Anthony and Cleopatra Essay -- essays research papers fc

Shakespeare Uses As His Source For The Play Plutarch’s Lives Of The Noble Grecians And Romans. Plutarch, Along With Other Greek And Roman Authors, Saw An Opposition Between The Conquering West Standing For Moral And Political Virtue And The Conquered East Representing Luxury And Decadence. How Does Shakespeare’s Play Present These Positions? Throughout William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, there is the dichotomy of the hard-working political life of Rome and the luxury and pleasures of Egypt. The effect of the difference between the two places on the main characters, and on the plot, is a key theme throughout the play. It is common in Shakespeare’s plays for characters to talk about themselves in the third person, which gives them an elevated and important status. This is used to show the difference between the relaxed and indulgent Egypt, and the more formal ways of Rome. Octavius Caesar refers to himself in the third person often in the play, â€Å"It is not Caesar’s natural vice to hate our great competitor† This gives Octavius an air of importance, as he takes a tone of superiority over Antony because he is enjoying the luxuries of Cleopatra’s palace. Dance, music and song are commonly used in Shakespearean comedy, for example in plays like a Comedy of Errors or As You Like It. They often act as an uniting force, bringing together different groups or individuals. In Antony and Cleopatra,a tragedy, they are presented differently. They are used to indicate Egypt as a place of frivolity. Cleopatra remarks â€Å"give me some music, moody food of us that trade in love.† Music is never played in Rome, and there are certainly no comical characters (such as the eunuch Mardian) and little banter. The presence of music and dance, with an entertainer such as the Eunuch, shows Egypt to be a place of fun and frivolity in direct contrast to the serious political business of Rome. Shakespeare also displays the contrast between the two places by his use of jocularity, particularly puns and sexual innuendo. These are prevelant in the Egyptian scenes, particularly in the exchanges between Cleopatra and her courtiers. Charmian: â€Å"My arm is sore. Best play with Mardian. Cleopatra: As well a women with a Eunuch played as with a woman†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This short exchange presents Egypt as a place of sexual innuendo and entertainment. Such conversations never tak... ...eir attractions, but they also have a tragic consequences. At the end of the play as Antony and Cleopatra both commit suicide. While Cleopatra’s death is symbolically romantic, Antony cuts a pathetic figure in death. There is a great sense of waste at the end of the tragedy, as a great man has come to nothing because he abandoned his sense and reason for the luxuries of Egypt. Throughout Antony and Cleopatra there is a sharp contrast between the bawdy humour and entertainment of the east and the stern morality and politics of the West. This is best seen in Antony’s downfall; his death is caused by a romantic but illogical attempt at conquering Rome, and the battle of Actium shows the decadent Egypt destroyed and the sensible Rome victorious. In Rome Antony was at his best as a man a soldier and a statesmen, whereas as Antony says â€Å"in the East my pleasure lies†, as does his downfall. BIBLIOGRAPHY William Shakespeare, Antony & Cleopatra, Edited by Emrys Jones, New Penguin Shakespeare Edition York Notes Advanced, Antony And Cleopatra, Robin Sowerby Richard Gill, Mastering English Literature  Ã‚   Ruebel www.oeaw.ac.at/kvk/cte/  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

