Poetic form meter Essay Example for Free

Poetic form meter Essay Exploring how Allen Curnow portrays the search for inspiration in Continuum In the poem ‘Continuum’ by Allen Curnow, he tells us about his lack of inspiration. The theme of the poem revolves around poetic inspiration, and how he is unable to get inspiration. Allen Curnow uses a variety of stylistic devices to portray this. The title, â€Å"Continuum†, shows us that the problem Allen Curnow talks about, his lack of inspiration, is never ending and is continuing all the time, i.e., it is continuous. The first stanza signifies the first stage of poetic inspiration and also shows us Curnow’s unstable thoughts; â€Å"the roof falls behind†, as he is unable to compose poetry he is in a sense, rolling and falling all over the place so to speak. In the first line, the word â€Å"moon† is used as an image: a symbol for Curnow. As the moon is unable to shine on its own (it has to draw its light and energy from the sun), just like that Curnow depends on his writing to keep him going in life. The first stanza also tells the reader about the setting and time of the poem which is at night. The moon also evokes images of loneliness and a solitary state in that it is the only bright object in the night sky just like Curnow is the only (and therefore lonely) person awake at night. The poem has no definite rhyme scheme, suggesting to us that the poet is finding it difficult to express his thoughts, and he cannot tap into the world of imagination. The last line of the first stanza; â€Å"I am talking about myself.† Is a clear statement of his frustration and his inability to write. In the next stanza, Curnow is seeking connection with nature to find poetic inspiration. The line, â€Å"It’s not possible to get off to sleep†, tells the reader that the poet is unable to sleep which shows that something is troubling him. He tries to convey that it’s as tough to get rid of his thoughts as it is to get rid off the planet. Curnow goes out â€Å"barefoot†, to rid himself of the human material and wants to connect with nature†¦.

Single Men Vs. Committed Men Essay -- essays research papers

Single men lead different lifestyles compared to men that are committed to one woman. When a guy is single, he might wish he had a girlfriend. When that same guy finds a girlfriend, he might want to be single again. This is a strange cycle that many young men go through for many years. Although there are many differences between these two lifestyles, one similarity is apparent. That is the transition from one lifestyle to the other. The transition is often very difficult. These transitions often cause many aspects of a man’s life to change. This means that there are many contrasts when you compare lifestyles of single men and men in a relationship with one woman. A guy may enjoy or hate living his life single. Often times a single lifestyle consists of merely hanging out with guys and girls just as friends, and having fun. If a guy really enjoys partying and getting a little crazy on the weekends, this is what he will do when he is single. Single men usually do and say whatever they want to, and don’t worry about what others may think about them. He just wants to be with his buddies and have a good time. Sometimes single men will not be seeking potential girlfriends. Other times he will be on the lookout for girls he is interested in. In either case, girls will be on his mind. For that guy who is not looking for a relationship, he will not mind not seeing any girls for a period of time. A guy who is looking for a commitment will want to go to ...

The Autobiography of Malcolm X :: Malcolm X Civil Rights American History Essays

The Autobiography of Malcolm X Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. At the time of his birth, Malcolm's father was a Baptist Minister. His mom was a writer of Marcus Garvey. Before he was born, his father had 3 children with his previous marriage and 3 before him with his mom. Malcolm's father played a big role in scripting his life from early childhood by the beliefs that he carried and gave to the children by Garvey's teachings . He taught Malcolm to be a very strong man to be able to provide for himself without any help. Marcus Garvey was the founder of the U.N.I.A (Universal Negro Improvement Association) which was to raise the banner of black race purity and exhorting the negro masses to return to their ancestral African homeland. The Ku Klux Klan was a big threat to Malcolm's family so it forced them to move around quite a bit. Then suddenly one day, Malcolm's mother and father got into a big dispute that forced Malcolm's father to go out and take a walk to clear his head. Malcolm's mom felt very strange and uncomfortable about it. So before he had gone to far, she tried to catch up with him and tell him that she had a bad feeling and for him to come home. So later on that night two policemen came to their house to inform the family that Malcolm's father had been killed by an train cart. The accident was speculated because it was said that he was forced under the cart for it to hit him by the Klan. This whole ordeal had an very negative impact upon Malcolm's life growing up. After the father's death, the family was forced to be put on welfare. This was very hard for the kids and especially the mother to accept because they were use to the father being the provider, and it went against everything that they were taught by their father. They had welfare personnel coming by to check up on them very often. The mother felt so helpless and was unable to provide and care for the kids like she used to. It was even harder to try to discipline the kids without the father there to enforce the punishments.

