Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, Allegories of Love： Emblematic Ardor

Giovanni Antonio Bazzi （1477-1549）, also known as I1 Sodoma, was a Milanese painter who developed his mature style in Siena during the early Cinquecento. Between 1505 and 1510, under the tutelage of the Chigi and Petrucci families, Bazzi depicted mythological paintings focusing on the personifications of love both terrestrial and celestial. This paper looks at two such works. In one, there hangs on a sycamore tree a classical cartello with the Latin inscription Celestes, meaning celestial or heavenly, providing the title for the painting Amore Celeste （Celestial Love, Figure 3）. A woman, as the personification of love, stands in front of two altars. She ignites one urn with fire and at the same time pours water over another burning fire. In the second work, a tondo with the theme of Terrestrial Love and Celestial Love, Bazzi considered the mischievousness of Venus＇ children Eros and Anteros （Figure 12）. These paintings are mythological and poetical delights with complex symbolism, here analyzed in terms of their iconography in relation to classical influences and Renaissance Neoplatonic love or furor divinus. The paradoxical quest of Renaissance Neoplatonic love was to fuse pagan love with Christian love. For the humanists of the time （Bembo, Colonna, Poliziano, Ficino and Pico） this moral dilemma was a philosophical puzzle, but for artists （Botticelli, Nicoletto da Modena, Pinturicchio and Bazzi） the theme was a pictorial challenge.

The Symbolic Meaning of the Image of Prospero in The Tempest

The Tempest is usually taken to be Shakespeare's last play written without a collaborator for the London stage before his retirement to Stratford. It is an excellent romantic story. The symbolic meaning of the characters in this drama has been a sustained topic for the critics. This essay tries to put forward some new interpretations based on a summary of existing ideas.

Allegory and Symbolism——On Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown

Hawthorne is at his best when dealing with the topics of the sin, the supernatural, and the New England past. As a great symbolist, Hawthorne made good use of symbols to express his ideas. Some important symbols in his "Young Goodman Brown", such as the pink ribbons, the fellow traveler’s staff, are closely associated with the theme, relating to man’s sins. This paper briefly discusses the use of allegory and symbolism in his "Young Goodman Brown" with a view to contributing to a better understanding of the whole story.

Visual Representations in Richard Aldington＇s London （May 1915） and Eros and Psyche

Through reading Walter Benjamin＇s critical essay, Surrealism： The Last Snapshot of the European Intelligentsia, the authors of this research would like to trace the key point of Surrealist aesthetics, particularly the juxtapositions of visual objects in the city of London. Richard Aldington＇s two poems, London （May 1915） and Eros andPsyche, come to depict Surrealist image spheres, as their visual representations in words would show. The dialectical optic of the poet comes to reveal an allegorical synthesis, giving birth to new meanings. The city of London shows the irrational fusion of the opposites, in a way which a Surrealist reading of these two poems is able to construct a critical virtue.

E. A. Poe＇s The Masque of the Red Death： Symbol vs. Allegory？

The paper is concerned with E. A. Poe＇s unique symbolic method as manifested in his tale The Masque of the Red Death. It offers a picture of the general state of critical treatment of the supposed opposition between allegory and symbol. I present a historical overview of how the distinction between the literary terms arose, tracing the roots of the issue to the end of the 18th century and showing its development over the next two centuries. The second section of the paper is devoted to the analysis of The Masque in the light of the theoretical background provided in the opening section. The Masque is interpreted in terms of Poe＇s modulation of＂closed＂ and ＂open＂ symbolism by focusing on aspects of the story that relate to the use of numbers, colors, and time.

Hiato： A Pause in Darkness to Reflect the Future

This article deals with the short story “Hiato”, part of the collection Tutaméia： Tereeiras estdrias by Joāo Guimarāes Rosa. When Tutaméia was released, it caused some discomfort for being too inventive. We will analyze the story in relation to the book proposal and the literary field when it was released. The short story presents an allegory of deform or an indetermination procedure that creates deformations in the form. “Hiato” is related to the author＇s concept of fiction as a representation that validates itself through the relations it establishes with cultural representations. These relations of representation with culture call attention to the significances that history aggregates to linguistic uses and, simultaneously, proposes meaninglessness of decisive representational moments. The effect is a critical reflection on the historicity of representations in culture which fiction makes undetermined as a future strategy.

