John Miltons Sonnet 16 Essay -- John Milton Sonnet 16 Essays

John Milton's Sonnet 16 In his sonnets, John Milton tackles a number of subjects which he addresses at considerably greater length in his other poetry and prose. These subjects range from religious to political, and rarely is any one piece of writing limited to one or the other of those fields. While his Sonnet 16 begins with a challenge to familiar biblical passages, Milton ultimately uses it to offer a critique of the nearly ubiquitous comparison between the king and God. The sonnet features two motifs that run throughout the first seven lines. Both are biblical, and both are introduced in the first line. The one that seems to be the most significant is the light and dark imagery. In the first line, it sounds like a reference to Milton’s blindness (this is more or less plausible depending on which date of publication you accept). As this language continues to crop up, it appears that Milton’s darkness has a larger importance. In the second line, he refers to the world as dark, and in line seven, he uses the lack of light to pose a frustrated question to God. By using this vocabulary to describe his fears, Milton creates a connection with two passages from the Bible that use the same language to explain the will of God and the way of the world. In Matthew 25: 1-13, a brightly shining lantern symbolizes a person’s preparedness for God’s coming, and in John 9:4, Christ refers to the limited time he (and every man ) has to do God’s work on earth before â€Å"the night cometh, when no man can work† (King James Bible). Milton engages with these passages, so that when he reaches the height of his dilemma, â€Å"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied,/I fondly ask† he is issuing a direct challenge to a statement made b... ... God has a tireless band of angels as well as his followers among men who have learned to set aside all else and worship him. In this sonnet, Milton manages to turn his personal complaint into not one but two of his favorite things: praise of God, and intense criticism of the king. By focusing on the parable of the talents and its ties to both the worldly and the spiritual, Milton calls God and King into relief. He is then able to use God and His eternal, abiding goodness to highlight the King’s small-minded, self-centered tyranny. This direct comparison gives readers a sense of Milton’s belief that earthly authority is corrupt, and should never be a part of religion. God and the King are so vastly far apart that to bring them together, whether in poetry or in a church hierarchy, is offensive to God and can only bring out the weaknesses of the King.

Relation to the Socio-Political Essay

Comparison and Contrast of the General Tones of the Sumerian and Egyptian Hymns, in Relation to the Socio-Political and Geographic History of these Nations It is interesting to note that the Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations both sprung up beside rivers: Egypt lies in the delta of the Nile while the Sumerian civilization was on the fertile Mesopotamia along the banks of Tigris and Euphrates. It is thus expected that both civilizations revere their river, and associate them with gods, because the rivers prove to be vital to their existence and a channel of life for them. These forces of nature are considered holy and addressed by prayers. Examples of such pleas can be found in both hymns â€Å"A Sumero-Akadian Prayer to Every God† and the â€Å"Hymn to the Nile. † In these prayers, however, we find very different attitudes of the early people towards their gods. In the Sumero-Akadian prayer we will read a tone of sorrow, grief and fear by a troubled soul over his offences with the gods. The introduction fearfully desire for peace with the divinity: â€Å"May the fury of my lords heart be quieted toward me. † Throughout the text we will also find out that the gods are not named, but is rather just sanctified as an existing being that may not be offended. This apparent fear of the divinity may be attributed to the structure of the Mesopotamian civilizations, where the land was divided into different city-states believed to be owned by a deity. The Sumerian state is therefore not a solid state, but is a conglomeration of small states. Consistent fear of invasion made them turn into the divine beings for protection and blessing. As a further note, in the Sumero-Akadian civilizations, the power of government is divided into two: the lugal took care of the military powers and the even more powerful ensi was the supreme religious leader who also controlled â€Å"economic and technological expertise† (Krejci and Krejcova, p. 31). It can therefore be seen that the fear of the gods was the way of the ensi to maintain political control over his dominions. Political and social structure in Egypt proved much different from the Sumerians. The whole of Egypt was controlled by only one ruler – the Pharaohs. This unity gave the Egyptians more control over their surroundings and their country. Early on, the Egyptians had a clear sense of identity (Kemp, p. 25). This control is best exemplified by their ability to time and control the flooding of the Nile. However, geographically, the Egyptians were not as lucky as the Sumerians, as they were surrounded by deserts. This made them consider the Nile as a gift from the gods, a means by which they would live. It is therefore not surprising that the â€Å"Hymn to the Nile† is a joyous song of praise. The overall theme of the hymn is perhaps best stated in the first lines: â€Å"Hail to thee, O Nile! Who manifests thyself over this land, and comes to give life to Egypt!† References Mircea Eliade `From Primitives to Zen`: A SUMERO-AKADIAN PRAYER Ancient History Sourcebook:Hymn to the Nile, c. 2100 BCE Jaroslav Krejci, Anna Krejcova (1990). Before the European Challenge: The Great Civilizations of Asia and the Middle East. SUNY Press. Barry J. Kemp (2006). Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization, 2nd Ed. Routledge

