Feeble Attempt at Intelligence

Class Notes

2005-12-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

So here are my notes. I forgot to upload them, so here they finally are.

Origionary- first – power of origionation

In illo tempore

Myth – mythos = story
Do not use term old testament- use Hebrew bible

For every assent there is a descent -beware of getting what you want

Mamalujo – Mathew, Mark, Luke, John

Centripal – read inside the text

Centrifugal- gathering from outside the text

Repetitive parallelism

Levels of discource: descriptive, conceptual, rhetorical, kerugmatik

Vico- philosopher – everything is metaphocical
     -we make everything up

Gods- heir- holy, sacred

Things are getting worse and worse, not better

Heroes – aristocratic
Men – economics
Chaos – gibberish

BCE- before  common era

Paranomesia- word play
Documentary hypothesis- bible written by more than one person
-writers – J,D,P,E,R
J writer uses –Yahweh or the Lord God
P writer uses – eloheim wants to be right, uses God
Talmud – many commentaries about scripture all pulled together
Canonical- the canon, the true text, the scripture
Iconoclastic – the breaking of images
Metempsychosis  the transmigration of souls
Psyche – soul
Sources of canonical story of greeks
-homer
-Hesiod
-Play writes – Sophocles, Euripides, Ascalis
- Vergil-wrote how Rome was founded
Center pieces – Greeks – Trojan War
     -Hebrews – Exodus
1. Creation
2. Revelation
3. Law
4. Wisdom
5. Prophecy
6 gospels
7. Apocalypse
Misprison  - not hearing something correctly
Prolix – abundant – get more than you need
Judges 5:24 – she kills him very repetitively
Tora- first 5 books of the Bible
Sacrafice – to make sacred pg 108 in Colosso
Hierogemy – marriage sacred
Story is more important than the moral
Sons of Adam and Eve – Cain and Able and Seth
Archetype – foundational image for something
Noah’s sons – Ham – Shim –
Etiology – how something came to be
Patriarchy – head of society

Abraham

Isaac –

Jacob Trickster

Joseph – changed from Isreal

Rebecca – bore Isaac 2 sons – Jacob and Esau
Laban – 2 daughters
Leah and Rachel

Joshua

Samuel

Saul

David

Solomen

Muses – 9 sisters – Goddesses of the arts
Memory
Truth – Greek term is Leth – forget – lethia – unforget
Aeros- Love
Urinos – Sky
Gaia – earth
Cronus – eats his children except Zeus
Zeus eats Metis – gets a headache and Athena pops out
Promethius – knows Zeus’s secret of who will overcome him
-won’t tell so he is chained toa mountain and an eagle eats his liver every day
Leda- Zeus camd down as a swan and raped her – Helen is born
Helen – Menalais
Clytie – Aggy
Tantalus –chopped up his son Pelops into a stew
-punishment - eternally hungry and thirsty in underworld
Pelops – comes back to life and has – Atreus and Thyestes
Curse on the house fo Atreus

Thyestes sedusees Atreus wife

-Atreus gets back at him by cooking his children in a stew for Thyestes to eat

-all bue Aegisthus

Atreus sons – Menalaus and Aggy

Aggy’s children – Ipheginia, electra, Orestes

Paris – gives “most Beautiful” award to Aphrodite – she gives him Helen

Aggy tricks Iphy into getting sacrificed by telling her that she is to marry Achiles.