If I Was Given A Second Chance To Visit This World

Birth and death are neither under our control nor a matter of choice People are born without much effort on their part and die without any choice of their own. I look upon life as a game and, when I have finished it, I will leave the field without any hesitation and complaint. The life on this earth is quite enough for any reasonable man. But there is no harm in getting a new base of life, if one can have all the good things of life.Every child during early years of school read stories and fancy many of the characters portrayed in them. I once read a Chinese story illustrating this point of view. There was a man who was in hell and about to be reincarnated, and said to the King of Reincarnation, â€Å"If you want me to return to the earth as a human being, I will only go on my own conditions. † â€Å"And what are they? † asked the King. The man replied, â€Å"I must be born the son of a cabinet minister and father of a future cabinet minister.I must have ten thousand a cres of land surrounding my home and fish ponds and fruits of every kind and a beautiful wife, good and loving to me, and rooms stocked full of grain and trunks full to the top with money, and I myself must be a Grand Councilor or Duke of the First Rank and enjoy honor and prosperity and live until I am hundred years old. † And the King of Reincarnation replied, â€Å"If I were such a lot on earth, I would go and be incarnated myself, and not give it to you.This is a very reasonable answer to any man who wants to have all the good things of life. Life is to be accepted with all its joys and sorrows, with its sunny days and cloudy nights. The world in which we live is necessarily an imperfect world, and man is, as it were, sandwiched between. Therefore, I do not seek at any moment in my life a world which is perfect in all respects. If I am given the chance (I wonder, if it ever happen) to be born again, I will not lay down any unreasonable conditions unlike the man in the Chi nese story which may embarrass my Creator.I shall be glad if I am delivered upon this beautiful earth as its transient guest and asked to leave after seventy five years (I ask only for this much concession) of rough and tumble life. After I have seen two generations of children and grand children I should be perfectly satisfied to rise from my seat and go away saying: It was a good game and I have really played well and enjoyed my innings to the full. But before my second earthly life comes to an end, I must make amends for the mistakes that I had committed in the first life.This time I will choose a country where people enjoy greater peace and facilities of life like United Kingdom or United States of America, or Switzerland or Norway; any will do provided they do not object to my skin color. I will not go to a school where teachers take students as pitchers and try to pour into what they deem necessary. Unfortunately, some time teachers take a conscious pleasure in insulting stude nts with their sly remarks. It does a little good to the mental advancement of back benchers and average students.I will go to a school where cricket is considered more important that literature or physics. I had enough of literature and physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics in my first life. All these subjects are good in their own way, but for myself, I am content to be less studious and more practical. After I have finished my education, I should like to become a business executive. I do know that the life of business executive in America or any European country is not easy. I have examples of lives of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.But what makes me comfortable is that a business executive is always too busy to think of higher things such as poetry, art and contemplation on scientific notes. But I do not care for art and science if I have obvious things like the enjoyment of food, a laughing party of friends, my children ramping about on my grassy lawn or playing on merry go ro und. After all life is not spirit but matter. Some of us who are spiritually inclined towards life, may not like this picture of life, but they can have their own type of life when they are born again.A business executive, as you know, makes a good deal of money, by many clever tricks. When I have made a few millions I will charter a plane and go round the world. Singapore and Siam, Honolulu and Tokyo, Geneva and New Jersey will offer all their enchantments to me. I may even go to Africa and do a bit of big hunting. But I am terribly afraid of lions and rhinos. I will ask somebody to kill them for me and then get myself photographed while sitting on a big lion! I know the reader would be laughing at my cowardice, but this is how we big business executives do lion hunting.Now comes the sad part of the story. When I come back from my travels around the world, I go for a medical checkup. My doctor, who has specialized in all types of cancers, tells me that I am â€Å"ripe† for a cancer. It may be a ‘tropic of cancer’ but nobody can laugh at his own indisposition. I take his word for granted and apply for a bed in one of the most modern hospital. The doctors kill me in order to find out the cancer which never existed. I die without a word of protest, because I had enough of life. I have no regrets or remorse leaving this world.

