Samuel BeckettS Waiting For Godot Essays - Theatre Of The Absurd

Samuel BeckettS Waiting For Godot Essays - Theatre Of The Absurd Samuel BeckettS Waiting For Godot Nothing to be done, is one of the many phrases that is repeated again and again throughout Samuel Becketts Waiting For Godot. Godot is an existentialist play that reads like somewhat of a language poem. That is to say, Beckett is not interested in the reader interpreting his words, but simply listening to the words and viewing the actions of his perfectly mismatched characters. Beckett uses the standard Vaudevillian style to present a play that savors of the human condition. He repeats phrases, ideas and actions that has his audience come away with many different ideas about who we are and how beautiful our human existence is even in our desperation. The structure of Waiting For Godot is determined by Becketts use of repetition. This is demonstrated in the progression of dialogue and action in each of the two acts in Godot. The first thing an audience may notice about Waiting For Godot is that they are immediately set up for a comedy. The first two characters to appear on stage are Vladimir and Estragon, dressed in bowler hats and boots. These characters lend themselves to the same body types as Abbot and Costello. Vladimir is usually cast as tall and thin and Estragon just the opposite. Each character is involved in a comedic action from the plays beginning. Estragon is struggling with a tightly fitting boot that he just cannot seem to take off his foot. Vladimir is moving around bowlegged because of a bladder problem. From this beat on the characters move through a what amounts to a comedy routine. A day in the life of two hapless companions on a country road with a single tree. Beckett accomplishes two things by using this style of comedy. Comedy routines have a beginning and an ending. For Godot the routine begins at the opening of the play and ends at the intermission. Once the routine is over, it cannot continue. The routine must be done again. This creates the second act. The second act, though not an exact replication, is basically the first act repeated. The routine is put on again for the audience. The same chain of events: Estragon sleeps in a ditch, Vladimir meets him at the tree, they are visited by Pozzo and Lucky, and a boy comes to tell them that Godot will not be coming but will surely be there the following day. In this way repetition dictates the structure of the play. There is no climax in the play because the only thing the plot builds to is the coming of Godot. However, after the first act the audience has pretty much decided that Godot will never show up. It is not very long into the second act before one realizes that all they are really doing is wasting time, Waiting for...waiting. (50) By making the second act another show of the same routine, Beckett instills in us a feeling of our own waiting and daily routines. What is everyday for us but another of th e same act. Surely small things will change, but overall we seem to be living out the same day many times over. Another effect of repetition on the structure of Godot is the amount of characters in the play. As mentioned before, the play is set up like a Vaudeville routine. In order to maintain the integrity of the routine, the play must be based around these two characters. This leaves no room for extra characters that will get in the way of the act. To allow for the repetition of the routine to take place the cast must include only those characters who are necessary it. The idea that the two characters are simply passing time is evident in the dialogue. The aforementioned phrase, Nothing to be done, is one example of repetition in dialogue. In the first half-dozen pages of the play the phrase is repeated about four times. This emphasizes the phrase so that the audience will pick up on it. It allows the audience to realize that all these two characters have is the hope that Godot will show up. Until the time when Godot arrives, all they can do is pass

Jug Bands and Homemade Instruments

Jug Bands and Homemade Instruments If youre looking for a way to introduce your kids to homemade music, theres no better way than with homemade instruments.  To musicians with a creative bent, any object can be turned into an instrument.   The jug band is a uniquely American musical institution that got its start as a bunch of household utensils. The first jug bands were formed in the areas around Memphis by out-of-work vaudeville entertainers. The musicians were often poor, so improvising and creating their own instruments was a necessity. Jug bands were typically street performers who played in hopes of earning money from passersby. A jug band makes a perfect topic for a multidisciplinary unit study. The jug band lends itself to  a range of subjects, including  science, math, history, and geography. For instance: Science: How do vibrating materials produce sound waves in the air?Math: When you divide the string on a washtub bass, it produces a different tone. See if you can figure out what fraction relates to what note of the musical scale.History: Explore the armonica, an instrument invented by Benjamin Franklin based on the sound of musical water glasses.Geography: What are some homemade instruments found in other countries?   And of course, making musical instruments is a great way to add hands-on activities to your study of music. You can make your own jug band using items found around the house or at the hardware store. Here’s what you need: The Jug The horn section of the band played right, sounds like a buzzy trombone. Traditional stoneware jugs look good, but plastic maple syrup containers or milk jugs are lighter (and unbreakable) and work just as well. To play: Hold the rim of the jug a little bit away from your mouth, purse your lips, and blow directly into the hole. Be prepared to make a rude noise, or even spit, to create the sound. Change notes by loosening or tightening your lips or by moving the jug closer or farther away. The Washtub Bass This string instrument consists of a cord stretching from a metal tub on the floor to the top of an upright wooden stick. Ours uses a kid-sized metal pail, a broom handle, and some colorful thin, soft nylon cord. Just follow these directions: With the pail upside down, make a small starter hole with a hammer and nail in the center of the bottom of the pail.Insert a small eyebolt into the hole, loop side up, with a nut above and below to hold it in place.Tie one end of the cord to the loop in the eyebolt.Cover the bottom end of the broomstick with a rubber cane tip to keep it from slipping. Rest the broomstick, threaded end up, on the rim of the pail. Tie the loose end of the cord to the top of the broomstick, as tightly as possible. To play: Hold the stick near your shoulder, put one foot on the rim of the pail to hold it in place, and pluck the string. Change notes by tilting the stick, or by pressing the string against the stick as if it were the fingerboard of a guitar. The Washboard Rasping instruments belong to the percussion family. Our â€Å"Dubl Handi† steel washboard from the Columbus Washboard Company cost $10 at an antique shop, but a ribbed paint roller tray or broiler pan can be substituted in a pinch. To play: The washboard is played by scraping something stiff against the ribs of the metal surface, such as a thimble or whisk broom. Musical Spoons The clicking of a pair of back-to-back teaspoons, also a percussion instrument, can add a fabulous rhythm to your band. To play: The trick is to hold the spoons firmly in your fist, handles pressed against your palm, with the knuckle of your index finger in-between, making a space of about half an inch. Stand with one foot up on a stool, and bang the hand with the spoons up and down between your thigh and the palm of your other hand. A bup-bup-bup, bup-bup-bup, like a horse’s hoofs clacking, gives a nice beat. Comb and Tissue Paper This kazoo-like instrument works on the same principle as the human voice. The paper vibrates to create a buzzing sound, just as the vocal cords vibrate when you talk or sing. Find a comb with thin flexible teeth. Fold a piece of tissue or wax paper in half, then cut the folded sheet to the size of the comb. Hold the comb and drape the paper over it, letting the paper hang loosely. To play: Put your mouth and say â€Å"do do do† until you feel the paper tingle against your lips. Once you’ve got the hang of it, try singing notes and using different syllables to change the sound. What to Play When your band’s assembled, try some traditional melodies the sillier the better! This is your chance to brush up on old tunes like â€Å"She’ll be Coming Round the Mountain† and â€Å"Oh, Susanna.†Ã‚   And if you want to try some other kinds of improvised instruments,  you can find plenty of inspiration.  For example, the stage musical  STOMP  uses push brooms, matchbooks, and paint scrapers to create rhythm. And the  Blue Man Group  plays tunes on instruments made out of PVC pipes and boat antennas. They prove that  there’s music in almost any object you can imagine.

How does organizing affect suffering populations Essay

How does organizing affect suffering populations - Essay Example The power of numbers is now made obvious, although this knowledge emerged after many exercised examples were given. While there are many groups upon which the power of numbers has been a ticket to relief the three groups presented here are African American slaves, native Americans and women. The institute of slavery was a shame to say the least. Millions were killed and beaten. People starved and went naked in the deep winter’s frost. Slaves were afforded no rights and often lived their whole lives without the slightest taste of luxury. Even though they witnessed the causal lifestyles of their masters, most slaves dared not even dream of having such provisions for themselves. However, slavery was born to die. Being unjust, it could not stand for eternity. Once the slaves learned of their power, the power of their unity against the oppressor, they found the courage to stand up for themselves and fight. Of course there were the brave few who did stand up by revolting and running away, but their position in the overall freedom of all is as sparks to a forest fire. Tales of success spread throughout the slave population and they dared lift up their heads. It was when more came to believe that they came to organize themselves and wield a great dent into the mountain of their bondage. Gathered together they strengthened each other and were given the courage to fight. Fredrick Douglas had been a slave, yet he railed his people together and encouraged them. He said, â€Å"I talked to them of our want of manhood, if we submitted to our enslavement without at least one noble effort to be free† (Douglass, 1845; p.70). Such was a message that no slave had heard before. They were empowered. Yet, it was not until after such gatherings that Douglass and many other slaves were afforded their freedom. Native Americans also had their struggles. The very land in which they has built their civilizations was snatched from up under their feet. At one point they had to return to being nomads, being constantly pushed around by the ever growing new world. At the beginning of America’s establishment, Native Americans were given neither rest nor respect. They were considered heathens by the self-proclaimed righteous white men that had themselves departed from a country where they were not completely free. It took the Native Americans’ joining of forces to come to be recognized. Even today their groups are advocates for return of the land that was stolen from them. While they have not succeeded in taking over the territories that they once owned, they have received recognition from the government and were granted various benefits. Another group that found strength in numbers is women. Women have been suppressed throughout history and still there are differences made between sexes in regard to promotion, pay, and in many other areas. Women were the property of their husbands, many of them treated as slaves. The man of the house was the abs olute master. Women were not allowed to be educated or hold jobs. They could not vote or hold office. It took a revolution for women’s rights to be granted. The stories of women burning their bras in the streets are commonly known today. However, if it had been only one woman burning her bra she would have probably been labeled as one suffering from a mental illness

