Maya Deren Essays

Meshes of the Afternoon is an experimental film made in 1943 by husband and wife; Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid. It is one of the most significant films established during the Avant-Garde movement, which is now known as the New American Cinema. The movie is non narrative, and is categorized to be a trance film because the central character is set to be in a dreamy state. The film somewhat repeats itself following a specific theme including main symbolic objects such as a key, knife in a loaf of

Art was an important part of Aztec life. Aztec sculptures and paintings drew inspiration From and expressed aspects Of their religion. Paintings on the walls and on stiff paper, Made from tree bark showed religious Ceremonies. The Aztec used natural dyes to make brightly colored clothes. What they wore every day depended on their social class. Every 52 years the Aztec destroyed all of their household items in a religious ceremony. The Aztec women were responsible for weaving cloth for clothing and

Kate Chopin is the author of “Désirée’s Baby.” Chopin was born in St. Louis, Missouri but later on in life she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. Chopin was raised by her mother only after her father passed away. Once she left Louisiana and moved back to Missouri, she started to write some stories about people she knew back in Louisiana. This particular narrative she wrote focused on the importance of race and how it can impact people’s lives. The significance of ethnicity has always been a popular

society ie.) astronomy, math, hieroglyphics, calendrics, rituals, medicine, teachers, prophecy(Walker 450) and more. The gods were very tricky to please which meant rituals had to be done at the right time or the purpose may fall short of the goal. The maya believed that everything was controlled and dictated by the gods. Whenever there was a natural disaster human sacrifices were made to please them. Sacrifices were chosen from orphans, slaves, enemy warriors, criminals, and lastly children that were

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: A Metaphorical Criticism Maya Angelou is an acclaimed American poet, public speaker, activist, author and educator who is most famous for her roles as a spokesperson for black Americans and women. In her poem, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” written in 1969, Angelou describes her struggles with racism, which she was exposed to and dealt with since childhood. By using Metaphor Criticism, we will delve deeper into what it means to be a survivor of such cruelty

Along with Brazil, Mexico has demonstrated a similar phenomenon, amongst the Nahuatl-speaking locals. It is another Virgin Mary figure which was discovered on a sacred Aztec site. The statue is commonly referred to as Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe, pictured below), however the indigenous people call her Tonantzin, after an indigenous goddess of the earth. Asides from religious figurines, there are many buildings in Latin America which are known to be influenced by the colonisation

Maya Angelou was a very influential woman who had an interesting life. She was a poet, civil rights activist, and much more. She got many awards for her work and overcame segregation. The beginning though, would be a better place to start. Maya Angelou was born in 1928 which was a time when segregation was very real. To make matters worse, her parents got divorced early on. At the time of the divorce she was only two, so of course this event influenced her greatly. She went to live with her uncle

This poem tackles the idea of equal rights and respect of those different than one. A theme in this poem is the ability to overcome in confidence. Maya Angelou, a confident African American, uses poetry to overcome oppression that she faces. She starts the poem saying, “you may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies” (Angelou). This implies that Angelou has a name worth writing down in history, she has a well known place in history. However, the description of how her name will be

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by: Maya Angelou I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was written in 1969 by the renowned poet, Maya Angelou. Although a poet, Maya Angelou wrote this novel not as a poem, but as an autobiography. In the autobiography, there are many ways that the two children, Maya and Bailey, feel emotional exile in their lives. The children are abused through the constant racism and comparing themselves to whites, their inner struggles, and the unexplainable pain that comes with being

Alfredo Jaar’s photograph ‘A Hundred Times Nguyen’ 1994 explores the spectacle of ‘compassion fatigue’ and was created due to the vast incarceration of Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong in 1991 (Jaar, press release, 2017-2018). ‘A Hundred Times Nguyen’ leaves a mark on the memory of the viewer due to its simplicity and stark nature. Jaar (1994) took these four portraits - between 5 second intervals- of a young girl; Nguyen Thi Thuy, age unknown. The young girl’s face has a sweet yet wary expression

