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Thursday, September 3, 2020
Writing Tips Shortening Sentences - Proofread My Papers Blog
Composing Tips Shortening Sentences - Proofread My Papers Blog Composing Tips: Shortening Sentences Quickness is broadly the spirit of mind, yet itââ¬â¢s additionally profoundly esteemed in the scholarly world and the business world. Why? Since composing concisely will assist you with expressing what is on your mind obviously, making your work progressively effective. Maybe the least difficult approach to make your composing increasingly brief is to abbreviate your sentences. Helpfully, we have a couple of top tips for doing precisely that! 1. Evade Redundancy ââ¬Å"Redundancyâ⬠implies utilizing extra words that donââ¬â¢t add anything significant to a sentence. The expression ââ¬Å"twelve midnight,â⬠for example, implies the very same thing as ââ¬Å"midnight,â⬠so the ââ¬Å"twelveâ⬠is repetitive. Itââ¬â¢s in this way a smart thought to check your sentences for pointless words, as removing these will make a long sentences shorter. For instance: In established truth, each and every medical caretaker worked from 3 am in the first part of the day to twelve 12 PM. Could be effectively reworked to state something very similar with less words: Truth be told, each medical caretaker worked from 3 am to 12 PM. Must be the reason Florence Nightingale consistently looked so drained. 2. Separate Long Sentences Here and there, long sentences are simpler to follow whenever separated into at least two explanations. The accompanying, for example: Making a sentence too long can be befuddling in light of the fact that it is anything but difficult to forget about information exchanged toward the start, since they don't give the peruser sufficient opportunity to process what they are perusing and before the finish of the sentence you may have overlooked where it began! Thatââ¬â¢s 51 words with scarcely a delay for breath. It would bode well to separate it into three shorter sentences: Making a sentence too long can be befuddling. It is anything but difficult to forget about information exchanged toward the start, since they don't give the peruser sufficient opportunity to process what they are perusing. Before the finish of the sentence you may have overlooked where it began! 3. Be careful Padding Words Cushioning words and expressions are things like ââ¬Å"in my opinionâ⬠or ââ¬Å"as a matter of fact,â⬠which make a sentence longer however donââ¬â¢t generally include a lot of significance. Saying ââ¬Å"In my conclusion, the political air is toxic,â⬠for example, implies precisely equivalent to ââ¬Å"The political air is toxic.â⬠If you have to abbreviate a sentence, have a go at searching for cushioning phrases you could evacuate. 4. Utilize the Active Voice Weââ¬â¢re regularly instructed to keep away from the dynamic voice in scholarly composition, however in some cases utilizing the latent voice makes sentences inconvenient. For instance, the detached sentence: The theory was bolstered by the outcomes. Could be made somewhat less complex by utilizing the dynamic voice: The outcomes bolster the speculation. 5. A Final Thoughtâ⬠¦ Utilizing just short sentences can make your composing need familiarity. To make your work drawing in, the best activity is change sentence length. You would then be able to spare shorter, punchier sentences for when you have to make a compelling point or guarantee clearness.
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Israel and Gaza Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Israel and Gaza - Essay Example Additionally, the contention has been spread by the way that no genuine or legitimate harmony incorporating has been taken with thought by the two countries. Rather, they continue utilizing military strategies to explain their disparities in spite of that outer partners have made different endeavors to make harmony between the two countries. The contention among Israel and Palestine over the control of the Gaza Strip has not just prompted loss of lives, obliteration of property and ecological corruption, yet in addition prompted the weakening of the connection between Gaza Leadership and the West Bank. In particular, the connection between Gaza initiative and the Palestinian Leadership has commonly been influenced decidedly in that; cooperation among Jordan and Palestine just as other Arabian Nations has been created (Palestinian Liberation Organization), the PLO, with the fundamental reason for devastating the Jewish Nation. This radiate from the way that Israel is presently in charge of an enormous level of the West Bank henceforth which falls under the Jordan domain. The United Nations has led different examinations equipped towards assessment of the limit of Gaza to help occupations; the aftereffects of these investigations have been made accessible to general society as a report. As per the UN report concerning this issue, the limit of Gaza to help life has been diminished in various manners. In the first place, the contentions have contrarily influenced different aspects of public activity for example: The monetary status of the Gaza Strip has been weakening since mid 1990ââ¬â¢s with a more noteworthy impact experienced on the GDP of the country. In any case, the shadow economy of Gaza (Tunnel Economy) has incredibly evolved throughout the years inferable from the way that enormous measures of products have been pirated through many passages by most passage laborers. Then again, little amounts of horticultural items are moreover