Orders and Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Orders and Power - Essay Example Modernism was majorly shaped by the rapid growth of human settlements in form of cities resulting from the development of societies in a modern industrial aspect. The horrors associated with the World War I were also key factors in the shaping of modernism. Modernism was a freedom as the artists sought to express their beliefs of what the society should really relate and work. The movements had salient characteristics of self-consciousness. This led to experiments that approaches and forms used to draw attention to the materials used in producing the piece of work. They also incited the focus on attention of the processes that resulted in the various art works. The movements were not rebellious in nature, as they did not seek to completely abandon the societal traditions and replace them with new ones. The artists sought to incite the societies to make changes to the obsolete culture of the past through paradigmatic like the injunction â€Å"Make it new!† Avant-garde The freed om of the modernism period was expressed through the artists adopting an avant-garde meaning in the artistic works. This approach saw the pushing of the accepted status quo and norms beyond the accepted boundaries using cultural realms as the primary drivers (Weiten 2011: 143). This notion was the hallmark of modernism with many artists aligning themselves with the notion that traced a history from the pre-modernism era of Dada through the modernism period to the era of postmodern artists like language poets in the late 20th century. The primary concept that constitutes the avant-garde is having writers, composers, and generally artists whose pieces of art oppose the cultural values of the mainstream society often with a trenchant edge of social or political form. One such artist is Georges Seurat, a Frenchman born in Paris on December 2, 1859 (Gardner and Kleiner 2013: 812). A Sunday afternoon on the island of la Grande Jatte Seurat was a shy reclusive member of an avant-garde beli eving group who died a sudden death from meningitis at the age of 31 after making major impacts on the modernism movements through production of various great artistic works. His inspiration came from the desire to negate from Impressionism’s preoccupation of the fleeting moment with the rendering of the essentials and unchanging parts of life instead. Impressionism is an art movement with Paris as the origin. The art have characteristics of relatively small and thin brush strokes that are visible (Gardner and Kleiner 2013: 812). The art emphasizes on depictions of light that are accurate in its changing qualities and are usually based on open compositions of ordinary subject matters. The arts included movement as crucial in the elements of the perceptions and experiences of the human being in unusual angles. However, many of his approaches borrowed from the ideas of impressionists. This included a love for matters of the modern subject and urban leisure scenes and attempts t o capture all colors interacting to produce the appearance of an object instead of just depicting the apparent color of the object being depicted (Hagen and Hagen 2003:456). His fascination was in a range of scientific ideas

