La esfinge y la literatura finisecular: Oedipe et le sphinx de Péladan

In this paper we analyse the role of the mythological monster called the Sphinx in the play entitled Oedipe et le Sphinx by French writer Joséphin Péladan, which was performed in 1903. Here the Sphinx not only symbolizes the Femme Fatale, one of the most repeated topics in late nineteenth-century literature, but it also reveals its human nature and feelings under the guise of a monster

Some thoughts on symbolism of the Sphinx

De probable origen egipcio, la esfinge griega fue conocida en la Antigüedad no sólo como genio funerario, protector de tumbas, sino sobre todo como esa criatura que se atreve a formular a Edipo una pregunta cuya respuesta tiene que ver con la propia identidad del ser humano. Este enfrentamiento dialéctico entre el héroe y la bestia fue interpretado de muchas maneras diferentes, dando origen a una rica tradición simbólica que se extiende hasta casi nuestros días. Este artículo pretende recoger algunos de los testimonios principales de esa tradición, tanto en la literatura como en el arte.Proyecto de investigación Marginalia: en los márgenes de la tradición clásica, proyecto financiado por el MCINN (FFI2011-27645

Algunas consideraciones sobre el simbolismo de la Esfinge

A Esfinge grega, de origem provavelmente egípcia, foi conhecida na Antiguidade não só como um espírito funerário e protetor de tumbas, mas especialmente como uma criatura que se atreveu a questionar Édipo a respeito da natureza da identidade do ser humano. Esta disputa dialética entre o herói e a besta foi interpretada de distintas maneiras, e originou uma rica tradição simbólica que se estendeu até nossos dias. O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar alguns momentos dessa tradição, tanto na Literatura quanto na Arte.The Greek Sphinx, probably of Egyptian origin, was known in Antiquity not only as a funeral spirit and guardian of tombs, but especially as that creature who dares to ask Oedipus a question about the nature of human identity. This dialectic encounter between hero and beast has been interpreted in many different ways, giving rise to a rich symbolic tradition that extends almost to the present day. This paper presents some key moments of this tradition in both literature and art

Face to face with mystery : theological perspectives behind the painting of the Annunciation in the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mdina ; a mystagogical approach

Standing before the Annunciation of the Virgin (see illustration), titular altarpiece of the Carmelite Church in Mdina (Malta), one could not help noticing that “the elements of chiaroscuro provide a three-dimensional perspective to the painting, inviting the person looking at it to participate in its contemplative dimension.” The Carmelites friars commissioned this altarpiece, an outstanding work of “the "nest and most talented Maltese painter of the late seventeenth century,” in 1677 for their newly built church and friary. Art critics agree in judging this huge canvas (316 x 266cm) as a “compositionally well-devised” painting where the Late Baroque Maltese artist Stefano Erardi (1630-1716) showed “his ability in the organization of a large space.”Admiring a painting considered locally to be “one of the most powerful representations of the Annunciation scene,” one could not help posing the question: Is there something more to the painting than “painterly mastery ... solid brushwork ... outstanding freshness,” and the logical division into two tiers?peer-reviewe

Some Thoughts on the Sphinx’s Symbolism

The Greek Sphinx, probably of Egyptian origin, was known in Antiquity not only as a funeral spirit and guardian of tombs, but especially as that creature who dares to ask Oedipus a question about the nature of human identity. This dialectic encounter between hero and beast has been interpreted in many different ways, giving rise to a rich symbolic tradition that extends almost to the present day. This paper presents some key moments of this tradition in both literature and art

Deconfabulation: Agamben's Italian Categories and the Impossibility of Experience

Agamben’s self-professed epigonism underwrites his entire project, serving as an even more fundamental methodological concept than the signature, paradigm, and archeology. In Infancy and History, Agamben maintains that transcendental experience is no longer a viable source of philosophical insight; philosophers go astray referring their thinking back to an authentic yet esoteric experience that, itself unspeakable, grounds positive philosophical assertions. Neither mysterious nor ineffable, the experience founding philosophy is the completely patent, non-latent, experience of language's pure exteriority. Rather than “deconstructing” metaphysics by exposing its hidden contradictions, philosophy must "deconfabulate," telling fables about philosophy to undo its enchantments, since it is through the fable that the spell of silence, which itself originates in fable, can be broken. This "epigonal" method, which follows after the tradition rather than seeking a new grounding, is itself justified through Agamben’s account, in The End of the Poem, of the Italian, as opposed to Germanic, physiognomy and of a specifically Italian relation to language going back to Dante. To be Italian is to embrace the “deadness” of one’s own language, rejecting the myth of the resurrection of the original potencies of a dead classical language through a living, modern language

Review of William Watkin, The Literary Agamben: Adventures in Logopoiesis.

William Watkin, The Literary Agamben: Adventures in Logopoiesis. London and New York: Continuum, 2010. 236 pp. ISBN 9780826443249 (paper