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Mythology and its influence on literature
The effect of mythology in literature
Irony in poems
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Recommended: Mythology and its influence on literature
In Morris Bishop’s poem “Phaethon”, the speaker focuses on the topic of responsibility; using humorous language to relay the message to the reader. With literary allusion, the speaker draws parallels between the past and the present, the old and the new, mythology and reality. Throughout the poem the rhythm and rhyme are reflective of children’s nursery rhymes. This establishes the light and humorous tone best suited to a younger audience, instituting the speaker’s position as a father to a young child. In the poem “Phaethon”, the speaker is trying to dissuade his young son from taking on the responsibilities of an adult before he is ready by telling him the myth of Phaethon and Apollo- creating a humorous lecture through tone, imagery, allusion, …show more content…
rhythm, and rhyme in order to properly communicate with a child and maintain the parent-child relationship. The message of “Phaethon” is enhanced through the use of literary allusion.
Allusion is defined as a figure of speech that alludes to popular, or well-known literature, event, setting, or person. (Jason Lineberger, Allusion in Literature) In ancient Greek mythology, Phaethon was the demigod son of Apollo who took on more responsibility than he was ready for-eventually forging his own downfall. Within the piece, the speaker tells his son the story of Apollo and Phaethon, tying ancient mythology to the present day. Similar to the way Phaethon believed he held the responsibility to drive the sun chariot in the archaic myths, the speaker’s son boasts the same mindset- believing he could drive the car; however, the speaker believes his son will follow the same path as Phaethon and fail in his attempts to drive the car. To illustrate this idea, the speaker begins by introducing Apollo and Phaethon’s parent-child relationship: “Apollo through the heavens rode/ In glinting gold attire/… His darling son was Phaethon, / Who begged to have a try.” (Lines 1, 2, 7, 8) The father, is the one in charge, carrying more responsibility and has to “… [hold the horses] to their frantic course” (line 5). Subsequently, the son is the one who wishes to carry more responsibility than
advisable.
Throughout Aristophanes’ “Clouds” there is a constant battle between old and new. It makes itself apparent in the Just and Unjust speech as well as between father and son. Ultimately, Pheidippides, whom would be considered ‘new’, triumphs over the old Strepsiades, his father. This is analogous to the Just and Unjust speech. In this debate, Just speech represents the old traditions and mores of Greece while the contrasting Unjust speech is considered to be newfangled and cynical towards the old. While the defeat of Just speech by Unjust speech does not render Pheidippides the ability to overcome Strepsiades, it is a parallel that may be compared with many other instances in Mythology and real life.
Throughout literature it has been common for authors to use allusions to complement recurrent motifs in their work. In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon, Milkman learns that his desire to fly has been passed down to him from his ancestor Solomon. As Milkman is figuring out the puzzle of his ancestry, he realizes that when Solomon tried to take his youngest son, Jake, flying with him, he dropped him and Jake never arrived with his father to their destination.
In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer portrays Telémakhos, the son of Odysseus, as a young man trying to find his place in the world. The opening part of the book, the Telemakhiad (the first four books in the poem) is perhaps meant to be a bildungsroman, which studies the maturation of a young character by focusing on this maturation with respect to his or her traits and environment by, in turn, making him or her face a series of social encounters. Starting out little more than a boy, Telémakhos matures over the course of the Telemakhiad and finds himself close to achieving his implied dream of being a manor rather of becoming one like his hero of a father. Indeed, the Telemakhiad, the story of Telémakhos' short yet crucial adventure to find his father, fits the description of a bildungsroman; Telémakhos, being taught and initiated in the ways of the world by the actions of Athena, matures a great deal in the open of the book alone.