Frye pg 87 – Jesus is a teacher – parables are the doctrines, no the interpretation of the doctrine
_Jacob loves Joseph the most
-his brothers hated him
-Sold him to the slave traders
-told Isreal that he had been killed
The storie goes on
Sparagomos = tearing of live flesh
Laughter – important in test
     -relation to wimen
YHWH is trickster
     -means of ridicule of other tribes
     -Shift from nomadic-agricultural
     -Hebrews – Jews
Will of YHWH brought about by women circumventing men
-Rebekah
-Lost daughters
-Tamar
-House hold Gods – fertility
Patrilocal – visit wife at house of her father
Virilocal- take wife with him and “becomes” the father
-hospitality is more important than protecting women
Hospitality – same in biblical and Greek traditions
Difference – female is biological while feminine is cultural
Taraphym – household gods
10 commandments
     - worship vs. social
     -women as property
Synechdoche – using a part for a  whole – spoils of war.
Study      questions:
1.) Adam and Eve’s children – Cain, Able, Seth
2. How did Jacob get his name changed? When Jacob wrestled the being.
3. How many of the danaids were forced into the underworld? 48, 1 left w/ husband, 1 captured by Poseidon
4. During abduction, what part of the body is usually grabbed?: The wrists5. What were the stages of relation with gods?: -Conviviality-Rape-Indifference6. Words to define on the test:-Cannon-Psyche-Sparagmus(There are more, but I didn't get them down. Head over to Allison's site for the complete list!!!)7. Euripides believed that human beings are the "ones who are torn to pieces"8. We need to know the four levels of discourse in Frye!9. What is the literal meaning of Prometheus?: Forethought, one who thinks before he acts10. What happened to Thyestes' children?: They were served to him in a stew (as punishment for cheating with his brother Atreus' wife) and this caused him to evoke the curse.
11. What Biblical phrase best describes Frye's main idea?: "Life more abundantly"12. What is the name of the first five books of the Bible?: Torah or Pentateuch13. What were the Philistines plagued with as punishment for storing the Ark of the Covenant?: hemorrhoids14. How does Zeus stop the cycle of sons overthrowing fathers?: He eats his pregnant wife, Metis (wisdom)15. How was Iphigenia tricked into being sacrificed?: She was told she was to be married to Achilles16. What is he torah? First five books of the bible.
17. What are the 4 victorian levels? Gosd, heroes, men, chaos

Chapter 9 – Story of Persephone and her mother Demeter
-Hades kidnaps Persephone
-Demeter can’t find her
-Persephone has to stay in the underworld for as many months as seeds she ate
-hence the seasons.
-when Persephone is in the underworld Demeter is sad – winter
-mystery of Demeter and her daughter – elusinian
     -high priest tells a secret – mystery

Axis Mundi – 4 levels of discourse – Vico – Time
Heaven – Kerigmtic  Gods  - Total no, Real Present
Paradis – Idealogical  - Heroes – Exuperant, Dance, Energy
Earth – Conceptual – Men – Linear and Cyclical
Hell – Discriptive – Chaos – Demonic Duration, Repetition

Axus Mundi – Center of the world
     -metephores
     -this is what connects all four chapters
Mt Harney
Mt Moraiah
Mt Sinai
Mt Cook
Mt Olympia

Ethnocentric – culture centered
Mt Harney – South Dakota – Black Elk
     -Center of the world is where ever you are at that current moment
Orestaia of Escalus – trilogy
Drama – Dromanai – Ritual – Dyonisis – overseer
Tradgedy – song of the goat – Icarios

Aeschalus-
Sophoclese – Tragedians
Euripidese-
Dionisis – wine – drive you out of your mind
Chthonic – of or pertaining to the underworld
Clytemnestra is plotting to kill Aggy for killingn their daughter
Furies – Their eyes ooze goo – gods of fear and retribution –blood murders
Epiphany – sudden manifestation of a power from another dimension giving you a new understanding
This court drama – most importana moment in greek history
Net, yoke, chain, harness – metaphors from clyte
Uminides – furies – kindly ones – not gorgons or harpies
Libation – in honor – raising your glass in libation to the gods
Clytemnestra- dream – she bore a snake and it fed from her breast and it tore her nipple off - predicts Orestes will kill her
We can not get to the truth unless we suffer
Dike – Greek for Justice
Orestes kills mother and is chased by the furies
Apollo and furies  - polar opposites
Pietho – persuasion

Looking for justification – more important parent

Orestes murder was a blood murder , but clytes was not

The man is more important – woman’s only job is to be an incubator – the man is the seed

There fore matricide is not that bad, but patraside is so Clyde was at fault

Restes is acquitted by Athena because she had no mother

Furies are furious haha get it

2 kinds of wisdom
1. traditional -= Palonion – Proverbs more accepted –
2. Hamletion – job – Ecclesiastes – Pessimistic – speculative
Doctrine of retributive justice – you only suffer when you deserve it
Parable – turning upside down your expectations
Theocracy – Governed by God
Myth = the president behind every action
The reason we suffer is so someone will sing about us
Deus ex Machina – god saving someone – God from the machine
Eschatology – the end times
Book of Job – example of patience
     -starts out very patient
Job 3- beginning of the middle
     3 friends tell him why he is suffering
     4th friend in Job 31 tries to help
Job 38 – God tells Job why he is suffering
Job asks _ “Why did I not die?”
     -pretty pessimistic
Job 7:11- complaines – not patient
     -Job told to repent by friend
     -says that he is innocent
Job’s friends ideas of retributive justice were wrong
Parables – expectations – seem familiar – ordinary , mundane
     -disrupted – become unfamiliar, uncanny
New Testament – more Greek than Hebrew

