After the Others by Bruce Weigl :: Book Reviews Poetry Essays

After the Others by Bruce Weigl With a new century approaching, Bruce Weigl's twelfth collection of poetry, After the Others, calls us to stand on the millennium's indeterminate edge. This book, opening with the last four lines of Milton's "Paradise Lost," parallels our departure from this century with Adam's fearful exit from Eden, beyond which is "all abyss, / Eternity, whose end no eye can reach" ("Paradise Lost"). Weigl posits that we stand at the century's uncertain gate naked, cold, and greedy; he refers often to a looming future, to give our collapsing present more urgency. We've forgotten, he says, how to love and live simply, how to write honestly and well. With all this forgetting, we've also forgotten that God gave Adam and Eve a chance to recreate a world mirroring the beauty and goodness of the lost one. Yet, as their heirs, we've constructed an earth where "we live inside a history that no longer remembers us." Weigl wonders if we reinvent history to give ourselves identity, rendering ourselves powerless because we're unconscious of our present. He examines human suffering, hedonism, and desire, wondering if we can re-learn how to love, be loved, and forgive. As a mature poet working at the height of his craft, Weigl writes that we must weed out "the snare of the devil in our hearts" to pass through the visible end of the twentieth century bravely, with grace. After the Others returns to themes of previous books. In Sweet Lorain (1996), forties America is depicted through life in charred, industrial Ohio, and in What Saves Us (1992) the speaker relies on religious epiphanies to rescue him from what he'll regret. Weigl's conversational language, as in previous books, comes unadorned: I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't want a life of anything then, only a life. Weigl's line and stanzas vary: he uses couplets, tercets and quatrains, as well as undivided lines. He relies on internal and slant rhyme, but occasionally writes infelicitous lines: "She sang out loud about a cloud." His tone is generally ironic, as in "Cult of the Car": "somebody wanted a blow job / on a gorgeous freeway in America" but "it doesn't matter who / this near the millennium.

