Bibliophobia and How to Overcome It

Bibliophobia and How to Overcome It More in Phobias Types Causes Symptoms and Diagnosis Treatment Bibliophobia is an unusual phobia of books. It can be broadly defined as the fear of books, but it also refers to a fear of reading or reading out loud or in public. Many people have only a subset of this phobia, fearing textbooks or historical novels or children’s stories, rather than a fear of all books. Mythophobia, or the fear of legends, can be considered a subtype of bibliophobia if the fear is of those legends that are written down. Metrophobia, or fear of poetry, is another subtype of bibliophobia. The Phobia of Books If you experience bibliophobia, you may have difficulty when forced or encouraged to read. You may fear the stories themselves. Or, even the simple act of reading, holding a book, or being in a library may cause anxious behavior associated with your phobia. If you have learning disabilities or difficulty with reading, then it is natural to be nervous, particularly when reading out loud. It is important to determine and treat the root cause of the phobia. You may have been ostracized in childhood for not reading adequately or forced to read before you were proficient, so the fear is associated with a lack of control over reading material which has created your aversion and resulted in anxiety surrounding books. If you have bibliophobia, you may shake, sweat or cry when having to read. You might go out of your way to avoid reading out loud by sitting in the back of a classroom or even skipping classes altogether. You may try to convince others to read important information to you instead of having to read it yourself. Or you may heavily control your interaction with books or reading environments such as libraries, museums, and other places where reading is an important aspect of the experience. Treatment Because bibliophobia can be extremely life-limiting, causing problems at work and school as well as in personal life, its important that you seek proper treatment. Your doctor or mental health professional will work with you to develop a treatment plan that fits your needs. You will likely be taught new ways of thinking about books, and encouraged to read a few pages at a time within the safety of your therapist’s office. At no time will you be forced to progress at a faster pace than you feel comfortable with. Remember treatment is not a cure, so your best course of action is to continue to expose yourself to books to lessen your anxiety surrounding your fear of books. This continual exposure will help you better overcome your phobia in the long run. Bibliophobia in Popular Culture Although this phobia is rather unusual, it makes an excellent backdrop for certain Halloween events, such as Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights. In Universal’s scenario, for example, a female drama voice coach develops both bibliophobia and  metrophobia, making it difficult or impossible to do her job. The treatment, in horror movie style, is to force the woman to face horrific images contained in a series of twisted fairy tales. This may be a comic way of showing people who are afraid of scary stories, but the fear should be taken seriously because of the consequences of this particular fear.

Beloved, By Toni Morrison, And Frankenstein - 1177 Words

Beloved, by Toni Morrison, and Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, are masterpieces of literature that use different components to criticize society and explore the nature of humankind. Some of the main characters in the novels – Sethe and Beloved, and Victor Frankenstein and the Monster – have intricate relationships based on love, hatred, remorse, and mainly vengeance. The gothic thematic of each novel is demonstrated through elements that explore the setting of most scenes, as well as the nature of human behavior. The characters who were unnaturally brought to life, Beloved and the Monster, serve as catalysts for the development of the narrative, and have profound effects in all remaining characters. In Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved is a character whose identity is primarily unknown. She retains some of her memories, although they are mostly obscure and symbolic. Even though she become increasingly obsessed with Sethe, her true objectives are only later revealed, when Sethe realizes that she is most likely the reincarnation of the daughter she killed to protect from slavery. Beloved uses Sethe’s guilt to subjugate her, she forces her mother to give, and then forfeit, everything she has to her, including her own sanity. â€Å"Beloved didn’t move; said, ‘Do it,’ and Sethe complied. She took the best of everything – first† (Morrison 277). Beloved starts wearing her mother’s clothes and mimicking her behaviors; Beloved becomes the mother, and Sethe the child. â€Å"The bigger Beloved got,Show MoreRelatedHow to Read Lit Like a Prof Notes3608 Words   |  15 Pagesdeath. d. Rain can by symbolic baptism as well—cleanses, washes e. Sometimes the water is symbolic too—the prairie has been compared to an ocean, walking in a blizzard across snow like walking on water, crossing a river from one existence to another (Beloved) f. There’s also rebirth/baptism implied when a character is renamed. 19. Geography Matters†¦ a. What represents home, family, love, security? b. What represents wilderness, danger, confusion? i.e. tunnels, labyrinths, jungles c. Geography can represent

