Spiritual Decay in The Waste Land In The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot develops his theme of sterility and decay in the post-World War I man by focusing on the aspect of "religious dearth or superficiality reflected in despintualized love" (Pinion). For Eliot, man's inability to find real love or to move beyond superficial sexual gratification is congruous to the spiritual decay of his soul. In the first part of the poem, "The Burial of the Dead'~ Eliot's allusions to two love stories amidst a backdrop
Dryness and Spiritual Decay in The Waste Land T.S. Eliot peppers "The Waste Land," his apocalyptic poem, with images of modern aridity and inarticulacy that contrast with fertile allusions to previous times. Eliot's language details a brittle era, rife with wars physical and sexual, spiritually broken, culturally decaying, dry and dusty. His references to the Fisher King and mythical vegetation rituals imply that the 20th-century world is in need of a Quester to irrigate the land. "The Waste
Oppression and Spiritual Deterioration in William Blake's Poem London London I wander thro' each charter'd street, 1 Near where the charter'd Thames does flow, 2 And mark in every face I meet, 3 Marks of weakness, marks of woe. 4 In every cry of every Man, 5 In every Infant's cry of fear, 6 In every voice, in every ban, 7 The mind-forg'd manacles I hear: 8 How the Chimney-sweeper's cry 9 Every blackning Church appalls, 10 And the hapless Soldier's sigh, 11
The Spiritual and Physical Dimensions in The Birthmark Fred Allen Wolf notes in Taking the Quantum Leap that it was not until the 20th century that scientists realized that “to observe is to disturb, for observation breaks the wholeness of nature.” If observing disturbs, then when a scientist tampers and tries to perfect nature the result can only be disastrous. The goal of most scientists is to observe and understand the mysteries of nature. Nathaniel Hawthorne realized that the scientists of
Spiritual Murder in Georg Buchner's Woyzeck Throughout dramatic history, tragedies have depicted a hero's humanity being stripped from him. Usually, as in Shakespeare's classic paradigms, we see the hero, whether King Lear or Othello, reduced from his original noble stature to nothingness and death. Yet Georg Buchner's fragmentary play Woyzeck shows us a protagonist already stripped of humanity, transformed into and treated as an animal. Indeed, Woyzeck, far from being a simple tale of a village
James H. Cone's The Spirituals and the Blues The book, The Spirituals and the Blues, by James H. Cone, illustrates how the slave spirituals and the blues reflected the struggle for black survival under the harsh reality of slavery and segregation. The spirituals are historical songs which speak out about the rupture of black lives in a religious sense, telling us about people in a land of bondage, and what they did to stay united and somehow fight back. The blues are somewhat different from
Banquo - a Spiritual Force in Macbeth Who cannot learn from Shakespeare's Macbeth this moral lesson: That crime does not pay? And who can deny that the playwright created a spiritual force in the play in the person of Banquo? This essay is his story. Lily B. Campbell in her volume of criticism, Shakespeare's Tragic Heroes: Slaves of Passion, discusses how fear enters the life of Banquo with the murder of Duncan and his two attendants: And as Lady Macbeth is helped from the room
Social and Spiritual Energy in Middlemarch I do not believe that it is sufficient to say that Middlemarch explores the ways in which social and spiritual energy can be frustrated; it would be more appropriate to say that Middlemarch explores the ways in which social and spiritual energies (ideals if you will) are completely destroyed and perverted. One need only look to Lydgate to see an example of idealism being destroyed by the environment in which it is found. At the start of the novel, we
The Spiritual Quest in On the Road A disillusioned youth roams the country without truly establishing himself in one of the many cities he falls in love with. In doing so, he manages with the thought or presence of his best friend. What is he searching for? While journeying on the road, Sal Paradise is not searching for a home, a job, or a wife. Instead, he longs for a mental utopia offered by Dean Moriarty. This object of his brotherly love grew up in the streets of America. Through the hardships
Bono's Path Towards Spiritual Enlightenment While most celebrities keep their religious beliefs private, the music of the Irish rock group U2, with lyrics written by lead singer Bono, contains many religious references and ideas. A closer analysis of the song lyrics shows an evolution of the religious ideas contained within. The changing and development of these ideas corresponds to many psychological and sociological theories of faith evolution, including those of Alfred Adler and James Fowler
