William Blake’s Hidden Talents free essay sample

William Blake’s hidden talents In William Blake’s â€Å"A Poison Tree†, he takes on a simple approach at describing the different aspects and consequences of anger. The poem starts off by saying, â€Å"I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end† (Blake 1,2). Which is a very simple poetic way of saying he was angry, but he felt better after confessing his true feelings. When Blake continues, he explains how he cannot confess his anger to a foe, and goes on by creating images and speaking about the consequences. The obvious moral of this poem is that anger becomes dangerous when hidden from a friend and more importantly, a foe. Interestingly, the metaphorical language of William Blake adds a deeper meaning to the anger within the poem, and takes away the simplicity that the poem has at first glance. E. D. Hirsch points out in his book, the contrast between the simplicity of the language and the complexity of the ideas that it expresses and implies. We will write a custom essay sample on William Blake’s Hidden Talents or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Such techniques are exactly what makes, â€Å"A Poison Tree† a seemingly simple, but very deep poem. The simplicity of the first stanza can be easily compared to the simplicity of confessing feelings to a friend. It consists of a simple â€Å"A-B, A-B† rhyme scheme, with each A containing seven syllables, and each B having eight. Although this sounds simple enough, the following eleven lines surprisingly contain seven syllables each. This is because although the written words are saying danger and madness, â€Å"It grew both day and night† (Blake 9), the speaker actually feels sly. The words are organized, much like his plan to put an end to his anger. The story behind, â€Å"A Poison Tree† can be compared to the religious tale of Adam and Eve. When God directed Eve not to the eat fruit from his garden, the serpent lead her into temptation and she ate an apple. Although in that story, God had consequences for Adam and Eve. The speaker in, â€Å"A Poison Tree† only has consequences for not confessing his feelings to his foe in the first place, â€Å"My wrath did grow. And I watered it in fears† (Blake 4-5). Much like Eve, the speaker was tempted. Not tempted to eat the apple, but he was tempted to poison it. In the end, the speaker turned out to be the serpent, an enemy, who is God’s foe: The Devil. The speaker sinned: he killed. A premeditated murder is where the complexity and irony of the poem come into play. The speaker begins as the offended victim, and ends the poem as a sinning foe. Although at first confessing to a friend ends his wrath, the only way to end the growing anger towards an enemy is murder. â€Å"In the morning glad I see; My foe outstretched beneath the tree† (Blake 15-16). That is where the continuous organization and perfectly numbered syllables come to an end. The anger is no longer growing and the speaker is happy. Irony is only one interesting aspect of â€Å"A Poison Tree†. Blake uses metaphors to paint an image of hatred and anger. An apple is a symbol of beauty, but most importantly: temptation. The apple represents the anger that is bottled up inside the speaker. The anger grew and built itself up to be the apple: something appearing to be beautiful, but holds danger within. Using metaphors and irony, William Blake has successfully written a very complex poem. Raina Lorring explains in her analysis, that â€Å"A Poison Tree† is Blake’s warning to the reader about what unchecked anger can do. Such an emotion can become poison to peoples minds if allowed to grow. Communication and releasing such emotions before they fester is the safest path to resolve conflict. Although that is the simple message of the poem, there is so much more meaning between the lines, that can be discovered when looking deeper into Christianity, and discovering the irony, for example.

