What is the the imagery, metaphor, rhyme and structure of the poem "The Dance" By William Carlos Williams?

"The Dance" by William Carlos Williams is written in rhythmic verse which would mimic the rhythm of the dancing described in its twelve lines.

Imagery in the poem includes auditory imagery (what you can "hear") with words like "squeal" and "blare" and "tweedle," all of which describe the sound of the bagpipes which create the music for the dance depicted in the picture Williams is writing about: "The Kermess" or "Peasant Dance."

The metaphor is: "tipping their bellies (round as the thick-/sided glasses whose wash they impound)" which compares the dancers' bellies to the thick glasses that hold their drinks ("wash").   (This is a metaphor in the general sense, but specifically a simile, in that the author uses "as" in the comparison.)

There is no rhyme in this poem.

The structure of the poem uses several devices to support the images of the painting.  Williams uses parentheses to add a visual aspects to support the poem's images of "roundness," as with "round" glasses and the dancers go "round."

The structure of the poem also mimics the dancers' speed as Williams' descriptions move swiftly along.  For instance, there are no capital letters used at the beginning of the lines to slow down or give pause to the descriptions of the dancers swirling and pitching about.

Williams is able to use the concrete (words) to describe the abstract (the description of a painting), as well as embedding a sense of movement throughout the lines of the poem.

Explain the games in The Mahabharat: 'The Dicing' and 'The Sequel to Dicing'.

I understand you are referring to the games of dice that Yudhisthir played with Shakuni on the Invitation of Dhritrashtra.

There were actually two sessions of games mentioned in Mahabharata. In the first session Yudhishtir lost all his kingdom and possessions including himself, his brothers, and finally his wife Draupadi. When this happened Duryodhana had Draupadi forcibly brought to the assembly hall. Here Dushasan, a brother of Duryodhana, tried to strip Draupadi in the assembly hall in front of all the persons assembled there. Draupadi was saved from this atrocious and shameless act only by a divine intervention. At this moment inauspicious signs like howling of donkeys and dogs started occurring. Dhritrashtra, interpreting these signs as signal of complete downfall and destruction of his family, realized the folly of his actions in enticing Yudhishtir to gambling in a game of dice, and returned everything lost by Yudhishtir.

In consequence, Yudhishtir returned to his capital Indraprastha. But Duryodhana and Shakuni were very much dismayed by the decision of Dhritrashtra, and once again prevailed upon him to invite Yudhishtir for another game of dice. Yudhishtir, though  not at all keen to play, accepted the invitation to save his honour in line with the customs of his time. Thus a second game of dice took place.

In the second game the wager was between Duryodhana and Yudhishtir, that looser will, along with all his brothers, exile to forest, followed by one year of incognito stay, with further condition that if recognized during this period of incognito stay, they will again go to exile for 12 years. Yudhishtir lost this game also. An a result went into exile with his brothers and Draupadi. They spent the next thirteen years in exile as per the condition of the condition of wager.

What is the book "Fear" all about in Native Son?

Book 1 of Native Son is entitled "Fear".  The main character of the story told here is Bigger Thomas, who is twenty years old and lives in a tenement in the South Side of Chicago.  Bigger's mother wants him to accept a job being offered by Henry Dalton, "a wealthy white man who owns much of the property in the ghetto".  Bigger really has no choice in the matter, because if he does not take the job, his family will be denied welfare, on which they depend for their survival. 

On his way to see Mr. Dalton, Bigger stops by a poolroom to visit with his friends.  Bigger comes up with a plan to rob a white-owned deli with them, but when the time comes to execute the plan he ruins things because he is afraid.  Bigger goes to see Mr. Dalton, and accepts the job being offered.  He will receive $25 a week to be a chauffeur, and is also given a room in which to live.  Bigger is extremely nervous, because he will now have to live among white people, whom he believes are all racist.

Bigger's first job as chauffeur is to take Mr. Dalton's beautiful daughter Mary to see Jan, her boyfriend.  Mary is a communist and tries to treat Bigger as an equal, but Bigger, having never had the experience before, does not know how to react, and fears that such familiarity will lead to trouble for him.  At Mary's direction, Bigger drives her and Jan to a restaurant on the South Side.  Jan buys some rum, and by the time Bigger drops Jan off and brings Mary home, she is quite drunk.  Bigger must help Mary to her room, carrying her in his arms because she is so intoxicated.  As he is getting her into bed, Mary's blind mother appears at the door.  Bigger covers Mary's head with a pillow so that her mother will not hear her incoherent moans.  He is terrified of the consequences if he should be caught as a black man with a white girl in her room, even though the situation is entirely innocent on his part.

When Bigger removes the pillow, he discovers to his horror that Mary is dead.  In a state of panic, he takes her body to the basement and stuffs it in the furnace (Book 1).

Where is the setting of the story Jonathan Livingston Seagull?i'm so confused

"Jonathan Livingston Seagull" is a wonderful little story about a seagull that has been kicked out of his community for being different.  Jonathan wants to be more, see more and live live differently than the mass of gulls on his beach. He is an individual who refuses to just follow the mass of mindless gulls in his community.  He lives at the Seashore, but he is not allowed to be with the other gulls because he can't conform.  He takes off and learns to fly away from the group and he goes higher and farther than any other gull ever has.  Jonathan explores his world and enjoys his freedom.  He returns to his flock and desires to share what he has learned with the other gulls.  The allegory was made into a movie and the great soundtrack by Neil Diamond. 

"Each of us is in truth an idea of the Great Gull, an unlimited idea of freedom."

What is Ruth's full Jewish name?