Audience Reactions and Attitudes to Much Ado About Nothing Essay

In â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing† Shakespeare captures many of the social standards in Elizabethan society whether they are fair or not. In Act 2 Scene 2 of the play, Don John plots to frame Hero and make it look like she has been unfaithful to her fiancà ©e the night before they are due to marry. This then sparks outrage from the male characters, which in turn shows a male bias in their society. The way Hero’s father takes a mans word over hers shows how strong trust and respect was for men compared to that shown towards women. Even though this play was written in a time when England was ruled by a woman (Queen Elizabeth) society was still dominated by men. Even Queen Elizabeth said she had the stomach of a man, implying that men are tougher than women purely because they are of a different gender. This left women with two roles in society; they were seen as prostitutes to be bought or wives to be owned. On top of this, women were also used as scapegoats for the faults of the world, this idea spawns from the beginning of time and Eve eating the apple and having mankind banished from the garden of Eden. This attitude is similar to the opinion of the Nazis towards the Jews, blaming the Jews for all the bad and evil in the world. At the start of act 4 scene 1, the arranged marriage between Claudio and Hero is about to take place, Claudio, Don Pedro and Don Pedro think that Hero has been unfaithful and is no longer a virgin. However, they have been misled and the other characters are not yet aware of their feelings. As Claudio turns down Hero at the altar and lets everyone know, men’s attitudes towards women become clear. The first person to speak on the subject is Claudio, he turns to Leonato and says â€Å"Give me this maid your Daughter?† He is making a statement because as far as he knows Hero is not a â€Å"Maid† (virgin), he is challenging Leonato because he has been given Hero like a gift but she is not what he expected. This quote is also interesting because is shows us that women are seen as possessions of their fathers. Claudio has to ask for permission from her father to â€Å"give† Hero to him, almost like a present. This would spark a  reaction with a modern day audience as women are now seen as equals and independent in society. However, in Elizabethan times this is what they were used to so they would probably not give it a second thought. Claudio then refers to Hero as â€Å"a rich and precious gift,† this confirms what I have already said that women were seen as possessions to be given to people. Claudio then goes on to say, â€Å"Give not this rotten orange to your friend.† He is using the orange as a metaphor for Hero, a rotten orange can appear fine until you peel it or taste it and see what is inside. He is saying that Hero appeared to be an innocent virgin but now he has seen that maybe that isn’t true. He is saying she is â€Å"spoilt goods.† However, this quote also shows us that Claudio is putting part of the responsibility of Hero’s actions onto Leonato, he is saying that Leonato should not have given a woman who isn’t a virgin to him. Because Leonato gave Hero to Claudio like a gift he is now responsible for any mishaps she may have with Claudio. This really shows how women were thought of as objects, that a woman could be compared to an orange, which is amongst the lowest forms of living things. I think this would have an impact on a modern audience as they would be more sensitive towards sexist treatment of women, and women being treated as objects. Claudio then uses Dian and Venus to show what he thinks of Hero. He says that Hero â€Å"seemed† like Dian, Dian was a true virgin so he is using this imagery to show that he feels Hero deceived his as being a virgin. He then uses Venus the adulteress as the other extreme, saying that Hero is more intemperate than Venus. These two extremes give us a scale on which to picture Hero he has given us the best (Dian) and the worst (Venus), he has then left us thinking that Hero is at the worst end of the scale with Venus. Claudio later says, â€Å"like a maid she blushes there,† he is saying she is deceitful, pretending to be a virgin when she isn’t. I think this would be effective both modern and Elizabethan audiences because of the frustration it makes an audience feel. The â€Å"dramatic irony† would be especially popular with an Elizabethan audience as it was a popular form of humour at the time and common in Shakespeare’s comedies. The audience really feel Hero’s frustration because they know that she is innocent and have to watch on helplessly as Claudio makes a huge mistake because the audience know more than his character does. One of the first real comments on the situation by Leonato is, â€Å"Hath no man’s dagger here a point for me?† This really shows the shame Leonato feels that his own daughter has done such a thing; it also shows how he feels it is all about him. He is not worried about his daughter but by how she has affected him, she has damaged his honour and pride, these things would have been very important in Elizabethan times and not something you can get back as easily as you can lose. This shows the importance in Elizabethan England of the family name and how you can be judged by your name. It also shows the responsibility Leonato has for giving his â€Å"wanton† daughter to Claudio, he wants to kill himself due to the shame and guilt she he has brought upon himself because of his daughter. Leonato next says, â€Å"death is the fairest cover for her shame,† he feels that she has brought such shame upon herself that it would be fair for her to die for it. This woul d have a large impact upon an audience, for them to hear a father saying his daughter should die before he even hears her side of the story or even before he really finds out what has happened. It is especially effective because the audience knows that she is innocent and the fact that she is being told she should die for her crime leads the audience to think that there is no justice. However, an Elizabethan audience may sympathise with Leonato as they would be likely to react in a similar way if it happened to them, as this play is a real reflection of Elizabethan society it would have happened therefore his situation would be very real to them. Leonato then has a long speech in which he seems to no longer love his daughter, where shortly before the wedding he could not have been happier for her. This really shows the strength of opinions on pre-marital sex and adultery in Elizabethan times. Probably one of the most shocking and effective statements made by Leonato in his speech is, â€Å"Myself would on the reward of reproaches strike at thy life.