Gospels - - narrative – life of Jesus and sayings

epistles – letters – Paul or attributed to him

Apocalypse revelation

Prophets interested in two things

exclusive yahwism - monotheism

social justice

Mark – first
Mathew – coppied luke –
John – latest of the gospels
Thomas – collection of sayings of Jesus – some say came first- some say came last
Esoteric community – just 4 the insiders
Mashal – proverbs
Sin is ignorance
Gospels –not historical biography – Mark
Don’t take catastrophic events literally – ex. Apocalypse
Revalations – Cryptic
Mark – 13:14 – the little Apocalypse
-Looks as if it is the end of the world

Paper

2005-12-10T22:53:00.000-08:00

     Everyone knows the parable of the Prodigal Son. But in case you forgot, the Christian parable goes something like this:
Luke 15:11-32
A man had two sons. His younger son asked if he could have his share of his father’s estate. The father divided his estate between his two sons. Not long afterwards the younger of his sons went off to a far off country and squandered all of his money. Then because of a plague, he got a job feeding pigs from one of the local citizens. He wanted to eat the slop, but was never given any. After starving for a while, he realized that his father’s servants even were fed, so he decided to go ask his father to hire him as a servant. When he got back, his father was not angry with him, and instead threw him a party and killed the fattened calf. When seeing this, the older son was angry with the attention his younger brother was getting, so he didn’t come into the party. His father tried to plead with him, but he would have none of it. "My son," the father said, "you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."
     I decided to make a modern displacement of this popular parable, to put it in the “vulgar” terms that this generation will understand better. My version of the parable goes something like this:

The Extravagant Son

     Hugh Heffner had two sons from one of his first Playboy Bunnies. Their names were Claude and Sue. Yes, a boy named Sue. One day, Hugh’s younger son Sue was watching the Bunnies jump on the trampoline in the back yard with the sprinklers on, and began to get jealous of his father and all the women that he possessed. After watching them jump for several hours, Sue went to Hugh. He asked his father, “Yo, Dad, um well I’ve like been watching the Bunnies jump on the trampoline, and like have gotten like really jealous of what you have. I like know that you are like totally a rich dude and everything, and like you have like a ton of Bunnies all for yourself, but um, well, I want some for myself. So I was wondering if you could like just give me my share of them now, uh, instead of when you finally kick the bucket. You know, so I can, um, go have fun now while I’m still young?”
      Then next day while being entertained by the Bunnies, and after examining their exquisite…skin, Hugh realized that he was beginning to get a bit on the wrinkly side. After examining his skin next to the Bunnies, he decided that he was getting too old for the Porn Magazine game, and would divide up the Bunnies between his two sons, Claude and Sue.
Hugh called his two sons into the Oval Office of the Playboy Mansion, and told them, “Boys, I am getting very old, and cannot continue to take care of the Bunnies like I’d hoped that I could at my age, so I decided to divide them up between the two of you. You can take turns picking them until they are evenly divided between the two of you. Do with them what you will.”
“Alright dude,” said Sue, “that’s like totally awesome and stuff dude.”
Claude and Sue then took turns picking the Playboy Bunnies one by one as if they were picking teams for kickball. After dividing them up they were both very pleased with their selections. Claude went to take a dip in the pool, but Sue had many aspirations for what he was going to do with his bunnies. He traveled to a far off land, by the name of Las Vegas with his bunnies. After arriving, Sue set up shop in the Red Light District as a pimp. Soon a great plague of the worlds worst STD swept the Red Light District rendering his Bunnies worthless to him. With his cash cow slaughtered, Sue got a job working in a soup kitchen cleaning soup pots. He really wanted to eat some soup out of the bowls, but they were always empty by the time that he got them to wash. Sue went about this job without any food for some time, until one day he realized that even his father’s bodyguards were fed. He decided that he would go back and tell his father that he was not worthy of being his son, and should not be allowed to swim in the swimming pool anymore, but would like to be his father’s bodyguard.
As Sue entered the gates to the Playboy Mansion, Hugh saw him and came rolling up in his electric scooter. Hugh was so happy to see Sue that he immediately threw him an enormous party with all the big celebrities invited and fired the fattened Bunny. When Claude heard of this news from the swimming pool, he was very angry, because he had been taking very good care of his Bunnies, and their….skin was looking as good as ever. Claude refused to come into the party. Hugh finally came out and told him, “Claude, everything that is mine is yours. When I die you will have all of the Bunnies that are currently here, and those that are still to come. We have to celebrate though, because your brother had gone to Vegas, and now is back. He “was lost and now is found.”

