Influences Of Geofrey Chaucher Essays - The Canterbury Tales

Influences of Geofrey Chaucher Of all the prominent Italian writers that influenced Geoffrey Chaucer, Dante and Boccaccio had the greatest impact on his literary works. Though others, such as Petrarch, also influenced Chaucer, none did so to the extent of Dante and Boccaccio (Brewer pg.13). In the fourteenth century, Italy led European culture. The most highly organized cities, the biggest industries, the richest merchants and bankers, the best doctors, the most innovational technicians, the best painters and sculptors, the finest vernacular poets, and the most learned scholars were all Italian (Miller pg.125). Chaucer's trip to Florence had taken him to the right place at the right time, and what he saw in Boccaccio and Boccaccio's mentor, Petrarch, was a major shift in literary history (Pearsall pg.254). Throughout Chaucer's visits to Italy, both Petrarch and Boccaccio were alive. Though it is possible that Chaucer did not know of Boccaccio, it is of the greatest improbability, involving several inconceivable coincidences. The more likely scenario is that Chaucer knew about Boccaccio, possibly even met him, and aware of Boccaccio's achievements, he utilized him as a touchstone (Pearsall pg.282). Chaucer became very prone to model his work on previous literary pieces by Boccaccio. Chaucer wrote the short poem the Falls of Princes, which eventually transformed into The Monk's Tale, by using Boccaccio's De Casibus as a mold. Chaucer modeled The Canterbury Tales and The Legend of Good Women on Boccaccio's Decameron and De Claris Mulierbus, respectively. Chaucer also came across Boccaccio's Il Filostrato, Robert Garay Page 2 basis of his Troilus and Criseyde, and Teseida, basis of The Knight's Tale (Pearsall pg.261). All of Boccaccio's influences occurred in less than a decade and virtually affected all of Chaucer's remaining work. At one time or another practically all of Boccaccio's Italian works have been put forward as sources by Chaucer or influences on him. For years the accepted opinion was that ?Chaucer's greatness would be diminished if Boccaccio were more than one of many negligible influences? (Boitani pg.44). An imitation is not weak unless the poet is weak. Boitani states, ?Originality cannot be measured by the absence of borrowing.? Chaucer's originality shows best in works based on other works, such as the Troilus. Chaucer had to learn to ?be unoriginal? when he substituted Italian for French models (Boitani pg.46). Italy had a peculiar mixture of religious and secular people. Chaucer, however, revealed no interest in this world of international politics, though it must have fed some aspects of his ?scepticism and anti-clericalism? (Pearsall pg.308). The other writer who has a tremendous effect on Chaucer is Dante. Dante, an Italian poet, is regarded to as one of the world's greatest poets. His masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, is considered to be the most able and eloquent summing up of the moral, religious, and political thoughts of the Middle Ages (Schless pg.3). Both, The Canterbury Tales and The Divine Comedy are considered to be quest epics (Schless pg.31). The main Robert Garay Page 3 discrepancy between these works is that The Divine Comedy consists of one protagonist, whereas Chaucer's work contains thirty-one story tellers. To claim that every pilgrim with his or her tale recapitulates the entire ?Dantean? pilgrimage is absurd. The generally accepted theory is that in their summaries, various pilgrims comment or focus on one or more of the aspects of the ?Dantean? journey (Schless pg.74). A sign in the shift in the ?critical sensibility? is R.A. Shoaf's Dante, Chaucer and the Currency of the Word, which, focusing on the two poets' concern with a poetic language, illustrates that Chaucer was, in his words, ?no mere quoter of virtuoso passages? from The Divine Comedy, but ?a great interpreter of Dante? (Shoaf pg.8). In Chaucer and the Poets, Wetherbee observes, ?Dante is not only a model but a standard by which the quality and seriousness of his own future work may be measured,? (Wetherbee pg.21). It is clear to see that Italian writers had a tremendous influence on the writing style and the works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Some might argue that he made a career out of imitating the works of those before him, but Chaucer is a very talented and intellectual poet, and therefore his literary pieces would succeed regardless of the circumstances.

Positive and negative imacts on environment Essay Example

Positive and negative imacts on environment Essay Example Positive and negative imacts on environment Paper Positive and negative imacts on environment Paper Humans are the cause for many problems on the environment, right? Actually, humans cause many positive effects in nature. The human race may have had many negative impacts on the environment, however we have also made an equal number of positive impacts. We have not yet made our environment the best it can be, but we are working hard to fix the problems. There is much more that can be done. The human race can be blamed for destroying our environment by doing things such as leaving trash on the beaches and polluting the air with car exhaust. By building on and near beaches, humans are destroying the nesting grounds for sea turtles, birds, and other beach plants. We also tend to fish too much. While fishing, some people become very careless and sometimes destroy coral reefs that grow on the ocean floor. Humans will do anything to protect the beach, such as, building concrete barriers to prevent erosion. All these impacts we make on our environment are slowly turning into positive ones, because of the steps we have begun to take to fix them. If we are trying to fix them our hillier will see the great effects we are making on the environment and want to follow our example. Humans have learned to increase the amount of crop yields to feed the hungry. In doing this we can have healthier humans that want to help get the environment back on track. Along with this idea we are also trying to use natural resources instead of harsh chemicals, which in turn will create a positive impact on the environment. The fewer chemicals we put into the environment the less chance we have of destroying our ozone are. Also there will be less off chance of contaminating our water, as well. Could having more crop fields be a positive effect on the environment? In many ways it can have a positive effect on the environment, but in some other ways it can also harm it. It can help the environment by giving the insects and animals more food to survive. The more animals that survive the better the environment will be. Without the existence of animals there would be no environment for humans. In many ways this cant help the environment, one of these ways is because we humans want to try to keep the animals away from the crops. Why? They want more food. To do this we will have to use more chemicals. The more chemicals we use, the more negative impacts we put on the environment, rather than positive effects. In almost all situations, all we have to do is choose whether or not we want to make a positive impact or negative impact on the environment. Just remember when you make positive choices you will always get positive results back. Positive and negative impacts on environment.

Protagonist vs. Antagonist Understanding a Storys Main Characters

Protagonist vs. Antagonist Understanding a Storys Main Characters Protagonist vs. Antagonist: Understanding a Story's Main Characters If there’s one thing every story needs, it’s conflict. And while conflict can take many forms (Self vs. Nature, Technology vs. Humanity, Character vs. Self, etc.), some of literature’s most beloved stories include conflict in the classic form of the protagonist and antagonist.Without the white whale, Moby Dick is just a book about a guy who goes sailing and then returns home. If there were no Harry Potter, then J.K. Rowling would have written a series about Voldemort taking over the world, unopposed. Without Sauron and the Ring, the Fellowship would have merely been an odd sight-seeing group touring Middle-earth. And as enjoyable as that may have been for  them,  it wouldn't have made a very good story for the rest of us.In this article, we will look at what protagonists and antagonists are, how these age-old character archetypes can help you craft memorable stories, and what famous rivalries look like in both literature and film.With that in mind, let's firs t go back to basics to figure out what exactly protagonists and antagonists are.What is a Protagonist?The protagonist is the main character whose story is being told. The term derives from classical Greek drama and literally means â€Å"first actor.† Though often referred to as the hero of the story, the main character isn’t necessarily virtuous, and also may be just one of many protagonists in the narrative.Because protagonists can take many forms, let's take a look at four common types of protagonists in action.4 Types of Protagonists1. The Lonely HeroThe Lonely Hero is the standard strain of protagonist, probably because it's seen as the most "heroic" type. As the name implies, the Lonely Hero is the one and only person who can stop evil from triumphing and save the day. Though they’re almost always helped by a team of supporting characters, the ultimate burden of the quest falls squarely on the shoulders of the Lonely Hero. They are the one who must sacrific e the most in order to accomplish their goal.Examples of Lonely Hero protagonists:Harry from  Harry PotterKatniss Everdeen from  The Hunger GamesFrodo Baggins from  Lord of the RingsMatilda from MatildaCooper from Interstellar So evil that all the heroes in the galaxy have to band together against him. (Image: Walt Disney Studios)Whether you have the traditional hero-villain character dynamic, or a non-traditional character rivalry, remember to make full use of the conflict their interactions generate in order to move your story along. By creating complex characters, you will find it much easier to develop an interesting plot and bring your story to life.SummaryIn any story, how can you tell if someone is a protagonist or an antagonist? They are both significant characters, but the easy distinction is that:The protagonist is always the main character, regardless of they are heroic.The antagonist isn't always evil or a villain, simply the character who is in opposition to the protagonist.With that distinction in mind, why not go ahead and create your own characters who are worthy of joining Frodo and Thanos in the pantheon of great protagonists and antagonists?Do you have a favorite protagonist? A favorite antagonist? What are your favorite protagonist vs. antagonist rivalries? Let us know in the comments below!

Risk Management Week3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Risk Management Week3 - Essay Example on that ought to be proactively and effectively managed for a firm to identify and be able to react to new vulnerabilities, emerging threats, and a firm’s continuously changing enterprise operational and architecture atmosphere. Over the years, several security requirements and standards constructions have been developed in an effort to address enterprise systems together with important data inside them. Nonetheless most of these attempts have basically become exercises on just reporting on conformity and have in actuality redirected security programme supplies from the continuously changing attacks that must be dealt with. The Critical Security Control aims first on making it a main concern on security responsibilities that are efficient against the very latest Advanced Targeted Threats that has got a very tough emphasis on â€Å"what actually works†-security controls whereby processes, products, services and architecture are being used and have actually proved real world efficiency. Automation and standardisation is yet a further top main concern, to increase operational competences while at the same time improving efficiency (Hossein, 2006). There are several critical security controls that this paper seeks to address .Some of these include; inventory of unauthorised and authorised devices or software, making sure there is secure configurations for software and hardware on laptops, servers, mobile devices and workstations, continuous vulnerability assessment and remediation, application software security, malware defenses, wireless access control, appropriate training and security assessment to fill in gaps, data recovery capabilities and finally secure configurations for network tools such as routers, switches and firewalls. In the case of inventory of unauthorised and authorised devices, there should be active management (track, inventory and correction) of all hardware devices that are on the network so that it is the only authorised devices that are

Frequency Distribution Graph Statistics Project

Frequency Distribution Graph - Statistics Project Example More so, descriptive statistics establishes the mean, mode and median central tendency useful in measure of variability that includes the minimum and maximum numbers, variance, kurtosis and degree of skewness (Tochim & Donnelly, 2006). Significantly, histogram and frequency distribution graph provides information for finding the central tendency and measure of variability. As a result, descriptive statistics deals with the frequency distributions, average, variability and transformed scores to be plotted in the histogram hence providing pictorial information of the scores. Therefore, it is important to interpret the frequency distributions for the variables and changes in the descriptive statistics. More significantly, descriptive statistics present how scores are centrally inclined and vary within the histogram. As a result, the scores of both genders are represented in the histograms, and a representation of the distribution of the scores is created. In addition, it provides information of each genders mean, mode, median, degree of skewness, kurtosis and minimum and maximum numbers in the scores provided. More extensively, the scores of male remain concentrated around the average point of the curve, most appearing number and the middle number of their scores. As a result, it gives descriptive information on the scores of male that are asymmetrically distributed given that the left side of the polygon is less than the right part hence its asymmetrically distributed. Nonetheless, the females scores are normally distributed because the right side of the polygon is equal distributed with the left as a result, it remains symmetrically distributed. More so, the peak of males score is sharper hence, the kurtosis remains positive. On the other hand, the female scores are distributed normally, and the peak is less sharp hence, the scores are not concentrated around the mean As a result, the scores have been presented based on the

How Human Flaws Hinder Murder Investigations in Murder on the Orient Ex

Agatha Christie once said, â€Å"Crime is terribly revealing. Try and vary your methods as you will, your tastes, your habits, your attitude of mind, and your soul is revealed by your actions† (Christie). The reader may believe this quote goes with her book, Murder on the Orient Express very well and some may believe she used this quote as a thesis for the book. The idea of crime being revealing and the fact that crime is revealed through the actions that are taken suggests that murder is never really anonymous, no matter how hard the murderer tries to cover their tracks. In Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie shows how human flaws hinder murder investigations through making incorrect assumptions, holding onto the past, and cultural stereotyping. First, Poirot, the lead investigator, shows that anyone could have committed the murder because of incorrect assumptions that are made about the passengers. The first assumption that is made is the person that kills Ratchett is a female. His first argument is the way the person stabs makes them a female. As stated in the novel, â€Å"’It is a woman.’ Said the Chef de Train, speaking for the first time. ‘Depend upon it, it was a woman. Only a woman would stab like that’ â€Å" (Christie 52). The second argument made toward gender is the force used makes the murderer a woman. In the novel, Poirot states, â€Å"’She must have been a very strong woman,’ he said. ‘It is not my desire to speak technically—that is only confusing; but I can assure you that one or two of the blows were delivered with such force as to drive them through hard belts of bone and muscle’ â€Å" (Christie 52). Poirot later assumes some of t he blows Ratchett faced are done back-handed, as well as left-handed. He uses... ... where to start, to not knowing whether to side with moral or legal justice. Incorrect assumptions, such as looking at the way a person is stabbed and the force used with the blow can lead investigators in the wrong direction. Another human flaw that hinders murder investigations is holding on to the past. Poirot was disliked by some people on the train because of mistakes that he made in the past, and eventually, his past caught up to him, as he was aboard the Orient Express. Lastly, the cultural stereotyping that took place on the Orient Express proved to be wrong for finding out who committed a murder. Murder on the Orient Express is a novel that shows that anyone can be guilty of committing a crime when you look at the incorrect assumptions, the past and who all it effects and the cultural stereotyping that takes place between certain people.

