Emily Bronte and Elizabeth Barrett-Browning :: Biography Biographies Essays

Emily Bronte and Elizabeth Barrett-Browning      Ã‚  Ã‚   As I looked through the literary works we have covered this term I noticed that there were only two strong females we have studied that seem to play a strong part in the development of British Literature. Emily Bronte and Elizabeth Barrett-Browning were strong, influential figures in the literary world.    Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights can be credited with the title of the first Romantic novel of its time and her poetry was also redefining the poetry of the era. Unintentionally, I believe, Emily set a new standard for writing. Her use of nature, an undefined hero and heroine, the unusual structure of narrators, and her portrayal of the supernatural powers within the plot all contribute to her literary groundbreaking, trend setting style. Her poetry is also unique in that it has a personal flair not typically seen in previous poets. It is a very personal reflection of what she is enduring at the moment. That interpretation, however, is not entirely clear without the historical context.   "A little while, a little while, The noisy crowd are barred away; I can sing and I can smile A little while I've a holyday!" (WH 296) could be interpreted as any number of things without the reader being fully aware that at this point in her life Bronte was a trapped in a job she hated far from her beloved home and family. She was a governess. In that light it makes her poem makes complete sense; she needed to get away from the children she was responsible for. Several of her other poems were also born of this time in her life and reflected her homesickness.    Elizabeth Barrett-Browning too wrote about her life but I saw her work as more direct and open than that of Bronte. Without the historical knowledge of Bronte's life at the time of her writing her poems are beautiful but the reader cannot fully appreciate the emotive elements behind the words. Barrett-Browning's works were much clearer as to their intent and even without a working knowledge of her relationship with Robert Browning the reader can fully appreciate the powerful dramatic emotions flowing through her words. Her most famous sonnet "How do I love thee?

Assess Whether Pericles Was a Good or Bad Leader Essay

Pericles (C. 495-429 BC) was a very influential politician and general in Athens. He is said to have brought about a very important time in Athenian history known as ‘The Golden Age of Athens’ where he brought about or placed focus on certain things like art, which gave Athens the reputation as the cultural and educational centre of Ancient Greece, architecture, where he created a project to beautify the city and provide work for Athenians with most of its products like the Parthenon still surviving and giving us an idea of the glory of Athens. He also made valuable contributions to drama, the bringing about of democracy and the establishment of the Greek empire. Democracy, which allows all citizens to influence and be involved in the running of the state was a concept reaffirmed by Pericles. This is why he made sure he played a major role in the ostracizing of Cimon who was characterized as being a tyrant. Other historians may argue that Pericles’ ulterior motive for doing that was to ensure that he came into power with his main opposition out of the way but for a man who made so many important advancements for the Athenians, I strongly believe he did it not with the intention of capturing power but helping give the Athenians a voice. This made him a very great political leader as he was able to rid the state of the many problems of dictatorship and oligarchy like corruption which was further emphasized by one of his ancient admirers, Thucydides who said, ‘he kept himself untainted by corruption, although he was not altogether indifferent to money-making’ He ‘excelled all his fellow citizens in skills of oratory’ (Diodorus Siculus) The art of oratory has been a rare skill possessed by very few people who turned out to deliver some of the most well known speeches in history. Oratory has been a very influential tool for some of the world’s greatest leaders and Pericles falls in that category of leaders with exceptional skills. People such as Abraham Lincoln who’s famous speech, the Gettysburg Address gained parallels to Pericles’ great funeral oration by the American Civil War scholar, Garry Wills which leads many to believe that one of the greatest modern speakerâ€⠄¢s drew inspiration from Pericles. This gesture alone shows the great oratory skills of a great man in Athenian history. This extraordinary ability is attested to by Thucydides who once again was full of praise for the famous Athenian when asked about whether he or Pericles was the better fighter by the Spartan king, Archidamus. Without hesitation Thucydides said Pericles was better and justified it by saying that even when he was defeated, he managed to convince the audience that he had won. This shows how he was able to persuade and influence the Athenians which even though some may say was manipulative and defeated the concept of democracy gave the simple Athenian citizen thought provoking ideas to make an informed choice. His speaking skills, which were able to draw the exact emotions got from the Athenian people was however criticized by people like the poet, Ion, who says that Pericles had an arrogant and somewhat big-headed manner of talking, and that into his pride there entered a good deal of disrespect and d islike for others. This is highly debatable as we are supposed to believe a person who says Pericles had a good deal of disrespect and dislike for others, the same Pericles who put the true Athenian people first and made sure they had a say in how their home state was ruled. By that observation alone I believe Ion’s quote about Pericles should be discarded as total rubbish and the ranting of a person simply envious of his (Pericles’) ability. Plutarch mentions in his criticism of Pericles about the strange occurrence in Agariste’s (Pericles’ mother). He says, ‘She, in her dreams, once fancied that she had given birth to a lion and a few days thereafter bore Pericles.’ I do not believe this is actually counts as a criticism of him because even though a lion may be a dangerous animal, its traditional symbolism of greatness should be taken into account. Other symbolic attributes for a lion are strength, courage, power, royalty, dignity, authority, dominion, justice , wisdom and ferocity which I believe are all attributes displayed by Pericles in both his political and military career. Ancient Greek symbolism for a lion is the protector of the home and Pericles really showed that in the battles protecting his beloved home, Athens. There is also the argument of whether Pericles was actually a leader or just got carried away by the masses. Plutarch said, ‘he was no longer the same man as before, nor alike submissive to the people and ready to yield and give in to the desires of the multitude as a steersman to the breezes.’ Here, Plutarch suggests, Pericles had no leadership over the Athenians and that he put the city in chaos to do as they could do what they want which is supported by others saying he made the Athenians idle, talkative and greedy (Plato). This motion would however have to be rejected with strong evidence against it in his speeches and oratory skills. Thucydides offered the correct leadership style of Pericles by arguing that Pericles ‘was not carried away by the people, but he was the one guiding the people.’ The evidence, as said in the last paragraph is in his great speeches and his ability to draw a certain reaction from the Athenian people and so though some may argue that he left the Athenians with no authoritative leader which could only be gained through other methods of governing like dictatorships, he offered a better alternative as he served more as a sort of ‘guardian’ for the Athenian people and guided them to make predominantly good choices like getting rid of the tyrant, Cimon. Pericles, for more than 20 years was involved in the military. He led many expeditions mainly naval ones. He was a wise and cautious military leader and he never went into battles that were mostly likely a wild goose chase for the Athenian people. This was a great attribute for a military leader because he did not just march his men on to grounds when the odds were not in their favour to have them killed or running back to Athens with their tails between their legs. He avoided the high risk of losses and instead chose each battle wisely and as such there are no major criticisms of his Periclean Grand Strategy which sought to preserve, not expand, the empire, this strategy could not reach completion however as his successors changed everything and lacked the military abilities and character that caused it to work under Pericles. Pericles’ legacy cannot be understated as most of it still survives till today. The concept of democracy practiced by all free states in the modern world and used as a measure of a country’s justice and fairness is one of them. His most visible legacy however is found in the artistic and literary works of the Golden Age and The Acropolis, though in ruins, is still a great symbol of modern Athens and a remembrance of a great man that once roamed those very streets. I believe Pericles was a great leader both in politics and in the military and I also support the idea that his abilities in both areas caused the famous bust statue of him around to have a helmet sitting on top of his head to show the two equally talented faces of the great leader that is Pericles. In the movie ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008), the character Harvey Dent famously says to the lead, Batman, ‘You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.’ I believe it’s the latter that caused the ostracizing of Pericles because there is no evidence that he did anything major to deserve that sort of punishment but even if his story with the Athenians should end on a bad note, I believe he still is one of the greatest leaders in Ancient History and even if he wasn’t perfect, I mean, who is? and had a few flaws and bad traits, he still ensured that Athens was a major part in history and the effect he had is still present today in modern day Athens.