2005-11-29T11:52:00.000-08:00

She has no parents�really!

Aphrodite, as seen in the above picture, was not born as usual to two parents. Instead she was born out of the bloody foam that was formed from the blood from Uranus�s genitals after they were sliced off by his son Cronus with a sickle.

Orestaia Question

2005-11-27T11:44:00.000-08:00

Orestaia Question

What made the Furies change in the end of the Orestaia from bad to good?

Will it ever end?

2005-11-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

Will it ever end?

There are so many times that I thought, “Is this ever going to end?”, but most of them would have to be either conditioning for sports or in certain lecture classes. But, since this is for a class, I’ll only say good things about lectures, and focus on the sports. Since I play football at MSU, I have gone through many different days of pain and agony when I thought, this very question. One day that stands out above the rest was fall conditioning tests.
I hadn’t gotten very much sleep the night before because I still hadn’t purchased a bed, so I was still sleeping on a couch. I hadn’t had time to go grocery shopping, and all my roommate had in the freezer were microwaveable burritos, so that’s all I had for supper the night before. I woke up at 6:00 a.m. to make it to fitness tests. Previously that summer I had been in a straight leg brace for five weeks from a previous injury, and then sprained my ankle the week before, so I hadn’t been able to get into much shape. I had visited the throne 4 times before even getting to the field house for my test. I walked out onto the field with all of the other players awaiting our fate. Will we pass or will we fail? Failing would not be an option for most of us, so I would have to stick it out. We had to run repeated 20 repeat sprints for the test, and my bowls were not holding up. At about eight I ran to the nearest port-a-potty to relieve myself, after yelling to the coach on the way by that if I didn’t I’d have an accident. I have to say, that that question ran through my mind every sprint.

Temple Prostitutes

2005-11-26T08:15:00.000-08:00

Temple Prostitutes

Temple prostitutes were seen as servants of the Satan, and were looked down on. This is what I have gotten out of the research that I have done. Here is a quote from Deuteronomy on the subject.

Deuteronomy 23:17-18 17 “None of the daughters of Israel shall be a temple prostitute, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a temple prostitute. 18 “You shall not bring the wages of a prostitute or the money of a dog into the house of the Lord your God because of any vow, for even both are an abomination to the Lord your God.

Here are two links that I found on temple prostitutes.

http://www.biblenews1.com/history4/20040325.htm

http://wondersmith.com/heroes/goddess.htm

Turn

2005-11-24T11:14:00.000-08:00

Here I found the words for the song by the Byrds, and across from it Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 to use as a cross reference.

To everything (turn, turn, turn)There is a season (turn, turn, turn)And a time for every purpose, under heavenA time to be born, a time to dieA time to plant, a time to reapA time to kill, a time to healA time to laugh, a time to weepTo everything (turn, turn, turn)There is a season (turn, turn, turn)And a time for every purpose, under heavenA time to build up, a time to break downA time to dance, a time to mournA time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones togetherTo everything (turn, turn, turn)There is a season (turn, turn, turn)And a time for every purpose, under heavenA time of love, a time of hateA time of war, a time of peaceA time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracingTo everything (turn, turn, turn)There is a season (turn, turn, turn)And a time for every purpose, under heavenA time to gain, a time to loseA time to rend, a time to sewA time to love, a time to hateA time for peace, I swear it’s not too late

The most famous section is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (from King James' Version):

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Light bulb 13

2005-11-21T22:38:00.000-08:00

Light bulb #13

Northrop Frye

“if in all probability the Crucifixion was a historical event, doesn’t its historical nature provide the basis for its real power? Would it make any impact at all without its root in history?” pg. 62

I think that the Crusifixion’s historical value does have a large impact on the amount of power that it has in our minds today. I think that knowing/believing that it is a historical event makes it much more powerful than if it were to be believed as myth. But I do believe that it would still be very powerful as myth, because we still look deeply at and think about the power of Greek mythology. We don’t think that they are historical events yet we still see their power.

Light bulb 12

2005-11-21T20:10:00.000-08:00

Light bulb #12

Northrop Frye

“When the high priest Caiaphas said: ‘It is expedient that one man die for the people: (John 11:50), he said something we all agree with—in fact Christian doctrine itself agrees with it, and makes Caiaphas one of the first people in the Christian era to be justified by faith.” Pg. 61

I basically just thought that this was very interesting, and was ignorant to that fact that Caiaphas was the one to say this, and that he was one of the first people to be justified by faith. This seems to be one of the first acts of faith as well, by saying such a thing. I may be wrong in that, but either way I thought that this line by Fry was quite engaging.

