Comparative essay that focuses on two different genres from the Old

Comparative that focuses on two different genres from the Old Testament - Essay Example Several books of the Bible are entirely poetry—Lamentations, Song of Songs, and Psalms), and several books simply have some stanzas like in Luke. Song of Songs is a perfect illustration of Hebrew poetry. It was initially penned as a love verse to depict the bliss and huge delight of two individuals infatuated with each other. However, it has also been interpreted in certain Christian institutions as a portrayal of Jesus Christ’s adoration for the Church, and in certain Jewish institutions as a depiction of God’s love for Israel. On the other hand, the Wisdom books are Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Job. Every Wisdom text is poetry, yet not every poetic literature belongs to the Wisdom genre. Two forms of Wisdom prose are found in such books. One is reflective. This includes a description of life’s ambiguities and mysteries, such as in Ecclesiastes and Job. The second is proverbial prose, found in Proverbs. The axioms or proverbs are universal truths rooted in general observation and experience. These are guiding principles which are usually true generally. They are guiding principles, not assurances; principles, not pledges. For instance, although it is largely true that an individual who is indolent will suffer from hardships; some exemptions to that universal axiom could be seen or experienced in life. In addition, divinity usually leads to an individual having a long life, as several maxims explain, yet several exemptions to this have been experienced or seen. Much poetry was written in Canaan, Mesopotamia, and Egypt way prior to the emergence of the biblical book of poetry. The melodic poem, which is composed of poems in Psalms, resembles the wide-ranging melodic poem of Babylon, Sumer, and Egypt. The earliest Near Eastern texts originate from the first inhabitants of the Mesopotamian Valley, the Sumerians, whose literature is comprised of numerous psalms or songs of prayers and praise in poetry. The art of composing psalms in

Evolution of Jazz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Evolution of Jazz - Essay Example Many of the Jazz musicians relieved themselves from racial, social and cultural tensions in their hometown and spread Jazz music as ambassadors of their new found freedom. Hence, between the First and Second World Wars (1914 – 1940) Paris adopted Jazz music as its own. In this way, there was a huge transformation of Jazz music from an African- American genre to becoming an iconic phenomenon of international repute. Jazz music, that began with small marching bands, big bands, or by piano and banjo solos soon disintegrated as the focus centered on smaller ensembles. The Jazz musician I have chosen to write about is Louis Armstrong, (1901 – 1971) who is considered to be one among the best of Jazz musicians. Born in New Orleans on 4th August, 1901, Louis overcame his poverty-stricken background and rose to become one of the greatest solo improvisers in the field of Jazz music. Louis played the trumpet in a very innovative and interesting way and his style relied on improvis ation during his playing the trumpet. He also pioneered a new style of singing called ‘scat’ which is improvising during singing without real lyrics but in perfect tempo and melody. Armstrong had a sort of gravelly voice and besides his virtuosity in his trumpet playing abilities, he was quite famous for his ‘scat’ singing. In fact, he holds the record of being the oldest Jazz artist to have cut a No. 1 record at 63 years old, which is called ‘Hello Dolly’. What is most spectacular about this record is that it toppled the Beatles by reaching number 1 on the charts in 1964. ‘Hello Dolly’ (1964) was the chart-buster title song for the award winning musical ‘Hello Dolly’. This wonderful song also won a Grammy for the best vocal performance by Louis Armstrong which enthralled his audiences all over the world. It was later made into a movie where Armstrong appeared and dueted with Barbara Streisand. Composed by Jerry Herman , ‘Hello Dolly’ is a very vibrant and catchy number rendered with equal enthusiasm and energy by the famed Louis Armstrong. The song begins with a rhythmic syncopated style using instruments. After the instrumental introduction, Armstrong begins singing in his own inimitable ‘scat’ singing style. He has a deep voice that is highly expressive of the lyrics ‘Hello Dolly’. The band comprising of saxophone, drums and trumpet played by Armstrong himself lends complete support in between the vocals. The interlude of ‘Hello Dolly’ is quite a lengthy one, with the trumpet as the main instrument and the other instruments filling in to add a different flavor. His flair for innovation is a major plus point for this singer as he uses a lot of improvisation both in his trumpet playing as well as in his singing. Some of the rhythmic beats used are long while others are staccato in presentation. Armstrong’s voice is throaty and guttural b ut even so very captivating. The pace of the entire song is medium paced while the tone is highly energetic with snatches of highs and lows that give it its own uniqueness and beauty. The final bar of the instrumental part has Armstrong improvising into a crescendo and this is duly answered by the supporting saxophone. Immediately after the interlude, Armstrong takes over and concludes the piece by singing using both lyrics as well as syncopated sounds that makes it so unique and attractive. Armstrong is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz musicians of all time who has

