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The perception of beauty
The perception of beauty
The perception of beauty
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When trying to interpret the word “beautiful” lots of different things often come to mind. First off, some may see beauty in nature; some may see it in people. If talking about the beauty in a person, it could be interpreted in two different ways: beauty on the inside, such as their kindness or respect towards others. Then there is beauty on the outside, which focuses more on someone’s looks rather than personality. If interpreting the word ‘beautiful’ in nature, it is usually based distinctly on the looks or sound that nature has to offer. In Sappho’s poem “Beauty in a Man,” she plays with the definition of beautiful and makes the reader realize that there may be many other meanings of the word.
When Sappho says, “A man” (line 1), she is referring to no more than one man since it is not in the plural form. Sappho then goes on to say, “who is beautiful” (line 1). Readers may struggle to imagine a man being referred to as beautiful; often time’s reader’s minds refer to beautiful as something that is often described in a woman’s appearance. When referring to a man, handsome or good ...
Thus the illusion of beauty is still possible and even Gorgeous displays emotion despite knowing this “she adores her work from a distance for such a long time and it makes her cry”. Therefore, the irony in this story still exists for Gorgeous to end up being in a relationship with an artist. The personification of beauty continues as Wels’ remarks “Their relationship is the usual kind in which beauty and appreciation are dancing partners”. As she becomes a ‘model’, again ‘stillness’ is idealised as the trademark of beauty. As a result, the humour in Wels’ story also becomes tragic with Gorgeous’ realisation that beauty is fabricated and that the most beautiful are those that are
...David. “He still had the look in his eye, the pretty look. Maybe he really could see past her ugly face. Maybe what was inside her did matter to him more than anything else.” (279) By developing this relationship with David, it not only made Tally extremely happy; but she is able to understand the true meaning of what it is to be beautiful.
Helen Keller once wrote, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.” Beauty usually defines a person’s physical appearance which is what everyone on the outside sees , whereas inner beauty is not as recognized, but is still considered as “true” beauty because it “cannot be seen or even touched.” This corresponds to Cyrano’s physical insecurity versus his soulful inner thoughts. True love and beauty comes straight from the heart which is how Cyrano was able to gain Roxane’s love, but he was never acknowledged for his affectionate deeds. The battle between inner and outer beauty illustrates a deeper meaning to a person’s life especially throughout Edmond Rostand's play,
In “Ventriloquizing Sappho, or the Lesbian Muse”, Elizabeth Harvey defines “transvestite ventriloquism” as “the male author’s appropriation of the feminine voice,” and “its implications for silencing of women’s speech and writing” were vast and lasting (82). In Sappho’s case, this began with the Ovidian epistle where Sappho leaps to her death for Phaon’s love. Ovid’s appropriation, or rather, misappropriation silences Sappho’s original voice in her work because he writes in the voice of Sappho, with no inclination that this is a fiction work. This threatened Sappho’s entire reputation as female poetess because when it was retrieved many centuries later, scholars believed for a while that this was in fact a real letter from Sappho. The mistake was quickly realized upon closer inspection, the meter is not Sapphic and the voice is too masculine in its images and tone, but it was enough for people to believe the myth, it continues to be a part of her story today. Now I should there is no text saying that she didn’t fall in love with a man name Phaon, so there’s no telling where Ovid heard this claim or if he made it up.
Sappho, who is very well the speaker and author of the poem, clearly recognizes the substantial impact that love creates in relation to the amount of happiness people experience. Those who are successful in the game love, whether it be by giving it or receiving it, are far happier than those who confront despair and rejection. Finding love means finding the acceptance, companionship, and most of all, happiness that everyone strives to receive in their lifetime. As a result, love becomes a weapon for power, superiority, and control.