Power, Propoganda In Communist China Essays - Chinese Communists

Power, Propoganda In Communist China Essays - Chinese Communists Power, Propoganda in Communist China Propaganda in China during the Cultural Revolution took on many forms; there were mass Red Guard demonstrations in Tianamen Square in support of Mao Zedong, pictures of Mao were put up in every conceivable location from restaurants to the wallpaper in nurseries, and pamphlets and books of Mao's teachings were distributed to every Chinese citizen. One of these propaganda publications Quotations from Chairman Mao which later became known as the Little Red Book contained quotes from Mao Zedong and was distributed to every Chinese citizen. The history of the Red Book provides one of the best ways in which to analyze Chinese propaganda during the Cultural Revolution and see the ways in which the Chinese government was able to produce and effectively indoctrinate the Chinese people with Mao Zedong Thought. Official Chinese magazines from the period of 1967 to 1970 are filled with many pictures of citizens holding, reading, and memorizing the Red Book. This proposal will trace the rise and fall of images of the Red Book in the official Chinese publication China Reconstructs. This proposal will use a graphical analysis of pictures in this publication from 1966 to 1973 to show that propaganda was not just a tool of the Communist party but also a reflection of internal power struggles within the party during the Cultural Revolution. The Red Book was written several years before it became the object of national adoration and a tool for the Cultivation of Mao's personality Cult. The history of the Red Book and its meteoric rise from a hand book for military recruits to compulsory reading for all Chinese citizens, is closely tied to its developer Lin Biao's rise to power. Lin Biao was born in 1907 and was fourteen years younger then Mao; he joined the communist party in 1925 and until the communists captured control of China was at various times in charge of resiezce forces, and armies of communist soldiers. When the communists took control in 1949 Lin Biao was behind Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun, and Deng Xiaoping in rank (Yan and Gao, 1996: 179). But eighteen years later during the height of the Cultural Revolution Lin Biao by winning favor with Mao by publishing and championing the Red Book and the Cult of Mao became second only to the Chairman in power and position (Ming-Le, 1983: 80). In 1959 Peng Dehua was dismissed as minister of defense and Lin Biao was appointed in his place. At an armed forces meeting for high cadres during September of that year Lin Biao, energetically started promoting the Cult of Mao saying, "Learning the writings of comrade Mao Zedong is the shortcut to learning Marxism-Leninism. Chairman Mao's writings are easy to learn and can be put to use immediately. Diligent work will pay dividends many fold." (Yan and Gao, 1996: 182) His references to "shortcut" and "quick dividends" in his speech went unnoticed at the time as few foresaw the effects of creating a Cult around Mao. But looking back on the Cultural Revolution and Lin Biao, we can see his using the Cult of Mao was indeed a shortcut that produced huge dividends both for himself and for Mao. Mao to the Chinese people was a symbol sovereignty and the construction of socialism; to them praise for Mao was fitting with his symbolic role in society. Starting in 1959 Lin Biao in front of military audiences in order to help buildup support for the Cult of Mao used such phrases as, "the dire necessity of acquiring Mao Zedong's thought," "to study the writings of Mao Zedong with questions in mind is to shoot arrows with target in sight," "we must arm our minds with Mao Zedong's thought" (Yan an Gao, 1996: 181). Lin Biao's goal of building up both himself and the Cult of Mao lead him in September of 1960 to pass a resolution at the meeting of the Military Commission, which called for more political education among the armed forces (Yan and Gao, 1996: 181) "Mao Zedong Thought is the compass for the Chinese people's revolution and socialist construction, the powerful ideological weapon against imperialism, and the powerful ideological weapon against revisionism

Compare and contrast Cousin Kate by Christina Rossetti and the seduction by Eileen McCauley Essays

