David Leeming
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195142884
- eISBN:
- 9780199834402
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195142888.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Myths are living entities that continue to energize thought and action in the modern world. If ancient mythmakers conceived of the evident reality of creation in terms of character and events we ...
More
Myths are living entities that continue to energize thought and action in the modern world. If ancient mythmakers conceived of the evident reality of creation in terms of character and events we associate with such works as Genesis or the Rig Veda, modern scientific mythmakers see it in terms of evolution and the Big Bang. Myth has always been intricately related to religion and new religious metaphors and energies are to be found in the new scientific myths. Modern works of literature reflect ways in which the modern mind uses the ancient Creation, Deity, and Hero archetypes to reveal new understandings.Less
Myths are living entities that continue to energize thought and action in the modern world. If ancient mythmakers conceived of the evident reality of creation in terms of character and events we associate with such works as Genesis or the Rig Veda, modern scientific mythmakers see it in terms of evolution and the Big Bang. Myth has always been intricately related to religion and new religious metaphors and energies are to be found in the new scientific myths. Modern works of literature reflect ways in which the modern mind uses the ancient Creation, Deity, and Hero archetypes to reveal new understandings.
James W. Laine
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195141269
- eISBN:
- 9780199849543
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195141269.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The legend of Shivaji contains several narratives on his victories, raids, and escapes that always showcase his nobility and virtue. These stories are well known in Maharashtra, and they seem to ...
More
The legend of Shivaji contains several narratives on his victories, raids, and escapes that always showcase his nobility and virtue. These stories are well known in Maharashtra, and they seem to point out how Shivaji is to be seen as an epitome as he possesses the region's utmost ideals. Shivaji is seen not just a man with profound courage and bravery but also as an administrator, someone who advocates social reform, a patriotic, and even as a mystic. This book attempts to understand the kind of hero Shivaji was in a Maharashtrian setting, and look into how the growth of this legend can be associated with Maharashtrian Hindu identity by examining the narrative of the legend, identifying clues of how Shivaji became an epic hero, and looking at the challenges that such a narrative may encounter.Less
The legend of Shivaji contains several narratives on his victories, raids, and escapes that always showcase his nobility and virtue. These stories are well known in Maharashtra, and they seem to point out how Shivaji is to be seen as an epitome as he possesses the region's utmost ideals. Shivaji is seen not just a man with profound courage and bravery but also as an administrator, someone who advocates social reform, a patriotic, and even as a mystic. This book attempts to understand the kind of hero Shivaji was in a Maharashtrian setting, and look into how the growth of this legend can be associated with Maharashtrian Hindu identity by examining the narrative of the legend, identifying clues of how Shivaji became an epic hero, and looking at the challenges that such a narrative may encounter.
Jeffrey C. Alexander
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199744466
- eISBN:
- 9780199944163
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199744466.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
Contemporary observers of politics in America often reduce democracy to demography. Whatever portion of the vote not explained by the class, gender, race, and religious differences of voters is ...