American Negro Spiritual originally sung by black slaves during their time working of the fields. Although performers in the 20th century acknowledged the historic significance of this piece, it has also been used as an instrument of cultural appropriation by white Americans and Europeans. The meaning of this song radiates in the words and exposes its purpose to those who study the music of slaves and its transformation into the Gospel and Jazz genres. The origin of the spiritual was likely one-hundred
region from the Mississippi Delta to East Texas”(Barlow 3). It was believed that this began as a call and response style, which matured into the work song. From that standpoint, after the release of the slaves, the work song then matured into their Spirituals, and later was introduced to the whites through black-faced Minstrel of Medicine shows (How the Blues Overview). As the music matured and became more renowned, its influence became prominent in the music styles of the time, and in the intertwining
The Spiritual Voyages of Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness describes an outward journey to the heart of Africa that parallels an inward journey to the heart and depths of man's being. Two spiritual voyages are made by Kurtz and Marlow. Kurtz was a great man who discovered a flaw in himself while working in Africa. He lacked "restraint" to control the emerging dark side which he found within himself. He plumbs the depths of man's dark side -a side which civilization and culture represses -
Spiritual and Traditional Aspects of Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe describes in his book Things Fall Apart (1958) some interesting features of what life could look like in an African village during late 19th century. The society that the Nigerian author presents is in most ways considerably different from our western society of today. Life in the African village of Umuofia was, among many other things, spiritual and traditional. The spiritual aspect of life in Umuofia is well illustrated
big grand story. But then again, I have been immersed in God's life for all of mine and I can't complain about that. I was born on a Thursday in January and as soon as I was able, about a week and a half later, I was in church. That is where my spiritual knowledge started. That goes a bit too far back though to make this a two page paper. My actual individual walk with Jesus started much later. As I said, I grew up in the church and I appreciate that fact. All of my life I had heard about Jesus
that lead to regressive thinking. The novel pokes fun at the attention to impractical details, such as to the spent copying the Leibowitz blueprints. Miller also mocks humans by describing the inordinate amount of attention and energy given to a spiritual being such as Leibowitz, as today's society worships God. Finally, the most absurd way Miller mocks today's society occurs when he describes how they do not give something very important the considered attention that it deserves. These are three
Due to the spread and subsequent splintering of the faith during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, as people from West African countries were shipped throughout the Americas (North, Central, and South), these spiritual forces have been defined in a variety of different ways, with different inter-religious analogies being used in an attempt to clarify the subject. However, in his book The Handbook of Yoruba Religious Concepts, Baba Ifa Karade, an initiated practitioner
The Spiritual and Moral Journeys in The Quest of the Holy Grail The Quest of the Holy Grail is an exciting tale that follows the adventures of King Arthur's knights as they scour the countryside for the legendary Holy Grail. Throughout their journeys, the knights engage in many exciting jousts and sword fights with a variety of enemies. The author of The Quest of the Holy Grail intends for the story to be more than just entertainment: the knights' search for the Holy Grail is analogous to the
Physical And Spiritual Effects Of Abortion Abortion is the knowing destruction of the life of an unborn child. But this is only part of the story as abortion also hurts the woman involved. Abortion affects women physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When an abortion is performed on a woman, she becomes subject to many physical complications. Blood loss during the procedure causes diversion of blood flow to various organs and can result in shock. When the canal of the cervix is dilated,
The Spiritual Decline of Macbeth The play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, has been analyzed to such an extent that many assume it is impossible to say anything new about the play. Yet, a close reading of Macbeth can still yield tremendous insights. One interesting point worth noting is Macbeth's inability to answer "Amen" to a solemn prayer to God. Shakespeare's post-medieval world strictly adhered to the binary opposition between good and evil, or in other words, between Christ and Satan