Poetry Essay Example for Free

Poetry Essay Understanding and interpreting poetry requires a different method of reading than the method which is generally associated with prose. While a given poem, especially a lyric poem, may be literally read in a matter of minutes, the comprehension of the poem may take a lifetime. This is due to the extraordinary ability of poets to compress meanings and also develop complex and multi-layered associations of language, figurative language, image, rhyme, and even narrative within a very brief literary forms. Contemplating a poem is as much a part of experiencing it as merely reading a poem. In the hands of a talented and inspired poet, the minimal use of words and the seemingly constricted forms offered by poetry are actually platforms to convey thoughts, themes, and emotions that would find no more complete expression even if given the larger platform of a novel, essay, or even memoir. As an example of this multi-tiered expression that is found in good poetry, Anne Sextons poem, Starry Night provides a rich demonstration of how poetry conveys multiple meanings and associations within a minimalist form. To begin with, Sexton’s poem â€Å"The Starry Night† is an exercise in ekphrasis. Ekphrasis is a type of poem written about another art-form. Most often, in poetry, it involves painting. When writing a poems inspired by paintings, poets attempt to make language, image, and meter evoke the same emotional or thematic impact which is delivered by the visual techniques and textures of paintings. In â€Å"The Starry Night,†Anne Sexton was inspired not only by Vincent Van Goght’s painting of the same title, but by a letter the artist wrote to his brother, which contained the epigraph for Sexton’s poem: â€Å"That does not keep me from having a terrible need/of— shall I say the word— religion. Then I go/out at night to paint the stars. † By including the quotation form Van Goght above the body of her poem, Sexton accomplishes a clever bit of compression, in fact: explicating the poem’s theme before a word of the poem, proper, has a chance to even be read by the reader! This sly trick is compatible with Van Gogh’s technique in the painting â€Å"The Starry Night† which discards subtlety in favor of grandeur and obscurity in favor of explicit emotional expression. In the painting we see a night sky crowded with swirling clouds, blazing starts with burning halos and a moon which reflects each of the lunar phases in one image. All of these attributes are exaggerated, pulling the viewer into a setting of epic epiphany and emotional release. Van Goght’s sky is alive and engages the viewer relentlessly. The overall initial experience is one of being overwhelmed by the immensity of cosmic nature. Below a set of rolling hill lies a small town. The focal point of the town is the large church- steeple, which presides over the rest of the buildings. This steeple seems to anchor the town and the rest of the scene beneath the sky, suggesting that it is the religious and spiritual dialogue between humanity and the cosmos which is of the most importance, not the town itself. Similarly, Sexton begins her poem, â€Å"The town does not exist† establishing the primacy of a non-linear mode of perception, as well as setting the stage for the eventual, climactic religious epiphany. Van Gogh painted Starry Night while in an Asylum at Saint-Remy in 1889. According to many sources his behavior was erratic during this period of his life. During his youth, Van Gogh had dedicated his life to the church. Many believe that Genesis 37:9: And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me† greatly influenced Van Gogh’s â€Å"The Starry Night. † Sexton, too, carefully reserves the numerical symbolism of the painting in her lines: â€Å"The night boils with eleven stars. /Oh starry starry night! This is how/I want to die! † By repeating the adjective â€Å"starry,† Sexton gains the â€Å"crowded† feeling of Van Gogh’s canvas in her stanza. She grasps the â€Å"living sky† element in the following lines: â€Å"It moves. They are all alive. /Even the moon bulges in its orange irons. † The key to Sexton’s masterful ekphrasis seems to lie in her use of compressed diction: â€Å"The old unseen serpent swallows up the stars. †This, like Van Gogh’s hurried, thick brush stroked invokes a sense of both urgency and passion. Sexton’s use of the refrain â€Å"This is how I want to die! † encapsulates the theme of Van Gogh’s paining, that of religious ecstacy, by merging the erotic/death urge so common in Elizabethan poetry and here marked by an additional shading of surrealism â€Å"sucked up by that great dragon, to split/from my life with no flag. In so doing, Sexton remains true to her confessional mode, also capturing an element which is perhaps understated in Van Gogh’s original, but present nonetheless, a â€Å"confession† of deep loneliness and alienation, marked by the darker swirls of color on the painting’s peripheries and also by the lone black tree, which Sexton describes as â€Å"a drowned woman† marking for posterity her close identification with the emotional confessional and religious themes of Van Gogh’s painting. Sexton’s poem is a wonderful counterpoint to Van Gogh’s painting, a rich example of the artistic and expressive potential of transposing the themes textures and techniques from one art medium to another.

