Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in New Zealand

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes are major health issues for Maori, Pacific and south Asian people. The impacts of these diseases are increasing hospital admissions and readmissions hence increasing with an aging population. (Kaitiaki Nursing, New Zealand, 2013, pg. 20). Diabetes mellitus has been well pronounced as a cardiovascular risk factor in New Zealand and people with diabetes are 2-4 times more likely to suffer from CVD hence is a leading cause of death in diabetic patients (ministry of health, 2011, pg. 2). Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a preventable and reversible condition giving rise to a range of serious complications associated with nerve and blood vessel damage that bring on blindness, limb amputations, kidney disease, and increased risk of infection (Powers, 2005). According to Diabetes New Zealand (2008), people with diabetes increases the risk of developing narrowed, thickened or completely occluded arteries (atherosclerosis) due to an elevated blood sugar level. Insulin resistant diabetes (type 2) or a complete absence of insulin (type 1) increases serum lipid levels as cells try to break down fats and protein to form energy. Lipids are released as the bio-product which then travels in blood increasing the risk for occlusion in blood vessels. Hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance and altered serum lipid levels are responsible for formation of coronary plaque and blood clot in vessels. This leads to health issues such as ischaemic heart disease, stroke, hypertension myocardial infarction etc. (Lewis, 2012, 1388-1389). In New Zealand Maori, Pacific Islanders and South Asians are at a higher risk of developing diabetes, increasing chances of dying of cardiovascular diseases. Modifiable factors such as nutrition, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol consumption and body size influence the risk of getting affected by diabetes and CVD. According to Ministry of Health (2008) diabetes occurs earlier in Pacific and Maori peoples, about 10 years before Europeans which contributes to an increased risk of chronic health conditions and mortality rate. It is appraised that due to demographic trends and projected growth in obesity, the number of diabetes cases will increase and the increase will be greater within the Maori, Pacific, and south Asian populations (Ministry of Health, 2008d). 5% of adults in New Zealand meet the criteria for obesity due to lifestyle, unhealthy nutrition and increased physical inactivity (eg. 42% of Maori and 63. 7% of Pacific peoples meet the criteria for obesity). The New Zealand Medical Journal, 2006 states that Asian new Zealanders especially Indians show a very high percentage of diabetes and CVD which is similar to Maori people (A meratunga, Rasanathan, Tse, 2006). According to the Ministry of Health (2009), more Maori, South Asian and pacific people died from the year 1987- 2006 when compared to non-Maori. Obesity is primarily caused by poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyles (Ministry of Health, 2008e). The New Zealand sport and physical activity surveys (conducted in 1997/98, 1998/99, and 2000/01) by Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC) found that Pacific, Maori and south Asian children had higher levels of inactivity than other groups. Additionally, a healthy diet is a key determinant of health outcomes and is particularly important for the growth and development. With regards to ministry of health (2003), Maori, south Asian and more of pacific people in new Zealand tend to eat more unhealthy food as it came cheaper and children skipped breakfast due to lack of parental supervision. Smoking is seen to be another lifestyle adaptation amongst the New Zealand community and the leading risk factor for many forms of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. More Maori and Pacific individuals’ smoke (45 percent and 31 percent, respectively) compared with the total New Zealand population (20. percent) (Ministry of Health, 2008k). The Youth 2007 Survey found that twice as many Pacific students are regular smokers when compared to European students. Furthermore, level of economic resources available to the pacific and south asian people is another important social determinants of health. Asians generally do not show increased health issues statistically but south Asian particularly Indians are at a very high risk. Despite high levels of disease, Indi an New Zealanders are rarely presumed as a priority group in current diabetes strategies. For example, â€Å"Let’s Beat Diabetes Strategy† by Counties Manukau District Health Board fails to mention Indian people specifically but considers the general Asian population. Another possibility for the disproportionate effect on south Asian and pacific people could be higher levels of unemployment and lower income as a group (ministry of health, 2006). This is partly due to a lack of effective settlement strategies for migrant Asians and pacific people to New Zealand. Lack of employment and difficulties settling into the host community are associated with negative health effects and reduced accessibility to health care facility (Ameratunga, Rasanathan, Tse, 2006). The risk associated with diabetes and cardiovascular disease can be reduced and these conditions only respond well if managed with appropriate care. Evidence proposes that many Pacific individuals are often ignorant of the government services offered to them (Koloto & Associates Ltd, 2007; Paterson, 2004). This demonstrates ineffective communication by health information services and providers. Primarily, nurses need to build a trusting therapeutic relationship via therapeutic communication techniques such as active listening, paraphrasing etc. It facilitates client autonomy, creates a non-judgmental environment and provides the professional with the holistic view of the client for better management. With reference to the case study by Counties Manukau DHB (Ministry of Health, 2011, pg. 6) the diabetic patient (Mr Cooper) found it difficult to follow instructions given by the doctor therefore his diabetes nurse helped him with all the information he needed. He verbalised ‘I learned a lot from the nurse. I learned how serious diabetes is and how it is not going to go away, but also how it is possible to live a normal life if you manage what you eat, etc. ’ This specifies that nurses are the closest health professionals who spends the most time with patients and so can work with the patients in partnership. In order to manage diabetes and CVD effectively (Ministry of health, 2011, pg. 2), it is very important for nurses to educate their patients about the risk factors and what needs to be done to improve early detection and management of diabetes and CVD. Adherence to therapies anticipated to control risk factors such as lipid levels or blood pressure for patients with type 2 diabetes is seen to reduce major cardiovascular complications and increase survival (Barrat, Butow, Caldwell, Davey & Travena, 2006,pg. 13-23) . One probable way to improve patients’ metabolic control is to help them understand the risks of the disease and the likely benefits of available therapy options. Research has shown that information on the potential benefits of improving modifiable risk factors may assist both health professionals and patients in making treatment decision. This may increase patients’ willingness to accept management strategies recommended by their doctors and nurses. In fact, nurses as health educators can use diverse formats (e. g. decision aids, brochures, verbal advice) increasing patients’ knowledge and understanding (Barrat, Butow, Caldwell, Davey & Travena, 2006, 13-23). However, as suggested by the New Zealand Guidelines Group (2003) nurses and other health professionals need to make use of an evidence-based practice in the management of diabetes as well as assessing the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, despite CVD and diabetes assessments being developed, uptake is often low. A possible reason for this is that many Pacific and Maori people do not prioritise health and generally would not seek any help unless they have physical symptoms such as pain or discomfort. With reference to nursing council of New Zealand competency 3. 2 forming partnership with the client and raising awareness for example informing and referring Maori patients about management programmes such as â€Å"Get Checked† which provides free annual check-up for people with diabetes. This programme focuses on physical health, lifestyle and disease management. According to Robson and Harris (2007), Maori enrolment in get checked programme in 2006 was lower than non-Maori. This is a clear indicator of moari people’s lack of knowledge about services being provided. However, nurses as professionals should practice nursing in a very culturally safe manner by acknowledging patients values beliefs and attitude towards health care. For example Maori people believe in â€Å"kanohi te kanohi† meaning face to face communication therefore nurses need to have more in person communication (Reid & Robson, 2007). Nurses should also inform clients about initiatives for example â€Å"one heart many lives† which allows Maori and pacific men to get their hearts checked, improve awareness of heart disease and lifestyle habits. Furthermore, CVD assessment allows an early detection of the number of people being at risk of cardiovascular disease. The sooner it is detected the earlier these issues can be controlled as stated in the document published by the ministry of health (2011). The practice nurse is the key person to co-ordinate care for instance after reviewing a diabetic patient he or she may decide to refer the patient to the dietician. This way the patient is given an efficient holistic care with appropriate information (Kaitiaki Nursing, New Zealand, 2013, pg. 27) Nurses need to collaborate with the clients, agree on patient centered health goals such as promotion, prevention and early management of diabetes and cardiovascular disease by setting achievable and measurable goals. For example, ministry of health national health information Board launched a Shared Care Plan in 2011 which was in response to increasing number of deaths due to poor management of chronic illnesses. This programme aims to improve care of patients by increasing patient involvement (Kaitiaki Nursing, New Zealand, march, 2013, pg. 26). The New Zealand Cardiovascular Risk Chart shows that diabetic people who smoke are at much higher risk of developing CVD when compared to a non-diabetic and non-smoker (New Zealand guidelines Group, 2009). According to Solberg (2006) there is evidence that professional advice given by the health care provider helps patients to quit smoking. Nurses can effectively use the ABC tool provided by the ministry of health (2007) to help patients to quit smoking. Nurses need to inform clients about the advantages of being a non-smoker financially and health wise and provide alternative as to how nicotine replacement therapy helps minimise the urge to smoke. A practice nurse is responsible for most of patients’ assessments and health education, therefore nurses need to understand the standpoint of her patient and what does being healthy means to them. Establishing relationships and understanding their culture and customs. For example food plays a big role in pacific, Maori and south Asian culture. Family involvement in care plan is very important in shaping attitudes and activities as family plays an important role in their lives also explaining the effects of unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle. Nurses should use plain language and ensure the patient and their family understands what changes they need to make and why they need to make them. They should also make sure that the patient and family are fully informed about the care plan and any procedures being done to maximise care (Blakely, 2007). In conclusion it can be said that patients are fully dependant on nurses with regards to any health issues they have. Nurses are the first form of contact to patient in primary and secondary care setting who provides them with accurate information. It is very important for nurses to be aware of the fact that Maori, Pacific and South Asian New Zealander are more proned to diabetes and CVD therefore more emphasis should be given to them. During the assessment nurses should always consider patients socio-economic inequality, access to and quality of health care, and health risk factors such as tobacco, diet, and other lifestyle factors.

