Through the Ages How the Geography Definition Has Changed

Many famous geographers and non-geographers have attempted to define the discipline in a few short words. The concept has also changed throughout the ages, making it difficult to create a concise, universal geography definition for such a dynamic and all-encompassing subject. After all, Earth is a big place with many facets to study. It affects and is affected by the people who live there and use its resources. But basically, geography is the study of the surface of Earth and the people who live there—and all that encompasses. Early Definitions of Geography Geography, a study of Earth, its lands, and its people, started in ancient Greece, with the studys name defined by the scholar and scientist Eratosthenes, who calculated a relatively close approximation of the circumference of Earth. Thus, this academic field started with mapping the land. Greco-Roman astronomer, geographer, and mathematician Ptolemy, living in Alexandria, Egypt, in 150 defined its purpose as providing a view of the whole earth by mapping the location of places. Later, Islamic scholars developed the grid system to make maps more accurately and discovered more of the planets lands. Then, another major development in geography included the use in China of the magnetic compass (invented for divination) for navigation, the earliest known recording of which is 1040. European explorers started using it in the century to follow. Philosopher Immanuel Kant in the mid-1800s summed up the difference between history and geography as history as being when something happened and geography being where certain conditions and features are located. He thought of it more descriptive than a hard, empirical science. Halford Mackinder, a political geographer, included people in his definition of the discipline in 1887, as man in society and local variations in environment. At the time members of Britains Royal Geographic Society wanted to ensure that it was studied in schools as an academic discipline, and Mackinders work aided that aim. 20th-Century Definitions of Geography In the 20th century, Ellen Semple, the first female president of the National Geographical Society, promoted the idea that geography also encompasses how environment apparently controls human behavior including affecting culture and the history of people, which was a controversial view at the time. Professor Harland Barrows, who was influential in establishing the subdisciplines of historical geography and the conservation of natural resources and the environment, in 1923 defined geography as the study of human ecology; adjustment of man to natural surroundings. Geographer Fred Schaefer rejected the idea that geography wasnt a hard science and said in 1953 that the study should include the search for its governing scientific laws, defining the discipline as the science concerned with the formulation of the laws governing the spatial distribution of certain features on the surface of the earth. Throughout the 20th century, more subdisciplines thrived under targeted research. H. C. Darby, a historical geographer, was radical in that his area of interest was geographical change over time. In 1962 he defined geography as both science and art. Social geographer J. O. M. Broek worked in the area of the field of how man affects the earth, not just the other way around, and in 1965 said geographys purpose was to understand the earth as the world of man. Ariid Holt-Jensen, who has been instrumental in the study in subdisciplines of settlement geography as well as environmental, local and regional planning, in  1980 defined geography as study of variations in phenomena from place to place. Geographer Yi-Fu Tuan, who in 1991 defined geography as the study of earth as the home of people, has written about how people think and feel about space and place in a personal sense, from their home and neighborhood to their nation, and how thats affected by time. The Breadth of Geography As you can see from the definitions, geography is challenging to define because it is such a broad and all-encompassing field. It is far more than the study of maps and the physical features of the land because people are influenced and influence the land as well. The field can be divided into two primary areas of study: human geography and physical geography.   Human geography is the study of people in relation to the spaces they inhabit. These spaces can be cities, nations, continents, and regions, or they can be spaces that are defined more by the physical features of the land that contain different groups of people. Some of the areas studied within human geography include cultures, languages, religions, beliefs, political systems, styles of artistic expression, and economic distinctions. These phenomena are analyzed with statistics and demographics in relation to the physical environments in which people live. Physical geography is the branch of the science that is probably more familiar to most of us, for it covers the field of earth science that many of us were introduced to in school. Some of the elements studied in physical geography are climate zones, storms, deserts, mountains, glaciers, soil, rivers and streams, the atmosphere, seasons, ecosystems, the hydrosphere, and much, much more. This article was edited and expanded by Allen Grove.

John Dewey, Paulo Freire And W. E. B. Du Bois - 929 Words

True revolutionary thinkers’ parish long before their advance philosophies or contributions to society are fully realized. This is true of John Dewey, Paulo Freire, and W.E.B. Du Bois. They were beacons in the dark lighting the way for society. Each progressive during their generation. This first analysis paper will look at the lives, beliefs, ethics, perceptions of justice, and ideas on current educational practice of Dewey, Freire, and Du Bois. Individuals are effected by the lives they live. According to David Hansen in the book titled, Ethical Visions of Education: Philosophies in Practice (2007), John Dewey lived from 1859-1952. During his 93 years Dewey encountered growing up during an age of great change. According to the web-site†¦show more content†¦Dewey also thought that the educator could learn just as much from the student, as the student could from the educator. As well, Dewey understood people were lifelong learners. Likewise, according to Stephen Fishm an and Lucille McCarthy (2007), Paulo Freire believed that instructors should become â€Å"co-learners† with their students. Freire also thought Marxism and Christianity went hand in hand. A belief that we are our brother’s keeper. According to the Freire Institute (2017), Freire held that individuals should help each other to understand their complete potential in life. Similarly, W.E.B. Du Bois, according to Rodino Anderson (2007), believed everyone had a gift to share with others. Du Bois also alleged that education was the way out of a depraved social and economic state. Now looking at ethics and the perception of justice, according to David Hansen (2007) Dewey thought individuals should learn from everyone, not just a few. Dewey had the insight that there was no boundary to how consequential a person’s existence can develop. Equally, Freire, according to Stephan Fishman and Lucille McCarthy (2007), wanted an enriched further reasonable outlook for people. F reire believed it was right for the underdog to strive for better conditions. Freire notion of justice is a world that is equal, poverty-free, and fair for all. Equally, W.E.B. Du Bois, according to Rodino Anderson (2007), believed in

The Benefits of Kaizen and Kaizen Events free essay sample

There are three specific benefits to performing kaizen events rather than other improvement methods. By scheduling a kaizen event, you are being proactive and setting aside time to make improvements. When people need help from other departments during a future event or activity and the people have already worked on a kaizen team, they are usually more than willing to contribute in any way possible. This attitude and outlook promote a lean culture. By seeing immediate results from a kaizen event, people will come to understand they have more control over their work areas than they think. Full Text  (1564   words)| Copyright American Society for Quality Feb 2007 Kaizen is a Japanese word typically translated to continuous improvement. Originally this word referred to subtle, gradual improvements that are made over time. A baseball analogy is hitting singles all game long to score runs. The connotation of the word has morphed to also include quick or fast improvements, like kaizen events (also known as kaizen blitzes, quick kaizens or rapid improvement projects), which are big improvements that are made quilkly. This is analogous to hitting a homerun in baseball. Both kaizen and kaizen events produce results, like the singles and homeruns driving in runs on the baseball field. But kaizens occur far more often than kaizen events. For many organizations today, kaizen and kaizen events are viewed differently than the traditional mode of improvements. 1 For example, it is very common-especially in North American organizations-to use kaizen to describe how management prioritizes huge, complex and wholesale changes with the hope that vast improvement and profits will follow. Maybe you have heard management say things like: * If we just install the new production line, we can double output. TABLE 1 Kaizen, Kaizen Events and Traditional Improvements| | * We need an enterprisewide information knowledge system to solve all our inventory problems. Them traditional approaches usually dont produce the desired results. Often, organizations tend to overlook the true power of kaizen or kaizen events. They want to hit the homerun, but instead strike out. May be its part of our nature to want the big, dramatic improvement instead of the simple, steady improvement. This can occur for many reasons, including a manager wanting to make his mark on an organization to the thats the way weve always done it attitude. See Table 1 for a summary of the differences between the two. Different Benefits Always remember lean is easy, but getting people to change is difficult. The tools of lean, such as kaizen and kaizen events, arent necessarily rocket science. Getting people to hold a philosophy of continuous improvement can sometimes prove challenging. Lean is not the tools. Lean is in your head and heart. Its how you approach your job, customers, suppliers and processes. Start as a lean learner, graduate to a lean achiever, which will lead you to become a lean thinker. Lean leaner: Understand the basic concepts of lean (for example, lean 101, waste [muda], problem solving, change management, 5S and visual organization). * Lean achiever: Apply the basic concepts to your organization and continue with more complex concepts of lean (for example, cellular flow, kanban and total productive maintenance [TPM]). * Lean thinker: Naturally look at the situation from the lean perspective, moving beyond simply th e tools. There are several benefits to using kaizcn or kaizen events. 2 These benefits can be categorized as either quantitative or qualitative. Unfortunately, too many managers focus solely on monetary benefits without considering peoples feelings, work styles or other intangible benefits derived from kaizen or kaizen events. Quantitative benefits. These are measurable results used to show management specific improvements or prove that time, effort and money were well spent. Based on the kaizen or kaizen event, quantitative benefits might include: * Money saved. * Time saved (contributing to money saved). * Shorter distance traveled. * Fewer people required. * Reduced lead time or cycle time. * Value vs. nonvalue added content. Fewer steps in a process. * Improved first pass yield. * Reduced inventory. One of the tricks of the trade is to get an accountant on board to measure the results of the activities before closing a kaizen or knizen event and eventually forward the metrics to management. I am always amazed and impressed to see how helpful accountants have been in this step. Also, this measurement step encourages manage ment to become owners of the results. Qualitative benefits. These types of feeling results that show the human side of lean might be just as important as the quantitative results. Predictably, these types of benefits are more difficult to measure. For example, we might be able to quantify a 5S events outcome in terms of shorter distance traveled within a workplace, fewer safety incidents and reduced supplies or inventories. But few companies actually take the time to understand the human side of lean. If you listen to participants at a successful lean event, youll hear things like: Now I can find things around here, or These changes will help reduce my stress level, or Look how much more room we have. These are important and lasting human results that are just as important as the measurable ones. Specific Kaizen Event Benefits There are three specific benefits to performing kaizen events rather than other improvement methods. The following kaizen event benefits are commonly overlooked by management: 1. Time: When is there ever really enough time to make improvements? One of the biggest reasons I recommend using a kaizen event as a method of improvement is that the time of the event is scheduled. If you wait until you have time to get a team together to make improvements, youll wait forever. By scheduling a kaizen event, you are being proactive and setting aside time to make improvements. 3 2. Teamwork: Invariably, at the end of a knizen event, someone mentions how much he or she enjoyed working as a team. This comment signals a shift in attitude from the beginning of the event, when individuals might have worked alone. When people need help from other departments during a future event or activity and the people have already worked on a kaizen team, they are usually more than willing to contribute in any way possible. This attitude and outlook promote a lean culture. 3. Proof: To convince people lean does indeed work, many need to see proof. By seeing immediate results from a kaizen event, people will come to understand they have more control over their work areas than they think. Also, documenting activities allows us to track tangible benefits and improvements in the work areas. Caveat of Kaizen Events Some people disparage kaizen events. They dont believe the calculated results, or they contend that the results cannot be sustained. I would agree with this only if the team falsified the results or the team did not standardize a process to make it a new, improved way. If kaizen events are deemed to have failed for these reasons, I wouldnt blame the team. I would look at the process or system and see what lessons could be learned to avoid these failures in the future. Resistance to kaizen events might occur because one purpose of lean is to instill discipline into our organizations. If discipline is lacking, in many cases I look to management to see why an exent is considered a failure. For instance, basic building blocks of lean-such as 5S or standardized work-can help build the discipline within an organization to perform more difficult lean concepts such as kanban or TPM. During one 5S event, I mentioned this to a team. During a break, a team member told me the company already uas using kanban. I asked, How was it working? She said, Not so well. Why? Because the company didnt have the discipline in place to move the kanban cards correctly as needed. This caused problems. I have performed more than 200 kaizen events during my quality career. In one way or another, each event has improved how each company has performed. It is not uncommon during a quick change event to cut the time in half on the very first try. For example, applying standardised work to an order entry process reduced the time for the task by one-third and made it easier to train new employees. A 5S event reduced the stress between departments by organizing and shindardizing how paperwork was passed on. Whether the company is able to sustain the gains is another story. To sustain the gains the company must: * Standardize processes to the new, improved level. * Train everyone involved to the new standard. * Monitor the results over time. * Secure commitment of management and assign ownership to maintain and improve the gains. Companies cant just schedule a kaizen event or slap the term kaizen on any project or activity and hope it turns around a business operation or function. Kaizen cant just happen on its own, but must come from a companys thoughtful, serious commitment to continuous improvement. Kaizen events might last just a few days, but kaizen doesnt happen overnight. Its a change in the way of thinking, not just a change in process. [Sidebar]| These simple lean tools require an organizations serious commitment to continuous improvement.

Shakespeare Twelfth Night Essay Example

Shakespeare: Twelfth Night Paper These lines and indeed Act Three Scene One itself is taken from almost exactly the middle of the play. Many of the characters secrets are beginning to come out or are at least suspected. Viola is troubled by her love for Orsino, and it is possible that this is something that Feste explores earlier in the scene. Orsino however is still stuck deeply in the throes of his romantic love, but below the surface there are hints that he is confused by Viola and his feelings for her. Viola also inspires confusion or at least infatuation in the mind of Olivia, who has fallen deeply in love with Orsinos young servant. Sebastian has not yet arrived, and the plays subplot is really coming into being with Malvolio having just received the letter dropped for him by Mariah, much to the amusement of Sirs Andrew and Toby. The extract itself is taken from the end of the scene; Feste has just exited and Viola alone on stage delivers her lines of blank verse as a soliloquy to the audience. The speech at first seems to refer to her recent and uncomfortable encounter with Feste, but also reflects on other ideas including the two key themes of the play. Moreover, when actually delivered in a production, in my opinion the actress could interpret these lines in a variety of different ways and subsequently speak to mean different things. However, it seems to me that the long vowel sounds (occurring especially regularly in the last three lines) lend themselves particularly to a reflective manner of speaking. We will write a custom essay sample on Shakespeare: Twelfth Night specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Shakespeare: Twelfth Night specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Shakespeare: Twelfth Night specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The actress would draw them out portraying Violas pondering of the revelations she has worked out after her encounter with Feste, as was done in the school production of the play. The opening line, This fellow is wise enough to play the fool, is a play on the proverbial statement No man can play the fool as well as the wise man, and perhaps also He is not wise who cannot play the fool. Firstly, here Viola is looking back at Feste she was confused by the encounter, but understands how intelligent he actually is. It also sets the theme of the passage the wit of fools and the folly of wise men an effectively confusing way to end a scene in which foolery has been the main theme. Interestingly, this confused content creates a distinct contrast to the solid blank verse which also happens to be in almost perfect iambic pentameter, but does however gain an extra syllable on the first, fifth, and sixth lines. This changing rhythm adds to the general theme of madness in the play as well as demonstrating further Violas confusion. In particular, the broken rhythm of the lines might show how conflicting emotions primarily love could crack her self-control. After this, Violas speech continues to elaborate on her comparison between wise men and fools, and her analysis of Feste. The next few lines seem to be her description of what Feste does, and how clever and sensitive he must be to actually is to do this how he must observe their mood on whom he jests, the quality of persons. In my opinion, this could also be interpreted as her realisation of how he has read her that he has worked out all her secrets and she knows this. There are several hints at this earlier in the scene. After this, the next phrase seems to be more of the same, Not, like the haggard, check at every feather that comes before his eye is another acknowledgement of the skill of Feste, but possibly also indication that she sees certain predatory attributes in him. The haggard refers to a wild hawk that will seize on any prey it sees Feste apparently must not do this. Earlier in the scene he hardly treated her respectfully and she could well feel resentful, as if she had been his prey. Finally she might also have, possibly subconsciously but in my opinion more likely not aimed this phrase at herself in a moment of ironic self-deprecation referring to her suddenly and, perhaps, irrationally falling for Orsino. She does not really understand her love and is telling herself that she is the one that must not check at every feather. Moreover, on the surface, Shakespeares use of a hawk as a simile to demonstrate Violas point would have been very easy to relate to and understand by his audience, as hawking was still a favourite pastime of the Elizabethan upper class. The next line returns back to the theme of fools and wise men: This is a practice as full of labour as a wise mans art declares Festes fooling to be equal to any wise mans profession and possibly even an acceptable alternative to such a job as well as declaring how difficult it is. However, in the final phrase, Viola arrives at her conclusion that the Festes profession is more worthwhile, cleverer and far more sensible than following the path of a wise man as for wise men to act foolishly would be wrong not in keeping with any wise mans art if they were to do this they would become stupid, or possibly even mad. By comparison, folly that [Feste] shows is fit folly that Feste intelligently displays is skilfully adapted (to his current audience) but wise men, folly-falln, quite taint their wit. This line allows for a whole range of different interpretations. In my opinion, it works excellently to bring the passage back into context with the themes of the play, explored below. Another very possible interpretation of the phrase might be that Viola is again bemoaning Orsinos confusion in his idealistic love for Olivia; he has falln folly to her, or possibly just to his own narcissism, and is blind to Violas love for him, and even blind to her actual sex. Secondly, an interesting way to view this particular passage is another allusion to Ovids Metamorphoses, which appear in several places throughout the play, if interpreted in a certain way. For example, in Act 1 Scene 1: That instant was I turned into a hart And my desires like fell and cruel hounds Eer since pursue me. If indeed it is an allusion to the Metamorphoses one way to interpret it with relation to Ovids work would be through the same story (of Diana and Actaeon) that the extract above is a play on. Actaeon was a huntsman, not wise exactly, but reputedly sensible whose folly was bad luck in stumbling across Diana bathing. Desperate to keep any living mortal from being able to walk away and tell of what he had seen, and unable to reach her bow, she turned him into a stag. Subsequently, he was then torn to pieces by his own hounds. Significantly becoming an animal, he could be said to have lost, or tainted his wits. If the passage is read in this way, with Orsino taking the place of Actaeon, Viola could almost be blaming Olivia for Orsinos lack of interest in her although this seems really quite unreasonable and unlikely as she knows well of Olivias misguided infatuation with Viola herself. Another way to link Actaeon and Orsino is that they both could be seen to objectify women. A feminist might view Actaeons watching of Diana bathing as an act of voyeurism. He just sees the woman purely as an object to enjoy, and as a result he is torn to pieces by his own animalistic hence hounds desires. Orsinos enjoyment of his own, self-proclaimed love for Olivia could be seen to amount to much the same thing and so ultimately ending with his destruction. This is something that the pragmatic Viola fears. An even more relevant tale from Ovids Metamorphoses is, in my opinion, that of Narcissus himself. Narcissistic is often a very obvious and appropriate way to describe Orsinos actions. Interestingly, Ovids version of the story, Narcissus was a famously attractive, but proud, boy punished by the Gods for having spurned all his male suitors. The fact that Narcissus in this version was a homosexual or at least loved by other men, with no actual feelings of his own for anyone except himself makes the moral story even more appropriate when read with regard to Orsino. A common interpretation of his character is that he is actually homosexually inclined, not at all interested in women except as a far off object with which to entertain himself through his own apparent passion, and the practice of what he believes should be a romantic ideal the idea of Courtly Love. Indeed, he never really ventures near Olivia until the end of the play and even then argues with her almost instantly, obviously finding her difficult to get on with. He is also violently, almost irrationally, shocked and angry at the prospect of Cesario (Viola) being taken away from him by Olivia. Whether this is interpreted as inspired by jealousy and anger at Cesario, or perhaps concealed shock that he is leaving him, is up to the reader. Moreover, once their apparent marriage comes out, he is really very abusive of Olivia, the woman he is meant to be madly in love with. Crucially, for most of the play, he surrounds himself with men, including the almost constant company of his servant Cesario whom he believes to be a man. Interestingly, even after he learns the truth he still insists on calling her boy. The play certainly contains some ambiguity about Orsinos sexuality. Another narcissistic quality of Orsinos is his wildly dramatising his love for Olivia, in that he idles around his court moaning of his passion to himself. He seems more interested in the passion and purity of his own alleged love, rather than the actual object his love is directed at. In my opinion, Orsino is clearly self-obsessed. To continue with Ovids story, a young man named Aimeinias falls deeply in love with Narcissus but is turned away. Aimeinias then kills himself on Narcissus doorstep, praying to Nemesis that one day Narcissus too would know the pain of unrequited love. Later, this prayer is fulfilled when Narcissus becomes entranced with his reflection in the pool, and attempts to seduce himself without realising it is him. Unable to do so, drowned in confusion and sorrow, Narcissus transfixes himself with his sword, completing the symmetry of the tale. Now, it is possible that at this stage in the play Viola, unable to make Orsino see her for what she really is and how she feels, might be putting herself in Aimeinias place that of one experiencing tragically unrequited love, although she is far too pragmatic to actually kill herself. However, in using this possible reference to Narcissus in her thoughtful soliloquy she is worrying about the future, and what could happen to Orsino if he is not turned from his current, self-obsessed mindset. She worries that he will destroy himself, never understanding who he really is. In any case, falling in love with oneself to the extent of committing suicide could definitely be described as a tainting of the wit of the highest order. Aside form connections with Ovids Metamorphoses another, more contextual, way to look at the extract with regard to a possible example of a wise man, folly falln at that time Rupert Devereux, Earl Of Essex, and a long-time favourite of Queen Elizabeth. He was a military hero but, following a poor campaign against Irish Rebels during the Nine Years War, he defied the Queen and was executed for treason in February 1601 around the time that Shakespeare was writing Twelfth Night. This also ties in with another possible meaning of the haggard, [checking] at every feather. This could have vaguely alluded to the ailing Queen and her changing selection of favourites, many of whom did her country no good at all. Members of the audience at that time, particularly those directly associated with Her Majestys Court, may well have picked up on this. In fact, most of the passage could be looked at as excellent general advice for doing well in court intrigues this may also have been of note to courtiers attending Queen Elizabeth when she viewed the play. Incidentally, this important line is clearly stressed and broken up with particular emphasis on folly-falln to make the words, and their range of meanings, particularly noticeable. This is achieved with the consonance of the letter f causing the phrase to stand out. Moreover, this alliteration, combined with the clear iambic pentameter of the lines and the rhyme of fit and wit is used by Shakespeare to round off the lines of blank verse in a natural, poetic, way a technique he often uses to end formal speeches by lead characters. Furthermore, the end phrases are linked clearly with the wise/fool motif back to the beginning and the play on He is not wise who cannot play the fool. Incidentally in my opinion this statement in itself, if extracted from its connotations in the top line, could very neatly sum up the point in Violas entire soliloquy. Finally, as I mentioned above, not only do these last lines link the passage back on itself, they link it with the rest of the play through the plays two most important themes love and madness. These two powerful ideas are reflected on throughout most of the play, including much of Act 3 Scene 1 although not so much my chosen passage, except the last line. If it is read with these in mind folly falln can easily be read as in love and if this is the case, instead of explaining how foolish wise men are, it instead states that any normally rational person, when in love quite taint their wit. This idea is demonstrated by several of the main characters throughout the play, Orsino being the most obvious example although he is complex because he could either be interpreted as madly in love with Olivia, or if you take the narcissistic view, with himself. However, in my opinion, it could certainly be said that every major character excepting Feste, who appears to be exempt from the tragi c trials of the rest of the world and instead seems to act as some short of catalyst to bring the other characters together in the correct pairings loses their wits to some extent because of love. However, this idea of love causing madness does seem to strongly contrast with the entire play, if thought about with its status as a Comedy in mind. At the heart of many traditional Comedies, abiding by the Greek rules for the genre, the story will revolve around the correction of certain problems areas where there is something deeply wrong with the world (these are many and varied in Twelfth Night, but are largely based around the separation of Viola and Sebastian) through music, mirth and marriage. Each of these three mediums is both important and relevant to the play, which contains resonances of all. Mirth, for example, is used by Shakespeare in many of his plays both to end them satisfactorily, through the conventions of a Comedy and simply to provide his audience with amusement. In Twelfth Night both of these are evident. The sub-plot involving the entrapment and public humiliation of Malvolio is made up of inherently amusing characters, and is full of puns and other amusing lines often deliberately sexual. Presumably this was meant to appeal particularly to the lower classes, whilst the comparatively more highbrow drama was assumed to be to the tastes of the noblemen. However, in my opinion the sub-plot probably provided much light relief and enjoyment, complete with its bawdy jokes, to all. Moreover, the sub-plot also provides us with the rather cruel, but supposedly comic, ending involving Malvolios departure ending the play with mirth. (Incidentally, this also functions as an attack on Puritanism. Puritans consistently tried to close the theatres, as they were immoral, and as such were a popular target for ridicule in plays. Malvolio is described as a kind of Puritan and as such ends the play in disgrace shamed, and leaving the house. Finally, in the actual production of the play, the audience would almost certainly have found the cross-dressing amusing, something Shakespeare must have intended as all actors at that time were male. So, the actor playing the character of Viola would have been a man, dressed up as a woman, dressed up as a man a very confusing circumstance that almost anyone should find funny! It would also have fit very nicely with the original role-changing traditions of the festival of Twelfth Night. Secondly, music is particularly evident in the play, which contains two songs actually written in the script and other references to music being played which could easily have been introduced in for an actual production of the play, and probably were. Twelfth Night is definitely one of Shakespeares more musical plays. Music, in a comedy, is important in itself as a symbol of harmony but furthermore it is often interpreted as referring to the Ancient Greek idea of Music Of The Spheres. This is supposed to be the original music, originating from the proportions and movements of all celestial bodies at the time thought to be revolving around the earth. Of this, all earthly music is supposedly a copy, so the theory goes, created since the Fall after which Adam and Eve could no longer hear this divine, perfect harmony. However, in this instance, it is marriage that is especially important. Marriage, as part of a Comedy, not only provides a happy ending for the play, but also, along w ith Music, symbolises social harmony. As a result, if the end of Violas soliloquy is interpreted as an argument that people lose their wits when in love, it could well be seen as a sharp contrast to the Comedic idea that marriage will sort out peoples problems, make everything right and keep everyone in their right minds. Importantly, this basic idea and the importance of social harmony would probably have been very easy to relate to for the Elizabethans that Shakespeares plays would have been performed to, and indeed to most of Europe. All in all, the late 16th, early 17th Centuries were not times that could be easily described as rich in social harmony, or much harmony at all really. Although on the surface it has been described as a golden age a time that ushered in a new era, breaking away from the past in many ways (for example the new styles of plays written by William Shakespeare); a time filled with exploration and expansion this can still hardly have been particularly peaceful. Socially, the growing power of the middle classes, particularly in London, threatened to unbalance the traditions of social hierarchy a hierarchy created centuries ago, with the evolution of the basic Feudal System. This rise in middle-class mercantile power would have seriously worried established upper classes perhaps making them unsure of their own security. Another source of worry for the upper classes would have been Englands military security, both internal and external. Critically, at that time England had a major rival in Spain. The two countries had conflicted often both in Europe and the Americas the Anglo-Spanish war (1585 1604. ) Particularly notable was the Armada, famously defeated in 1588, although less well known is the English retaliation the disastrously unsuccessful Drake-Norris expedition of 1589. After these Spain provided much support for the Irish Catholics in a draining guerrilla war against England, mentioned earlier with regard to Rupert Devereux. This, combined with a series of lost skirmishes with Spanish land and naval forces was very damaging both to the English Exchequer and to the economy, so carefully restored under Elizabeths prudent guidance after the Wars Of The Roses another bad memory hanging over the English people. When Twelfth Night was first shown the civil war may have been particularly prominent in the minds of many people, as no-one wanted to repeat it and yet Elizabeth seemed to be becoming more and more infirm (she would die in 1603, the year after Twelfth Night was first performed) and she had no heir. Consequentially, throughout this Golden Age, English society may well have actually been very tense and worried. Even the expression of the great new ideals and style of living in Merry England is possibly being mocked by the play. This expression included the evolution of new music and literature, architecture and adventurous seafaring. So, for example, Orsinos mis-use of very old, classical literature in his language and declarations of love seems at odds with the wave of new writing sweeping the country from authors like Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and Edmund Spenser, not to mention Shakespeare himself. Finally, the exitement and romance of adventurous seafaring is really very black humour when looked at with Twelfth Night, a play from which the entire plot origianates from a shipwreck. However, it would certainly be a very topical way to involve the audience, as many may have been involved in such seafaring, or at least interested by it, and opening his play with a shipwreck, Shakespeare may well have interested and excited his audience from the start. Indeed, London was and still is to some extent a very great trading post. Finally there is the idea of Twelfth Night itself. A very popular holiday, Twelfth Night, in Elizabethan England, marked the end of the winter festival that started on All Hallows Eve. It was a time of festivities and merrymaking indeed, Shakespeares play was written to be part of Twelfth Night entertainment and was first performed in Middle Temple Hall, London 1602 as the culmination of the evenings revelry. The play itself draws heavily from Twelfth Night ideas, not least the name. Crucially, the theme of confusion and back-to-front-ness (for on Twelfth Night a King, or Lord Of Misrule usually a servant is elected to lead the festivities) is echoed strongly throughout the Comedy, through ideas like Viola spending much of the play as a man, or Malvolio believing he could wed Olivia and become a nobleman. Even in my chosen passage the idea is reflected, through the theme and repetitive comparison of fools and wise men.