Negro Spirituals Spirituals, a religious folk song of American origin, particularly associated with African-American Protestants of the southern United States. The African-American spiritual, characterized by syncopation, polyrhythmic structure, and the pentatonic scale of five whole tones, is, above all, a deeply emotional song. Spirituals are really the most characteristic product of the race genius as yet in America. But the very elements which make them uniquely expressive of the Negro make them
big grand story. But then again, I have been immersed in God's life for all of mine and I can't complain about that. I was born on a Thursday in January and as soon as I was able, about a week and a half later, I was in church. That is where my spiritual knowledge started. That goes a bit too far back though to make this a two page paper. My actual individual walk with Jesus started much later. As I said, I grew up in the church and I appreciate that fact. All of my life I had heard about Jesus
An Exploration of Spiritual Healing Throughout time, mankind has constantly been seeking ways to maintain their health and to cure those that had not been so fortunate in that task. Just about everything has been experimented with as a cure for some type of illness; whether physical or mental. There is also a third type of illness that can and is addressed, which is healing on the spiritual plan. According to research, most of the spiritual healers are concentrated in primitive societies and undeveloped
Academic and Spiritual Success Talents, experiences, achievements, unique points of view - these qualities help determine whether or not applicants find success at college and whether or not they are ready to deal with the responsibility of independent living and the rigors of academia. Not surprisingly, these are the same requisite qualities needed to lead a successful life. I am certain that I possess these qualities and can meaningfully contribute to undergraduate student life at the university
Physical And Spiritual Effects Of Abortion Abortion is the knowing destruction of the life of an unborn child. But this is only part of the story as abortion also hurts the woman involved. Abortion affects women physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When an abortion is performed on a woman, she becomes subject to many physical complications. Blood loss during the procedure causes diversion of blood flow to various organs and can result in shock. When the canal of the cervix is dilated,
Spiritual Shallowness in The Great Gatsby The American Dream was based on the assumption that each person, no matter what his origins, could succeed in life on the sole basis of his or her own skill and effort. The dream was embodied in the ideal of the self-made man. The Great Gatsby is a novel about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s, a period when the old values that gave substance to the dream had been corrupted by the vulgar pursuit of wealth. Spiritual shallowness is portrayed
Social and Spiritual Energy in Middlemarch I do not believe that it is sufficient to say that Middlemarch explores the ways in which social and spiritual energy can be frustrated; it would be more appropriate to say that Middlemarch explores the ways in which social and spiritual energies (ideals if you will) are completely destroyed and perverted. One need only look to Lydgate to see an example of idealism being destroyed by the environment in which it is found. At the start of the novel, we
The Spiritual and Physical Dimensions in The Birthmark Fred Allen Wolf notes in Taking the Quantum Leap that it was not until the 20th century that scientists realized that “to observe is to disturb, for observation breaks the wholeness of nature.” If observing disturbs, then when a scientist tampers and tries to perfect nature the result can only be disastrous. The goal of most scientists is to observe and understand the mysteries of nature. Nathaniel Hawthorne realized that the scientists of
Spiritual Murder in Georg Buchner's Woyzeck Throughout dramatic history, tragedies have depicted a hero's humanity being stripped from him. Usually, as in Shakespeare's classic paradigms, we see the hero, whether King Lear or Othello, reduced from his original noble stature to nothingness and death. Yet Georg Buchner's fragmentary play Woyzeck shows us a protagonist already stripped of humanity, transformed into and treated as an animal. Indeed, Woyzeck, far from being a simple tale of a village
Spiritual Views in Emerson's The Poet Transcendental, and therefore pantheist, views run fluidly throughout Emerson's texts, especially as he attempts to define his image of the perfect poet in his essay, The Poet. He continually uses religious terms to express his feelings, but warps these terms to fit his own unique spirituality. This technique somewhat helps to define his specific religious views which mirror the view of transcendentalism and pantheism. Emerson's ideal poet is a pantheist