The Industrial Revolution and Romanticism

The Industrial Revolution and the Romantic Spirit The Industrial Revolution refers to a series of significant shifts in traditional practices of agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation, as well as the development of new mechanical technologies that took place between the late 18th and 19th centuries in much of the Western world. During this time, the United Kingdom, as well as the rest of Europe and the United States soon after, underwent drastic socio-economic and cultural changes during this time.These changes in part gave rise to the English Romantic spirit, especially in the United Kingdom. During the late 18th century, the United Kingdom's economic system of manual and animal based labor shifted toward a system of machine manufacturing while more readily navigable roads, canals, and railroads for trade began to develop. Steam power underpinned the dramatic increase in production capacity, as did the rather sudden development of metal tools and complex machines for manufac turing purposes.The Industrial Revolution had a profound effect upon society in the United Kingdom. It gave rise to the working and middle classes and allowed them to overcome the long-standing economic oppression that they had endured for centuries beneath the gentry and nobility. However, while employment opportunities increased for common working people throughout the country and members of the middle class were able to become business owners more easily, the conditions workers often labored under were brutal.Further, many of them were barely able to live off of the wages they earned. During this time, the industrial factory was created (which, in turn, gave rise to the modern city). Conditions within these factories were often dirty and, by today's standards, unethical: children were frequently used and abused for labor purposes and long hours were required for work. A group of people in the United Kingdom now as the Ululated felt that industrialization was ultimately inhumane a nd took to protesting and sometimes sabotaging industrial machines and factories.While industrialization led to incredible technological developments throughout the Western world, many historians now argue that industrialization also caused severe reductions in living standards for workers both within the United Kingdom and throughout the rest of the industrialized Western world. However, the new middle and working classes that industrialism had established led to arbitration throughout industrial cultures, drastic population increases, and the introduction of relatively new economic system known as capitalism.The Romantic Movement developed in the United Kingdom in the wake of, and in some measure as a response to, the Industrial Revolution. Many English intellectuals and artists in the early 19th century considered industrialism inhumane and unnatural and revolted?sometimes quite violently?against what they felt to be the increasingly inhumane and unnatural mechanization of modern life. Poets such as Lord Byron (particular in his addresses to the House of Lords) and William Blake (most notably in his poem â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper†) spoke out?and wrote extensively bout?the psychological and social affects of the Sailor URL: http://www. Layer. Org/ courses/engaged/ The Sailor Foundation Sailor. Org Page 1 of 2 newly industrial world upon the individual and felt rampant industrialization to be entirely counter to the human spirit and intrinsic rights of men. Many English Romantic intellectuals and artists felt that the modern industrial world was harsh and deadening to the senses and spirit and called for a return, both in life and in spirit, to the emotional and natural, as well as the ideals of the pre-industrial past. Sailor URL: http://www. Sailor. Org/courses/engaged/ Page 2 of 2

Catcher in the Rye Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Catcher in the Rye - Essay Example But while they are too busy fooling around with each other, the ship is heading towards a disaster that the world will never forget. The story kind of reminds me of Jane. She and I used to always hang out. We were not in love, but there was something there. Then she had to go and date Stradlater. I am the Jack to Jane’s Rose – the lowly one that deserves her more. The movie was too long and too phony. The director would have done everyone some good if he had cut the pointless stuff from it. The modern storyline was too bizarre for my own taste. All of the flashbacks, and the scenes jumping from the past to the present and back again irritated me a bit, to tell ya the truth. It became confusing after a while. Have an over-the-hill Rose retell her phony story of love and lies while a treasure seeker explores the wreckage of the ship is a nice touch, but only distracted me from the actual plot of the movie. And how Jack’s chalk drawing would last almost a year a century under water is beyond me. I swear to God that is should have been washed into pieces years ago; clearly water was able to get into the safe, but it does not make sense that the only damage was by a few drops of water, ya know? The last few scenes seemed to drag on a little too long. No kidding. It had nothing to do with the amount of detail, but with the amount of goddam stupidity between Rose and Jack. I think it is stupid when they make a scene longer than it has to be when they could just cut out all of the pointless stuff. It would have made me less bored. The special effects were the best part of the goddam movie, to tell ya the truth, and the music was pretty damn good. It was not a great movie - good, but not the best thing around. The romance between Cal, Rose, and Jack was phony; Rose did not seem to know what she was doing and Cal seemed more interested in beating the crap out of Jack than actually saving his pathetic relationship with

Interprofessional team working in healthcare delivery Essay - 1

Interprofessional team working in healthcare delivery - Essay Example Mutual team work and collaborative care have rapidly improved the health care operations and service delivery in many health care centers (Barrett and keeping, 2005, p. 40). Inter-professional team work is very effective in improving the patient health safety and heath care services (Barrett and keeping, 2005, p. 40). Inter-professional team work has reduced the backlog and burn out associated with inadequate health professionals (Barrett and keeping, 2005, p. 40). Inter-professional team work is also responsible of reducing the professional workloads and patient morbidity (Department of health 2010, p. 324). With effective inter-professional team work in health care institutions, health care professionals enjoy job satisfaction. Patient and patient caretakers need to be involved squarely in the treatment process (Zwarenstein 2008, p. 67). Their ideas and opinions are excitedly valuable and relevant in the diagnosis and treatment process (Barrett and keeping, 2005, p. 40). The core purpose of selecting the Tom case is to expound on the dangers associated with lack of inter-professional team work in the healthcare setting. The case portrays some of the very sensitive ethical and legal issues which should be the base line in designing professional legislations and policies (Cohen 2007, 340). The 20 years old Tom died out of aspiration pneumonia and reflux oesophagistis. The disease was diagnosed long time ago and measures to rectify the problem recommended. The entire concerned professionals in the hospital were not committed and willing to take prompt actions on the Toms’ health condition .The parent (Tom’s parents) concern over Tom’s pain was not listened to by the relevant health professionals. Tom was also infected with multiple learning disabilities which forced him to attend a special school. In the school, the parents raised concern over their child future but no action was taken by the school administration. The reluctance of the health professionals and the school to cooperate with Tom’s parent raised some ethical and legal issues. Ethical and Legal Issues There are several health ethical principles that are relevant in Tom’s case (Glasby 2007, p. 78). To start with, the main obligation of the health care professionals in Tom’s case was purely to protect his health and life (Prescott 2006, p 90). In this case, the hospital professionals never complied with their core obligation. According to the Department of health (2006, p. 69), under this ethical principle, the health profes

International Involvement Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Involvement Paper - Essay Example In principle, each state must mind its own business and must respect the business of other independent states. However, in practice, this was not as easy as it seemed because these states related to each other in matters of commercial, political, cultural or humanitarian interests. Pickett (p. 13-14) added that the educational training and mental biases of historians of international relations affected their analysis of how America’s government behaved during the period. Pickett’s short article covered the whole period from the success of the American Revolution in the late 18th century to the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 20th century. Having gained independence from England, the young American state continued to be concerned with the matter of how to guarantee its survival against European nations that were always intent on imperialism or the expansion of their respective empires through conquest. Newly independent from imperialist England, America faced a quandary throughout most of the nineteenth century that touched on the young state’s conscience: since conquest meant having to go against the freedom of other peoples and their governments, how could America justify its involvement in international affairs that may involve going to war? Pickett (1992, p. 14) cited the importance of the Monroe Doctrine as â€Å"the first and – in the nineteenth century – the most important American diplomatic principle. Through the Doctrine the United States first asserted interests in the Western Hemisphere.† The Monroe Doctrine, based on an 1823 Congressional address by President James Monroe, called for U.S. indifference to European affairs and for European powers not to interfere in the Western Hemisphere or the Americas. Thus, until the late nineteenth century, America’s policy was not to engage other nations, i.e., to be internationally isolationist. Several events in the

My intrest of studing Computer science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My intrest of studing Computer science - Essay Example l out of trend and is constantly required in further enhancing technology for various aspects of living, I have decided to obtain mastery of the course as applied to my recent undertakings in medical physics. Beginning with the fundamental concepts of matter, energy, and motion, I am fascinated with the truth that physics has never ceased to be explored and applied in several ways. It brings to recognition how the study of space-time quantum relations can be of huge support in medical studies that is why I would like to proceed on a higher endeavor to see how else and to what extent natural science may find great relevance in the field of medicine. Despite the state of economy and society in the modern times, I understand the growing demands which the health industry ought to meet in order to save and improve human lives. At a point in time in the future, thus, I hope to be designated in a professional career by which my potentials can be made capable of reaching out to people whose illnesses could be neurophysiologic in nature for this is one such major concern medical physics is amply into. On this ground, I desire to pursue graduate studies in computer science, believing that this wou ld enable me to acquire pertinent knowledge and skills in conducting my research of interest on physical medical computing area. With physical medical computing, I am confident that there is much learning to deal with in terms of analytical work with software systems to enable programming of physical medical operations. This I foresee might involve a number of sensing and controlling tasks from which to discover appropriate measures of cure to be administered over a range of sensitive neurological cases for instance. Thus, in the process of earning a master’s degree in computer science, I look forward to being able to access rich academic resources, brilliant faculty staff, and up-to-date technology-based facilities which I strongly believe the institution can provide with

Mock Interview with Edward Snowden Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mock Interview with Edward Snowden - Assignment Example Throughout my working, I have learned our government is doing the exact opposite of what it purports to do in our name. Edward Snowden: I have worked thought in security settings, and more particularly in the settings of information security. I can assure you what the government is doing against you against the law the very laws it is supposed to protect are a lot. They pretend to be following the law, protecting your security, your privacy and working for the interest of the nation when in actual sense they are just working for their interests. They intercept all your telephone conversations; your activity on social media is spied on in the name of national security including your very private pictures yet the law protects the privacy of every individual. I thought things would change when President Barrack Obama was elected but to my shock, whistleblowers have been prosecuted at an alarming rate in this administration. It came to my realization that I was just part of the harm and nothing was going to happen to make the truth known unless I acted myself on what I strongly believe in. My experience o f what our government is doing against us and other people the world over informs and more especially my stint in Geneva strongly informed my decision to do at least something. Interviewer: Do you ever ponder the fact that it was actually wrong to release the documents and circulate them against our employer and government? Didn’t you think you were betraying and actually sabotaging? Edward Snowden: One may want to look at it the same way you are doing but for me, it was a bigger picture. A strong belief in the rule of law, the right to privacy as envisaged in America’s own constitution and equality for all are principles dear to my heart. I worked shortly in the military, at the CIA, NSA, and for private companies.  

The Delivery of Health Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Delivery of Health Services - Essay Example As a matter of fact, more detailed results and information on the progress of the patient's state of health and response to medication can be obtained through telecommunication between the patient and the healthcare provider based at the hospital. More interestingly is the fact that there is available telemonitoring software that can automatically relay information to the medical attendant since such software always enables the healthcare provider to remain in touch with the patient. Depending on what kind of response the health care provider obtains from the patient of from the software following monitoring of patient's progress from diagnostic devices fixed on the patient, the medical attendant can comfortably make an informed decision on the type of medication to administer. The doctor may, therefore, decide to administer the treatment during the next time that the patient reports to the hospital (Newman et al., 2012). Precisely, some of the parameters that are monitored by the telemonitoring devices previously mentioned include the heart rate, blood pressure in the case of either hypertension or hypotension, the level of glucose in the blood, weight of the patient and the status of hemoglobin among others. So long as the patient undergoing diagnosis has the diagnostic devices properly fixed on the specific anatomical locations, it is very possible to monitor changes in vital signs by the healthcare provider at the hospital while the patient comfortable settles at home.