Ethics Case Study: Homeless Man Essay

Case Facts: We decided to discuss the case of the homeless man provided in the textbook. Here are the case facts: A homeless man attempted to save a woman that was being attacked in New York City. In the process he was stabbed. He was visibly bleeding on the sidewalk for over an hour, as people walked by, took pictures and stopped to look at him. One man shook him. No one attempted to help him, stay with him, or call emergency services. The homeless man died on the sidewalk. Obligations, Duties and Rights: After reading the initial facts of the case, we discussed the obligations, duties and rights all held by the passersby and viewers of the situation. They are as follows: Every passerby has the right to their personal safety and health, as well as the right to remain silent and anonymous. Given these undeniable rights, every passerby also has the moral duty and obligation to report a witnessed crime to the authorities. They also have the duty to work towards maintaining the safety and well-being of their community. Along with this duty, comes to obligation to support and protect the most vulnerable among this community. Consequences: Our group further discussed the implications of the situation and the associated consequences, both intended and unintended, positive and negative. Following are the consequences that could have occurred if the passersby had chosen to offer aid to the homeless man: First, the man’s life could have been saved. Another outcome would be the finding and persecution of the criminal. Another, would be setting a positive example for the community, in turn promoting the safety of the community as a whole. Another positive consequence could be acting as a catalyst for future laws to be enacted aiding the community. Finally, a positive outcome from helping the homeless man would leave the passersby with altruistic emotions. Negative consequences that could result from refusing to aid the homeless man would include: The homeless man dies and the criminal escapes, potentially continuing to harm more members of the community. Another consequence includes the public losing a sense of security as well as the passersby having the uneasiness and uncertainty of not knowing the outcome of the situation if they chose to walk away before his death. Finally, if the passerby chose to walk away, they face the negative consequence of feeling of regret upon denying their personal morals and obligations. Moral Ideals: Having analyzed the facts, obligations and consequences of the case, the moral ideals that we have extrapolated are: Justice, integrity, loving kindness, and courage. Justice, â€Å"denoting the evaluation of situations according to their merits, fairly and without prejudice, as well as giving each person his or her due.† The best way to carry out justice in this situation would have been to ensure that the criminal was found and prosecuted, and protecting the life of the homeless man. Integrity, the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles regardless of who is watching, is the second moral principle that we have decided best relates to this case. If the passerby had acted with integrity, he/she would have opted to stay with or somehow help the homeless man to insure that his life was saved as opposed to denying their moral obligation in walking away and choosing to ignore the situation. The next moral principle is Loving kindness, â€Å"doing unto others as you would have them do unto you,† or simply the Golden Rule. If the passersby had showed loving kindness, they would have felt empathy towards the homeless man as a fellow human being and would have ensured that he received aid, as they would have wished someone do for them if their roles were reversed. The final moral ideal that we felt most applied to this case was courage, â€Å"consisting only in conquering fear and in withholding the body from flight no matter what the risk of pain. We felt that this moral ideal applied to the case, as it would require the passersby to ignore their rights to safety as humans and allow their obligations to aid the man override their sense of fear and insecurity. If the passerby had maintained this ideal of courage, they would have approached the homeless man and helped to save his life.

