Thursday, January 30, 2020

The persuasion used by both Lady Macbeth and the male speakers Essay Example for Free

The persuasion used by both Lady Macbeth and the male speakers Essay Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a strong, independent character, who employs cunning intellect to manipulate and control her husband and to gain illegitimate power and authority. Using varied techniques, Lady Macbeth predominantly targets Macbeth’s masculinity and likens him to a â€Å"woman†; taunting him in order to provoke the desire to disprove her doubts and assumptions. Macbeth decides not to â€Å"bear the knife† on Duncan, as he is both his is both â€Å"his kinsman and his subject†. Nevertheless, Lady Macbeth shifts the power in their relationship, taking the typically male, authoritative role and persuading Macbeth to â€Å"play false†, using his devotion to her and â€Å"ambition† to fulfil the witches’ prophecies. Lady Macbeth tactically finds similarities between herself and the witches. In doing so, she assures herself that she is too a significant influence and retains substantial authority over Macbeth, where she can analyse his personality and potential. Breaking feminine stereotypes, Lady Macbeth’s character redefines sixteenth century expectations and expresses Tudor â€Å"fears† of women overstepping their â€Å"natural† boundaries. Feminising Macbeth On becoming aware of her new title, thus her potential to greater power, Lady Macbeth begins to rid herself of her feminine attributes and bestows them upon Macbeth in order to persuade him to â€Å"catch the nearest way† and seize the role as king. Nevertheless, as a woman Lady Macbeth lacks the authority and ability to undertake the murder and compensates by rationalising with herself, and her husband, in order to instigate the persuasion necessary for the central murders. She accuses Macbeth to be â€Å"too full o’th’milk of human kindness† implying weakness and absence of â€Å"ambition† to forcefully take the role as king. Macbeth is â€Å"full† of â€Å"milk†, a factor associated with maternity and femininity. In referring to Macbeth as nurturing and feminine, Lady Macbeth undermines her husband’s masculinity and takes the power in the relationship, fuelling her own â€Å"ambition† to become â€Å"unsexed† or masculine, and seizing authority where she can evaluate her husband’s character. As a new mother in the sixteenth century, women would be substantially weakened and susceptible to â€Å"illness† after and during child birth; as a result, would too lack the â€Å"ambition†, to sustain an additional life and feed the child with the â€Å"milk†. Moreover, in making reference to â€Å"milk†, Lady Macbeth insinuates that Macbeth is ‘milky’; a renaissance term used to describe cowards. Having recently returned from battle, Macbeth abolished any â€Å"fear†, to fight in Duncan’s name. Insinuating he is a â€Å"milky† creates further â€Å"ambition† to prove his wife wrong, therefore, in attempt to persuade Macbeth, Lady Macbeth labels him and questions his loyalty to her, his â€Å"dearest partner in greatness†. Anaemia In describing her husband as â€Å"green and pale†, Lady Macbeth continues to criticise and undermine him. Such a pallor would betray green sickness, and in the sixteenth century, more commonly known as hypochromatic anaemia; symptoms included weakness and lack of energy, showing that Lady Macbeth believes her husband to be lacking both the capability and motivation to carry out the murder. Furthermore, the sickness was associated with woman, specifically due to blood loss during childbirth, linking to her previous allusions from Macbeth to a new mother, who would be â€Å"full of..milk†. â€Å"Green† being a colour commonly associated with envy, presents Macbeth as inferior to other men, defying Lady Macbeth’s desire for his superiority and kingship. By revealing her husband’s jealousy- and therefore his insecurity regarding his own influence- Lady Macbeth questions whether he has the qualities required to rule, such as confidence in his own power. Lady Macbeth’s description of her husband is persuasive by routinely emphasising the qualities he lacks and his negative aspects, presenting him as unfit to achieve his destined kingship. â€Å"Take my milk for gall† Although the witches are depicted as the only paranormal beings in the play, Lady Macbeth attempts correlates with the witches’ supernatural mannerism and pleads to the â€Å"spirits†, demanding them to â€Å"take her milk for gall† to further eradicate her femininity and assert her desired power of the supernatural. The meaning of â€Å"take is ambiguous, either implying Lady Macbeth wishes to be rid of the â€Å"milk†, that she perceives as â€Å"gall†, poisoning her with compassion and nurture, hence preventing her from