All 22 entries tagged Places

'Moi shall return.'

MacArthur's vow as he left: 'Moi shall return' (2.XX.ii).

General Douglas MacArthur was one of the most decorated soldiers in US history (Bib:33). In 1944, he took back the Philippines, fulfilling his earlier vow to return, 'I shall return', changed by The Office of War Information to 'We shall return' (Bib:34).

Amanda Hopkins : 08 Jun 2008 11:59 |  Tags: Context Douglas Macarthur General Macarthur Glossary Moi Shall Return Philippines Places Second World War Usa |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

ginkgo

ginkgo (5.XXXVIII.ii).

The ginkgo biloba tree was thought to be extinct until rediscovered in China in 1691. The plants were considered sacred by the Chinese and were grown around temples and monasteries. There are very real claims about their medicinal purpose. They are also extremely resilient trees, seen to flourish in heavily polluted, urban environments as well as having few pest predators (Bib:29). Indeed, four ginkgo biloba trees were found to be budding in September 1945 only 1-2km away from the Hiroshima bomb attack which had happened  a month earlier, one of the few trees to do so naturally and so quickly (Bib:30).

Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jun 2008 18:03 |  Tags: China Ginkgo Ginkgo Biloba Glossary Places Plants |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

sphinx

sphinx (5.XXXVIII.ii).

The sphinx, made up of a lion's body and a human head, is an easily recognisable mythological creature, particularly in the riddle incident with Oedipus. Sphinxes are usually used, especially in Greek culture, to guard temples and places with divine connotations. The fact that the sphinxes guarding London are ‘somnolent’ (sleepy) is again keeping in line with the idea of London putting on a façade/face for the world, when in fact it is hiding a disgusting underbelly and its pious guardians are asleep. The Sphinx also represents many negatives when placed in an Egyptian context for it, like the pyramids, was built using slave labour and Aker, the Egyptian god of the underworld, is sometimes portrayed as a double-headed sphinx (Bib:28b).

Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jun 2008 17:29 |  Tags: Context Egypt Europe Glossary London Mythology Places Sphinx |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

pharos

pharos (5.XXXVIII.i).

The Pharos of Alexandria is the lighthouse in Alexandria, Egypt. For a long time it was one of the largest man-made structures in the world and it was declared by Antipater of Sidion to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Its links with the themes of empires and slavery are clear. Its construction began under the rule of Alexander the Great but finished under Ptolemy's rule. Its designer, Sostrates of Knidos, was forbidden to put his name on it and instead was told to inscribe Ptolemy's name. However, he put the king's name on a layer of plaster, underneath which he inscribed his own name, so that over time the plaster was eroded revealing the designer's self-identifying inscription (Bib:26). The legend surrounding the lighthouse, that its beams could set fire to enemy ships before they got anywhere near the shore, emphasises the Narrator’s role as a defender of his island.

Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jun 2008 15:53 |  Tags: Alexandria Colonialism Context Europe Glossary History Identity & Naming Mytholody Pharos Places Walcott The Narrator |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

archipelago

archipelago (3.XXXI.iii).

The word has two meanings:  1. a sea, or large expanse of water, in which there are many islands, and, by extension, a group or chain of islands; 2. the Ægean Sea (Bib:OED). The second meaning continues to link the poem to the Epic Tradition.

Amanda Hopkins : 05 Jun 2008 15:49 |  Tags: Archipelago Epic Tradition Europe Glossary Places |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Vigie promontory

Vigie promontory (2.XXIII.i).

A headland of St Lucia.

Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jul 2007 11:43 |  Tags: Context Places St Lucia Vigie Promontory |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  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: Christianity Colonialism Context Places Religion St Pierre |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Himalayan hill stations

Himalayan hill stations (2.XXII.ii).

The Himalayas are a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. Hill stations are towns in the low mountains, popular as holiday resorts during the hot season (Bib:COD). All three countries surrounding the Himalayas have a colonial history: British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan at its independence in 1947; Tibet, conquered by Genghis Khan in 1206, was nominally ruled by the Mongol empire until 1720, when sovereignty passed to China. Some areas of Tibet were absorbed into British India, but subsequently reverted to Chinese governance in 1906; Tibet was declared an autonomous region of China in 1951 and attempts to gain independence were suppressed (Bib:PWE).

Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:22 |  Tags: Asia Colonialism Context Dispossession Glossary Himalayan Hill Stations History Places |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Alexandria

Alexandria (2.XXII.ii).

Alexandria is a port and city in Egypt, founded by Alexander the Great. Its Pharos lighthouse, built in the third century B.C., was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was also a great seat of learning, and housed a great library, reputedly containing 700,000 volumes (Bib:PWE).

Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:17 |  Tags: Alexandria Colonialism Context History Places |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Edens Suez

Eden's Suez (2.XXII.ii). 'Suez' refers to the Suez Canal, which links Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea, thus allowing trade between Europe and Asia without the need to navigate around Africa. The canal was built (1859-69) by the Suez Canal Company, in which the British government became the major shareholder in 1875, and led to Egypt becoming an important centre for trade (Bib:PWE). Eden here refers to Anthony Eden (1897–1977), First earl of Avon, who was Prime Minister of Great Britain during the Suez Crisis, an ill-advised attack on Egypt by Israel, Britain and France following President Nasser's nationalisation the Suez Canal in 1956 (Bib:PWE).

Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:15 |  Tags: Africa Asia Colonialism Context Edens Suez Europe History Places |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem