It's the Romantic in Me

Romanticism was a time where nature was greatly treasured and Art was made based on the imagination of the artist, rather than copying an image that was placed in front of them. Feelings were expressed in art, literature, and music and held with importance. I think that I am a product of romanticism. Many times in my life I have relied on some of the same ideals as the romantics. For example when I listen to music I listen to the music and feel it inside of me. What makes me want to listen to music more is the way it makes me feel.

Another reason why I think I am a product of the romantic era is because I feel a connection to nature other than it just being beautiful. When I see nature that is untouched by man, or even just plants like flowers, I feel a connection to God. I believe that nature is God’s beauty. It is impossible for me to look at nature and say that it was a mistake. I also feel that being alone in nature is a way for me to contemplate my life. I find that when I make decisions I look inwards before I measure it out logically. I believe that I cannot fully commit to something if my heart is not into it. This is something that romantics were encouraged. They were encouraged to look at things and life with their inner eye.  These are some of the things that I believe make me a product of the romantic era.

Marriage: I Do, or I Don't Care?

In Marriage a-la-Mode, Hogarth critiques fashionable marriage in the eighteenth century. Marriage was almost always arranged, and marriage partners were rarely in love. Hogarth shows infidelity as a common occurrence because of the arranged loveless marriage.

                In today’s society marriage is not viewed as the most important thing in a relationship. Much of the world views marriage as unnecessary because they are comfortable without tying the knot.  They do not understand the importance of the ceremony, when they already live as married couples. Among married couples some are getting divorced. They end the marriage that they have worked on for years, eventually giving up on it. It may be infidelity, but sometimes the people just change and they are not willing to change together. I think this is one reason why marriage is not being taken as seriously among our society.

                If I were to illustrate marriage in today’s society, like Hogarth did with his paintings, I would show the stages of divorce. I would begin with a happily married couple celebrating their wedding. Then, I would show this married couple with kids, stacks of bills, a leaky roof, and other struggles that married couples begin to have as they move through their lives. I would have them looking away from each other having them do different things and avoiding each other. Last I would show the divorce papers being signed with a white surrender flag in the distance.

                I do not believe that all marriage out there is like this. I believe that marriage is a strong bond that if worked on can stay together through anything that life throws at them. Sadly, the view on marriage has turned away from being a serious sign of love, to a reason for a giant party. Marriage may not be taken seriously by society, but it should be.

"A Pearl of Irregular Shape"

                I think society today can be compared to Baroque rather than renaissance time period. Baroque was a time of excess which can be seen in the architecture of this time period. Today many choose to adorn themselves with bright colors and costly apparel. A major style today is matching patterns with other patterns that to some may believe is too much. Yet, it is a trend in this society at this time.

                The meaning of Baroque is “a pearl of irregular shape” which was given to describe the abnormal and strangeness of the time period. In this society people are amazed by strange things and can even search out these things to observe them.

                Another characteristic that is apparent in both societies is the emphasis on emotion and drama. Today many people make decisions more based on emotion, or what they want, instead of using logic. Many also pay money to see movies and entertainment that plays on our emotions, because they are more enjoyable to us than documentaries and logical movies. Also in today’s society people create drama in their everyday life. They make drama for different reasons. Some make it to entertain them and other times it is thrown into our lives without a choice from us.

These things in our society compare closely to the Baroque period. They resemble our strange cultures and habits that during the Baroque time period were present.

Renaissance Illustrated

              The School of Athens, painted by Raphael, is a perfect representation of the Renaissance time period. Linear is an example of the lines that are used in the painting. The vanishing point is placed behind the two central people, Plato and Aristotle. It brings our eyes to these essential characters that shaped the common philosophies of the Renaissance time showing they are important and the subject. There is also a use of foreshortening a renaissance technique. The ceiling near the front of the painting is used to create the sense of a vaulted ceiling and there is more depth as we move back into the painting. This was done to show us the size of the space that was painted. The colors of the painting use blues, purples, reds, oranges, and greens. What is interesting is the colors that are being worn by the people are reflected into the ceiling’s paintings which is creating harmony within the piece. There is also a use of chiaroscuro which is the contrast of light and dark. We can see this from the front corners of the piece. The front characters on the lower level are not as bright as the characters on the upper level which includes Plato and Aristotle. The shadowing seems at its brightest when at Plato and Aristotle again referring to the idea that they are the essential characters of the piece.  This piece reflects the renaissance well because it blends art and science using the techniques that were popular during this time. The techniques insure that the painting is balanced and illustrates the art to the best of its ability.

A Knight's Tale is Inaccurate but Entertaining

                 A Knight’s tale is a hilarious movie describing the story of a squire named William who becomes a knight competing in the tournament with the help of Chaucer an unknown writer. This movie is set in the Middle Ages yet is not entirely accurate.

                Some of the details of the movie that seemed accurate were the Cathedrals that they displayed many times in the movie. The cathedrals featured the stain glass windows that praise the mother of Jesus called the rose glass. Another aspect of the cathedrals that was present in the movie was the flying buttresses which were used to push the weight to the ground making a solid structure. These details can be seen when the Lady Jocelyn and her handmaid Christiana enter in to the cathedral after William Thatcher had just met.

                Another aspect of medieval history that I found was accurately portrayed in the movie was the sport of jousting. The whole movie was based around this sport and appeared in many of the scenes. Tournaments were a big part of history and glory.

                Though there were some aspects of history that were accurate there were many details that were there to just add entertainment to this day and age. One of these obvious inaccuracies was the music and dancing. The music featured artists that did not even exist in the medieval ages. The dancing in the scene where William and Jocelyn are dancing at the party begins medieval but then slowly turns into more modern dance to entertain the audience. One inaccuracy that I found in the movie was the belief that man can change his own destiny. This belief came in the renaissance and was not a common belief during the Medieval Ages.

                Overall the movie is entertaining no matter the inaccuracies. Some could even argue that it is because of these inaccuracies that the movie is entertaining. It  is worth seeing but not for facts on everything medieval.         

               

What Makes You Happy?

            According to Aristotle, a happy life is measured by reasonable and virtuous actions.  Moral virtue is defined by our voluntary actions. Having reason and following it will allow a person to be the happiest, because, on the word of Aristotle, they are fulfilling their purpose or nature as found in the rational soul. These two traits combined influence the person to make the choices that ultimately lead to the overall happy life.

As humans we strive to be happy. We want to be able to look back on the good things in our life to keep us going. Sometimes we are put in positions where we must make a difficult decision. Making a decision based purely on reason influences the decision that is logically right. Sometimes when making this decision logically people may be hurt in the process because one is not also relying on moral virtue. The idea is that if both of these aspects are combined the decisions that are made will be right morally and logically.

But is it really that simple? When comparing this into my life I find that I fall short in different circumstances of Aristotle’s program. It is not always easy to have the perfect balance of reason and morality. There have been times that I have focused on reason shutting out morality. At that time that is what seemed important. But looking back I might have had more joy going to do a service project, instead of finishing my homework. Though I did not make my decision in equal balance of morality and reason in that situation does not mean I am completely unhappy. The fault in this theory is that we will never truly experience happiness until the end of our life. Why can’t we be happy now? Many will say that they are happy now. Just because happiness can come and go does not mean that ultimately one is unhappy at certain times. Happiness is too complex to easily label with a theory. Aristotle is close but not close enough.