Note: Before reading, I just wanted to write that some of the images seen here in this two-part post are quite graphic and may cause emotional distress. I know the topic is already quite brutal and distressing, but I do not want to cause undue harm because my work is work for class. So I urge you to use your judgment and do not read this post if extreme violence,…
Note: Before reading, I just wanted to write that some of the images seen here in this two-part post are quite graphic and may cause emotional distress. I know the topic is already quite brutal and distressing, but I do not want to cause undue harm because my work is work for class. So I urge you to use your judgment and do not read this post if extreme violence,…
“The sound of a dream came to the tyrant, wandering into his mind, about how the world was wondrously transformed, unlike the ages before the new creation. In sleep the truth was made known to him that the cruel end of each empire must happen, must come about for earth’s joys, Then the wolf-hearted one awoke, Babylon’s guardian, who previously had slept in a drunken stupor. He was not happy…
When the three youths are saved from the flames in the Old English verse-form of the Book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar can hardly believe his eyes. At the sight of this miracle, Nebuchadnezzar declares, “Now I truly see four people there – I do not deceive myself at all” (lines 412-413). At this moment of witnessing, Nebuchadnezzar appears to change his ways. He sees the youths’ bonds incinerated, their clothing intact,…
The story of St. Margaret highlights many features of the Christian worldview, perhaps most notably the nature of ideal behavior. Saints are canonized in the Christian religion as role models- they are inherently aspirational figures. St. Margaret is portrayed as an ideal Christian figure in two ways: firstly, through her purity, translated as “virginity” or “chastity” in the text, and secondly, through her endurance in the face of extreme violence.…
Jo & Frances In theology, dualism is the theory that there are two supreme forces that govern the universe, good and evil. This is in opposition to monism, which posits that there is only one supreme being. Our group found that the Genesis poems present dualistic thinking throughout the text–– we will inspect some of those manifestations in this post. Alternate Beginnings The Genesis poems seem to retell…
Intro: In the spirit of collaborative effort, our group has decided to write several pieces that build off one another in the style of a discussion board thread. Each person has their own section in which they compile their thoughts about the readings, as well as offer reflections on the ideas other members have brought up in their own posts. Spencer: Reading Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy for the first…
The Old English Life of St. Margaret is a martyr narrative—an echo of Christ’s passion, (resurrection), and ascension. The text (Cotton Tiberius version) begins with the narrator, Theotimus, establishing the setting as a time when many martyrs were suffering. Some prevailed and endured, achieving eternal rest, while others were led astray by the devil’s teachings. So we take suffering for granted and begin as participants—witnesses—to how Margaret herself came to…
So we did something a little different for this post: I asked questions to Wren and Julia, and I recorded their answers. So here’s that. Benjamin makes an implicit distinction between gore and violence, saying that gore ≠ violence, but how much do you believe gore adds to violence? Wren: She remembered Niles saying something important about bloodshed and its ability to impurify the body by mixing the self with…
Introduction “The ta’ziyah drama of the betrayal and murder of Imam Hussayn does not cease to bring an Iranian audience to tears no matter how many times they have seen the martyrdom enacted. On the contrary. They weep, in part, because they have seen it many times. People want to weep. Pathos, in the form of a narrative, does not wear out.” Susan Sontag opens an incredibly interesting box with…