Problems With Sexual Health And Substance Abuse - 1452 Words

Problems with sexual health and substance abuse are prevalent in the New York City area. ). â€Å"Reproductive and sexual health covers a broad range of health needs from adolescence forward, including the reproductive system, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, and fertility. Untreated STDs can lead to serious long-term health consequences† (Healthy people 2020, 2015. An estimated 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are diagnosed each year in the United States; almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24 (Reproductive and Sexual Health, 2015). New York is a city of many cultures; it is difficult to understand how each culture perceives sexual health and sexually transmitted diseases. One thing that I have†¦show more content†¦Adolescents are not only at risk of acquiring deadly or life-long diseases but are also at risk of unintended pregnancy, illicit drug use, and infertility. Another group at high risk of acquiring STDs and HIV/A IDS is the older adult population. The older adult population is at high risk because many older adults are even less knowledgeable about these diseases. Other older adults believe that they have no risk of acquiring sexually transmitted disease because of their age; therefore they do not use protection when engaging in sexual activity. According to Healthy People 2020, some of the factors that affect an individual’s reproductive and sexual health decision-making are determined by social norms, access to health care, educational attainment, age, income, place of living, insurance status, sexual orientation, and dependency on alcohol and drugs (Reproductive and Sexual Health, 2015). It is important to assess these factors on people at risk for STDs and other sexual/reproductive diseases. Cultural beliefs are another important factor to look at when dealing with people at risk for acquiring these diseases. Assessment is key, and topics related to sexual health are sometimes hard to express. Nurses must convey trust and a caring affection for individuals to open their feelings and trust health care providers, especially when talking about sexual health. In 2012, 71% of New York residents newly diagnosed with HIV were young adults ages

