Monday, September 30, 2019

The Golden Lily Chapter 11

I'M NOT A PHYSICAL PERSON. I'm decent in volleyball, and Eddie once taught me to throw a punch. But I make no claims to having the kind of training that guardians get. I certainly don't have their reflexes. So, in this situation, unable to break free of restraint, I pretty much did the only thing I could. I screamed. â€Å"Help! Somebody help!† My hope was that it would delay Sonya's captors from decapitating her or whatever it was they planned to do. I also hoped it would, well, bring help. We'd departed from the main downtown roads but were still close enough that someone should hear me – especially since there had still been a decent number of people out earlier. One of the attackers holding Sonya flinched, so I supposed I was partially successful. My own captor clamped a hand over my mouth and pushed me harder against the brick wall. Then, a strange thing happened. He – because he had the right build to be male, even though I couldn't make out his face – froze. He was still holding me, but his body had gone rigid. It was almost like he was shocked or surprised. I wasn't sure why. Surely someone screaming for help when assaulted wasn't that weird. I didn't think I could overpower him but still hoped I might take advantage of his stunned state. I pushed forward again, trying to get out of his grip. I only managed to move a few inches before he locked me back into place. â€Å"We need to go!† exclaimed one of Sonya's captors. Another guy. From what I could tell, they all were. â€Å"Someone will come.† â€Å"This'll only take a second,† growled the one holding the sword. â€Å"We need to rid the world of this evil.† I watched in terror, my heart seizing in my chest. I was afraid for myself, but I was especially afraid for Sonya. I'd never seen a decapitation. I didn't want to start now. Half a second later, I found myself suddenly free. Someone new had joined our fray, someone who ripped my captor away and tossed him easily to the pavement. It looked painful, and the guy landed with a grunt. Even in this poor lighting, the height and coat gave my savior away. It was Dimitri. I'd seen him fight before, but it never got old. He was captivating. He never stopped moving. Every action was graceful and lethal. He was a dancer of death. Ignoring the guy he'd just thrown, Dimitri surged toward the others. He immediately went for the guy with the sword. A swift kick from Dimitri sent the assailant flying backward. He dropped the sword and barely managed to catch hold of one of the churchyard trees. Meanwhile, one of the men holding Sonya simply turned tail and ran back toward downtown. Dimitri didn't pursue. His attention now was on the last guy, who was foolishly attempting to fight back. This freed Sonya, however, and she wasted no time getting to her feet and scurrying over to my side. I was rarely touchy-feely with anyone – certainly not Moroi – but I clung to her without even thinking twice. She did the same, and I could feel her trembling. Once, as a Strigoi, she'd been a force to be reckoned with. As a Moroi, one who'd just had a sword at her throat, things were understandably different. The guy facing down Dimitri actually managed a couple of good dodges. His mistake came when he attempted to hit Dimitri. It opened his guard, and like that, Dimitri punched him hard in the face. The tall guy who'd hit the tree earlier attempted an attack, but he was an idiot if he thought Dimitri was distracted. Dimitri dispatched him easily, and he landed near the guy Dimitri had just punched. The tall one struggled to his feet and looked like he wanted to attack again. His friend grabbed hold of him and tugged him away. After a moment's struggle between them, the two finally ran off. Dimitri didn't pursue. His attention was all on Sonya and me. â€Å"Are you okay?† he asked, swiftly striding over to us. I managed a weak nod, even though I was shaking uncontrollably. â€Å"Let's get out of here,† said Dimitri. He put a hand on each of our shoulders and began to steer us away. â€Å"Wait,† I said, moving toward the churchyard. â€Å"We should take the sword.† I scanned in front of me, but it was even darker than before. Dimitri found the sword right away with his superior eyesight. He tucked it under his duster, and the three of us quickly got out of there. We walked to Adrian's apartment, since it was much closer than Clarence's property outside of town. Even so, the brief trip seemed to take forever. I kept feeling like we could be attacked again at any moment, but Dimitri continued giving us assurances, while still pushing us at a good pace. Adrian was surprised to see us at his door. He also looked pretty drunk, but I didn't care. All I wanted was the security of his four walls. â€Å"What†¦ what's going on?† he asked, as Dimitri urged Sonya and me inside. Adrian's eyes looked at each of us, resting longest on me. â€Å"Are you okay? What happened?† Dimitri gave Sonya and me a once-over, double-checking for injuries despite our protests. He reached out and gently held my chin, turning my non-tattooed cheek toward him. â€Å"A little scraped,† he said. â€Å"Not serious, but you should clean it.† I touched the spot he'd indicated and was astonished to see blood on my fingers. I didn't even remember getting hurt but supposed it had come from the brick wall. Sonya had no physical marks but admitted to having a pretty bad headache from where she'd hit the ground. â€Å"What happened?† Adrian asked again. Dimitri held up the sword he'd retrieved from the scene. â€Å"Something a little more serious than a mugging, I think.† â€Å"I'd say so,† said Sonya, sitting on the couch. Her attitude was amazingly calm for what we'd just endured. She touched the back of her head and winced. â€Å"Particularly since they called me a creature of evil before you showed up.† Dimitri arched an eyebrow. â€Å"They did?† I hadn't moved once I'd reached the living room. I simply stood there with my arms wrapped around myself, feeling numbed. Movement seemed too difficult. Thinking seemed too difficult. As Dimitri examined the sword, however, something caught my eye and made my sluggish brain slowly begin to function again. Seeing my interest, he held the sword out to me. I took it, careful of the blade, and examined the hilt. It was covered with engravings. â€Å"Do those mean something to you?† he asked. My mind was still cloudy with fear and adrenaline, but I ignored it and tried to dredge up some facts. â€Å"These are old alchemy symbols,† I said. â€Å"From the Middle Ages, back when our group was just a bunch of medieval scientists trying to turn lead into gold.† That was all the history books knew about my society. That, and we'd eventually given up on gold. The organization had later found more sophisticated compounds, including vampire blood. Interacting with vampires had eventually evolved into our current cause, as ancient Alchemists realized the terrible and dark temptations vampires represented. Our cause became a holy one. The chemistry and formulas my society had once worked on for personal gain became the tools needed to hide the existence of vampires, tools we now supplemented with technology. I tapped the largest symbol, a circle with a dot in the center. â€Å"This is actually the symbol for gold. This other one is silver. These four triangle things are the basic elements – earth, air, water, and fire. And these†¦ Mars and Jupiter, which tie into iron and tin. Maybe the sword's composition?† I frowned and studied the rest of the metal. â€Å"No gold or silver actually in it, though. Their symbols can also refer to the sun and moon. Maybe these aren't physical at all. I don't know.† I handed the sword back to Dimitri. Sonya took it from him, studying what I'd pointed out. â€Å"So, are you saying this is an Alchemist weapon?† I shook my head. â€Å"Alchemists would never use something like this. Guns are easier. And the symbols are archaic. We use the periodic table now. Easier to write ‘Au' for gold instead of drawing that sun symbol.† â€Å"Is there any reason these would be on a weapon? Some greater symbolism or meaning?† Dimitri asked. â€Å"Well, again, if you go back, the sun and gold were the most important to the ancient Alchemists. They revolved around this whole idea of light and clarity.† I touched my cheek. â€Å"Those things are still important in some ways – it's why we use this gold ink. Aside from the benefits, the gold marks us as†¦ pure. Sanctified. Part of a holy cause. But on a sword†¦ I don't know. If whoever did this was going off the same symbolism, then maybe the sword is sanctified.† I thought back to the attackers' words, about returning to Hell. I grimaced. â€Å"Or maybe its owners feel it's serving some kind of holy duty.† â€Å"Who were these guys anyway?† asked Adrian. â€Å"Do you think Jill's at risk?† â€Å"They knew about vampires. But they were human,† said Dimitri. â€Å"Even I could tell that,† I agreed. â€Å"The one was pretty tall, but he was no Moroi.† Admitting our assailants had been human was difficult – and baffling – for me. I'd always believed the Strigoi were evil. That was easy. Even Moroi couldn't always be trusted, which was why the thought of Moroi assassins coming after Jill didn't seem that far-fetched. But humans†¦ the people I was supposed to be protecting? That was tough. I'd been attacked by my own kind, the so-called good guys, not the fanged fiends I'd been taught to fear. It was a jolt to my worldview. Dimitri's face grew even grimmer. â€Å"I've never heard of anything like this – mainly because most humans don't know about Moroi. Aside from the Alchemists.† I gave him a sharp look. â€Å"This had nothing to do with us. I told you, swords aren't our style. Neither are attacks.† Sonya set the sword down on the coffee table. â€Å"No one's making accusations about anyone. I assume it's an issue you'll both want to bring up to your groups.† Dimitri and I nodded. â€Å"Although, I think we're overlooking a key point here. They were treating me like a Strigoi. A sword's not the easiest way to kill someone. There'd have to be a reason.† â€Å"It's the only way a human could kill a Strigoi, too,† I murmured. â€Å"Humans can't charm a silver stake. I suppose they could set you on fire, but that's not practical in an alley.† Silence fell as we all mulled this over. At last, Sonya sighed. â€Å"I don't think we're going to get anywhere tonight, not without talking to others. Do you want me to heal that?† It took me a moment to realize she was talking to me. I touched my cheek. â€Å"No, it'll heal fast on its own.† That was one of the side effects of the vampire blood in our lily tattoos. â€Å"I'll go clean it before I go.† I walked to the bathroom as confidently as I could. When I reached it and saw my reflection in the mirror, I lost it. The scrape wasn't bad, not at all. Mostly, what upset me was what it represented. Sonya had had the blade to her throat, but my life had been in danger too. I had been attacked, and I'd been helpless. I wet a washcloth and tried to bring it to my face, but my hands were shaking too badly. â€Å"Sage?† Adrian appeared in the doorway, and I quickly tried to blink away the tears that had started to fill my eyes. â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"You okay?† â€Å"Can't you tell from my aura?† He didn't answer but instead took the washcloth from me before I dropped it. â€Å"Turn,† he commanded. I did, and he dabbed the scrape with it. With him standing so close to me, I could see that his eyes were bloodshot. I could also smell the alcohol on him. Nonetheless, his hand was steadier than mine. Again, he asked, â€Å"You okay?† â€Å"I'm not the one who had a sword to my throat.† â€Å"That's not the question I asked. Are you hurt anywhere else?† â€Å"No,† I said, looking down. â€Å"Just maybe†¦ maybe my pride.† â€Å"Your pride?† He paused to rinse the washcloth. â€Å"What does that have to do with anything?† I looked up but still didn't meet his eyes. â€Å"I can do a lot of things, Adrian. And – at the risk of sounding egotistical – I mean, well, I can do a lot of pretty awesome things that most people can't.† There was amusement in his voice. â€Å"Don't I know it. You can change a tire in ten minutes while speaking Greek.† â€Å"Five minutes,† I said. â€Å"But when my life's on the line – when others' lives are on the line – what good am I? I can't fight. I was completely helpless out there. Just like when the Strigoi attacked us and Lee. I can only stand and watch and wait for people like Rose and Dimitri to save me. I†¦ I'm like a storybook damsel in distress.† He finished cleaning my cheek and set the washcloth down. He cupped my face in his hands. â€Å"The only thing true about what you just said was the storybook damsel part – and that's only because you're pretty enough to be one. Not the distress thing. Everything else you just said was ridiculous. You're not helpless.† I finally looked up. In our conversations, Adrian wasn't usually the one accusing me of being ridiculous. â€Å"Oh? So I am like Rose and Dimitri?† â€Å"No. No more than I am. And, if memory serves, someone told me recently it was useless trying to be like other people. That you should only try to be yourself.† I scowled at having my words thrown back at me. â€Å"This isn't the same situation at all. I'm talking about taking care of myself, not impressing someone.