Alfredo di Stéfano

Robert Haight’s poem, “Early October Snow,” has many feasible interpretations. One viable way to read the poem is in the literal sense. Therefore, in the literal sense this poem is about the speaker describing the beauty in a snowy October day. The speaker uses vibrant words to make this black and white picture become vibrant with colors. After carefully analyzing this poem, the focus of the poem has emphasized the value of time and has explained to cherish the time available. Furthermore, the…

To many people, the ultimate accomplishment on earth is to become someone of importance and fame. However, other individuals may argue that once gone, a human’s impact on earth simply diminishes as nothing lasts forever. Through the poems “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley and “Sonnet 43” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning there contrasting views are of the life’s significance and the lasting effect one may have after death. By analyzing the punctuation and word choice, the reader gets a better…

A sonnet is a poem usually consisting of fourteen lines linked by a regular rhythm and one of two mayor rhyme schemes - that of either an Italian or Shakespearean sonnet (Prescott, 2010). Such forms will be analyzed in the works of two of the greatest poets of all time – John Donne and William Shakespeare. They are worthy canonical figures that are still acknowledged and studied today, were influenced by cultural and historical features of the era in which they wrote and included aesthetics…

Oedipus Rex is a tragic tale of a man whose fate betrays him. In this play Oedipus is involved in a prophecy that for his whole life his was ignorant to. Oedipus knows about the prophecy, and tries to avoid it by leaving his home. By doing this, Oedipus unknowingly fulfills the prophecy. Oedipus later has to deal with the repercussions of these actions. Once he accepts what he has done, Oedipus gets a sense of clarity even though he is still in pain. The various symbols throughout Oedipus Rex…

“Annabel Lee”, written by Edgar Allen Poe, was published in 1849. This poem depicts the love story between two young people. Their love was deep and passionate. So passionate in fact that it caused the angels to become angry and jealous. Their love ended up being Annabel Lee’s downfall, as the speaker of the poem believes the angels sent down a wind to cause Annabel to fall ill and die. The last half of the poem describes the endurance of their love. What makes this poem so compelling is Edgar’s…

It was a dark and stormy evening when a mentally unstable main character pondered whether word choice and extravagant descriptions would have any effect on the reader of his written works. He looked at the purple velvet curtains his long dead love had hung years ago when he was still sane and concluded that this was indeed the case. The shadows cast upon the floor by the dying coals in the fireplace helped him to understand that a reader’s first impression is characterized by the first…

Renaissance Observation Paper The painting that I selected was “Forest Fire” by Piero di Cosimo. Piero di Cosimo was a Florentine painter of the Italian Renaissance. He was born on January 2, 1462, and died on April 12, 1522. He created this painting in 1505, at the age of 43, about a decade before his death. He painted “Forest Fire” with an oil panel canvas, similar to most of his paintings at the time. Starting in the left hand corner, I see a bundle of cream, beige, and black birds flying…

Emily Dickinson’s, “Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church,” presents a unique poem regarding the man-made traditions that numerous people follow in church with the intention to draw closer to God, and whether or not one should observe the Sabbath by staying at home or fellowshipping with other Christians in a church building. In this particular poem, Dickinson is attempting to inform and instruct the audience of a single method of worship that can also be practiced in the home setting. The…

Giotto di Bondone, born Colle di Vespignano, near Florence in 1266, is recognized as being a revolutionary who started the evolution of the flat, Byzantine styled painting technique into something more realistic and three dimensional. Giotto was active during a time known as the Proto-Renaissance in Florence, which refers to the pre-Renaissance period (1300-1400) in Italy. He spent his early years as an apprentice of Cimabue. He is best known for his frescos and paintings. Giotto was supposedly…

Giotto di Bondone, of Florence, and Jan van Eyck, of Bruges were both revolutionary artist during the Late Gothic and Early Renaissance era (c. 1300-1500). However, each artist had incredibly different styles and utilized different mediums that they would later become known for. Giotto lived and worked in Florence during a period when religious subjects and styles had been laid down by centuries of tradition. As the first artist to depict human emotion, his influence put Western art on a path to…