#Edwin Austin Abbey

[roselynvictoria]

Edwin Austin Abbey

Study for ‘The Hours’ ceiling mural, House Chamber, Pennsylvania State Capitol at Harrisburg

[random-brushstrokes]

Edwin Austin Abbey - Study for The Hours in the Pennsylvania State Capitol (ca. 1909-11)

[oldpaintings]

May Day Morning, 1890-4 by Edwin Austin Abbey (American, 1852--1911)

[constanzarte]

Malvolio en el calabozo - Acto III, Escena IV, Duodécima noche Edwin Austin Abbey

[venustapolis]

The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail (Edwin Austin Abbey, 1895)

[illustratus]

Crusaders Sighting Jerusalem by Edwin Austin Abbey

[eirene]

May Day Morning, 1890–94 Edwin Austin Abbey

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Dark Humor

Dark or twisted humor is an acquired taste, as not everyone appreciates the taboo humor others find in disturbing subject matter. But, for people who experience stressful jobs or complicated family dynamics, dark humor often serves as an important protective mechanism.

This concept is exemplified by the ability of healthcare workers to employ dark humor as a way of coping with chronic job stress (e.g., Schulman-Green, 2003; Talbot & Lumden, 2000; Wanzer et al., 2005).

Importantly, gallows humor used in this way is not aggressive or hurtful to others. This idea is explained by Wanzer et al. (2005) in their aptly titled article If We Didn’t Use Humor, We’d Cry.

The authors note that nurses use humor to deal with specific situations such as daily medical routines, difficult patients/families, and even death. And while approaching such situations with humor may not make sense to others, humor helps nurses deal with their distress when encountering extremely difficult situations regularly (Wanzer et al., 2005).

Dark humor has also been found to enhance resilience during some of the most horrible events in human history.

For example, during the Holocaust, victims reported using humor in ghettos, concentration, and death camps to better cope with extreme trauma and adversity (Ostrower, 2015).

Ostrower (2015, p. 184) describes humor coping within this context as a defense mechanism that “under the nightmare circumstances of living in the ghettos and camps during the Holocaust, laughter was a form of rebellion against reality. Humor was the weapon of those whose lives were utterly in the hands of the executioners, those who were powerless to rebel or resist in any other way.”

Along with the Holocaust, dark humor has been used as a coping and survival mechanism across a broad range of life-threatening situations.

Gallows Humor - is, by definition, from the perspective of the victim or at least expressing empathy. If anyone else laughs at the victim or the author tries to make the situation funny, it's some other form of Black Comedy, hence the phrase "it's only gallows humor if you are on the gallows". This trope is generally when the joke itself or simple laughter allows you to deal with your problems.

The term itself refers to the wooden frame used to hang people from in Public Executions and it is still quite common to see creators make use of Gallows Humor in scenes between characters awaiting their hanging.

However the term has broadened to apply to the making light of any bleak, morose, or deadly occurrence.

This trope is when you are able to make the best of a bad situation - this is finding something funny even in Hell itself. "Laughter is the best medicine", says the age-old adage. Therefore, these tend to be stories that focus on a select group of individuals who are in recovery or surviving an ordeal. It is highly unlikely for a gag of the week format to be Gallows Humor. It is also likely that the main character suffers from depression and is cheering himself up.

Some Examples

I’d say at least I’m alive, but currently that’s one of my biggest problems.

"Stop telling the suicidal jokes." "Don't worry, suicide would be the last thing I'd do."

"When is the best time to commit suicide?" "Ate a glock in the morning."

"Suicide is not a joke, get help." "I can pay someone to shoot me."

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

“I'm thinking about killing off the main character in this book I'm writing.” “What type of book is it?” “An autobiography.”

Someone asked me if I've ever tried to kill myself. I responded, "Absolutely. A few times actually. I'm just not very good at it."

There are going so many things through my head. Sadly none of it is a 9mm.

Forky in Toy Story 4 knows that he is indeed a piece of trash and constantly tries to throw himself in a garbage can.

This exchange in Romeo and Juliet after Mercutio has been (mortally) wounded in a duel: Romeo: Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much. Mercutio: No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve: ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[literaryvein]

L. V., i found this poem in a local paper's obituaries

[lightthereis]

Compositional Study by Edwin Austin Abbey

[artemlegere]

The Play Scene in Hamlet, Act III, Scene II

Artist: Edwin Austin Abbey (American, 1852–1911)

Date: 1897

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT, United States

Description

This scene from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet depicts the assembled court of Denmark watching a play that Hamlet has devised to "catch the conscience of the king." Suspecting that his father, the former king, was poisoned by his uncle Claudius, Hamlet has orchestrated a performance with a similar assassination plot. Languidly sprawled on the ground beside a wide-eyed Ophelia, Hamlet looks furtively over his shoulder to gauge his uncle’s reaction. Everyone else stares beyond the painting’s setting, toward the "play" before them. The viewer, standing in front of the canvas, thus occupies the same space as the actors on stage. The Philadelphia-born Edwin Austin Abbey, who settled in London in 1878, won fame on both sides of the Atlantic as an illustrator and painter of literary classics.

[random-brushstrokes]

Edwin Austin Abbey - Dirge of the Three Queens (1895)

[classicdavinci]

Edwin Austin Abbey

[mstiefvater]

Dachshund #50. I'm drawing a dachshund every day until THE LISTENERS comes out on June 3rd.

This dachshund frolics through a piece by Edwin Austin Abbey, a contemporary of my boy John Singer Sargent, and, like me, largely self taught. He's one of my favs.

[i-love-this-art]

Edwin Austin Abbey / "King Lear," Act I, Scene I" / 1898 / Metropolitan Museum of Art

[illustratus]

Within the Tent of Brutus: Enter the Ghost of Caesar, Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene III

by Edwin Austin Abbey