More
Contemporary observers of politics in America often reduce democracy to demography. Whatever portion of the vote not explained by the class, gender, race, and religious differences of voters is attributed to the candidates' positions on the issues of the day. But are these the only—or even the main—factors that determine the vote? This book develops a new way of looking at democratic struggles for power, explaining what happened, and why, during the 2008 presidential campaign in the United States. Drawing on vivid examples taken from a range of media coverage, participant observation at a Camp Obama, and interviews with leading political journalists, the book argues that images, emotion, and performance are the central features of the battle for power. While these features have been largely overlooked by pundits, they are, in fact, the primary foci of politicians and their staff. Obama and McCain painstakingly constructed heroic self-images for their campaigns and the successful projections of those images suffused not only each candidate's actual rallies, and not only their media messages, but also the ground game. Money and organization facilitate the ground game, but they do not determine it. Emotion, images, and performance do. Though an untested senator and the underdog in his own party, Obama succeeded in casting himself as the hero—and McCain the anti-hero—and the only candidate fit to lead in challenging times. Illuminating the drama of Obama's celebrity, the effect of Sarah Palin on the race, and the impact of the emerging financial crisis, the book marries the immediacy and excitement of the final months of this historic presidential campaign with a new understanding of how politics work.Less
Contemporary observers of politics in America often reduce democracy to demography. Whatever portion of the vote not explained by the class, gender, race, and religious differences of voters is attributed to the candidates' positions on the issues of the day. But are these the only—or even the main—factors that determine the vote? This book develops a new way of looking at democratic struggles for power, explaining what happened, and why, during the 2008 presidential campaign in the United States. Drawing on vivid examples taken from a range of media coverage, participant observation at a Camp Obama, and interviews with leading political journalists, the book argues that images, emotion, and performance are the central features of the battle for power. While these features have been largely overlooked by pundits, they are, in fact, the primary foci of politicians and their staff. Obama and McCain painstakingly constructed heroic self-images for their campaigns and the successful projections of those images suffused not only each candidate's actual rallies, and not only their media messages, but also the ground game. Money and organization facilitate the ground game, but they do not determine it. Emotion, images, and performance do. Though an untested senator and the underdog in his own party, Obama succeeded in casting himself as the hero—and McCain the anti-hero—and the only candidate fit to lead in challenging times. Illuminating the drama of Obama's celebrity, the effect of Sarah Palin on the race, and the impact of the emerging financial crisis, the book marries the immediacy and excitement of the final months of this historic presidential campaign with a new understanding of how politics work.
Gordon W. Russell
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195189599
- eISBN:
- 9780199868445
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189599.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This book was written for colleagues, students, and knowledgeable sports fans. Strong international and interdisciplinary themes underlie the presentation of the best and most recent findings on ...
More
This book was written for colleagues, students, and knowledgeable sports fans. Strong international and interdisciplinary themes underlie the presentation of the best and most recent findings on questions surrounding sports aggression. Topics range from those with a narrow focus on the personality of hooligans and others, the role of drugs both legal and illegal, sports heroes, and the media in relationship to interpersonal aggression. A broader focus encompasses topics that include environmental factors such as temperature and noise in addition to cultural influences that exert strong effects on human aggression. That most revered concept in sports, that is competition, is examined and clarified both with respect to its definition and relationship to aggression. A major portion of the book is dedicated to crowd violence at sporting and entertainment events. Questions of who riots, why they riot, and situations that favor their occurrence are addressed. Similarly, research into the underlying cause of crowd panics and the peculiar behavior of those caught up in panics is examined. A series of proposals intended to avert or minimize the severity of riots and panics accompanies both topics. A concluding feature of the book provides a brief introduction to the means by which social scientists investigate questions of aggression as well as a capsule summary of several traditional theories of aggression.Less
This book was written for colleagues, students, and knowledgeable sports fans. Strong international and interdisciplinary themes underlie the presentation of the best and most recent findings on questions surrounding sports aggression. Topics range from those with a narrow focus on the personality of hooligans and others, the role of drugs both legal and illegal, sports heroes, and the media in relationship to interpersonal aggression. A broader focus encompasses topics that include environmental factors such as temperature and noise in addition to cultural influences that exert strong effects on human aggression. That most revered concept in sports, that is competition, is examined and clarified both with respect to its definition and relationship to aggression. A major portion of the book is dedicated to crowd violence at sporting and entertainment events. Questions of who riots, why they riot, and situations that favor their occurrence are addressed. Similarly, research into the underlying cause of crowd panics and the peculiar behavior of those caught up in panics is examined. A series of proposals intended to avert or minimize the severity of riots and panics accompanies both topics. A concluding feature of the book provides a brief introduction to the means by which social scientists investigate questions of aggression as well as a capsule summary of several traditional theories of aggression.
M. L. West
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199280759
- eISBN:
- 9780191712913
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280759.003.0012
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter discusses Indo-European narratives of kings and heroes. Linguistic evidence shows that kingship was an Indo-European institution. However, there was no Indo-European word for ‘hero’, and ...