Saturday, August 22, 2020
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a book composed by humanist and financial specialist Max Weber in 1904-1905. The first form was in German and it was converted into English by Talcott Parsons in 1930. In the book, Weber contends that Western free enterprise created because of the Protestant hard working attitude. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism has been profoundly persuasive, and it is regularly viewed as an establishing content in financial human science and social science as a rule. Key Takeaways: The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit Of Capitalism Weberââ¬â¢s popular book set out to comprehend Western progress and the improvement of capitalism.According to Weber, social orders affected by Protestant religions empowered both collecting material riches and living a moderately thrifty lifestyle.Because of this amassing of riches, people started to put away cash which prepared for the advancement of capitalism.In this book, Weber likewise set forward the possibility of the ââ¬Å"iron cage,â⬠a hypothesis regarding why social and monetary structures are frequently impervious to change. The Books Premise The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a conversation of Weberââ¬â¢s different strict thoughts and financial aspects. Weber contends that Puritan morals and thoughts impacted the improvement of private enterprise. While Weber was impacted by Karl Marx, he was not a Marxist and even scrutinizes parts of Marxist hypothesis in this book. Weber starts The Protestant Ethic with an inquiry: What about Western human advancement has made it the main progress to build up certain social wonders to which we like to property all inclusive worth and importance? As indicated by Weber, just in the West does legitimate science exist. Weber asserts that experimental information and perception that exists somewhere else does not have the sane, deliberate, and concentrated technique that is available in the West. Weber contends that the equivalent is valid for private enterprise it exists in a modern way that has at no other time existed anyplace else on the planet. At the point when free enterprise is characterized as the quest for everlastingly sustainable benefit, private enterprise can be supposed to be a piece of each human progress whenever ever. Yet, it is in the West, Weber asserts, that it has created to a remarkable degree. Weber decides to comprehend what it is about the West that has made it so. Webers Conclusions Webers determination is a one of a kind one. Weber found that affected by Protestant religions, particularly Puritanism, people were strictly constrained to follow a mainstream employment with however much excitement as could reasonably be expected. As it were, difficult work and discovering accomplishment in oneââ¬â¢s occupation were profoundly esteemed in social orders impacted by Protestantism. An individual living as indicated by this perspective was thusly bound to collect cash. Further, the new religions, for example, Calvinism, restricted inefficiently utilizing well deserved cash and named the acquisition of extravagances as a transgression. These religions likewise disapproved of giving cash to poor people or to noble cause since it was viewed as advancing beggary. Therefore, a preservationist, even parsimonious way of life, joined with a hard working attitude that urged individuals to acquire cash, brought about a lot of accessible money.â The manner in which these issues were settled, Weber contended, was to put away the cash a move that gave a huge lift to private enterprise. As such, private enterprise advanced when the Protestant ethic impacted huge quantities of individuals to participate in work in the common world, building up their own endeavors and taking part in exchange and the gathering of riches for speculation. In Webers see, the Protestant ethic was, along these lines, the main thrust behind the mass activity that prompted the improvement of private enterprise. Significantly, considerably after religion turned out to be less significant in the public arena, these standards of difficult work and thriftiness remained, and kept on urging people to seek after material riches. Weberââ¬â¢s Influence Weberââ¬â¢s speculations have been disputable, and different scholars have scrutinized his decisions. In any case, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism stays an extraordinarily powerful book, and it has presented thoughts that affected later researchers. One particularly powerful thought that Weber verbalized in The Protestant Ethic wasâ the idea of the iron confine. This hypothesis recommends that a monetary systemâ can become a prohibitive power that can preventâ change and sustain its own failings. Since individuals are associated inside a specific monetary framework, Weber claims, they might be not able to envision an alternate framework. Since Weberââ¬â¢s time, this hypothesis has been very powerful, particularly in the Frankfurt School of basic hypothesis. Sources and Additional Reading: Kolbert, Elizabeth. ââ¬Å"Why Work?â⬠The New Yorker (2004, Nov. 21). https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/11/29/why-workââ¬Å"Protestant Ethic.â⬠Encyclopedia Britannica.