Analyse The Poem The Suicide From Duffys English Literature Essay

Analyse The Poem The Suicide From Duffys English Literature Essay The poem The Suicide is a dramatic monologue; this type of poem is a continuing theme in Mean Time. Another of her poems, The Captain of the 1964 Top of the form team for example, was also written in this form. The title of The Suicide is quite ambiguous in itself- it could be referring to the act of suicide or indeed to the persona her -or his-self. It is as if the speaker is absorbed by the act of suicide everything that the persona has said in the poem is related to the taking of ones life, and anything unrelated to the act is completely disregarded. The setting of The Suicide is acknowledged easily on in the poem. The line small dark hours with a bitter moon buffed by the smudgy clouds/ till it gleams with resentment, allows the reader to clearly envisage the time at which the suicide will take place. It is important that it takes place in the small dark hours because generally, this is the time at which most suicide attempts transpire time itself is suppressive, but cannot be suppressed. This links to the poem Mean Time, within the phrase darkening sky and in particular in the conclusive stanza of the poem, But we will be dead, as we know, beyond all light/These are shortened days and endless nights. These lines allow for the emotive, darkened mood of the persona to be expressed, and relate somewhat to the feelings enunciated in The Suicide. The fact that the moon is described as bitter presents the mood of the persona themselves, immediately clarifying that something desperate Despair laced with a little glee is going to oc cur. The phrase I lie back under the lightbulb allows for the understanding of the loneliness of the situation; she is taking her life in a place of isolation, away from other beings. The lightbulb and the light that it emits emphasise the extreme nature of the act she is going to execute, as well as referring to the metaphorical light that you can see when nearing death. The use of the personification of the moon, till it gleams with resentment, contrasts with the girls desire to be recognised the moon does not want to be noticed it is resentful of this- but the subject does and is using suicide as a means of getting this attention. The single word Famous is used as a means of expressing the thoughts of the persona- if she was to commit suicide, then she would be remembered for it, and would get the recognition that she craves; just as the popularity of Kurt Cobain, and Marilyn Monroe, for example, increased after their suicides. Despite all of this, the persona is most certainly in control of the situation leave it to me. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth, upon planning a murder herself, comments Leave all the rest to me. In stanza five, Duffy again relates her poem to Lady Macbeths use of interrogative in the line give me the daggers. The persona states I get out the knives; knives being plural, almost representing ritualistic behaviour, preparing for death in a specific manner. The persons desire for control extends to the metaphor, My body is a blank page I will write on, implying that the death will be both physical and visual. The persona is frequently referred to as being unusual Duffy writes Nobody drinks with their whole face, implying that nobody is altogether one being- but the persona is- I do. This links to the poem Stealing and the final line, You dont understand a word I am saying, do you? It links in the sense that despite everything she has said, the reasoning behind her desire to end her life is still a blur to the audience. We do not understand; nobody does Nobodys ears are confessionals. It enunciates the complexity of the emotions that the speaker endures. Duffy uses a paradox in describing eyes in the glass, like squids as being sexy it is as if the persona is speaking in reverse. In the fifth stanza, Duffy Duffy uses caesura in the poem frequently to emphasise particular words and phrases- in stanza two, the use of the minor sentence Lies. Blood. is an example of syntax lies are presented before blood, with the intended implication that lies lead to blood. Throughout the poem, Duffy presents the speaker as being vindictive, using the interrogative get out the knives, and who wants a bloody valentine. The latter is quite ambiguous; a literal reference to a blood covered valentine, or figuratively meant in a colloquial, dismissive sense. The use of language and bitterness contrasts with the soft, optimistic attitudes of characters from numerous other poems from Duffys Mean Time collection, and also links closely with the romanticized, unique representation of love in Valentine where an onion, representing love, clings to your knife, but meant in an entirely different concept to The Suicide, where the only thing clinging to her knives would be blood. In the penultimate stanza, two different, contrasting extremes of emotion are presented; a dismissive nature, and one typically self-regarding. The use of the curse Fuck off is aggressive and vindictive, and clearly expresses the emotions that the persona is experiencing. In contrast to this, Worship allows for the feelings that the speaker wishes to experience to be recognised; she wants to be worshipped, she wants to at least gain some recognition. She states that This will kill my folks, which, linking back to stanza five, contrasts with her saying Utterly selfless. She sees the act as being unselfish, however recognises the pain that it is going to cause her parents. It also represents the irony of the situation; her blunt statement shows that she knows that her parents will be broken by her suicide, but regardless of this, she appears to proceed with the act; she has no will to live, and sees suicide as the easy way out, conveying the damage that the persona feels. The act will literally kill her, and figuratively kill her parents. In stanza two, Duffy uses repetition of the words Never never never never enough, a phrase that is somewhat echoing of the mood- it shows the hysteria behind the situation, and how, no matter what happens, she will never be satisfied with her life the way things are going. In conclusion, Duffy uses the poem The Suicide as a means of

