Macbeth - Shakespeare :: essays research papers

Act One 1.) Macbeth’s reaction to the witches prophecy is one of surprise, and interest. He also wants to be told more, and know how the witches know these things. Banquo however, is more cautious, and not sure. Banquo also questions if the witches were even real; he is much more sceptical. 2.) Macbeth finds out in scene 4 that Malcolm, not him is chosen by the King to be his successor, this makes Macbeth decide that â€Å"chance† will not make him King, and to be King, he must do something about it. 3.) Lady Macbeth’s reaction to the letter is one of joy for Macbeth, and fear that Macbeth is too good a person to seize the opportunity and kill the King. â€Å"†¦I fear thy nature, It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way.†(p29) Lady Macbeth also â€Å"speaks† with â€Å"demons† to give her the courage and fill her with evil to allow her to carry out the murder of the King. â€Å"†¦fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (p30) 4.) This speech tells us that Macbeth does not wholly want to proceed with the murder of the King, and that the very idea scares Macbeth, and seems impossible to commit. â€Å"†¦Doth unfix my hair†¦murder yet is but fantastical†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (p19) Act Two 1.) At first Macbeth sees a dagger floating, leading him to Duncan’s room, which existence he questions. After having murdered Duncan, Macbeth is jumpy and nervous, he imagines he hears things when they are owls. He also is afraid that he is damned to go to hell when he cannot say ‘amen’. He is afraid he will not be able to sleep in peace. 2.) At the end of scene two, Macbeth does show remorse that he has killed the King. When he hears the knocking at the south entry, he says; â€Å"Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I would thou couldst.†(p59) 3.) Malcolm and Donalbain leave Scotland because they suspect whoever killed their father, will be targeting them next. 4.) The strange occurrences that have taken place on the night of the murder are; it is dark when the sun should have come up, a falcon was killed by an owl and Duncan’s horses turning wild and turning on the humans and then eating each other. Act Three 1.) Banquo’s attitude at the beginning to Macbeth having become King, is one of suspicion. He suspects Macbeth had something to do with it.

Big Brother is Watching :: Essays Papers

Big Brother is Watching Privacy in the Information Age. Have you sat down to eat dinner, just as you put that first bite into your mouth the phone rings. You know better than to answer it, but you do any way. To your dismay you find out that you were right Tele-marketers? As you hang up you wonder how did they get my number? How do they know what are your interests, likes, dislikes? You hand the cashier a plastic card with a magnetic strip which contains your name and address. All of your purchases are recorded and a few days later you receive discount coupons for a new product you might like in the mail. You think that targeted marketing in the information age really works! A woman feels she may be expecting, she goes to the pharmacy to purchase a home pregnancy test. Without thinking, she hands her â€Å"bonus card† to the cashier and a few days later she receives mail from baby product manufactures. She is thinking that she is living in an information age nightmare. Information technology, and particularly the internet and the World Wide Web, can provide benefits that were only dreamed of a decade ago. These new opportunities, however, raise questions about potential threats to personal privacy that are just now starting to be understood. Consumers, for example, like â€Å"one on one marketing† at Miscellaneous Web sites which allows them to browse various selections recommended based on previous purchases and their personal profile. They are much less sure about the site’s developing real time profiles of users based on demographics or psychographics. Similarly, workaholics are attracted to internet dating services that promise to find high achievers their ideal mate; They gladly spend thirty minutes completing the extensive introductory questionnaire. They are less thrilled when they later find that â€Å"E-Mate† has been acquired by another company specifically for its extensive data base of personal information. Our concern is the privacy of personal information in a digitally networked world where personal data can be input, stored, sorted, analyzed, mined, transmitted and exchanged globally with increasing ease and decreasing cost. There is growing concern about data privacy, especially on the Net which is accompanied by marked disagreements about what can, and should be done. These differences are exacerbated by very real cross-cultural and cross-national differences in values, history and economic philosophies. Where national borders are not even speed bumps on the information superhighway.

Biblical Women in Popular Culture

In today’s culture where individualism is emphasized and especially that women are encouraged to assume equal roles as men would normally take, two or three decades ago, it is very difficult to see eye to eye with how women are portrayed in the Bible during biblical times. â€Å"Girl power† or women empowerment is the rule of the day for women nowadays. Although, of course, all women as all men have the right to lead in the sense that they have the same intrinsic capacity to influence, the role of leadership has been blown out of proportion by feminist groups as they apply it to women.The result of this over blown leadership role of women has been the constant battle between members of opposite sexes in many significant areas within society. It has affected the homes, government and non-government institutions, down to the smallest entity that has within its membership men and women. The aim of this paper is to draw a comparison between Biblical projection of women (as portrayed in the Bible and the movie â€Å"One Night With The King†) and today’s popular culture’s endeavour to depict the function of women (McMurray, 2007).While at the moment, the common cry of women is equality to both genders as it is reflected in women’s roles in the family, in public places, and the obliteration of the stereotyped designation of females in past decades which until now has its bearing in the minds of the general public the consequent outcome of this campaign is prevalent in almost every area where function is concerned. In the late 1960s, women’s movement began to blossom.It was stirred by the then sentiment of repulsion to the tasks being typecasted among women. Women’s movement of the 60s aimed to question the menial duties relegated to women such as getting married, becoming a housewife and afterwards attending to household chores (including raising children), and when outside opportunity comes for them to work, the y’re consigned to answering phones, photocopying, etc (Encarta, 2006). The scenery has been changed and is no longer the same as in the past 30 or 40 years.The typical woman today is one that is among the working class – no longer confined to house premises, but working and providing as much as her male counterparts. She can be the manager or an executive of an established firm where most of the male employees are under her command. Equality in roles has now been achieved. Whereas this status and depiction of women in itself is not outright negative, the undercurrent force that it has created is the programming of the minds of today’s women to be resistant to the biblical description of their role as they are teamed with men.Instead of seeing male and female partnership as complimentary to both sexes, the danger of too much emphasis on equality especially when it is defined merely in domestic and public functions is the threat that masculinity poses to womanhood . It is good for women to fight for their basic equal rights with men as members of this global community, but if it results in certain imbalances because the aim has become the dethronement of the opposite gender, then the battle for equality has now turned into fight for superiority of the female sex.Biblical Women in Biblical Text The movie â€Å"One Night with the King† has successfully showed to modern world the right balance when it comes to understanding the woman’s role. In the film, the first of these lessons on womanhood could be derived from the example of Queen Vashti, King Xerxes’ dethroned Queen. Vashti’s removal as Queen was hastened by her attitude towards her King as she turned down King Xerxes’ request â€Å"to show her beauty to the people and the officials† (Esther 1:11, NKJV The Holy Bible 1982).At the very outset of this biblical narrative, there was already a sort of struggle as to whether the King should be obeyed in whatever demands he make or not. The whole picture of the Persian Kingdom’s celebration included not only King Xerxes’ feasting with people and officials but also Queen Vashti’s party which she arranged for â€Å"the women in the royal palace† (Ibid). In biblical times, kings command absolute obedience to their subjects. They could do everything at whim even the execution of their citizens.However, to what extent should Queen Vashti needed to â€Å"show her beauty to the people† at the King’s bidding, one cannot determine for sure. If it meant the exposure of the beauty of her naked body before the expectant public, it was wise and courageous for her to refuse even if it was a direct violation of the royal protocol. She was submissive to the King until this point of their relationship. Esther, however, as she is the main protagonist in the story, much of the lessons on women can be extracted from her life’s example. The first is her c ourage to risk her life for others.When she was finally raised to the high position of a Queen, she did not forget but rather remained committed to the preservation and welfare of her people. Until today, this virtue of selfless courage is admired in the world. It is one of the sought after virtues of leadership which unfortunately is lacking in many of those occupying leadership positions. The courage that the life of Esther showed in the story was not independent courage which resulted from a stubborn will. It was a courage constantly tempered by another life, the life of her cousin and mentor, Mordecai.She allowed herself to be constantly advised and influenced by the one who helped her reached her current high position. She remained as humble as she was in spite of the great changes and promotion that happened to her. She did not forget where she came from and did not abandon her people. It was Esther’s submissive attitude that brought her to the high position of being Qu een to King Xerxes in stead of Vashti. Contrary to what is being promoted today by our culture, Esther continued living her life (even as Queen) in a responsible manner.It is the dream of many young women today to wade their way through life to reach the point where there will be no one to hold them accountable anymore or have somebody to check them. Example after example of young celebrities have been the focus of media and news headlines that project the common outcry of many which hailed them to be the representations of American dream. Most of these modern-day models are strong-willed, carefree, and want to believe that life can be lived irresponsibly with no accountability. Esther’s example, on the other hand, stands in stark contrast to common perception of women in popular culture.Effects of Non-Biblical Portrayal of Womanhood Because of this non-biblical portrayal of women in our society, a lot of damaged has been inflicted on the minds of the majority of people. For one thing, the current trend of thinking is resistant to the Biblical teachings regarding women. The common minds have been preconditioned to reject and to not understand the Biblical ideals of what females should be. As a result, when femininity is the question, people would rather look to non-biblical sources as authority than the Bible.Non-biblical portrayal of women has pre-programmed people to reject biblical standards. When that happens, society begins to have problems because the standards have become different. Its negative effects include the entertainment of a different kind of criteria by which we look at what qualities should our average women possess. This is reflected in the women’s attempt to pursue what are not beneficial to them, simply because they have adopted rules or guidelines that are to them may put them in better position in this very competitive society.Other things that are currently occurring include the perversion of the role that women play befor e the eyes of the greater public. Roles that actually begin to evolve and never to bring the women to healthier assessment of themselves but either a view that makes them as simply objects of perversions or whimsical creation of a role that is not only sickening but also in reality, harder than the real, and more biblical portrayal of women.Femininity then, is very important to be defined and assessed according to real thing: the biblical benchmarks. Women will begin to see themselves the way God sees them then. As partners in the fulfilment of God’s grand design and when women start to accept the roles as defined by the bible, they then develop into healthy â€Å"organisms† capable of even settling into times when to be in the background is still very acceptable. Reference:1. Encarta Dictionary 2006. (DVD) 2. Maxwell, John, 2000. Commentary on Esther. P. 600. The Maxwell Leadership Bible. 3. McMurray, Sheri. â€Å"One night with the King† review. Christian Spot light. Accessed Sept. 24, 2007. 3. New King James Version, 2000. Maxwell Leadership Bible. Maxwell Motivation , Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishing).

Outline And Evaluate The Working Memory Model

The working memory model is the part of the short term memory which is governed by the ‘central executive which monitors and coordinates the operation of the store systems; Phonological loop and visuo – spatial sketchpad. The phonological loop allows sounds to be stored for brief periods. The visuo spatial sketchpad allows visual and spatial information to be stored for brief periods. The two slave systems within the WMM are completely separate and can work individually.A piece of evidence which shows support for the slave systems being two separate systems within the WMM is the case of KF. He had a motorcycle accident and damaged his brain and memory, which therefore left him with no new memory, h couldn’t remember anything since the accident. When KF memory was assessed psychologists found out that he could remember things from sight using his visuo spatial sketch pad however he couldn’t remember things from ear using his phonological loop, this suggests that the slave systems must be separate.This research has weak reliability that the slave systems are separate this is because these findings were only found on one person and not a collective of people, therefore you can’t generalise findings from one person on everybody else, so this evidence on supply’s weak support for the WMM. A piece of research which shows support for the slave systems working independently to each other is psychologists carried out an experiment on two groups asking them to do specific tasks. Group one was asked to perform two visual tasks using only there visuo spatial sketch pad.The other group was asked to do a visual and verbal task using both slave systems. The psychologists found out that group 2 performed better this is because they don’t overload ne slave systems like the other group this suggests that both slave systems work independently and can become over capacitated. A criticism of this research method is that it was a lab e xperiment, and is low in ecological validity, which could have affected the results, as participants may feel under pressure with the lab setting.

Advantage and Disadvantages

Scene 1 Kevin is having a party at his house Scene 2 Mahir arrives. (Music: High High by GD and TOP) Mahir: Yo, what a crazy crib you got there, bro. Kevin: Thanks, bro essay writer pay. (Insert bro shake) Mahir throws his bag on the ground and snatches the food from the table. Kevin: The rest of the guests are not here yet. Mahir: Whatever, man. The girl I met at the bar last night was so hot like the sun. She was on fire man! Background music plays: Alicia Keys – On Fire The maid stroll past him and Mahir oogles her with his eyes. Mahir: Is she your girlfriend, man? Kevin: No, that’s my maid. Mahir: I wanna hire her.Scene 3 Doorbell Rings (Billionaire –Bruno Mars) Vikram: It’s been awhile, Kevin. Kevin: It hasn’t been that long. Its been like, three days. Vikram: That’s long, man. It’s a long time especially since I’m making money. Kevin: You mean we. Vikram: Of course, of course. I meant, us. Mahir: Yo, whats up? Vikram: Have we met before? Mahir: I don’t think so. I’m Mahir. I’m Kevin’s friend. We’ve known each other since we were sharing diapers. Vikram: Yeah, sure. Whatever. Kevin behind Vikram, he’ll try to shush Mahir. Mahir grabs Vik tie Mahir: I like your suit. Can I borrow them on Monday? I got an interview.Vikram: (Laughs sarcastically) I don’t think so. Mahir: How do you know Kevin? Vikram: We’ve been corporate share holders for the past ten years. We specialize in M & A. Mostly, A Mahir: MMA? (Boxing) Vikram: Mergers and Acquisitions. Basically, we rip people off their properties. Scene 4 Kevin opens the door to find Selina standing outside the door. She just walks inside without greeting. She goes straightaway to the table laden with snacks. As she stuff things inside her bag, Mahir: Hello, how are you? Selina: Ah, goodlah. You leh? Mahir: Very good, very good. Where are you from? Selina: Klang lah. Mahir: Klanglah?What? Selina; Klang l ah! Mahir: Nice bag, yeah? Selina: Yeah, yeah. This bag very the convenient. From Giant. Mahir: So how did you know psycho Kevin? Selina: Hah? Sorry, sorry. My England not very the good. Mahir: So, where you see Kevin? Selina: There lah! You blind ah? Mahir is stunned Mahir: Oh†¦kay. I never knew Kevin was in the house. Mahir walks away. Scene 5 Door bell rings. Isabel: Bonjour, Kevin. (Air kiss) Kevin: Isabel, come on in! Shafar: Good evening, sir. Kevin ignores Isabel’s PA (Shafar) Isabel: I’m parched. I need a drink. Shafar†¦. *snaps fingers* Shafar: What would you like to have?Isabel: Diet water. Shafar: Sure. Scene 6 Shafar heads to the snack table, finding for a glass of water when she sees Selina stuffing food inside her bag. Her eyes grow wide. Selina: Can you give me that water, ah? Shafar: Excuse me? Selina: That water, ah. Shafar: waterah? Selina: Aiyo, that water ah. Shafar: Sorry, I don’t understand. Selina: Soli, soli! Water also don†™t know. Selina pushes past her to get the bottled water, which she puts into her bag. Shafar rolls her eyes, took the other bottled water and goes to the kitchen ( Out of the stage) Scene 7 Madheeha opens the door for Tarshini. Tarshini: Hello. Gives a small timid wave) Madheeha: Hello, miss. (Madheeha lets her come in) Tarshini walks in. Tarshini: Is there any toilet in the house? Vikram overhead the question. Vikram: No. there’s none. If you wanna take a dump, go outside. Vikram walks away. Both Madheeha and Tarshini look at him. Madheeha: Just go straight and turn right. Tashini: Thank you. Tashini walks away. Scene 8 Doorbell rings. Elias: Greetings. Kevin: Hello! *Elias hugs Kevin†¦. for a long time* Kevin: Come, let me introduce you to some of my friends. Elias: Okay. They both walk towards