Great Barrier Reef Essay -- Wonders of the World, Australia
The Great Barrier Reef is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is accepted to be one of the most extraordinary places on this planet. This reef is the biggest living being on earth and the main living thing on earth noticeable from space (2011). The warm waters of the southwest Pacific Ocean are the ideal conditions to make the world's biggest arrangement of coral reefs. The Great Barrier Reef is in such perfect condition that it was recorded by the World Heritage Trust as a secured site and is along these lines, oversaw by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to guarantee that its excellence is kept up for some voyagers and tourists (Edgar 2010). Because of the intricacy of this regular marvel, human practices have prompted biological issues for the reef, yet safeguarding endeavors can give people in the future the capacity to gain from and experience one of the biggest maritime coral environments on the planet. The Great Barrier Reef is found simply off the bank of Australia. This marine park extends more than 1800 miles and is practically corresponding to the Queensland coast (2011). The reef traverses a separation of 65 km wide and arrives at 15 to 150 km seaward (2011). At only 500,000 years of age, the Great Barrier Reef is a moderately youthful structure. However considerably more youthful is the present reef's structure at under 8,000 years of age (Edgar 2010). The development of the Great Barrier Reef is extremely unpredictable. Coral reefs started to shape in the area at around 58 to 48 million years back when the Coral Sea Basin framed (Briney 2010). In any case, when the Australian landmass moved to its current area, ocean levels started to change, and coral reefs began to develop decently fast, changing atmosphere and ocean levels. This subsequently made them... ...populaces, a few nations have put into fish cultivating or aquaculture, yet some contention has followed from this training. Studies have demonstrated that fish ranches are not useful in supporting the local fish, and have really hurt them. There are two fundamental kinds of aquaculture: inland and seaward. These homesteads, as a rule due to stuffed tanks, bring about flare-ups of lethal maladies. A model is pop eye, an eye disease that causes expanding of the eye. On seaward ranches, trained fish regularly escape through defective and second rate netting, contaminating local fish populaces. On the other hand, seaward homesteads represent an alternate issue. The executives of these offices has been known to channel unadulterated overabundance squander results of the fish into the sea. The defiled water, likewise brimming with supplements, makes green growth blossoms and keeps ocean bottom from daylight.
Friday, August 21, 2020
Essay --
Battling isn't generally the correct approach, and you should single out your fights since, you won't win each battle, and there is continually going to be somebody greater and superior to you, yet Malcolm X demonstrated that occasionally it is alright battling for what you accept is correct. He battled for what he put stock in, and that was full opportunity and equivalent rights for African Americans. Malcolm X went from embarrassment to deference for battling for what he accepted was on the whole correct to him. Malcolm X yielded his life for the most noble purpose of the twentieth Century since he battled for equivalent rights African Americans, he was a major piece of the Civil Rights Movement, and he was Black Panther pioneer. Malcolm Little, otherwise called Malcolm X, was conceived on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm X was an astute and an extremely assimilated understudy in school. Malcolm X graduated top of his group. Later on, when X got in secondary school, a most loved instructor revealed to Malcolm his desire of turning into a legal advisor was no practical objective for a nigger, Malcolm lost enthusiasm for school. He dropped out. During the twentieth...
Judith Guest’s “Ordinary People”
Conventional People Ordinary People by Judith Guest is the account of a useless family who identify with each other through a progression of broad barrier systems, I. e. an oblivious procedure whereby the truth is twisted to decrease or forestall uneasiness. The book opens with multi year old Conrad, child of upper white collar class Beth and Calvin Jarrett, home following eight months in a mental emergency clinic, there in light of the fact that he had endeavored self destruction by cutting his wrists. His mom is a fastidiously deliberate individual who, Jared, through projection, feels disdains him. She does quite a few things; taking care of Jared's physical eeds, keeping a perfect home, plays golf and scaffold with other ladies in her group of friends, be that as it may, in her own words ââ¬Å"is an enthusiastic crippleâ⬠. Jared's dad, brought up in a shelter, appears to be on edge to satisfy everybody, an ordinary response of people who, as kids, experienced parental lack of interest or irregularity. In spite of the fact that a fruitful assessment lawyer, he is nervous around Conrad, and, as indicated by his significant other, drinks such a large number of martinis. Conrad appears overwhelmed by despair. An arrival to commonality, school and home-life, seem, by all accounts, to be beyond what Conrad can deal with. Chalk-confronted, hair-hacked Conrad appears to be keen on erpetuating the family legend that everything is great on the planet. His family, all things considered, ââ¬Å"are individuals of good taste. They don't examine an issue even with the issue. What's more, in addition, there is no issue. â⬠Yet, there isn't one issue in this family yet two â⬠Conrad's self destruction and the passing by suffocating of Conrad's