Mia Pollini
Lino 4
Comp Lit 30A
Winter 2018
Pygmalion and Galatea: An Myth Analysis of Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Ovid, a Roman poet during the reign of Augustus, curated and developed a collection of myths in his lengthy work Metamorphoses, which explores the numerous tales of transformations ranging from people into laurel trees to escape infatuated gods to ivory statues being kissed into life by their sculptors – which is what happens in the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. Despite Pygmalion being misogynistic, cowardly and contradictory, his has an inarguably happy ending (which is unusual for most of the myths in Metamorphoses) while other artists and heroes, like Orpheus for instance, who go through great lengths to achieve their virtuous
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In Pygmalion’s myth, the sculpture (also named Galatea) is referred to as a “consort”, which is often defined as a wife, husband, or companion, in particular, the spouse of a reigning monarch. Plus, when she “opened her eyes to the sunlight… she first looked on her lover and heaven”, implying that Pygmalion is both her lover as well as her creator and her ruler. Furthermore, Pygmalion is resolute and dedicated not only to his principles, celibacy, and hatred of women who he deems impure but goes on to channel his human emotions into art and in a way becomes godlike in that he creates (or is the creator) to the most beautiful thing on the Earth. On a more literal and earthly plane, the myth itself explains why the island of Paphos received its name – named after Pygmalion’s daughter with Galatea. Additionally, Pygmalion’s great-granddaughter is Myrrha, who then lusts after her own father (and Pygmalion’s grandson). Fatum comes into play, suggesting maybe perversion begets perversion and so his line is punished in the long run. Plus, Myrrha and her terrible lust for her father mirrors Pygmalion’s contradictory hatred and desire for women; she cannot relate normally to her father, ending up hating herself and her feelings, while still wanting him at …show more content…
The transformative power of love, whether it be personal love or love personified in the figure of Cupid. Unlike the predominantly romantic notions of love that were "invented" in the Middle Ages, Ovid depicted love more as a dangerous, destabilizing force than a positive one (an exception in Pygmalion’s case) and demonstrates how love has power over everyone, mortals and gods
The Odyssey: Developing the Plot of an Epic and Creating Love Through the Use of Similes The odyssey is an epic poem reflecting on the journey of its main character, Odysseus’s journey home from the Trojan war. Odysseus is a prestigious figure in ancient Greece after using his intelligence and wit to defeat the Trojans in the Trojan war. He is a well-spoken, quick thinking, determined, and respectful person all around, and uses his charm and knowledge to make his way home to Ithaca where his wife and son are. Although Odysseus is smart and reasonable, Athena, the goddess of knowledge, many of the other immortal gods, nymphs, and at some point, even the dead help Odysseus along his journey by providing him with information that would help him overcome things that he would have not if he had not gotten the
In The Odyssey, references to musicians or poets like the author, Homer, are often used to enhance the story and the character of the poem’s hero, Odysseus. Homer inserts himself and his identity as a storyteller into his story this way, creating a comparative relationship between himself and his hero. Homer’s comparative relationship, expressed through the use of the character Demodokhos, the use of deities, and descriptions of Odysseus himself, stresses the importance of storytellers as most fit to understand heroes and their stories. As directed by the poet, storytellers in the poem are most able to provide insight into those they speak about because of the similarities between them and their heroes. Directly embodying Homer and other poets,
Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, the ancient greeks believed in several gods and goddesses, as well as heroes and beasts that are recorded in poetry. In a renowned collection of epic poems that brings these age-old characters to life, Homer’s “Odyssey”, we learn about the protagonist, the king of Ithaca, and his eventful return to his home and family. On his homeward journey, this king, Odysseus, faced many obstacles but, with his intelligence, loyalty, and strength, he was able to overcome every barrier, from angry gods to mutinous friends. One of several external conflicts in the Epic that Odysseus faces is his interaction with one of the story’s antagonists, the cyclops, Polyphemus. While guests in Odysseus’ were supposed to
In order to depict many different images of love, William Shakespeare writes about the challenges of love between Romeo and Juliet. The playwright presents several aspects of love, such as unrequited, parental, and romantic love. Shakespeare’s message, while originating in the 1500s, is not unique to themes of love. In fact, this theme resurfaces many times throughout the history of literature. For instance, Zora Neale Hurston visualizes different images of love in her 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Love, an intense feeling of deep affection. In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, almost all of the main characters do certain actions because of love. Love is a very powerful thing that one cannot see but knows is there and can feel it inside. It is in our lives everyday. In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, a major theme is that love is the force behind everyone's actions.
