The novella Death in Venice by Thomas Mann describes the journey of an older German writer, Gustav Aschenbach, who comes to Venice on vacation and falls deliriously in love with a young boy. This love, and the obsession it culminates in lead to the demise of the writer. Mann’s story seems to be about an ill-fated love but in truth it tells a tale of a man who goes from total control of his life and his being to an irrational creature who is controlled by wild emotions that he will eventually succumb to. Such a story line perfectly illustrates the differences between the two Greek gods of art and how people can fall under the influence of each. Both Apollo and Dyonisis are gods of creativity and art in the Greek world yet they have such different …show more content…
characterists. Mann’s story, Death in Venice, sees Aushenbach transition from a very Apollonian character to one who is ruled by Dionysian features in the span of a short time. This switch illustrates the idea that Apollo and Dionysus are two sides of a coin that can easily be flipped and the young Tadzio is the force that flips that coin for Aschenbach. When the story begins Ashenbach is in his home country Germany where he is already an older man with a highly regarded reputation as a writer.
He is described as very disciplined, starting his day with a shower of cold water so that he can do his best work in the early hours of the day (Mann 5-6). These qualities of control and restrain are both Apollonian. They represent the side of art that is thought out and put together piece by piece. They are the aspects of artistic thought that one sees in a perfectionist: the need to only put out one’s best works. According to Nietzsche in his work Apollo versus Dionysus, Apollo has the power of prophecy (Nietzsche 1). This ability to tell the future will lead a man to always think about his next move, thus acting in precise and meticulous ways, such as is described of …show more content…
Aschenbach. Aschenbach’s decent into Dionysian characteristics really starts when he gets the sudden impulse to travel, this impulse is Dionysian because “Dionysus was one of the Olympian gods who actually did not live in Mount Olympus but was constantly travelling around the world” (Dionysus was the Greek God…). Once Aschenbach makes the decision to travel he does not settle down at his first location but is not content until he gets to Venice, though he is never really happy either. In Venice he begins to lose his control and precision of actions, he starts to fade into a more Dionysian way of thinking. Aschenbach follows Tadzio around the city just to get a glimpse of him and watches the young boy on the beach, though the older gentleman does have enough control in most of the novella to remain in the shadows, he gives into his irrational desire to be around the boy as much as possible. “After luncheon Aschenbach had himself ferried across to Venice, in a dead calm, under a burning sun; driven by his mania, he was following the Polish young folk…” (Mann 29). Ashenbach, who was once so in control of his emotions has fallen victim to his desires to obsess over beauty. Another Apollonian characteristic that Ashenbach poses at the start of the novella is his individuality and desire to be on his own. Gustav was once married at a young age, “his marriage to a girl, the offspring of a highly educated family, had been terminated by her death” (Mann 10). As far as one knows he never remarried and the one daughter he has is married and gone. The older man seems to spend a lot of time alone, as is alluded to every time his mountain estate and the servants he spends time with there are mentioned. As Nietzsche states “in the midst of a world of torments, the solitary man sits peacefully, supported by and trusting in the principium individuationis” (1). He then writes that this principium individuationis is what those who follow Apollonian values live by. He travels to Venice alone and he plans to leave alone, he values this individual aspect of his life. When things begin to switch and Aschenbach becomes obsessed with Tadzio, the older man loses his need for Apollonian individuality and time alone. This Dionysian want to be connected with others “does not respect the individual, but even seeks to abolish the individual and to restore him through a mystic feeling of collective unity” (Nietzsche 2). It is apparent that Gustav feels this connection towards Tadzio and is willing to give up his artistic identity to be one with the boy. The older man plans his day around the vacation activities of the young boy and his family, not wanting to miss a minute that can be spent within gazing distance. Since Dyonisis is the god of intoxication and is always followed by a group of artists and often pictured in collective orgies, he is the perfect representation for Aschenbach’s new appreciation of unity. Aschenbach’s new need to connect with the youth, is connected with the obsession he has recently gained of beautiful things.