My Experience Essay

As I reflect upon my life I will describe facts and events believed to have contributed to the person I am today. I like how Merriam Webster’s online dictionary explains experience as something personally encountered, undergone, or lived through. I have encountered difficulties, circumstances, and triumphs that have helped me to grow as a person. I am pursuing a higher education as my future goal. In this paper, I will apply theories from Adult Development and Life Assessment in my explanation of challenges I have faced during childhood to adulthood. I was born in Chicago, one of six girls and the middle child of twelve. As early as I can remember we worked as a group. We played together and we worked in the garden that my parents made in our back yard. I hated the garden because every time I wanted to go play, I first had pick vegetables out of the garden. I didn’t understand at the time that my parents used the garden to help feed our large family. My dad always worked two jobs; his primary employment was with a company called Central Soya. When my father retired from there we moved to Alabama because the cost of living was cheaper. We didn’t have a lot of material things like clothes and shoes. My mother would buy tennis shoes from the grocery store and my brothers would be so embarrassed because their friends saw them trying on the shoes in the store. I can remember my dad making me a pair of pants for school; I thought they were the prettiest pair of pants I had ever seen. It was cheaper to make a pair of pants than to buy them. My parents cut corners any way they could. We may not have had material things but what we did have was love and lots of talent. Not real talent but talent that’s appreciated in a family. On rainy days mom and dad would have us put on a talent show. It was so much fun that we kept the tradition even until adulthood. On birthdays and holidays we would use our talents to entertain mom and dad. Birthdays were especially special because my dad would make me a birthday cake. He was a really good cook and everyone in the neighborhood wanted a piece of his cake. My sixteenth birthday marked a significant shift in my life. I became pregnant and it was one of the biggest mistakes that started a downward spiral in my life. I hung out with older girls that had children. They were into partying and so called having a good time. Our environment plays a huge role in how we develop, what pathways are open to us, and which are closed (Witt, G.A., & Mossler, R. A. (2010). I feel like the environment that I chose to be in led to early exploration of drugs and alcohol. I could see myself going in the wrong direction with more terrible consequences if I didn’t make a change. I stopped hanging out and got my first job. It was on a military base in the mess hall. I met a soldier and we got married on our way to work one day when I was twenty one years old. We dated for four months then he went overseas for a year. We married a year later after he returned to the states. Being married was a challenge because he was abusive physically, verbally, and mentally. I had listened to his insults for so long that they became part of my own vocabulary. I began to think that maybe he was right, maybe if I could cook, clean, dress or talk better it would fix our problems. In our text Freud believed that the mind uses defense mechanism to protect itself from severe distress. In the beginning I rationalized everything he did, in rationalization: we look for an acceptable reason to justify our thinking or behavior (Witt & Mossler 2010). I got involved in church and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior. As a result I think a lot of the abusive behavior was able to continue because I simply forgave, thinking it was the Christian thing to do. According to Haan (1977), coping strategies involve choice and purposive behavior, are oriented toward reality, involve differentiated thinking that integrates conscious and preconscious aspects, and permit affective satisfaction in an open, ordered, and tempered way (Psychology and Aging 2000 ). It came to a point after seventeen years of abuse I couldn’t take it anymore. I had done all that I could physically to have a successful marriage but it wasn’t working out for me. I had to face the cruel reality that my marriage was over. Finally I filed for a divorce, which was one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life. Going through the divorce gave me a sense of freedom and strength that I had never experienced in my marriage. Getting a divorced was the best thing I could have done for myself. It started me on a journey to find out what I want out of life for myself. It marked a new beginning to a better, brighter future in my life. I was free to make my own decisions that impact my life. One of those decisions was returning to school for a degree. I really want to be an example to my daughter and her children that education is the key to success, and you are never too old to be successful in life. I must admit that I was very afraid of returning to school because I thought that I would not be successful. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to remember things or comprehend how to do the work. Some researchers contend that intellectual functioning is a process of irreversible decline. However, most scholars agree that intelligence either remains relatively stable through the adult years, with substantial intellectual changes occurring only very late in life, or that intelligence declines in some respects, remains stable in others, and may even increase in some functions, depending on a person’s educational level, life experiences, and overall health (Intelligence and Aging 2007). I am now encouraged to pursue my education. I’m not too old, I plan to finish my courses and earn my degree. My goal is to apply for higher positions that require a degree. There will be many opportunities open to me once I earn my degree in my field of study. In conclusion, I have shared different experiences that have influenced my personal life. I have used theories from this class to support my experiences and I have shared my future plans to achieve my academic goals. Every lesson I complete moves me one step closer to my goal. References Intelligence and Aging (2007) Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/wileyla/intelligence-and-aging Witt, G. A., Mossler, R.A., (2010). Adult Development Retrieved from http://content.ashford. edu /AUPYS202.10.1 Vief, G. L., Diehl, M., (2000) Cognitive complexity and cognitive-affective integration. Psychology and Aging. Vol.15 (3) US: American Psychological Association pp. 490 -504.doi:10.1037/0882-7974.15.3.490