More
This chapter discusses Indo-European narratives of kings and heroes. Linguistic evidence shows that kingship was an Indo-European institution. However, there was no Indo-European word for ‘hero’, and the hero is a creation of narrative art. Topics covered include kings, the queen, king and horse, king and priest, qualities of a king, the hero in dialogue, the hero and women, and the hero and his son.Less
This chapter discusses Indo-European narratives of kings and heroes. Linguistic evidence shows that kingship was an Indo-European institution. However, there was no Indo-European word for ‘hero’, and the hero is a creation of narrative art. Topics covered include kings, the queen, king and horse, king and priest, qualities of a king, the hero in dialogue, the hero and women, and the hero and his son.
Richard Hillman
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719082764
- eISBN:
- 9781781700044
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719082764.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Shakespeare Studies
This book applies to tragic patterns and practices in early modern England a long-standing critical preoccupation with English-French cultural connections in the period. With primary, though not ...
More
This book applies to tragic patterns and practices in early modern England a long-standing critical preoccupation with English-French cultural connections in the period. With primary, though not exclusive, reference on the English side to Shakespeare and Marlowe, and on the French side to a wide range of dramatic and non-dramatic material, it focuses on distinctive elements that emerge within the English tragedy of the 1590s and early 1600s. These include the self-destructive tragic hero, the apparatus of neo-Senecanism (including the Machiavellian villain) and the confrontation between the warrior-hero and the femme fatale. The broad objective is less to ‘discover’ influences—although some specific points of contact are proposed—than at once to enlarge and refine a common cultural space through juxtaposition and intertextual tracing. The conclusion emerges that the powerful, if ambivalent, fascination of the English for their closest Continental neighbours expressed itself not only in, but through, the theatre.Less
This book applies to tragic patterns and practices in early modern England a long-standing critical preoccupation with English-French cultural connections in the period. With primary, though not exclusive, reference on the English side to Shakespeare and Marlowe, and on the French side to a wide range of dramatic and non-dramatic material, it focuses on distinctive elements that emerge within the English tragedy of the 1590s and early 1600s. These include the self-destructive tragic hero, the apparatus of neo-Senecanism (including the Machiavellian villain) and the confrontation between the warrior-hero and the femme fatale. The broad objective is less to ‘discover’ influences—although some specific points of contact are proposed—than at once to enlarge and refine a common cultural space through juxtaposition and intertextual tracing. The conclusion emerges that the powerful, if ambivalent, fascination of the English for their closest Continental neighbours expressed itself not only in, but through, the theatre.
Gordon W. Russell
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195189599
- eISBN:
- 9780199868445
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189599.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter highlights the role of international and regional cultures in shaping our behaviors toward others. The influence of worthy and unworthy sports heroes on their admirers is examined with ...
More
This chapter highlights the role of international and regional cultures in shaping our behaviors toward others. The influence of worthy and unworthy sports heroes on their admirers is examined with regard to aggression. The actions of third parties are shown to be capable of directly or indirectly influencing levels of aggression in others. A large majority of people are shown to be obedient to authority figures, even following orders to ostensibly harm another person. Large-scale disorders are frequently found to have originated with exceedingly petty provocations that escalate to violence. Gender, racial, and occupational groups are often targets for aggression by others holding stereotypical attitudes.Less
This chapter highlights the role of international and regional cultures in shaping our behaviors toward others. The influence of worthy and unworthy sports heroes on their admirers is examined with regard to aggression. The actions of third parties are shown to be capable of directly or indirectly influencing levels of aggression in others. A large majority of people are shown to be obedient to authority figures, even following orders to ostensibly harm another person. Large-scale disorders are frequently found to have originated with exceedingly petty provocations that escalate to violence. Gender, racial, and occupational groups are often targets for aggression by others holding stereotypical attitudes.
Lez Cooke
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719067020
- eISBN:
- 9781781702055
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719067020.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Television
This book provides a full-length study of the screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin, whose work for film and television includes Z Cars, The Italian Job, Kelly's Heroes, The Sweeney, Reilly—Ace of Spies ...