Dionysian values include this acceptance of indulging in the beauty of art whereas Apollonians believe in the appreciation of art with a more controlled disposition. One can see that Aschenbach’s turn from an Apollonian to a Dionysian feeling of this value is not an instant transition but it does happen fairly rapidly. He first notices the boy in the hotel while waiting for dinner. When he first sees Tadzio “with astonishment Aschenbach noticed that the boy was perfectly beautiful” (Mann 19). Even the way Mann writes this description of the boy at first sight has a very Apollonian quality. One gets the sense that Aschenbach is admiring a great piece of
art. However, as time goes on Gustav begins to obsess over the beauty that is the young boy. The Dionysian characteristic of an extreme passion towards art and beauty falls under the category of intoxication. When Nietzsche talks of Dionysian intoxication he say that “As its power increases, the subjective fades into complete forgetfulness of self” (1), which is exactly what happens to Aschenbach towards the end of the novella. The older man loses himself in the art and aesthetics that are the Tadzio. Aschenbach lets Tadzio become his muse and as the story goes on one can see his is admiring the boy in a less controlled and more passionate way. “He wanted to work in the presence of Tadzio, to take the proportions of the boy as a template, to let his style flow like the curves of his body that seemed divine to him, to carry his beauty into the intellectual like the herder Ganymede had been lifted to the skies by the eagle-like Zeus” (Mann 34). It is here that the reader can see that Aschenbach is no longer admiring Tadzio from a far as if he was art work at the Louvre but instead he sees the boy as the greatest masterpiece, a masterpiece that he is willing to let himself become drunk with love for. When Mann first introduces Aschenbach the reader gets the impression that the restrained nature of the older man is what has kept him alive for so long. Though he is not over 60 he has faced plenty of hardship in his life and keeping his nose to the grind along with his focus on work is why he is strong enough, at an older age, to make the trip to Venice on his own. Mann even alludes to the fact that it’s Aschenbach’s focus and intention driven life that has kept him alive when a friend talks about the older man, “When he fell sick in Vienna around his thirty-fifth year, a careful observer said of him: “See, Aschenbach has always lived like this”—and he formed a fist with his left hand—“but never like that”—and he let his now-open hand drop nonchalantly from the armrest of his lounge chair” (7). The friend is saying that Aschenbach has never been one to live a relaxed life but instead he leads a life committed to his work. Mann seems to be referencing the cult of Apollo again when Aschenbach finds out that the city of Venice has been struck with a plague and that is why many of the tourist are leaving the resort. Apollo was believed to be the god of “the aversion of plague and general harm” (Atsma) thus, leading the reader to see that when Aschenbach was still clinging to his Apollonian characteristics he was fighting the plague and ready to leave the city for his health. However, when Aschenbach gives into his Dionysian compulsions to stay in Venice so that he can be around Tadzio he falls victim to illness. One gets the impression that the Apollonian virtues where keeping the man healthy. Aschenbach’s tight grip on his life and determination to move forward for his art is lost when he becomes obsessed with Tadzio. He is no longer living for himself but instead to get slight glimpses of the boy. As he lets go of his control on his life Aschenbach lets himself become ill; the reader can see him grow weak as time goes on but he refuses to leave Venice before the boy does because he has accepted that he is now living for Tadzio’s beauty. The Dionysian obsession with beauty and unity, the gluttony and intoxication that Aschenbach lets himself indulge in are untimely his demise. Mann writes Death in Venice as a perfect fade from the strict control of Apollonian artistic style to the intoxicating delirium and passion of the Dionysian style and way of life. Aschenbach starts his last journey holding on to life because of his focus on art and need to prove himself as great, his individualistic artistic goals. After Gustav lays eyes on Tadzio, the young Polish boy, he begins to let go of his individualistic needs and slowly falls into an obsession with the beauty of the boy that lets him lose himself and even let go of his grip on his life. This novella epitomizes the differences between the two Greek gods of art and illustrates the transition from the characterists of one to the characteristics of the other.