Vikram, Isabel and Mahir. Kevin: This is Vikram, Isabel and Mahir.Selina shouts for Kevin. Kevin goes. Elias does his tradional greeting on Vikram. They both said hello. Elia s: Hello, Miss. Isabel. I am Elias. Isabel: Hello, Mr. Elias. When Elias turns to Mahir, his eyes grow wide in shocked at Mahir’s attire. Elias: What are you wearing? What is this? Mahir: What are You wearing? A dress? Vik: No, that’s his traditional attire. Didn’t you go to school? Maher: shut up Kevin: Guys, dinner time! Mahir: I’m already full. Isabel: Shafar. Shafar. Shafar! Shafar: Sorry, mam. Sorry. I was having your ‘go home’ shoes cleaned. Isabel: You should be more efficient. Shafar: I will next time.Shafar sets Isabel’s table. All move towards it. They sit down, shafar stands very close to Isabel. Elias: Did you get my sheep two days ago? Kevin: What shit? Elias: Sheep, sheep you know. Baa baa Kevin: Oh, that sheep! Baa baa black sheep. That sheep? Elias: Did you cook it? Kevin: Madheeha! Madheeha comes. Madheeha: Yes, boss? Kevin: Um, the lamb we received about, two days ago? What happened to it? Madheeha: It died. Elias: It died?! Madheeha: Yeah, I killed it. Elias: I thought it died by itself. Kevin: So, did you cook it? Madheeha: Yes, boss. I’ve made my famous lamb stew with half of it.And the other half is on the barbeque pit. Kevin: That’s good! Elias, you’re very lucky. You get to taste her famous lamb stew. Elias: Alright, alright Bring me the barbequed and your FAMOUS lamb stew. Madheeha: Right away! Madheeha walks away. Elias takes his carpet and put it on the floor. Madheeha puts lamb on the table. Elias: Why is my lamb on the table? Who is it for? Madheeha: Sorry. Kevin: No, no. Elias. We have to share. Elias: Yeah, yeah. We can share on the floor. Kevin: No, no Elias. You are one, they are many. Come sit at the table. Elias transfers everything on the table. Kevin: Thanks guys so much for coming.I really appreciate your attendance here. It means so much me. I hope you enjoy the food that I personally prepared. No caterer you know? BO LUI Vikram: Bo lui? What do you mean bo lui? You just added 20 million in your bank account. Isabel: Its only 20 million, darling. Selina: Walaoeh, 2o million ah? You no share share with me ah? Kevin, I’m your long long long†¦.. long long long†¦.. so long long what cousin ah? (count fingers) Tarshini: I’ll work my whole life and I won’t even get 1 million. Isabel: That’s why you look like that. Vikram: Are you interested in doing business? Isabel: Like, no.Merging my fashion industry with your M & A is so overrated. Kevin on the other hand†¦. is like, on the other hand. Shafar, laugh! Shafar laughs. Selina: What business what business? Can make money ah? I want I want. Viktam: Do you hear the dog barking? Kevin: I open one shop for you lah. Specifically one shop for you. I open a bubble tea shop for you. Selina: Got bubble tea one meh? How you make the tea got bubble? Soap ah? Kevin: No lah, no lah, no lah. You just find a name and the shop is yours lah. Selina: Tea is cha. T ime is si kan. So, chasikan lah! Kevin: Can ah can ah. Cha Siew pao also can lah.Isabel: Kevin, would you like to lead my fashion line for males? I need an inside view on the males. Mahir: Inside view? I can give you an inside view. Elias: Inside view? Vikram: Come, let’s talk this out. Isabel: Like, no. Shafar! Shafar shows the hand to Vikram. Vikram: I can make your life miserable. Shafar: Go ahead. It doesn’t get worse than this. Mahir: Why you look so quiet? You look so depressed, girl. Tarshini: No, I’m okay. Mahir: I can’t even hear what you’re trying to say. Tarshini: No, I’m okay! Mahir: Chill girl. Continue with your