The Book of the Courtier

Darkness is a book created with a feminist motives. “The Left Hand of Darkness evokes a powerful individual reader response because each reader must define his or her inner space where gender finds its own ideological space; the novel requires readers to resist a gendered reading of the narrative.” (Pennington, 352) The Left Hand of Darkness forces the reader to almost in a sense question some of the gender roles and characteristics that we have come to know. “Estraven was a courtier, a…

Holy Sacrament depicts theologists such as the original four Doctors of the Church, with Pope Gregory I, Augustine, Ambrose, Pope Julius II, Pope Sixtus IV, Savonarola and Dante Alighieri disputing the idea of the eucharist. Dr. Joseph Hartman in his book Nature and Naturalism: A Philosophy Primer states that “Humanism intellectually challenges dogmatic religion and places an emphasis on human values and perspectives” (Hartman, 2013). The fact that those depicted are disputing the ideas of holy…

The Duchess of Malfi takes place in Italy, during the 16th century. It begins in Malfi, or Amalfi, at the duchess’ court in the province of Salerno on the Western coast of Italy. The scene later changes to Ancona as well as Loretto, and interspersed throughout are scenes in Rome where Bosola reports to Ferdinand and the Cardinal. The play is believed to be set between the years 1504 and 1508, but spans several years as Antonio and the Duchess establish their family, all while keeping it a secret…

Not only that Shakespeare is one of the most known writer of all time but he was also one of the greatest humanists encountered in the renaissance. Indeed, a lot of his texts were written in order to promote the greatness of human kind. As an example of this, Shakespeare expressed the image that he has on human nature in Hamlet, a great tragedy written during the renaissance englobing love and death. Indeed, the principal character, Hamlet, really defines well the position of humanists while…

The Renaissance took root in Italy in the 14th century and spread north, bringing with it a renewed interest in classical values as people rediscovered the ancient Greek and Roman literature and art that the Middle Ages forgot. Use of the feudal system declined in favor of monarchies, oligarchies, and parliaments, and the Roman Catholic Pope had less influence on politics. Niccolò Machiavelli’s 1532 The Prince separated political theory and religion as Machiavelli described a successful ruler as…

Modern day scholars have long since stressed the fact that the Renaissance woman have been oppressed throughout history, which is an accusation that is to a certain degree very true. With the emergence of the Renaissance in Europe circa 1350-1650, the blooming intellect of the Renaissance woman was met with many difficulties: In the home and in public life, the male had absolute control over everything. When it came to politics, men dominated: Males served as the kingpins over the state and…

Annotated Bibliography Robert Browning wrote "My Last Duchess” to demonstrate oppression, jealousy, and pride that the speaker (duke of Ferrara) presents when he is talking about his last duchess who he murdered because “she smiled too much.” It is assumed that the Duke keeps the painting of his late wife covered by a curtain so only he can reveal her smile which was just supposed to be for him. At the end of the poem the duke mentions a bronze statue of Neptune taming a sea-horse which suggests…

was thrown into jail for a very long time, there he wrote a book called “History of the World”, he also began to study chemistry and plants while in prison. He was freed from prison in 1616 which was when he vowed to the king’s son and his friend, Prince Henry, that he would get the gold back from the Spanish without using violent…

“Let them eat cake,” is part of a line that many assume was uttered by Marie Antoinette, Queen of France. This portrayal of Marie Antoinette is a far cry from the compassionate, humanitarian she preferred to be. Above all she wanted nothing more than to be a mother and had a fondness for children that no wicked queen could have. Pamphlets produced during her time as Dauphine and then as Queen has ultimately written her in a negative light, not at all the once beloved girl who had won the hearts…

thoughts, Molly Bloom ponders about a wide range of things, mainly about her past lovers and her youth at Gibraltar, to the birth of her daughter Milly and her job as a singer and her competitors. In Molly's second 'sentence' she is remembering on her courtiers from her past and present. Her affair with Blazes Boylan is seemed to be the leading train of thought in this unendingly long sentence as she remembers the afternoon she just spent with him, and also an soon performance in Belfast. She…