Prompt two: King Solomon

Foster is exactly right when he says that all the writing is one big story. It's just like what king Solomon said, but why then, is it possible for us to keep revisiting the older texts year after year? The answer is two-fold and is present in the first chapter of this book.
His students are all flabbergasted by his suggestion about the devil. This shows that all writings are connected through different allusions and references which he draws upon when he refers to the various Faust stories. A similar trope is present in books by J.R. Tolkien or C.S.Lewis. They both were devout Christians who included religious themes in their books.
Additionally, the old texts can be repeatedly drawn upon and viewed in new ways. These different interpretations are the result of different experiences and lifestyles that cast some characters in different lights for different people.
Considering that the prompt asks about art in general, I feel like the album cover for the Coldplay song Viva La Vida is a perfect example of the concept in the prompt. It was widely considered to be representative of the song by the same name and represent the french revolution. Despite this being wrong, it is another example of the idea that everything takes some aspect of itself from something else. For the sake of clarity, I’ve been informed that he wrote the song about his journey to atheism.

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 7, 2017 at 7:13 PM

    This is Brooks Anderson

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  2. UnknownJuly 7, 2017 at 7:54 PM

    I thought it was really neat how you were able to tie in old literature, life experiences, and music into your blog. Although they all have different meanings it is important to recognize they stem from each other. I liked the point you made was that people always return to the classics no matter how many years go by. It is interesting to see how people interpreted Coldplay's album to mean one thing while it actually meant something completely different. Even if an author holds a certain meaning to his work it is so cool how it can inspire a reader in a different way with the same words.

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  3. UnknownJuly 30, 2017 at 9:25 AM

    I love your use of Tolkien as an example because when I read the books I didn’t see any religious undertones, however thinking back on the books i can definitely see where there are some religious undertones. This really emphasizes your point about how the same text can be interpreted in a multitude of different ways. I also had absolutely no idea that Coldplay’s song was about atheism it's a great example of how an artist can mean one thing but the listener can perceive something totally different.

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  4. UnknownJuly 31, 2017 at 8:36 AM

    I really enjoyed your asking of the question on why we keep returning to older texts if all literature is the same, and i enjoyed the clarity and truthfulness of your answer. Also i agreed with the way you tied in the ambiguity aspect of how we view different characters. The Coldplay connection was very intriguing. I just spent a good while reading over the lyrics and i can understand the true meaning now but i would have never guessed. Your explanation of the prompt was very interesting and i enjoyed your ideas and claims and especially the connection to music and the correct interpretation of the song.

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