that contemporary man must abandon the old myths that have become otiose, though once defined his existence. The artist liberates man to live in his world by redefining both man and the condition in which he exists. In this regard, it is important to point out that, for Camus, the traditional opposition between art and philosophy is arbitrary. It is because they together become most effective to create the redefinition: the philosophy awakens the consciousness and the art, propelled by such a radical discovery, ...
Charters, Ann & Samuel. Literature and its Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 137-147. Print.
Goldwater, Robert and Marco Treves (eds.). Artists on Art: from the XIV to the XX Century. New York: Pantheon Books, 1945.
When first approaching this work, one feels immediately attracted to its sense of wonder and awe. The bright colors used in the sun draws a viewer in, but the astonishment, fascination, and emotion depicted in the expression on the young woman keeps them intrigued in the painting. It reaches out to those who have worked hard in their life and who look forward to a better future. Even a small event such as a song of a lark gives them hope that there will be a better tomorrow, a thought that can be seen though the countenance by this girl. Although just a collection of oils on a canvas, she is someone who reaches out to people and inspires them to appreciate the small things that, even if only for a short moment, can make the road ahead seem brighter.
Art and literature work independently of each other, however, they can be linked together to help a reader or observer understand in new ways and create new possibilities. Within this context, the perspective of Jacob Lawrence and the authors address that it takes work to build the ideal society and family. However, the authors give the stark reality of both society and family demonstrating that our reality is nothing like the ideal.
Perkins, Geroge, and Barbara Perkins. The American Tradition in Literature. 12th ed. Vol. 2. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print
Baym, Franklin, Gottesman, Holland, et al., eds. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 4th ed. New York: Norton, 1994.
To begin with the chosen poem is the street written by Octavio Paz in 1963. The poem style is written in free verse consisting of 14 stanzas, the poem does not consist of rhyme patterns or many literary devises. The meaning behind The Street by Octavio is about how Octavio is not sure what he wants exactly sure out of life, After Octavio resigned from being Mexico’s’ ambassador he was not sure if he made the right choice or if what he is going to do now. Although By the end of the poem he is trying to come to terms with his decision so he finally confronts "nobody." The street, by Octavio Paz uses an extended metaphor and imagery to convey the struggle which he has inside of himself. In his poem, “The Street”, Octavio Paz uses the literary devise of an extended metaphor, and imagery, and a mysterious, foreshadowing almost tone to capture the reader’s attention.
Belasco, Susan, and Linck Johnson, eds. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Vol. 1, 2nd Ed., Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 1190-1203. Print.