† â€Å"Well, there's your other problem, Sage. ‘Taking care of yourself.' These encounters you've had – Strigoi, crazy guys with swords. Those aren't exactly normal. I don't think you can really get down on yourself for not being able to fight back against those kinds of attacks. Most people couldn't.† â€Å"I should be able to,† I muttered. His eyes were sympathetic. â€Å"Then learn. That same person who likes giving me advice once told me not to be a victim. So don't be. You've learned how to do a million other things. Learn this. Take a self-defense class. Get a gun. You can't be a guardian, but that's not the only way to protect yourself.† A cluster of emotions boiled within me. Anger. Embarrassment. Reassurance. â€Å"You've got a lot to say for a drunk guy.† â€Å"Oh, Sage. I've got a lot to say, drunk or sober.† He released me and stepped away. I felt oddly vulnerable without him near. â€Å"What most people don't get is that I'm more coherent like this. Less chance for spirit to make me crazy.† He tapped the side of his head and rolled his eyes. â€Å"Speaking of which†¦ I'm not going to give you any lectures about that,† I said, glad to shift the topic from me. â€Å"Lunch with your dad sucked. I get it. If you want to drown that out, it's fine. But please, just keep Jill in mind. You know what this does to her – not now, maybe, but later.† The ghost of a smile flickered across his lips. â€Å"You're always the voice of reason. Just try listening to yourself once in a while.† The words were familiar. Dimitri had said something similar, that I couldn't take care of others without taking care of myself first. If two people as wildly different as Adrian and Dimitri had the same opinion, then maybe there was something to it. It gave me a lot to think about when I returned to Amberwood later. One of the good things about Adrian's intoxication was that Jill hadn't been able to witness our talk. So the next day over lunch when I gave Jill, Eddie, and Angeline a recap of what had happened, I was able to edit the story and leave out my own breakdown. Jill and Angeline's reactions were about what I expected. Jill was concerned and kept asking over and over if Sonya and I were okay. Angeline regaled us with tales of all the things she would've done to the attackers and how, unlike Dimitri, she would have chased them through the streets. Eddie was quiet and didn't say much until the other two had left, Angeline back to her room and Jill to get ready for class. â€Å"I thought something was wrong with you today,† he said. â€Å"Especially at breakfast, when Angeline called a tomato a vegetable and you didn't correct her.† I managed a half smile at his joke. â€Å"Yeah. Well, it's the kind of thing that sticks with you. I mean, maybe not for you guys. Random sword attacks in dark alleys are normal for you, right?† He shook his head, face serious. â€Å"You can't ever take any attack in stride. People who do get careless. You have nothing to feel bad about.† I'd been stirring some sketchy looking mashed potatoes and finally gave up. â€Å"I don't like being unprepared. For anything. Don't get me wrong – I've been there when you and Rose fought Strigoi. I was helpless then too†¦ but that's different. They're larger than life†¦ beyond a human's scope. I don't really expect myself to be able to fight then. But what happened last night – even with the sword – was only one step away from a mugging. Mundane. And they were human, like me. I shouldn't have been so ineffectual.† â€Å"Do you want me to teach you some tricks?† he asked kindly. That brought my smile back. â€Å"What you do is a little larger than life too. Maybe I'd be better doing something a little more suited to my level. Adrian said I should get a gun or take a self-defense class.† â€Å"That's good advice.† â€Å"I know. Scary, huh? The Alchemists do gun-training, but I'm not a fan. I do pretty well at classes and theory, though.† He chuckled. â€Å"Very true. Well, if you change your mind, let me know. After working with Angeline, I'm ready for anything. Although†¦ to be fair, she's backed off a little.† I thought back to my last real conversation with her. Her fight and suspension had only been yesterday but felt like years ago. â€Å"Oh. I sort of had a talk with her.† â€Å"What kind of talk?† he asked, surprised. â€Å"I told you not to worry about my personal life. It's my problem.† â€Å"I know, I know. But it just kind of happened. I told her that her behavior was out of line and that she needed to stop. She was pretty mad at me, though, so I wasn't sure if it had gotten through.† â€Å"Huh. I guess it did.† The next words obviously were a big concession. â€Å"Maybe she's not as bad as I thought.† â€Å"Maybe,† I agreed. â€Å"And look at it this way. At least her suspension means you don't have to worry about her at the dance.† From the way his face lit up, it was clear he hadn't realized that yet. A few moments later, he toughened up again. â€Å"If there are attacks going on like this, I'm going to have to be extra cautious with Jill – especially at the dance.† I hadn't thought there was any way Eddie could be more cautious, but probably he'd prove me wrong. â€Å"I kind of wish Angeline was going.† Most of my classes were distracting enough to keep me from thinking too much about last night, but Ms. Terwilliger's independent study was different. It was too quiet, too low-key. It gave me a lot of time in my own head, bringing back all the fear and self-doubt I'd been trying to ignore. For once, I copied and notated the spells without really memorizing them. Usually, I couldn't help myself. Today, my mind wasn't there. We were almost halfway through the period when I finally tuned in enough to really process what I was working on. It was a spell from Late Antiquity that allegedly made the victim think scorpions were crawling on him or her. Like so many of Ms. Terwilliger's spell books, the formula was convoluted and time consuming. â€Å"Ms. Terwilliger?† I hated to ask anything of her, but recent events weighed too heavily on me. She looked up in surprise from her paperwork. After the cold war we'd entered into, she'd grown used to me never speaking unless spoken to. â€Å"Yes?† I tapped the book. â€Å"What good are these so-called offensive spells? How would you ever use them in a fight when they require concoctions that take days to prepare? If you're attacked, there's no time for anything like that. There's hardly any time to think.† â€Å"Which one are you looking at?† she asked. â€Å"The scorpion one.† She nodded. â€Å"Ah, yes. Well, that's more of a premeditated one. If you've got someone you don't like, you work on this and cast it. Quite effective for ex-boyfriends, I might add.† Her face grew distracted, and then she focused back on me. â€Å"There are certainly ones that would be more useful in the kind of situation you're describing. Your fire charm, if you recall, had a lot of prep work but could be used quite quickly. There are others that can be cast on extremely short notice with few components – but as I've said in the past, those types require considerable skill. The more advanced you are, the less you need ingredients. You need a lot more experience before you're at a level to learn anything like that.† â€Å"I never said I wanted to learn anything like that,† I snapped. â€Å"I'm just†¦ making an inquiry.† â€Å"Oh? My mistake. It almost sounded like you were, dare I say, interested.† â€Å"No!† I was grateful that the healing magic in my tattoo had cleared up most of the bruising on my face from last night. I didn't want her to suspect that I might have serious motivation for protection. â€Å"See, this is why I never say anything in here. You read too much into it and just use it to further your agenda to torment me.† â€Å"Torment? You read books and drink coffee in here – exactly what you'd be doing if you weren't here.† â€Å"Except that I'm miserable,† I told her. â€Å"I hate every minute of this. I'm almost ready to stop coming and risk the academic fallout. This is all sick and twisted and – † The last bell of the day cut me off before I said something I'd regret. Almost immediately, Trey appeared in the doorway. Ms. Terwilliger began packing up and looked over at him with a smile, as though everything in here was perfectly normal. â€Å"Why, Mr. Juarez. How nice of you to show up now, seeing as you couldn't make it to my class this morning.† Looking back, I realized she was right. Trey hadn't been in her history class or our chemistry class. â€Å"Sorry,† he said. â€Å"I had some family stuff to take care of.† â€Å"Family stuff† was an excuse I used all the time, though I doubted Trey's had involved taking vampires on a blood feeding run. â€Å"Can you, uh, tell me what I missed?† he asked. Ms. Terwilliger slung her bag over her shoulder. â€Å"I have an appointment. Ask Miss Melbourne – she'll probably explain it more thoroughly than I can. The door will lock behind you when you two leave.† Trey sat down in a nearby desk and pulled it up to face mine while I produced our history and chemistry assignments, since I assumed he'd need the latter as well. I nodded toward the duffle bag he had on the floor beside him. â€Å"Off to practice?† He leaned over to copy the assignments, his dark hair falling around the sides of his face. â€Å"Wouldn't miss it,† he said, not looking up as he wrote. â€Å"Right. You only miss classes.† â€Å"Don't judge,† he said. â€Å"I would've been there if I could.† I let it go. I'd certainly had my fair share of weird personal complications come up before. While he wrote, I turned on my cell phone and found I had a text message from Brayden. It was one word, a record for him: Dinner? I hesitated. I was still worked up over last night, and although Brayden was fun, he wasn't the comfort I needed right now. I texted back: Not sure. I've got some work to do tonight. I wanted to look up some self-defense options. That was the reassurance I needed. Facts. Options. Brayden's quick response followed: Late dinner? Stone Grill at 8? I considered it and then texted back that I'd be there. I had just set down my phone when another text message buzzed. Unexpectedly, it was from Adrian. How r u feeling after last night? Been worried about u. Adrian was articulate in email but often resorted to abbreviations in texts – something I could never bring myself to do. Even reading it was like listening to nails on a chalkboard for me, yet something touched me about his concern, that he was worried about my well-being. It was soothing. I wrote back: Better. I'm going to find a self-defense class. His response time was nearly as fast as Brayden's: Let me know what u find. Maybe I'll take one 2. I blinked in surprise. I certainly hadn't seen that coming. There was only one thing I could send back: Why? â€Å"Geez,† said Trey, closing up his notebook. â€Å"Miss Popularity.† â€Å"Family stuff,† I said. He scoffed and shoved the notebook into his backpack. â€Å"Thanks for these. And speaking of family stuff†¦ your cousin. Is it true she was expelled?† â€Å"Suspended for two weeks.† â€Å"Really?† He stood up. â€Å"That's it? I thought it'd be a lot worse.† â€Å"Yeah. It nearly was. I persuaded them to go easy on her.† Trey laughed outright at that. â€Å"I can only imagine. Well, I guess I can wait two weeks then.† I frowned. â€Å"For what?† â€Å"To ask her out.† I was speechless for a few seconds. â€Å"Angeline?† I asked, just in case he thought I had another cousin. â€Å"You want to ask out†¦ Angeline?† â€Å"Sure,† he said. â€Å"She's cute. And taking out three guys and a speaker? Well†¦ I'm not going to lie. That was pretty hot.† â€Å"I can think of a lot of words to describe what she did. ‘Hot' isn't one of them.† He shrugged and moved toward the door. â€Å"Hey, you've got your turn-ons, I've got mine. Windmills for you, brawling for me.† â€Å"Unbelievable,† I said. Yet, I wondered if it really was. I supposed we did all have our own â€Å"turn-ons.† Trey's lifestyle was certainly different from mine. He was devoted to his sport and always had bruises on him from practice, even now. They were more severe than usual. I couldn't understand his passions any more than he could understand my love of knowledge. My phone buzzed again. â€Å"Better get back to your fan club,† said Trey. He left, and a strange thought occurred to me. Were all of Trey's recent bruises really from sports? He kept making a lot of references to his family, and I suddenly wondered if something far more insidious than I'd suspected was keeping him away. It was a troubling idea, one I didn't have a lot of experience with. Another buzz from the phone pulled me out of my worries. I checked the phone and found another text from Adrian – a long one that spanned two messages. It was a response to my question about him taking a self-defense class. It'll give me a reason to avoid S&D. Besides, u aren't the only one who might need protection. Those guys were human and knew S was a vampire. Maybe vampire hunters r real. Ever think Clarence might be telling the truth? I stared at the phone in disbelief, processing Adrian's words and the implications of last night's attack. Ever think Clarence might be telling the truth? No. Until that moment, I hadn't.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Film Music Critique Essay