Ruth's name when she born is Ruchel Dwarjra Zylska. This is provided to the reader on the first page of the book.  On the second page, we are told her name was changed to Rachel Deborah Shilsky.

Ruth was born in Poland on April Fool's Day, 1921 (1).  This means that when her family came to America, her name, probably along with the names of the rest of the family, was changed to be more "American."  You can see the similarity between her birth name and her American name, a similarity that was often preserved, keeping some of the old country, but changing it enough to assimilate in an English-speaking country.

People who are Jewish often have two names, a Hebrew name and a "secular" one.  In many Jewish families, the tradition is to name a child after someone who is deceased, in honor of that person, of course, but also because there is some superstition attached to naming a child after someone who is still living.  Frequently, a child will have two Hebrew names, one from someone deceased on both sides of the family.  That is so neither side of the family will feel left out!  Hebrew names are used for ceremonial purposes, weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, confirmations, etc.  They are also used as family nicknames.

But in the "old country," where Ruth was born, the Hebrew name and the everyday name were sometimes the same, with no distinction for religious or ceremonial purposes.  This is still true in some Orthodox and Chasidic Jewish families.

In Ruth's case, her original name, "Ruchel" was the Hebrew form of Rachel, and "Deborah" is the equivalent of the Hebrew name "Devorah."  Interestingly, she still chose a Biblical name when she made her final change, but one that is from a story about a woman who was not Jewish at all.

In That Was Then, This Is Now, Bryon admits he cannot accept compliments, authority or advice?

Bryon admits he cannot accept authority.

Bryon reflects upon his inability to accept authority while he is sitting in the hospital cafeteria after visiting his mother.  As he looks at the menu, fantasizing about the food he cannot afford, he comments that he "could put away more food than anyone (he) knew".  At sixteen, Bryon is "five-ten...and still growing...and (he has) a good build".  Bryon says that he probably should have gone out for football at school, but admits that he wouldn't have been able to "put up with a coach telling (him) how to play". 

Bryon apparently has "never...been able to accept authority".  He traces the development of this attitude to an experience he had when he was thirteen years old.  He had been "a dumb kid" and had gotten drunk, and as he was "staggering around alone on the streets in the dark, these two cops (had) picked (him) up, drove (him) out to a hill on the other side of town, slapped (him) around, and left (him) there".  Bryon had never forgotten that experience; he says "it didn't stop (him) from drinking, but it sure ruined any respect (he) ever had for cops".  Bryon extends his feeling of dislike for cops to other authority figures as well, and his tendency is to mouth off to those who try to tell him what to do (Chapter 2).

Why didn't men like The Color Purple? Why did Alice Walker feel justified in writing it anyway?

The previous answer was very strong.  I might want to add that the notion of men not liking the work might be better framed as being disdainful of the novel, as much as being challenged with a new frame of reference.  What makes the work so much of a force to the traditionalist notions of narratives is that it asserts and advocates for the voices of women.  The female narrative structure helps to provide voice where there was silence and helps to create a new voice in the discourse.  This is a challenge to any particular structure, and the forceful and clear nature in which Walker's work resonates in the conversation of narrative and identity might be a reason why there was such an intense reaction to it on the part of men.  It might not have been dislike as much as being introduced to a new voice, which is always a process where there is reticence and hesitation.  Over time, if the narrative is emphasized and underscored with greater regularity, it becomes an established voice in the diaspora of thought.  This might be proven with the work, itself.  Walker's themes and characterizations of men would not be seen in the same light of "shock" and "dislike" now as they were when they were first introduced.

Describe Magwitch in Great Expectations and say what his name suggests. (Chapter 40)

The convict whom Pip encounters on the marshes in the first chapter, Abel Magwitch has been the victim of the "prison of  society" that Dickens frequently castigates in his novels.  Born into poverty, in Chapter 40 of "Great Expectations" Magwitch answers Pip's question of "What were you brought up to be" by saying, "A warmit, dear boy."  Later, as he eats with his knife, he tells Pip,

I'm a heavy grubber...if it had  been in my constitution to be a lighter grubber, I might 'a got into lighter trouble.

As a child of the streets of London, Magwitch became a "varmit,"  feeding off whatever he could find, stealing from people, like a maggot--a fly larvae living on decaying matter. Used by Compeyson in his dastardly plot to rob Miss Havisham of her wealth and joy, Abel is the victim of evil, much like his Biblical namesake. 

That Magwitch wants to be known as Provis indicates his desire to change his misfortune, caused by the "witch" of Fate, to the good as he provides for Pip's better existence is evident.  On the other hand, he himself is a type of witch (a magic witch), an instrument of Fate, effecting the change of Pip's fortunes, both in positive ways--the money--and negatively--the disappointment of a convict as he benefactor rather than one of the upperclass.

In 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' what is significant about Boo's "feathery" hair?At the end of the book when Scout describes Boo, she said he had...

Whenever you're reading a literary work, remember that not everything is a symbol or is to be taken as significant. It is a common mistake for both teachers and students to "read into" a text much more than the author ever intended. My question: Did Harper Lee ever state (orally or written) that she meant something by this particular description? If not, my answer, yours or your teacher's is just sheer speculation.

This said, it's nevertheless a fact that certain words carry both a denotation (literal meaning) and connotation (associative suggestion). The word "feathery" means "like a feather" (denotation); it suggests thinned out or wispy hair, much as in a very young child or old person. Describing Boo in this way could be a good way to make the point that Boo had spent most all his life cooped up in the Radley house and was now showing signs of growing old. His fragile innocence and extreme vulnerability also come across in Harper Lee's description, far from the raw squirrel-eating, drooling maniac he was cracked out to be at the beginning of the story.