The Book of Exodus Essay -- Introduction to the Book of Exodus

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book of Exodus is the second book of the Pentateuch, or Weelleh Shemoth according to the Hebrew Bible. The books main theme is the removal of Hebrew people from Egypt. The book is meant to be a continuation of Genesis. Moses is believed to be the author of this book. During the period of Exodus Israel had been in Egypt for about 215 years. The book begins with the birth of Moses. The book then goes on to talk about the life of Moses and the things that he did throughout his life. The book also explains how the Hebrews were enslaved and then let free. The book is divided into five sections. The first sections deals with the early life and training of Moses. The second section explains the ten plagues. The third section explains the journey to Mt. Sinai. The fourth section explains the land of Israel. The last section explains the construction of the tabernacle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the course of history there can be many individuals who could be considered leaders, but some stand out among the others. An example of a superb leader is Moses, whose life is explained in the book of Exodus in the Bible. Moses is viewed as a righteous man in God’s eyes and he is chosen to lead the Hebrew people out of oppression in Egypt. In the story of Exodus there are many examples of Moses’ sacrifices and the hardships he endured while freeing the Hebrews. The faith of Moses was tested numerous times throughout the story, and, in some instances, it seemed that Moses had lost fait... The Book of Exodus Essay -- Introduction to the Book of Exodus   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book of Exodus is the second book of the Pentateuch, or Weelleh Shemoth according to the Hebrew Bible. The books main theme is the removal of Hebrew people from Egypt. The book is meant to be a continuation of Genesis. Moses is believed to be the author of this book. During the period of Exodus Israel had been in Egypt for about 215 years. The book begins with the birth of Moses. The book then goes on to talk about the life of Moses and the things that he did throughout his life. The book also explains how the Hebrews were enslaved and then let free. The book is divided into five sections. The first sections deals with the early life and training of Moses. The second section explains the ten plagues. The third section explains the journey to Mt. Sinai. The fourth section explains the land of Israel. The last section explains the construction of the tabernacle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the course of history there can be many individuals who could be considered leaders, but some stand out among the others. An example of a superb leader is Moses, whose life is explained in the book of Exodus in the Bible. Moses is viewed as a righteous man in God’s eyes and he is chosen to lead the Hebrew people out of oppression in Egypt. In the story of Exodus there are many examples of Moses’ sacrifices and the hardships he endured while freeing the Hebrews. The faith of Moses was tested numerous times throughout the story, and, in some instances, it seemed that Moses had lost fait...

Health Care Policy Issue- Stem Cell

Policy Topic: Stem Cell Research Health Care Policy: The Past and the Future: HCS/455 A very controversial subject in the United States has been Stem Cell research. The United States has a very complicated legal and political history when Stem Cell laws and policies come into play. Scientifically speaking, the practice of stem cell research and treatments consists of the use of cells found in all multi-cellular organisms. There are two different types of stem cells, adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells, each come from different places.The difference is that adult stem cells are derived from mature body tissue (bone, marrow, umbilical cord, etc. ) and embryonic stem cells are derived from human embryos. The argument or controversy comes mainly from the way embryonic stem cells are obtained. During vitro fertilization a pregnant woman may choose to have an abortion in which the embryo dies (NIH, 2010). Many religious groups and bioethicists are against this practice because they b elieve this constitutes killing a potential human being.Researchers have countered these people, saying that the embryo would have been destroyed anyway and the stem cells that live on may have the potential to save lives indirectly through research and directly through therapy (NIH, 2010). Before 2009 the Stem Cell policy in the United States was heavily regulated by a bill President Bush put into place that banned federal funding of research using new stem cell lines in 2001. To be clear, there has never been a law State or Federal that banned stem cell research in the United States, but only placed restrictions on funding and use under Congresses power to spend.In the United States, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been tasked with creating and enforcing guidelines that pertain to stem cell research and treatments. These guidelines created by NIH are backed by federal law. The NIH has published these guidelines known as â€Å"National Institutes Guidelines for Human S tem Cell Research. † These guidelines can be summarized as a set of policies and procedures under which the NIH will fund such research, and help ensure that NIH-funded research in this area is ethically responsible, scientifically worthy, and conducted in accordance with applicable law. President Barack H.Obama issued Executive Order 13505: Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells on March 9, 2009 which succeeded over President Bush’s executive order that created barriers for the research of stem cells. President Obama addressed the public saying (The White House, 2011): â€Å"Today, with the Executive Order I am about to sign, we will bring the change that so many scientists and researchers; doctors and innovators; patients and loved ones have hoped for, and fought for, these past eight years: we will lift the ban on federal funding for promising embryonic stem cell research.We will vigorously support scientists who pursue this research. And we will aim for America to lead the world in the discoveries it one day may yield. † Instantly one should notice that the stakeholders involved in stem cell research is very broad, from patient to researchers anyone who is concerned with the advancement of stem cell research is be considered as a stakeholder in stem cell policies and research. Stakeholders are individuals or groups in a society who are directly involved with or indirectly affected by the development of stem cell research.President Obama did a great job addressing all the stakeholders in his speech. Specifically, one could say patients are the largest benefactor or stakeholder in stem cell research policies. These patient groups are in alignment with the medical community which makes for the most visible of all stakeholders in stem cell research. Motivation is driven by promises of cures and treatments for diseases made by medical professionals, scientists and researchers. Reference Lee, Jesse. (2 009). The White House: Signing of Stem Cell Executive Order.The White House. Retrieved from http://www. whitehouse. gov/blog/09/03/09/A-debt-of-gratitude-to-so-many-tireless-advocates/ NIH. (2011). Federal Policy. Retrieved from http://stemcells. nih. gov/policy NIH. (2011). National Institutes of Health Guidelines on Human Stem Cell Research. Retrieved from http://stemcells. nih. gov/StemCells/Templates/StemCellContentPage. aspx? NRMODE=Published&NRNODEGUID=%7bA604DCCE-2E5F-4395-8954-FCE1C05BECED%7d&NRORIGINALURL=%2finfo%2ffaqs%2easp&NRCACHEHINT=NoModifyGuest#guide