Action, suspense, love, and drama are all the makings for a great film. None of these key features to a film could have any substance or feeling without the help of music. Composers play a big role for setting the tone of the movie, developing characters, moving along or supporting action, and depicting the time and place the movie is taking place. In the movie Heat, Elliot Goldenthal does just that. Goldenthal was born in NY in 1954 and studied music under John Corigliano and Aaron Copeland. His partner is Julie Taymor and he won an Oscar for the movie Frida which Julie directed. Goldenthal has composed for several films as well as concert halls, theater and dance. He also has written an opera Grendel, which premiered in 1996 by The LA Opera Company. The movie opens with the main title fading in from black accompanied by a light string tone with horns backing them up (with a quick electric guitar when De Niro’s and Pacino’s names appear). This sets the overall tone for the movie presenting more of a serious / dramatic feel. The LA Metro begins to immerge into the background. The music complements the train passing, closely resembling the way Quincy Jones scored the opening of In Cold Blood with the bus passing by. There is a little change to the music when Robert De Niro’s character appears on screen which has a jazz tone that lets the audience know that this is in the city, in this case downtown Los Angeles. The music follows De Niro to an emergency hospital. At this point the music turns more intense with guitar and a prominent bass line moving the action along. There is a use of low strings moving very rapidly in the background that helps push the action along even more as he walks through the E.  R. This music carries on when the scene cuts and goes to Val Kilmer making a purchase in a construction yard. The music connects the two characters by carrying over through the scene. It also has an ominous feel that suggest that these two characters are more than likely the villains in the movie. The scene cuts to the hero, Al Pacino, with his wife and the music abruptly stops. This distinguishes his character of the hero, from the other two villain characters. At the end of the movie Robert De Niro’s character is trying to escape the country with the girl while Al Pacino’s character is right on his tail. There is a moment when De Niro realizes he cannot make it out with the girl and in and unspoken stare he leaves. The music matches the feeling of the moment using long drown out chords creating that sense a wanting and loss. As Pacino chases De Niro through a field the music stops to intensify the action and set up the final scene. The music fades back in shortly before Pacino shoots De Niro. The music carries into a high key riff that is repeated with strings playing four tones slowly behind the keys. The music grows louder adding more instruments such as large cymbals and carries into the credits. Goldenthal’s score was replaced in the final scene with Moby’s â€Å"God Moving Over the Face of the Water. † Director Michael Mann felt that Moby’s music better represented a feeling of relief, that it was over, that Pacino finally got his guy. At the same time the music related the two characters. Opposite from the beginning where the music separated the two, here it connects them demonstrating how they were not that different and had respect and admiration for each other.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Contemporary & Future Challenges in HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Contemporary & Future Challenges in HRM - Essay Example It is the responsibility of HRM personnel to find ways to develop effective programmes that meet this challenge. Information used by HRM in decision making is provided by the human resource management information systems (HRMIS), which is an integrated system based on technology for organizational use. To transform the way HRM delivers its activities, the use of â€Å"workforce technologies† has grown rapidly in the last decade. These pertain to most human resource activities such as recruiting, training, addressing grievances, legal work, performance appraisals, pensions and benefits, and other areas. An HRMIS can significantly improve the efficiency of the HRM operations, raise profit levels and perform risk management for the organization. Future challenges in human resource management can be met with potential applications of HRMIS, as in training management, risk management, and overall cost reduction of human resource management activities. Human resource management (HRM) is a function of organizational systems to ensure that â€Å"human talent is used effectively and efficiently to accomplish organizational goals† (Mathis & Jackson, 2006: 28). Most organizations have physical, financial, intangible and human assets. The human asset or the human capital constitutes the combined value of the skills, capabilities, knowledge, life experiences, and motivation of an organizational workforce. The contemporary and future challenges faced by human resource management are: the â€Å"globalization of business, economic and technological changes, workforce diversity, organizational cost pressures and restructuring† (Mathis & Jackson, 2006: 28). There is an ongoing transformation of HR roles by technology and outsourcing and also by the need for HR to become a more strategic contributor. HR technology in the form of Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS) helps to improve administrative efficiency levels and present increased information for strategic

Friday, September 27, 2019

Method Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Method - Essay Example The antioxidants stock solutions were prepared separately. Four hundred milligrams of L-ascorbic acid and tannic acid were dissolved in 5 mL of water to make a stock solution of 80 mg/mL. Forty milligrams of epigallocatechin were dissolved in 5 mL water for a concentration of stock solution of 8 mg/mL. Cells of Staphylococcus aureus strains SH1000 and UAMS-1 were streaked on Mueller-Hinton Agar (MHA) plates and incubated 37Â °C for 24 hours. After this period, single colonies were picked, and transferred to tubes with Mueller-Hinton Broth (MHB). The tubes were placed in an incubator-shaker at 37 Â °C for another 24 hours. The overnight cultures in MHB, after appropriate dilution, served as the inocula for the experimental determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of antibiotics and antioxidants, and mutational frequencies (MF). Overnight cultures were always used fresh, and not after storage. The desired antibiotic starting concentrations were obtained by diluting the desired volume from the stock solutions. For the determination of the mupirocin MIC, the starting concentration was 16 Â µg/mL. This amount was diluted doubly using sterile saline to produce decreasing concentrations of 16, 8, 4, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125, 0.0625, and 0.03125 Â µg/mL. The starting concentration of rifampicin was 2 Â µg/mL. Again, double dilution was performed. The following concentrations were used to determine the rifampicin MIC: 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125, 0.0625, 0.03125, 0.01563, 0.0078, and 0.0039 Â µg/mL. To determine the MICs of the antioxidants that were to be used in the experiment, the antioxidants solutions were also serially diluted similar to what was done for the antimicrobials mupirocin and rifampicin. The starting concentration of all the antioxidants was 8 mg/mL. After double dilutions, the concentrations used were 8, 4, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125, 0.0625, 0.03125, and 0.01563 mg/mL. Cellulose ester disks with 0.22 Â µm

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Asset pricing models (CAPM and APT) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Asset pricing models (CAPM and APT) - Essay Example The information of risk observed in similar types of the asset in the market will help the investor to get a true picture towards acquiring the asset. The observed risk factors will help in determining the real value of that asset (Kerzner & Saladis, 2010). There are many small investors who are the price taker. There is no tax on the asset. Investment should be of public related assets for example: shares and bonds. All the investors are adopting same strategy and provide combine information about the asset (Fabozzi et al., 2006). Investor can get information from the market to apply CAPM model, but it is also possible that the information is incomplete or not at large practiced. The investors in market applying CAPM pricing model are basically small investors. Small investors usually buy little bit stocks of asset and sell if the price of that asset increased (KÃ ¼rschner, 2008). The risk factor cannot be perfectly determined by the small investors because they acquire the assets on equilibrium price set by the market. Small investors can take risk but valuable risk factor can be determined by the large investors. Although tax on the asset is generally added to the cost of the asset but in determining the price model of CAPM, the tax factor will not be included. The information regarding the particular asset does not contain the information of tax imposed on it (Loskamp, 2007). APT is the model which can provide well diversified information about the risk factors as well as expected returns of that asset. Agents are appointed under this model to get information quite reliable regarding the risk and returns of an asset. Agent provides the expected returns of the asset depending on his experience. Risk factor calculated by the agent is more preferable because it is actually based on the whole market review (Focardi & Fabozzi, 2004). The agents charge price for providing information of the asset. Investor has to choose the agent which has the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The reasons behind the proliferation of electronic over print Essay

The reasons behind the proliferation of electronic over print newspapers - Essay Example The preference of the e- newspaper over the printed ones has been due to its environmental benefits. That is, the electronic newspaper "has enhanced the environmental stewardship for sustainable growth" (Cherian and Farouk 194). The electronic newspaper has enabled zero use of the paper thus a reduction in the number of trees cut down. As a result, the electronic newspaper has made it easy for the reduction of the amount of atmospheric carbon (IV) oxide through the promotion of the development of carbon sink. Its environmental benefit has made it gain more prominence in the wake of environmental sustainability. However, traditional printed products have also been involved in environmentally friendly practices like the reusing and recycling of the papers even though the practices are not a hundred percent eco- friendly. The electronic newspaper has, therefore, proven to be more proactive in conserving the environment as opposed to a print newspaper that is reactive. In addition, it pr events the chances of littering the environment using the read printed papers. For instance, the electronic newspaper prevents the paving of the subways and streets with discarded newspapers. It, therefore, offers a spirit of environmental protection and sustainability, which are critical issues for development goals.  The preference of the electronic newspaper over the print version is due to its convenience. That is, the natural factor like the wind and rainfall affect the readability of the print newspaper and can also be prevented.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