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho :: Film Movies

An Analysis of the Opening Sequence from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho Just like a building, a film needs a strong foundation in order to be successful, a foundation which is made up of the starting moments of the film. In Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock successfully uses the opening credit sequence to establish a foundation on which to build an interesting plot, including techniques to elicit involvement by the spectator, and the suggestion of a "Psycho" theme. A musical composition consisting of quick strokes on tightly wound violins, later used in the famous shower scene, starts to play at the beginning of the sequence. Names begin to slide on and off the screen in a series of horizontal and vertical lines. The top and bottom portions of the names slide onto the screen, followed by the middle portion. The last name to appear is that of Alfred Hitchcock, which settles in the middle of the screen and begins to twitch and flutter in an unusual manner. The credits then dissolve into a long shot of an auspicious section of an unknown city where a building is being constructed (paralleling the idea of Hitchcock shaping a foundation). As this dissolve takes place, a more subtle and mellow music (again composed of string instruments) fills the air, suggesting a stable environment. The sun burns brightly in the sky and a desert landscape is seen in the background through a haze. The shot immediately begins to pan slowly to the right, revealing more city rooftops and streets. As a dissolve zooms us slightly closer to the city and the camera continues to pan, small block letters appear on both sides of the screen and converge in the middle to read "PHOENIX, ARIZONA." Hitchcock immediately brings the reoccurring theme of birds into the film by setting the scenery in "Phoenix." The camera continues to pan to the right, now moving on to a more dreary side of the city. The next set of titles converges in the center of the screen, reading "FRIDAY, DECEMBER ELEVENTH." As the panning continues, a slow zoom begins to bring us closer to one of the buildings. The last title appears in the same fashion as the preceding, "TWO FORTY-THREE P.M." Yet another dissolve stops the camera on a rather unattractive wall, slowly zooming in on a window with Venetian blinds drawn down. A cut to a closer view of the window reveals an opening a few inches below the blind in which the camera continues to zoom in on, bringing us into a dark apartment room.