Sep 11th essays

Sep 11th essays September 11th, 2001 a day Americans will never forget, a day of mourning and sorrow. The time was approximately 9:10am on Tuesday morning. I was awaiting the arrival of my friend Michael at the Nassau Community fountain. We had the next 3 hours off and figured we would go get a bite to eat. Next to me there were two people talking, I couldnt help to overhear one of the boys say The world trade center was just blown up, come here you can see some of the smoke. Well obviously not knowing this boy, and avoiding making a fool of my self I stayed put, and didnt follow him. I just stood there wondering if this kid was for real. My friend arrived and we headed to his car to begin our long off period. When we got into the car I said Mike, I heard the world trade center was blown up. He had the same initial response that I had; he said bull shit, no way. I then recommended we tune into 660, they are always on top of the news. We were greeted with the first and scariest statement, the world trade center has just collapsed, and this is absolute mayhem... Previous to our off period we planned to stop at Best Buy, so I could purchase a DVD. When we arrived there we headed straight over to the television area. One or two customers had been hovered over the set to see what had happened. Within a few minutes many customers and concerned civilians gathered around the television set to find out exactly what had happened. We stood there with about 50 people staring at the TV, in shock and confusion. You could tell by the look on some of the peoples face they were wondering, who would do such a terrible thing, and if their friends and family were alright. Many of them already had proceeded to making cell phone calls. I remember the cell phone service being very boggled down, making it difficult to make calls, due to the large call value at that time. After about 30 minutes or so at Bes...

Definition of a Prepositional Verb and How to Use One

Definition of a Prepositional Verb and How to Use One A prepositional verb is an idiomatic expression that combines a verb and a preposition to make a new verb with a distinct meaning. Some examples of prepositional verbs in English are care for, long for, apply for, approve of, add to, resort to, result in, count on,  and deal with. The preposition in a prepositional verb is generally followed by a noun or pronoun, and thus prepositional verbs are transitive. Examples and Observations God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools. (John Muir, The American Forests. The Atlantic Monthly, 1897)The difference between the old ballplayer and the new ballplayer is the jersey. The old ballplayer cared about the name on the front. The new ballplayer cares about the name on the back. (Steve Garvey)I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers. (Mahatma Gandhi) Prepositional verbs consist of a transitive verb plus a preposition with which it is closely associated. He stared at the girl.She finally decided on the blue car. Prepositional verbs do not take the particle movement rule. The verb and the following preposition can be separated by an adverb, and the preposition can precede a relative pronoun and appear at the beginning of a wh- question. He stared intently at the girl.The girl at whom he was staring was strikingly beautiful.At whom was he staring? (Ron Cowan, The Teachers Grammar of English. Cambridge University Press, 2008) Pronouncing Prepositional Verbs A prepositional verb consists of a verb plus a particle which is clearly a preposition: for example, look at, send for, rely on. These are mostly lexically singly stressed, with a primary stress going on the verb. Thus look at has the same stress pattern as edit or borrow. The second element, the preposition, being unstressed, does not get accented (unless for contrastive focus). (John Christopher Wells, English Intonation. Cambridge University Press, 2006) The Difference Between Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs There are a number of syntactic criteria you can use for distinguishing phrasal verbs from prepositional verbs: in transitive phrasal verbs, the particle is movable, but the preposition in a prepositional verb is not;the NP is the object of the verb in phrasal verbs rather than of the preposition;in both transitive and intransitive phrasal verbs, the particle carries stress, as in She took the cap off or The plane took off, while prepositions are unstressed, as in We knocked on the door.adverbials cannot intervene between the verb and the particle whereas they can between the verb and the preposition, *looked quickly up the information, but looked quickly into the oven. (Laurel J. Brinton, The Structure of Modern English: A Linguistic Introduction. John Benjamins, 2000)