Evaluation of Shylock as a Tragic Hero Essay Example for Free

Evaluation of Shylock as a Tragic Hero Essay We Are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust by Jacob Boas Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the Holocaust by Milton Meltzer Hiding to Survive: Stories of Jewish Children Rescued from the Holocaust by Maxine B. Rosenberg Parts of the Book Report: Title Page Actual Book Report Contents of Book Report: 1. Discuss the setting of the book. 2. Give a summary of the book by discussing the real persons/peoples life/lives. 3. Discuss the character/persons traits and support them with examples from the book. 4. Discuss the theme the message of the book and some interesting facts you learned from this book. 5. Give your opinion of the book. Include the answers to the following: *How would you rate the book? Why? *What part of the book affected you and in what way? *Do you think the book gave an honest account of the personOs life? *Do you admire any of the people in the book? Why? Book Report: Fiction Kriss War by Carol Matas Lisas War by Carol Matas Parts of the Book Report: Title Page Actual Book Report Contents of Book Report: 1. Discuss the setting of the book. 2. Give a summary of the book by discussing the real persons life. 3. Discuss the main characters traits and support them with examples from the book. 4. Discuss the theme the message of the book. 5. Give your opinion of the book. Include the answers to the following: *How would you rate the book? Why? *What part of the book affected you and in what way? *Do you think the book gave an honest account of a persons life during the Holocaust? Hint: Follow guide sheets for book report for the four elements of a book; there is one more thing added this time your opinion.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles Essay Example for Free

Hybrid Electric Vehicles Essay Hybrid cars are thought to be the vehicle of the future, with increasing emphasis being put on cutting carbon footprints and protecting the planet. Not long ago Hybrid cars were the preserve of the particularly eco-conscious, but they have now made their way into the mainstream. Most major motoring brands offer Hybrids with models like the Toyota Prius, the Honda CR-Z and the Lexus CT proving popular. They work by combining a fuel engine with electric batteries, which reclaims energy when the car brakes or converts energy from the petrol in the fuel engine. However, more manufacturers are developing plug in Hybrids, which offer the option to recharge more powerful batteries through a common household electricity socket. Hybrids are environmentally friendly One main reason drivers opt for a Hybrid over a standard car is that they want to cut the impact their motoring has on the environment. These motors are more eco-friendly as they encompass two engines a traditional gasoline engine and an electric motor and batteries which work together to cut fuel consumption. This makes them the car of choice for motorists who are environmentally conscious and know that opting for a gas guzzler will have a negative impact on the environment. They also have a lower running cost In tough economic times when the cost of car insurance and petrol is rocketing, people will do anything to keep the cost of their car maintenance down. Investing in a Hybrid is one way to do this. Thanks to the two-engine system Hybrid drivers will use around half of the petrol or diesel, making for fewer pricey trips to the gas station. You get road tax breaks In an effort to encourage people to be eco-friendly in their motoring practices, the government is encouraging people to drive a Hybrid by giving them road tax breaks. Depending on the carbon emissions of their particular car, drivers will either pay less road tax or none at all. Hybrids are expensive to buy in the first place While you might save on running costs, Hybrid cars tend to cost more than their equivalent gas guzzling counterparts. However, the difference tends to stand at around ? 1,000 to ? 2,000, meaning that it is very possible to make your money back in the long run. Some people are concerned about the batteries Hybrids utilise batteries and some people are worried about the toxicity of these. However, todays models use NiMH batteries rather than the environmentally difficult nickel cadmium ones. Furthermore, these battery packs are designed to last for the lifetime of the vehicle. New parts and servicing can be inconvenient and expensive. Due to the innovative technology utilised in Hybrid cars, mechanics at traditional garages do not have the expertise to fix them should something go wrong. This means that Hybrid owners need to take their motor back to the dealer for servicing. In no way should they attempt to fix the problem themselves as there is a risk of electrocution. Whats more, because Hybrids are newer and rarer getting hold of new parts can be an expensive process, which can make maintenance on the car more expensive than with an older motor.

Historiography of Irish Nationalism

Historiography of Irish Nationalism Discuss how the historical debates of the Irish Revolution 1916-23, reflect the evolution of Irish Historiography since 1920s, 1930’s, 40s 50s 60s etc There have been and remain various historical debates concerning the Irish Revolution of 1916-23 that reflect the evolution of Irish Historiography in the following decades. Historical debates have attempted to discuss, explain and evaluate the Irish Revolution from different perspectives that have altered in the light of contemporary events and opinions as well as the evolution of Irish Historiography. The main perspectives of the historical debates outlined below will relate to the main actors during the Irish Revolution, the British government plus the Police and the Army, the Ulster Unionists and finally the Irish Nationalist and Republican movements. All played a part in either promoting or resisting the Irish Revolution, their roles having been opened to historical scrutiny and evolution in Irish Historiography or when apt other sources. Historical debates have tended to concentrate on the causes of the Irish Revolution, whether it was a success or a failure and whether it coul d have been defeated. Historical debates have not remained the same over the decades; the passing of time can change people’s opinions of historical events. As people that lived through the Irish Revolution grew older and started to die out their viewpoints have been passed down the generations sustained as much by myth as by an understanding of events. The Irish Revolution in a relatively short period of time came close to ending several centuries of English or British involvement in Ireland. Britain in 1916 despite the strains of fighting in the First World War was the world’s foremost Imperial power, it seemed unlikely that it could lose the whole or the majority of Ireland when it ruled a quarter of the globe. However the First World War altered many things and gave those that wished for an Irish Revolution opportunities that had not arisen before (Schama, 2002, pp.447-48). The desire for Irish independence was nothing new to the period of the Irish Revolution. There had been serious rebellions in the 1590’s, 1642 and 1798 yet none of them had succeeded in England and later British rule. The nationalist and republican cause was helped by the myths about those heroic failures. The Ulster Unionist were on the other hand reinforced in their determination to remain part of the United Kingdom by the myths surrounding th eir successful resistance of James II before the Battle of the Boyne (Wilson, 1989, p.3). Not only did being British protect their Protestant religion it also provided economic markets for their linen and work for the Belfast shipyards (Mulholland, 2002 p 15). Ireland was and remains divided by two different visions of nationality that conjure up heated debate on the ongoing political situation as well as providing the spur for historical debate about the Irish Revolution and other key events in Irish history. The partition that followed in the wake of the Irish Revolution seemed to intensify the divide between both states in Ireland (Fitzpatrick, 1998, p.4). Ireland had formally become part of the United Kingdom with the 1801 Act of Union yet Irish Nationalists and R had either wanted to gain concessions from Westminster or cede from the Union completely. Moderate Irish Nationalists had campaigned tirelessly for Home Rule. Gladstone had not been able to deliver yet Asquith had finally got the Home Rule legislation passed in 1914. However that provoked resistance from the Ulster Unionists, the outbreak of the First World War put Home Rule on ice (Kennedy-Pipe 1998, pp. 10-11). Whilst the Irish Nationalists fought for Britain alongside Ulster Unionists, Irish Republicans aimed to launch revolution whilst the war continued. Moderate Irish Nationalists died in their thousands on the war front whilst the Irish Revolution started by the military naà ¯ve yet politically potent Easter Rising of April-May 1916. The suppression of the Easter Rising and the execution of some of its ringleaders proved a recruiting boom for Sinn Fein and the IRA (Carver, 1998, pp.138-39). Those that started the Irish Revolution were fighting for a united Irish republic whilst the British government was determined not to give in to terrorists. The British government would if pushed agree to the partition of Ireland whilst for the Irish republic compromising with the British government caused a dilemma and had caused much historical debate since. Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins represented Sinn Fein/IRA in the peace talks with the British government accepted a partitioned Ireland a nd the forming of the Irish Free State, a dominion rather than a republic. Pragmatists saw it as the best deal available whilst more hard line republicans saw it as a betrayal of everything they believed and fought for. Divisions over the peace treaty resulted in civil war in the Irish Free State, with more summary executions than the British had carried out since 1916 (Moody Martin, 2001, p.273). David Lloyd George is said to have threatened sending British Army reinforcements to persuade Griffith and Collins to accept partition (Jenkins, 2001,p.364). Both sides realised that the brutal fighting caused by the Irish Revolution would not produce a total victory for either side. The British Army reckoned that only a garrison 250,000 in strength could ensure crushing the Irish Revolution, not a feasible option for a war weary and financially stretched country (Carver, 1998, p.147). The consequences of the Irish Revolution produced much historical debate most noticeably from those with a national or republican perspectives for much of the 1920s and 1930s there was debate about whether the IRA/ Sinn Fein and the Irish Free State should have carried on fighting for a united Ireland. However the brutal fighting of the Irish Revolution meant that many ordinary wanted peace not more bloodshed. With hindsight Griffith and Collins return from Downing Street with dominion status was probably the best result for them, yet it sparked off civil war (Moody and Martin, 201 p. 258). During the 1960s and 1970s Irish Nationalists and Republicans in Northern Ireland tried different approaches for achieving their different objectives. The Nationalists formed a civil rights movement similar to the Black movements in the US yet the methods were also constitutional like those of the Home Rule movements that had their dreams of a peaceful Home Rule wrecked by the First World War and the Irish Revolution. The Ulster Unionist reaction was similar to that of 1912, they took to the streets and protested. However, the Ulster Unionist had used Home Rule in Northern Ireland to their advantage, controlling the special branch police reservists that reacted brutally to the violence. The majority of Ulster Unionists did not need the evolution of Irish historiography to tell them that Home Rule had allowed them their own state within Britain that had been for them and not for the Nationalist and Republican communities (Fitzpatrick 1998 p.24). The Ulster Unionist hostility towards the civil rights movement in the 1960’s caused the intensification of sectarian violence and ultimately the troubles. The troubles came as a surprise to the British government who took little notice of the evolution of Irish history that clearly showed that the partition of Ireland following the Irish Revolution had not solved the Irish Problem on a permanent basis. That complacent attitude was shattered by the events of 1968-69, which forced the government to send in the British Army to protect the nationalist and republican communities, an unusual situation that nobody could have anticipated. The renewed sectarian conflict showed that the complexity of the Irish situation had not gone away with partition, instead it was concentrated in Northern Ireland. Historiography could be used to justify the present by vindicating the actions of the past. All sides in Northern Ireland claim to be upholding the truth yet use propaganda for their own means just as they did during the Irish Revolution (Stewart 2001 p. 181). For Irish nationalists and republicans the evolution of Irish Historiography had been regarded with greater interest than by British governments or the Ulster Unionists who were happier with the partition of Ireland. The Unionists believed that Home Rule gave them protection from further advances towards a united Ireland and made it harder for British governments to let them down (Wilson 1989 p. 51). For Irish republicans the very existence of Northern Ireland was testament to the unfinished aims of those that had started the Irish Revolution. The Irish Revolution was intended to sweep away British culture and influence as well as political control of the whole country. Some 90 years on from the start of the Irish Revolution Irish Historiography shows that Ireland is still influenced by the English-speaking peoples particularly Britain and the United States (Stewart 2001 p. 162). The IRA started bombing campaigns in the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s to force the Brit ish government whilst imposing a united Ireland upon the Ulster Unionists. These campaigns were no where near as effective as those organised by Michael Collins during the Irish Revolution. Some of those in the Republican Movement argued that only organising and effective armed struggle could achieve their aims whilst others sought constitutional means of doing so. In the 1960s the official IRA had debated abandoning armed struggle leaving its members in Northern Ireland without any weapon supplies contributing to the breakaway of Provisional Sinn Fein and Provisional IRA (Kelleher, 2001 p.339). The Provisional IRA soon became an effective fighting force with the aim of bombing the British out of Ulster. Its recruitment of volunteers was increased as a consequence of Internment without trial and Bloody Sunday in 1972. However the British Army had more experience of counter terrorist operations and the backing of the governments unwillingness to compromise to terrorists than had been the case during the Irish Revolution. When these factors are combined it is no wonder that the Provisional IRA would refer to the troubles as ‘the long war’. The failure to force Britain to withdraw during the 1970’s led the provisional Sinn Fein to change its strategy combining the armed struggle with taking part in more elections (Mulholland, 2002 p. 96). Its electoral support was increased due to the death of Bobby Sands and other hunger strikers in 1981(Ardagh, 1994 p. 350). The troubles in many respects revived interests in the Irish Revolution and how the evolution of Ir ish historiography could explain how the troubles had developed. Perhaps the Belfast Agreement of 1998 has striking similarities with the way in which the Irish revolution ended, all sides realised that done of them could win yet they carried on fighting in the hope that one lucky strike could grasp victory from nowhere. The most valuable lesson of historiography should be if that a conflict is in stalemate then its time to talk rather than carry on fighting. Yet that is very difficult when both sides believe that the other side has no right to exist (Stewart 2001 p. 182). Therefore there are areas of debate concerning the Irish Revolution that have been influenced by the evolution of Irish Historiography in the subsequent decades. As with other areas of Irish history the revolutionary period has inspired myths that have continued to the present and reinforced prejudices and religious or political divisions. One area of debate has been over why the Irish Revolution was more successful in removing British rule than previous rebellions yet failed to deliver a united Irish republic. Perhaps the main point shown through the evolution of historiography is that the Irish Revolution was able to survive the British attempts to defeat it through some favourable circumstances and some astute political and military tactics on the part of the IRA and Sinn Fein. The whole process was set in motion by the Easter Rising of 1916 that created the myth of republican martyrs dying for their nation’s liberation rather than a badly organised group of terrorists as t he British government would have considered them. It is widely agreed that the First World War gave the Republican movements their chance to expel the British from Ireland. The evolution of historiography can be seen as helping to explain why partition became the most practical solution following the outbreak of the Anglo-Irish War and the IRA’s guerrilla tactics. Partition was only accepted once the IRA realised they could not defeat the British Army and then subdue the Ulster Unionists. Whilst the British government wanted to keep all of Ireland under its control it was not prepared to send the number of troops to Ireland that would have been needed to crush the revolution. The 26 counties were given their freedom in order for Britain to keep the 6 counties that gave it the most loyal support and were an important economic and strategic part of the United Kingdom. The inability of Sinn Fein and the IRA to expel the British from the whole of Ireland caused civil war as those pragmatic enough to support the partition took on those that had wanted to carry on fighting. Griffith and Collins were correct in believing that the Irish Revolution would to an Irish republic yet were killed in ambushes by their former colleagues before that was achieved. Bibliography Ardagh, J (1994) Ireland and the Irish – Portrait of a Changing Society, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, London Carver, Field Marshall (1998) Britain’s Army in the 20th Century, Pan strategy guides, London Fitzpatrick, D (1998) The Two Irelands 1912-1939, Oxford University Press, Oxford Jenkins R (2001) Churchill, Macmillan, Basingstoke Kelleher D (2001) Irish Republicanism – the authentic perspective, Justice Books, Co Wicklow Moody T W Martin F X, (2001) The Course of Irish History, Mercier Press, Cork and Dublin Mulholland M (2002) The Longest War – Northern Ireland’s troubled history, Oxford University Press Schama S (2002) A History of Britain 3 – The Fate of Empire 1776-2000, BBC Worldwide, London Stewart A T Q (2001) The Shape of Irish History, The Blackstaff Press, Belfast Wilson T (1989) Ulster – Conflict Consent, basil Blackwell Ltd, Oxford and New York

Postion Paper: Who Was More Carzed Stalin Or Hitler -- essays research

Who was more Crazed: Stalin or Hitler? The obviously more crazed man was Joseph Stalin. Stalin was more crazed because over his time and rule, he killed millions upon millions more people that Hitler. Joseph Stalin is also more crazed because he did not kill other people he was racist against, but simply because he wanted to kill. The book Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives, states " Adolf Hitler's actions can not even be compared to the monstrous actions of Joseph Stalin". The author of this book points out another interesting fact. Alan Bullock states "If Hitler would have ruled in power as long as Stalin, there may have been somewhat of a kill ratio comparison between the two". Hitler's first and foremost task as dictator of Germany was cleanse Germany of all other inferior races. This was a very bad move on Hitler's part, and that he should have never gone through with it. The author rightfully states that Hitler had many physiological problems, and hated the Jews for one reason, and you will find that in the following quote by an anonymous author "When I now broached the question of what the source of his so strongly felt hatred for the Jews was, and why he wanted to destroy this so undeniably intelligent race - a race to which the Germans and all other Aryan's, if not the entire world, owed an incalculable debt in virtually all field of art and knowledge, research and economics†. Unlike Stalin, Hitler actually helped the economy. Hitler did good with the Volkswagen. Hitler was a power hungry man. Hitler was a more peaceful man compared to Stalin. He didn’t kill his own, family, and until the end, kept the economy strong. What Hitler wanted to accomplish was virtually impossible. His goal of making an entire race extinct was obsolete, but he did not seem to think that. Hitler tried to carry out his goal, and in a way succeeded in the almost impossible. In a quote from an article it states that â€Å"Hitler overcame the near impossible, through propaganda†. This quote also brings up another point, and that was that Hitler was an expert at propaganda. Hitler and Stalin both used propaganda to its fullest, through billboards, and on radio broadcasts. The obvious better of the two was Hitler. &... ...worthiness adds up to make him the more terrible. The main reason Stalin was chosen was because of the outrageous amount of killings. Hitler's killings were minor compared to the twenty to sixty two million people Stalin killed in his lifetime. Stalin cannot be compared to any other political figure. Joseph Stalin was a one of a kind, and it was the one of a kind you did not want. No other political figure in history has killed this many people in his political reign, or for that matter, used fear to win his elections. As ruler of the Red Army, he did not feed his soldiers, and sis not take care of them. People in Stalin's country had to fend for themselves. If asked the question, who was worse: Stalin or Hitler to any average person of average knowledge, one would assume Hitler was worse. This situation was common because Joseph Stalin burned most of the history on his life, and his plans. In the beginning, to me, Hitler was worse too, but after reading what I have read about this monstrous man, I know for a fact Stalin was worse, and he will always be in my eyes. I hope my paper has well informed the reader of who was obviously the more crazed man.

The Wisdom of Franz Kafka’s On Parables :: Kafka On Parables Essays

The Wisdom of Franz Kafka’s On Parables Is it even possible to gain a better life through knowledge and wisdom? Should we listen to the words of the wise? Franz Kafka tries to answer these questions in his short essay ``On Parables,'' with a resounding ``No!'' In this Kafkan world, one filled with the daily struggles and cares of life, the only thing we can know is the incomprehensibility of it all. He states that all wisdom is expressed in parables then destroys any hope we may have by trouncing the authenticity of parables. But then he does something strange, vividly illustrating his point by using the very method he hoped to discredit. The first paragraph of ``On Parables'' provides Kafka's main point: ``the words of the wise are always merely parables and of no use in daily life.'' How does he arrive to this conclusion? He first first asserts that the words of the wise are always parables then explains why all parables are useless. Finally, he concludes that the words of the wise, since they are all parables, are all useless for daily life. Kafka first assumes that ``the words of the wise are always merely parables,'' and expects the reader to follow this assumption rigidly throughout the work. Notice that there is no wiggle room for the wise; their words are always parables. So don't complain, don't object. It is so, at least within the scope of his essay. Kafka does however state why the sages use parables. Since sages themselves are incapable of communicating wisdom, they speak in imperfect parables in a futile attempt to communicate that wisdom. Kafka further hints that this may be because even the sage doesn't understand such wisdom. The words of the sage, ``Go over,'' indicate that the sage is not currently where he wants the people to go, but may himself yet be stuck in this world of daily cares, struggles, and hardships. If he were where he wants us to be, he would have used the words ``come over'' instead. ``Over where?'' you may ask. Kafka answers this question by posing what I will refer to as three lands of life related to parables. The first, the most real one, refers to the state of a person's life before encountering a parable. The second, a potential land, is the parable itself and the resulting actions and consequences a person derives from the parable.

Plains Indians

The destruction of the Plains Indians' cultures connected with the technological developments and government actions in the United States. During the period of struggle between Indians and Whites in the late 19th century, Indian leaders often traveled east to plead their case before the federal government, with few results. The building of the transcontinental railroads and all their branches was an inevitable part of the Industrial Revolution that drove America following the Civil War. The Indians were repressed due to the railroad, which cut through their territory in the West, the declining population of the buffalo, wars, and the loss of their land to White settlement. The federal government tried to quiet the Indians' protests by signing treaties with the chiefs of the tribes. However, the treaties failed because those who signed didn’t necessarily represent groups of people in Indian culture, and in most cases, the Indians didn’t recognize the authority chiefs outside of their own tribes. In the 1860s, the U. S. government made new efforts to relocate Indians into even smaller reservations than before. Indians were often promised that they wouldn’t be bothered further if they would just move out of their ancestral lands, and often, Indian agents were corrupt and sold off cheap food and products to their own fellow Indians. White men often ignored the treaties, though, and frequently scammed the Indians. In frustration, many Native American tribes attempted to fight back. After the Civil War, the U. S. Army’s new mission became to move the Indians out of the West so the White settlers could move in. A couple of Indians and Whites battled between 1860s to 1890s in a series known as the Indian Wars. Many times though, the Indians were better equipped than the federal troops sent to stop their revolts because arrows could be fired more rapidly than their rifles. However, the invention of the Colt . 45 revolver and Winchester repeating rifle put the Indians at a disadvantage. During this period, there was much violence among the Indians and Whites. Generals Sherman, Sheridan, and Custer all battled Indians in battles such as Little Big Horn. The building of the railroads is connected with the settlement of the West and the steady destruction of Indian cultures. The main food source for Plains Indians were the bison. In the early days, millions of bison populated the American prairie, and by the end of the Civil War, there were still 15 million buffalo. Many people killed buffalo for their meat and their skin but many people killed the bison for sport and just left the rest of the carcass to rot. However, it was the expansion of the railroad that really started the bison massacre. Railroads enhanced the value of the land enormously, but made farmers dependent on railroads. The need for open land led them to kill off the bison for railroad land. Railroad construction led to further settlement of the West, which in turn complicated conditions for the Indian tribes. The Plains Indians were driven out of their territory and into too small reservations. With the expansion of the railroad, down came their number one food source, the bison. Inventions such as the Winchester, led to the disadvantage of Indians during battles when protecting their land. The wars, overall, also affected the Indians. The government actions, building of the railroad and other inventions, contributed to the steady decline in the Plains Indians' population.

Conventional Silver-Based Film Cameras vs Digital Cameras

Conventional silver-based film is still the recommended technology for evidentiary photography or for field applications. These cameras offer the highest resolution possibilities as well as the highest dynamic range. They have the best color range and are the most flexible of the currently available camera technology options. Silver-based film is the most durable storage medium as well, and is more readily available than video or digital storage media (â€Å"Guidelines). Resolution quality, or the sharpness of detail, is one of the most significant advantages of silver-based film. The extremely small sized silver crystals for this type of film allow silver-based film cameras to have a much higher resolution than digital cameras. 35mm camera negatives have an approximate resolution of 5500 x 3600 pixels, while digital cameras typically only have a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. That equates to only 1.6 percent of the information that is captured with a silver-based film camera being captured with a digital camera (â€Å"Guidelines†). There are disadvantages to using this sort of camera, however. First is the need for a separate processing and printing facilities. In addition, there is a relatively long processing time involved for silver-based film. Processing the film also creates environmentally hazardous byproducts, in addition the film prior to processing is sensitive to temperature and humidity changes, as well as x-rays. The most notable disadvantage is that there is no way for the photographer to evaluate the image immediately, unless instant film is used (â€Å"Guidelines†). Advantages and Disadvantages of Digital Cameras: Digital cameras offer some distinct advantages over other types of cameras. The foremost benefit they offer the user is the ability to view the image instantly and verify that image is exactly what was wanted. In addition, the image can be transmitted or shared with very few intermediate steps. Onsite image management as well as printing are added advantages, as well as more environmentally friendly media than film (â€Å"Guidelines†). The disadvantages of digital cameras, however, often outweigh its advantages. Digital cameras require batteries or alternate power supplies to operate. This means that there is a negative environmental impact, power must be converted, and a power supply must always be available. Storage media, although becoming more readily available, is still not available universally. Acquiring an image may be interfered with by electromagnetic fields, and once an image is acquired it may go through an automatic compression, losing some of the detail. Digital camera hardware and software are not always compatible with other manufacturers and there is a need for increased technical support. Lastly, as technology evolves there may be an impact on the ability to access image files, when that file format becomes outdated (â€Å"Guidelines†). Advantages and Disadvantages of Video Cameras: Video cameras have become more and more popular with the advancements in technology. Video cameras allow for a real-time motion record and the recorder can immediately review the images captured to ensure they are what was desired. Like digital cameras, video cameras can transmit and disseminate images with very few steps in between and they are more environmentally friendly than silver-based film. One of the most significant advantages to video cameras is their ability to not only capture video imagery but also audio as well (â€Å"Guidelines†). Yet, there are disadvantages to this technology as well. Like digital cameras, video cameras require batteries or an alternate power supply, and these have a negative environmental impact and the availability of these affect whether or not the video camera can be used. Video camera storage media is also subject to damage due to electromagnetic fields, and like digital cameras, electromagnetic interference may affect image acquisition. Resolution on video cameras is less than either digital or silver-based film cameras and there is limited color fidelity. Add to these the challenge that handheld video cameras lack image stability and that the weight and portability of some equipment may prove to be a problem. High end digital video cameras are better resolution than analog cameras (â€Å"Guidelines†). Advantages and Disadvantages of Hybrid Imaging Systems: Hybrid imaging systems combine silver-based film technology with digital technology. The advantages of this type of system is that there is less time to be spent in the darkroom and the camera maintains the high-quality film images. With this high quality, there is still the flexibility that comes with digital image processing. Just like digital cameras, images can easily be transferred electronically and can be analyzed electronically as well. This system also simplifies case-file management and can use a variety of output devices (â€Å"Guidelines†). There are disadvantages to this system, however. There is still a need for separate processing and printing facilities for the silver-based film, which includes the lengthy processing time and the environmentally hazardous byproducts. Just like a regular silver-based film camera, the preprocessed film is fragile and can be damaged by temperature, humidity and x-rays. And, it requires increased technical support, unlike a regular silver-based film camera (â€Å"Guidelines†). Personal Opinion on Which Camera is Best for Crime Scene Photography: Crime scene photography requires clear pictures of specific details that may not remain at the scene. For this reason, there is one feature that is absolutely mandatory when considering which camera is best suited for crime scene photography. The first is that the camera must have a high enough resolution to capture the important details of the images captured. This narrows the choices of the camera down to then, either the silver-based film camera or the hybrid imaging system. Of course when one considers the importance of ensuring that all crime scene facets are photographed adequately, it becomes clear that the ability to review an image instantaneously is a powerful benefit. With this ability, the photographer can ensure that he has captured exactly what he wants on film, without the risk of missing something that may not be able to be filmed later. For this reason, the hybrid imaging system appears to be the best choice. It not only allows for the high resolution necessary to capture important details, but allows the photographer instant access to the images he or she just took, so that they can verify that they captured everything they would like. Although this system does have the processing drawbacks of silver-based film, it also has the benefits of being able to transmit image files electronically, as well as the enhanced storage and filing.

Poetic Drama /Verse Drama of Modern age Essay

Eliot’s plays attempt to revitalize verse drama and usually treat the same themes as in his poetry. They include Murder in the Cathedral (1935), dealing with the final hours of Thomas ÃÆ' Becket; The Family Reunion (1939); The Cocktail Party (1950); The Confidential Clerk (1954); and The Elder Statesman (1959)..(1) Indeed, Eliot hoped that the study and critical reception of early modern verse drama would shape the production of modernist verse drama. In the 1924 essay â€Å"Four Elizabethan Dramatists,† Eliot calls for the study of Elizabethan drama to have a â€Å"revolutionary influence on the future of drama.†(2) Yet, in his later writings as a verse dramatist, Eliot always keeps an arm’s length between himself and the early modern dramatic poets, especially Shakespeare, whom he saw as his strongest precursors in the development of a modernist English verse drama. In the 1951 piece â€Å"Poetry and Drama,† on the matter of verse style in his ow n first major poetic drama, Murder in the Cathedral, Eliot writes, â€Å"As for the versification, I was only aware at this stage that the essential was to avoid any echo of Shakespeare.†¦ Therefore what I kept in mind was the versification of Everyman.†(3) Elsewhere, he is keenly aware of the challenges of writing verse drama for a modernist theatre: â€Å"The difficulty of the author is also the difficulty of the audience. Both have to be trained; both need to be conscious of many things which neither an Elizabethan dramatist, nor an Elizabethan audience, had any need to know.†(4) Eliot finds his whip for training his [p. 105] audience and himself, as dramatist, less in the examples Shakespeare and his contemporaries provide than in the works their medieval predecessors left behind. This essay examines Eliot’s status as a medieval modernist. The periodicity of Eliot’s Middle Ages, problematic as it is, represents the convergence of his animus against modernity and liberalism with his desire for a religiosity that is not marginal, fragmented, and â€Å"compartmentalized† but rather central to the activity of everyday life in a culture and society best characterized by the words unity, integration, and order—the ideological language of conservatism. In part, the concept of Eliot as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"medieval modernist† is indebted to Michael T. Saler’s work on visua l modernism, the English avant-garde, and the London Underground transport system. What Saler describes in terms of medieval modernism is very much a stance or attitude towards the relationship between aesthetic production (imagination) and the utility of consumption (reception) grounded in a social functionalism thought to have its origins in the medieval. I should be quick to point out that Saler is rather ambivalent on the point with regard to Eliot himself: â€Å"While T. S. Eliot might be called a medieval modernist because of his admiration for the organic and spiritual community of the Middle Ages together with his â€Å"impersonal† conception of art, his elitist and formalist views isolate him from several of the central terms of the tradition as I have defined it.Eliot’s ambivalence towards the early modern and repeated turns to the medieval evidence a contradiction between Eliot’s life-long desire for a clearly articulated unity, integration, and order in all aspects of everyday life, including writing and religion, and his fetishization of an early modern period he imagines in terms of anarchy, disorder, and decay. Eliot repeatedly mystifies the early modern period. In his introduction to G. Wilson Knight’s The Wheel of Fire, Eliot gives voice to a vision of the early modern past as a period of phantasmagoric peril, uncertainty, even unknowability: â€Å"But with Shakespeare, we seem to be moving in an air of Cimmerian darkness. The conditions of his life, the conditions under which dramatic art was then possible, seem even more remote from us than those of Dante Verse drama is any drama written as verse to be spoken; another possible general term is poetic drama. For a very long period verse drama was the dominant form of drama in Europe (and was also important in non-European cultures). Greek tragedy and Racine’s plays are written in verse, as is almost all of Shakespeare’s drama, and Goethe’s Faust. Verse drama is particularly associated with the seriousness of tragedy, providing an artistic reason to write in this form, as well as the practical one that verse lines are easier for the actors to memorize exactly. In the second half of the twentieth century verse drama fell almost completely out of fashion with dramatists writing in English (the plays of Christopher Fry and  T. S. Eliot being possibly the end of a long tradition). As Eliot sank ever more deeply into his Anglo-Catholic schtick and he no longer had Pound around to cut the fat and grain filler out of his work, he turned to writing verse drama. He wanted to  reach  people.  He  probably  wanted  to  be  Shakespeare.  Murder in the Cathedral was the first of these verse dramas, and the only one I can even begin to tolerate. The title is intended to evoke a whodunnit; it may be a ponderous Eliotian attempt at a â€Å"witticism†. The joke, such as it is, is that the murderee is Archbishop St. Thomas à   Becket, the killers are some of Henry II’s knights, and the scene of the crime is Canterbury Cathedral, anno domini 1170. If you happened to be hanging around Canterbury in 1935, this was a big win because Canterbury Cathedral is where the thing was first performed. (If you were hanging around  Canterbury  in  1170,  call  me;  we  should  talk).  The background: King Henry II’s wanted to gain influence over the Church in England. He appointed Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury to that end because Becket was his boy. Once in office, Becket’s loyalty shifted to the Church. The two came into conflict over the practice of trying clergy in ecclesiastical courts for civil offenses, and Becket fled to France. While  in France he continued to defy Henry, going so far as to excommunicate some of Henry’s more loyal bishops. At the beginning of the play, Becket returns from his seven-year exile in France. He goes straight to Canterbury, arriving in time for Act I. Four Tempters tempt him. Meanwhile, Henry has put on his John Stanfa hat and made an offhand remark to some of his knights about how convenient it would be if Becket weren’t around any more. The knights draw the obvious conclusion about what he means, and they depart for Canterbury. When they arrive, Becket explains that he is loyal to a higher power than the king. They reply that they aren’t, and they kill him at the altar. The bloodshed is followed by a flourish of self-exculpatory forensic rhetoric from the knights: They argue persuasively that they’ve done the right thing, but not too persuasively because the author doesn’t agree. Exeunt knights; some priests pray at each other and asperse the audience; good  night,  good  night.  Historically, Henry disavowed the whole thing, the knights fell into disgra ce, and Becket was canonized. The whole thing suffers from Late Eliot Syndrome: No tack is left unsledgehammered. He lectures us about his points rather than demonstrating or illustrating them, and the writing is  often less than inspired. Still, it’s better than his other verse dramas: The form and the language are at least appropriate to the material, and the material holds up under the weight of the Message. Eliot later attempted to pile similar Messages onto midcentury English bourgeois melodrama  -in  verse!  It  didn’t  work.  At the height of his powers, Eliot might have done something really interesting with Murder in the Cathedral. Christopher Fry, who has died, aged 97, was, with TS Eliot, the leading figure in the revival of poetic drama that took place in Britain in the late 1940s. His most popular play, The Lady’s Not For Burning, ran for nine months in the West End in 1949. But although Fry was a sacrificial victim of the theatrical revolution of 1956, he bore his fall from fashion with the stoic grace of a Christian humanist and increasingly turned his attention to writing epic films, most notably Ben Hur (1959). The Lady remains Fry’s most popular play: the leading role of Thomas Mendip has attracted actors as various as Richard Chamberlain, Derek Jacobi and Kenneth Branagh. Today, one is struck by the way in which Fry’s euphuistic language – at one point, the hero describes himself as a â€Å"perambulating vegetable patched with inconsequential hair† – overtakes the dramatic action. But in a postwar theatre that had little room for realism, Fry’s medieval setting, rich verbal conceits and self-puncturing irony delighted audiences, and the play became the flagship for the revival of poetic drama. At the same time, Eliot’s The Cocktail Party enjoyed a West End vogue, and a new movement was born. Though less of a public theorist than Eliot, Fry still believed passionately in the validity of poetic drama. As he wrote in the magazine, Adam: â€Å"In prose, we convey the eccentricity of things, in poetry their concentricity, the sense of relationship between them: a belief that all things express the same identity and are all contained in one discipline of revelation.† For a period in the late 1940s and early 50s, Fry helped to revive English verse drama, to which he brought colour, movement and a stoic gaiety. How many of his plays will survive, only time can tell. But, at his best, he brought an undeniable, spiritual elan to the drab world of postwar British theatre. He certainly deserves to be remembered as something more than the inspiration for Margaret Thatcher’s famous remark, â€Å"The lady’s not for turning†. For many centuries from the Greeks onwards verse was, throughout Europe, the natural and almost exclusive medium for the composition and presentation of dramatic works with any pretensions to  «seriousness » or the status of  «art ». Western drama’s twin origins, in the  Greek Festivals and in the rituals of the medieval church, naturally predisposed it to the use of verse. For tragedy verse long remained the only  «proper » vehicle. In comedy the use of prose became increasingly common – giving rise, for example, to such interesting cases as Ariosto’s I suppositi, written in prose in 1509 and reworked twenty years later in verse. (La cassaria also exists in both prose and verse). Shakespeare’s use of prose in comic scenes, especially those of  «low life », and for effective contrast in certain scenes of the tragedies and history plays, shows an increasing awareness of the possibilities of the medium and perhaps already contains an implicit association between prose and  «realism ». Verse continued to be the dominant medium of tragedy throughout the seventeenth century – even domestic tragedies such as A Yorkshire Tragedy (Anon., 1608) or Thomas Heywood’s A Woman Killed With Kindness (1603) were composed in blank verse. For all the continuing use of verse it is hard to escape the feeling that by the end of the seventeenth century it had largely ceased to be a genuinely living medium for dramatists. Increasingly the prevailing idioms of dramatic verse became decidedly literary, owing more to the work of earlier dramatists than to any real relationship with the language of its own time. By 1731 George Lillo’s The London Merchant, or The History of George Barnwell, for all its clumsiness and limitations, in its presentation of a middle-class tragedy in generally effective prose archieved a theatrical liveliness and plausibility largely absent from contemporary verse tragedies – from Addison’s Ca to (1713), Thomson’s Sophonisba (1730) and Agamemnon (1738), or Johnson’s Irene (1749). The example of Racine was vital to such plays, but it was not one that proved very fertile. Lillo was praised in France by Diderot and Marmontel, in Germany by Lessing and Goethe. It is not unreasonable to see Lillo’s work as an early and clumsy anticipation of Ibsen’s. The London Merchant constitutes one indication of the effective  «death » of verse drama. Others are not far to seek. In France, Houdar de La Motte was also writing prose tragedies in the 1720’s, and Stendhal, in the 1820’s was insistent that prose was now the only possible medium for a viable tragedy. Ibsen largely abandoned verse after Peer Gynt (1867), in favour of prose plays more directly and realistically concerned with contemporary issues. A well-known letter to Lucie Wolf (25 May 1883) proclaims that  «Verse has been most injurious to the art of drama†¦ It is improbable that verse will be employed to any extent worth mentioning in the drama of the immediate future since the aims of the dramatists of the future are almost certain to be incompatible with it ». Against the background of such a pattern of development, later dramatic works in verse have often seemed eccentric or academic; this should not blind us, however, to the considerable achievements of modern verse drama and to the importance of the testimony they bear to an idea of drama often radically different from the prevailing modern conceptions. A genre which has given rise to some of the most interesting work of D’Annunzio and Hofmannsthal, Yeats and Eliot, is surely not a negligible one. In the English context, the verse dramas of the Romantics and the Victorians already constituted a kind of  «revival » part of a conscious effort to bring poetry back to the theatre. For the Romantics there was still a potential audience with some sense that verse was the proper  medium for tragedy. The theatrical inexperience of the poets, however, made them ill-equipped for real dramatic achievement. The efforts of Wordsworth (The Borderers), 1795-6), Coleridge (eg. Remorse, 1813), and Keats (Otho the Great, 1819) remain of only antiquarian interest, judged as works for the theatre, though all have much to tell about their makers, and the Borderers, at least, is a work of considerable poetic substance. Perhaps slightly more praise might be extended to some of Byron’s verse dramas (eg. Manfred, 1817; Marino Faliero, 1820; Sardanapalus, 1821) and Shelley’s Cenci (1818) contains some scenes of considerable power. For most of the English romantics, however, the sha dow of Shakespeare proved oppressive; admiration, or rather reverence, for his example produced in their own work a poetic and theatrical idiom lacking all freshness and contemporaneity. It was in the work of other lands and languages that the example of Shakespeare could work more positively. In Germany, for example, there emerged a rich new tradition of verse drama in the works of Lessing (eg. Nathan Der Weise, 1779), Goethe, Schiller, Werner, Kleist (notably in Penthesilea, 1808, and Der Prinz von  Homburg, 1821) and others. In Italy the early plays of Manzoni (Il Conte di Carmagnola, 1820; Adelchi, 1822) provided en example which only a few poet-dramatists endeavoured to follow, while others -such as Niccolini – were more concerned with an attempt to revive Greek models of tragedy. (In Italy verse drama could often not escape from the shadow of the operatic tradition). In America too, verse drama was being attempted by dramatists such as John Howard Payne (eg. Brutus, 1818), Robert Mongomery Bird (The Gladiator, 1831) and, a work of some quality, George Henry Boker’s Francesca da Rimini (1855). In 1827-8 the English troupe made its famous visit to Paris, performing, amongst other works, all four of Shakespeare’s major tragedies. The impact was enormous. One of those most affected and impressed was the young Victor Hugo. In Hugo’s plays, much influenced by Shakespeare, romanticism found far more effective expression in verse drama than it had ever found in England. In plays such as Hernani (1830), Le roi s’amuse (1832), Ruy Blas (1838) and Les Burgraves (1843), Hugo creates a verse idiom of immense vigour which articulates visions of concentrated and extreme human emotion. At his best Hugo’s discrimination of character, if crude, is also striking. Other succesful versedramas later in the century included Francois Coppà ©e’s Severo Torelli (1883) Les Jacobites (1885) and Pour la couronne (1895), as well as Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac (1897). Certainly it is in the work of French and German poets (in plays by Hebbel, Grillparzer and Grabbe as well as those of the poets mentioned earlier) and in the early verse plays of Ibsen notably Brand (1866) and Peer Gynt (1867) – that something li ke the full potential of verse drama is expressed. In England nothing of similar power exists in the nineteenth century. The  plays of James Sheridan Knowles (1784-1862) – such as William Tell (1825) and The Love Chase (1837) – provided effective roles for the great actor-manager Macready, but have little now to offer. Macready also acted in Lytton’s The Lady of Lyons (1838) and Richelieu (1839), both of which had considerable theatrical success, and are not entirely without enduring merits. Poets such as Tennyson (eg. Queen Mary, 1876; Harold, 1876; Becket, 1879) and Browning (eg. Strafford, 1837; A Blot in the Scutcheon, 1843) also wrote for the theatre but displayed very little sense of the genuinely theatrical (Tennyson assumed that he could leave it to Irving to  «fit »Ã‚  Becket for the stage). Other poets wrote closet dramas never intended for performance – Sir Henry Taylor’s enormous Philip Van Artevelde (1834) is an archetypal example of the genre, a work which, its author readily confessed  «was not intended for the stage » and was  «properly an Historical Romance, cast in dramatic and rythmical form ». Much the same might be said of two later and finer works: Swinburne’s Bothwell (1874) of which Edmund Gosse rightly observes that  «in bulk [it] o ne of the five-act Jidai-Mono or classic plays of eighteenth-century Japan, and it could only be performed, like an oriental drama, on successive nights », and The Dynasts (19038) of Thomas Hardy, the text of which occupies some 600 pages and which is described in its subtitle as  «An Epic-Drama of the War of Napoleon in Three Parts, Nineteen Acts, and One Hundred and Thirty Scenes ». The requirements and possibilities of practical theatre have clearly been left far behind; the divorce of the poet from the performers seems complete. Yet there were others who sought to maintain the relationship between poetry and theatre. The plays of Stephen Phillips, for example (eg. Herod, 1901; Ulysses, 1902; Paolo and Francesca, 1902; The King, 1912) have neither the psychological perception of Swinburne nor the historical insight of Hardy, but they did hold the stage with considerable success. Phillips had plenty of theatrical experience, having been an actor in the theatrical company of his cousin, Frank Benson. Phillips’ verse plays were produced by Beerbohm Tree, and they display a sophisticated command of theatrical effect and a wide-ranging, if almost wholly derivative, verse rhetoric which has, very occasionally, genuinely poetic moments. Elsewhere in the early years of the century there is to be found worthwhile work by a multitude of minor figures. Lawrence Binyon’s Attila (1907) and Ayuli (1923); Gordon Bottomley’s King Lear’s Wife (1915) and Gruach (1923); John Masefield’s Good Friday (1917), Esther (1922) and Tristan and Isolt (1927); John Drinkwater’s Cophetua (1911) and Rebellion (1914); Arthur Symons’ The Death of Agrippina and Cleopatra in Judea (1916); T.Sturge Moore’s Daimonissa (1930) – are all of interest and substance, but none can be said to make an overwhelming case for the genre, and all are, in varying degrees unable to escape from the long shadow of Shakespeare, especially as reinterpreted by the nineteenth-  century. Under fresh influences – French Symbolism and Japanese Noh theatre in particular – verse drama began to explore new possibilities. Gordon Bottomley’s later works – such as Fire at Callart (1939) showed an awareness of the possibilities offered by the model of the Noh. Yeats, of course, had more fully explored such possibilities in works such as At the Hawks’ Well, The Only Jealousy of Emer, The Dreaming of the Bones and Calvary (composed c.1915-20), insofar as they were the means of liberation from the obligations of a naturalistic theatre. Verse, music, ritual and dance were woven into a complementary whole. (Irish successors to yeats include Austin Clarke, whose verse plays have been performed by the Abbey Theatre, the Cambridge festival Theatre and others). In later plays such as The Herne’s Egg (1935) and Purgatory (1938) evolves a personal and convincing idiom (both verbally and theatrically) for verse drama. These are superficially simp le, but metaphysically profound works, both verbally exciting and theatrically striking. Elsewhere in Europe, the work of Gabriele D’Annunzio (eg. La città   morta, 1898; Francesca da Rimini, 1901; La figlia di Iorio, 1904) and Hugo von Hofmannsthal (eg. Jedermann, 1912; Das grosse Salzburger Welttheater, 1922) was bearing eloquent testimony to the continuing potential of the genre. In France Claudel was creating a series of verse plays upon religious and philosophical themes, whose intense lyricism and startling imagery for long went without full appreciation (eg. Partage de midi, 1906; Le pain dur, 1918; Le Soulier de satin, 1928-9). Other French twentieth-century verse-dramas include works by Char, Cà ©saire and Cocteau, but the poetic qualities which characterise much that has been most striking in modern French drama have more generally found expression in prose plays rather than verse plays – as, for example, in the work of Giradoux, Anouilh, Beckett, Ionesco and Vian. In Spain, Lorca mixes verse and prose in his plays. In Britain the 1930’s saw a new generation of poets whose experiments did much to broaden the range – in terms both of form and content – of verse drama. The Dog Beneath the Skin (1936) and The Ascent of F.6 (1937) were collaborations by W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood which brought a fresh wit and intellectuality, a new radicalism of social comment and contemporary relevance, to the genre. T.S.Eliot’s plays – notably Murder in the Cathedral  (1935) and The Family Reunion (1939) offered persuasive instances of how verse might, for the dramatist, be the means by which one could  «get at the permanent and universal » rather than the merely ephemeral and naturalistic. Murder in the Cathedral was written for performance in Canterbury Cathedral, while The Family Reunion was composed for the commercial theatre. The  idioms of the two plays are, therefore, necessarily very different; taken together the two offer a promise not wholly fulfilled by Eliot’s later plays, such as The Cocktail Party (1950), The Confidential Clerk (1953) and The Elder Statesman (1958). In these later plays the verse lacks the confidence to be genuinely poetic – the linguistic intensity of the pre-war plays gives way to something far more prosaic. Murder in the Cathedral is, in part, striking for its mixture of verse forms and idioms; the Auden and Isherwood collaborations drew on the techniques of the music hall, the pantomime and the revue. From the 1930’s onwards verse dramas have continued to be composed in Britain (and America), many of them works of considerable distinction. Most have been composed for performance outside the commercial theatre – for churches and cathedrals, for universities or drama schools, or for some theatrical groups devoted to verse drama. In London, for example, the Mercury Theatre in Notting Hill Gate, holding no more than 150, was opened by Ashley Dukes in 1933 and was home to E.Martin Browne’s Pilgrim Players. Browne was central to the revival of verse drama in the middle years of the century. He directed all of Eliot’s plays, including the first performance of Murder in the Cathedral. In the 1940’s he directed, at the Mercury, several important verse plays – both religious (eg. Ronald Duncan’s This Way to the Tomb, 1945; Anne Ridler’s The Shadow Factory, 1945) and comic (eg. Christopher Fry’s A Phoenix too Frequent, 1946; Dona gh MacDonagh’s Happy as Larry, 1947). Browne was also associated with the remarkable religious plays by Charles Williams (eg.Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury, 1936; Seed of Adam, 1937; The House of the Octopus, 1945). Indeed, the variety of the verse drama produced in these years was very considerable. It includes the grave beauty of Williams’ plays and the fantastic gaiety of Happy as Larry, its language informed at every turn by the ballads of Dublin and the idiosyncrasies of  colloquial  «Irish ». In the plays of Christopher Fry there is a substantial body of work characterised, at its best, by both a vivacity (even exuberance) of language and a well-developed theatricality. Plays such as The Lady’s Not for Burning (1948)), Venus Observed (1950), A Sleep of Prisoners (1951) and Curtmantle (1961) display a considerable range. Fry can be funny and moving, dazzling and beautiful. He can also be verbose and sentimental. Immensely successful – critically and commercially – at the beginning of his career, Fry’s reputation has suffered since. His best plays are both intelligent and entertaining, and will surely continue to find admirers. There is much that is rewarding, too, in the work of Ronald Duncan – in Our Lady’s Tumbler (195 0), which has some fine choric writing, or in Don Juan (1953); Stephen Spender’s Trial of a Judge (1938) is an intriguing experiment, with some highly effective moments. Louis MacNeice’s The Dark Tower (1946) is a rich and  mysterious  «radio parable play » in verse. The tradition of verse drama has continued to attract writers, and they have continued to produce interesting plays; such plays have, however, largely been seen (or read) only by specialised audiences. Few have found their way on to the commercial stage. Robert Gittings’ Out of this Wood (1955); Jonathan Griffin’s The Hidden King (1955); John Heath-Stubbs’ Helen in Egypt, (1958); Patric Dickinson’s A Durable Fire (1962) the list might be extended considerably. More recent years have seen the production (or publication) of significant verse plays by, amongst others, Peter Dale (The Cell, 1975; Sephe, 1981), Tony Harrison (eg. The Misanthrope, 1973; Phaedra Britannica, 1975; The Oresteia, 1981; The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus, 1990), Seamus Heaney (The Cure at Troy, 1990) and Francis Warner (eg. Moving Reflections, 1982; Living Creation, 1985; Byzantium, 1990). In America the tradition begun in the nineteenth century and continued by dramatists such as Josephine Preston Peabody (eg. Marlowe, 1901) and William Vaughn Moody (eg. The FireBringer, 1904), has had such later practitioners as Percy Mackaye (The Mystery of Hamlet, 1949), Maxwell Anderson (eg. Elizabeth the Queen, 1930; Winterset, 1935), Richard Eberhart (eg. The Visionary Farms, 1952; The Mad Musician, 1962) and Archibald MacLeish (eg. J.B., 1958; Herakles, 1967). Modern verse-drama has extended the formal possibilities of the genre far beyond the traditions of  blank-verse tragedy. A wide range of verse forms, of free-verse, and of experiments derived from the techniques of revue and music-hall have played their part in the evolution of new and striking theatrical forms. Why have so many writers continued to be attracted to verse drama when, as Peter Dale observes, his chances of seeing his work performed are generally very slight? If, like Ibsen after Peter Gynt, the dramatist’s aim is to write  «the genuine, plain language spoken in real life » (letter of 25 May 1883 quoted above) he will not, presumably, be attracted to verse as a likely medium. If, on the other hand, he feels with Yeats that the post-Ibsen prose of Shaw’s plays was devoid of  «all emotional implication », or if he shares the sentiments expressed by T.S.Eliot in his 1950 lecture on  «Poetry and Drama », it is more than probable that he will feel it necessary to turn to verse: It seems to me that beyond the nameable, classifiable emotions and motives of our conscious life when directed towards action – the part of like which prose drama is wholly adequate to express – there is a fringe of indefinite extent, of feeling which we can only detect, so to speak, out of the corner of the eye and can never completely focus †¦ This peculiar range of sensibility can be expressed by dramatic poetry, at its moments of greatest intensity. At such moments we  touch the border of those feelings which only music can express. We can never emulate music, because to arrive at the condition of music would be the annihilation of poetry, and especially of dramatic poetry. Never the less, I have before my eyes a kind of mirage of the perfection of verse drama, which would be a design of human action and words, such as to present at once the two aspects of dramatic and musical order †¦ To go as far in this direction as possible to go, without losing tha t contact with the ordinary everyday world with which drama must come to terms, seems to me the proper aim of dramatic poetry. Such thoughts enable us to see modern verse drama as much more than that reaction against naturalism as which it has often been depicted. At its best  verse drama is too positive an aspiration for it to be adequately understood merely as a reaction to the dominant idiom of the time. Much of what is best and most attractive in European theatre of the last 40 years might be described as post-naturalist, rather than merely anti-naturalist; verse-drama has made, and should continue to make, important and distinctive contributions to post-naturalism. According to Francis Fergussan, a poetic drama is a drama in which you â€Å"feel† the characters are poetry and were poetry before they began to speak. Thus poetry and drama are inseparable. The playwright has to create a pattern to justify the poetic quality of the play and his poetry performs a double function. First, it is an action itself, so it must do what it says. Secondly, it makes explicit what is really happening. Eliot in his plays has solved the problem regarding language, content  and  versification. In the twentieth century, the inter-war period was an age suited to the poetic drama. There was a revival and some of the poets like W. B. Yeats and T. S. Eliot tried their hands in writing of poetic plays. This was a reaction against prose plays of G. B. Shaw, Galsworthy and others because these plays showed a certain lack of emotional touch with the moral issue of the age. W. B. Yeats did not like this harsh criticism of the liberal idea of the nineteenth century at the hands of dramatists like G. B. Shaw. So he thought the drama of ideas was a failure to grasp the reality of the age. On the other hand, the drama of entertainment (artificial comedy) was becoming dry and uninteresting. It was under these circumstances that the modern playwrights like T. S. Eliot, J.M. Synge, W. B. Yeats, W. H. Auden, Stephen Spendor and so on have made the revival the poetic drama possible. The Choruses. A striking feature of â€Å"Murder in the Cathedral† is Eliot’s use of poetic choruses like the choruses in ancient Greek drama. The producer must decide the method which will project most effectively in the theatre these recurring choral passages, spoken by the Women of Canterbury. There are eight poetic rhapsodies or choruses, comprising approximately one fifth of  the text. The poetry in the choruses invites all the imaginative enrichment which light, music and dance can give it.  The chorus commenced in Greek drama, originally as a group of singers or chanters. Later, a Greek playwright called Thespis introduced an actor on the stage who held a dialogue with the leader of the chorus. Playwrights like Aeschylus and Sophocles added a second and a third actor to interact with the chorus. Finally, the chorus took on the role of participants in the action and interpreters of what is happening on stage. Eliot has based â€Å"Murder in the Cathedral† on the form of classic Greek tragedy. He uses the chorus to enhance the dramatic effect, to take part in the action of the play, and to perform the roles of observer and commentator. His chorus women represent the common people, who lead a life of hard work and struggles,  no matter who rules. It is only their faith in God that gives them the strength to endure. These women are uneducated, country folk, who live close to the earth. As a result, they are in tune with the changing seasons and the moods of nature. At present, they have an intuition of death and evil. They fear that the new year, instead of bringing new hope, will bring greater suffering. The three priests have three different reactions to Becket’s arrival. The first reacts with the fear of a calamity.The second is a little bold and says that there can hardly be any peace between a king who is busy in intrigue and an archbishop who is an equally proud, self-righteous man. The third priest feels that the wheel of time always move ahead, for good or evil. He believes that a wise man, who cannot change the course of the wheel, lets it move at its own pace.

Nelson Mandela’s Leadership Essay

In a racially divided South Africa, Nelson Mandela emerged as a great leader. He joined the African National Congress (ANC) to lead a movement whose main goal is to eradicate apartheid. (Racial separation). He promoted peaceful protests to meet that goal; however, when the ruling party banned the ANC, he set a military wing within the ANC to take the resistance against the Apartheid to a new level where he had no choice other than using violence. His actions landed him in prison for nearly three decades. He led secret negotiations with the ruling party while he was in prison aimed at dismantling the apartheid policies. Such negotiations, which resulted in his release in 1990, went on years later to bring an end to Apartheid. In 1994, he became the first black president of South Africa, forming a multiethnic government to oversee the country’s transition to a new era of democracy (1). In 1999, he decided to retire from politics, but has not retired yet from promoting peace and social justice in South Africa as well as around the world. So, Nelson Mandela stood out as a great leader due to his leadership styles, his charismatic leadership, ethical leadership and his leadership power. Leadership attitudes and styles of Nelson Mandela: Nelson Mandela developed â€Å"a strong relationship-oriented behavior, which contributed to his participative leadership style† (2). He learned from his guardian, when he was observing him presiding over tribal meetings, to listen to all sides of argument before venturing his opinion. It was his firsthand experience of how to lead from behind (9). He always remembers the regent’s axiom. He said:† A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.†(Long walk to freedom3). Mandela’s leadership success is attributed to his use of consensus. He inspired his followers and gained their commitment to fight in the sake of abolishing apartheid when he was the leader of the ANC. He used the same participative leadership as president by forming a multiethnic government that includes the people who tortured him for 27 years. Throughout his battle against apartheid and helping to bring democracy to South Africa, Mandela adopted a democratic leadership style. According to  Johnson and Johnson (2006), â€Å"Democratic leaders set policies through group discussion and decision, encouraging and helping group members to interact, requesting the cooperation of others† (4). Mandela believed in the value of the democratic process, even though he did not always initially agree with the results. Some of his unsuccessful pursuits included when he tried during his imprisonment to have prisoners addressed more respectfully by guards, and later when he attempted to have the national voting age lowered to 14 (4). Charismatic leadership: Nelson Mandela influential power stems largely from his charismatic leadership characterized by a compelling vision for the future, his willingness to take a risk for the sake of the well-being of his country, and the sense of forgiveness he demonstrated towards his enemy. Nelson Mandela was a visionary leader who articulated an idealized vision of a future that is significantly better than the present. He envisioned a South Africa where apartheid would finally abolished and everyone should live without worrying to be discriminated against based on race or color. It was this vision of a free and democratic South Africa that sustained him through the darkest days in prison. The same vision has changed the governance in South Africa and made him the first black president of South Africa. Due to the same vision South Africa became the first African country to host the world soccer cup in 2010. He inspired people by his courage and passion. Mandela knew that the risk he was taking was enormous, and the consequences could be devastating to him as well to the well-being of his family. He took the risk of setting a military wing within the ANC to combat the oppressive regime knowing that he will be the first one that the ruling party would target After becoming a president in 1994, he decided to forgive the people who tortured him for nearly three decades. Through this act, he demonstrated the the kind of charismatic qualities he possessed. . Mandela acquired the respect and love of many citizens upon his release from prison, as it was inspiring to the nation that someone could â€Å"emerge from such hardship and humiliation and talk of forgiveness and reconciliation with the enemies who caused†¦suffering† (5). He used his servant leadership style to promote peace outside South Africa; he promoted reconciliation over retaliation to pave the way for progress and prosperity in the neighboring African countries. (6) Ethical leadership Mandela had strong ethical values through having a heart and soul of leadership by consistently promoting peaceful protests rather resorting to violence. From an early age, he was inspired to study law with the intention of defending black South Africans against the ruling party’s unfair treatment. Nelson Mandela as a lawyer voluntarily represented many detainees under the ANC. (Denenberg, 1995). (7) Leadership power Specialized skills and knowledge gave Mandela expert power to be an influential figure. He graduated with law degree and huge political experiences gained when he was the leader of ANC. He utilized his knowledge to communicate with others prisoners who viewed him as a reference for any course of action within the prison such as hunger strike to get better living conditions.(8) Also, Mandela inspired his followers by utilizing referent power, which was closely linked to his traits of trustworthiness and integrity. With his own lofty personality of charismatic leader, skills and knowledge, Mandela become a famous figure, which brought him a â€Å"prestige power† that he uses to promote social justice all over the world such as raising charities to overcome the poverty. Conclusion: Nelson Mandela lived up to his quotation when he said: â€Å"it is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is a danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership†. It’s clear that Mandela stood in favor of involving his followers in the decision making process. He was always endeavored to listen to what each person has to say before he gives his opinion, which is often a consensus of what he heard in the conversation. That’s how he led from behind. He took the front and put his life as well as the life of his family at risk to free the black South African from the oppression of a white minority regime. Because he understood that unless that risk is taken, the unfair treatment against the native South African will continue forever. Works Cited 5- Bill Clinton & Archbishop Desmond TuTu, 2006, Mandela: The authorized portrait, Andrews Mcmeel Publishing, Kansas City 1-Denenberg, Barry. Nelson Mandela: No easy walk to freedom. New York: Scholastic Inc, 2005. Print. 6- Denenberg, Barry. Nelson Mandela: No easy walk to freedom. New York: Scholastic Inc, 2005. Print 3-Johnson, D.W., & Johnson, F.P. (2006). Joining together group theory and group skills (9th Ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. 8-le, thai. â€Å"leadership style: Nelson Mandela Vs. Adolf Hitler†. Articlecell. Articlecell,n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. 7-Mandela, N (1965) No Easy Walk to Freedom. Penguin Books Ltd, London, England. 2-â€Å"Nelson Mandela – Biography†. Nobelprize.org. 27 Mar 2013 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1993/mandela-bio.html 4-Stengel, Richard. â€Å"Mandela: His 8 Lessons of leadership†.Time.com. â€Å"N.p.† 09 July.2008.Web. 25 Mar. 2013.