SWOT ANALYSIS for Commercial Real Estate Campany (LANSCO) Research Paper

SWOT ANALYSIS for Commercial Real Estate Campany (LANSCO) - Research Paper Example LANSCO is a reliable name in real estate business for last four decades in United States and has expanded its operations in more than 80 real estate market worldwide. LANSCO offers a complete range of real estate services that include but not limited to advisory services, sales and leasing services. LANSCO clientele comprises of commercial and retail sellers and leasers. LANSCO can provide valuable help and support to its individual or corporate clients in selling and leasing properties, offices etc. LANSCO strengthens its corporate business through a sister firm Corfac (Corporate Facility Adviser) and use valuable experience of other firms that have been in real estate business for at least last two decades through X Team to facilitate its retail commercial real estate clients. (LANSCO, 2011) This essay will apply SWOT analysis to ascertain the internal strengths, weaknesses and external opportunities and threat facing LANSCO. However, it must be bear in mind that the analysis is no t rigorous in it nature and covers only few aspects of the company which can later on be utilize for further probes into the state of affairs. Strengths The company has been in the real estate business for quite some time and has an established goodwill among various segments of the society. This goodwill is the most important, intangible and valuable strength of a company. LANSCO has succeeded in retaining and reinforcing its hard earned goodwill and has an infinite scope of the utilizing this goodwill in a befitting manner. This goodwill can provide leverage in the organizational functions of sales, marketing and production. The experience of being in the market for more than 45 years is the second most important strength of the company. There is no alternative of experience in the world and the worth and strength this experience adds to the company is beyond estimates. This experience can be further utilized to develop valuable human resource that can serve the company in the fac e of upcoming opportunities and threat. Experience can be very handy in almost every organizational function like sales & marketing, finance & accounting, management of resources including human resources, research & development, production, and information systems. Real estate business requires deep rooted social networking and LANSCO is blessed with a wide, reliable and exponential social network that range from individual customers to corporate friends and affiliates. Networking is an important requirement in advance marketing and sales operations and can provided added benefits and competitive advance to the firm. LANSCO’s network can bring it to new business horizon it is exploited to its real strength. Weaknesses The company is in a wide range of real estate businesses and can claim to be pioneers in the industry. However, its web presence is marginally satisfactory. The World Wide Web offers innumerable opportunities to any kind of business in today’s world. Spe cially, for a firm like LANSCO, whose intended clients are beyond the tangible borders of United States can exploited WWW boom to its advantage in a more befitting manner than how it is currently utilizing the technology. ICT technologies have a lot more to offer to businesses like LANSCO in the upcoming years as more and more clients prefer to visit the online resources of any firms before they actually

Monday, September 23, 2019

Cosmetic Surgery - New Form of Modern Art or Pure Science Essay

Cosmetic Surgery - New Form of Modern Art or Pure Science - Essay Example The essay "Cosmetic Surgery - New Form of Modern Art or Pure Science" analyzes the phenomenon of cosmetic surgery. The issue of cosmetic surgery is probably the most debated within the domain of modern medicine. Within the recent decade it was highly debated not only in the US medical and ethical journals but also on TV and in popular newspapers. One of the most popular theses for such debates is following: is cosmetic surgery an art (as it does not require medical indications for the treatment) or a science (as it is based on profound medical techniques)? Simple â€Å"googling† the Internet gives clear evidence that most surgeons working in this area as well as respective clinics advertise their business as the â€Å"art of plastic / cosmetic surgery† instead of propagating it as a purely scientific and sophisticated activity. Conventionally comparing their business with Pygmalion’s statuary – the mythological Greek sculptor who created his ideal Galatea out of a marble stone – surgeons underline that the ultimate goal of cosmetic surgery is to make people more fit common aesthetic standards and appeal more both to themselves and the others. Not surprisingly, as Blum mentions many of cosmetic surgeons call themselves artists and sculptors. In many aspects comparisons between cosmetic surgery and art are based on the reasonable ground. Dislike the general surgery, cosmetic one does not have the standardized procedures. Contrasting to surgery where the doctor is the one and only who knows the way to successful treatment.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Cognitive science Essay Example for Free

