A Thing of Beauty Is a Joy Forever

1) Since ancient times, people have created and admired beautiful things. Beauty gives us a sense of pleasure and inspiration, keeps up our spirits, and makes us accomplish feats. People’s perception of beauty varies, but still there are some commonalities in many cultures. A person is considered beautiful if he or she has no genetic defects. Large eyes, a slim figure, long legs, thick hair and regular features are usually associated with beauty.

2) In different ages, people perceived beauty differently. For example, in pre-modern ages, overweight people were judged more beautiful than slender because food was scarcer. And, of course, a judgment of attractiveness greatly depends on individual taste. Some historical individuals have become icons of beauty, including Cleopatra, Sophie Loren and Marilyn Monroe. Physical attractiveness is very important to a person. Beautiful people receive more attention, find romantic partners more easily, get better jobs and promotions and even earn more money. At the same time, attractive people are considered to be capricious, light-minded and faithless.

3) Beauty is found in both nature and art. The beauty of nature has always inspired poets, architects, sculptors and artists to create masterpieces. The whole world admires the works by Michelangelo, Christopher Wren, Leonardo da Vinci and many other talented people. Michelangelo’s David is considered to be a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture and one of the best examples of the human form in art. The statue portrays the Biblical King David. This young man is tall, muscular and long-legged. He has thick curly hair, a wide forehead and a perfect profile. David is considered to be a symbol of youth, strength and human beauty. St. Paul’s Cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, strikes the viewer by its beauty, size and symmetry. It is the largest Protestant church in the UK and a famous London landmark. St. Paul’s holds over 200 memorials, statues, tombs, carvings and plaques. It has been the site of many famous funerals and it was used for the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.

4) Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most famous and beautiful paintings in the world. Looking at the picture you have a feeling that Mona Lisa is alive: she is breathing and looking at you. One can stand for hours in front of Mona Lisa, admiring her brightly-lit face, reserved posture and faint smile. The painting gives you a sense of harmony and overall feeling of calm. Mona Lisa is considered to represent an ideal woman. But there is a kind of beauty that is not easily observable. It is called inner beauty. Inner beauty includes such factors as a person’s qualities, intelligence and charm. People have always valued honesty, kindness, compassion, creativity, sincerity, devotion and tenderness. Human history describes a lot of situations when a person fell in love with an absolutely unattractive or even ugly man or woman because of his or her wonderful traits of character.

5) Every child knows the famous story “Beauty and the Beast” about a very beautiful girl who was forced to live with a frightening monster called the Beast. But the Beast turns out to be kind and brave and the girl fell in love with him as the monster possessed inner beauty. At the end of the story the Beast became a handsome prince. So as the famous proverb says: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.

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