Light bulb 11

2005-11-19T22:09:00.000-08:00

Light bulb #11

Northrop Frye

“ideology constitutes the ‘historicity’ which surrounds the writer as a womb does an embryo, and which many critics think makes up the entire area of criticism.”

I like this quote, because first of all I like the simile used in it. I think it is interesting that Frye is always talking about metaphors, and then uses a simile so well. I agree with what he says about ideology surrounding the writer, because whenever writing a piece, whether or not the writer intends it, their ideologies will show through in their writing. I also agree that this is an entire area of criticism for many critics. The will critique a piece in many cases based on their knowledge of the authors ideologies, and look at no other part of the piece. I know that in some literature classes that I’ve personally taken that we have done exactly this when critiquing a piece of literature.

Light bulb 10

2005-11-16T11:06:00.000-08:00

Light bulb #10

Northrop Frye

“The narratives of literature descend historically from myths, or rather from the aggregate of myths we call a mythology. A myth is a story (mythos), usually about the acts of gods.” Pg. 22

This has been a major topic of this class all semester so far. This has been not a major concern that we have with Frye, but also concerning Calasso as he thinks that all literature is some form of displaced myth.

Light bulb 9

2005-11-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

Light bulb #9

Northrop Frye

“A new scientific or historical discovery may undermine an ideology at any time;” pg. 19

I thought that this was an interesting thought, because an ideology is as the www.dictionary.com definition says “The body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture.”, I can see how ideologies could easily be destabilize by a new scientific or historical discovery. Many ideologies are based on previous scientific or historical discoveries, and because of this they could be challenged easily by new ones.

Light bult 8

2005-11-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

Light bult #8

Northrop Frye

“the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who provided the written vehicle for the spoken words of Christ.” Pg. 15

Even though we have learned that it is more than likely not these four evangelists who wrote their gospels, I really like the word choice of “the written vehicle for the spoken words of Christ.” I like this, because the gospels were of the life and sayings of Jesus. I basically wanted to comment on his brilliant word choice here.

WARNING

2005-11-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

WARNING!!
Below is a link to Goya’s painting of Saturn eating his children. It is quite graphic and if you’re faint of heart or have a weak stomach, please refrain from viewing.

http://www.luc.edu/depts/history/dennis/Visual_Arts/05-romantic_Goya_Saturn.jpg

Cursed

2005-11-14T11:01:00.000-08:00

Curse of the house of Atreus

One could say that the curse all started when Tantalus, a son of Zeus, fed his son Pelops to the gods in a stew. Or one could say that that it started when Atreus served all but one of Thyestes children, Aegisthus, in a meal for him. The curse worked its way through the generations to the leader of the Achaeans in the Trojan War, Agamemnon, and even into his children. Every descendent of Atreus were cursed. The exact curse is not certain, but they all led, less than fun lives.

Below is a family tree of the curse.

Tantalus|Pelops____________ | ____________| |Thyestes Atreus | ________ |__________ | | | Aegisthus Menelaus Agamemnon (= Helen) (= Clytaemnestra) _______________|______________ | | | Iphigeneia Electra Orestes

Light bulb 7

2005-11-13T22:59:00.000-08:00

Light bulb #7

Northrop Frye

“Behind most of it is the traditional dialectic that splits every question in two, accepting the true inference and rejecting the false one. This is potentially and aggressive and militant use of language: there would be everything to be said for it if the true knight always won, but the defeated knight may put on new armor and overcome his rival in his turn.” Pg. 11

I think that Frye is right in saying that we generally split out questions into two part by “accepting the true inference and rejecting the false one”, but I think that the second part, the rejection, is usually applied. For instance we might ask, “Do these jeans make my butt look fat?” This is really a two part question with the second part inferred. If we receive the answer, “no”, this is answering the first part of the question, but the other part of the question is “, or do these not make my butt look fat?” If we receive the answer, “no”, to the first part, the answer, “yes”, is inferred in the second part. I hope that I haven’t lost everyone at this point of my rambling explanation.

Light bulb 6

2005-11-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

Light bulb #6

Northrop Frye

“Anything that sounds anti-intellectual always becomes popular,” pg. 11

This light bulb makes me think of Descartes’ "cogito, ergo sum", or as we all know it, “I think, therefore I am.” This is a very complex thought, but it does sound quite anti-intellectual, or as an easy concept. I think that that may be one reason that it became so popular. That and the fact that this was a pretty ground breaking philosophical statement at the time that Descartes said it.