more established sibling, Buck. Conrad in the long run contacts a therapist, Dr. Berger, in light of the fact that he feels the ââ¬Å"air is loaded with flying glassâ⬠and needs to feel in charge. Their underlying meetings together baffle the specialist on account of Conrad's failure to communicate his emotions. Berger persuades him into communicating his feelings by saying, ââ¬Å"That's what happens when you cover this garbage, kiddo. It continues reemerging. Won't disregard you. â⬠Conrad's moderate however consistent excursion towards recuperating appears to be incompletely the aftereffect of cleansing disclosures which cleanse blame emotions with respect to his sibling's passing and his family's refusal of that demise, in addition to the ââ¬Å"love of a decent lady. Jeannine, who sings soprano to Conrad's tenorâ⬠¦ There is no uncertainty that Conrad is overcome with blame, ââ¬Å"the feeling one has when one acts in opposition to a job he has accepted while interfacing with an ignificant individual in his life,â⬠This blame causes in Conrad sentiments of low confidence. Overcomers of repulsive disasters, for example, the Holocaust, every now and again express comparable sentiments of uselessness. In his book, ââ¬Å"Against All Oddsâ⬠, William Helmreich relates how one survivor expresses a sentiment of relinquishment. ââ¬Å"Did I surrender them, or did they forsake me? â⬠Conrad communicates a comparative idea in recollecting the succession of occasions when the boat they were on turned over. Buck relieves Conrad saying, ââ¬Å"Okay, OK. They'll be looking now, without a doubt, simply hold tight, don't get drained, guarantee? In an envisioned discussion ith his dead sibling, Conrad asks, ââ¬Å"ââ¬ËMan, why'd you given up? ââ¬Ë ââ¬ËBecause I got drained. ââ¬Ë ââ¬ËThe hellfire! You never get drained, not before me, you don't! You instruct me not to get worn out, you advise me to hold tight, and afterward you let go! ââ¬Ë ââ¬ËI couldn't resist. All things considered, screw you, at that point! ââ¬Ëâ⬠Conrad feels horrendous displeasure with his sibling, yet can't serenely communicate that outrage. His therapist, in the wake of needling Conrad, asks, ââ¬Å"Are you distraught? At the point when Conrad reacts that he isn't frantic, the specialist says, ââ¬Å"Now that is an untruth. You are distraught as damnation. â⬠Conrad states that, ââ¬Å"When you let yourself feel, all you feel is lousy. â⬠When his therapist questions im about his relationship with his mom, Calvin says, ââ¬Å"My mother and I don't associate. For what reason would it be a good idea for it to trouble me? My mom is a private individual. â⬠This kind of reaction is called, in mental writing, ââ¬Å"rationalizationâ⬠. We see Conrad's displeasure and hostility is dislodged, I. e. vented on another, as when he truly assaulted a classmate. However, he additionally turns his annoyance on himself and communicates in outrageous and perilous melancholy and blame. ââ¬Å"Guilt is an ordinary feeling felt by a great many people, however among survivors it takes on unique importance. Most feel regretful about the passing of friends and family whom they believe they could ave, or ought to have, spared. Some vibe liable about circumstances where they carried on childishly (Conrad clutched the pontoon much after his sibling let go), regardless of whether there was no other method to endure. In answer to a question from his specialist on when he last got extremely frantic, Conrad reacts, ââ¬Å"When it comes, there's in every case a lot of it. I don't have the foggiest idea how to deal with it. â⬠When Conrad is at long last ready to communicate his displeasure, Berger, the therapist says to Calvin, ââ¬Å"Razoring is outrage; self-mutilation is outrage. So this is a decent sign; turning his outrage outward finally. â⬠Because his family, and particularly his mom, dislikes ublic showcases of feeling, Conrad keeps his sentiments restrained, which further adds to melancholy. Reference book Britannica, in explaining the elements of gloom states, ââ¬Å"Upon close investigation, the assaults on oneself are uncovered to be oblivious articulations of disillusionment and outrage toward someone else, or even a circumstanceâ⬠¦ avoided from their genuine course onto oneself. The hostility, along these lines, coordinated toward the outside world is betrayed oneself. â⬠The article further states that, ââ¬Å"There are three cardinal psychodynamic contemplations in gloom: (1) a profound feeling of loss of what is oved or esteemed, which might be an individual, a thing or even freedom; (2) a contention of blended sentiments of adoration and contempt toward what is cherished or exceptionally esteemed; (3) an uplifted overcritical worry with oneself. â⬠Conrad's folks are likewise hectically occupied with the matter of disavowal. Calvin, Conrad's dad, says, ââ¬Å"Don't stress. Everything is OK. By his own affirmation, he drinks excessively, ââ¬Å"because drinking helpsâ⬠¦ , stifling the painâ⬠. Calvin can't endure strife. Things must go easily. ââ¬Å"Everything is jello and pudding with you, Dad. â⬠Calvin, the vagrant says, ââ¬Å"Grief is terrible. It is something to fear, to get id ofâ⬠. ââ¬Å"Safety and request. Unquestionably an amazing needs. He continually questions himself concerning whether he is a decent dad. ââ¬Å"What is parenthood, at any rate? Beth, Conrad's mom, is exceptionally placid. She seems to have an exceptionally grown super-self image, that piece of a person's character which is ââ¬Å"moralisticâ⬠¦ , satisfying the needs of social show, which can be nonsensical in requiring certain practices despite reason, comfort and basic senseâ⬠. She is besides, a fussbudget. ââ¬Å"Everything must be great, quit worrying about the inconceivable hardship it chipped away at her, on stitch all. â⬠Conrad isn't not normal for his mom. He is an