Queen Elizabeth I Essay Example for Free

Queen Elizabeth I Essay The play A Midsummer Nights Dream was written by William Shakespeare in 1594. From the theme and context of the play, I can conclude that it was probably written for a wedding. It would be similar to the epithalamion written at weddings at this time, but a more elaborate version. Many of the lines rhyme and it all has the feel of poetry: some beautiful and some seeming supernatural and spell-like. It canvasses all aspects of marriage through plot, characters and symbolism, touching on both light and dark areas. The tragic side is shown more through references that actually spelling it out; Pyramus and Thisby is one example of a union which ended in catastrophe. However, despite this, the main idea of marriage is perceived as harmonious; all is shown in a comic frame, with a humorous touch and a happy ending. This would be an appropriate feel for a wedding play because it gives the concept of marriage an idyllic feel, telling the newlyweds what they want to hear: that marriage is a good idea. If you search the play in depth, you will find that not only is it about the union of people in a marriage, but also about the unity of opposing forces in nature and bringing harmony from chaos. It is also, in an even broader sense, about the Elizabethan ideals about God and the universe. To clarify exactly what these ideals were and how A Midsummer Nights Dream defines them, I must start at the beginning with the story of Adam and Eve. Elizabethans believed in everything fitting into its natural place. After studying the sky, they thought the universe was made up of spheres, one containing the stars, one containing planets and so on. They thought the Earth was at the centre of the universe; the spheres they believed in were a way of dealing with the fact that different bodies in the sky moved in different ways. It was thought that these spheres made the world harmonious, but humans couldnt see the true beauty of it because of Adam and Eve. The legend goes that Eve was tempted by the serpent and ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. This, apparently, caused the whole human race to fall from Gods grace. Now, the relevance of this to A Midsummer Nights Dream and the theme of marriage is that when this happened, it meant man kind could not the music of the spheres; they were only told by God that everything had its place. Even the evil in the world has a reason for being there. Humans cannot see quite how everything fits in because of their sin. They do not fully understand why some things happened because they cant see the big picture. This was illustrated by the Great Chain of Being. God came at the top of this chain, with angels under Him. Then came nature (represented by Oberon and Titania), people (shown in all the human characters), and below them animals, plants and rocks. Humans came between animals and Angels, a relationship personified by Bottom. He is a typical human, not very bright or beautiful, but just a normal working class person. He then has a link with both the animal and angel world; he is turned into an ass and he has a relationship with Titania. This establishes the link between animals, angles and humans, and also tells you about the human nature. They are always trying to find something greater that themselves (for example fairies or angels) but to the greater beings, they must look as animals do to us far beneath them and having little or no brains. Also exhibiting the same way of thinking was the fact that men came above women in the category of humans. If you were to sum up the play with one idea, this is the single idea addressed most eloquently. Many events in A Midsummer Nights Dream suggest the superiority of men, through the media of imagery, plot and characters, which will be tackled later. The Elizabethan idea of the cosmos is also addressed by the union of opposites connected with marriage. Their idea of the universe is that everything joins together perfectly and everything has its place. Things which may not seem to have a purpose will have been created by God for a reason; we just dont know what that is. The prime example is the joining of a man and a woman in marriage. It may seem to make more sense to join two women or two men, as these will have more in common, but this play is trying to say a little of both the male and female persona is needed to make the match united. They are like opposite forces, but marriage brings them together. It is as is they have only half of the qualities needed to bring harmony and they must be brought together in marriage to make a whole. The same is also being expressed through the union of other opposite forces. There are many contrasting pairs which link hand in hand in this play: night and day; sleeping and waking; supernatural and mortal; discord and harmony; passion and reason; and ultimately female and male. These pairs are all the exact opposite of each other; and yet Shakespeare is presenting the notion that we need each half of the pair to make the world harmonious.

Limiting Death Row Appeals :: essays research papers

Limiting Death Row Appeals   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Constitution of the United States outlines the rights of a person accused of a crime. The individual has a right to a trial and to be judged by a jury of his peers. When the result of a trial is a guilty verdict and the individual is sentenced to death, the individual has a right to appeal the verdict and the sentence. At the present time, there are virtually no limits on the number of appeals the individual is entitled to and the process could take years. Therefore, the process should be altered to limit the number of appeals to one.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Supreme Court of the United States re-instituted the death penalty in 1976. Between that year and 1995, 314 inmates have been executed in the 37 states, districts, and providences of the United States that allow the death penalty. There are more than 3100 inmates on death row. The majority of executions are of white males. Most executions are by lethal injection or electrocution. In the years since the Supreme Court re-instituted the death penalty through 1994, there have been approximately 467,000 homicides in the United States. Based on that number, 2.8 people will die every hour at the hands of another person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Death row inmates are often on death row for years, some upwards of twenty years. This puts great financial strain on taxpayers' money. While in prison, inmates have many privileges, including cable television, the chance to pursue a college degree, and free health care, all at taxpayers' expense. There are many law-abiding citizens who don't get these benefits. It is appalling to think these people have a virtual life of leisure while in prison. There are some death penalty opponents who believe that convicts don't get enough privileges and lobby for better living conditions and the rights of the convicted felons. Lost in this passionate pursuit of human rights are the rights of the dead victim and those of that victim's family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The appeal process is lengthy and time-consuming. The appeal process is almost automatic for individuals sentenced to death. Many appeals are filed by the convicts in hopes of overturning their conviction or to change their sentence to life imprisonment. Although a great majority of these cases are handled pro bono by lawyers ethically opposed to the death penalty, no consideration is taken in respect to the cost to taxpayers for the local, state, and federal government to respond to and process these appeals. A little known fact about the appeals process is that many states have laws providing funds for the legal defense and appeals for convicted felons.