Real ‘Angle of Mercy’ During the Crimean War Essay Example for Free

Real ‘Angle of Mercy’ During the Crimean War Essay Do you agree with the view that Mary Seacole , and not Florence Nightingale , was the real ‘angle of mercy’ during the Crimean War? During the Crimean war, both Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale showed aspects of being angels. The word ‘angel’ suggests a heavenly person who is attentive to the soldiers’ needs, and ‘mercy’ means showing kindness and forgiveness, and the ‘angel of mercy’ basically suggests a compassionated and kind-hearted person who empathizes and helps soldiers in need. Although Nightingale had showed the aspects of being an â€Å"angel of mercy†, the amount of work and commitment Seacole had put in outweighs Nightingale’s; therefore I believe Mary Seacole deserves the title of the real â€Å"angel of mercy†. Florence Nightingale actions mainly focused on the hygiene and cleanliness, and the organization of the hospital since the majority of the death was due to neglect of sanitation. Source U is a lithograph of one of the wards in the Barrack Hospital in Scutari, where Nightingale was in charge of. It showed the hospital was clearly clean and organized with windows opened, clean floor, wide space between organized beds, suggesting that the soldiers’ conditions were getting better. Nightingale was also very hardworking, because even at night she used to walk around the hospital carrying a lamp to check on the patients, hence she is also known as the â€Å"The Lady with the Lamp† throughout the history, which shows her commitment in her work as a nurse. She certainly had â€Å"formidable gifts of organization† as it says on source V, and her involvement in the war had also made a huge impact on the death rate, which reduced from 42 per 1000 to 2 per 1000 in June 1855. Despite the fall of the death, 5000 men died in her hospital due to poor hygiene in the winter of 1854-1855 before the sanitary commission arrived, yet she refused to acknowledged that it was from the lack of sanitation and said the men were â€Å"half dead† when they were brought in, because at that time she didn’t know that the hospital was built on top of a cesspool. On top of that, it was revealed in the letter written by Lord Palmerston to Lord Panmore that the sani tary arrangement was actually done by Dr. Sutherland and Dr. Grainger, and still Nightingale took all the credit. Even though, Nightingale has made positive impacts on the course of the war and paved a way for improving in the nursing field, her actions aren’t enough to fit the image of an â€Å"angel of mercy†, since she was a harsh, cold woman who criticized her own nurses and only checked the patients from a distance, completely neglecting the importance of consoling and communicating with the soldiers, as it is also shown on the source U – on the lithograph Nightingale is seen leading the wounded; however, she keeps a distance inbetween. This shows that Nightingale is recognized through the image of the clean organized ward, rather than a kind-hearted and compassionated nurse treating the patients, and the ‘angel of mercy’ ought to provide both physical and mental needs to the soldier as the title says, since they will not only suffer physical attacks but will also be mentally affected by the war, and Nightingale failed to provide mental treatment. On the other hand, Mary Seacole’s engagements fit the image of the â€Å"angel of mercy† and source V praises Seacole and her involvement during the war, despite being rejected by the British authorities due to her race and background. She went to Crimea by herself to help the wounded, whereas Nightingale who went there in request of the Minister of War, Sidney Herbert, to go to help in the war. Seacole had no hospital to take care of the wounded, but she built her own â€Å"British Hotel† in Balacava by her money, unlike the government funded â€Å"admirable hospital† in Scutari, which took days of boat trip from the battlefield. In source v, it also tells how Seacole was â€Å"in the very front line† treating the wounded, which was truly a heroic act because during that time females were seen weak and delicate, let alone belong on the battlefield, but â€Å"she showed courage under fire†, â€Å"unlike some officers† and risked her ow n life to save others. This also links to the idea of ‘angel’ because like a guardian angel she was protecting them, and she may also have appeared physically like an angel to some of the soldiers as she drifted through the battlefields healing people. This shows the bravery and effort of Seacole puts in helping the soldiers, and the fact that she treated the wounded at the scene might have contributed with the drop of death-rate. Her â€Å"British Hotel† was also an important refuge to the soldiers, which again comes to the idea ‘mercy’, as it says in source V that the soldiers felt more at ease with â€Å"Mother Seacole† than in the hospital, because the hotel was more homelike. Unlike Nightingale, briefly checking the patient and ordering the nurses, Seacole was more socializing and hands on approach to the individuals, therefore she was closer with the soldiers since she ran the hotel by herself and did everything by herself, on the other hand Nightingale did ver y little nursing and more works on the running and organizing of the hospital, which shows that she was more of an administrator than a nurse. Seacole approach of treating wounded and â€Å"patients suffering from cholera and dysentery† was more effective than Nightingale’s method, showing that Seacole was more skilled and had more knowledge on medicine. Source V points out that, Seacole was certainly kind, caring, empathizing like an ‘angel of mercy’, because she was the figure of a ‘mother’ to the soldiers and â€Å"attentive to their practical needs†. She nurtured them, like a mother would for their children, providing physical and mental when they are away from home and family, and also providing them with pocket handkerchief for the winter. She was admired and loved by the soldiers and that is how she received the name â€Å"Mother Seacole†, and the soldiers also arranged an event after the war to thank her. However, media neglected Seacole’s achievement because of her race and attributed the title of â€Å"angel of mercy† to Nightingale. But there are evidences which prove that the hospitality that Seacole provided was better and more effective than Nightingale’s. Seacole not only treated the wounded because she was a nurse, but that helping soldiers was her passion; the strong, brave, determine, motherly characteristic of Seacole allowed her to provide the best for the soldiers during the war. She did everything from scratch on her own, whilst Nightingale was just appointed to run the hospital; on top of that Seacole put in more effort in taking care of the soldiers and was more compassionated than Nightingale. â€Å"Mary Seacole was on hand for the troops in the long months when nothing much appeared to be happening† just like a ‘mother’, which is figuratively close to an ‘angel’, showing that she was indeed the real â€Å"angel o f mercy†.

