Our Town Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Our Town - Essay Example The organizing of acts around the stages of life and reality brings out this theme. This paper primarily focuses on describing how the theme of how humankind does not appreciate the present is brought out in the play. The first act, of the play, depicts the everyday life of people living in a fictional small town, in New Hampshire. Normal people, their daily routines, family relationships and times of growing up, characterize the act. It depicts Gibbs and Webb’s childhood experiences, and how they grown in the same town and became neighbours. The narrator gives a vivid description of the town, houses and people living there, by saying, â€Å"We all know that something is eternal. And it is not houses and it is not names, and it is not earth, and it is not even the stars† (Wilder 15). He further says, â€Å"Everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal and that something has to do with human beings. All the greatest people ever lived have been telling us that for five thousand years and yet you would be surprised how people are always losing hold of it† (Wilder 15). This excerpt describes how the narrator of the play gives a clear picture of the theme that even the many years, Mother Nature is still eternal, but human perception of it will never change. Wilder, in another quote, says â€Å"do any human beings ever realise life while they live it?†(Wilder 23), which also describes the main theme of the play.

Discuss or debate the Renaissance belief that harmoniously Essay

Discuss or debate the Renaissance belief that harmoniously proportioned buildings produce ideal Citizens - Essay Example The fanaticism and mysticism that are imprinted into the European mind brought about by the Middle Ages has been gradually debunked by the resurgence of rational thought of the period. Reason and not a blind following of the imposed doctrines by the church became the yardstick of the beauty, morality, and rightness of a principle or a thing. Rigid rationality and mathematical exactness has also been manifested in the artistic pursuits during this period. The beauty of balance and symmetry became evident in the artistic masterpieces that were produced herein. Having the notion that the ideal works of art should follow the strict logical and mathematical guidelines, artists in this era produced almost perfect symmetrical, proportional and balanced works of art. Renaissance architectural masterpieces were towering proofs of this artistic principle. According to Art History 361: Summary of the Renaissance: â€Å"A harmony of all parts with symmetry and order of geometric proportions and designs using Classical architectural elements† characterize Renaissance architecture. The intricacy of the designs during the medieval times was toned down to simplicity cleanness of design. Architectural beauty was a by-product of mathematical exactness. Claude Fayette Bragdon critically discussed the relation of the artist’s personal beliefs and lifestyle to his works, in his book The Beautiful Necessity. For him, â€Å"art is an expression of the self in terms of sense.† Art then is physical manifestation of one’s self—one’s ideology and tenets. Since art is a medium of expression, it subliminally evokes messages that create an effect in a person’s consciousness. Just as a writer can affect the psychological status and character of his reader, artists, such as architects, also can affect the psyche spectator of his magnum opus. If writers use meticulously chosen words, sentences, and paragraphs to evoke effective messages to influence his readers, we can also