Powerful Ancient Civilization - Rome - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 590 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/07/31 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Ancient Rome Essay Did you like this example? Ancient Rome was an powerful ancient civilization that ruled Europe for 1,000 years. Its also one of the most prosperous empires in the world. It created many inventions that we still use to this day. The Roman empire began in 753 BC and lasted for 507 years. Most of ancient Romes culture spread throughout Western Europe. Ancient Rome comes from the city of Rome which is also the capital city in Italy. Rome first grew as republic but later became into an empire. There was no leader in the beginning it just started mostly with early emperors. First it was just under control of the Kings of Rome. The first king of Rome who found the city of Rome in 753 BC was Romulus. In Roman Republic the government was run with consuls. Every year, the citizens of rome would elect two consuls that will have to work together for a one year term. Roman Republic started to end in 59 BC. Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Licinius Crassus originally ruled Rome and had an agreement to work together. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Powerful Ancient Civilization Rome" essay for you Create order When Crassus died in the battle of Carrhae in 53 BC Pompey turned against Caesar and they became rivals which caused the alliance/agreement between them to break. In 52 BCE Caesar went away leading his army in the winter going to Cisalpine Gaul. During the year 52 Pompey had also been elected to be the only consul. Caesar wanted to be consul in the year 48 but he knew his enemies in the Senate would arrest him. In 48 BC The Battle of Pharsalus (Roman Civil War) broke out between Pompey and Caesar. Caesar ended up winning and becoming the most powerful dictator in Rome. Later, Caesars enemies assassinated him in 44 BC. Later Augustus was born Gaius Octavius in 63 BC. His uncle Julius Caesar died and Augustus was named as Octavius/Octavian was named as his heir. He fought to avenge his uncle. In the Battle of Actium (31 BC) he defeated Antony and Cleopatra. Instead of becoming a dictator like Caesar, instead he bring peace and prosperity to Rome for 40 years. Ancient Rome was always under civil wars which stopped its peace so he ended all the civil wars (especially the one between Populares and Optimates.) He also changed the way Rome was governed. He made a series of laws between 30 BC and 2 BC which turned Roman republic into Roman empire. The world gained a lot of things from the Roman Empire, but in my opinion the MOST important thing they introduced to us was fast food, (Fast food like burgers.) They also created the language Latin. This made a impact on words in Britain and lots of modern words. The Roman empire also advanced architecture we use today. Romans built in stone and in straight lines. I wonder how it would be today without Romans creations. Theyre also famous for making pasta!! HEY YOU! (Mr Escarge) did you know that modern Rome has 280 fountains and 900 churches? Also, women in ancient Rome dyed their hair with beech wood ashes and goat fat (the colors they mostly did were red and blond.) You know how ancient Rome created pasta? Today they have a whole museum based on pasta! In conclusion, ancient Rome was an influential, and impressive empire. It brought lots of wonderful inventions to the modern world. Ancient Rome was such a fast growing successful empire and its fascinating inventions spread out all through the world (especially the western world). I learned a lot about this ancient empire (although we already covered a lot about it last year.)