In the wake of John Locke’s philosophical reintroduction of ‘tabula rasa’ into English society, a popular discourse arose on the subject of proper education for children—those whose minds were completely formidable and dependent on the careful instruction of both morals and knowledge-based intellect for their successful development and progression through life.1 Among the critics who…
Category: Critical Analyses
Blindness in Oedipus the King
The exchange between Oedipus and Tiresias in lines 299-462 of Oedipus the King reveals several comparisons that center on a theme of blindness. It is evident in the world and also through the text that there can be varying degrees of blindness, or visual impairment. Words to describe one’s vision often involve ideas of light,…
Disguise and Identity in The Odyssey
Throughout the numerous adventures annotated in Homer’s The Odyssey, one theme pertaining to the main character and hero, Odysseus, stands out prominently within the text. It is the concept of disguise, a feature that marks Odysseus’ famous journey from Kalypso’s island all the way to the last moment of his homecoming. This theme is driven…
A Quick Thought about Hesiod’s Works and Days
In the leading paragraphs of Hesiod’s Works and Days, the author presents a situation of discord within his family; a conflict between himself (Hesiod) and his brother, Perses. By opening the narrative for the audience in medias res, Hesiod indicates that both parties have already spent a considerable amount of time justifying their arguments. While…
Symbolism in Oedipus the King
With an applause, the satisfied viewers steadily rose to their feet and turned toward the great stone doorways at the Theater of Dionysus. The rumble of voices grew louder as the crowd’s thoughts shifted from their inward pensiveness toward outward discussion. “Oh the wretched manner in which he suffered!” One Athenian would say. “The fates…
Perspective in Euripides’ Medea
Throughout the first half of Medea, Euripides presents the audience with an ambiguous understanding of whose actions are justified within the familial dispute between Medea and Jason. While the chorus agrees that Jason was wrong in his action toward his family, the nurse’s concern about Medea’s emotional stability—“her savage mood and the willful ways of…
Coming-of-Age in The Odyssey of Homer, Book I
In the first book of Homer’s The Odyssey, it is evident to the audience that Telemachos, the son of Odysseus, does not embody the necessary characteristics of a man—courage, fierceness, and strength to stand against the impostors in his home. He lacks even the strength to stand up to his own mother, aspects which all…
The Virtue of Fractal Unity in 20th Century Literature
Prior to the 20th Century, conceptions of consistent, mathematical pattern evident within the abstract aspects of the natural world were the subjects of frustration and anguish in the discipline of mathematics. While linear, Euclidean geometry was widely known and used in defining physical and natural phenomena, the more intricate pieces of geometrical presence in nature…
A Brief Reflection on John Hawkes’ Travesty
Among the many monologue-like conversations that take place within the pages of John Hawkes’ Travesty, several eerie and continual themes arise, providing the readers insight regarding the absurd and mad mind of the speaker, as well as the overall intention of the author. The speaker touches on ideas of time and space—within the hour and…
A Brief Reflection on Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia
The storyline of Arcadia by Tom Stoppard centers on the scientific concept of thermodynamics. The Second Law of Thermodynamics is the idea that everything in nature tends toward disorder through irreversible action. Throughout the story, the author draws attention to certain aspects of life that illustrate this phenomenon, not only expressing the scientific interest behind…