What is reason for invitation to Justice Wargrave, Vera Claythorne, Philip Lombrd, Emily Brent, and General Macarthur?and Dr. Armstrong, Tony...

"In Ten Little Indians Christie creates a masterpiece of mystery and murder. After ten strangers gather together on an isolated island off the coast of Devon, England, one by one, they each are discovered murdered. As those remaining frantically search for the murderer, their own guilty pasts return to haunt them."

Each guest is invited for the purpose of being part of an elaborate fantasy murder scenario set up by Justice Wargrave, he intends to punish this group of murderers, as he has defined them over the years, people who were responsible for the death of another, but who somehow slipped past the justice system.   So he arranges for each of them to die in a mysterious, explainable way, leaving the rest to struggle for answers and suffer from the anxiety of not knowing who will be next.

Each is invited to the island, without their knowledge or consent, to participate in an elaborate murder mystery known as a locked door mystery.  The process is set in motion by Justice Wargrave, who after years of sitting on the bench lusted to be  a criminal, specifically a murderer.  Discovering that he was terminally ill, with not much time left to live, he assembles this group of people, all who have in one way or another contributed to the death of one or more persons.

Justice Wargrave a retired justice, who, unknown to the reader until the end of the story is the person who invites the other guests and who, in fact is the murderer.

Vera Claythorne - a former governess who was acquitted of the responsibility of the death from drowning of her charge, a little boy.

Philip Lombard - who seems to have been a soldier for hire, he was responsible for the deaths of several Africans.  He carries a gun.

Dr. Armstrong - a doctor, who botched a surgery because he was drunk, killing a woman, he is now a recovering alcoholic.

William Henry Blore - a former Police Inspector who was corrupt and framed a man at the request of a criminal gang.

Emily Brent - an older woman who is self-righteous, she abandoned her servant who became pregnant out of wedlock, the girl killed herself.

Thomas and Ethel Rogers - the servants who are already at the estate, they were responsible for the death of an elderly woman in their care, they withheld her medication causing her to die.

General MacArthur - a veteran of war, who sent his wife's lover into a very dangerous battle hoping that he would be killed, he was.

Anthony Marston - a rich, playboy type, who loved fast cars, he killed two small children with his speeding car and didn't even stop.

Isaac Morris - who does not go to the island, but arranges everything, anonymously for the judge, he is also murdered, which rounds out the group to ten altogether.

"After arranging for the deaths of the others, Wargrave shot himself in the same manner in which he appeared to be shot earlier. His desire to show off his ingenious scheme prompted him to place his confession in the bottle."

What poems and movies reflect the same themes as "Great Expectations"?

Pip is disappointed when his "great expectations" do not develop into what he has hoped they would be.  For example, he has idolized Estella as the most beautiful young lady he has ever met. In his infatuation with her, Pip fails to see her selfishness and coldness despite her warnings.  Later, when he is hopelessly in love with her, Pip realizes that Estella has been brought up by Miss Havisham to have no heart.

The poem "When I Was One-and-Twenty" by A. E. Housman expresses this same disillusionment with one's love as in "Great Expectations":

When I was one-and-twenty

I heard a wise man say,

"Give crowns and pounds and guineas

But not your heart away;

Give pearls away and rubies

But keep your fancy free."

But I was one-and-twenty,

No use to talk to me.

When I was one-and-twenty

I heard him say again,

"The heart out of the bosom

Was never given in vain;

'Tis paid with sighs a plenty

And sold for endless rue."

And I am two-and-twenty,

And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true. 

Why is cycle time very important in the manufacturing industry?

Cycle time in manufacturing industry refers to the total time it takes to complete any specified manufacturing or allied operation. Cycle times can be used for many different types of operations. For example we can study the cycle time for a small task such as fixing a wheel on a car during the car assembly operation or we can consider the complete assembly of car as one single operation. Cycle times may be used for non-manufacturing operations also - for example, cycle time for reordering a part stocked in store, or the cycle time for launching  new product in the market starting from the concept stage to actual launch in the market.

Cycle times play a very important role in planning and controlling activities in any industries. The list of all the uses of cycle time in manufacturing industries will become too long to be included here. Given below are some illustrative uses of cycle time.

• Production planning


• Productivity measurement and control


• Incentive payments


• Inventory planning


• Process design.

Explain how the concept of management can be viewed in the manufacturing and servicing organizations

The basic functions and concepts of management are common to all types of organizations including manufacturing and service organization. However, because of some fundamental differences in the the nature of products created and marketed by these two types of organizations, the relative importance of different management concepts an approaches differ for them.

During the earlier days of development of management thought, the the difference between nature of operations of manufacturing and service organizations was not very much appreciated. The management concept, tools and techniques were developed primarily with manufacturing organizations in mind. The special nature of service organizations and the need to develop management approaches for their specific requirements, as opposed from requirements of manufacturing organizations was recognized for the first by some management thinkers in mid-nineteenth century. Subsequent to that interest in management of service organization developed. This increased interest in management of service organization was considerably fanned by increasing percentage of their contribution to GDP of developing countries.

The major cause of difference between the operations of manufacturing and service organizations arises from the difference between nature of products they create and market. While manufacturing organizations sell physical goods that are tangible, service organizations provide services that are intangible. Because of their intangibility creation and marketing of services display some characteristics not applicable to physical goods.

Unlike physical goods, services cannot be manufactured and stored for customers to by and use at some later date. Services must be received and consumed by customers as these are produced. Services created and not consumed simultaneously perish for ever. Management implication of this characteristics is that the supply of service must be closely matched with the demand.