Essay on managerial ehics - 1410 Words

Complete Discussion Questions 3, 4, and 5 on page 27 of Business and Society. 3. Identify and explain the major factors in the social environment that create an atmosphere in which business criticism takes place and prospers. How are the factors related to one another? Has the revolution of rising expectations run its course? Or is it still a vital reality? Affluence refers to the level of wealth, and standard of living of the society. As the standard of living is increasing every year, people are becoming well educated. As a result they are expecting a lot more from the businesses. This is one of the factor leading to business criticism. Now a day’s people are spending more time using television and Internet especially social media†¦show more content†¦The micro level of corporate power is the level of individual business. The best example of this level is Walmart, with its dominance of the lower prices in the market. Finally, the individual level of corporate power resides in individual business leaders. Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, are good examples of people with the individual level of corporate power. Spheres of power include economic, political, social/cultural, technological, environmental, and power over the individual. The businesses with economic power controls their assets and sales. If any organization enjoys freedom in a particular state with the help of elected person, it sure is having political power. Cellphones, appliances and automobiles are manufactured and distributed by corporations with technological power. Corporations working hard to produce environmentally safe products. Business also have power over individuals because most people work for corporations and buy most of their products from corporations. 5. Explain in your own words the Iron Law of Responsibility and the social contract. Give an example of a shared understanding between you as a consumer or an employee and a firm with which you do business or for which you work. Is Congress justified in creating new regulations to govern the financial services industry? The iron law ofShow MoreRelatedTransformational Leadership A Personal Reflection2584 Words   |  11 Pagesfinding ways to get them to work together for their own mutual benefit, I am in sales and I have team members who are in direct competition with each other but I have to get them to work together for their own benefits as well as the teams benefit. Managerial strengths of the SP type are practical, expeditious, change oriented, adaptable, influential and observant, the SP has strong leadership traits. Possible weaknesses for the SP type of manager, are poor attention to theory, precedent and details