Identifying the Authors Purpose on a Standardized Test

Identifying the Author's Purpose on a Standardized Test Knowing what authors purpose questions look like is one thing. Finding it is quite another! On a standardized test, youll have answer choices to help you figure it out, but distractor questions will often confuse you. On a short answer test, youll have nothing but your own brain to figure it out, and sometimes it isnt as easy at it seems. It may be helpful to practice these types of questions while preparing for standardized tests. Look For Clue Words Figuring out why an author wrote a particular passage can be as easy (or as difficult) as looking at clues inside the passage. Ive mentioned in the What is the Authors Purpose article several different reasons an author would have to write a passage of text, and what those reasons mean. Below, youll find those reasons, with the clue words associated with them. Compare: Author wanted to show similarities between ideasClue Words: both, similarly, in the same way, like, just asContrast: Author wanted to show differences between ideasClue Words: however, but, dissimilarly, on the other handCriticize: Author wanted to give a negative opinion of an ideaClue Words: Look for words that show the authors negative opinion. Judgment words like bad, wasteful, and poor all demonstrate negative opinions. Describe/Illustrate: Author wanted to paint a picture of an ideaClue Words: Look for words that provide descriptive detail. Adjectives like red, lusty, morose, striped, sparkling, and crestfallen are all illustrative.Explain: Author wanted to break down an idea into simpler termsClue Words: Look for words that turn a complicated process into simple language. A descriptive text will use more adjectives. An explanatory text will usually be used with a complicated idea.Identify/List: Author wanted to tell the reader about an idea or series of ideasClue Word s: Text that identifies or lists, will name an idea or series of ideas without providing much description or opinion. Intensify: Author wanted to make an idea greaterClue Words: Text that intensifies will add more specific details to the idea. Look for superlative adjectives and bigger concepts. A baby sadly crying is descriptive, but a baby mournfully howling red-cheeked for 30 minutes is more intense.Suggest: Author wanted to propose an ideaClue Words: Suggest answers are usually positive opinions and try to sway the reader to believe. The author will provide a point, then use details to prove it.​ Underline the Clue Words It helps to use that pencil in your hand when youre reading if youre unsure what the authors purpose is. As you read, underline the clue words in the text to help you get a better idea. Then, either compose a sentence using the key words (compare, explain, illustrate) to show why the author wrote the piece or select the best answer from the choices given.

Collecting and Preparing a Sycamore Seed for Planting

Collecting and Preparing a Sycamore Seed for Planting The American sycamore tree flowers in spring and completes seed maturity in the fall. Ending the maturation process as early as the first of September and continuing through November, the sycamore seeds ripen and are ready for collection and preparation for planting. The fruiting head is persistent and will delay seed drop out of the fruiting ball until January through April. The best time to collect the fruiting balls or heads, usually directly off the tree, is just before they begin to break up and the hairy-tufted seeds start falling. Easier picking is after the fruiting head turns brown but waiting to just after leaf fall. Because these seed heads are persistent on limbs, collections can be made into the next spring and usually make sycamore the last fall-maturing species to be collected in the Eastern forest. The California sycamore matures much earlier and should be collected during the fall season. Collecting Sycamore Seed for Planting Picking fruit heads by hand from the tree is the most common method of collection. At the northern and western limits of the range of sycamore, intact heads can sometimes be found and collected off the ground late in the season. After collecting these fruiting bodies, the heads should be spread in single layers and dried in well-ventilated trays until they can be broken apart. These heads can look dry on collection but layering and venting are essential, especially with fruit heads that are collected early in the season. Early ripening seed can have moisture contents as high as 70%. Seeds from each head should be extracted by crushing the dried fruit heads and removing the dust and fine hairs that are attached to the individual achenes. You can easily do small batches by hand-rubbing through hardware cloth (2 to 4 wires/cm). When doing larger batches, it is advised to wear dust masks as the fine hairs that are dislodged during extraction and cleaning are a danger to respiratory systems. Preparing and Storing Sycamore Seed for Planting Seeds of all sycamore species do just fine in similar storage conditions and can be easily stored for long periods under cold, dry conditions. Tests with sycamore seed have shown that at moisture contents of from 5 to 10% and stored at temperatures of 32 to 45  °F, they are suitable for storage for up to 5 years. American sycamore and naturalized London plane-trees have no dormancy requirements and pre-germination treatments are usually not required for adequate germination. Germination rates of California sycamore do increase from moist stratification storage for 60 to 90 days at 40 F in sand, peat, or sandy loam. To maintain low seed moisture under moist storage conditions, the dried seeds must be stored in moisture-proof containers, such as polyethylene bags. The rate of germination can be easily tested on wet paper or sand or even in shallow dishes of water at a temperature of around 80 F over 14 days. Planting Sycamore Seed Sycamores are naturally sown in the spring and you should mimic those conditions. Seeds should be placed in soil no deeper than 1/8 inch with each seed about 6 to 8 inches apart for proper spacing. Small, shallow starter trays with potting soil can be used to start the new trees and adequate soil moisture must be  maintained and trays placed under indirect light. Germination will take place over approximately 15 days and a 4 seedling will develop in less than 2 months under optimal conditions. These new seedlings then need to be carefully removed and transplanted from trays to small pots. Tree nurseries in the United States typically outplant these seedlings at one year from germination as bare root seedlings. Potted trees can go for several years before re-potting or planting in the landscape.

Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Film - Essay Example She’s an elegant and beautiful girl but with a tomboy attitude and dress sense as a result of being brought up by her father and older brother, after her mother died giving birth to her. She’s frequently seen dressed in Samurai warrior attire and rarely if ever in the traditional woman’s kimono dress. Despite some of her stronger and feistier attributes, however, she is nonetheless gentle, kind and honest. The Empress is really the antagonist here although at first it seems like it may be her son, Emperor Wu. She is a strong leader and comes across at first as wise yet firm. However, despite her soft spot for her son, the Empress Shuang is hard and cruel. She is ruled by ancient social traditions and beliefs and any sign of kindness is swamped by this. Again, she is an elegant woman but her fury makes her appear ugly and After a change in the plot the protagonist has to make a new decision to achieve the goal and restore the world to some form of balance (Aside from the new relationship she has with Emperor Wu, Jiao mission is still important. However, Jiao’s heritage is discovered but her secret mission remains secret. She now must carry out an alternative plan in order to complete the mission she’s been assigned to). The year is 202 BC. Dwelling in rural China is a flourishing tribe derived from the Manchu. They are a self sufficient community that focus their efforts on farming and martial arts and traditions. They dress in traditional clothing rich in texture and colour and each and every citizen of the tribe dedicated their lives to maintaining the prosperity and ongoing happiness of the tribe. They are led by a man named Delun. He is a wise man with a greatest devotion and commitment to his people. Over the past few years Delun had led his tribe through the unification of Middle China and into the Han Dynasty with reasonable success. But now China was approaching a time where Delun

The leading health indicator as defined by Health People 2020 Essay

The leading health indicator as defined by Health People 2020 - Essay Example The indicators are useful in assessing the health rate of the nation, to facilitate collaboration in different sectors and in motivation of action in different levels to ensure there is improvement of health in the American population. The ability of an individual to have access to health services has effect on many aspect of life. However, there are many Americans who lack primary care providers to receive medical services. This is an issue addressed by leading health indicators as defined by Health People 2020. People who do not have medical insurance are more likely to lack medical care as a result of high costs. It is important that these people receive medical insurance or medical care at affordable costs. To improve the nation’s health there are things that are key such as routine screens and immunizations. The services prevent and detect illnesses to provide treatment (Healthy people,

