20th century innovators of theatre Essay Example for Free

20th century innovators of theatre Essay In this essay I will contrast and explore the key innovations and methodologies of the director/practitioner Peter Brook, and the Polish director/practitioner Wlodzimierz Staniewski and the workings of his theatre company, Gardzienice. One of Peter Brooks methodologies that I feel is key is his use of site specific work. Peter Brook felt a need to try and create theatre outside of traditional theatres. So in the early 1970s he started the experimentation of acting in the street, in hospitals, carparks, anywhere there was a space big enough to hold a production. In the early seventies we began doing experiments outside what was regarded as theatre. For the first three years we played hundreds of times in streets, in cafes, in hospitals, in the ancient ruins of Persepolis, in African villages, in American garages, in barracks, between concrete benches in urban parks. We learned a lot, and the major experience for the actor was playing to an audience they could see, as opposed to the invisible audience to which they were accustomed. This key innovation has helped both directors and actors all over the world, especially actors in third world/war torn countries who either dont have access to theatre buildings due to financial constraints, or who have no theatre buildings due to bombings. Peter Brook encountered a theatre director from Soweto in Africa. This African director explained that his theatre company had been helped greatly by Peter Brooks book The Empty Space, when Peter Brook asked how? the African director replied The first sentence, which is, I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all I need for an act of theatre to be engaged. Peter Brook felt that the newfound relationship between actor/audience would create a new and different dynamic for the actors involved, mainly due to the proximity (closeness) of the actors and audience. One of the actors main defences previously in conventional theatre was not being able to see the audiences faces. With this new site-specific theatre this defence was shattered. Peter Brook felt that this newly created relationship between actor/audience was key in the shared experience of the theatrical performance, so rather than the audience being alienated by the space, the audience sharing the auditorium and the actors the stage, suddenly both parties were sharing exactly the same space. Another aspect of the empty space is that the emptiness is shared: its the same space for everyone who is present. He also felt that there was no need for an elaborate set, lighting and the comfort of a theatre to produce living theatre, he felt that this so called living theatre was not linked to external conditions. I wish to compare what can occur only on a regular stage, with set and lighting, with what can take place only without lighting, without scenery, out of doors, in order to demonstrate that the phenomenon of a living theatre is not linked to external conditions. Gardzienice also used site specific work within their company, but what made their use of site-specific work different to Peter Brooks form was the way in which they executed it. Firstly they would interconnect their form of site-specific work and interculterallism. The Theatre Company would travel to a village and set up for a performance, this would be done in full view of the villages inhabitants so to insure a large turnout. A small group of performers would then walk between the houses either engaging in short performances in front of or inside the houses. They did this to make the villages feel like part of their performances rather than outside of them, this method connects to Peter Brooks method of actor/audience sharing the same space rather than feeling alienated, just spectators. The difference with Gardzienices performance/gatherings is that they actively encourage the villagers to participate/share in the performances. You may rehearse with local musicians, and if there are storytellers you try and include them as well, if not in the performance scenario then in the gatherings. So the preparations should animate the local community as much as possible. Gardzienice created these gatherings in order to share their work with agrarian communities and also give members of these communities a chance to share lifelong skills, in any performance-related art with them. If you present your skills, they will respond with their highest abilities. This method is used not only to share artistic forms, it is also used as a refining vehicle, because the responses of these villagers are so unblemished by society as we know it, Gardzienice felt that the responses of the villagers would be completely primitive and instinctive. The expedition tests and proves the strength and the causing effect of the performance, of the scenes, of acting, of timing-all the aspects which indicate whether it is alive or not. It is a very good camp for refining your craft. The use of the gatherings/performances changed the theatre of its time, as did the use of site-specific spaces for Brook. These gatherings created a whole newworld of what was seen as theatre. In the 1970s theatre was seen as a performance of a play in a conventional theatre space to a paying audience. Gardzienice changed this by using the natural environment of the village as the theatre. He also had no set play, the drama would unfold in an organic completely natural way, and this also reflected upon the environment in which it was set. I am of the opinion that gathering is a moment of theatre born of itself. The traditional gathering has, Within it, the fundamental structure and principles of drama. It has an enormous theatricality and dynamism. If you observe the traditional gatherings in the villages where the people meet to sing, play their music and tell their stories, you will see that they are richer and more developed than many dramas on the stage. Gardzienice also created this innovation of gathering/performance to truly allow their audience to be an integral part of the performance. For without them the performance is not actually possible. The real performance, the real event is the gathering. Staniewskis company wished to change the passive audience into the active one through the constant evoking of their senses. He did this through his deeply moving performances, which involved music and song, this musical song was used in a very ritualistic way. This performance type has elements of religious ritual and the natural environment, which usually connects greatly with these villages, as most of their lives are rooted in tradition and religious activity and their constant connection with the land. The performance demonstration is very important because it allows you to identify your work. The village is never passive during the performance because this sort of society still has liveliness, an immediate reaction to an action, a picture, to events, happenings. But the gathering is much more significant because you are changing the passive audience into the active one. In both Staniewskis and Brooks work they share a common interest in the role of the spectator. Brooks methodologies are such that the audience must be an alert energy whilst speculating. Within Brooks work he is aware that the audience should be alert to the action but not directly involved. He sees the audience as active through the channelling of their positive energy onto the actors; they have an awakened presence that manifests itself onto the energy of the performers. The eye of the audience is the first element, which helps. If one feels this scrutiny as a true expectation, which demands at every moment that nothing be gratuitous, that nothing can come from limpness, but all from alertness, one understands then that the audience