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
- display
- confines
- scale
- embody
- tightly
- symbols
- spain
- modern
- trapped
- illuminates
- 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
- acute
- animals
- arm
- atrocities
- body
- bordering
- brutality
- bull
- caught
- chaos
- claustrophobia
- common
- confines
- controversial
- convey
- counteract
- country
- destruction
- display
- embody
- expect
- feeling
- figures
- fray
- ghostly
- giving
- glow
- guides
- held
- highlights
- hopeful
- horribly
- horse
- illuminates
- jagged
- lamp
- lighting
- massive
- matadors
- military
- modern
- painting
- reaching
- relief
- represent
- running
- scale
- scene
- screaming
- sense
- size
- spain
- spike
- stand
- symbols
- technologies
- theme
- thought
- threat
- tightly
- trapped
- victimhood
- view
- viewer
- war
- white
- window
- woman
- work