full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Iseult Gillespie: Why is this painting so shocking?


Unscramble the Blue Letters


Each of these figures bordering the pinntaig are horribly trpaepd, giving the work an acute sense of claustrophobia. And where you might expect the canvas’ massive size to counteract this feeling, its salce only highlights the nearly life-sized atrocities on dsiplay.

Some possible relief comes from a lamp held tihtlgy by a ghostly woman reaching out her window. But is her lantern’s hopeful glow truly lighting the scene? Or is it the jagged lightbulb– thought to represent the technologies of mreodn warfare– which ieilnultmas her view of the chaos below?

From the coffin-like cnoefins of her window, her arm guides the viewer back into the fray, to perhaps the most controversial syolbms of all– two ghostly animals caught in the destruction. Does the screaming horse emdboy the threat of Franco’s military nationalism; or does the spike running through its body convey its victimhood? Does the white bull represent siapn, the country of matadors and a common theme in Picasso’s work– or does it stand for the brutality of war?

Open Cloze


Each of these figures bordering the ________ are horribly _______, giving the work an acute sense of claustrophobia. And where you might expect the canvas’ massive size to counteract this feeling, its _____ only highlights the nearly life-sized atrocities on _______.

Some possible relief comes from a lamp held _______ by a ghostly woman reaching out her window. But is her lantern’s hopeful glow truly lighting the scene? Or is it the jagged lightbulb– thought to represent the technologies of ______ warfare– which ___________ her view of the chaos below?

From the coffin-like ________ of her window, her arm guides the viewer back into the fray, to perhaps the most controversial _______ of all– two ghostly animals caught in the destruction. Does the screaming horse ______ the threat of Franco’s military nationalism; or does the spike running through its body convey its victimhood? Does the white bull represent _____, the country of matadors and a common theme in Picasso’s work– or does it stand for the brutality of war?

Solution


  1. display
  2. confines
  3. scale
  4. embody
  5. tightly
  6. symbols
  7. spain
  8. modern
  9. trapped
  10. illuminates
  11. painting

Original Text


Each of these figures bordering the painting are horribly trapped, giving the work an acute sense of claustrophobia. And where you might expect the canvas’ massive size to counteract this feeling, its scale only highlights the nearly life-sized atrocities on display.

Some possible relief comes from a lamp held tightly by a ghostly woman reaching out her window. But is her lantern’s hopeful glow truly lighting the scene? Or is it the jagged lightbulb– thought to represent the technologies of modern warfare– which illuminates her view of the chaos below?

From the coffin-like confines of her window, her arm guides the viewer back into the fray, to perhaps the most controversial symbols of all– two ghostly animals caught in the destruction. Does the screaming horse embody the threat of Franco’s military nationalism; or does the spike running through its body convey its victimhood? Does the white bull represent Spain, the country of matadors and a common theme in Picasso’s work– or does it stand for the brutality of war?

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations





Important Words


  1. acute
  2. animals
  3. arm
  4. atrocities
  5. body
  6. bordering
  7. brutality
  8. bull
  9. caught
  10. chaos
  11. claustrophobia
  12. common
  13. confines
  14. controversial
  15. convey
  16. counteract
  17. country
  18. destruction
  19. display
  20. embody
  21. expect
  22. feeling
  23. figures
  24. fray
  25. ghostly
  26. giving
  27. glow
  28. guides
  29. held
  30. highlights
  31. hopeful
  32. horribly
  33. horse
  34. illuminates
  35. jagged
  36. lamp
  37. lighting
  38. massive
  39. matadors
  40. military
  41. modern
  42. painting
  43. reaching
  44. relief
  45. represent
  46. running
  47. scale
  48. scene
  49. screaming
  50. sense
  51. size
  52. spain
  53. spike
  54. stand
  55. symbols
  56. technologies
  57. theme
  58. thought
  59. threat
  60. tightly
  61. trapped
  62. victimhood
  63. view
  64. viewer
  65. war
  66. white
  67. window
  68. woman
  69. work