because you were all wondering what I'm writing my dissertation on, here's a brief synopsis of my 'research context': When James Macpherson published his Fragments of Ancient Poetry in 1760, he went to great lengths to make the Fragments appear to be authentic remains of an ancient, heroic oral tradition. His reasons for this were largely political, and as such, influenced the content of the epics themselves. As an attempt to establish a particularly Scottish identity, the poems were quite effective. However, to do so required both a simplification and a manipulation of traditional mythology. Stripped of anagogical significance, the Ossian epics more or less represented an Enlightenment version of history, tradition, and mythic heritage. The stories themselves were changed by their very purpose and in turn changed the manner of representing myth in future narratives. Moreover, the emphasis on the Ossian epics as authentic tales from the past, as ‘fragments,’ served
One thing I dont like about blogger commenting is that sometimes I am in the middle of typing a comment and it reloads or something and all my comment is gone. Anyway...
ReplyDeleteWhen are you going to the opera and with whom? Are you going to wear a long fancy dress and have elbow length gloves and those little binoculars so you can spy on the rich people sitting in the balconies across the way?
And look like Julia Roberts did in Pretty Woman???
ReplyDeleteI am SOOOO jealous... well, I would be, but love is not rude or jealous...
Michael Friggin York!!!
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous.
The Cunning Little Vixen, eh? A Czech opera. I took my sister to that a few years ago, and she has never forgiven me for it. Apparently she thought I took her to that because I didn't think she could handle Wagner. (Which is true...) It's a cute opera....but you're right, if you want the opera, you want Puccini. Or Verdi. Or that's what I want, anyway. I'm a sucker for the over-the top romanticism.
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