Simultaneous creation and consumption of services also means that services cannot be inspected before these are supplied to the customers. Physical goods of manufacturing companies can be inspected and defective goods, if any, can be sorted out before supply to the customers. This is not possible for service organization. This inability to inspect and sort out sub standard services creates additional management challenges of maintain high standards of quality without inspection. Also, when there is a quality failure, it becomes important to find way of recovering from negative effects of failure to provide satisfactory service to customers.

The problem of ensuring quality in service organizations is further compounded by the fact that there are many variables that affect the quality of service delivered. These factors include the unpredictability of human behavior and the impact of external environment not within the control of service provider.

Finally, the quality of service provided covers in addition to the basic service other factors such as the service provider, the service process, and the physical environment. Thus management must give close attention to all these factors.

The most important services management task is management of the service personnel. Many of the most important services management concepts are concerned with motivating and training the employees to provide good quality service and to become an effective marketers for the organization's services.

Explain about compulsive talkerA female clerk in your department is a compulsive talker. her job requires her to deliver reports, mail and memos...

The problem that you have explained has two dimensions. First dimension is that of levels of efficiency and output. The employee in question is taking thrice the normal or standard time to complete the tasks assigned to her. In this way not only she is not delivering and also causing delay in work of others. The second dimension of the problem is spreading of rumors. These two problems need to be handled independently.

First, taking up the problem of low output, it is best dealt by properly motivating the employee. This can be done by various means such as monitoring and measuring performance clearly and correctly. This information can then be fed back to her for self motivation, in addition it can also be used for performance evaluation and decisions on remunerations. These motivation efforts may be supplemented by counselling. If an employee still does not improve, appropriate disciplinary action may be essential. If nothing works, transfer or dismissal may be the only options available.

The best way for handling the problem of spreading rumor is to be open with the employee in the first place. If senior management of company takes its employees in confidence and keeps them informed of all important matters, specially the ones affecting them personally, the chances of rumors spreading or harming the interests of the company are minimum when employees have confidence in their senior management they do not pay attention to irresponsible individuals spreading baseless rumors. However, if a situation arises where the some rumor has gained momentum in the company, and is likely to have adverse effect on the company, it is best to clarify the company view to the employees as early as possible. An approach like this will take the edge out of any rumors among the employee. In addition this approach can also be used to garner the support of employees to counter harmful rumors among general public.

What is ironic about a Taliban judges at Mariam's trial saying, "God has made us different,women and men. Our brains are different..."The quote...

Mariam has killed her husband, Rasheed to save the life of  Laila.  To give Laila a chance at a happy life with her children Mariam is put on trial for the death of her husband.  If Rasheed had killed Laila there would have been on charges brought against him and he would not have suffered on day in jail, but the Taliban does not have just laws for women in an abusive relationship.  They have no legal recourse.

The judge remarking that "Western doctors and their science have proven this." is ironic because the whole belief system of the Taliban is to fight against the Western belief system and to call on the evidence of Western doctors to justify their condemnation of women is pure hypocrisy.  The Taliban reject all Western technology, philosophy, and call the Western culture and it's people infidels.  Yet, when it needs to prove a point and justify this order of execution of a woman who has killed her husband the lead judge draws not on Taliban faith or beliefs but Western scientists.  This is a good example of verbal irony.

In Chapter 6 of Animal Farm what does Squealer say about the new policy of engaging in trade with the neighboring farms?

It was soon became clear that certain items like "paraffin oil, nails, string, dog biscuits, and iron for the horses' shoes" could not be produced on the farm itself. These items could only be procured by trading with other human beings,

"accodingly Napoleon announced that he had decided upon a new policy. From now onwards Animal Farm would engage in trade with the neighbouring farms: not, of course, for any commercial purpose, but simply in order to obtain certain materials which were urgently necessary."

But all the animals were reminded of the earlier resolutions: "Never to have any dealings with human beings, never to engage in trade, never to make use of money" and they were uneasy and some of them even protested. But Napoleon quickly silenced all protests and announced that they would not directly deal with human beings but only through an intermediary called Mr. Whymper.

Afterwards Squealer the propaganda secretary manages to convince the animals that the earlier resolutions were purely a figment of their imagination:

"He assured them that the resolution against engaging in trade and using money had never been passed, or even suggested. It was pure imagination, probably traceable in the beginning to lies circulated by Snowball."

To those who objected he cleverly fooled them by demanding whether these resolutions existed in print. Since there was no written record of these resolutions those who objected were convinced that no such resolution ever existed.

What are some examples of both internal and external conflict with Guy Montag in "Fahrenheit 451"?

Internally, Montag struggles with the realization that he is not happy.  He is dissatisfied with the way that his life is, with the lack of a relationship with his wife, and with his society.  He struggles between conformity, and seeking out change.  He battles this within himself for most of the novel, and that battle is represented symbolically by his criminal hand that seems to have a mind of its own, stealing books and hiding them in his house.  He wants to change his life, but doesn't know how.  He doesn't know where to start, or even what really needs changing.  So he struggles to find answers in books, and goes to Faber for guidance.

Externally, Montag experiences conflict with his wife; she denies being unhappy or having attempted suicide, she defends her airhead friends and t.v. shows, and is irritated with his attempts to read with her.  He wants to change, and wants her to come along with him, but she doesn't want to go.  He experiences conflict with Beatty, as he delves further into understanding books and why society is the way that it is, Beatty is there the entire time, watching him, baiting him, taunting him, and trying to push him back in the other direction.  He experiences external conflict with his society; he is at odds with what his society says is "proper" behavior.  This conflict goes full-blown after he kills Beatty and has to escape from his society in totality.