overachiever, a ââ¬Å"Aâ⬠understudy, on the swimming club and a rundown producer. His dad tells the specialist, ââ¬Å"I see her not having the option to excuse him. For enduring, perhaps. No, that is not it, for being an excessive amount of like her. â⬠A psychoanalyst may call her fastidious. Somebody who is ââ¬Å"fixated emblematically in deliberateness and an inclination toward perfectionismâ⬠. ââ¬Å"Excessive discretion, not communicating sentiments, prepares for uneasiness by controlling any outflow of feeling and denying passionate interest in a thing or individual. ââ¬Å"She had not cried at the funeralâ⬠¦. She and Conrad had been solid and quiet all through. The message of the book is contained in Berger's garrulous saying that, ââ¬Å"People who keep hardened upper lips find that it's damn difficult to smileâ⬠. We see Conrad pushing toward recuperation and the fruitful administration of his phase of advancement, as explained by Erikson, ââ¬Å"intimacy versus isolationâ⬠. At story end, his dad is increasingly open with Conrad, drawing nearer to him, while his mom goes off all alone to work out her issues. Both attempting to acknowledge coinciding in their improvement stage (Erikson), ââ¬Å"ego trustworthiness versus despairâ⬠.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
The Comedy of Errors and Plautus - Literature Essay Samples
One of Shakespeares earliest plays (its first recorded performance in December 1594), The Comedy of Errors has frequently been dismissed as pure farce, unrepresentative of the playwrights later efforts. While Errors may very well contain farcical elements, it is a complex, layered work that draws upon and reinterprets Plautine comedy. Shakespeare combines aspects of these Latin plays with biblical source material, chiefly the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Epistle to the Ephesians. While Menaechmi is the most frequently cited classical source for Errors, Plautus Amphitruo is just as relevant an influence; Shakespeares treatment of identity and its fragility is derived from this latter work. Of course, there are many other structural and thematic resonances between the three texts: each of the plays, to varying degrees, deal with the issues of identity, violence and slavery, while displaying a keen awareness of aspects of performativity, specifically the figure of the playw right, and the role of the audience.The structural similarities between Comedy of Errors and Plautus Menaechmi and Amphitruo are quite clear. In addition to adopting the traditional five-act structure, Shakespeare creates act divisions which comply with the Evanthian and Donatian definitions of comic structure (prologue, epitasis, protasis, catastrophe), and draws upon the classical stock of characters: the senex, servus, parasitus, matrona and meretrix. Of course, this does not mean that Shakespeare is a slavish imitator of all things Plautine. While both of the Roman source plays for Errors begin with a formal prologue, set apart from the first act, Errors instead launches immediately into the first act. This does not, however, constitute an abandonment of the prologues essential function. Egeons woeful tale provides the audience with the appropriate background to the play, which begins in medias res, thus satisfying the requirements of narratio which constitute the first element of Evanthian and Donatian comic structure. That said, Shakespeares prologue differs remarkably from its Plautine counterparts à much more integrated with the play as a whole, it is framed by the revelation of Egeons imprisonment in Ephesus, and the Dukes decree that:if any Syracusian bornCome to the bay of Ephesus, he dies,His goods confiscate to the Dukes dispose,Unless a thousand marks be levià ¨dTo quit the penalty and to ransom him. The gravity of Egeons predicament, and the plays potential for tragedy, is rendered even more poignant by the senexs constant grief. In direct contrast, the prologue of Menaechmi is witty, urbane, and very informal. Not only does the speaker slyly mock the audience (Please listen with your whole attention span; / Ill tell it in the very fewest words I can ), he delivers a rather sharp jab to other Roman comic playwrights, who proudly boast of their authenticity and their fidelity to the Greek models, a practice which evidently had som e snob appeal. Ironically, this jab seves as a basis for the playwright to assert his own authenticity and dramatic authority:I reveal the real locations when I speak to you.This storys Greekish, but to be exact,Its not Athenish, its Sicilyish, in fact.(10-12).Plautus positioning of the prologue s speaker is vitally important when considering the very close dynamic that exists between playwright, the actors his agents, and the audience. The plays numerous asides, while not always aimed directly at the audience, certainly contribute to the sense of complicity and audience involvement. This feeling is heightened later in the play (perhaps out of a need to keep the audiences attention, which may be flagging) with remarks directed specifically at the viewers, such as Cylindrus comment regarding Menaechmus behaviour,(embarrassed, to audience)He acts this way a lot with me à he jokes around.He can be very funny if his wife is gone.317-318),Peniculus outragedThe wines been drunk, th e parasite left out in the cold.No Hercules, Im not myself, if not revenged,If I dont curse him out in style. Just watch me now.