While the theories on the artist intent are of plenty, there is no mistaking that this piece provokes deeper contemplation on the depiction of beauty and the power of “ugly” imagery in this painting. One can argue that over vast time periods and amongst culture the defined interpretation of beauty has seen many profound depictions and interpretations displayed in infinite works of “beautiful” art. We must ask ourselves, can only works of “beauty” be aesthetically pleasing to the eye or can we find it in a variety of work through…
Of all the characters from Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”, Beatrice is perhaps the most interesting. As a brilliant and outspoken, her character is quite the opposite of her cousin, Hero. One must ask, “In what way is Beatrice different from other women during Shakespeare's era?” And furthermore, “for what purpose did the author write her as the firm character she plays as?” Beatrice’s character cannot be adequately pegged down by the interpretation of the reader, as she is both seemingly realistically presented and yet fictionally portrayed by the author.…
Dorian Gray’s characterization illustrates the theme throughout the story. At the beginning he is a charming, innocent young man who does not care so much about his looks. He then meets Lord Henry Wotton who severely influences his views and outlook on life. Lord Henry explains to Dorian that his looks are everything. Once he loses them, he will be and have nothing. Lord Henry tells him to live life to its fullest now and do things that pleasure him because once he has lost his looks, he will no longer have the opportunity. As Dorian examines the finished portrait of himself he realizes that Lord Henry is right about his looks and becomes resentful of the painting, angry that it will continue to look youthful while he slowly deteriorates. He pledges to sell his soul in order to stay beautiful while the painting takes on his altering features. Dorian then begins to…
Time’s versatile affect on life is seen through the use of successive contrasts such as “quench and ripen” and “kiss and kill”. The anticipation of the future is personified in the line “Tomorrow begs him, breathless for his lack” referring to those who cannot wait for another day, presumably in excitement. Yet the oxymoron “beauty dead” reminds us of the decomposing effects of time and that life must ultimately end no matter how much we wish it would stop to prevent beauty and youth from fading.…
The painting itself is an overarching, ever-present symbol in The Picture of Dorian Gray, not just in the text but to nearly all of its characters. Though physically it is nothing more than a two-dimensional object, it becomes the main antagonist of their lives and has such far-reaching and powerful influences that it seems almost to be more alive than Dorian himself. It represents beauty, mortality, time, and art, all the major themes of the book, and its degradation literally presents to us the dangers inherent in these…
The common physical beauty is what Elaine Scarry called “a symmetry of everyone’s relation to one another” in her book called On Beauty and Being Just (1999). This means that beautiful subjects or objects are evenly proportioned and ideal in all their forms. In other words, if symmetry is perfection, then beauty is perfection too. At the same time, as absolute symmetry does not exist- beauty is a divine feature of “chosen”. Meanwhile, I have my own interpretation of physical beauty. This is the idea of beauty that is not just a physical appearance of a person or object. This is the universal “beauty” I was talking about in the introduction of the paper. In my opinion, physical beauty that relates to the beauty of objects or subjects…
In Ivan Albright's painting, Into the World There Came a Soul Called Ida, the frailties and susceptibility of human beings is represented. He uses symbols to show death and corrosion. Albright uses a women's vanity in order to demonstrate that life's pleasures are fleeting and that death is inescapable. He shows the high value for an individual's need of self-importance through three main objects in the painting: the woman Ida, the mirror she is holding, and the dresser which serves as her vanity.…
Many societies throughout history have had their own distinctive concepts and standards of what is and is not deemed attractive, especially when it comes to the physical appearance of one’s self. Judging your own appearance is an inescapable human trait and the way different societies have portrayed the ‘ideal’ individual’s appearance has in fact influenced and altered our appearance. Lisa Kramer, Auguste Toulmouche and Pablo Picasso all used the mirror to symbolize a reflection to which figures can practice harsh self judgment or vanity. The overall message communicated by these three artists have been greatly impacted by the historical context of their time. It effected the way the artists represented the figure’s distortion of self and demonstrated subjects harsh self-judgement or vanity.…
The book Much Ado About Nothing is a surprisingly fascinating story. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare is similar to his other work in which people fall in love. In this story people cause problems to break relationships and love apart. Nevertheless true love finds its way back. What makes Much Ado About Nothing unique is trickery and deceit plays a huge roll in romance.…
Beauty is a debatable topic. It is hard to define as the styles and people that are considered beautiful at a certain time, might be considered ugly by those who come a century later. While the latest fashion changes constantly, the one thing that society agreed upon for centuries was the pursuit of beauty. Whatever the century, the quest for beauty has prevailed, whether it be by putting arsenic on one’s face to create paleness or exposing oneself to rays that cause cancer, in order to be tan. Beauty is different to everyone, but a few features are generally considered agreed upon by society, and the general opinion of one such characteristic, Cyrano’s grotesque nose, has continued to be the same for centuries. Cyrano de Bergerac, the main…
In I Died for Beauty, Dickinson explores the values of ‘truth’ and ‘beauty’ as a barrier in one’s quest for a sense of belonging. The inter-textual reference to Romantic Poet John Keats "Ode on a Grecian Urn", in which ‘ beauty is truth, truth beauty’ symbolically connects the two values as one. Through this metaphorical patriotic linkage of the morals as “brethren” and “kinsmen”, Dickinson encapsulates her sense of connection these morals bring. However, the accumulation of gothic association to death in “died for beauty... tomb... who died for truth…” accentuates the extent to which these values segregate Dickinson from her society and even her own identity. As she “died for” beauty and truth her sacrifice and desperate yearning for companionship is clear, and is metaphorically achieved only in death, yet even in bereavement is still being separated by “adjoining room(s)”. Through gothic imagery in the line “moss had reached our lips” and covered her “name” Dickinson symbolizes the complete loss of her sense of belonging by attaining to these morals. By suggesting that in order to belong, one must…
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest provides a satirical view of the Victorian era, primarily focusing on Victorian standards of marriage and social expectations. Wilde builds his critique of Victorian morality through his humor and wit between the character’s banter, the hypocritical Victorian view of honesty.…
Intro: The short story “The Birthmark” and the movie episode “Eye of the Beholder” both compare the idea of beauty and perfection. The two stories use different literary devices to persuade a similar message about beauty. In “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne he uses gender criticism in order to get his message to his readers that people can have flaws and imperfections and still be beautiful. In the movie episode “Eye of the Beholder’ the author tells how if you aren’t the “normal” then you are dissociated by society. However, both stories suggest that society's views on beauty influences the desires of humanity.…
The fourth theme states that beautiful objects appear to be ‘purposive without purpose’ or more commonly thought of as ‘final without end’. An object’s purpose should be according to which it was made. The object appears to have been made or designed, but it is part of the experience of beautiful objects, Kant argues. He believes that they should affect us as if they had a purpose, although no specific purpose can be found. (Douglas Burnham)…
The word grotesque originated during the time of the high renaissance. It comes from the word grotto, from the Italian grottesco. The Grotesque is a term now used rather loosely in everyday speech. By definition, it is a style of decorative art characterized by fanciful or fantastic human and animal forms often interwoven with foliage or similar figures that may distort the natural into absurdity or ugliness. Although this is how the term is typically thought of, it does not necessarily have to contain such negative connotations of horror and evil. It can often connote captivation and emotion. So the term of the grotesque refers to a type of engagement with the subject rather than just a visual style. These ideas are conveyed in two ‘grotesque’…