does not have a fully passive function. It does not need to intervene or manifest itself in order to participate. It is a constant participant through its wakened precence. On the contrary Staniewski encourages the spectator to become an integral part of the performance process (within gatherings), sometimes even encouraging the audience to actively taking part in the creation of the action. Gardzienice display their skills, to which the villagers then respond with skills of their own. You must demonstrate your own abilities as perfectly as possible. If you present your skills, they will respond with their highest abilitys. Another very important innovation of Peter Brooks is interculterallism. He is very interested in the idea of sharing forms. Especially those that come from a long line of tradition, forms that were inbred into a people, rather than learnt/acquired as forms are usually learnt in the western world. When talking about a Taazieh performance that he saw in Iran he said about the performer It was although we heard his fathers voice, and his fathers fathers, and so on back. Although Peter Brook admires the greatness of these age-old plays/rituals/ceremonies, he also discusses the way in which these forms can become out of touch with society. Peter Brook believes in taking a form from another culture and adapting it. He believes that trying to create an exact representation of a form so alien to an outsider, yet that comes so naturally to its inhabitant is useless. Peter Brook felt that once a form was formed it was rigidly stuck and unable to progress. He said, Generally speaking, we can conclude that tradition, in the sense of the word, means frozen. It is a frozen form more or less obsolete, reproduced through automatism. He feels that forms are just like any natural cycle within our universe that everyone must accept, everything is born and everything must die. He believes that only the constant re-evaluation and adaptation of a form will keep it alive. There is no form beginning with ourselves that is not subject to the fundamental law of the universe: that of disappearance. All religion, all understanding, all tradition, all wisdom accepts birth and death. In 1968 he met a Japanese actor named Yoshi Oida who was trained in No theatre. He believed that although his training was beneficial to him, it wasnt truly in touch with the world around him. Peter Brook agreed with this actors outlook, he felt that it was important to assess the context in which you are producing/performing the form in, and inevitably its connection with an audience. A magnificent form is not necessarily the appropriate vehicle to carry a living experience once the historical context changes. So in Peter Brooks productions he takes elements of ritualistic traditions/forms that he has encountered by indigenous people, and he adapts them to suit western actors/audiences. For Peter Brooks production of The Conference of the Birds, he brought in a Balinese actor with a vast experience in the use of traditional Balinese masks, to work with his actors. Although the acting company was in awe of what they saw him do with these masks, they knew that it would be almost impossible to recreate. He used the mask as a Balinese tradition, with a thousand years of ritual behind it. It would have been ridiculous for us to try to be what we were not. Finally we asked him what it was possible for him to do. Gardzienice has a similar methodology with regards to interculterallism but rather then heavily reforming the customs the Theatre Company try to translate the nature of the form that is shared with them whether in song or dance. Staniewski and his collaborators in Gardzienice translate what they explore and discover in their expeditions into their own highly complex and innovative theatre language. Gardzienice take the use of interculterallism to a completely new level through their use of the Gathering. This event not only involves sharing of cultural forms, it also takes the reactions of the spectators, or the sounds of the natural environment during a performance, and adds this to its theatre language, so it can be recreated in later rehearsals/performances. This innovation Staniewski calls interference in dialogue For example, an actor speaks a monologue and a voice from the crowd is constantly adding something. This is when they interject with material belonging to their own lives. So Gardzienice not only share and receive songs and rituals with these villagers, crossing the boundaries of culture, they also apply their natural reactions to aid the growth of their material. This innovation again bears similarities to Peter Brooks methodologies, although Brook does not directly involve the spectators in the action. Although he believes that the actors and the audience have a link through their imagination, he doesnt want them too directly participate as in the gatherings of Gardzienice. In the sixties we dreamed of an audience participating. Nai vely, we thought that participating meant demonstrating with ones body, jumping onto the stage, running around and being part of the group of actors. The participation that Brook talks of is more of a silent participation, not in the sense of conventional theatre where the audiences are there to just watch. They must finely tune their energies into the energies of the actors in order to create an extra daily atmosphere/energy. The audience does not need to intervene or manifest itself in order to participate. It is a constant participant through its awakened presence. De-urbanisation is a key innovation shared by both practitioners. This de-urbanisation was thought to have helped cleanse the acting company of the pollutions of city life. It also helped them to get more accustomed to the natural world. De-urbinisation is a recognizable process in the history of twentieth-century actor training. Stanislavski, Vakhtangov, Brook and Copeau have, at some point, sought rural retreats for their work. The differences in their use of de-urbinisation being that Brook retreated to country retreats whilst being involved in certain rehearsals, but Gardzienice has a permanent residence in rural Poland. Brook and Staniewski believe that urban life warps our bodies. Staniewski holds the same view he said in an interview Habitants brought from the city slowly die out the defensive attitude (necessary there), the dullness of the senses, and the indifference. Gradually we become sensitive to one another, we feel our constant, tangible, warm presence. Another of Staniewskis key methodologies is incorporating religious/ritualistic ceremonies into nearly all of their performances. This is not a new innovation as theatre was born originally out of religion, but it is a key factor within Garzienices theatre practices. His theatre is a spiritual theatre that encompasses outside factors and digests them in order to externalize them whenever necessary. Staniewski expects greatness in his performances not only through the actors transmission of the material gathered over the long rehearsal period, but also with regards to the reaction of the audience. I think that Staniewski wishes the reaction of the audience (and to some extent the actor) to be similar to the transcendence that some religious ceremonies awake in people. Should one expect miracles from a performance? Yes. You have to know how to prepare the ingredients, ignite the fire under the crucible, and then the actors can transmute their material into gold. Peter Brook believes that the religious/ritualistic ceremony/performance can be completely lost once taken out of its natural environment. In the community where the ritual originates from religious sense usually pervades everything. A western audience may not understand or want to understand the importance of the religious element/indigenous peoples