The Spiritual Decline of Macbeth The play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, has been analyzed to such an extent that many assume it is impossible to say anything new about the play. Yet, a close reading of Macbeth can still yield tremendous insights. One interesting point worth noting is Macbeth's inability to answer "Amen" to a solemn prayer to God. Shakespeare's post-medieval world strictly adhered to the binary opposition between good and evil, or in other words, between Christ and Satan
James H. Cone's The Spirituals and the Blues The book, The Spirituals and the Blues, by James H. Cone, illustrates how the slave spirituals and the blues reflected the struggle for black survival under the harsh reality of slavery and segregation. The spirituals are historical songs which speak out about the rupture of black lives in a religious sense, telling us about people in a land of bondage, and what they did to stay united and somehow fight back. The blues are somewhat different from
Banquo - a Spiritual Force in Macbeth Who cannot learn from Shakespeare's Macbeth this moral lesson: That crime does not pay? And who can deny that the playwright created a spiritual force in the play in the person of Banquo? This essay is his story. Lily B. Campbell in her volume of criticism, Shakespeare's Tragic Heroes: Slaves of Passion, discusses how fear enters the life of Banquo with the murder of Duncan and his two attendants: And as Lady Macbeth is helped from the room
Sexual and Spiritual Freedom The key to humanities freedom lies in its religious and sexual paradigms. Religion, as a social control mechanism, has sought to limit mans sexual freedom. The stigma associated with sexual promiscuity permeates every level of our society. I believe that in time people will demand freedom in the sexual and spiritual aspects of their lives. In order for this to occur a paradigm must be established that emphasizes wholism. Without this wholistic thought conflict can still
The Spiritual and Moral Journeys in The Quest of the Holy Grail The Quest of the Holy Grail is an exciting tale that follows the adventures of King Arthur's knights as they scour the countryside for the legendary Holy Grail. Throughout their journeys, the knights engage in many exciting jousts and sword fights with a variety of enemies. The author of The Quest of the Holy Grail intends for the story to be more than just entertainment: the knights' search for the Holy Grail is analogous to the
Bono's Path Towards Spiritual Enlightenment While most celebrities keep their religious beliefs private, the music of the Irish rock group U2, with lyrics written by lead singer Bono, contains many religious references and ideas. A closer analysis of the song lyrics shows an evolution of the religious ideas contained within. The changing and development of these ideas corresponds to many psychological and sociological theories of faith evolution, including those of Alfred Adler and James Fowler
There is NO Spiritual Reward for Depriving the Physical Body of Comfort or Pleasure I. Doctrine There is a great falsehood that is perpetuated by the modern church, and it is one that threatens the very mission assigned to every believer in Matthew 28:18-20. Before one can address this falsehood, one must understand the duty of God's people in this life. It is the believer's task to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them as God ordained, and teaching them how to obey the teachings
Crusoe’s Spiritual Insights Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is considered to be the first novel of incident. Before I read the novel I knew something about poor Robinson Crusoe--shipwrecked on a desert island, lived on the island for a lot of years, and acquired a friend by the name of Friday. As I began to read, I had the preconceived notion that Robinson Crusoe was just an adventure book. However, I read no more than a few pages before my mind was greatly enlightened. Robinson Crusoe does not
The Spiritual Voyages of Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness describes an outward journey to the heart of Africa that parallels an inward journey to the heart and depths of man's being. Two spiritual voyages are made by Kurtz and Marlow. Kurtz was a great man who discovered a flaw in himself while working in Africa. He lacked "restraint" to control the emerging dark side which he found within himself. He plumbs the depths of man's dark side -a side which civilization and culture represses -
The Impact of Negro Spirituals on Today's Music I believe that it would be difficult for someone to make the argument that Negro spirituals have not been influential in the field of music, much less the realm of gospel music today. However, church members often do not make the time to reflect on the heritage of a hymn or song to realize the meaning that the particular piece has carried with it through the decades, even centuries. With this in mind, I am going to look at the history of the