Vision Of Paradise Research Articles

All That Glitters: The Golden Age of Rome in the Ars Amatoria

Abstract: I argue that Ovid depicts Rome as a Golden Age at the beginning of Book 1 of the Ars Amatoria, long before he makes the comparison explicit in Books 2 and 3. My approach is largely comparative, as I consider motifs common across various representations of the aurea aetas , such as commerce between gods and men and the absence of sailing. I then consider this new vision of paradise on earth in the context of the four long-recognized treatments of the Golden Age in the Ars Amatoria. Ovid’s sense of irony exposes faults in supposed Golden Ages and instead praises modernity for reasons completely counter to the moralizing of the Augustan regime.

THE APOTHEOSIS OF THE SPIRIT - CLIMAXES OF THE MAHLERIAN SYMPHONIC DRAMATURGY

Whether we are talking about opera music or symphonic music, each of these genres develops specific dramaturgies and climaxes, closely dependent on the stage action in the first case, or programmatic intentions in the second case. Between these there can, of course, be influences, similarities, contrasts, etc. The present study proposes an analysis of the existing climaxes in the symphonic music of the Viennese composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), to distinguish a certain taxonomy or typology of them, but also to give a broader perspective on them. Mahler stands out due to the mastery with which he constructs his musical dramaturgies of symphonic essence. The postromanticism that is attributed to him is characterized by a fragmentation of the musical syntax, which stems from the composer's intentionality subordinated to the transmission of a great diversity of ideational meanings. But here we are not only talking about the diversity of ideational meanings, but also about their breadth and depth, and the claim to express them with the help of musical art. The tragic feeling of life, the fragility of the human being, the obsession with death, the desire for salvation, the vision of paradise, the action to change society, the access to the depth of the self, the involvement in personal becoming are some ideas that Mahler tried to translate into music, debated themes in the writings of Dostoevsky, which Mahler often read. The famous phrase that Mahler addresses to the composers of the dodecaphonic school "reading from Dostoevsky is more important than the counterpoint" (Höweler, 1952, p. 475) further confirms this. In this way, the premises of existentialist philosophy and expressionism in art are created, by experiencing an individual freedom and a subjectivism that reaches, at least in the field of musical art, the highest heights.

O mito de São Tomé ou Sumé: O nexo teológico-político entre o Oriente e o Ocidente

In Vision of Paradise , Sergio Buarque de Holanda affirms the myth of Sao Tome as the only conquest myth of Luso-Brazilian origin. Unlike the Castilian world, which was guided – as of the earliest letters penned by Christopher Columbus – by imaginary questions on the idea of Paradise on Earth, the source of youth, the Amazon and its treasures, and the white king and his mountains of gold, the Portuguese world was more modestly and uniquely nourished by a fantasy based on the mythology of Sao Tome [Saint Thomas] and his journey around the world. In Brazil, Manuel da Nobrega’s earliest letters on the term “ Sume ” are used to refer to the figure of Tome , to human footprints, and to a mysterious messenger of supernatural truths establishing communication between Brazil and India, and these regions with the Catholic-Portuguese world. The myth of Tome or Sume thus serves as a historical solution or an intellectual and imaginary attempt to link Brazil and Asia and both to the Christian cosmology.

Leitores e leituras da obra de Sérgio Buarque de Holanda nos anos 1940 e 1950

Pretende-se analisar as leituras que foram propostas sobre a obra de Sérgio Buarque de Holanda produzida ao longo dos anos 1940 e 1950, por meio do estudo detalhado das resenhas e dos comentários elaborados a respeito de seus livros. Como veremos abaixo, apesar de não haver certamente a totalidade das notícias que foram publicadas, as edições seguintes de Raízes do Brasil (em 1948, a segunda, e em 1956, a terceira), ou as primeiras de: Cobra de vidro (1944), Monções (1945), Caminhos e fronteiras (1957) e Visão do Paraíso (1958, 1959), não chegaram a gerar um número tão representativo e diversificado de comentários e críticas, como no caso de seu livro de estreia. Ainda mais se considerarmos que nos anos 1950, SBH estava no auge de sua carreira profissional, como diretor do Museu Paulista, e, depois, como catedrático da cadeira de História da Civilização Brasileira do curso de Geografia e História da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras da Universidade de São Paulo (FFFCL/USP), a partir de 1958.

