Hymn Essays

  • The Vedic Hymns and the Four Cosmogonies

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    Creation of the Universe It would be ignorant to believe that there is only one explanation for the creation of the universe. The Vedic hymns present several cosmogonies. There are many interpretations for these myths resulting from there documentation on various levels of culture. It is purposeless to quest for the origin of each of these cosmogonies because most of these ideas and beliefs represent a heritage transmitted from prehistory all over the ancient world. There are four essential

  • Analysis of the Epic Poem, Beowulf - Beowulf and Caedmon’s Hymn

    2259 Words  | 5 Pages

    Beowulf and Caedmon’s Hymn In Beowulf the Christian element, which coexists alongside the pagan or heathen, may have originated in part from the works of Caedmon. The Christian element in Beowulf had to be included by the original poet or by minstrels who recited it in later times because it is so deeply imbedded in the text. The extent to which the Christian element is present varies in different parts of the poem. While the poet’s reflections and characters’ statements are mostly Christian

  • Julia Ward Howe: More than the Battle Hymn

    1933 Words  | 4 Pages

    Julia Ward Howe: More than the Battle Hymn "Mine Eyes have seen the coming of the Glory of the Lord…." Almost effortlessly the rest of the familiar tune comes rolling off the tongue. The battle Hymn of the Republic, a traditional and powerful patriotic hymn, will undoubtedly remain that way for years to come. However is the average American able to place a face with that tune? Julia Ward Howe was the bright mind behind the Battle Hymn, but she did not stop there. Howe's life and poetry succeeded

  • Hymn To Intellectual Beauty by P. B. Shelley

    1189 Words  | 3 Pages

    In "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty", Shelley describes his realisation of the power of human intellect. In seven carefully-constructed stanzas, he outlines the qualities of this power and the e ect it has had on him, using the essential themes of Romantic poetry with references to nature and the self. In the first stanza, the concept of the "unseen Power" – the mind – is put forward, and Shelley states his position on the subject. Throughout the stanza, extensive use is made of

  • Hymn to Intellectual Beauty

    1913 Words  | 4 Pages

    who really cares about nature and beauty? Marred by the pressures of responsibilities and expectations, most of us never stop and smell the roses nor do we stop and think about how simply wonderful the world is. However, Percy Shelley does. In his “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty,” Shelley reflects upon the awesome power of beauty and his relation to it as a humble servant, one who cherishes it and respects it but will never hoard and control it. Projected in a rhyme scheme of ABBAACCADDEE for seven stanzas

  • Ancient Gods of Light: The Great Hymn to Aten

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    Section 10. Web. 28 Jan. 14 http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/1320Hist&Civ/chapters/10AKHEN.htm Edgar, Robert R., et al. “Chapter One.” Civilizations Past and Present. 12th ed. Ed. Janet Lanphier, et al. Vol. 1. New York: Pearson, 2008. Print. “The Great Hymn to Aten.” University of Texas. University of Texas, n.d. Web. 31 January 2013. http://www.utexas.edu/courses/classicalarch/readings/hymn_to_aten.html Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Fully rev. ed. Ed. Kenneth L. Barker, et al. 1985. Grand Rapids: Zondervan

  • In The American Civil War In The Battle Hymn Of The Republic?

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    solace and strength were it was possible. Many found it comforting to play music or sing while waiting long periods of time. “Other songs motivated them as they prepared to do battle with the enemy.” (Waller & Edgington, 2001) Subsequently, The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe depicts the presence of religion and its important through the popular marching tune

  • An Acceptable Sacrifice of Praise and Worship Songs in Today’s Church

    3008 Words  | 7 Pages

    worship songs," or would it be better to simply have multiple worship services each week, one devoted to traditional and one to contemporary worship styles? Or should we cling tightly to our organs and gospel hymns, in spite of dwindling attendance? While I dearly love the great traditional hymns, I feel compelled to argue that these more popular choruses, too, are acceptable in God’s eyes. Praise and worship songs... ... middle of paper ... ... Chicago: Loyola Press, 1999. Longhurst, Christine

  • Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

    2616 Words  | 6 Pages

    throughout Cold Mountain. Throughout the novel, Inman, Ada, Ruby, Stobrod, and many other characters experience music that allows them to keep faith against the odds or even heal their wounds! There are three major types of music used in this novel; hymn music, folk music, and “natural music”. It is through these types of music that the characters in this novel regain their strength to continue their journeys. Many critics of Cold Mountain claim that Frazier ignored certain historical facts in order

  • The Impact of Negro Spirituals on Today's Music

    1704 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 Negro spiritual and then at specific hymns in the 1991 Baptist Hymnal, published by Convention Press, to see just what impact the Negro spiritual has had on today's church music. I

