Wednesday, February 29, 2012

I need to explain this sonnet by John Milton: "To the Lord General Cromwell, May 1652."

John Milton's poem, "To the Lord General Cromwell, May
1652" is a poem of praise for the Puritan leader who ruled England for several years
after the insurrection that removed Charles I of England (and the monarch) until the
Restoration of the monarchy (Charles II) to the
throne.


Charles I had been extravagant with the funds,
indicating that he was more concerned for himself than the well-being of England. The
Puritan army defeated the Royalist army (of Charles I) in the English Civil War.
Cromwell, a Puritan leader, oversaw the business of running England during part of the
Protectorate. It lasted for nine years (though Cromwell ruled for only five, until his
death). The loss of Cromwell sent the state of England into chaos; Charles II was able
to return to the throne.


Cromwell was a man of God. He was
not connected to a specific religious group, and advocated religious
tolerance.


John Milton was also a religious man, and his
poem is one of praise and admiration. He saw the Parliamentary war (the Puritans) as "as
the people’s fight for freedom." Similar to Cromwell, Milton (though religious) did not
support one religious sect over another, advocating religious
tolerance.


Milton's vision of religion was something he
wrote about: supporting God in the purest form, or heresy, which he saw as man changing
God's laws.


With these sentiments, it is easy to see how
Milton would admire the work Cromwell was doing. The sonnet to Cromwell was composed in
May, 1652, as the title indicates. The sonnet is also known as "Sonnet XVII [16]: To the
Lord General Cromwell."


In the first four lines of the
sonnet, Milton praises Cromwell, stating that he has marched through a cloud not only of
war but also of rude "detractions," guided by his faith and persistence to a place of
peace and truth.


The following lines refer to the execution
of Charles I. "God's trophies" refer to accomplishments and victories in the name of
God.



And on
the neck of crowned Fortune proud


Hast rear'd God's
trophies, and his work
pursu'd,



Line refers to the
battle at Preston, a battle of two days, in August, 1648, where Charles I was defeated
and the blood of the Scots ran.


readability="6">

While Darwen stream with blood of Scots
imbru'd,



In line eight, the
reference to Dunbar field refers to the support of Charles II by the Scots, who
Cromwell's army quickly defeated:


readability="9">

...The Scots had acknowledged Charles II, on his
father's execution. Cromwell invaded their country and defeated them, September 3,
1650.



In 1651, Cromwell
achieved his greatest victory; referring to it as his "crowning glory," Milton includes
reference to the laureate wreath, a symbol of the Roman empire for reward and praise for
a great accomplishment.


readability="7">

...in Rome [laureate wreaths] were symbols of
martial victory, crowning a successful commander during
his triumph.



Lines 10-11
indicate that Cromwell's work is not over: "New foes arise / Threat'ning to bind our
souls with secular chains..." indicating Milton's concern that some religious group
(Catholics, Presbyterians or Episcopal, perhaps) intends to enforce secularism on those
who would reject it (i.e., Milton, Cromwell).


The final
lines refer to Milton's condemnation of the the ministers of the Committee for
Propagation of the Gospel, who did not want the separation of church and state, as
Milton and Cromwell
did.


Additional
Sources
:


http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_preston.htm


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_wreath

Monday, February 27, 2012

A box with a square base has no top. If 58 cm^2 of material is used what is the max possible volume for the box? need help urgently??

Let w, l, h be the dimensions of the
box


The volume is w*l*h


The
surface area (SA) of a box without a top is
wl+2wh+2lh.


