Love as a Theme in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Essay

A German philospher by the name of Friedrich Nietzsche once said, â€Å"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness. † Love, therefore, can cause some madness in a person and can make him or her forget reason. What then is reason and what then is logic if love exists within the depths of one’s soul? What then is common sense if love resides in the very core of a person’s heart and it makes him or her forget the logic of things? Love is just one very simple word, and yet it embodies so much within its existence. The actual presence and existence of the word of love itself can mean so much. Everyone thinks greatly of love. It is shown through the media, ever present in the schools, neighborhood, even in commercials and in advertisements. People have defined love as to be a many thing: love makes the world go around; love moves mountains; love is blind. Love, love, love — what is it? What is it with love that people are overly ecstatic about it? How does one know if he or she is in love? Many people have said that they have fallen in love, but have they really ever known what love is? What indeed is it? What is love? Today, I would like to cite a fine example of how love has made the lives of people revolve and point out how precious it is to love and to be loved in return. Love may be the greatest thing ever expressed by mankind. It is because of love that people are able to acquire great virtues and values. It is through love that people change for the better. It is through love that the world seem so much better to live in. However, there have also been many cases wherein love has been the cause of a person’s downfall. Love, being such a wonderful feeling and emitting an exhilarating aura, can also cause such great pain, suffering, fear, anxiety, sadness, and sometimes, even death. Love in Literature The theme of love has existed in literature for a long time. Many various works that have been written by renowned writers boast of both being popular and being a great example of quality literature—Mahabharata, The Iliad and the Odyssey, the Bible, The Notebook, and Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. Myths and legends, epic, poems, stories, novels, and plays have had love pervade within the confines of their characters, lines, settings, motifs, and themes. This is no exemption with regard to the most famous love story of all time, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Also, another example of how love can change a person is Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. Almost everyone knows the very famous story of Romeo and Juliet. It has been ingrained in the people’s minds about the lovers who cannot be lovers as their families have long been in conflict with each other. The famous play of William Shakespeare concludes in a tragedy as the lovers die in the end. Great Expectations, on the other hand, tells us a story of young Pip who gets fueled by his love for Estella and wants to succeed in life so he can be worthy for her. The novel, depending on what version of the ending a person would like to read, is either that of the happily-ever-after or that of the tragedy of love and fate unfulfilled, or maybe, that of love that is not meant to be and a fate that is meant to force them apart. The Theme of Love in Romeo and Juliet and Great Expectations Love as a theme is so obvious in the story of Romeo and Juliet. It has even been deemed as the greatest love story, for it embodies the strong impact between the emotion. It has shown the joys and pains of being loved. It is the theme of the play because the whole play’s existence and progress from the first act until the last act are based on the love of the two major characters—Romeo and Juliet. Moreover, by the end of the play, the death of the two lovers serves as the ultimate proof of how one can go to great lengths just because of love. By the end of the play, when Romeo and Juliet showed their families how great their love is, both the Capulets and the Montagues resolved to agree that they would end their feud with each other. Through the play, I realized that love is such a powerful emotion that a person would be willing to go to great lengths just for it. Because of love, a person will disobey his or her family and even forego his or her surname as what Juliet did when she said, â€Å"Deny thy father and refuse thy name / Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love / And I’ll no longer be a Capulet† (Shakespeare, 2000, 2. 1. 34-36), which is also one of the more famous lines of the play. Love is a great emotion that people can even go crazy because of it. I know that love should never be treated with such shallow thinking or even played or toyed with because we can see how great the impact it can bring a person—it is so great that a person may even choose death just to be with his or her loved one. At the start of the speech, I quoted Friedrich Nietzsche on how people associate madness with love, and perhaps this is true. The fault of Romeo and Juliet lies with the fact that they loved each other so much to the point of being blind fools. Is it better then to be in love to the point of being foolish or just a plain fool who is in love? I think it is better to be a fool who is in love. Why? Because when a person is greatly in love to the point of being foolish, he or she is unable to be reasoned with—his or her mind is closed off to anything, to everything. He or she will not even give a chance to listen to logic. On the other hand, when a fool is in love, he or she is merely a person who is feeling a natural emotion, and he or she may listen to reason and then he or she will disregard it. Therefore, love, should be true and pure but moderate at all times. When young Pip fell in love with the beautiful Estella, he wanted to improve himself so he can be worthy for her. Thus, because of the love that Pip feels for Estella, he wanted to become a better person. I think, most of all, that is the most important thing — that people should fall in love and the feeling that they draw from that emotion is that they would want to be better in every way — a better individual. Love can indeed move mountains — in a metaphorical sense, that is. Unlike the play, the novel also focused on other aspects of the society, whereas, the play solely revolved around love and the chaotic things it may bring to a person. Love pervaded the whole play while the novel also touched on more serious things like societal problems present in the realities of the world. Conclusion To end my speech, I would like to cite the lines of the Prince of Verona who said, â€Å"See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate / That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love† (Shakespeare, 2000. 5. 3. 307-309). Love may also be connected to extreme feelings of pain and sadness, but love can also be a cause of such great happiness and redemption after the feeling of suffering has gone. When Romeo and Juliet died, the feud of the families of the Capulet and the Montague which seemed to be forever, finally came to a halt. Likewise, when the young Pip knew for a fact that he lost Estella, and he has lost a chance of the great feeling of love and being loved. He parts with her, as what he told Estella at the end of the novel, â€Å"Glad to part again, Estella? To me, parting is a painful thing† (Dickens, 2003, p. 484). However, eventually, when both parties have realized the pains of being apart and parting, they would come to understand that it is so much better to actually like the idea of love, be in pain because of naivete and ignorance, and meet each other again one day — because it is so much better to be in love when both have opened to the value of being in love. References Dickens, C. (2003). Great expectations. New York: Penguin Classics. William, S. (2000). Romeo and Juliet. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions.

