Relationships between humans and the Divine have been the subject of many authors writings, in fact the very first text ever published was the Bible; the most comprehensive link between the Divine and humans. History is full of examples of people trying to define their relationship with the Divine or lack there of, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love...'; (Psalm 51:1). In the poems, “God’s Grandeur'; by Gerard Manley Hopkins and “Leda and the Swan'; by William Butler Yeats, humans relationships with the Divine is explored. In these poems we see an attempt to capture the obscurity, beauty and knowledge that are ever present in human beings relationships with the Divine. Hopkins and Yeats use a variety of method to express these views and in many ways differ in their attempts to capture this special relationship, but essentially they are trying to explain the same thing: the interconnection between the Divine and humans.
In many aspect human and Divine relationships are very obscure, since it is often difficult to remain faithful when God does not appear to be apparent in every day life. Hopkins realizes this, but compels the reader to take a closer look at the splendor of God which surrounds us every day, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God'; (Hopkins). Everything around is full of God’s glory, but one needs to realize that, “God’s glory is hidden except to the inquiring eye or on special occasions'; (MacKenzie, 1981, p. 63). This is represented by the comparison of God’s glory to the shaking of gold foil. Gold foil when viewed from only one angle appears to be dull, but when shaken gives of radiant light, much like lightning. If we limit ourselves to looking for God only on the surface we may actually miss His true radiance because we are unwilling to explore other venues to discover Him. Much like lightning, God’s display of glory can be dangerous and powerful: “The electrical images convey danger as well as power, but their display is rare'; (MacKenzie, 1981, p. 63). The glory of God is present but at the same time is obscure and irregular, we must therefore, strive to see it in our everyday life. Yeats also uses these images of power to portray the obscure nature of the Divine: “A sudden blow: the great wings beating still'; (Yeats).
In the next chapter Haught explains the idea of beauty. Haught explains beauty as this feeling of allowing ourselves to be “carried away by the aesthetic phenomenon.” He says that we can think of God as the unlimited beauty where we long in our own desires. Finally Haught explains truth as God. Truth, in Haught’s opinion, evades us intellectually. Every ti me we find something true, there is yet another truth to be discovered. This fits in with Haught’s horizon
The myths which prove the contradictory behavior of the gods, acting as both benefactors and tormentors of man, can readily be explained when viewed in light of the prime directive for man, to worship the gods and not “overstep,” and the ensuing “Deus ex Mahina” which served to coerce man to fulfill his destiny as evidenced by the myths: “Pandora,” “Arachne, and “Odysseus.” Humankind and it’s range of vision over the gods beauty and power portrayed them to be benefactors but unseemingly it depicted their affliction towards humans.
“All experiences shone differently because a God glowed from them; all decisions and prospects concerning the different as well, for one had oracles and secret signs and believed in prophecy. ‘Truth’ was formerly experienced differently because the lunatic could be considered its mouthpiece”
Here, Taylor envisions a different kind of God, not one who waved his hand, uttered some magic words, and pulled the universe from his Godly top hat (p.151). Taylor’s God is a working God surrounded by wood and iron, soot
Hamlet and Laertes have different responses to their fathers death. Hamlet mourns for a couple of months, and is never really over it, then eventually goes insane. Then he procrastinates to revenge his father. He returns to Elsinore with a mob, threatening to overthrow Claudius if he does not explain his fathers murder. He questions nothing, and conspires with the King to kill Hamlet. Both Hamlet and Laertes love their family, and will go to all cost to protect them, including Ophelia.
The modest beginning of “Yet Do I Marvel” by Countee Cullen develops the overall paradox of a kind God operating wicked in the eyes of man. The last lines of the poem solidify the complex nature of the Creator by giving yet another paradox, but this time to poets of his time of the Harlem
God is a big theme in writing, regardless of the time period and culture; that culture's relationship with god could be seen in their writing. Poetry allows for very vague themes and is an ancient form of expression and writing. People use poetry to portray things that are important to them such as money, religion, etc. In “Huswifery”, Edward Taylor uses metaphors, imagery, and simile to talk about his strong submissive relationship with god. These all help develop the theme of his relationship with god, that only these devices can, specifically in the writing of poetry.