The Hero? In Macbeth Essay examples -- Macbeth essays

The Hero? In Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚   The tragedy Macbeth highlights an ambivalent character who wants to be king. This paper will take a close look at his character.    Samuel Johnson in The Plays of Shakespeare states that every reader rejoices at the fall of Macbeth (133).    In Shakespeare and Tragedy John Bayley talks about Macbeth as a responsible agent for his actions:    It is essential to the hypnotic tension of the play that Macbeth should not seem in any ordinary way 'responsible' for his actions. Not only the witches but every other agency is like a portent or apparition - pity striding the blast, heaven's cherubim, the lamentations heard in the air, the voice that cried 'Sleep no more' - do not so much personify the haunted imagination of Macbeth as act as separate and rival powers, distracting us from the difference between the usurper and murderer and the mind which has drawn us in. [. . .] It is the feeling shared by both Macbeth and the audience, that something has 'come for' him, that the secure world of thought and possibility, of the individual self with its desires and secrets, has gone beyond recall. (191)    In "Macbeth as the Imitation of an Action" Francis Fergusson considers how Macbeth fully understands the irrationality of his deed:      I do not need to remind you of the great scenes preceding the murder, in which Macbeth and his Lady pull themselves together for their desperate effort. If you think over these scenes, you will notice that the Macbeths understand the action which begins here as a competition and a stunt, against reason and against nature. Lady Macbeth fears her husband's human nature, as well as her own female nature, and therefore she fears the light of rea... ... Samuel. The Plays of Shakespeare. N.p.: n.p.. 1765. Rpt in Shakespearean Tragedy. Bratchell, D. F. New York, NY: Routledge, 1990.    Kemble, Fanny. "Lady Macbeth." Macmillan's Magazine, 17 (February 1868), p. 354-61. Rpt. in Women Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts, eds. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1997.    Lamb, Charles. On the Tragedies of Shakespeare. N.p.: n.p.. 1811. Rpt in Shakespearean Tragedy. Bratchell, D. F. New York, NY: Routledge, 1990.    Mack, Maynard. Everybody's Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. http://chemicool.com/Shakespeare/macbeth/full.html, no lin.    Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957. The Hero? In Macbeth Essay examples -- Macbeth essays The Hero? In Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚   The tragedy Macbeth highlights an ambivalent character who wants to be king. This paper will take a close look at his character.    Samuel Johnson in The Plays of Shakespeare states that every reader rejoices at the fall of Macbeth (133).    In Shakespeare and Tragedy John Bayley talks about Macbeth as a responsible agent for his actions:    It is essential to the hypnotic tension of the play that Macbeth should not seem in any ordinary way 'responsible' for his actions. Not only the witches but every other agency is like a portent or apparition - pity striding the blast, heaven's cherubim, the lamentations heard in the air, the voice that cried 'Sleep no more' - do not so much personify the haunted imagination of Macbeth as act as separate and rival powers, distracting us from the difference between the usurper and murderer and the mind which has drawn us in. [. . .] It is the feeling shared by both Macbeth and the audience, that something has 'come for' him, that the secure world of thought and possibility, of the individual self with its desires and secrets, has gone beyond recall. (191)    In "Macbeth as the Imitation of an Action" Francis Fergusson considers how Macbeth fully understands the irrationality of his deed:      I do not need to remind you of the great scenes preceding the murder, in which Macbeth and his Lady pull themselves together for their desperate effort. If you think over these scenes, you will notice that the Macbeths understand the action which begins here as a competition and a stunt, against reason and against nature. Lady Macbeth fears her husband's human nature, as well as her own female nature, and therefore she fears the light of rea... ... Samuel. The Plays of Shakespeare. N.p.: n.p.. 1765. Rpt in Shakespearean Tragedy. Bratchell, D. F. New York, NY: Routledge, 1990.    Kemble, Fanny. "Lady Macbeth." Macmillan's Magazine, 17 (February 1868), p. 354-61. Rpt. in Women Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts, eds. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1997.    Lamb, Charles. On the Tragedies of Shakespeare. N.p.: n.p.. 1811. Rpt in Shakespearean Tragedy. Bratchell, D. F. New York, NY: Routledge, 1990.    Mack, Maynard. Everybody's Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. http://chemicool.com/Shakespeare/macbeth/full.html, no lin.    Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet Essay