I hope that those thoughts help a bit, and good luck with everything!

What makes Frederick Douglass' "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July" special to American Literature?

Part of the reason Douglass' comment on the 4th of July is so powerful to American Literature because few other works specifically show the gulf between what is and what should be.  Douglass artfully praises the framers of the nation for creating the language that displays the fundamental right to be free and for developing the vocabulary that displays what it means to be a dignified human being.  Then, he abruptly punctuates it with a counter point:

I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common.  The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day? If so, there is a parallel to your conduct. And let me warn you that it is dangerous to copy the example of a nation whose crimes, towering up to heaven, were thrown down by the breath of the Almighty, burying that nation in irrevocable ruin! I can to-day take up the plaintive lament of a peeled and woe-smitten people!

Douglass' fundamental claim is revealed in this passage when he argues that a nation predicated upon the drive for individual freedom and human dignity is also the nation that enslaves people for profit, denying them their own sense of autonomy and freedom while celebrating its own.  Douglass' work, and in particular this speech, is essential to the American Literature lexicon because it reveals the notion of "multiple Americas" throughout American History.  In a nation whose history and literature denies the institutionalized stratification of others, slavery existed.  In a literary tradition that emphasized the promises and possibilities of freedom, discrimination and silencing voices was present.  In a house where all are stated to have "inalienable rights," political, economic, and social marginalization was, and to some extent, currently is the norm.  The belief in what America can be is strongly negated when reading Douglass' words.  While no one will deny Douglass' worth to the American literary tradition in his writing's high level of quality and technical skill, it is his statement and demand to include multiple and varied voices into the canon of American Literature which is the reason why this speech on the 4th of July is so essential to it.

Distinguish between vowels and diphthongs.

The answer above has explained the difference between vowel and diphthong very well. Unfortunately, the answer can be misleading about the nature of vowel itself. Answer above has described vowel as a single sound which is true, but it is not any single single sound. It is single sound of a particular type - it is an open sound which is made with free passage of breath. For example the sound of "ah...' a doctor asks you to make when examining your throat. In English language sounds of vowels are represented by the letters a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y.

sound of vowels is distinguished from that of consonants, which are made by organs of speech more or less closed.

Once we understand what is a vowel, a diphthong can simply be defined is sound produced by pronouncing two vowels as a single syllable.

What poetic elements does Elizabeth use in Sonnet 43? I can't quite grasp what she uses.

While Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Sonnet 43" from Sonnets from the Portuguese is a Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet like the others in this collection, it does not follow the traditional pattern of stating a question in the first 8 lines and answering it in the last 6 lines.  Instead, Miss Browning poses her question in the first line and answers in all subsequent lines.  And, by employing repetition of "I love thee" she emphasizes how deeply she loves Mr. Browning.

In this answering of "How do I love thee?" Mrs. Browning employs metaphors such as

the level of every day's/Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight

This comparison is made with her love as all-encompassing as the even the smallest of need/desire that one may have in the course of a day or night. Interestingly, Mrs. Browning does not use imagery except in this sixth line.

Instead of sensory images, Mrs. Browning uses abstractions to explain her love, also an abstraction.  For instance, she uses the abstraction "For the ends of Being and ideal Grace" (l.4) to explain the extent of her love.  In other words, her love transcends the mundane beyond the meaning of the world and even to the heavens (ideal Grace)

Browning also makes other metaphoric comparisons:  Her love is like the religious fervor that she once felt for the saints (ll11-12) , and her love is as passionate as her "old griefs" (ll 9-10).  Her strongest metaphor are in lines 12 and 13:

I love thee with the breath,/Smiles, tears, of all my life!

And, in this break from the rhythm of the poem (iambic pentameter) is the depth of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's emotion.

Explain the title of "The Necklace." In what way is it suitable to the story?

The necklace which Mme. Loisel believes is real is later revealed to be faux, (meaning false in French) just as the material values that Mme Loisel holds as of the greatest importance are false.

She dressed plainly because she could not afford fine clothes....She grieved incessantly, feeling that she had been born for all the little niceties and luxuries of living.  She grieved over the shabbiness of her apartment, the dinginess of the walls, the worn-out appearance of the chars, the ugliness of the draperies.

  So, in essence, the necklace underscores the theme that material possessions cannot bring a person happiness--a most relevant theme today.

That Mme. Loisel is entirely materialistic is evident from the beginning of the story until the end.  When her husband brings home the invitation to the ball, thinking she will be delighted, she merely complains that she has nothing to wear.  Then, when he sacrifices the money that he has been saving for a rifle and donates it for a new dress for her, she does not even thank him.  Nor does she thank her husband for the years of sacrifice that he endures on her behalf.  After Mme. Loise has returned the necklace and she meets Mme. Forestier in the park, selfishlessly she places blame upon Mme. Forestier for her hard years:

Yes, I've had a hard time since last seeing you.  And plenty of misfortunes--and all on account of you!

Never does Mathilde Loisel appreciate the love of her husband and the friendship of Mme. Forestier.  Like the necklace, Mme. Loisel is a person of falseness.

Discuss love relationship between Celia and Rosalind in As You Like It, Act I, Scene II.

First of all, Act I, Scene I of As You Like It explains that Rosalind and Celia are cousins. Celia explains that Rosalind's father is her own uncle and that her father is Rosalind's uncle:

If my uncle, thy banished father,
had banished thy uncle, the duke my father,

In other words, the two men are brothers. This is why the banished and exiled Duke, Rosalind's father and Celia's uncle, is called Duke Senior: He is the elder brother and the one who should by rights be ruling the dukedom over which Celia's father (Rosalind's uncle), Duke Frederick, rules instead.