Light bulb 5

2005-11-13T21:54:00.000-08:00

Light bulb #5

Northrop Frye

“The narrative becomes an argument, and argument is designed to exert a compulsive force on the reader, evoking such responses in both writer and reader as ‘I am forced to think,’ ‘I am compelled to accept,’ and the like…. A question is thus raised which is implicit in the title of this book: the relation of words to power.” Pg. 9

This light bulb mainly had to do with the last sentence. This thought makes me think about titles of pieces of writing. I think that not only narrative becomes an argument compelling the reader to think in a certain way, but I believe that the title of pieces of literature have the same affect on readers. Titles, I believe, can make a reader think a certain way about what they are reading, maybe subconsciously, or maybe because the reader thinks that that is what the author wants them to think while reading the piece. If I read a piece of literature without knowing the title, I will have an opinion of what I read, but if I read that same piece and know the title before hand I could have a very different opinion of the piece.

Genealogies

2005-11-09T10:54:00.000-08:00

Genealogies

Genealogies are the lineage or descendents of a certain person. When reading the Bible before, I know that I have thought that the genealogies were boring and a waste of time. They didn’t mean anything to me, so I failed to see their importance. After reading and learning more about not only genealogies, but the Bible as well, I have realized that they have a much broader significance. This website shows in depth both their cultural significance and biblical significance.

http://custance.org/old/geneal.html

Light bulb 4

2005-11-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

Light bulb #4

Northrop Frye

“When we say ‘art imitates nature’ we instinctively think of a work of art, say a painting, as a copy of a natural model, landscape or whatever, outside it. To some extent it may be that, but we eventually come to see that the relation of art to nature is better thought of as an internal one, where, in Aristotelian terminology, art is the form and nature the content, nature being something contained by the art and not something reflected in it.” Pg. 8-9

I think that Frye is right when he says that we think of a painting of nature when we say that “art imitates nature.” I know that that’s the first thing that I think of when it comes to that saying. I think that his last statement is brilliant. I would have never thought of it in that way, in that “art is the form and nature the content”. This really changes my outlook on art. From now on I will think of nature as something within the art, and not as the art copying nature.

Light bulb 3

2005-11-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

Light bulb #3

Northrop Frye

“The descriptive writer normally wants his non-verbal facts to ‘speak for themselves’”. Pg. 8

This isn’t a very long light bulb, but I think that it is very true, because being an English major; I have to do a lot of writing, and in non-verbal sentences, as a writer I usually leave them to fend for themselves, while I spend more time on the other verbal facts that need more descriptive help.

Biblical Literalism

2005-11-04T12:51:00.000-08:00

Biblical Literalism

Biblical Literalism is just that, taking the bible literally. Conrad Hyers in his essay entitled “Biblical Literalism: Constricting the Cosmic Dance” goes into depth on the problems of taking the bible and other documents literally, and that that isn’t the way that they should be viewed. This is a site that has his essay in its entirety.

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1332

Repetitive Parallelism

2005-11-03T22:48:00.000-08:00

Repetitive Parallelism

Repetitive parallelism seems to be found many times in the book of Job. Repetitive parallelism is simply saying something one way. Then saying the same thing immediately afterwards, but in a different way.

For example:
I adore red roses, those scarlet flowers. -Brett Irigoin

Yes, that was some original Irigoin you saw right there. That’s a pretty simple example of it, but hopefully you get the point.

This is a website that has a little something to say on the matter as well.

http://cspar181.uah.edu/RbS/JOB/j22.html

Light bulb 2

2005-10-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

Light bulb #2

Northrop Frye

“Unthinkingly people often accuse scholars in every field of finding only what they have previously wanted of finding only what they have previously wanted to find, as though all genuine discoveries resulted from ignorance or pure chance. But perception itself is potentially verbal, starting off with a verbalized hypothesis already in the mind (e.g. “I wonder if”), and it moves directly to its own fulfillment in a verbal goal.” Pg. 7

I guess I was unaware of people often accusing scholars of finding only what they want to find, but if this is the case this is kind of a ridiculous accusation. I think that it more admirable for a person to set out to find out something (e.g. “I wonder if”) and then to discover the result they were looking for than to find it out by pure happenstance. It is funny to me though that we are calling these light bulbs, and although I don’t think that ignorance makes a discovery more magnificent, Thomas Edison did create the light bulb by pure chance when he messed up on his project, it finally worked.

