In this essay I will be exploring, discussing and analysing two cross cultural poems. The first is called woman work, its by Maya Angelou, the second poem is titled Lore and its writer is R.S Thomas.

In this essay I will be exploring, discussing and analysing two cross cultural poems. The first is called woman work, its by Maya Angelou, the second poem is titled Lore and its writer is R.S Thomas. Both Angelou and Thomas expLore and present their ideas in very different and contrasting ways. Through out the two poems it is easy to gain knowledge into the poet's backgrounds and beliefs. The two poems are connected by the obvious theme of work, which both poems are clearly passionate about. However the way in which they do work or view it is very different. Primarily culture defines a person's origin, beliefs, actions and reactions to certain situations. I will begin by looking at Maya Angelou's background. She was born in st Louis on April 4 1928 as Marguerite Johnson. She lived in a black segregated community in Arkansas with her grandmother and brother until the age of eight. Her grandmother was a hard worker. She ran a general store and the home, brought up the children and looked after her crippled son. Members of the white community however often spoke down to her grandmother. At 8 Maya moved to live with her mother in St Louis, Illinois. Her mother was also a hard worker in clubs and enjoyed the high life. At 8 Maya was raped by her mother's boyfriend She became mute until she was 13. Maya herself worked hard in her teens as a cook, waitress and brought up her son,

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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The problem with Under Milk Wood is that nothing happens. Is this an accurate assessment of the play?

9th October, 2003 The problem with Under Milk Wood is that nothing happens. Is this an accurate assessment of the play? The title of the play is actually reflecting the inspiration for the play which was a small Welsh village called Laugharn. The precise interpretation of the title is that of cows grazing under a wood in the village of Llareggub. There is also another link with the title to Thomas Hardy where he used 'Under Greenwood Tree' as the title- this is a good piece of alternative evidence showing Thomas's love/admiration for other writers. Under Milk Wood is a radio play that was written by a writer called Dylan Thomas. Dylan Thomas was from Wales, however he spoke no Welsh and had no obvious influences of Welsh on him- however he uses a number of Welsh phrases in the play. However, Thomas's father was an English teacher and from an early age Thomas had a love for language- this love is shown throughout the whole of the play with continual use of sophisticated writing tools, language and a detailed, descriptive style. Under Milk Wood is about a small town called Llareggub which is peaceful and simple, located somewhere in the Welsh countryside. The play is a play for voices, which means it is written for the radio and not for the stage. It begins with the reader being swept through the village at night, listening to people's dreams then

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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How does Thomas Hardy present men and women and their relationships in the three 'Wessex Tales'? The relationships between men and women are explored seriously and humorously

How does Thomas Hardy present men and women and their relationships in the three 'Wessex Tales'? The relationships between men and women are explored seriously and humorously in 'The Withered Arm', 'Tony Kytes - the Arch-Deceiver', and 'The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion'. It is through the plot that concerns about marriage and social status are revealed, and through this Hardy presents a fictionalised picture of society and relationships at that time. Hardy's stories are based on many tales, which had been told to him as a young boy. They are mainly based on events, which happened before his birth in 1840. This therefore separates the time period of his contemporary readers from his characters lives, and therefore enables Hardy to create a fictionalised world that is based on social fact. Wessex is a fictional county that was closely based on the county of Dorset, which is why much of the dialect used in the three stories, is that of Dorset. The events relayed in the stories tell us that the social attitudes and values have not changed, and this also gives us a picture of how relationships between men and women must conform to society's standards. In each of the three stories, Hardy has chosen to use the pastoral voice, which is the common dialect throughout many of Hardy's stories. The use of dialect during his stories, occur at moments when Hardy does not

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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How is female sexuality portrayed in Hardy's 'Far From The Madding Crowd' and Lawrence's 'The Virgin And The Gypsy'?