† If it was not shock enough to an audience to hear Leonato say he it was fair for his daughter to die, he is now saying that he is willing to kill her himself. Especially in modern times it is almost unthinkable for a mentally sane father to threaten his daughter with death when he cannot be 100% sure that she is guilty of what is a unthinkable crime. This shows us two things,  firstly it shows yet again how strong views were on adultery, but it also shows us how strong a man’s word was against a woman’s in Elizabethan England. Leonato is threatening to kill his daughter purely on the word of a few men who he does not know that well, he wont believe his daughter who he has raised and known all her life. It is like he has just switched of all his love and trust for his daughter, this shows that he values his respect and honour more than he values her. Friar Francis is interesting in this scene because as a vicar he is maybe expected to speak the side of the church, which we would expect to be very against what Hero has allegedly done. However, Friar Francis plays the middle man in the way that he does not condone what she has supposed to have done. But he sees that she may not be guilty of the accusations so he defends her when almost nobody else will. This may be to represent the church as a voice of reason and as a comfort in times of trouble, the belief that if she has done wrong then God will right it himself. The first thing Friar Francis says during the accusations is â€Å"have comfort lady,† the audience will be relieved that someone is seeing reason and will possibly warm to the character of the Friar. However, they might be slightly shocked to see this comfort coming from a man of the church as it does say in the bible â€Å"thou shalt not commit adultery.† After everyone has said what they think about Hero , Friar Francis interrupts with â€Å"hear me a little.† The effect of this is almost like a hero coming to the rescue, he has seen that Hero is defenceless and he now steps in to reason with everyone and protect her. He refers to her â€Å"maiden truth,† this shows us that he really has faith in her as a person while everyone else takes the word of the princes. By â€Å"maiden truth† he is saying that she is telling the truth when she says she is a virgin, this is interesting from an audience perspective because they would expect these words to come from her father. Friar Francis then makes a plan to save Hero’s dignity. He decides that they should pretend that she died with shock or shame and then Claudio would feel guilty and love her more than when she was alive. They can then reveal that she is still alive and they can happily marry again. At this point it becomes clear why Friar Francis has to be the one to save Hero, it is because he is a trusted man in society and seen as a respectable figure of the church. This puts him in a  position to advise people as Benedick says after the Friar’s speech, â€Å"Signior Leonato, let the Friar advise you.† It works as they all agree with his idea and the Friar has saved Hero from shame making himself almost the true Hero of the play. When you analyse Hero’s self defence and appeal of innocence it becomes less surprising that she was thought to be guilty and that the mans words were taken over hers. Her defence is weak and spoken with little passion or convincing tone, she says very little to her defence except that she is guilty but cannot prove it or offer any alternative solution to how the mistake came about. She says, â€Å"O God defend me,† this shows how helpless she is that she is calling upon God to help her because she cannot help herself. This may make an audience angry because she is so weak, especially in a modern audience where women are seen as stronger and more independent. Women were seen as the weaker gender in Elizabethan society but with Hero’s terrible defence and cry to God for help, she is causing herself to be treated weak because she is acting in that way. I think that audiences would also be amazed at the happy ending to the play when Hero appears to accept the mistakes that were made and forgive for the insults they made without a second thought. This really shows how weak she is and how she is expected to react as a female. An audience would be expecting her to make some kind of speech at the end along the lines of â€Å"I told you so† or something on the way she was appallingly treated by most of the men. However, she says nothing and is happily married to Claudio forgetting about anything that was previously said. I feel this would shock an audience because it gives the message that you can treat women like that and get away with it because they are in no position to argue back. An Elizabethan audience may expect her to be submissive because it is what they are used to, however, a modern audience would be disappointed in the message she is giving. They would be especially disappointed because they have seen Beatrice act strongly and independently against the stereotype placed on women, this makes Hero look even worse because if Beatrice has managed to be strong then there is no reason why Hero cant do the same. I found that what was most shocking in this play was not how the Hero was treated, but how she was representing women and just took all the mislead abuse without any kind of defence or anger. What I found interesting about this play is how it appears to have different appeals for a modern audience and an Elizabethan audience. I felt that a modern audience would be very sympathetic on Hero’s side but also slightly angry at her lack of defence and self respect. They would also feel shocked by the male characters and their treatment of Hero as a woman. However, an Elizabethan audience would sympathise with Hero because she is innocent but they would not be shocked by her lack of defence as that is what they would expect in their society. Similarly, they would sympathise with Leonato and the men where we would be angry, this is because they would be used to a similar reaction in their lives if a woman was thought to have been unfaithful. They would understand the shame Leonato feels in the play. This shows how amazingly Shakespeare can cross not just generation but centuries, his plays are made to entertain a wide range of people with different beliefs and social or religious views. I believe that it is because of this that Shakespeare is seen as one of the greatest playwrights of all time.