Compare and contrast Cousin Kate by Christina Rossetti and the seduction by Eileen McCauley Essays Compare and contrast Cousin Kate by Christina Rossetti and the seduction by Eileen McCauley Paper Compare and contrast Cousin Kate by Christina Rossetti and the seduction by Eileen McCauley Paper Essay Topic: Christina Rossetti Poems These two poems although set in very different time periods share many similarities in their themes and characters. Cousin Kate is set in the 1700s where women were seen as mens possessions that they could do what they liked with. Women could have no real career. Their only way to get ahead in life was to marry into a rich family and become a good wife. It was set in a period where a single mother was seen as a sinner.The seduction is set in or around the late 1960s early 1970s. You would expect womens rights to change a lot in the few hundred years that had passes since cousin Kate, which they had to a degree, but single mothers were still frowned upon, men still took advantage of women although not as much as in the 1700s.The title the seduction is quite ironic as it makes you think of a romantic scene, but actually he is seducing her by handing her the vodka which makes this boy seem as though he cant get girls in any other way. This can be contrasted to Cousin Kate where the lord seduces the cottage maiden with his obviously very good romantic skills he praised my flaxen hair the lexical choice praised makes this line seem much more romantic. The boy in the seduction clearly knows that he is doing wrong as he led her to the quiet bricks of Birkenhead docks Here the author uses alliteration of the letter B emphasizes the fact that they are completely alone by making the scene seem more deserted.He also emphasizes that they are alone by not only making the scene they are in seem quiet but also by making the city which is usually associated with lots of noise seem calm and distant Far past the silver stream of traffic through the city, far from the blind windows of the tower blocks.The sibilance here makes the noisy traffic seem far away. This technique of audible imagery is very effective I think it underlines the fact that that the two of them are isolated from civilisation. The author puts little things in throughout the poem to show reasons why this boy ca nt get a girlfriend by normal means for example where she writes he spat into the river and when he tells her that he comes to this place with me dads magazines These are put in to give you an idea of how disrespectful to women this boy is and how sordid the whole situation is. The lord in Cousin Kate also has little or no respect for women as the cottage maiden tells us he wore me like a silken knot, he changed me like a glove. This objectifies the women as she is compared to an item of clothing that can be just discarded or changed as he wishes without any thought for the woman. The girl in the seduction thinks that she is in love with this boy but none of it is real. She is just intoxicated by the alcohol As he bought her more drinks so she fell in love. The author links the drink with falling in love in this line on purpose to show how false the whole thing is. Also we notice that she says he bought the drinks rather than her which suggests he is deliberately trying to get her d runk. This boy has no real grasp of right and wrong or if he does he has no problem with rule breaking When I should be at school or eating my dinner this line emphasizes his lack of respect for school or his family as he disobeys both. Also he himself takes drugs with a bag of shimmering sweet paint thinner shimmering and sweet symbolize something good but then paint thinner is obviously bad which is a paradox. By the time they get to the docks the girl is obviously completely inebriated by the vodka and sat in the dark, her head rolling forward. This image calls up images in the readers mind of past experiences, which makes you know how little the girl can do to resist when she is so drunk. The line the frightening scum on the water is a pun that could literally mean scum on the water or it could be a reflection of the boy who is scum. The boy now is going to make his move on the girl now that she is completely out of control. He swiftly contrived to kiss her. The lexical choice contrive makes the reader see how engineered and planned this whole set-up is. The girl has little experience either, as she is young. She stifled a giggle. The word giggle has connotations of innocence inexperience that emphasizes how immoral this is. We dont know what goes on from here as the poem jumps on in time from this line stories in teenage magazines . . . The three full stops are a caesura that is put there to symbolize the passing of time. This can be compared to Cousin Kate where time moves on between the cottage maiden being pregnant and then in the next verse time has jumped on to after her son is born. Also this is a contrast between the two poems as In Cousin Kate we hear of the cottage maidens feelings after her son is born my fair haired son. Where as in the seduction time only moves on further into the pregnancy.For the rest of the seduction the mood changes and the girl has done a lot of growing up in the three months that have passed and she now realizes the tr ue consequences of her actions on that night when she discovered she was three months gone, she sobbed in the cool, locked darkness of her room The author here gives us little information on why she is locked in her room. She leaves it up to the reader to decide if she has locked herself in or weather somebody like her parents have locked her in as in the 1960s-1970s it was a terrible thing to be a single underage mother. This girl is no longer the innocent little girl she was before now she broke the heels of her bright white shoes. This symbolizes the losing of her innocence, virginity or both as the colour white represents purity and now she is breaking that.In a way the girl is blaming her magazines for her getting pregnant she ripped up all her my guy and Jackie photo comics as she rips these comics up its as though she is ripping up her dream of becoming one of the happy ending stories out of them herself. This girl now hated herself and what she had become. She was sickened e very morning by stupid stupid promises only tacitly made. McCauley uses a pun here where she says sickened every morning. She could mean morning sickness or she could mean sickened mentally by what had happened. the women in both poems are worried about how others will perceive them now they are pregnant. In The seduction she says better to turn away, move away, fade away, than to have the neighbours whispering that you always looked the type and in Cousin Kate the cottage maiden says the neighbours call you good and pure, and me an outcast thing. These two lines stress the fact that single mothers were social outcasts.The girl in the seduction then thinks how good life could have been where she goes to the parties and meets the boy next door and walk hand in hand these lines conjure up the fairytale image in your head just like in her magazines but she knows that now she can no longer have this dream. Now she thinks that she is in the worse possible scenario she can think of. She s ays better to destroy yourself in man-made ways than to fall into this despicable feminine void. Here the writer really shows how depressed she is by making her want to almost do absolutely anything apart from being pregnant.I think is the real difference between the two poems is in who or what they blame for their situation. In Cousin Kate the cottage maiden blames the whole thing on the man I would have spit into his face. When she knew exactly what was going on and what the risks of pre-marital sex were, where as the girl in the seduction who had no control of this boy who got her drunk and then more-or less raped her, blames the magazines that she reads full of glamour with a stammer and glossy horoscopes, full of fresh fruit diets how did she feel betrayed? The irony being that both women are blaming the wrong person for their predicament.These poems are both very anti-male as you can see from the way the authors seem to describe the men almost as manipulative rapists in these poems which makes them a lot easier to compare than contrast.