  • The Egyptian Book of the Dead

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    second time, meaning how not to die in the underworld and thus having no chance of being reborn or living a full afterlife. The original text--at least, the bits and pieces that modern scholars possess--consists of a set of hymns, beginning with the Hymn to Osiris. This hymn is meant to call up the king of the underworld and make him aware of the presence of the soul. After summoning Osiris, the presiding priest would begin a series of ceremonies designed to give the spirit all the faculties it

  • Fanny Crosby Accomplishments

    1203 Words  | 3 Pages

    For many people, going to church also includes singing one of the numerous hymns. Has anyone ever wondered as to who wrote these cherished songs or why? Shocking as it is to find out, many of the hymns we have today were only written during the 1800s. Even more shocking, the person responsible for these inspiring songs was blind! Frances Jane Crosby, or Fanny as she would become more widely known, was born on March 24, 1820, in a one-story cottage at South East, New York. From the start of her

  • Prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the world people are always preconceived based on who they are or what they look like. Even though it isn’t as big of a problem in some areas as in others, we need to fight it. If we don’t then it will continue to get more serious and at times lead to death. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Alexandra tells her niece that she can’t play with a schoolmate simply because of his class. “‘You can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never

  • Religion in Pat Barker's Regeneration

    1756 Words  | 4 Pages

    fighting with himself until on page 149, he is in a church where they are singing a very popular hymn, "God Moves in a Mysterious Way." At this point, Rivers is able to begin resolving his conflict. By using this hymn, Barker is able to emphasize one of the novel's theme: in times of war, reflection on religion not only brings peace to a country, but can bring peace within yourself. The author of the famous hymn "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" is William Cowper. He was born to John Cowper and Ann Donne

  • ANTIGONE

    1483 Words  | 3 Pages

    on an actor who interacted with the chorus. The actor was called the protagonist, from which the modern word protagonist is derived meaning the main character of drama. An important part of Dionysus was dithyrambs which meant chronic hymn. This chant or hymn was probably introduced accompanied by mimic gestures and probably music. It began as part of a purely religious ceremony. MASK/CHOROUS Plays where performed in day time. The annual drama competitions in Athens spread over several

  • Dante's Lucifer: The Denial of the Word

    4670 Words  | 10 Pages

    to him. At the same time, they are not his, since they are a quotation of the first line of a hymn by Venantius Fortunatus.3 And yet, the last word, inferni, must be attributed to Virgil under all respects, for he utters it without borrowing it from the hymn that Venantius Fortunatus wrote in honor of the cross and Christ. Through Virgil, Dante the auctor, therefore, rewrites and parodies this sacred hymn at the conclusion of the infernal cantica exactly when the two wayfarers approach Lucifer.4 Although

  • Simple Pleasures

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    Simple Pleasures " Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free." --Shaker hymn Someone once asked me when I had felt the most alive. I pondered for some time and let the memories walk slowly across my consciousness. A vision of a cold, crisp, sunny , fall day kept coming back to me, the kind of day that invites you to be outdoors, and when you get there, treats you to a blast of air-conditioned air. Everything seemed to be changing as if someone had sent a notice saying, "fall is leaving

  • The Man in the Black Suit

    1814 Words  | 4 Pages

    thoughts by the scuffling of feet and saw everyone entering the room. I stood outside for a long time, not wanting to see Eric in his final resting place, wanting to remember him alive. As I entered the small, cramped room, some were trying to sing the hymn, "Father in Heaven, We Do Believe," while most wept, catching a final view of my friend before the oak coffin was closed and his earthly life was officially over. I was standing in the crowd, looking at Eric. He looked so peaceful, as if he was just

  • Early Egyptian Religious Beliefs and Akhenaten?s Reforms

    2786 Words  | 6 Pages

    sweeping change in the religious structure of the ancient Egyptian civilization. "The Hymn to the Aten" was created by Amenhotep IV, who ruled from 1369 to 1353 B.C., and began a move toward a monotheist culture instead of the polytheist religion which Egypt had experienced for the many hundreds of years prior to the introduction of this new idea. There was much that was different from the old views in "The Hymn to the Aten", and it offered a new outlook on the Egyptian ways of life by providing a

  • John Newton's Amazing Grace

    1588 Words  | 4 Pages

    English-speaking world” “Amazing Grace” was perhaps John Newton’s greatest known music compositions (Phipps). This influential hymn is inspired by Newton’s personal testimony of how he had graciously experienced forgiveness from God for living vilely and had been given a second chance at life with new eyes to explore his true purpose in this world. As a result of his transformed life, which his hymn so beautifully describes, he entered the priesthood and mentored many lost souls including an English politician