Decoding "The Burial of the Dead"
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(→Figure 4: Recurring Terms in the Biblical Allusions of "The Burial of the Dead") |
(→Figure 5: Recurring Terms in the Biblical Allusions from "Order for the Burial of the Dead") |
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| − | The chart for the scriptural passages in the "[[Order for the Burial of the Dead]]" is actually not as indicative of its content as the other Figures presented, perhaps because it uses twenty Biblical passages, each differing length, and of a falsely constructed order, according to one way of structuring a funeral service. It does, however, confirm key aspects of life after death. It demonstrates the tension between a dead body and an everlasting body and, interestingly, "dead," and "death," overlap on [[1 Corinthians 15]]:20-26, and on [[1 Corinthians 15]]:26, Christ defeats death as the last enemy. Soon after, the word "throne," rises in usage in [[Revelation 7]]:9-17, in which John the Apostle sees the heavenly court of God, and describes how the dead will live with Christ. In His court, they will "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." [[Revelation 7]]:16-17. | + | The chart for the scriptural passages in the "[[Order for the Burial of the Dead]]" is actually not as indicative of its content as the other Figures presented, perhaps because it uses twenty Biblical passages, each differing length, and of a falsely constructed order, according to one way of structuring a funeral service. It does, however, confirm key aspects of life after death. It demonstrates the tension between a dead body and an everlasting body and, interestingly, "dead," and "death," overlap on [[1 Corinthians 15]]:20-26, and on [[1 Corinthians 15]]:26, Christ defeats death as the last enemy. Soon after, the word "throne," rises in usage in [[Revelation 7]]:9-17, in which John the Apostle sees the heavenly court of God, and describes how the dead will live with Christ. In His court, they will "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." [[Revelation 7]]:16-17. This is an interesting passage to compare to the beginning of "The Burial of the Dead" in which the corpse is stirred by spring rain (line 4) and is kept alive by feeding on "dried tubers" (lines 6-7). It is almost as though these natural processes mock the corpse as he waits for the divine substances promised him, since until resurrection, the corpse will never really eat again. Further, at the heavenly court, John the Apostle describes every language being spoken, representative of every creed of people. This image of life after death informs Eliots', which he uses to show God's continuing punishment of his children, since they have to wait further even for the rewards of death. |
=='''Biblical Allusions'''== | =='''Biblical Allusions'''== | ||
