The Two Corbies, by Arthur Rackham.
As I begin to delve into the world that I am now imagining, some clarification may be useful. And so, I turn to our trusty WIKIPEDIA for the first volley:
Anthropomorphism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anthropomorphism or personification is any attribution of human characteristics (or characteristics assumed to belong only to humans) to other animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s.[1][2] Examples include animals and plants and forces of nature such as winds, rain or the sun depicted as creatures with human motivations, and/or the abilities to reason and converse. The term derives from the combination of the Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos), "human" and μορφή (morphē), "shape" or "form".
As a literary device, anthropomorphism is strongly associated with art and storytelling where it has ancient roots. Most cultures possess a long-standing fable tradition with anthropomorphised animals as characters that can stand as commonly recognised types of human behavior. In contrast to this, conventional Western science, as well as such religious doctrines as the Christian Great Chain of Being propound the opposite, anthropocentric belief that animals, plants and non-living things, unlike humans, lack spiritual and mental attributes, immortal souls, and anything other than relatively limited awareness.
Great topic, Mark! I like to call my critters, animals with attitudes. I look for creatures caught in the act of being 'human' when searching for my subjects. Crows, of all the creatures, tend to behave most like street gangs, IMO. They have a social mentality & can obviously communicate with each other. They can also organize and carry out a plan as a group. Amazing birds. I've never seen this image before or heard of this artist but I love the painting. Thanks for sharing.:)
ReplyDeleteHi Billie ~ I know what you mean! Animals with attitudes is a great way of describing those I find most interesting. Crows and Ravens both fascinate me with their unique and individual attitudes and highly intelligent mannerisms. I remember this one flock of crows near where I once lived, often sounded like a small group of drunken hobos, arguing over past exploits, laughing and coarsely cackling for hours on end. Cheers!
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