all you need is love

The beatles are a renown band around then world. However some fail to see the conection of the Beatels to Antigone. Antigone was deeply attached to her family. Her mother, father, and two brothers were killed and Antigone didn't care what it took to defend her family. She was willing to die in order for her brother to maintain the respect he deserved. She did it for love.
In Lysistrata the women loved their husbands so much that they were willing to deny them sex. Some might think this was a harsh move but they did it in the name of love. By preventing war they would ensure their husbands lives therefore ensuring the longevity of their love.
In the Symposium Socrates claims that Diotima taught him all about love. In the Symposium the subject that is discussed throughout the whole book is love. Although each philosopher in the Symposium has a different origin of love and idea about love, all must agree that is one of the most important component of humanity.

manmade laws v. devine justice

In society today there are laws that people must follow. My question is whether or not these laws are necessary. For instance, in California there used to be a six month law which makes a 16-year-old that just got their license unable to drive with people in the car for six months to get comfortable with driving. Now a 16-year-old has to wait a year before they are able to drive with someone in the vehicle. In most other states this rule does not apply. In some states abortion is illegal. In some states gay marriage is legal. How does one state differ from another. These aren't devine laws but laws made up by old men in the United States. How do these men get the power to make the laws that citizens must follow. What would Creon say about these laws. More importantly, what would Antigone think? Would Antigone be willing to die in order to drive with friends in her car upon receiving her license? Would she be willing to die if she were denied the right to wed a woman?

"When I have fears that I may cease to be"

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high piled books, in charactry,
Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I many never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the fairy power
Of unreflecting love;-then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do I sink
-John Keats, "When I have fears that I may cease to be"

First of all this poem is a Shakespearean sonnet, inspired by Shakespeare which was inspired by Ovid. This poem is a desperate attempt by Keats to preserve his short life by recording it before its too late. He knows that everything wonderful in life is temporary. He believes in melancholy which is the idea that with happiness comes sadness. This poem was written in 1848 during the romantic period in Britain. Although it was written more than a hundred years ago one can still read it and realize how beautiful but temporary life is, and how important it is to record the beauty as well as the ugly parts of life that people in the future can look at in order to realize they must do the same. Recording life in order for the future to see what the past thought of as important is the best contribution one can give to society. Keats might have has the slightest clue that in 2007 people would continue to read his work in awe.

Crazed Revolutionaries

In Antigone Creon calls the girl a crazed revolutionary who has no place speaking against men. This is one of the first times the idea of women revolting against the rules of men has occurred in writing. To ensure justice of mankind woman throughout history have been awfully courageous. When history began to be written down, woman had little power in the world. Their soul purpose was to bear children and then feed and clothe their family. However as the world has progressed woman have become more and more important as a whole in their society. In Rwanda there was a huge genocide by the Hutu's against the Tutsi lasting 100 days where 500,000 Tutsi were slaughtered in attempt to kill a whole race of people. In the process seventy percent of the men were killed. Before the genocide occurred woman in Rwanda had few rights and responsibilities. Woman were not allowed to inherent land. Today this right is given to woman. Now woman hold public positions and are building roads to try to make their country better. Many women were raped by soldiers during the raids. In this process many of these woman acquired the aids epidemic. Many woman lost their children, parents, husbands, and families. After this huge tragedy many of these women are still in high spirits. They say that after the horrible event, at least they achieved more freedom then they had before. Just like Antigone, these women had to be very strong and go through rough times in order to make an impact on the world. It is amazing that in order for positive changes to be made in the world, great sacrifices must be made. The suffering of a few makes a difference to many. By reading accounts in history people can prevent themselves from making similar mistakes in the future.

the moral of the story is the story

The moral of the story is the story. So many people are worried about what art is that they deprive themselves of seeing the world in any other way but the norm. In the story Ulysses, James Joyce chronicles the day in the life of a few people in Dublin, Ireland. Joyce uses a stream-of-consciousness technique full of puns, parodies, and allusions ultimatley giving rich characterizations and broad humour to his work. When his work was initially published it was banned in Great Britain and the United States.
If one attempts to read Ulysses expecting it to have a structure similar to ordinary writing they are in for a surprise. The way Joyce writes makes the initial reading of this story quite difficult.
The point of the this blog is to show that although a piece of work might not be classified as 'sticking to the normal structure,' it still shows the audience something important. If the audience shuns a piece of work because it doesn't have to proper structure then they are depriving themselves of something fantastic and possibly life altering.

The Golden Ass

This story is set up in the same way as Ovid's Metamorphoses. Greek gods and Greek culture are incorporated into a lot of the stories in The Golden Ass. I found myself making connections between a lot of the stories I read which are translated from latin to english by translator Robert Graves. Unlike the Metamorphoses, the stories in the Golden Ass are seperated my chapters which are composed of around ten pages. There are frame narratives a lot in both stories. Both stories are filled with tragedy, comedy, love, and many transformations. Lucius, the author wrote this story in the year 160, 152 years after Ovid's masterpiece. Lucius of Patrae is the lead character and narrator throughout the story. The Greek text has been lost.

Redemption

After wonderful blue sunny days followed by wet cold evenings sitting on my friend Claire's porch followed by flurries in town as well as in the mountains-a delightful time at that, Ive come to the conclusion of Ovid's Metamorphoses. Some of my friends called me bold, others thought me crazy. Upon finishing the book I too have come to the conclusion that Zues is a man not to reckon with. He is a ravaging impulsive god that doesnt seem to care about the fate of his victims, young virgins. These girls as we all know, upon being raped are then changed into an animal or a type of plant. That's no way for a helpless young lady to spend the rest of her years, if not eternity on earth. And so many say that Zues's wife is a horrible woman. I would be angry too if I were her. I wouldn't stand for my husband to be out late all the time. But then again, things were different back then I suppose. The imagery in this book was amazing. I'm not sure if the translation had something to do with my infatuation with the book. There were so many names in the book that it is impossible for me to remember most of them. I plan on reading this book again and again.

Ceres

"The first to furrow earth with the curved plow,
the first to harvest wheat, the first ot feed
the world with food men cultivate in peace,
the first to bless the earth with laws- was Ceres,
all things are gifts she gave. I want to sing
of Ceres: may offering be worthy-
this goddess surely merits poetry."
Ovid's Metamorphoses p.160

These five lines from Ovid's Metamorphoses are my favorite because they describe the amazing woman that made and continues to make the world the wonderful,beautiful, amazing place it is today. Not only does Ovid describe the acts Ceres, or Demeter is responsible but he makes those actions sounds fascinating and wonderous.
When I read this part I had a big smile on my face. I made my friend Claire read the words because they were written so well. She liked those lines and they convinced her that reading this long book actually is worth it.