Pastoralism and the Development of Civilization

Pastoralism and the Development of Civilization Pastoralism refers to a stage in the development of civilization between hunting and agriculture and also to a way of life dependent on the herding of livestock, specifically, ungulates. The Steppes and the Near and Middle East are particularly associated with pastoralism, although mountainous regions and areas too cold for farming can also support pastoralism.  In the Steppes near Kiev, where the wild horse roamed, pastoralists used their knowledge of cattle herding to domesticate the horse. Lifestyle Pastoralists focus on raising livestock and tend to the care and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas and sheep.  Animal species vary depending on where pastoralists live in the world; typically they are domesticated herbivores that eat plant foods. The two main lifestyles of pastoralism include nomadism and transhumance. The nomads practice a seasonal migratory pattern that changes annually, while transhumance pastoralists use a pattern to cool highland valleys in summer and warmer ones during the cold wintertime. Nomadism This form of subsistence agriculture, also known as farming to eat, is based on herding domesticated animals. Instead of depending on crops to survive, pastoral nomads primarily depend on animals that provide milk, clothing and tents.   Some key characteristics of pastoral nomads include: Pastoral nomads typically do not slaughter their animals but already dead ones may be used for food.Power and prestige are often symbolized by this cultures herd size.The type and number of animals are chosen in relation to local characteristics, such as climate and vegetation. Transhumance The movement of livestock for water and food encompasses transhumance. The core differentiator in regards to nomadism is that herders who are leading the flock must leave their family behind.  Their lifestyle is in harmony with nature, developing groups of people with the worlds ecosystem, embedding themselves in their environment and biodiversity. The main places you can find transhumance include Mediterranean locations such as Greece, Lebanon, and Turkey. Modern Pastoralism Today, most pastoralists live in Mongolia, parts of Central Asia and East African locations. Pastoral societies include groups of pastoralists who center their daily life around pastoralism through the tending of herds or flocks.  The benefits of pastoralism include flexibility, low costs and freedom of movement. Pastoralism has survived due to additional features including light regulatory environment and their work in regions that are not suited for agriculture. Quick Facts Over 22 million Africans depend on pastoralists for their livelihood today, in communities such as the Bedouins, Berbers, Somali and Turkana.There are over 300,000 cattle herders in Southern Kenya and 150,000 in Tanzania.Pastoralism societies can be drawn back to the time period 8500-6500 BC.Literary work involving shepherds and rustic life is known as pastoral which comes from the term pastor, Latin for a shepherd. SourceAndrew Sherratt Pastoralism The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Brian M. Fagan, ed., Oxford University Press 1996. Oxford University Press.