“Come and see the blood in the streets,”(1/5 voices). Neruda once wrote this line at the end of his poem “Explico unas cosas” (I’m Explaining a Few Things), to explain the effects of the Spanish Civil War on the people of Spain. Spain was under the dictatorship of Fransisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War, which lasted from 1936 to 1939. The war caused much distain on the land and the people of Spain. Artists portray gruesome events by getting the reader to feel the connection between what they are viewing and the disruption of peace, only telling the reader certain elements of the war, and giving the reader a very clear image in their mind of what happened during the war.
Some similarities between Neruda’s poem and the video are that they both tell a story, they both explain that there was an criminal attacking the country, and they both have similar beginnings. Both mediums show the progression of the war. In the video, the creator has a major tonal change happen. As Neruda is talking you hear the calm, pleading tone of his voice, then the dramatic change happens and Neruda is practically shouting, forcing the viewer to listen to what he has to say. While this is happening, images are also changing, from everyday life of families, markets, and smiling children, to dead bodies, people crying, and women learning how to use a gun. Similarly, Neruda shows this change in his poem when he says, “My house was called the house of flowers, because in every cranny geraniums burst…/And one morning all that was burning…” (Voice 4, voice 11). Both artists shifted the reader from the feeling of happiness to the feeling of dreaded despair, a feeling which forces you to suffer through the terror that was the Civil War of Spain. Another sim...
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...ne was fighting back with whoever they were fighting with. All these differences help the reader to understand the Spanish war and process the facts about the war better than they would have without the differences.
Artists portray gruesome events in many ways including poems and videos. Gruesome events are portrayed in similar ways and also different ways including what is put in and what is left out. Whether it be leaving out who started the war, telling the whole story, or emphasizing elements in different ways the artist clearly portrays the Civil War of Spain as a gruesome and horrifying event. Both mediums clearly show how life was before the war and how people have been hurt. Both artists give the reader a sense of how the war affected everyone in Spain and eventually give the rest of the world a reason to “come and see the blood in the streets”(1/5 voices).
The killings made by the slaves are saddening, too. Mutilating the whites and leaving their bodies lying is inhumane. It is such a shocking story. This book was meant to teach the reader on the inhumanity of slavery. It also gives us the image of what happened during the past years when slavery was practised.
Charles Yale Harrison’s “in the trenches” and mark twain's” two ways of seeing a river” are both autobiographical narratives that use descriptive language. In Harrison’s “in the trenches,” his brilliant use of sensory imagery lets the readers mind experience the treacherous and horrendous reality of war, with just the use of words. On the other hand, in twains “two ways of seeing a river,” the use of sensory imagery is carefully used to help the reader visualize the change in twains perception of the once “majestic river.” Both authors effortlessly utilize imagery to illustrate the realities of their topics. Harrison uses all the aspects of sensory imagery to display the life men are living in the trenches; meanwhile, in twains essay, he partially
Edgar Allan Poe is known for some of the most horrifying stories ever written through out time. He worked with the natural world, animals, and weather to create chilling literature. Two most notable thrillers are “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Poe was infatuated with death, disfigurement, and dark characteristics of the world. He could mix characters, setting, theme,and mood in a way that readers are automatically drawn into reading. Both of these short stories have the same major aspects in common.
A question that arises in almost any medium of art, be it music, film or literature, is whether or not the depiction of violence is merely gratuitous or whether it is a legitimate artistic expression. There can be no doubt that Michael Ondaatje's long poem The Collected Works of Billy the Kid is a violent work, but certain factors should be kept in mind before passing it off as an attempt to shock and titillate; certainly, the poem does both of these, but they are not the primary purpose of the work. For one thing, social context needs to be considered; Billy lived in the "Wild West", a time associated with range wars, shoot-outs and great train robberies. The entire legend of Billy the Kid has been built around his criminal activities and notorious reputation; indeed, the more popular this myth becomes, the more people he is accused of having murdered. If anything, it was a cultural fascination with violence that "created" the legend, perhaps even more so than anything the "real" Billy ever did. Michael Ondaatje comments on this phenomenon and actually offers an alternative vision of who Billy the Kid was; perhaps he was not just a blood-thirsty killer but a man who, due to circumstance and human nature, was continually being pushed over the edge. Ondaatje is more concerned with the motivations behind the acts of violence than the acts of violence themselves: "A motive? some reasoning we can give to explain all this violence. Was there a source for all this? yup -" (54). If they shock, it is to shock the readers out of complicity and encourage them to think about the nature of violence and their own capacity for it.
Vivid imagery is one way with which writers protest war. Crane uses imagery to glorify, and shortly thereafter demean and undercut war, through the use of imagery, by placing positive and negative images of war close to eachother. “Blazing flag of the regiment,” and “the great battle God,” are placed before “A field where a thousand corpses lie.” (A) These lines’ purposes are to put images into the reader’s head, of how great war may appear, and then displaying that there are too many casualties involved with it. In Dulce Et Decorum Est, a man is described dyin...