(470-472),and Menaechmus IIs plea for the audiences silence:everybody, please à if that old man returns,Dont tell him, please, which street I took to get away. (879-880). The numerous songs directed at the spectators (such as that of the doddering father-in-law in lines 753- 774) can only strengthen this bond. In like fashion, the prologue to Amphitruo displays this same preoccupation with audience involvement and influence. Disguised as the servant Sosia, Mercury tells the assembly of his intent to explain the plot, which underlies / This tragedy. It is this reference to tragedy which signals the initiation of a close relationship between author/actor and spectator. Upon seeing the audiences collective frown at the mention of tragedy, Mercury adopts a conciliatory tone, reminding the audience you know Im God / And soon can change it (AMP: 260), an d offering to make / These selfsame verses be a comedy (AMP: 260). Flattering (more likely leading) the audience, Mercury lights upon a happy medium à Ah, yes; I know your mind: and I will make itA tragi-comedy: for it is not rightTo make a play where kings and Gods do speakAll comedy. But since a slave takes partIll make it for you tragi-comedy.(AMP: 261)Perpetuating the illusion of the audiences control over the drama to unfold before them, is Jupiters order that There shall be detectives, who shall seeIf any actor has arranged for menTo applaud himself, or to prevent some otherReceiving his applause, that they shall flayHis dress and hide in pieces with a scourge.(AMP: 261)Not only does this give the viewer the feeling of power over the playwright and actor (he/she may decline to support the action by withholding applause), it emphasises the importance of theatre in Roman society, further highlighted by Mercurys comment that only last year, Jove came and helped himself (AMP: 232) the actors who invoked him onstage. The final indication of the audiences very privileged position in Amphitruo is Mercury and Joves decision to bear marks that will signal their true identity and distinguish them from those whose forms they have taken à that you mayDistinguish tween us I will wear a plumeUpon my hat: while with the same intentMy father wears a tassel under his:Amphytrion will not have one: but these marksNo one will see, but only you alone. (AMP: 263)Of course, this position of knowledge is also afforded the Shakespearian audience, but to a much lesser degree, especially when considering Mercurys later remarks ensuring the spectator is aware of Jupiters guarantee that the rift in the Amphytrion/Alcmena marriage will not be irreparable. In The Comedy of Errors, the only assurances we have that the play will end happily are the word Comedy in the title, and the romantic convention of the shipwreck which Shakespeare inserts into Egeons narratio, and which w ill be found later in his other comedy of mistaken identity, The Twelfth Night. Although the audiences participatory relationship with Comedy of Errors is markedly less significant than that existing in the Plautine plays, this does not translate to a lack of power on the part of the playwright. Indeed, in a play characterised by such intricacy and complexity of plot, so many opportunities for spectator confusion, the playwright must be an authoritative presence. It is this hypothesis which informs Jonathan Crewes God or The Good Physician: The Rational Playwright in The Comedy of Errors (although we may not necessarily agree with Crewes view that the arbitrariness of the plays inherited conventions and the farcical character of the comedy of mistaken identity in some measure be redeemed ). The theoretical knot which Crewe works through in his article is whether the playwright manifests himself either as a benevolent deity, omniscient and omnipotent, whose good will anticipates the entire course of the play, or as a ÃÅ'good physician, working through comic conventions to purge melancholy, impart self-knowledge and exorcise psychic demons. Upon close consideration of the play, it becomes clear that the playwright is both god and physician, he has a dual identity. His divinity, however, is not true divinity. In a work that is almost palimpsestic, drawing upon Plautine, Pauline and Renaissance thought, the playwright becomes the ÃÅ'good physician, not so much a controlling figure as a figure who mediates between a given dramatic heritage and its contemporary audience. While Crewe draws the conclusion that the playwright oscillates between the role of God and Good Physician, it is perhaps more accurate to infer that the playwright is a minor divinity, whose character is both curative/ mediative, and god-like (which has profound consequences for an audience given the illusion of influence):the playwrights ability to manipulate and control appearances i n the professional theatre à an ability of which even the privileged spectators ultimately become victims à confers on him a quasi-divinity [.] The masterful control of the play (especially when it seems that everything is out of control), together with the coup de thà ©atre of the ending, establishes the playwright as a figure of ÃÅ'divine omnipotence. One of Crewes arguments for the lack of the playwrights supreme divinity is that he stops short of any original act of creation. While it is undeniably true that the structural/technical similarities between The Comedy of Errors and Plautus Menaechmi and Amphitruo extend to Shakepeares adoption of key classical figures (the senex- Egeon, the matrona Adriana, the meretrix who in left unnamed), it is equally as clear that Shakespeare does not limit his dramatis personae to this rather meagre allowance. Just as in Amphitruo the servant Sosia is doubled by Mercury-as-Sosia, Shakespeare adds another Dromio. The play also inc ludes the presence of an officer, a jailer, a messenger, the Duke of Ephesus himself, a merchant (Balthasar) and a goldsmith (Angelo). This greater proliferation of characters is a deliberate attempt on Shakespeares part, to not only flesh out the conventional trope of ÃÅ'mistaken identity, but amplify the feelings of bewilderment and confusion which both Antipholi are so obviously assailed by. Shakespeare nearly triples