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A letter from Phillis Wheatley
The poem, ‘A letter from Phillis Wheatley’ as written by Robert Hayden has a total of 54 lines. However, the poem is not divided into any number of stanzas that would make it easy for one to see the poetic aspects that have been used. None the less, the poem does not follow a particular format especially in rhyme schemes of the last sounds of each sentence from the beginning to the end. For example, the first five lines end with the following words, Obour, without, times, destined and yet (p.464). These words end with different sounds therefore making one to conclude that no particular rhyme scheme was followed. This s the format that is followed throughout the poem from the first line to the last line. However, there are some lines that end with similar words that are not that far from each other. Therefore bringing a rhyming effect, this is seen in line 22 and line 25, the word ‘me’ is repeated and there are only two lines in between these two lines (p.465). Even if there is no specified number of stanzas, there are rhyming words in the poem such as in line, 30, line 32 and line 34. These lines contain the words, wills, is and hiss respectively which are rhyming words used alternatively with the line in between them having a different word that does not rhyme (p.465). In addition to this, the poem does not have a specific number of words that are included on each line, therefore, making it difficult to make a stable tune when reading the poem. In addition to this, due to the lack of stanzas, the number of words also seem to be random with some ending with a full stop, others with a comma, others within brackets and other lines end with no punctuation mark. This randomness is depicted in line 1 where the line ends with a comma. Line two ends with no punctuation mark-therefore within a sentence, line 5 ends within brackets and line 7 ends with a full stop (p.464). This format of randomness is not depicted in any other parts of the poem. Even if the poem does not follow a particular format in poetic terms, the poem has some parts that present the thoughts of the persona. These are the parts that are in brackets as seen in line 5 through 6 ‘I yet have some remembrance of its Horrors'(p.464). Also in line 26, ‘I thought of Pocahontas’ (p.465). This bring about the mindset of the persona during such incidents, therefore making the reader know his emotions. The poem also does not dwell in one scene throughout the poem, however, from line 1 to line 7; the poem talks about what the persona remembers about her voyage (p.464). From line 8, the persona remembers her encounter with her ladyship the previous day and her encounter with her friends (p.464). From line 30 to line 35, the poem talks about the creation period in Biblical terms whereby the persona describes the serpent (p.465). There is a high level of repetition of the word ‘I’ at the beginning of most lines, even if their appearance do not follow a particular format. This is seen in line 10, line 16, line 28, line 35, line 41 and line 52. In addition to this, there is a resemblance in rhyming words in some words in the beginning of some lines. For example, in line 32, the first sound produced when pronouncing the word ‘Idyllic’ rhymes with the first sound produced when pronouncing the word ‘indeed’ in line 24 (p.265). There is a time lapse at the beginning of the poem where the poet writes about the voyage to when the persona meets her ladyship (p.464). Also, the poem begins abruptly without familiarizing the reader of the initial setting of the poem that is vividly shown by line 2 where the poet writes, ‘Our crossing was without event.’ (p.464). The reader, however, is not familiarized with the crossing that is being talked about in the poem. In addition to this, the relationship between the persona and her ladyship is not explained anywhere. Therefore not disclosing all the information that is needed to make the reader follow what exactly is being talked about in the poem.
Work Cited
Hayden, Robert. “A Letter from Phillis Wheatley”, Mays., and Kelly J.. The Norton Introduction to Literature (Digital Portable Edition), 11th Edition. W. W. Norton & Company, 2014. VitalBook file.
Synecdoche New York
A Critical Analysis of Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York
Overview of Director’s Background
Not many films depict life the way that Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York does. In this film, the director focuses on the concept of solipsism and in so doing intends to dispose of the harmful ideation of “the other”. In the film, solipsism specifically focuses on the attitude and notion that on the mind of an individual is certain to be existent and that the perception held by a person relating to events and reality is the only truth and certainty. This is closely related to objectivism, a belief that one’s own pursuit of self interest is the sole moral commitment to which all humans are bound (Evans, 2014). The strangeness of the human existence is what drives Charlie Kaufman (2008) to the film Synecdoche, New York. The director is keen on reminding the audience that despite a setting of a world that is somewhat normal in comparison to our world, the truth is that anything could happen. This is Kaufman’s first film both as a writer and a director. It narrates a personal perspective on what life is about as an artist struggling in the crowded film industry.