Freytag Pyramid of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare Essay

Lysander and Hermia, Demetrius and Helena, Titania and Oberon, Pyramus and Thisbe 1) Exposition: Lysander and Demetrius both want Hermia’s hand in marriage – Lysander because of love, Demetrius because of the position and power it would afford. Demetrius wants to marry Hermia to gain her father’s favor, along with his power and position. Helena is in love with Demetrius, who will not give her a second look. Titania and Oberon are angry with each other, jealous over each other’s fascination with Theseus and Hippolyta respectively. Pyramus and Thisbe cannot be together and can only whisper through a wall. 2) Inciting Incident: Hermia’s father orders her to marry Demetrius or commit herself to a nunnery forever. Helena finds out Hermia and Lysander are running away. She tells Demetrius so he will forget about Hermia and give her a chance. Bottom and gang steal away into the wood to practice for the play. Oberon casts a spell on Titania that she would fall in love with the first thing she lays eyes on. Pyramus and Thisbe lovers agree to meet in the dark of night at Ninny’s tomb. 3) Rising Action: Hermia and Lysander plan to run away into the wood. Demetrius follows Hermia and Lysander into the wood to retrieve Hermia. Helena follows Demetrius into the wood desperate to make him love her. Bottom and gang steal away into the wood to practice for the play. The lion approaches and scares Thisbe, who runs off. 4) Climax: Oberon orders Puck, to put a love spell on Demetrius so that when he awakens he will fall in love with Helena. Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and puts the spell on the wrong mortal, who subsequently falls in love with Helena. Puck attempts to rectify his mistake by putting the spell on the correct mortal, Demetrius, who instantly falls in love with Helena. Titania first sees Bottom and falls in love. Pyramus arrives to find Thisbe’s mantle torn and bloody. 5) Falling Action: The two men fight over Helena while Hermia watches in horror. Hermia and Helena begin to fight. Oberon begins to feel bad for the poor mortals he has cast his spells upon. Pyramus believes Thisbe is dead. 6) Resolution: Puck applies the remedy to Lysander’s eyes while he sleeps, returning his love to Hermia. The lovers awake, Lysander and Hermia in love and Demetrius and Helena in love (though not knowing exactly why). Oberon removes the spell from Titania, who draws back in horror at the sight of bottom next to her. Believing Thisbe to be dead, Pyramus stabs himself and dies. 7) Denouement: The four lovers come together with the consent of everyone and watch a play of a Romeo and Juliet-style love story. The lovers ponder the meaning of love through the tragedy of the play, the mystery of what happened in the wood looming over them. Shakespeare concludes with an epilogue by Puck, the wood fairy, apologizing for any offense for their play with the mortals. Titania and Oberon celebrate Theseus and Hippolyta’s marriage, finally happy with each other. Thisbe finds Pyramus dead and kills herself. The lovers are finally together in death.

Personal Statement for Baccalaureate Child Welfare Education Program Essay

Personal Statement for Baccalaureate Child Welfare Education Program - Essay Example With more tasks and responsibilities relegated to parents, their role as the sole source of support had been scrutinized and evaluated to determine the effects on children’s welfare. The emergence of social worker’s critical roles in augmenting parental support continues to influence the design and delivery of services catered to children’s needs. I have been genuinely interested in working with children, specifically those with developmental and behavioral disabilities identified to be at risk. At Lakeside School, I was given the opportunity to work closely with special children and have encountered diverse factors that affect risk management. I became aware that parents, carers and social work practitioners are presented with the dilemma of either protecting children fully from risks by not exposing them at all or encourage them to develop appropriate skills in managing risks to some extent and enable them to develop effective skills to manage it for future use. This is just one of the challenging scenarios which enhanced my interest in child welfare. I recognized that inasmuch as parents, carers and social work practitioners all have one objective in common, that is, to ensure the safety and the normal development of children by protecting them from risks, it is evident that encouraging children to manage risks would be the most beneficial method for their holistic well-being. I want to be instrumental in the development of every special child’s welfare. As an effective social worker in child welfare, I possess the necessary knowledge and skills in assessment, active engagement, intervention, the use of authority, and an expert ability to negotiate and manage appropriate community resources. I am innately fond of children – ensuring that they are accorded the appropriate care using the most effective teaching methodologies that cater of each child’s individual needs. I am very patient, understanding but

Nonprofit Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nonprofit Analysis - Essay Example The organization recruits kindhearted people who can volunteer to help the disabled in the society. Because of this, the heart has become an essential logo for the organization. Minis and Friends invite donations from different people regardless of their age or livelihood. The organization uses the donations to provide for the needy. Museum of Indian Culture Museum of Indian Culture is a nonprofit organization that focuses on education and the preservation of culture. This organization perpetuates the history of the Indian culture and enables Indians to reflect on their origin. It also aims to bring different people together regardless of their cultural differences. The organization also recognizes other American Indian tribes and aims at uniting them with the other Indians (Worth, 2012). The Museum offers educational guidance to Indians across the world. It organizes special events that seek to recognize the Indian culture. The Museum appoints different Indians to offer educational guidance to other Indians to create awareness. The appointment of Indians to help with educational guidance has promoted interactions between Indians. This has encouraged people to ignore their cultural differences and relate to each other as colleagues. ... The organization has a vision of ensuring that homeless families do not live in the streets. The organization seeks to achieve this Christian principle and vision in all countries across the world (Worth, 2012). It has a goal of building houses for different homeless families across the United States. It has focused on this goal because many families are not able to afford better housing. Because of this, Morris Habitat for Humanity has collaborated with the housing ministry in the United States to build new housing for families. It uses the funds and donations received to build houses for families. The organization builds houses for families irrespective of their religion and race. Its central goal is to encourage the provision of good housing facilities. Florence Crittenton Services Florence Crittenton Service's central intention is to assist parents with their parental responsibility. This Christian nonprofit organization assists parents in raising healthy families. The organizati on provides guidance to parents with an aim of raising successful families. Other than helping parents, Florence Crittenton Services help different families to interact with the community (Worth, 2012). The interaction between families and communities promotes peaceful coexistence. The organization also seeks to promote a healthy bond between living families. It is based upon Christian values and principles because of its family vision. The goal of the organization is to empower teenagers to live a drug free life. It promotes this goal through collaborations with the teenager’s parents. This Christian organization helps in bringing up self-sufficient families that play a role in community building. It also helps teenagers to evade the sexual

Rabbit-Proof Fence and the Edge of Heaven - Movies Which Depict the Mi Essay

Rabbit-Proof Fence and the Edge of Heaven - Movies Which Depict the Minority Groups in Society - Essay Example In response to the growing fears, special and unique detention centres were built across Australia to keep the mixed-race children from the entire Australian community, which was the dominant culture. In addition, orders were issued to eradicate forcibly half-caste children from their paternal and maternal families. The movies especially the Edge of Heaven shows how prejudice and discrimination take centre stage in the Australian society. It is evident that being prejudiced simply implies holding preconceived attitudes and beliefs about certain cultural practices or group of people in society. The movie shows how people from dominant culture engage in discriminatory practices in order to guard opportunities for themselves by hindering access to those whom they tend to believe do not need or deserve the same treatment as others. As seen in the Rabbit-proof fence, it is evident that during this time, racism in Australian society looked like cancer in that it had no cure and it would have continued were it not for the effort of the three women to fight for justice. However, separation and exclusion are seen all around Australian aborigine children. It is clear that suspicion, fear, and ignorance parting away communities. At the same time, public figures, the media, and heads of states, who are the people supposed to fight and defend pluralist and inclusive societies, initiate attacks on multiculturalism. While this negative outlook may be so widely accepted challenging it seems to be a hard but important task. In the Edge of heaven movie, Ali Aksu thought he had found relief and happiness when he met Yeter a prostitute. He provided her with monthly payments to cease working as a city prostitute and marry him. Considering the fact that she (Yeter) was not from a dominant culture or group, she received threats from Muslims about either accepting the offer or facing the consequences. She decided to take the offer.  Ã‚  