Things Fall Apart Tragic Hero

The role of a tragic hero within a story line is essential in a dramatic film or written work. The hero has the standards of becoming a great character that can take charge of the story through courageous action and bold dialogue. However, since the character is deemed a â€Å"tragic† hero, his flaws will ultimately be his downfall, usually leading to the characters own demise. Nowhere is this ideal of a tragic hero more relevant that in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. The story is set in late nineteenth-century in a small village in Nigeria. The tragic hero in this case is a young man named Okonkwo.He is a dynamic growing character but is doomed from the beginning of the story with two major flaws that in the end will destroy his character. Okonkwo cannot physically display any of his emotions because he thinks it is a sure sign of weakness. His second flaw is that if and when he does show any emotion, it is an uncontrollable rage. Both of these flaws will get Okonkwo into trouble that he cannot handle. Okonkwo has been taught from a very young age that showing his emotions is a feminine characteristic, a sign of weakness within his culture.This is brought about because when Okonkwo was a child his father was not very involved with the community or with the elder counsel. The community is the most important aspect of everyday life for Okonkwo’s people. The village does not have a centralized government, but it is does have democratic ruling through the elder males (Ohadike xxii). Since Okonkwo’s father was lazy and drank too much, he did not receive any respect from the majority of the community. Okonkwo did not want this for himself so he always displayed a tough exterior so that he could have respect. This characteristic is clearly shown throughout the story.One such example is when Okonkwo becomes very fond of a boy that is in his care. Even though he likes the boy, Ikemefuna, he still treated him â€Å"as he treated ev eryone else – with a heavy hand† (Achebe 20). Even to a person who was considered part of his own family, he could not show the emotion of affection or graceful attention. In addition to not being able to show any true emotions, Okonkwo has trouble controlling his temper. His anger and rough treatment of everyone around him, particularly his wives, once again springs from the fact that his father was segregated from the community.Also, his short-temper towards his wives may have been fueled by the fact that women were beneath men within the village’s social ranking. Okonkwo thinks that the only way he can gain the village’s respect is through being bold and strong. It was also very important to show strength during this time of need because there was much change going on in the community itself with the coming of the white man and new traditions. He must absolutely display only anger and strength â€Å"when the institutions he had fought so hard to sustai n collapse in the face of European colonialism† (Gikandi x).The most infamous scene of Okonkwo’s irrational anger and lack of respect is when he beats his wife for not preparing the meal for their children during the Week of Peace (Achebe 21). This is just a single case of Okonkwo beating one of his wives, but the village punishes him more severely because it is during their Week of Peace in which everyone should be nice and kind to their neighbor. The village was shocked because no one ever breaks the rules of that week. â€Å"Even the oldest men could only remember one or two other occasions somewhere in the dim past† (Achebe 22).Another instance where Okonkwo’s disorderly behavior takes control of his actions is when he kills the boy he was fond of, Ikemefuna. Okonkwo’s clansmen are attacking the boy, so Ikemefuna runs to seek help from Okonkwo. However, since Okonkwo â€Å"does not want to look weak in front of his fellow tribesmen, [he] cuts t he boy down† (Ward 1). He lets his rage and pride take over and kills the boy whom he considered his own son. The characteristics of a tragic hero are clearly visible within Okonkwo. If his ideals were prevalent in someone during this day and age in the United States, it would be quite interesting.It is almost shocking to say, but someone with those characteristics would be very successful in the competitive and fast-pace market of the United States. They could take charge of their business career as well as not buckling under pressure due to the lack of physical emotions. Okonkwo’s manners are instinctual in most humans, no matter how primitive or modern. Wall Street brokers and fast-talking businessmen can be compared to primitive African men whose attitudes have â€Å"been masculine-based even before the advent of the white man† (Mezu 1).In a country based on the powerful business ethic of â€Å"only the strong survive,† there is no doubt Okonkwo could make it far. It can be easily concluded that Okonkwo’s flaws were the leading means of his character’s destruction. His lack of emotions and uncontainable anger were definite components for the deterioration of his character. However, the meaning in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart would have been lost without Okonkwo as the dominant character. The tragic hero is still and always will be the stable character of any deeply meaningful epic novel or movie.