Documentary Hypothes

2005-10-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

Documentary Hypothesis

JEPD

The Documentary Hypothesis is the hypothesis that the torah was not written by one person, but instead by four different people. There is a chart of the four writers and their tendencies on the following link. it also has some other interesting things on it including a flow chart of the writers and when they wrote.

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/2/Judaism/jepd.html

Light bulb 1

2005-10-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

Light bulb #1

Northrop Frye

“Short-term descriptive statements have probably formed the bulk of human communication from the beginning of time. I am speaking here of continuous forms, which in a pre-technological age are largely confined to memoirs, narratives held together and contained within the memory of the writer….the writer is really a speaker.” Pg 7

This just made a lot of sense to me, because I can see that win the beginning communication, and the first development of language, that the only words that the originators would create would be for the purpose of description. As time went on, writers were probably starting to work away from this “short-term” description, but probably still had it as the basis for their writing. Because writers were mainly writing memoirs and narratives, they would be describing a lot in their writing. I also liked the phrase, “the writer is really a speaker.”, because in many narratives, this is so true. If you think about it, the writer in many cases is really speaking to their audience through their writing as the narrator. It seems interesting to me to think as you write from the perspective of the speaker instead of just the writer.

2005-10-20T22:13:00.000-07:00

Sparagmos

I see words as being created for a purpose. It strikes me as very disturbing that there would even be a reason for the word Sparagmos to be created. This means that the tearing of live flesh was occurring, therefore they had to create a name that fit it. This just shows something of this society and rituals of the time. Personally, my favorite display of sparogmos, in Greek history is in the Euripides the Bacchae. We did not read this in class, but I think of it as a great example. In the play, when the Bacchae are so crazed that they tear apart Pentheus. His mother Agave is one of the Bacchae that does this to him. The following lines from the play are when the Bacchae knock Pentheus out of the tree, and the moment of sparagmos.

Pentheus fell, [1110]
crashing to earth down from his lofty perch,
screaming in distress. He knew well enough 1380
something dreadful was about to happen.
His priestess mother first began the slaughter.
She hurled herself at him. Pentheus tore off
his headband, untying it from his head,
so wretched Agave would recognize him,
so she wouldn't kill him. Touching her cheek,
he cried out, "It's me, mother, Pentheus,
your child. You gave birth to me at home,
in Echion's house. Pity me, mother- [1120]
don't kill your child because I've made mistakes." 1390
But Agave was foaming at the mouth,
eyes rolling in their sockets, her mind not set
on what she ought to think-she didn't listen-
she was possessed, in a Bacchic frenzy.
She seized his left arm, below the elbow,
pushed her foot against the poor man's ribs,
then tore his shoulder out. The strength she had-
it was not her own. The god put power
into those hands of hers. Meanwhile Ino,
her sister, went at the other side, 1400
ripping off chunks of Pentheus' flesh,
while Autonoe and all the Bacchae, [1130]
the whole crowd of them, attacked as well,
all of them howling out together.
As long as Pentheus was still alive,
he kept on screaming. The women cried in triumph-
one brandished an arm, another held a foot-
complete with hunting boot-the women's nails
tore his ribs apart. Their hands grew bloody,
tossing bits of his flesh back and forth, for fun. 1410
His body parts lie scattered everywhere-
some under rough rocks, some in the forest,
deep in the trees. They're difficult to find.
As for the poor victim's head, his mother [1140]
stumbled on it. Her hands picked it up,
then stuck it on a thyrsus, at the tip.
Now she carries it around Cithaeron,
as though it were some wild lion's head.

2005-10-12T19:04:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of The Rape of Leda. In the picture is Leda and Zeus as the swan.

Blog-Addresses

2005-10-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of my fellow student’s blog-addresses. Hopefully I have everyone.

Adam Thanehttp://dhmick.blogspot.com
Allison Carrollhttp://www.geocities.com/pearson2341/index.html?1125598907671
Amy Fuhrmannhttp://spaces.msn.com/members/fuhrmann212/
Aspen Hougenhttp://www.livejournal.com/users/aspenh/
Brandon Spevacekhttp://bspevacek.blogspot.com/2005/09/its-my-blog.html