The tone of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is set by the theme of madness and deception. The death of Hamlet’s father and the appearance of his ghost to his son sets into motion a series of events that end in leads to the near total destruction of the Danish court. No one proves to be safe from the pervasive nature of their own guilt, real or imagine, as the character’s fall victim to Hamlet’s madness and the king’s deception. Revenge and fear, in particular, play central roles in the eventual conclusions of the play, as it provides a vehicle for the concepts of madness and deceit, as well as the bloody and darkening shadow that falls upon Denmark itself. Even before he sees his father’s ghost among the castle walls, the seeds of suspicion and disgust have already grown to fruition within Hamlet’s mind. All that is needed to touch off this dark depression into full-blown action is a spark. This spark comes in the form of the deceased king, who gives voice to his son’s suspicions. It’s interesting, given the full blown form that Hamlet’s madness later takes, to consider that the conversation between father and ghost may have been a delusion. Though it’s hard to write off the apparition itself as false, since it is the guards who first see the ghost walking silently, the conversation between father and son is private and serves to provide justification for Hamlet’s later actions. In this way, it’s possible that this conversation was simply the beginning point for Hamlet’s growing insanity. From this first act, the other events fall in quick succession as though predicted. Death becomes a central almost fated result of the lethal mixture of Hamlet’s growing insanity and the guilt of the king There is a fine line between Hamlet’s realities and his delusions, as shown in the truth of his uncle’s deceit. It’s important that the tragedy of Hamlet begins and ends with death, providing a full-circle to the King’s murder of his brother and Hamlet’s own revenue and death. This is due in part to the larger significance of death both as an ending and a beginning. The tragedy of Hamlet itself begins and ends with death while the dead themselves provide witnesses. It’s important to note that even as the death should be released by the chain of events, they are not allowed to truly rest. From Hamlet’s father the king, to Ophelia’s drowned memory, they are allowed little reprieve. Instead their deaths act as cataclysms for more tragedy and death. It is Ophelia and Polonius’s deaths that cause Laertes to meet his death at the end of Hamlet’s poison-tipped blade. Connected to the idea of revenge, the dead are fuel to the fire and darkness that seep into the minds and actions of all involved. Given the heavy presence of death, it is no wonder that the images of darkness and the adjective â€Å"black† is repeated throughout the book. It seems to be almost an eternal night in Hamlet’s Denmark. There is no comfort. There is no hope, only sadness and death. Revenge, madness, and pride are connected in Hamlet through their common dark designs and darker endings. The need for revenge, which is bred from Hamlet’s encounter with his father’s ghost and eventually drives his madness, is not justice. This revenge is part duty, part self-preservation. Hamlet is lost in his new role in his family, with his mother’s marriage to his uncle and the usurpation of the crown from Hamlet’s own head. In taking action against his uncle, Hamlet is defending the honor of his family and attempting to reclaim his own self which has been lost (I. iv. ll. 21). With the new developments, Denmark itself has become a prison (II. ii. ll. 241), and he is a prisoner to the awareness of his position and the growing need to exact revenge. It is important to make the distinction between the two, revenge and justice. Hamlet is seeking to right the wrong of his father’s death, at first through revelation but then when this fails through violence. There is not the sense that Hamlet expects to escape his own death in the process of exacting revenge but at the same time there is the maddened sense of invincibility about him. He hopes to regain part of himself in destroying his uncle, however, he is already lost to his own fear and insanity. The concept of blood is important throughout the play, both in literal form in showing the brutality of Hamlet’s actions, and as representative of family. The physical presnece of blood is seen throughout the play in the deaths of even those who do end in bloodshed, like Ophelia;. The final scene in Act V is the bloodiest, with the deaths of Laertes and Hamlet, the wounding of the King, and the poisoning of the Queen. That final scene is also a good example of the power of blood, in the family sense, as Hamlet finally gains resolution in the deception of his uncle and his mother’s marriage and Laertes himself is able to avenge his sister and father. However, the concept of family goes much farther back in the play, to the very beginning with the first appearance of the dead king, still linked to his son and the tragedy of his blood, who himself is heard by Hamlet to call for revenge. For Hamlet, the concept of blood is perhaps the most sensitive and the core root to his own madness. A chief source of hurt pride for Hamlet is the marriage of his widowed mother to his uncle. In Hamlet’s eyes, not only has the new king usurped the role of his dead (murdered) brother but he has also taken over his brother’s position in the Queen’s bed. This is not a difficult idea to understand; Hamlet obviously feels a strong loyalty to his father and to the idea of his own succession. However, Hamlet’s constant condemnation of the King and Queen’s marriage being â€Å"incestuous† shows more about Hamlet than his mother, who is constantly condemned by her son for the marriage. The king is Hamlet’s paternal uncle and therefore, unrelated to the Queen except through the marriage of his deceased brother, Hamlet’s uncle. Therefore there is no real incest going on between the newly married couple but rather a joining of past and present. Instead Hamlet is showing an intolerance to change, that when divorced of his uncle’s treachery, is not quite as damning. However, true to the form of the play, the marriage has been built upon the dark deeds of the King. Their marriage is a deceptive continuity, the Queen herself innocent to the dark deeds of the King. She is not wholly innocent, as she ignorantly believes in the innocence of the new King. While she obviously loves her son, in sensing and fearing Hamlet’s growing restlessness and insanity, she does in a manner turn away from him. Seeing only death in her son’s countenance, it is understandable that she would ally herself with the calm presence of the new king. However, there is something of a resolution between mother and son. When the queen drinks the poison, the King has prepared for Hamlet, she joins the ranks of the innocent dead. Like Ophelia, the Queen becomes a kind of martyr to the ulterior motives of royal ascendency and the revenge of her only son. Though the King may have had larger ideas of their marriage, the Queen’s tragedy seems to be a belief in hope. In remarrying she is hoping to continue her life and in Hamlet she sees hope for her love and affection, even as he rejects her. Without the morality of justice, Hamlet’s revenge fails to provide any resolution. While death is certainly an end and a recurrent theme throughout the play, the persistence and skewed senses of madness prevent the carnage of the Danish court from representing an absolute ending. Instead, there simply seems to be no one else to truly die, no one else to suffer within this narrative of tragedy. Hamlet’s madness had acted in a way to bring about the complete destruction of all he’d ever held dear, it spent not only the resolve of it’s master but everything which it touched. The court of Denmark is withered but no longer a prison to Hamlet as he can depart in death as he was never able to in life. Though Hamlet finds his revenge and his end, he does not find true peace. Fueled by his own depression and anxiety, the injured pride of a fallen son, Hamlet instead creates a cycle of violence and fear which in the end even he falls prey to.