Free Essays on Judging A Book By Its Cover

such as Ambiguous Gender, Transvestites and Homosexuality are introduced and force them to disregard our past misconceptions of gender and sexuality and redefine them. So what makes up a â€Å"Man† and what makes up a â€Å"Woman†? More importantly, are the two sexes as opposite as black and white or is there a gray area in-between which society has been ignoring this whole time? The Webster Dictionary defines a male as being the â€Å"sex that produces germ cells which fertilize the eggs of a female†. I don’t agree one bit. What about those men that have been dealt the unfortunate hand of cancer or some other situation that enables them to produce sperm? Are they any less then the man who impregnates several women a year? Likewise, a woman who cannot produce a mature egg is no less a woman then the one who has produced millions of eggs. Some think that perhaps it is the personality that determines if one is a man or woman; one who chooses to act like a woman is a woman. If that were true then an individual who may have a penis and testicles that choose to dress in a dress and be nurturing and emotional would be a woman†¦ that doesn’t seem Klaib 2 right either. Rather, it is combination of physical, emotional and spiritual factors that determines the sex. Society cannot determine what someone will identify himself or herself as. It is that individual that should determine whether society would identify them as a... Free Essays on Judging A Book By Its Cover Free Essays on Judging A Book By Its Cover Judging A Book By Its Cover Beginning as early as birth, children are taught to judge a book by its cover and yet they are told otherwise. They are taught that boys like blue and boys go pee- pee in the room with the stick figure wearing the pants. Whereas girls like pink and they wear the dresses. As they hit adolescents they learn that the Moms have breasts and the Dads have penises. However, as they begin to experience the â€Å"real world† they quickly realize that those lines aren’t so clear. Words such as Ambiguous Gender, Transvestites and Homosexuality are introduced and force them to disregard our past misconceptions of gender and sexuality and redefine them. So what makes up a â€Å"Man† and what makes up a â€Å"Woman†? More importantly, are the two sexes as opposite as black and white or is there a gray area in-between which society has been ignoring this whole time? The Webster Dictionary defines a male as being the â€Å"sex that produces germ cells which fertilize the eggs of a female†. I don’t agree one bit. What about those men that have been dealt the unfortunate hand of cancer or some other situation that enables them to produce sperm? Are they any less then the man who impregnates several women a year? Likewise, a woman who cannot produce a mature egg is no less a woman then the one who has produced millions of eggs. Some think that perhaps it is the personality that determines if one is a man or woman; one who chooses to act like a woman is a woman. If that were true then an individual who may have a penis and testicles that choose to dress in a dress and be nurturing and emotional would be a woman†¦ that doesn’t seem Klaib 2 right either. Rather, it is combination of physical, emotional and spiritual factors that determines the sex. Society cannot determine what someone will identify himself or herself as. It is that individual that should determine whether society would identify them as a...