More
This book provides a full-length study of the screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin, whose work for film and television includes Z Cars, The Italian Job, Kelly's Heroes, The Sweeney, Reilly—Ace of Spies and Edge of Darkness. With a career spanning six decades, Kennedy Martin has seen the rise and fall of the television dramatist, making his debut in the era of studio-based television drama in the late 1950s. This was prior to the transition to filmed drama (for which he argued in a famous manifesto), as the television play was gradually replaced by popular series and serials, for which Kennedy Martin, of course, created some of his best work.Less
This book provides a full-length study of the screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin, whose work for film and television includes Z Cars, The Italian Job, Kelly's Heroes, The Sweeney, Reilly—Ace of Spies and Edge of Darkness. With a career spanning six decades, Kennedy Martin has seen the rise and fall of the television dramatist, making his debut in the era of studio-based television drama in the late 1950s. This was prior to the transition to filmed drama (for which he argued in a famous manifesto), as the television play was gradually replaced by popular series and serials, for which Kennedy Martin, of course, created some of his best work.
JEFFREY C. ALEXANDER
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199744466
- eISBN:
- 9780199944163
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199744466.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
Political stories are all about heroes. It is because Barack Obama could not be a hero in south Chicago's black community that he lost that long-ago congressional race. Only by losing could Obama ...
More
Political stories are all about heroes. It is because Barack Obama could not be a hero in south Chicago's black community that he lost that long-ago congressional race. Only by losing could Obama become a hero on the larger historical stage. There is a purpose to a hero's life. It is this goal that defines an arc stretching from the past to the future via the present, moving the heroes and the greater causes for which they fight from earlier despair to contemporary redemption and on to future glory. Persons who become heroes are predestined to traverse this rainbow arch. This is what the plot to their story is all about. This chapter discusses the hero's predestination and redemption, crisis and salvation, and the suffering and redemption of John McCain. In the campaign for the presidency, McCain played Achilles to Obama's Hector, even if the outcome of their epic confrontation inverted the tragic ending Homer earlier prescribed.Less
Political stories are all about heroes. It is because Barack Obama could not be a hero in south Chicago's black community that he lost that long-ago congressional race. Only by losing could Obama become a hero on the larger historical stage. There is a purpose to a hero's life. It is this goal that defines an arc stretching from the past to the future via the present, moving the heroes and the greater causes for which they fight from earlier despair to contemporary redemption and on to future glory. Persons who become heroes are predestined to traverse this rainbow arch. This is what the plot to their story is all about. This chapter discusses the hero's predestination and redemption, crisis and salvation, and the suffering and redemption of John McCain. In the campaign for the presidency, McCain played Achilles to Obama's Hector, even if the outcome of their epic confrontation inverted the tragic ending Homer earlier prescribed.
Colin S. Gray
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199579662
- eISBN:
- 9780191594458
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199579662.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
It is a risk worth taking to consider the strategist as hero, so challenging is the function that is his uniquely, properly conceived as a whole, as strategic performance which is command ...