Much Ado About Nothing Essay Free Essays

English Essay The Elizabethan Worldview and Much Ado About Nothing Audrey Hernandez The Elizabethan Era is one of the most fascinating periods in the History of the World. It is named after one of the greatest of the Queens of England – Queen Elizabeth I. It was the era of the very first Theatres in England – William Shakespeare and the globe Theatre and Christopher Marlowe! It also had a very different feel and look to it than we experience nowadays and this is shown in the marriage and wedding customs, recreation, social hierarchy, and how it is a patriarchal society. We will write a custom essay sample on Much Ado About Nothing Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Elizabethan worldview is strongly reflected in Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ set in the 17th century in Messina, a port on the island of Sicily, Italy. In ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ the marriage and wedding customs of the Era was strongly reflected as the play was based around love, betrayal and marriage. Marriages were often arranged so that both families involved would profit. Marriages would be arranged to bring prestige or wealth to the family. Many couples would meet for the very first time on their wedding day, this particular Elizabethan custom usually applied to the nobility but the married or religious life were the only real options for the Elizabethan women. A man was considered to be the head of a marriage, and he had the legal right to chastise his wife. However, it is important to understand what this â€Å"headship† meant. It did not mean, as if often supposed, that the husband was able to command his wife to do anything he pleased, in other words, be a petty tyrant. He was expected to take care of her, make sure she had everything she needed, and most importantly to love her and be a good father to any children they had. After marriage Elizabethan women were expected to run the households and provide children. The law gave a husband full rights over his wife so that she effectively became his property. This is shown in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ where Don Pedro, a nobleman, highly acclaims Claudio to Leonato, the governor of Messina, to wed Leonato’s daughter Hero. Leonato then tells Claudio that he is to wed Hero without her knowing before hand and he freely gives her off after such high praising from Don Pedro. The recreation in the Elizabethan Era included a lot of bloodshed and horror, but the recreation seen in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ was of the more humane kind. It included feasts, banquets, plays, reading of monologues, expressions and playful banter filled with wit, and dancing. This all happened in the Elizabethan Era and is also seen in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ as something highly entertaining. However in actual fact this wasn’t the only thing that people did for entertainment in the Elizabethan Era, they performed more horrendous spectator, blood sports including, bullbaiting, cock fighting, bearbaiting, and hawking. Social hierarchy in the Elizabethan Era had been so significant that it is proposed to be the most vital element in order to understand the history of those days. The highest in the hierarchy was the monarch, which at that time was Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. The second in rank in the hierarchy was held by the nobility who in â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing’ was Don Pedro. They were rich and powerful and owned large households. Third in rank were the gentry, they were the people who owned small parts of land but possessed a substantial amount of wealth, and in the play this would be Leonato. Then there were the merchants who were the tradesmen, shopkeepers, and people who made products for public consumption. They were the citizens. Then there were the Yeomen who owned and used agricultural land for their living. In ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ these people would be ‘The Watch’. After them are the servants, laborers, and peasants. Last there were the indigents, the poor people, and beggars. This is also reflected in â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing’ in the way that the different classes speak. It was a very patriarchal society where women were taught that they were men’s inferiors. The Elizabethans had very clear outlooks of men and women, and in general men were expected to be the workers and women to be housewives and mothers. Women were regarded as â€Å"the weaker sex†, not just in terms of physical strength, but emotionally too. It was believed that women always needed someone to look after them. If they were married, their husband was expected to look after them. If they were single, then their father, brother or another male relative was expected to take care of them. They were not allowed to go to school or university nor could they inherit their father’s titles. Women who suffered most in this period were those like the Queen who did not wish to marry. Tudor society did not have many opportunities open to single women and, following the Reformation, those avenues were even less. Before, women were able to become nuns and look forward to a gratifying life in convents, and perhaps be a Mother Superior one day. But with the Reformation, the convents were closed. Wealthy single women could look forward to being mistress of their estates and have the power in the community that this would bring. For poor women, the only long-term â€Å"occupation† really open to them was domestic service. It was not surprising that most women married. Marriage was seen as the desirable state for both men and women. This was shown in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ as Beatrice was looked upon as a woman who will never be a proper wife to a man as she has too much power in her self even though they find her way with words humorous. It is also shown when we see the women amongst themselves, contrasting to how they act when they are in male company. They do not act out as much as they would have and act more prim and proper. The physical and mental weakness views of the women are shown, as the death of Hero, from being so accused, is not taken as a surprise. In conclusion the Elizabethan worldview is strongly reflected in Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, through many different ways and has clearly shown that the worldview then is much different now. Although the Elizabethan period was filled with elegance, charm, and extreme wealth, it was also a time of great pain, betrayal and poverty that Shakespeare has portrayed to us evidently through ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. How to cite Much Ado About Nothing Essay, Essay examples