How is female sexuality portrayed in Hardy's 'Far From The Madding Crowd' and Lawrence's 'The Virgin And The Gypsy'? 'Is Lawrence really a liberator of sex? Does he grant more independence to the women in his novels than his predecessors or just a little more freedom within confines of established expectations.'1 The same question could be asked of Thomas Hardy, who is believed by some critics such as Rosemarie Morgan, to use female sexuality in a way that is liberating and arguably revolutionary. 'The Virgin And The Gypsy' by D.H.Lawrence, and 'Far From The Madding Crowd' by Thomas Hardy, show a likeness in the fact that both men present sexuality through controversial female protagonists and question the moralities and social expectations of their time. Whilst the two novels were written over thirty years apart, their female protagonists are comparatively alike. Lawrence's protagonist, Yvette, faces a restrictive society that was only just beginning to accept the changing attitudes in female sexuality. Hardy shows a female repressed by society although, the nineteenth century was somewhat more constrained than the mellowing 'roaring twenties.' 'The nineteenth century woman was defined by her adherence to submission and resistance to sexuality. By emphasizing the physical aspect of femininity in [Hardy's] unorthodox representation of the female, Hardy threatens the

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Both John Thomas and Tony Kytes are daring characters who try to manipulate the women around them. Yet in the end both are weaker than the women in each story. Compare the two male characters and discuss whether or not you agree with this statement.

Both John Thomas and Tony Kytes are daring characters who try to manipulate the women around them. Yet in the end both are weaker than the women in each story. Compare the two male characters and discuss whether or not you agree with this statement. >>>>>>Essay In Tickets Please by DH Lawrence and Tony Kytes the Arch-Deceiver by Thomas Hardy we are faced by two men who have the power to manipulate women to get what they want from them. Both John Thomas and Tony Kytes initially seem to be manipulative. In a sharp role reversal, the women are able to gain control of the situation; however, they lose this at the end of the stories to the men. Many factors such as the time period in which the stories were written in and the writer's point of view cause an unexpected ending to the stories. It is questionable as the two male characters try to manipulate women and whether they succeed or not. Tickets Please written by D H Lawrence was set in the industrial environment of Nottingham during wartime. Tony Kytes written by Thomas Hardy was set in pre 20th century in the rural area of Wessex. DH Lawrence was obsessed with honesty, particularly with regard to sexual matters. By writing about sex he was breaking social taboos as well as the then laws on decency. DH Lawrence (1885-1930) was one of five children born to a miner and ex-schoolteacher near Nottingham. He managed to avoid

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Both John Thomas and Tony Kytes are daring characters who try to manipulate women around them. Compare and contrast the two men with particular reference to their attitude towards women.

Both John Thomas and Tony Kytes are daring characters who try to manipulate women around them. Compare and contrast the two men with particular reference to their attitude towards women. Tony Kytes is the main character of 'Tony Kytes, The Arch-Deceiver', which is a story written by Thomas Hardy in the 1890s - contained in his book titled 'Life's Little Ironies.' (1894) (The story is set in the Midlands during the First World War.) Thomas Hardy was an influence to 20th Century writers, and as recognition of his work his ashes were buried in Poet's corner in Westminster Abbey, and his heart buried in his wife's grave - Emma. DH Lawrence was obsessed with honesty, particularly with regard to sexual matters. By writing about sex he was breaking social taboos as well as the then laws on decency. 'Ticket, Please' isn't as indecent as some of his creations. From this story is the infamous John Thomas, who was created by Lawrence some thirty years after Tony Kytes was discovered. This time difference between the two characters may account for some of their contrasts and indeed the difference between the women of the stories, as the 'Victorian' women were certainly less peremptory than the women of the wartime were. The women of the Victorian era had more respect for the men as a result of their upbringing. From a very young age they were taught that they were inferior to the

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Dylan Marlais Thomas.