Hamlet vs Agamemnon Essay

In my opinion, the play Hamlet is more tragic than Agamemnon. They are both tragedies as they both fulfill Aristotle’s definition of tragedy as they both depict the downfall of a basically good person through some fatal error or misjudgment, which produces suffering and insight on the part of the protagonist and arousing pity and fear on the part of the audience. They also have all the elements of Greek tragedy such as hubris, catharsis, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and hamartia (â€Å"Ancient Greek Tragedy†). The most important reason that Hamlet is more tragic, in my opinion, is because the protagonist, Hamlet, is an integral part of the play and his character is much more developed. In Agamemnon , the protagonist, Agamemnon, is a secondary character to his wife who, in my opinion is the main character. Hamlet is a tragic hero, as is Agamemnon, following Aristotle’s criteria for the elements of a tragic hero. For example, they both evoke the audience’s pity and fear, have a major flaw of character and are destined to fall in some way (â€Å"Tragedy in Drama†). However, because Hamlet is the main character, we see, hear and understand more of his character. When Hamlet delivers his many dramatic soliloquies about mortality, betrayal, and the futility of life, he shows us his tortured world and the anguish, grief, and uncertainty which eventually takes over his life, leading to his death (â€Å"Hamlet Tone†). As the reader, I felt so much sympathy for Hamlet and this made the play more tragic. On the other hand, the reader knows more about Agamemnon from the Chorus and other characters, rather than from the character himself. The reader has much less insight into his personality and feelings and I found that, as the tragic hero, he lacked the emotion of Ham let.

Radio Essays - Radio Electronics, Broadcast Engineering, Free Essays

Radio Essays - Radio Electronics, Broadcast Engineering, Free Essays Radio HISTORY Towards the end of the 19th century scientists were attempting to send messages over distances without wires. They were not searching for a means of mass-communication, but simply exploring the possibility of using electromagnetic waves in order to communicate between two fixed points. There in no single inventor of radio, it came from several international developments. The pioneers of radio studied the work of a British physicist James Clerk Maxwell, who published his theory of electromagnetic waves in 1873. It was the German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz who first generated such waves electrically. Although, the waves he came up with were unable to travel large distances. It was an Italian electrician and inventor Guglielmo Marconi who succeeded in developing both a suitable receiver and an improved spark oscillator, which was connected to an effective antenna to transmit radio waves over significant distances. In 1896 Marconi transmitted signals for a distance greater than 1.6 km. Within a year of his first demonstration he transmitted signals from shore to a ship at sea 29 km away. In 1899 he established commercial communication between England and France, and in 1901 he succeeded in sending a simple message across the Atlantic. This was still only wireless transmission of signals rather than wireless transmission of sound itself. On Christmas Eve in 1906 an American, Reginald Fessenden, managed to transmit speech and music over several hundred miles out to sea. Over the next few years other demonstrations followed in the United States, Britain, and Europe. The combination of continuous signals being sent out from transmitters and more sensitive receivers laid the technical basis for more wide-scale listening, but there was in the years still little appreciation of the mediums social possibilities. Radio was thought of private means of point-to-point communication, rather than public means of mass communication. The first significant users of radio coastal, marine, army, and intelligence services were, however, content with this approach. Both British and Germans using radio to communicate to naval forces from the outset, and governments commandeering all wireless stations, seemed to entrench this pattern. World War 1 also motivated technical research. In the interwar years, cinema and popular newspapers were already providing ever larger numbers of people with entertainment and information on a national scale. Individuals were being conceived in large numbers and this meant mass markets for all sorts of consumer goods. So when the early wireless amateurs demanded something to listen to, companies such as Marconi in Britain and the General Electric Company and Westinghouse in America were keen to produce radio receivers. The useful function involved in a radio is that you can tune your radio to a radio station by using the control knob on the radio. On a standard radio there are two bands you can switch to AM and FM. FM stands for frequency modulation, and AM stands for, amplitude modulation. The difference between the two bands are the way they are broadcasted. AM is being amplitude modulation the pitch of the radio waves are based on the amplitude of the wave. So for example the higher the amplitude the higher the pitch the radio will receive. As for FM because the waves arent based on the amplitude they are based on the frequency of the waves. So the more frequent the waves are the higher the pitch of the sound. A radio works by using an antenna, which intercepts part of the radio waves. A signal voltage across the coil induces a voltage in the coil, the frequency (AM, FM) is then chosen by the variable capacitor. The capacitor in my circuit is only tuned for AM. Then the frequency comes out of the capacitor and into the transistor, which you use to tune your radio to a station on that frequency. The average electrical power used is:

Tips for Understanding Spoken French

Tips for Understanding Spoken French There are dozens of French phonetics exercises  for letters, words and expressions on ThoughtCo.com. Entries on these exercises lead to pages with  more and more detailed explanations, so keep on clicking through when prompted. They can be excellent resources for learning the basics of understanding spoken French. Also highly recommended are  the many  self-study French audio magazines and audiobooks  on the market. These tools contain extensive longer texts with audio files and English translations that are excellent resources for understanding spoken French. For either phonetics lessons or French audio magazines and books, will you get better results if you listen first and then read the words, or is it better to listen and read at the same time? In fact, both of these methods are fine; its just a matter of deciding which one works best for you. Weve thought about how to make this process most effective and offer a few ideas here aimed at helping you make the most of audio exercises. Each of the sites oral exercises includes at a minimum a sound file and a translation. There are a few possible scenarios for using these to boost your oral comprehension; its up to you to decide which one to adopt. 1. Listen First If you want to test your aural comprehension and/or you feel comfortable with your listening skills, listen to the sound file one or more times  to see how much you understand. Then to fill in any gaps, read the words, either before or while listening to the sound file again. 2. Read First Students who dont feel up to the challenge of listening first might be better off doing just the opposite: Read or skim through the words first to get an idea of what its about, and then listen to the sound file. You can listen while reading, or just listen and then go back to the words to see how much you were able to pick up. 3. Listen and Read This third option is best for students who have a hard time understanding spoken French. Open up the words in a new window, and then start the sound file so that you can follow the words as you listen. This will help your brain make the connection between what you are hearing and what it means. This is similar to watching a French movie while reading the English subtitles.   You Decide Which Method Works Best for You The listen first technique is the most challenging. If you feel confident that  your listening skills are strong or youd like to test them, this method will be effective for you. Less advanced students, however, may find that listening first is too difficult and possibly frustrating. Thus, reading the words first will help you connect concept (the meaning) to sounds (the spoken language). If your listening skills are weak, you will probably find it helpful to see the words before or while youre listening.   No matter which method you choose, your goal here is to improve your listening comprehension. Just keep listening and checking the words as many times as it takes until you understand the sound file without looking at the words. With all three techniques, also try speaking the words yourself as you read the words. Why? Because the more senses you engage when youre learning, the deeper the memory pathways youll be etching in your brain and youll learn faster and retain longer. If you do these kinds of exercises regularly, your understanding of spoken French is bound to improve. Improve Your Comprehension of French You might decide that you need to improve in one, or more likely, several areas of French comprehension. Learning a language, after all, is a long process strewn with subtleties, one that even native speakers contend with. Theres always room for improvement. So decide which area you want to focus on and study a little more to refine your French. Do you want to: Improve your comprehension of spoken French, as weve been discussing hereImprove your French pronunciationImprove your French reading comprehensionImprove your French verb conjugationsImprove your French vocabulary

Business Process Management Case Study of Emirates Airlines Essay

Business Process Management Case Study of Emirates Airlines - Essay Example Emirates Airline is part of the larger Emirates group that offers a number of distinguished services including; tourism, air maintenance, aviation college, air transport, hospitality, trans guard just to name but a few. Currently, Emirates Airline is ranked as the largest cargo carrier in the Middle East, and this is mainly influenced by the large numbers of tourist and international shoppers who visit Dubai annually (Emirates Airlines 2015). The research methodology for this particular study involved both quantitative and qualitative as I indulged in both primary and secondary research to gather data for the purpose of this project. Primary data came mainly from interviews and questionnaires that were administered to various employees who work for Emirates Airline I varied ranks namely; cabin crew members, ground operators, Line managers as well as the airline division manager. To enhance credibility, validity and integrity of the data collected all primary research was conducted on a face-to-face interrogation basis to increase the chances of getting dependable answers from the respondents. There were a total of one hundred and twenty questionnaires in total with twenty being used for the pilot project while the other hundred were utilised for the actual data collection exercise. The questionnaires contained nine questions that were grouped into two sections and during the entire data collection process we managed to i nterrogate one hundred respondents to fill the questionnaires. Ethical consideration was taken care of during the entire period of research as a written consent was availed to the participants to help them understand the details of the study before being recruited to provide any information. Relatively, the management of Emirates Airlines was informed of the same, and we agreed to protect any confidential