More
It is a risk worth taking to consider the strategist as hero, so challenging is the function that is his uniquely, properly conceived as a whole, as strategic performance which is command performance. The strategist's mission is far more difficult than are those of the policymaker and the tactician. Fortunately for the strategist, he can find educational value in an eternal general theory of strategy. Less fortunately, though, he must always adapt the dicta of that general theory for detailed application in the strategy he needs for his today. Clausewitz alone is excellent as a guide, but even as a general education in strategy the great Prussian is not sufficient for the twenty‐first century, but he does come close. Through all of history, the challenges that we expressed generically in the strategic function of ‘ends, ways, and means’ have not altered. It is well to be alert to the reality that although every strategy must be a plan, formal or informal, not all plans truly will be strategies. Strategic theory helps the practicing strategist to think competently with discipline about his complex subject; theory sorts things out rigorously. Strategy is far more art than science, by any plausible definition. It is difficult, but nonetheless can be, and has been, practiced successfully. The practice of strategy is effected by command performance that has to be severally enabled. By way of important caveats, strategy as ideas and as practiced by command, can be hampered by the misuse of historical analogy; a neglect of the vital human factor; a reified strategism that exalts unduly the potential benefits of strategy; a ‘presentism’ that plans for tomorrow in a manner that is unwisely hostage to the leading concerns of today; and an improperly autarchic view of strategy, one which neglects the quintessential instrumentality of the strategic function.Less
It is a risk worth taking to consider the strategist as hero, so challenging is the function that is his uniquely, properly conceived as a whole, as strategic performance which is command performance. The strategist's mission is far more difficult than are those of the policymaker and the tactician. Fortunately for the strategist, he can find educational value in an eternal general theory of strategy. Less fortunately, though, he must always adapt the dicta of that general theory for detailed application in the strategy he needs for his today. Clausewitz alone is excellent as a guide, but even as a general education in strategy the great Prussian is not sufficient for the twenty‐first century, but he does come close. Through all of history, the challenges that we expressed generically in the strategic function of ‘ends, ways, and means’ have not altered. It is well to be alert to the reality that although every strategy must be a plan, formal or informal, not all plans truly will be strategies. Strategic theory helps the practicing strategist to think competently with discipline about his complex subject; theory sorts things out rigorously. Strategy is far more art than science, by any plausible definition. It is difficult, but nonetheless can be, and has been, practiced successfully. The practice of strategy is effected by command performance that has to be severally enabled. By way of important caveats, strategy as ideas and as practiced by command, can be hampered by the misuse of historical analogy; a neglect of the vital human factor; a reified strategism that exalts unduly the potential benefits of strategy; a ‘presentism’ that plans for tomorrow in a manner that is unwisely hostage to the leading concerns of today; and an improperly autarchic view of strategy, one which neglects the quintessential instrumentality of the strategic function.
Ben Tipping
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199550111
- eISBN:
- 9780191720611
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199550111.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The force of example was a distinctive determiner of Roman identity. However, examples always rely upon the response of an audience, and are dependent upon context. Even where the example presented ...
More
The force of example was a distinctive determiner of Roman identity. However, examples always rely upon the response of an audience, and are dependent upon context. Even where the example presented is positive, we cannot always suppress any negative associations it may also carry. This book considers the virtues and vices they embody, their status as exemplars, and the process by which Silius as epic poet heroizes, demonizes, and establishes models. The book argues that example is a vital source of significance within the Punica, but also an inherently unstable mode, the lability of which affects both Silius' epic heroes and his villainous Hannibal.Less
The force of example was a distinctive determiner of Roman identity. However, examples always rely upon the response of an audience, and are dependent upon context. Even where the example presented is positive, we cannot always suppress any negative associations it may also carry. This book considers the virtues and vices they embody, their status as exemplars, and the process by which Silius as epic poet heroizes, demonizes, and establishes models. The book argues that example is a vital source of significance within the Punica, but also an inherently unstable mode, the lability of which affects both Silius' epic heroes and his villainous Hannibal.
Max Saunders
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199579761
- eISBN:
- 9780191722882
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199579761.003.0011
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism, 20th-century Literature and Modernism
This chapter asks whether the kind of reading offered in the previous chapter disarms the possibility of modernist satire, deflecting our attention from criticism to autobiography. It discusses two ...