Brenna Kelleherhttp://dgdfh.blogspot.comBryan Kellyhttp://www.bd212kelly.blogspot.com/
Cassandra Gateswww.cassandrag.blogspot.com
Chrissie Henninghttp://msuchrissie.blogspot.com/
Claire McGintyhttp://clairemcgintymsu.blogspot.com/
Clint Shearousehttp://cshearouse.blogspot.com/
Colby Parkhttp://colbypark.tripod.com/212/
Collin Salisburyhttp://msu212collin.blogspot.com/
Danielle Urickhttp://urickmsu212.blogspot.com/
Ed Shanleyhttp:trex2.oscs.montana.edu/~eshanley/en212.htm
Eric Rundquistwww.geocities.com/eric_rundquist_biblical_lit
Evelyn Mariehttp://www.livejournal.com/users/cm_lunete/
Holly Kringshttp://hkrings.blogspot.com
Jayne Hilsingerhttp://jaynehilsingerblog.blogspot.com/2005/09/just-checking-to-see-if-this-really.html
Jennifer Van Dykehttp://jennsclassjournal.blogspot.com
Jillian Brunsvoldhttp://jilliebaby.blogspot.com/
Johnny Nehringhttp://jnehring.blogspot.com/
Kelby Fischerhttp://kelfisch212page.blogspot.com/
Kelly Stollhttp://galacticgerbil.blogspot.com
Laura Barneyhttp://lbarney.blogspot.com
Maggi Edgarhttp://maggiedgar.blogspot.com/
Abdul Majeedhttp://abdul212.blogspot.com
Mick Lesliehttp://msuenglish212.blogspot.com
Rachel Gilmanhttp://www.regblogs.blogspot.com/
Rae Ann Hahnhttp://raeannsblog.blogspot.com
Ruth Wilgushttp://rwilgus212.blogspot.com/

Ryan Scotthttp://www.geocities.com/necrosparky/My_E-journal.html
Sadie Tyneswww.english212sadie.blogspot.com
Sandra Packwww.sandys212gibberish.blogspot.com
Serena Maxwellhttp://www.geocities.com/renasay/212.html
Sophie Hoopmanhttp://bibclasslit05.blogspot.com/
Spencer Wardhttp://www.biblethumper212.blogspot.com/
Sunny Rae Yocumhttp://online212msu.blogspot.com/
Valerie Dowbenkohttp://thefirebird-fall05.blogspot.com/
Jacob Brunerjacobfbruner.blogspot.com
Laura Kebschullwww.crownoflaurelleaves212.blogspot.com
Andrew Bunninghttp://www.andrewbunning.blogspot.com/

2005-09-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

Go Cats!

The Wandering Jew

2005-09-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

This is a link to a picture of the Wandering Jew

http://www.jrbooksonline.com/Wandering_Jew_40p.jpg

These are just a few sites that I found on the Wandering Jew.

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/w/wandering_jew.html

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/1720/wj.htm

Part One: Gibberish of the Vulgate

2005-09-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

     Even though it took many pages to have any light bulbs flash on, a beam of light shone from the Heavens when I read the title for Part One, “Gibberish of the Vulgate.” Frye hit the nail on the head with this title.
The www.dictionary.com definition of gibberish is as follows. " 1. Unintelligible or nonsensical talk or writing. " Since Frye is obviously a genius. I don't think that unintelligible is the correct term, but I can definitely see nonsensical as being exact for most of it. But as Dr. Sexson said their are those occasional light bulbs that show a glimmer of understanding before plummeting us back into confusion. (for me at least, I wont speak for the rest of you).
      "2. Highly technical or esoteric language." Frye's writing is highly technical, and for most of us too much so to understand most of the time. Esoteric means, "Intended for or understood by only a particular group." according to www.dictionary.com. Well, apparently this group is the extremely intelligent. I think that it is a goal for all of us, at least to some degree, to get into this particular group of the extremely intelligent, and by some miracle maybe this book could help us with that quest.
"3. Unnecessarily pretentious or vague language." I don't know if he intended to be pretentious, and it may be ignorance, but his writing seems somewhat pretentious, mainly because his use of "five dollar words" and complicated sentences. His writing is definitely not vague though. It is actually in most cases overly complex, hence the problem in comprehension.
The second part of the title is Vulgate which is simply the Latin addition or translation of the Bible. That explains itself since he is talking about the Bible throughout the entire book.
     This was truly one of my first light bulbs, and I hope that you appreciate it, and comment on it.

A Note to My Fellow Students

2005-09-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

Come one, come all to my feeble attempt at intelligence. I am still trying to discover what Frye is saying in his jumbled mess of words and sentences. I am afraid that my lightbulb may not have a filament, but I am hoping one will light up soon. I'll be sure to let you know as soon as it does. Until then, good luck and I'm your huckleberry.