World Civilization Essays - Windows Games, Cultural Anthropology

World Civilization What are the major defining characteristics of a civilization? How has the defining characteristics of a civilization in the past been evolved to better people's lives today? Many factors have been used to develop a civilization. Some have been more effective than others have. Throughout this paper, I plan on analyzing the factors that perennial civilizations before our time used to become effective and prosperous. I will also describe what factors they had and how some of those factors became very important to today?s society. Most of the perennial civilizations have been revolutionized throughout the years to enhance the way of life even today. Many people have debated if civilization was evolutionary or passed down progressively with people learning from their mistakes. Some people claim other reasons for civilization to be far greater than the others. Other people claim that all of the reasons in the coming about of civilization played a balance part . I really don't know which reason were more influential than the others, but I do know that all these ?theories? are hard to be proven flawless. Civilization represents the highest level of human organization. But, how did civilization get to be the impressive and astonishing way it is today? I will use the most prominent civilizations of the past to evaluate what the important characteristics were that helped design society as it is today and made the evolution process of civilization smoothly and successful. I will use Article #11(written by John Pfieffer, Horizon, fall 1972; Article #9 (written by Jared Diamond, Discover, June 1994); and Article #39 (written by David Landes, History Today, January 1984) to shed light on my topic. Article #11, How Man Invented Cities, talked about the rise of urbanizations in civilizations. Webster defines civilization as a relatively high level of cultural and technological development and/or the culture characteristic of a time or place. Many people use the word civilization to mean ?urbanization? or ?sophistication?. The word is often applied to one's own group; by implication, other groups are denigrated as less civilized or as civilized barbarians. Pfieffer depicted urbanization, a key to prominent civilizations, as unplanned and a rose from a combination of population pressures and plentiful local food resources. This theory is very logic. It might have been very coincidental, but it was a very significant and important coincidence in the world of civilizations. The transition from nomadic life to urbanization took a mere five or six millenniums, practically overnight on the evolutionary time scale. It occurred so swiftly and widespread that man hardly had a chance to get use to it, but they were able to handle it and make the best of it. Urbanization gave people a chance to interact with each other, unlike the previous nomadic lives in tribes. This made people working together a more important role, in contrast to everyone taking care of themselves in early civilizations. Trade, agriculture and other commerce ignited monopolies due to the rise of urbanization. The rise of urbanization brought change that people accepted because everyone, especially society, wants to be ?civilized?. Most of the time society i s misguided, but in this situation society played an important role in establishing urbanization and the rise of civilization with civilized people. Most importantly urbanization led to communication. Even though the communication was nothing close to today's communication with technology, but it was based on literacy. In Article #9, Writing Right, literacy is considered one of the hallmarks of civilization. Without the craving for civilization (people wanting to be civilized), literacy would have never came to part. ?Civilized? people have always considered literacy as division between themselves and barbarians. This perception is used even in today's society because it has been passed down in different forms with the same meaning as it did years before. When you see someone that doesn't look educated, you look down upon him or her as if you were superior to them. Most written language reflects the precise reflection of the speech of the language, while others (like English) are a complete mess. Jared Diamond, the author of this article, even poses the question: Is this alphabetical evolution or just the unequal application of l ogic to literacy? Personally, I think that