It is often—in books, poems, paintings, and sculptures—that one hears of and sees the goddess of love. But when is it that one hears of the god? In Greek mythology, Eros is the god of love, and a god who is many times overlooked. In Robert Bridges’ “EPÙÓ” and Anne Stevenson’s “Eros”, the idea that Eros is overlooked is portrayed, but in two separate ways. Techniques such as diction, imagery, and tone are used to help convey the idea.
As one of the most well known ancient Roman love poets, Ovid has demonstrated bountiful talents within his writing. When reading myths from his book titled Metamorphoses, you gain an enlightening insight of how he viewed mythology. To Ovid, love was the origin of everything. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that most of his poems relate to the theme of love. However, not all poets are the same and every re-telling of a myth has its own unique perspective. In this paper I will compare and contrast the myth of Medea in Euripides Medea and Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book 7. I will then explain how Ovid’s approach to love and loss correlate to his general approach to myth as a whole. I will support my belief with evidence from Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book 14.
The Greek’s images also possessed two important ideas that brought the soul of the artist and subject to the surface while still capturing the passion and action of the movement and story: noble simplicity and quiet grandeur. Greek images contained faces that were full of expression but were also balanced because they were not overcome by pain or passion because they still had nobility of soul which creates a sense of tranquility even in the midst of rage, fervor, or desire.
Risk is the exposure to danger. Taking risks are necessary because risk reveals experience to an individual. Hazard has both malevolent and benevolent outcomes, which can affect the overall atmosphere in a play. The content of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice includes many scenarios of risk-taking among the relationships between characters. The Merchant of Venice consists of four different plots: the bond plot, casket plot, love plot, and ring plot; in which characters are exposed to danger. Risk serves a major responsibility as it divulges many elements of dramatic significance throughout the play. Shakespeare manifests hazard through rival arguments, lovers’ commitments, and father and child agreements.
The works of art from the Archaic Period, Classical Period, and Hellenic Period developed physically and mentally, and the study of their aesthetic differences from period to period allow for a decided contrast and comparability. This interpretation has had a profound effect on the art world and that continues even in today’s world. The importance of Greek sculptures is evident in the storytelling of the gods, the people, and the culture. We use these sculptures as a tool to go back into the past of the Greek people, letting us admire how far mankind has truly come, whether it is in art or intelligence. Generation after generation has been and will continue to be able to see for themselves the society, culture and uniqueness of these periods through the wonderful sculptures that came out of ancient
Nothing can be more life changing than when a god chooses to interact with a mortal man. Much of Greek mythology describes the natures of these interactions. The Olympian Gods meddle with the mortals they rule over constantly, but what is the result for these interactions, and how do they impact the mortals? The question that this paper tries to address is what is the nature of these divine interaction, and how does each side truly perceive each other? The Gods and mortals interact in a variety of ways, but the true natures of these interactions truly describe how the ancient Greeks perceived their gods.
English poet Alexander Pope said; “Our passions are like convulsion fits, which, though they make us stronger for the time, leave us the weaker ever after.” In the play Othello the Moor of Venice, Othello is faced with many different situations where he must decide if he will choose responsible behavior or to follow his passion. Throughout the play, the decline of Othello is very apparent; he began as a man who put work in front of all personal problems and made sure to put others in front of his own well-being. While following his passion gave him a feeling of temporary power, in the end, that is what led to his downfall. Love for Desdemona and soon after, envy and anger for Desdemona took control of Othello’s life in Cyprus. These feelings lead to Iago being able to take advantage of Othello which eventually lead to Othello’s demise.
Through studying Shakespeare’s and Cinthio’s Othello, I explored the concept of ‘The Moor’. ‘The Moor’ is a disrespectful and racist term , often used by white Europeans referring to arabs and blacks, and people of other races with relatively dark skin, such as Othello. During Shakespeare’s time, blacks are considered to be outsiders and are inferior to white people. In Cinthio’s work, it stated that moors are hot-headed as evident in this quote ‘you moors are of so hot a nature that every little trifle moves you to anger and revenge’ which is evident that moors are hot-headed. In scene 1 of the play, Iago told Desdemona father that his daughter was robbed by a thief, Iago uses metaphor to describes Othello as a “black ram”. Desdemona’s father was shocked that his daughter will fall in love with a black man. He believed that Othello must have use some magic to make his daughter fall in love with him; as there is social class difference at that time and it is unimaginable that a white woman will love a black men.