More
This chapter asks whether the kind of reading offered in the previous chapter disarms the possibility of modernist satire, deflecting our attention from criticism to autobiography. It discusses two less equivocally satirical modernists by way of counter‐arguments to this objection. Wyndham Lewis's Time and Western Man contains some of the most forceful modernist attacks on the auto/biographic; yet Lewis offers the book as itself a kind of intellectual self‐portrait. Conversely, Richard Aldington's Soft Answers is read as a portrait‐collection, adopting modernist parodies of auto/biography in order to satirize modernists such as Eliot and Pound. It argues that (as in the case of Pound, and according to the argument introduced in the Preface) not only can satire be auto/biography, but auto/biography can also be satire. Indeed, Pound was shown in Chapter 9 to be writing both in verse; and in the Chapter 11 Woolf is shown to do both in prose. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the First World War transformed the crisis in life ‐ writing.Less
This chapter asks whether the kind of reading offered in the previous chapter disarms the possibility of modernist satire, deflecting our attention from criticism to autobiography. It discusses two less equivocally satirical modernists by way of counter‐arguments to this objection. Wyndham Lewis's Time and Western Man contains some of the most forceful modernist attacks on the auto/biographic; yet Lewis offers the book as itself a kind of intellectual self‐portrait. Conversely, Richard Aldington's Soft Answers is read as a portrait‐collection, adopting modernist parodies of auto/biography in order to satirize modernists such as Eliot and Pound. It argues that (as in the case of Pound, and according to the argument introduced in the Preface) not only can satire be auto/biography, but auto/biography can also be satire. Indeed, Pound was shown in Chapter 9 to be writing both in verse; and in the Chapter 11 Woolf is shown to do both in prose. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the First World War transformed the crisis in life ‐ writing.
Juliette Atkinson
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199572137
- eISBN:
- 9780191722967
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199572137.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This chapter considers in detail the meaning and power attributed by the Victorians to ‘hero‐worship’. The endless debates devoted to the topic in periodicals reveal that there was little consensus ...
More
This chapter considers in detail the meaning and power attributed by the Victorians to ‘hero‐worship’. The endless debates devoted to the topic in periodicals reveal that there was little consensus on the subject, which in turn opened up the boundaries of biography. Much of the dissent on the subject can be attributed to the contributions of Thomas Carlyle: Carlyle undoubtedly fuelled the nineteenth‐century fascination with ‘Great Men’, but his lectures On Heroes, Hero‐Worship, and The Heroic in History, historical works, and biographical essays indicate that he was equally attracted to ‘the noble silent men’. Carlyle demonstrated the historical and artistic power of such lives, and in doing so influenced numerous biographers. One of these was Samuel Smiles, whose works of collective biography reveal a similar tendency to vacillate between the appeal of famous and unknown men.Less
This chapter considers in detail the meaning and power attributed by the Victorians to ‘hero‐worship’. The endless debates devoted to the topic in periodicals reveal that there was little consensus on the subject, which in turn opened up the boundaries of biography. Much of the dissent on the subject can be attributed to the contributions of Thomas Carlyle: Carlyle undoubtedly fuelled the nineteenth‐century fascination with ‘Great Men’, but his lectures On Heroes, Hero‐Worship, and The Heroic in History, historical works, and biographical essays indicate that he was equally attracted to ‘the noble silent men’. Carlyle demonstrated the historical and artistic power of such lives, and in doing so influenced numerous biographers. One of these was Samuel Smiles, whose works of collective biography reveal a similar tendency to vacillate between the appeal of famous and unknown men.
Christopher R. Fee and David A. Leeming
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195174038
- eISBN:
- 9780199849864
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195174038.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature
The archetypal hero pattern, or “monomyth,” is made up of a series of familiar elements that are associated with the lives of particular heroes—each of whom experiences at least several of these ...
More
The archetypal hero pattern, or “monomyth,” is made up of a series of familiar elements that are associated with the lives of particular heroes—each of whom experiences at least several of these elements. In the British Isles of the Celtic and Germanic peoples, ample expression of the hero myth can be found, sometimes in early “pagan” masks and sometimes in later masks transformed to greater or lesser extent by Christian storytellers. This chapter discusses various mythological heroes and heroines and provides some narratives that describe their conception and birth, journeys, quests, battles, and rebirth.Less
The archetypal hero pattern, or “monomyth,” is made up of a series of familiar elements that are associated with the lives of particular heroes—each of whom experiences at least several of these elements. In the British Isles of the Celtic and Germanic peoples, ample expression of the hero myth can be found, sometimes in early “pagan” masks and sometimes in later masks transformed to greater or lesser extent by Christian storytellers. This chapter discusses various mythological heroes and heroines and provides some narratives that describe their conception and birth, journeys, quests, battles, and rebirth.