Since the bottom is square we have l = w
so


SA = w^2 + 4wh


And we are
told this is 58 cm^2 so


w^2 + 4wh = 58.
(1)


The volume of the box


V =
w^2 * h  (2)


and we can solve (1) for h = (58-w^2)/4w =
29/(2w) - w/4


Substituting into (2) we
get


V = w^2(29/(2w) - w/4) = 29/2 w -
w^3/4


Taking the
derivative


dV/dw = 29/2 - 3/4
w^2


We can have the extrema when dV/dw = 0
so


29/2 - 3/4 w^2 = 0


3/4 w^2
= 29/2


w^2 = 58/3


w = +/-
sqrt(58/3)


Since we are talking about a width the negative
solution does not make sense, so we get


w = sqrt(58/3) =
4.3969687 cm


h = 29/2sqrt(58/3) -  sqrtr(58/3)/4 = 29/2 *
sqrt(58/3)/(58/3) - sqrt(58/3)/4


= 3/4 sqrt(58/3) -
sqrt(58/3)/4 = 1/2 sqrt(58/3) = 2.1984843
cm


So the answer is w = sqrt(58/3),  h = 1/2
sqrt(58/3)

What are the steps that should be taken by the government and people to increase the anti-liquor movement?

I suppose my first question in response to this would be
to wonder if there is an "anti- liquor movement" that is out there.  Temperance
movements seemed to have faded out since the days of the Progressivists.  If nothing
else, in America, the repeal of prohibition in the form of the 21st Amendment to the
Constitution might be a considerably important step that would have done much to the
anti- liquor movement's attempts at political change.  However, I do think that
government has recognized the need to encourage safe and responsible consumption of
alcohol.  There are few, if any, governments that outright ban alcohol.  It is too
difficult to do this.  However, governments have used education and social attitudes to
encourage safe and more responsible consumption of alcohol.  The fact that drug and
alcohol awareness and education is a part of the wellness curriculum in most schools is
a part of this.  Government has ensured that drunk driving, or driving under the
influence or while intoxicated, are crimes that are vigorously prosecuted.  From a
social point of view, groups like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) have taken to
social forms of education and awareness about the dangers of drunk driving.  Finally,
the fact that alcoholism is largely seen as a "disease" that necessitates the resources
that other diseases require in countering is another example of how people actively take
a stand the fosters a more aggressive against alcohol.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

How does Shakespeare weave the theme of love in and out of the plot in A Midsummer Night's Dream?

The theme of love is very central to A Midsummer
Night's Dream
. In fact, the only time when love is not a dominant part of the
plot line is with respect to the mechanicals as they rehearse the play they wish to
perform before Duke Theseus in honor of his wedding day. However, love even returns to
that plot line when Titania falls in love with Bottom who has been transformed into a
donkey. Therefore, the central theme of love weaves out of the plot line with respect to
the mechanicals but then weaves back in when Titania falls in love with Bottom as a
donkey.

While love is not a central theme with respect to the
mechanicals, passion is a central theme, which is very similar to love. It is very
evident that at least a couple of the mechanicals have a passion for the arts,
especially writing and performing. We can see their passion for the arts in the very
fact that they, a group of uneducated laborers, wish to perform a play. We especially
see Quince's passion for the arts when he undertakes writing the prologues he thinks
will be necessary for introducing the play and the actors' intentions. In addition, we
especially Bottom's passion for the arts when he visualizes himself as a grand
performer, capable of stirring an audience with his lead role, as we see in his lines,
"If I do it, let the audience look to their eyes; I will move storms" (I.ii.21-22).
While passion is similar to love, it is not exactly romantic love like we see in the
rest of play; therefore, the mechanicals' production of the play is one instance in
which the theme of love weaves out of the plot line.

However, the
theme of romantic love returns when Oberon and Puck trick Titania into falling in love
with Bottom as a donkey. Oberon decides to trick his wife with a love potion because he
is jealous of her love for the beautiful Indian changeling boy, which he sees as erotic
love for the boy. We know Titania's affection for the boy is erotic because, as Puck
describes, she "[c]rowns him with flowers, and makes him all her joy," which happens to
be the exact same way she treats Bottom when she falls in love with him (II.i.27). Since
her love for the boy is erotic, Oberon decides to enchant her into falling in love with
the first foul creature she lays eyes on in order to distract her from the boy. Once he
has distracted her from the boy, Oberon can then release the spell, making her fall in
love with himself once again. Therefore, since Bottom from the mechanicals is used to
ultimately patch Oberon and Titania's marriage, we see that the theme of love weaves
back into the plot with respect to the mechanicals.

Please help rewrite my answer to a question of Newton's third law of motion:Q: You blow up a balloon and pinch the open end closed. Predict what...