The poem is written in the father’s point of view; this gives insight of the father’s character and
One clear example is when the father Phil says “I'm a cool dad. That's... that's my thang. I'm hype, I surf the web, I text. LOL, Laugh Out Loud, OMG, Oh My God, WTF, Why The Face. You know, I know all the dances to High School Musical, so...” (Winer) Phil tries to show his relatability to his children’s’ generation by referencing the Disney teen hit movie High School Musical. Many younger people will understand the reference, but some audience members that have never seen the movie will not understand why later he is dancing around in the living room with a varsity jacket on. Possibly the best use of allusion through-out Modern Family is at the very end of the pilot episode. Mitchell is arguing with his family saying “No, no, no! Stop, stop! You come into my house and you insult me and my boyfriend who by the way is not that dramatic! We've adopted a baby. Her name is Lily.” (Winer) While this is happening his partner Cameron dressed in an ethnic silk robe brings out their daughter and raises her to the sky with the theme song of The Lion King “The Circle of Life” playing in the background. Playing homage to the opening scene of that movie when the baby lion is presented to the rest of the animals in the kingdom. Anyone who has watched The Lion King will understand the allusion but not everyone has. The main point of an allusion is it references something from another source that will only
In both of the poems, "Introduction to Poetry" and "Trouble with Poetry", Collins makes an interesting form of observation of the world he lives in while possibly explaining his daily life or experiences.
The poetry of Phillis Wheatley is crafted in such a manner that she is able to create a specific aim for each poem, and achieve that aim by manipulating her position as the speaker. As a slave, she was cautious to cross any lines with her proclamations, but was able to get her point across by humbling her own position. In religious or elegiac matters, however, she seemed to consider herself to be an authority. Two of her poems, the panegyric “To MAECENAS” and the elegy “On the Death of a young Lady of Five Years of Age,” display Wheatley’s general consistency in form, but also her intelligence, versatility, and ability to adapt her position in order to achieve her goals.
I have elected to analyze seven poems spoken by a child to its parent. Despite a wide variety of sentiments, all share one theme: the deep and complicated love between child and parent.
The speakers and audience in poem are crucial elements of the poem and is also the case in these poems. In the poem Untitled, it can be argued that the poem is being written by Peter based on what his father might say to him...
Aside from all the prodigious number of Greek tragedies in history, stands a collection of Greek comedies which serve as humorous relief from the powerful overtone of the tragedy. These comedies were meant to ease the severity and seriousness sometimes associated with the Greek society. The ideas portrayed in the comedies, compared to the tragedies, were ridiculously far-fetched; however, although abnormal, these views are certainly worthy of attention. Throughout his comedy, The Clouds, Aristophanes, along with his frequent use of toilet humor, ridicules aspects of Greek culture when he destroys tradition by denouncing the importance of the gods' influence on the actions of mortals, and he unknowingly parallels Greek society with today's. Aristophanes also defiantly misrepresents an icon like Socrates as comical, atheistic, and consumed by ideas of self interest, which is contradictory to the Socrates seen in Plato's Apology or Phaedo.
...ion of the situation to the Ancient Mariner. Moreover, the way in which the dialogue is presented, makes the structure seems more of a script of a play. The structure of the poem is a key characteristic in displaying the theme, for by telling the story as a personal experience, it helps the reader understand the moral and theme intended as a warning to people.
Allusion, or a passing reference to something in the Bible, history, or literature, is used in the play as a way of letting the reader and audience gain depth into the story and overall it helps the actors get the meaning they are trying to convey across to the audience.
The play was considered comic by the ancient Athenians because of its rhyming lyricism, its song and dance, its bawdy puns, but most of all because the notion and methods of female empowerment conceived in the play were perfectly ridiculous. Yet, as is the case in a number of Aristophanes’ plays, he has presented an intricate vision of genuine human crisis. In true, comic form Aristophanes superficially resolves the play’s conflicts celebrating the absurdity of dramatic communication. It is these loose threads that are most rife with tragedy for modern reader. By exploring an ancient perspective on female domesticity, male political and military power, rape, and efforts to maintain the integrity of the female body, we can liberate our modern dialogue.
Sir Philip Sidney’s “Sonnet 31” might, at first glance, appear to be a man asking a series of questions to no real end. Closer examination, however, reveals that this is a work that delves deeply into its speaker’s—and perhaps the author’s—psyche, offering its readers as much insight into human nature today as it did when it was written in 1582. Astrophel, failing at effectively communicating to or winning the affection of his desired, seeks to better understand the circumstances of his existence. Perhaps too afraid to gaze into his own reflection and seek those answers from himself, Astrophel instead consults the moon, which promptly comes to embody the plight of the speaker and perhaps anyone who has gazed at the moon longingly searching for answers but finding none.
Biespiel,David. “Sonnet14.” Masterplots II. Philip K. Jason. Vol. 7. Pasadena: Salem Press, 2002. 3521-3522. Print.