Myth and the Fantastic in the Work of Junot Díaz

2020 ◽  
pp. 241-266
Author(s):  
Justine McConnell
Keyword(s):  
Magical Realism ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek Myth ◽  
Junot Diaz ◽  
The Fantastic ◽  
Marvel Comics ◽  
House Of Atreus

This chapter explores the ways in which Junot Díaz draws on ancient Greek myth in two of his works, Drown (1996) and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007). Placing Greek myth alongside the stories from other fantastical worlds, such as those found in the works of Tolkien and Marvel Comics, Díaz offers a pathway to realms seemingly not affected by transatlantic slavery, racism, or modern dictatorship and diaspora. Yet, as much work on magical realism has shown, a turn to the fantastic can be deeply political. Díaz’s evocation of Greek myth (most prominently, those of Homer’s Odyssey and the House of Atreus) is given only as much space as the myths of other times and places, thereby stripping the classical canon of the aura of superiority which it gained during the colonial period. In doing so, Díaz works to creates a new epic for the Dominican diaspora.

scholarly journals Translation of “Sir Orfeo” into Spanish

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 69-83
Author(s):  
Jose Antonio Alonso Navarro
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Spiritual Values ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek Myth ◽  
Sir Orfeo ◽  
Spiritual Quest ◽  
English Poem ◽  
Love Story ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
The Way

Here we present a translation into Spanish of the medieval English poem titled “Sir Orfeo”, which was composed in the late 13th or early 14th centuries within the WestminsterMiddlesex area. Our main spur has been to disseminate it amongst the modern Spanish-speaking readers due to its literary beauty and its story, a story which is not certainly innovative; however, it is innovative as to the way its author has succeeded in adapting the classical or Ancient Greek myth to the medieval English mindset of the readers or listeners of the time so as to arouse their interest, entertain them and teach them with a didactic purpose. The poem comprises all the elements inherent to a prototypical lay (or lai): a knight-king, a love story, a physical and spiritual quest, the otherworld (or fairyland), and moral and spiritual values which should be taken into account by the audience. We have attempted to make the translation of “Sir Orfeo” into Spanish as faithful as possible regarding the original English poem in order to maintain its literary essence, freshness and character. “Sir Orfeo” was a very popular poem in its time, and there is no doubt that it will become popular again in the 21st century in the light of different perceptions and approaches.

Confronting the Ancient Greek Golden Age in Jules Dassin’s Phaedra (1962)

2018 ◽  
pp. 119-136
Author(s):  
Emma Scioli
Keyword(s):  
Visual Imagery ◽  
Golden Age ◽  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek Myth ◽  
The World

In the second of three chapters examining Athens’ golden-age legacy, Scioli traces how Jules Dassin repeatedly draws attention to the origins of his 1962 melodrama Phaedra in Greek myth and tragedy through visual imagery, as a complement to his 1960 comedy Never on Sunday. Phaedra’s use of ancient Athenian art, and its suggestive modernization of elements from the ancient Athenian tragedyHippolytusand Racine’s 1677 adaptation Phèdre, force a confrontation with a particular modern formulation of the ancient Greek past. Dassin draws upon the golden age to characterize the world of ancient Greece that irrupts into the early 1960s setting of the film both visually and thematically. Rather than fostering nostalgia for a golden age that might prompt a desire for its return, Phaedra presents it as an intrusive presence from which its characters feel alienated, only to demonstrate that they are inextricably bound, in their modern dress, to repeat what the tragic past has prescribed for them. Such self-conscious appropriation of Athens’ literary-dramatic and artistic-material remains informs the tragic belatedness of Phaedra and reflects upon the American expatriate director’s sense of foreignness in the homeland of his lover and artistic muse, Greek actress and activist Melina Mercouri.

Cairo: Urban Space, Surveillance and the State

2019 ◽  
pp. 31-72
Author(s):  
Yasmine Ramadan
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Magical Realism ◽  
The State ◽  
The Fantastic ◽  
The Cross ◽  
And Control ◽  
The City ◽  
Literary Techniques

This chapter focuses on the representation of the urban space of Cairo. It examines Sonallah Ibrahim’s Tilka-l-raʾiha (The Smell of it, 1966), Gamal al-Ghitani’s Waqaʾiʿ harat al-Zaʿfarani (The Zafarani Files, 1976), Ibrahim Aslan’s Malik al-hazin (The Heron, 1981), and Radwa Ashour’s, Faraj (Blue Lorries, 2008) reading the novels in opposition to the realist narratives of earlier decades. The shift away from the realist depictions of the urban metropolis as the site of national struggle, or of the alley as the cross-section of Egyptian society, is accompanied by a new representational aesthetics. Through the presentation of the city as the space of incarceration, the reimagination of the alley as a fantastic space, and the turn towards the previously ignored neighborhood of Imbaba, these writers showcase new literary techniques; aspects of magical realism; elements of the fantastic; a turn to hyper-realism, in order to represent the transformation of the urban space of Cairo into one of surveillance and control.