Newton's third law states that when two bodies interact,
with the first body exerting a force F on the second, the second body also exerts a
force with an equal magnitude on the first. The direction of the two forces is opposite
to each other.


When air is filled in the balloon, it
expands with a potential energy getting stored in the skin of the balloon that is
capable of being stretched. Providing an exit for the air to escape converts the
potential energy stored in the skin of the balloon to kinetic energy of the air. As the
air is pushed out with a force exerted by the balloon, it exerts a force equal in
magnitude and opposite in direction on the balloon. This force pushes the balloon in a
direction opposite to that in which the air is
escaping.


The force exerted on the air which pushes it out
can be referred to as the action and the force it exerts on the balloon is the
reaction.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Lady Macbeth tells her husband to "look like the innocent flower/ But be the serpent under it." Explain what she means.

Essentially, this line is Lady Macbeth's warning to her
husband in how to engage in immorality to get what they both want.  She says this to him
in Act I, sc. 5, when he tells her that Duncan is coming.  Lady Macbeth recognizes this
as the perfect opportunity for Macbeth to kill Duncan and seize power.   In order to
become King, Lady Macbeth realizes that Macbeth must kill Duncan.  She also understands
that he lacks the vocabulary and full understanding to do so.  As a warrior and a
fighter on the battlefield, murder is done in name of King and country and there is
little duplicity involved.  The slaughter is understood.  Lady Macbeth shrewdly realizes
that her husband might need some level of guidance in how to murder for personal gain. 
It is in this where she advises him to "beguile time," and put on pretenses as if he is
a gracious host, and devoid of any malicious intent.  The "serpent under it" is how she
believes Macbeth will best understand what needs to be done in how the murder should be
executed.  In this line, Lady Macbeth's initial deviousness is evident, something that
will change over the course of the play.  At the same time, Macbeth's overall innocence
is also evident, something that will also change over the course of the
play.

Describe how the topic of marriage is treated 'Lady Windermere's Fan'.

In the play Lady Windermere's Fan, by
Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere is a young, aristocratic, and devout wife who is married to
a very well-respected man. Her marriage has been successful and she has a young child.
All seems perfectly well until she receives two big news on the day of her birthday: 
First, her friend (the Duchess) tells her that Lord Windermere-the lady's husband-has
been cheating on her by giving money to a strange
woman.


Secondly, Lady Windermere finds that Lord Darlington
is in love with her. This is significant because she seems to enjoy the attentions of a
man even though she is "happily" married.


When Lady
Windermere decides to confront her husband and declare war on the "other woman" (not
knowing that the woman is her real mother and that her husband was paying her money to
keep the secret from Lady Windermere), she is told by her husband basically not to
meddle in his business, and to act like a woman is supposed to. This is a clear
indication that marriage was a situation in which women had no control of anything,
especially of their husbands.


Additionally, the Duchess of
Berwick, who is the friend that discloses the information about Lord Windermere and the
other woman, tells Lady Windermere that cheating is an expected thing- that her own
husband waited as much as three years before he began looking at other women, and that
the best thing she could do with Lord Windermere is take him away to distract his
attention. Quite an interesting game of double
standards!


Moreover, if we compare Lady
Windermere's Fan
to a play such as A Doll's House, we
will see that the character of Lady Windermere and the character of Nora are both
treated as their husband's respective playthings.  Lady Windermere is always treated
nicely and properly until she attempts to stand up for herself when she sees something
wrong.


In A Doll's House, Nora is also
treated almost like a child, pampered, and spoiled until the moment when she decides to
defend her actions and stand up to her husband. However, Nora doesend up leaving a
relationship that was obviously a farce. Lady Windermere, contrastingly, returns to
it.


Therefore, marriage is treated in these two works as a
reductionist of women. A status in which women are seen, but not heard. They must attend
to the needs of others but disregard their own. In the end, all happens for the sake of
keeping a fake appearance of a well-to-do relationship.

What accomplishments did Bill Clinton have as president?

Of course, Bill Clinton's presidency will be most clearly remembered for the fact that he was only the second president ever...