"The Fire Sermon" Annotations

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(Buddha)
(Tiresias)
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===[[Tiresias]]===
 
===[[Tiresias]]===
 
Allusion to the mythological story of Tiresias, a blind, wise Theban prophet who served seven years as a woman, causing him to be sympathetic to women’s issues.  After expressing his belief that women enjoy sex more than men to Jupiter and Juno, Juno struck him blind, but Jupiter gave him the gift of prophecy and the lifespan of seven men.
 
  
 
  I Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives,
 
  I Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives,
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  I who have sat by Thebes below the wall  
 
  I who have sat by Thebes below the wall  
 
  And walked among the lowest of the dead.)
 
  And walked among the lowest of the dead.)
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Tiresias, a blind, wise Theban prophet, was a mythological character.  He served seven years as a woman, causing him to be sympathetic to women’s issues.  After expressing his belief that women enjoy sex more than men to Jupiter and Juno, Juno struck him blind, but Jupiter gave him the gift of prophecy and the lifespan of seven men.
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In this context, Tiresias adopts the role of a woman sympathizer, as he watches the interactions between a woman and her lover.
  
 
===Robert Louis Stevenson===
 
===Robert Louis Stevenson===

Revision as of 15:54, 15 September 2012

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