Jekyll and Hyde personality
From a Robert Louis Stevenson novel called, The Strange Case
of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The “good” Dr. Jekyll creates a drug
that changes him into the “evil” Mr. Hyde. Ultimately, Hyde is
driven to crime and murder which leads to his suicide. Today a
Jekyll and Hyde personality refers to a person with
contradictory character traits (also there is some duality stuff
there too!)
Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse
From Revelations in the Bible (last book!). Four “men” on
horses aptly named: Pestilence, War, Death, and Famine.
(Super used allusion-anytime you see four men on horses it
means bad stuff is coming)
Eiffel Tower, located in Paris, France. Originally built in 1889
for the World’s Fair. Although the Parisians detested it when it
was built, it became the linchpin of construction designs to
represent power and power because of shape and height.
Big Brother
From George Orwell’s novel, 1984. Big Brother is a symbol of
the privacy stealing, human rights avoiding, totalitarian ruler.
Modern allusions often use Big Brother to refer to a loss of civil
liberties and an invasion of privacy.
Muses
From Greek mythology. They are the nine daughters of Zues
(who else?) who are called upon to inspire creativity and
intellect.
Starry Night by Van Gogh (accurately pronounced Goff).
Painted in 1889 and said to be the view from Van Gogh’s
sanitarium window, this painting has become considered one of
his masterpieces. Although considered still a part of
impressionism, there are elements of expressionism (not the
swirls) in the painting.
Holy Grail
From Arthurian legends (as in King Arthur). The Holy Grail is a
chalice said to contain the blood of Christ from the crucifixion.
Today a Holy Grail is an unattainable but much desired object
that holds the power to obsess and destroy a life.
Sacred Cow
From the Hindu religion. In the Hindu religion the most sacred
of all animals is the cow and damaging or hurting one in any
way is sacrilege. Today a sacred cow is a person, idea, or
institution that, however fallible, is above public reproach.
Alpha and Omega
Used literarily in Revelations from the Bible. The first and last
letter of the Greek alphabet meant to signify a power that is all
encompassing.
Composition by Peit Mondrian. Dutch painter known for
artistic concept called abstraction.
“I construct lines and color combinations on a flat surface, in order to express general beauty with the
utmost awareness. Nature (or, that which I see) inspires me, puts me, as with any painter, in an
emotional state so that an urge comes about to make something, but I want to come as close as possible
to the truth and abstract everything from that, until I reach the foundation (still just an external
foundation!) of things… I believe it is possible that, through horizontal and vertical lines constructed
with awareness, but not with calculation, led by high intuition, and brought to harmony and rhythm,
these basic forms of beauty, supplemented if necessary by other direct lines or curves, can become a
work of art, as strong as it is true”
Oedipus Complex
From Greek mythology. Original Artistolian tragic hero who
fulfills the Oracle’s prophecy by mistakenly killing his father and
marrying his mother. Despite several attempts to escape this
fate Oedipus eventually learns the truth, gouges out his own
eyes (in blindness there is sight), and wonders in the woods
(you know those Greek woods) until death. The original
meaning of the play was to teach that no one can change their
fate; however, Freud changed that by taking from the play that
sons REALLY wanted to sleep with their mothers and created
what is today called an Oedipus complex.
Athos, Porthos, and Aramis
From Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. They
symbolically represent the bonds of loyalty and friendship.
(literature’s BFFs)
Fates
From Greek mythology. Three women, often depicted as
sewing, who control everything about man’s life. Clotho
creates the thread of a man’s life; Lachesis measures the length
and character of a man’s life; Atropos cuts the thread of a
man’s life to kill him. You can’t esacpe them; let us all
remember Oedipus!
Draco
Not the Harry Potter one! A 7th century Greek lawmaker known
for exceptionally cruel and harsh laws. Thus, today a Draconian
law is an unusually severe.
Riddle of the Sphinx
What Oedipus solves! The Sphinx is a creature that has the
body of a lion, wings of an eagle, and the dead and breasts of a
woman. It asks a “difficult” riddle that is “unanswerable;”
however, Oedipus is able to solve it. After he does, the Sphinx
throws herself off a cliff (you know all those Greek cliffs and it
has wings which are apparently of no help). When used today
it signifies a particularly challenging question or problem that
will require thought beyond the normal scope.
Cassandra
From Greek mythology. She was a beautiful young woman
loved by Apollo who consistently refused his advances. In an
attempt to woo her he bestowed the gift of prophecy upon her.