Complex Relationships in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights Essay Rewrite: Within the novel Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Bronte, readers are confronted with many complex relationships. At times it is hard to understand these due to the range of relationships that occur, from interactions of hatred to relationships that show true passion. One such complex relationship is between Hareton Earnshaw and Catherine.As the novel progresses, we see love develop between these two characters that is best explained by how they are brought together, the problems that their relationship poses and how this relationship affects the other characters in the novel and the plot of the novel itself. The first way to understand this relationship is to examine how these two characters are brought together. In the novel, there is a real sense that fate has a lot to do with the union between the lovers, as Catherine and Hareton are reunited at the symbolic Penistone Crags.Catherine has a burning desire to go to the crags, the symbol of maturi ty, natural erotic desire and wild temptation. She asks Nelly and her father â€Å"Now, am I old enough to go to Penistone Crags? †(Bronte 147) As Catherine reaches teenage years, she desires to travel outside of Thrushcross Grange and ascend the large Penistone Crags, which are close to Wuthering Heights and Hareton. Catherine and Hareton spend the whole day near the Crags until Nelly fetches them.Bronte then describes the interaction between Hareton and Catherine as joyful, describing that â€Å"Her hat was hung against the wall, and she seemed perfectly at home laughing and chattering, in best spirits imaginable, to Hareton, now a great, strong lad of eighteen, who stared at her with considerable curiosity and astonishment† ( Bronte 149). This quote shows how there is an underlying connection between them; Hareton and Catherine begin to show similar characteristics in their relationship that Heathcliff and Cathy had in theirs, and this foreshadows how the relationsh ip will end up.The next interaction between the two is one day when Catherine meets Hareton and Heathcliff while on a stroll; Heathcliff makes it clear that Hareton is not his son. It is then insisted that she must come to Wuthering Heights to meet his son who she has met before, Linton. As Hareton and Catherine run off to play, Linton stays in seclusion as he is feeble and weak. The notion of Catherine running away with Hareton shows her natural tendencies and attraction for Hareton, because he allows her to be free and expressive. Ultimately, the two characters seem to be brought together by fate.In order for Hareton and Catherine to come together, they have to overcome many obstacles. The first problem that they run into is after Catherine is enlightened to the fact that Hareton is her cousin, she is disgusted by him. â€Å"†¦ she stopped and wept outright; upset at the bare notion of relationship with such a clown† (Bronte 152). This quote describes how Catherine thi nks of Hareton as a peasant or a servant and this devastates Hareton. The next problem that their relationship has is that Catherine is being forcibly courted by Linton, at the hand of his father.Heathcliff will do anything in order to fulfill his revenge, and thus will do anything to push the marriage between Catherine and Linton. An example of this is when Heathcliff literally kidnaps Catherine and refuses to let her leave Wuthering Heights until she agrees to marry Linton. It is obvious that Heathcliff is a major problem, preventing the love between Catherine and Hareton from materializing. Catherine realizes that Linton is vastly more educated than Hareton and that she can live a more refined lifestyle with Linton.Linton causes Hareton to feel great shame about his social and educational standing. A prime example of this is when Hareton and Catherine have run off, and Linton finds them standing below the inscription carved above the door. As â€Å"Hareton scared up, and scratch ed his head like a true clown. ‘It’s some damnable writing,’ he answered. ‘I cannot read it’† (Bronte 169). And almost immediately Linton takes the opportunity to degrade him in front of Catherine, laughing at him and calling him a â€Å"colossal dunce† (Bronte 170).This is the moment where Catherine seems to push away from Hareton, and lean towards Linton. Also not helping the situation is the declining health of Linton, as this draws Catherine more emotionally towards Linton and it completely devastates her. Bronte expresses through Nelly that â€Å"I couldn’t bear to witness her sorrow, to see her pale, dejected countenance, and heavy eyes† (Bronte 181). All the while, Hareton is barely mentioned, and later revealed that he has been teaching himself to read and write his own name, in an attempt to impress Catherine.As Hareton correctly identifies his name, he still cannot read the numbers, which causes Catherine to †Å"laugh heartily at his failure† and triggers the hot headed Hareton to â€Å"skull off† (Bronte 191). They are falling for each other, but there is a constant bickering between them due to Hareton’s lack of education—as he is not as accomplished as Linton. The deep burning desire to be together seems to be blocked by any and every character and event in the novel, yet the connection between Hareton and Catherine is easy to see.The final way to understand this relationship is to understand how it affects the characters in the play and how it drives the plot forward. Throughout the novel there had always been a sense that the relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff never died. And this relationship is kept alive by Hareton and Catherine. Whenever Heathcliff looks are Hareton, he sees Cathy, and it drives him insane, and this is a problem because Heathcliff’s motivation in life was to get revenge on the Linton family.This revenge is what propelled t he novel forward, and when Heathcliff sees that Hareton and Catherine are happy, things within him click and he no longer desires to fulfill his plans. â€Å"†¦his society is no benefit, rather an aggravation of the constant torment that I suffer and it partly contributes to render me regardless how he and his cousin go together. I can give them no attention, anymore† (Bronte 248). This quote shows how Heathcliff no longer wants to give attention to his plans of revenge, because Hareton and Catherine are happy.This helps understand their relationship because even though Heathcliff was the mastermind behind everything, they were still able to find love and be happy, something that Heathcliff was never able to do with Cathy. It is as though the relationship was destined to happen, to fulfill not only the lives of Hareton and Catherine, but the souls of Heathcliff and Cathy. Even though the relationship between Hareton and Cathy was hard to understand, an explanation for th eir love can be made by examining the interactions them and characters in the novel and the overall plot of the story.This relationship served as an the final chapter to a cycle of revenge that Heathcliff started by showing him that even under pressure love can prevail. The complex relationship between Hareton and Catherine ultimately expelled the tension between the two estates and rid Heathcliff of his vengeful plots. Overall, this relationship was exemplified by how fate dictated their love, their interactions and their representation for a love of a previous generation.

