The Artist and Society
In The Awakening (1899), U.S.-born writer Kate Chopin (1851-1904) writes, “To be an artist includes much; one must possess many gifts — absolute gifts — which have not been acquired by one’s own effort. And, moreover, to succeed, the artist must possess the courageous soul. The soul that dares and defies.”
Task: Explore Chopin’s idea by putting into conversation a work from the visual arts, a musical selection, and a work of literature we have studied this semester.
(Literature:
Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own
Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
Additional writing instructions: As your examination takes shape, seek to explain as fully as you can the enduring significance of your selected works of art. Seek to determine the relationship between the artist and society as seen in selected works. Conclude by considering how the ideas in your examination resonate with your own creative endeavors.