The Film’s Connection to Other Sources of Art
Art is a wide term that has meant different things to different people over the course of history, and it is perceived differently by the people for whom it was intended to impress. Art is a universal language that transcends cultural, temporal, and linguistic barriers to communicate. It addresses a variety of themes and issues that ail a society. Art can be defined as a way of telling an individual story, a concept that is critical to filmmaking. Like every other source of art, Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York speaks to human emotions by a telling a story that connects with the audience on different levels. The beauty of a film such as Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York is that it can be interpretated in a variety of ways by different audience members, thereby meaning something different to each one. The story told in this film relates differently to people.
The concept of realism, certainty of the same, time, actions, attitudes and what constitutes of our world is challenged in this film. It connects to other sources of art in a way that it invokes deep thought into what the director intended to pass across. Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York also showcases how filmmaking uses skills that are unique to the craft, introducing other artists and professionals to improve the overall film. The film connects to other sources of art like the invention of paintbrush through how it employs professionals and other artists to ensure that shoot scenes, sound, production, distribution, props, visual effects, editing, and color grading are all up to expected standards. It uses tools from other forms of media and art to create a unique experience for the audience. For example, there is a connection between Adele’s occupation as a painter and Caden being a different artist focusing on theater and cinematography. As Caden’s life slowly distances from that of Adele, even their art forms separate to a great extent.
Blurry Boundaries between Fiction and Reality
Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York is partly all bout the blurring of the thin line that separates reality and fiction and the imminent dangers of this association. Ironically, the film, in itself, blurs the same line between fiction and reality. Even in its name, the film intends to challenge basic human thinking. A synecdoche describes when a section or part of something represents a whole. For example, the expression “lend a hand” uses a part of the body to mean the entire body. By building a copy of New York in a massive warehouse, Caden, a theatrical director, acquires an enormous quantity of money that gives him artistic freedom. Caden’s deterioration and disorientation lead to plays within plays and the blurring of the barriers between fiction and reality.
The film is ideally and increasingly committed to challenging the idea of realism and what it means to different people under different conditions. Kaufman manipulates time, speeding it up as often as he likes further increasing the effects to Caden. The effect is that Caden exhales despair with each breath as he nears his death. Deteriorating health, consciousness, relationships, and all forms of the things that connect people to others, Caden is increasingly becoming isolated and unaware of the world around him. Among other artistic components, Synecdoche, New York is all about finding authenticity, and this includes the search for the authentic self in a world that is highly inauthentic. Caden intends on creating an artistic piece that will not only justify the award given to him but also quite his partner’s criticism and mocking. It also addresses his own restless doubt and obsession that has become self-consuming. As he develops his story, line by line and actor by actor in his life-size endeavor, nonfiction and fiction begin to blur. The representation now takes dimensions that are reality-like to a point where they can replace reality. Caden creates his own world so perfectly that he no longer fits or even remembers how the real world operates.
The Concept of Synecdoche
Surrealist concepts influenced Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York. It examines daily worries and issues and covers a wide range of philosophical topics, from individual defects to the ruin of society (Perry, 2020). The movie speaks to everyone. Synecdoche, New York can help everyone who wonders what the aim of another day, decision, or creative endeavor is. To understand surrealist ideas, the film shows that one must first understand its central theme: consciousness and the concept of realism. The conscious is where we keep our memories, thoughts, and motivations. They can be recalled at any time. The subconscious, on the other hand, holds memories, processes, and motives that can’t be seen or heard. The subconscious can be known and made visible, brought into the light through remembering. The unconscious, on the other hand, contains the automatic processes that are based on our genes and natural processes.
There is a lot of misery and anguish in Synecdoche, New York, but it also has a lot of various possible interpretations. One individual believes it’s a “crypto zombie film,” while another believes it’s all in Caden’s brain right before he passes away. The fact that Kaufman’s film is so thought-provoking is a clear clue that it’s a terrific picture. As a character, Caden is flawed for sure, yet, this is a reflection of how every human is (Perry, 2020). The representation of Caden in the film only goes to demonstrate how we are all as a species. This is the concept of Synecdoche. It is where a small part is used to represent a whole. It also works in the other way around where something larger represents a smaller component of the same. That is exactly what Caden is in the film. Similar to other humans, Caden is walking through life, trying to figure out what the world is all about, making mistakes, and trying and failing to make things right. Caden is like every other person. In the film, he comes out as selfish and imperfect, but not bad person. He’s just a small part of a bigger whole, like everyone else.
