8/26/16 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) Director: Rex Ingram ★★★☆☆ In returning to the silent era films after a brief respite, we find a monumental epic of cinematic history. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse tells the story of an Argentinian family of diverse roots as they grow and move to France before being split … Continue reading The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Month: August 2016
The Idea of the Enemy in Aeschylus’s The Persians
"However, you can be sure that so great a multitude of men never perished in a single day" -says the messenger to the Persians (line 432). Aeschylus's second part of a lost trilogy has come down to us as The Persians, told from the perspective of the Greek enemy in the Persian wars. It is unique, … Continue reading The Idea of the Enemy in Aeschylus’s The Persians
Thoughts on Aeschylus
Agamemnon, the first play of the Oresteia trilogy begins much like other great plays, such as Hamlet, on the walls of the city with a a lone watchman who bemoans the state of affairs, waiting for a light showing that Agamemnon, his king, is returning home from the Trojan War. Upon spotting the foreboding beacon, he … Continue reading Thoughts on Aeschylus
The Oresteia: An Affirmation of the Noble Lie
In Aeschylus's The Libation Bearers, we are first introduced to Orestes, the son of the late and betrayed Agamemnon. He appears, hidden, before the grave of his father as his sister Electra is making libations in her father's honor. This second part of the trilogy takes place an unknown number of years after the murder … Continue reading The Oresteia: An Affirmation of the Noble Lie
Dialectic in Agamemnon
The central dialectic of the first part of Aeschylus's famous trilogy occurs between the infamous Clytemnestra, a queen rivaled only by Lady Macbeth, and the Chorus of older men of the city of Mycenea. Both are skeptical of each others' motivations and ambitions. In considering an historical example, recall the feud between King John of Lackland … Continue reading Dialectic in Agamemnon
Nature in the Nicomachean Ethics
Regarding the question of nature, or rather the “not-natural”, as has been commonly asked, we recall Shakespeare’s use of the word ‘natural’ in King Lear. In the play, political nature has been upset. If we accept Aristotle’s famous pronouncement that “man is a political animal”, then indeed human nature has also been upset. King Lear … Continue reading Nature in the Nicomachean Ethics