depression. Tarshini: I think I’m going to go to the toilet.Vikram: So how do you know Kevin? Elias: I knew him from uni. Vikram: So you guys go way back. Mahir: Not as back as me. Elias: What about you? Vikram: Kevin is my business partner. Elias: Oh so what do you do? I’m interested in doing some busines s in Malaysia. Vikram: Kevin, you didn’t tell me Elias is a rich bastard. Kevin: Oh yeah, yeah. He deals with importing and exporting fuel. Vikram: Hey! We can use this guy! Kevin: Hey, he is my friend! Vikram: I meant, we can use a guy like that. Kevin: Okay, then. I’ll discuss with Elias and see if he’s interested in doing some business with us.Vikram walks back happily, like he just won the lottery. Isabel kept turning and hits shafar. Glares. Isabel: Get lost! Shafar :Sorry, mam. .CENSOR. Shafar: She’s such a CENSOR. Madheeha: Tell me about it. Shafar: Does your boss treat you like this? Madheeha: No, he’s very nice. Shafar: You’re so lucky. Without me, I don’t think she’ll be able to go to the toilet without me. She can’t even brush her own teeth. Madheeha: Laughs Kevin: Madheeha! Madheeha: Yes, boss! Shafar stares. Kevin: Nah, you can clear this and have the balance. All yours. Madheeha: Wah, so much ah. Selina: Wa h, so the many food ah?Madheeha takes it all to the back. Shafar: Your boss is so nice. Madheeha: Yes, he is. Isabel: Shafar! Shafar: Here I go again. Isabel: Clear my bones and you can have some of those. Shafar shows Madheeha the plate and throws it. Selina: Eh, eh Madheeha. Just now the food ah, give me some can ah? Madheeha: Can, can. No problem. Selina: We loves our food, We loves our bag, my plecious. Selina: Hey, hi hi hi. Elias: What is she doing? Kevin: She's saying hi. Elias: So many times? Seline shakes her hand, palm at the top. Elias looks startled and gives money to Selina. Selina: Wah, free money. SO good ah?Selina takes the money and walks away. Isabel: Shafar, Shafar. Where is this, Shafar? Kevin: Madheeha! Get Shafar for me please. Madheeha brings Shafar. Isabel: How many bloody times do I have to tell you I only call once? Kevin: She’s been calling your name for three times and I had to call Madheeha to get you. Shafar: You know what? I quit! Shafar starts walking away. Isabel: No worries, Kevin. Watch me. Kevin: Watch what? Isabel: Shafar, did you just forget your family’s lives belong to me? I can just make a call and they’re †¦ Cut throat motion. Kevin, can I borrow your phone? Kevin: Anything for you my dear.Kevin passes the phone. Shafar: Sorry, mam. I was just joking. Hehehe. Both Kevin and Isabel turns away. Shafar – head down Madheeha comforts her and takes Shafar away. Isabel: I’m gonna make a move. Call me up for high tea or something okay? Bring Mahir. Kevin: I’ll give you a tinker, around, let’s say, Wednesday? Isabel: Anytime will do. Air kiss. Leaves with Shafar. Elias: Bye. I better go too. Kevin: See you soon Tarshini: Kevin, I think I, I better leave. Kevin: I hope you enjoyed the party and the company. Tarshini: No. Not really. Mahir chased me to the toilet. While I was at the dining table.Kevin: That bugger. So sorry for my useless, idiotic, friend. Mahir goes thumbs up ! Wide smile! Tarshini: No hope lah. Buh bye. Vikram: So, Kevin. I better make a move. Kevin: Yeah, sure. See you. Vikram: Remember to discuss with Elias about the business. Kevin: Okay, I will. Selina: Eh, I go first ah? Selina walks out the door. Mahir: Hey man. I gotta go to another party. Kevin: Okay then. Bye! So, Madheeha cleans the place up. As Mahir was going out of the door, Selina: Eh, I forget something Everyone stares while Selina goes to the snack table and takes the last remaining box of tissue.