From the times of Ancient Greek, love was called Eros which meant sexual passion or Philla which meant deep friendship. Different cultures and civilizations have defined love and its many aspects in different ways. Fredrickson on the other hand has addressed to us that to understand love more we must get rid of all ideas we have heard since birth. Fredrickson proposes a new perspective on this feeling called love that we have so many phrase and stories to describe it. In the essay, “Selections from Love 2.0” Fredrickson states, “Just as your body was designed to extract oxygen from the earth’s atmosphere and nutrients from the foods you ingest, your body was designed to love.
“Diana and Actaeon;” The Similarities and Differences between the Original Ovidian Episode and Titian’s Painting When one mentions the story of “Diana and Actaeon,” one’s mind most commonly recalls the transition story in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where Actaeon accidentally stumbles upon the goddess Diana naked in the woods while on a hunting trip, and she metamorphoses him into a deer, therefore his hunting dogs devour him (Ovid 55). This is a very well-known episode from the Metamorphoses, because it is where Ovid first delves into the discussion of whether the gods are just in the punishments; for this reason, “Diana and Actaeon” has inspired numerous visual translations depicting different scenes from the episode. The famous Italian artist
During the plot of the poem, mythological gods and goddesses are present in people’s lives to aid them when problems arise. In the text, the gods play a prominent role in helping Odysseus travel safely home, blessing men and women, and aiding during a war between two powerful leaders. Even though these stories were written thousands of years ago, they are still applicable to many societies
A mythological story can express a valuable message to its readers, advising them to choose a certain path when making decisions and to stray away from what can harm them. It can also give an artist, whether it is a painter or a poet, the inspiration to express their intake of what was given to them. The expression can show support of a character’s decision, show sadness towards a character’s place in the myth, or relate the myth to a real-life occurrence. When poet Eavan Boland was reading Book 1 of Ovid’s Metamorphosis, she wanted to express a different meaning of the story of Daphne by writing “Daphne with her Thighs in Bark”. She did this by using a feminist approach while looking back at Daphne’s fate.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” is a short story illustrating the struggle of a man who is obsessed with his wife’s one imperfection. The protagonist has dedicated his life to science, but his passion becomes his fault when it leads to his wife’s death. Hawthorne uses allusions, symbolism, and his characters to send the message that being imperfect is part of being a human being and that one cannot “play God.” The message permeates this nineteenth century short story allowing it to continue to be relatable today.
His past experiences has led him to believe that love should be masked by lies that in a sense it should the truth should be a voluntary definition behind love. In Plato’s Symposium, Aristophanes’ delivers a speech about his experiences of have loved or being in love. Aristophanes’ speech captures how powerful the feeling of love, that since birth love has condition our lives involuntary and will remain so. Love to Aristophanes’ is a form of completion that a lucky couple receives once the meet each other. This completion is empowered by an enormous amount of love, intimacy, and affection that neither bonds can be separated.
Many see love as a positive quality and for the most part it is. It gives us compassion for our fellow man, allows us to bond with each other, and care for our families. But it also has self-destructive properties too. In Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians feel a really strong patriotism to their city and empire.
Pygmalion (…through a Feminist Lens) “Pygmalion was written to challenge the class system, traditional stereotypes and the audience’s own views.” Pygmalion is a play which is written as a Romance in Five acts by an Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. The name of this play is taken from a Greek story named ‘Pygmalion’ where the main character Pygmalion sculpts a woman figure and falls in love with her and later staring her statue becomes his only motto of life when the Greek Goddess Aphrodite impressed by Pygmalion’s devotion to that woman figure, magically transforms the sculpture into a living being naming her ‘Galatea’. In this play, the role of Pygmalion is played by Higgins (someone who is the creator, the God, the father) and that of Galatea by the flower girl- Eliza (who is child, the weak and the one being corrected.) (The play was first presented to the public in the year 1912.
The individuals possessed by ideal love are not the only ones who are affected by it. In Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence’s first reaction to Romeo’s drastic change of “love” was shocking : “Holy Saint Francis, what a
During the setting and the publication of Pygmalion in 1912, sexism was slowly in decline; however, just the idea of sexism existing in the first place was what prompted Shaw to criticize all of society in his play Pygmalion. And it is quite clear that he was calling “attention to questions of femininity and gender” because of how “the title of Shaw’s play is taken from the myth of Pygmalion” (LitChart Sited). Similarly, in both the play and the myth, the protagonist is seen creating their own “perfect” ideas of what a woman is and how a woman should act (LitChart). In Shaw’s doing so of this, he is trying to show society how “unrealistic and even unnatural the expectations that society has for women are” (LitCharts).