DeDanaan

1984 : 1984 is a novel by George Orwell (1949), which takes place in the world of the future, where people and resources are being destroyed in a continuing war between dictators. Winston Smith lives in the bleak, rotting remains of London, where only public buildings and the homes of Inner Party members are pleasant. There are no luxuries, everything is rationed, all books have been outlawed, and citizens are killed for saying or doing anything against the ruling Party. Each living space has a large television screen that can see and hear what happens, and cannot be turned off. Winston works in the Ministry of Truth, where he changes newspaper copy to conform to the orders of “Big Brother,” the Party leader. By chance he finds a small shop where Mr. Charrington rents a bedroom furnished in the old style, without a watching telescreen. When Winston falls in love with Julia, they must meet in secret at Charrington’s because the Party disapproves of physical attraction between people. Movies of 1984 were made in 1956 and 1984.

Oberon : Oberon first appears as a character in medieval French legend as the son of Julius Caesar (100-44BC) and Morgan le Fay. He is also possibly descended from Alberich, king of the Elves in Germanic legend. Oberon is only three feet tall, with an angelic face. The fairies gave him the power to look into people’s thoughts and the ability to go anywhere instantly. The Oberon known best was created by William Shakespeare, who may have read about him in James IV (1598), a play about Scottish history by Robert Greene (1558-1592). In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Oberon is king of the fairies and husband of Titania. Because Oberon has quarreled with his queen, he contrives magic spells to cause Titania to fall in love with a comic weaver, Bottom. His magic also complicates, mixes up, and then unscrambles the four young human lovers in the play.

Pan : Pan is the Greek mythological god of woods and fields, flocks and herds, and shepherds and huntsmen. Since in Greek “pan” means “all or everything,” the god Pan pervades all things, including food or fertility. He is the son of either Mercury or Jupiter or even various other parents. Though he walks upright, he has horns, legs, and a tail like a goat’s, while his head, arms, and chest are like a man’s. His musical pipe — which he is credited with inventing — is called “syrinx” and is named for a nymph who was changed into a reed to escape Pan’s advances. His companions are often satyrs, half-man, half-horselike creatures. Pan was worshipped as a nature deity and so is one of the most ancient of the Greek gods. The Greek festivals to Pan were later taken over by the Romans, who identified him with the nature spirit Faunus. You use his name when you say the word “panic,” for, though he was considered a good guy, he was said to frighten lonely travelers who thought the strange sounds they heard at night were made by him.

Heaven : In most religions and mythologies there is a place to which it is believed the souls, or even the bodies, of the deserving go after death. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all picture heaven as the abode of God, where all worthy souls find eternal peace. In ancient pagan Greek religion the gods took dead heroes to the Elysian Fields in the distant west at the edge of the world. In Celtic legend the Fortunate Isles, or Isles of the Blest, or Tir nA nOg, somewhere on the Western Ocean, is the home of the gods, who welcome the souls of heroes. In Norse mythology Valhalla is the place warriors go after death, and they are welcomed there by the Valkyrie. The word “heaven” appears in many common expressions. When you are very happy you are “in seventh heaven”; but, if you are a bit annoyed, you say, “For heaven’s sake, hurry up!”

Hell : In Christian belief, hell is the eternal dwelling place of the souls of sinners. It is related to the Jewish concept of Sheol, the abode of all dead, and also to Hades. In Greek mythology Hades (or Pluto) was the ruler of the underworld of the dead. Later the place itself, gloomy but not a place of punishment like the later Christian hell, became known as Hades. Islam has a similar hell. The Christian Hell figures in many works of literature, notably in Dante Alighiri’s The Divine Comedy and in John Milton’s Paradise Lost. The word appears in many common expressions, as in “going to hell in a handbasket,” meaning that a person is rapidly deteriorating in one way or another, and “the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” meaning that your deeds speak louder than your words.