Arthur Millers play Essay Example for Free

Arthur Millers play Essay Arthur Millers play The Crucible is, on the surface, a play about a real life historical event that took place in the small American town of Salem in 1692. A mass hysteria gripped the town because of accusations of witchcraft and compacting with the devil. This led to many innocent people being hanged. However, some people believe that if you look deeper into the play you can see clear parallels with 1692 Salem and 1950s America. After the end of the Second World War most of Europe was devastated and left trying to recover. This left the USA and the USSR as the two dominant superpowers, both of these heavily armed nations were extremely scared of the other attacking them and so came an arms race to try to beat the other side. Diplomatic relations between the two powers broke down and widespread fear of communism took over the USA. So began the Cold War. Senator Joseph McCarthy set up the House Un-American Committee to root out communists and their sympathisers. This included anyone who had remotely left-wing views. Many actors, writers and musicians were brought before the committee including Miller himself. If you remember a crucible is a dish used to heat out the impurities from metals, you can see how it relates to Proctor in court being heated to provide names and confessions. This is much the same as what happened to Miller who was also asked to name names (but refused). To answer the question it has to be remembered that Miller intended that the play be performed on stage and not read like a book. He uses stage directions to convey to the audience some of the feelings characters are experiencing. On page 108 stage directions for Proctor say With great force of will, but not quite looking at her. The shows the audience that Proctor still cannot forgive himself for his affair with Abigail. It also shows the conflict between Proctor and Elizabeth and also Proctor and Abigail. Proctor also has a conflict with Parris, who he correctly believes is an incompetent fool. In addition to this he also has conflict he also a conflict with all the girls because he knows they are faking the whole thing. Miller shows this by having Proctor go to court to try and prove the girls liars. He brings Mary Warren into Court saying, She never saw no spirits. He also has conflicts with judges Haythorne and Danforth. On page 113 he says I speak my own sins, I cannot judge another. (Crying out with hatred) The stage directions for this quote clearly shows this conflict. These conflicts are all of one particular type, conflicts with other people, except for the conflicts with Judges Haythorne and Danforth who could also represent Proctors conflicts with Authority.  Reverend Hale has a conflict with Proctor because he believes that Proctor should sign the confession to live and not die for his pride. At one point he shows his anger at Proctors decision to tear up his confession says Man, you will hang! You cannot!.  A lot of characters especially Proctor have conflicts with authority. Proctor has a huge conflict with the courts and also the church, although the two are very close together. This is where Miller uses him to explore his own conflict with McCarthyism and his own experiences before the House Un-American Committee. On page 114 stage directions for Proctor read Proctor has finished signing when Danforth reaches for the paper. But Proctor snatches it up and now a wild terror is rising in him, and a boundless anger this shows very much how much Proctor hates the courts and could also show us something of Millers feelings towards McCarthyism. This is because both Proctor and Miller know that the courts/government are almost trying to bribe people into giving the names of others even if the others are innocent people that are being named to get them out of trouble or being named for some kind of revenge purpose. To add to his long list of conflicts Proctor also has a conflict within himself about whether or now he should sign the confession and name people to save his life or to protect others and his honour and die. Miller also faced this (although he was only threatened with jail not death) but like Proctor he refused to name people and escaped without severe punishment.  Elizabeth Proctor also has conflicts within herself as to whether or not to help John Proctor in his decision to sign the paper or not. In the end she does not help him and he must do it himself. This may show how alone you could feel when being questioned about your Un-American Activities in 1950s/60s America. In the end of the play Proctor is hung for not confessing or naming names. This ending solves many of the conflicts in the play. It solves all Proctors conflicts with people and authority and also other people conflicts with him. However it could spark of new conflicts within people such as the girls who faked the whole thing and must be wondering whether they should have said something before people were killed or whether to say something now. I think Miller is using his characters to show us different conflicts in society and the problems with people and how they can do things they ordinarily wouldnt to gain an advantage or to escape trouble. He also uses the conflicts to show problems with high authority and how they could collapse if they were revealed to be wrong about serious things like the witch trials. I think Miller is trying to tell us something we should all probably learn from.

King Lear :: essays research papers

King Lear is one of William Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies which involves a common story of three daughters vying for the love of their father. Jane Smiley parallels the story of King Lear in her novel A Thousand Acres. Though this novel is derived from the roots of King Lear and the basic plot is similar, the reader’s reaction to each work of literature varies greatly. One may wonder why the reader’s perspective on the play King Lear changes so drastically after reading the novel A Thousand Acres. A couple of the reasons include the pieces of literature being told from two different view points and how the paralleling characters in the two works assume roles than are unexpected and seem unlike the comparable characters in the other piece of literature. However, Scott Holstad states the reason for the differing responses best by saying, â€Å"Smiley is successful because she fills in so many of the gaps left open in the play. She gives us new and different perspectives† (Holstad 1). King Lear is a most unusual play in that it only deals with the present and neglects the past and the future. The reader is not informed about an earlier time period in the play. The play opens up with Lear immediately choosing to, â€Å"express our darker purpose† (I, i, 35). There is no mention of any of the three daughters’ childhood. In contrast, Smiley makes a point of adding description to her novel. She constantly describes the three girls’ childhood, their ancestors, and other memories from the past. In the beginning of the novel, Ginny elaborates upon her great-grandparents and, â€Å"when they came the first time to Zebulon County, in the spring of 1890, and saw that half the land they had already bought was under two feet of water† (Smiley 14). Ginny also remembers when she used to take care of Caroline, â€Å"I had such hope for her, such a strong sense that when we sent her out, in whatever capacity, she would perform well, with enthusiasm and confidence that were mysteriously hers alone† (Smiley 262). The description of the past is the most powerful part in A Thousand Acres. It reveals hidden roots that shape and define behaviors of the characters. This hidden knowledge and exposure of secrets is exemplified in Edgar’s line in King Lear, â€Å"In nothing am I chang’d But in my garments† (IV, vi, 9-10). It tells the reader that although things may appear to be a certain way, reality will prove them to be different. The major difference between King Lear and A Thousand Acres is that the past comes