Brecht’s Fourth Wall and its Relation in the Film
Epic theater breaks the fourth wall, which is the imaginary wall that separates the actors and the audience. This makes the audience part of the show. They are part of the theater experience because they aren’t able to turn off their minds during the show. Brecht made it plain that he wanted his audience to be engaged and interested in the play, or else his message would be missed. He sought to keep the characters from becoming emotionally involved. Breaking the fourth wall is important in this film because of how it detaches itself from reality. It intends to eliminate the disbelief in the movie that occurs right from its onset all the way to its end. Breaking the fourth wall is also a tool that Kaufman uses to communicate important information and to evoke deeper and more connected emotions between the viewer and the film characters. A lot of distortion and illusion come from a representation of Caden’s real life within the film as reality, yet it is so unreal to the viewer and normal for other characters. The effect is that the one viewing is forced to accept that what the film presents as real is a distorted version of everyday life (Evans, 2014). The film makes use of infinite regression where there is scene within a scene within another and so on. The physical space seems to be the same for every distortion despite how the different scenes and maps fit within each other. For example, Dianne West plays Millicent, then plays Ellen, played by Caden, and later exchange roles with Millicent to act as Ellen and be Caden at the same time.
The Concept of Death in the Film
The film has a very dark and obvious obsession with death right from its start to the end. Caden is aware that he, alongside every one else, will pass on. He views death as an inevitable process. Kaufman puts Caden through the wringer in his bizarre, expressionistic directorial debut. Gum surgery is performed on Caden. He later loses his natural capacity to salivate or weep (Saxena & Spears, n.d). His eyes have ceased to work properly. Random spasms irritate him, and his left leg soon develops a permanent twitch. He’s been referred to a seemingly infinite number of physicians and experts. They provide appointments but no treatment. Caden, on the other hand, is dying. Slowly. There is a feeling of death throughout the film. Physical death combined with the death of relationships.
Caden uses a meta-play inside a play that portrays an artistic journey that has gone on for so long that characters are dying and the entire set is in disarray. It is not clear whether the world on his stage is what is collapsing or the actual world. There is a hint of Manhattan being in a kind of dystopian setting. Hazel’s house is on fire as a further exploration of the concept of death (Perry, 2020). The constantly burning house is a whimsical and bold symbol of the fate of Hazel and that of others’ inevitable ending. Death in this sense is also a synecdoche, a small part of people’s lives symbolizing that of a whole.
The Art of Theater and its Representation in the Film
Art engagement isn’t limited to one-on-one interactions. Only a few venues in our culture allow individuals to come together and share an experience despite having differing perspectives on the world. It makes no difference whether we agree or disagree on the experience. It is critical that we agree to share any experience at all. Disagreement is welcomed and celebrated as a crucial component of the creative process in art and other kinds of cultural expression. In this sense, arts and entertainment may serve as a source of inspiration for politicians and activists seeking to break through the division and stigmatization that characterizes today’s public debate. In the film, the art of theater is used to bring out the difficulties of how film connects with the audience. It is also a way to break the fourth wall. It creates meaningful connections that force the viewer to understand exactly what is happening.
Personal Understanding of the Film’s Ending
Caden’s sacrifice, in my opinion, comes at the end of the film. It is critical for him to be able to comprehend the perspectives of others in order to comprehend himself. In the end, it turns out that Caden’s preoccupation with death can only be satiated by attempting to establish a connection with another individual. His life-size drama was just a means for him to escape from his real life, allowing him to passively observe it from a safe distance. Once he makes the decision to live as someone else, he will be able to accept himself and live in peace for a brief period of time. In life’s processes, people often compartmentalize the individuals in their lives and dictate how they should behave for their own benefit. Because it is impossible to compel them to obey societal goals, people are forced to deal with mental projections of themselves on others who are of different perspectives. However, they will be defiant and have their own agendas. this, in mu understanding is the conclusion made in the film. That, at times, contradictory versions of ourselves exist.
References
Evans, J. (2014). Figuring the global: on Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York. New Review
of Film and Television Studies, 12(4), 321-338.
Kaufman, C. & Jonze, S. (Producer), & Kaufman, C. (Director) (2008). Synecdoche, New York.
United States: Sony Pictures Classics.