LINKIN PARK essays

LINKIN PARK essays Linkin Park is a band who sings rock songs. They are good band as rock. Did you know what did Linkin Park did to become a band? Did you know about their music and songs? Did you know how many Albums are there of Linkin Park? Well follow along in this paper and know the answers to unlock your mind and know the truth. Linkin Park became in a Band in 1996, and Later On became a band. It took them time to become a band. Practice and practice on the instrument they play. Words got to rhyme with the music and if the word does not rhyme with the mucic, then people would not like their music. There are 6 people in the band. Chester and Mike are the main singer of the Band. One of the person is the producer of the band and rest of the people plays instrument. Drums, Scratch Record, and Electric Guiter. Moving on with Linkin Park history. Did you notice all of their songs. When they play a song, there is atleast one song in an Album that will make the people intrest. When they Came with the Hybrid Theory Album. People did not like all of their song, but there was one song that made the audiene intrest their music. The song name is called IN THE END. In that song, musice and the words makes the audience be in that song, even their video of this song. Also makes people no left out. Linkin Park came out with 7 Albums. Hybrid Theory, Hybrid Theory EP, One Step Closer, Reanimation, Meteora, Linkin Park Live in Texas and one of their albums was unknown. How ever people became intrested in their albums. Did you know Meteora made the highest sale in Rock Music, when ever it came out. Did you know that there is a DVD of Linkin Park Live in Texas as the album of Linkni Park Live In Texas. Linkin Park worked the same way as the artist Limp Bizkit worked to sell his album. Know think about it, that Linkin Park will now rock your world or not. Just listen to their songs for few times, no matter if you like rap ...

NATO - Member Countries and Overview

NATO - Member Countries and Overview On April 1, 2009, two countries were newly admitted into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Thus, there are now 28 member states. The U.S.-led military alliance was created in 1949 as a result of the Soviet blockade of Berlin. The original twelve members of NATO in 1949 were the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. In 1952, Greece and Turkey joined. West Germany was admitted in 1955 and in 1982 Spain became the sixteenth member. On March 12, 1999, three new countries - the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland - brought the total number of NATO members to 19. On April 2, 2004, seven new countries joined the alliance. These countries are Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The two newest countries that joined as NATO members on April 1, 2009 are Albania and Croatia. To retaliate against the formation of NATO, in 1955 the Communist countries banded together to form the now-defunct Warsaw Pact, which originally consisted of the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, and Romania. The Warsaw Pact ended in 1991, with the fall of Communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Most notably, Russia remains a non-member of NATO. Interestingly enough, in the military structure of NATO, a U.S. military officer is always commander-in-chief of NATO forces so that U.S. troops never come under the  control of a foreign power. The 28 Current NATO Members AlbaniaBelgiumBulgariaCanadaCroatiaCzech RepublicDenmarkEstoniaFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandItalyLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgNetherlandsNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaSlovakiaSloveniaSpainTurkeyUnited KingdomUnited States

Summary Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary - Case Study Example The research question of whether rules and regulations regarding ban on text messages while driving is of immense importance because text messaging has become a part and parcel of everyone’s life and people fail to avoid sending as well as receiving text messages while they are driving and this has resulted in an increase in the number of road accidents. The research is even important because ban on texting while driving can assist in lowering the rate of accidents caused due to texting while driving. The research is even helpful as it can assist policy makers in ensuring that bans are more effective (Abouk 189). The research question is quite hard to address because there are certain limitations of obtaining the data specifically in the area of kinds of bans and how drivers respond to these bans. One of the limitations experienced by the study was that there was a lack of rules and regulations that ban text messaging or there was a lack of rules and regulations that ban calling while driving. Due to this estimates were used in the study instead of real data which might hamper the credibility of the study (Abouk 186). In order to address the question, the researchers use data regarding implementation of bans on texting while driving and how these bans have impacted or changed driver’s behavior of texting while driving and they even use data regarding the intensity of the bans and how the level of intensity impacts the driver’s texting behaviors. The intensity of the ban was categorized as either weak or strong and the intensity was measured in accordance to the target population of the ban (Abouk 183). The researchers even try to answer the research questions by testing the impact of a particular law at different points in time. The researchers identified that accidents that are categorized as fatal or deadly are more likely to be reduced if the laws that restrict texting while driving