She repeated “Some say” and “others” to show that the definitions of beauty are distinct between people. She listed three masculine opinions about beauty “thronging cavalry, foot soldiers, a fleet” are the most beautiful to them. “A foot soldier - armed with long spears, protected by shields and body armor, and grouped in closed ranks.” (EH). That is the beauty of strength, bravery, and exploit. As a perspective of female, she though that the most beautiful in the world was whatever one love best. She also gave the myth of Homer for the instance. Helen – the most beautiful woman in the world- was having a happy life with the King of Sparta and a nine-year-old daughter. Unfortunately, because of the promise of god Aphrodite with Paris, she unintendedly fell in love with Paris. It was the Goddess to blame on. In the fragment, “the goddess seduced her wits and left her to wander”. In unconscious state, she forgot all about her current life and beloved family, her yearning was to approach her lover. One intriguing detail is a woman named Anactoria. It was probably because of a certain circumstance, Sappho and Anactoria are separated after a period of time together so that Sappho can visualize clearly “her lovely step, her sparkling glance and her face”. Description about Anactoria and the Lydia troops adds the sentimental to the tone and restate Sappho opinion about
Who sets the standards for beauty? What must one do to truly look beautiful? What does feeling beautiful mean? When considering the concept of beauty one must differentiate between the universal and relative perception of beauty. Among the components of universal beauty are harmony, symmetry and utility. However, perception of beauty is also relative, when it is defined by the standards of the time that are subjective to the socio economic values of the era. One of the ways these values are communicated is through images portrayed in art and in modern times through the media. ‘Fashion’ is the carrier of theses values though physical appearance and self-image that define power, rank, acceptability and belonging. Having ‘fashion’ as the medium of these relative values bring advantages and disadvantages. Although there are benefits of matching the fashion of the time, positive self-image and satisfaction with a feeling of acceptance these are temporary because fashion is ever changing. On the other hand not conforming to the contemporary standards can have a detrimental impact on self-image that leads to feeling a sense negative self worth and marginalized. Eating disorders are a powerful manifestation that fashion has on the psyche. The underlying idea of what fashion ‘is’ is value. Amongst all the change of fashion, value remains ever present.
In Sappho's poems, she does not take on a typical point of view of love as she describes the allure and agony through her own experience. This alternative approach to love is shown in Sappho's poems 16 as she makes a connection between her own life and the emotions behind the Trojan war. Also, in 31 she describes a physical pain that opens up her life to the audience through her experience with jealousy. Another link between author and audience is seen in poem 94 as Sappho tells a story of her heartbreak. Then in Sappho's fragments 48 and 51, there are short personal phrases, allowing the readers to fill in the rest with their thoughts. It is with Sappho's first-person perspective that she creates an intimate connection with the audience
After studying the two dialogues, we’ve found that the concepts of love and beauty are inseparable in Plato’s philosophy. Love, despite not being beautiful in itself, is the love of beauty, and as love evolves, the lover ultimately acquire the ability to go through heaven to the realm of transcendental forms where Beauty lies.
In poem 49-She was dressed well, Sappho depicts the physical characteristics of a women from a man’s point of view:
An elevation of beauty is treated as a form of improvement, both for men and for women. Simply put, women emphasize their differences in order to gain a sense of equality and avoid comparison from men. However women are limited in the sense that beauty in itself is very restricting. And the fact that women direct their beauty towards men shows us that men are the basis and the end means of beauty. In which this beautification is not really a form of self-improvement; there is no real flourishing...
As stated by ‘The Duchess’, Margaret Wolfe Hungerford’s famous quote “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” As a result, beauty can describe as an inspiring view present in everything that can be seen. To begin, beauty can be viewed in a building as large and extravagant as the white house to the small hometown market or even in the sight of a single flower to a field filled with a million flowers. Also, beauty can be seen in the sunrise over the peaks of the mountains and also in the sunset glowing across a calm lake surrounded by the bright colors of the fall trees. Furthermore, people have physical beauty, which can be found in a person’s features, figure, or complexion. In the poem “Beauty & Dress” by Robert Herrick he explains the beauty he sees in his wife. Herrick states,
Beauty is a term we all hear and use very often, but just like many words in our vocabulary, we do not stop, think about, and process what it truly means. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, beauty is the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit. Based on that definition and what we internally think ourselves, we can formulate some general image in our mind. Some consensus qualities are bright colors, a flowing feel, and a feeling of calmness. Based on those generalizations, then the idea of something beautiful being sublime is impossible. But is it? In my opinion, beauty and sublimity can coexist within an individual’s perception
...e ability to achieve anything in life. Hopefully, readers would learn from this novel that beauty is not the most important aspect in life. Society today emphasizes the beauty of one's outer facade. The external appearance of a person is the first thing that is noticed. People should look for a person's inner beauty and love the person for the beauty inside. Beauty, a powerful aspect of life, can draw attention but at the same time it can hide things that one does not want disclosed. Beauty can be used in a variety of ways to affect one's status in culture, politics, and society. Beauty most certainly should not be used to excuse punishment for bad deeds. Beauty is associated with goodness, but that it is not always the case. This story describes how the external attractiveness of a person can influence people's behavior and can corrupt their inner beauty.
The definition of beauty is varying among different people in the world. Even though almost everyone knows the term beauty, many people are struggling in defining it and persuading others to agree with their opinions. Beauty is defined by a combination of qualities existent in a person or thing that fulfills the aesthetic feels or brings about profound gratification. Many people define beauty as a term to describe a person’s physical appearance; they often think that beauty comes from magazines, video girls, or even models. Although the term beauty can define a person’s physical appearance, true beauty lies in the way one acts and thinks rather than the way one look.