The Stream's Secret

The Stream's Secret

Author: Rodger Drew

Publisher: Lutterworth Press

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13:

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Dante Gabriel Rossetti is amongst the most famous figures of the Victorian era. An eminent artist and a founder member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, his art and life have fascinated scholars for decades. However, despite an existing acknowledgement of Rossetti's use of symbolism, specialists have neglected to analyse its nature and its sources, as well as its content. In The Stream's Secret, Rodger Drew highlights a facet of the artist's work that has hitherto gone largely unexplored. By offering a comprehensive analysis of Rossetti's paintings and poetry, Drew shows that the artist widely employed themes and motifs drawn from the Hermetic magical system which later developed into Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry. The author connects this symbolism toa comprehensive European tradition dating from Plato and Pythagoras, through the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance and later periods. This deep insight into Rossetti's works allows the reader to gain a better understanding of the existing bond betweenRossetti's paintings and his poetry, as well as to appreciate the importance of symbolism as a language in the artistis ouvre. More generally, Drew gives his reader an overall view of the use of symbolism in the art of the Aesthetic Movement. Drew's workis a fully original study of Rossetti's Symbolism, and an essential resource for teachers, researchers, and Art History students, and for anyone interested in the Pre-Raphaelite Movement. This is a fundamental guide to a proper understanding of late 19thcentury art.


The Birth of Modernism

The Birth of Modernism

Author: Leon Surette

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 9780773512436

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In The Birth of Modernism Leon Surette challenges our traditional understanding of modernism by situating the origins of modernist aesthetics in the occult.


The Secret History of Hermes Trismegistus

The Secret History of Hermes Trismegistus

Author: Florian Ebeling

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2011-09-01

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 080146482X

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"Perhaps Hermeticism has fascinated so many people precisely because it has made it possible to produce many analogies and relationships to various traditions: to Platonism in its many varieties, to Stoicism, to Gnostic ideas, and even to certain Aristotelian doctrines. The Gnostic, the esoteric, the Platonist, or the deist has each been able to find something familiar in the writings. One just had to have a penchant for remote antiquity, for the idea of a Golden Age, in order for Hermeticism, with its aura of an ancient Egyptian revelation, to have enjoyed such outstanding success."—from the Introduction Hermes Trismegistus, "thrice-great Hermes," emerged from the amalgamation of the wisdom gods Hermes and Thoth and is one of the most enigmatic figures of intellectual history. Since antiquity, the legendary "wise Egyptian" has been considered the creator of several mystical and magical writings on such topics as alchemy, astrology, medicine, and the transcendence of God. Philosophers of the Renaissance celebrated Hermes Trismegistus as the founder of philosophy, Freemasons called him their forefather, and Enlightenment thinkers championed religious tolerance in his name. To this day, Hermes Trismegistus is one of the central figures of the occult—his name is synonymous with the esoteric. In this scholarly yet accessible introduction to the history of Hermeticism and its mythical founder, Florian Ebeling provides a concise overview of the Corpus Hermeticum and other writings attributed to Hermes. He traces the impact of Christian and Muslim versions of the figure in medieval Europe, the power of Hermeticism and Paracelsian belief in Renaissance thought, the relationship to Pietism and to Freemasonry in early modern Europe, and the relationship to esotericism and semiotics in the modern world.


Keats, Hermeticism, and the Secret Societies

Keats, Hermeticism, and the Secret Societies

Author: Jennifer N. Wunder

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-22

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 1317109392

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Jennifer Wunder makes a strong case for the importance of hermeticism and the secret societies to an understanding of John Keats's poetry and his speculations about religious and philosophical questions. Although secret societies exercised enormous cultural influence during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, they have received little attention from Romantic scholars. And yet, information about the societies permeated all aspects of Romantic culture. Groups such as the Rosicrucians and the Freemasons fascinated the reading public, and the market was flooded with articles, pamphlets, and books that discussed the societies's goals and hermetic philosophies, debated their influence, and drew on their mythologies for literary inspiration. Wunder recovers the common knowledge about the societies and offers readers a first look at the role they played in the writings of Romantic authors in general and Keats in particular. She argues that Keats was aware of the information available about the secret societies and employed hermetic terminology and imagery associated with these groups throughout his career. As she traces the influence of these secret societies on Keats's poetry and letters, she offers readers a new perspective not only on Keats's writings but also on scholarship treating his religious and philosophical beliefs. While scholars have tended either to consider Keats's aesthetic and religious speculations on their own terms or to adopt a more historical approach that rejects an emphasis on the spiritual for a materialist interpretation, Wunder offers us a middle way. Restoring Keats to a milieu characterized by simultaneously worldly and mythological propensities, she helps to explain if not fully reconcile the insights of both camps.


Gabriele Rossetti A Versified Autobiography

Gabriele Rossetti A Versified Autobiography

Author: Gabriele Rossetti

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2024-01-02

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 9361154621

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Gabriele Rossetti's "A Versified Autobiography" gives readers with a unique and poetic glimpse into the life of the author himself. In this autobiographical work, Rossetti employs the art of verse to narrate the good sized activities and stories that shaped his existence. Through the medium of poetry, he captures the essence of his adventure, reflecting on moments of pleasure, sorrow, and personal growth. The autobiographical nature of the paintings allows readers to connect in detail with the writer's mind and emotions. Rossetti's verses not simplest function a narrative of his existence however also as a shape of self-expression, supplying insights into his inner world and creative sensibilities. As readers traverse the verses of "A Versified Autobiography," they embark on a poetic odyssey that delves into the complexities of human existence. Rossetti's craftsmanship with language and imagery adds a layer of beauty to the narrative, making the autobiographical journey a literary experience. This work stands as a testament to Rossetti's potential to weave his lifestyles tale right into a tapestry of poetic expression, presenting readers with a compelling and inventive exploration of the writer's self-discovery and introspection.