A novel is just a glimpse, a framed and sometimes fragmented exploration into the depths of memory, psychology, time and place. Willa Cather's My Ántonia (pronounced "an-ton-ee-yuh") is one of the seminal works of the great American pastoral tradition, similar in style to O Pioneers! It is told as a reflection by Cather's friend from their … Continue reading Modernism in My Ántonia
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The Story of French Impressionism, Part III: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) was born into a lower middle-class family in France. His father was a tailor and his mother worked as a seamstress. At a young age he wanted to be a singer, however due to his family's financial concerns, he went to work in a porcelain factory until a new mechanized procedure was … Continue reading The Story of French Impressionism, Part III: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
La Roue
La Roue (1923) Director: Abel Gance A Victor Hugo quote begins The Wheel - "Creation is a Great Wheel which does not move without crushing someone." This epic film opens with a dramatic and cataclysmic train crash. Sisif (played by Séverin-Mars who died of a heart attack before the release of the film) the ironically … Continue reading La Roue
Socrates Ridiculed in the Clouds
The Clouds, first performed in 423 BC at the Dionysia, is Aristophanes's masterpiece, though it received only third place at the festival. Aristophanes's earlier plays had all been a string of successes. There is a rumor that, in anger at his loss over the Clouds, Aristophanes edited the original manuscript. This is referenced in the … Continue reading Socrates Ridiculed in the Clouds
The Reckoning of Edom in Obadiah
The book of Obadiah is a text that claims to record a vision of Obadiah; a vision of the downfall of Edom (the kingdom that is descended from Esau), a mountainous kingdom located just south of Moab and Israel, or Judah. The book is a single chapter lasting twenty-one verses, and is sometimes written as "Abdias". … Continue reading The Reckoning of Edom in Obadiah
Notes on the Trachiniae
In The Women of Trachis, also called the Trachiniae, Sophocles exposes the audience to the recollections of a domestic woman, Deianira (Greek for "destroyer of husband"), and wife of the great Heracles (Romanized as Hercules). In contract to Aeschylus's portrayal of Clytemnestra at the end of the Trojan War in his Oresteia, the audience is compelled to sympathize … Continue reading Notes on the Trachiniae
Plato’s Republic Book II (Part I): Glaucon and Adeimantus
Glaucon and Adeimantus, both brothers and Athenians (brothers of Plato), make up the bulk of the remainder of the Republic. Both brothers are praised by Socrates for their noble actions as soldiers at Megara and also for their aristocratic lineage, descending from Ariston (meaning "excellence"). The Battle of Megara was a crucial victory for the Athenians … Continue reading Plato’s Republic Book II (Part I): Glaucon and Adeimantus
The Navigator
9/5/2016 The Navigator (1924) Director: Buster Keaton and Donald Crisp The Navigator is another classic Buster Keaton film, and one of his first great films, following Sherlock, Jr. It contains some of Keaton's best stunts and is based on the screenplay by Clyde Bruckman, a writer for other great comedies, including the works of W.C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy, … Continue reading The Navigator