Dylan Marlais Thomas was born is Swansea, Wales on October 27, 1914, he was the product of Florence Williams, a nurturing housewife, and David John Thomas, a religious English teacher. Thomas's father exposed him to poetry at an early age, Shakespeare and the bible were his bedtime stories, and by the age of four he was reciting verses from both. By the age of eight he was writing his own poetry, even before he entered the Swansea Grammar School in September 1925, where he was a quiet student often lost in his own thoughts. When he attended school his only real interest was editing the Swansea Grammar School Magazine, where along with editing he published poems imitating popular works of the time. Thomas often used his mothers caring nature to avoid tasks that he thought to be unpleasant, school being one of them. His mother thought of him as a sickly child, so he got out of school often, not to go play with his friends but to stay home and indulge himself with his fathers immense selection of literature from the family library. This is where Thomas's real education took place, he read a diverse selection of authors such as; Edgar Allan Poe, the Brothers Grimm, Sir Thomas Browne, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Here in his father's library, with his love for words and his vast selection of books, he nurtured his understanding of literature and talent for writing. Thomas left the

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Analyse the Narrative Skills of Graham Greene in his Short Story 'The Destructors' - And show how they enhance their appeal to the reader.

Analyse the Narrative Skills of Graham Greene in his Short Story 'The Destructors'. And show how they enhance their appeal to the reader. Graham Greene was born on October 2, 1904 in Berhamstead, Hertfordshire. The fourth of six children, Graham was a shy and sensitive youth. He disliked sports and was often truant from school in order to read adventure stories by authors such as Rider Haggard and R.H. Ballantyne. These novels had a deep influence on him and helped shape his writing style. In this piece of coursework, I am going to analyse the narrative skills of Graham Greene in his short story 'The Destructors'. When analyzing his narrative skills I am going to look in depth on the various fields such as the plot structure and setting, characterisation, style, atmosphere, and the tension of the story. The information that I gather shall give me evidence to suggest whether or not Graham Greene is an effective and successful narrative author. The plot structure is profound and slightly ambiguous nearly throughout the whole story because we cannot really identify an immediate story line until Trevor introduces the big plan. Although, even from then we cannot really predict what is going to happen next accept just read on. This is an effective use of the plot by the author as it keeps the reader in suspense and as well as entices the reader to read until the end of the

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy.

Ashley Armijo U.S. History Period 5 Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy There are many rumors that are so persistent; it seems impossible to disregard them no matter how hard everyone tries. One of these rumors is that Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson was a founding father in more than one way. Slave owners in Virginia had the right of droit du seigneur over their female slaves, meaning they were legally allowed to have sex with themi. There were men who certainly did exercise their right; nobody disputes this. The only dispute concerns whether Thomas Jefferson, a vocal opponent of slavery, was one of those men. Contrary evidence proves the answer to that scandalous question. Thomas Jefferson had a concubine, named Sally Hemings, and together they produced children. Sally Hemings' grandmother, a full-blooded African American, was property of Mr. John Wayles. Mr. Wayles later became the father-in-law of Jefferson. An Englishman named Captain, impregnated her, and produced a girl, Elizabeth who became known as Betty. When she matured, she produced six children fathered by John Wayles. Sally Hemings was one of those children. That made Sally 75% white, in spite of being a slave. Sally herself produced six children. Wayle's also had legitimate children, the eldest being Martha. Martha became the wife of Thomas Jefferson, thus making

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Middlemarch and the Victorian Period Professor Sally Shuttleworth

VICTORIAN LITERATURE - LECTURE ABSTRACTS FOR AUTUMN 2001 Week 1 Middlemarch and the Victorian Period Professor Sally Shuttleworth Middlemarch was written shortly after the passage of the second Reform Bill, and set at the time of the first. From the vantage point of the early 1870s, George Eliot looks back to the 1830s, and explores many of the issues which were to dominate the Victorian age: electoral reform and class relations; the coming of the railways and industrialisation; developments in medicine and science; the decline of religion, and the 'woman question'. The novel is epic in scope and experimental in form: Eliot seeks to offer a picture of an entire society within the confines of her novel, and to explore the individual's placement in society and history. Realism is tempered by myth, and objectivity by considerations of the inevitable subjectivity of perception. The novel will be placed in the context of Victorian social, scientific, and cultural debate. Week 2 Middlemarch and Realism Professor Neil Roberts 'A man's mind must be continually expanding and shrinking between the whole human horizon and the horizon of an object-glass,' says Tertius Lydgate, one of the main characters in Middlemarch. This is an excellent description of George Eliot's method in the novel. There is an obvious structure of four

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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