way of life with regards to the context of this ritual, therefore something in the spectators reaction will be lost. Brook gave an example of a performance by the Bengal Chauu a group of villagers who act out battle, moving forward in little jumps. In India Bengal Chauu are greatly received, a big excitement for the villagers. But when the same performance was performed in front of a British audience Peter Brook felt that there was no energy left within it. The spirit was no longer present, nothing was left but a show, a show with nothing to show. Another key innovation that Staniewski discovered was that of musicality. It not only involves Music in its true sense through the use of choral work, but also musicality created through the body (rhythms). This form is seen to have a direct connection with the earth, Staniewski believes that every natural element contains musicality within it. I am utterly convinced that the earth is musical, that it has musicality and that every part of nature can be musical He believes that musical composition can be composed in a totally new way to its traditional form of writing a score. He feels that the western music is in some way inhibited by its strictness in form. Thats why our western music, codified since the middle ages, is sometimes refereed to as reduced. Through the use of breath, animal sounds that occur through our connection with the earth (such as stamping), using these sounds can help to create a musical composition, full of the earths richness. The entire world is filled with sound. But natural sounds represent a rich world of music. In dogs barking in the village and birds singing at my window, I hear musical compositions, which inspire me. These innovations have revolutionized the way in which theatre is produced today. In the 1970s when these forms were first discovered music would only appear within theatrical performances in the traditional musical theatre setting, or to increase tension, or as background music. Peter Brook uses music to create dramatic tension. He sees music as accompanying the action, rather then as in Gardzienices work music being a through line during all performances. He sees music as a complimentary tool that can help develop the energies of the actor. In contrast to Staniewski He imagines this music to be outside of the actor, composed, rather then created by the performers. The simple present of a pulse or a throb is already a tightening the action and a sharpening of the interest. Then other instruments enter to play a role-always in relation to the action. But feels that this music must contain a unified language with relation to the performance, and cant contain a language of its own language, whereas Staniewski combines the two to create a newer more innovative language. Staniewski connects musicality to spirituality, although he believes that the church has had a negative influence in the codification of music. The churchs influence on Western music is a well-known story. Dissonance was regarded as a sin. Ornamentation is not only an expression of emotion but also an intellectual statement-the Church found it too dangerous and reduced it. The connection and utter concentration of the senses that musicality techniques arouse can awake the inner senses making it an almost religious experience. Codified music is usually in the background of this musicality, creating a great juxtaposition in the finished performances. He sees the music as framing the musicality. My performances incorporate music and musicality. You have to form your artistic proposal and frame it. Once you repeat this framed work, you are developing a uniform structure of sound. Musicality is like a rough diamond, which is perfectly framed by the gold of the codified music. Song is also an important aspect of Garzienices musicality; singing/choral work is incorporated in some way into every one of their performances. Song is not used in a traditional sense within their practices. The act of singing is seen as something sacred, like sharing something with you audience. It is not about communicating a skill or ability as in the conventional meaning. It must not just involve your head your whole body must become consumed by the song. Song is a being; it is not just a composition or melody which must simply be sung. Nor is it a pretext for an actor to express his or her ability as an actor. Song is not illustration; Most of the songs that are used within Gardzienices performances are strongly linked to a given community or tradition (as with all of his work). The creative potential of this way of perceiving performance has received further confirmation through Staniewskis discovery of related techniques found in native cultures. He feels that the song in its natural tradition is sung from deep within and that is what he wants his actors to recreate. They take the song and then deconstruct it using varying words, harmonies and tempos etc. You have to penetrate the song through experimentation: through making different combinations of voices and harmonies. You explore different musical ideas, which will suddenly show you different plants within the organism of the song. Gardzienice have explored harmony, polyphony and dissonance rhythm and counterpoint. This way of singing is seen to produce an almost cathartic effect, through the deep training and the actors real sincerity in giving the song through humbleness rather than through self and ego. I am an idealist. I always believe that there must be a final destination within a song, a way of singing it, which explains everything, bringing a sort of catharses. In conclusion I have compared the methodologies of two key 20th century innovators of theatre. I started off talking about Peter Brooks use of site-specific spaces. I feel that this has been a key and revolutionary innovation in terms of the freedom it has given actors/theatre companies. It has in a way broken a barrier between the classes. Poorer companies of actors may not have been able to afford to hire out large theatre spaces. It has also encouraged the actors to be more creativity within the context of performance. Gardzienices methodology is similar to Brooks in relation to using a non-theatrical space as a setting for a performance. But they take it one step further with the involvement of the people of the village within their performances also talked about actor/audience relationship and audience participation. Peter Brook believes that the spectators are active through their silent energies. Gardzienice wants the audience to directly participate in the action. With regards to inter/cross culturalism Gardzienice embraces other cultures forms and incorporates many of them into their unique theatre language. Peter Brook also embraces other cultures forms, but he constantly evolves them, retaining little of their original substance. Both Peter Brook and Staniewski have embraced de-urbanisation. Peter Brook during some of his rehearsal periods. Gardzienice indefinitely. Both practitioners were interested in ritual. Peter Brook felt that something is lost when these rituals are performed out of their original contexts. Gardzienice have a great respect for other cultures rituals, they rehearse these songs/dances so much that they become a part of them, thus becoming re-contextualised. The last topic discussed was music/musicality/song. Gardzienice have revolutionised the process of creating music within a performance. A new non-codified type of music has arisen that can work alongside the codified form. Peter Brookes music as a background element in a performance to at times highlights the action. In my estimation all of these innovations have been important in the development of theatre, as we know it. But I believe that Garzienice on every level have taken Peter Brooks methodologies one step further.