Illegal Immigration The United States - 2284 Words

Illegal immigration has been a controversial issue that has benefitted and harmed the country in several ways; however, many issues dealing with the subject have transformed the future for America dramatically. Although the United States has absorbed and benefitted from the contributions of the undocumented, their presence has imposed harm to the country’s economy and political stability. They have taken over American jobs by retrieving several advantages that come along with the country’s policies, as well as harming the country by not assimilating to the culture and sustaining their identities. The influx of immigrants from other parts of the world has prompted an overwhelming change in society and the immigrants themselves due to more opportunities available in the United States. These immigrants have different motives for entering the country, hoping to obtain a better life in the land of opportunities. There is a greater chance of freedom, protection, and benefits, which are a priority to the migrants to achieve the American dream. Although the immigrants are advancing to achieve their goals, the government is advancing towards stabilizing the overcrowding population due to the hazards caused to the environment and the country. Many of these aliens have aspirations and hopes for a better future in this country, and they do not plan to harm it. On the other hand, some are a threat, but they come to reach that goal of self- independence and a new opening of opportunities.Show MoreRelatedIllegal Immigration And The United States1573 Words   |  7 Pagesmillion illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States furthermore, for the United States economy. The correctional prerequisites against migrants were added to enactment to protect it from feedback that acquittal is absolution without outcome. Immigration makes a difference among everybody, and Congress ought to be doing everything in its energy to make it as simple as feasible for settlers to live and work lawfully what s more, openly in the United States. The United States is knownRead MoreIllegal Immigration And The United States1315 Words   |  6 PagesFor ages, the United States has seemed to be the country where people seek to move to for a better life. The United States was built on immigrants. People have always migrated to the United States both legally and illegally. The main problem the country has face with immigrants is the amount that trespass the border illegally. Illegal immigration is the unlawful act of crossing a national border(Illegal Immigration Pros and Cons). 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Most of the illegal immigrants, 54% to be exact, come through the Mexican border. (Hayes 5) Since the early 1980’s, the number of illegal Mexican immigrants has risen at an incredible rate, causing the United States government to takeRead MoreIllegal Immigration in the United States Essay2094 Words   |  9 PagesIllegal Immigration in the United States Illegal Immigration in the United States The United States (US) has always been viewed as the land of opportunity because it is the only true free country in the world. This being the case people have been fighting their way into the country for decades. However, it is becoming more and more of a problem each decade that passes. With the United States border being so close to Mexico it is now seeing the highest population of illegal immigrants toRead MoreDeportation: Immigration to the United States and Illegal Alien2373 Words   |  10 Pagesadvance because of the way the immigration process works. However, one thing we all had in mind, was to see the light of a different country, see different faces and hopefully find ways to stay. Once the airplane took off, words was already spread all over the office of Haiti air in Florida that the airplane left Haiti with more than 30 Haitian illegal on board. The first few 2 hours spent at the arrival office was like a discovery of a new world for every single illegal in that group. This was oneRead MoreIllegal Immigration And Immigration In The United States1091 Words   |  5 Pagesarrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes. (De Leon, K) The new legislation, created by California Senate President Kevin de Leon, officially makes the state of California a â€Å"sanctuary state†. Previously, de Leon determined that Donald Trump is a racist because of his positions on immigration; most notably, Trump’s attempt to defund cities that considered themselves sanctuaries. In a debate that is becoming increasingly more polarized, Brown sought to protect illegal immigrants against