Saxena, I., & Spears, R. M. Synecdoche, New York-An Investigation of Being.
https://ishaansaxena.github.io/assets/files/Synecdoche,%20New%20York%20-%20An%20Investigation%20of%20Being.pdf
Perry, A. (2020). Surrealism in Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York. Available at
https://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/bitstream/handle/123456789/202574/2020PerryAlexander-combined.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
The world societies have been transforming since the beginning of history
A COMPLEX AND A CLASSICAL SOCIETY AND THEIR EFFECT WORLD
Institution
Student’s name
A complex society and a classical society and their effect to the world
The world societies have been transforming since the beginning of history. The earliest forms of societies were of a rather complex nature. These eventually gave way to more classical societies that later paved way for the current modern societies. Several factors which included in most cases political and economic contributed to the transition inherent in these societies. The complete change of government structures from the complex to the classical societies could not go unnoticed. This change had a rather significant transformation to the human society as a whole.
This paper will analyze two ancient societies, Mesopotamia a complex society and the Roman Empire a classical society. It is imperative first to understand what these two different societies entailed. Complex societies entailed social formation that was complex in all its forms (Charvat, 2002). A complex society had members of the society specialized to specific activities. There was a high form of division of labor which had people depend entirely on each other. Complex societies were characterized by chiefdoms mostly kingship based societies. They kept on revising and re-revising their legislations to maintain their supremacy and rule of the people. They thus became very complex due to existence of very many laws, political leaders and legislations. No one was above the other as every member depended on the other (Charvat, 2002). This complexity was made even more complex as the population grew bigger. Complexity was also inherent in these societies political sphere. There was a complicated form of hierarchy of the ruling elite. This complexity was what led to the collapse of most of the complex societies including Mesopotamia. This is because there existed a number of rulers who all wanted to gain power thus leading to brutal wars that accelerated the collapse of this societies (Postgate, 1994). The structure of a complex society collapses entirely when one part of this structure is interfered with. The collapse is not only inherent in the political structure of the complex society but also in the economic sector. As the population increases, the sources of livelihood are depleted as competition for the diminishing resources increases. This means that the members of such a society might result in armed struggle as they compete for the scarce resources.
Mesopotamia is considered not only as one of the complex ancient societies, but also the cradle of civilization. Bronze Age is accredited to have had its origins in this ancient empire (Postgate, 1994). This age include Assyrian, Akkadian and the Sumer empires and later the Iron Age which was under the control of Neo Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian empires. These economic activities have had a great significance to the modern world. A lot of developments emerged from the Mesopotamian economic activities and have continued to have a significant contribution to the modern world.
In terms of the legal system, Mesopotamia was a highly complex society. Basing our argument on the code of Hammurabi it is evident that this ancient society was dominated by too many laws that were conflicting in themselves (Horne, 1915). This code for instance had 282 laws that helped govern the people of Mesopotamia. Some of these laws were very brutal as the major punishment for breaking them was death. Law number six in this code which states that “if a man has stolen goods from a temple, or house, he shall be put to death; and he that has received the stolen property from him shall be put to death” (Horne, 1915). This law was rather brutal to the person receiving the stolen goods since he would have no idea whether the goods were legitimate or not. Another law in contention in this code is law number nine 11 “if on the other hand, the claimant of the lost property has not brought the witnesses that know his lost property, he has been guilty of slander, he has stirred up strife, he shall be put to death” (Horne, 1915). It was not really easy to get a person who had a full knowledge of your property. Further still, the person with the stolen goods could also bring his own witnesses for the claimed property. It would be difficult therefore to determine the actual ownership of the goods. This could in most cases lead to the innocent person being killed to rush conclusions. Eight out of the first ten laws of this code hade the guilty person being punished by death. The brutality of this judicial system probably was one of the causes of aggression that led to the collapse of this society. These laws though have had a great significance in the development of the modern judicial system as well as in the classical period. The laws though have been revised putting more consideration to the respect of human life.
The religious sphere of Mesopotamia has also contributed a lot to the practices of the modern world. This society was a rather polytheistic. It is acclaimed that the Mesopotamian worshipped over 2000 gods. Having been the origin of the writing system, the Mesopotamian religion is believed to be the oldest religion in written history (Postgate, 1994). The religion has had a great impact in the modern world religion especially the myths inherent in the modern religion. It is for instance associated with Christianity as most of the myths that were identified in the ancient religion share some similarities with the Old Testament part of the Christian Bible.
The Mesopotamian religion was mostly ascribed to the forces of nature. Inanna for instance was the goddess of the store houses. She was also considered as the queen of heaven and was highly revered. A lot of hymns were written to praise her. For instance in the ‘incarnation to Ishtar as she was later known, she is described as “o heroic one, Ishtar, the immaculate one of the goddesses” (Postgate, 1994). She was considered to be the giver of life as she was associated with the whole aspects of life. This can be compared to the modern world where most religion ascribe the quality and sustenance of life to supernatural beings or being depending on the religion. The Mesopotamian religion can thus be said to be the mother of all other religions.