Secondly, Rosalind and Celia are the best of friends. In other eras, there was not the present day social squeamishness over proclaiming love for friends and family--or for considering family members friends (though, as Oliver and Orlando prove, love and friendship in families was not universal). Rosalind and Celia love each deeply as friends and cousins, and both young ladies are very interested in the opposite sex and propose a game of flirtation to lift Rosalind's spirits, though Celia cautions that games of flirtation must end with maidenly blushes intact:

with safety of a pure blush thou mayst in honour come off [the sport field] again.

Two lines that Celia speaks are hard to analyze and may cause some contemporary readers difficulty. The first is that Celia says, "make [sport] withal: but love no man in good earnest." The traditional and most obvious reading of this is that Rosalind and Celia are still young, in their teens, and are not ready to fall love in earnest because of youthfulness. The second is when Rosalind tells Orlando that in winning the wrestling match, he won her heart, too, and Celia responds with "Will you go, coz?"

Rosalind
Sir, you have wrestled well and overthrown
More than your enemies.
Celia
Will you go, coz?

The traditional and most obvious reading is that, after just having jokingly bantered about playing at love but not loving in earnest, Celia is shocked that Rosalind suddenly falls in love with a wrestler she has only just seen--and then confesses it--out loud!

In 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' why are Scout and Jem intrigued by Dill?

As if dropped down from the sky, Dill (Charles Baker Harris) is from elsewhere (Meridian), that is outside the framework of Maycomb, the only source of experience Scout and Jem have ever known. Dill  knows city life, has even been to the movies and seen "Dracula," and seems very worldy-wise in comparison to the small town life Scout and Jem have always known.

Dill is also unconventional in that his mother has only recently married and that he was born out of wedlock.  He no longer feels he has his rightful place in her life and later even runs away from home, only to appear under Jem's bed back in Maycomb (where he spends his summer vacation with his Aunt Rachael). Dill is insecure and often lonely as an only child growing up in a recomposed family unit, but Jem and Scout see only the advantages of a child "enjoying" less parental control than themselves.(Remember, they've not only got Atticus but Capurnia and Aunt Alexandra as well.) In a way they covet his freedom, in a Huckleberry Finn kind of way.

Dill also has the gift of gab - since he has a ready audience with Jem and Scout, he spruces up his story with whoppers, especially to dissimulate the fact that he is fatherless (and also an illegitimate child). The children soon realize that Dill's bombastic tales are just his way of getting the attention he needs, and they come to value more the paternal care of Atticus, a stable man and a loving father.

In Julius Caesar, what is the significance of the cloak used in Antony's speech?

The cloak that covers Caesar's body assumes dramatic and powerful connotations in Antony's very carefully constructed funeral oration. Antony speaks at length from a raised platform, Caesar's body stationed below him. When the time is right, he moves down to Caesar's body and assumes a tone filled with memory and loss. He points out the cloak and speaks of the time when Caesar first wore it, on a summer night after Caesar had defeated one of Rome's enemies. Masterful. In doing these things, Antony has directed the crowd to look at Caesar's body, has played upon their emotions as Antony remembers a good time with his friend, and has reminded the crowd that Caesar was a victorious defender of Rome.

Once the crowd's attention has been directed to thecloak, Antony points out the various blood-stained tears in it where the conspirators' daggers had struck so violently. Now he has reminded them of the specifics of Caesar's brutal murder, making them imagine or relive the assassination as it took place. He also manages to work in the names of Cassius, Casca, and Brutus, thus identifying them personally as murders. During this recitation, his tone changes from gentle mourning to terrible outrage.

When he reaches an emotional crescendo and the crowd is deeply moved, Antony then dramatically pulls away the cloak to reveal Caesar's mutilated body. Antony's timing is deliberate and masterful. He uses Caesar's cloak, and then his body, as props in his funeral oration designed to sway the crowd against Brutus and the conspirators. He succeeds brilliantly, and civil war begins in Rome.

Who (if anyone) is the narrator (Montresor) talking to at the end of "The Cask of Amontillado"?

There are several possible answers to this. Some argue that he is writing his confession, rather than speaking it, and that it is addressed to whomever finds it. In this case, Montresor would not have a specific audience in mind. We already know he is an unreliable narrator, and this might be magnified if he didn't know the person to whom he was relating his story.

However, he does state that the one to whom he is speaking knows "the nature of [his] soul." Thus, it can be inferred that he is well-acquainted with his audience. If this is the perspective you wish to take, it would follow that Montresor either absolutely believes what he's saying, or that he needs his audience to believe that he was justified in his actions. Therefore, he intimates that the reader knows his soul, and brings us into his confidence, attempting to convince both us and himself of the righteousness of his actions.

Do you think that the tragedy of Oedipus accurately reflects the controversial Theory of Oedipus complex?Do you think the ancient audience...

The Oedipus Complex theory involves a male child who is secretly in love with or has a very strong bond with his mother so that it interferes with his relationship or bond with his father.  I'm sure that it can be put in more eloquent terms, but this is my understanding.  If we go with this definition, then I don't see how you can't agree that the play is definitely accurately reflecting this controversial theory.  Oedipus unknowingly murders his father--you can't get much more between the relationship of two parents than by killing one of them.  Afterward, he marries his mother.  Of course, to his credit, he didn't know it was his mother, but this is a very strong perhaps unnatural bond with his own mom. 

Now, since he was unaware that these people were his parents, you could argue that the theory is flawed.  Had he known the man was his father, chances are they wouldn't have fought so ferociously that one of them ended up dead.  By the same token, it is safe to assume that he would never have married his mother had he known she had given birth to him.  There is a definite "icky" factor there (for lack of a better, more professional term).