However, she continued to refuse him so he cursed the gift to
ensure that no one would listen to her prophecies. Today a
Cassandra is one who accurately predicts an outcome and yet
was mocked or ignored.
Water-Lily Pond by Claude Monet; painted in 1899. Considered
the impressionism master, Monet painted thousands of water
lily paintings. His home in Giverny, France was the inspiration
for many of those paintings.
Bricks without Straw
From Exodus from the Bible. The Pharaoh commands that the
people make bricks but does not provide them with straw, an
essential component. Today the phrase is used to describe
situations with unreasonable limitations.
Sword of Damocles
From Greek mythology. Damocles was invited to a great feast;
however, during the feast a sharpened sword was hung by a
thin string above his head. A Sword of Damocles situation
today is one in which the person finds themselves in a
precarious position with only dangerous options.
Marilyn by Andy Warhol. Known for the creation of pop art, art
the utilized images from pop culture at their base. The
coloration and repetition in Warhol’s work became somewhat
of his signature and today is often emblematic of reaching a
level of public influence.
Narcissus
From Greek mythology. Narcissus was a young handsome man
who denied all that attempted to woo him because he was so
madly in love with himself. He found his image in a pond and
eventually died looking at himself. (this is why the Narcissus
flower leans over the water it grows near) To be narcissistic
today means to be self absorbed.
Achilles Heel
From Greek mythology. Achilles was a hero from the Trojan
War who was believed to be invincible. (SOOOO close) After
his birth his mother dipped him in the River Styx, in the
Underworld, making every part the water touched unable to be
damaged; however, she held him by his heel which was left
untouched by the waters. Used today as a allusion it means
someone’s weak spot, the thing that will take them down. But
in reality if your Achilles tendon is severed somehow you will
not be able to walk.
525600 minutes
From the musical RENT which is based on Puccini’s opera, La
Boheme. RENT tells the story of a group of friends who live in
New York dealing with illness, poverty, and fall in and out of
love. RENT is considered a revolutionary play that drastically
altered the theatre going experience.
The Scream by Edvard Munch. A quintessential expressionism
painting (note the swirls).
“One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill.
I stopped and looked out over the fjord—the sun was setting, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed
a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture,
painted the clouds as actual blood. The color shrieked. This became The Scream.”
Feet of Clay
From Daniel from the Bible. A statue was erected with the
following materials: head of gold; chest and arms of silver;
thighs of brass; legs of iron; feet of clay. The statue was easily
destroyed through its feet. (really similar to the Greek story of
Achilles) There are two uses of the allusion today: you must
build on a strong foundation or you will fall without much force
and to represent a fatal weakness.
Tower of Babel
From the Bible. Originally all people spoke the same language.
Doing so the concocted a plan to build a tower to reach into
heaven and find God. Angered by their arrogance God smote
the tower and decreed that for every piece of the tower that
fell a new language would be created. Thus providing an
explanation for why people speak different languages.
Lazarus
From John, one of the Gospels of the Bible. Lazarus had died
and was put in the grave (think cave with rock rolled in front of
it) when he two sisters asked Jesus for help. Jesus rolled the
rock away and called Lazarus forth. Today to be a Lazarus
signifies a miraculous rebirth or awakening.
The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. Although this painting was well
received, other series of painting Klimt did in this mosaic style
depicting lovers were maligned as “pornographic.” The
painting contains gold leaf along with paint. Klimt is considered
a symbolist and is often thought of as a transitional artist
between impressionism and art nouveau.
Lady Godiva
She was known from riding a horse naked through town at
noon only covered by her long hair. The townspeople knew not
to look at her; however, one tailor named Tom peeped at her
through his shop window. Thus, “peeping Tom.”
Deus Ex Machine
It translates to “God from the machine” in Greek and was
coined originally for Greek drama. At the end of play, when it
seemed that all hope was lost, an actor would come out
depicting a God and quickly resolve all the problems. It is used
today to condemn a tacked on or oversimplified ending to a
book, play, film, etc.
Seven Deadly Sins
Are not located in the Bible but instead come from early Church
doctrine. They are (strangely inherent in all humans) pride,
lust, avarice (greed), gluttony, envy, wrath, and sloth.
The Colesseum located in Rome, Italy. It is the largest coliseum
in the world despite being built 80 AD.
White Christmas
A song by Irving Berlin which was so popular it was eventually
made into a whole movie. It first appeared in Holiday Inn
starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. It is the most requested
and played holiday song ever.