Mesopotamia intellectual capabilities are inherent in the modern world not only in agriculture but also in education. It is widely believed that the earliest forms of writing were discovered in areas around Mesopotamia (Charvat, 2002). This shows that this society was also highly complex in terms of education. This has been passed down from generation to the next and has contributed a lot to the development of the modern world.
Most of the complex societies later collapsed paving way to simpler and modern societies. The classical societies emerged after the collapse of the complex societies. These societies simplified the concepts they acquired from the complex societies in a bid to maintain the political as well as the social and economic structures that had collapsed under the complex societies. Among the most successful classical societies was the Roman Empire.
The Roman Empire was established after the collapse of ancient roman civilization. This was after a streak of civil wars that eventually weakened the preceding empire. It was largely an autocratic system of government and controlled a very large area well over 6.5 million square kilometers (Mackay, 2004). This kingdom was more stable than the earlier complex system of government as it had a central ruling authority. No wonder it lasted for several centuries capturing more kingdoms and expanding its territory as well as its doctrines and values. The Roman Empire authority was secured by a well standing army that paid allegiance to the emperor.
This army therefore enabled the spread of education, religion and other roman practices to the conquered lands and territories (Mackay, 2004). A key point to note here is that the emperor who was the overall leader tolerated people to practice their own religions as a long as they did not threaten the empires security. There were some persecutions though notably among the Christians as they tried to spread the doctrines of Christianity. The empire in the whole though was a polytheist society. The world’s religions today have been mostly influenced by the religions in the Roman Empire. Christianity especially was later to be adopted as the most dominant religion in the empire (Dubois, 2011). Considering its stability, the religion was spread in the whole region gaining popularity with time. The center of Christianity is even established to date in Rome which was the capital of the empire.
The dominant language in this empire was Latin. It was to be the official language in this empire and spread to other regions that were under the Roman Empire. Latin was used in the empire’s law courts, education, business and religion (Dubois, 2011). As the language evolved, it developed into two registers; the high classical Latin which was the language of the elite in this society and the low Vulgar Latin that developed as the lingua franca among the majority non elites. It was this low Vulgar Latin that would later have a significant influence in the language system of Western Europe. The low Vulgar Latin later emerged into the Romance languages which include Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, French and Italian that are now the modern and dominant languages. Since the Roman Empire never intended to erode its religions vernacular or cultural languages, the east of the empire retained their languages with Greek emerging as the dominant language. Greek is still spoken in its modern form to date but Latin become extinct with time.
Due to empires relative peace and stability for an extended period of time, the Roman Empire was able to instigate a lot of industrial and economic endeavors, significantly improving the economic situation of the empire. Its military which was well trained and very disciplined ensured that there was no uprising in any of the empire’s regions. A point to note here is that at the very core of the ruling elite were well trained soldiers who possessed unique fighting abilities. It was rather an empire made up of soldiers in different hierarchies. The army was divided into legions of 480 men each and was deployed to the various regions far and wide to maintain allegiance to the emperor and maintain peace and stability (Mackay, 2004). There was a promise of a piece of land for any soldier after serving for the time set which was usually 20 years. This organization of the Roman Empire has been largely borrowed by the modern armies who also instill the same discipline inherent in the Roman Empire’s soldiers. The training and fighting mechanisms have also been borrowed though modern armies now use sophisticated weapons.
As whole, the modern society has had a lot to borrow from both the classical and the complex societies. The modern society has galvanized what has been borrowed from the two ancient societies to come up with what is evident today in most governments around the world. It is not only in government but in the modern society as a whole; the social structures of the modern societies have a lot in common with the ancient societies. A lot of industrial as well as agricultural and educational developments have a lot in common with the ancient societies.
References
Charvat, P. (2002). Mesopotamia before history. London: Rout ledge publishers.
Dubois, L. M. (20110. Ancient Rome: A Mighty Empire. Minnesota: Capstone Press.
Horne, F. C. (1915). The code of Hammurabi.USA: Forgotten Books.
Mackay, S. C. (2004). Ancient Rome: A military and political history. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.
Postgate, J.N. (1994). Early Mesopotamia: Society and economy at the dawn of history. London: Rout ledge publishers.