Free Essays on Dulce Et Decorum Est

Dulce et Decorum Est When this assignment was given I was not sure which piece of literature was my favorite. I looked at the titles on the syllabus and I remembered how much I enjoyed â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† written by Wilfred Owen. After reading â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† the first time I found it immediately appealing. This poem grabbed my attention more than any of the other selections we have read thus far, making it my favorite. This is unusual to me because ordinarily I don’t like poetry or so I thought. There are a few characteristics of this poem that make it appealing to me. First and for-most is the graphic imagery that Owen brings to life. I haven’t before read such amazing descriptions as the ones found in this poem. Next, the topic of war caught my attention. Finally the message he relays in his poem. His message is that it is a lie to think that dieing for ones country is â€Å"sweet and fitting.† This entire piece is full of vivid descriptions of war, specifically World War I. This first line paints a stunning picture of the soldier, â€Å"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks.† After reading that line I can clearly see what the soldiers looked like marching with the great weight of their packs forcing them to hunch over. Owen further describes the men by saying that they â€Å"All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue.† This again lets me visualize the movements and appearance of the troops. Next he brilliantly describes a scene where gas has just exploded near his group. He says that there was an â€Å"ecstasy of fumbling† to get the masks on in time. However, there was someone who didn’t get his mask on soon enough and he was â€Å"flound’ring like a man in fire.† I can’t imagine that scene being described any better. Then Owen describes himself looking through â€Å"misty panes† and â€Å"think gree n light†. Here he is giving a description of what it was like to look through the ... Free Essays on Dulce et Decorum Est Free Essays on Dulce et Decorum Est Dulce et Decorum Est When this assignment was given I was not sure which piece of literature was my favorite. I looked at the titles on the syllabus and I remembered how much I enjoyed â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† written by Wilfred Owen. After reading â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† the first time I found it immediately appealing. This poem grabbed my attention more than any of the other selections we have read thus far, making it my favorite. This is unusual to me because ordinarily I don’t like poetry or so I thought. There are a few characteristics of this poem that make it appealing to me. First and for-most is the graphic imagery that Owen brings to life. I haven’t before read such amazing descriptions as the ones found in this poem. Next, the topic of war caught my attention. Finally the message he relays in his poem. His message is that it is a lie to think that dieing for ones country is â€Å"sweet and fitting.† This entire piece is full of vivid descriptions of war, specifically World War I. This first line paints a stunning picture of the soldier, â€Å"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks.† After reading that line I can clearly see what the soldiers looked like marching with the great weight of their packs forcing them to hunch over. Owen further describes the men by saying that they â€Å"All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue.† This again lets me visualize the movements and appearance of the troops. Next he brilliantly describes a scene where gas has just exploded near his group. He says that there was an â€Å"ecstasy of fumbling† to get the masks on in time. However, there was someone who didn’t get his mask on soon enough and he was â€Å"flound’ring like a man in fire.† I can’t imagine that scene being described any better. Then Owen describes himself looking through â€Å"misty panes† and â€Å"think gree n light†. Here he is giving a description of what it was like to look through the ... Free Essays on Dulce Et Decorum Est A Glimpse of â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† Through vivid imagery and compelling metaphors â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† gives the reader the exact feeling the author wanted. The poem is an anti-war poem by Wilfred Owen and makes great use of these devices. This poem is very effective because of its excellent manipulation of the mechanical and emotional parts of poetry. Owen's use of exact diction and vivid figurative language emphasizes his point, showing that war is terrible and devastating. Furthermore, the utilization of extremely graphic imagery adds even more to his argument. Through the effective use of all three of these tools, this poem conveys a strong meaning and persuasive argument. To have a better understanding of the poem, it is important to understand some of Wilfred Owen’s history. Owen enlisted in the Artists’ Rifles on October 21st 1915. He was eventually drafted to France in 1917. The birth of Owen’s imagery style used in his more famous poems was during his stay at Craiglockhart War Hospital, where he met Siegfried Sassoon (another great war poet). Owen’s new style (the one that was used in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†) embellished many poems between August 1917 and September 1918. On November 4, 1918, Wilfred Owed was killed by enemy machine gun fire as he tried to get his company across the Sambre Canal (Stallworthy). The poem tells of a trip that Owen and his platoon of exhausted soldiers had while they were painfully making their way back to base after a harrowing time at the battle front when a gas shell was fired at them. As a result of this, a soldier in his platoon was fatally gassed. Owen has arranged the poem in three sections, each dealing with a different stage of this experience. He makes use of a simple, regular rhyme scheme, which makes the poem sound almost like a child's poem or nursery rhyme. This technique serves to emphasize the solemn and serious content. In stanza one, Owen describes ... Free Essays on Dulce Et Decorum Est Dulce et Decorum Est Poems are one of the most powerful ways to convey an idea, message or opinion. The poem â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, a war poem by Wilfred Owen, makes effective use of these devices. This poem is very effective because of its use of the mechanical and emotional parts of poetry. Owen’s use of precise diction emphasizes his point, showing that war is a horrible and devastating event. Through figurative language, a poem can give the reader the exact feeling the author had intended. Furthermore, the use of extremely graphic images adds more to his argument. Audience is also an important aspect of writing, and one that Owen considers well in this writing. In addition, the author uses punctuation to create texture in the poem. Through the effectiveness of these five tools, this poem expresses strong meaning and persuasive argument of the dark side of war and is an excellent example of powerful writing. The author’s use of excellent diction helps to clearly define what the author is saying. (Fulwiler and Hayakawa 163) Powerful verbs like â€Å"guttering†, â€Å"choking†, and â€Å"drowning† not only show how the man is suffering, but that he is in a great deal of pain that no human being should endure. Other words like â€Å"writhing† and â€Å"froth-corrupted† hint to exactly how the man is being tormented by his enemy, as well as himself. The phrase â€Å"blood shod† forces the image of men who have been on their feet for days, never stopping to rest long enough to recuperate. One can almost feel the pain of the men whose feet have not gotten a rest from the heavy boots they wear. Some of the boots are torn and worn, and some of the men have no boots at all. Frostbite. Gangrene. Amputate. All possible words they might hear. If they live long enough to find out. Also, the fact that the gassed man was â€Å"flung† int o the wagon reveals the urgency and responsibility that accompanies fighting: there is no t... Free Essays on Dulce Et Decorum Est An Analysis of Imagery in Wilfred Owen’s â€Å"Dulce Et Decorum Est† We have all seen the movies and read the stories of World War I. They give us an idea of what is what like to fight in a war of that great magnitude. The battles were bloody, horrifying, and ferocious. â€Å"Dulce Et Decorum Est† is a great poem written by war poet Wilfred Owen. It involves a tragic war situation. His imagery gives detail to what is was like on the battlefield, and also to state what his thought is on the war. In the first two stanzas’s Owen describes how the soldiers are trudging back to camp from battle. The soldiers are fatigued and wounded as they return to the campsite. The men are walking asleep, ignoring the blast of gas shells in the background: Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs And towards are distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind. The way Owen describes the trudge back to camp allows the reader to open their minds to the events that are occurring. This allows them to see the reality that the war was for the soldiers. I believe Owen’s use of these images are aimed at discouraging the thought of war. In the third stanza Owen is describing a gas attack on the soldiers as they are trudging back to camp. Owen describes the soldiers fumbling to get their mask fastened, all but one, a lone soldier. He is struggling to get his mask on but doesn’t get it fastened quickly enough and suffers from the effects of mustard gas: Gas! Gas! Quick boys! -An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, But someone st... Free Essays on Dulce Et Decorum Est Based on the Poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owens The poem is one of the most powerful ways to convey an idea or opinion. Through vivid imagery and compelling metaphors, the poem gives the reader the exact feeling the author wanted. The poem "Dulce et Decorum Est," an anti-war poem by Wilfred Owen, makes great use of these devices. This poem is very effective because of its excellent manipulation of the mechanical and emotional parts of poetry. Owen's use of exact diction and vivid figurative language emphasizes his point, showing that war is terrible and devastating. Furthermore, the utilization of extremely graphic imagery adds even more to his argument. Through the effective use of all three of these tools, this poem conveys a strong meaning and persuasive argument. The poem's use of excellent diction helps to more clearly define what the author is saying. Words like "guttering", "choking", and "drowning" not only show how the man is suffering, but that he is in terrible p ain that no human being should endure. Other words like writhing and froth-corrupted say precisely how the man is being tormented. Moreover, the phrase "blood shod" shows how the troops have been on their feet for days, never resting. Also, the fact that the gassed man was "flung" into the wagon reveals the urgency and occupation with fighting. The only thing they can do is toss him into a wagon. The fact one word can add to the meaning so much shows how the diction of this poem adds greatly to its effectiveness. Likewise, the use of figurative language in this poem also helps to emphasize the points that are being made. As Perrine says, people use metaphors because they say "...what we want to say more vividly and forcefully..." Owen capitalizes greatly on this by using strong metaphors and similes. Right off in the first line, he describes the troops as being "like old beggars under sacks." This not only says that they are tired, but that they are so tired... Free Essays on Dulce Et Decorum Est Interpretive Essay on â€Å"Dulce Et Decorum Est† By Wilfred Owen â€Å"In October 1917 Wilfred Owen wrote to his mother from Craiglockhart, ‘Here is a gas poem, done yesterday†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.the famous Latin tag means of course it is sweet and meet to die for ones country. Sweet! And decorous!’† {1} Wilfred Owens poem â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† is a magnificent and stirring description of a gas attack suffered by a group of soldiers in World War I. Inspired by the author’s first hand experience, the poem’s grim description is especially moving. The title is ironic, as the work goes on to communicate the ridiculousness of the old Latin saying from the perspective of a soldier. The poem is composed of four stanzas. The first two appear to be in English sonnet form, although the last two are not nearly as structured. The tone from the outset is one of exhaustion and horror. The speaker’s words continually evoke realistic images of the scene before him. Through a combination of similes and metaphors, the author presents powerful literal images of war and artfully communicates the sense of despair with which the witnesses must have been struck. The word selection of the first stanza immediately invokes the realistic visualizations for which the poem owes its impact. â€Å"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge†. The image is one of exhaustion and despair. It is easy for the reader to visualize this scene and the dreadful conditions from the power of the speaker’s description. The reference of old beggars seems so out of place, as these were predominantly young men. What conditions could have made these strong young men appear to the speaker as old beggars? The simile begs the reader to consider the conditions they endured. Visualize these old yet young men cursing through the sludge. A sense of monotony is evident with the use of the wo...