Strategic managiment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic managiment - Essay Example DeBeers provides employment to more than 23000 employees worldwide and the main objective of the company is to make high quality diamonds and make a lasting contribution on the community (DeBeers, 2013h). The company has two major shareholders Anglo American with 85 percent holding and Government of the Republic of Botswana with 15 percent holding (DeBeers, 2013k). The DeBeers group of companies constitute of wholly owned subsidiaries, investment and partnerships in diamond making. The major tasks of DeBeers include exploration of diamonds and mining activities in three major diamond producing countries like Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. The company also specializes in sorting, valuation and sale of rough diamonds and the development of synthetic diamonds for major industrial applications (DeBeers, 2013e).The study will deal with the strategic analysis of DeBeers and its outcome during the tenure 2008 to 2009. The author of the study will also conduct a PESTLE analysis which wi ll highlight the impact of the external and internal forces on the business activities of De Beers. Finally, the study will also conclude with an analysis which would help in identifying the internal and external resources of the company. Analysis of Business Environment & Success factors of DeBeers The business environment analysis also helps the company in adapting a particular marketing environment and also the way it responds to certain environmental circumstances (Shaikh, 2010). The Porter’s Five Forces Model will be a significant macro environment analysis which will help in understanding the impact of the external and internal forces in a direct and indirect manner. Bargaining Power of Buyers: Diamond is regarded as one of the most precious and valuable jewellery item in UK and is also the most coveted jewellery in the world. As per a survey conducted by the Bain and Company it was analyzed that diamond was the most coveted jewellery among women in UK in the year 2008 (Bain and Company, 2011). In the same survey conducted in the year 2008 it was also observed that that at least 65 percent of the UK household owned at least one diamond jewellery in the household (Bain and Company, 2011). This reflects that in spite of recession in the UK the common people preferred investing in valuable jewellery like diamond and also regard it as a valuable gifting item. Since, diamond is one of the most valuable and requires extensive maintenance, the price of diamond is quite high and seldom there is any bargaining while purchasing the product. The bargaining power of the buyers is not very high in this industry. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The supplier forms an integral part in the diamond industry because they helped the diamond companies in 2008 to maintain timely delivery of the jewellery for industrial and consumer applications. The suppliers are responsible for supply of crude diamond to the warehouses for cutting purposes and also for the supply of th e polished diamond in the retail shops. The bargaining power of suppliers in this industry is high. Threat of Substitutes: Although, compared to the other jewellery items diamond is regarded as one of the most valuable items in the world jewellery items like platinum and silver cannot be replacement for diamond. However, preference is given to diamonds and the threat of substitutes was very low in the industry. Due to

Epidemiological Research Article Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Epidemiological Research Article - Assignment Example Strotmeyer et al research article that is based on an epidemiological study. This research was carried out to describe retention by age and visit type with a view to determine the characteristics associated with visit types in a longitudinal study among older adults (Strotmeyer et al, 2010). The article will be critiqued against the basic principles governing epidemiology and biostatistics to determine whether the components of its research design supports the research question. Direct health-care providers and epidemiologists differ in their approach to who constitutes a patient. This is despite the fact that all of them are concerned with the occurrence and subsequent control of a disease (CDC, 2012). Biostatisticians are concerned with general health of the inhabitants of a community or area while Clinicians are interested in the health of the individual (CDC, 2004). Biostatistically therefore this study has succeeded in identifying its patient subjects. The sample of this cardiovascular health study was 5888 persons aged between 65-102 years irrespective of their individual health status (Strotmeyer, et al, 2010). Both the clinician and epidemiologist would be interested in diagnosing the correct type of cardiovascular disease that the patient is suffering from (CDC, 2012). The point of departure which this study succeeds in doing is that it seeks to establish how age affects long term retention of participants in a cardiovascular health study. It also aimed at determining characteristics of visit types for a longitudinal epidemiological study of older adults (Strotmeyer et al, 2010). The choice of population in this study will influence the application of the findings of this study in other settings. The research question is contained in the abstract party of this research paper. The question presents a statement of purpose because it clearly states what is actually being investigated (Thompson Writing Program, 2014). The purpose of this