Cognitive science Essay Stylistics is the study and interpretation of texts from a linguistic perspective. As a discipline it links literary criticism and linguistics, but has no autonomous domain of its own. [1][2] The preferred object of stylistic studies is literature, but not exclusively high literature but also other forms of written texts such as text from the domains of advertising, pop culture, politics or religion. [3] Stylistics also attempts to establish principles capable of explaining the particular choices made by individuals and social groups in their use of language, such as socialisation, the production and reception of meaning, critical discourse analysis and literary criticism. Other features of stylistics include the use of dialogue, including regional accents and people’s dialects, descriptive language, the use of grammar, such as the active voice or passive voice, the distribution of sentence lengths, the use of particular language registers, etc. In addition, stylistics is a distinctive term that may be used to determine the connections between the form and effects within a particular variety of language. Therefore, stylistics looks at what is ‘going on’ within the language; what the linguistic associations are that the style of language reveals. * | Early twentieth century The analysis of literary style goes back to Classical rhetoric, but modern stylistics has its roots in Russian Formalism,[4] and the related Prague School, in the early twentieth century. In 1909, Charles Ballys Traite de stylistique francaise had proposed stylistics as a distinct academic discipline to complement Saussurean linguistics. For Bally, Saussures linguistics by itself couldnt fully describe the language of personal expression. [5] Ballys programme fitted well with the aims of the Prague School. [6] Building on the ideas of the Russian Formalists, the Prague School developed the concept of foregrounding, whereby poetic language stands out from the background of non-literary language by means of deviation (from the norms of everyday language) or parallelism. [7] According to the Prague School, the background language isnt fixed, and the relationship between poetic and everyday language is always shifting. [8] Late twentieth century Roman Jakobson had been an active member of the Russian Formalists and the Prague School, before emigrating to America in the 1940s. He brought together Russian Formalism and American New Criticism in his Closing Statement at a conference on stylistics at Indiana University in 1958. [9] Published as Linguistics and Poetics in 1960, Jakobsons lecture is often credited with being the first coherent formulation of stylistics, and his argument was that the study of poetic language should be a sub-branch of linguistics. [10] The poetic function was one of six general functions of language he described in the lecture. Michael Halliday is an important figure in the development of British stylistics. [11] His 1971 study Linguistic Function and Literary Style: An Inquiry into the Language of William Goldings The Inheritors is a key essay. [12] One of Hallidays contributions has been the use of the term register to explain the connections between language and its context. [13] For Halliday register is distinct from dialect. Dialect refers to the habitual language of a particular user in a specific geographical or social context. Register describes the choices made by the user,[14] choices which depend on three variables: field (what the participants are actually engaged in doing, for instance, discussing a specific subject or topic),[15] tenor (who is taking part in the exchange) and mode (the use to which the language is being put). Fowler comments that different fields produce different language, most obviously at the level of vocabulary (Fowler. 1996, 192) The linguist David Crystal points out that Halliday’s ‘tenor’ stands as a roughly equivalent term for ‘style’, which is a more specific alternative used by linguists to avoid ambiguity. (Crystal. 1985, 292) Halliday’s third category, mode, is what he refers to as the symbolic organisation of the situation. Downes recognises two distinct aspects within the category of mode and suggests that not only does it describe the relation to the medium: written, spoken, and so on, but also describes the genre of the text. (Downes. 1998, 316) Halliday refers to genre as pre-coded language, language that has not simply been used before, but that predetermines the selection of textual meanings. The linguist William Downes makes the point that the principal characteristic of register, no matter how peculiar or diverse, is that it is obvious and immediately recognisable. (Downes. 1998, 309) Literary stylistics In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, Crystal observes that, in practice, most stylistic analysis has attempted to deal with the complex and ‘valued’ language within literature, i. e.  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœliterary stylistics’. He goes on to say that in such examination the scope is sometimes narrowed to concentrate on the more striking features of literary language, for instance, its ‘deviant’ and abnormal features, rather than the broader structures that are found in whole texts or discourses. For example, the compact language of poetry is more likely to reveal the secrets of its construction to the stylistician than is the language of plays and novels. (Crystal. 1987, 71). Poetry As well as conventional styles of language there are the unconventional – the most obvious of which is poetry. In Practical Stylistics, HG Widdowson examines the traditional form of the epitaph, as found on headstones in a cemetery. For example: His memory is dear today As in the hour he passed away. (Ernest C. Draper ‘Ern’. Died 4. 1. 38) (Widdowson. 1992, 6) Widdowson makes the point that such sentiments are usually not very interesting and suggests that they may even be dismissed as ‘crude verbal carvings’ and crude verbal disturbance (Widdowson, 3). Nevertheless, Widdowson recognises that they are a very real attempt to convey feelings of human loss and preserve affectionate recollections of a beloved friend or family member. However, what may be seen as poetic in this language is not so much in the formulaic phraseology but in where it appears. The verse may be given undue reverence precisely because of the sombre situation in which it is placed. Widdowson suggests that, unlike words set in stone in a graveyard, poetry is unorthodox language that vibrates with inter-textual implications. (Widdowson. 1992, 4) Two problems with a stylistic analysis of poetry are noted by PM Wetherill in Literary Text: An Examination of Critical Methods. The first is that there may be an over-preoccupation with one particular feature that may well minimise the significance of others that are equally important. (Wetherill. 1974, 133) The second is that any attempt to see a text as simply a collection of stylistic elements will tend to ignore other ways whereby meaning is produced. (Wetherill. 1974, 133) Implicature In ‘Poetic Effects’ from Literary Pragmatics, the linguist Adrian Pilkington analyses the idea of ‘implicature’, as instigated in the previous work of Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson. Implicature may be divided into two categories: ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ implicature, yet between the two extremes there are a variety of other alternatives. The strongest implicature is what is emphatically implied by the speaker or writer, while weaker implicatures are the wider possibilities of meaning that the hearer or reader may conclude. Pilkington’s ‘poetic effects’, as he terms the concept, are those that achieve most relevance through a wide array of weak implicatures and not those meanings that are simply ‘read in’ by the hearer or reader. Yet the distinguishing instant at which weak implicatures and the hearer or reader’s conjecture of meaning diverge remains highly subjective. As Pilkington says: ‘there is no clear cut-off point between assumptions which the speaker certainly endorses and assumptions derived purely on the hearer’s responsibility. ’ (Pilkington. 1991, 53) In addition, the stylistic qualities of poetry can be seen as an accompaniment to Pilkington’s poetic effects in understanding a poems meaning. Stylistics is a valuable if long-winded approach to criticism, and compels attention to the poems details. Two of the three simple exercises performed here show that the poem is deficient in structure, and needs to be radically recast. The third sheds light on its content. Introduction Stylistics applies linguistics to literature in the hope of arriving at analyses which are more broadly based, rigorous and objective. {1} The pioneers were the Prague and Russian schools, but their approaches have been appropriated and extended in recent years by radical theory. Stylistics can be evaluative (i. e.judge the literary worth on stylistic criteria), but more commonly attempts to simply analyze and describe the workings of texts which have already been selected as noteworthy on other grounds. Analyses can appear objective, detailed and technical, even requiring computer assistance, but some caution is needed. Linguistics is currently a battlefield of contending theories, with no settlement in sight. Many critics have no formal training in linguistics, or even proper reading, and are apt to build on theories (commonly those of Saussure or Jacobson) that are inappropriate and/or no longer accepted. Some of the commonest terms, e. g. deep structure, foregrounding, have little or no experimental support. {2} Linguistics has rather different objectives, moreover: to study languages in their entirety and generality, not their use in art forms. Stylistic excellence — intelligence, originality, density and variety of verbal devices — play their part in literature, but aesthetics has long recognized that other aspects are equally important: fidelity to experience, emotional shaping, significant content. Stylistics may well be popular because it regards literature as simply part of language and therefore (neglecting the aesthetic dimension) without a privileged status, which allows the literary canon to be replaced by one more politically or sociologically acceptable. {3} Why then employ stylistics at all? Because form is important in poetry, and stylistics has the largest armoury of analytical weapons. Moreover, stylistics need not be reductive and simplistic. There is no need to embrace Jacobsons theory that poetry is characterized by the projection of the paradigmatic axis onto the syntagmatic one. {4} Nor accept Bradfords theory of a double spiral: {5} literature has too richly varied a history to be fitted into such a straitjacket. Stylistics suggests why certain devices are effective, but does not offer recipes, any more than theories of musical harmony explains away the gifts of individual composers. Some stylistic analysis is to be found in most types of literary criticism, and differences between the traditional, New Criticism and Stylistics approaches are often matters of emphasis. Style is a term of approbation in everyday use (that woman has style, etc.), and may be so for traditional and New Criticism. But where the first would judge a poem by reference to typical work of the period (Jacobean, Romantic, Modernist, etc. ), or according to genre, the New Criticism would probably simply note the conventions, explain what was unclear to a modern audience, and then pass on to a detailed analysis in terms of verbal density, complexity, ambiguity, etc. To the Stylistic critic, however, style means simply how something is expressed, which can be studied in all language, aesthetic and non-aesthetic. {6} Stylistics is a  very technical subject, which hardly makes for engrossing, or indeed uncontentious, {7} reading. The treatment here is very simple: just the bare bones, with some references cited. Under various categories the poem is analyzed in a dry manner, the more salient indications noted, and some recommendations made in Conclusions. Published Examples of Stylistic Literary Criticism G. N. Leechs A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry (1969) Laura Browns Alexander Pope (1985) Roy Lewiss On Reading French Verse: A Study in Poetic Form (1982) George Wrights Shakespeares Metrical Art. (1988) Richard Bradfords A Linguistic History of English Poetry (1993) Poem The Architects But, as youd expect, they are very Impatient, the buildings, having much in them Of the heavy surf of the North Sea, flurrying The grit, lifting the pebbles, flinging them With a hoarse roar against the aggregate They are composed of — the cliffs higher of course, More burdensome, underwritten as It were with past days overcast And glinting, obdurate, part of the Silicate of tough lives, distant and intricate As the whirring bureaucrats let in And settled with coffee in the concrete pallets, Awaiting the post and the department meeting — Except that these do not know it, at least do not Seem to, being busy, generally. So perhaps it is only on those cloudless, almost Vacuumed afternoons with tier upon tier Of concrete like rib-bones packed above them, And they light-headed with the blue airiness Spinning around, and muzzy, a neuralgia Calling at random like frail relations, a phone Ringing in a distant office they cannot get to, That they become attentive, or we do — these Divisions persisting, indeed what we talk about, We, constructing these webs of buildings which, Caulked like great whales about us, are always. Aware that some trick of the light or weather Will dress them as friends, pleading and flailing — And fill with placid but unbearable melodies Us in deep hinterlands of incurved glass.  © C. John Holcombe 1997 Metre Though apparently iambic, with five stresses to the line, the metre shows many reversals and substitutions. Put at its simplest, with: / representing a strong stress \ representing a weak stress x representing no stress, and trying to fit lines into a pentameters, we have -| /| x| x| x| /| -| \| x| /| x| | But| as| youd| ex| pect| | they| are| ve| ry| x| /| x| x| /| x| /| x| \| x| x| Im| pat| ient| the| build| ings,| hav| ing| much| in| them| x| x| \| x| /| x| x| \| /| /| x x| Of| the| heav| y| surf| of| the| North| Sea,| flurr| ying| x| /| -| /| x| x| /| x| /| x| \| The| grit,| | lift| ing| the| pebbl| es,| fling| ing| them| \| x| /| -| /| x| \| x| /| x| \| With| a| hoarse| | roar| a| gainst| the| agg| re| gate| x| \| x| /| \| x| /| /| x| x| /| They| are| com| posed| of,| the| cliffs| high| er| of| course| \| /| x| \| -| /| x| / | x| \| | More| burd| en| some,| | un| der| writ| ten| as| | x| /| x| /| -| /| -| /| x| /| | It| were| with| past| | days| | o| ver| cast| | x| /| x| \| /| x| \| -| /| x| x| And | glit| ter| ing,| ob| du| rate,| | part| of| the| -| /| x x x| /| -| /| -| /| x x| /| x x| | Sil| icate of| tough| | lives| | dist| ant and| in| tricate| -| \| x| /| x| /| x| \| -| /| x| | As| the| whir| ring| bu| reau| crats| | let| in| x| /| x x| /| x| \| x| /| x| /| x| And | set| tled with| cof| fee| in| the| con| crete| pal| lets| x| /| x x| /| x| \| x| /| x| /| x| A| wait| ing the| post| and| the| de| part| ment| meet| ing| x| \| x| /| \ x | /| x| x| \| /| x| Ex| cept| that| these| do not| know| it, | at| least| do| not| -| /| x| /| x| /| x| /| x| \| x| | Seem| to| be| ing| bus| y| gen| ER| all| y| \| x| /| x x| /| x| \| x| /| x| /| x| So| per| haps| it is| on| ly| on| those| cloud| less| al| most| -| /| x| /| x| \| x| /| x x| \| /| x| | Vac| uumed| af| ter| noons| with| ti| ER u| pon| ti| ER| x| /| x| \| /| /| -| /| x| /| x| | Of| con| Crete| like| rib| bones| | packed| a| bove| them| | x| /| \| /| x| \| x| /| /| x| \| | And | they| light| head| ed,| with| the| blue| air| i| ness| | -| /| x x| /| x| /| x| \| x| /| x x| | | Spin| ning a| round| and| muz| zy,| a| neu| ral| gia| | -| /| x x| /| x x| /| x| /| x x| /| | | Cal| ling at| ran| dom like| frail| re| lat| ions a| phone| | -| /| x x x| /| x| /| x x| /| x| /| x| | Ring| ing in a| dist| ant| of| fice they| can| not| get| to| x| /| x| /| x| /| x x| /| /-| \| | That| they| be| come| at| ten| tive, or| we| do| these| | x| /| x x| /| x x| /| \| x| /| x| /| Di| vis| ions per| sist| ing, in| deed| what| we| talk| a| bout| -| /| x| /| x x| /| x| /| x| \| | | We,| con| struct| ing these| webs| of| build| ings| which| | -| /| x| /| \| /| x| /| x x| /| x| | Caulk| Ed | like| great| whales| a| bout| us are| al| ways| x| /| x x| /| x x| /| x| /| x| | | A| ware| that some| trick| of the| light| or| weath| ER| | | \| /| x x| /| -| /| x x| /| x| | | Will| dress| them as| friends| | plead| ing and| flail| ing| | | x| /| x| /| x| \| x| /| x x| /| x x| And| fill| with| plac| id| but | UN| bear| able | mel| odies| -| /| x| \| -| /| x x x| /| \| /| | | Us | in| deep| | hint| erlands of| in| curved| glass| | Poets learn to trust their senses, but even to the experienced writer these (tedious) exercises can pinpoint what the ear suspects is faulty, suggest where improvements lie, and show how the metre is making for variety, broad consistency, shaping of the argument and emotive appeal. Though other scansions are certainly possible in the lines above, the most striking feature will remain their irregularity. Many lines can only roughly be called pentameters; Lines 16 and 17 are strictly hexameters; and lines 27 and 28 are tetrameters. In fact, the lines do not read like blank verse. The rhythm is not iambic in many areas, but trochaic, and indeed insistently dactylic in lines 9 and 10, 21 and 22 and 28. Line 27 is predominantly anapaestic, and line 3 could (just) be scanned: x x| / x| /| x x \| /| | /| x x | Of the| heavy| surf| of the North| Sea| | flurr| ying| Reflective or meditative verse is generally written in the iambic pentameter, and for good reason — the benefit of past examples, readers expectations, and because the iambic is the closest to everyday speech: flexible, unemphatic, expressing a wide range of social registers. Blank verse for the stage may be very irregular but this, predominantly, is a quiet poem, with the falling rhythms inducing a mood of reflection if not melancholy. What is being attempted? Suppose we set out the argument (refer to rhetorical and other analyses), tabbing and reverse tabbing as the reflections as they seem more or less private: {8} 1. But, as youd expect, 2. they are very impatient, the buildings, 3. having much in them of the heavy surf of the North Sea, 4. flurrying the grit, 5. lifting the pebbles, 6. flinging them with a hoarse roar against the aggregate they are composed of — the 7. cliffs higher of course, more 8. burdensome, 9. underwritten as it were with past days 10. overcast and glinting, 11. obdurate, 12. part of the silicate of tough lives, 13. distant and intricate as 14. the whirring bureaucrats 15. let in and settled with coffee in the concrete pallets, awaiting the post and the department meeting — 16. except that these do not know it, 17. at least do not seem to, being busy, 18. generally. 19. So perhaps it is only on those cloudless, almost vacuumed afternoons with tier upon tier of concrete like rib — bones packed above them, and 20. they light-headed 21. with the blue airiness spinning around, and 22. muzzy, a 23. neuralgia calling at random like 24. frail relations, a 25. phone ringing in a distant office they cannot get to, that 26. They become attentive, 27. or we do — 28. these divisions persisting, 29. indeed what we talk about, 30. we, constructing these webs of buildings which 31. caulked like great whales about us, are 32. always aware that some trick of the light or weather will dress them as friends, 33. pleading and flailing — and 34. fill with placid but unbearable melodies 35. us in deep hinterlands of incurved glass. The structure should now be clear. Where Eliot created new forms by stringing together unremarkable pentameters, {8} this poem attempts the reverse: to recast an irregular ode-like structure as pentameters. And not over-successfully: many of the rhythms seemed unduly confined. But once returned to the form of an eighteenth century Pindaric ode, however unfashionable today, the lines regain a structure and integrity. Each starts with a marked stress and then tails away, a feature emphasized by the sound patterns. {9} Sound Patterning To these sound patterns we now turn, adapting the International Phonetic Alphabet to HTML restrictions: 1. But | as | youd | expect | u | a | U | e e | b t | z | y d | ksp kt | 2. They | are | very | impatient | the | buildings | A | a(r) | e E | i A e | e | i i | th | | v r | mp sh nt | th | b ld ngz | 3. Having | much | in | them | of | the | heavy | surf | of | the | North | Sea | a i | u | i | e | o | e | e | e(r) | o | e | aw | E | h v ng | m ch | n | th m | v | th | h v | s f | v | th | n th | s | 4. flurrying | the | grit | u E i | e | i | fl r ng | th | gr t | 5. lifting | the | pebbles | i i | e | e | l ft ng | th | p b lz | 6. flinging | them | with | a | hoarse | roar | against | the | aggregate | they | are | composed | of | i i | e | i | e | aw | aw | e A | e | a E A | A | a(r) | o O | o | fl ng ng | th m | w th | | h s | r | g nst | th | gr g t | th | | k MP zd | v | 7. the | cliffs | higher | of | course | more | e | i | I e | o | aw | aw | th | kl fs | h | v | s | m | 8. burdensome | u(r) e e | b d ns m | 9. underwritten | as | it | were | with | past | days | u e i e | a | i | (e)r | i | a(r) | A | nd r t n | z | t | w | w | p st | d z | 10. overcast | and | glinting | O e(r) a(r) | a | i i | v k St | nd | gl NT ng | 11. obdurate | o U A | bd r t | 12. part | of | the | silicate | of | tough | lives | (a)r | o | e | i i A | o | u | I | p t | f | th | s l k t | v | t f | l vz | 13. distant | and | intricate | i a | a | i i e | d St NT | nd | NT r k t | 14. as | the | whirring | bureaucrats | a | e | e(r) i | U O a | z | th | w r ng | b r kr ts | 15. let | in | and | settled | with | coffee | in | the | concrete | pallets | e | i | a | e ie | i | o E | i | e | o E | a e | l t | n | nd | s tl d | w th | k f | n | th | k Kr t | p l Ts | awaiting | the | post | and | the | department | meeting | e A i | e | O | a | e | E e | E i | w t ng | th | p St | nd | th | d p tm NT | m t ng | 16. except | that | these | do | not | know | it | e e | a | E | U | o | O | i | ks pt | th | th z | d | n t | n | t | 17. at | least | do | not | seem | to | being | busy | a | E | U | o | E | U | E i | i E | t | l St | d | n t | s m | t | b ng | b z /td | 18.generally | e e a E | j nr l | 19. so | perhaps | it | is | only | on | those | cloudless | almost | vacuumed | afternoons | O | e(r) a | i | i | O | o | O | ou e | aw O | a U | a(r) e oo | s | p h ps | t | z | nl | n | th z | kl dl s | lm St | v k md | ft n nz | with | tier | upon | tier | of | concrete | like | rib | bones | packed | above | them | and | i | E e(r) | e o | E e(r) | o | o E | I | i | O | a | e u | e | a | w th | t | p n | t | v | k nkr t | l k | r b | b nz | p Kt | b v | th m | nd | 20. they | light | headed | A | I | e e | th | l t | h d d | 21. with | the | blue | airiness | spinning | around | and | i | e | U | (A)r i e | i i | e ou | a | w th | th | bl | r n s | sp n ng | r nd | nd | 22. muzzy | a | u E | e | m z | | 23. neuralgia | calling | at | random | like | U a E a | aw i | a | a o | I | n r lj | k l ng | t | r nd m | l k | 24. frail | relations | a | A | e A e | e | fr l | r l zh nz | | 25. phone | ringing | in | a | distant | office | they | cannot | get | to | that | O | i i | i | e | i a | o i | A | a o | e | oo | a | | f n | r ng ng | n | | d St NT | f s | th | k n t | g t | t | th | | 26. they | become | attentive | A | E u | a e i | th | b k m | t NT v | 27. or | we | do | aw | E | oo | | w | d | 28. these | divisions | persisting | E | i i e | e(r) i i | th z | d v zh nz | p s St ng | 29. indeed | what | we | talk | about | i E | o | E | aw | e ou | in d | wh t | w | t k | b t | 30. we | constructing | these | webs | of | buildings | which | E | o u i | E | e | o | i i | i | w | k nz str Kt ng | th z | w bs | v | b ld ngz | wh Ch | 31. caulked | like | great | whales | about | us | are | aw | I | A | A | e ou | u | a(r) | k kd | l k | gr t | w lz | b t | s | | 32. always | aware | that | some | trick | of | the | light | or | weather | will | dress | them | as | friends | aw A | e (A)r | a | u | i | o | e | I | aw | e e(r) | i | e | e | a | e | lw z | w | th t | s m | tr k | v | th | l t | | w th | w l | dr s | th m | z | Fr ndz | 33. pleading | and | flailing | E i | a | A i | pl d ng | nd | fl l ng | 34. will | fill | with | placid | but | unbearable | melodies | i | i | i | a i | u | u A(r) a e | e O E | f l | w th | PL s d | b t | n b r b l | m l d z | | 35. us | in | deep | hinterlands | of | incurved | glass | u | i | E | i e a | o | i e(r) | a(r) | s | n | d p | h NT l ndz | v | nk v d | GL s | Sound in poetry is an immensely complicated and contentious subject. Of the seventeen different employments listed by Masson {10} we consider seven: 1. Structural emphasis All sections are structurally emphasized to some extent, but note the use (in decreasing hardness) of * plosive consonants in sections 1, 5, 6, 7, 10-13, 19, 28-50; 31 and 35. * fricative and aspirate consonants in sections 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 19, 25, 28, 32, 35. * liquid and nasal consonants in sections 3, 4, 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 31-35. Also: * predominance of front vowels — in all sections but 6, 7, 11, 16, 17, 19 and 31. * predominance of vowels in intermediate positions — only sections 16 and 17 having several high vowels and section 3 low vowels. 2. Tagging of sections Note sections 1, 7, 13 and 15. 3. Indirect support of argument by related echoes * Widely used, most obviously in sections 3-7, 12-13, and 15. 4. Illustrative mime: mouth movements apes expression * Sections 2, 6, 11-13, 19, 31 and 35. 5. Illustrative painting * Sections 3-6, 10-13, 15, 19 and 33. Most sections are closely patterned in consonants. Those which arent (and therefore need attention if consistency is to be maintained) are perhaps 8, 9, 14, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 27. Originally the poem was cast in the form of irregular pentameters. But if this is set aside in favour of the 35 sections listed above, how are these sections to be linked in a self-evident and pleasing form? A little is accomplished by alliteration: * f in sections 3 to 7. * s and t in sections 12 to 15 * w in sections 29 to 32 And also by the predominance of front and intermediate level vowels, but these do not amount to much. Certainly we do not find that the overall shaping of the poem emphasizes the argument or content. Sociolinguistics Language is not a neutral medium but comes with the contexts, ideologies and social intentions of its speakers written in. Words are living entities, things which are constantly being employed and only half taken over: carrying opinions, assertions, beliefs, information, emotions and intentions of others, which we partially accept and modify. In this sense speech is dialogic, has an internal polemic, and Bakhtins insights into the multi-layered nature of language (heteroglossia) can be extended to poetry. {11} Much of Postmodernist writing tries to be very unliterary, incorporating the raw material of everyday speech and writing into its creations. This poem seems rather different, a somewhat remote tone and elevated diction applying throughout. Let us see whats achieved by grouping under the various inflections of the speaking voice. * urgently confidential But, as youd expect, cliffs higher, of course, that they become attentive or we do * obsessively repetitious flurrying the grit, lifting the pebbles, flinging them burdensome, underwritten overcast and glinting, obdurate * over-clever silicate of tough lives  distant and intricate constructing these webs of buildings distracted and/or light-headed except that these do not know it at least do not seem to with the blue airiness spinning around calling at random like frail relations * melancholic and/or reflective some trick of the light or weather will dress them as friends pleading and flailing and fill with placid but unbearable melodies. The exercise hardly provides revelation. Heteroglossia is an interweaving of voices, moreover, not shifts of tone or reference. And yet there is something very odd about the opening line. Why should we expect the buildings to be very impatient? This is more than the orators trick of attracting attention, since the animate nature of buildings and their constituents is referred to throughout the poem. To be more exact, the attitude of the inhabitants — observers, bureaucrats, architects — to the buildings is developed by the poem, and is paralleled by the tone. But why the confidential and repetitious attitude at the beginning. Why should we be buttonholed in this manner? Why the But, which seems to point to an earlier conversation, and the urgency with which that earlier conversation is being refuted or covered up? Because the blame for something is being shifted to the buildings. What error has been committed we do not know, but in mitigation we are shown the effect of the buildings on other inhabitants. Or perhaps we are. In fact the whirring bureaucrats seem to grow out of the fabric of buildings, and we do not really know if the we, constructing these webs of buildings is meant literally or metaphorically. The poems title suggests literally, but perhaps these constructions are only of the mind: sections 17, 20-29, 32 and 34 refer to attitudes rather than actions, and there is an ethereal or otherworldly atmosphere to the later section of the poem. So we return to heteroglossia, which is not simply borrowed voices, but involves an internal polemic, {12} that private dialogue we conduct between our private thoughts and their acceptable public expression. The dialogue is surely here between the brute physicality of a nature made overpoweringly real and the fail brevity of human lives. That physicality is threatening and unnerving. If the we of the later section of the poem is indeed architects then that physicality is harnessed to practical ends. If the constructing is purely mental then the treatment is through attitudes, mindsets, philosophies. But in neither case does it emasculate the energy of the physical world. Architects may leave monuments behind them, but they are also imprisoned in those monuments (us in deep hinterlands) and hearing all the time the homesick voice of their constituents. Conclusions: Suggested Improvements The greatest difficulty lies in the poems structure. An pentameter form has been used to give a superficial unity, but this wrenches the rhythm, obscures the sound patterns and does nothing for the argument. If recast in sections defined by rhythm and sound pattern the form is too irregular to have artistic autonomy. A return could be made to the eighteenth century Pindaric ode in strict metre and rhyme, but would require extensive and skilful rewriting, and probably appear artificial. A prose poem might be the answer, but the rhythms would need to be more fluid and subtly syncopated. Otherwise, blank verse should be attempted, and the metre adjusted accordingly. The internal polemic is a valuable dimension of the poem, but more could be done to make the voices distinct. http://www. textetc. com/criticism/stylistics. html1. On StylisticsIs cognitive stylistics the future of stylistics? To answer this question in the essay that follows, I will briefly discuss Elena Semino and Jonathan Culpeper’s Cognitive Stylistics (2003), Paul Simpson’s Stylistics (2004), and a recent essay by Michael Burke (2005). However, because questions are like trains – one may hide another – any discussion of the future of stylistics raises intractable questions about stylistics itself. French students of stylistics, for example, will come across definitions of the discipline like the following. According to Brigitte Buffard-Moret, â€Å"si les definitions de [la stylistique] – que certains refusent de considerer comme une scien