Popular Theatre： Puppet and Shadow Play in the Arab World

Theatrical manifestations like puppet plays, Shadow plays and the Qarakoz, with the exception of the art of story-telling, were probably brought to the Arab world from the Far East. While storytelling was probably the primal theatrical form in that part of the world, shadow theatre and the qarakoz were a developed popular theatrical stage. The only difference between the qarakoz and the shadow theatre is that the former depends on presenting the puppets live on stage, while the latter displays the shadow of puppets on a lighted white screen. The puppet art and the shadow play performers spread throughout the Arab world, especially in Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. The performances traditionally took place in plazas, public gardens and public cafes. This paper attempts to explore the history of this art and the role it played in spreading such an entertainment in the public life of the concerned societies, as well as portraying its importance as a tool for social and political criticism.

Female Initiation in a Modem Cinderella Story： Gloria Whelan＇s Homeless Bird

Homeless Bird is a 2000 National Book Award novel for young adults by Gloria Whelan. By employing the fairy tale Cinderella as an archetype, Gloria Whelan successfully blends fantasy with realism, building an image of new Cinderella, who is independent, courageous, and full of rebelling spirits in a patriarchal society, thus presenting young readers a more familiar and more acceptable access to the harsh reality. With the theme of female initiation, Koly＇s initiation journey is allegorical which needs to be read as an extended metaphor to exhibit the power of courage and hope in people who determine to take the fate in their own hands.

Allegory of Dominance British Power in Rudyard Kipling＇s Rikki-tikki-tavi

In The Jungle Book （1894）, Kipling＇s first literary work, the author uses Indian spatial reference and cultural influence to construct his narrative. The short story ＂Rikki-tikki-tavi＂ is elaborated using the structure of Western fables, having allegory as one of its most exploited strategies. Vladmir Propp, in Morphology of the Folktale （1929） considers that every folktale story reproduces a structure. Propp＇s model demonstrates Rikki-tikki-tavi＇s Western ＂frame＂ when the authors see how clearly and efficiently the short story fits the model of Russian Folktale. This article will analyze ＂Rikki-tikki-tavi＂ as a paradigm of this literary genre, showing how characters metaphorically represent the British domination in India during the end of the 19th century.

The Parable of the Three Rings

Which is the true religion？ In the Middle Ages, the parable of the three rings, in all its versions, is a subtle answer to this question, which uses a persuasive allegory. The allegory of the three rings refers to a previous allegory, represented by three gems, one real and two fakes. The religion of the philosophers was born from the hidden meaning of the same allegory： universalism, brotherhood of men as children of the one and only God, the transcendence of a single God that cannot be reduced to any particular representation, and love for one＇s neighbors. The three sons who receive the inheritance of the ring, given by their father, are all loved by him and all three receive a gem that could be the real one. The similarity of the position of the three sons is equivalent to the moral element shared by the three religions： All those who believe in God and his justice put into practice the fundamental teachings of the philosophers. The meaning of the allegory is evident： None of the three sons can claim with certainty the possession of the real ring, but precisely because of this their faith can remain clear, removed from the temptation of pursuing someone because of that person＇s religion.

Construction the Value Dimensions of＂Chinese Dream＂ Take the Film American Dreams in China as an Example

In recent years, the ＂China Dream＂ has become a popular topic in China's Mainland. To tell the stories of the ＂Chinese Dream＂ from different aspect in the field of literary and artistic creation have emerged as a significant phenomenon. To some extent, these texts can be regarded as national allegory. This paper will take the film American Dreams in China as a case, to provide some thoughts on the value dimensions for the construction of the ＂Chinese Dreams＂.

从“比兴”到allegory——中西诗学对立模式的反思

“比兴”是中国诗学的核心概念,作为一种寓托式的创作或诠释方式,可与西方的allegory(讽寓)对话。汉学家余宝琳等人提出:西方allegory的字面意义与寓托意义,分别联结具体世界与抽象世界,这源自西方的二元论世界观;而中国“比兴”的字面意义与寓托意义则指向自然的鸟兽草木与人事的历史政治,都属于具体的经验世界,这源自中国的一元论世界观。这种中西诗学对立模式虽然有一定的洞见,然而,它也有很大的盲视。“比兴”与allegory的主要特征造成了其根本局限,这种根本局限的超越,恰恰在于吸纳那些与其主要特征相反的因素,即“比兴”吸纳了普遍观念、allegory吸纳了具体历史。在“比兴”与allegory的比较中,不应该简单地将它们贴上具体历史与普遍观念的标签,锁进两个泾渭分明的领地。