Midterm essay exam

Q#1: Regarding science and religion, what historically has changed? Explain. It is a fact that in history, science and religion are always having conflict with each other. This should not be the scenario since the history had proved that in the Western culture, there were two books entitled The Book of Nature and the Book of Scripture that was believed to be bought created by God. The history of science had been associated with many religious works. During the Middle Ages, there was a time that the Islamic countries had embraced the science of mathematics, and astronomy that was being turned away by the Christian Europe. The scientific teachings were based from the ancient Greek discoveries. The Islamic people consisting of Muslim scholars had done additional developments in the field of scientific teachings. However, in the thirteenth century the Christian Europe again had decided to embrace the scientific heritage. They were commonly called the Christian monks and Christian theologians. In the entire duration of the late Middle Ages and even in the Renaissance period, almost all the scientist was also the people who leads the church. As the history continued in the eighteenth century, more and more men of science were also deep believers of different religions. The church had also begun to take part in influencing the universities and all institutes that promote higher form of teachings. Schools for the trainings to become clergy and other church functionaries were also being established. An essential breakthrough in the seventeenth century which is called the â€Å"scientific revolution† had again involved men from the religious groups who were the great pioneers and founders of the renewed science. Almost all the science founders aimed that they could put harmony in their works in science and their obligations in their religion. Not until the start of the nineteenth century, this was the common thought of the scientist. The start of the nineteenth century up to these days had marked a notable change in the history of science and religion. The warfare for science and religion had started with the revolutionary book Charles Darwin entitled â€Å"On the Evolution of Species by Means of Natural Selection†. Many scientists had several views that pertain to the thought that religion is a great threat to science which was carried until these days (Faith and Reasons, 2007). Q#2: Discuss the importance of the circle as a symbol for indigenous religions. Circle as a symbol for the indigenous religions refers to the sacred space. The sacred space describes a magical ritual. The magical ritual is a practice that is being utilized in the Ritual Magic and In Wicca. The magical ritual came from the practices of the medieval magic and witchcraft. This symbol was shared by most of the folk magicians in many countries. The temple of initiation which is circular simply means that it is a representation of the universe is the main point of the Zoroasteric mysteries of Persia. In the circular temple there is a sun located in the east which is also represented as a circle that symbolizes the universe. A celebration in Athens termed as the great mysteries of Eleusis indeed given points that the circle is the symbolism for the universe. According to one of the officers from St. Chrysostom, the circular figure represented the sun. Moreover, in the Egyptian mysteries of Osiris also contains the sun as referred to the representation of the universe. They have this so called Sun-god who appeared into the Earth in the sun’s settings. The temple of initiation of the Celtic mysteries of Druids is also an oval or a circle. It is an oval because the circular temple of initiation represents the routinary egg which symbolizes the earth. Some temples of initiation of the Celtic mysteries is also circular aside from being oval because for them, the circular figure was the symbol of the universe. The temple of initiation sometimes is also built following the cruciform. The reason of the cruciform is that it represents the reference to the four elements. The four elements are commonly termed as the components of the universe. The use of the circle as an important symbol for the indigenous religions had only proven the many uses of the circle in the ancient times. Moreover, the many uses of the circle had also proven its universality as an important symbol in the ancient times (Emick, 2007). Q#3: What is the foundational core of Buddhist teachings? Explain. Buddhism is known to be a dharmic religion. It is also regarded as a philosophy. It is commonly known as the Buddha Dharma or the Dhamma. Buddha Dharma signifies the â€Å"teachings of the awakened one†. It was founded by Siddharta Gautama around the fifth century BCE. Siddharta Gautama was referred to as â€Å"The Buddha†. Siddharta Gautama had introduced the Four Noble Truth that was considered to be the fundamental core of the Buddhist teachings. The Four Noble Truth was a way for them to attain the bodhi and the termination of pain and suffering or what is commonly called the Nirvana. The first noble