Learning Strategies and Information-Processing Development Essay

Learning can be simply defined as the process that leads to relatively permanent change in behavior or potential change in a person’s behavior. Learning makes one change the way they perceive the environment, react to stimuli and interact. Cognitive psychology is a very important branch of modern psychology. The main focus of this approach is the memory-how information is stored and retrieved. Several theories have been developed with regard to this subject such as the stage theory (Atkinson & Shriffin, 1968). The stage theory model is widely accepted since it proposes that information is processed and stored in three sequential stages i.e. â€Å"the sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory† (Atkinson & Shriffin, 1968, p. 90). In addition to this model other accepted theories include â€Å"levels-of-processing† theory proposed by Craik and Lockhart (1972), the parallel-distributed processing model and the connectionistic model. This paper examines how attention, memory, recognition and knowledge are related to various learning strategies. In addition, the paper discusses how visual-perceptual, motor and language relate to information processing development. Information processing development As stated in the introduction above, cognitive psychology forms an integral part of the discipline of psychology. The most widely used theory is the stage theory whose focus is on how information is stored in memory. Information is processed in three stages and this is done in a serial and scholastic manner. Another important theory is the â€Å"levels-of-processing† theory whose proposition is that the learner utilizes different levels of explanation as he or she processes in formation. A major advantage of the information-processing strategies is in their explicitness and accuracy in diving complex cognitive functions into distinct elements that can be easily studied. However, when it comes to analyzing cognition into its distinct parts; information processing fails to re-unite them into a general, comprehensive construct. In addition, most information processing tools such as computer models have lost touch with real-life learning experiences (Berk, 2009). Information processing approach towards cognition seeks to explain how the learner (children and adults) operate on the different types of information. Most scholars view the mind as a complex system (a type of computer) through which information flows and is manipulated. General models such as the store model by Atkinson and Shiffrin assume that information is stored in three parts of the brain for processing: â€Å"the sensory register, short-term memory, and long-term memory† (Berk, 2010, para.1). Craik and Lockhart (1972) level-of-processing model assumes that information is transferred from working memory to the long-term memory depending on the level processing. There exist several other information processing developmental models such as the Case’s theory which is a reinterpretation of Piaget’s theory of information processing model. Case views cognitive development as the increase in information processing capacity as a result of brain development which can be linked to more efficient learning strategies. Connectionism on the other hand explains information processing development as a result of learning strategies such as computer-simulated strategies which enhance; inter-connectivity of processing units that are well stratified just like the neurological structure of the brain. Siegler’s using his model of learning strategy choice argues that, learners always generate a number of strategies for problem solving, the more the experience, the more strategies are selected or discarded (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2008). Attention is a critical factor when it comes to human thinking, it dictates the information that will be considered when undertaking a task. Attention is greatly enhanced during early and middle stages of childhood. Thus, improved attention makes one to be more adaptable, selective and organized. Enhanced cognitive reticence and efficacy of attentional learning strategies are pertinent to the fine-tuning of selective attention. The fine tuning of attentional learning strategies takes place in four stages: â€Å"production deficiency, control deficiency, utilization deficiency, and effective strategy use† (para.2). Whenever there is a problem with attention students would develop learning disorders. The argument here is that, when a student is learning a new concept, their attention needs to be focused on the new concept.   If they fail to fully pay their attention, it means that they will have a serious problem with the learning of the new information (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2008). Memory strategies are said to improve with age, as children continue to develop various methods such as, organization, and elaboration. This increases the likelihood of storing information in working memory and its consequential transfer to the long-term knowledge bank. Thus, over childhood stages and even in adolescence, students’ recall steadily improves as knowledge is continually amassed and its organization is improved effectively. Children’s metacognitive abilities usually change from passivity to activity. A more productive view of mental functioning increases with the increase in awareness of information processing strategies, cognitive aptitudes, and task variables. Self-regulation cognitively develops gradually during childhood and adolescence stages. Recently, scholars of information-processing have focused their attention towards academic learning of children (Berk, 2009). Visual-perceptual, motor and language relation to information processing development A visual-perceptual skill is simply the brain’s ability to process information as seen.   Previously, most scholars had assumed that a deficiency in visual-perceptual skills was directly linked to the malfunctioning of the eye.   That is having a poor physical vision or poor muscle control in the eye. However, the presence or absence of physical vision has nothing to do with visual perceptual. Instead, visual perceptual refers to the ability of the brain the receiving of visual information, its interpretation, organization, storage, and transmission Thus, if a student’s brain is not properly storing information, recall will definitely be poor. This directly affects the student’s ability to concentrate and read since he or she has a slow recall of words. The slowing down of recall can also have a negative impact on their mathematical abilities let alone their fluency in speech and reading (Smith 2004). Language and phonological processing abilities are affected by the student’s ability to store, process, and retrieve information.   Usually language and phonological problems are rooted to reading disorders.   Many students with reading disorders have difficulty storing, processing, and retrieving information.   A normal student’s left brain hemisphere becomes dominant when they are carrying out tasks involving language processing (Berk 2009). A student’s motor skills are also an important factor when discussing about learning strategies.   Children will learn from their interaction with the environment; this ability is affected hindered by a child’s motor or verbal skills, a child will learn better when their motor skills are well developed.   This can be observed in a math class.   A conventional practice in the learning of fractions is the use of multiplication.   A student with a problem with their motor skills will have a problem with the use of manipulatives.   Thus they will definitely have it rough when it comes to the learning of fractions (Berk, 2010). Conclusion This paper argues that there exist several other information processing developmental models such as the Case’s theory which is a reinterpretation of Piaget’s theory of information processing model. Case views cognitive development as the increase in information processing capacity as a result of brain development which can be linked to more efficient learning strategies. The most widely used theory is the stage theory whose focus is on how information is stored in memory. Learning strategies such as memory strategies are pertinent to the process of information development. Information processing approach towards cognition explains how the learner operates on various kinds of information. The mind is a complex system (a type of computer) through which information flows and is manipulated. Deficits in information processing skills have negative impacts on a student’s ability to learn effectively. This is attributed to the reason that all learning is relatively cumulative.  Thus, problems in learning should be detected early in enough and solved otherwise; they would get worse with advancement of age.

Cadet Entrance Response Essay

Compose your own response. What are the most important qualities in becoming a successful USMA cadet and a successful Army officer? Resilience, dedication and leadership are qualities befitting for a successful USMA cadet and a successful Army officer. Resilience is not only an essential quality for becoming a successful cadet or officer, it is also essential for your life. Resilience is the ability to resurrect one’s self from hard times, to never give up, and displays ones mental strength. In the academy I’ve heard that on a cadet’s first year they undergo times of overwhelming stress in tests of emotional stability, perseverance, and ability to organize and perform under stress. With resilience and resolve a cadet will be able to overcome these stressful obstacles. Likewise, discipline is another quality in becoming a successful USMA cadet and a successful Army officer. At times resilience may complement dedication because when one dedicates their self to something, one needs the resolve to continue on with it and never give up. Dedication shows ones loyalty, commitment, and devotion, in which is an important trait when offering one’s service to their country. To finish, a successful USMA cadet and Army officer should have the quality of leadership. As a leader one must offer guidance and work together as a team to get things done efficiently. Leadership brings out control and order in a group. Showing resilience and dedication as a leader conveys a sense of trustworthiness and cooperation among their followers. Any person with a position of leadership needs to set a positive example in order to make their self charismatic and a successful leader. Having these qualities will show the mental strength, devotion, and management skills it takes in becoming a successful USMA cadet and Army officer.