Byzantium: faith and power 1261 - 1557 :: essays research papers

Byzantium – the state which has brought in the big contribution to development of culture to Europe of middle ages. Here the Christianity for the first time became an official religion. Christianity affected the Byzantine art. In Byzantine art the main subject of paintings – icons (Greek – image) were holy figures: Christ, the Virgin Mary, the saints, and the apostles. One of the most famous is icon with Archangel Gabriel, Byzantine (Constantinople or Sinai?), 13th century. There is the exhibition devoted to the art of Byzantine civilization at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibition begins in 1261, when the capital Constantinople was restored to imperial rule, and concludes in 1557. It is last period of existence of Byzantium and time of last blossoming of its culture. One of the great example of Byzantine icons is Two-Sided Icon with the Virgin Pafsolype and Feast Scenes and the Crucifixion and Prophets, Byzantine (Constantinople) second half of the 14th century. On the observe side there is the picture of the Virgin and Child surrounded by ten feast scenes. At the upper left corner we can see Archangel Gabriel tells to the Virgin that she will have a Child. The last scene is the death of the Virgin. On the reserve side we can see the Crucifixion of the Christ. Mother and apostle stand near Christ with a great sorrow on their faces. The other great icon from that epoch is icon with Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Scenes of her Passion and Martyrdom, Sinai, 13th century. The image of Saint Catherine also surrounded by twelve small scenes from her life. There are scenes of her imprisonment and torture, and we can see that angel never leaves her. The last scene is her beheading. If we look at this icon we can see that the Saint Catherine holds the cross on her hands; it means that she was murdered because of her faith in Christianity. She dressed as a royal person. The background of an icon symbolizes divine essence. For example, gold – Divine light, white – cleanliness of the Christ and light of his Divine, green -

Nature in Frankenstein Essay

Within Frankenstein, Shelley uses nature as a corrective agent for Victor Frankenstein, one of the main characters. While he is in bereavement by the murders of his friends and family members, he frequently seeks nature for relaxation and help to guide him to victory. To start with Shelley uses natural metaphors to describe Victor’s childhood. â€Å"I find it arise, like a mountain river, from ignoble and almost forgotten sources†. The use of Mountain River to describe feelings that victor holds is the beginning of a theme that is continued throughout the book. This introduction to nature and human feeling’s, shows how Shelley would rather use metaphors of a natural setting rather than other descriptions. Instead of relating Victor’s feelings to other characters, Shelley chooses the more ‘romantic’ image of a ‘Mountain River’. As the book progresses, nature become Victors personal therapy when he undergoes torment or stress and Sh elley creates a connection between Victor and nature. Shelley describes Victor’s recovery from his grave illness through his connection with nature. Although he is nursed by his closest friend, it is the breathing of the air that finally gives him strength. â€Å"†¦My health and spirits had long been restores, and they gained additional strength from the salubrious air I breathed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Here Victor is so taken in with this he actually gains strength from the air that he didn’t have before. The use of the word ‘salubrious’ which means to bring health reinforces the idea that the air has saved him, and that nature is restorative. Throughout Frankenstein it is nature that keeps Victor healthy enough to continue on his journey. â€Å"I remained two days at Lausanne, in this painful state of mind. I contemplated the lake: the waters were placid; all around was calm, and the snowy mountains, the places of nature, were not changed. By degrees the calm and heavenly scene restored me, and I continued my j ourney towards Geneva† â€Å"†¦bright summit of Mont Blanc. I wept like a child: â€Å"Dear Mountains! My own beautiful lake! How do you welcome your wanderer? Your summits are clear; the sky and lake are blue and placid. Is this to prognosticate peace or to mock at my unhappiness?† Victor’s reaction to nature and Mont Blanc provides evidence that only nature can restore Victor to health. As he gets closer to being with his family, Victor’s mood doesn’t change. His enthusiasms to the mountains are more passionate than his attitude to his family. It shows that his relationship with nature goes beyond any relationship he could have with his family or any human being. Victor is embracing nature for comfort rather than his family. He is â€Å"particularly agreeable† in moving as he cannot escape his family in Geneva who are â€Å"irksome†. He makes it clear that he would rather row a boat on a lake than be with people. His use of the word â€Å"free† implies that he is only free when he is with one with nature. Rather than being forced to be with his family, he sees this as imprisonment more than anything. This provides evidence that he can only find peace by taking a boat onto the water so he can be alone with nature. Another character that results to nature is Elizabeth. She is a close family friend and she and Victor get married as Victor’s father thinks this would be the best thing to do in these circumstances. On their wedding night Victor is in such a foul mood that, Elizabeth resorts to nature in an attempt to cheer him. â€Å"Observe how fast we move along, and how the clouds which sometimes obscure, and sometimes rise above the dome of Mont Blanc, render this scene of beauty still more interesting†. Her use of nature demonstrates her understanding that Victor has rejected humanity and adopted nature. However her attempt is too late as Victor has sunk too deep in despair to be cheered up even by nature Nature is far more important to Victor’s health than any other agent in the story, and the image of natural settings become excessive as Frankenstein unfolds. While Victor claims to be destroyed by the monster’s murdering of his friends and family, he seems to be drawn to nature for support, and not his friends or family. His obsession with nature seems more and more constant as he hides from humanity. Shelley makes extensive use of nature as the source of stability for Victor in a world that he has himself undone.

Interview About A Friend Of Mine - 1741 Words

For my interview I chose to ask a close friend of mine some questions on how she parents her child. She is 25 years old, married, and has a 6-year-old girl named Audrey. I actually had to conduct a phone interview because she lives in a different city and I wasn’t able to meet up with her. I explained to her that I would be writing a paper about her experience as a parent, her family relationship, and even some questions about her child. I made sure that she knew that the names in the paper would be changed so she would remain confidential. Before the interview started I told her that if there were any questions that she did not want to answer that she just had to tell me, and I would be more than happy to skip those questions. She called me on a weeknight and her daughter was already in bed so she was able to answer the questions without any distractions. Throughout this whole semester we have learned that there is no right or wrong way to parenting. We have learned that som e approaches to parenting might be more effective than others, but there isn’t a one size fits all approach when it comes to being a parent. I asked â€Å"Lauren† basic questions on how the experience of being a parent has been, what are some challenges she has faced, and how she juggles it all from working to being a wife to being a mother. I found that most of her responses were consistent with what we have learned throughout this whole semester. According to The process of Parenting Baumrind, andShow MoreRelatedEssay On Interview With Three People833 Words   |  4 PagesI interviewed three people, my mother, my father, and my friend, Makaila. My mother is an avid church goer that finds comfort in God and often spreads her joy and love to all that she encounters. My father is a disabled 60 year old that endures diabetes and it often affects his life. Makaila is wild and free spirit that believes in people not being complete idiots by discriminating people. 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