How to Read Shakespeare Dialogue Aloud

How to Read Shakespeare Dialogue Aloud On first sight, Shakespeare dialogue may seem daunting. Indeed, the idea of performing a Shakespeare speech fills many young actors with fear. However, you should remember that Shakespeare was an actor himself and wrote for fellow performers. Forget criticism and textual analysis because everything an actor needs is right there in the dialogue – you just need to know what you’re looking for. Shakespeare Dialogue Every line of Shakespeare dialogue is packed with clues. Everything from the imagery, structure, and use of punctuation is an instruction for the actor - so stop looking at just the words in isolation! Clues in the Imagery Elizabethan theater didn’t rely on scenery and lighting to create a scene, so Shakespeare had to carefully choose language that created the right landscapes and moods for his plays. For example, read aloud this passage from A Midsummer Night’s Dream where Puck describes a place in the forest: I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows,Where oxlips and nodding violet grows. This speech is loaded with words to suggest the dream-like quality of the text. This is a clue from Shakespeare on how to read the speech. Clues in the Punctuation Shakespeares use of punctuation was very different – he used it to signal how each line should be delivered. Punctuation forces the reader to pause and slows down the pace of the text. Lines without punctuation naturally seem to gather momentum and emotional energy. Full stop (.) Full stops naturally bring the sense and energy of the line to a close.Infrequent commas (,)A comma forces a slight pause in delivery to reflect a tiny development or shift in the character’s thought process.For example, read aloud Malvolio’s line from Twelfth Night: â€Å"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.† Did you notice how the commas forced you to pause and split this sentence into three parts?Repetition of commas (,)Commas can also cause a line to gather in emotional intensity. If you see lots of commas together, evenly spaced and splitting the lines into small snappy chunks, then this is Shakespeare’s way of asking you to emotionally invest in the dialogue and build up its rhythmic intensity, as in this example from King Lear: ... No, no, no life!Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life,And thou no breath at all? Thou’it come no more;Never, never, never, never, never.Colon (:) A colon signals that the next line should sound as if it is responding to the previous line, as in Hamlet’s â€Å"To be, or not to be: that is the question.† Do Not Add Punctuation If you’re reading aloud a speech written in verse, you may feel the need to pause at the end of each line. Do not do this unless the punctuation specifically requires you to do so. Try to carry the sense of what you’re saying into the next line and you’ll soon discover the correct rhythm of the speech. You should think of a Shakespeare play as a blueprint for performance. All the clues are there in the text if you know what you’re looking for – and with a little practice, you’ll soon discover that there’s nothing hard about reading Shakespeare’s dialogue aloud.