Ulysses deriding Polyphemus’ is an 1829 work by Turner which depicts the tale from Book IX of Homer’s Odyssey of Ulysses (Odysseus’ name in latin) and his encounter with the cyclops Polyphemus which results in Ulysses blinding the one-eyed giant andsailing away, taunting the son of Poseidon, an action which comes back to bite him… Continue reading Turner’s Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus – a reading
Throughout Paradise Lost, the reader is made aware of Milton’s tendency to use depictions of nature as a form of commentary onthe human state, on the soul and morality of Man and also as a way to subtly shape their characters for the reader, using nature as a vehicle to explore mythical allusions and political… Continue reading Nature and nocuousness – An exploration of Milton’s presentation of prelapsarian Adam and Eve
Born in Florence in 1386, Donatello was, and remains to be, celebrated as one of the most skilled sculptors of the Renaissance. Studying under the likes of Ghiberti and Brunelleschi, he developed a style influenced heavily by the Classical language of architecture but not restricted to this. He used materials ranging from wood to bronze… Continue reading What makes Donatello’s sculptures so compelling?
Katabasis: ‘A going down’ – etymology: καταβαίνειν, Greek, ‘to descend’, from ‘κατα᾽, down, and ‘βαινω’, I go. This essay deals with the question of how Classical literary elements and mythology can be utilised in a way which enhances the critical and provocative in poetry which seeks to cut ties with tradition, in what at surface… Continue reading Classical katabasis in Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’