assisting Macbeth in the â€Å"deed†. Moreover, she denotes that her â€Å"gall† is pre-existing in her â€Å"breasts†, suggesting she already holds an element of â€Å"cruelty†, too shown in the witches’ nature. Correlating with the witches, thus convincing herself she is somewhat supernaturally powerful, allows Lady Macbeth to rid herself of any submission shown to Macbeth, as a weak, delicate woman and like the witches, gain supremacy over her husband to then persuade him to â€Å"catch the nearest way†. As a woman, Lady Macbeth would be â€Å"full of milk† appealing to her nurturing attributes and impeding her from committing the â€Å"cruelty† needed to succeed to greater power. She begs the spirits to â€Å"take† her â€Å"milk†, therefore ridding her of her feminine attributes and affection she may have held for her guests, as their â€Å"honoured hostess†, presenting a sense of false hospitality which is also shown in the image of the â€Å"poison chalice†. As his â€Å"kinsman and his subject†, Macbeth offers his hospitality and loyalty to Duncan, represented through the image of the â€Å"chalice†, only to be â€Å"poisoned† by the supernatural expectations and Lady Macbeth’s hunger for superiority. Having plotted against the king, a man appointed by God, Macbeth displays his remaining religious principles, describing Duncan as â€Å"heaven’s cherubin† expressing admiration of Duncan’s leadership and is almost worshipful of him; perhaps in the attempt to save himself from â€Å"deep damnation† that may follow if the supernatural realm should fail him. Nevertheless, as Lady Macbeth gains further influence over him, she alters his â€Å"golden opinions†, turning him into a â€Å"beast† who wholly disregards any respect he had for Duncan. Lady Macbeth further accentuates Macbeth’s negative qualities, such as his indecisive nature and refers to him as â€Å"coward in thine own esteem†, questioning his masculinity and implying he is too afraid to act upon his desire to achieve his destined kingship. Macbeth’s â€Å"esteem† shows his strong desire to be king and how highly he values the crown. Despite his high regard of the crown, Lady Macbeth believes having â€Å"esteem† and â€Å"ambition† within is not enough to gain him the â€Å"ornament of life†; implying the crown â€Å"wouldst be† his greatest asset and achievement. Calling Macbeth a â€Å"coward† further emphasises the struggle Lady Macbeth faces in gaining all of her husband’s loyalty, as he begins to review the Duncan’s â€Å"virtues† and favourable attributes, thus creating doubt in his ability to murder him. However, by stating Macbeth is too afraid to â€Å"catch the nearest way†, Lady Macbeth allows him to deny her initial claim, reinstating his â€Å"hope† of killing the king and deliberately using her doubt to convince him to kill Duncan as he wishes to â€Å"become a man†. Lady Macbeth de-genders The â€Å"strange sisters† being the most powerful influence over her husband, sustains Lady Macbeth’s desire to disassociate herself from gender and be affiliated to the witches’ power. Mid-sixteenth century productions of â€Å"Macbeth†, presented the witches as bearded, powerful characters who consequently opposed their female characteristics. Appearing neither male nor female, grants the witches superiority over Macbeth. They are liberated from the stereotypes of female subordination and expectations of masculinity, like strength and dominance. This gives them freedom and the power to do as they please and therefore dominance over all other beings. To take the authoritative role in the relationship and become equivalent to the witches’ influence, Lady Macbeth begs the spirits to â€Å"unsex† her, removing her feeble, feminine qualities that may â€Å"bring forth† compassion she once had for Duncan, as her guest and subsequently becoming â€Å"more than man†. Employing her new found supremacy over her husband, Lady Macbeth becomes a source of strength and inspiration who â€Å"pours her spirits in thine ear†; an image holding both supernatural and medicinal significance. Most commonly associated with Egyptian healing methods, pouring homeopathic remedies in people’s â€Å"ear†, was thought to heal them of psychological and physical ailments; in Macbeth’s case, his weakness, cautious nature and sentimental attachment to Duncan. On the other hand, the image opposes the concept of healing, due to the supernatural connotations of. Lady Macbeth influences her husband with her corrupt intensions by â€Å"poisoning† him with the â€Å"spirits† who posses her â€Å"gall† and hence eradicating Macbeth’s remaining sentiment possessed for Duncan. Modality When reasoning with herself, Lady Macbeth avoids directly complimenting her husband, and only saunters on the potential that he â€Å"wouldst be great† taking a patronising tone in attempt to draw out his feminine attributes, and disapproval of being seen as inferior to a woman. Macbeth’s own uncertainty is prominent, as he â€Å"fears† the religious and lawful outcome if he â€Å"should fail†. Lady Macbeth is eminently frustrated by his indecisive nature and angst, and with regard to the witches’ prophecies, she specifically highlights Macbeth’s expectations, and too expresses her own doubts in his capability to kill and become king. Lady Macbeth suggests he â€Å"wouldst† be â€Å"highly†, using modal references to imply the possibility of alternative outcomes. In doing so, she taunts him and â€Å"dares† him to oppose her, consequently diminishing her doubts. Furthermore, his expectations were appointed to him by women , the â€Å"strange sisters† whom held power over him and foresaw his fate. Lady Macbeth re-raises the fact he was inferior to them, contributing to his desire to prove her wrong. Cat i’th’adage Heightening his inferiority to Duncan, Lady Macbeth likens him to a â€Å"poor cat i’th’adage†. Using to a common aphorism of the cat who wanted fish but did not want to get wet, expresses Macbeth’s unwillingness to dirty his hands to â€Å"catch the nearest way† and taunts his lack of desire to seize the â€Å"ornament of life†. By calling him â€Å"poor† displays Lady Macbeth’s supercilious demeanour and her value of her power over him, mocking him with pity and encouraging him to ascend to greater power. Describing Macbeth as a â€Å"cat† degrades his status and â€Å"dares† him to oppose her claims, while also alluding to Duncan’s ownership of him. Cats are commonly associated with witchcraft and are under the witches’ power- as is Macbeth, who is under their influence and expectations to consummate the prophecies. Furthermore, cats are easily startled, re-raising Macbeth’s fear and distinc t awareness of the consequences of treason, further accentuating his weakness and lack of â€Å"ambition†.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Compare Carol Ann Duffys Valentine to Andrew Marvells To His Coy Essa

Compare Carol Ann Duffy's Valentine to Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress In this assignment I will be comparing two love poems Carol Ann Duffy's 'Valentine' to Andrew Marvell's 'To His Coy Mistress'. The poem 'Valentine' was written is the twentieth century and in it the speaker uses onion as a metaphor to show her love. The poem 'To His Coy Mistress' was written in the seventeenth century and is about the poet trying to persuade his Mistress to sleep with him. 'Valentine' by Carol Ann Duffy is very different to any other love poem as you would expect to read something romantic, instead she writes about an onion. The poem is divided into four main stanzas and each stanza tells us something new about the relationship and in between there is one or two words in sentence which helps you think about want she is trying to say. The poem starts off with a positive statement 'Not a red rose, or a satin heart'. She states that she will not give her lover a normal valentine present. The poet has chosen to give her lover an onion. She uses the onion as a metaphor for her love. The poet says 'I give you an onion, it is moon wrapped in brown paper,' with this she creates mystery and makes her lover think the reason for this weird present. 'It promises light, like the careful undressing of love.' Here she is telling her lover that their relationship can still survive and she refers to sex as she talks about the undressing of love. The second stanza starts with the use of the word 'Here' makes the reader feel that the poet is in control and that she is actually giving something. She continues with the extended metaphor 'it will blind you with tears',' like a lover, not only will the onion make your eyes w... ...ere are many points we can see this from, but the main one is what the poem does not rhyme which means that it was not thought about when being written, 'To His Coy Mistress' is written to persuade so it is only about one topic 'sex' and there are many religious comparisons to make this look right. This is also done by the poem being divided into three main parts 'if', 'but' and 'so'. The first part of the poem is 'if', the speaker talks about if only he had all the time in the world. This helps him to define his reason to why he is trying to sleep with her quickly as possible. The second part of the poem is about 'but', the speaker talks about the reasons he wants to sleep with her and about how time is running out. In the third part of the poem the speaker goes on to 'so', and dedicates the last part of the poem to tell her that they should have sex.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

What contribution did Edward Jenner make to medicine?

The person I have chosen to write about is Edward Jenner. He was born in 1749 and is famous as the first doctor to introduce and study the smallpox vaccine. I am interested by his work as it was the basis of the science of immunology, resulting in many medical advances, the benefits of which can be seen in medicine today. Smallpox is a virus spread through coughing, sneezing and physical contact with an infected person. Epidemics broke out in Britain every few years, resulting in many deaths. In the eighteenth century a method of inoculation was introduced to Britain. This reduced the chance of dying from smallpox, yet it carried with it many risks. Whilst offering inoculations against smallpox, Edward Jenner, a doctor from Gloucestershire, discovered that those who had previously suffered from cowpox were less likely to catch smallpox than those who hadn't. He subsequently came up with the idea of using cowpox, a mild disease, as a method of prevention. In an attempt to prove this theory, Jenner conducted an experiment in which he took matter from a cowpox sore and inserted it into a boy through two cuts. After slight uneasiness in the following days, the boy was perfectly well. He was then inoculated with smallpox matter, which was repeated again several months later, but no disease followed on either occasion. After completing the experiment 23 times, he came to the conclusion that ‘cowpox protects the human constitution from the infection of smallpox'. Although Jenner was unable to prove his theory, his vaccination saved many lives. He recorded and published his findings himself as there was much opposition to vaccinations at first. This was because some people found it hard to accept anything new, especially when there was no explanation as to why it worked. Also, if his vaccinations proved to be a success, doctors would lose the income they received from providing inoculations. As well as this, some people saw the vaccination as dangerous. This was for reasons including doctors accidentally infecting patients with smallpox instead of cowpox or using infected needles, both of which resulted in many deaths. However, Jenner's work paid off, and in 1840 the British government provided vaccination free of charge. The main reason that I am interested in Jenner is that he was able to come up with a successful method of prevention of smallpox without advanced technology. His observations and experiments provided accurate results leading to life saving treatment, which I feel was one of the biggest medical achievements up until that time considering that smallpox had previously been one of the biggest killer diseases. He was not put off by the ‘less than enthusiastic' view of the public, choosing to record his findings personally in hope that they would one day be accepted and prove to be useful (which is what finally happened). Also, his work greatly contributed to later medical advances. It was the basis of immunology, which was to be pursued with success by Pasteur and others half a century later, helped by technological advancements. His observations had a large influence on the declaration of smallpox as an eradicated disease in 1980 by the World Health Organisation. In conclusion, Edward Jenner was a man who was able to make a large contribution to the advancement of medicine and prevention of death from smallpox. This, in my opinion, makes him a prominent and essential figure in history.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Directional Selection Is One of Three Types of Natural Selection

Directional selection  is a type of  natural selection  in which the  phenotype  (the observable characteristics) of the species tends toward one extreme rather the mean phenotype or the opposite extreme phenotype. Directional selection is one of three widely studied types of natural selection, in addition  to  stabilizing selection  and  disruptive selection. In stabilizing selection, the extreme phenotypes gradually reduce in number in favor of the mean phenotype, while in disruptive selection, the mean phenotype shrinks in favor of extremes in either direction.   Conditions Leading to Directional Selection The directional selection phenomenon is usually seen in environments that have changed over time. Changes in weather, climate, or food availability can lead to directional selection. In a very timely example connected to climate change, sockeye salmon have recently been observed shifting the timing of their spawn run in Alaska, likely due to rising water temperatures.   In a  statistical analysis of natural selection, directional selection shows a population bell curve for a particular trait that shifts either further left or further right. However, unlike  stabilizing selection, the height of the bell curve does not change. There are far fewer average individuals in a  population that has undergone directional selection. Human interaction can also speed up directional selection. For example, human hunters or fishermen pursuing quarry most often kill the bigger individuals of the population for their meat or other large ornamental or useful parts. Over time, this causes the population to skew toward the smaller individuals. A directional selection bell curve for size will show a shift to the left in this example of directional selection. Animal predators can also create directional selection. Because slower individuals in a prey population are more likely to be killed and eaten, directional selection will gradually skew the population toward faster individuals. A bell curve plotting species size will skew toward the right when documenting this form of directional selection.   Examples As one of the common forms of natural selection, there are plentiful examples of directional selection that have studied and documented. Some well-known cases:   Pioneer evolutionary scientist Charles Darwin  (1809–1882) studied what later became known as directional selection while he was in the  Galapagos Islands. He observed that the beak length of the Galapagos  finches  changed over time due to available food sources. When there was a lack of insects to eat, finches with larger and deeper beaks survived because the beak structure was useful for cracking seeds. Over time, as insects became more plentiful, directional selection began to favor  finches  with smaller and longer beaks that were more useful for catching insects.Fossil records show that black bears in Europe decreased in size during periods between continental glacial coverage during the ice ages, but increased in size during the glacial period. This was likely because larger individuals enjoyed an advantage under conditions of limited  food supplies and  extreme cold.  In 18th and 19th century England peppered moths who had been predominantly white in order to blend in with light colored trees began to evolve into a predominantly dark species in order to blend in with an environment that was becoming increasingly covered with soot from Industrial Revolution factories.