So, back to your original question...does it accurately reflect the Oedipus Complex theory?  It could go either way.  What do you believe?  He knew of the prophecy and tried to escape it by leaving what he believed to be his hometown.  In this case, you could argue that the prophecy came true without his knowledge or pursuit.  If this is your angle, then it doesn't accurately portray the theory since he did not willingly kill a man he knew to be his father in order to marry his mother. 

Good Luck!

How does Donne use repetition, personification, or irony in "The Sun Rising"?

1. Repetition--Donne's use of repetition is more subtle than many poets' use of the device.  Instead of relying on a refrain, Donne repeats structure and ideas more than mere sounds or words.  For example, each stanza is not only ten lines long but also includes short opening lines and then moves to the third and fourth lines (of each stanza) containing ten syllables each.  He repeats the pattern of ten syllables in the ninth and tenth lines of every stanza. If one looks at the lines that have repetitive structure, they are similar in the sense that they are the speaker's perception of what the sun truly means to mankind.

2.  Personification--Donne relies strongly on his personification of the sun. He first portrays the sun as an old, fickle woman.

BUSY old fool, unruly Sun, 
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains, call on us?
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run? 
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide 
Late school-boys and sour prentices (lines 1-6).

Donne views the sun as someone who enjoys disturbing others' pleasure, whether it is lovers who must break away from the romance of the night or boys who are up to no good under the cover of darkness. The poet continues to use personification to illustrate that the sun is an old woman who wants attention but who really has no true power over man. In fact, the speaker claims that he can ignore the "old woman" (the sun) simply by closing his eyes if he so chooses (Stanza 2).

3.  The irony is connected to the truth presented in Stanza 3.

Thou, Sun, art half as happy as we, 
In that the world's contracted thus ; 
Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be 
To warm the world, that's done in warming us (lines 25-28).

The irony lies in the idea that the sun should be viewed by humans as a power to be respected, but the speaker still feels that he can command her or even try to "ease" her work in her old age.

What is the scope of industrial psychology ?

Industrial psychology has a very wide and expansive scope.  Its emergence was most felt after World War I, a time in world history when the study of psychology was beginning to emerge and develop great interest around the world.  Seeming to build off of the Modernist movement and its belief that individuals are composed of multiple forms of motivation, industrial/ organizational psychology (I/O) was concerned with the psyche of the worker, successful motivating elements within them, and how businesses can modify approaches in order to tap into this reservoir of productivity.   The first form of applying I/O approach to workers in industrialized settings was in the form of the Hawthorn studies, which analyzed the effects of slight changes in the work environment and modifications in approaches between management and their employees.  From this, the development and use of aptitude tests, inventory surveys, and expanding into consultation became a component of the operating procedure of businesses.  This also spawned into the presence and variation of performance reviews of workers, analysis of social groupings in the work place, different models to assess progress and improvement of workers, as well as addressing issues of representation in the form of affirmative action.  The driving force behind I/O analysis is how management can better understand itself in relation to its workers, allowing both business and individual to grow and maximize productivity.

In The Merchant of Venice, what can be said about Belmont?

In contrast to the businesslike setting of Venice, Belmont represents romance and possesses almost a fantasy-type atmosphere.  This is a strange concept to modern audiences, because we often think of Venice as an extremely romantic city, but this portrayal of the city would not have been foreign to Shakespeare's audience.  During his time, Venice was a cosmopolitan trading center for much of Europe--a business hub.  So, when Shakespeare portrays scenes and characters in Venice, notice that most of his writing carries a business tone.  For example, Shylock--a shrewd businessman--rarely speaks in verse.  His prose lines lament business losses or the way he is treated by other businessmen.  Another example of this is that the trial takes place in Venice because the city abides by the letter of the law, rather than the spirit of it.

In order to understand Belmont, the reader must be able to contrast it with Venice.  Belmont is full of music, love, riddles, and poetry.  Shakepeare's lines which are spoken in Belmont or by key Belmont characters are lyrical.  Likewise, at the end of the play, all of the couples are in Belmont.  They have left Venice or have always lived in Belmont (i.e., Portia).  Finally, Belmont clears up all the problems between the couples or seems to sweep away the mundane cares of the world.  Bassanio and Gratiano give up their wives entrusted rings in Venice, but it is Belmont where the plot is unraveled, and the men work to regain their wives' hearts. Moreover, a troubled Antonio goes to Belmont after the courtroom ordeal, perhaps to escape a city which makes his heart heavy.

What is the substance of Oliver Goldsmith's poem, "The Village Schoolmaster"?

The village Goldsmith is writing about is called "Auburn": it is not  real, but  an imaginary ideal one, possibly one of the villages he had observed as a child and a young man in Ireland and England. Goldsmith, the poet, returns to the village that he knew as vibrant and alive, and finds it deserted and overgrown.

The setting of the particular passage is described in the first three lines. Then Goldsmith discusses the character of the schoolmaster himself.  In his appearance, he is very severe and stern.  The reader would suppose him humourless, except that he likes to tell jokes.  When Goldsmith says "the boding tremblers learn'd to trace/The days disasters in his morning face," the reader comes to understand that the schoolmaster does not mince his words. In the last two lines, he indicates that the schoolmaster was no more.  All of his fame has gone and "the spot/Where many a time he triumph'd is forgot”

The schoolmaster was a big presence in the village. In an age when literacy and numeracy were powerful the people of the village, looked up to him. He seems a kind of god. The children are fearful of him. They laugh at his jokes, even if they are not funny. “Full well “(9-10)

The adults are equally impressed with the way he can survey fields ("lands he could measure", 17) and work out boundaries or the times of holy-days like Easter. He can even do more complex calculations ("gauge", 18). This is all ironic: the school-teacher appears knowledgeable to the "gazing rustics" (22).