the incidents of error from seventeen [in Plautus Menaechmi] to fifty. As may be expected from a play whose main concern is the fortunes of two sets of twins, the notion of doubling and doubleness is very important in The Comedy of Errors. Having adopted from Amphitruo the two masters and two servants trope, Shakespeare also proceeds to double the number of female characters found in Menaechmi. The unmarried Luciana acts as a foil to Adriana, whose entire identity is hinged on her status as wife, and the addition of Aemilia/the Abbess renders Egeons grief keene r, consequently making the ultimate reunion much more symmetrical (and introducing the Oedipal dimension in her struggle with Adriana over Antipholus). But the notion of doubleness is also a supremely significant linguistic element in the play. The irony of the characters unconscious double-talk (a result of identity confusion) is brilliantly represented by Shakespeares selective use of couplets à the two most significant examples of this technique (before the final rediscovery) occur in acts two and three. Adriana and Lucianas discussion of the subjection of the wife in marriage constitutes the first of these examples. The entire scene, bar the interruption of Dromio, is conducted in couplets, emphasising their relationship as siblings, two halves of a biological couple, as well as their double (or contradictory) nature à Luciana is unwed yet preaches wifely subjection, while Adriana is wed and resents her husbands freedom. The notion of pairing and doubleness is evident also in Antipholus of Syracuses declaration of love for Luciana à the abab rhyme scheme of the first, extended speeches is transformed into the aabb couplet form (III.ii.53-70). While heightening the dramatic tension of this scene, the couplets also highlight Antipholus perceived doubleness à being false to his wife by accosting her sister à and his physical doubleness of Antipholus of Ephesus. This technique also serves a solidly practical purpose, as Wolfgang Riehle notes: the frequent use of couplets in the earlier parts of the play indirectly foreshadows the final reunion of the twin couples. As Shakespeare is at pains to represent, this final reunion is only achieved as a result of many errors, mistakes of identity, resolved through recognition. Loss of identity is an essential part of The Comedy of Errors and is predominantly defined in terms of property and possession. This very mercantile view of the self (subtly implied in the figure of the courtesan) is perso nified in Antipholus of Ephesus, whose identity (like the other men of Ephesus) is equivalent to reputation, which is supported by the ability to pay cash at a specified time. Setting aside, for the moment, the fiscal component of Ephesian male identity, we must look closer at the significance of reputation. When Antipholus finds himself locked out of his own house, he is dissuaded from his first impulse (Well, Ill break in III.i.80) by Balthasar, who argues that this impatient course of action will damage his standing in the community:If by strong hand you offer to break inNow in the stirring passage of the day,A vulgar comment will be made of itAnd that supposà ¨d by the common rout Against your yet ungallà ¨d estimationThat may with foul intrusion enter in And dwell upon your grave when you are dead. (III.i.98-104)The validity of this line of reasoning is confirmed by Antipholus acquiescence. His concern for his good name is also alluded to when speaking of the wench of exce llent discourse (III.i.109). Antipholus makes certain to point out that his imminent trip to the Porpentine is a direct result of his wifes neglect, and her suspicions of prior infidelity were unfounded:I will depart in quietAnd in spite of mirth mean to be merryI know a wench of excellent discourseThere we will dine. This woman that I mean, My wife (but, I protest, without desert)Hath oftentimes upbraided me withal.(III.i.107-113) It is also in this scene that we once more hear of the carcanet Antipholus has commissioned from Angelo the goldsmith, an item which represents the way time becomes an organizing principle in the plot. It is also the symbol of Shakepeares problematisation of identity:The golden chain must be paid for by five oclock, or the law will ineluctably swing into actionas this monetarized time becomes more active in the structuring of plot, it too contributes to the surreptitious subversion of the solidity of identity. Not only is it no longer a question of who you are and whether you can pay (which will re-establish who you are), but correlatively whether you can pay by a stipulated time. This makes identity (reputation) dependent upon external factors over which even the nominally powerful have no control. Perhaps one of the most disturbing things about the disintegration of Antipholus of Ephesus identity is that it is not (as noted above) effected by any action or inaction on his part. The extremity of self-destructive rage he displays in IV.iv.95-109 (With these nails Ill pluck out these eyes) is an attempt to overcome this impotence. Antipholus seeks to gain some degree of control over his troubled self. Similarly, when Adriana is convinced of Antipholus adultery, her first instinct is self-annihilation à Since that my beauty cannot please his eye, / Ill weep whats left away, and weeping die! (II.i.112-113). Thus the disintegration of identity is connected with violence. While the violence connected with the identity crises of Antipholus and Adriana is generally self-directed, they actively exert a brutally physical force over the Dromio twins (whose identity trouble is characterised by questions of transformation and usurpation ). The very first time we meet Dromio of Ephesus, he is threatened with a beating (answer me [] or I shall break that merry