‘Explore the nature of love in the extasie’: John Donne poetry analysis Essay

In his poem, The Extasie, John Donne describes his own attainment of a state of ecstasy (literally meaning, to stand outside of oneself), through his physical and spiritual proximity to his lover. In his earliest work (for example Elegie: To his Mistris Going to Bed, and The Flea) – which could be loosely termed his ‘lust poetry’ – Donne’s focus tends to be on (or at least around) the sexual act and the beauty of the human (and more particularly the feminine) form, whilst in his later work (such as his Holy Sonnets) he explores religion and death, this poem falls into the transitory phase of what could be termed Donne’s ‘love poetry’ (for example, The Good Morrow). Characteristically then, the main focus of The Extasie is his love for a specific woman (as opposed to women in general, or rather, any random woman – as is the case in his lust poems), and how this love is so transcendent that it leads to a platonic extasie. In the first stanza, the tranquillity of the setting is established, with the imagery of ‘a pillow on a bed’, a ‘reclining head’, suggesting relaxation, and the line ‘Sat we two, one anothers best’, suggesting serenity and the intimacy of the lovers. This continues into the subsequent stanza with the elegant, and yet deeply intense image of ‘Our eye-beames twisted, and did thred Our eyes, upon one double string’, which apart from highlighting the apparent totality of their absorption in one another, also alludes the contemporaneous belief that sight constituted ‘eye-beames’ being emitted from one’s eyes and illuminating your surroundings. In the 4th stanza, Donne starts to bring in more explicitly the spiritual union that begins to manifest out of the physical intimacy. Initially it may seem as if he is attempting to upset the otherwise peaceful setting, by introducing elements of conflict into in the line, ‘As ‘twixt two equall Armies, Fate Suspends uncertaine victorie’. However, if you take into account the fact that the use of epic military metaphors in relation to love is a common poetic motif (and was even more so in Donne’s time), it becomes clear that this is not the case, and that the intended effect is more to highlight the fact that the lovers are ‘eqaull’ in the relationship, and to link this simile to their souls hanging in the air, ‘twixt her, and mee’. Moreover, the idea that their souls ‘Were gone out’, to ‘advance their state’, is suggestive of Donne’s neo-platonic philosophy, and the idea of two souls, blending together to form an indivisible and perfect hybrid – as can be seen in the line, ‘he knew not which soul spake, Because both meant, both spake the same’, demonstrating the complete intellectual union between the two. The line ‘(all which before was poore, and scant,) Redoubles still, and multiplies’, goes on to suggest the idea that the souls reinforce each other’s weaknesses, whilst the line, ‘That abler soule, which thence doth flow, Defects of loneliness controulles’, continues this concept, showing the perfection of the ‘abler soul’, by highlighting the absence of any defects, even one such as loneliness, which are innate human response to certain situations. This leads on to the idea that the defect of mortality is also absent, and that the union is eternal – as evident in the line ‘For, th’Atomies of which we grow, Are soules, whom no change can invade’. These ideas all derive from the Plato’s concept of the Forms, in which it is theorised that for every material thing, a perfect form of it exists, of which the material form is merely a pale shadow or imitation. For Donne, it is the transcendence and perfection of the love between himself and the woman, that leads to their transition to a higher state (their Extasie is ‘by love refin’d’). Furthermore, the mingling of their souls which follows on from the extasie, has a purifying effect, ‘unperplex(ing)’ them, and resulting in him ‘part(ing) farre purer than he came’ – Donne realises in this poem, that intellectual and emotional intimacy that he experiences transcends bodily love, and that ‘it was not sexe’, but rather something beyond the physical world. In addition to this, Donne brings in the theme of alchemy to his presentation of love – something common throughout much of his poetry and generally during that period. Indeed, he presents love as the alchemist in the union of the souls – ‘Love, these mixt soules, doth mixe again, and makes both one, each this and that’ – imbuing it with the power to transform and transmute souls. This is also evoked in relation to the body in the 14th stanza – ‘Nor are drosse to us, but allay’ – in which he describes the body as being an alloy that strengthens the soul. This distinction between body and soul is also very Platonic; however, the way that the body is presented here, differs greatly from Plato’s attitude to it, and from the presentation of the body previously in the poem. For example, in the fifth stanza, ‘sepulchrall statues’, suggests a certain irrelevance and a lack of the vivacity of the soul, whilst the transcendence of the soul over the body, and the idea that, ‘They’are ours, though they’are not wee, Wee are Th’intelligences, they are the spheare’, objectifies the bodies as a mere inanimate vessel, subservient to the intellect. However, as Donne does go on to admit, ‘We owe them thankes’, as the initial physical intimacy was, ‘all our meanes to make us one’, and without ‘their forces, sense to us’, the union of their souls through their love, would never have occurred. Essentially then, Donne sets up the idea that in fact the body has its own intrinsic value upon which the soul is dependent, whilst going to describe that in fact, the body, which in spite of trying to ‘beget Spirits, as like soules as it can’, in order to govern itself, begins to fail without the presence of the soul (‘That subtile knot, which makes us man’. Essentially then, the conclusion would appear to be that body and soul are interdependent, and whilst it is clear that Donne ultimately values spiritual love over bodily love (perceiving the body as a ‘prison’, in which ‘a great Prince†¦lies’), he accepts the one’s reliance on the other, as after his experience of Extasie, he realises that in fact it matters little, as there is, ‘Small change, when we’are to bodies gone. ‘