The poem's jokes are gentle, wry and genial. The tone of the poem is balanced  and gentleness and humour imply a frame of mind that Goldsmith sees as important, as having a moral value in itself.

Goldsmith is gently mocking the schoolmaster: he is big fish in a small pond. He can impress the villagers with his learning, just because he can read a bit of Latin and knows how to do his sums. The parson, as the religious leader of the village, is of course the most respected man, but the schoolmaster loves a good argument and keeps arguing even when defeated(19-20). On the other hand, this is a loving, endearing portrait. Here's a man who is modest and doing a good job in a quiet and simple place: helping to spread a little literacy and numeracy among the people of the village, helping them  in doing calculations about "terms". He is at the centre of a community - and Goldsmith is mourning the passing away of that community, the passing away of the village itself. That is why the lovely yellow flowers on the furze are "unprofitably gay" (2) - there is now no-one about to enjoy their beauty. The schoolmaster is gone long ago, with all the children of his school. A fine community has been lost.

So, this is an affectionate portrait of a community that is no more, and the school-house now deserted. The affectionate portrait of the schoolmaster is a part of this world that has passed away.

Macbeth is the story of a man's conflict with ambitions and evil. Discuss with reference to the events of the play.how they link back to the main...

In Macbeth, Shakespeare chooses the chronicle story of 11th century Scotland to fashion out a complex Renaissance tragedy of ambition. The play has also been called Shakespeare's most profound vision of evil.

The three witches underscore, in the very opening scene, the state of moral confusion in Duncan's Scotland:'Fair is foul and foul is fair', the syntactic inversion of their formula suggesting a deeper inversion in the moral world of man. The witches are going to meet Macbeth on a heath, the meeting taking place in act1 sc.3.

King Duncan's 'valiant kinsman' Macbeth is noble and heroic as he proves himself 'Bellona's bridegroom' in the field of battle, fighting gloriously against the rebel Macdonwald, the invading Norwegian king, and the treacherous thane of Cawdor to register victory for Duncan. This victorious general, Macbeth, is 'fair' as he is loyal to his king, courageous, and acting in full trust. Duncan instantly promotes Macbeth to the position of the thane of Cawdor.

But the same Macbeth is secretly ambitious to occupy the throne of Scotland. As the witches hail him as Glamis, Cawdor, and the future king of Scotland, Macbeth starts, 'seems rapt withal', charges the weird sisters to know more about their prophecies. As Ross informs Macbeth that the king has announced to confer the title of Cawdor on him, Banquo is surprised to comment:'What! can the devil speak true?'. The witches are agents of evil, voicing the perilous design of the forces of darkness; but how can they speak favourably to portend Macbeth's prosperity? Macbeth's asides to follow show how 'fair' Macbeth is already given to 'foul' ambition and its attending foulness to translate his ambition to reality:

" Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor:

The greatest is behind".

and

"                          Two truths are told

As happy prologues to the swelling act

Of the imperial theme....................

This supernatural soliciting

Cannot be ill; cannot be good: if il,

Why hath it given me earnest of success,

Commencing in a truth?.......................

If good, why do I yield to that suggestion

Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair

And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,

Against the use of nature?"

Macbeth is surely already tempted deep within himself by his own evil ambition, and the thought of killing Duncan is there hidden in his mind. These lines hold the proof of the deep-seated evil in Macbeth:

"                      Present fears

Are less than horrible imaginings:

My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,

Shakes so my my single state of man that function

Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is

But what is not".

The conflict between ambition and conscience, between 'fair' and 'foul' in the protagonist's self-divided personality is the crux of Shakespeare's tragedy. The soliloquies of Macbeth bear ample testimony to this moral-psychological conflict: a fair and greatly admired personality falling a victim to the hovering evil operative through illegitimate ambition. Let us consider the following samples:

a)     "...........................I have no spur

To prick the sides of my intent, but only

Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself

And falls on the other".

b) " What hands are here? ha! they pluck out mine eyes!

Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood

Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather

The multitudinous seas incarnadine,

Making the green one red".

c) "Come seeling night,

Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day..".

How does Amir gain redemption in The Kite Runner?

Amir's redemption process possess several steps.

1. Shortly after Amir's betrayal of Hassan in Chapter 7, he frames Hassan as a thief so that Baba will fire Ali and force Ali and Hassan to leave. Amir chooses the sin of theft because he knows that Baba considers it the only sin; thus, he hides his new birthday watch and some money in Hassan's hut.  His plan does not work quite the way he wants it to.  Baba forgives Hassan and Ali, but they choose to leave willingly, making Amir feel even worse about what he has done. Years later on his way back to Kabul, Amir stays with Farid's brother and his family.  Recognizing their hunger and need, Amir leaves behind money and his watch with Farid's family as a form of redemption for what he had done to Hassan.

2. Amir's most significant step in his redemption is first believing that he can redeem himself for what he did to Hassan and then traveling to Afghanistan to get Sohrab. At that point, he does not know that he will face Assef again, but when he does confront the bully and "fight" him for Sohrab, he is doing what he should have done years earlier for Hassan.  This time he does not hide or back down.

3. Finally, at the novel's end, Amir runs the kite for Sohrab.  He puts himself in the "servant's" position instead of lording his Pashtun, wealthy status over a Hazara. He takes the opportunity to do all that he can for Sohrab since he cannot do so for Hassan.