Paradise City

Abstract In a century defined by the rise of cities, the early nineteenth-century painter John Martin broke artistic precedents and represented heavenly Paradise as a space premised on urban living. Though he did not entirely reject the more traditional conception of Paradise as a garden, he merged the rural vision of Paradise with urban structures and spaces. Martin’s widespread popularity, combined with the contentious discourses regarding the nature of the city, ensured that his representations engaged a set of public debates regarding the nature of urban life in profound ways. Martin’s paintings and prints suggested that God not only tolerates cities, but that God builds them and resides in them. In essence, his paintings and prints revealed an urban heaven that helped make a political and religious case for urban life in general.

Ethnography and poetic method: Southwest China, Joseph Rock, and Ezra Pound’s “Drafts & Fragments: Cantos CX–CXVII”

Ezra Pound’s final section of the Cantos—known as Drafts and Fragments—is difficult to interpret given that Pound, probably intentionally, did not offer clear directions on the arrangement and order of the poems before his death. Much of the critical discussion of these last pages has focused on their textual history and the extent to which the poems culminate in a reflective, even confessional, reassessment of the author’s life and political views. While the final cantos are open to various interpretations, a close examination of Pound’s source material suggests that his vision of paradise may have had ideological and political dimensions and in some ways represent a working through or re-articulation of his fascist views. Such an interpretation, however, is both supported and complicated by Pound’s engagement with ethnographic research on Southwest China, and in particular the writings of Joseph Rock, which reveals a sense of reflexivity and a complex engagement with problems of representation and authenticity in ethnographic discourse.

A Reply to Žižek: Reading Fundamentalism (or ISIS) Using Correct Cultural References

In his article “ISIS is a Disgrace to True Fundamentalism,” in which Žižek examines what triggers the violent reactions of Islam, he questions whether the terrorist fundamentalists are really fundamentalists or not. This paper is written with the justification that there is a very fundamental problem in terms of communication science in Žižek's evaluations of the communicative and operational attitudes of ISIS, evaluations that can be taken as a reference. Using the method of hermeneutic reading, this paper will discuss the comments Žižek makes without taking into consideration the local reference values of ISIS's fundamentalism which find their roots in the Islamic literature, starting with these questions: Can a person, or a point of view, that had been born and raised in a culture, read correctly another who is completely foreign to himself as a subject of an understanding that has evolved in its own conditions? Does not the state of failing to read correctly leads one face to face with the danger of falling into the trap of orientalism? This discussion will reveal that the greatest mistake one can do while dealing with Salafi terrorist groups that originated in the Middle East is to evaluate them within the same circle together with Buddhist and Christian fundamentalists as well as with other Muslims because the reference values and the vision of paradise of Salafi Islam do not resemble those of other religions. Contrary to Žižek's arguments, what makes a Salafi living in the Middle East anti-American is not his fight against his “own temptation” but his ambition of turning the world, of those who have established his own paradise that he wants to enter – and the American Dream – on earth, into hell. The American Dream that is being propagated through media has a role in the construction of this ambition as much as Salafi references. Finally, this paper proposes a way against the prophecy that “the children of Mount Olympus and of Mount Hira will never understand each other” (Meric, 2013) and exemplifies this way through a hermeneutic reading of ISIS: of fulfilling one's intellectual responsibility through providing readings that do not exclude the will to know local cultural values... DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3p786

Dialog z tradycją malarską w literackiej i filmowej twórczości Lecha Majewskiego

This article presents Lech Majewski's works in the context of the intersemiotic translation: how the world painting functions in the literature and films of this author. Majewski attempts to make dreams of the modern synthesis of arts come true and in this he reminds of the activities of his Renaissance master, Leonardo da Vinci. This Polish artist by means of the painting tradition (both works as well as fragments of painters' biographies), set in the context of other media (literature, theatre, film) wants to create a modern, intermediate garden of arts whose central topic is the vision of paradise. It can be understood as a place of existence of heroes of his works and - metaphorically - the language of art which the art uses freely uses various materials and media.

“Plowing Gold from the Wasteland”

During the five years of the South Florida land boom, cities grew rapidly and the population skyrocketed. This article examines the three themes used in the northern mainstream press and two Florida newspapers to portray the boom: a vision of paradise, the Everglades as a cornucopia, and easy money on the last frontier. At the same time, naturalists decried the loss of habitat and press organizations sought to establish a code of ethics to limit corporate influence on news content. The results of this study suggest that the press contributed to the land-buying frenzy with numerous promotional articles and avoided any mention of a negative impact on the environment, although that information was available, while viewing the code of ethics as a formality that had little impact on their portrayal of what was occurring in Florida.

