Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Explore how Shakespeare develops Essay Example for Free

Explore how Shakespeare develops Essay Explore how Shakespeare develops the themes of duty, responsibility, love and loyalty in the Antony and Cleopatra. Throughout the play Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare develops and explores the themes of duty, responsibility, love and loyalty; from the very beginning of the play Shakespeare places these themes in conflict with one another and these conflicts are embodied in the most obvious sense through Antonys rejection of the Roman Empire and its ideals for the love of Cleopatra and a far more frivolous laid back life in Egypt. And in turn these differences in ideals are conveyed to the audience in the beginning of the first act when Philo and Demetrius come to the stage and discuss Antonys dotage over Cleopatra and how it Oerflows the measure. Philo laments at how Antony, once a powerful warrior, triumvir of the Roman Empire and a triple pillar of the world has given up all this power and become the bellows and the fan [that] cool a gipsys lust. The language used by Shakespeare at this point in the play helps to establish the antithetical nature of the Egyptians and the Romans; Philo describes Antony with powerful hyperboles and metaphors, evoking potent superhuman, heroic imagery as he speaks of Antonys eyes that glowed like plated mars, passionately and verbosely referring to his captains heart which was so powerful that it burst the buckles on his breast. The conviction with which Philo speaks brings the political and war faring nature of the Romans to the forefront and it becomes clear that the world Antony used to occupy is greatly at odds with the world he now inhabits with Cleopatra who is derogatorily described as having a tawny front (highlighting the Romans latent racial prejudices) and whose gipsys lust has reduced Antony to a strumpets fool. Philo never once uses positive words or language to describe the love between Antony and his queen; he constantly uses words that undermine the actual power she has a queen. The potency of his hatred for Cleopatra is conveyed eloquently through his use of language; Philo makes it obvious that in Rome intangible emotions such as love are undervalued in comparison to the far more corporeal physicality of great fights and the musters of war. It is very obvious that Philo does not view the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra as a great or Romantic but one of blind and foolish lust which has distracted Antony from his responsibilities and his duty. Furthermore, when Antony himself speaks of his love for Cleopatra the contrast between his former Roman ideals and his new Egyptian way of thinking become clearer, his first line to Cleopatra as he enters the stage is Theres beggary in the love that can be reckoned, implying that his love for her is immeasurable and takes precedence above all, the fact this is powerful and Romantic statement is the very first thing Antony says as he enters the stage magnifies the sentiment behind it. Further evidence of the greatness of Antonys love for Cleopatra is given when she chides him about the messenger from Rome who may be carrying a message from Caesar or his wife Fulvia, both of whom represent his responsibilities at home and both of whom he dismisses in his grand and dramatic statements that he provides her in response to her teasing (let Rome in Tiber melt and the wide arch of the ranged empire fall!), reassuring her that the two of them and their love for each other stand up peerless. It is Antonys use of imagery here that really encapsulates the depth of his love for Cleopatra, his acknowledgment of the greatness of Rome has a paradoxical quality to it as he confirms the greatness of its wide arch in the same breath and sentence as he confirms it.

Monday, January 20, 2020

General George S. Patton Jr. Essay -- essays research papers

General George Smith Patton Jr. was born November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California. He was known as a complicated man, and having an intemperate manner. He was also known for carrying his pistol with ivory handle. He always strived to train his troops to the highest standard of excellence. Patton always dreamed of being a hero. His ancestors had fought in many wars, and grew up listening to their stories. He attended the Virginia Military institute for one year and went on to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point on June 11, 1909. He was then commisioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 15th Cavalry Regiment. Patton got married to Beatrice Ayer, whom he dated while attending West Point, on May 26, 1910. Patton competed in the Stockholm Olympics in the first modern pentathlon in 1912. This was considered a rigorous test of the skills a soldier could possess. He was 26 at the time and did remarkably well in all the events which included, pistol shooting from 25 meters, sword fencing, a 300 meter free style swim, 800 meters horse back riding and a 4-kilometer cross-country run. Patton placed fifth overall. Patton started taking lessons at the French cavalry school, and learning French sword drills. Patton reported to the Mounted Service School in Fort Riley, Kansas, where he became the school's first Master of the Sword. He designed and taught a course in swordsmanship while he was a student at the school. Patton's first real exposure to battle took pl...

