Our Group Presentation

Stichomythia - Ross, Jan, John, Danielle, Allison and Me
Relating George Bush to each...
1) Lysistrata
2) The Bacchae
3) Antigones

Well you have already seen our group presentation therefore I will only include the introductions of each piece that I wrote. I think by reading them you will understand what our presentation was kind of about.
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Lysistrata
It was a cold and bitter day for President George W. Bush when Cindy Sheehan, an outraged mother victimized by the death of her son whom died in Iraq and first lady Laura Bush, were injected with a dose of Lysistrata. They were out to stop the president and Dick Cheney from supporting the war. But how were they going to stop these two bull-headed politicians? In this stichomythic and comical representation of Laura Bush: The New Age Lysistrata, George W. will be played by…

The Bacchae
Earlier today Barbara Bush, President Bush’s mother and her friends went to a Democrat Rally. Once there, they all got very drunk on mimosa’s and extremely dry martinis. Coincidentally, George W. went to spy on his mother and the other evil doers. Upon discovering the spy, Barbara and her friends mistook George W. for a rat and sparagmosed him. In The Bacchae Retelling, Barbara will be played by….

The scene opens with Barbara bringing the supposed rat home to show her husband, George Sr.
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Poor George!!!!!

The Golden Ass

Cupid and Psyche







QUE BONITA!!! (That's "what beautiful" in Spanish.)

(There is no real "moral of the story" in the Metamorphoses. But if you need one: 1) Shit happens and 2) Things change.)

Lucius changes into an Ass. New version of Mr. Ed. (Not really, but sort of.)
-Transformations or "Metamorphoses" of Lucius.

THE ONLY MORAL OF THE STORY IS THE STORY!
-Experience the story by reading the story itself.
~Same as in the Golden Ass...life isn't a picnic for an Ass.

*Black Swan Green


Hyrosgomos - sacred marriage
*Romeo and Juliet and Braveheart

To change back to human he must eat roses...and more, but in a nut shell! *Frame
~Fairytale=degenerate myth.
The best aphrodisiac is storytelling.

Storytelling

URL for photo:http://www.nyu.edu/humanities.council/workshops/storytelling/decameron1.jpg

Review Questions for the 2nd test

1) What birds represent Procne and Philomela?
-Procne=swallow and Philomela=nightingale

2) Ate: Infatuation beyond the point of being ruined

3) Who was the original artisan? Daedalus (craftsmen)

4) Who is the god of sleep, dreams, and disguise? Morpheus

5) What should we avoid at all costs? **Old people (marginal)

6) What is Aristophanes theory on soul mates?
-In terms of Symposium, people were becoming too much to handle, so the God's split the soul mates apart.

7) Tragedy emphasizes the individual.
Comedy emphasizes the society.

8) According to Plato, how does one reach mortality of the soul?
-** Virtue and knowledge

9) Everything Plato learned about love, he learned from a woman named Diotima.

10) What is Socratic irony? - Claiming to know nuthin'...but actually knowing everything.

11) What does Icarus fail to do to fall to his demise? Flew too close to the sun and melted his wax wings.

12) Difference between Arachne and Minerva: Arachne portrayed the good things the God's did and Minerva portrayed victims of the God's.

13) Final Frame in Velazquez "The Spinners?"
-Europa's rape or abduction.

14)Pentheus: "man of constant sorrow"

15) How is Cadmeus related to Pentheus? Grandfather

16) Why should Ulysses deserve the arms of Achilles? -Ulysses's started in all.

17) What came out of the ground in the Bacchae when they hit the ground?

18) Boy wants girl - center of new comedy

19) What Shakespeare play was partly inspired by Tiresias and Procne? Titus Andronicus

20) What is anagnersis - (recognition or critical moment of discovery)

21) What is the first instance of framing in the Metamorphoses? - Story of Pan and Syrinx

22) What is grace? - Awareness of God's Presence in the world.

23) What does omophaglia? -eating of live flesh

24)Love is the child of -Poverty and contrivance.

25) What did Daphne turn into? Laurel tree

26) How old will Metamorphoses be in 2008? 2000 years old

27) Naso = "nose"

28) Why couldn't Aristophanes give his speech? - Terrible case of hiccups

Notes (Boring)

Something ending always means something beginning. "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." ~Semisonic
~Anyone as stupid as a 15 year old girl...is an 18 year old boy. (HAHA)
*Arachne - pg 180, Invasions of the God's

The Fable of Arachne by Velazquez
Her great weavings of how the God's treated immortals, or humans. Unjust.

A true work of art is:
*Whole
*Harmonious
*Radiant
-Stand back from your creation and look at the frame

Pygmalion - Pretty Woman (Pg 335)
Julia Roberts as the "Pretty Woman" or Vivian.

Finally, there is nothing that doesn't have darkness.

My Favorite Ovid lines!

For March 30th, we were asked to choose our favorite lines out of The Metamorphoses of Ovid.
At first I chose the description of how the earth felt when Cesar was murdered.
(Pg 545)
"They say the hideous crime was presaged by
the clash of arms among dark clouds, and horns
and trumpets blaring horribly. The sun's
own orb was sorrowing; the light it shed
on frightened earth was lurid. Firebrands
would often flash beneath the stars; and gusts
of rain would often carry drops of blood.
The Morning Star was blue-gray, and his face
showed russet-colored blotches; and blood stained
the chariot of Luna. ....."
~I loved these lines because of the descriptive language it presents. Yes, the horrendous affects Cesar's' death created were terrible, but the way Ovid writes the situation is beautiful.

In the end, I chose lines from Book I, in the story of Apollo and Daphne.
(pg 25)
"And even as my head is ever young,
and my hair ever long, may you, unshorn,
wear your leaves, too, forever: never lose
that loveliness, o laurel, which is yours!"
~(Much shorter, really only four lines! :)) These lines should mean something to everyone. It describes undying beauty in everyone. No matter who you are, what you look like, etc... EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!

Redemptive Power of Art

Daedalus and Icarus pg 254
-Set his mind in the quest of unknown art
"But Daedalus was weary; by this time
he'd been exiled in Crete too long; he pined
for his own land; but he was blocked - the sea
stood in his way. "Through Minos bars escape
by land our waves," he said, "I still can take
the sky - there lies my path. Though he owns all,
he does not own the air!" At once he starts
to work on unknown arts, to alter nature." Metamorphoses of Ovid

M.C. Escher
What is the path to unknown art? What is unknown art for that matter? The picture above is a piece by M.C. Escher. Escher was an artist that produced pieces that created optical illusions. I think this "optical illusion" greatly represents the idea of unknown art.


Buddha as a baby say:
-people who kept from getting old
-People who kept from getting sick
-people who kept from dieing



Ovid Influenced Shakespeare!

Well, I guess by this time in the semester, we all know that...But the fact of the matter is, Ovid influenced ALL major writers after his time!

Imagination needs an open mind!