Open field agriculture in England

Open field agriculture in England The open field system was a prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe from the middle ages; in some places it was still present up until the 20th century. For example in Herefordshire the last open fields were removed in the 20th century. This form of settlement can also be known as champion land. Each villager was allocated strips usually at a village meeting each year. Their holdings were scattered. However contrary to popular belief not all areas in England had open field farming in the medieval period. For example in Essex and Kent they retained pre Roman system of small square enclosed fields. Lincolnshire was a typical area of open field agriculture. However, much of pre roman Britain was an open field system. There is much division and debate on when the open field system originated. This can be argued that it is down to insufficient distinction being made between a three strip system, a three field system and an open field system.  [1]  H.L.Grays work in English field systems can be seen as a starting point in 1915. However it has now been realised that open field systems are much more complex than he first thought. He focused on the variety of open field systems. Later came Orwins view, in the open fields of 1938, they had a practical approach which was seen to be influential but they assumed that the open field system was fully running from the start which has been proven to be wrong. Then in 1964 came Joan thirsk new view, distinguishing between open fields and common fields and arguing that it developed slowly, maturing in the 13th century. In 1973 historical geographers Baker and Butlin did a number of regional studies which emphasised the variety, and stressed that they evolved . It concluded that the midland field system was more adaptable to change than was once believed.  [2]  This belief that they evolved is accepted but now earlier chronology is now preferred. Then in 1983 in the agricultural history review it drew attention to how they seemed to be planned. This was also argued in 1982 David Hall medieval fields for the 8th and 9th origin subdivided fields laid out in a deliberate act of planning. The original plan was drastically modified over time.  [3]  However this can be disputed R. A. Dodgshon argues that they were not consciously designed, but that they were makeshift and response to a diversity of influences. Opinion has therefore changed and evolved over time but is also still divided. Land was divided into what was known as planned countryside (champion) and ancient countryside (woodland). Thomas Harrison said it is so that soile being divided into champion ground and woodland  [4]  . In the champion everybody lives in uniformly built towns, it is a nucleated village, whereas woodland villages people are scattered. In the champion was where the open fields were, open fields are where there are no hedges or fixed physical boundaries, possibly on the edge but not internally, it has strips. The land is the champion is divided into lots of strips, each individual gets around 30 strips. They are scattered throughout the territory of the parish muddled with everybody elses. However it is in a regular order, as would be their houses in the streets also. Between 1220 and 1240 documents show that wherever Thomas de Hampton had strips then Henry de Kaam was his neighbour.  [5]  The strips of land also known as selions are then grouped into bundles called furlongs, t hese are then grouped into fields. Each village has two or three fields. Each year one of the fields was allowed to remain fallow. They were instead grazed with livestock, they became communal. Therefore it was communal on one hand but on the other individualistic, you got to keep what you grew. The strips could not be bundled into one group because if they were all in one place they may all be fallow for one year. In the late medieval periods they gradually disappear. It is often seen as hard to define when the open field system of agriculture first developed. There are many debates among historians for the origins of the open field system for example in a recent article on the common fields Dr Thirsk attacked the orthodox view of Gray Orwin on the subject. Dr Thirsk defined the classical common field system as being made up of four essential elements.  [6]  At first arable and meadow were divided into strips, then arable and meadow were open for common pasturing, then common rights over waste, then finally this was regulated by a group of people. This definition is quite unobjectionable, though it could be argued that its third element common rights over waste is not strictly essential to it.  [7]  In the journal it is argued that the open field system as it is normally understood did not come into being until the later Middle Ages. It argues that if dr thirsk succeeds in showing that the evidence for the existence of the open field syst em in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries is far from being conclusive or satisfactory.  [8]   Open field agriculture took many forms. Therefore it is hard to pin point when the origin was. The different factors which go to make up the various types of open field systems go some way towards explain the origins of such systems.  [9]  However this is then disputed by archaeologists who are concerned with the physical remains of the past e.g. ridge and furrow. The historians and historical geographers have a different view on the definition of open field systems compared to that of the archaeologists. Historians base their definitions on the systems, and social aspects. Not just merely the remains. This therefore leads to problems in dating when open fields originated. it is extremely difficult to discover the origins of almost any aspect of human behaviour, for until it is relatively common place it is usually difficult to detect archaeologically.  [10]  Also there is the problem that over the years there are changes that disrupt the land. Thus the physical manifestation s of open fields which archaeologists have to deal with are the result of the pattern imposed by the most recent cultivation, not the first.  [11]  Therefore when studying open field systems archaeologists look at the ridge and furrow and accept it to be medieval. It has however become clear from recent work they there was never just one type of open field system. Even by the thirteenth century, there was not one type of open field system but many.  [12]  There is often a pessimistic approach to the origins of open fields. The evidence that remains to help us discover the origins of the open field system includes ridge and furrow. A heavy plough, capable of turning over sod would cut the furrow and a mold board turns the soil sideways, pulled by 6 to 8 ox. We know this from domesday. This would gradually mound the soil up in the middle of the strip. The strips were not straight but always shaped as an s but backwards. This is because of the turning room the plough needed and the fact that most were right handed. We can date ridge and furrow from any time after the introduction of the heavy plough and not necessarily medieval. By the 11th century it was in use in most of England. It is important to remember that there was never one open field system over Britain that was identical and used. It also changed over the years. It developed over time. Why it grew is important. There needed to be a solution to the problem of farming with certain soils, animals, climate, topography, crops, markets, transportation and so forth. At any one moment there were open field villages in various stages of evolution.  [13]  Hard to define what an open field system was. It was different in different areas so can seen to be started at different times. Consequently, the second complex phenomenon behind the label is the lack of agreement of what is to be understood by an open field system, as different authors disagree to some extent on what constitutes the salient interlocking features of the system.  [14]   There are many broad outlines to what an open field system was and when it developed over the country making it difficult to summarise when it evolved. There is also lots of literature on this topic which is diverse. One of the earliest pieces of evidence of the early open field system comes from a law from King Ine of Wessex. If ceorls have a common meadow or other share land to enclose, and some have enclosed their share while other have not.  [15]  This was issued between 668 and 694. It gives evidence to the early existence of open fields. However it doesnt give elements of the whole system. It does not mention strips, cropping rules, common grazing or regulations. We cannot however assume that all land even within the same community was treated the same. All of the elements therefore may not have originated at once but could have been gradual. Then in 966 a charter refers to arable share land. it is very likely that the exploitation of the agricultural resources of midland E ngland was well established by the tenth century, although it is equally likely that the complex open filed system did not reach its full maturity before the twelfth.  [16]  There are now lots of evidence to suggest that the introduction of the open field system was a long term process. When looking at maps of open field systems you can see that each system is logically adapted to the geography of its parish. Also different systems co existed side by side in the same geographical area. The open field system originated because it was sufficient at feeding the population. Local landowners would rent land to farmers known as tenants, they would grow enough to survive and any left would be sold to market. Ridge and furrow advantages include drainage especially on heavy clay soils where the water wont drain easily. However you do not want to plough light soils such as chalk. Also there is the creased table cloth theory. Possible resistance to soil erosion and it creates more surface area so there is more land to grow crops on. For many centuries it met the countrys need for food, it also let villagers have a say as it made decision by vote, and people were working together, there was also the common land so a sense of community. It went hand in hand with the development of villages clustered around a nucleus of church and manor house. This created a sense of community, they worked communally, and open field agriculture is an example of this. In some villages, villagers owned a team of oxen so ploughed the strips in sequence. However in some ways it can also be seen as individualistic. It gradually spread over England, but it can never be said that it completely took over. The most common open field system was where a village had 3 bigs fields with the village located in the centre, each field could be miles across and each villagers would have strips of land in each field so that each would have a share of good and bad land.

Macbeth Essay -- essays research papers

The Shakespearian tragedy, Macbeth has been said to be one of Shakespeare’s most profound and mature visions of evil. In Macbeth we find not gloom but blackness, a man who finds himself encased in evil. Macbeth believes that his predicaments and the evils that he commits are worth everything he will have to endure. In spite of this towards the end of the play he realizes that everything he went through, was not worth the crown, or the high price he had to pay of losing his wife, and finding himself alone. Macbeth is shown as a kind and righteous man in the beginning of the play. He is the Thane of Glamis, and a brave warrior among men and is highly regarded by the king of Scotland. All these traits make Macbeth great. Conversely, several factors transform this one great man into a great tyrant and a malevolent murderer. Macbeth grows great throughout the play yet in reality becomes less and less as a man. Macbeth proves that wearing a crown and having the power does not fulfi ll all of one’s dreams and fantasies. Being the king does not necessarily make the man. In the first act we meet the witches and the mood of Macbeth is set-dark, gloomy, evil, supernatural- a perfect atmosphere to accompany the tragic hero. When Macbeth first meets the witches he is at the height of his moral ascendancy. He is Thane of Glamis and he just slaughtered a traitor from the Netherlands in the name of Scotland. However, Macbeth’s curiosity begins to stir when these three witches tell him of his fate. â€Å"All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter!† (Act 1, Sc.3 48-50) Macbeth is already the Thane of Glamis and the audience knows that King Duncan named him Thane of Cawdor. However, the last two prophecies could not make sense to Macbeth, and what they reveal to Banquo is even more puzzling. â€Å"Thou shall get kings, though thou, be none.† (Act 1, Sc.3 67) A curious Macbeth yearns to know more when the witches suddenly vanish. A moment later, the prophecies prove to be true. â€Å"And, for earnest of a greater honour, He bade me, From him, call thee Thane of Cawdor: In which addition, Hail! Most worthy Thane, for it is thine!† (Act 1, Sc.3 104-107) Macbeth wants to test the truth by asking Banquo if he also believes that the rest of the prophecies could be true. Banquo is suspicio... ...m; And let the angel whom thou still Hast served tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb Untimely ripped.† (Act 5 Sc. 8 13-16) Alone, confused, frustrated and shamed Macbeth dies a warrior by the sword of the worthy Macduff. In the fatal end Macbeth was called upon to pay the price for all his wrong doings. Macbeth could have been a great man. Macbeth was Thane of Cawdor and Glamis and most importantly respected by the King. Macbeth had a loving wife and a dear friend in Banquo and all this he yearned for, when he realized little to late he had it already. Had it not been for his belief in his own charmed existence and his belief in supernatural prophecies, if he had listened to Banquo’s warning, he would have never risked everything he loved, everything he had, and his own life for that crown. If Macbeth did not have so much pride in his own ambition he would have been a happy and respected man. â€Å"I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other.† (Act 1 Sc. 7 25-30) Macbeth spoke these words in the beginning of the play and it was still to early in time, for him to realize how true that really was.