Max Saunders
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199579761
- eISBN:
- 9780191722882
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199579761.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism, 20th-century Literature and Modernism
This chapter develops the earlier discussions of life‐writings by fictional narrators to consider sustained acts of creative impersonation: works entirely (or almost entirely) presented as written by ...
More
This chapter develops the earlier discussions of life‐writings by fictional narrators to consider sustained acts of creative impersonation: works entirely (or almost entirely) presented as written by imaginary authors. It discusses Fernando Pessoa's practice of heteronymity. In this context a surprising reading of Joyce's Portrait is proposed, building on the presence in the work of Stephen Dedalus' writings (poem, journal etc.), to suggest that the entire book might be read as not just a case of free indirect style, with Joyce rendering Stephen's consciousness, but as possibly Joyce's impersonation of the autobiographical book Stephen might have written. Italo Svevo's Confessions of Zeno is proposed as a comparable example of a fictionally authored self‐portrait.Less
This chapter develops the earlier discussions of life‐writings by fictional narrators to consider sustained acts of creative impersonation: works entirely (or almost entirely) presented as written by imaginary authors. It discusses Fernando Pessoa's practice of heteronymity. In this context a surprising reading of Joyce's Portrait is proposed, building on the presence in the work of Stephen Dedalus' writings (poem, journal etc.), to suggest that the entire book might be read as not just a case of free indirect style, with Joyce rendering Stephen's consciousness, but as possibly Joyce's impersonation of the autobiographical book Stephen might have written. Italo Svevo's Confessions of Zeno is proposed as a comparable example of a fictionally authored self‐portrait.
Amir Alexander
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691149042
- eISBN:
- 9781400842681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691149042.003.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This chapter traces the history of mathematics, from the late sixteenth century to the present, through the lens of mathematical stories. The period is divided into three main epochs and a possible ...
More
This chapter traces the history of mathematics, from the late sixteenth century to the present, through the lens of mathematical stories. The period is divided into three main epochs and a possible fourth, each characterized by a different dominant mathematical story, which in turn is related to a different dominant mathematical style. Each period reveals one or several dominant narratives that enjoyed wide currency not only among the broader population but also among practicing mathematicians. The chapter examines the transition of mathematics from the older narratives, spanning the Enlightenment and the exploration mathematics periods, to the time of tragic mathematical heroes such as Évariste Galois and Georg Cantor.Less
This chapter traces the history of mathematics, from the late sixteenth century to the present, through the lens of mathematical stories. The period is divided into three main epochs and a possible fourth, each characterized by a different dominant mathematical story, which in turn is related to a different dominant mathematical style. Each period reveals one or several dominant narratives that enjoyed wide currency not only among the broader population but also among practicing mathematicians. The chapter examines the transition of mathematics from the older narratives, spanning the Enlightenment and the exploration mathematics periods, to the time of tragic mathematical heroes such as Évariste Galois and Georg Cantor.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195065831
- eISBN:
- 9780199854899
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195065831.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Knowledge Management
This chapter explores the question of whether corporate leaders should be considered as cultural heroes. It seeks to determine whether top leaders are different from other older workers through ...
More
This chapter explores the question of whether corporate leaders should be considered as cultural heroes. It seeks to determine whether top leaders are different from other older workers through prominence alone. The chapter argues in that there is one quality that sets leaders apart and that is their career development as folk heroes. The “ heroic” activities of modern-day chief executives, their role in concrete decision-making, and their symbolic representations of corporate leadership are examined. After establishing that chief executives may, at the least, serve heroic roles within the cultures of their own firms, the chapter considers the powerful tradition of heroes in American culture from the cornfield to the battlefield, arriving eventually at the door of the executive suite. Further, five personal qualities common to American business heroes and how they satisfy society's thirst for such heroism are discussed.Less
This chapter explores the question of whether corporate leaders should be considered as cultural heroes. It seeks to determine whether top leaders are different from other older workers through prominence alone. The chapter argues in that there is one quality that sets leaders apart and that is their career development as folk heroes. The “ heroic” activities of modern-day chief executives, their role in concrete decision-making, and their symbolic representations of corporate leadership are examined. After establishing that chief executives may, at the least, serve heroic roles within the cultures of their own firms, the chapter considers the powerful tradition of heroes in American culture from the cornfield to the battlefield, arriving eventually at the door of the executive suite. Further, five personal qualities common to American business heroes and how they satisfy society's thirst for such heroism are discussed.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195065831
- eISBN:
- 9780199854899
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195065831.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Knowledge Management
Special psychological barriers to career exit that business heroes face are suggested in this chapter. These include the feared loss of heroic stature and loss of the sense of heroic mission. This ...