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Romeos cousin Essay Example for Free

Romeos cousin Essay In the ending of the prologue, violent scenes are rapidly shown. During one of the clips, a helicopter flies over Verona giving us very quick views of the city below. This creates a shaky image of the city. The audience experience a feeling of being on board the helicopter looking down. As the montage progresses to the end, the operatic music playing in the background becomes louder until it reaches a climax. Baz Luhrmann has compressed many section of the film in a short space of time. In one of the clips, we also see a little choirboy singing, and then a shot of Juliet as she unveils, dressed in white wedding dress in a church. This little boy signifies innocence and the church suggest religious setting as well as the little boy. The noisy, riotous gunfire creates a picture of a city in chaos. Police officers armed with guns and fire around the area gives us the impression that Verona is not safe and there is a lot of violence. The fire symbolises anger and hatred, a theme that runs through the Romeo and Juliet play. In one of the scenes, as the choirboy opens his mouth to sing, a clip of someone shooting a gun is shown. Baz Luhrmann puts these images together to create a feeling of the choirboy being shot. As the prologue ends there is a large cross icon in red with white stripes, which becomes smaller and the text Romeo and Juliet is shown. The cross replaces the word and in the text. The red colour of the cross symbolises death. Baz Luhrmann has made the prologue exciting by the use of the images, sounds and editing techniques. The images in the prologue are like a trailer of what will happen in the film. (Baz Luhrmann knows that teenagers have a short attention span, so he sets the pace of the prologue at a high speed with excitement. This is another way he gets the appeal of the younger audience). After the prologue has finished Baz Luhrmann uses a range of camera shots to draw the attention of the audience and to get the audience involved. The most effective of all the shots are the point of view and extreme close up shots. Baz Luhrmann uses the extreme close up shot when he is showing the family arms on the guns, he uses this type of shot because with the extreme close up you could see the difference between the two arms, the Capulets arm is gold, red and black where as the Montagues arm is silver, blue and black these colour differences represent the differences in the families. He also uses the extreme close up when he shows Tyblots (Juliets cousin) and Benvolios (Romeos cousin) eyes usually this is used when there is a shootout about to happen therefore Baz Luhrmann is foreshowing that there is going to be a shootout which does happen, furthermore he uses this shot to show the expressions on their faces Tybolt looks confident but Benvolio looks shaken. To get the audience involved with the movie he uses the point of view shot. It is used when two of the Montague boys try to escape the shootout and Tyblot sees them and takes aim, as Tyblot is taking aim it seems like we are taking aim. Finally, Baz Luhrmann also uses the zoom in shot to show how he has transformed the movie, sword in to guns, he does this by zooming in to Benvolios guns as he aiming for Abra and the printing on hes gun says Sword 9 mm Series S. The director doesnt only use the colours of the family arms to shows the difference in the families, he also uses costumes. As the prologue ends it shows the Montague boys in the car, the boys are all wearing Hawaiian shirts which are undone, (this relates with young boys lives) the Hawaiian shirts represent fun and shows that the Monatuges are lively and immature. When the Montague boys get to the fuel station minutes later the Capulets come, the Capultes are wearing black suits this shows that they are serious and mature. This shows that Baz Luhrmann makes the Montagues immature and lively but does the opposite for the Capulets, mature and serious. In conclusion, Baz Luhrmann has made a mind-blowing, hair gripping, exciting movie and has transformed every part of this play in to a movie, except one the concept of marriage. He had changed swords to guns, the Prince to a cop. It was acceptable for people to get married at a young age in Shakespeares time, because of the low life expectancy. But since we have high life expectancy we intend to get married between the ages of 20-40 years old, yet Baz Luhrmann fails to show this. Baz Luhrmann also fails to appeal to a wider audience since his main target audience is teenagers.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Beginnings Of Prescriptive Rules In English