Classical COnditioning Essay -- essays research papers fc

Ivan Pavlov and Classical Conditioning 1904 Nobel Prize Winner, Ivan Pavlov was born in Ryazan, Russia on September 14, 1849. Pavlov is best known for his intricate workings with the drooling dog experiment that lead to his further research in conditioning. This experiment, which began in 1889, had an influence on the development of physiologically oriented behaviorist theories of psychology in the early years of the nineteenth century. His work on the physiology of the digestive glands won him the 1904 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. CONTRIBUTIONS Pavlov's first independent work focused on the physiology of the circulation of the blood (Girogian, 1974). He studied the influence of variations in blood volume on blood pressure. He also investigated the nervous control of the heart, and argued that four types of nerves control rhythm and strength of cardiac contractions. It was during this first independent study that Pavlov used unanesthetized, neurologically intact dogs (Girogian, 1974). This method became the mainstay of Pavlov’s methodology. Pavlov’s second independent work centered primarily around digestion. He started studying digestion as early as 1879, and it was his major focus from 1890 to 1897 (Girogian, 1974). His work was an accumulation of observations on the nervous control of one organ system through the method of chronic experiment (Girogian, 1974). The study of digestion involved developing "fistulas" through which secretions from salivary glands, stomach, the pancreas, and small intestine could be collected (Girogian, 1974). His technique was truly unique in that he did not cut the nerve supply nor contaminate the secretions with food. The most famous and well-known experiment of Pavlov is that he 'conditioned' dogs to start a salivary response to the sound of a bell. He began by measuring the amount of salivation in response to only food. As the experiments continued, he rang a bell as he presented the food (Girogian, 1974). Again, he noted a salivary response. Finally, by only ringing the bell, Pavlov observed the same response as having presented food to the dogs . . . salivation (Girogian, 1974). These experiments defined what has been a "conditioned response". CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Classical Conditioning is the type of learning made famous by Pavlov's experiments ... ... a Nobel Laureate for his research in a different field (Fredholm, 1999). In 1904, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his pioneering studies of how the digestive system works. Until Pavlov started to scrutinize this field, our knowledge of how food was digested in the stomach, and what mechanisms were responsible for regulating this, were quite foggy. In order to understand the process, Pavlov developed a new way of monitoring what was happening. He surgically made fistulas in animals' stomachs, which enabled him to study the organs and take samples of body fluids from them while they continued to function normally (Fredholm, 1999). WORKS CITED "Pavlov, Ivan Petrovich," Microsoft ® Encarta ® Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://encarta.msn.com  © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. Mischel W. (1993). Behavioral conceptions. In W. Mischel, Introduction to Personality, 295-316. New York: Harcourt Brace. Girogian, NA: Pavlov, Ivan Petrovich. In The Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Charles Schribner’s Sons, New York, Vol 10, pp. 431-6, 1974. Fredholm, Lotta. Ivan Pavlov. Science Journal. May 15, 1999.

Cuban Missile Crisis: The Brink of Global Nuclear War Essay -- History

Cuban Missile Crisis: The Brink of Global Nuclear War The Cuban Missile Crisis had a huge impact on society even years after it was resolved because the incident had brought our nation and the world so close to the brink of nuclear war. Before the Cuban Missile Crisis had occurred, many other factors had been piling up and building undesirable tensions between many countries. Along the way new allies and enemies were made causing more stress to the Cold War. The new bonds that formed after Cuba was taken over by Fidel Castro pushed nuclear war to the very edge. Many changes in Cuba caused tensions to mount between the United States, Cuba, and Russia. At the time before the Bay of Pigs incident, Cuba had a corrupt dictator that ruled the people without giving them much freedom. President Fulgencio Batista was an ally to the United States because American companies that were based in Cuba did not have many restrictions. Many wealthy Americans owned plantations on the island of Cuba because of the lack of restrictions. This all changed in 1959 when Fidel Castro took over. Castro wanted to limit American influence and cut ties with the United States. Castro quickly made attempts to be allies with the Soviets. For Castro's attempt to woo the Soviets, the United States stopped the importing of sugar from Cuba. Cuba's economy would have suffered terribly if they could not find a buyer. The Soviets agreed to buy all of the sugar. After this the United States cut off all relations with Cuba. The United States and Cuba were no l onger allies even though they were only separated by a mere 100 miles. While the Cold War loomed over the heads of the world, the President of the United States tried to think of way... ...ry.navy.mil/faqs/faq90-1.htm>. Naval Historical Center, 1993. "Cuban Missile Crisis - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. . Web. . Web. through . Web. Pike, John. â€Å"Cold War in the 1960s†. 2012. ops/cold-war-1960s.htm>. Web. â€Å"Limited Test Ban Treaty.† U.S. Department of State. January 22, 2012. . Sting. "Russians." The Dream of the Blue Turtles. A & M Records, 1985. Vinyl. Berkin. Making America : A History of the United States. Wadsworth, 2012. P. 354

Motivation and Emotion Essay

Motivation The process by which activities are started, directed, and continued so that physical or psychological needs or wants are met. Came from the Latin word â€Å"movere† which means â€Å"to move† Two Kinds of Motivation 1. Intrinsic Motivation – occurs when people act because the act itself is satisfying or rewarding (e.g. charity). 2. Extrinsic Motivation – occurs when people receive an external reward for the act (e.g. money). Approaches to Motivation 1. Instinct Approach – proposes that some human actions may be motivated by instincts (e.g. motherly instinct, survival instinct). 2. Drive –reduction Approach – when an organism has a need, the need leads to psychological tension that motivates the organism to act; fulfilling the need and reducing the tension (e.g. sleep). 3. Arousal Approach – a person has an optimal level of arousal to maintain (sensation seekers). 