British National Identity Among Ethnic Minorities

British National Identity among Ethnic  Minorities Identity is something many of us don’t think about, but it is the main force behind our daily decisions. Britishness is defined as the state or quality of being British. This means that Britishness involves habits, behaviors, language, culture, and symbols that are common, recognizable, and iconic to the United Kingdom. Sometimes however, it is hard to define Britishness because it cannot be defined as one thing, like many identities, it evolves and transforms ever so often.British identity has been a subject of many debates since the 1960s, prompted initially by â€Å"the loss of empire, then by the rise of the welfare state, postwar black and Asian migration and entry into the European Community, and more recently by the devolution of power to Scotland and Wales† (Parekh, 1). â€Å"Some claim that the most challenging minority integration in contemporary society is immigrant-origin non-white communities† (Max well, 2), but this is becoming a false claim. The British national identity has been on a decline with more Britons claiming their identity as English, Scottish, Irish, or Welsh.This however, is not true for ethnic minorities in the UK. Headlines around many newspapers read â€Å"Ethnic minorities are now more likely to feel British than white people† There was a study done by the Institute for Public Policy Research that resulted in 51 percent of blacks and Asians describing themselves as British compared with just 29 per cent of whites. Data shows that in 1996, â€Å"52 percent of respondents to a poll said they saw themselves primarily as British. By 2005, this had fallen to just 44 per cent. The IPPR study said that Scottish and Welsh devolution had damaged British feeling† (Daily Mail).Professor Platt stated that â€Å"Given the current anxiety around immigration and concerns that it is challenging a unified national identity, it is interesting to find that minor ities in fact hold stronger British identities on average than the majority, we also see that they frequently manage dual identities, rather than opposing one to the other. Among the majority, individual country identities such as Scottish or Welsh can be held alongside a British identity, but in many cases seem to substitute for it† (CLS).Many believe that the desire for minorities to integrate into society is not enough to create a sense of belonging and ultimately the feeling of Britishness. â€Å"The desire to be integral to society has to be reciprocated too, in terms of the opportunity to belong to the national community, as well as in terms of socio-economic inclusion. So the long-term intergenerational decline in racism in British society is also an important and necessary condition for integration and patriotism† (Katwla, 1). Minorities in Great Britain are very active in British society.Katwla claims that â€Å"there is a strong pro-integration preference amo ng minorities – for civic and political participation, democracy and the rule of law, and most recognize the importance of the English language for social, economic and civic inclusion. † The acceptance about being British could also be because of the shared history between Britain and the immigrant’s home country. In places such as India and Africa, the empire was deeply rooted into their history. Katwla goes even further to say that â€Å"The issue is not just claiming a voice in helping to shape a common future.It is also about reminding ourselves that complicated and contested though it certainly was, we have shared more history than we think. You can look for and find British Muslim patriotism in reports from the First World War trenches, and not only in the last few years. † There is however, a negative side to this, as the ethnic minorities are claiming a British identity, many white Britons are claiming another. There is a growing fear that the ris e in English national identity is also a rise in hostility towards cultural diversity. So some express the fear that a return to the traditional â€Å"blood nations† will leave the ethnic minorities as the last Brits standing, rallying around a flag that indigenous Brits have deserted† (Katwala). There is a weaker sense of British national identity among white Britons. This presumed decline in Britishness can be seen as â€Å"resulting from one or both of two processes, on the one hand, the English appear to be becoming more â€Å"English† at the expense of being British. Secondly, the Scots are seen as becoming more Scottish.And a consequent decline in Britishness