History Of Music Essay -- essays research papers

It can be argued that the vanguard of development has always been reflected in the arts of a culture. It is the poets, the dreamers and artists who are the architects of the future the ones who build the world they want to live in, the ones who dream out loud1. Music is an elaborate art form, tempered by the emotions of those who create it and as such the dreams, creations and inventions are partly the products - or at least artifacts - of the world around them. As such, the social, economic and technological changes in society reflect themselves in the arts of the eon also. The common question Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? when inspected proves rhetorical they are parallel mirrors which reflect for each one other.W.H. Auden best expressed this when he said, A verbal art like poetry is reflective it stops to think. Music is immediate, it goes on to become.Tracing the course of musical development through history shows how closely music (of all the art forms) in particular represents the time in which it was scripted. The immediacy Auden speaks of is evidenced in musics ability to associate itself with a specific point in time or event and always remind the listener of that time or place. It is impossible to analyse individual interpretation of music, however it is interesting to examine what ca employ musicians to write what they did, when they did. The personal interpretation or association of a work is layered it is the music going on to become.By correlating musical developments with historical events or conditions, we can see not only why certain styles of music were written when they were, but also how the times dictated the styles as much as the styles dictated the times.The exact origin of music is un loven. We can only form amend guesses from the evidence that remains today pictures on fragments on broken vases of musical instruments, or cave paintings of dancing figures. It is generally accepted that music was first used in pr ehistoric times in spiritual or magical rituals. This knowledge comes from the fact that music still forms a vital part of some religious ceremonies today. Whereas with ancient pictures, we can imagine missing pieces, or envision brighter colours, when it comes to music we have no idea of what instruments were used, or the sounds they made. Our relationship with the music of the time is ... ...tury. However, since most artists thrived on the emotional and irrational abstract that they were writing rough, there was no specific category that this mode of thinking could fall into. This was a talent since the freedom to explore nature was infinite and without any restriction based on rules or laws. This invariably led to a reintroduction into religion and mysticism race wanted to explore the unknown spiritual side of things.Music as a whole has had a gradual evolution throughout history. The tie mingled with Mans search for the unknown, quest for Truth and longing for spiritual fu lfillment and the Arts is undeniable. Reactionary, or pro-actionary music ties us tight to places or events both(prenominal) in our lives and in those of others. While architecture and artifacts can give us clues to what society was like in the past (Roman ruins tell us much about life two thousand years ago), it is only the music that can communicate what our predecessors were thinking or feeling. It is the poets, the dreamers and artists of old who were the architects of their future, which allow us to glimpse our past. And it has been said, to know where one is going, you must know where you came from.

Achiles’ Shield in the Iliad Essay -- Literature Art War Papers

Achiles Shield as an Element of Contradistinction in the Iliad The Iliad is an epic of death. It is a tale of conflict, battle, agony, and horrific mutilation. adore and glory are attained through warfare. The great shield of Achiles stands out in this context because it depicts the glories of an orderly, functioning, productive civilization. This depiction of invigoration stands in stark tell apart to the scenes of death that constitute a large portion of the narrative. An examination of the shield of Achiles in Homers Iliad reveals many ideas in conflict love and honor, the pleasures of life versus a heroic death, reposition will and destiny. By viewing the shield as an element of contradistinctionthat is to define it on the basis of contrastone dejection see that the shield symbollicaly unifies the entire poem. Achiles shield is the mechanism through which the poet presents a tool of warfare as a reflection of civilization explores the concept, structure, and nature of th e creation and examines the role of art in society.I. A Reflection of Civlization on a Tool of WarfareIn the epic tradtion, the arming of wariors for batle holds particular significance. The description of a wariors armor tels much about the individual character of the warior and about the values of the society of which he is part. The Iliad contains many such arming scenes which take the childly description of armor and transform it into a more expansive and iluminating portrait of ancient Greek mentality. When compared with one another, these descriptions of armor reveal some basic distinctions that sterilize the shield of Achiles of utmost importance.As noted by Atchity in Homers Iliad The Shield of Memory, the armor of Paris is described in book thre... ...contradictions. artistry is the medium through which humans explore lifes great questions and test its boundaries. Armed with the belief that ordered civlization will prevail, the artistpoet, metalworker, painter, actoris free to enter into the batlle of ideals.Works CitedAtchity, Kenneth John. Homers Iliad The Shield of Memory. Carbondale, IL Southern Ilinois Univ., 1978.Becker, Andrew Sprague. The Shield of Achiles and the Poetics of Ekphrasis. Lanham, MD Rowman & Litlefield, 1995.Duethorn, Guenter A. Achiles Shield and the Structure of the Iliad. Amherst, MA Amherst Colege, 1962.Edwards, Mark W. The Iliad A Commentary. Vol. V books 1720. G.S. Kirk gen. ed. Cambridge, MA 1995.Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Richmond Latimore. Chicago Univ. of Chicago, 1961. Keats, John. Ode to a Grecian Urn. 4 Oct. 2003 htp//www.poets.org/poems/.

Oedipus is Deserving of his Suffering :: essays research papers

Question Sir John Sheppard comments that Oedipus behaves normally, commits an error in ignorance and brings suffering upon himself. He declares that Oedipus suffers not because of his guilt, but in spite of his goodness. What is your assurance of this comment?I disagree with this statement. To a certain extend, I think Oedipuss suffer is what he deserved.No ace can be held fully responsible for actions committed under some kind of external constraint, and for the case of Oedipus, such constraint might be exerted by god. But it does not signify that Oedipus suffers not because of his guilt, but of his goodness, because Oedipus is responsible for those actions which are not performed under constraint. Oedipus has choices, but every time he chooses the wrong one even he knew that the one he chose allow for turn out to be bad. He still chooses this road to certain extend, is because of his arrogant pride. I think the events of the play are Oedipus fault. Oedipus makes big mis takes or errors in judgment that lead to this ending. His pride, blindness, and foolishness all play a part in the tragedy that befalls him. Oedipuss pride leads to the storys tragic ending. He is alike proud to consider the words of the prophet Teiresias, choosing, instead to rely on his own investing powers. Teiresias warns him not to pry into these matters, but pride in his science leads Oedipus to continue his search. Oedipus thinks he can change fate. He just tries to ignore it, because he counts on his own ability to root out the truth. Oedipus is a talented man, but he is blind to the truth and refuses to believe Teiresiass warnings. He suffers because of his hamartia. I t is this excessive pride fuels his own destruction. I would just say Oedipus is a tragic hero.Foolishly he leaves his home in Corinth without further investigating the oracles words. The vanity of Oedipus is latent when he travels, against warnings, to the oracle of Delphi. His inflated notions of his stature as rule directly question the authority of the gods. He goes to the oracle then leaves without an answer. Finding out his true father is important because he has just been told he will kill his father. Oedipus is not intelligent about the way he conducts himself.