This trend reached its lyrical climax in the 20th century, most notably in T. “Apocalypticism was transformed into the idea of a ‘waste’ land, so to speak,” explains Pordzik. In their place, the poets turned to visions of political decline and images of national disasters and of a future life amid ruins. Old notions of the end of the world, such as the resurrection of the dead and God’s universal judgment, were largely shelved. The US director also blends numerous motifs from other films and, in so doing, creates an ironic detachment from the scenes of violence, as in the flick “Kill Bill”, for example. “They basically did exactly what Quentin Tarantino does today in his films,” says Pordzik. So, for purely literary reasons, poets began to mix Biblical images with motifs from apocalypticism in antiquity and in other cultures. Why then shouldn’t they too play around with this literary material? Many had come to the realization that the Biblical notion of the end of the world was pure fiction, that it had been modified and edited increasingly as newer texts appeared. “From 1850 onwards, many poets expressed a growing ironic detachment from the idea of the apocalypse,” explains the Würzburg professor. It was used as a warning to be on the right side when the kingdom of God comes,” explains Pordzik.Īt the same time, however, people were moving further and further away from religion in those days.

“The apocalypse was discussed heavily in the 19th century, and religious education was one reason for this. Illness, violence, and destruction are rampant in the world. Before this time can dawn, evil forces have to be subdued time and again. Why did poets back then focus increasingly on the downfall of civilization? The background to this was the apocalypticism portrayed in the Bible: this describes the end of history and the beginning of the thousand-year kingdom of God. These deal, for example, with life in ruined cities or with the last person on Earth.īiblical apocalypticism as the starting point Numerous apocalyptic poems were composed during this period. “In Great Britain at that time many literary figures were preoccupied with similar scenarios,” he says. The roots of disaster movies and apocalyptic films like this one lie in the 19th century, according to Professor Ralph Pordzik. One example is the movie “I am Legend”: mankind has been almost wiped out by a genetically modified virus the hero of the story roams through a deserted Manhattan overgrown with plants, his dog by his side. Man’s fears in relation to nuclear power, genetic engineering, climate change, and other developments have been reflected many times over in books and films. The Latest News on Teaching and Learning.

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