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Current Events in Business Research Essay

INTRODUCTION There are six basic stages to the research process. Stage 1 is clarifying the research question. This would be the process in identifying the problem that is prompting the research. Stage 2 is proposing research, which would be the act of identifying the resources necessary to do the research. The third stage is designing the research project, or deciding which method to use to gather the information. Stage 4 involves data collection and preparation, which is gathering the data and making it ready to be evaluated. Stage 5 would be the data analysis and interpretation stage. Stage 5 is defining what the data is saying about the problem. The final stage, stage 6 is reporting the results. This is breaking down the interpretation into a presentation that shows the meaning of the data collected. (Cooper & Schindler, 2014) This is the process used by Paramount Pictures recently when it was in contract negotiations with the DVD rental company, Redbox. THE DILEMMA As the major Hollywood studios took sides for and against Redbox, Paramount Pictures was staying neutral. The studio had signed a first-of-its-kind trial deal guaranteeing that its titles will be available from the fast-growing $1-a-night DVD rental company through the end of the year. During that time, Paramount would study the effect of Redbox rentals on its total home-entertainment revenue, examining whether there is any decrease in the sales of its DVDs at stores that house Redbox kiosks. Under the terms of the agreement, Paramount would have the option at the end of the year to trigger a five-year deal with Redbox similar to ones recently struck with  competitors Sony Pictures and Lionsgate. The estimated value of the agreement was $575 million. Redbox President Mitch Lowe agreed because Paramount movies performed better at the box office that year. A Paramount agreement would give the studio a share of rental revenue, meaning it could earn more than $575 million if its movies prove popular. Sony and Lionsgate are selling their discs wholesale to Redbox. Though it doesn’t have a formal deal with the company, Walt Disney Studios allows its wholesalers to sell discs to Redbox as well. (Fritz, 2009) â€Å"There has been a lot of debate in the industry about the impact Redbox is having and will have, and we felt the best way to make a decision is by getting the information,† said Paramount Vice Chairman Rob Moore. â€Å"Then we can make an informed decision based on what we will have learned over the next four months.† Guaranteed access to Paramount’s movies was important for Redbox. The studio released two of that summer’s biggest movies, â€Å"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen† and â€Å"Star Trek.†(Fritz, 2009) A movie that plays well in the theaters tends to do well when it is available to rent. Rental revenue could also provide a much-needed boost to the bottom line of Paramount. Lowe said he was confident that providing detailed data to Paramount would help resolve the heated disputes in Hollywood about his company’s effect on the entertainment business. Lowe has previously said his company’s research found that DVD sales dropped less than 1% in stores that installed a Redbox kiosk. â€Å"Many studios do their own analysis that we know is not as reliable and is aimed at coming to the answer they want to hear,† he said. â€Å"We find that when we can form a relationship with a studio and share real data, it results in a positive step forward.† Moore said he hadn’t reached any â€Å"definitive conclusions† as to what steps he would take if the data showed that Redbox rentals do in fact reduce overall revenue. So, the dilemma that Paramount has is w hether or not partnering with Redbox will reduce its sales income more than it will increase its rental revenue. THE PROCESS Paramount and Redbox did the research to determine whether or not rentals available the same day to buy decreased the sales revenue any more or less than those studios who decided to wait 28 days to make them available. Despite some content executives recently having touted the benefits of a  28-day window for DVD titles, Coinstar Inc.’s CEO Paul Davis said the company’s own research showed Redbox Automated Retail LLC kiosks have a minimal impact on DVD sales. â€Å"We did a major study, a little over a year ago, with a major studio and a major retailer and we found that the impact on new product sales as a result of our $1-a-night being out there, day and date, was less than 1%,† Redbox worked closely with Paramount, and they did a lot of testing as well, and the fact that they decided to go with day and date (of release) I think speaks volumes.†(James, 2010) CONCLUSION After reviewing the data collected by themselves and Redbox in 2009, Paramount Pictures made their decision. In June, 2010, Paramount exercised its option to extend its revenue-sharing license agreement with Redbox, which gives Redbox access to Paramount’s newly released DVDs and Blu-ray titles on the same day they are released in the sell-through market. Paramount’s extended agreement with Redbox runs until the end of 2014, though the studio will had the option to terminate the agreement early at the end of 2011. (James, 2010) As a result of the research, Davis thought that studios that have the 28-day window might opt to tweak their Redbox agreements to get certain DVD titles out for rental sooner. â€Å"Especially as more and more data gets out there and †¦ as the studios that have opted for the 28-day window, as they have a year or so to look at the data, see how it’s impacted their new product sales †¦ it could move that we get some titles earlier,† he said.(James, 2010) The process that Paramount and Redbox used, and the data they collected, could prove to be useful data to the other studios as to whether or not they should wait the 28 days. Reference Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2014). Business Research Methods (12th ed.). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.. Fritz, B. (2009, Aug 26). COMPANY TOWN; paramount to give redbox a spin. Los Angeles Times Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/422289074?accountid=458 James, S. B. (2010). Impact of day-and-date redbox rentals on DVD sales less than 1%. SNL Kagan Media & Communications Report, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/869743836?accountid=458