Globalization Consequancess on Jordan Case Study

Globalization Consequancess on Jordan - Case Study Example By 1994, participants to the Uruguay Round of the treaty have totalled 123 countries. By 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) was incepted, becoming the successor of the GATT. Currently with 153 countries as members of the WTO, the organisation embodies the implementations of the liberalisation of trade among nations, encouraging economies of its member nations to open up to global markets. Smaller and emerging economies of the 3rd world and developing countries have very often expressed dissent over issues on matters where the sheer size and volume of trade from the direction of the more developed economies have disadvantaged the former than worked fairly in everyone's favour. Jordan signed up with the WTO in April, 2000. "Small scale industries sector was a major contributor to the industrial economy of Jordan. It accounts for 50% of the total manufacturing sector, has 20% share in exports and provides 80% of employment in industrial sectors"(Lozi, p.98) On account of this economic reality in Jordan, the small scale industry (SSI) sector is a significant indicator of the effects of globalization of trade. Since the early 1990's, the SSI sector of Jordan has already found itself in the competitive situations induced by international trade's open market environments. In a study by Basem Mohammed Lozi of the Amman College for Administrative and Financial Sciences, Al Balga Applied University in Jordan, the effects of such pressures from international competition has actually favoured the SSI sector. He writes, "Liberalization have forced all industries to constantly upgrade their quality while cutting down the costs if they want to remain and retain their place and share in the global market. Small scale industries world over including Jordan were facing the on slight of the adverse effects of globalization in the stringent requirements of quality costs, tight delivery schedules and productivity."(Lozi, p.98) Apparently, like most, if not all small scale industry sectors the world over, globalisation has become challenge to shape up in the face of international competition and demand of stricter parameters of business and trade. Unlike many in the developing economies that merely suffered on account of their inability to cope, Jordan, however, rose to the challenge. Lozi concludes, "This has resulted in more growth in its contribution to national income and exports in the 1990s."(Lozi, p 102) Nevertheless, Lozi recommends strategic directions for Jordan: "Concerted efforts are needed both from the government and more importantly, from small scale industries themselves to imbibe technological dynamism into Jordanian small scale industries. Technological up gradation and in-house technological innovations and promotion of inter-firm linkages need to be encouraged consciously and consistently." (Lozi, p 102) Globalisation and the Jordanian Society Globalisation is not only the organised and structured pressures to open local trade and economic circumstances to international markets and

Dress is a marker of national identity; discuss in relation to Coursework

Dress is a marker of national identity; discuss in relation to specific dress codes and their contexts, such as the veil and its history - Coursework Example A classification of these dress codes is usually created for wavering levels of reserve and at times the time of day. Such instances include the traditional Western culture of dressing where different gender’s dress styles portrayed the type of work and even status. In real instances, the type of dress is either followed naturally or influenced by peer pressure. This is to why people within a specific nation or society wear the same clothing in the same condition. In this analysis, this paper will concentrate on specific dress codes and the reasons they are still makers of national identity. The veil is a very old type of dressing that was mostly associated with the Islamic society. It, however, originates from the ancient European society. This included Greeks, Romans, Hittites and Persians. In addition, the Assyrian culture also wore this type of dressing. Looking at the Assyrian beliefs of the veil, it was associated with class and also gender inferences. The first recorded time it was used was with the Assyrian women back in the 13th century.2 During this period, an Assyrian veil was meant to bring class distinction and in fact the Assyrian law prohibited farmhand women and even prostitutes from putting it on. The women who went against this particular law of wearing the veil were heavily punished. In the Persia community, those women who went to public meetings were supposedly required to wear the veil. The wealthy and high class Persians used it to hide their ladies from the public eye. In a matter of years of spread, the veil then spread throughout Middle East, amidst the Persian downfall. During the colonial regime in northern Africa, women wore veils by force as a sign of their opposition against the French, who wanted them to remove them and copy the French customs and laws. This, as a result, became a