The Beginnings Of Prescriptive Rules In English This research paper traces the beginnings of prescriptive grammar in the English language. It shows how the beginning of prescriptivism is closely connected with the changes in the society of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The invention of printing press, better social mobility and better education, in one way or another helped bring English to its standard level. Prescriptive efforts of the above mentioned centuries were also helpful in codifying the English language and setting this language as the standard one. INTRODUCTION My research paper traces the beginnings of prescriptive rules in the English language. The thesis is that prescriptive rules came into existence in the nineteenth century. However, after reading above mentioned works, I discovered that its beginnings could be traced before this time. Furthermore, the other assumption is that the rise of prescriptivism has been set into motion by changes in philosophy and economy, and subsequently in society, and we shall try to prove this assumption to be right throughout this essay. Also, some of the rules most commonly known as prescriptive rules will be mentioned. PRESCRIPTIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE In this introduction we will define what prescriptive rules are, and point out its counterpart decriptivism (agreement). These terms are used in linguistics and both have (not only prescriptive and descriptive rules, but also prescriptive and descriptive grammars) avid supporters, for instance R.A. Lafferty and David Foster Wallace, respectively. In linguistics, prescription can refer both to the codification and the enforcement of rules governing the usage of a particular language. These rules can cover such topics as standards for spelling and grammar or syntax, or rules regarding what is deemed socially or politically correct. Prescription includes the mechanisms for establishing and maintaining an interregional language or a standardized spelling system. It can also include declarations of what particular groups consider to be good taste. If that taste is conservative, prescription may be resistant to language change. If it is radical, prescription may be productive of neologisms. Prescription can also include recommendations for effective language usage. As already mentioned, prescriptivism has its counterpart descriptivism. Descriptive methods observe and record how language is used in practice, which is the basis of all linguistic research. scholarly descriptive work is usually based on text or corpus analysis, or on field studies. However, the term description includes each individuals observations of their own language usage. Descriptive linguistics eschews value judgments and makes no recommendations. In short, descriptive linguists do not think that something can be deemed wrong in language usage. These approaches to language are seen by many as opposites because one declares what language should be like, while the other states how language really functions in everyday society. We can also claim that they are complementary, because popular debates around language issues revolve around the question how to balance them. THE STUDY As mentioned above, my original thesis was that prescriptivism first appeared in the nineteenth century. I based this thesis on the fact that the nineteenth century, or more precisely the Victorian period, was the time of great social change, which led to greater social mobility. My interest in this period and some previous essays I wrote about the mentioned period had led me to take this stand. Studies conducted by Dr. Shadya A.N. Cole (The Rise of Prescriptivism) and Laura Wright (The Development of Standard English), made me think otherwise. Different events, historical and social, contributed to the rise of prescriptivism, which means that prescriptivism did not develop outside society. Cole states that most prescriptive rules were made between 1650 and 1800 (Cole 2003:119). This covers a big time span to consider, but this was an era that saw some of the most interesting changes take place. In that time frame, the UK witnessed change in the political arena. The absolute monarchy was transformed into constitutional monarchy  [1]  . This was the result and a sign of the growing power of the middle class. Power of the middle class could best be seen in the English Civil War (1642-1651), also known as the Puritan Revolution, and by the establishment of the Commonwealth. One of the things that also had a significant impact on the dawn of prescriptivism was the expansion of the colonies, which provided the Kingdom with vast amounts of money and resources needed for industry, and also made the middle class more affluent. All of these events led to social mobility, which was something that had not been seen before (Cole 2003: 119). The new emerging middle-class was formed and it strived for social betterment. This betterment, along with good etiquette, included language. In search of such modes of behavior, which characterized the nobility, the middle class had to look outside their own customs. It might be advisable to mention here William Caxton and the year 1476. This is the starting point of the English printing press. It carries importance because it opened the doors to vernacular works, which were designed for the middle class and nobility, and also provides a precise beginning for the tracing of orthographic reform during the late fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. One of the most important works of that time was the printing of the Bible into the vernacular language and that, consequently, opened the doors to preaching in the vernacular. Printing press, without any doubt, helped to diffuse knowledge much faster and in all levels of the society. At this point all kinds of printed material became available, from newspapers, journals, pamphlets, to books. Along with this rose the number of literate people. As commercial middle-class came into prominence, it spread literate education through wider circles of society and encouraged the study of modern foreign languages (Cole 2003: 121). The separation of the Anglican Church from the Church of Rome in 1533-34 made significant changes in the characteristics of the universities. Before, universities had been the professional schools of the clergy, but now education expended into the sciences and humanities. Latin and Greek were still the languages needed to be learnt, but demand for the English language to be taught was also growing. The demand for learning English marks a turning point. Before that time, the upper-classes insisted on their children being fluent in Greek and Latin along with French. On the other hand, with the rise of the middle-class the tide started to turn because English was getting appraisal and education was aimed at producing speakers of correct English (Cole 2003: 121). Again, this demand can be traced to the changes in the society. As the middle-class grew, two sub-classes started to emerge. Those were the more genteel merchant class and the less genteel trading class. The decisive factor in their separation was the way they spoke and wrote. Thus, the teaching of the English language became necessary for the acceptance into genteel society. Philosophy and the current way of thinking considerably impacted linguistic research. The influential new stream in philosophy was rationalism which was manifested in the tendency to attempt to settle disputes by using logic and it became dominant in the language usage. English language started to gain prominence. Variations, that had arisen through years were no longer being looked at with as great tolerance as before. Latin and Greek still carried a great importance. They were the languages on which English grammar was modeled. However, Latin had more influence over English than any other language. Latin conventions and examples were carried over into English to make it more appealing. One of the reasons for this was that Latin grammar was seen as an appropriate pattern upon which to model an English grammar (Cole 2003: 119). The early books written in English were textbooks for the instruction of a foreign language or books that provided a basis for the study of Latin. Now that books were being written for the instruction of English, the authors basically applied the same pattern as they did for Latin. Linguists were trying to force English into a linguistic mold that was no longer suitable for a living language. They wanted to have the same logi c, clarity and force in English as they had when they were using Latin. British writers were worried that English would bring chaos and instability, and would destroy the ease of communication afforded by the stable classical language. One of the early proponents of the call for the authorative regularization of English was John Dryden  [2]  . Eventually, this regularization led to the common acceptance of prescriptive outlook on the language and the rules of correctness. From what was said before regarding the new middle-class, we can conclude that the popularity of the authoritarian movement was due to the popular demand of the middle class for guidance on how to use English properly. Elizabeth Bohnert claims that the need for the proper usage of English also affected speech patterns. What she argues is that the speech patterns of the educated and aristocratic in the capital were naturally considered to be superior throughout the 16th and 17th centuries (Bohnert 2008: 1). It w as not until the age of prescriptivism that certain accents began to be considered faulty. As the middle-class increased in wealth, they desired to have the education and the manners of the ruling class. Their basic assumption was that variation in language was undesirable and printers catered to the need of the wealthy by producing various handbooks. Since material possessions no longer carried the stigma of class, the manner of speaking, pronunciation and grammar became useful in making distinctions among classes. In the late 18th century a few writers from diverse linguistic backgrounds took it upon themselves to distinguish between proper and improper pronunciation, which was a way to instruct the provincials on how to imitate the speech of Londoners. Latin influence eventually became more widespread, which decreased the freedom and individuality of English. English style and elegance reflected those of classical Latin. If there were differences found between the two languages, English was always referred to as faulty, because Latin was after all a classical language. What Latin offered was the definite rules that writers could appeal to and rely on (Cole 2003: 121). English was not reliable because it had no grammar, or at least that was the common assumption. Some writers, when writing in English, had to transform their thoughts or ideas first into Latin so that they could see what the best way of converting them into English was. Borrowing of Latin words greatly enriched English vocabulary, even though this was not something new. However, there were those who thought that such words were redundant. This led to the famous inkhorn  [3]  controversy. This controversy came at the time when English was replacing Latin as the mai n language of science and learning in England. Inkhorns were new words that were being introduced into the language by writers, often self-consciously borrowing from Classical literature. Critics regarded these words as useless as they required knowledge of Latin or Greek to be understood. They also contended that there were words with identical meaning already in English. Many of these so-called inkhorn terms, such as dismiss, celebrate, encyclopedia, or ingenious stayed in the language and are nowadays commonly used. We must stress here that even today Latin and Greek words can be found in formal and scientific writing, but as Cole said those are polysyllabic words (Cole 2003: 122). As English gained prominence, a new fear emerged among learned people. They thought that making English more linguistically rich would lead to ineloquent, imprecise, and ambiguous communication (Cole 2003: 123). The assumption was that English had no codified grammar, which made learned people uneasy, but at the same time gave them a new goal to reach to define English by a set of rules. These rules, for instance about sentence structure and world choice, would be agreed upon by all. However, usage differed very greatly because every writer had his own individual judgment on what was correct and what was not. In spite of their differences, linguists did agree on one fact, which was that English had a prior age when it was pure. It was thought that this former pure state could be restored. However, this turned to be more difficult because every writer had his own period which he considered pure. Some considered Chaucers writing as ideal, some Shakespeares or Swifts. In the 15th century there was an attempt to establish an English Academy, which would deal with linguistic problems. This academy would be modeled on the French academy. The suggestion for setting up such an institution was made by John Barret in the preface of his dictionary. The greatest proponent of this idea was Jonathan Swift. He claimed that language usage could and should be governed by an arbitrary authoritarian body (Cole 2003: 125). Likewise, this proposal brought objections. Some, like John Oldmixon (a poet), though that such an academy would impose its ideas of the language usage on others. Many contemporaries thought the same and the interest slowly waned. Nonetheless, the desire for the language to be ascertained, refined and fixed remained a popular sentiment. Now, the idea of private dictionaries came to be popular. The idea was to make a dictionary that would include all the words of English and a grammar that would detail the proper usage of such words. The two most important works were created in the second part of the 18th century: those were Samuel Johnsons Dictionary of the English Language (1755) and Robert Lowths Short Introduction to English Grammar (1762). Decisions about what to put in a dictionary and what to exclude were based on a lexicographers ideology. And every lexicographer has got/had one. One thing that directly comes to mind while going through these linguistic beginnings is that most of the writers sought ways to petrify a language in a certain time. Almost all of them were afraid that their works would not be read by future generations because they would not know how. They could not grasp the fact that it is quite normal for a language to change through time and in contact with other languages. There were attempts for English syntax to be explained. The handbooks were the work of individuals who believed that reforms were necessary and that they were the ones to make them. Most of the reformers had no particular training or qualifications other than the belief that they had a right do declare what was right and wrong about the English language. Some of them were members of the clergy and had knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Because they were all classically trained, they forced English into a classical mold. However, there were exceptions, like Joseph Priestleys The Rudiments of English Grammar. In it Priestley recognized the usage of reputable writers as the standard for linguistic propriety. The eighteenth-century grammarians wanted to prove that English was capable of being described systematically. They did not allow any variations in usage and were strictly against any uncertainty. Many of them based their pronouncements upon their personal preferences. Whenever Latin could not settle any disputed points in the grammar, they would turn to the authority of usage. It is safe to say that they were part prescriptive and part descriptive. By the 18th century, most grammarians agreed that usage must be the factor governing correctness in language. However, they could not agree whose usage should be standard. One that seems to stand out is George Campbell. He wrote Philosophy of Rhetoric in 1776, and in it he defined English as reputable, national and present. He then explains what he means by these definitions. National means that language is neither rural nor foreign (he means Latin or French). Present usage means not the usage of the moment, but it is the usage of the recent past, which has stood the test of time. Reputable means the usage of the best writers. Some of the most notorious prescriptive rules came from this period. Examples of these are the usage of pronouns, It is I or It is me (the correct form is It is I because verb to be always has a nominative case after it). Other rules would be the difference between verbs lie and lay. Lie is a verb that does not require an object, whereas lay requires an object. Users were discouraged from using the modal verbs shall and will interchangeably. Shall should be used only with first person singular and first person plural, and will with second and third persons. The eighteenth century is responsible for the final stamp of disapproval on multiple or double negatives (Cole 2003: 138). Lowth explicitly stated the rule that two negatives are equivalent to an affirmative (We dont need no education). Another rule was that of ending a sentence with a preposition. It was John Dryden, the 17th-century poet and dramatist, who first promulgated the doctrine that a preposition may not be used at the end a sentence. Grammarians in the 18th century refined the doctrine, and the rule has since become one of the most venerated maxims of schoolroom grammar. But sentences ending with prepositions can be found in the works of most of the great writers since the Renaissance. In fact, English syntax not only allows but sometimes even requires final placement of the preposition, as in We have much to be thankful for or That depends on what you believe in. Efforts to rewrite such sentences to place the preposition elsewhere can have comical results, as Winston Churchill demonstrated when he objected to the doctrine by saying This is the sort of English up with which I cannot put. Split infinitives have been condemned as ungrammatical for nearly 200 years, but it is hard to see what exactly is wrong with saying to boldly go (The American Heritage ® Book of English Usage.). In fact, the split infinitive is distinguished both by its length of use and the greatness of its users. People have been splitting infinitives since the 14th century, and some of them include John Donne, Daniel Defoe, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Johnson, William Wordsworth, Abraham Lincoln, George Eliot and Henry James. The only rationale for condemning the construction is based on a false analogy with Latin. The belief is that because the Latin infinitive is a single word, the English infinitive should be treated as if it were a single unit. But English is not Latin, and people split infinitives all the time without giving it a thought. I have already mentioned that prescriptivism also impacted the way people spoke. By the late 19th century prescriptivism had transformed into an effort to expunge any hint of accent that would betray regional distinction, including that of London. This created an environment of linguistic anxiety. During this time the term Cockney transformed into the most condemning term for improper speech in the 19th century. It came to denote somebody who is vulgar and ignorant. The whole 19th century London was riddled with Cockneyism. Prescriptivists described the Cockneys as the prime culprits of language degeneration, and a threat to all gentility and grace. Today, many linguists agree that this were mostly scare tactics aimed at the middle-classes, whose social insecurities made them a ready market for prescriptive coercion. Some such rules governing pronunciation were /h/ dropping (improper /h / usage was associated with the uneducated and illiterate, as proper usage required a knowledge of where h was made in spelling), /h/ insertion (came about as the hypercorrection of /h/ dropping), or post-vocalic /r/. The spate of books, magazines and newspapers that began flowing to the newly developed and fast growing class of literate readers accelerated stabilization and by the beginning of the 20th century the process of standardization of English was stabile. The 20th century gave many manuals written by authors of sufficient scholarship to make those manuals authoritative. One such example is The Kings English (1906) by the Fowler brothers and this was followed by Modern English Usage (1926). CONCLUSION The most important consequence of prescriptive grammar was that people could no longer claim that English had no rules. In addition to that, the distinction between the standard and non-standard usage was made visible. Standard usage is the one we still learn in schools today. Prescriptive grammarians fixed a number of disputed usages in language, even though they started off very indecisive on what the correct form was. Grammarians of that period emphasized rules that are still highly regarded today. Rules like the usage of pronouns I and me, double negation, or splitting the infinitive. After the invention of the printing press, English was promoted as a common language and some attempts at assigning formal structures to the language began to appear. Prescriptive rules have their ultimate justification in the communitys need to make their language meaningful. By making it meaningful, linguists tried to mirror English on the languages they thought were the most appropriate. They thought that classical languages were the best choice. In the end this led to some outrageous rules. The rule against split infinitives, for instance, is a consequence of the peculiar fact that English grammar is modeled on Latin even though Latin is a synthetic language and English is an analytic language. Nevertheless, the linguist of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries helped lead English into a codified and standard position by showing that it had grammar and rules that need to be obeyed.