Abstract
A paper on Dionysian and Apollonian and its application in New Orleans culture.

Tags:dionysian, apollonian

Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that poetry has traditionally been the realm where the Dionysian myth, as defined in opposition to the Apollonian myth, is able to reign free, effectively embracing the sort of chaos and formlessness that has traditionally defined Dionysus. At the same time, the writer points out, it is very difficult to isolate the Dionysian qualities of a poem from the Apollonian qualities, as one relies on the difference between the two as definitional factors in each; in order for true poetry to occur, one needs the Apollonian to give form and temperance to the wildness of the Dionysian. Still, in this essay, the writer reads two poems by Frank O'Hara, "Poem" and "Homosexuality," from a purely Dionysian standpoint - even though, it may be argued, that an Apollonian reading of the poems may also be elicited.

From the Paper
" "Poem" is about desire in a purely aesthetic sense. It is Dionysian not only in this embrace of desire and the aesthetic, but in that it does not fear embracing the irrational, the absurd, in rendering a work of art. The poet states that we desire flowers more than George Sand's blue rose; in other words, a blue rose is not a flower? The poem does not really make any logical, Apollonian sense - and that is exactly O'Hara's point. A classical, romantic nature poem about flowers might attempt to elaborate on the qualities of the blue rose via metaphor, thus allowing the Apollonian to temper the Dionysian impulses of the poem. But O'Hara will have none of it - other than stating that it belongs to George Sand, the famous French writer from the 19th century, we do not learn anything else about flowers, other than what they are not: poison oak."

Tags:indulgence, pleasure, emotion, impulses

Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that the Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy has frequently been employed as a departure point for the critical evaluation of poetic works. In this essay, the writer proposes using those qualities typically associated with Dionysus - that is, the integration of the self into the whole, the life and death cycle (the myth of descent and ascent), the natural world, and the ecstatic - in order to analyze poems by Brenda Hamilton, Sharon Olds, and Yusef Komunyakaa. The writer shows that the Dionysian tendency, rooted in the belief that man plays a role in the drama of eternal repetition that is grounded in the cyclical view of nature, is present in these works and informs each poet's mythic vision of the universe.

From the Paper
"What each of these three poems has in common is the fact that they are based around images of human figures confronting the Dionysian motifs of descent and ascent via nature. Each poem represents a struggle between the Apollonian and Dionysian extremes, a struggle that is very much part of every human being's life. In Hamilton's poem, the poet is quite eager to run away altogether from Apollonian order into the wild chaos of poetry and the sea. It does not take much convincing for her; from the moment the poem opens, she is ready to go. Olds's poem represents a more virulent struggle between the two poles. While the father in the poem has clearly made his choice and has learned to live with it, for the younger man, the son, the journey will be a much longer road, Olds infers, marked by pain and suffering. In Komunyakaa's poem, wild Dionysus is consistently present from the beginning in the form of the figure in the poem, who is apparently half-man and half-beast - a hefty dramatization of the sublimation of Apollo into Dionysus. The poem plays not only with this dichotomy between man and the animal kingdom, but between man and woman as well."

Tags:mythical, Apollo, half-beast, indulgence

Abstract
This paper discusses and compares the Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy of two 20th century poems - Frank O'Hara's "Homosexuality" and Stephen Dobyns' "Counterparts." The paper uses these poems to show how a dichotomous conception of Apollo and Dionysus is rather limiting from the standpoint of literary analysis. It discusses how considering the intertwining of Apollonian and Dionysian tendencies is the only way we can adequately grasp a poet's mythical conception of the universe.

From the Paper
"At first glance, O'Hara's poem seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with the subject of homosexuality. As one penetrates below the surface of the poem, however, it becomes readily obvious that, without making any explicit references to homosexual practices, "Homosexuality" is in fact an homage to the Dionysian celebration of life that has traditionally been an integral part of the gay lifestyle. Dionysus has traditionally been aligned with the idea of joyful excess, drunken revelry, and, in art and literature, formlessness. The speaker in the poem feels unable to contain his own soul, and so he lets it drift off and intends to follow it on its unpredictable journey."

Tags:lifestyle, homosexuality, tone, structure

Abstract
This paper provides an analysis of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre that maintains Jane and Rochester represent the Dionysian in its most extreme manifestation, while other characters like St. John Rivers and Helen Burns symbolize the Apollonian in ways that help bring balance to the characters or narrative.