4. Incentive Approach – an external stimulus may be so rewarding that it motivates a person to act toward that stimulus rather than another stimulus or to satisfy a drive Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Abraham Maslow) Self Determination Theory (Edward Deci & Richard Ryan) Biological Basis of Hunger Lateral Hypothalamus – gives off the biological feeling of hunger. Ventromedial Hypothalamus – causes a person to feel full. Digestive System – the stomach and intestines send nerve and impulses to the brain to recognize that they are already full. Glucose – it is what food is converted to; also called blood sugar; if the glucose is low, it increases a person’s hunger, if it is high, it decreases it. What motivates you to eat? the most common reason why people eat is due to stress and problems, other reasons may be of culture and tradition since other foods which are not considered edible in one country is considered a delicacy in another (such as insects). Eating Disorders group of condition defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to detriment one’s physical and mental health Anorexia Nervosa – a condition which reduces eating to a point that a weight loss of 15% below the ideal body weight or more occurs (under eating). Bulimia Nervosa – a condition in which a person develops a cycle of binging or overeating enormous amount of food at one sitting, and purging or deliberately vomiting after eating (overeating). Causes of Eating Disorders These include depression, substance (drug) abuse, family history (heredity), difficult relationships with family and friends, stress, being overly concerned with being slim. Warning Signs these are the signs that could result the person to have an eating disorder: missing meals complaining about being fat refusing to eat at restaurants cooking feasts but not eating the food prepared repeatedly checking weight Emotion the â€Å"feeling† aspect of consciousness and include physical, behavioral and subjective components Physical: increase in heart rate, rapid breathing, dilation of pupils, dryness of mouth, fidgeting Behavioral: facial expressions, body movements and actions Subjective: anger, fear, happiness, and sadness James-Lange Theory developed by William James and Carl Lange states that a stimulus creates a physiological response that then leads to the labeling of the emotion event arousal interpretation emotion I see a snake muscle tenses, heart races feel nervous and scared Canon-Bard Theory developed by Walter Canon and Philip Bard states that emotions are felt first given a specific stimulus followed by a physiological change event simultaneous arousal and emotion I see a snake feel nervous and scared muscle tenses, heart races Lazarus Theory developed by Richard Lazarus states that a person decides what to feel depending on how he interprets an instigating stimulus or event event thinking simultaneous arousal and emotion coworker gets promoted think that you should have been the one promoted feel bitter Negative Emotions: fear anger guilt depression horror pride jealousy envy regret sad grief self-pity anxiety resentful denial How to become happy enduring happiness does not come from success take control of your time smile seek activities that engage ones skills get moving get necessary sleep prioritize relationships focus beyond the self make a gratitude journal nurture your spiritual self

Beer’s Law Lab Report Essay

Abstract: The Beer’s law lab was conducted to determine the optimal wavelength of Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O with the use of spectrometry. The results determined that the optimal wavelength to study the absorbance of this salt was 500nm. It also demonstrated how transmittance of light and absorbance of light are inversely proportional because absorbance is calculated by multiplying transmittance by a negative log. Introduction: When one is studying chemicals, there are many important factors of significance. The color of a chemical is a useful tool in its study. The light one sees produced by a chemical is the result of both reflection and absorbance of wavelengths. The wavelengths that are absorbed by a chemical are not visualized. The wavelengths that are reflected back are the colors that one sees. When chemicals are diluted in water, their colors also become diluted. As the chemical is diluted, the molecules spread apart. The more dilute the solution, the further apart the molecules. As the molecules spread, the color that is reflected becomes less intense because some of the wavelengths are able to pass through the solution without encountering any of the solute. The more wavelengths that are able to pass through a solution without encountering any of the solute, the greater the transmittance. The transmittance can be mathematically calculated by dividing the amount of light that exited the solution (IT) by the amount of original intensity (IO). That value is then multiplied by 100 to give the percent transmittance (%T) Beer’s Law is used to relate and compares the amount of light that has passed through something to the substances it has passed through. The Law is represented by A=abc. â€Å"A† is the absorbance of a solution. The â€Å"a† represents the absorption constant of the solution being tested. The â€Å"b† represents the thickness of the solution in centimeters, and â€Å"c† represents the solution’s molarity or concentration. The â€Å"A† can be calculated by using the negative log of the transmittance (T).   The lab experiment conducted used the salt Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O. The Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O  was diluted in distilled water to four different molarities. The most concentrated solution was used to determine the optimal wavelength to study the salt by measuring the transmittance of the Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O with twenty different wavelengths of light. Once the optimal wavelength was concluded, the transmittance of the less concentrated Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O solutions was also measured. The measurements of the less concentrated solutions was to determine the absorbance constant, â€Å"a†. Finally, the transmittance of an unknown concentration of Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O solution was measured and molarity was determined based on the absorbance constant determined earlier in the experiment. Procedure: A test tube was prepared with 0.1 M solution of Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O in 10mL of distilled water. Half of the .1M solution, 5mL, was drawn up into a pipette and put into another test tube with 5mL of deionized water to make a 0.05 M solution. Half of the 0.05 M solution, 5mL was drawn into a pipette and put into a test tube with 5mL of deionized water to make 0.025 M solution. Half of the 0.025 M solution, 5mL, was drawn into a pipette and put into a test tube with 5mL of deionized water to make 0.0125 M solution. A test tube of 10mL of deionized water was also prepared. The bubbles on all test tubes were removed by tapping on the outside of the test tube. The outside of