truth of the Buddhist teaching is the Dukkha. Dukkha is called the noble truth of suffering. The noble truth of suffering is a part of all the stages in the life of a person. Since birth until the death of a Buddhist, he experience suffering. Moreover, Buddhism principles are also centered with suffering. Sufferings in the life of a Buddhist include sufferings during his birth and aging. Having a disease or illness is also part of the Buddhist sufferings. The second noble truth is called the Samudaya which means that the sufferings in the first noble truth are solely caused by desire. The result of the sufferings is simply explained by the Samudaya. Expectations that are linked to the desires of a believer and most especially the attachment of the believer to the desires are the ones that explain the Samudaya (Boddhi, 2000). Nirodha is the third noble truth. It symbolizes the termination of suffering. As the sufferings had ended and were being forgotten by the Buddhist, these means that the understanding of the right meaning of the Nirodha had been inculcated in him. And in order for the believer to entirely forget and free himself from a suffering, he must be able give up and surrender the pains he had gone through. The forth and the final noble truth is the termination of the desires or what is called as the Magga. In order for the believer to get rid of his desires he must follow the Eightfold Path. The Noble Eightfold Path consists of the right view, right intention, right speech and right action. Right livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration are also included in the Noble Eightfold Path (Yamamoto, 2000). Q#4: What was the role of the Temple for ancient Judaism? According to the book of Chronicles, the First Temple was built in the 10th century BCE. This was built by King Solomon for seven years to replace the Tabernacle of Moses and the Tabernacles of Shiloh, Nov and Givon. These Tabernacles were also once the center point for the Jewish faith. The First Temple had symbolized the center of ancient Judaism. For the entire millennium, the First Temple had continued to be the central point for all the services done by the Jewish. As time had passed, the First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586. After seventy years, it was again built by Cyrus the Great in 516 BCE. The temple had been the Second Temple. There are many roles of the in the ancient Judaism. During the time when the course of the bible of Hebrews was being carried out, the temple serves to be the place for offerings. The offerings include the daily and the morning ones. Offerings done on Shabbat and Jewish holidays which are considered special for the Hebrews were also celebrated in the Temple. During the course of the offerings, there will be a certain time when the Levites recite psalms. Psalms such as the Psalm of the Day and special psalms for the new month are the ones recited by the Jewish. The temple for the ancient Judaism is meant to be the model and recreation of the Garden of Eve. That is the reason while the courtyards of the Temple contained plenty of trees, flowers and fountains (Stager, 2000). For the Jewish, the temple is viewed as central or the focal point wherein rituals are done. It was then considered to be the only place wherein the creation of contact between men, women and the higher spheres were done.   It is the place considered to be the eternal dwelling place for the Jewish in order for them to do contact with the powers above them. Moreover, it was also a place which they believed the place where their gods have crossed in order to surpass their celestial environment to be able to descend on earth (Nibley, 1992). References: Bhikkhu Bodhi (2000). â€Å"The Collected Discourses of the Buddha: A new translation of the Samyutta Nikaya†. Somerville: Wisdom Publications. Retrieved July 27, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Noble_Truths#_ref-1   Emick, Jennifer. (2007). Your Guide to Alternative Religion. The New York Times Company. Retrieved July 27, 2007 from http://altreligion.about.com/library/texts/bl_symbolismfreemasonry17.htm Faith and Reasons. (2007). History of Science and Religion. Retrieved July 27, 2007 from http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/intro/histo-frame.html Mackey, Albert. (2007). The Symbolisms of Free Masonry. The New York Times Company. Retrieved July 27, 2007 from http://altreligion.about.com/library/texts/bl_symbolismfreemasonry17.htm Nibley, Hugh W. (1992). The meaning and functions of Temples. Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 4. Macmillan Publishing Company. Retrieved July 26, 2007 from http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/temples/purpose.html Stager, Lawrence. (2006). Garden of Eve. Biblical Archaeology Review. Retrieved July 26, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_in_Jerusalem Yamamoto, Kosho. (2000) The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra in 12 Volumes (Nirvana Publications. Retrieved July 27, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Noble_Truths#_ref-1