From the Paper
"The elements of the Gothic novel are readily apparent in Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre". This is particularly true with respect to the intimidating mansions with hidden secrets and those qualities of landscapes and characters noted in lecture, wild, passionate, spooky and unrestrained. Clearly, Jane Eyre is passionate as Rochester is wild, while both are unrestrained. Within these characters, a conflict between the Apollonian and Dionysian exists that is only resolved when the two of them come together as kindred spirits in marriage."

Tags:God, judgment, passion, freedom, autonomy, wild, kindred spirits, love, marriage, Gothic

Abstract
This paper provides a discussion of the main elements associated with the Apollonian and Dionysian elements in human nature and dramatic tragedy and how those elements are reflected in the Alan Parker directed film, "Angel Heart."

From the Paper
"In Alan Parker's "Angel Heart", the director weaves a tenuous thread between the Apollonian and the Dionysian in his story and characters. Originating in Greek mythology, Apollo and Dionysus were both sons of Zeus. In modern literature, Apollonian and Dionysian symbolizes principles of wholeness versus individualism, light versus darkness or civilization versus primal nature. Despite this seeming contradiction between the Apollonian and Dionysian in Greek legend and in the works of philosophers through the ages, the fusion..."

Tags:hell, chaos, destruction, order, ration, orgiastic passion, balance, individualism

From the Paper
" In Greek mythology, Apollo represents an aspect of the Greek ideal and a characteristic element of Greek civilization--the perpetually vigorous and graceful young man, contrasted with his half-brother Dionysus. Dionysus is the wild and enthusiastic zealot, while Apollo is calm and orderly, balancing vigor and reason. The Apollonian/Dionysian dichotomy is found expressed in literature both before the time of the Greek Golden Age and after, suggesting that there is something elementary and even primal in the pairing.

Dionysus was the central figure in a major cult of the Greek world, a cult that would have a long-term influence in mythology, religion, and literature. Dionysus was a pan-Hellenic god who was widely celebrated throughout the Archaic period and honored at dramatic contests with tragedies and comedies. His was also.."

Abstract
This paper discusses examples of the Dionysian and the Apollonian in the characters of Sophocles' "Oedipus the King", explaining how these characteristics are important to the play.

From the Paper
"The German philosopher Nietzche originated the terms Apollonian and Dionysian after Apollo, the god of the sun, and Dionysus, the god of the earth. Nietzche saw the ideal person as one balanced between the two extremes of Apollonian and Dionysian characteristics, although in literature, characters are often predominantly one or the other. The Apollonian tendencies include reason, order, clarity, moderation, control and analysis, yielding individuals that are rule- and research-oriented, while the Dionysian tendencies include passion..."

Tags:Oedipus the King, Sophocles, Dionysian, Apollonian

Abstract
This paper examines the story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates and seeks to show that, taken allegorically, this story does not speak of temptation to sin but rather speaks of the call to transcend and to become initiated. It attempts to show that this fascinating story is not merely a realistic allegory of growing out of childhood, nor a tragic story of rape and murder, but also a sophisticated modern-day retelling of the coming of Dionysus and the calling of the Maenad. It looks at how Arnold Friend is a type of Dionysus and how his call to Connie parallels the call of the mad god to his Bacchae and to the initiates in his mysteries.

From the Paper
"Understanding Arnold Friend as an exemplar of Dionysus opens up far greater insight into the allegorical and mystical elements of this story. Dionysus was widely worshiped in the Greco-Roman world as a savior and an initiator into the mysteries of the self. (Freke & Gandy) He brought madness and death, certainly, but always this chaos was part of "the beauty and horror inextricably tied to the process of Becoming," (Mcginty, 165) and though he was a god of death he was also a god of resurrection who was commonly compared to Jesus by early Christian writers and their pagan contemporaries. (Freke & Gandy) With this in mind, several elements of the story may be re-evaluated. "

Tags:arnold, friend, connie, rape

From the Paper
"Nietzsche: Apollonian and Dionysian



Philosophers have been misinterpreted and taken out of context throughout history, but none as often as the 19th century German philosophers Hegel and Nietzsche. The extremely religious Hegel has been linked to the godless communism, and godless Nietzsche will be forever bound by his "superman" model to the "Aryan Supremacy" aspirations of Hitler and the Third Reich. Ironically, no civilization epitomized as much the dichotomy of order and disorder that define the Apollonian and Dionysian tendencies, which Nietzsche attributed to mankind. The Apollonian tendency was a desire for clarity and order, represented by the Greek..."