Death has been widely portrayed in Art throughout the centuries, the most depicted death scene possibly being the death of Christ. Every death scene is not created equal, despite the fact that the works of Art focus on death. The feelings, symbolism, and themes that are conveyed by the scene are diverse. To see how varied the effect can be from different death scenes we can look at The Sortie made by the Garrison of Gibraltar by John Trumbull in 1789 and The Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West in 1770. It’s interesting to see how these artists depicts their own view on death in these specific works, since in fact West acted as a teacher to Trumbull yet their styles differ dramatically.1, 2 Although both works of art put death at the center of the scene and take place during a War; with the aid of the Artists’ unique styles and directions, completely different interpretations are invoked in the viewers.
Death, despair, and revenge, these three words form a treacherous triangle to any reader who dare enter the mind of Edgar Allen Poe. In many of his works these expressions seem to form a reoccurring theme. Comparing the works "The Mask of the Red Death" and "The Cask of Amontillado", we will discuss these themes while analyzing the method behind Poe’s madness.
The detailed descriptions of the dead man’s body show the terrible costs of the war in a physical aspect. O’Brien’s guilt almost takes on its own rhythm in the repetition of ideas, phrases, and observations about the man’s body. Some of the ideas here, especially the notion of the victim being a “slim, young, dainty man,” help emphasize O’Brien’s fixation on the effects of his action—that he killed someone who was innocent and not meant to be fighting in the war. At the same time, his focus on these physical characteristics, rather than on his own feelings, betrays his attempt to keep some distance in order to dull the pain. The long, unending sentences force the reader to read the deta...
...istic maturity was forced out of the struggle to balance her (essentially Marxist) politics and a humanist art that searched for deeper meaning. Coe saw the print medium as a better one for reaching a wider audience than painting; ‘Tragedy of War’ was rabidly about the angry evils of the world reflecting in this case on the American Wars, the blunt, mostly black and white imagery follows the tradition of Goya, Otto Dix and George Grosz. The work can be described as both urgent and timeless. Her most riveting print, War Street, depicts a vast crowd carrying a platform on which the skeleton of Death holds a sickle and rides a dead horse. Pulled behind are the bull and bear of Wall Street. Coe's symbols are grimmer, bloodier versions of newspaper editorial cartoons. Her gritty etched lines make the image seem like a telegram from the time of Europe's Black Death.
...them, plus, the northern territories of Mexico were not populated, so it was very inviting for them. So, basically, it was the Americans invading Mexican territory and the Mexicans were just defending their selves from the invading settlers. The Mexicans were also angered by the annexation of Texas, which used to be apart of Mexican territory.
Preston, Paul. The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution and Revenge. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2007. Print.
‘Poetry can challenge the reader to think about the world in new ways.’ It provokes the readers to consider events, issues and people with revised understanding and perspectives. The poems Dulce Et Decorum Est (Wilfred Owen, 1917) and Suicide in the Trenches (Siegfried Sassoon, 1917), were composed during World War One and represented the poets’ point of views in regards to the glorification of war and encouraged readers to challenge their perspectives and reflect upon the real consequences behind the fabrications of the glory and pride of fighting for one’s nation.
Edgar Allen Poe is regarded as an influential author within the genre of horror and gothic tales, that suggest – ‘what is out there.’ Poe is best known for his dark, gruesome images centered on death in order to provide his readers with a sense of terror within. These qualities are evident in Poe’s short story, “The Tell-tell Heart” as the device of the narrator symbolises various characteristics that individuals can hold. This is achieved through Poe utilising various literary devices to express the narrator’s mindset, fears and obsessions, which lead him to committing murder.
I will discuss the similarities by which these poems explore themes of death and violence through the language, structure and imagery used. In some of the poems I will explore the characters’ motivation for targeting their anger and need to kill towards individuals they know personally whereas others take out their frustration on innocent strangers. On the other hand, the remaining poems I will consider view death in a completely different way by exploring the raw emotions that come with losing a loved one.
War is a patriotic act where one seeks the determination to lead their country. It can be viewed noble, cruel, inhumane and can make an individual a hero or a criminal. It effects everyone in a society, hoping their loved one is safe whether fighting in the trenches or waiting at home. It has led to severe individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. Two poems in war literature “Anthem for Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen and “Facing it” by Yusef Komunyakaa, the authors’ different perspectives will be presented. Owen portrays war as a horror battlefield not to be experienced and the glorious feeling to fight for one’s country. Komunyakaa on the other hand shows an African American that serves in Vietnam War and visits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. The poets’ choice of diction, setting of battlefield and various uses of poetic devices create a desired effect.