More
Special psychological barriers to career exit that business heroes face are suggested in this chapter. These include the feared loss of heroic stature and loss of the sense of heroic mission. This chapter also presents how these barriers can be lessened or heightened depending on the environment of the heroes' firms. The chapter also introduces four types of departure styles of retiring business leaders, namely: monarchs, generals, ambassadors, and governors, as well as a variety of methods used to overcome the barriers to retirement. Also included in this chapter are key findings from a chief executive survey and an analysis of compustat data.Less
Special psychological barriers to career exit that business heroes face are suggested in this chapter. These include the feared loss of heroic stature and loss of the sense of heroic mission. This chapter also presents how these barriers can be lessened or heightened depending on the environment of the heroes' firms. The chapter also introduces four types of departure styles of retiring business leaders, namely: monarchs, generals, ambassadors, and governors, as well as a variety of methods used to overcome the barriers to retirement. Also included in this chapter are key findings from a chief executive survey and an analysis of compustat data.
David Manning
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195182392
- eISBN:
- 9780199851485
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195182392.003.0032
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
Musical London will scarcely have recovered from its state of bewilderment over Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben before the second performance. The first impression is that Strauss's artistic ...
More
Musical London will scarcely have recovered from its state of bewilderment over Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben before the second performance. The first impression is that Strauss's artistic position is not altered by this work. His great strength is his mastery over tones; he has chosen most happily when he calls his work a “Tone-Poem.” Whatever one may think of Ein Heldenleben as music, one must admit the newness, the power, and the extreme beauty of the sounds that proceed from the Straussian orchestra. Strauss's weakness lies in the fact that he is so often content with commonplaces as the germs of his inspiration. He is like a cook who can serve up mutton with such art that he does not always take the trouble to look out for venison. The work is divided into six sections; each, according to the Queen's Hall programme, duly labeled “The Hero,” “His Enemies,” and so on.Less
Musical London will scarcely have recovered from its state of bewilderment over Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben before the second performance. The first impression is that Strauss's artistic position is not altered by this work. His great strength is his mastery over tones; he has chosen most happily when he calls his work a “Tone-Poem.” Whatever one may think of Ein Heldenleben as music, one must admit the newness, the power, and the extreme beauty of the sounds that proceed from the Straussian orchestra. Strauss's weakness lies in the fact that he is so often content with commonplaces as the germs of his inspiration. He is like a cook who can serve up mutton with such art that he does not always take the trouble to look out for venison. The work is divided into six sections; each, according to the Queen's Hall programme, duly labeled “The Hero,” “His Enemies,” and so on.
M. L. West
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199280759
- eISBN:
- 9780191712913
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280759.003.0013
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter discusses depictions of heroic activity in battle in Indo-European tradition. Topics covered include the war-band, strongholds, the hero as warrior, weapons, horses, battle narratives, ...
More
This chapter discusses depictions of heroic activity in battle in Indo-European tradition. Topics covered include the war-band, strongholds, the hero as warrior, weapons, horses, battle narratives, speeches, similes, and the hero's funeral.Less
This chapter discusses depictions of heroic activity in battle in Indo-European tradition. Topics covered include the war-band, strongholds, the hero as warrior, weapons, horses, battle narratives, speeches, similes, and the hero's funeral.