is assumed† (Bechhofer, 252). Devolution has contributed in the decline of a British national identity. â€Å"The largest marginal effect by a large distance is the effect of being born in Northern Ireland – this reduces the probability of reporting a British identity by 24%. It is almos t certain that this is driven primarily by Northern Irish Catholics among whom there remains a strong demand to be part of Ireland and not the UK and who think of themselves as Irish rather than British† (Manning, F79-F80).Many white Britons are not claiming a national identity and it seems that, for white Britons, the local identity is more important than the national identity. For minorities, it is easier to identity with the national identity because there are no negative connotations associated with it. The British identity allows for the foreigners to keep their home identity which they can maintain their ethnic identity. â€Å"British is a label that unites all peoples living in Britain today regardless of color, creed, and nationality† (Bechhofer , 256).Immigrants who become UK citizens are much more likely to report a British identity and the take-up ofcitizenship might be influenced by a number of factors. â€Å"First, there are a number of practical advantage s to citizenship – one has the right to work and vote in the UK and one can travel into the country without the need for a visa†¦ Apart from the practical advantages, there may be more emotional advantages to adopting a British identity. In particular we hypothesize that immigrants may be more likely to express a British identity if Britain compares favorably with the country from which they came† (Manning, F93).Minorities in Britain have also assimilated into the culture of being British. â€Å"There is a large amount of variation across country of birth in the fraction of immigrants reporting a British identity. For those from Slovakia it is less than 5%, for those from Malta more than 80%. But there is, for the most part, a simple explanation for these very large cross-country differences – the average amount of time spent in the UK† (Manning, F84). It seems that the longer the person stays in the country, the more they will think of themselves as British, Britishness just seems to grow on people. Benedict Anderson defines the nation as ‘an imagined community’ that is territorially limited and united by a ‘deep, horizontal, comradeship’ between its members. Adam Luedtke defines social identity ‘an affective (emotional) state of belonging in a social group†¦that stems from extended socialization, and is not easily changed. A ‘national identity’, therefore, is the emotional state of belonging felt by citizens towards, and within, the ‘imagined community’ of their nation† ( Kerr, 1).Over the decades there has been an overall decline in the proportion of people who define themselves as British and nationally characterize themselves as Britons. On average, a higher proportion of non-white ethnic minorities tend to call their selves British and relate to the British national identity. In conclusion, assimilation into the British culture has brought about a strong identity for ethnic minorities. The opposite is true for the white British population.On average there has been a decline in claiming the British national identity and this decline can be pointed to devolution taking place around the United Kingdom. Works Cited BECHHOFER, FRANK, and DAVID McCRONE. â€Å"Being British: A Crisis Of Identity?. † Political Quarterly 78. 2 (2007): 251-260. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 July 2012. â€Å"Centre for Longitudinal Studies. †Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ CLS. ESRC, n. d. Web. 26 July 2012. . â€Å"Ethnic Minorities More Likely to Feel British than White People, Says Research.   Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd, 2007. Web. 26 July 2012. . Katwala, Sunder. â€Å"Why Do Non-white Brits Feel That Little Bit More British? †Ã‚  British Future. British Future, 30 June 2012. Web. 26 July 2012. . Kerr, Steve. â€Å"The Decline of British Identity. †Ã‚  E-International Relations. E-international Relations, 13 Apr. 2012. Web. 0 Jul y 2012. . Manning, Alan, and Sanchari Roy. â€Å"Culture Clash Or Culture Club? National Identity In Britain. † Economic Journal 120. 542 (2010): F72-F100. Business Source Premier. Web. 30 July 2012. Maxwell, Rahsaan. National and Minority Identification among Non-whites in Britain: Where Is the Tradeoff? Publication. University of Massachusetts, Amherst Department of Political Science, n. d. Web. 26 July 2012.

