The Grail Quest in the Play At the Hawk´S Well by W.B.Yeats

1 The Grail Quest in the Play At the Hawks Well by William Butler Yeats A search for that which gives meaning to life has always occupied human minds. The ancient scholars, philosophers, writers and intellectuals devoted many years of their lives to find the answer. They created various theories – religious and philosophical – to explain the system of the universe and find the source of all things. On example of William Butler Yeats play At the Hawks Well and Chretiens romance Le Conte du Graal I shall show the way the both authors concern this subject. First, I shall give the historical background of the play and explain the symbolic importance of Cuchulain for Yeats. Second, I shall find and interpret the Celtic symbols in the play,†¦show more content†¦John Rhys advanced the theory that Gawain and Cuchulain is one character. He bases the theory on similarity between their careers and on the fact that both possessed a specific quality – â€Å"their st rength waxed and waned with the rising and setting of the sonâ€Å" (Matthews 29). John Matthews explains this theory in detail in his book Sir Gawain: Knight of the Goddess. Loomis states that the Irish traditions have reached the French through Wales and has no doubt that the Grail legend is a Celtic heritage (Loomis Arthurian Tradition 341). The central symbol in the romance is the Grail. William Nitze and Roger Loomis maintain the Celtic usage of the word, meaning dish or platter, which â€Å"has the attribute that â€Å"whatever food was wished thereon was instantly obtainedâ€Å" (Nitze 322). I assume the symbolic reading of the symbol and come back to Yeats essay who saw it as a â€Å"source of fertility and abundanceâ€Å" (Skene 126). The parallel appears clear. Both symbols have one semantic meaning in common, that is of vessel. And both may be generally seen as vessels of energy. „There is no reason to be concerned with the Grail as a physical object. It is si mply not possible to know what it stands for preciselyâ€Å", - writes Frederik Locke (9). He describes the Grail as „being multivalent, open on all sides to the power of evocationâ€Å" (9). Locke holds a bold view: „In the

Prejudice and Racism in Heart of Darkness Essay - 872 Words

Heart of Darkness: Racist or not? Many critics, including Chinua Achebe in his essay An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrads Heart of Darkness, have made the claim that Joseph Conrads novel Heart of Darkness, despite the insights which it offers into the human condition, ought to be removed from the canon of Western literature. This claim is based on the supposition that the novel is racist, more so than other novels of its time. While it can be read in this way, it is possible to look under the surface and create an interpretation of Conrads novel that does not require the supposition of extreme racism on the part of Conrad. Furthermore, we must keep in mind that Conrad was a product of a rather racist period in history, and†¦show more content†¦About Kurtz, Marlow tells us: His was an impenetrable darkness. I looked at him as you peer down at a man who is lying at the bottom of a precipice where the sun never shines (Conrad 117). The reference is to Kurtzs altered mental state, we learn on the next page: I s aw on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror - of an intense and hopeless despair (118). The reference is clearly not to Kurtzs physical darkness - Marlow describes him as ivory - but rather to a mental darkness. The departure of Marlow and Kurtz from the Congo also corresponds to the end of Kurtzs life: The brown current ran swiftly out of the heart of darkness, bearing us down towards the sea with twice the speed of our upward progress; and Kurtzs life was running swiftly, too, ebbing, ebbing out of his heart into the sea of inexorable time (115). Thus, it seems that Kurtzs life has become identified with the river - and the river is thus a psychological, not a physical, object. The description of Marlows travels upriver are also worth considering. He tells us that [g]oing up that river was like travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings... There were moments when ones past came back to one... (Conrad 55-56). The last sentence quoted here seems to indicate that the voyage up the river is the voyage of oneShow MoreRelated Prejudice and Racism in The Jewel in the Crown and Heart of Darkness1361 Words   |  6 PagesRacism in The Jewel in the Crown and Heart of Darkness      Ã‚   The effects of British colonialism are reflected in literature from both early modernism and post colonialism. Racial discrimination tainted both eras portrayed in the British morale of white supremacy over non-European counties unfolded. Heart of Darkness exemplifies early modernism in the British explorers viewed African natives of the Congo as incapable of human equality due to perceived uncivilized savagery. 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Sigmund Freud Psychosexual Theory Essay Example For Students

Sigmund Freud Psychosexual Theory Essay Sigmund Freud was born may 6, 1856. He was the first of six children he also had two older half brothers from his fathers previous marriage. This was his fathers second marriage and in this one he was much older than his wife was about twenty years older than he was. When Sigmund was just 4 years old his family moved to Vienna, it was a tough childhood for Sigmund growing up in a large Jewish family with not to much income it was a struggle for everyone in the family. He was nicknamed the golden child at one point in his childhood and the meant he was to achieve great success, from that point on his family did everything they could to give Freud a chance to succeed. Freud excelled at his studies at an early age, earning top marks in all of his classes. He excelled in everything but especially languages he could speak five languages at a young age. Freud was so dedicated to his work sometimes he would have meals sent to his room just so he could study. To prove how much his parents did for him the golden child a younger sibling was learning to play piano but Freud complained about the noise so they had the piano removed from the house. Like most geniuses Freud had a hobby that he was very passionate about he used to keep a record of all his dreams in a logbook and he would read them over and analyse them. At the tender age of 18 Freud entered medical school, he studied a lot of things including fish and seals. He graduated from medical school with top marks in his class. Eager to become successful and support his now wife to be Martha who was 20 and he was 25 he looked for a bold new experiment. He found that in cocaine he did several experiments and even wrote a book on cocaine he was a propionate recommending it to everyone. Sadly it was not him but his partner who made it successful using cocaine as an anesthetic for laser eye surgery. Crushed by this Freud took up a job an internship at the hospital studying hysteria. As he got more and more into hysteria he studied with a man named Jean Martin Charco and they talked about the theory of the unconscious mind. When he got back from studying with this great French doctor Freud decided to open his own hospital focusing on the unconscious mind. Taking a page out of Joseph Broyer book Freud utilized a method called the talking cure, in which Freud talked with his patients about there childhood, their dreams, their sex life and their life in general. Freud found that using hypnotisation and the talking cure he could get rid of almost anyones hysteria. Freud often used analysis on patient to determine their problem, but Freud used self-analysis on himself to determine the problems that he was having. He was addicted to cigars had a rotten sex life, had travel phobia and his father had just died. Freud at night after every patient had left would try it on himself he found that although he was not able to rid himself of everything he got rid of his travel phobia and traveled to Rome for his first time ever. Freud also develop the edifice complex also known as penis envy in which your very first sexual thoughts are about your mom and you have a hatred for your dad and fantasy about killing him. Freud regards his most important work as the theory of dreams where he looked in depth and why we dream and what it symbolizes and how it influences us. Freuds goal was to develop psychoanalysis throughout the world and he was very critical of those who did not agree with him. .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1 , .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1 .postImageUrl , .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1 , .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1:hover , .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1:visited , .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1:active { border:0!important; } .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1:active , .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1 .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uaa46c94f89be348231f6f7ff98bd5cb1:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Analysis Of Slumdog Millionaire Film Studies EssayBefore World War 2 broke out Freud immigrated to England where he died from cancer of the mouth at age 82.