At Mornington, A Poem by Gwen Harwood - 750 Words

Memorable ideas are evident in Harwood’s poetry. In her poem, â€Å"At Mornington†, she considers the philosophical idea that the passing of time leads to gaining of wisdom. Harwood shows that growth and development are a critical part of defining our individuality. She has effectively used poetic techniques such as construction; vivid imagery and the context of her own life to explore this idea and contributed to the textual integrity of the piece. External contextual readings and values of the poem have illuminated the significance of the piece in asserting the value of friendship and relationships, and presented various ideas such as the inevitability of death, the significance that past events and memories play in shaping present perception as well as the defining of individuality through growth and development. Together, this contributes to the memorability of the poem. At Mornington is variant in structure; it is linear, circular and episodic, containing recurring motifs. The lack of a rhyme scheme displays the ‘train-of-thought’ nature of the poem, presenting the poem as a reflective journey for the persona. Experiences with family and friends are tied with the poem, starting with a first witnessing of the sea and then introspectively reflecting on water, memory and death. The episodic recollection of the sea displays the personas reliance on memories to convey changes in perspective. Thoughts of mortality are developed during a meeting â€Å"among avenues of the dead† withShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Gwen Harwood s Poem, At Mornington979 Words   |  4 PagesThroughout Gwen Harwood’s Selected Poems, Harwood continually seeks to examine the many different faces of human nature, which have been heavily influenced by her experiences as a child, a woman and in the moments prior to her death. Her poems explore and reveal the power of reminiscence and memories, rebellion against authority, as well as the idea of mortality, which are illustrated by many of Harwood’s different personas. In some of Harwood’s poems, the persona demonstrates that memory canRead MoreGwen Harwood relationships throughout poems903 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Gwen Harwood’s poetry endures to engage readers through its poetic treatment of loss and consolation. Gwen Harwood’s seemingly ironic simultaneous examination of the personal and the universal is regarded as holding sufficient textual integrity that it has come to resonate with a broad audience and a number of critical perspectives. This is clearly evident within her poems ‘At Mornington’ and ‘A Valediction’, these specific texts have a main focus on motif that once innocence is lost it cannot beRead MoreTextural Integrity in Gwen Harwood1572 Words   |  7 PagesEXTENDED RESPONSE: Gwen Harwood â€Å"In your view, how has textural integrity been achieved in Harwood’s works. Support your view with detailed reference to at least two of the poems set for study, evaluating the structure and poetic techniques† Through the mastery of the unique structure, style, and coherent textural integrity of her work, Gwen Harwood is widely acknowledged as a ______ poet. Harwood engages the audience personally though the highly personal, yet detached tone and language, thusRead MoreGwen Harwood Essay1160 Words   |  5 PagesMODULE B: GWEN HARWOOD Opportunities for an individual to develop understanding of themselves stem from the experiences attained on their journey through life. The elements which contribute to life are explored throughout Gwen Harwood’s poems, At Mornington and Mother Who Gave Me Life, where the recollection of various events are presented as influences on the individual’s perception of the continuity of life. Both poems examine the connections between people and death in relation to personal connectionsRead MoreGwen Harwood - Power of Memory. Essay1110 Words   |  5 Pagesexperiences held in the subconscious illuminate an adult’s perception. Harwood uses tense shifts throughout her poetry to emphasise and indicate the interweaving and connection the past and the present hold. By allowing this examination of the childhood memories, Harwood identifies that their significance is that of an everlasting memory that will dominate over time’s continuity and the inevitability of deat h. Three poems written by Harwood that emphasise the idea of memory’s importance and its ability