sconce of yours I.ii.77-79) and then receives a beating for his refusal/inability to tell Antipholus of Syracuse the whereabouts of his gold. This is, however, one of the less confronting incidents. Dromio Es metaphorisation of the skin as parchment which is written on with the ink of blows (III.i.13) is a disquieting reminder of his status as a slave, sold by his parents at birth. This metaphor also bears striking resemblance to the of slave- branding which Maurice Hunt, quoting Vasco de Quiroga, writes of in his Slavery, English Servitude, and The Comedy of Errors: in their flesh are imprinted the initials of the names of those who aresuccessi vely their ownersso that the faces of these men who were created in Gods image have been, by our sins, transformed into paper.While a discussion of slavery can be taken only so far in a comedy, Shakespeare has ensured that, in the Dromios reiterated pleas to the Antipholus twins to hold their hands ÃÅ'for Gods sake, [the] play reproduces the tension [] between the injustice of slavery and Christian precept. A lesser known fact is Englands own implementation of the slavery of its citizens. The Edwardian Vagrancy Act of 1547 and the Vagrancy Act of 1572 respectively made branding and slavery the punishment for sturdy beggary [and allowed] Justices of the Peace [to] banish incorrigible rogues from England or condemn them to unending servitude in the galleys. While Hunt distinguishes between slavery and servitude, the distinction is indeed a nominal one, given the appalling working conditions of English servants during the Elizabethan period. Shakespeares determination to represe nt this is even clearer when we compare his treatment of the Dromio twins to that of the Plautine slaves in Menaechmi and Amphitruo. Although Messenio is aware his physical comfort is contingent upon his obedience, he enjoys a fairly satisfactory relationship with Menaechmus Sosicles, who often directly removes the possibility of his error and subsequent chastising: If I can hold the cash, its best for both of us. / Then you can do no wrong, and I cant yell at you. (270-271). Amphitruos Sosia is beaten, not at the hands of his master, but the god Mercury, posing as his unfortunate victim. The most important difference, however, between the Shakespearian and Plautine treatment of slavery is that the Dromios, unlike Messenio, are not freed at the conclusion of the play, and the abuse is much more frequent. This is best expressed by Dromio of Ephesus, who has the dubious distinction of receiving far more beatings than his twin:I have served [Antipholus E.] since the hour of my nativ ity to this instant, andhave nothing at his hands for my service but blows. When I am cold, he heats me with beating; when I am warm, he cools me with beating; I am waked with it when I sleep, raised with it when I sit, driven from doors with it whenI go from home, welcomed home with it when I return; I bear it on my shoulders, as a beggar wont her brat, and I think when he hath lamed me I shall beg with it from door to door. (IV.iv.27-34)The slavery in The Comedy of Errors is not of a purely physical nature, though, it may just as easily be applied to each of the characters in a metaphorical sense. They are all enslaved in one respect or another. Bound to her husband, doomed by patriarchal law to be the subordinate and neglected half of an unequal whole, Adriana is enslaved both to Antipholus in wedlock, to her love for him, and to the jealousy she naturally feels at his disloyalty. Antipholus of Ephesus figurative bondage to his rage (over his wifes, courtesans, and bondsmans i ncomprehensible replies to his commands and explanations ) finally culminates in his literal binding, an experience rendered all the more humiliating by the simultaneous binding of his servant. The final, single-scene act of The Comedy of Errors is devoted to the emancipation of the bound (with the significant exception of the Dromio twins) and to the restoration of the fragile identities which disintegrated throughout the course of the play. Egeons freedom, unconditionally granted by the Duke, enables both Emilias release from the long bondage of the priory and the nuns empty life [as well as] the Antipholus brothers freedom from tragedy in their sudden joy. A gossips feast is the celebration of this joy, where both Antipholi are to be symbolically rebaptised, an public reaffirmation of their identities. The final interaction of the Dromio twins (who display a more unrestrained delighted at their reunion than the Antipholi) is glowingly described by Shakespeare, and the couple ts with which the play concludes symbolise the pairs affection for each other and the truly symmetrical nature of the plays conclusion: We came into the world, like brother and brother, / And now lets go hand in hand, not one before another (V.i.424-425). BIBLIOGRAPHYAllison, Sir Robert (trans.): Plautus: Five of his Plays, London: Arthur L. Humphreys, 1914.Crewe, Jonathan V.: God or The Good Physician: The Rational Playwright in The Comedy of Errors, in Genre, XV (1/2), 1982, pp. 203-223.Dorsch, T.S (ed.): The Comedy of Errors, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.Hall, Jonathan: Anxious Pleasures: Shakespearean Comedy and the Nation-State, London: Associated University Presses, 1995Hunt, Maurice: Slavery, English Servitude, and The Comedy of Errors, in English Literary Renaissance, 27(1): 31-55, Winter 1997. Miola, Robert S.: Shakespeare and Clasical Comedy: The Influence of Plautus and Terence, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994.Riehle, Wolfgang: Shakespeare, Plautus and the H umanist Tradition, Cambridge: D.S Brewer, 1990.Segal, Erich (trans.): Plautus: Three Comedies, New York and London: Harper and Row, 1969.
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