Othello is noble, tender, and confiding; but he has blood of the most inflammable kind. Unfortunately, Othello was naïve enough to be swayed by Iagos misplaced trustworthiness and the accusations cause the entire play to unfold. Once someone brings up a sense of all his wrong doings, he cannot be stopped by considerations of remorse of pity until Othello has extinguished all that fuels his rage and despair. Othello is described as a “Moor” by his critics (Brabantio, Iago). A “Moor” is a slang word used for the dark skinned appearance of the Muslim people from the northwest part of Africa.
Botticelli’s Primavera can be labeled as one the most notable interpretative challenges of art history, due to the plethora of differing interpretations of its meaning. Some interpret the Primavera as a mythological depiction surrounding a wedding in the painting’s patron’s family, others believe it is an allegorical representation of the arrival of spring or a symbolic portrayal of Neoplatonic philosophies concerning the nature of love. Although scholars disagree on what exactly Botticelli trying to express in Primavera, most do agree on the identity of the figures in the painting which include mythological figures based primarily on the works of the Greek poet, Ovid. Although the exact meaning will remain unknown, considering differing interpretations can assist in understanding the notions presented and can aid in analysing the findings accordingly.
The European Renaissance forever changed the life of the contemporary individual. Explosive advancements in education, technology, and trade broadened geographic and mental horizons; however, in England these developments were paired with population crises of poverty and unemployment. In addition, the increased interaction with foreign cultures fomented by various commercial and diplomatic engagements gave rise to apprehension in English sensibility. Eventually, Christian England would attempt to reshape these ‘strangers’ in their image and modern racial tensions sprung forth. Recursion of the trope of race, under the guise of blackness, heathenry, or even femininity occurs extensively in literary tradition, and especially within Shakespeare’s oeuvre. “There exists in all literature an archetypal figure who escapes both poles of the classic definition – appearing sometimes as hero, sometimes as villain, sometimes as clown…[he] has been named variously the ‘shadow,’ the ‘other,’ the ‘alien,’ the ‘outsider,’ the ‘stranger.’” It is with this borderline figure, mired in ambiguity, that this investigation is concerned: primarily with the stranger as the Moor in Othello, the Welsh in Henry IV, Part 1, and the woman in both.
In William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the power that Iago has over Emilia in their relationship helps manifest the unfairness of gender roles thus, leading to a distortion of the worth of women. The power that Iago has over Emilia hurts Emilia’s self-confidence. The distortion of the worth of women ultimately leads to misunderstandings in Emilia’s view of relationships.
Kardaun, Maria S. "Greek Tragedy As A Challenge To Modernism: A Depth Psychological Perspective." Psyart(2011): 10. ContentSelect Research Navigator. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
The Merchant of Venice is a play that deals with an assortment of issues that range from politics to racial views of the Jewish people. An embodiment of these two issues can be best attributed to the character of Shylock. In a 2004 production of The Merchant of Venice, by Michael Radford, we see the character of Shylock is portrayed in a different light than that of Shakespeare's 1594 villainous Jew. Both productions pose a series of questions in comparison. An understanding of the era that these plays were written in and the audience’s perception of the production attribute greatly to a true analysis. Another aspect of these productions asks who Shylock was to Shakespeare and who he has developed into for Al Pacino and Michael Radford.
In this essay the critical approach on (Mythological and Archetypal Approach) played a big role in forming my opinion of the signet classic book, "Doctor Faustus" It is to my knowledge that mythology does not meet our current standards of factual reality, but unlike the 16th century which this play was presented, men like Faustus saw myth as fundamental and a dramatic representation of the deepest instinctual life in the universe.