All 12 entries tagged Christianity

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June 05, 2008

naturally contraceptives

naturally, by//a Church that damned them to hell for contraceptives (1.XI.i).

This displays an opposition between the fact that the Plunketts cannot children and the irony Dennis employs when he refers to the principles of the Church.


Amanda Hopkins : 05 Jun 2008 07:17 |  Tags:        |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem

July 09, 2007

the original fault

the original fault (7.LXIII.ii).

A reference to the Christian concept of original sin, and perhaps to Milton's Paradise Lost. Seven Seas struggles to remember what it was that originally corrupted St Lucia, which contrasts with the wide recognition of the transgression of Adam and Eve.


Amanda Hopkins : 09 Jul 2007 16:06 |  Tags:        |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

schism starfish

schism/of a starfish (7.LIX.i).

A schism is a rent or breach, also used to describe disunity in the Christian church. The starfish, like the sea swift, makes the shape of the sign of the cross.


Amanda Hopkins : 09 Jul 2007 13:35 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

blinded saint

blinded saint (7.LVII.i).

Lucia: 'Feminine form of the old Roman given name Lucius, which is probably derivative of Latin lux "light"… St Lucia of Syracuse, who was martyred in 304, was a very popular saint in the Middle Ages; she is often represented in medieval art as blinded and with her eyes on a platter, but the tradition that she had her eyes put out is probably based on nothing more than the association between light and eyes' (Bib:DFN). This is also a reference to the convention of blind poets (e.g. Homer, Milton, Seven Seas) in the epic tradition.


Amanda Hopkins : 09 Jul 2007 13:25 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

July 06, 2007

stayed facing the altar

but he stayed […] facing the altar (6.XLV.i).

This image of momentary paralysis mirrors that of Achilleus in Book 9 of the Iliad as he reflects on the fate of man, questioning the heroic warrior code. In this example however Walcott takes the action or, more rightly, inaction as part of Holy Mass, a mark of immense reverence, and subverts it to convey 'remorse'.


Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jul 2007 15:37 |  Tags:       |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem

St Pierre

St. Pierre (2.XXIII.i).

French equivalent of St Peter, one of the twelve apostles and ordained leader of the Church by Christ, and the name of a town in Martinique, destroyed on 8 May 1902 by an earthquake in which up to 50,000 were believed killed.


Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jul 2007 11:40 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Church of Immaculate Conception

The Church of Immaculate Conception (2.XXIII.i).

A common church name in Roman Catholicism, referring to Mary's conception of Jesus [HW] without sin (Bib:COD).


Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jul 2007 11:36 |  Tags:     |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem

June 28, 2007

second Eden

a second Eden with its golden apple (2.XVIII.ii).

The biblical Eden was lost through Eve's temptation by an apple offered to her by Satan in serpent form. The golden apple of Greek mythology was given by Paris to Aphrodite in preference to Hera or Athene, whose anger at this insult led ultimately to the Trojan War.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:10 |  Tags:               |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

sea–swift

swift [bird] (1.I.ii &c.), sea-swift (1.IV.ii &c.).

Named as 'Cypseloides Niger, l’hirondelle des Antilles' in XVI.ii, these small, fast-flying birds are famed for their ability to travel great distances in their migration patterns, spending the summer in northern climes and flying south for the winter (Bib:31). Swifts are found all over the world and their habit of connecting widely disparate locations through migration (the common swift, for example, spends summers in Britain and winters in East Africa) makes them a useful symbol for Walcott, as the recurring swifts draw connections between Eurasia, Africa and the Americas. The shape of the swift, with its long, outstretched wings, also stands in the text for the sign of the Cross made by some Christians, such as Catholics, for example, 'the swift's sign' (1.I.ii) and in the pun 'a swift sign of the cross' (1.I.ii).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:57 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Angelus

Angelus (1.XII.ii).

A devotional exercise of the Roman Catholic, commemorating the Incarnation of Christ into man, it consists of versicles, responses and the repetition three times of the Angelic Salutation. The Angelus is performed morning, noon and sunset and is marked by the ringing of the angelus bell (Bib:OED).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:26 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

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