The Aztec Empire lasted from the year 1345 to the year 1521. During these years, the Aztec Empire was able to flourish all throughout central Mexico. Their capital was established on Teotihuacan, on top of a lake. The Aztec Empire alone was 117,501 miles squared long. The citizens of the Aztec Empire were feared all over Mexico. The tribes that lived closest to them mostly feared them because of their high thirst for human blood. As we have been able to learn more about the Aztecs, we have been

happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” Maya Angelou, was an author, poet, dancer, and a civil rights activist, she was best known for her 1969 memoir, called I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She believed a lot in freedom and equal rights for all people. Maya uses her creative writing as an art form to express her feelings about things such as her want for freedom, and her feelings on the human spirit. In Maya 's Poem the Caged Bird she uses the two different birds to symbolize

Sarah Kay is an American educator, reader and a spoken poet, who was born to a Taoist mother and a Brooklynese father. She is also the founder and co-director of Project VOICE, a project whose aim is to entertain, educate, and inspire its audience. Thus, these three aims are important aspects of Kay’s poems and their effect on her audience. Throughout her poems, she tackles social issues widely present in today’s world, and her poem “The Type” is no different. Kay is the speaker of, “The Type” and

In On the Bus with Rosa Parks, Rita Dove displays the voice of young African American women throughout time that have been suppressed. Throughout the collection, she uses incredible imagery and diction that allow readers to feel they are living through the experiences as well. Rita Dove is known for her ability to infuse history into beautiful poetry seamlessly, and use symbols to do so. Although Rita Dove 's key symbol of heat in On the Bus with Rosa Parks appears to represent damage and pain,

Audre Lorde: Poet, Lesbian, Activist, Mother. Although the majority of Lorde’s poetry and essays focus on her sexuality and race there is a poem, published in Coal, 1976, that seems to stand out among her inner darkness. Now That I Am Forever With Child is a shining beacon to Lorde’s first full pregnancy, and you can feel the joy and love in her words as you read each line. In comparison to her poem Coal, the books namesake, there are many contrasting styles in word choice, imagery, meaning and much

C.E. The maya civilization began in Guatemala. 300 B.C.E. Mayans began to start a society ruled by kings and nobles. 50 B.C.E. Cerros was a city built with temples and ball rooms and was a popular city that was then abandoned. 320 A.D. The Mayans found the city of Yaxchilan. 500 A.D. The city of Tikal was the biggest and greatest Maya city. The immigrants from the surrounding civilizations brought the ideas of weapons, ritual practices, captives, and human sacrifices. 950A.D. The maya

Maya Angelou once said, “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” Throughout her life, Maya grew through multiple hardships as a young black woman including racism and being raped. According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, her uncles killed the rapist, resulting in Maya blaming herself for it and not speaking for five years because she believed “her words brought death” (par 1). Once she started speaking again, Maya broke out of her shell and got involved with dance and

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was born in Baltimore, Maryland, a renowned slave state; she was never a slave herself however, her upbringing was hugely influenced by the unwanted leftover impact of slavery and the discrimination, racism and sexism that came with it. ‘The infamous death of a free man, resulting from his recapture and re-enslavement under a brutal new law intended to reduce black settlement in Maryland, was an important factor in her decision to leave her job as sewing teacher in Ohio

W.H. Auden’s technical virtuosity has been admired by a number of poets. He was a prolific poet that reflects on politics, emotions, social issues as well as literature. Among his hundreds of poems, one of them that represents Auden’s traits is “Funeral Blues”, which mourns over the death of a significant person to narrator. By including a wide range of imagery and hyperboles and rhyming, the emotions conveyed are enhanced as Auden’s unsurpassed ability to utilize figurative language are seen, the

In the chapter “Kura” from Baby No-Eyes written by Patricia Grace it is written by the grandmother in a letter to her grandson Shane who is tell him a story about the past. The story is told by the point of view of the grandmother as a young girl who was put in charge by her grandmother to take care of her little sister or what they call “tiena”. She was in charge of bring Riripeti to school each day and to make sure that she stand in line in school. Riripeti did not know a lot of English so school