The second piece by Max Ehrmann takes on a different approach, but says essentially the same message using a variety of rhetorical devices to show the theme. Max states “And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should” (Ehrmann, 2) What she means is that however life is to the individual, the universe will always have more to offer. She then goes on to say to “be at peace with God whatever you conceive Him to be” (Ehrmann, 2). The rhetorical device used in this line shows the reader that however the world is in there eyes, one should accept the reality that God has put them in (however you perceive God to be). Even though she mentions God, the poem has nothing to do with religion, yet is in relation with self peace and
A Divine Image gives human characteristics to the feelings of cruelty, jealousy, terror, and secrecy. The poem begins, "Cruelty has a human heart...
Due to the dominance of men and masculinity in our society, women have been required to protest and fight for rights. Whether the rights were social, health, legal or educational if women want something done they must force and reason with men to gain access to those rights. One of the salient causes that women have fought for and are still fighting for in this day of age is the full control of our bodies, specifically concerning reproduction. On account of being passionate about women’s rights, my topic is birth control and how it is portrayed and represented in different media sources that have liberal and conservative views and beliefs, I followed this topic by tracking coverage from the Washington Post and New York Times. Before I started
Blake was both a poet and an artist and he created many Illuminated works which combined the two. These forms, each powerful in their own right are even more so when used together as in "The Divine Image." In analyzing this piece I will be looking at the elements and principles of art, the corresponding ‘elements and principles' of poetry and how they support one another to convey William Blake's idea of Innocence.
One way that Blake manifests the theme of a man being corrupted though experience is with imagery. For instance, in “The Echoing Green,” Blake creates imagery that portrays children playing “on the echoing green” with their families “sitting under the oak” (10, 13). The imagery paints a picture of a perfect
The theme of authority is possibly the most important theme and the most popular theme concerning William Blake’s poetry. Blake explores authority in a variety of different ways particularly through religion, education and God. Blake was profoundly concerned with the concept of social justice. He was also profoundly a religious man. His dissenting background led him to view the power structures and legalism that surrounded religious establishments with distrust. He saw these as unwarranted controls over the freedom of the individual and contrary to the nature of a God of liberty. Figures such as the school master in the ‘schoolboy’, the parents in the ‘chimney sweeper’ poems, the guardians of the poor in the ‘Holy Thursday’, Ona’s father in ‘A Little girl lost’ and the priestly representatives of organised religion in many of the poems, are for Blake the embodiment of evil restriction.
The king forbade Fortinbras to wage an attack against Denmark, and instead suggested he attack the Poles to vent his anger. Fortinbras agreed to the plan, but had no intentions of following it. Polonius was King Hamlet’s advisor and the father of Ophelia and Laertes, both of whom respected and loved him, despite his arrogant demeanour. Young Hamlet murdered Polonius accidentally, thinking him to be the king eves dropping on a conversation between Hamlet and his mother. "How now! A rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead!" Laertes returned home immediately after hearing of his father's death and confronted the King, accusing him of the murder of his father. Once Claudius told Laertes that Hamlet was responsible for his father's death, he and Claudius concoct a scheme to kill Hamlet using a poison tipped sword. "…Hamlet, thou art slain…The treacherous instrument is in thy, unbated and envenom'd…" Hamlet does indeed die as a result of wounds inflicted by Laertes, but it is the poisoned tipped sword that causes the demise of Laertes as well.
1946 saw the birth of the Baby Boom era with more than 3.8 million babies born in that year alone.The baby boom lasted until 1964, when we saw a drastic decrease in births. This sudden and very beneficial decline could in part be attributed to the availability of birth control. Birth control, otherwise known as “contraceptives,” are very useful to many women (62%). While birth control is seen by many as a great advantage, those who disagree with it still view contraceptives as taboo or a violation of a sacred right. Contraceptives, not only help in healthy family planning, but also have many beneficial side effects for women’s health, there for the government should keep funding Birth Control as well as places that help women receive contraceptives