Lit and Arts Final Flashcards
The Myth of Kojiki
Oldest Japanese literature
Afirms animism
Explains why a family has power, descendent from God
Code of Hammurabi
Eye for eye principle “talion,” formalizes the legal code via writing, has modern implications, sets legal precedence
1750 BC
Epic Poetry
God-like main character, gods/goddesses and the supernatural, journey “finding oneself,” invocation of the muses
Epic of Gilgamesh
Summary: Gilgamesh is a demigod who must confront his mortality after the death of his friend.
Written to educate Babylon students.
Emphasizes the existential questions of life; proto-epic
Athens and Sparta
Difference between the treatment of women
Differing value systems; the core of the culture (war vs. learning); Sparta (land power) + Athens (land power) PP War
Government structure (Athens – quasi-democracy) Sparta (two kings – death potential)
Roman Empire
Romulus and Remus (raised by she-wolf, brother kills other brother–founds Roman Empire)
Sappho
Lesbian poet; romantic poet; lauded as a talented poet by fellow writers; innovated poetic forms
Homer
Wrote The Iliad (Achilles) and The Odyssey (Odysseus)
Established epic poetry as a genre
Universal themes and “everyman” experience
Antigone
Written by Sopholces
Antigone tries to bury her brother, but King Creon objects, which leads to death via suicide for several characters
Suicide is viewed as uncommon and taboo, not honorable or noble
The Aeneid
Written by Virgil
Aeneas is the central figure
Establishing the Roman Empire is his primary quest
Dido is Aeneas’ love interest, she dramatically lights herself on fire upon his leaving her
Hinduism
Polytheism; caste system; Vishnu; reincarnation; yoga/meditation
Bhagavad-Gita
Discussion of the ethicality of war and its familial and societal repercussions (is war ever justified? Should we fight against our own family members?)
Confucius
Prominent intellectual figure and teacher
Stressed the importance of social decorum.
Snippets of sayings written down
Worshiped as a deity eventually
Chinese Dynasties
Zhou Dynasty - “Mandate of Heaven”
Manifest heaven, saying they were told they were told to rule
Qin Dynasty - Ego obsessed (1st emperor), didn’t like discourse
Unification of currency and measurement
Han Dynasty - a commoner who ruled, Liu bang
Emperor Wu: Confuscious fan boy
Emperor Xuanzong
Tang Empire for 44 years
Infatuated with his concubine, Yang
Two coups before the emperor, attempted to be assassinated many times in his reign
Li Bai
“The Banished Immortal”
Habitual alcoholic
The nomadic way of life, wandering around
Du Fu
“Poet-Historian”
Best Chinese poet along with Li Bai
He was not a successful poet during his day
Poem themes: poverty, civil strife, impacts of war, society vs nature, family, exile
The Thousand and One Nights
Narrative framework of stories to prolong the life of a woman married to a king who insists on killing his wives nightly
The History of my Misfortunes
Written by Peter Anelard
He wrote about his life, apparently to make Christians feel better about their own lives.
Gothic Archetecture
Asymmetrical
No sense of unity
Pointed arches
Romance writing
Transition to common language
Beowulf
Oral tradition, recorded no known singular author
Germanic pagan myth into Christian medieval
Theme: Community vs isolation, honor, and courage, man vs monster, king and warrior
Song of Roland
An oral tale was written down in the 11th-12th century
Fictionalized account of the Crusades
Christian vs Muslim influences in the Middle Ages
tragedy of blood feuds
victory over paganism and for Christendom
Courtly Love
Love outside of marriabge
Idealization of usually platonic relationship between a marriage noble woman and “vessel” knight.
Devotion to woman through chivalry, service, and bravery
Chivalry
Marie de Navarre
Hildegard of Bingen
Received mystics and visions
Prolific writer
Called herself the mouthpiece of God
Eleanor of Aquitaine
English noblewoman, married to the king’s son, Louis VII at 13
Married Ex’s rival at 26, King Henry II
Inferno
1300s
By Dante Alighieri
Divine Comedy (doesn’t end in tragedy)
3 stages: Ingerno, purgatorio, paradiso
Inferno has 3 sections of 33 verses each.
The Canterbury Tales
1300s
By Geoffrey Chaucer
Framework narrative
Traits are opposite to what would be expected.
Renaissance Art
Patron model
Meant to honor God
Chiarscuro
Use of extreme dark and light to create vivid contrast
Sfmuato
Subtle blending of light and dark to create dimensionality
Cangiante
Using a different color to represent light and dark shadesfor the same object
Unione
Balancing shading with brightness by softening edges
Patronage model / important patrons
During this time, patrons were the recipients of praise for their artistic commissions
Rivalries emerged between guilds, cities, and families
Important Patrons: Medici family (rulers of Florence), Gonzaga (rules of Mantua), Pope (Sistine Chapel)
Spanish Renaissance
Persecution especially towards Jews and Muslims (some protestants).
Highly religious art
El Greco
Don Quixote
By Miguel de Cervantes
First Western Novel
Character is Chivalrous to a fault
Unreliable narrator
Use of irony, Don Quixote is not very smart, his squire is smarter.
Chinese Ceramic styles
Borrowed shape and design from Islamic World
Bureau of Designupheld standards of decoration for imperial production in ceramics, textiles, metalwork, andlacquer.
Influence of Chinese art in Japan
Synthesizing Chinese art style with Japanese symbols and representations
Three perfections of art
1) Caligraphy
2) Poetry
3) Painting
“collabrative art”
Japanese (and Chinese?)
added own notes/descriptions to poems/artworks.
Sesshu Toyo
Most acclaimed Japanese Ink artists
Splashed ink/broken ink technique
Zen Buddhist monk
“imperfect” art popularity
Muradiye Mosque
Built during the Ottoman Empire by Murad II
First convent-mosque built for Mevlevis, a Sufi order that performs elaborate dancing and recitation rituals
Features elaborate mihrab (niche in the wall of a mosque) with cuerda seca tiles
Ardabil carpet
Oldest carpet (946 AD, and expanded in 1530)
Probably took 4 years to make
Focus on integrated artwork
Who is Didos?
Aeneas’ love interest.
She dramatically lights herself on fire upon his leaving her.
Who is King Creon
Antigones Uncle
El Greco
Greek painter, with his headquarters in Spain.
Had a unique painting style, less focus of anatomically correct forms.
Miguel de Cervantes
1500s and 1600s
Wrote Don Quixote, losely based on his own life.
Geoffrey Chaucer
Wrote Cantubury Tales
Politically savvy man
Lived through tumultuous times
Had a day job
Dante Alighieri
1265-1321
Wrote the divine comedy
Exiled from Florence
Belief in the separation of church and state
Who is Peter Abelard?
1079-1142
Wrote History of My Misfortunes
Philosopher and teacher
1st person to use modern theology (whatever that means)
Who is the Dimiche family?
An important figure in Renaissance art
commissioned a lot of art
Marie de France
Unknown identity, but is highly educated
First woman to write poetry in French
Romance Poetry
Themes of courtly love being exposed, double edge sword, damaging to those around.