Marketing Plan for Microsoft Xbox in Gaming Console Market in India

Marketing Plan for Microsoft Xbox in Gaming Console Market in India Group 10: Ankur Chaudhary (1211326)Gaurav Parashar (1211340) Nikhil Wasnik (1211398)Shanthosh P (1211381) Saakshi Mahajan (1211378) Backdrop: The current gaming console market in India is around INR 900 crores . The most prominent players in this industry comprise of Sony (PS Series), Nintendo (Wii Series) and Microsoft (XBOX Series).The market share of Xbox in India is 23% by sales, compared to PS Series’ share of 40%-45% , which is in contrast to the global statistics where Xbox enjoys a market share of around 45%-47% compared to PS Series’ share of around 25-28%. The stark difference in the market share is a case for assessing the lag Xbox suffers, with regard to its marketing strategy in India. Project Details: In this project, we aim to study the gaming console market in India, specifically looking at current marketing of Microsoft Xbox in India and compare it with global markets (US and other deve loped markets).We will explore the performance of Xbox v/s the Sony Play station (current market leader in India) The market which we are studying is urban teenagers/young adults (age 10-25) and gaming consoles Gaming consoles in India have a market penetration of only 2% but with the increase in sales of big screen TV's and leisure wants of the urban teenager, the market is expected to grow at a fast pace in the next decade. We will explore the current marketing process of Microsoft Xbox in terms of integrated marketing mix and the customer ; partner relations.Gaming consoles belong to the hedonic category of products where rationalizing evaluation of alternatives by the shopper is important. The purchase for gaming consoles is typical approved by the parent and the user is the teenager. We aim to explore the decision pattern used individually by the parent and teenager. Some of the factors affecting consumer behavior in India are unique because of traditionally lesser spending on games, piracy in PC games and parental fear that games interfere in studies. We aim to do qualitative analysis the market, through surveys and interviews.The gaming console market has been segmented into customers using PS2 (cheaper old technology but still a step up for gaming in India), PS3 (premium cutting edge gaming) and PSP (gaming on the go primarily for the kids). We aim to study Microsoft's market segmentation, targeting and position in terms of its offerings like XBOX, XBOX 360 and Kinect. Overall we would address how Microsoft should reposition its gaming consoles in Indian markets to gain more market share and build profitable customer relationships.

Ethical Issues on the Case Ecuador v. Chevron Essay

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Review of Litterature Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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John Snow and Epidemology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

John Snow and Epidemology - Essay Example He attended day school because of his family background; his father could only afford that because he was an unskilled laborer. Snow was a bright student; his best subject was mathematics and he did well in that and on other subjects. Simmons (2002) reveals that Snow graduated from the University of London in 1843 and he also obtained a doctorate in medicine a year later. John Snow’s epidemiological studies assisted in finding the root of cholera in London in 1854. A number of diseases had affected the residents of England prior 19th century, some include plague in 1665. However, there was an epidemic of cholera in 1831 thought to have been brought by travellers and merchants from parts of Asia. Cholera was a serious threat to the population of England. Medical experts were confused, but John Snow came to their rescue. He revealed that Cholera was caused by a certain agent in London water. Previously before his revelation or theory, the other physicians attributed the spread of cholera to filthiness of London City (Simmons, 2002). The previous theories relating to the spread of cholera pointed out that it was an airborne disease. This was in mid-19th century whereby physicians thought that cholera concentrated at the low levels altitudes. Workers and merchants in slaughterhouses were causing the spread of cholera according to Miasmatists. The Miasmatists explained that the foul smell from the slaughterhouses was the causing the spread of cholera. John Snow refuted their claims saying that the workers who frequently works at the slaughterhouses inhales miasmus. They have however not been the targets of cholera. He meant that the inhalation of miasmus did not cause the spread of cholera. The spread of Cholera according to Snow was caused by ingestion of morbid matter related to cholera (Ramsay, 2006). Relationship between host, agent and environment increases the spread of the disease. The three aspects exist independently, but their integration will lead to

The Role of Multimodal Communication in Cooperation Essay

The Role of Multimodal Communication in Cooperation - Essay Example The knowledge about the topics, beliefs, targets, nature etc must coincide for good results. These common grounds must be checked before the interaction. After that the interaction can expand the basis of linguistic and physical co presence. In expanding the scope of the communication, the media is capable of restraining the ease of attaining the common ground. The commonality in the methods is also affected in following the medium of communication. It is better to develop theoretical understanding of the attitudes of shared visual spaces. This improves grounding and also the performance regarding the topics of common belief. 1 After this the parameters that make difference in visual communication systems that are used for complex and collaborative researches were considered. By applying these features to real world settings, the pragmatic way of deploying these methods to attain more benefits for reasonable costs can be assessed. If this is successful, then creating of a technology that enables the accurate estimation of the focus attention in the settings can be determined. This is believed to be an important role the visual channel can play. There are some techniques available for analysis of effectiveness of multimodal interaction. The potential of psycholinguistic models were recognised to have this potential. Though they are recognised to have potential of analysing, there are some limitations. The techniques based on conversation analytic model of breakdown and repair can be termed as the rational approach for introducing a protocol for coding repair. The terms in this approach are computer mediated communication, evaluation and conversation analysis.