Magical Realism and the Fantastic

2018 ◽  
pp. 223-277
Author(s):  
Eitan P. Fishbane
Keyword(s):  
Magical Realism ◽  
Ordinary Experience ◽  
Terrestrial Life ◽  
The Fantastic ◽  
Alternate Reality

In this chapter we encounter the zoharic representation of reality as an enchanted realm, one in which miracles erupt in the ordinary stream of human events, where ordinary experience opens into an alternate reality of the fantastic. In many zoharic cases, I have argued, these narrative scenes may be characterized as instances of magical realism, a depiction of terrestrial life that inserts an otherworldly dimension blended smoothly with the representation of ordinary reality. Here we observe structures and themes such as: sensory ambiguity and temporal confusion; entrance into a fantastical and otherwordly domain through portals in the mundane realm; representation of a dynamic heavenly mythology that involves shape-shifting celestial beings.

Dangerous Gifts: Ideologies of Marriage and Exchange in Ancient Greece

2003 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Lyons
Keyword(s):  
Durable Goods ◽  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek Myth ◽  
Economic Role ◽  
Positive Side ◽  
Greek Thought ◽  
Gendered Division Of Labor ◽  
Economic Contribution ◽  
Mythic Thinking

A familiar theme in Greek myth is that of the deadly gift that passes between a man and a woman. Analysis of exchanges between men and women reveals the gendered nature of exchange in ancient Greek mythic thinking. Using the anthropological categories of male and female wealth (with examples drawn from many cultures), it is possible to arrive at an understanding of the protocols of exchange as they relate to men and especially to women. These protocols, which are based in part on the distinction between metals and other durable goods as "male" and textiles as "female," are closely related to the gendered division of labor. Anxiety about women as exchangers derives in part from their status as objects exchanged in marriage (as exemplified by Helen in the Iliad), and partly from a misogynist and pessimistic strand of Greek thought (embodied by Hesiod's Pandora) that discounts any female economic contribution to the oikos. Indeed, the majority of destructive exchanges take place within the context of marital crisis. While some texts, beginning with the Odyssey, show the positive side of women's economic role, tragedy tends to follow the Hesiodic distrust of women as exchange partners. Passages from the Agamemnon and the Trachiniai are analyzed to show how in situations of perverted reciprocity brought about by marital discord, even women's traditional gifts of textiles may become deadly.

Music

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Burch Brown
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Response ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Spiritual Life ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
The West ◽  
Greek Myth ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Comparative Religions ◽  
Insight Into

Music has often been regarded as the most directly emotional of the arts and the art most intimately involved with religious and spiritual life. In the endeavor to understand music's relation to emotion and religion, a variety of approaches and disciplines are relevant. There are, for example, scientific and psychological studies that can yield insight into the character of musical and emotional response, and of music's access to the affective life. Thus, multiple disciplines are pertinent, from musicology (including ethnomusicology) and history to philosophy, psychology, and various branches of religious studies, particularly theology and comparative religions. This essay deals with historical perspectives, major theories, and current issues regarding music, emotion, and religion. It begins by considering classic and exceptionally enduring images and ideas of music, including the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus. It then considers musical ethics and metaphysics in the West from antiquity through the Renaissance. The essay also examines remaining issues and unresolved tensions about music, emotion, and religion.

“Through the looking glass: envisioning new library technologies” understanding artificial intelligence

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 20-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Operating Systems ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek Myth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Alan Turing ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Looking Glass

Purpose As technology becomes more sophisticated, there is an increasing demand for flexible operating systems that can automatically respond to emerging challenges. The concept of artificial intelligence (AI) is, therefore, increasingly integral to many of the most exciting technological developments occurring today. Design/methodology/approach This is a literature review. Findings Broadly defined, AI is the aspect of computing that enables the machine to take in information about its environment and make choices that help it succeed. This paper will explore some of the key concepts behind AI and demonstrate how they apply to emerging technology. Research limitations/implications To get a sense of the importance of AI, we need look no further than Google. Although many companies are working on AI, Google is of particular interest to libraries because its mission to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” shares many similarities with libraries. Originality/value AI has been contemplated for as long as humans have considered the nature of their own intelligence and pondered how artificial beings might be able to accomplish similar tasks. The idea of AI can be seen as far back as the ancient Greek myth of Galatea. Philosophers and scientists from René Descarte to Alan Turing have posed questions that are still relevant to modern AI.

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