Dragons
Dragons flying in the sky
Swooping down and soaring high Mighty wings, so awe inspiring Always moving, never tiring Outlined against a yellow sun Giant shadows, having fun Rising, diving, again repeating In a game of dragons, meeting Jeweled bodies in the light A golden wingspan, shining bright Powerful tails in joy entwining Playing, while the sun is shining Oh, how wondrous is this sight When great dragons show delight Unknown Dragons in LiteratureKenneth Grahame, The Reluctant Dragon (1898): A dragon who does not want to act like a dragon.
Lewis Carroll, "Jabberwocky" in Through the Looking-Glass (1871): The Jabberwock, a fearsome dragonlike beast with "jaws that bite", "claws that catch", and "eyes of flame." Smaug (The Hobbit, 1937): Smaug is a classic, European-type dragon; deeply magical, hoards treasure and burns innocent towns. Contrary to most old folklore and literature, J. R. R. Tolkien's dragons are very intelligent and can cast spells over mortals. C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952), one of the Chronicles of Narnia Anne McCaffrey, Dragonriders of Pern series (1966): The (genetically engineered) Dragons of Pern. Dragons in Pern (genetically modified fire-lizards, which were Pernese natives) are ridden by "dragonriders" to protect the planet from a deadly threat, the Thread. Michael Ende, The Neverending Story (1979): Falkor (Fuchur in the original German version), the luckdragon, and Smerg, an evil dragon Robert Munsch, The Paper Bag Princess (1980): A dragon who destroys Princess Elizabeth's kingdom and kidnaps her beloved Prince Ronald. Princess Elizabeth defeats the dragon by getting him to show off his full skills, exhausting him. Tamora Pierce, The Immortals quartet (1992–1996): Skysong, as well as Flamewing, Wingstar, Diamondflame, Icefall, Steelsings, Jadewing, Jewelclaw, Moonwind, Rainbow and Riverwind J. K. Rowling, "Harry Potter" series (1997–2007): Various dragons (including Norwegian Ridgebacks, Hungarian Horntails, Swedish Short-Snouts, Common Welsh Greens, Hebridean Blacks, and a Chinese Fireball) Chris d'Lacey, "The Last Dragon Chronicles" series, starting with The Fire Within (2001): Gadzooks, G'reth, Gretel, Gawain, and other dragons. These dragons are made of clay and brought to life by the fire/essence (known as the "auma") of one of Earth's last true Dragons, called Gawain. Emily Rodda, Deltora Quest's third installment (2000–2004): Dragons are portrayed as very intelligent and proud; as being divided into seven distinct tribes; as having the capacity to reproduce by parthenogenesis; and as each having a virtue to which it adheres, such as Strength, Honor, Luck, Faith, Hope, Joy, and Truth. Christopher Paolini, The Inheritance Cycle (2002-2011) Glaedr (Brisingr, 2008) Saphira (Eragon, 2002) Shruikan Thorn (Eldest, 2005) Fírnen (Inheritance, 2011) |
What do dragons symbolise?In the eastern and western culture, a dragon symbolises power, excellence, boldness, valiancy, nobility and heroism. A dragon is also referred to as a divine mythical creature which brings prosperity, abundance and fortune to the society.
In the orient dragons symbolizes wisdom and longevity. They have some form of magical and supernatural powers. In Asia dragons symbolize water; in Japan for example they are seen as huge water serpents. Point to note though is that Asian dragons are benevolent while European dragons are malevolent. Dragons symbolize power and happiness. The Chinese believe that Dragons bring fortune and good luck. They use dragons in their dances for celebrating Chinese New Year. |