ICH 2016

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/14540

Browse

Filters

20162

Settings

Subject: search.filters.subject.Romanticism

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A spirituality for ecological awareness: Beyond Apocalypticism and Romanticism
    (Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Rev. Alan Race
    The ecological crisis facing the whole world cannot be solved solely by technological solutions only. The crisis reflects spiritual challenges as well as practical necessities. My contribution argues for a harnessing of both contemplative 'seeing aright' and prophetic discernment in order to involve spiritual awareness as part of a wholistic approach to problems. The contemplative attitude would serve to awaken an awareness of our connectedness with the whole of life and the prophetic stance would stimulate within us the ethical energy needed for us to take responsibility for our actions. In a globalised and interconnected world these stances require underpinning by a dialogical approach to religious awareness and truth. Such an approach will embrace complementary insights in to the human condition and the sources for facing the crisis together.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The symbolic impact of natural imagery used in the poem “Der Erlkönig” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    (Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Lansakara, L.H.M.D.S.
    The images of nature work as a recurring motif in Goethe’s poem “Der Erlkönig”, where it becomes a characteristic feature of Romanticism as well. Similar to most romantic poets, Goethe also appreciated the beautiful aspects of nature as well as nature’s hazardous countenance. This poem’s plot develops as a conversation between the father, child and the Elf king, where the child hallucinates the darker features of nature and he fantasizes them to be the Elf king and his daughters: presence of the supernatural creatures, which is a feature associated with Romanticism. Hence, the objective of this paper is to find the symbolic impact in the use of images of nature on the development of the poem’s main plot and the implication of the thematic aspects. By engaging in a textual analysis of the original German poem “Der Erlkönig”, it was found that the imagery of nature has been employed to develop the dramatic plot and that the particular imagery are also connected allegorically to the major theme: destruction of innocence by the cruelty of the human world. The analysis shows that Goethe has employed images of nature to characterize the ominous behavior and sinister traits of the Elf King in contradiction to the innocence of the child and the maturity of his father. The conflict begins with the intrusions of the Elf king which make the child afraid while on the other hand, they are realistically explained by the father by connecting them with natural elements. The findings of this research illustrate the presence of Romanticism within the poem and encourage the academics to study the depiction of nature in German poetry.