browning-bishop (1 Viewer)

[+:: $i[Q]u3 ::+]

oman i'm so lost for this subject....
in the bishop at st praxed's tomb
if the bishop is reflecting the materialism and acquisitiveness of the period, and yet in doing so completely does away with the religous values of the church through his secularity, is browning making a social comment about he decline in religion?
or about the materialism?
or both?
arghhhhh...... =P

 

[braindrainedAsh]

I think he is making a comment about the hypocrisy of religion. The Bishop is supposed to be a person who perpetuates the values of the church, however the Bishop's creed is materialism, which contradicts the values of the Catholic religion. Therefore Browning is criticizing the hypocrisy of the church's values.

Think about it in a contemporary context.... the church has so many riches (at the vatican etc), and yet preaches charity, being a good samaritan etc, so it's hypocritical.

I hope that helps... hang on I've got some summary stuff on the Bishop, I'll look it up....

- Bishop wants to give himself the status of a God with his elaborate tomb let the blue lump poise between my knees, / Like God the Fathers globe on both his hands. This clashes with the monotheism of Catholicism- clash shown by reference to the pagan Gods such as Pan.
- Power- Bishops exert power over others. The ironic nature of power and control is shown through this poem because the Bishop will have no power over his sons to execute his wishes after he is dead also the Bishop is controlled by his vanity and rivalry with Gandolf.
- Illustrates that the social convention of Catholicism doesnt control the actual behavior and natural instinct of individuals.
- Irony highlights the hypocrisy of the Bishop. Opening line Vanity, saith the preacher, vanity! seems to be the beginning of a sermon about the wrongs of vanity, however the Bishop is being vain in wanting to have such an elaborate tomb. The Bishop does not conform to the values his religion preaches.

That was all I had... I hope this stuff helps!

 

[Jinglebell]

pretty much exactly what i would've said, Ash

 

[+:: $i[Q]u3 ::+]

oh my goodness.. ash... ur my hero... =) heroine... ... ^^
just one more thing.. how do we relate it to audiences of today? u know how we have to talk about how we relate to the struggle between indiv and soc? (or am i confused)

 

[braindrainedAsh]

You could say that it is relevant to contemporary audiences because the hypocrisy of religious values is still present today, and vanity and materialism still prevail.

 

[+:: $i[Q]u3 ::+]

ah right right =) thank you very much

 

[braindrainedAsh]

No problem!