the tubes were dried off and any fingerprints were removed with paper towels and placed into a test tube rack. An absorbance spectrometer was zeroed by measuring the transmittance at 400nm with no test tubes in the spectrometer. The spectrometer was then calibrated to 100 percent transmittance with the test tube of deionized water. The deionized water was removed from the spectrometer and the 0.1 M solution was put inside the spectrometer. The transmittance of the solution was recorded and the solution was removed. The wavelength on the spectrometer was changed to 410nm and the deionized water was placed back into the spectrometer and the transmittance was calibrated to 100 percent. The deionized water was replaced with 0.1 M solution and the transmittance was recorded. This process was repeated twenty times with the wavelength increasing by 10nm consecutively until the last wavelength, 600nm, was  measured. It was necessary to calibrate the spectrometer between each change in wavelength. Every change in nanometers had to be measured and calibrated at 100 percent with the control of deionized water. This maintained accuracy when the transmittance of Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O solutions measured. Based on the data gathered, the optimal wavelength was determined and the spectrometer was set to that wavelength. The transmittance was set to 100 with the deionized water. The 0.1 M solution replaced the deionized water in the spectrometer chamber and the transmittance was recorded. This process was repeated with 0.05 M, 0.025 M, and 0.0125 M solutions and the transmittance was calibrated to 100 between each solution with the deionized water. Finally, a Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O solution with an unknown molarity was provided (unknown â€Å"B†). The wavelength of the spectrometer was not changed. The deionized water was placed in the chamber and calibrated to 100 percent transmittance. The deionized water was removed and replaced with a test tube containing unknown â€Å"B†. The transmittance was recorded to determine what the molarity was. Data: After the solutions had been completed, the transmittance was measured at 10nm intervals from 400nm to 600nm. The measurements were determine the wavelength to best study Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O. Higher transmittance demonstrated less absorption of the wavelength and lower transmittance demonstrated higher absorption of the wavelength. Discussion: Beer’s Law is a law that demonstrates that the absorbance of light at a certain wavelength is directly proportional to the concentration or molarity of a solution. This was apparent with the naked eye. When making the solutions, 0.291 moles of was added to a test tube with 10mL of deionized water to make a 0.1 M solution. By taking 5mL out of the solution and mixing it with 5mL of deionized water, the number of moles was halved which made the second solution a 0.05 M solution. When the process had been repeated, it was apparent that the solutions had been diluted based on the color of the solutions in the test tubes. The 0.1 M solution was absorbing more light and was a deep rose color. As the solutions became more dilute, the concentration of the visible color diminished as less light was absorbed to a very pale translucent pink in the 0.0125 M solution. For the first part of the lab, the wavelengths 400-600nm were used. These wavelengths were used to determine the optimal wavelength when the most light was absorbed by the solution. It was important to calibrate the transmittance to 100% on the spectrometer with the deionized water because there were no solutes to absorb light. The spectrometer was then able to use that calibration to determine how much of the light was absorbed by the solution containing Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O by comparing the difference in how much light was absorbed by the detectors in the spectrometer. The spectrometer than calculated the percent transmittance (%T) and displayed the data in a percent. As was shown above in table 1 and graph 1, the %T started high and ended high with percentages over 90. The higher %T demonstrate less light was absorbed by the solution and therefore not the wavelength of light that is absorbed by Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O. Toward the middle of the data, 500nm and 510nm, the %T became substantially lower. This demonstrates that Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O absorbs wavelengths about 500nm. In the second part of the lab, the different molarity, or concentrations, of solution were measured for %T with a 500nm wavelength. The absorbance was calculated by using the negative log of T. This was done because T and A are inversely proportional. This was demonstrated in table 2 and table 3. These tables confirmed that as T decreases, A increases. The third part of the experiment used the point slope formula to determine a molarity based on an absorbance. The absorbance of light was dependent on the concentration of solute. The variables â€Å"A† and â€Å"y† are both dependent variables and were comparable to one another. The variable â€Å"x† and â€Å"c† were the independent variables. The variable â€Å"a† was the absorption constant and â€Å"b† was the thickness of the solution. In this case, â€Å"b† was equal to 1 cm. Graphs 2 and 3 demonstrated the plotted points and from that, excel calculated a trend line based on the point-slope formula. Graph 3 demonstrated how the estimated molarity of unknown â€Å"B†, based on the point-slope formula, fits the trend line. Conclusion: Beer’s Law was studied in this lab. The goals of this were to determine optimal wavelength absorption by Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O and determine transmittance and absorption from the data collected. The optimal wavelength absorption for Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O occurred at 500nm. The data also showed that while the transmittance and absorbance were indirectly proportional from one another, both variables were dependent on the concentration of the solution. Once the data had been collected and understood, an unknown concentration of solution was tested for transmittance. Based on the trend line formed from other concentrations of Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O solutions, the molarity was easily calculated to be 0.048. Possible errors that may have occurred during this lab have to do with calibration of the spectrometer. The transmittance values changed second to second so if the timing was not perfect in measuring the samples, the transmittance would have been erroneous. The transmittances would have been too high (based on experimentation) so the absorbance rates would have been too low. This in turn would have caused the absorbance constant to be too low. If the absorbance constant was too low, the concentration of unknown â€Å"B† would have been calculated too high.