Fredric Jameson＇s ＂Third-World Literature＂ and ＂National Allegory＂： A Defense

A controversial concept in reading ＂third-world literature,＂ Fredric Jameson＇s ＂national allegory＂ has more often been refuted or approvingly appropriated than properly understood. Taking the ＂national allegory＂ as a convenient theoretical category describing the content of ＂third-world literature＂ misses Jameson＇s underlying problematic, i.e. his concern about ＂third-world literature＂ as an immanent deconstructive force leading to the breaking down of chains of signification of capitalist culture. Insofar as the functional concept of the ＂national allegory＂ is concerned, one must read ＂nation＂ not as a term designating a substantial entity, but as an ＂allegory＂ in itself. To read ＂third-world literature＂ through the lens of a ＂national allegory＂ thus means to deterritorialize the third world from its substantial determinants in terms of traditional geo-politics. Rather, ＂third-world literature＂ in its deconstructive force is toward what Jean-Luc Nancy calls the inoperative community.

Love in a Changing Society of the Past Half a Century： Suzhou River as a Historical Allegory

Suzhou River, a 2000 film directed by Lou Ye, explores several tragic love stories set in Shanghai around the transitional period of 1980s and 1990s. Many critics have praised its technical excellence, yet generally they have not paid sufficient attention to its subject matter. This paper departs from previous interpretations of the film, which have tended to be premised on superficial readings of the plotline, and contends that the work constitutes a poignant socio-political critique, which is conveyed through the construction of differing love stories set against a changing socio-cultural landscape. The past and the present incarnations of the cardinal female protagonist--who can be understood as a symbol for the average Chinese （woman）--suggest the fact that the society has transformed dramatically across the three disparate eras of the past half a century; accordingly, the identity of the Chinese also shifts tremendously. In this way, Lou Ye in effect constructs a diachronic re-presentation of the changing social mores and varied cultural ethos in a synchronic structure, which is subject to be read as an ingenious historical allegory.

Li Shang-yin and the Baroque

The issue of the poetry of Li Shang-yin and the Baroque is not yet settled since various critical attempts have not proven sufficiently satisfactory to justify a definition of his poetry as Baroque.The main difficulty stems from the attempt to read his poetry symbolically rather than allegorically,which is the poetic mode characteristic of Baroque poetry.This is what this paper attempts to do with a reading of“Chin-se”(“The Ornamented Zither”).

The Will to Allegory and the Origin of Chinese Modernism： Rereading Lu Xun＇s Ah Q--The Real Story

Through a formal analysis of this seminar work of Lu Xun, the author observes that the narrative and dramatic motivation of Ah Q--The Real Story is an intense yet futile search for a proper name and identity within a system of naming and identity-formation as the system, by default, repels the identity-seeking and ＂homecoming＂ effort of the sign in question （＂Ah Q＂）. Based on this observation, the author goes on to argue that the origin of Chinese modernism lies in a highly political awareness of one＇s loss of cultural belonging and thus one＇s collective alienation from the matrix of tradition and indeed existence. Departing from conventional reading of this work, often anchored in sociopolitical interpretations of class, nation, and group psychology centered on the ＂critique of national characteristics＂ discourse, this article maintains that the true ambition and literary energy of Lu Xun＇s masterpiece can only be fully grasped when one confronts this epic cul^tral-political struggle to regain a cultural system＇s power and legitimation to name one＇s own existence and define one＇s own value.

Reading Li Shang-yin

The fate of poets like Li Shang-yin, who are labeled “medieval,” is never to be modern. Critics both ancient and modern read them within a perspective they call “medieval” and will not allow these poets the freedom of expression which is rightly theirs and which qualifies them as baroque and, hence, “modern.” In the paper I examine the case of Li Shang-yin and what makes him not only a great baroque poet, but also a great modern poet.

The Natural Imagery in the Zhuangzh A Preliminary Study

This essay presents a preliminary examination of the use of natural imagery in the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi. The essay analyzes the characteristics of this imagery and the possible reasons for Zhuangzi＇s particular use of fantastic language, exaggeration, and fiction in connection with natural images. In doing so, I also compare the Zhuangzi with several important classical Chinese and Greek texts. In addition, I explore the possible motivations for and influence exerted by Zhuangzi＇s use of natural imagery. The essay aims to demonstrate that an analysis of the roles played by natural imagery in the Zhuangzi contributes significantly to our understanding of the work as a whole, as well as its abiding influence on later works.