Theme of love in Roman Fever Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Theme of love in Roman Fever - Essay Example It was recorded live during the work's New York premiere production, given at the Manhattan School in December 2001. Ward (b. 1917) has had a long, distinguished career, the highlight of which was the Pulitzer Prize he was awarded in 1962 for his opera The Crucible, after Arthur Miller's play. His musical idiom, here as elsewhere, is quite conservative tonally (he asserts in the notes that the line between opera and Broadway is becoming increasingly blurred), but he understands the effective deployment of dissonance and variety. This is best demonstrated in the last ten minutes of the hour-long piece, when an accidental meeting in Rome of two old friends -- twenty years after they first spent time there together -- results in a series of intense revelations that turn long-held assumptions upside-down for both of them. Wharton's story has a shocker of a dosing line, which librettist Roger Brunyate has preserved. The section leading up to it flits in and out of an arrestingly rhythmic 7/8 feel, unlike anything we've heard in the rest of the piece. Prior to that, the music has been unfailingly pleasant, if occasionally meandering, and the characters successfully drawn, but Ward and Brunyate have had to struggle with the fact that not much happens in the story -- the surprises begin only toward the end. Dorothy Grimley, as Alida, has a moving aria about the clanging church bells and the unpleasant memories they bring back. The four women (two mothers and their daughters) have a beautiful quartet, an outstanding example of vocal ensemble writing. The orchestrational and vocal flights of fancy in the latter part of "They kissed our hands" (for the two girls, sung by Amy Shoremount and Eudora Brown) help us forget that the beginning is a direct lift from Cole Porter's "It's DeLovely." In all, Roman Fever is an adroit, thoughtfully expanded operatic treatment of a great story, if not a great opera in itself; there is, however, plenty to enjoy. The continuing commitment to the production of contemporary opera by the Manhattan School is an invaluable experience for its students, who for the most part outdo themselves when given the chance to sing challenging new roles. The four young women in the cast (Erin Elizabeth Smith completes the quartet as Grace) all sing clearly and attractively; each mother/daughter pair shares a similar vocal coloring, so that similarity of sound is familial, not generational. Maxime Alvarez de Toledo divertingly rounds out the cast of five as a self-dramatizing waiter singing in Italian-accented English. The students of the Manhattan School of Music Opera Orchestra are in fine form under conductor David Gilbert. The Story Two old friends, Alida Slade and Grace Ansley, are finishing lunch on the terrace of a Roman restaurant and move to the parapet, where they benignly contemplate the magnificent ruins of the Palatine and the Forum. Remarking that the scene below is the most beautiful view in the world, the two ladies agree to spend the afternoon on the terrace. Alida arranges with the waiter to permit them to stay until evening. They hear their daughters, Barbara Ansley and Jenny Slade, departing to spend the afternoon with two eligible young Italian men, and Grace remarks that the young women will probably return late, flying back by moonlight from Tarquinia. It becomes evident at this point that Grace has a closer relationship with her daughter than Alida has with Jenny because Alida did not know where the girls were going. Also, Barbara remarks a bit ruefully to Jenny as the two of them depart that they are leaving their mothers with nothing much to do. At that point, Alida broaches the

Assess the significance of the rapid colonisation of Africa on Coursework

Assess the significance of the rapid colonisation of Africa on international relations in years 1884-1904 - Coursework Example More specifically, the period of analysis which is a focal point of this discussion is the period of 1884-1904 which can be identified as the point of commencement of the colonization process. As stated previously, colonization marked the beginning of a period which saw the incorporation of Africa with the dynamics of the structural elements which were present on the global political stage at the time. Even though, this integration can be traced back to the events which took place in the late nineteenth century, the structural dependency which was acquired by African nations from their European colonizers continues to exist in the present scenario.3Given this observation, a critical question which is relevant to the discussion regarding the significance of African colonization on international relations, addresses the notion of the structure that was granted by Africa’s European colonizers to its society. Before, the process of colonization had begun; the international law did not view Africa as the ideal res publica for in the eyes of the European guild of nations the continent was merely res nullias and therefore, open for the execution of Europe authority and display of tremendous power.4Perhaps, the most fundamental event which expounds upon the effects of the rapid African colonization on the dynamics of global relations is that of the Berlin Conference, 1884, the proceedings of which dictated the regulations surrounding the partition of the African continent.5While, the tenets of the conference aimed to suggest a proposal for granting the European powers with a part of Africa’s land, the ownership of which was still maintained by Africans on specific grounds, it must be noted that the proposals that were addressed in the meeting had a long term impact on the relations of European states. More importantly, the event which took place in Berlin in 1884 enhanced Germany’s stance as a colonial empire.6 In order to execute the recommendatio ns of the Berlin Conference in a suitable manner, the meeting proposed the approval of pact which was termed as the â€Å"Protection of Friendship† to be agreed by the existing leaders of African lands and European statesmen to grant the latter with access to the former’s territories.7This observation leads to the discussion regarding the presence of international relations between the colonized nation and the colonizer. With regards to the autonomy and decision making rights that were granted to African colonies, it can be claimed that the political structure which was allowed to subsist in the nations was hollow and weak. For one, the political dependence of African states marred them from establishing a state of sovereignty and disallowed