Henri Matisse: drawing with scissors: masterpieces from the late years

Although Henri Matisse's paintings and drawings are some of the most revered in the art world, his cut-outs are widely believed to represent the culmination of his artistic career. This volume examines all aspects of Matisse's cut-outs, from the early models for Jazz to the large-scale works that dominated his final creative period. When Jazz, Matisse's handmade book of paper cut-outs was published in the early 1940s, it was considered a dramatic new step for the artist, who had already blazed new ground as the father of the Fauvist movement. In his paintings Matisse had long been working toward a goal of a perfect synthesis of line and colour. By putting scissor to coloured paper, he was able to refine his technique, and he came to see the cut-out as his primary artistic medium in his late career. This collection of reproductions and critical essays seeks to offer a chance to appreciate the full spectrum of Matisse's work in this medium, and presents discoveries about their connection to his earliest works, methods, philosophies and vision of paradise.

The space of the dream: a case of mis‐taken identity?

This paper examines the inherent contradictions presented by locating ‘the space of the dream’. In this case it is the fictitious lamasery of Shangri‐La described by James Hilton in the novel Lost Horizon, claimed to have been inspired by a monastery to the north of Zhongdian in the Chinese province of Yunnan. Whilst some of the idyllic attributes of Hilton’s vision of paradise on Earth are grounded in the natural and cultural diversity of the entire region, contingencies of place were bound to compromise any attempt to promote any one location as such for the purposes of international tourism. If it is a case of mis‐taken identity, however, does it matter? The tourists may internalize their expectations and build a composite image of their diverse and disparate experiences which they take back home.

Honour and Shame as Pivotal Values in Ephrem the Syrian's Vision of Paradise

Honour and Shame as Pivotal Values in Ephrem the Syrian's Vision of Paradise

ABSTRACTS

Irene Samuel. “Milton on Style.”E.R. Gregory. “The Road Not Taken: Milton's Literary Career and ‘L’ Allegro”Edward C. Schweitzer. “Milton's Lycidas, 164.“Robert E. Reiter. “Milton's PL, XII, 648.“Vincent F. Petronella. “Milton's L'Allegro and ii Penseroso.“Robert L. Perry. “Billy Budd: Melville's PL.“John F. Huntley. “Gourmet Cooking and the Vision of Paradise in PL V, 321–49.“Akira Arai, “Adam and the Redemptive History.“William B. Hunter, Jr. “The Center of PL.”Eugene Stanley Fish. “Discovery as Form in Paradise Lost.“John T. Shawcross. “The Style and Genre of Paradise Lost.“Harold E. Toliver. “The Splinter Coalition.“Isabel G. Maccaffrey. “Theme of Paradise Lost, Book III.“Barbara K. Lewalski. “Innocence and Experience in Milton's Eden.“A. B. Chambers. “The Falls of Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost.“Michael Fixler. “The Apocalypse within Paradise Lost.“

I. Peter Damiani and Humbert

Dante, in his vision of Paradise, passes (Canto XXI) into the sphere of Saturn, over which the Thrones preside and where Love has an almost blinding splendour. The Thrones, in the Celestial Hierarchy described for the Middle Ages by the Pseudo-Dionysius, represented tranquillity, the peace which passes understanding, gained through contemplation of God and then interpreted to the world of men. There he sees the golden Jacob's Ladder of Contemplation, with many bright beings passing up and down, one of whom above the others reflected and revealed the brightness. The poet seeks to know why this special intensity and this nearness to humanity is given to one more than to others, and on asking finds that it is Peter Damiani, “Peter the Sinner” as he called himself in life and calls himself here. In his own age Peter was a striking and well-known character of many sides, but Dante's conception of him is strangely unlike that held by most of the modern writers. To some of them he seems the sternest of rigid reformers, to others the most eccentric of ascetics; to theologians he may be known as a learned and prolific writer who has found a secluded sanctuary in Migne's collection: to some historians he is a man who unaccountably influenced a curious age, to others he is the writer of an unblushing and unreadable account of clerical vice. But to Dante he stands for something very different; in the Seventh Sphere, the special home of contemplative saints, he is supreme. He is the type of the contemplative life which comes nearest to God and is therefore most useful to man. If we take this as the centre of Damiani's personality, all his activities and all his writings fall into their proper place. Instead of accidental denunciations of evils and corruptions, isolated comments on theological or clerical life, we have a coherent whole, a full expression of a well-ordered personality. If to most people he is merely an ascetic and a prophet of asceticism, he himself valued the ascetic life as a help to contemplation and as necessary to ensure its perfection.