Martha Graham

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the life of dancer and choreographer, Martha Graham. The paper relates her life to the description of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" of the progression and emergence of a superhuman. The paper describes Nietzsche's philosophy and discusses the various aspects of Graham's life in terms of the camel, the lion and the child that Nietzsche discusses.

Table of Contents:
The Camel--The Young Graham
The Maturing Graham--The Lion
The Graham Legacy--The Child

From the Paper:

"Martha Graham lived for ninety-six years, and was increasingly criticized for her refusal to stop performing in her own dances. However, Graham's unique physicality combined with her fortitude of mind gave birth, to a unique ideal of American dance. It is hard not to think of the Superman when one hears of Graham's own attempt, like Nietzsche, to harkens back to Greek mythology with dances such as "Cave of the Heart" (1946), which contains no sentimentality or beauty, as was still expected in dance of the day, to tell the tale of a woman who slays her children. Graham was also capable of creating life-affirming works like "Appalachian Spring" (1944), one of Copeland's most famous tunes that told the story of an American pioneer wedding with primitive intensity and love of nature. (Teachout, 1998, p.3)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Nietzsche, Frederick. "Thus spoke Zarathustra." The Guttenberg Project. E-text. [11 May 2006] http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext99/spzar10.txt
• Soll, Ivan. "Heidegger, Martin." World Book Online Reference Center. 2006. [11 May 2006.] <http://www.aolsvc.worldbook.aol.com/wb/Article?id=ar251070>.
• Teachout, Terry. "Martha Graham." Time Magazine: 100 Artists. 1998. [11 May 2006.] http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/graham3.html

More papers on Martha Graham:

• Analytical Essay # 120615 : "Garry Wills on Martha Graham Garry"
• Descriptive Essay # 105918 : "Martha Graham"
• Essay # 61559 : "Martha Graham"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: