(1687,48,'2011-09-26 12:12:40','2011-09-26 18:12:40','<div class=\"mceTemp mceIEcenter\"><dl><dt><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Titus-Andronicus-2003.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1645\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Titus-Andronicus-2003-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" /></a></dt><dd>0, handle not the theme, to talk of hands, lest we remember still that we have none.</dd></dl><a href=\"http://www.pilgrimways.com/window/2010/06/01/street-galleries/\">http://www.pilgrimways.com/window/2010/06/01/street-galleries/</a></div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div>     When discussing English literature, there is no pinnacle higher, no name more recognized than that of William Shakespeare. Born into the height of the renaissance period, sometime roughly around 1564, Shakespeare authored and co-authored a large number of plays that are still known the world over today. One of his first tragedies, <em>Titus Andronicus</em>, was written between 1588 and 1593. It is a classic tale of revenge and the human struggle with morality, and heavily reflects the fascination at the time for classic tales of passion and drama, especially ones drawn from the influence of ancient Greece and Rome. The fascination with subject matter from the classical world encompassed both art and literature, and many stories by Greek and Roman authors were being adapted for public consumption, including the writings of Ovid, is mentioned specifically in <em>Titus Andronicus</em>. It is the homage that Shakespeare pays to the authors of the past as well as the fact that<em> Titus Andronicus</em> is the first tragedy written by the famous playwright that makes it of such historical importance.<!--more--></div>\r\n<div>     \"It was from the stores of Greek and Latin churches...that the monks had preserved the seeds of many arts, particularly the art of design, though in a very imperfect degree, but still sufficient, by cultivation, to produce effects of the greatest magnitude. In respect to the progress of refinement in Italy, it must be observed, that the little republic of Florence gave birth to many restorers of science, letters, and arts. Painting, sculpture, and architecture were advanced and perfected by the consecutive labors of well-employed artists, during the course of almost three hundred years, from Cimbaue to Leonardo da Vinci, Frau Bartolomeo to Michael Angelo\" ( Northcote 1: 393-394 ). Like most writers of his time, William Shakespeare was influenced heavily by the art and culture that surrounded him. Most subject matter had been brought over to England by the Romans that initially established the country, and because of this the art and writings focused heavily on the mythos of Greece and Rome, as well as religious subject matter. Many of the books at the time were written in languages such as Latin, and while there were certainly texts published in old English, the majority of the population at the time was illiterate. This is what motivated playwrights such as Shakespeare to take these stories and re-create them in a medium that the masses would be able to enjoy. At the same time painters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michael Angelo were producing works that visually told stories in a way that didn\'t require a literate audience. \"Many works produced by English artists between the year 1200 and the reign of Henry the VII could be compared with the best Italian artists of the same time\" ( Flaxman 51 ).</div>\r\n<div>     It is difficult to dispute the greatness of Shakespeare, and part of what made his plays so wildly popular was their presentation by the Lord Chamberlain\'s Men in the famous Globe Theatre. In 1603, when James I succeeded Elizabeth, he gave the company a royal patent, and it became the King\'s Men. From 1603 to 1616 they played an average of twelve performances a year at Court. James supplied nine members, including Shakespeare, with four-and-a-half yards of red cloth each to make liveries to wear in his coronation procession. <em>Titus Andronicus</em> was the first of Shakespeare\'s tragedies and would have been the first of his tragedies performed by the theatre company, and likely also the first of Shakespeare\'s tragedies performed in the Globe theatre. Although it was a very lewd and violent play that was designed to appeal to the public, the way in which the theatre company presented it was different from any other play being produced at the time, and the work itself is innovative in that it was the first time Shakespeare broke away from writing comedies.</div>\r\n<div>     Edward Ravenscroft ( 1654-1707), was an English dramatist who is best known for criticizing <em>Titus Andronicus</em> foremost among Shakespeare\'s works. Ravenscroft originated the theory that<em> Titus Andronicus</em> wasn\'t actually written by Shakespeare, instead supposing that the playwright took an already existing story and re-worked it. Ravenscroft has been quoted at saying,\"... \'tis the most incorrect and indigested piece in all his Works, It seems rather a heap of Rubbish then a Structure\" ( 4 ). This is in direct conflict with more current opinions. Most are familiar with the unbiased reviewing of written material provided by Cliffnotes, which claims,\"As is true in all of Shakespeare\'s plays,<em> Titus Andronicu</em>s is structured from conventions and traditions and philosophies which were well-known in Shakespeare\'s time; the play was not created in a vacuum, and although it is vulnerable to negative criticism, it contains some very good dramatic moments\" ( Wiley 63 ). While critics have developed more love for this particular play, the public has lost some of the stomach for the material it presents. At the time when the play was initially being performed, the state of affairs was completely opposite. Critics frowned upon <em>Titus Andronicus</em> because it was irreverent and created to appeal to the general public, who in turn were fascinated by the violence of the play.</div>\r\n<div>     My personal love for this play comes from the empathetic position which is given to Titus himself. Only wanting to do right and be honorable, the Roman general makes the grievous mistake of allowing his sons to sacrifice one of the captive sons of the Queen of the Goths. Although the motivation for this act is piety, it starts the chain reaction of revenge between Tamora and her sons and Titus\' family. Aaron is witty and provides a perfect antagonist, being a well written and vicious villain, and the various monologues are not only entertaining but beautifully written.</div>\r\n<div>     When talking about the masterful writing in Shakespeare\'s <em>Titus Andronicus</em>, it is important to compare it to at least one other piece of literature from the time. One of Shakespeare\'s most well known contemporaries and a fellow writer was Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, who is famous for his book, <em>Don Quixote</em>. Compared to the whimsical, meandering story of the short-sighted and idealistic knight, Shakespeare\'s bloody story is almost a polar opposite. <em>Don Quixote</em> is satirical and full of poignant messages about life. Alonso Quixano completely reinvents himself, giving his horse a new name and polishing his grandfather\'s armor, then sets out to do great deeds as a knight-errant. There is a direct parallel in Don Quixote\'s voluntary insanity and the insanity that Titus feigns in order to fool Tamora and her sons into the trap he has set. Both characters are using the guise of insanity to reach a higher goal. Don Quixote seeks to reach the pinnacle of chivalry while Titus seeks to gain revenge. Another way in which both works are different is that Shakespeare sought to move away from the dark ages and the time of knights, instead seeking a return to the glorified ideas of the ancient world, re-telling tales from Greece and Rome the movement of intellectualism and enlightenment that personified the renaissance. Meanwhile Cervantes sought to present a romanticized vision of the more recent past and the times of knighthood and chivalry in order to keep alive those ideas.</div>\r\n<div>     When reviewing <em>Titus Andronicu</em>s it is most important to remember that this work was heavily based upon the <em>Metamorphosis</em> by Ovid, which is actually quoted in the play. Aside from being Shakespeare\'s first tragedy and a fine example of his work, this play is essentially a way for the mythos and figures of the ancient world to be presented to the masses, most of whom were unable to read the stories for themselves. <em>Titus Andronicu</em>s may be criticized as a violent play, but the works that were drawn upon for its creation are likewise bloody and bizarre. Regardless of anyone\'s personal opinions about the content, this play is historically important not just for the connection to the great playwright, but also for the connection to the original religious beliefs of the Greeks and Romans.</div>\r\n<div align=\"center\">__________________Works Cited_________________</div>\r\n<div align=\"left\">1. Northcote, James . <em>Life of Titan, with Anecdotes of the Distinguished Persons of His Times. 2 vols</em>. London; Colburn and Bentley, 1830.\r\n2. Flaxman, John. <em>Lectures on Sculpture, To which Are Now First Added, an Introductory Lecture, and Two Addresses...on the Death of Thomas Banks, in 1805</em>. London; Henry G. Bohn, 1838.\r\n3. Oxford Reference Online Premium [ A Dictionary of Shakespeare ] -- <a href=\"http://www.oxfordreference.com.lsproxy.austincc.edu/views/ENTRY.html?entry=t57.e396\">http://www.oxfordreference.com.lsproxy.austincc.edu/views/ENTRY.html?entry=t57.e396</a>\r\n4. Gillies, John. <em>Shakespeare and the geography of difference</em>. La Trobe University; 1947.\r\n5. John Wiley &amp; Sons, Inc.<em> Shakespeare\'s Minor Plays : Notes ...</em> 1991. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). EBSCO. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.\r\n6. Sturman, Marianne, and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.<em> Don Quixote : Notes</em>. John Wiley &amp; Sons, Inc. (US), 1964. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). EBSCO. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.</div>\r\n&nbsp;','Titus Andronicus - Masterpiece or Rubbish Heap?','','inherit','open','open','','1644-revision-11','','','2011-09-26 12:12:40','2011-09-26 18:12:40','',1644,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1687',0,'revision','',0),(1692,44,'2011-09-26 16:45:45','2011-09-26 22:45:45','','13798.jpg','','inherit','open','open','','13798-jpg','','','2011-09-26 16:45:45','2011-09-26 22:45:45','',0,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/13798.jpg.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1693,44,'2011-09-26 16:51:30','2011-09-26 22:51:30','','ea0068p3_standard','','inherit','open','open','','ea0068p3_standard','','','2011-09-26 16:51:30','2011-09-26 22:51:30','',0,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1698,44,'2011-09-26 16:59:15','2011-09-26 22:59:15','','ea0068p3_standard','','inherit','open','open','','ea0068p3_standard-2','','','2011-09-26 16:59:15','2011-09-26 22:59:15','',1697,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1697,44,'2011-09-26 17:04:54','2011-09-26 23:04:54','<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1698\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1-300x175.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"175\" /></a>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/EarlyAmericas/ExplorationsandEncounters/ColumbusandtheTaino/ExhibitObjects/GirolamoBenzoni.aspx\">http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/EarlyAmericas/ExplorationsandEncounters/ColumbusandtheTaino/ExhibitObjects/GirolamoBenzoni.aspx</a></p>\r\n<p align=\"center\">“<em>History of the New World</em>” By Girolamo Benzoni</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n                The book “History of the New World” should be preserved due to the fact that it shows how we use to act and some actions that we should never repeat and stepping outside the box to be able to reach a goal. Within the book “History of The New World’’ by Girolamo Benzoni, he wrote about a “trip” that he took to the “New World” (what is now the United States). He wrote the book in the year 1565 and had it republished in 1572. The book was written about his fifteen year journey to the “New World” in the book he elaborates on what he does, what he has endured, and what he see’s his fellow Spaniards do to the Indians of the land. He tells on how he is disgusted by some of the things he has seen while being over there. At this time frame in our history people were finding ways to be political and the religious power was very strong. The pope had a lot of pull and could tell pretty much everyone what to do. Not only was that an important thing, but the start of a new country in a different part of the world was major thing going on. The new discoveries over there and the event that were taking place in the new trade routes.<!--more-->\r\n\r\n                The writings of book weren’t too uncommon, especially since the “printing press had made it a lot easier for books to be reprinted” (The Humanities Tradition Vol. 2 pg. B3.116) it allowed more people to read books. We don’t come across to many of the books that were printed back in the 1500’s that were explaining what went on in the “new world” Benzoni had the same political mindset in which he wanted to change something so he chose to be innovated and come up with a new route to try and spread his message due to his low statue in society. He wrote about the pros and cons of what was going on in the “new world” which wasn’t to uncommon it was the magnitude of the negative things he wrote about is what caused the stir.\r\n\r\n                This was a very unusual tactic; the biggest part about it being unusual is the fact that the book was dedicated to the pope. It is dedicated to Pope Pius the 4<sup>th</sup> (The Catholic Encyclopedia) in which alone was a very strange gesture to do since for starters he did not know the pope or have any type of relationship with him, and the book is to have no religious value to it except that he (Benzoni) was upset with what his fellow “Christian brothers” were doing and acting towards the Indians and to the slaves. The book went into detail about how he had lived in the “new world” and the things that he saw. He goes into detail in the book about watching the Spaniards and how they would treat verbally and physically the Indians. He has pictures in the book of what the Indians would do on an everyday basis. He had put in images of Indians being enslaved by the white people and doing the brunt of work. He talked about how he would watch Indians and slaves walk into the woods at night to kill themselves because their life was so bad. He also talked about how Indian women would kill themselves and their babies so they wouldn’t have to endure the tormenting treatment from the Whites and Spaniards. This was a very controversial chunk of the book.\r\n\r\n                The book was really received with mixed feelings, the Spaniards hated the book and that was due to majority of the things said about them were negative. The Spaniards hated the book so much that they never printed it in their language. At first no one really read the book due to the fact it was only printed in one language but as the book got translated into French in 1579 and then in English in 1857 more people got the chance to read it. Some people thought that Benzoni had “exaggerated the truth” (Library of Congress) and didn’t see the book as very truthful.\r\n\r\n                The difference in feelings between then and now could be the same or they could be different I am not to sure. The reasoning for me not being to sure is due to the fact there are not a lot (if any) comments about this book online. I think mostly is cause we are never taught about this in school and I think its due to cause well we were those people who were the ones who treated the Indians so badly and we would be giving ourselves a bad name. We also don’t want to discriminate although I really don’t see how we could be but I’m sure someone who is of Indian descent would be upset we are talking about what took place in the history of this country. Another big possibility could be that Benzoni wasn’t the most educated person in the world and his grammatical skills were lacking a lot, so if we were to read the book it would probably need to be rewritten for us to understand, and with the time eras being so different it would be next to impossible to fully figure out and understand what he was trying to say or mean.\r\n\r\n                Things in this time era were different than how we could do things in modern day and ways of doing something to get your point across took creativity. Benzoni used some creativity by stepping outside of the box and writing a book to portray his message, and to get a change. He knew that going around and talking to people of power to get them to hear him and his complaints about the “New World” would next to impossible due to he was not from money or family statue so instead he chose to take a different approach. The best part of that approach was he dedicated it to the pope since he was the one who pretty much had the most power and could do something, and in the long run it paid off things changed.\r\n\r\n                In the next couple of generation need to look over and learn what he did, because there are a lot of lesions they could learn. One thing that stands out in bold is that your actions can speak louder than your words. In this direct aspect he could have told people what he saw and didn’t like or he could have done what he did and write them down in a book and spread his feelings on things and allow people to know what was really going on in the new world. With this book it also shows that even the smallest person can make the biggest impact if you just take the right ways to get your voice heard.\r\n\r\n                Benzoni also shows that we need to be bold every now and then, he took a chance and stepped outside the box and it succeeded he got what he thought should be down. If he would have never dedicated the book to Pope Prius the 4<sup>th</sup> then things would not have changed or changed that quickly. He showed that the mistreatment of others that were different in race was wrong.\r\n\r\nIn overall this book “History of the New World” by Girolamo Benzoni I think needs to be more talked about when we talk about the history of when we came over and how we treated the Indians. We don’t need to just focus on the negative the book can bring but we need to talk about the positive aspects such as him being bold and writing this book, wanting the fairness of everyone in the “new world”, and how your actions can speak louder.\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Bibliography </span></p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>“The Humanistic Tradition Vol 2” Fiero, 6<sup>th</sup> edition Page B3.116, 18 September 2011  <a href=\"http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/connect/hmEBook.do?setTab=sectionTabs\">http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/connect/hmEBook.do?setTab=sectionTabs</a></li>\r\n	<li> “History of the New World” by Girolamo Benzoni [microform]. 18 September, 2011 <a href=\"http://www.archive.org/stream/cihm_32516#page/n11/mode/2up\">http://www.archive.org/stream/cihm_32516#page/n11/mode/2up</a></li>\r\n	<li> Library of Congress, Exploring the Early Americas. 18 September, 2011 <a href=\"http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/EarlyAmericas/ExplorationsandEncounters/ColumbusandtheTaino/ExhibitObjects/GirolamoBenzoni.aspx\">http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/EarlyAmericas/ExplorationsandEncounters/ColumbusandtheTaino/ExhibitObjects/GirolamoBenzoni.aspx</a></li>\r\n	<li>Bandelier, Adolph Francis. \"Girolamo Benzoni.\" The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 18 Sept. 2011 &lt;http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02484c.htm&gt;.</li>\r\n</ol>','History of The New World','','publish','open','open','','history-of-the-new-world-2','','','2011-09-27 14:44:46','2011-09-27 20:44:46','',0,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1697',0,'post','',14),(3446,80,'2013-10-14 11:34:08','2013-10-14 17:34:08','[youtube]<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OZCyp-LcGw\">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OZCyp-LcGw</a>[/youtube]\r\n\r\nAs it has been called a “comedy with music” this is known for one of the finest Italian comic operas. The underlying and social implications of this story, this is one of Mozart’s most inspired operas. This should be preserved, as Mozart used the emotional power of music to translate his understanding of humanity.\r\n\r\nItalian opera was superior in Europe, where fairy-tale themes serving to the glorified princes. Mozart did not like the operas as he felt they would hold back the drama. He wanted to make an opera with real situations and everyday modern problems. In 1786 Mozart decided to write music to The Marriage of Figaro. In this story line servants have the same right as their masters, and with Mozart’s music it helped with the story’s underlying sarcasm. It contains delightful music that expresses high-quality humor as well as a delicate proposition of the story’s intriguing and unfair and dishonest practices.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTo understand this piece here is a quick Synopsis of the opera. The Marriage of Figaro continues the plot of The Barber of Seville several years later, and recounts a single \"day of madness\" (<i>la folle giornata</i>) in the palace of Count Almaviva in Spain. Rosina is now the Countess; Dr. Bartolo is seeking revenge against Figaro, as he plans to marry Rosina himself; yet Count Almaviva has declined the romantic youth of <i>Barber</i>. After giving Figaro a job as head of his servant-staff, he is now determined to obtain favors from Figaro\'s bride-to-be, Susanna. However; Count keeps giving excuse after excuse to delay the wedding of his two servants, which is arranged for marriage this very day. Figaro, Susanna, and Countess plot for a way to humiliate Count and expose his plan.  But when Count is exposed, he rebels by trying to force Figaro to marry an older woman who could be his mother. This threat turns out not working since the woman he chose ended up being his mother. Count\'s love for Countess was re-established after Figaro\'s and Susanna\'s quick management.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe upper class was surprised that they were not flattered. They refused to attend any of Mozart’s concerts.  The Emperor felt it was too long and that was why they did not like it.  The other composer loved his work yet, said it was not very good because they were jealous. Watch this small clip from the movie Amadeus where it shows Mozart conducting the Marriage of Figaro, you see the Emperor yawning and other composers smiling and listen to what the other composer says.\r\n\r\n[youtube]<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTfiboMetpY\">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTfiboMetpY</a>[/youtube]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou can see Mozart’s feelings in his music by listening to the music. Listen to the way the music moves really slow and you can feel the tension in his music as he is in the depressed state, at the same time the music switches to quick, upbeat, and fast paced while his mood switches to a happier and wittier Mozart. After time Mozart becomes broke and depressed; he becomes sick and has to borrow money from his friends. When the modern opera did not go as plan he continues borrowing money and eventually dies. But when asked today how people feel about this piece, they love it. Today people recreate this opera more often as it is readily accepted in today’s world than before.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The Marriage of Figaro ','','inherit','open','open','','3420-revision-v1','','','2013-10-14 11:34:08','2013-10-14 17:34:08','',3420,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=3446',0,'revision','',0),(3447,79,'2013-10-14 11:50:30','2013-10-14 17:50:30','<p style=\"text-align: right;\" align=\"right\">Jordan Pinion</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\" align=\"right\">9/23/13</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\" align=\"right\">HUMA 1302-007</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\" align=\"right\">TCP2</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\">                <a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/The_Anatomy_Lesson.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3480\" alt=\"The_Anatomy_Lesson\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/The_Anatomy_Lesson.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\">      The Anatomy Lesson</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\"><a href=\"http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/The_Anatomy_Lesson.jpg/300px-The_Anatomy_Lesson.jpg\"><i>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/The_Anatomy_Lesson.jpg/300px-The_Anatomy_Lesson.jpg</i></a><i></i></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\"><i> </i></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Name: <i>The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp</i></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">By: <i> </i>Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Date: 1632</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">       A step in a different direction from Rembrandt\'s typical biblical depictions, this piece depicts an anatomy lesson taught by one Nicolaes Tulp. At the time, live cadavers were only permitted to be used for dissection once a year, “The winder months were a useful time, since the bodies would keep better during the demonstrations that usually went on for several days.” (A.C.) What is most intriguing is Rembrandt\'s depiction of death, and the implications of the advancement of the sciences. The drama evoked by this piece is very much in line with the Baroque style of the time. This piece should be preserved not only for its textbook examples of Baroque styling, but for its insight into the emergence and widespread reception of the scientific revolution, which affects most everyone to this very day.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><!--more--></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">       The Netherlands of the time had just finished declaring their independence from a French monarchy, and the dutch way of life had already begun to represent itself as a large proponent of scientific discovery. “After thirty years of war to shake off the Spanish yoke, the seven northern provinces, including Holland, had gained their independence and established their right to     trade freely. Politically, the United Provinces were a fairly loose federation; religiously, they had embraced Calvinism; economically, they were going from strength to strength, largely as a result of their trading links with the East Indies and the West Indies. By the middle of the 17<sup>th</sup> century, half of Europe\'s trade was carried by Dutch ships.” (A.C.)</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">       Holland (and most of Northern Europe at the time) was greatly influenced by the scientific revolution, but not simply by means of technological advancement. The scientific revolution had a profound influence on the artistic minds of the time as well, “In the cities of seventeenth-century Holland, where Dutch lens-makers had produced the first telescopes and microscopes, artists paid obsessive attention to the appearance of the natural world. In still lifes, portraits,    landscape, and scenes of everyday life-- all secular subjects-- Dutch masters practiced the \'art of describing\'”.  (Fiero)</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><i>       The Anatomy Lesson</i> was actually a departure of the norm for Rembrandt, as he was mostly famous at the time for his work on portraits, though it definitely was one of his more lucrative commissions. His work was actually very typical of its era, and many believe that he was actually very heavily influenced by Peter Paul Rubens.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">       Both the Baroque style and the influences of the scientific revolution are very apparent in <i>The Anatomy Lesson</i>. “Some of these paintings,... reflect the Baroque fondness for colossal proportion and theatrical setting. Even in his smaller-sized group portraits, Rembrandt achieved a unity of dramatic effect typical of the Baroque style.” (Fiero) The stark contrast between lights and darks is a hallmark of the Baroque style, and at the same time, the “faces bear the force of individual personalities and the spirit of inquisitiveness peculiar to the Age of Science.” (Fiero)</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">       “In 17<sup>th</sup> century Holland, group portraits were an immensely popular genre – they were a social institution, the symbol of an up-and-coming middle class.” (A.C.) Autopsies were a rarity during the time period, and to have the privilege of immortalizing this scene is amazing.  <i>The Anatomy Lesson</i> stands out from its peers because of its almost expert use of Baroque styling, and its emphasis on the sciences as not only a worthwhile pursuit of knowledge, but also a potential object of beauty.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><i>       The Anatomy Lesson</i> was very well received for its time, as it appealed to much of both the medical, scientific and the artistic world. In addition to this, it was a departure from the portraiture form that Rembrandt was familiar with, showing that he was versatile as well as skillful. <i>The Anatomy </i>Lesson was one of Rembrandt\'s more profitable pieces. Rembrandt was actually paid commission by several of the patrons present in the piece, (most of which were not even medically inclined) so that they could be included in the work.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">       Today <i>The Anatomy Lesson</i> has proven itself a work of art worth admiration. Of all the paintings by Rembrandt, it is certainly one of the most recognizable. “Far from not understanding the point of Professor Tulp’s anatomy lesson, Rembrandt has grasped its very essence. His painting, produced at a time of great historical, artistic, sociological, and epistemological developments, epitomizes the spirit of 17th-century Holland. Indeed, the artist’s concern with movement makes this painting the epitome of 17th-century European thinking: movement was central to the ideas of Descartes, Gassendi, Galileo, Leibniz, Newton - and Rembrandt.” (A.C.)</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">       It has been stated though that this may not have been a “true” anatomy lesson, at least as far as it is known for them to operate at the time.  “The body has not been \'cut-up\' (which is the actual meaning of \'anatomy\' – from Greek <i>ana</i> – meaning up and <i>temnein- </i>to cut)”. (A.C.)</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">       Personally, I admire the focus this piece emphasizes on the pursuit of science and knowledge. I especially liked how the doctors are depicted in the religiously appropriate dark clothing to indicate that this is a relatively somber occasion, yet still one of learning and exploration. The message of this piece I believe is that scientific and medical discoveries are on the up-turn. At roughly the same time <i>The Anatomy Lesson</i> was being painted, Galileo was being put on trial for his scientific beliefs/discoveries.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">       Also a Dutch work <i>The Drawing Lesson</i> by Jan Steen is a good comparison of similar work of the time. It depicts a very crowded dutch art studio, in which two students are being taught by a drawing master. It is interesting to note that the students in this case, are two women.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">       Both pieces are excellent examples of the Baroque style, effectively using the contrast of light and shadow to lead the eye to the main scene. Light is not the only way that these pieces guide the eye though, as both paintings very effectively use composition and the very specific placement of objects/people in order to bring the piece together as a whole.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">       The differences between these two pieces seem to far outweigh the similarities. <i>The Drawing Lesson</i> by Jan Steen is exceptionally cluttered, which adds to its realism, but is in stark contrast to <i>The Anatomy Lesson</i> which is almost spartan in its accessories. “Often humorous and anecdotal, Steen\'s painting are usually brilliant in composition. Here, he uses the canvas leaning on the trunk and the lute on the floor to lead our eyes into the scene.” (Fiero) <i>The Anatomy Lesson</i> on the other hand uses almost purely the contrast of the dark background (which is almost unintelligible) with the light fullness of the faces present in order to draw the eye. “As in his religious compositions, he manipulates light for dramatic purposes: he spotlights the dissected corpse in the foreground and balances the darker area formed by the figure of the doctor with a triangle created by the brightly lit faces of the students (whose names appear on the piece of paper held by the central figure).” (Fiero)</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">       What is most important about this work that future generations must be aware of it that this piece is a perfect representation of the Baroque style (and it often used to depict the style). In addition to this, the implications of scientific thought, exploration and discovery as not only a mainstay in the pursuit of knowledge, but also in the pursuit of artistic accuracy are enormous. More than anything, <i>The Anatomy Lesson</i> screams that Science can be beautiful, and it is this lesson that I believe should be carried on to future generations.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">“Rembrandt van Rijn” <i>Encyclopedia Britannica Online. </i>Encyclopedia</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">            Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. 2013</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">            Web. 23 September 2013</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">            This is the encyclopedia entry specifically for Rembrandt himself, as opposed to <i>The Anatomy Lesson</i>. It was invaluable for its insight into the time period and into the artist.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">A.C. Masquelet “Rembrandt\'s Anatomy Lesson of Professor Nicolaes Tulp (1632)”</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><i>            </i>Corpus Maitri. Orthopaedic<i></i></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">            Web. 23 Sep 2013</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">            This source is a third party in-depth analysis of not only the work, but the works validity as an accurate representation of a medical autopsy. I used this source not so much for the argument that it presents, but more for the information garnered about the specific art style.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">“Rembrandt van Rijn” <i>Oxford Art Online</i></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">            ACC Library Online Services, 2013.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">            Web. 26 Aug. 2013</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">            A wealth of information on the life and times of the artist. It includes the full bodies of work created by Rembrandt, not just limited in scope of <i>The Anatomy Lesson</i>. This resource was very good for fleshing out major influencers, as well as public reception of the time.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Fiero, Gloria K. “<em>Humanistic Traditions Vol. 2”</em></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">McGraw Hill, 2011. E-Book</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Web. 1 Oct 2013</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">            The e-book specifically for this course, filled with abundant amounts of information concerning not only the piece, but its creator, colleagues and comparative pieces. It proved invaluable for providing reception information, as well as comparisons.</p>','The Anatomy Lesson','','publish','open','open','','the-anatomy-lesson','','','2013-10-14 12:44:01','2013-10-14 18:44:01','',0,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=3447',0,'post','',14),(1699,44,'2011-09-26 17:01:49','2011-09-26 23:01:49','<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1698\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1-300x175.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"175\" /></a>\n<p align=\"center\">“<em>History of the New World</em>” By Girolamo Benzoni</p>\n&nbsp;\n\n                The book “History of the New World” should be preserved due to the fact that it shows how we use to act and some actions that we should never repeat and stepping outside the box to be able to reach a goal. Within the book “History of The New World’’ by Girolamo Benzoni, he wrote about a “trip” that he took to the “New World” (what is now the United States). He wrote the book in the year 1565 and had it republished in 1572. The book was written about his fifteen year journey to the “New World” in the book he elaborates on what he does, what he has endured, and what he see’s his fellow Spaniards do to the Indians of the land. He tells on how he is disgusted by some of the things he has seen while being over there. At this time frame in our history people were finding ways to be political and the religious power was very strong. The pope had a lot of pull and could tell pretty much everyone what to do. Not only was that an important thing, but the start of a new country in a different part of the world was major thing going on. The new discoveries over there and the event that were taking place in the new trade routes.\n\n                The writings of book weren’t too uncommon, especially since the “printing press had made it a lot easier for books to be reprinted” (The Humanities Tradition Vol. 2 pg. B3.116) it allowed more people to read books. We don’t come across to many of the books that were printed back in the 1500’s that were explaining what went on in the “new world” Benzoni had the same political mindset in which he wanted to change something so he chose to be innovated and come up with a new route to try and spread his message due to his low statue in society. He wrote about the pros and cons of what was going on in the “new world” which wasn’t to uncommon it was the magnitude of the negative things he wrote about is what caused the stir.\n\n                This was a very unusual tactic; the biggest part about it being unusual is the fact that the book was dedicated to the pope. It is dedicated to Pope Pius the 4<sup>th</sup> (The Catholic Encyclopedia) in which alone was a very strange gesture to do since for starters he did not know the pope or have any type of relationship with him, and the book is to have no religious value to it except that he (Benzoni) was upset with what his fellow “Christian brothers” were doing and acting towards the Indians and to the slaves. The book went into detail about how he had lived in the “new world” and the things that he saw. He goes into detail in the book about watching the Spaniards and how they would treat verbally and physically the Indians. He has pictures in the book of what the Indians would do on an everyday basis. He had put in images of Indians being enslaved by the white people and doing the brunt of work. He talked about how he would watch Indians and slaves walk into the woods at night to kill themselves because their life was so bad. He also talked about how Indian women would kill themselves and their babies so they wouldn’t have to endure the tormenting treatment from the Whites and Spaniards. This was a very controversial chunk of the book.\n\n                The book was really received with mixed feelings, the Spaniards hated the book and that was due to majority of the things said about them were negative. The Spaniards hated the book so much that they never printed it in their language. At first no one really read the book due to the fact it was only printed in one language but as the book got translated into French in 1579 and then in English in 1857 more people got the chance to read it. Some people thought that Benzoni had “exaggerated the truth” (Library of Congress) and didn’t see the book as very truthful.\n\n                The difference in feelings between then and now could be the same or they could be different I am not to sure. The reasoning for me not being to sure is due to the fact there are not a lot (if any) comments about this book online. I think mostly is cause we are never taught about this in school and I think its due to cause well we were those people who were the ones who treated the Indians so badly and we would be giving ourselves a bad name. We also don’t want to discriminate although I really don’t see how we could be but I’m sure someone who is of Indian descent would be upset we are talking about what took place in the history of this country. Another big possibility could be that Benzoni wasn’t the most educated person in the world and his grammatical skills were lacking a lot, so if we were to read the book it would probably need to be rewritten for us to understand, and with the time eras being so different it would be next to impossible to fully figure out and understand what he was trying to say or mean.\n\n                Things in this time era were different than how we could do things in modern day and ways of doing something to get your point across took creativity. Benzoni used some creativity by stepping outside of the box and writing a book to portray his message, and to get a change. He knew that going around and talking to people of power to get them to hear him and his complaints about the “New World” would next to impossible due to he was not from money or family statue so instead he chose to take a different approach. The best part of that approach was he dedicated it to the pope since he was the one who pretty much had the most power and could do something, and in the long run it paid off things changed.\n\n                In the next couple of generation need to look over and learn what he did, because there are a lot of lesions they could learn. One thing that stands out in bold is that your actions can speak louder than your words. In this direct aspect he could have told people what he saw and didn’t like or he could have done what he did and write them down in a book and spread his feelings on things and allow people to know what was really going on in the new world. With this book it also shows that even the smallest person can make the biggest impact if you just take the right ways to get your voice heard.\n\n                Benzoni also shows that we need to be bold every now and then, he took a chance and stepped outside the box and it succeeded he got what he thought should be down. If he would have never dedicated the book to Pope Prius the 4<sup>th</sup> then things would not have changed or changed that quickly. He showed that the mistreatment of others that were different in race was wrong.\n\nIn overall this book “History of the New World” by Girolamo Benzoni I think needs to be more talked about when we talk about the history of when we came over and how we treated the Indians. We don’t need to just focus on the negative the book can bring but we need to talk about the positive aspects such as him being bold and writing this book, wanting the fairness of everyone in the “new world”, and how your actions can speak louder.','History of The New World','','inherit','open','open','','1697-revision','','','2011-09-26 17:01:49','2011-09-26 23:01:49','',1697,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1699',0,'revision','',0),(1700,44,'2011-09-26 17:04:21','2011-09-26 23:04:21','<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1698\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1-300x175.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"175\" /></a>\n<p align=\"center\">“<em>History of the New World</em>” By Girolamo Benzoni</p>\n&nbsp;\n\n                The book “History of the New World” should be preserved due to the fact that it shows how we use to act and some actions that we should never repeat and stepping outside the box to be able to reach a goal. Within the book “History of The New World’’ by Girolamo Benzoni, he wrote about a “trip” that he took to the “New World” (what is now the United States). He wrote the book in the year 1565 and had it republished in 1572. The book was written about his fifteen year journey to the “New World” in the book he elaborates on what he does, what he has endured, and what he see’s his fellow Spaniards do to the Indians of the land. He tells on how he is disgusted by some of the things he has seen while being over there. At this time frame in our history people were finding ways to be political and the religious power was very strong. The pope had a lot of pull and could tell pretty much everyone what to do. Not only was that an important thing, but the start of a new country in a different part of the world was major thing going on. The new discoveries over there and the event that were taking place in the new trade routes.\n\n                The writings of book weren’t too uncommon, especially since the “printing press had made it a lot easier for books to be reprinted” (The Humanities Tradition Vol. 2 pg. B3.116) it allowed more people to read books. We don’t come across to many of the books that were printed back in the 1500’s that were explaining what went on in the “new world” Benzoni had the same political mindset in which he wanted to change something so he chose to be innovated and come up with a new route to try and spread his message due to his low statue in society. He wrote about the pros and cons of what was going on in the “new world” which wasn’t to uncommon it was the magnitude of the negative things he wrote about is what caused the stir.\n\n                This was a very unusual tactic; the biggest part about it being unusual is the fact that the book was dedicated to the pope. It is dedicated to Pope Pius the 4<sup>th</sup> (The Catholic Encyclopedia) in which alone was a very strange gesture to do since for starters he did not know the pope or have any type of relationship with him, and the book is to have no religious value to it except that he (Benzoni) was upset with what his fellow “Christian brothers” were doing and acting towards the Indians and to the slaves. The book went into detail about how he had lived in the “new world” and the things that he saw. He goes into detail in the book about watching the Spaniards and how they would treat verbally and physically the Indians. He has pictures in the book of what the Indians would do on an everyday basis. He had put in images of Indians being enslaved by the white people and doing the brunt of work. He talked about how he would watch Indians and slaves walk into the woods at night to kill themselves because their life was so bad. He also talked about how Indian women would kill themselves and their babies so they wouldn’t have to endure the tormenting treatment from the Whites and Spaniards. This was a very controversial chunk of the book.\n\n                The book was really received with mixed feelings, the Spaniards hated the book and that was due to majority of the things said about them were negative. The Spaniards hated the book so much that they never printed it in their language. At first no one really read the book due to the fact it was only printed in one language but as the book got translated into French in 1579 and then in English in 1857 more people got the chance to read it. Some people thought that Benzoni had “exaggerated the truth” (Library of Congress) and didn’t see the book as very truthful.\n\n                The difference in feelings between then and now could be the same or they could be different I am not to sure. The reasoning for me not being to sure is due to the fact there are not a lot (if any) comments about this book online. I think mostly is cause we are never taught about this in school and I think its due to cause well we were those people who were the ones who treated the Indians so badly and we would be giving ourselves a bad name. We also don’t want to discriminate although I really don’t see how we could be but I’m sure someone who is of Indian descent would be upset we are talking about what took place in the history of this country. Another big possibility could be that Benzoni wasn’t the most educated person in the world and his grammatical skills were lacking a lot, so if we were to read the book it would probably need to be rewritten for us to understand, and with the time eras being so different it would be next to impossible to fully figure out and understand what he was trying to say or mean.\n\n                Things in this time era were different than how we could do things in modern day and ways of doing something to get your point across took creativity. Benzoni used some creativity by stepping outside of the box and writing a book to portray his message, and to get a change. He knew that going around and talking to people of power to get them to hear him and his complaints about the “New World” would next to impossible due to he was not from money or family statue so instead he chose to take a different approach. The best part of that approach was he dedicated it to the pope since he was the one who pretty much had the most power and could do something, and in the long run it paid off things changed.\n\n                In the next couple of generation need to look over and learn what he did, because there are a lot of lesions they could learn. One thing that stands out in bold is that your actions can speak louder than your words. In this direct aspect he could have told people what he saw and didn’t like or he could have done what he did and write them down in a book and spread his feelings on things and allow people to know what was really going on in the new world. With this book it also shows that even the smallest person can make the biggest impact if you just take the right ways to get your voice heard.\n\n                Benzoni also shows that we need to be bold every now and then, he took a chance and stepped outside the box and it succeeded he got what he thought should be down. If he would have never dedicated the book to Pope Prius the 4<sup>th</sup> then things would not have changed or changed that quickly. He showed that the mistreatment of others that were different in race was wrong.\n\nIn overall this book “History of the New World” by Girolamo Benzoni I think needs to be more talked about when we talk about the history of when we came over and how we treated the Indians. We don’t need to just focus on the negative the book can bring but we need to talk about the positive aspects such as him being bold and writing this book, wanting the fairness of everyone in the “new world”, and how your actions can speak louder.','History of The New World','','inherit','open','open','','1697-revision-2','','','2011-09-26 17:04:21','2011-09-26 23:04:21','',1697,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1700',0,'revision','',0),(1701,44,'2011-09-26 17:04:54','2011-09-26 23:04:54','<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1698\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1-300x175.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"175\" /></a>\r\n<p align=\"center\">“<em>History of the New World</em>” By Girolamo Benzoni</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n                The book “History of the New World” should be preserved due to the fact that it shows how we use to act and some actions that we should never repeat and stepping outside the box to be able to reach a goal. Within the book “History of The New World’’ by Girolamo Benzoni, he wrote about a “trip” that he took to the “New World” (what is now the United States). He wrote the book in the year 1565 and had it republished in 1572. The book was written about his fifteen year journey to the “New World” in the book he elaborates on what he does, what he has endured, and what he see’s his fellow Spaniards do to the Indians of the land. He tells on how he is disgusted by some of the things he has seen while being over there. At this time frame in our history people were finding ways to be political and the religious power was very strong. The pope had a lot of pull and could tell pretty much everyone what to do. Not only was that an important thing, but the start of a new country in a different part of the world was major thing going on. The new discoveries over there and the event that were taking place in the new trade routes.<!--more-->\r\n\r\n                The writings of book weren’t too uncommon, especially since the “printing press had made it a lot easier for books to be reprinted” (The Humanities Tradition Vol. 2 pg. B3.116) it allowed more people to read books. We don’t come across to many of the books that were printed back in the 1500’s that were explaining what went on in the “new world” Benzoni had the same political mindset in which he wanted to change something so he chose to be innovated and come up with a new route to try and spread his message due to his low statue in society. He wrote about the pros and cons of what was going on in the “new world” which wasn’t to uncommon it was the magnitude of the negative things he wrote about is what caused the stir.\r\n\r\n                This was a very unusual tactic; the biggest part about it being unusual is the fact that the book was dedicated to the pope. It is dedicated to Pope Pius the 4<sup>th</sup> (The Catholic Encyclopedia) in which alone was a very strange gesture to do since for starters he did not know the pope or have any type of relationship with him, and the book is to have no religious value to it except that he (Benzoni) was upset with what his fellow “Christian brothers” were doing and acting towards the Indians and to the slaves. The book went into detail about how he had lived in the “new world” and the things that he saw. He goes into detail in the book about watching the Spaniards and how they would treat verbally and physically the Indians. He has pictures in the book of what the Indians would do on an everyday basis. He had put in images of Indians being enslaved by the white people and doing the brunt of work. He talked about how he would watch Indians and slaves walk into the woods at night to kill themselves because their life was so bad. He also talked about how Indian women would kill themselves and their babies so they wouldn’t have to endure the tormenting treatment from the Whites and Spaniards. This was a very controversial chunk of the book.\r\n\r\n                The book was really received with mixed feelings, the Spaniards hated the book and that was due to majority of the things said about them were negative. The Spaniards hated the book so much that they never printed it in their language. At first no one really read the book due to the fact it was only printed in one language but as the book got translated into French in 1579 and then in English in 1857 more people got the chance to read it. Some people thought that Benzoni had “exaggerated the truth” (Library of Congress) and didn’t see the book as very truthful.\r\n\r\n                The difference in feelings between then and now could be the same or they could be different I am not to sure. The reasoning for me not being to sure is due to the fact there are not a lot (if any) comments about this book online. I think mostly is cause we are never taught about this in school and I think its due to cause well we were those people who were the ones who treated the Indians so badly and we would be giving ourselves a bad name. We also don’t want to discriminate although I really don’t see how we could be but I’m sure someone who is of Indian descent would be upset we are talking about what took place in the history of this country. Another big possibility could be that Benzoni wasn’t the most educated person in the world and his grammatical skills were lacking a lot, so if we were to read the book it would probably need to be rewritten for us to understand, and with the time eras being so different it would be next to impossible to fully figure out and understand what he was trying to say or mean.\r\n\r\n                Things in this time era were different than how we could do things in modern day and ways of doing something to get your point across took creativity. Benzoni used some creativity by stepping outside of the box and writing a book to portray his message, and to get a change. He knew that going around and talking to people of power to get them to hear him and his complaints about the “New World” would next to impossible due to he was not from money or family statue so instead he chose to take a different approach. The best part of that approach was he dedicated it to the pope since he was the one who pretty much had the most power and could do something, and in the long run it paid off things changed.\r\n\r\n                In the next couple of generation need to look over and learn what he did, because there are a lot of lesions they could learn. One thing that stands out in bold is that your actions can speak louder than your words. In this direct aspect he could have told people what he saw and didn’t like or he could have done what he did and write them down in a book and spread his feelings on things and allow people to know what was really going on in the new world. With this book it also shows that even the smallest person can make the biggest impact if you just take the right ways to get your voice heard.\r\n\r\n                Benzoni also shows that we need to be bold every now and then, he took a chance and stepped outside the box and it succeeded he got what he thought should be down. If he would have never dedicated the book to Pope Prius the 4<sup>th</sup> then things would not have changed or changed that quickly. He showed that the mistreatment of others that were different in race was wrong.\r\n\r\nIn overall this book “History of the New World” by Girolamo Benzoni I think needs to be more talked about when we talk about the history of when we came over and how we treated the Indians. We don’t need to just focus on the negative the book can bring but we need to talk about the positive aspects such as him being bold and writing this book, wanting the fairness of everyone in the “new world”, and how your actions can speak louder.','History of The New World','','inherit','open','open','','1697-revision-3','','','2011-09-26 17:04:54','2011-09-26 23:04:54','',1697,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1701',0,'revision','',0),(1703,46,'2011-09-26 21:25:34','2011-09-27 03:25:34','<p align=\"LEFT\">I shall attempt another picture upload when the site has less traffic!</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Machiavelli\'s “The Prince” is, by many accounts, taken as one of the most essential pieces of literature that we retain access to. Initially published in 1532 (with some speculation about a previous version aside) “The Prince” immediately became the quintessential Machiavelli writing. Machiavelli(1469-1527) lived in an age of Renaissance philosophy and fancied himself a realist (Unger). Machiavelli\'s work was distributed amongst his friends and closer circles initially, but when it really exploded, a term was even coined in his “honor.” The idea of something being Machiavellian is something we have all come to know today, and this was in no small part due to “The Prince.” The nature of the work and how it has come to shape the way we govern and judge how to govern is incredibly important to our lives and thus, should be preserved.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><!--more--></p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Age of the Renaissance was one of brand new ways of thinking. People all over the world were exploring mathematics, art, music, literature and even philosophy in ways never before realized. One of the key elements that led to the work even being created was the new ideals for human perfection. The idea that man could achieve a status close to perfection through various pursuits began to take hold of many scholars of the time. Artists and scholars alike were beginning new adventures into the realms that they thought could make them better people. (Fiero)</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Artists were starting to explore older ways of painting and sculpting, but at the same time driving a new life and spin into work. Mathematicians were starting to see their processes in a way that allowed the sculptors and architects newer and more efficient ways to create grand structures. (Fiero)</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Several of these people also began to write. Many treatises were written, pleading and imploring varying ways of life, though it was the nature of things for these to conflict with one another. One element seemed to hold true though, in all these writings, these works were meant to be understood without fanfare or pomp. Most of these works lacked prose or literary devices.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">But a concept was still unaddressed in many ways, and that was the realm of government. How could these new people be governed, and what was the correct way to do so? Machiavelli decided to address this matter with a very realistic focus. In “The Prince” he argues that in most cases, the ends justify the means when concerning governance. While it is often considered to be one of the first philosophical works after the era of Plato, “The Prince” was very much a practical work. It very seldom plays with metaphysics or the juxtapositions of a leader, but rather directs the leader on how to judge, work a military, how to retain a level of fear and respect and even how to retain a fortune. With these various aspects, Machiavelli defines the best version of a Prince and how they need to govern. Machiavelli also clarifies the contrast between good for the people and good for the nation, and how these two things do not necessarily jive with one another at all times. Specifically in the 18<sup>th</sup> chapter, he specifically states that a ruler “must make use of both the beast and the man in human nature.” (Adams 378)</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In this age of self-enlightenment and advancement, a plainly worded document encouraging a viewpoint may seem as much of the same. Where “The Prince” truly stands out is in the ideas it presented. Instead of waning philosophic and metaphysical and never presenting a solution for consideration, Machiavelli sees a problem and attempts to address it. This was incredibly a-typical of the time, especially since it handled the ideas of ethics and politics in a way that opposed the Catholic church. The church had maintained control for ages, and was still considered by man to be the right way to rule. Machiavelli was immediately chastised for this work, though he had been dead for nearly 5 years upon its publication. This was even taken to the extent that the term, Machiavellian was coined to describe something or someone that was using others or shady ways to achieve their goals. (Adams 366)</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In addition to this, there was actually an immediate division between what Machiavelli\'s work symbolized and what it actually stated. This was most evident in that the work was taken as pro and anti catholic and pro and anti protestant. There is actually a school of thought that follows that “The Prince” played a major role in Henry VIII shifting towards the Protestant faith. This led to many Catholics taking a stand against the work. At the same time, many of the principles of “The Prince” were used as justification for the events of the St. Bartholomew\'s Day Massacre against Protestants. This led many Protestants to take up arms against the work. On top of this, upon reading Machiavelli\'s theories of government, many of his fellow scholars also felt the need to refute this viewpoint. While some political advisers touted “The Prince” to their charges, most other free thinkers saw the issues it presented for the common folk. (Parel)</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A very similar reaction to “The Prince” can be seen in today\'s world. While the coined pejorative sticks with us, the debate is ever present in society. Present someone with the ideas proposed in “The Prince” and you can conjure up images of lawyers, politicians, the Patriot Act, terrorism and even local government. Just as many people today who have power can look at Machiavelli\'s writings and declare themselves the ideal Prince. “The Prince” can provide justification for the actions people take to preserve what they view as a correct and good path for their society. Those in power often see themselves as protectors of the people, even if hurting the people now prevents a greater harm later. But who can decide what is good and what is bad, where does that definition lie? Regarding the subject, Adam\'s writes “All formulations about history, including those in The Prince, are therefore illusory and dangerous because no set of abstractions can encompass the infinite variability of changing Fortune.” Even in context, judging bad from good is a completely gray area.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">This is one of the central arguments within one of the other important works of Machiavelli\'s chosen subject matter. It is important to note though, that the work very well may not exist without the publication of “The Prince” however. While it came some time later, the “Anti-Machiavel” by Frederick the Great published in 1740 was actually a chapter by chapter rebuttal of “The Prince.” The work is primarily a moral argument made by Frederick, in which he states that the duty of a ruler is the prosperity, happiness and health of all of their subjects. These two pieces differ in a few key ways, outside of the obvious claims for an ideal ruler. Machiavelli composed “The Prince” by himself and when it was published, in many ways it was an unrevised text. The “Anti-Machiavell” when published was revised by Voltaire and had an original manuscript attached. It came off as much more collaborative effort and people seemed to take that as a sign of its strength of argument, in addition to its natural appeal to the masses. Additionally, the two works take very different stances on the examples provided in “The Prince.” Machiavelli takes and makes up circumstances in which he creates backing for his stances on governance in a very specific manner. The “Anti-Machiavel” calls out to the larger view of things, bringing to light the deeper circumstances that were behind Machiavelli\'s examples. Frederick calls for a denial of the specifics and look at the whole of things in a few sections. The greatest difference however is that of how the arguments are made. Machiavelli makes a very practical argument citing specific examples and calling for very specific behaviors in a scientific manner almost. Frederick and Voltaire however use morality as their central standpoint, calling upon individual rulers to consider their own selves and how that relates to the generally accepted greater good.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The two works do share some similarities however. Both works take the same style of writing. A distinctive lack of frilly elements and getting right to the point. Both do acknowledge the necessity of a ruler as well. While they differ in how that ruler must behave, both authors see the downside of anarchy and an ungoverned population.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">As I am sure it has become apparent through this writing, I am not the biggest fan of Machiavelli\'s government style. I do, however, completely believe “The Prince” is one of the most essential works to ever be published. The idea that the ends justify the means is not new, and will never leave humanity, but Machiavelli has taken that idea and showed how its application to something like governing a population can lead to some serious issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Without the preservation of this work, much of the other, important anti-Machiavellian works would lose frame of reference. It is very important for future generations to be able to read the argument for Machiavellian government from the source, without the bias in context from the works refuting it. While this not particularly how Machiavelli may have wanted the preservation of his work, it is still just as important for us to keep this piece, so that we can see that even “enlightened” individuals can find merit in what most consider a morally lacking stance.</p>\r\n<p align=\"CENTER\">Works Cited</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times\">Adams, Robert M. \"Machiavelli Now and Here.\" </span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times\"><em>American Scholar</em></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times\"> Summer75 44.3: 365-</span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"> 82. </span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>EbscoHost</em></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Web. 2 Aug. 2011. </span></span></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">Fiero, Gloria K. \"Chapters 16,17,18.\" </span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\"><em>The Humanistic Tradition Vol. 2</em></span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">. [s.l.]: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.</span></span></span></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">Frederick, and Paul Sonnino. </span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\"><em>The Refutation of Machiavelli\'s Prince: Or, Anti-Machiavel</em></span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">. Athens: Ohio UP, 1981. Print.</span></span></span></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">Machiavelli, Niccolò. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>The Prince</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 1998. Print.</span></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">Parel, Anthony. \"A Quincentennial Symposium on Machiavelli/Colloque Machiavel.\" </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>Canadian Journal of Political Science</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"> 2.03 (1969): 395. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>EbscoHost</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Web. 27 Aug. 2011.</span></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">Unger, Miles. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>Machiavelli: a Biography</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2011. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>EbscoHost</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Web. 27 Aug. 2011.</span></p>','Kyle Hendricks - Machiavelli\'s The Prince, Shaping the Way We Govern Today','','publish','open','open','','kyle-hendricks-machiavellis-the-prince-shaping-the-way-we-govern-today','','','2011-09-26 21:25:34','2011-09-27 03:25:34','',0,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1703',0,'post','',7),(1704,46,'2011-09-26 21:22:23','2011-09-27 03:22:23','<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Machiavelli\'s “The Prince” is, by many accounts, taken as one of the most essential pieces of literature that we retain access to. Initially published in 1532 (with some speculation about a previous version aside) “The Prince” immediately became the quintessential Machiavelli writing. Machiavelli(1469-1527) lived in an age of Renaissance philosophy and fancied himself a realist (Unger). Machiavelli\'s work was distributed amongst his friends and closer circles initially, but when it really exploded, a term was even coined in his “honor.” The idea of something being Machiavellian is something we have all come to know today, and this was in no small part due to “The Prince.” The nature of the work and how it has come to shape the way we govern and judge how to govern is incredibly important to our lives and thus, should be preserved.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><!--more--></p>\n&nbsp;\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Age of the Renaissance was one of brand new ways of thinking. People all over the world were exploring mathematics, art, music, literature and even philosophy in ways never before realized. One of the key elements that led to the work even being created was the new ideals for human perfection. The idea that man could achieve a status close to perfection through various pursuits began to take hold of many scholars of the time. Artists and scholars alike were beginning new adventures into the realms that they thought could make them better people. (Fiero)</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Artists were starting to explore older ways of painting and sculpting, but at the same time driving a new life and spin into work. Mathematicians were starting to see their processes in a way that allowed the sculptors and architects newer and more efficient ways to create grand structures. (Fiero)</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Several of these people also began to write. Many treatises were written, pleading and imploring varying ways of life, though it was the nature of things for these to conflict with one another. One element seemed to hold true though, in all these writings, these works were meant to be understood without fanfare or pomp. Most of these works lacked prose or literary devices.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">But a concept was still unaddressed in many ways, and that was the realm of government. How could these new people be governed, and what was the correct way to do so? Machiavelli decided to address this matter with a very realistic focus. In “The Prince” he argues that in most cases, the ends justify the means when concerning governance. While it is often considered to be one of the first philosophical works after the era of Plato, “The Prince” was very much a practical work. It very seldom plays with metaphysics or the juxtapositions of a leader, but rather directs the leader on how to judge, work a military, how to retain a level of fear and respect and even how to retain a fortune. With these various aspects, Machiavelli defines the best version of a Prince and how they need to govern. Machiavelli also clarifies the contrast between good for the people and good for the nation, and how these two things do not necessarily jive with one another at all times. Specifically in the 18<sup>th</sup> chapter, he specifically states that a ruler “must make use of both the beast and the man in human nature.” (Adams 378)</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In this age of self-enlightenment and advancement, a plainly worded document encouraging a viewpoint may seem as much of the same. Where “The Prince” truly stands out is in the ideas it presented. Instead of waning philosophic and metaphysical and never presenting a solution for consideration, Machiavelli sees a problem and attempts to address it. This was incredibly a-typical of the time, especially since it handled the ideas of ethics and politics in a way that opposed the Catholic church. The church had maintained control for ages, and was still considered by man to be the right way to rule. Machiavelli was immediately chastised for this work, though he had been dead for nearly 5 years upon its publication. This was even taken to the extent that the term, Machiavellian was coined to describe something or someone that was using others or shady ways to achieve their goals. (Adams 366)</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In addition to this, there was actually an immediate division between what Machiavelli\'s work symbolized and what it actually stated. This was most evident in that the work was taken as pro and anti catholic and pro and anti protestant. There is actually a school of thought that follows that “The Prince” played a major role in Henry VIII shifting towards the Protestant faith. This led to many Catholics taking a stand against the work. At the same time, many of the principles of “The Prince” were used as justification for the events of the St. Bartholomew\'s Day Massacre against Protestants. This led many Protestants to take up arms against the work. On top of this, upon reading Machiavelli\'s theories of government, many of his fellow scholars also felt the need to refute this viewpoint. While some political advisers touted “The Prince” to their charges, most other free thinkers saw the issues it presented for the common folk. (Parel)</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A very similar reaction to “The Prince” can be seen in today\'s world. While the coined pejorative sticks with us, the debate is ever present in society. Present someone with the ideas proposed in “The Prince” and you can conjure up images of lawyers, politicians, the Patriot Act, terrorism and even local government. Just as many people today who have power can look at Machiavelli\'s writings and declare themselves the ideal Prince. “The Prince” can provide justification for the actions people take to preserve what they view as a correct and good path for their society. Those in power often see themselves as protectors of the people, even if hurting the people now prevents a greater harm later. But who can decide what is good and what is bad, where does that definition lie? Regarding the subject, Adam\'s writes “All formulations about history, including those in The Prince, are therefore illusory and dangerous because no set of abstractions can encompass the infinite variability of changing Fortune.” Even in context, judging bad from good is a completely gray area.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">This is one of the central arguments within one of the other important works of Machiavelli\'s chosen subject matter. It is important to note though, that the work very well may not exist without the publication of “The Prince” however. While it came some time later, the “Anti-Machiavel” by Frederick the Great published in 1740 was actually a chapter by chapter rebuttal of “The Prince.” The work is primarily a moral argument made by Frederick, in which he states that the duty of a ruler is the prosperity, happiness and health of all of their subjects. These two pieces differ in a few key ways, outside of the obvious claims for an ideal ruler. Machiavelli composed “The Prince” by himself and when it was published, in many ways it was an unrevised text. The “Anti-Machiavell” when published was revised by Voltaire and had an original manuscript attached. It came off as much more collaborative effort and people seemed to take that as a sign of its strength of argument, in addition to its natural appeal to the masses. Additionally, the two works take very different stances on the examples provided in “The Prince.” Machiavelli takes and makes up circumstances in which he creates backing for his stances on governance in a very specific manner. The “Anti-Machiavel” calls out to the larger view of things, bringing to light the deeper circumstances that were behind Machiavelli\'s examples. Frederick calls for a denial of the specifics and look at the whole of things in a few sections. The greatest difference however is that of how the arguments are made. Machiavelli makes a very practical argument citing specific examples and calling for very specific behaviors in a scientific manner almost. Frederick and Voltaire however use morality as their central standpoint, calling upon individual rulers to consider their own selves and how that relates to the generally accepted greater good.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The two works do share some similarities however. Both works take the same style of writing. A distinctive lack of frilly elements and getting right to the point. Both do acknowledge the necessity of a ruler as well. While they differ in how that ruler must behave, both authors see the downside of anarchy and an ungoverned population.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">As I am sure it has become apparent through this writing, I am not the biggest fan of Machiavelli\'s government style. I do, however, completely believe “The Prince” is one of the most essential works to ever be published. The idea that the ends justify the means is not new, and will never leave humanity, but Machiavelli has taken that idea and showed how its application to something like governing a population can lead to some serious issues.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Without the preservation of this work, much of the other, important anti-Machiavellian works would lose frame of reference. It is very important for future generations to be able to read the argument for Machiavellian government from the source, without the bias in context from the works refuting it. While this not particularly how Machiavelli may have wanted the preservation of his work, it is still just as important for us to keep this piece, so that we can see that even “enlightened” individuals can find merit in what most consider a morally lacking stance.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\n<p align=\"CENTER\">Works Cited</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times\">Adams, Robert M. \"Machiavelli Now and Here.\" </span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times\"><em>American Scholar</em></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times\"> Summer75 44.3: 365-</span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"> 82. </span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>EbscoHost</em></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Web. 2 Aug. 2011. </span></span></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">Fiero, Gloria K. \"Chapters 16,17,18.\" </span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\"><em>The Humanistic Tradition Vol. 2</em></span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">. [s.l.]: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.</span></span></span></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">Frederick, and Paul Sonnino. </span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\"><em>The Refutation of Machiavelli\'s Prince: Or, Anti-Machiavel</em></span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">. Athens: Ohio UP, 1981. Print.</span></span></span></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">Machiavelli, Niccolò. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>The Prince</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 1998. Print.</span></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">Parel, Anthony. \"A Quincentennial Symposium on Machiavelli/Colloque Machiavel.\" </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>Canadian Journal of Political Science</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"> 2.03 (1969): 395. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>EbscoHost</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Web. 27 Aug. 2011.</span></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">Unger, Miles. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>Machiavelli: a Biography</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2011. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>EbscoHost</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Web. 27 Aug. 2011.</span></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>','Kyle Hendricks - Machiavelli\'s The Prince, Shaping the Way We Govern Today','','inherit','open','open','','1703-revision','','','2011-09-26 21:22:23','2011-09-27 03:22:23','',1703,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1704',0,'revision','',0),(1706,46,'2011-09-26 21:26:37','2011-09-27 03:26:37','<p align=\"LEFT\">I shall attempt another picture upload when the site has less traffic!</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Machiavelli\'s “The Prince” is, by many accounts, taken as one of the most essential pieces of literature that we retain access to. Initially published in 1532 (with some speculation about a previous version aside) “The Prince” immediately became the quintessential Machiavelli writing. Machiavelli(1469-1527) lived in an age of Renaissance philosophy and fancied himself a realist (Unger). Machiavelli\'s work was distributed amongst his friends and closer circles initially, but when it really exploded, a term was even coined in his “honor.” The idea of something being Machiavellian is something we have all come to know today, and this was in no small part due to “The Prince.” The nature of the work and how it has come to shape the way we govern and judge how to govern is incredibly important to our lives and thus, should be preserved.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><!--more--></p>\n&nbsp;\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Age of the Renaissance was one of brand new ways of thinking. People all over the world were exploring mathematics, art, music, literature and even philosophy in ways never before realized. One of the key elements that led to the work even being created was the new ideals for human perfection. The idea that man could achieve a status close to perfection through various pursuits began to take hold of many scholars of the time. Artists and scholars alike were beginning new adventures into the realms that they thought could make them better people. (Fiero)</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Artists were starting to explore older ways of painting and sculpting, but at the same time driving a new life and spin into work. Mathematicians were starting to see their processes in a way that allowed the sculptors and architects newer and more efficient ways to create grand structures. (Fiero)</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Several of these people also began to write. Many treatises were written, pleading and imploring varying ways of life, though it was the nature of things for these to conflict with one another. One element seemed to hold true though, in all these writings, these works were meant to be understood without fanfare or pomp. Most of these works lacked prose or literary devices.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">But a concept was still unaddressed in many ways, and that was the realm of government. How could these new people be governed, and what was the correct way to do so? Machiavelli decided to address this matter with a very realistic focus. In “The Prince” he argues that in most cases, the ends justify the means when concerning governance. While it is often considered to be one of the first philosophical works after the era of Plato, “The Prince” was very much a practical work. It very seldom plays with metaphysics or the juxtapositions of a leader, but rather directs the leader on how to judge, work a military, how to retain a level of fear and respect and even how to retain a fortune. With these various aspects, Machiavelli defines the best version of a Prince and how they need to govern. Machiavelli also clarifies the contrast between good for the people and good for the nation, and how these two things do not necessarily jive with one another at all times. Specifically in the 18<sup>th</sup> chapter, he specifically states that a ruler “must make use of both the beast and the man in human nature.” (Adams 378)</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In this age of self-enlightenment and advancement, a plainly worded document encouraging a viewpoint may seem as much of the same. Where “The Prince” truly stands out is in the ideas it presented. Instead of waning philosophic and metaphysical and never presenting a solution for consideration, Machiavelli sees a problem and attempts to address it. This was incredibly a-typical of the time, especially since it handled the ideas of ethics and politics in a way that opposed the Catholic church. The church had maintained control for ages, and was still considered by man to be the right way to rule. Machiavelli was immediately chastised for this work, though he had been dead for nearly 5 years upon its publication. This was even taken to the extent that the term, Machiavellian was coined to describe something or someone that was using others or shady ways to achieve their goals. (Adams 366)</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In addition to this, there was actually an immediate division between what Machiavelli\'s work symbolized and what it actually stated. This was most evident in that the work was taken as pro and anti catholic and pro and anti protestant. There is actually a school of thought that follows that “The Prince” played a major role in Henry VIII shifting towards the Protestant faith. This led to many Catholics taking a stand against the work. At the same time, many of the principles of “The Prince” were used as justification for the events of the St. Bartholomew\'s Day Massacre against Protestants. This led many Protestants to take up arms against the work. On top of this, upon reading Machiavelli\'s theories of government, many of his fellow scholars also felt the need to refute this viewpoint. While some political advisers touted “The Prince” to their charges, most other free thinkers saw the issues it presented for the common folk. (Parel)</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A very similar reaction to “The Prince” can be seen in today\'s world. While the coined pejorative sticks with us, the debate is ever present in society. Present someone with the ideas proposed in “The Prince” and you can conjure up images of lawyers, politicians, the Patriot Act, terrorism and even local government. Just as many people today who have power can look at Machiavelli\'s writings and declare themselves the ideal Prince. “The Prince” can provide justification for the actions people take to preserve what they view as a correct and good path for their society. Those in power often see themselves as protectors of the people, even if hurting the people now prevents a greater harm later. But who can decide what is good and what is bad, where does that definition lie? Regarding the subject, Adam\'s writes “All formulations about history, including those in The Prince, are therefore illusory and dangerous because no set of abstractions can encompass the infinite variability of changing Fortune.” Even in context, judging bad from good is a completely gray area.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">This is one of the central arguments within one of the other important works of Machiavelli\'s chosen subject matter. It is important to note though, that the work very well may not exist without the publication of “The Prince” however. While it came some time later, the “Anti-Machiavel” by Frederick the Great published in 1740 was actually a chapter by chapter rebuttal of “The Prince.” The work is primarily a moral argument made by Frederick, in which he states that the duty of a ruler is the prosperity, happiness and health of all of their subjects. These two pieces differ in a few key ways, outside of the obvious claims for an ideal ruler. Machiavelli composed “The Prince” by himself and when it was published, in many ways it was an unrevised text. The “Anti-Machiavell” when published was revised by Voltaire and had an original manuscript attached. It came off as much more collaborative effort and people seemed to take that as a sign of its strength of argument, in addition to its natural appeal to the masses. Additionally, the two works take very different stances on the examples provided in “The Prince.” Machiavelli takes and makes up circumstances in which he creates backing for his stances on governance in a very specific manner. The “Anti-Machiavel” calls out to the larger view of things, bringing to light the deeper circumstances that were behind Machiavelli\'s examples. Frederick calls for a denial of the specifics and look at the whole of things in a few sections. The greatest difference however is that of how the arguments are made. Machiavelli makes a very practical argument citing specific examples and calling for very specific behaviors in a scientific manner almost. Frederick and Voltaire however use morality as their central standpoint, calling upon individual rulers to consider their own selves and how that relates to the generally accepted greater good.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The two works do share some similarities however. Both works take the same style of writing. A distinctive lack of frilly elements and getting right to the point. Both do acknowledge the necessity of a ruler as well. While they differ in how that ruler must behave, both authors see the downside of anarchy and an ungoverned population.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">As I am sure it has become apparent through this writing, I am not the biggest fan of Machiavelli\'s government style. I do, however, completely believe “The Prince” is one of the most essential works to ever be published. The idea that the ends justify the means is not new, and will never leave humanity, but Machiavelli has taken that idea and showed how its application to something like governing a population can lead to some serious issues.</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Without the preservation of this work, much of the other, important anti-Machiavellian works would lose frame of reference. It is very important for future generations to be able to read the argument for Machiavellian government from the source, without the bias in context from the works refuting it. While this not particularly how Machiavelli may have wanted the preservation of his work, it is still just as important for us to keep this piece, so that we can see that even “enlightened” individuals can find merit in what most consider a morally lacking stance.</p>\n<p align=\"CENTER\">Works Cited</p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times\">Adams, Robert M. \"Machiavelli Now and Here.\" </span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times\"><em>American Scholar</em></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times\"> Summer75 44.3: 365-</span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"> 82. </span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>EbscoHost</em></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Web. 2 Aug. 2011. </span></span></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">Fiero, Gloria K. \"Chapters 16,17,18.\" </span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\"><em>The Humanistic Tradition Vol. 2</em></span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">. [s.l.]: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.</span></span></span></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">Frederick, and Paul Sonnino. </span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\"><em>The Refutation of Machiavelli\'s Prince: Or, Anti-Machiavel</em></span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">. Athens: Ohio UP, 1981. Print.</span></span></span></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">Machiavelli, Niccolò. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>The Prince</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 1998. Print.</span></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">Parel, Anthony. \"A Quincentennial Symposium on Machiavelli/Colloque Machiavel.\" </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>Canadian Journal of Political Science</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"> 2.03 (1969): 395. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>EbscoHost</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Web. 27 Aug. 2011.</span></p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">Unger, Miles. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>Machiavelli: a Biography</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2011. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>EbscoHost</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Web. 27 Aug. 2011.</span></p>','Kyle Hendricks - Machiavelli\'s The Prince, Shaping the Way We Govern Today','','inherit','open','open','','1703-autosave','','','2011-09-26 21:26:37','2011-09-27 03:26:37','',1703,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1706',0,'revision','',0),(1705,46,'2011-09-26 21:23:48','2011-09-27 03:23:48','<p align=\"LEFT\">I shall attempt another picture upload when the site has less traffic!</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Machiavelli\'s “The Prince” is, by many accounts, taken as one of the most essential pieces of literature that we retain access to. Initially published in 1532 (with some speculation about a previous version aside) “The Prince” immediately became the quintessential Machiavelli writing. Machiavelli(1469-1527) lived in an age of Renaissance philosophy and fancied himself a realist (Unger). Machiavelli\'s work was distributed amongst his friends and closer circles initially, but when it really exploded, a term was even coined in his “honor.” The idea of something being Machiavellian is something we have all come to know today, and this was in no small part due to “The Prince.” The nature of the work and how it has come to shape the way we govern and judge how to govern is incredibly important to our lives and thus, should be preserved.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><!--more--></p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The Age of the Renaissance was one of brand new ways of thinking. People all over the world were exploring mathematics, art, music, literature and even philosophy in ways never before realized. One of the key elements that led to the work even being created was the new ideals for human perfection. The idea that man could achieve a status close to perfection through various pursuits began to take hold of many scholars of the time. Artists and scholars alike were beginning new adventures into the realms that they thought could make them better people. (Fiero)</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Artists were starting to explore older ways of painting and sculpting, but at the same time driving a new life and spin into work. Mathematicians were starting to see their processes in a way that allowed the sculptors and architects newer and more efficient ways to create grand structures. (Fiero)</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Several of these people also began to write. Many treatises were written, pleading and imploring varying ways of life, though it was the nature of things for these to conflict with one another. One element seemed to hold true though, in all these writings, these works were meant to be understood without fanfare or pomp. Most of these works lacked prose or literary devices.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">But a concept was still unaddressed in many ways, and that was the realm of government. How could these new people be governed, and what was the correct way to do so? Machiavelli decided to address this matter with a very realistic focus. In “The Prince” he argues that in most cases, the ends justify the means when concerning governance. While it is often considered to be one of the first philosophical works after the era of Plato, “The Prince” was very much a practical work. It very seldom plays with metaphysics or the juxtapositions of a leader, but rather directs the leader on how to judge, work a military, how to retain a level of fear and respect and even how to retain a fortune. With these various aspects, Machiavelli defines the best version of a Prince and how they need to govern. Machiavelli also clarifies the contrast between good for the people and good for the nation, and how these two things do not necessarily jive with one another at all times. Specifically in the 18<sup>th</sup> chapter, he specifically states that a ruler “must make use of both the beast and the man in human nature.” (Adams 378)</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In this age of self-enlightenment and advancement, a plainly worded document encouraging a viewpoint may seem as much of the same. Where “The Prince” truly stands out is in the ideas it presented. Instead of waning philosophic and metaphysical and never presenting a solution for consideration, Machiavelli sees a problem and attempts to address it. This was incredibly a-typical of the time, especially since it handled the ideas of ethics and politics in a way that opposed the Catholic church. The church had maintained control for ages, and was still considered by man to be the right way to rule. Machiavelli was immediately chastised for this work, though he had been dead for nearly 5 years upon its publication. This was even taken to the extent that the term, Machiavellian was coined to describe something or someone that was using others or shady ways to achieve their goals. (Adams 366)</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In addition to this, there was actually an immediate division between what Machiavelli\'s work symbolized and what it actually stated. This was most evident in that the work was taken as pro and anti catholic and pro and anti protestant. There is actually a school of thought that follows that “The Prince” played a major role in Henry VIII shifting towards the Protestant faith. This led to many Catholics taking a stand against the work. At the same time, many of the principles of “The Prince” were used as justification for the events of the St. Bartholomew\'s Day Massacre against Protestants. This led many Protestants to take up arms against the work. On top of this, upon reading Machiavelli\'s theories of government, many of his fellow scholars also felt the need to refute this viewpoint. While some political advisers touted “The Prince” to their charges, most other free thinkers saw the issues it presented for the common folk. (Parel)</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">A very similar reaction to “The Prince” can be seen in today\'s world. While the coined pejorative sticks with us, the debate is ever present in society. Present someone with the ideas proposed in “The Prince” and you can conjure up images of lawyers, politicians, the Patriot Act, terrorism and even local government. Just as many people today who have power can look at Machiavelli\'s writings and declare themselves the ideal Prince. “The Prince” can provide justification for the actions people take to preserve what they view as a correct and good path for their society. Those in power often see themselves as protectors of the people, even if hurting the people now prevents a greater harm later. But who can decide what is good and what is bad, where does that definition lie? Regarding the subject, Adam\'s writes “All formulations about history, including those in The Prince, are therefore illusory and dangerous because no set of abstractions can encompass the infinite variability of changing Fortune.” Even in context, judging bad from good is a completely gray area.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">This is one of the central arguments within one of the other important works of Machiavelli\'s chosen subject matter. It is important to note though, that the work very well may not exist without the publication of “The Prince” however. While it came some time later, the “Anti-Machiavel” by Frederick the Great published in 1740 was actually a chapter by chapter rebuttal of “The Prince.” The work is primarily a moral argument made by Frederick, in which he states that the duty of a ruler is the prosperity, happiness and health of all of their subjects. These two pieces differ in a few key ways, outside of the obvious claims for an ideal ruler. Machiavelli composed “The Prince” by himself and when it was published, in many ways it was an unrevised text. The “Anti-Machiavell” when published was revised by Voltaire and had an original manuscript attached. It came off as much more collaborative effort and people seemed to take that as a sign of its strength of argument, in addition to its natural appeal to the masses. Additionally, the two works take very different stances on the examples provided in “The Prince.” Machiavelli takes and makes up circumstances in which he creates backing for his stances on governance in a very specific manner. The “Anti-Machiavel” calls out to the larger view of things, bringing to light the deeper circumstances that were behind Machiavelli\'s examples. Frederick calls for a denial of the specifics and look at the whole of things in a few sections. The greatest difference however is that of how the arguments are made. Machiavelli makes a very practical argument citing specific examples and calling for very specific behaviors in a scientific manner almost. Frederick and Voltaire however use morality as their central standpoint, calling upon individual rulers to consider their own selves and how that relates to the generally accepted greater good.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The two works do share some similarities however. Both works take the same style of writing. A distinctive lack of frilly elements and getting right to the point. Both do acknowledge the necessity of a ruler as well. While they differ in how that ruler must behave, both authors see the downside of anarchy and an ungoverned population.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">As I am sure it has become apparent through this writing, I am not the biggest fan of Machiavelli\'s government style. I do, however, completely believe “The Prince” is one of the most essential works to ever be published. The idea that the ends justify the means is not new, and will never leave humanity, but Machiavelli has taken that idea and showed how its application to something like governing a population can lead to some serious issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Without the preservation of this work, much of the other, important anti-Machiavellian works would lose frame of reference. It is very important for future generations to be able to read the argument for Machiavellian government from the source, without the bias in context from the works refuting it. While this not particularly how Machiavelli may have wanted the preservation of his work, it is still just as important for us to keep this piece, so that we can see that even “enlightened” individuals can find merit in what most consider a morally lacking stance.</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>\r\n<p align=\"CENTER\">Works Cited</p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times\">Adams, Robert M. \"Machiavelli Now and Here.\" </span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times\"><em>American Scholar</em></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,Times\"> Summer75 44.3: 365-</span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"> 82. </span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>EbscoHost</em></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Web. 2 Aug. 2011. </span></span></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">Fiero, Gloria K. \"Chapters 16,17,18.\" </span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\"><em>The Humanistic Tradition Vol. 2</em></span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">. [s.l.]: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.</span></span></span></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">Frederick, and Paul Sonnino. </span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\"><em>The Refutation of Machiavelli\'s Prince: Or, Anti-Machiavel</em></span></span></span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><span style=\"font-size: small\">. Athens: Ohio UP, 1981. Print.</span></span></span></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">Machiavelli, Niccolò. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>The Prince</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 1998. Print.</span></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">Parel, Anthony. \"A Quincentennial Symposium on Machiavelli/Colloque Machiavel.\" </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>Canadian Journal of Political Science</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"> 2.03 (1969): 395. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>EbscoHost</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Web. 27 Aug. 2011.</span></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">Unger, Miles. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>Machiavelli: a Biography</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2011. </span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\"><em>EbscoHost</em></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman,serif\">. Web. 27 Aug. 2011.</span></p>\r\n<p align=\"LEFT\"></p>','Kyle Hendricks - Machiavelli\'s The Prince, Shaping the Way We Govern Today','','inherit','open','open','','1703-revision-2','','','2011-09-26 21:23:48','2011-09-27 03:23:48','',1703,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1705',0,'revision','',0),(1707,44,'2011-09-27 14:44:24','2011-09-27 20:44:24','<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1698\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1-300x175.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"175\" /></a>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/EarlyAmericas/ExplorationsandEncounters/ColumbusandtheTaino/ExhibitObjects/GirolamoBenzoni.aspx\">http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/EarlyAmericas/ExplorationsandEncounters/ColumbusandtheTaino/ExhibitObjects/GirolamoBenzoni.aspx</a></p>\r\n<p align=\"center\">“<em>History of the New World</em>” By Girolamo Benzoni</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n                The book “History of the New World” should be preserved due to the fact that it shows how we use to act and some actions that we should never repeat and stepping outside the box to be able to reach a goal. Within the book “History of The New World’’ by Girolamo Benzoni, he wrote about a “trip” that he took to the “New World” (what is now the United States). He wrote the book in the year 1565 and had it republished in 1572. The book was written about his fifteen year journey to the “New World” in the book he elaborates on what he does, what he has endured, and what he see’s his fellow Spaniards do to the Indians of the land. He tells on how he is disgusted by some of the things he has seen while being over there. At this time frame in our history people were finding ways to be political and the religious power was very strong. The pope had a lot of pull and could tell pretty much everyone what to do. Not only was that an important thing, but the start of a new country in a different part of the world was major thing going on. The new discoveries over there and the event that were taking place in the new trade routes.<!--more-->\r\n\r\n                The writings of book weren’t too uncommon, especially since the “printing press had made it a lot easier for books to be reprinted” (The Humanities Tradition Vol. 2 pg. B3.116) it allowed more people to read books. We don’t come across to many of the books that were printed back in the 1500’s that were explaining what went on in the “new world” Benzoni had the same political mindset in which he wanted to change something so he chose to be innovated and come up with a new route to try and spread his message due to his low statue in society. He wrote about the pros and cons of what was going on in the “new world” which wasn’t to uncommon it was the magnitude of the negative things he wrote about is what caused the stir.\r\n\r\n                This was a very unusual tactic; the biggest part about it being unusual is the fact that the book was dedicated to the pope. It is dedicated to Pope Pius the 4<sup>th</sup> (The Catholic Encyclopedia) in which alone was a very strange gesture to do since for starters he did not know the pope or have any type of relationship with him, and the book is to have no religious value to it except that he (Benzoni) was upset with what his fellow “Christian brothers” were doing and acting towards the Indians and to the slaves. The book went into detail about how he had lived in the “new world” and the things that he saw. He goes into detail in the book about watching the Spaniards and how they would treat verbally and physically the Indians. He has pictures in the book of what the Indians would do on an everyday basis. He had put in images of Indians being enslaved by the white people and doing the brunt of work. He talked about how he would watch Indians and slaves walk into the woods at night to kill themselves because their life was so bad. He also talked about how Indian women would kill themselves and their babies so they wouldn’t have to endure the tormenting treatment from the Whites and Spaniards. This was a very controversial chunk of the book.\r\n\r\n                The book was really received with mixed feelings, the Spaniards hated the book and that was due to majority of the things said about them were negative. The Spaniards hated the book so much that they never printed it in their language. At first no one really read the book due to the fact it was only printed in one language but as the book got translated into French in 1579 and then in English in 1857 more people got the chance to read it. Some people thought that Benzoni had “exaggerated the truth” (Library of Congress) and didn’t see the book as very truthful.\r\n\r\n                The difference in feelings between then and now could be the same or they could be different I am not to sure. The reasoning for me not being to sure is due to the fact there are not a lot (if any) comments about this book online. I think mostly is cause we are never taught about this in school and I think its due to cause well we were those people who were the ones who treated the Indians so badly and we would be giving ourselves a bad name. We also don’t want to discriminate although I really don’t see how we could be but I’m sure someone who is of Indian descent would be upset we are talking about what took place in the history of this country. Another big possibility could be that Benzoni wasn’t the most educated person in the world and his grammatical skills were lacking a lot, so if we were to read the book it would probably need to be rewritten for us to understand, and with the time eras being so different it would be next to impossible to fully figure out and understand what he was trying to say or mean.\r\n\r\n                Things in this time era were different than how we could do things in modern day and ways of doing something to get your point across took creativity. Benzoni used some creativity by stepping outside of the box and writing a book to portray his message, and to get a change. He knew that going around and talking to people of power to get them to hear him and his complaints about the “New World” would next to impossible due to he was not from money or family statue so instead he chose to take a different approach. The best part of that approach was he dedicated it to the pope since he was the one who pretty much had the most power and could do something, and in the long run it paid off things changed.\r\n\r\n                In the next couple of generation need to look over and learn what he did, because there are a lot of lesions they could learn. One thing that stands out in bold is that your actions can speak louder than your words. In this direct aspect he could have told people what he saw and didn’t like or he could have done what he did and write them down in a book and spread his feelings on things and allow people to know what was really going on in the new world. With this book it also shows that even the smallest person can make the biggest impact if you just take the right ways to get your voice heard.\r\n\r\n                Benzoni also shows that we need to be bold every now and then, he took a chance and stepped outside the box and it succeeded he got what he thought should be down. If he would have never dedicated the book to Pope Prius the 4<sup>th</sup> then things would not have changed or changed that quickly. He showed that the mistreatment of others that were different in race was wrong.\r\n\r\nIn overall this book “History of the New World” by Girolamo Benzoni I think needs to be more talked about when we talk about the history of when we came over and how we treated the Indians. We don’t need to just focus on the negative the book can bring but we need to talk about the positive aspects such as him being bold and writing this book, wanting the fairness of everyone in the “new world”, and how your actions can speak louder.\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Bibliography </span></p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>“The Humanistic Tradition Vol 2” Fiero, 6<sup>th</sup> edition Page B3.116, 18 September 2011  <a href=\"http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/connect/hmEBook.do?setTab=sectionTabs\">http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/connect/hmEBook.do?setTab=sectionTabs</a></li>\r\n	<li> “History of the New World” by Girolamo Benzoni [microform]. 18 September, 2011 <a href=\"http://www.archive.org/stream/cihm_32516#page/n11/mode/2up\">http://www.archive.org/stream/cihm_32516#page/n11/mode/2up</a></li>\r\n	<li> Library of Congress, Exploring the Early Americas. 18 September, 2011 <a href=\"http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/EarlyAmericas/ExplorationsandEncounters/ColumbusandtheTaino/ExhibitObjects/GirolamoBenzoni.aspx\">http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/EarlyAmericas/ExplorationsandEncounters/ColumbusandtheTaino/ExhibitObjects/GirolamoBenzoni.aspx</a></li>\r\n	<li>Bandelier, Adolph Francis. \"Girolamo Benzoni.\" The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 18 Sept. 2011 &lt;http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02484c.htm&gt;.</li>\r\n</ol>','History of The New World','','inherit','open','open','','1697-autosave','','','2011-09-27 14:44:24','2011-09-27 20:44:24','',1697,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1707',0,'revision','',0),(1711,54,'2011-09-27 09:38:57','2011-09-27 15:38:57','<blockquote>            <img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"328\" height=\"425\" /></blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg</a></p>\r\nHamlet is a tragedy that always should be remembered for its historical background, complex characters, and iambic perimeter prose. William Shakespeare’s world famous play has been performed for many generations in theatre, film, and television. Critics have often dived deep into studying the titled character and the major events in his journey to revenge. So it only figures that this should be recognized as one of the most important pieces of literature ever written.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nWritten between 1599 &amp; 1601, the play takes place in Denmark where the prince Hamlet grieves the loss of his father for two months while his uncle Claudius is crowned king and marries his mother Gertrude. He’s then visited by the ghost of his father who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. This motivates Hamlet to avenge his father’s death but at a great cost with hesitation and death.\r\n\r\nThe play was inspired by many literary tales of the “hero as a fool” in Indo-European culture. Though, in many cases, Hamlet is really not a fool. One of the sources for the play was the third book of <em>Gesta Danorum (The Deeds of the Danes),</em> which tells the “tale of Amleth as he avenges the murder of his father, Horwendil, at the hands of Feng.” But probably one of the most major sources was a lost play known as <em>Ur-Hamlet </em>(the prefix <em>ur</em> means <em>original</em>) by Thomas Kyd. Also known as “The Spanish Tragedy,” this provides what would be the format for tragedies that time when Hamlet was released. However many sources this tragedy originated from, Shakespeare has taken many old sources for his plays as historians said.\r\n\r\nAround the same time the play was being written, Elizabeth I was in bad health, which worried many people since she has no imminent heir. They believed that the country would be weakened and be seized by the Spanish whom the English defeated in battle. But everyone was relieved when James VI of Scotland took over the throne. Many take this significant event as a warning from Shakespeare. In the play Denmark is at stake with Fortinbras of Norway who desires to regain lost lands owned by his father. So in some ways, this tragedy also serves as a cautionary tale about being ruled by a foreign power. And it would take a brilliant person like Hamlet, or James VI, to settle things even if it ends up costing your life as it happened to the him.\r\n\r\nMany of these Elizabethan tragedies have originated form Greek tragedies. One influential figure was Seneca who set up all of the norms and rules for the revenge tragedy genre. Shakespeare basically took those conventions and worked them in his work. Many trademarks from Hamlet are presented in Shakespeare’s additional tragedies such as “a five act structure, the appearance of a ghost, and long speeches known as soliloquies.” Hamlet uses those guidelines in its story, so it may not look that different from any other. However, they were major changes in the text. An example would be how usually in Elizabethan tragedies, the revenger would have an accomplice with him. In this case, Hamlet’s accomplice and close friend is Horatio. According to the guidelines, after the revenge is complete the hero would have died along with his companion. But in this case, Horatio survives in the end when Hamlet stops him from drinking poisoned wine so that he may preserved the knowledge of all of the events that occurred in the play since he was present for most of the action.\r\n\r\nBack then when the play was first performed, it was favored by mass audiences. However, those who were critical of the play were 17<sup>th</sup> century Restoration critics who saw considered it “…primitive and disapproved of its lack of unity and decorum.” That all changed in the 18<sup>th</sup> century when the play was praised by people who considered Hamlet a great hero even in the most consequential circumstances.\r\n\r\nToday, the tragedy is now one of the most read and quotable pieces of literature in the world. It has been studied by students of middle and high school. It has been adapted for radio, television, film, and stage, of course. There might not be a day going by where Hamlet is not being performed around the world. Considering how it was received in the past and the present, it is remarkable on how much people see in the title character through their point of view, though some would disagree. Nonetheless, the play continues to entrance readers and audience to show the power of Shakespeare.\r\n\r\nIn my opinion, this play is a sight to behold with what it has to offer. I first became engrossed by it when I watched various film adaptations of the play. My favorite film version of the play is by Kenneth Branagh, in which he brings out the full text version of the play on an epic scale. “Hamlet has the kind of power, energy, and excitement that movies can truly exploit,” Branagh says. While there are other good adaptations of the play, this one boosted my interest in the play and has made me revisit it more often as well as other Shakespeare plays.\r\n\r\n“Hamlet” should be kept in memory for future generations to come because it provides a great example of Shakespeare’s writing and how the English language has evolved through the 17<sup>th</sup> century to the present. It provides a complex story of simple revenge story about madness and setting things straight in a corrupted imperative. Whether you might agree or disagree with Hamlet’s motives, some probably cannot help but be intrigued the words and the pure poetry the iambic perimeter handles. With this tragedy and his other works shown as prototypes, Shakespeare proves that he is, and always has been, the greatest writer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Bibliography</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Ed Friedlander, M.D. “Enjoying ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare<em>.”</em></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<blockquote><em> The Pathology Guy</em>. Brown University, Department of English. Web. 30 January 2005.\r\n\r\nhttp://www.pathguy.com/hamlet.htm</blockquote>\r\n<strong>2.      </strong>Vickers, Brian, ed. 1974a. <em>Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage</em>. <strong></strong>\r\n<blockquote>Volume one (1623 -1692). New ed. London: Routledge, 1995</blockquote>\r\n3.  “Hamlet, Prince of Demark: A Study Guide.”\r\n<blockquote>Cumming Study Guides. <a href=\"http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes\">http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes</a></blockquote>\r\n4. <a href=\"http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341\">http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341</a>\r\n\r\n5. Branagh, Kenneth. <em>Hamlet </em>(1996). DVD.','Hamlet','','publish','open','open','','hamlet','','','2011-09-28 16:19:00','2011-09-28 22:19:00','',0,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1711',0,'post','',11),(1712,54,'2011-09-27 09:35:40','2011-09-27 15:35:40','            <img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\" alt=\"\" />\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg</a></p>\nHamlet is a tragedy that always should be remembered for its historical background, complex characters, and iambic perimeter prose. William Shakespeare’s world famous play has been performed for many generations in theatre, film, and television. Critics have often dived deep into studying the titled character and the major events in his journey to revenge. So it only figures that this should be recognized as one of the most important pieces of literature ever written. Written between 1599 &amp; 1601, the play takes place in Denmark where the prince Hamlet grieves the loss of his father for two months while his uncle Claudius is crowned king and marries his mother Gertrude. He’s then visited by the ghost of his father who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. This motivates Hamlet to avenge his father’s death but at a great cost with hesitation and death.\n\nThe play was inspired by many literary tales of the “hero as a fool” in Indo-European culture. Though, in many cases, Hamlet is really not a fool. One of the sources for the play was the third book of <em>Gesta Danorum (The Deeds of the Danes),</em> which tells the “tale of Amleth as he avenges the murder of his father, Horwendil, at the hands of Feng.” But probably one of the most major sources was a lost play known as <em>Ur-Hamlet </em>(the prefix <em>ur</em> means <em>original</em>) by Thomas Kyd. Also known as “The Spanish Tragedy,” this provides what would be the format for tragedies that time when Hamlet was released. However many sources this tragedy originated from, Shakespeare has taken many old sources for his plays as historians said.\n\nAround the same time the play was being written, Elizabeth I was in bad health, which worried many people since she has no imminent heir. They believed that the country would be weakened and be seized by the Spanish whom the English defeated in battle. But everyone was relieved when James VI of Scotland took over the throne. Many take this significant event as a warning from Shakespeare. In the play Denmark is at stake with Fortinbras of Norway who desires to regain lost lands owned by his father. So in some ways, this tragedy also serves as a cautionary tale about being ruled by a foreign power. And it would take a brilliant person like Hamlet, or James VI, to settle things even if it ends up costing your life as it happened to the him.\n\nMany of these Elizabethan tragedies have originated form Greek tragedies. One influential figure was Seneca who set up all of the norms and rules for the revenge tragedy genre. Shakespeare basically took those conventions and worked them in his work. Many trademarks from Hamlet are presented in Shakespeare’s additional tragedies such as “a five act structure, the appearance of a ghost, and long speeches known as soliloquies.” Hamlet uses those guidelines in its story, so it may not look that different from any other. However, they were major changes in the text. An example would be how usually in Elizabethan tragedies, the revenger would have an accomplice with him. In this case, Hamlet’s accomplice and close friend is Horatio. According to the guidelines, after the revenge is complete the hero would have died along with his companion. But in this case, Horatio survives in the end when Hamlet stops him from drinking poisoned wine so that he may preserved the knowledge of all of the events that occurred in the play since he was present for most of the action.\n\nBack then when the play was first performed, it was favored by mass audiences. However, those who were critical of the play were 17<sup>th</sup> century Restoration critics who saw considered it “…primitive and disapproved of its lack of unity and decorum.” That all changed in the 18<sup>th</sup> century when the play was praised by people who considered Hamlet a great hero even in the most consequential circumstances.\n\nToday, the tragedy is now one of the most read and quotable pieces of literature in the world. It has been studied by students of middle and high school. It has been adapted for radio, television, film, and stage, of course. There might not be a day going by where Hamlet is not being performed around the world. Considering how it was received in the past and the present, it is remarkable on how much people see in the title character through their point of view, though some would disagree. Nonetheless, the play continues to entrance readers and audience to show the power of Shakespeare.\n\nIn my opinion, this play is a sight to behold with what it has to offer. I first became engrossed by it when I watched various film adaptations of the play. My favorite film version of the play is by Kenneth Branagh, in which he brings out the full text version of the play on an epic scale. “Hamlet has the kind of power, energy, and excitement that movies can truly exploit,” Branagh says. While there are other good adaptations of the play, this one boosted my interest in the play and has made me revisit it more often as well as other Shakespeare plays.\n\n“Hamlet” should be kept in memory for future generations to come because it provides a great example of Shakespeare’s writing and how the English language has evolved through the 17<sup>th</sup> century to the present. It provides a complex story of simple revenge story about madness and setting things straight in a corrupted imperative. Whether you might agree or disagree with Hamlet’s motives, some probably cannot help but be intrigued the words and the pure poetry the iambic perimeter handles. With this tragedy and his other works shown as prototypes, Shakespeare proves that he is, and always has been, the greatest writer.\n\n&nbsp;\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Bibliography</span></p>\n\n<ol>\n	<li>Ed Friedlander, M.D. “Enjoying ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare<em>.”</em></li>\n</ol>\n<em> The Pathology Guy</em>. Brown University, Department of English. Web. 30 January 2005.\n\nhttp://www.pathguy.com/hamlet.htm\n<ol>\n	<li><strong>2.      </strong>Vickers, Brian, ed. 1974a. <em>Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage</em>. <strong></strong></li>\n</ol>\nVolume one (1623 -1692). New ed. London: Routledge, 1995\n<ol>\n	<li>“Hamlet, Prince of Demark: A Study Guide.”</li>\n</ol>\nCumming Study Guides. <a href=\"http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes\">http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes</a>\n<ol>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341\">http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341</a></li>\n	<li>Branagh, Kenneth. <em>Hamlet </em>(1996). DVD.</li>\n</ol>','Hamlet','','inherit','open','open','','1711-revision','','','2011-09-27 09:35:40','2011-09-27 15:35:40','',1711,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1712',0,'revision','',0),(1713,54,'2011-09-27 09:35:46','2011-09-27 15:35:46','            <img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\" alt=\"\" />\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg</a></p>\r\nHamlet is a tragedy that always should be remembered for its historical background, complex characters, and iambic perimeter prose. William Shakespeare’s world famous play has been performed for many generations in theatre, film, and television. Critics have often dived deep into studying the titled character and the major events in his journey to revenge. So it only figures that this should be recognized as one of the most important pieces of literature ever written.\r\n\r\n Written between 1599 &amp; 1601, the play takes place in Denmark where the prince Hamlet grieves the loss of his father for two months while his uncle Claudius is crowned king and marries his mother Gertrude. He’s then visited by the ghost of his father who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. This motivates Hamlet to avenge his father’s death but at a great cost with hesitation and death.\r\n\r\nThe play was inspired by many literary tales of the “hero as a fool” in Indo-European culture. Though, in many cases, Hamlet is really not a fool. One of the sources for the play was the third book of <em>Gesta Danorum (The Deeds of the Danes),</em> which tells the “tale of Amleth as he avenges the murder of his father, Horwendil, at the hands of Feng.” But probably one of the most major sources was a lost play known as <em>Ur-Hamlet </em>(the prefix <em>ur</em> means <em>original</em>) by Thomas Kyd. Also known as “The Spanish Tragedy,” this provides what would be the format for tragedies that time when Hamlet was released. However many sources this tragedy originated from, Shakespeare has taken many old sources for his plays as historians said.\r\n\r\nAround the same time the play was being written, Elizabeth I was in bad health, which worried many people since she has no imminent heir. They believed that the country would be weakened and be seized by the Spanish whom the English defeated in battle. But everyone was relieved when James VI of Scotland took over the throne. Many take this significant event as a warning from Shakespeare. In the play Denmark is at stake with Fortinbras of Norway who desires to regain lost lands owned by his father. So in some ways, this tragedy also serves as a cautionary tale about being ruled by a foreign power. And it would take a brilliant person like Hamlet, or James VI, to settle things even if it ends up costing your life as it happened to the him.\r\n\r\nMany of these Elizabethan tragedies have originated form Greek tragedies. One influential figure was Seneca who set up all of the norms and rules for the revenge tragedy genre. Shakespeare basically took those conventions and worked them in his work. Many trademarks from Hamlet are presented in Shakespeare’s additional tragedies such as “a five act structure, the appearance of a ghost, and long speeches known as soliloquies.” Hamlet uses those guidelines in its story, so it may not look that different from any other. However, they were major changes in the text. An example would be how usually in Elizabethan tragedies, the revenger would have an accomplice with him. In this case, Hamlet’s accomplice and close friend is Horatio. According to the guidelines, after the revenge is complete the hero would have died along with his companion. But in this case, Horatio survives in the end when Hamlet stops him from drinking poisoned wine so that he may preserved the knowledge of all of the events that occurred in the play since he was present for most of the action.\r\n\r\nBack then when the play was first performed, it was favored by mass audiences. However, those who were critical of the play were 17<sup>th</sup> century Restoration critics who saw considered it “…primitive and disapproved of its lack of unity and decorum.” That all changed in the 18<sup>th</sup> century when the play was praised by people who considered Hamlet a great hero even in the most consequential circumstances.\r\n\r\nToday, the tragedy is now one of the most read and quotable pieces of literature in the world. It has been studied by students of middle and high school. It has been adapted for radio, television, film, and stage, of course. There might not be a day going by where Hamlet is not being performed around the world. Considering how it was received in the past and the present, it is remarkable on how much people see in the title character through their point of view, though some would disagree. Nonetheless, the play continues to entrance readers and audience to show the power of Shakespeare.\r\n\r\nIn my opinion, this play is a sight to behold with what it has to offer. I first became engrossed by it when I watched various film adaptations of the play. My favorite film version of the play is by Kenneth Branagh, in which he brings out the full text version of the play on an epic scale. “Hamlet has the kind of power, energy, and excitement that movies can truly exploit,” Branagh says. While there are other good adaptations of the play, this one boosted my interest in the play and has made me revisit it more often as well as other Shakespeare plays.\r\n\r\n“Hamlet” should be kept in memory for future generations to come because it provides a great example of Shakespeare’s writing and how the English language has evolved through the 17<sup>th</sup> century to the present. It provides a complex story of simple revenge story about madness and setting things straight in a corrupted imperative. Whether you might agree or disagree with Hamlet’s motives, some probably cannot help but be intrigued the words and the pure poetry the iambic perimeter handles. With this tragedy and his other works shown as prototypes, Shakespeare proves that he is, and always has been, the greatest writer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Bibliography</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Ed Friedlander, M.D. “Enjoying ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare<em>.”</em></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<em> The Pathology Guy</em>. Brown University, Department of English. Web. 30 January 2005.\r\n\r\nhttp://www.pathguy.com/hamlet.htm\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li><strong>2.      </strong>Vickers, Brian, ed. 1974a. <em>Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage</em>. <strong></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\nVolume one (1623 -1692). New ed. London: Routledge, 1995\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>“Hamlet, Prince of Demark: A Study Guide.”</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nCumming Study Guides. <a href=\"http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes\">http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes</a>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341\">http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341</a></li>\r\n	<li>Branagh, Kenneth. <em>Hamlet </em>(1996). DVD.</li>\r\n</ol>','Hamlet','','inherit','open','open','','1711-revision-2','','','2011-09-27 09:35:46','2011-09-27 15:35:46','',1711,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1713',0,'revision','',0),(1714,54,'2011-09-27 09:35:54','2011-09-27 15:35:54','            <img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\" alt=\"\" />\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg</a></p>\r\nHamlet is a tragedy that always should be remembered for its historical background, complex characters, and iambic perimeter prose. William Shakespeare’s world famous play has been performed for many generations in theatre, film, and television. Critics have often dived deep into studying the titled character and the major events in his journey to revenge. So it only figures that this should be recognized as one of the most important pieces of literature ever written.\r\n\r\n Written between 1599 &amp; 1601, the play takes place in Denmark where the prince Hamlet grieves the loss of his father for two months while his uncle Claudius is crowned king and marries his mother Gertrude. He’s then visited by the ghost of his father who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. This motivates Hamlet to avenge his father’s death but at a great cost with hesitation and death.\r\n\r\nThe play was inspired by many literary tales of the “hero as a fool” in Indo-European culture. Though, in many cases, Hamlet is really not a fool. One of the sources for the play was the third book of <em>Gesta Danorum (The Deeds of the Danes),</em> which tells the “tale of Amleth as he avenges the murder of his father, Horwendil, at the hands of Feng.” But probably one of the most major sources was a lost play known as <em>Ur-Hamlet </em>(the prefix <em>ur</em> means <em>original</em>) by Thomas Kyd. Also known as “The Spanish Tragedy,” this provides what would be the format for tragedies that time when Hamlet was released. However many sources this tragedy originated from, Shakespeare has taken many old sources for his plays as historians said.\r\n\r\nAround the same time the play was being written, Elizabeth I was in bad health, which worried many people since she has no imminent heir. They believed that the country would be weakened and be seized by the Spanish whom the English defeated in battle. But everyone was relieved when James VI of Scotland took over the throne. Many take this significant event as a warning from Shakespeare. In the play Denmark is at stake with Fortinbras of Norway who desires to regain lost lands owned by his father. So in some ways, this tragedy also serves as a cautionary tale about being ruled by a foreign power. And it would take a brilliant person like Hamlet, or James VI, to settle things even if it ends up costing your life as it happened to the him.\r\n\r\nMany of these Elizabethan tragedies have originated form Greek tragedies. One influential figure was Seneca who set up all of the norms and rules for the revenge tragedy genre. Shakespeare basically took those conventions and worked them in his work. Many trademarks from Hamlet are presented in Shakespeare’s additional tragedies such as “a five act structure, the appearance of a ghost, and long speeches known as soliloquies.” Hamlet uses those guidelines in its story, so it may not look that different from any other. However, they were major changes in the text. An example would be how usually in Elizabethan tragedies, the revenger would have an accomplice with him. In this case, Hamlet’s accomplice and close friend is Horatio. According to the guidelines, after the revenge is complete the hero would have died along with his companion. But in this case, Horatio survives in the end when Hamlet stops him from drinking poisoned wine so that he may preserved the knowledge of all of the events that occurred in the play since he was present for most of the action.\r\n\r\nBack then when the play was first performed, it was favored by mass audiences. However, those who were critical of the play were 17<sup>th</sup> century Restoration critics who saw considered it “…primitive and disapproved of its lack of unity and decorum.” That all changed in the 18<sup>th</sup> century when the play was praised by people who considered Hamlet a great hero even in the most consequential circumstances.\r\n\r\nToday, the tragedy is now one of the most read and quotable pieces of literature in the world. It has been studied by students of middle and high school. It has been adapted for radio, television, film, and stage, of course. There might not be a day going by where Hamlet is not being performed around the world. Considering how it was received in the past and the present, it is remarkable on how much people see in the title character through their point of view, though some would disagree. Nonetheless, the play continues to entrance readers and audience to show the power of Shakespeare.\r\n\r\nIn my opinion, this play is a sight to behold with what it has to offer. I first became engrossed by it when I watched various film adaptations of the play. My favorite film version of the play is by Kenneth Branagh, in which he brings out the full text version of the play on an epic scale. “Hamlet has the kind of power, energy, and excitement that movies can truly exploit,” Branagh says. While there are other good adaptations of the play, this one boosted my interest in the play and has made me revisit it more often as well as other Shakespeare plays.\r\n\r\n“Hamlet” should be kept in memory for future generations to come because it provides a great example of Shakespeare’s writing and how the English language has evolved through the 17<sup>th</sup> century to the present. It provides a complex story of simple revenge story about madness and setting things straight in a corrupted imperative. Whether you might agree or disagree with Hamlet’s motives, some probably cannot help but be intrigued the words and the pure poetry the iambic perimeter handles. With this tragedy and his other works shown as prototypes, Shakespeare proves that he is, and always has been, the greatest writer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Bibliography</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Ed Friedlander, M.D. “Enjoying ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare<em>.”</em></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<em> The Pathology Guy</em>. Brown University, Department of English. Web. 30 January 2005.\r\n\r\nhttp://www.pathguy.com/hamlet.htm\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li><strong>2.      </strong>Vickers, Brian, ed. 1974a. <em>Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage</em>. <strong></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\nVolume one (1623 -1692). New ed. London: Routledge, 1995\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>“Hamlet, Prince of Demark: A Study Guide.”</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nCumming Study Guides. <a href=\"http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes\">http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes</a>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341\">http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341</a></li>\r\n	<li>Branagh, Kenneth. <em>Hamlet </em>(1996). DVD.</li>\r\n</ol>','Hamlet','','inherit','open','open','','1711-revision-3','','','2011-09-27 09:35:54','2011-09-27 15:35:54','',1711,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1714',0,'revision','',0),(1715,54,'2011-09-27 09:35:55','2011-09-27 15:35:55','            <img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\" alt=\"\" />\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg</a></p>\r\nHamlet is a tragedy that always should be remembered for its historical background, complex characters, and iambic perimeter prose. William Shakespeare’s world famous play has been performed for many generations in theatre, film, and television. Critics have often dived deep into studying the titled character and the major events in his journey to revenge. So it only figures that this should be recognized as one of the most important pieces of literature ever written.\r\n\r\n Written between 1599 &amp; 1601, the play takes place in Denmark where the prince Hamlet grieves the loss of his father for two months while his uncle Claudius is crowned king and marries his mother Gertrude. He’s then visited by the ghost of his father who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. This motivates Hamlet to avenge his father’s death but at a great cost with hesitation and death.\r\n\r\nThe play was inspired by many literary tales of the “hero as a fool” in Indo-European culture. Though, in many cases, Hamlet is really not a fool. One of the sources for the play was the third book of <em>Gesta Danorum (The Deeds of the Danes),</em> which tells the “tale of Amleth as he avenges the murder of his father, Horwendil, at the hands of Feng.” But probably one of the most major sources was a lost play known as <em>Ur-Hamlet </em>(the prefix <em>ur</em> means <em>original</em>) by Thomas Kyd. Also known as “The Spanish Tragedy,” this provides what would be the format for tragedies that time when Hamlet was released. However many sources this tragedy originated from, Shakespeare has taken many old sources for his plays as historians said.\r\n\r\nAround the same time the play was being written, Elizabeth I was in bad health, which worried many people since she has no imminent heir. They believed that the country would be weakened and be seized by the Spanish whom the English defeated in battle. But everyone was relieved when James VI of Scotland took over the throne. Many take this significant event as a warning from Shakespeare. In the play Denmark is at stake with Fortinbras of Norway who desires to regain lost lands owned by his father. So in some ways, this tragedy also serves as a cautionary tale about being ruled by a foreign power. And it would take a brilliant person like Hamlet, or James VI, to settle things even if it ends up costing your life as it happened to the him.\r\n\r\nMany of these Elizabethan tragedies have originated form Greek tragedies. One influential figure was Seneca who set up all of the norms and rules for the revenge tragedy genre. Shakespeare basically took those conventions and worked them in his work. Many trademarks from Hamlet are presented in Shakespeare’s additional tragedies such as “a five act structure, the appearance of a ghost, and long speeches known as soliloquies.” Hamlet uses those guidelines in its story, so it may not look that different from any other. However, they were major changes in the text. An example would be how usually in Elizabethan tragedies, the revenger would have an accomplice with him. In this case, Hamlet’s accomplice and close friend is Horatio. According to the guidelines, after the revenge is complete the hero would have died along with his companion. But in this case, Horatio survives in the end when Hamlet stops him from drinking poisoned wine so that he may preserved the knowledge of all of the events that occurred in the play since he was present for most of the action.\r\n\r\nBack then when the play was first performed, it was favored by mass audiences. However, those who were critical of the play were 17<sup>th</sup> century Restoration critics who saw considered it “…primitive and disapproved of its lack of unity and decorum.” That all changed in the 18<sup>th</sup> century when the play was praised by people who considered Hamlet a great hero even in the most consequential circumstances.\r\n\r\nToday, the tragedy is now one of the most read and quotable pieces of literature in the world. It has been studied by students of middle and high school. It has been adapted for radio, television, film, and stage, of course. There might not be a day going by where Hamlet is not being performed around the world. Considering how it was received in the past and the present, it is remarkable on how much people see in the title character through their point of view, though some would disagree. Nonetheless, the play continues to entrance readers and audience to show the power of Shakespeare.\r\n\r\nIn my opinion, this play is a sight to behold with what it has to offer. I first became engrossed by it when I watched various film adaptations of the play. My favorite film version of the play is by Kenneth Branagh, in which he brings out the full text version of the play on an epic scale. “Hamlet has the kind of power, energy, and excitement that movies can truly exploit,” Branagh says. While there are other good adaptations of the play, this one boosted my interest in the play and has made me revisit it more often as well as other Shakespeare plays.\r\n\r\n“Hamlet” should be kept in memory for future generations to come because it provides a great example of Shakespeare’s writing and how the English language has evolved through the 17<sup>th</sup> century to the present. It provides a complex story of simple revenge story about madness and setting things straight in a corrupted imperative. Whether you might agree or disagree with Hamlet’s motives, some probably cannot help but be intrigued the words and the pure poetry the iambic perimeter handles. With this tragedy and his other works shown as prototypes, Shakespeare proves that he is, and always has been, the greatest writer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Bibliography</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Ed Friedlander, M.D. “Enjoying ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare<em>.”</em></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<em> The Pathology Guy</em>. Brown University, Department of English. Web. 30 January 2005.\r\n\r\nhttp://www.pathguy.com/hamlet.htm\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li><strong>2.      </strong>Vickers, Brian, ed. 1974a. <em>Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage</em>. <strong></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\nVolume one (1623 -1692). New ed. London: Routledge, 1995\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>“Hamlet, Prince of Demark: A Study Guide.”</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nCumming Study Guides. <a href=\"http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes\">http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes</a>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341\">http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341</a></li>\r\n	<li>Branagh, Kenneth. <em>Hamlet </em>(1996). DVD.</li>\r\n</ol>','Hamlet','','inherit','open','open','','1711-revision-4','','','2011-09-27 09:35:55','2011-09-27 15:35:55','',1711,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1715',0,'revision','',0),(1716,54,'2011-09-27 09:38:16','2011-09-27 15:38:16','<blockquote>            <img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\" alt=\"\" /></blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg</a></p>\r\nHamlet is a tragedy that always should be remembered for its historical background, complex characters, and iambic perimeter prose. William Shakespeare’s world famous play has been performed for many generations in theatre, film, and television. Critics have often dived deep into studying the titled character and the major events in his journey to revenge. So it only figures that this should be recognized as one of the most important pieces of literature ever written.\r\n\r\n Written between 1599 &amp; 1601, the play takes place in Denmark where the prince Hamlet grieves the loss of his father for two months while his uncle Claudius is crowned king and marries his mother Gertrude. He’s then visited by the ghost of his father who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. This motivates Hamlet to avenge his father’s death but at a great cost with hesitation and death.\r\n\r\nThe play was inspired by many literary tales of the “hero as a fool” in Indo-European culture. Though, in many cases, Hamlet is really not a fool. One of the sources for the play was the third book of <em>Gesta Danorum (The Deeds of the Danes),</em> which tells the “tale of Amleth as he avenges the murder of his father, Horwendil, at the hands of Feng.” But probably one of the most major sources was a lost play known as <em>Ur-Hamlet </em>(the prefix <em>ur</em> means <em>original</em>) by Thomas Kyd. Also known as “The Spanish Tragedy,” this provides what would be the format for tragedies that time when Hamlet was released. However many sources this tragedy originated from, Shakespeare has taken many old sources for his plays as historians said.\r\n\r\nAround the same time the play was being written, Elizabeth I was in bad health, which worried many people since she has no imminent heir. They believed that the country would be weakened and be seized by the Spanish whom the English defeated in battle. But everyone was relieved when James VI of Scotland took over the throne. Many take this significant event as a warning from Shakespeare. In the play Denmark is at stake with Fortinbras of Norway who desires to regain lost lands owned by his father. So in some ways, this tragedy also serves as a cautionary tale about being ruled by a foreign power. And it would take a brilliant person like Hamlet, or James VI, to settle things even if it ends up costing your life as it happened to the him.\r\n\r\nMany of these Elizabethan tragedies have originated form Greek tragedies. One influential figure was Seneca who set up all of the norms and rules for the revenge tragedy genre. Shakespeare basically took those conventions and worked them in his work. Many trademarks from Hamlet are presented in Shakespeare’s additional tragedies such as “a five act structure, the appearance of a ghost, and long speeches known as soliloquies.” Hamlet uses those guidelines in its story, so it may not look that different from any other. However, they were major changes in the text. An example would be how usually in Elizabethan tragedies, the revenger would have an accomplice with him. In this case, Hamlet’s accomplice and close friend is Horatio. According to the guidelines, after the revenge is complete the hero would have died along with his companion. But in this case, Horatio survives in the end when Hamlet stops him from drinking poisoned wine so that he may preserved the knowledge of all of the events that occurred in the play since he was present for most of the action.\r\n\r\nBack then when the play was first performed, it was favored by mass audiences. However, those who were critical of the play were 17<sup>th</sup> century Restoration critics who saw considered it “…primitive and disapproved of its lack of unity and decorum.” That all changed in the 18<sup>th</sup> century when the play was praised by people who considered Hamlet a great hero even in the most consequential circumstances.\r\n\r\nToday, the tragedy is now one of the most read and quotable pieces of literature in the world. It has been studied by students of middle and high school. It has been adapted for radio, television, film, and stage, of course. There might not be a day going by where Hamlet is not being performed around the world. Considering how it was received in the past and the present, it is remarkable on how much people see in the title character through their point of view, though some would disagree. Nonetheless, the play continues to entrance readers and audience to show the power of Shakespeare.\r\n\r\nIn my opinion, this play is a sight to behold with what it has to offer. I first became engrossed by it when I watched various film adaptations of the play. My favorite film version of the play is by Kenneth Branagh, in which he brings out the full text version of the play on an epic scale. “Hamlet has the kind of power, energy, and excitement that movies can truly exploit,” Branagh says. While there are other good adaptations of the play, this one boosted my interest in the play and has made me revisit it more often as well as other Shakespeare plays.\r\n\r\n“Hamlet” should be kept in memory for future generations to come because it provides a great example of Shakespeare’s writing and how the English language has evolved through the 17<sup>th</sup> century to the present. It provides a complex story of simple revenge story about madness and setting things straight in a corrupted imperative. Whether you might agree or disagree with Hamlet’s motives, some probably cannot help but be intrigued the words and the pure poetry the iambic perimeter handles. With this tragedy and his other works shown as prototypes, Shakespeare proves that he is, and always has been, the greatest writer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Bibliography</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Ed Friedlander, M.D. “Enjoying ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare<em>.”</em></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<blockquote><em> The Pathology Guy</em>. Brown University, Department of English. Web. 30 January 2005.\r\n\r\nhttp://www.pathguy.com/hamlet.htm</blockquote>\r\n<strong>2.      </strong>Vickers, Brian, ed. 1974a. <em>Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage</em>. <strong></strong>\r\n<blockquote>Volume one (1623 -1692). New ed. London: Routledge, 1995</blockquote>\r\n3.  “Hamlet, Prince of Demark: A Study Guide.”\r\n<blockquote>Cumming Study Guides. <a href=\"http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes\">http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes</a></blockquote>\r\n4. <a href=\"http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341\">http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341</a>\r\n\r\n5. Branagh, Kenneth. <em>Hamlet </em>(1996). DVD.','Hamlet','','inherit','open','open','','1711-revision-5','','','2011-09-27 09:38:16','2011-09-27 15:38:16','',1711,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1716',0,'revision','',0),(1717,54,'2011-09-27 09:38:25','2011-09-27 15:38:25','<blockquote>            <img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\" alt=\"\" /></blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg</a></p>\r\nHamlet is a tragedy that always should be remembered for its historical background, complex characters, and iambic perimeter prose. William Shakespeare’s world famous play has been performed for many generations in theatre, film, and television. Critics have often dived deep into studying the titled character and the major events in his journey to revenge. So it only figures that this should be recognized as one of the most important pieces of literature ever written.\r\n\r\n Written between 1599 &amp; 1601, the play takes place in Denmark where the prince Hamlet grieves the loss of his father for two months while his uncle Claudius is crowned king and marries his mother Gertrude. He’s then visited by the ghost of his father who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. This motivates Hamlet to avenge his father’s death but at a great cost with hesitation and death.\r\n\r\nThe play was inspired by many literary tales of the “hero as a fool” in Indo-European culture. Though, in many cases, Hamlet is really not a fool. One of the sources for the play was the third book of <em>Gesta Danorum (The Deeds of the Danes),</em> which tells the “tale of Amleth as he avenges the murder of his father, Horwendil, at the hands of Feng.” But probably one of the most major sources was a lost play known as <em>Ur-Hamlet </em>(the prefix <em>ur</em> means <em>original</em>) by Thomas Kyd. Also known as “The Spanish Tragedy,” this provides what would be the format for tragedies that time when Hamlet was released. However many sources this tragedy originated from, Shakespeare has taken many old sources for his plays as historians said.\r\n\r\nAround the same time the play was being written, Elizabeth I was in bad health, which worried many people since she has no imminent heir. They believed that the country would be weakened and be seized by the Spanish whom the English defeated in battle. But everyone was relieved when James VI of Scotland took over the throne. Many take this significant event as a warning from Shakespeare. In the play Denmark is at stake with Fortinbras of Norway who desires to regain lost lands owned by his father. So in some ways, this tragedy also serves as a cautionary tale about being ruled by a foreign power. And it would take a brilliant person like Hamlet, or James VI, to settle things even if it ends up costing your life as it happened to the him.\r\n\r\nMany of these Elizabethan tragedies have originated form Greek tragedies. One influential figure was Seneca who set up all of the norms and rules for the revenge tragedy genre. Shakespeare basically took those conventions and worked them in his work. Many trademarks from Hamlet are presented in Shakespeare’s additional tragedies such as “a five act structure, the appearance of a ghost, and long speeches known as soliloquies.” Hamlet uses those guidelines in its story, so it may not look that different from any other. However, they were major changes in the text. An example would be how usually in Elizabethan tragedies, the revenger would have an accomplice with him. In this case, Hamlet’s accomplice and close friend is Horatio. According to the guidelines, after the revenge is complete the hero would have died along with his companion. But in this case, Horatio survives in the end when Hamlet stops him from drinking poisoned wine so that he may preserved the knowledge of all of the events that occurred in the play since he was present for most of the action.\r\n\r\nBack then when the play was first performed, it was favored by mass audiences. However, those who were critical of the play were 17<sup>th</sup> century Restoration critics who saw considered it “…primitive and disapproved of its lack of unity and decorum.” That all changed in the 18<sup>th</sup> century when the play was praised by people who considered Hamlet a great hero even in the most consequential circumstances.\r\n\r\nToday, the tragedy is now one of the most read and quotable pieces of literature in the world. It has been studied by students of middle and high school. It has been adapted for radio, television, film, and stage, of course. There might not be a day going by where Hamlet is not being performed around the world. Considering how it was received in the past and the present, it is remarkable on how much people see in the title character through their point of view, though some would disagree. Nonetheless, the play continues to entrance readers and audience to show the power of Shakespeare.\r\n\r\nIn my opinion, this play is a sight to behold with what it has to offer. I first became engrossed by it when I watched various film adaptations of the play. My favorite film version of the play is by Kenneth Branagh, in which he brings out the full text version of the play on an epic scale. “Hamlet has the kind of power, energy, and excitement that movies can truly exploit,” Branagh says. While there are other good adaptations of the play, this one boosted my interest in the play and has made me revisit it more often as well as other Shakespeare plays.\r\n\r\n“Hamlet” should be kept in memory for future generations to come because it provides a great example of Shakespeare’s writing and how the English language has evolved through the 17<sup>th</sup> century to the present. It provides a complex story of simple revenge story about madness and setting things straight in a corrupted imperative. Whether you might agree or disagree with Hamlet’s motives, some probably cannot help but be intrigued the words and the pure poetry the iambic perimeter handles. With this tragedy and his other works shown as prototypes, Shakespeare proves that he is, and always has been, the greatest writer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Bibliography</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Ed Friedlander, M.D. “Enjoying ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare<em>.”</em></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<blockquote><em> The Pathology Guy</em>. Brown University, Department of English. Web. 30 January 2005.\r\n\r\nhttp://www.pathguy.com/hamlet.htm</blockquote>\r\n<strong>2.      </strong>Vickers, Brian, ed. 1974a. <em>Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage</em>. <strong></strong>\r\n<blockquote>Volume one (1623 -1692). New ed. London: Routledge, 1995</blockquote>\r\n3.  “Hamlet, Prince of Demark: A Study Guide.”\r\n<blockquote>Cumming Study Guides. <a href=\"http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes\">http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes</a></blockquote>\r\n4. <a href=\"http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341\">http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341</a>\r\n\r\n5. Branagh, Kenneth. <em>Hamlet </em>(1996). DVD.','Hamlet','','inherit','open','open','','1711-revision-6','','','2011-09-27 09:38:25','2011-09-27 15:38:25','',1711,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1717',0,'revision','',0),(1718,44,'2011-09-26 17:26:12','2011-09-26 23:26:12','<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1698\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ea0068p3_standard1-300x175.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"175\" /></a>\r\n<p align=\"center\">“<em>History of the New World</em>” By Girolamo Benzoni</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n                The book “History of the New World” should be preserved due to the fact that it shows how we use to act and some actions that we should never repeat and stepping outside the box to be able to reach a goal. Within the book “History of The New World’’ by Girolamo Benzoni, he wrote about a “trip” that he took to the “New World” (what is now the United States). He wrote the book in the year 1565 and had it republished in 1572. The book was written about his fifteen year journey to the “New World” in the book he elaborates on what he does, what he has endured, and what he see’s his fellow Spaniards do to the Indians of the land. He tells on how he is disgusted by some of the things he has seen while being over there. At this time frame in our history people were finding ways to be political and the religious power was very strong. The pope had a lot of pull and could tell pretty much everyone what to do. Not only was that an important thing, but the start of a new country in a different part of the world was major thing going on. The new discoveries over there and the event that were taking place in the new trade routes.<!--more-->\r\n\r\n                The writings of book weren’t too uncommon, especially since the “printing press had made it a lot easier for books to be reprinted” (The Humanities Tradition Vol. 2 pg. B3.116) it allowed more people to read books. We don’t come across to many of the books that were printed back in the 1500’s that were explaining what went on in the “new world” Benzoni had the same political mindset in which he wanted to change something so he chose to be innovated and come up with a new route to try and spread his message due to his low statue in society. He wrote about the pros and cons of what was going on in the “new world” which wasn’t to uncommon it was the magnitude of the negative things he wrote about is what caused the stir.\r\n\r\n                This was a very unusual tactic; the biggest part about it being unusual is the fact that the book was dedicated to the pope. It is dedicated to Pope Pius the 4<sup>th</sup> (The Catholic Encyclopedia) in which alone was a very strange gesture to do since for starters he did not know the pope or have any type of relationship with him, and the book is to have no religious value to it except that he (Benzoni) was upset with what his fellow “Christian brothers” were doing and acting towards the Indians and to the slaves. The book went into detail about how he had lived in the “new world” and the things that he saw. He goes into detail in the book about watching the Spaniards and how they would treat verbally and physically the Indians. He has pictures in the book of what the Indians would do on an everyday basis. He had put in images of Indians being enslaved by the white people and doing the brunt of work. He talked about how he would watch Indians and slaves walk into the woods at night to kill themselves because their life was so bad. He also talked about how Indian women would kill themselves and their babies so they wouldn’t have to endure the tormenting treatment from the Whites and Spaniards. This was a very controversial chunk of the book.\r\n\r\n                The book was really received with mixed feelings, the Spaniards hated the book and that was due to majority of the things said about them were negative. The Spaniards hated the book so much that they never printed it in their language. At first no one really read the book due to the fact it was only printed in one language but as the book got translated into French in 1579 and then in English in 1857 more people got the chance to read it. Some people thought that Benzoni had “exaggerated the truth” (Library of Congress) and didn’t see the book as very truthful.\r\n\r\n                The difference in feelings between then and now could be the same or they could be different I am not to sure. The reasoning for me not being to sure is due to the fact there are not a lot (if any) comments about this book online. I think mostly is cause we are never taught about this in school and I think its due to cause well we were those people who were the ones who treated the Indians so badly and we would be giving ourselves a bad name. We also don’t want to discriminate although I really don’t see how we could be but I’m sure someone who is of Indian descent would be upset we are talking about what took place in the history of this country. Another big possibility could be that Benzoni wasn’t the most educated person in the world and his grammatical skills were lacking a lot, so if we were to read the book it would probably need to be rewritten for us to understand, and with the time eras being so different it would be next to impossible to fully figure out and understand what he was trying to say or mean.\r\n\r\n                Things in this time era were different than how we could do things in modern day and ways of doing something to get your point across took creativity. Benzoni used some creativity by stepping outside of the box and writing a book to portray his message, and to get a change. He knew that going around and talking to people of power to get them to hear him and his complaints about the “New World” would next to impossible due to he was not from money or family statue so instead he chose to take a different approach. The best part of that approach was he dedicated it to the pope since he was the one who pretty much had the most power and could do something, and in the long run it paid off things changed.\r\n\r\n                In the next couple of generation need to look over and learn what he did, because there are a lot of lesions they could learn. One thing that stands out in bold is that your actions can speak louder than your words. In this direct aspect he could have told people what he saw and didn’t like or he could have done what he did and write them down in a book and spread his feelings on things and allow people to know what was really going on in the new world. With this book it also shows that even the smallest person can make the biggest impact if you just take the right ways to get your voice heard.\r\n\r\n                Benzoni also shows that we need to be bold every now and then, he took a chance and stepped outside the box and it succeeded he got what he thought should be down. If he would have never dedicated the book to Pope Prius the 4<sup>th</sup> then things would not have changed or changed that quickly. He showed that the mistreatment of others that were different in race was wrong.\r\n\r\nIn overall this book “History of the New World” by Girolamo Benzoni I think needs to be more talked about when we talk about the history of when we came over and how we treated the Indians. We don’t need to just focus on the negative the book can bring but we need to talk about the positive aspects such as him being bold and writing this book, wanting the fairness of everyone in the “new world”, and how your actions can speak louder.','History of The New World','','inherit','open','open','','1697-revision-4','','','2011-09-26 17:26:12','2011-09-26 23:26:12','',1697,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1718',0,'revision','',0),(1719,39,'2011-09-27 16:38:51','2011-09-27 22:38:51','[gallery]\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://reinep.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/teotihuacan.jpg\">http://reinep.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/teotihuacan.jpg</a>\r\n\r\nThe pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire. Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground. A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city. Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today. The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.<!--more-->\r\nThe pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period. Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built. All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later. Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures. One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet. There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city. Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson) The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle. Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson) Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\r\nThe most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city. Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery. Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion. It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known. Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city. In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure. Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)\r\nAs mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people. If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten. It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them. This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\r\nThe city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting. Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing. The best part I find is that there is no account for how these grThe pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire. Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground. A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city. Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today. The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.\r\nThe pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period. Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built. All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later. Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures. One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet. There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city. Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson) The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle. Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson) Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\r\nThe most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city. Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery. Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion. It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known. Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city. In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure. Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)\r\nAs mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people. If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten. It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them. This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\r\nThe city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting. Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing. The best part I find is that there is no account for how these great structures came to pass. Aztecs showed up and no one was there so they populated the area. However structures such as these even in modern day society would take years to build. It is baffling how in a time where none of the technological advancements of today were available that so many massive structures could have been made. I also enjoy how it can be seen that it was laid out in a grid like system, and not only that but residences, temples, and marketplace structures that were put in place. They had a city of one hundred to two hundred thousand people. My biggest interest and movement about this piece is how do you create a city that can have that many thriving occupants and not know where it came from.\r\nIt would be safe to say that the pyramids are not very typical of the era. However on the other side of the world there was only one place that would have some similar structures. This would be the pyramids of Egypt. They pre-date the pyramids at Teotihuacán but some are quite similar to the pyramids at Teotihuacán. Most of them were around the same size. The pyramid of Menkaure was one of two tinier pyramids that was built in Egypt. (Selin) It was around the same size as the pyramids found at Teotihuacán said to be 213 feet tall.(Egypt secrets of an Ancient World) Neither of these are what one would call \"typical\" but alike in construction. Other than both being pyramids great intricacy was put into the building of them. Menkaure has precise angles of its slopes along with the points facing the cardinal directions. The pyramids at Teotihuacán also were intricate both inside and out with murals and pictures of their gods. Not only to mention the connection between both having profound role in the religion and beliefs of both races. One for the after life and one to praise the gods that provided them with this life\r\nToday the pyramids are still not completely figured out. Some excavations have taken place recently just to discover or look at more of the pyramids to figure out purpose. As said earlier even today no one knows who built these massive structures. There was one excavation that took place recently in 2006 by Manzanilla and López Lujan et al.. They went to look at the Xalla complex. Even after looking through and trying to figure out it\'s purposes this particular pyramid is still described as \"Enigmatic\". (Cowgill) Others who look at the hierarchy that might have existed in the city have tried to figure out what the leaders were like. As of now other than seeing different sized living quarters for the elite, they have no real idea as to what type of rulers were in place. (Cowgill) The difference between today and then is we have more tools to attempt and discover facts about Teotihuacán. However back when first seen the Aztecs had no idea where these massive structures had emerged from, and as said before when the Spanish first arrived and asked they were told it was built by giants. All of these facts do not assist us today in trying to understand or document these mysterious pyramids.\r\nAs said work of this magnitude has only a few rivals one being the pyramid of Menkaure. A pyramid built for a Egyptian king. Both are roughly around the same size and shape, but the other very interesting comparison is they are both intricate. Both have chambers that were used for religious purposes, and both are complex on the outside. The Aztecs placed murals and sculptures all over, and the pyramid in Egypt had hieroglyphics and it\'s points point in all the cardinal directions.(Jones) Serious thought and careful planning was taken with both of these structures to insure they did not fall short of their purpose. It is uncanny looking at how both are ancient structures that remain today. It is assumed that one was built before the other but with no one knowing who built the pyramids at Teotihuacán they might rival in age as well.\r\n\r\nWork Cited\r\n\r\nBenson Ed Sonia G., Baker Deborah J., Hermsen Sarah. Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library. Detroit. Gale, 2005.\r\n\r\nSelin, Helaine. Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Berlin, Germany. Springer, 2008.\r\n\r\nJones, Lindsay. Encyclopedia or Religion. Detroit. Gale. 2005 Gale, Cengage Learning.\r\n\r\nCowgill, George L. \"An update on Teotihuacan.\" Antiquity 82.318 (2008): 962-975. Religion and Philosophy Collection. EBSCO. Web. 15 Sept. 2011.\r\n\r\nEgypt secrets of an Ancient World. National Georgraphic. Web. 12 Spetember 2011 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/menkaure.html','The Pyramids of Teotihuacán','','publish','open','open','','the-pyramids-of-teotihuacan','','','2011-09-28 16:35:46','2011-09-28 22:35:46','',0,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1719',0,'post','',12),(1720,39,'2011-09-27 16:34:21','2011-09-27 22:34:21','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','1719-revision','','','2011-09-27 16:34:21','2011-09-27 22:34:21','',1719,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1720',0,'revision','',0),(1721,39,'2011-09-27 16:38:51','2011-09-27 22:38:51','The pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire.  Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground.  A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city.  Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today.  The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.\r\n	The pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period.  Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built.  All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later.  Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures.  One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet.  There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city.  Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson)  The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle.  Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson)  Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\r\n	The most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city.  Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery.  Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion.  It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known.  Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city.  In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure.  Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)   \r\n	As mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people.  If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten.  It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them.  This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\r\n	The city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting.  Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing.  The best part I find is that there is no account for how these grThe pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire.  Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground.  A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city.  Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today.  The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.\r\n	The pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period.  Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built.  All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later.  Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures.  One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet.  There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city.  Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson)  The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle.  Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson)  Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\r\n	The most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city.  Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery.  Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion.  It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known.  Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city.  In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure.  Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)   \r\n	As mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people.  If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten.  It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them.  This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\r\n	The city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting.  Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing.  The best part I find is that there is no account for how these great structures came to pass.  Aztecs showed up and no one was there so they populated the area.  However structures such as these even in modern day society would take years to build.  It is baffling how in a time where none of the technological advancements of today were available that so many massive structures could have been made.  I also enjoy how it can be seen that it was laid out in a grid like system, and not only that but residences, temples, and marketplace structures that were put in place.  They had a city of one hundred to two hundred thousand people.  My biggest interest and movement about this piece is how do you create a city that can have that many thriving occupants and not know where it came from. \r\n	It would be safe to say that the pyramids are not very typical of the era.  However on the other side of the world there was only one place that would have some similar structures.  This would be the pyramids of Egypt.  They pre-date the pyramids at Teotihuacán but some are quite similar to the pyramids at Teotihuacán.  Most of them were around the same size.  The pyramid of Menkaure was one of two tinier pyramids that was built in Egypt. (Selin) It was around the same size as the pyramids found at Teotihuacán said to be 213 feet tall.(Egypt secrets of an Ancient World) Neither of these are what one would call \"typical\" but alike in construction.  Other than both being pyramids great intricacy was put into the building of them.  Menkaure has precise angles of its slopes along with the points facing the cardinal directions.  The pyramids at Teotihuacán also were intricate both inside and out with murals and pictures of their gods.  Not only to mention the connection between both having profound role in the religion and beliefs of both races.  One for the after life and one to praise the gods that provided them with this life\r\n	Today the pyramids are still not completely figured out.  Some excavations have taken place recently just to discover or look at more of the pyramids to figure out purpose.  As said earlier even today no one knows who built these massive structures.  There was one excavation that took place recently in 2006 by Manzanilla and López Lujan et al..  They went to look at the Xalla complex.  Even after looking through and trying to figure out it\'s purposes this particular pyramid is still described as \"Enigmatic\". (Cowgill)  Others who look at the hierarchy that might have existed in the city have tried to figure out what the leaders were like.  As of now other than seeing different sized living quarters for the elite, they have no real idea as to what type of rulers were in place. (Cowgill) The difference between today and then is we have more tools to attempt and discover facts about Teotihuacán.  However back when first seen the Aztecs had no idea where these massive structures had emerged from, and as said before when the Spanish first arrived and asked they were told it was built by giants.  All of these facts do not assist us today in trying to understand or document these mysterious pyramids.\r\n	As said work of this magnitude has only a few rivals one being the pyramid of Menkaure.  A pyramid built for a Egyptian king.  Both are roughly around the same size and shape, but the other very interesting comparison is they are both intricate.  Both have chambers that were used for religious purposes, and both are complex on the outside.  The Aztecs placed murals and sculptures all over, and the pyramid in Egypt had hieroglyphics and it\'s points point in all the cardinal directions.(Jones)  Serious thought and careful planning was taken with both of these structures to insure they did not fall short of their purpose. It is uncanny looking at how both are ancient structures that remain today.  It is assumed that one was built before the other but with no one knowing who built the pyramids at Teotihuacán they might rival in age as well.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWork Cited\r\n\r\nBenson Ed Sonia G., Baker Deborah J., Hermsen Sarah. Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library. Detroit. Gale, 2005. \r\n\r\nSelin, Helaine. Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Berlin, Germany. Springer, 2008.\r\n\r\nJones, Lindsay. Encyclopedia or Religion. Detroit. Gale. 2005 Gale, Cengage Learning.\r\n\r\nCowgill, George L. \"An update on Teotihuacan.\" Antiquity 82.318 (2008): 962-975. Religion and Philosophy Collection. EBSCO. Web. 15 Sept. 2011.\r\n\r\nEgypt secrets of an Ancient World. National Georgraphic. Web. 12 Spetember 2011 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/menkaure.html\r\n','The Pyramids of Teotihuacán','','inherit','open','open','','1719-revision-2','','','2011-09-27 16:38:51','2011-09-27 22:38:51','',1719,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1721',0,'revision','',0),(1722,41,'2011-09-22 09:07:40','2011-09-22 15:07:40','<h3><span style=\"color: #605f00\">Citizens revolt against plans to demolish the embodiment of Renaissance Civil Architecture.</span></h3>\r\n<p align=\"left\">By Jill Brockmann<strong>,</strong> ONN Contributor, Italy, Florence -- (ONN Bureau)</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">September 19, 2011 12:05 p.m. EDT</p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1604\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"290\" caption=\"The Medici Palazzo - Image found: http://otherworldmystery.com/tag/rosicrucianism\"]<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/med_pal_exterior4.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1604\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/med_pal_exterior4.jpg\" alt=\"The Medici Palazzo\" width=\"290\" height=\"117\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n<p align=\"left\">Riots broke out in Tuscany\'s capital today, as the polizia tried to hold back protesters in front of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the epitome and gold standard of Renaissance Civil Architecture. Hundreds of protesters congregated in front of the strong, yet grim, exterior of the cube-shaped building that was once the most persuasive symbol of the political and cultural authority of the Medici banking family in Florence.<sup>2 </sup> Protesters believe that the building should be preserved because of its long history of provoking ardent political discourse, its owners promoted the preservation of rare art and they shared their priceless pieces in an effort to enhance the community\'s love of the arts. <!--more--></p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">The City Council is attempting to exert their power of emminent domain and destroy the building, replacing it with a high-rise apartment complex that would include tax-generating commercial space on the first floor. The building was built by the Italian architect and sculptor, Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi (1396–1472) and was commissioned by the head of the Medici banking family, Cosimo de\' Medici, between the years of 1445-1460. Today, the building is known as the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, after Gabbriello Riccardi purchased it and expanded its footprint in 1659.<sup>1</sup></p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1609\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"198\" caption=\"Courtyard at the Medici Palazzo  Image found: http://www.goingthroughitaly.com/500/medici-riccardi-palace/\"]<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/med_courtyard.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1609\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/med_courtyard.jpg\" alt=\"Courtyard at the Medici Palazzo\" width=\"198\" height=\"187\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n<p align=\"left\">Florentine citizens are protesting the demolition of the building, which they consider the foremost example of the classic theory of magnificence, touted by Aristotle in his famed literary work, <em>Nicomachean Ethics</em>. Aristotle\'s theory held that \"men of means had a moral duty to live in magnificent palaces for the benefit of themselves, their family and society.\"<sup>2 </sup>Florentinians of today agree with this theory and see the building as an ideal model of political order, civic harmony, and pride.<sup>1</sup> At one time, the Medici Palazzo (palace) was said to be \"one of the noblest specimens of Italian fifteenth-century architecture, in which the great taste and skill of the architect has combined with the delicate lightness of earlier Italian Gothic style and with the massive stateliness of the classical style.\" <sup>2</sup></p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1606\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"482\" caption=\"                         Example of biforal (left) and Gothic triforal (right) windows                                 Images found: http://www.florence-gallery.com/monuments/  and http://santatatiana.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/the-magnificent-palace-of-priors-in-perugia\"]<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CompareContrast-windows1.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1606 \" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CompareContrast-windows1.jpg\" alt=\"Medici Palazzo (left) and Prior\'s Palace (right) window examples \" width=\"482\" height=\"151\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n<p align=\"left\"> When compared to the Prior\'s Palace, in Perugia, the Medici Palace offers many considerations of similarity and contrast.<sup> 2</sup> The Prior\'s Palace was constructed during the same time period and held fast to the custom of resting double-arch (biforal) windows on classic cornices, which echoed ecclesiastical architecture.<sup>2</sup></p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Medici Palazzo is designed with double-arch windows on the second and third floors. However, the rounded-arches of the windows in the Medici Palazzo deviate from the Prior\'s Palace windows in that they do not have the classic Gothic point at the top.<sup>2</sup> This rounded-style arch was first seen in a residence when Michelozzo designed the Medici Palazzo to look more secular.<sup>2</sup></p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">An additional architectural differentiation from buildings of its time, including the Prior\'s Palace, was the optical illusion created when the building is viewed from street level.<sup>2</sup> The stone surfaces from bottom-to-top change in texture from rough to smooth, and the stories are scaled from taller on the bottom level to shorter on the upper levels.<sup>2</sup> This transition of surfaces and story height creates the illusion that the structure looms even taller than it actually is. The cornice along the top of the building, projecting out six feet past the façade, serves as a type of crown for the building and its ornate moldings, coffers, rosettes and flutes further speak to the Medici\'s preoccupation with social and political status.<sup>2,4</sup></p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Spokesperson for the uprising, Leona Battista Alberti, (descendent of author Leon Battista Alberti, who penned <em>On the Art of Building in Ten Books</em>) stated that the Medici family monopolized Florentine politics and all things cultural from 1434 to 1494.<sup>5</sup>  Alberti claims that Cosimo Medici was a humanist, had amassed a large fortune, and had successfully managed to outwit his political enemies to become the <em>de facto</em> ruler of Florence.<sup>3</sup> Under his rule, Medici took advantage of the open trade routes, throughout much of the world, to bring precious objects to Florence and this enhanced honor and pride within the community. She further stated that the objects he imported  included priceless paintings, rare books, elaborate sculptures, fine tapestries, unusual plants, splendid inlaid marble floor tiles and much more.<sup>3</sup> Alberti clearly prayed that the Medici Palace remain standing as a respectful tribute to the illustrious Medici family and all of the rare treasures they brought to the Florentine citizens.</p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1611\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"245\" caption=\"Statue of Cosimo de&#039; Medici - Image found: http://www.flickr.com/photos/19178753@N04/5093773149/\"]<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/medici-statue1.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1611 \" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/medici-statue1.jpg\" alt=\"Statue of Cosimo de Medici\" width=\"245\" height=\"194\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n<p align=\"left\">Opponent of the protest, Frank Pazzi, (descendant of Francesco de\' Pazzi) spoke of the political unrest that swirled around the Medici family during the time immediately before and after the construction of the Medici Palazzo. The rising wealth among the merchant class was infringing upon the authority of the Papacy and creating tension within the Church. He spoke of the fact that Medici purposefully chose the unusual design and appearance of the building\'s façade because he had just returned from exile and was conscientious about upsetting the delicate political climate of the time and arousing envy among the citizens of Florence. Pazzi\'s family had been political rivals of the Medici family in the 1400s and he noted that one of his ancestors had been hanged at the Palace.<sup>3</sup> Pazzi viewed the Palace as a place of great heartache, political unrest, and that it reminded him of the social manipulation running rampant at the time. He stated that he wished the building \"had been flattened years ago.\"</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Since the Medici vs. Pazzi family rivalry ended with the Medici\'s prevailing, the construction of the Medici Palace represented a celebration or re-birth of sorts, and therefor, the building was in a brand-new style.<sup>3</sup>  According to the Curator of the present-day Medici Museum, the Medici Palace was the first private residence in Florence to have an all-stone exterior, elements such as moldings, round-headed arches, elegant wedge-shaped stones in the arches, (called \"voussoirs\") and the prominent display of the family coat-of-arms.<sup>2  </sup>The Curator further explained that although there were some characteristics of this building that were classically Roman in nature, the predominant reason to preserve this structure was that it was the first time a residence included a gracious nod to civic harmony and lower-class inclusiveness among the wealthy. For example, he stated that Medici placed stone benches, wrought-iron hitching rings for horses, and torch holders on the exterior as a means of welcoming visitors.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Perhaps the welcoming ambience of the Palace was the seed of change and now, present day architects use it in their designs. The Medici were the first to incorporate these community-related elements in to their design and nowadays nearly every building in existence has some sort of bench, railing, fountain, garden, or welcoming landscape. Saying that a building is \"inviting\" is considered a great accomplishment among commercial architects today. Is it possible that the Medici were the first example of this community-minded trend? If so, this fact alone may be reason enough to preserve the building.</p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1614\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"230\" caption=\"Alterpiece in the Chapel of the Medici Palazzo ~ Image found: http://hoocher.com/Agnolo_Bronzino/Agnolo_Bronzino.htm\"]<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/medici_painting4.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1614\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/medici_painting4.jpg\" alt=\"Alterpiece in the chapel of The Medici Palazzo\" width=\"230\" height=\"320\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n<p align=\"left\">When interviewed, present-day Florentine Architect, Phillip Brunelleschi, (descendant of architect, Filippo Brunelleschi) noted that at the time Medici Palazzo was constructed, building façades had a distinct asymmetry to the placement of the center courtyard and the doors. This created a lack of alignment between the doors and the upper windows.<sup>2</sup> He went on to speak of the misalignment of the doors and upper-story windows of the Medici Palazzo. Despite this similarity to buildings of the day, it was Brunelleschi\'s opinion that the center courtyard of Medici Palazzo is designed to \"evoke a cloister-like sacred space\"<sup>2</sup> and this tranquil element was non-existent in other palaces of that time. The Medici incorporated their own chapel within the walls of the Palace. What did having their own church say about their connection to God? Most people in Florence had to walk to church. The Medici could have simply walked into their chapel and hired their own priest. Their social and religious stature must have irritated the Church and that would have further inflamed their political standing in town.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Protest organizer, Loren Vecchio, (descendant of Cosimo Medici) advocates the preservation of the building due to the historic accomplishments of the Medici family in relation to education. Vecchio stressed that under the patronage of the Medici family, the Platonic Academy in Florence was founded in 1462. In 1480, The Medici opened the Garden of Lorenzo de’ Medici. Vecchio noted that the library of St. Lorenzo (Bibliotheca Laurenziana) made</p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1616\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"190\" caption=\"Laurentian Library Foyer     Image found: http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Laurentian_Library.html\"]<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/med_lib.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1616\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/med_lib.jpg\" alt=\"Laurentian Library inside The Medici Palazzo\" width=\"190\" height=\"187\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n<p align=\"left\">available to the public the immense Medici collection of books and manuscripts, and that this one act proved that the Medici\'s had devoted their lives to the colossal undertaking of educating and promoting the appreciation of the arts for generations to come.<sup>4</sup></p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">One of the protesters, Marisa Ficino, (descendent of Marsilio Ficino), mentioned that one of her ancestors had been hired by Cosimo to translate the works of Plato into Latin and that Medici was a huge patron of the arts and literature. She commented that, according to family stories, the Medici were the first family to use their personal residences to display vast art and cultural collections.<sup>4</sup> Ficino indicated that the practice of inviting guests to visit the Palace was politically innovative at the time because guests were only shown rooms that equaled their favor with the family. Viewing the enormous collection of rare and priceless artifacts became an inducement that led guests to do the bidding of the family. Certain precious pieces were only shown to those members of society that, according to the Medici family, were worthy.<sup>4</sup> At the time, this custom created envy among some circles while delighting others. Could it be that the same practice still exists, in some form, in our society today?</p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1615\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"194\" caption=\"Medici Palazzo Ceremonial Hall  Image found: http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/medici_riccardi_palace.html\"]<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Med_pal_interior.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1615\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Med_pal_interior.jpg\" alt=\"Medici Palazzo Ceremonial Hall\" width=\"194\" height=\"259\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n<p align=\"left\">Today, the Palace holds the offices of the Provincial Governor, the Florentine Provincial Authority, the Istituto Storico dellaRes istenza and the Biblioteca Moreniana. Upon researching this article, the author found almost three million listings for the Medici Palazzo that were academic in nature or bespoke of its architectural prestige and dominance in the civil architecture movement of the Renaissance. In the humble opinion of this author, it appears that this extraordinary work of architecture is worth preserving and hopefully the Florence City Council will realize the multi-layered historical importance and keep the building in order to give the protestors what they want.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2></h2>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2><em><span style=\"color: #605f00\">Works Cited List:</span></em></h2>\r\n<p align=\"left\">1. The Medici Palazzo - The Chronology. http://www.palazzo-medici.it/eng/sez_storia/medici.htm Website accessed August 26, 2011.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">2. Partridge, Loren W.<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"> Art of Renaissance Florence, 1400-1600 </span>. Imprint Berkeley : University of California Press, c2009.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">3. Martinez, Lauro. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">April blood : Florence and the plot against the Medici.</span> Imprint Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2003.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">4. Neher, Gabriele. <a title=\"Living it Up in Fifteenth-Century Florence: Magnificence, the Medici and the Renaissance Palace.\" href=\"http://ehis.ebscohost.com.lsproxy.austincc.edu/ehost/viewarticle?data=dGJyMPPp44rp2%2fdV0%2bnjisfk5Ie41%2fOL8t%2fsRuvX54as2%2baH8eq%2bUK2prkewpq9JnqeuUrGsuEy1lr9lpOrweezp33vy3%2b2G59q7RbCmsEyxq7BJsKqkhN%2fk5VXj5KR84LPfUeac8nnls79mpNfsVbCvsVCxrrBIpNztiuvX8lXk6%2bqE8tv2jAAA&amp;hid=5\">Living it Up in Fifteenth-Century Florence: Magnificence, the Medici and the Renaissance Palace. </a><em>Art Book</em>, Feb2008, Vol. 15 Issue 1, p9-10, 2p;</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">5. Matthews, T., DeWitt Platt, F., Noble, Thomas F.X., <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">The Western Humanities</span>, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2011, Seventh Edition, Volume II, p307-308; p312;</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">6.Equestrian statue of Cosimo Medici. Website:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/19178753@N04/5093773149/. Accessed September 8, 2011.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">7. Medici-Riccardi Palace courtyard, Florence. Italy. Website: http://www.goingthroughitaly.com/500/medici-riccardi-palace/. Accessed September 5, 2011.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">8. Laurentian Library. The Museums of Florence. Website: http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Laurentian_Library.html. Accessed September 7, 2011.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">9.  Mediateca di Palazzo Medici Riccardi. <a href=\"http://www.provincia.fi.it/\">Provincia di Firenze</a>. Palazzo Medici-Riccardi Today.\r\nWebsite: http://www.palazzo-medici.it/mediateca/en/cronologia.php#3. Accessed September 6, 2011.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">10. Comune di Perugia. Palazzo dei Priori. Website: http://www.comune.perugia.it. Accessed: September 16, 2011.</p>','Protest at the Palazzo','','inherit','open','open','','1593-revision-36','','','2011-09-22 09:07:40','2011-09-22 15:07:40','',1593,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1722',0,'revision','',0),(1729,39,'2011-09-28 16:08:37','2011-09-28 22:08:37','The pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire. Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground. A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city. Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today. The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.<!--more-->\r\nThe pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period. Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built. All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later. Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures. One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet. There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city. Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson) The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle. Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson) Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\r\nThe most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city. Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery. Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion. It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known. Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city. In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure. Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)\r\nAs mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people. If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten. It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them. This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\r\nThe city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting. Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing. The best part I find is that there is no account for how these grThe pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire. Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground. A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city. Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today. The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.\r\nThe pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period. Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built. All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later. Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures. One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet. There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city. Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson) The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle. Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson) Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\r\nThe most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city. Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery. Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion. It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known. Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city. In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure. Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)\r\nAs mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people. If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten. It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them. This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\r\nThe city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting. Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing. The best part I find is that there is no account for how these great structures came to pass. Aztecs showed up and no one was there so they populated the area. However structures such as these even in modern day society would take years to build. It is baffling how in a time where none of the technological advancements of today were available that so many massive structures could have been made. I also enjoy how it can be seen that it was laid out in a grid like system, and not only that but residences, temples, and marketplace structures that were put in place. They had a city of one hundred to two hundred thousand people. My biggest interest and movement about this piece is how do you create a city that can have that many thriving occupants and not know where it came from.\r\nIt would be safe to say that the pyramids are not very typical of the era. However on the other side of the world there was only one place that would have some similar structures. This would be the pyramids of Egypt. They pre-date the pyramids at Teotihuacán but some are quite similar to the pyramids at Teotihuacán. Most of them were around the same size. The pyramid of Menkaure was one of two tinier pyramids that was built in Egypt. (Selin) It was around the same size as the pyramids found at Teotihuacán said to be 213 feet tall.(Egypt secrets of an Ancient World) Neither of these are what one would call \"typical\" but alike in construction. Other than both being pyramids great intricacy was put into the building of them. Menkaure has precise angles of its slopes along with the points facing the cardinal directions. The pyramids at Teotihuacán also were intricate both inside and out with murals and pictures of their gods. Not only to mention the connection between both having profound role in the religion and beliefs of both races. One for the after life and one to praise the gods that provided them with this life\r\nToday the pyramids are still not completely figured out. Some excavations have taken place recently just to discover or look at more of the pyramids to figure out purpose. As said earlier even today no one knows who built these massive structures. There was one excavation that took place recently in 2006 by Manzanilla and López Lujan et al.. They went to look at the Xalla complex. Even after looking through and trying to figure out it\'s purposes this particular pyramid is still described as \"Enigmatic\". (Cowgill) Others who look at the hierarchy that might have existed in the city have tried to figure out what the leaders were like. As of now other than seeing different sized living quarters for the elite, they have no real idea as to what type of rulers were in place. (Cowgill) The difference between today and then is we have more tools to attempt and discover facts about Teotihuacán. However back when first seen the Aztecs had no idea where these massive structures had emerged from, and as said before when the Spanish first arrived and asked they were told it was built by giants. All of these facts do not assist us today in trying to understand or document these mysterious pyramids.\r\nAs said work of this magnitude has only a few rivals one being the pyramid of Menkaure. A pyramid built for a Egyptian king. Both are roughly around the same size and shape, but the other very interesting comparison is they are both intricate. Both have chambers that were used for religious purposes, and both are complex on the outside. The Aztecs placed murals and sculptures all over, and the pyramid in Egypt had hieroglyphics and it\'s points point in all the cardinal directions.(Jones) Serious thought and careful planning was taken with both of these structures to insure they did not fall short of their purpose. It is uncanny looking at how both are ancient structures that remain today. It is assumed that one was built before the other but with no one knowing who built the pyramids at Teotihuacán they might rival in age as well.\r\n\r\nWork Cited\r\n\r\nBenson Ed Sonia G., Baker Deborah J., Hermsen Sarah. Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library. Detroit. Gale, 2005.\r\n\r\nSelin, Helaine. Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Berlin, Germany. Springer, 2008.\r\n\r\nJones, Lindsay. Encyclopedia or Religion. Detroit. Gale. 2005 Gale, Cengage Learning.\r\n\r\nCowgill, George L. \"An update on Teotihuacan.\" Antiquity 82.318 (2008): 962-975. Religion and Philosophy Collection. EBSCO. Web. 15 Sept. 2011.\r\n\r\nEgypt secrets of an Ancient World. National Georgraphic. Web. 12 Spetember 2011 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/menkaure.html','The Pyramids of Teotihuacán','','inherit','open','open','','1719-revision-4','','','2011-09-28 16:08:37','2011-09-28 22:08:37','',1719,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1729',0,'revision','',0),(1739,50,'2011-10-06 10:31:45','2011-10-06 16:31:45','Pico’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” dates back from about was a formal speech created by Pico to help introduce his”… 900 theses from numerous authorities—ancient and medieval, pagan and Christian, Muslem and Jewish.”(PLATO). His Oration was thought to be groundbreaking at the time as he contested the status quo of Church teachings and explained the idea that man has free will and the ability to talk to God. At the time the Renaissance was beginning and Italian philosophers such as Francesco Petrarch and Pico della Mirandola were beginning to create the idea of Humanism. Pico’s “Oration of a Dignity of a Man” should be preserved for future generations because he was one of the first to challenge church doctrine and introduced new thoughts to the way humans could communicate with God<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAt the time of Pico’s work the Renaissance was occurring and it was a time of great new invention and great new sciences being discovered all across Europe. The Renaissance occurred out of Europe coming out of the medieval and dark ages with a time period of great intellectual enlightenment. There was major changes happening across the continent, whether there were new forms of art, music, dance, literature, architecture, sculpture, or literature there were new and vast forms being created. Most of the texts at the time were from the Church and there was an obvious power struggle between church and state among most catholic countries. The church tried to instill that the word of the bible and the teachings of the church were final, and anything that went against these doctrines would be considered church heresy and dogma. Therefore when Pico created the <em>900 Theses”…</em> thirteen of these theses were deemed heretical by the papacy, and yet Pico refused to change or withdraw a single one.”(IEP)  In the work Pico tried to explain that man was given free will to decide how he wanted to live his life, and that anyone could communicate with God, not just the monks &amp; priests. This work was very unusual at the time because there were very few people who would dare directly challenge Church authority. He made a claim “Describing the individual\'s position as only “a little lower than the angels,” he stressed man\'s capacity to determine his own destiny on the hierarchical “chain of being” that linked the divine and brute realms.”(FIERO-B3.29). This was revolutionary in the 1400s as the dark age ideals were starting to be challenged and looked at as possibly not the best explanation of life on earth as well as the views on afterlife. In today’s times Pico is just as influential as he was in the renaissance, but for different reasons than his initial significance. At the time there was nothing like its kind, this was a first for the eyes of the Italian public all who ensued afterwards to gain the wisdom of Pico. Its significance nowadays serves us the purpose to gain access to the thoughts of Pico and fellow Italian scholars of humanism who he collaborated with to create the <em>900 theses</em> and the “Oration of the Dignity of Man”. The resources available to Pico as he was writing the oration are invaluable pieces of literature that may or may not even exist anymore, he was guided by some of the greatest scholars whose writings and teachings haven’t been preserved and were only able to learn through later accounts of writings and recordings.  I have found the personal insights about one being able to be in complete control, to have strong willpower, and the theory of individualism to be all very refreshing. Im not quite how sure mysticism will lead to my direct communication with God, but I am aware of some of the great moral raising ideals of the text. It spurs from a time period where the idea of individualism was nonexistent, the idea of being in the center of one rational universe and not needing the approval of the church to be in tune with God are all things I personally believe in.  Pico had ideals that were focused on God, and the individual himself, the idea of the individual was a rising topic in the Renaissance and Castiglione wrote about the subject as well in his <em>The Book of the Courtier</em> (1518). Castiglione discussed the changes over time that had been occurring from the dark ages in the modern times of his life.”Castiglione\'s preoccupation with manners rather than morals, with how individuals act and how their actions may impress their peers, rather than with the intrinsic moral value of those actions.”(FIEROB3.31) separates him with Pico. Castiglione strayed away from challenging the church or putting in any controversial ideals as did Pico. Pico took an angle that he knew would cause a reaction amongst the church and the church followers.\r\n\r\nThere are numerous reasons as to why the preservation of this piece of literature is needed for future generations, we first need to have an example of what it took to create a change in the world, the need to have an opinion and be free to express it. Pico was one of the first start to challenging the church’s authorities in an age were text printing was able and his words of wisdom would be able to reach audiences larger than previously imagined. His works which weren’t published before his death, lived on after he lived to prove just how siginificant the information was whether it was traditionally published. Pico suffered exile and exoneration from his church and from his home-state of Italy. The devotion this man had towards his work is essentially indescribable, to have such strong beliefs for something one believes is very recognizable and Pico della Mirandola’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” definitely deserves to be included in my space museum for future preservation.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"center\">WORKS CITED</p>\r\nFiero: The Humanistic Tradition Vol 2, 6<sup>th</sup> Ed., Online e-book,\r\n\r\n&gt; <a href=\"http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pico-della-mirandola/\" target=\"_blank\">http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pico-della-mirandola/</a>\r\n&gt;\r\n&gt; <a href=\"http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Pico Oration on a Dignity Man','','publish','open','open','','pico-oration-on-a-dignity-man','','','2011-10-07 14:21:52','2011-10-07 20:21:52','',0,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1739',0,'post','',3),(1728,39,'2011-09-27 16:42:11','2011-09-27 22:42:11','<p>       The pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire.  Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground.  A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city.  Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today.  The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.\r\n	The pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period.  Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built.  All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later.  Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures.  One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet.  There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city.  Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson)  The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle.  Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson)  Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\r\n	The most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city.  Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery.  Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion.  It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known.  Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city.  In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure.  Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)\r\n	As mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people.  If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten.  It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them.  This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.<br />\r\n	The city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting.  Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing.  The best part I find is that there is no account for how these grThe pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire.  Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground.  A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city.  Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today.  The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.\r\n	The pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period.  Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built.  All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later.  Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures.  One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet.  There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city.  Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson)  The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle.  Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson)  Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\r\n	The most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city.  Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery.  Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion.  It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known.  Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city.  In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure.  Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)\r\n	As mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people.  If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten.  It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them.  This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\r\n	The city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting.  Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing.  The best part I find is that there is no account for how these great structures came to pass.  Aztecs showed up and no one was there so they populated the area.  However structures such as these even in modern day society would take years to build.  It is baffling how in a time where none of the technological advancements of today were available that so many massive structures could have been made.  I also enjoy how it can be seen that it was laid out in a grid like system, and not only that but residences, temples, and marketplace structures that were put in place.  They had a city of one hundred to two hundred thousand people.  My biggest interest and movement about this piece is how do you create a city that can have that many thriving occupants and not know where it came from.\r\n	It would be safe to say that the pyramids are not very typical of the era.  However on the other side of the world there was only one place that would have some similar structures.  This would be the pyramids of Egypt.  They pre-date the pyramids at Teotihuacán but some are quite similar to the pyramids at Teotihuacán.  Most of them were around the same size.  The pyramid of Menkaure was one of two tinier pyramids that was built in Egypt. (Selin) It was around the same size as the pyramids found at Teotihuacán said to be 213 feet tall.(Egypt secrets of an Ancient World) Neither of these are what one would call \"typical\" but alike in construction.  Other than both being pyramids great intricacy was put into the building of them.  Menkaure has precise angles of its slopes along with the points facing the cardinal directions.  The pyramids at Teotihuacán also were intricate both inside and out with murals and pictures of their gods.  Not only to mention the connection between both having profound role in the religion and beliefs of both races.  One for the after life and one to praise the gods that provided them with this life<br />\r\n	Today the pyramids are still not completely figured out.  Some excavations have taken place recently just to discover or look at more of the pyramids to figure out purpose.  As said earlier even today no one knows who built these massive structures.  There was one excavation that took place recently in 2006 by Manzanilla and López Lujan et al..  They went to look at the Xalla complex.  Even after looking through and trying to figure out it\'s purposes this particular pyramid is still described as \"Enigmatic\". (Cowgill)  Others who look at the hierarchy that might have existed in the city have tried to figure out what the leaders were like.  As of now other than seeing different sized living quarters for the elite, they have no real idea as to what type of rulers were in place. (Cowgill) The difference between today and then is we have more tools to attempt and discover facts about Teotihuacán.  However back when first seen the Aztecs had no idea where these massive structures had emerged from, and as said before when the Spanish first arrived and asked they were told it was built by giants.  All of these facts do not assist us today in trying to understand or document these mysterious pyramids.\r\n	As said work of this magnitude has only a few rivals one being the pyramid of Menkaure.  A pyramid built for a Egyptian king.  Both are roughly around the same size and shape, but the other very interesting comparison is they are both intricate.  Both have chambers that were used for religious purposes, and both are complex on the outside.  The Aztecs placed murals and sculptures all over, and the pyramid in Egypt had hieroglyphics and it\'s points point in all the cardinal directions.(Jones)  Serious thought and careful planning was taken with both of these structures to insure they did not fall short of their purpose. It is uncanny looking at how both are ancient structures that remain today.  It is assumed that one was built before the other but with no one knowing who built the pyramids at Teotihuacán they might rival in age as well.\r\n<p>Work Cited</p>\r\n<p>Benson Ed Sonia G., Baker Deborah J., Hermsen Sarah. Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library. Detroit. Gale, 2005. </p>\r\n<p>Selin, Helaine. Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Berlin, Germany. Springer, 2008.</p>\r\n<p>Jones, Lindsay. Encyclopedia or Religion. Detroit. Gale. 2005 Gale, Cengage Learning.</p>\r\n<p>Cowgill, George L. \"An update on Teotihuacan.\" Antiquity 82.318 (2008): 962-975. Religion and Philosophy Collection. EBSCO. Web. 15 Sept. 2011.</p>\r\n<p>Egypt secrets of an Ancient World. National Georgraphic. Web. 12 Spetember 2011 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/menkaure.html</p>\r\n','The Pyramids of Teotihuacán','','inherit','open','open','','1719-revision-3','','','2011-09-27 16:42:11','2011-09-27 22:42:11','',1719,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1728',0,'revision','',0),(1730,39,'2011-09-28 16:09:54','2011-09-28 22:09:54','The pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire. Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground. A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city. Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today. The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.<!--more-->\nThe pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period. Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built. All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later. Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures. One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet. There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city. Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson) The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle. Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson) Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\nThe most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city. Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery. Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion. It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known. Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city. In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure. Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)\nAs mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people. If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten. It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them. This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\nThe city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting. Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing. The best part I find is that there is no account for how these grThe pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire. Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground. A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city. Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today. The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.\nThe pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period. Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built. All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later. Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures. One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet. There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city. Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson) The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle. Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson) Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\nThe most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city. Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery. Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion. It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known. Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city. In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure. Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)\nAs mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people. If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten. It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them. This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\nThe city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting. Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing. The best part I find is that there is no account for how these great structures came to pass. Aztecs showed up and no one was there so they populated the area. However structures such as these even in modern day society would take years to build. It is baffling how in a time where none of the technological advancements of today were available that so many massive structures could have been made. I also enjoy how it can be seen that it was laid out in a grid like system, and not only that but residences, temples, and marketplace structures that were put in place. They had a city of one hundred to two hundred thousand people. My biggest interest and movement about this piece is how do you create a city that can have that many thriving occupants and not know where it came from.\nIt would be safe to say that the pyramids are not very typical of the era. However on the other side of the world there was only one place that would have some similar structures. This would be the pyramids of Egypt. They pre-date the pyramids at Teotihuacán but some are quite similar to the pyramids at Teotihuacán. Most of them were around the same size. The pyramid of Menkaure was one of two tinier pyramids that was built in Egypt. (Selin) It was around the same size as the pyramids found at Teotihuacán said to be 213 feet tall.(Egypt secrets of an Ancient World) Neither of these are what one would call \"typical\" but alike in construction. Other than both being pyramids great intricacy was put into the building of them. Menkaure has precise angles of its slopes along with the points facing the cardinal directions. The pyramids at Teotihuacán also were intricate both inside and out with murals and pictures of their gods. Not only to mention the connection between both having profound role in the religion and beliefs of both races. One for the after life and one to praise the gods that provided them with this life\nToday the pyramids are still not completely figured out. Some excavations have taken place recently just to discover or look at more of the pyramids to figure out purpose. As said earlier even today no one knows who built these massive structures. There was one excavation that took place recently in 2006 by Manzanilla and López Lujan et al.. They went to look at the Xalla complex. Even after looking through and trying to figure out it\'s purposes this particular pyramid is still described as \"Enigmatic\". (Cowgill) Others who look at the hierarchy that might have existed in the city have tried to figure out what the leaders were like. As of now other than seeing different sized living quarters for the elite, they have no real idea as to what type of rulers were in place. (Cowgill) The difference between today and then is we have more tools to attempt and discover facts about Teotihuacán. However back when first seen the Aztecs had no idea where these massive structures had emerged from, and as said before when the Spanish first arrived and asked they were told it was built by giants. All of these facts do not assist us today in trying to understand or document these mysterious pyramids.\nAs said work of this magnitude has only a few rivals one being the pyramid of Menkaure. A pyramid built for a Egyptian king. Both are roughly around the same size and shape, but the other very interesting comparison is they are both intricate. Both have chambers that were used for religious purposes, and both are complex on the outside. The Aztecs placed murals and sculptures all over, and the pyramid in Egypt had hieroglyphics and it\'s points point in all the cardinal directions.(Jones) Serious thought and careful planning was taken with both of these structures to insure they did not fall short of their purpose. It is uncanny looking at how both are ancient structures that remain today. It is assumed that one was built before the other but with no one knowing who built the pyramids at Teotihuacán they might rival in age as well.\n\nWork Cited\n\nBenson Ed Sonia G., Baker Deborah J., Hermsen Sarah. Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library. Detroit. Gale, 2005.\n\nSelin, Helaine. Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Berlin, Germany. Springer, 2008.\n\nJones, Lindsay. Encyclopedia or Religion. Detroit. Gale. 2005 Gale, Cengage Learning.\n\nCowgill, George L. \"An update on Teotihuacan.\" Antiquity 82.318 (2008): 962-975. Religion and Philosophy Collection. EBSCO. Web. 15 Sept. 2011.\n\nEgypt secrets of an Ancient World. National Georgraphic. Web. 12 Spetember 2011 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/menkaure.html','The Pyramids of Teotihuacán','','inherit','open','open','','1719-autosave','','','2011-09-28 16:09:54','2011-09-28 22:09:54','',1719,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1730',0,'revision','',0),(1731,1,'2011-09-28 16:09:51','2011-09-28 22:09:51','The pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire. Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground. A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city. Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today. The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.<!--more-->\r\nThe pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period. Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built. All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later. Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures. One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet. There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city. Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson) The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle. Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson) Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\r\nThe most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city. Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery. Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion. It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known. Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city. In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure. Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)\r\nAs mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people. If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten. It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them. This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\r\nThe city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting. Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing. The best part I find is that there is no account for how these grThe pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire. Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground. A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city. Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today. The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.\r\nThe pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period. Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built. All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later. Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures. One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet. There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city. Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson) The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle. Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson) Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\r\nThe most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city. Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery. Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion. It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known. Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city. In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure. Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)\r\nAs mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people. If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten. It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them. This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\r\nThe city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting. Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing. The best part I find is that there is no account for how these great structures came to pass. Aztecs showed up and no one was there so they populated the area. However structures such as these even in modern day society would take years to build. It is baffling how in a time where none of the technological advancements of today were available that so many massive structures could have been made. I also enjoy how it can be seen that it was laid out in a grid like system, and not only that but residences, temples, and marketplace structures that were put in place. They had a city of one hundred to two hundred thousand people. My biggest interest and movement about this piece is how do you create a city that can have that many thriving occupants and not know where it came from.\r\nIt would be safe to say that the pyramids are not very typical of the era. However on the other side of the world there was only one place that would have some similar structures. This would be the pyramids of Egypt. They pre-date the pyramids at Teotihuacán but some are quite similar to the pyramids at Teotihuacán. Most of them were around the same size. The pyramid of Menkaure was one of two tinier pyramids that was built in Egypt. (Selin) It was around the same size as the pyramids found at Teotihuacán said to be 213 feet tall.(Egypt secrets of an Ancient World) Neither of these are what one would call \"typical\" but alike in construction. Other than both being pyramids great intricacy was put into the building of them. Menkaure has precise angles of its slopes along with the points facing the cardinal directions. The pyramids at Teotihuacán also were intricate both inside and out with murals and pictures of their gods. Not only to mention the connection between both having profound role in the religion and beliefs of both races. One for the after life and one to praise the gods that provided them with this life\r\nToday the pyramids are still not completely figured out. Some excavations have taken place recently just to discover or look at more of the pyramids to figure out purpose. As said earlier even today no one knows who built these massive structures. There was one excavation that took place recently in 2006 by Manzanilla and López Lujan et al.. They went to look at the Xalla complex. Even after looking through and trying to figure out it\'s purposes this particular pyramid is still described as \"Enigmatic\". (Cowgill) Others who look at the hierarchy that might have existed in the city have tried to figure out what the leaders were like. As of now other than seeing different sized living quarters for the elite, they have no real idea as to what type of rulers were in place. (Cowgill) The difference between today and then is we have more tools to attempt and discover facts about Teotihuacán. However back when first seen the Aztecs had no idea where these massive structures had emerged from, and as said before when the Spanish first arrived and asked they were told it was built by giants. All of these facts do not assist us today in trying to understand or document these mysterious pyramids.\r\nAs said work of this magnitude has only a few rivals one being the pyramid of Menkaure. A pyramid built for a Egyptian king. Both are roughly around the same size and shape, but the other very interesting comparison is they are both intricate. Both have chambers that were used for religious purposes, and both are complex on the outside. The Aztecs placed murals and sculptures all over, and the pyramid in Egypt had hieroglyphics and it\'s points point in all the cardinal directions.(Jones) Serious thought and careful planning was taken with both of these structures to insure they did not fall short of their purpose. It is uncanny looking at how both are ancient structures that remain today. It is assumed that one was built before the other but with no one knowing who built the pyramids at Teotihuacán they might rival in age as well.\r\n\r\nWork Cited\r\n\r\nBenson Ed Sonia G., Baker Deborah J., Hermsen Sarah. Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library. Detroit. Gale, 2005.\r\n\r\nSelin, Helaine. Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Berlin, Germany. Springer, 2008.\r\n\r\nJones, Lindsay. Encyclopedia or Religion. Detroit. Gale. 2005 Gale, Cengage Learning.\r\n\r\nCowgill, George L. \"An update on Teotihuacan.\" Antiquity 82.318 (2008): 962-975. Religion and Philosophy Collection. EBSCO. Web. 15 Sept. 2011.\r\n\r\nEgypt secrets of an Ancient World. National Georgraphic. Web. 12 Spetember 2011 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/menkaure.html','The Pyramids of Teotihuacán','','inherit','open','open','','1719-revision-5','','','2011-09-28 16:09:51','2011-09-28 22:09:51','',1719,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1731',0,'revision','',0),(1732,1,'2011-09-27 09:38:57','2011-09-27 15:38:57','<blockquote>            <img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\" alt=\"\" /></blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Booth_Hamlet_1870.jpg</a></p>\r\nHamlet is a tragedy that always should be remembered for its historical background, complex characters, and iambic perimeter prose. William Shakespeare’s world famous play has been performed for many generations in theatre, film, and television. Critics have often dived deep into studying the titled character and the major events in his journey to revenge. So it only figures that this should be recognized as one of the most important pieces of literature ever written.\r\n\r\n Written between 1599 &amp; 1601, the play takes place in Denmark where the prince Hamlet grieves the loss of his father for two months while his uncle Claudius is crowned king and marries his mother Gertrude. He’s then visited by the ghost of his father who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. This motivates Hamlet to avenge his father’s death but at a great cost with hesitation and death.\r\n\r\nThe play was inspired by many literary tales of the “hero as a fool” in Indo-European culture. Though, in many cases, Hamlet is really not a fool. One of the sources for the play was the third book of <em>Gesta Danorum (The Deeds of the Danes),</em> which tells the “tale of Amleth as he avenges the murder of his father, Horwendil, at the hands of Feng.” But probably one of the most major sources was a lost play known as <em>Ur-Hamlet </em>(the prefix <em>ur</em> means <em>original</em>) by Thomas Kyd. Also known as “The Spanish Tragedy,” this provides what would be the format for tragedies that time when Hamlet was released. However many sources this tragedy originated from, Shakespeare has taken many old sources for his plays as historians said.\r\n\r\nAround the same time the play was being written, Elizabeth I was in bad health, which worried many people since she has no imminent heir. They believed that the country would be weakened and be seized by the Spanish whom the English defeated in battle. But everyone was relieved when James VI of Scotland took over the throne. Many take this significant event as a warning from Shakespeare. In the play Denmark is at stake with Fortinbras of Norway who desires to regain lost lands owned by his father. So in some ways, this tragedy also serves as a cautionary tale about being ruled by a foreign power. And it would take a brilliant person like Hamlet, or James VI, to settle things even if it ends up costing your life as it happened to the him.\r\n\r\nMany of these Elizabethan tragedies have originated form Greek tragedies. One influential figure was Seneca who set up all of the norms and rules for the revenge tragedy genre. Shakespeare basically took those conventions and worked them in his work. Many trademarks from Hamlet are presented in Shakespeare’s additional tragedies such as “a five act structure, the appearance of a ghost, and long speeches known as soliloquies.” Hamlet uses those guidelines in its story, so it may not look that different from any other. However, they were major changes in the text. An example would be how usually in Elizabethan tragedies, the revenger would have an accomplice with him. In this case, Hamlet’s accomplice and close friend is Horatio. According to the guidelines, after the revenge is complete the hero would have died along with his companion. But in this case, Horatio survives in the end when Hamlet stops him from drinking poisoned wine so that he may preserved the knowledge of all of the events that occurred in the play since he was present for most of the action.\r\n\r\nBack then when the play was first performed, it was favored by mass audiences. However, those who were critical of the play were 17<sup>th</sup> century Restoration critics who saw considered it “…primitive and disapproved of its lack of unity and decorum.” That all changed in the 18<sup>th</sup> century when the play was praised by people who considered Hamlet a great hero even in the most consequential circumstances.\r\n\r\nToday, the tragedy is now one of the most read and quotable pieces of literature in the world. It has been studied by students of middle and high school. It has been adapted for radio, television, film, and stage, of course. There might not be a day going by where Hamlet is not being performed around the world. Considering how it was received in the past and the present, it is remarkable on how much people see in the title character through their point of view, though some would disagree. Nonetheless, the play continues to entrance readers and audience to show the power of Shakespeare.\r\n\r\nIn my opinion, this play is a sight to behold with what it has to offer. I first became engrossed by it when I watched various film adaptations of the play. My favorite film version of the play is by Kenneth Branagh, in which he brings out the full text version of the play on an epic scale. “Hamlet has the kind of power, energy, and excitement that movies can truly exploit,” Branagh says. While there are other good adaptations of the play, this one boosted my interest in the play and has made me revisit it more often as well as other Shakespeare plays.\r\n\r\n“Hamlet” should be kept in memory for future generations to come because it provides a great example of Shakespeare’s writing and how the English language has evolved through the 17<sup>th</sup> century to the present. It provides a complex story of simple revenge story about madness and setting things straight in a corrupted imperative. Whether you might agree or disagree with Hamlet’s motives, some probably cannot help but be intrigued the words and the pure poetry the iambic perimeter handles. With this tragedy and his other works shown as prototypes, Shakespeare proves that he is, and always has been, the greatest writer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Bibliography</span></p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>Ed Friedlander, M.D. “Enjoying ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare<em>.”</em></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<blockquote><em> The Pathology Guy</em>. Brown University, Department of English. Web. 30 January 2005.\r\n\r\nhttp://www.pathguy.com/hamlet.htm</blockquote>\r\n<strong>2.      </strong>Vickers, Brian, ed. 1974a. <em>Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage</em>. <strong></strong>\r\n<blockquote>Volume one (1623 -1692). New ed. London: Routledge, 1995</blockquote>\r\n3.  “Hamlet, Prince of Demark: A Study Guide.”\r\n<blockquote>Cumming Study Guides. <a href=\"http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes\">http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes</a></blockquote>\r\n4. <a href=\"http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341\">http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341</a>\r\n\r\n5. Branagh, Kenneth. <em>Hamlet </em>(1996). DVD.','Hamlet','','inherit','open','open','','1711-revision-7','','','2011-09-27 09:38:57','2011-09-27 15:38:57','',1711,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1732',0,'revision','',0),(1734,39,'2011-09-28 16:32:42','2011-09-28 22:32:42','','teotihuacan','','inherit','open','open','','teotihuacan','','','2011-09-28 16:32:42','2011-09-28 22:32:42','',1719,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/teotihuacan.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1735,39,'2011-09-28 16:35:23','2011-09-28 22:35:23','','teotihuacan','','inherit','open','open','','teotihuacan-2','','','2011-09-28 16:35:23','2011-09-28 22:35:23','',1719,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/teotihuacan1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1736,39,'2011-09-28 16:18:33','2011-09-28 22:18:33','The pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire. Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground. A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city. Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today. The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.<!--more-->\r\nThe pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period. Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built. All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later. Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures. One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet. There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city. Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson) The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle. Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson) Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\r\nThe most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city. Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery. Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion. It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known. Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city. In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure. Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)\r\nAs mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people. If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten. It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them. This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\r\nThe city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting. Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing. The best part I find is that there is no account for how these grThe pyramids at Teotihuacán comprised one of the largest cities in the Aztec empire. Not only did it house a vast number of people but it was a religious holy ground. A series of six hundred pyramids are encased in the large city. Some designed to praise the Aztec gods and some uses are still a mystery today. The pyramids at Teotihuacán should be preserved because they contain information still not known about the powerful Aztec empire.\r\nThe pyramids at Teotihuacán were both innovative and unusual for the time period. Even the Aztecs who had lived there or close by were un aware of how the immense city was actually built. All that is known is that the pyramids had already been constructed once they arrived there hundreds of years later. Some had told Spanish missionaries that giants had built the city for who else could logically build so many massive structures. One of the main pyramids was the Temple of the Sun which was over 200 feet tall and had a width of 700 feet. There were 600 hundred pyramids that made up the city not to mention thousands of other residences and city structures built into the intricate city. Out of the pyramids along with other structures archaeologists have been able to see that the leaders of the city were very well versed in the art of engineering and astronomy. (Benson) The vast amount of residences were apartment like as most were occupied by an extended families and had a shared courtyard in the middle. Many of the lords of Teotihuacán lived in lavish palaces as well consisting of many courtyards in which their family lived. (Benson) Not only the pyramids but the city as a whole was very innovative and modern for its time.\r\nThe most interesting piece of information for the future to know is that to this day no one knows who built the pyramids and the city. Obviously work was done by the people of Teotihuacán to expand upon the city, but the foundation and especially the large pyramids are still a mystery. Teotihuacán along with being architecturally beautiful and massive was an epicenter for religion. It was thought of as a holy city that had strong ties to the gods, for reasons which were never really known. Aztec gods were constructed and placed into the sides of some of the temples in the city. In 1971 there was an excavation at the city, and during this it was found that one temple was built and incorporated some caves into the actual infrastructure. Some scholars think that the reason for doing so was this was the place where man first emerged. (Benson)\r\nAs mentioned in one of my prior paragraphs this was also a religious epicenter for many of the Aztec people. If this was simply lost to time or allowed to be laid to ruin it would be as if a whole race had simply been forgotten. It provides us with a look into how they went about satisfying their gods, and the amount of time and love that was devoted to them. This system of pyramids also showed us that for a society so dependent on nature the population flourished, and in fact was bigger than most cities today.\r\nThe city as a whole to me is absolutely breathtaking and interesting. Viewing the pictures of what a vast city was built and how large the pyramids are in comparison to people climbing the litany of steps is amazing. The best part I find is that there is no account for how these great structures came to pass. Aztecs showed up and no one was there so they populated the area. However structures such as these even in modern day society would take years to build. It is baffling how in a time where none of the technological advancements of today were available that so many massive structures could have been made. I also enjoy how it can be seen that it was laid out in a grid like system, and not only that but residences, temples, and marketplace structures that were put in place. They had a city of one hundred to two hundred thousand people. My biggest interest and movement about this piece is how do you create a city that can have that many thriving occupants and not know where it came from.\r\nIt would be safe to say that the pyramids are not very typical of the era. However on the other side of the world there was only one place that would have some similar structures. This would be the pyramids of Egypt. They pre-date the pyramids at Teotihuacán but some are quite similar to the pyramids at Teotihuacán. Most of them were around the same size. The pyramid of Menkaure was one of two tinier pyramids that was built in Egypt. (Selin) It was around the same size as the pyramids found at Teotihuacán said to be 213 feet tall.(Egypt secrets of an Ancient World) Neither of these are what one would call \"typical\" but alike in construction. Other than both being pyramids great intricacy was put into the building of them. Menkaure has precise angles of its slopes along with the points facing the cardinal directions. The pyramids at Teotihuacán also were intricate both inside and out with murals and pictures of their gods. Not only to mention the connection between both having profound role in the religion and beliefs of both races. One for the after life and one to praise the gods that provided them with this life\r\nToday the pyramids are still not completely figured out. Some excavations have taken place recently just to discover or look at more of the pyramids to figure out purpose. As said earlier even today no one knows who built these massive structures. There was one excavation that took place recently in 2006 by Manzanilla and López Lujan et al.. They went to look at the Xalla complex. Even after looking through and trying to figure out it\'s purposes this particular pyramid is still described as \"Enigmatic\". (Cowgill) Others who look at the hierarchy that might have existed in the city have tried to figure out what the leaders were like. As of now other than seeing different sized living quarters for the elite, they have no real idea as to what type of rulers were in place. (Cowgill) The difference between today and then is we have more tools to attempt and discover facts about Teotihuacán. However back when first seen the Aztecs had no idea where these massive structures had emerged from, and as said before when the Spanish first arrived and asked they were told it was built by giants. All of these facts do not assist us today in trying to understand or document these mysterious pyramids.\r\nAs said work of this magnitude has only a few rivals one being the pyramid of Menkaure. A pyramid built for a Egyptian king. Both are roughly around the same size and shape, but the other very interesting comparison is they are both intricate. Both have chambers that were used for religious purposes, and both are complex on the outside. The Aztecs placed murals and sculptures all over, and the pyramid in Egypt had hieroglyphics and it\'s points point in all the cardinal directions.(Jones) Serious thought and careful planning was taken with both of these structures to insure they did not fall short of their purpose. It is uncanny looking at how both are ancient structures that remain today. It is assumed that one was built before the other but with no one knowing who built the pyramids at Teotihuacán they might rival in age as well.\r\n\r\nWork Cited\r\n\r\nBenson Ed Sonia G., Baker Deborah J., Hermsen Sarah. Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library. Detroit. Gale, 2005.\r\n\r\nSelin, Helaine. Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Berlin, Germany. Springer, 2008.\r\n\r\nJones, Lindsay. Encyclopedia or Religion. Detroit. Gale. 2005 Gale, Cengage Learning.\r\n\r\nCowgill, George L. \"An update on Teotihuacan.\" Antiquity 82.318 (2008): 962-975. Religion and Philosophy Collection. EBSCO. Web. 15 Sept. 2011.\r\n\r\nEgypt secrets of an Ancient World. National Georgraphic. Web. 12 Spetember 2011 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/menkaure.html','The Pyramids of Teotihuacán','','inherit','open','open','','1719-revision-6','','','2011-09-28 16:18:33','2011-09-28 22:18:33','',1719,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1736',0,'revision','',0),(1740,50,'2011-10-06 10:30:01','2011-10-06 16:30:01','Pico’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” dates back from about was a formal speech created by Pico to help introduce his”… 900 theses from numerous authorities—ancient and medieval, pagan and Christian, Moslem and Jewish.”(PLATO). His Oration was thought to be groundbreaking at the time as he contested the status quo of Church teachings and explained the idea that man has free will and the ability to talk to God. At the time the Renaissance was beginning and Italian philosophers such as Francesco Petrarch and Pico della Mirandola were beginning to create the idea of Humanism. Pico’s “Oration of a Dignity of a Man” should be preserved for future generations because he was one of the first to challenge church doctrine and introduced new thoughts to the way humans could communicate with God\n\nAt the time of Pico’s work the Renaissance was occurring and it was a time of great new invention and great new sciences being discovered all across Europe. The Renaissance occurred out of Europe coming out of the medieval and dark ages with a time period of great intellectual enlightment. There was major changes happening across the continent, whether there were new forms of art, music, dance, literature, archictecture, sculpture, or literature there were new and vast forms being created. Most of the texts at the time were from the Church and there was an obvious power struggle between church and state among most catholic countries. The church tried to instill that the word of the bible and the teachings of the church were final, and anything that went against these doctrines would be considered church heresy and dogma. Therefore when Pico created the <em>900 Theses”…</em> thirteen of these theses were deemed heretical by the papacy, and yet Pico refused to change or withdraw a single one.”(IEP)  In the work Pico tried to explain that man was given free will to decide how he wanted to live his life, and that anyone could communicate with God, not just the monks &amp; priests. This work was very unusual at the time because there were very few people who would dare directly challenge Church authority. He made a claim “Describing the individual\'s position as only “a little lower than the angels,” he stressed man\'s capacity to determine his own destiny on the hierarchical “chain of being” that linked the divine and brute realms.”(FIERO-B3.29). This was revolutionary in the 1400s as the dark age ideals were starting to be challenged and looked at as possibly not the best explanation of life on earth as well as the views on afterlife. In today’s times Pico is just as influential as he was in the renaissance, but for different reasons than his initial significance. At the time there was nothing like its kind, this was a first for the eyes of the Italian public all who ensued afterwards to gain the wisdom of Pico. Its significance nowadays serves us the purpose to gain access to the thoughts of Pico and fellow Italian scholars of humanism who he collobarated with to create the <em>900 theses</em> and the “Oration of the Dignity of Man”. The resources available to Pico as he was writing the oration are invaluable pieces of literature that may or may not even exist anymore, he was guided by some of the greatest scholars whose writings and teachings haven’t been preserved and were only able to learn through later accounts of writings and recordings.  I have found the personal insights about one being able to be in complete control, to have strong willpower, and the theory of individualism to be all very refreshing. Im not quite how sure mysticism will lead to my direct communication with God, but I am aware of some of the great moral raising ideals of the text. It spurs from a time period where the idea of individualism was nonexistent, the idea of being in the center of one rational universe and not needing the approval of the church to be in tune with God are all things I personally believe in.  Pico had ideals that were focused on God, and the individual himself, the idea of the individual was a rising topic in the Renaissance and Castiglione wrote about the subject as well in his <em>The Book of the Courtier</em> (1518). Castiglione discussed the changes over time that had been occurring from the dark ages in the modern times of his life.”Castiglione\'s preoccupation with manners rather than morals, with how individuals act and how their actions may impress their peers, rather than with the intrinsic moral value of those actions.”(FIEROB3.31) separates him with Pico. Castiglione strayed away from challenging the church or putting in any controversial ideals as did Pico. Pico took an angle that he knew would cause a reaction amongst the church and the church followers.\n\nThere are numerous reasons as to why the preservation of this piece of literature is needed for future generations, we first need to have an example of what it took to create a change in the world, the need to have an opinion and be free to express it. Pico was one of the first start to challenging the church’s authorities in an age were text printing was able and his words of wisdom would be able to reach audiences larger than previously imagined. His works which weren’t published before his death, lived on after he lived to prove just how siginificant the information was whether it was traditionally published. Pico suffered exile and exoneration from his church and from his home-state of Italy. The devotion this man had towards his work is essentially indescribable, to have such strong beliefs for something one believes is very recognizable and Pico della Mirandola’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” definitely deserves to be included in my space museum for future preservation.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n<p align=\"center\">WORS CITED</p>\nFiero: The Humanistic Tradition Vol 2, 6<sup>th</sup> Ed., Online e-book,\n\n&gt; <a href=\"http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pico-della-mirandola/\" target=\"_blank\">http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pico-della-mirandola/</a>\n&gt;\n&gt; <a href=\"http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/</a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Pico Oration on a Dignity Man','','inherit','open','open','','1739-revision','','','2011-10-06 10:30:01','2011-10-06 16:30:01','',1739,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1740',0,'revision','',0),(1741,50,'2011-10-06 10:30:27','2011-10-06 16:30:27','Pico’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” dates back from about was a formal speech created by Pico to help introduce his”… 900 theses from numerous authorities—ancient and medieval, pagan and Christian, Moslem and Jewish.”(PLATO). His Oration was thought to be groundbreaking at the time as he contested the status quo of Church teachings and explained the idea that man has free will and the ability to talk to God. At the time the Renaissance was beginning and Italian philosophers such as Francesco Petrarch and Pico della Mirandola were beginning to create the idea of Humanism. Pico’s “Oration of a Dignity of a Man” should be preserved for future generations because he was one of the first to challenge church doctrine and introduced new thoughts to the way humans could communicate with God\r\n\r\nAt the time of Pico’s work the Renaissance was occurring and it was a time of great new invention and great new sciences being discovered all across Europe. The Renaissance occurred out of Europe coming out of the medieval and dark ages with a time period of great intellectual enlightment. There was major changes happening across the continent, whether there were new forms of art, music, dance, literature, archictecture, sculpture, or literature there were new and vast forms being created. Most of the texts at the time were from the Church and there was an obvious power struggle between church and state among most catholic countries. The church tried to instill that the word of the bible and the teachings of the church were final, and anything that went against these doctrines would be considered church heresy and dogma. Therefore when Pico created the <em>900 Theses”…</em> thirteen of these theses were deemed heretical by the papacy, and yet Pico refused to change or withdraw a single one.”(IEP)  In the work Pico tried to explain that man was given free will to decide how he wanted to live his life, and that anyone could communicate with God, not just the monks &amp; priests. This work was very unusual at the time because there were very few people who would dare directly challenge Church authority. He made a claim “Describing the individual\'s position as only “a little lower than the angels,” he stressed man\'s capacity to determine his own destiny on the hierarchical “chain of being” that linked the divine and brute realms.”(FIERO-B3.29). This was revolutionary in the 1400s as the dark age ideals were starting to be challenged and looked at as possibly not the best explanation of life on earth as well as the views on afterlife. In today’s times Pico is just as influential as he was in the renaissance, but for different reasons than his initial significance. At the time there was nothing like its kind, this was a first for the eyes of the Italian public all who ensued afterwards to gain the wisdom of Pico. Its significance nowadays serves us the purpose to gain access to the thoughts of Pico and fellow Italian scholars of humanism who he collobarated with to create the <em>900 theses</em> and the “Oration of the Dignity of Man”. The resources available to Pico as he was writing the oration are invaluable pieces of literature that may or may not even exist anymore, he was guided by some of the greatest scholars whose writings and teachings haven’t been preserved and were only able to learn through later accounts of writings and recordings.  I have found the personal insights about one being able to be in complete control, to have strong willpower, and the theory of individualism to be all very refreshing. Im not quite how sure mysticism will lead to my direct communication with God, but I am aware of some of the great moral raising ideals of the text. It spurs from a time period where the idea of individualism was nonexistent, the idea of being in the center of one rational universe and not needing the approval of the church to be in tune with God are all things I personally believe in.  Pico had ideals that were focused on God, and the individual himself, the idea of the individual was a rising topic in the Renaissance and Castiglione wrote about the subject as well in his <em>The Book of the Courtier</em> (1518). Castiglione discussed the changes over time that had been occurring from the dark ages in the modern times of his life.”Castiglione\'s preoccupation with manners rather than morals, with how individuals act and how their actions may impress their peers, rather than with the intrinsic moral value of those actions.”(FIEROB3.31) separates him with Pico. Castiglione strayed away from challenging the church or putting in any controversial ideals as did Pico. Pico took an angle that he knew would cause a reaction amongst the church and the church followers.\r\n\r\nThere are numerous reasons as to why the preservation of this piece of literature is needed for future generations, we first need to have an example of what it took to create a change in the world, the need to have an opinion and be free to express it. Pico was one of the first start to challenging the church’s authorities in an age were text printing was able and his words of wisdom would be able to reach audiences larger than previously imagined. His works which weren’t published before his death, lived on after he lived to prove just how siginificant the information was whether it was traditionally published. Pico suffered exile and exoneration from his church and from his home-state of Italy. The devotion this man had towards his work is essentially indescribable, to have such strong beliefs for something one believes is very recognizable and Pico della Mirandola’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” definitely deserves to be included in my space museum for future preservation.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"center\">WORKS CITED</p>\r\nFiero: The Humanistic Tradition Vol 2, 6<sup>th</sup> Ed., Online e-book,\r\n\r\n&gt; <a href=\"http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pico-della-mirandola/\" target=\"_blank\">http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pico-della-mirandola/</a>\r\n&gt;\r\n&gt; <a href=\"http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Pico Oration on a Dignity Man','','inherit','open','open','','1739-revision-2','','','2011-10-06 10:30:27','2011-10-06 16:30:27','',1739,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1741',0,'revision','',0),(1742,50,'2011-10-06 10:31:18','2011-10-06 16:31:18','Pico’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” dates back from about was a formal speech created by Pico to help introduce his”… 900 theses from numerous authorities—ancient and medieval, pagan and Christian, Muslem and Jewish.”(PLATO). His Oration was thought to be groundbreaking at the time as he contested the status quo of Church teachings and explained the idea that man has free will and the ability to talk to God. At the time the Renaissance was beginning and Italian philosophers such as Francesco Petrarch and Pico della Mirandola were beginning to create the idea of Humanism. Pico’s “Oration of a Dignity of a Man” should be preserved for future generations because he was one of the first to challenge church doctrine and introduced new thoughts to the way humans could communicate with God\r\n\r\nAt the time of Pico’s work the Renaissance was occurring and it was a time of great new invention and great new sciences being discovered all across Europe. The Renaissance occurred out of Europe coming out of the medieval and dark ages with a time period of great intellectual enlightenment. There was major changes happening across the continent, whether there were new forms of art, music, dance, literature, architecture, sculpture, or literature there were new and vast forms being created. Most of the texts at the time were from the Church and there was an obvious power struggle between church and state among most catholic countries. The church tried to instill that the word of the bible and the teachings of the church were final, and anything that went against these doctrines would be considered church heresy and dogma. Therefore when Pico created the <em>900 Theses”…</em> thirteen of these theses were deemed heretical by the papacy, and yet Pico refused to change or withdraw a single one.”(IEP)  In the work Pico tried to explain that man was given free will to decide how he wanted to live his life, and that anyone could communicate with God, not just the monks &amp; priests. This work was very unusual at the time because there were very few people who would dare directly challenge Church authority. He made a claim “Describing the individual\'s position as only “a little lower than the angels,” he stressed man\'s capacity to determine his own destiny on the hierarchical “chain of being” that linked the divine and brute realms.”(FIERO-B3.29). This was revolutionary in the 1400s as the dark age ideals were starting to be challenged and looked at as possibly not the best explanation of life on earth as well as the views on afterlife. In today’s times Pico is just as influential as he was in the renaissance, but for different reasons than his initial significance. At the time there was nothing like its kind, this was a first for the eyes of the Italian public all who ensued afterwards to gain the wisdom of Pico. Its significance nowadays serves us the purpose to gain access to the thoughts of Pico and fellow Italian scholars of humanism who he collaborated with to create the <em>900 theses</em> and the “Oration of the Dignity of Man”. The resources available to Pico as he was writing the oration are invaluable pieces of literature that may or may not even exist anymore, he was guided by some of the greatest scholars whose writings and teachings haven’t been preserved and were only able to learn through later accounts of writings and recordings.  I have found the personal insights about one being able to be in complete control, to have strong willpower, and the theory of individualism to be all very refreshing. Im not quite how sure mysticism will lead to my direct communication with God, but I am aware of some of the great moral raising ideals of the text. It spurs from a time period where the idea of individualism was nonexistent, the idea of being in the center of one rational universe and not needing the approval of the church to be in tune with God are all things I personally believe in.  Pico had ideals that were focused on God, and the individual himself, the idea of the individual was a rising topic in the Renaissance and Castiglione wrote about the subject as well in his <em>The Book of the Courtier</em> (1518). Castiglione discussed the changes over time that had been occurring from the dark ages in the modern times of his life.”Castiglione\'s preoccupation with manners rather than morals, with how individuals act and how their actions may impress their peers, rather than with the intrinsic moral value of those actions.”(FIEROB3.31) separates him with Pico. Castiglione strayed away from challenging the church or putting in any controversial ideals as did Pico. Pico took an angle that he knew would cause a reaction amongst the church and the church followers.\r\n\r\nThere are numerous reasons as to why the preservation of this piece of literature is needed for future generations, we first need to have an example of what it took to create a change in the world, the need to have an opinion and be free to express it. Pico was one of the first start to challenging the church’s authorities in an age were text printing was able and his words of wisdom would be able to reach audiences larger than previously imagined. His works which weren’t published before his death, lived on after he lived to prove just how siginificant the information was whether it was traditionally published. Pico suffered exile and exoneration from his church and from his home-state of Italy. The devotion this man had towards his work is essentially indescribable, to have such strong beliefs for something one believes is very recognizable and Pico della Mirandola’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” definitely deserves to be included in my space museum for future preservation.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"center\">WORKS CITED</p>\r\nFiero: The Humanistic Tradition Vol 2, 6<sup>th</sup> Ed., Online e-book,\r\n\r\n&gt; <a href=\"http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pico-della-mirandola/\" target=\"_blank\">http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pico-della-mirandola/</a>\r\n&gt;\r\n&gt; <a href=\"http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Pico Oration on a Dignity Man','','inherit','open','open','','1739-revision-3','','','2011-10-06 10:31:18','2011-10-06 16:31:18','',1739,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1742',0,'revision','',0),(1743,50,'2011-10-06 10:32:50','2011-10-06 16:32:50','Pico’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” dates back from about was a formal speech created by Pico to help introduce his”… 900 theses from numerous authorities—ancient and medieval, pagan and Christian, Muslem and Jewish.”(PLATO). His Oration was thought to be groundbreaking at the time as he contested the status quo of Church teachings and explained the idea that man has free will and the ability to talk to God. At the time the Renaissance was beginning and Italian philosophers such as Francesco Petrarch and Pico della Mirandola were beginning to create the idea of Humanism. Pico’s “Oration of a Dignity of a Man” should be preserved for future generations because he was one of the first to challenge church doctrine and introduced new thoughts to the way humans could communicate with God\n\nAt the time of Pico’s work the Renaissance was occurring and it was a time of great new invention and great new sciences being discovered all across Europe. The Renaissance occurred out of Europe coming out of the medieval and dark ages with a time period of great intellectual enlightenment. There was major changes happening across the continent, whether there were new forms of art, music, dance, literature, architecture, sculpture, or literature there were new and vast forms being created. Most of the texts at the time were from the Church and there was an obvious power struggle between church and state among most catholic countries. The church tried to instill that the word of the bible and the teachings of the church were final, and anything that went against these doctrines would be considered church heresy and dogma. Therefore when Pico created the <em>900 Theses”…</em> thirteen of these theses were deemed heretical by the papacy, and yet Pico refused to change or withdraw a single one.”(IEP)  In the work Pico tried to explain that man was given free will to decide how he wanted to live his life, and that anyone could communicate with God, not just the monks &amp; priests. This work was very unusual at the time because there were very few people who would dare directly challenge Church authority. He made a claim “Describing the individual\'s position as only “a little lower than the angels,” he stressed man\'s capacity to determine his own destiny on the hierarchical “chain of being” that linked the divine and brute realms.”(FIERO-B3.29). This was revolutionary in the 1400s as the dark age ideals were starting to be challenged and looked at as possibly not the best explanation of life on earth as well as the views on afterlife. In today’s times Pico is just as influential as he was in the renaissance, but for different reasons than his initial significance. At the time there was nothing like its kind, this was a first for the eyes of the Italian public all who ensued afterwards to gain the wisdom of Pico. Its significance nowadays serves us the purpose to gain access to the thoughts of Pico and fellow Italian scholars of humanism who he collaborated with to create the <em>900 theses</em> and the “Oration of the Dignity of Man”. The resources available to Pico as he was writing the oration are invaluable pieces of literature that may or may not even exist anymore, he was guided by some of the greatest scholars whose writings and teachings haven’t been preserved and were only able to learn through later accounts of writings and recordings.  I have found the personal insights about one being able to be in complete control, to have strong willpower, and the theory of individualism to be all very refreshing. Im not quite how sure mysticism will lead to my direct communication with God, but I am aware of some of the great moral raising ideals of the text. It spurs from a time period where the idea of individualism was nonexistent, the idea of being in the center of one rational universe and not needing the approval of the church to be in tune with God are all things I personally believe in.  Pico had ideals that were focused on God, and the individual himself, the idea of the individual was a rising topic in the Renaissance and Castiglione wrote about the subject as well in his <em>The Book of the Courtier</em> (1518). Castiglione discussed the changes over time that had been occurring from the dark ages in the modern times of his life.”Castiglione\'s preoccupation with manners rather than morals, with how individuals act and how their actions may impress their peers, rather than with the intrinsic moral value of those actions.”(FIEROB3.31) separates him with Pico. Castiglione strayed away from challenging the church or putting in any controversial ideals as did Pico. Pico took an angle that he knew would cause a reaction amongst the church and the church followers.\n\nThere are numerous reasons as to why the preservation of this piece of literature is needed for future generations, we first need to have an example of what it took to create a change in the world, the need to have an opinion and be free to express it. Pico was one of the first start to challenging the church’s authorities in an age were text printing was able and his words of wisdom would be able to reach audiences larger than previously imagined. His works which weren’t published before his death, lived on after he lived to prove just how siginificant the information was whether it was traditionally published. Pico suffered exile and exoneration from his church and from his home-state of Italy. The devotion this man had towards his work is essentially indescribable, to have such strong beliefs for something one believes is very recognizable and Pico della Mirandola’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” definitely deserves to be included in my space museum for future preservation.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n<p align=\"center\">WORKS CITED</p>\nFiero: The Humanistic Tradition Vol 2, 6<sup>th</sup> Ed., Online e-book,\n\n&gt; <a href=\"http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pico-della-mirandola/\" target=\"_blank\">http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pico-della-mirandola/</a>\n&gt;\n&gt; <a href=\"http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/</a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Pico Oration on a Dignity Man','','inherit','open','open','','1739-autosave','','','2011-10-06 10:32:50','2011-10-06 16:32:50','',1739,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1743',0,'revision','',0),(1904,54,'2011-10-16 17:49:53','2011-10-16 23:49:53','','Milton_paradise','','inherit','open','open','','milton_paradise','','','2011-10-16 17:49:53','2011-10-16 23:49:53','',1903,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Milton_paradise.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1903,54,'2011-10-16 17:58:14','2011-10-16 23:58:14','<blockquote><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Milton_paradise.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1904 aligncenter\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Milton_paradise-229x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"300\" /></a></blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Milton_paradise.jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Milton_paradise.jpg</a></p>\r\n“Paradise Lost” is a piece of literature worthy to be preserved for its elevated treatment of the Biblical story of the creation of the world. Written by John Milton in 1667, the epic poem describes the fall of Man, along with the creation of the sinister Devil, in a huge philosophical scope. It was Milton’s attempt to write a modern epic that would compete and triumph over other epic poems such as “The Odyssey,” written by Homer. Drawing from themes from mythology and allusions to current events at that time, Milton paints a conscious interpretation of Heaven, Hell, and Earth where Paradise and a new enemy are created.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nSo the story goes the major character, which is the Devil, starts off as an angel. Favored by God, Lucifer was still not proud with what he had; he wanted to be like God. Consumed by his pride, he and his followers fought in a battle against the army of God, led by the archangel Michael. Defeated, he and his minions were cast out of heaven to the nether world that would be known as Hell. Lucifer, who was now called Satan, wanted revenge for his defeat.  After hearing about the creation about the World, he ventures to it where he plans on tempting Adam and Eve, the first humans created by God. After many attempts to save the couple, God and his angels were too late to save the husband and wife from eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were forced out of the Garden of Eden with little hope. However, they were given a vision of what is to come for mankind in the future, which foreshadows the birth of Christ and the sequel to the poem, “Paradise Revisited.”\r\n\r\nAt the time the poem was written, James I ruled England and a new translation of the Bible in English has been written, so most writers were writing spiritual pieces. Most of the subjects consisted of an interpretation of the world we live in and how the universe works. Authors like Donne compared it to a large volume of chapters, staging phases in the life of mankind. Milton’s vision of the afterlife shows a cosmic world that “address matters of time, space, and causality,” while retaining some of the religious overtones present. He just merely took the traditional story that most of us are familiar with and transformed it into a treatise that dove deeper into the themes of sin, good, evil, and divinity.\r\n\r\nIt is unknown how this poem was received when it first came out. But I think it can be safe to say that people were impressed by it when it was first released. English writer Samuel Johnston praised the work, but his main objection was that \"none ever wished it [would be] longer than it is.\" Today it is considered one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written. William Blake considers Milton “a true Poet and of the Devil\'s party without knowing it,” explaining why he wrote in blank verse. People such as C.S. Lewis dismissed this, sticking the Scriptural aspect in which the poem was mostly based on.\r\n\r\nMy reflection on the work is little since I read not much of it and have not given much thought to it. My biggest issue is the blank verse prose in which the poem is written with words that were uncommon at that time and long structured sentences. But in many ways, “the convoluted syntax and unfamiliar language give[s] the poem its distinctive cadences, its majestic rhythm, and its ceremonial atmosphere.” Aside from that, I like how Milton wanted to expand the story of the Fall of Men by giving some themes based on the divinity of humankind and the world even if darkness falls upon them. But other than that, I often get tired reading or watching stories that take a simple perfect story and stretches it out. I am with Samuel Johnson when he said it was too long.\r\n\r\nOriginally when he wrote the poem, Milton was going to use the prototype used for the poem “The Iliad” to serve as an allegory for the English Civil War, however he decided to scrape the plans. But even then, this ancient poem, along with the old poem, contained similarities in the motives of the main protagonists of the stories. In “The Iliad,” Achilles was a great warrior in the Trojan wars, but after Agamemnon dishonored him, he refused to fight. So his good friend, Patroclus, lead the Greek army against the Trojan army. After a heated battle, Hector, the leader of the Trojans, killed Patroclus. After catching the news of this event, Achilles was enraged and went a bloodthirsty rampage, murdering many men in battle. This also seems to parallel the events that would lead to Lucifer becoming the Prince of Darkness. He gets full of pride and attempts to have more, but gets defeated and is full of wrath. Both of the poems dive into the anger of the protagonists and the consequences that occurred to them and other people. Their downfalls caused destruction and left an impact on the fictional aspect of history.\r\n\r\nWhat future generations should be aware of in this poem is how it dives deeper into the themes of sin, salvation, life, death, good, and evil. A lot is discussed in the events depicted that would lead to the fall of Man. Even if it was not needed, it is still a fascinating interpretation of the world back then. It would continue to influence people in taking other short stories and expanding them with new life. Examples would include “The Ten Commandments” in which Cecil B. DeMille took the story of Moses and the Exodus and elongated it to show life in Egypt and events leading up to Moses finding his purpose in this world. This piece of literature is still captivating readers with its vision of the universe, and it would still continue to capture people whether they are religious or avid readers.\r\n<p align=\"center\">Bibliography</p>\r\nHenthorne, Susan. \"Paradise Lost.\" <em>Masterplots, Fourth Edition</em> (2010): 1-4.\r\n<blockquote><em>MagillOnLiterature Plus</em>. EBSCO. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.</blockquote>\r\nHill, G, Lynch, Jack, ed., <em>Samuel Johnson: The Lives of the English Poets, 3 vols.</em> 1905.\r\n<blockquote>Oxford: Clarendon. Print.</blockquote>\r\nBlake, William. <em>Th</em><em>e Marriage of Heaven and Hell</em>. 1709. Print.\r\n\r\n“Iliad.” <em>Wikipedia.</em> 14 October 2011. Web. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. <em></em>\r\n<blockquote>13 October 2011. (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad</a>)</blockquote>\r\n“Achielles.” <em>Wikipedia.</em> 15 October 2011. Web. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. <em></em>\r\n<blockquote>13 October 2011. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achielles)</blockquote>\r\nFiero, Gloria. The Humanistic Tradition, Volume Two, Sixth Edition.\r\n<blockquote>New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print</blockquote>','Paradise Lost','','publish','open','open','','paradise-lost','','','2011-10-17 14:03:27','2011-10-17 20:03:27','',0,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1903',0,'post','',3),(1746,1,'2011-10-06 10:31:45','2011-10-06 16:31:45','Pico’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” dates back from about was a formal speech created by Pico to help introduce his”… 900 theses from numerous authorities—ancient and medieval, pagan and Christian, Muslem and Jewish.”(PLATO). His Oration was thought to be groundbreaking at the time as he contested the status quo of Church teachings and explained the idea that man has free will and the ability to talk to God. At the time the Renaissance was beginning and Italian philosophers such as Francesco Petrarch and Pico della Mirandola were beginning to create the idea of Humanism. Pico’s “Oration of a Dignity of a Man” should be preserved for future generations because he was one of the first to challenge church doctrine and introduced new thoughts to the way humans could communicate with God\r\n\r\nAt the time of Pico’s work the Renaissance was occurring and it was a time of great new invention and great new sciences being discovered all across Europe. The Renaissance occurred out of Europe coming out of the medieval and dark ages with a time period of great intellectual enlightenment. There was major changes happening across the continent, whether there were new forms of art, music, dance, literature, architecture, sculpture, or literature there were new and vast forms being created. Most of the texts at the time were from the Church and there was an obvious power struggle between church and state among most catholic countries. The church tried to instill that the word of the bible and the teachings of the church were final, and anything that went against these doctrines would be considered church heresy and dogma. Therefore when Pico created the <em>900 Theses”…</em> thirteen of these theses were deemed heretical by the papacy, and yet Pico refused to change or withdraw a single one.”(IEP)  In the work Pico tried to explain that man was given free will to decide how he wanted to live his life, and that anyone could communicate with God, not just the monks &amp; priests. This work was very unusual at the time because there were very few people who would dare directly challenge Church authority. He made a claim “Describing the individual\'s position as only “a little lower than the angels,” he stressed man\'s capacity to determine his own destiny on the hierarchical “chain of being” that linked the divine and brute realms.”(FIERO-B3.29). This was revolutionary in the 1400s as the dark age ideals were starting to be challenged and looked at as possibly not the best explanation of life on earth as well as the views on afterlife. In today’s times Pico is just as influential as he was in the renaissance, but for different reasons than his initial significance. At the time there was nothing like its kind, this was a first for the eyes of the Italian public all who ensued afterwards to gain the wisdom of Pico. Its significance nowadays serves us the purpose to gain access to the thoughts of Pico and fellow Italian scholars of humanism who he collaborated with to create the <em>900 theses</em> and the “Oration of the Dignity of Man”. The resources available to Pico as he was writing the oration are invaluable pieces of literature that may or may not even exist anymore, he was guided by some of the greatest scholars whose writings and teachings haven’t been preserved and were only able to learn through later accounts of writings and recordings.  I have found the personal insights about one being able to be in complete control, to have strong willpower, and the theory of individualism to be all very refreshing. Im not quite how sure mysticism will lead to my direct communication with God, but I am aware of some of the great moral raising ideals of the text. It spurs from a time period where the idea of individualism was nonexistent, the idea of being in the center of one rational universe and not needing the approval of the church to be in tune with God are all things I personally believe in.  Pico had ideals that were focused on God, and the individual himself, the idea of the individual was a rising topic in the Renaissance and Castiglione wrote about the subject as well in his <em>The Book of the Courtier</em> (1518). Castiglione discussed the changes over time that had been occurring from the dark ages in the modern times of his life.”Castiglione\'s preoccupation with manners rather than morals, with how individuals act and how their actions may impress their peers, rather than with the intrinsic moral value of those actions.”(FIEROB3.31) separates him with Pico. Castiglione strayed away from challenging the church or putting in any controversial ideals as did Pico. Pico took an angle that he knew would cause a reaction amongst the church and the church followers.\r\n\r\nThere are numerous reasons as to why the preservation of this piece of literature is needed for future generations, we first need to have an example of what it took to create a change in the world, the need to have an opinion and be free to express it. Pico was one of the first start to challenging the church’s authorities in an age were text printing was able and his words of wisdom would be able to reach audiences larger than previously imagined. His works which weren’t published before his death, lived on after he lived to prove just how siginificant the information was whether it was traditionally published. Pico suffered exile and exoneration from his church and from his home-state of Italy. The devotion this man had towards his work is essentially indescribable, to have such strong beliefs for something one believes is very recognizable and Pico della Mirandola’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” definitely deserves to be included in my space museum for future preservation.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p align=\"center\">WORKS CITED</p>\r\nFiero: The Humanistic Tradition Vol 2, 6<sup>th</sup> Ed., Online e-book,\r\n\r\n&gt; <a href=\"http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pico-della-mirandola/\" target=\"_blank\">http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pico-della-mirandola/</a>\r\n&gt;\r\n&gt; <a href=\"http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.iep.utm.edu/neoplato/</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Pico Oration on a Dignity Man','','inherit','open','open','','1739-revision-4','','','2011-10-06 10:31:45','2011-10-06 16:31:45','',1739,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1746',0,'revision','',0),(1749,41,'2011-10-10 17:54:06','2011-10-10 23:54:06','[caption id=\"attachment_1774\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"157\" caption=\"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) http://www.biographyonline.net/music/mozart.html\"]<a href=\"http://www.biographyonline.net/music/mozart.html\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1774  \" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Mozart1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"157\" height=\"205\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nIf Ludwig van Beethoven were alive today he would be mounting a formidable effort to request a prestigious spot in the Classical Music Hall of Fame at the Royal College of Music, for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Many details about the genesis of <em>Eine Kleine Nachtmusik</em> are still a mystery but the fact remains that this piece is the most well-known of Mozart\'s 640+ works. Mozart\'s acclaimed composition created the foundation of classical music in Vienna and is the fundamental reason why Mozart deserves a coveted place in the Classical Music Hall of Fame [Einstein].<!--more-->\r\n\r\nIn 1787, when <em>Eine Kleine Nachtmusik\'s</em> (German translation, \"a little night music\" or \"a little serenade\") was composed, the world was experiencing growing pains due to international commerce, a rising middle class, political upheaval, changes in the Church, and civil unrest. These difficulties washed over Europe and the Americas. The Spanish and Austrian Succession, Seven Years War, American and French Revolutions created a groundswell of democracy and the emergence of an increasingly independent and powerful middle class. This fact, when coupled with the Industrial Revolution, brought about a style of music that abandoned the grandiosity and ornamentation of the Baroque family of styles and, instead, focused on simplistic harmonies and subtle textures. This new style was a direct representation of the ascent of the middle class and the crumbling of the aristocracy [Siepmann].\r\n\r\n<em>Eine Kleine Nachtmusik</em> encapsulates the Classical-style because it is a sonata and contains a clearer and more symmetrical expression of emotions. When listening to this music, it feels effortless as if you are drifting or dreaming. When I listened to the piece for the first time I felt at peace. One does not feel as if one needs to<em> do</em> <em>anything</em> except enjoy the flow of the symphony. The economical use of four or five chords and two or three short themes evokes a distinctive departure from previous pretentious styles, like Baroque, and most musical historians believe that this element has roots in the affluent middle-class that was beginning to commission such works for special occasions [Siepmann].\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1792\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"192\" caption=\"Statue of Boccherini in Pisa, Italy http://tinyurl.com/3kd6r2g\"]<a href=\"http://tinyurl.com/3kd6r2g\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1792\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Boccherini.bmp\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"173\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nFor example, Luigi Boccherini\'s <em>Minuetto</em> is a perfect example of Baroque-style that the aristocracy adored. It is opulent, ornate and pompous. It was created to impress aristocratic listeners. It is almost impossible to listen to Boccherini\'s piece without tapping your foot or being overwhelmed by the urge to dance or skip around. I am not really sure if this is what Boccerini had in mind but that is my impression. At the time it must have been heart-pounding and impressive.\r\n\r\nClick on the following link to listen to Boccherini\'s <em>Minuetto</em>:\r\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSE15tLBdso\">Luigi Boccherini\\\'s Minuetto </a>\r\n\r\nMozart created <em>Eine Kleine Nachtmusik</em> to cater to the newly affluent middle-class in a way that was elegant, respectful, and tasteful, but definitely not pompous and ornate. His composition was straightforward and melodic. It soothed the audience. It seems worlds apart when compared to Boccherini\'s Baroque-style compositions of just a couple of years prior. According to Stanley Sadie, \"Mozart\'s string chamber music is more concerned with sensuous beauty of harmony or texture. The new possibilities of symmetry clearly attracted him. Mozart\'s longest four-movement chamber work is generously proportioned in every particular, with spacious, harmonically slow-moving themes and broad structural spans.\"\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1821\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"211\" caption=\"Mozart&#39;s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - 4th Movement - http://tinyurl.com/3sevo8b\"]<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Romananza3.png\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1821 \" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Romananza3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"211\" height=\"212\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nClick on the following link to listen to Mozart\'s <em>Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Romananza</em>, fourth movement:\r\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Okl6WSDfLE\">Mozart\'s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Romananza</a>\r\n\r\nThe structure of <em>Eine Kleine Nachtmusik\'s</em> four movements was innovative and original because, according to Siepmann, \"It is overwhelmingly these [four movements] that have ensured Mozart\'s immortality as a symphonist. In their perfection of form, variety of character, individuality of tone and emotional and spiritual reach, they are like nothing written before them, not even by Haydn.\" He goes on to say that, for the first time in musical history, Mozart \"liberated the wind instruments.\"\r\n\r\nWhen this composition was written Mozart was 31 years old, but it was first published posthumously in 1827. Although it is not known who commissioned the piece, it is thought to have originally contained five movements, one of which has been lost forever. Whether the fifth movement was stolen by a music rival or simply destroyed by Mozart will never be known [Einstein].\r\n\r\nWhen compared to Haydn\'s <em>Surprise II</em>, Symphony No. 94 in G Major, published in 1791, Mozart\'s compositions show quite a bit more restraint and less aggressive transitions. Although the melodic elements are very similar, Haydn seems to focus on startling (or \"surprising\") his audience, as evidenced by the fortissimo chord at the end of the lovely, and almost mesmerizing, opening theme of the second movement.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1823\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"270\" caption=\"Sample CD Cover Haydn&#39;s &quot;Surprise&quot; http://tinyurl.com/3nzbs5v\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-1823 \" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Surprise1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"270\" height=\"280\" />[/caption]\r\n\r\nClick on the following link to listen (be prepared for the \"surprise\" chord) to Haydn\'s Surprise II, Symphony No. 94 in G Major:\r\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLjwkamp3lI\">Haydn\\\'s Surprise II, Symphony No. 94 in G Major</a>\r\n\r\nWhen <em>Eine Kleine Nachtmusik</em> was composed Mozart was surrounded by deep emotional turmoil. The changing relationship between the Church and the aristocracy was directly affecting him especially since Emperor Joseph II had banned \"loud\" church music (Mozart\'s bread and butter)[Keefe]. He lost two children that year and had met a new student that showed great promise, the sixteen-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven. Mozart was appointed to the Kammer Musik as its sole composer and this left only two composers at Court, Mozart and Antonio Salieri [Keefe]. Mozart had been living beyond his means and had been suffering from great financial losses for years. He viewed his appointment as a new start professionally. Salieri and Mozart quickly became musical rivals and stories have long been told about the circumstances of Mozart\'s death which occurred just four years after his appointment to the Kammer Musik. If the stories are true, and Salieri did poison Mozart, then Salieri did not get the result he desired. After Mozart\'s death his music soared in popularity [Sadie].\r\n\r\nEven though Mozart was appointed a rather prestigious post in the Italian Court, his pay was minimal, and his ability to sway the fickle public ran hot and cold. He was commissioned to write pieces for wealthy middle-class families and his work was generally well-liked at the time; however, he was seen as just another composer among many. Most of his professional success was never realized until after his death, in 1791, at the young age of thirty-five. Since it is not known who commissioned this piece and because it was not published until 36 years after his death, it is believed that very few people had knowledge of or ever heard the composition performed live by Mozart [Sadie].\r\n\r\nToday, when conducting an Internet search of Mozart\'s <em>Eine Kleine Nachtmusik</em>, I found 1.8 million sites related to this one specific work. It has been played by well-known symphony orchestras throughout the world and it is chosen for hundreds of collections of top ten classical compositions. It is amazing to me that Mozart\'s \"throw away\" symphony may have been lost forever and never played or published. Mozart did not seem to value this piece since he did not ever perform it publicly and never delivered it to whomever commissioned the work. It was found amongst a pile of unpublished works that his wife eventually sold after his death. Fiero states, \"Mozart achieved a balance between lyrical invention and formal clarity that brought the classical style to its peak.\"\r\n\r\nI completely agree with Fiero and feel that although this composer made little money during his lifetime and never received accolades befitting his talent while he was alive, he would certainly deserve a spot in the Classical Music Hall of Fame, if there was one. Future generations could benefit from his example of spending your life doing what you love even if you don\'t make much money. He was a prodigy (first public performance at Salzburg University in 1761 at age of five. [Sadie]) and grew in to an astounding musical talent that many say was never fully realized. Mozart kept striving for more and succumbed to the pressures of trying to fit in and \"keep up with the Jonses\" so he did not leave much for his family upon his unexpected  death. If nothing else, this is an example that we should all do what we love when we chose a career and enjoy every minute of the life we have.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWORKS CITED\r\nEINSTEIN, Alfred., Mozart: His Character, His Work. Oxford University Press, New York, 1945, p144; p157-159; This is a Biography by a famed scholar of Mozart and I used it to research the simplistic composition of <em>Eine Kleine Nachtmusik</em> and the limited number of keys Mozart selected.\r\n\r\nSIEPMANN, Jeremy., Mozart: His Life &amp; Music, Sourcebooks Media Fusion, Naperville, Illinois, 2006, p163-167; p169-171; This is an audio-Biography that I used to research how this piece was innovative or unusual for its time.\r\n\r\nKEEFE, Simon., The Cambridge Companion to Mozart, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2003, p xii-xvii; This is a textbook from college-level courses on Mozart and I used it to research the chronology of Mozart\'s life and learn about the events occurring in his life at the time he composed <em>Eine Kleine Nachtmusik</em>. I also researched his appointment to the Kammer Musik in this book.\r\n\r\nSADIE, Stanley., The New Grove: Mozart, Norton, New York, 1980, p108-115; This is a Dictionary of Music and Musicians that I used to research Mozart\'s life and associations in Vienna during the years of 1785 to 1788.\r\n\r\nFIERO, Gloria., The Humanist Tradition, Volume Two, Chapter 26, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2011. Accessed online version, pages unknown; Date accessed October 2-7, 2011. This is a college-level course textbook that I used to learn about Mozart\'s connection to Haydn and different elements that he brought to Classically-styled music.','Mozart in the Hall of Fame?','','publish','open','open','','mozart-in-the-hall-of-fame','','','2011-10-11 08:18:28','2011-10-11 14:18:28','',0,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1749',0,'post','',7),(1751,42,'2011-10-09 17:30:03','2011-10-09 23:30:03','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\"><img src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif\" alt=\"\" /><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"288\" height=\"216\" /></a></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">http://www.wallpapermenu.com/download/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_11954_1024x768.html</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">To listen to all three movements of Vivaldi’s<em> Spring</em> \"Allegro-Largo-Allegro\" from <em>The Four Seasons</em> and see a video inspired by the music, please click on the link below. It was filmed at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales. It features Julia Fischer on violin accompanied by the \"Academy of St. Martin in the Fields\".</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Enjoy!</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\"><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1\">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1</a></p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\"><!--more--></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Antonio Vivaldi’s (1678-1741) <em>Four Seasons: Spring</em>  should be placed into the 2100 Time Capsule. The two reasons it should be saved are its \"ability to lift the heart of the listener\"(Grasmeier) and more importantly its power to calm the mind. These attributes, found in music of all cultures and times are magnified and condensed in Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em>. We should preserve this work for these essential qualities. These qualities are desperately needed now and most surely will be needed in the future.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"The <em>Four Seasons </em>is a series of four concertos (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) each containing three movements, Allegro-Largo-Allegro which are the first part of a larger 12 concerto work entitled <em>The Contest of Harmony and Invention - Antonio Vivaldi’s 8th Opus</em>.\" (Grasmeier) \"The works were first published in Amsterdam in 1725, but were written a few years earlier.\"(Grasmeier) \"Each season is described in a sonnet that furnishes the program for the concerto. Although Vivaldi revelled in naive, if delightful imitations of bird calls,...he strictly maintained the formal structure (of the concerto)...and indulged in playful descriptions only in the solo sections. The program served at the time as a welcome pretext for virtuosity which Vivaldi expanded far above the level of his predecessors.\"(Bukofzer, 229)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi intended this piece to be \"programmatic\" that is, (to) carry meaning outside of the music itself.\"(Fiero, 130) With <em>Four Seasons: Spring </em>Vivaldi achieved the apex of \"programmatic\" style. \"Programmatic refers to a composer consciously trying to represent something non-musical, like a story or image, in the composition. This type of composing is called ‘tone-painting’. The composition is a tone poem.\"(Bickerton) Vivaldi \"added poems, that he wrote himself, at appropriate passages of the score for the instruction of performers.\"(Fiero,130) A translation, from the Italian, for a portion of the poem for Spring follows.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The festive Spring has arrived,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The birds celebrate her return with happy songs,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">And the brooks of the gentle Zephyrs,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">With sweet murmurs flow, but,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The sky is covered in a dark mantle,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">And lightning and thunder announce a storm.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">When quiet returns, the birds,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Again take up their lovely songs.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"While humanist composers had no idea what Greek music sounded like, they sought to imitate the ancient unity of music and poetry.\"(Fiero, 57) Many baroque composers combined poetry and music by using choirs to do the poetry and small sets of instruments to accompany them. Vivaldi dispensed with the choir and made violins sing poetry. \"Vivaldi also systematized the concerto grosso into a three movement form (fast-slow-fast) and increased the distinctions between solo and ensemble groups.(Fiero, 130) In many ways Vivaldi defined the baroque style in music. <em>Spring </em>is a fantastic example of a baroque composition</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Typical of composers of his time period, Vivaldi \"composed 450 concerti for a variety of solo instruments backed by strings.\"(Vivaldi, X:474) The baroque era was a time \"when every composer including such giants as Bach, Handel, Hayden and Mozart, was expected to produce a constant stream of music.\"(Vivaldi, 19:494) People of those times \"went to the opera or to an ‘academy’ as public concerts were frequently called, in order to hear the latest.\" \"The average Venetian in Vivaldi’s day would not think of hearing last year’s opera again.\"(Pauly, 6) But, composers of this era’s \"ambitions\" were \"not to create a new style, but to perfect the style of their time.\"(Leichtentritt, 141) \"If there is any common thread that unites the great variety of music that we call baroque, then it is an underlying faith in music’s power, indeed its obligation, to move the affections.\"(Palisca, 4) Affections were a view \"propounded by Aristotle in his <em>Rhetoric</em>  that there exist discrete states known as fear, love, hate, anger, joy - to cite a few of these most common. From the last decades of the sixteenth century the arousal of the affections was considered the principal objective of poetry and music.\"(Palisca, 4) <em>Spring</em> is a supreme example and succeeds admirably in arousing our affections. When listening to <em>Spring,</em> the first allegre movement, one hears birds, brooks and storms. It raises the spirits and the emotions to a higher and happier state.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Vivaldi and his music were well known and loved in his own time. Because Vivaldi had red hair and he was an ordained priest of the Catholic church, his nickname was \"the Red Priest\".(Grasmeier) \"In 1703, he was ordained ...and from that year until 1740 he taught music at the Ospedale della Peita, an orphan asylum primarily for girls in Venice.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Much\" of his music \"was written for the Ospedale’s musical groups, which he directed in performances that became famous throughout Europe.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Instrumental solo music and concerted chamber music, - as in the violin concertos, sonatas and concerti grossi of Vivaldi...were so much preferred to symphonic orchestral music that not even in the nineteenth century did the symphony find a home in Italy.\"(Leichtentritt, 171) And no \"foreign visitor\" to Italy \"considered his stay complete without having attended a Vivaldi concert.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Travelers wrote of these occasions with enthusiasm not unmixed with amusement at the unusual spectacle of a choir and orchestra composed mainly of teenaged girls.\"(Grout, 483) Vivaldi managed to achieve fame in his own lifetime. His own virtuosity, and that of the girls he taught, were well known and loved.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">As the link to the Julia Fischer’s rendition attests, <em>The Four Seasons: Spring</em> is still played and recognized today. Even if you have never heard the name of it before, you will probably recognize the melody. It \"has been used frequently as background music in TV commercials, films, and even music on-hold.\" Italian violinist Fabio Biondi told an interviewer in March, 2011, Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> and other concertos were \"very virtuosic\" Vivaldi \"was using them to investigate solutions for the bow and fingerings\" of violins. When you see the fingerings in Vivaldi’s manuscripts you \"discover how he uses different positions to search for different sounds. And this was 20 years before Leopold Mozart’s treatise on violin playing.\" \"Vivaldi was a master violinist and it is thought that he wrote the <em>Four Seasons</em> as a performance vehicle to showcase his own virtuosity. The violin part is quite challenging indeed even by today’s standards.\"(Bickerton) \"The addictive rhythmic vitality ...has led to its rebirth and great popularity amongst classical music lovers and the general public as well.\"(Todes) <em>Spring</em> \"has become arguably the most popular piece of classical music in the world with more performances and recordings than even Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony\"(Bickerton)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">At the time when this music was being written, all of life and living seemed to be up for debate. Louis XIV was king of France. Oliver Cromwell, who was not royalty, became the Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. Isaac Newton wrote the <em>Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy</em>, which proved that the laws of the heavens were the same as the laws of earth.(Fincher) Every new idea seemed to be in conflict with some old idea. A gap was forming between secular and religious views. The Catholic Church was losing power and the Protestants were gaining power. Music was emerging from its strictly religious purposes and was being played for entertainment. It was still the responsibility of composers to lift the public consciousness, but there was also a growing awareness of music as a way of escape and adventure. We rely on music to bring up and express emotions. The value people place on music, throughout history, was no different in Vivaldi’s era. But, instead of music only performed for royalty or for church, music is now available to the masses. \"Musical training formed an important part\" in the education of young people.(Grout, 483) So, music appreciation was also growing. It is no different today. People enjoy the music they know most about and flock to concerts to hear it performed. Music became a \"weapon of the (Catholic) Counter Revolution.\" \"Small wonder then that the church was the major employer of musicians and, for the general population, the main point of access to ‘art’ music.\"(Sadie, 6) The winds of change were blowing and the evidence was everywhere. Though churches were still an important contact point for music, music was no longer confined by religion.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">A comparison with Handel’s <em>Messiah </em>would be appropriate. The <em>Messiah</em> was written by George Frideric Handel (1685-1756) and \"was performed for the first time in...1742. It received instant acclaim.\" Based on quotes from the Old and New Testament of the King James Bible, the <em>Messiah</em> is \"also Baroque in its style, which features vigorous contrasts of tempo and dynamics. Handel made use of word painting. For example, the music for the last word of the sentence, ‘All we, like sheep have gone astray’ consists of deliberately divergent melodic lines.\"(Fiero, 108)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">When comparing <em>Spring</em> with the <em>Messiah,</em> many things become evident. <em>Spring </em>and the <em>Messiah</em> have many features in common, having been conceived in the same time period. Both make use of the baroque love of coloring their music to illustrate their ideas, in the same way that an artist might mix the right shade of blue to paint the color of a sky in the morning. Both have the baroque love of drama. For that drama Vivaldi used tone painting; sound effects produced by the violin incorporated into the melody. Handel used word painting; using instruments only to \"spotlight the poetry.\"(Fiero, 130) <em>Spring</em> has no accompanying choir. The <em>Messiah</em> is all about a huge, many-voiced choir. So, which one is superior?</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Freed from propagandist verbiage, Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> is superior, because it uses only the language of music. It is understood cross-culturally. Because it is divorced from blatant religiosity it works better to ease people into a spiritual mood. The Messiah is powerful. It brought even a king to his feet when it was first played. It is also religious propaganda in the extreme. The <em>Messiah</em> is emotionally closer to a John Philip Sousa march than to a spiritual, meditative experience. Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> evokes Nature in all her beauty and glory. The sounds, rather than words, speak to the heart rather than the brain. Spring allows the imagination to meditate on all that was good on our old earth and nurtures those emotions that are positive in individuals. <em>Spring</em> calms the soul<em>.</em><em> </em></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">The above belief, that Vivaldi’s work has the power to calm the spirit, has been proven in a Newcastle nursing home and again at Marobe Home in Australia. \"Australian psychiatrist and musician Christian Heim led a study testing the effects of baroque music on fourteen dementia patients.\" Heim wrote that ,\"played at low volume , for four hours each evening,...studies have shown that such compositions produce alpha brain waves and a state of calm, relaxed alertness.\" \"The researchers found a 40% reduction in adverse behaviors that included...distraction...verbal abuse and agitation,\"(Rlotter, 19) Heim’s research proves that we need to make sure that we take <em>Spring</em> with us where ever we go. The peace that this music evokes will prove useful in any environment that we and our children find ourselves in.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Vivaldi’s <em>Spring </em>is the<em> </em> most admirable piece of music ever written. It has the ability to engage the imagination and lift the spirit. When the violins trill, you hear the birds sing. It sounds simple, but is deceptively complicated. \"The violin concertos of Vivaldi...abound in passages of extravagant virtuosity, difficult leaps, and surprising configurations; outbursts of fire and fury alternating with moments of intense lyricism.\"(Palisca, 3) John Grasmeier called Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> \"a masterwork of a renowned baroque composer, (and) also one of the great masterworks in all of Western art.\" When people of differing cultures and attitudes hear it, <em>Spring</em> speaks to them. It sounds like Spring and calms human emotions. In an era that has become more divisive as time goes on, we need a piece of music that crosses cultural and political boundaries. This music can do that. Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> should be saved, and preserved. If it is included, <em>Spring</em> is sure to be as cherished by future generations as it is today. I hope that you will vote with me to include Antonio Vivaldi’s glorious <em>Four Seasons: Spring</em> in the 2100 Time Capsule. We will need it.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Works Cited</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Bukofzer, Manfred F. <em>Music in the Baroque Era</em> New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 1947. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Cannon, Beekman C., Alvin H. Johnson, and William G. Waite. <em>The Art of Music</em> New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1960. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Fiero, Gloria K. <em>The Humanist Tradition: The Early Modern World to Present</em> Boston: McGraw Hill. 2011. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Grasmeier, John <em>\"Vivaldi’s Four Seasons\"</em> Angelqueen.org. 2006. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Grout, Donald J. and Claude V. Palisca. <em>A History of Western Music</em> New York: W.W. Norton co., Inc. 1988. Print</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Kettle, David.<em> \"Early Wake Up\"</em> The Strad June 2011: 42-46 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons)\" Angelqueen.org.  2006. Web. 21 Sept. 2011</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Leichtentritt, Hugo <em>Music, History, and Ideas</em> Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Palisca, Claude V. <em>Baroque Music</em> Englewood Cliffs: Hitchcock, 1968. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Pauly, Reinhard G. <em>Music in the Classic Period</em> Englewood Cliffs: Hitchcock, 1973. Print. Prentice- Hall History of Music Series. Ser. 4.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Rlotter, Jule. <em>Baroque Music and Dementia</em> Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients October 2004: 19-20 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Sadie, Julie Ann, ed. <em>Companion to Baroque Music</em> Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Todes, Ariana. <em>\"Recent discoveries are destroying cliches that we’ve held to for so long\"</em> The Strad March 2011: 62-66 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi, Antonio\" <em>The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Micropaedia</em>. 15th ed. 1979. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi, Antonio\" <em>The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia.</em> 15th ed. 1979. Print.</p>\r\nBickerton, John <em>Royalty Free Classical Music: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons </em>UniqueTracks. 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2011.','Vivaldi\'s \"Four Seasons: Spring\"','','publish','open','open','','antonio-vivaldis-four-seasons-spring','','','2011-10-11 09:54:10','2011-10-11 15:54:10','',0,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1751',0,'post','',6),(1752,42,'2011-10-09 17:23:58','2011-10-09 23:23:58','','a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small copy','','inherit','open','open','','a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy','','','2011-10-09 17:23:58','2011-10-09 23:23:58','',1751,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1753,42,'2011-10-09 17:27:04','2011-10-09 23:27:04','<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1752\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"288\" height=\"216\" /></a>','Antonio Vivaldi\'s Four Season\'s: Spring','','inherit','open','open','','1751-revision','','','2011-10-09 17:27:04','2011-10-09 23:27:04','',1751,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1753',0,'revision','',0),(1754,42,'2011-10-09 19:05:05','2011-10-10 01:05:05','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\"><img src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif\" alt=\"\" /><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"288\" height=\"216\" /></a></p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">http://www.wallpapermenu.com/download/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_11954_1024x768.html</p>\n&nbsp;\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">To listen to all three movements of Vivaldi’s<em> Spring</em> \"Allegro-Largo-Allegro\" from <em>The Four Seasons</em> and see a video inspired by the music, please click on the link below. It was filmed at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales. It features Julia Fischer on violin accompanied by the \"Academy of St. Martin in the Fields\".</p>\n&nbsp;\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Enjoy!</p>\n&nbsp;\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\"><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1\">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1</a></p>\n&nbsp;\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\"><!--more--></p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Antonio Vivaldi’s (1678-1741) <em>Four Seasons: Spring</em>  should be placed into the 2100 Time Capsule. The two reasons it should be saved are its \"ability to lift the heart of the listener\"(Grasmeier) and more importantly its power to calm the mind. These attributes, found in music of all cultures and times are magnified and condensed in Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em>. We should preserve this work for these essential qualities. These qualities are desperately needed now and most surely will be needed in the future.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"The <em>Four Seasons </em>is a series of four concertos (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) each containing three movements, Allegro-Largo-Allegro which are the first part of a larger 12 concerto work entitled <em>The Contest of Harmony and Invention - Antonio Vivaldi’s 8th Opus</em>.\" (Grasmeier) \"The works were first published in Amsterdam in 1725, but were written a few years earlier.\"(Grasmeier) \"Each season is described in a sonnet that furnishes the program for the concerto. Although Vivaldi revelled in naive, if delightful imitations of bird calls,...he strictly maintained the formal structure (of the concerto)...and indulged in playful descriptions only in the solo sections. The program served at the time as a welcome pretext for virtuosity which Vivaldi expanded far above the level of his predecessors.\"(Bukofzer, 229)</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi intended this piece to be \"programmatic\" that is, (to) carry meaning outside of the music itself.\"(Fiero, 130) With <em>Four Seasons: Spring </em>Vivaldi achieved the apex of \"programmatic\" style. \"Programmatic refers to a composer consciously trying to represent something non-musical, like a story or image, in the composition. This type of composing is called ‘tone-painting’. The composition is a tone poem.\"(Bickerton) Vivaldi \"added poems, that he wrote himself, at appropriate passages of the score for the instruction of performers.\"(Fiero,130) A translation, from the Italian, for a portion of the poem for Spring follows.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The festive Spring has arrived,</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The birds celebrate her return with happy songs,</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">And the brooks of the gentle Zephyrs,</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">With sweet murmurs flow, but,</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The sky is covered in a dark mantle,</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">And lightning and thunder announce a storm.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">When quiet returns, the birds,</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Again take up their lovely songs.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"While humanist composers had no idea what Greek music sounded like, they sought to imitate the ancient unity of music and poetry.\"(Fiero, 57) Many baroque composers combined poetry and music by using choirs to do the poetry and small sets of instruments to accompany them. Vivaldi dispensed with the choir and made violins sing poetry. \"Vivaldi also systematized the concerto grosso into a three movement form (fast-slow-fast) and increased the distinctions between solo and ensemble groups.(Fiero, 130) In many ways Vivaldi defined the baroque style in music. <em>Spring </em>is a fantastic example of a baroque composition</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Typical of composers of his time period, Vivaldi \"composed 450 concerti for a variety of solo instruments backed by strings.\"(Vivaldi, X:474) The baroque era was a time \"when every composer including such giants as Bach, Handel, Hayden and Mozart, was expected to produce a constant stream of music.\"(Vivaldi, 19:494) People of those times \"went to the opera or to an ‘academy’ as public concerts were frequently called, in order to hear the latest.\" \"The average Venetian in Vivaldi’s day would not think of hearing last year’s opera again.\"(Pauly, 6) But, composers of this era’s \"ambitions\" were \"not to create a new style, but to perfect the style of their time.\"(Leichtentritt, 141) \"If there is any common thread that unites the great variety of music that we call baroque, then it is an underlying faith in music’s power, indeed its obligation, to move the affections.\"(Palisca, 4) Affections were a view \"propounded by Aristotle in his <em>Rhetoric</em>  that there exist discrete states known as fear, love, hate, anger, joy - to cite a few of these most common. From the last decades of the sixteenth century the arousal of the affections was considered the principal objective of poetry and music.\"(Palisca, 4) <em>Spring</em> is a supreme example and succeeds admirably in arousing our affections. When listening to <em>Spring,</em> the first allegre movement, one hears birds, brooks and storms. It raises the spirits and the emotions to a higher and happier state.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Vivaldi and his music were well known and loved in his own time. Because Vivaldi had red hair and he was an ordained priest of the Catholic church, his nickname was \"the Red Priest\".(Grasmeier) \"In 1703, he was ordained ...and from that year until 1740 he taught music at the Ospedale della Peita, an orphan asylum primarily for girls in Venice.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Much\" of his music \"was written for the Ospedale’s musical groups, which he directed in performances that became famous throughout Europe.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Instrumental solo music and concerted chamber music, - as in the violin concertos, sonatas and concerti grossi of Vivaldi...were so much preferred to symphonic orchestral music that not even in the nineteenth century did the symphony find a home in Italy.\"(Leichtentritt, 171) And no \"foreign visitor\" to Italy \"considered his stay complete without having attended a Vivaldi concert.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Travelers wrote of these occasions with enthusiasm not unmixed with amusement at the unusual spectacle of a choir and orchestra composed mainly of teenaged girls.\"(Grout, 483) Vivaldi managed to achieve fame in his own lifetime. His own virtuosity, and that of the girls he taught, were well known and loved.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">As the link to the Julia Fischer’s rendition attests, <em>The Four Seasons: Spring</em> is still played and recognized today. Even if you have never heard the name of it before, you will probably recognize the melody. It \"has been used frequently as background music in TV commercials, films, and even music on-hold.\" Italian violinist Fabio Biondi told an interviewer in March, 2011, Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> and other concertos were \"very virtuosic\" Vivaldi \"was using them to investigate solutions for the bow and fingerings\" of violins. When you see the fingerings in Vivaldi’s manuscripts you \"discover how he uses different positions to search for different sounds. And this was 20 years before Leopold Mozart’s treatise on violin playing.\" \"Vivaldi was a master violinist and it is thought that he wrote the <em>Four Seasons</em> as a performance vehicle to showcase his own virtuosity. The violin part is quite challenging indeed even by today’s standards.\"(Bickerton) \"The addictive rhythmic vitality ...has led to its rebirth and great popularity amongst classical music lovers and the general public as well.\"(Todes) <em>Spring</em> \"has become arguably the most popular piece of classical music in the world with more performances and recordings than even Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony\"(Bickerton)</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">At the time when this music was being written, all of life and living seemed to be up for debate. Louis XIV was king of France. Oliver Cromwell, who was not royalty, became the Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. Isaac Newton wrote the <em>Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy</em>, which proved that the laws of the heavens were the same as the laws of earth.(Fincher) Every new idea seemed to be in conflict with some old idea. A gap was forming between secular and religious views. The Catholic Church was losing power and the Protestants were gaining power. Music was emerging from its strictly religious purposes and was being played for entertainment. It was still the responsibility of composers to lift the public consciousness, but there was also a growing awareness of music as a way of escape and adventure. We rely on music to bring up and express emotions. The value people place on music, throughout history, was no different in Vivaldi’s era. But, instead of music only performed for royalty or for church, music is now available to the masses. \"Musical training formed an important part\" in the education of young people.(Grout, 483) So, music appreciation was also growing. It is no different today. People enjoy the music they know most about and flock to concerts to hear it performed. Music became a \"weapon of the (Catholic) Counter Revolution.\" \"Small wonder then that the church was the major employer of musicians and, for the general population, the main point of access to ‘art’ music.\"(Sadie, 6) The winds of change were blowing and the evidence was everywhere. Though churches were still an important contact point for music, music was no longer confined by religion.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">A comparison with Handel’s <em>Messiah </em>would be appropriate. The <em>Messiah</em> was written by George Frideric Handel (1685-1756) and \"was performed for the first time in...1742. It received instant acclaim.\" Based on quotes from the Old and New Testament of the King James Bible, the <em>Messiah</em> is \"also Baroque in its style, which features vigorous contrasts of tempo and dynamics. Handel made use of word painting. For example, the music for the last word of the sentence, ‘All we, like sheep have gone astray’ consists of deliberately divergent melodic lines.\"(Fiero, 108)</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">When comparing <em>Spring</em> with the <em>Messiah,</em> many things become evident. <em>Spring </em>and the <em>Messiah</em> have many features in common, having been conceived in the same time period. Both make use of the baroque love of coloring their music to illustrate their ideas, in the same way that an artist might mix the right shade of blue to paint the color of a sky in the morning. Both have the baroque love of drama. For that drama Vivaldi used tone painting; sound effects produced by the violin incorporated into the melody. Handel used word painting; using instruments only to \"spotlight the poetry.\"(Fiero, 130) <em>Spring</em> has no accompanying choir. The <em>Messiah</em> is all about a huge, many-voiced choir. So, which one is superior?</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Freed from propagandist verbiage, Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> is superior, because it uses only the language of music. It is understood cross-culturally. Because it is divorced from blatant religiosity it works better to ease people into a spiritual mood. The Messiah is powerful. It brought even a king to his feet when it was first played. It is also religious propaganda in the extreme. The <em>Messiah</em> is emotionally closer to a John Philip Sousa march than to a spiritual, meditative experience. Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> evokes Nature in all her beauty and glory. The sounds, rather than words, speak to the heart rather than the brain. Spring allows the imagination to meditate on all that was good on our old earth and nurtures those emotions that are positive in individuals. <em>Spring</em> calms the soul<em>.</em><em> </em></p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">The above belief, that Vivaldi’s work has the power to calm the spirit, has been proven in a Newcastle nursing home and again at Marobe Home in Australia. \"Australian psychiatrist and musician Christian Heim led a study testing the effects of baroque music on fourteen dementia patients.\" Heim wrote that ,\"played at low volume , for four hours each evening,...studies have shown that such compositions produce alpha brain waves and a state of calm, relaxed alertness.\" \"The researchers found a 40% reduction in adverse behaviors that included...distraction...verbal abuse and agitation,\"(Rlotter, 19) Heim’s research proves that we need to make sure that we take <em>Spring</em> with us where ever we go. The peace that this music evokes will prove useful in any environment that we and our children find ourselves in.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Vivaldi’s <em>Spring </em>is the<em> </em> most admirable piece of music ever written. It has the ability to engage the imagination and lift the spirit. When the violins trill, you hear the birds sing. It sounds simple, but is deceptively complicated. \"The violin concertos of Vivaldi...abound in passages of extravagant virtuosity, difficult leaps, and surprising configurations; outbursts of fire and fury alternating with moments of intense lyricism.\"(Palisca, 3) John Grasmeier called Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> \"a masterwork of a renowned baroque composer, (and) also one of the great masterworks in all of Western art.\" When people of differing cultures and attitudes hear it, <em>Spring</em> speaks to them. It sounds like Spring and calms human emotions. In an era that has become more divisive as time goes on, we need a piece of music that crosses cultural and political boundaries. This music can do that. Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> should be saved, and preserved. If it is included, <em>Spring</em> is sure to be as cherished by future generations as it is today. I hope that you will vote with me to include Antonio Vivaldi’s glorious <em>Four Seasons: Spring</em> in the 2100 Time Capsule. We will need it.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Works Cited</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Bukofzer, Manfred F. <em>Music in the Baroque Era</em> New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 1947. Print.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Cannon, Beekman C., Alvin H. Johnson, and William G. Waite. <em>The Art of Music</em> New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1960. Print.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Fiero, Gloria K. <em>The Humanist Tradition: The Early Modern World to Present</em> Boston: McGraw Hill. 2011. Print.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Grasmeier, John <em>\"Vivaldi’s Four Seasons\"</em> Angelqueen.org. 2006. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Grout, Donald J. and Claude V. Palisca. <em>A History of Western Music</em> New York: W.W. Norton co., Inc. 1988. Print</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Kettle, David.<em> \"Early Wake Up\"</em> The Strad June 2011: 42-46 Print.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons)\"</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Angelqueen.org.  2006. Web. 21 Sept. 2011</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Leichtentritt, Hugo <em>Music, History, and Ideas</em> Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973. Print.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Palisca, Claude V. <em>Baroque Music</em> Englewood Cliffs: Hitchcock, 1968. Print.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Pauly, Reinhard G. <em>Music in the Classic Period</em> Englewood Cliffs: Hitchcock, 1973. Print. Prentice- Hall History of Music Series. Ser. 4.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Rlotter, Jule. <em>Baroque Music and Dementia</em> Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients October 2004: 19-20 Print.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Sadie, Julie Ann, ed. <em>Companion to Baroque Music</em> Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. Print.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Todes, Ariana. <em>\"Recent discoveries are destroying cliches that we’ve held to for so long\"</em> The Strad March 2011: 62-66 Print.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi, Antonio\" <em>The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Micropaedia</em>. 15th ed. 1979. Print.</p>\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi, Antonio\" <em>The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia.</em> 15th ed. 1979. Print.</p>\nBickerton, John <em>Royalty Free Classical Music: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons </em>UniqueTracks. 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2011.','Vivaldi\'s \"Four Seasons: Spring\"','','inherit','open','open','','1751-autosave','','','2011-10-09 19:05:05','2011-10-10 01:05:05','',1751,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1754',0,'revision','',0),(1755,42,'2011-10-09 17:30:03','2011-10-09 23:30:03','<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1752\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"288\" height=\"216\" /></a>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">http://www.wallpapermenu.com/download/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_11954_1024x768.html</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">To listen to all three movements of Vivaldi’s<em> Spring</em> \"Allegro-Largo-Allegro\" from <em>The Four Seasons</em> and see a video inspired by the music, please click on the link below. It was filmed at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales. It features Julia Fischer on violin accompanied by the \"Academy of St. Martin in the Fields\".</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Enjoy!</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1</p>','Antonio Vivaldi\'s Four Season\'s: Spring','','inherit','open','open','','1751-revision-2','','','2011-10-09 17:30:03','2011-10-09 23:30:03','',1751,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1755',0,'revision','',0),(1756,42,'2011-10-09 18:30:43','2011-10-10 00:30:43','<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\"><!--more--><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1752\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"288\" height=\"216\" /></a>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">http://www.wallpapermenu.com/download/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_11954_1024x768.html</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">To listen to all three movements of Vivaldi’s<em> Spring</em> \"Allegro-Largo-Allegro\" from <em>The Four Seasons</em> and see a video inspired by the music, please click on the link below. It was filmed at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales. It features Julia Fischer on violin accompanied by the \"Academy of St. Martin in the Fields\".</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Enjoy!</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\"></p>','Antonio Vivaldi\'s Four Season\'s: Spring','','inherit','open','open','','1751-revision-3','','','2011-10-09 18:30:43','2011-10-10 00:30:43','',1751,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1756',0,'revision','',0),(1757,42,'2011-10-09 18:31:01','2011-10-10 00:31:01','<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\"><!--more--><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1752\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"288\" height=\"216\" /></a>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">http://www.wallpapermenu.com/download/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_11954_1024x768.html</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">To listen to all three movements of Vivaldi’s<em> Spring</em> \"Allegro-Largo-Allegro\" from <em>The Four Seasons</em> and see a video inspired by the music, please click on the link below. It was filmed at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales. It features Julia Fischer on violin accompanied by the \"Academy of St. Martin in the Fields\".</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Enjoy!</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\"></p>','Vivaldi\'s Four Season\'s: Spring','','inherit','open','open','','1751-revision-4','','','2011-10-09 18:31:01','2011-10-10 00:31:01','',1751,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1757',0,'revision','',0),(1758,42,'2011-10-09 18:33:31','2011-10-10 00:33:31','<a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\"><!--more--><!--more--><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1752\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"288\" height=\"216\" /></a>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">http://www.wallpapermenu.com/download/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_11954_1024x768.html</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">To listen to all three movements of Vivaldi’s<em> Spring</em> \"Allegro-Largo-Allegro\" from <em>The Four Seasons</em> and see a video inspired by the music, please click on the link below. It was filmed at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales. It features Julia Fischer on violin accompanied by the \"Academy of St. Martin in the Fields\".</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Enjoy!</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\"><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1\">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1</a></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\"><!--more--></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Antonio Vivaldi’s (1678-1741) <em>Four Seasons: Spring</em>  should be placed into the 2100 Time Capsule. The two reasons it should be saved are its \"ability to lift the heart of the listener\"(Grasmeier) and more importantly its power to calm the mind. These attributes, found in music of all cultures and times are magnified and condensed in Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em>. We should preserve this work for these essential qualities. These qualities are desperately needed now and most surely will be needed in the future.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"The <em>Four Seasons </em>is a series of four concertos (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) each containing three movements, Allegro-Largo-Allegro which are the first part of a larger 12 concerto work entitled <em>The Contest of Harmony and Invention - Antonio Vivaldi’s 8th Opus</em>.\" (Grasmeier) \"The works were first published in Amsterdam in 1725, but were written a few years earlier.\"(Grasmeier) \"Each season is described in a sonnet that furnishes the program for the concerto. Although Vivaldi revelled in naive, if delightful imitations of bird calls,...he strictly maintained the formal structure (of the concerto)...and indulged in playful descriptions only in the solo sections. The program served at the time as a welcome pretext for virtuosity which Vivaldi expanded far above the level of his predecessors.\"(Bukofzer, 229)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi intended this piece to be \"programmatic\" that is, (to) carry meaning outside of the music itself.\"(Fiero, 130) With <em>Four Seasons: Spring </em>Vivaldi achieved the apex of \"programmatic\" style. \"Programmatic refers to a composer consciously trying to represent something non-musical, like a story or image, in the composition. This type of composing is called ‘tone-painting’. The composition is a tone poem.\"(Bickerton) Vivaldi \"added poems, that he wrote himself, at appropriate passages of the score for the instruction of performers.\"(Fiero,130) A translation, from the Italian, for a portion of the poem for Spring follows.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The festive Spring has arrived,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The birds celebrate her return with happy songs,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">And the brooks of the gentle Zephyrs,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">With sweet murmurs flow, but,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The sky is covered in a dark mantle,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">And lightning and thunder announce a storm.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">When quiet returns, the birds,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Again take up their lovely songs.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"While humanist composers had no idea what Greek music sounded like, they sought to imitate the ancient unity of music and poetry.\"(Fiero, 57) Many baroque composers combined poetry and music by using choirs to do the poetry and small sets of instruments to accompany them. Vivaldi dispensed with the choir and made violins sing poetry. \"Vivaldi also systematized the concerto grosso into a three movement form (fast-slow-fast) and increased the distinctions between solo and ensemble groups.(Fiero, 130) In many ways Vivaldi defined the baroque style in music. <em>Spring </em>is a fantastic example of a baroque composition</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Typical of composers of his time period, Vivaldi \"composed 450 concerti for a variety of solo instruments backed by strings.\"(Vivaldi, X:474) The baroque era was a time \"when every composer including such giants as Bach, Handel, Hayden and Mozart, was expected to produce a constant stream of music.\"(Vivaldi, 19:494) People of those times \"went to the opera or to an ‘academy’ as public concerts were frequently called, in order to hear the latest.\" \"The average Venetian in Vivaldi’s day would not think of hearing last year’s opera again.\"(Pauly, 6) But, composers of this era’s \"ambitions\" were \"not to create a new style, but to perfect the style of their time.\"(Leichtentritt, 141) \"If there is any common thread that unites the great variety of music that we call baroque, then it is an underlying faith in music’s power, indeed its obligation, to move the affections.\"(Palisca, 4) Affections were a view \"propounded by Aristotle in his <em>Rhetoric</em>  that there exist discrete states known as fear, love, hate, anger, joy - to cite a few of these most common. From the last decades of the sixteenth century the arousal of the affections was considered the principal objective of poetry and music.\"(Palisca, 4) <em>Spring</em> is a supreme example and succeeds admirably in arousing our affections. When listening to <em>Spring,</em> the first allegre movement, one hears birds, brooks and storms. It raises the spirits and the emotions to a higher and happier state.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Vivaldi and his music were well known and loved in his own time. Because Vivaldi had red hair and he was an ordained priest of the Catholic church, his nickname was \"the Red Priest\".(Grasmeier) \"In 1703, he was ordained ...and from that year until 1740 he taught music at the Ospedale della Peita, an orphan asylum primarily for girls in Venice.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Much\" of his music \"was written for the Ospedale’s musical groups, which he directed in performances that became famous throughout Europe.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Instrumental solo music and concerted chamber music, - as in the violin concertos, sonatas and concerti grossi of Vivaldi...were so much preferred to symphonic orchestral music that not even in the nineteenth century did the symphony find a home in Italy.\"(Leichtentritt, 171) And no \"foreign visitor\" to Italy \"considered his stay complete without having attended a Vivaldi concert.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Travelers wrote of these occasions with enthusiasm not unmixed with amusement at the unusual spectacle of a choir and orchestra composed mainly of teenaged girls.\"(Grout, 483) Vivaldi managed to achieve fame in his own lifetime. His own virtuosity, and that of the girls he taught, were well known and loved.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">As the link to the Julia Fischer’s rendition attests, <em>The Four Seasons: Spring</em> is still played and recognized today. Even if you have never heard the name of it before, you will probably recognize the melody. It \"has been used frequently as background music in TV commercials, films, and even music on-hold.\" Italian violinist Fabio Biondi told an interviewer in March, 2011, Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> and other concertos were \"very virtuosic\" Vivaldi \"was using them to investigate solutions for the bow and fingerings\" of violins. When you see the fingerings in Vivaldi’s manuscripts you \"discover how he uses different positions to search for different sounds. And this was 20 years before Leopold Mozart’s treatise on violin playing.\" \"Vivaldi was a master violinist and it is thought that he wrote the <em>Four Seasons</em> as a performance vehicle to showcase his own virtuosity. The violin part is quite challenging indeed even by today’s standards.\"(Bickerton) \"The addictive rhythmic vitality ...has led to its rebirth and great popularity amongst classical music lovers and the general public as well.\"(Todes) <em>Spring</em> \"has become arguably the most popular piece of classical music in the world with more performances and recordings than even Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony\"(Bickerton)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">At the time when this music was being written, all of life and living seemed to be up for debate. Louis XIV was king of France. Oliver Cromwell, who was not royalty, became the Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. Isaac Newton wrote the <em>Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy</em>, which proved that the laws of the heavens were the same as the laws of earth.(Fincher) Every new idea seemed to be in conflict with some old idea. A gap was forming between secular and religious views. The Catholic Church was losing power and the Protestants were gaining power. Music was emerging from its strictly religious purposes and was being played for entertainment. It was still the responsibility of composers to lift the public consciousness, but there was also a growing awareness of music as a way of escape and adventure. We rely on music to bring up and express emotions. The value people place on music, throughout history, was no different in Vivaldi’s era. But, instead of music only performed for royalty or for church, music is now available to the masses. \"Musical training formed an important part\" in the education of young people.(Grout, 483) So, music appreciation was also growing. It is no different today. People enjoy the music they know most about and flock to concerts to hear it performed. Music became a \"weapon of the (Catholic) Counter Revolution.\" \"Small wonder then that the church was the major employer of musicians and, for the general population, the main point of access to ‘art’ music.\"(Sadie, 6) The winds of change were blowing and the evidence was everywhere. Though churches were still are important contact point for music, it is no longer confined by religion.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">A comparison with Handel’s <em>Messiah </em>would be appropriate. The <em>Messiah</em> was written by George Frideric Handel (1685-1756) and \"was performed for the first time in...1742. It received instant acclaim.\" Based on quotes from the Old and New Testament of the King James Bible, the <em>Messiah</em> is \"also Baroque in its style, which features vigorous contrasts of tempo and dynamics. Handel made use of word painting. For example, the music for the last word of the sentence, ‘All we, like sheep have gone astray’ consists of deliberately divergent melodic lines.\"(Fiero, 108)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">When comparing <em>Spring</em> with the <em>Messiah</em> many things become evident. <em>Spring </em>and the <em>Messiah</em> have many things in common, having been conceived in the same time period. Both feature the baroque love of coloring their music to illustrate their ideas, in the same way an artist might mix the right shade of blue to paint the color of a sky in the morning. Both have the baroque love of drama. For that drama Vivaldi used tone painting; sound effects produced by the violin incorporated into the melody. Handel used word painting; using instruments only to \"spotlight the poetry.\"(Fiero, 130) <em>Spring</em> has no accompanying choir. The <em>Messiah</em> is all about a huge, many-voiced choir. So, which one is superior?</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Freed from propagandist verbiage, Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> is superior, because it uses only the language of music. It is understood cross-culturally. Because it is divorced from blatant religiosity it works better to ease people into a spiritual mood. The Messiah is powerful. It brought even a king to his feet when it was first played. It is also religious propaganda in the extreme. The <em>Messiah</em> is emotionally closer to a John Philip Sousa march than to a spiritual, meditative experience. Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> evokes Nature in all her beauty and glory. The sounds, rather than words, speak to the heart rather than the brain. Spring allows the imagination to meditate on all that was good on our old earth and nurtures those emotions that are positive in individuals. <em>Spring</em> calms the soul<em>.</em></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\"><em>\r\n</em></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">The above belief, that Vivaldi’s work has the power to calm the spirit, has been proven in a Newcastle nursing home and again at Marobe Home in Australia. \"Australian psychiatrist and musician Christian Heim led a study testing the effects of baroque music on fourteen dementia patients.\" Heim wrote that ,\"played at low volume , for four hours each evening,...studies have shown that such compositions produce alpha brain waves and a state of calm, relaxed alertness.\" \"The researchers found a 40% reduction in adverse behaviors that included...distraction...verbal abuse and agitation,\"(Rlotter, 19) Heim’s research proves that we need to make sure that we take <em>Spring</em> with us where ever we go. The peace that this music evokes will prove useful in any environment that we and our children find ourselves in.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Vivaldi’s <em>Spring </em>is the<em> </em> most admirable piece of music ever written. It has the ability to engage the imagination and lift the spirit. When the violins trill, you hear the birds sing. It sounds simple, but is deceptively complicated. \"The violin concertos of Vivaldi...abound in passages of extravagant virtuosity, difficult leaps, and surprising configurations; outbursts of fire and fury alternating with moments of intense lyricism.\"(Palisca, 3) John Grasmeier called Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> \"a masterwork of a renowned baroque composer, (and) also one of the great masterworks in all of Western art.\" When people of differing cultures and attitudes hear it, <em>Spring</em> speaks to them. It sounds like Spring and calms human emotions. In an era that has become more divisive as time goes on, we need a piece of music that crosses cultural and political boundaries. This music can do that. Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> should be saved, and preserved. If it is included, <em>Spring</em> is sure to be as cherished by future generations as it is today. I hope that you will vote with me to include Antonio Vivaldi’s glorious <em>Four Seasons: Spring</em> in the 2100 Time Capsule. We will need it.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Works Cited</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Bukofzer, Manfred F. <em>Music in the Baroque Era</em> New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 1947. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Cannon, Beekman C., Alvin H. Johnson, and William G. Waite. <em>The Art of Music</em> New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1960. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Fiero, Gloria K. <em>The Humanist Tradition: The Early Modern World to Present</em> Boston: McGraw Hill. 2011. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Grasmeier, John <em>\"Vivaldi’s Four Seasons\"</em> Angelqueen.org. 2006. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Grout, Donald J. and Claude V. Palisca. <em>A History of Western Music</em> New York: W.W. Norton co., Inc. 1988. Print</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Kettle, David.<em> \"Early Wake Up\"</em> The Strad June 2011: 42-46 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons)\"</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Angelqueen.org.  2006. Web. 21 Sept. 2011</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Leichtentritt, Hugo <em>Music, History, and Ideas</em> Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Palisca, Claude V. <em>Baroque Music</em> Englewood Cliffs: Hitchcock, 1968. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Pauly, Reinhard G. <em>Music in the Classic Period</em> Englewood Cliffs: Hitchcock, 1973. Print. Prentice- Hall History of Music Series. Ser. 4.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Rlotter, Jule. <em>Baroque Music and Dementia</em> Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients October 2004: 19-20 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Sadie, Julie Ann, ed. <em>Companion to Baroque Music</em> Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Todes, Ariana. <em>\"Recent discoveries are destroying cliches that we’ve held to for so long\"</em> The Strad March 2011: 62-66 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi, Antonio\" <em>The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Micropaedia</em>. 15th ed. 1979. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi, Antonio\" <em>The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia.</em> 15th ed. 1979. Print.</p>\r\nBickerton, John <em>Royalty Free Classical Music: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons </em>UniqueTracks. 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2011.','Vivaldi\'s Four Season\'s: Spring','','inherit','open','open','','1751-revision-5','','','2011-10-09 18:33:31','2011-10-10 00:33:31','',1751,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1758',0,'revision','',0),(1759,42,'2011-10-09 18:36:34','2011-10-10 00:36:34','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\"><img src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif\" alt=\"\" /><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"288\" height=\"216\" /></a></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">http://www.wallpapermenu.com/download/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_11954_1024x768.html</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">To listen to all three movements of Vivaldi’s<em> Spring</em> \"Allegro-Largo-Allegro\" from <em>The Four Seasons</em> and see a video inspired by the music, please click on the link below. It was filmed at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales. It features Julia Fischer on violin accompanied by the \"Academy of St. Martin in the Fields\".</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Enjoy!</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\"><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1\">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1</a></p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\"><!--more--></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Antonio Vivaldi’s (1678-1741) <em>Four Seasons: Spring</em>  should be placed into the 2100 Time Capsule. The two reasons it should be saved are its \"ability to lift the heart of the listener\"(Grasmeier) and more importantly its power to calm the mind. These attributes, found in music of all cultures and times are magnified and condensed in Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em>. We should preserve this work for these essential qualities. These qualities are desperately needed now and most surely will be needed in the future.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"The <em>Four Seasons </em>is a series of four concertos (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) each containing three movements, Allegro-Largo-Allegro which are the first part of a larger 12 concerto work entitled <em>The Contest of Harmony and Invention - Antonio Vivaldi’s 8th Opus</em>.\" (Grasmeier) \"The works were first published in Amsterdam in 1725, but were written a few years earlier.\"(Grasmeier) \"Each season is described in a sonnet that furnishes the program for the concerto. Although Vivaldi revelled in naive, if delightful imitations of bird calls,...he strictly maintained the formal structure (of the concerto)...and indulged in playful descriptions only in the solo sections. The program served at the time as a welcome pretext for virtuosity which Vivaldi expanded far above the level of his predecessors.\"(Bukofzer, 229)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi intended this piece to be \"programmatic\" that is, (to) carry meaning outside of the music itself.\"(Fiero, 130) With <em>Four Seasons: Spring </em>Vivaldi achieved the apex of \"programmatic\" style. \"Programmatic refers to a composer consciously trying to represent something non-musical, like a story or image, in the composition. This type of composing is called ‘tone-painting’. The composition is a tone poem.\"(Bickerton) Vivaldi \"added poems, that he wrote himself, at appropriate passages of the score for the instruction of performers.\"(Fiero,130) A translation, from the Italian, for a portion of the poem for Spring follows.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The festive Spring has arrived,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The birds celebrate her return with happy songs,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">And the brooks of the gentle Zephyrs,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">With sweet murmurs flow, but,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The sky is covered in a dark mantle,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">And lightning and thunder announce a storm.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">When quiet returns, the birds,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Again take up their lovely songs.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"While humanist composers had no idea what Greek music sounded like, they sought to imitate the ancient unity of music and poetry.\"(Fiero, 57) Many baroque composers combined poetry and music by using choirs to do the poetry and small sets of instruments to accompany them. Vivaldi dispensed with the choir and made violins sing poetry. \"Vivaldi also systematized the concerto grosso into a three movement form (fast-slow-fast) and increased the distinctions between solo and ensemble groups.(Fiero, 130) In many ways Vivaldi defined the baroque style in music. <em>Spring </em>is a fantastic example of a baroque composition</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Typical of composers of his time period, Vivaldi \"composed 450 concerti for a variety of solo instruments backed by strings.\"(Vivaldi, X:474) The baroque era was a time \"when every composer including such giants as Bach, Handel, Hayden and Mozart, was expected to produce a constant stream of music.\"(Vivaldi, 19:494) People of those times \"went to the opera or to an ‘academy’ as public concerts were frequently called, in order to hear the latest.\" \"The average Venetian in Vivaldi’s day would not think of hearing last year’s opera again.\"(Pauly, 6) But, composers of this era’s \"ambitions\" were \"not to create a new style, but to perfect the style of their time.\"(Leichtentritt, 141) \"If there is any common thread that unites the great variety of music that we call baroque, then it is an underlying faith in music’s power, indeed its obligation, to move the affections.\"(Palisca, 4) Affections were a view \"propounded by Aristotle in his <em>Rhetoric</em>  that there exist discrete states known as fear, love, hate, anger, joy - to cite a few of these most common. From the last decades of the sixteenth century the arousal of the affections was considered the principal objective of poetry and music.\"(Palisca, 4) <em>Spring</em> is a supreme example and succeeds admirably in arousing our affections. When listening to <em>Spring,</em> the first allegre movement, one hears birds, brooks and storms. It raises the spirits and the emotions to a higher and happier state.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Vivaldi and his music were well known and loved in his own time. Because Vivaldi had red hair and he was an ordained priest of the Catholic church, his nickname was \"the Red Priest\".(Grasmeier) \"In 1703, he was ordained ...and from that year until 1740 he taught music at the Ospedale della Peita, an orphan asylum primarily for girls in Venice.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Much\" of his music \"was written for the Ospedale’s musical groups, which he directed in performances that became famous throughout Europe.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Instrumental solo music and concerted chamber music, - as in the violin concertos, sonatas and concerti grossi of Vivaldi...were so much preferred to symphonic orchestral music that not even in the nineteenth century did the symphony find a home in Italy.\"(Leichtentritt, 171) And no \"foreign visitor\" to Italy \"considered his stay complete without having attended a Vivaldi concert.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Travelers wrote of these occasions with enthusiasm not unmixed with amusement at the unusual spectacle of a choir and orchestra composed mainly of teenaged girls.\"(Grout, 483) Vivaldi managed to achieve fame in his own lifetime. His own virtuosity, and that of the girls he taught, were well known and loved.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">As the link to the Julia Fischer’s rendition attests, <em>The Four Seasons: Spring</em> is still played and recognized today. Even if you have never heard the name of it before, you will probably recognize the melody. It \"has been used frequently as background music in TV commercials, films, and even music on-hold.\" Italian violinist Fabio Biondi told an interviewer in March, 2011, Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> and other concertos were \"very virtuosic\" Vivaldi \"was using them to investigate solutions for the bow and fingerings\" of violins. When you see the fingerings in Vivaldi’s manuscripts you \"discover how he uses different positions to search for different sounds. And this was 20 years before Leopold Mozart’s treatise on violin playing.\" \"Vivaldi was a master violinist and it is thought that he wrote the <em>Four Seasons</em> as a performance vehicle to showcase his own virtuosity. The violin part is quite challenging indeed even by today’s standards.\"(Bickerton) \"The addictive rhythmic vitality ...has led to its rebirth and great popularity amongst classical music lovers and the general public as well.\"(Todes) <em>Spring</em> \"has become arguably the most popular piece of classical music in the world with more performances and recordings than even Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony\"(Bickerton)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">At the time when this music was being written, all of life and living seemed to be up for debate. Louis XIV was king of France. Oliver Cromwell, who was not royalty, became the Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. Isaac Newton wrote the <em>Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy</em>, which proved that the laws of the heavens were the same as the laws of earth.(Fincher) Every new idea seemed to be in conflict with some old idea. A gap was forming between secular and religious views. The Catholic Church was losing power and the Protestants were gaining power. Music was emerging from its strictly religious purposes and was being played for entertainment. It was still the responsibility of composers to lift the public consciousness, but there was also a growing awareness of music as a way of escape and adventure. We rely on music to bring up and express emotions. The value people place on music, throughout history, was no different in Vivaldi’s era. But, instead of music only performed for royalty or for church, music is now available to the masses. \"Musical training formed an important part\" in the education of young people.(Grout, 483) So, music appreciation was also growing. It is no different today. People enjoy the music they know most about and flock to concerts to hear it performed. Music became a \"weapon of the (Catholic) Counter Revolution.\" \"Small wonder then that the church was the major employer of musicians and, for the general population, the main point of access to ‘art’ music.\"(Sadie, 6) The winds of change were blowing and the evidence was everywhere. Though churches were still are important contact point for music, it is no longer confined by religion.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">A comparison with Handel’s <em>Messiah </em>would be appropriate. The <em>Messiah</em> was written by George Frideric Handel (1685-1756) and \"was performed for the first time in...1742. It received instant acclaim.\" Based on quotes from the Old and New Testament of the King James Bible, the <em>Messiah</em> is \"also Baroque in its style, which features vigorous contrasts of tempo and dynamics. Handel made use of word painting. For example, the music for the last word of the sentence, ‘All we, like sheep have gone astray’ consists of deliberately divergent melodic lines.\"(Fiero, 108)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">When comparing <em>Spring</em> with the <em>Messiah</em> many things become evident. <em>Spring </em>and the <em>Messiah</em> have many things in common, having been conceived in the same time period. Both feature the baroque love of coloring their music to illustrate their ideas, in the same way an artist might mix the right shade of blue to paint the color of a sky in the morning. Both have the baroque love of drama. For that drama Vivaldi used tone painting; sound effects produced by the violin incorporated into the melody. Handel used word painting; using instruments only to \"spotlight the poetry.\"(Fiero, 130) <em>Spring</em> has no accompanying choir. The <em>Messiah</em> is all about a huge, many-voiced choir. So, which one is superior?</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Freed from propagandist verbiage, Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> is superior, because it uses only the language of music. It is understood cross-culturally. Because it is divorced from blatant religiosity it works better to ease people into a spiritual mood. The Messiah is powerful. It brought even a king to his feet when it was first played. It is also religious propaganda in the extreme. The <em>Messiah</em> is emotionally closer to a John Philip Sousa march than to a spiritual, meditative experience. Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> evokes Nature in all her beauty and glory. The sounds, rather than words, speak to the heart rather than the brain. Spring allows the imagination to meditate on all that was good on our old earth and nurtures those emotions that are positive in individuals. <em>Spring</em> calms the soul<em>.</em></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\"><em>\r\n</em></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">The above belief, that Vivaldi’s work has the power to calm the spirit, has been proven in a Newcastle nursing home and again at Marobe Home in Australia. \"Australian psychiatrist and musician Christian Heim led a study testing the effects of baroque music on fourteen dementia patients.\" Heim wrote that ,\"played at low volume , for four hours each evening,...studies have shown that such compositions produce alpha brain waves and a state of calm, relaxed alertness.\" \"The researchers found a 40% reduction in adverse behaviors that included...distraction...verbal abuse and agitation,\"(Rlotter, 19) Heim’s research proves that we need to make sure that we take <em>Spring</em> with us where ever we go. The peace that this music evokes will prove useful in any environment that we and our children find ourselves in.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Vivaldi’s <em>Spring </em>is the<em> </em> most admirable piece of music ever written. It has the ability to engage the imagination and lift the spirit. When the violins trill, you hear the birds sing. It sounds simple, but is deceptively complicated. \"The violin concertos of Vivaldi...abound in passages of extravagant virtuosity, difficult leaps, and surprising configurations; outbursts of fire and fury alternating with moments of intense lyricism.\"(Palisca, 3) John Grasmeier called Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> \"a masterwork of a renowned baroque composer, (and) also one of the great masterworks in all of Western art.\" When people of differing cultures and attitudes hear it, <em>Spring</em> speaks to them. It sounds like Spring and calms human emotions. In an era that has become more divisive as time goes on, we need a piece of music that crosses cultural and political boundaries. This music can do that. Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> should be saved, and preserved. If it is included, <em>Spring</em> is sure to be as cherished by future generations as it is today. I hope that you will vote with me to include Antonio Vivaldi’s glorious <em>Four Seasons: Spring</em> in the 2100 Time Capsule. We will need it.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Works Cited</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Bukofzer, Manfred F. <em>Music in the Baroque Era</em> New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 1947. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Cannon, Beekman C., Alvin H. Johnson, and William G. Waite. <em>The Art of Music</em> New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1960. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Fiero, Gloria K. <em>The Humanist Tradition: The Early Modern World to Present</em> Boston: McGraw Hill. 2011. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Grasmeier, John <em>\"Vivaldi’s Four Seasons\"</em> Angelqueen.org. 2006. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Grout, Donald J. and Claude V. Palisca. <em>A History of Western Music</em> New York: W.W. Norton co., Inc. 1988. Print</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Kettle, David.<em> \"Early Wake Up\"</em> The Strad June 2011: 42-46 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons)\"</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Angelqueen.org.  2006. Web. 21 Sept. 2011</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Leichtentritt, Hugo <em>Music, History, and Ideas</em> Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Palisca, Claude V. <em>Baroque Music</em> Englewood Cliffs: Hitchcock, 1968. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Pauly, Reinhard G. <em>Music in the Classic Period</em> Englewood Cliffs: Hitchcock, 1973. Print. Prentice- Hall History of Music Series. Ser. 4.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Rlotter, Jule. <em>Baroque Music and Dementia</em> Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients October 2004: 19-20 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Sadie, Julie Ann, ed. <em>Companion to Baroque Music</em> Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Todes, Ariana. <em>\"Recent discoveries are destroying cliches that we’ve held to for so long\"</em> The Strad March 2011: 62-66 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi, Antonio\" <em>The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Micropaedia</em>. 15th ed. 1979. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi, Antonio\" <em>The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia.</em> 15th ed. 1979. Print.</p>\r\nBickerton, John <em>Royalty Free Classical Music: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons </em>UniqueTracks. 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2011.','Vivaldi\'s Four Season\'s: Spring','','inherit','open','open','','1751-revision-6','','','2011-10-09 18:36:34','2011-10-10 00:36:34','',1751,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1759',0,'revision','',0),(1760,42,'2011-10-09 19:00:49','2011-10-10 01:00:49','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\"><img src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif\" alt=\"\" /><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"288\" height=\"216\" /></a></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">http://www.wallpapermenu.com/download/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_11954_1024x768.html</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">To listen to all three movements of Vivaldi’s<em> Spring</em> \"Allegro-Largo-Allegro\" from <em>The Four Seasons</em> and see a video inspired by the music, please click on the link below. It was filmed at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales. It features Julia Fischer on violin accompanied by the \"Academy of St. Martin in the Fields\".</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Enjoy!</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\"><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1\">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1</a></p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\"><!--more--></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Antonio Vivaldi’s (1678-1741) <em>Four Seasons: Spring</em>  should be placed into the 2100 Time Capsule. The two reasons it should be saved are its \"ability to lift the heart of the listener\"(Grasmeier) and more importantly its power to calm the mind. These attributes, found in music of all cultures and times are magnified and condensed in Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em>. We should preserve this work for these essential qualities. These qualities are desperately needed now and most surely will be needed in the future.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"The <em>Four Seasons </em>is a series of four concertos (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) each containing three movements, Allegro-Largo-Allegro which are the first part of a larger 12 concerto work entitled <em>The Contest of Harmony and Invention - Antonio Vivaldi’s 8th Opus</em>.\" (Grasmeier) \"The works were first published in Amsterdam in 1725, but were written a few years earlier.\"(Grasmeier) \"Each season is described in a sonnet that furnishes the program for the concerto. Although Vivaldi revelled in naive, if delightful imitations of bird calls,...he strictly maintained the formal structure (of the concerto)...and indulged in playful descriptions only in the solo sections. The program served at the time as a welcome pretext for virtuosity which Vivaldi expanded far above the level of his predecessors.\"(Bukofzer, 229)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi intended this piece to be \"programmatic\" that is, (to) carry meaning outside of the music itself.\"(Fiero, 130) With <em>Four Seasons: Spring </em>Vivaldi achieved the apex of \"programmatic\" style. \"Programmatic refers to a composer consciously trying to represent something non-musical, like a story or image, in the composition. This type of composing is called ‘tone-painting’. The composition is a tone poem.\"(Bickerton) Vivaldi \"added poems, that he wrote himself, at appropriate passages of the score for the instruction of performers.\"(Fiero,130) A translation, from the Italian, for a portion of the poem for Spring follows.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The festive Spring has arrived,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The birds celebrate her return with happy songs,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">And the brooks of the gentle Zephyrs,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">With sweet murmurs flow, but,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The sky is covered in a dark mantle,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">And lightning and thunder announce a storm.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">When quiet returns, the birds,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Again take up their lovely songs.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"While humanist composers had no idea what Greek music sounded like, they sought to imitate the ancient unity of music and poetry.\"(Fiero, 57) Many baroque composers combined poetry and music by using choirs to do the poetry and small sets of instruments to accompany them. Vivaldi dispensed with the choir and made violins sing poetry. \"Vivaldi also systematized the concerto grosso into a three movement form (fast-slow-fast) and increased the distinctions between solo and ensemble groups.(Fiero, 130) In many ways Vivaldi defined the baroque style in music. <em>Spring </em>is a fantastic example of a baroque composition</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Typical of composers of his time period, Vivaldi \"composed 450 concerti for a variety of solo instruments backed by strings.\"(Vivaldi, X:474) The baroque era was a time \"when every composer including such giants as Bach, Handel, Hayden and Mozart, was expected to produce a constant stream of music.\"(Vivaldi, 19:494) People of those times \"went to the opera or to an ‘academy’ as public concerts were frequently called, in order to hear the latest.\" \"The average Venetian in Vivaldi’s day would not think of hearing last year’s opera again.\"(Pauly, 6) But, composers of this era’s \"ambitions\" were \"not to create a new style, but to perfect the style of their time.\"(Leichtentritt, 141) \"If there is any common thread that unites the great variety of music that we call baroque, then it is an underlying faith in music’s power, indeed its obligation, to move the affections.\"(Palisca, 4) Affections were a view \"propounded by Aristotle in his <em>Rhetoric</em>  that there exist discrete states known as fear, love, hate, anger, joy - to cite a few of these most common. From the last decades of the sixteenth century the arousal of the affections was considered the principal objective of poetry and music.\"(Palisca, 4) <em>Spring</em> is a supreme example and succeeds admirably in arousing our affections. When listening to <em>Spring,</em> the first allegre movement, one hears birds, brooks and storms. It raises the spirits and the emotions to a higher and happier state.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Vivaldi and his music were well known and loved in his own time. Because Vivaldi had red hair and he was an ordained priest of the Catholic church, his nickname was \"the Red Priest\".(Grasmeier) \"In 1703, he was ordained ...and from that year until 1740 he taught music at the Ospedale della Peita, an orphan asylum primarily for girls in Venice.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Much\" of his music \"was written for the Ospedale’s musical groups, which he directed in performances that became famous throughout Europe.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Instrumental solo music and concerted chamber music, - as in the violin concertos, sonatas and concerti grossi of Vivaldi...were so much preferred to symphonic orchestral music that not even in the nineteenth century did the symphony find a home in Italy.\"(Leichtentritt, 171) And no \"foreign visitor\" to Italy \"considered his stay complete without having attended a Vivaldi concert.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Travelers wrote of these occasions with enthusiasm not unmixed with amusement at the unusual spectacle of a choir and orchestra composed mainly of teenaged girls.\"(Grout, 483) Vivaldi managed to achieve fame in his own lifetime. His own virtuosity, and that of the girls he taught, were well known and loved.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">As the link to the Julia Fischer’s rendition attests, <em>The Four Seasons: Spring</em> is still played and recognized today. Even if you have never heard the name of it before, you will probably recognize the melody. It \"has been used frequently as background music in TV commercials, films, and even music on-hold.\" Italian violinist Fabio Biondi told an interviewer in March, 2011, Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> and other concertos were \"very virtuosic\" Vivaldi \"was using them to investigate solutions for the bow and fingerings\" of violins. When you see the fingerings in Vivaldi’s manuscripts you \"discover how he uses different positions to search for different sounds. And this was 20 years before Leopold Mozart’s treatise on violin playing.\" \"Vivaldi was a master violinist and it is thought that he wrote the <em>Four Seasons</em> as a performance vehicle to showcase his own virtuosity. The violin part is quite challenging indeed even by today’s standards.\"(Bickerton) \"The addictive rhythmic vitality ...has led to its rebirth and great popularity amongst classical music lovers and the general public as well.\"(Todes) <em>Spring</em> \"has become arguably the most popular piece of classical music in the world with more performances and recordings than even Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony\"(Bickerton)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">At the time when this music was being written, all of life and living seemed to be up for debate. Louis XIV was king of France. Oliver Cromwell, who was not royalty, became the Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. Isaac Newton wrote the <em>Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy</em>, which proved that the laws of the heavens were the same as the laws of earth.(Fincher) Every new idea seemed to be in conflict with some old idea. A gap was forming between secular and religious views. The Catholic Church was losing power and the Protestants were gaining power. Music was emerging from its strictly religious purposes and was being played for entertainment. It was still the responsibility of composers to lift the public consciousness, but there was also a growing awareness of music as a way of escape and adventure. We rely on music to bring up and express emotions. The value people place on music, throughout history, was no different in Vivaldi’s era. But, instead of music only performed for royalty or for church, music is now available to the masses. \"Musical training formed an important part\" in the education of young people.(Grout, 483) So, music appreciation was also growing. It is no different today. People enjoy the music they know most about and flock to concerts to hear it performed. Music became a \"weapon of the (Catholic) Counter Revolution.\" \"Small wonder then that the church was the major employer of musicians and, for the general population, the main point of access to ‘art’ music.\"(Sadie, 6) The winds of change were blowing and the evidence was everywhere. Though churches were still an important contact point for music, music was no longer confined by religion.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">A comparison with Handel’s <em>Messiah </em>would be appropriate. The <em>Messiah</em> was written by George Frideric Handel (1685-1756) and \"was performed for the first time in...1742. It received instant acclaim.\" Based on quotes from the Old and New Testament of the King James Bible, the <em>Messiah</em> is \"also Baroque in its style, which features vigorous contrasts of tempo and dynamics. Handel made use of word painting. For example, the music for the last word of the sentence, ‘All we, like sheep have gone astray’ consists of deliberately divergent melodic lines.\"(Fiero, 108)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">When comparing <em>Spring</em> with the <em>Messiah,</em> many things become evident. <em>Spring </em>and the <em>Messiah</em> have many features in common, having been conceived in the same time period. Both make use of the baroque love of coloring their music to illustrate their ideas, in the same way that an artist might mix the right shade of blue to paint the color of a sky in the morning. Both have the baroque love of drama. For that drama Vivaldi used tone painting; sound effects produced by the violin incorporated into the melody. Handel used word painting; using instruments only to \"spotlight the poetry.\"(Fiero, 130) <em>Spring</em> has no accompanying choir. The <em>Messiah</em> is all about a huge, many-voiced choir. So, which one is superior?</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Freed from propagandist verbiage, Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> is superior, because it uses only the language of music. It is understood cross-culturally. Because it is divorced from blatant religiosity it works better to ease people into a spiritual mood. The Messiah is powerful. It brought even a king to his feet when it was first played. It is also religious propaganda in the extreme. The <em>Messiah</em> is emotionally closer to a John Philip Sousa march than to a spiritual, meditative experience. Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> evokes Nature in all her beauty and glory. The sounds, rather than words, speak to the heart rather than the brain. Spring allows the imagination to meditate on all that was good on our old earth and nurtures those emotions that are positive in individuals. <em>Spring</em> calms the soul<em>.</em><em> </em></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">The above belief, that Vivaldi’s work has the power to calm the spirit, has been proven in a Newcastle nursing home and again at Marobe Home in Australia. \"Australian psychiatrist and musician Christian Heim led a study testing the effects of baroque music on fourteen dementia patients.\" Heim wrote that ,\"played at low volume , for four hours each evening,...studies have shown that such compositions produce alpha brain waves and a state of calm, relaxed alertness.\" \"The researchers found a 40% reduction in adverse behaviors that included...distraction...verbal abuse and agitation,\"(Rlotter, 19) Heim’s research proves that we need to make sure that we take <em>Spring</em> with us where ever we go. The peace that this music evokes will prove useful in any environment that we and our children find ourselves in.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Vivaldi’s <em>Spring </em>is the<em> </em> most admirable piece of music ever written. It has the ability to engage the imagination and lift the spirit. When the violins trill, you hear the birds sing. It sounds simple, but is deceptively complicated. \"The violin concertos of Vivaldi...abound in passages of extravagant virtuosity, difficult leaps, and surprising configurations; outbursts of fire and fury alternating with moments of intense lyricism.\"(Palisca, 3) John Grasmeier called Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> \"a masterwork of a renowned baroque composer, (and) also one of the great masterworks in all of Western art.\" When people of differing cultures and attitudes hear it, <em>Spring</em> speaks to them. It sounds like Spring and calms human emotions. In an era that has become more divisive as time goes on, we need a piece of music that crosses cultural and political boundaries. This music can do that. Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> should be saved, and preserved. If it is included, <em>Spring</em> is sure to be as cherished by future generations as it is today. I hope that you will vote with me to include Antonio Vivaldi’s glorious <em>Four Seasons: Spring</em> in the 2100 Time Capsule. We will need it.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Works Cited</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Bukofzer, Manfred F. <em>Music in the Baroque Era</em> New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 1947. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Cannon, Beekman C., Alvin H. Johnson, and William G. Waite. <em>The Art of Music</em> New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1960. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Fiero, Gloria K. <em>The Humanist Tradition: The Early Modern World to Present</em> Boston: McGraw Hill. 2011. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Grasmeier, John <em>\"Vivaldi’s Four Seasons\"</em> Angelqueen.org. 2006. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Grout, Donald J. and Claude V. Palisca. <em>A History of Western Music</em> New York: W.W. Norton co., Inc. 1988. Print</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Kettle, David.<em> \"Early Wake Up\"</em> The Strad June 2011: 42-46 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons)\"</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Angelqueen.org.  2006. Web. 21 Sept. 2011</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Leichtentritt, Hugo <em>Music, History, and Ideas</em> Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Palisca, Claude V. <em>Baroque Music</em> Englewood Cliffs: Hitchcock, 1968. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Pauly, Reinhard G. <em>Music in the Classic Period</em> Englewood Cliffs: Hitchcock, 1973. Print. Prentice- Hall History of Music Series. Ser. 4.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Rlotter, Jule. <em>Baroque Music and Dementia</em> Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients October 2004: 19-20 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Sadie, Julie Ann, ed. <em>Companion to Baroque Music</em> Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Todes, Ariana. <em>\"Recent discoveries are destroying cliches that we’ve held to for so long\"</em> The Strad March 2011: 62-66 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi, Antonio\" <em>The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Micropaedia</em>. 15th ed. 1979. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi, Antonio\" <em>The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia.</em> 15th ed. 1979. Print.</p>\r\nBickerton, John <em>Royalty Free Classical Music: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons </em>UniqueTracks. 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2011.','Vivaldi\'s Four Season\'s: Spring','','inherit','open','open','','1751-revision-7','','','2011-10-09 19:00:49','2011-10-10 01:00:49','',1751,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1760',0,'revision','',0),(1761,42,'2011-10-09 19:01:47','2011-10-10 01:01:47','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\"><img src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif\" alt=\"\" /><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_small-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"288\" height=\"216\" /></a></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">http://www.wallpapermenu.com/download/a-sunny-day-in-spring-season_11954_1024x768.html</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">To listen to all three movements of Vivaldi’s<em> Spring</em> \"Allegro-Largo-Allegro\" from <em>The Four Seasons</em> and see a video inspired by the music, please click on the link below. It was filmed at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales. It features Julia Fischer on violin accompanied by the \"Academy of St. Martin in the Fields\".</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Enjoy!</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\"><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1\">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&amp;v=aFHPRi0ZeXE&amp;NR=1</a></p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\"><!--more--></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Antonio Vivaldi’s (1678-1741) <em>Four Seasons: Spring</em>  should be placed into the 2100 Time Capsule. The two reasons it should be saved are its \"ability to lift the heart of the listener\"(Grasmeier) and more importantly its power to calm the mind. These attributes, found in music of all cultures and times are magnified and condensed in Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em>. We should preserve this work for these essential qualities. These qualities are desperately needed now and most surely will be needed in the future.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"The <em>Four Seasons </em>is a series of four concertos (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) each containing three movements, Allegro-Largo-Allegro which are the first part of a larger 12 concerto work entitled <em>The Contest of Harmony and Invention - Antonio Vivaldi’s 8th Opus</em>.\" (Grasmeier) \"The works were first published in Amsterdam in 1725, but were written a few years earlier.\"(Grasmeier) \"Each season is described in a sonnet that furnishes the program for the concerto. Although Vivaldi revelled in naive, if delightful imitations of bird calls,...he strictly maintained the formal structure (of the concerto)...and indulged in playful descriptions only in the solo sections. The program served at the time as a welcome pretext for virtuosity which Vivaldi expanded far above the level of his predecessors.\"(Bukofzer, 229)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi intended this piece to be \"programmatic\" that is, (to) carry meaning outside of the music itself.\"(Fiero, 130) With <em>Four Seasons: Spring </em>Vivaldi achieved the apex of \"programmatic\" style. \"Programmatic refers to a composer consciously trying to represent something non-musical, like a story or image, in the composition. This type of composing is called ‘tone-painting’. The composition is a tone poem.\"(Bickerton) Vivaldi \"added poems, that he wrote himself, at appropriate passages of the score for the instruction of performers.\"(Fiero,130) A translation, from the Italian, for a portion of the poem for Spring follows.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The festive Spring has arrived,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The birds celebrate her return with happy songs,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">And the brooks of the gentle Zephyrs,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">With sweet murmurs flow, but,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">The sky is covered in a dark mantle,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">And lightning and thunder announce a storm.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">When quiet returns, the birds,</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Again take up their lovely songs.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"While humanist composers had no idea what Greek music sounded like, they sought to imitate the ancient unity of music and poetry.\"(Fiero, 57) Many baroque composers combined poetry and music by using choirs to do the poetry and small sets of instruments to accompany them. Vivaldi dispensed with the choir and made violins sing poetry. \"Vivaldi also systematized the concerto grosso into a three movement form (fast-slow-fast) and increased the distinctions between solo and ensemble groups.(Fiero, 130) In many ways Vivaldi defined the baroque style in music. <em>Spring </em>is a fantastic example of a baroque composition</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Typical of composers of his time period, Vivaldi \"composed 450 concerti for a variety of solo instruments backed by strings.\"(Vivaldi, X:474) The baroque era was a time \"when every composer including such giants as Bach, Handel, Hayden and Mozart, was expected to produce a constant stream of music.\"(Vivaldi, 19:494) People of those times \"went to the opera or to an ‘academy’ as public concerts were frequently called, in order to hear the latest.\" \"The average Venetian in Vivaldi’s day would not think of hearing last year’s opera again.\"(Pauly, 6) But, composers of this era’s \"ambitions\" were \"not to create a new style, but to perfect the style of their time.\"(Leichtentritt, 141) \"If there is any common thread that unites the great variety of music that we call baroque, then it is an underlying faith in music’s power, indeed its obligation, to move the affections.\"(Palisca, 4) Affections were a view \"propounded by Aristotle in his <em>Rhetoric</em>  that there exist discrete states known as fear, love, hate, anger, joy - to cite a few of these most common. From the last decades of the sixteenth century the arousal of the affections was considered the principal objective of poetry and music.\"(Palisca, 4) <em>Spring</em> is a supreme example and succeeds admirably in arousing our affections. When listening to <em>Spring,</em> the first allegre movement, one hears birds, brooks and storms. It raises the spirits and the emotions to a higher and happier state.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Vivaldi and his music were well known and loved in his own time. Because Vivaldi had red hair and he was an ordained priest of the Catholic church, his nickname was \"the Red Priest\".(Grasmeier) \"In 1703, he was ordained ...and from that year until 1740 he taught music at the Ospedale della Peita, an orphan asylum primarily for girls in Venice.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Much\" of his music \"was written for the Ospedale’s musical groups, which he directed in performances that became famous throughout Europe.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Instrumental solo music and concerted chamber music, - as in the violin concertos, sonatas and concerti grossi of Vivaldi...were so much preferred to symphonic orchestral music that not even in the nineteenth century did the symphony find a home in Italy.\"(Leichtentritt, 171) And no \"foreign visitor\" to Italy \"considered his stay complete without having attended a Vivaldi concert.\"(Vivaldi, 19:474) \"Travelers wrote of these occasions with enthusiasm not unmixed with amusement at the unusual spectacle of a choir and orchestra composed mainly of teenaged girls.\"(Grout, 483) Vivaldi managed to achieve fame in his own lifetime. His own virtuosity, and that of the girls he taught, were well known and loved.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">As the link to the Julia Fischer’s rendition attests, <em>The Four Seasons: Spring</em> is still played and recognized today. Even if you have never heard the name of it before, you will probably recognize the melody. It \"has been used frequently as background music in TV commercials, films, and even music on-hold.\" Italian violinist Fabio Biondi told an interviewer in March, 2011, Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> and other concertos were \"very virtuosic\" Vivaldi \"was using them to investigate solutions for the bow and fingerings\" of violins. When you see the fingerings in Vivaldi’s manuscripts you \"discover how he uses different positions to search for different sounds. And this was 20 years before Leopold Mozart’s treatise on violin playing.\" \"Vivaldi was a master violinist and it is thought that he wrote the <em>Four Seasons</em> as a performance vehicle to showcase his own virtuosity. The violin part is quite challenging indeed even by today’s standards.\"(Bickerton) \"The addictive rhythmic vitality ...has led to its rebirth and great popularity amongst classical music lovers and the general public as well.\"(Todes) <em>Spring</em> \"has become arguably the most popular piece of classical music in the world with more performances and recordings than even Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony\"(Bickerton)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">At the time when this music was being written, all of life and living seemed to be up for debate. Louis XIV was king of France. Oliver Cromwell, who was not royalty, became the Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. Isaac Newton wrote the <em>Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy</em>, which proved that the laws of the heavens were the same as the laws of earth.(Fincher) Every new idea seemed to be in conflict with some old idea. A gap was forming between secular and religious views. The Catholic Church was losing power and the Protestants were gaining power. Music was emerging from its strictly religious purposes and was being played for entertainment. It was still the responsibility of composers to lift the public consciousness, but there was also a growing awareness of music as a way of escape and adventure. We rely on music to bring up and express emotions. The value people place on music, throughout history, was no different in Vivaldi’s era. But, instead of music only performed for royalty or for church, music is now available to the masses. \"Musical training formed an important part\" in the education of young people.(Grout, 483) So, music appreciation was also growing. It is no different today. People enjoy the music they know most about and flock to concerts to hear it performed. Music became a \"weapon of the (Catholic) Counter Revolution.\" \"Small wonder then that the church was the major employer of musicians and, for the general population, the main point of access to ‘art’ music.\"(Sadie, 6) The winds of change were blowing and the evidence was everywhere. Though churches were still an important contact point for music, music was no longer confined by religion.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">A comparison with Handel’s <em>Messiah </em>would be appropriate. The <em>Messiah</em> was written by George Frideric Handel (1685-1756) and \"was performed for the first time in...1742. It received instant acclaim.\" Based on quotes from the Old and New Testament of the King James Bible, the <em>Messiah</em> is \"also Baroque in its style, which features vigorous contrasts of tempo and dynamics. Handel made use of word painting. For example, the music for the last word of the sentence, ‘All we, like sheep have gone astray’ consists of deliberately divergent melodic lines.\"(Fiero, 108)</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">When comparing <em>Spring</em> with the <em>Messiah,</em> many things become evident. <em>Spring </em>and the <em>Messiah</em> have many features in common, having been conceived in the same time period. Both make use of the baroque love of coloring their music to illustrate their ideas, in the same way that an artist might mix the right shade of blue to paint the color of a sky in the morning. Both have the baroque love of drama. For that drama Vivaldi used tone painting; sound effects produced by the violin incorporated into the melody. Handel used word painting; using instruments only to \"spotlight the poetry.\"(Fiero, 130) <em>Spring</em> has no accompanying choir. The <em>Messiah</em> is all about a huge, many-voiced choir. So, which one is superior?</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Freed from propagandist verbiage, Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> is superior, because it uses only the language of music. It is understood cross-culturally. Because it is divorced from blatant religiosity it works better to ease people into a spiritual mood. The Messiah is powerful. It brought even a king to his feet when it was first played. It is also religious propaganda in the extreme. The <em>Messiah</em> is emotionally closer to a John Philip Sousa march than to a spiritual, meditative experience. Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> evokes Nature in all her beauty and glory. The sounds, rather than words, speak to the heart rather than the brain. Spring allows the imagination to meditate on all that was good on our old earth and nurtures those emotions that are positive in individuals. <em>Spring</em> calms the soul<em>.</em><em> </em></p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">The above belief, that Vivaldi’s work has the power to calm the spirit, has been proven in a Newcastle nursing home and again at Marobe Home in Australia. \"Australian psychiatrist and musician Christian Heim led a study testing the effects of baroque music on fourteen dementia patients.\" Heim wrote that ,\"played at low volume , for four hours each evening,...studies have shown that such compositions produce alpha brain waves and a state of calm, relaxed alertness.\" \"The researchers found a 40% reduction in adverse behaviors that included...distraction...verbal abuse and agitation,\"(Rlotter, 19) Heim’s research proves that we need to make sure that we take <em>Spring</em> with us where ever we go. The peace that this music evokes will prove useful in any environment that we and our children find ourselves in.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Vivaldi’s <em>Spring </em>is the<em> </em> most admirable piece of music ever written. It has the ability to engage the imagination and lift the spirit. When the violins trill, you hear the birds sing. It sounds simple, but is deceptively complicated. \"The violin concertos of Vivaldi...abound in passages of extravagant virtuosity, difficult leaps, and surprising configurations; outbursts of fire and fury alternating with moments of intense lyricism.\"(Palisca, 3) John Grasmeier called Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> \"a masterwork of a renowned baroque composer, (and) also one of the great masterworks in all of Western art.\" When people of differing cultures and attitudes hear it, <em>Spring</em> speaks to them. It sounds like Spring and calms human emotions. In an era that has become more divisive as time goes on, we need a piece of music that crosses cultural and political boundaries. This music can do that. Vivaldi’s <em>Spring</em> should be saved, and preserved. If it is included, <em>Spring</em> is sure to be as cherished by future generations as it is today. I hope that you will vote with me to include Antonio Vivaldi’s glorious <em>Four Seasons: Spring</em> in the 2100 Time Capsule. We will need it.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"CENTER\">Works Cited</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Bukofzer, Manfred F. <em>Music in the Baroque Era</em> New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 1947. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Cannon, Beekman C., Alvin H. Johnson, and William G. Waite. <em>The Art of Music</em> New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1960. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Fiero, Gloria K. <em>The Humanist Tradition: The Early Modern World to Present</em> Boston: McGraw Hill. 2011. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Grasmeier, John <em>\"Vivaldi’s Four Seasons\"</em> Angelqueen.org. 2006. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Grout, Donald J. and Claude V. Palisca. <em>A History of Western Music</em> New York: W.W. Norton co., Inc. 1988. Print</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Kettle, David.<em> \"Early Wake Up\"</em> The Strad June 2011: 42-46 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons)\"</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Angelqueen.org.  2006. Web. 21 Sept. 2011</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Leichtentritt, Hugo <em>Music, History, and Ideas</em> Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Palisca, Claude V. <em>Baroque Music</em> Englewood Cliffs: Hitchcock, 1968. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Pauly, Reinhard G. <em>Music in the Classic Period</em> Englewood Cliffs: Hitchcock, 1973. Print. Prentice- Hall History of Music Series. Ser. 4.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Rlotter, Jule. <em>Baroque Music and Dementia</em> Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients October 2004: 19-20 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Sadie, Julie Ann, ed. <em>Companion to Baroque Music</em> Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">Todes, Ariana. <em>\"Recent discoveries are destroying cliches that we’ve held to for so long\"</em> The Strad March 2011: 62-66 Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi, Antonio\" <em>The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Micropaedia</em>. 15th ed. 1979. Print.</p>\r\n<p dir=\"LTR\" align=\"LEFT\">\"Vivaldi, Antonio\" <em>The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia.</em> 15th ed. 1979. Print.</p>\r\nBickerton, John <em>Royalty Free Classical Music: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons </em>UniqueTracks. 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2011.','Vivaldi\'s \"Four Season\'s: Spring\"','','inherit','open','open','','1751-revision-8','','','2011-10-09 19:01:47','2011-10-10 01:01:47','',1751,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1761',0,'revision','',0),(1764,45,'2011-10-10 12:04:25','2011-10-10 18:04:25','<p style=\"text-align: center\"> <img class=\"size-full wp-image-1786 aligncenter\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"215\" height=\"231\" /></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">(Joseph Haydn)</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_(small).jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_(small).jpg</a></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Josef Haydn was born March 31, 1732. His mother secretly desired the idea of her child joining the priesthood. His father, however, hoped Joseph would lead towards a musical career and, despite poverty, was determined to aid Joseph in every way he could. A distant relative, Johann Mathias Frankh, arrived for a visit one day and noted Josef and his toy violin. Seeing Joseph had the makings of a musician, he offered to take him to teach him the ways of music.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><!--more--></p>\r\nJosef Haydn wrote the “<em>Surprise”</em> Symphony in London in 1791. The work opens and proceeds in the most subdued manner of slow movement. Once the audience may be imagined to have comfortably settled, a sudden explosive fortissimo chord is introduced. (\"This symphony was composed for the first of Haydn\'s two extended visits to London, in 1791\" (Freed). Its first performance did not appear until March 23, 1792. \"The composition includes flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns and trumpets in pairs, with timpani and strings and lasts for 23 minutes\" (Freed). The symphony has remained exceedingly popular in the repertoire for its various musical qualities. It is particularly memorable for the surprise fortissimo in the second movement (<em>Andante</em>),<em> </em>which, according to Haydn, would make the women scream.\r\n\r\nThe effect of this new composure was incredibly successful. It brought numerous, and varied, descriptions and interpretations in the premier’s press reports. \"The insightful writer in <em>The Diary </em>was pleased to describe the slow movement as “<em>simple, profound, and sublime</em>,” but his colleague in <em>The Oracle </em>wrote:\r\n\r\n“<em>The surprise might not be inaptly likened to the situation of a beautiful Shepherdess who, lulled to slumber by the murmur of a distant Water-fall, starts alarmed by the unexpected firing of a fowling-piece</em>.”\r\n\r\nThe symphony was from then on known as the “Surprise Symphony” in English and French areas. It is known as <em>Sinfonie mit dem Paukenschlag</em> (“Symphony with the Drumbeat”) in German\" (Freed). Today, the symphony is still popular. It is still performed, recorded, and frequently adapted to teach musical beginners. For instance, the composer Charles Ives wrote a parody of the second movement (1909). He wrote the words “Nice little easy sugar-plum sounds” using the opening notes, which were a fitting choice for Ives\'s purpose since the notes of Haydn\'s second movement are very simple.\r\n\r\nDespite his clever and unusual addition to the “Surprise” symphony, \"Haydn cited popular tunes in his symphonies quite often, particularly in the variation-type slow movements. He based the <em>Andante </em>of this Symphony in G major on a universal tune (we know it by the name of “Twinkle, twinkle, little star”). Mozart had already composed keyboard variations on this tune (known by its French title “<em>Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman</em>”). Less than a hundred years ago, Ernst von Dohnányi (a Hungarian composer/pianist/conductor) used the tune as the foundation for “<em>Variations on a Nursery Song</em>” (which was written for pianos and orchestras).\r\n\r\nHaydn\'s original intention for the second movement of this symphony was to write variations on a well-known tune\" (Freed). The famous double-forte outburst (which gave the work its nickname) was put in really more of an afterthought. It was not provoked by his supposed wish to wake the audience and make them jump. He saw it as a significant piece towards the need to be competitive with his former pupil Ignaz Pleyel (who had been brought toEnglandby a rival of Salomon, a German-bornLondonmusician and impresario who proposed Haydn visitLondonand compose symphonies there). \"Pleyel had similar devices in his own compositions, having gotten the idea from earlier symphonies of Haydn\" (Freed).\r\n\r\nBach’s famous “Goldberg” Variations (also a Baroque work and in the same form) contrast with the “Surprise” symphony. Bach’s work begins with a highly elaborate aria, but plays no part in the variations that follow it. Instead, each variation is independent. They are created, not from the aria’s melody, but from the bass line. Through this, Bach maintains the work’s overall unity as a set of variations. He achieves this on an unconscious level, however, since the audience isn’t expected to pay attention to the bass line. Each variation calls for a new theme specific to the feeling being expressed. Obviously, Haydn’s approach was quite different. In his symphony, the same simple tune reveals new emotion within each subsequent variation.\r\n\r\nI quite enjoy this piece. The first movement\'s gentle melodies and breathtaking harmonies may possibly put one to sleep. However, the abrupt fortissimo in the second movement will surely awaken you and recapture your attention, while the third and fourth movements provide a wonderful ending to this classical symphony. It would have been interesting though if Haydn had placed the surprise in a different place within the symphony every time it was preformed.\r\n\r\nI think this piece should be preserved because its composition illustrates the importance of sound patterns in perceiving music. Moreover, it proves how a sound that listeners are not expecting to hear can manipulate the listeners\' experience towards the music.\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Works Cited</span>:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Deverich, Robin. “<em>Piece: Surprise Symphony NO. 94, 2nd Movement</em>.” RK Deverich. 2011. Web. Accessed: October 5, 2011 &lt;<a href=\"http://www.violinonline.com/unit3_7.html\">http://www.violinonline.com/unit3_7.html</a>&gt;</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Freed, Richard. “<em>Symphony No. 94 in G major, “Surprise”.</em>” The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 2004. Web. Accessed: October 5, 2011</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&lt;<a href=\"http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/?fuseaction=composition&amp;composition_id=2843\">http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/?fuseaction=composition&amp;composition_id=2843</a>&gt;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Gutmann, Peter<strong>. “</strong><em>Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations.</em>”<strong> </strong>Classical Notes. 2002. Web. Accessed: October 5, 2012</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&lt;<a href=\"http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics/goldberg.html\">http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics/goldberg.html</a>&gt;','Haydn\'s \"Surprise\" Symphony','','publish','open','open','','haydns-surprise-symphony','','','2011-10-23 22:02:32','2011-10-24 04:02:32','',0,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1764',0,'post','',12),(1765,41,'2011-10-09 11:13:02','2011-10-09 17:13:02','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','1749-revision','','','2011-10-09 11:13:02','2011-10-09 17:13:02','',1749,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1765',0,'revision','',0),(1767,45,'2011-10-10 11:09:08','2011-10-10 17:09:08','','Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_(small)','','inherit','open','open','','haydn_portrait_by_thomas_hardy_small','','','2011-10-10 11:09:08','2011-10-10 17:09:08','',1764,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1908,1,'2011-10-16 17:58:14','2011-10-16 23:58:14','<blockquote><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Milton_paradise.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1904 aligncenter\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Milton_paradise-229x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"300\" /></a></blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Milton_paradise.jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Milton_paradise.jpg</a></p>\r\n“Paradise Lost” is a piece of literature worthy to be preserved for its elevated treatment of the Biblical story of the creation of the world. Written by John Milton in 1667, the epic poem describes the fall of Man, along with the creation of the sinister Devil, in a huge philosophical scope. It was Milton’s attempt to write a modern epic that would compete and triumph over other epic poems such as “The Odyssey,” written by Homer. Drawing from themes from mythology and allusions to current events at that time, Milton paints a conscious interpretation of Heaven, Hell, and Earth where Paradise and a new enemy are created.\r\n\r\n            So the story goes the major character, which is the Devil, starts off as an angel. Favored by God, Lucifer was still not proud with what he had; he wanted to be like God. Consumed by his pride, he and his followers fought in a battle against the army of God, led by the archangel Michael. Defeated, he and his minions were cast out of heaven to the nether world that would be known as Hell. Lucifer, who was now called Satan, wanted revenge for his defeat.  After hearing about the creation about the World, he ventures to it where he plans on tempting Adam and Eve, the first humans created by God. After many attempts to save the couple, God and his angels were too late to save the husband and wife from eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were forced out of the Garden of Eden with little hope. However, they were given a vision of what is to come for mankind in the future, which foreshadows the birth of Christ and the sequel to the poem, “Paradise Revisited.”\r\n\r\n            At the time the poem was written, James I ruled England and a new translation of the Bible in English has been written, so most writers were writing spiritual pieces. Most of the subjects consisted of an interpretation of the world we live in and how the universe works. Authors like Donne compared it to a large volume of chapters, staging phases in the life of mankind. Milton’s vision of the afterlife shows a cosmic world that “address matters of time, space, and causality,” while retaining some of the religious overtones present. He just merely took the traditional story that most of us are familiar with and transformed it into a treatise that dove deeper into the themes of sin, good, evil, and divinity.\r\n\r\n            It is unknown how this poem was received when it first came out. But I think it can be safe to say that people were impressed by it when it was first released. English writer Samuel Johnston praised the work, but his main objection was that \"none ever wished it [would be] longer than it is.\" Today it is considered one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written. William Blake considers Milton “a true Poet and of the Devil\'s party without knowing it,” explaining why he wrote in blank verse. People such as C.S. Lewis dismissed this, sticking the Scriptural aspect in which the poem was mostly based on.\r\n\r\n            My reflection on the work is little since I read not much of it and have not given much thought to it. My biggest issue is the blank verse prose in which the poem is written with words that were uncommon at that time and long structured sentences. But in many ways, “the convoluted syntax and unfamiliar language give[s] the poem its distinctive cadences, its majestic rhythm, and its ceremonial atmosphere.” Aside from that, I like how Milton wanted to expand the story of the Fall of Men by giving some themes based on the divinity of humankind and the world even if darkness falls upon them. But other than that, I often get tired reading or watching stories that take a simple perfect story and stretches it out. I am with Samuel Johnson when he said it was too long.\r\n\r\n            Originally when he wrote the poem, Milton was going to use the prototype used for the poem “The Iliad” to serve as an allegory for the English Civil War, however he decided to scrape the plans. But even then, this ancient poem, along with the old poem, contained similarities in the motives of the main protagonists of the stories. In “The Iliad,” Achilles was a great warrior in the Trojan wars, but after Agamemnon dishonored him, he refused to fight. So his good friend, Patroclus, lead the Greek army against the Trojan army. After a heated battle, Hector, the leader of the Trojans, killed Patroclus. After catching the news of this event, Achilles was enraged and went a bloodthirsty rampage, murdering many men in battle. This also seems to parallel the events that would lead to Lucifer becoming the Prince of Darkness. He gets full of pride and attempts to have more, but gets defeated and is full of wrath. Both of the poems dive into the anger of the protagonists and the consequences that occurred to them and other people. Their downfalls caused destruction and left an impact on the fictional aspect of history.\r\n\r\n            What future generations should be aware of in this poem is how it dives deeper into the themes of sin, salvation, life, death, good, and evil. A lot is discussed in the events depicted that would lead to the fall of Man. Even if it was not needed, it is still a fascinating interpretation of the world back then. It would continue to influence people in taking other short stories and expanding them with new life. Examples would include “The Ten Commandments” in which Cecil B. DeMille took the story of Moses and the Exodus and elongated it to show life in Egypt and events leading up to Moses finding his purpose in this world. This piece of literature is still captivating readers with its vision of the universe, and it would still continue to capture people whether they are religious or avid readers.\r\n<p align=\"center\">Bibliography</p>\r\nHenthorne, Susan. \"Paradise Lost.\" <em>Masterplots, Fourth Edition</em> (2010): 1-4.\r\n<blockquote><em>MagillOnLiterature Plus</em>. EBSCO. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.</blockquote>\r\nHill, G, Lynch, Jack, ed., <em>Samuel Johnson: The Lives of the English Poets, 3 vols.</em> 1905.\r\n<blockquote>Oxford: Clarendon. Print.</blockquote>\r\nBlake, William. <em>Th</em><em>e Marriage of Heaven and Hell</em>. 1709. Print.\r\n\r\n“Iliad.” <em>Wikipedia.</em> 14 October 2011. Web. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. <em></em>\r\n<blockquote>13 October 2011. (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad</a>)</blockquote>\r\n“Achielles.” <em>Wikipedia.</em> 15 October 2011. Web. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. <em></em>\r\n<blockquote>13 October 2011. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achielles)</blockquote>\r\nFiero, Gloria. The Humanistic Tradition, Volume Two, Sixth Edition.\r\n<blockquote>New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print</blockquote>','Paradise Lost','','inherit','open','open','','1903-revision-3','','','2011-10-16 17:58:14','2011-10-16 23:58:14','',1903,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1908',0,'revision','',0),(1768,45,'2011-10-10 11:12:08','2011-10-10 17:12:08','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1767\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"215\" height=\"231\" /></a></p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">(Joseph Haydn)</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"> <a href=\"http://www.google.com/imgres?q=joseph+haydn&amp;um=1&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=N&amp;rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&amp;tbm=isch&amp;tbnid=MdM0ENaFYyOxZM:&amp;imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Haydn&amp;docid=jbjQ1PWv7WFEoM&amp;w=215&amp;h=231&amp;ei=UCeTTonkJMyatwexy4CiDA&amp;zoom=1&amp;iact=hc&amp;vpx=101&amp;vpy=279&amp;dur=1515&amp;hovh=184&amp;hovw=172&amp;tx=105&amp;ty=54&amp;page=1&amp;tbnh=108&amp;tbnw=97&amp;start=0&amp;ndsp=16&amp;ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&amp;biw=1024&amp;bih=571\">http://www.google.com/imgres?q=joseph+haydn&amp;um=1&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=N&amp;rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&amp;tbm=isch&amp;tbnid=MdM0ENaFYyOxZM:&amp;imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Haydn&amp;docid=jbjQ1PWv7WFEoM&amp;w=215&amp;h=231&amp;ei=UCeTTonkJMyatwexy4CiDA&amp;zoom=1&amp;iact=hc&amp;vpx=101&amp;vpy=279&amp;dur=1515&amp;hovh=184&amp;hovw=172&amp;tx=105&amp;ty=54&amp;page=1&amp;tbnh=108&amp;tbnw=97&amp;start=0&amp;ndsp=16&amp;ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&amp;biw=1024&amp;bih=571</a></p>','Haydn\'s \"Surprise\" Symphony','','inherit','open','open','','1764-revision','','','2011-10-10 11:12:08','2011-10-10 17:12:08','',1764,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1768',0,'revision','',0),(1770,41,'2011-10-10 11:19:06','2011-10-10 17:19:06','','Mozart','','inherit','open','open','','mozart','','','2011-10-10 11:19:06','2011-10-10 17:19:06','',1749,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Mozart.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1771,45,'2011-10-10 11:13:08','2011-10-10 17:13:08','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1767\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"215\" height=\"231\" /></a></p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">(Joseph Haydn)</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"> <a href=\"http://www.google.com/imgres?q=joseph+haydn&amp;um=1&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=N&amp;rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&amp;tbm=isch&amp;tbnid=MdM0ENaFYyOxZM:&amp;imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Haydn&amp;docid=jbjQ1PWv7WFEoM&amp;w=215&amp;h=231&amp;ei=UCeTTonkJMyatwexy4CiDA&amp;zoom=1&amp;iact=hc&amp;vpx=101&amp;vpy=279&amp;dur=1515&amp;hovh=184&amp;hovw=172&amp;tx=105&amp;ty=54&amp;page=1&amp;tbnh=108&amp;tbnw=97&amp;start=0&amp;ndsp=16&amp;ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&amp;biw=1024&amp;bih=571\">http://www.google.com/imgres?q=joseph+haydn&amp;um=1&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=N&amp;rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&amp;tbm=isch&amp;tbnid=MdM0ENaFYyOxZM:&amp;imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Haydn&amp;docid=jbjQ1PWv7WFEoM&amp;w=215&amp;h=231&amp;ei=UCeTTonkJMyatwexy4CiDA&amp;zoom=1&amp;iact=hc&amp;vpx=101&amp;vpy=279&amp;dur=1515&amp;hovh=184&amp;hovw=172&amp;tx=105&amp;ty=54&amp;page=1&amp;tbnh=108&amp;tbnw=97&amp;start=0&amp;ndsp=16&amp;ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&amp;biw=1024&amp;bih=571</a></p>','Haydn\'s \"Surprise\" Symphony','','inherit','open','open','','1764-revision-2','','','2011-10-10 11:13:08','2011-10-10 17:13:08','',1764,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1771',0,'revision','',0),(1772,45,'2011-10-10 11:20:40','2011-10-10 17:20:40','','Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_(small)','','inherit','open','open','','haydn_portrait_by_thomas_hardy_small-2','','','2011-10-10 11:20:40','2011-10-10 17:20:40','',1764,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1773,45,'2011-10-10 11:19:19','2011-10-10 17:19:19','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1767\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"215\" height=\"231\" /></a></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">(Joseph Haydn)</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_(small).jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_(small).jpg</a></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Josef Haydn was born March 31, 1732. His mother secretly desired the idea of her child joining the priesthood. His father, however, hoped Joseph would lead towards a musical career and, despite poverty, was determined to aid Joseph in every way he could. A distant relative, Johann Mathias Frankh, arrived for a visit one day and noted Josef and his toy violin. Seeing Joseph had the makings of a musician, he offered to take him to teach him the ways of music.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><!--more--></p>\r\nJosef Haydn wrote the “<em>Surprise”</em> Symphony in London in 1791. The work opens and proceeds in the most subdued manner of slow movement. Once the audience may be imagined to have comfortably settled, a sudden explosive fortissimo chord is introduced. This symphony was composed for the first of Haydn\'s two extended visits to London, in 1791. Its first performance did not appear until March 23, 1792. The composition includes flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns and trumpets in pairs, with timpani and strings and lasts for 23 minutes. The symphony has remained exceedingly popular in the repertoire for its various musical qualities. It is particularly memorable for the surprise fortissimo in the second movement (<em>Andante</em>),<em> </em>which, according to Haydn, would make the women scream.\r\n\r\nThe effect of this new composure was incredibly successful. It brought numerous, and varied, descriptions and interpretations in the premier’s press reports. The insightful writer in <em>The Diary </em>was pleased to describe the slow movement as “<em>simple, profound, and sublime</em>,” but his colleague in <em>The Oracle </em>wrote:\r\n\r\n“<em>The surprise might not be inaptly likened to the situation of a beautiful Shepherdess who, lulled to slumber by the murmur of a distant Water-fall, starts alarmed by the unexpected firing of a fowling-piece</em>.”\r\n\r\nThe symphony was from then on known as the “Surprise Symphony” in English and French areas. It is known as <em>Sinfonie mit dem Paukenschlag</em> (“Symphony with the Drumbeat”) in German. Today, the symphony is still popular. It is still performed, recorded, and frequently adapted to teach musical beginners. For instance, the composer Charles Ives wrote a parody of the second movement (1909). He wrote the words “Nice little easy sugar-plum sounds” using the opening notes, which were a fitting choice for Ives\'s purpose since the notes of Haydn\'s second movement are very simple.\r\n\r\nDespite his clever and unusual addition to the “Surprise” symphony, Haydn cited popular tunes in his symphonies quite often, particularly in the variation-type slow movements. He based the <em>Andante </em>of this Symphony in G major on a universal tune (we know it by the name of “Twinkle, twinkle, little star”). Mozart had already composed keyboard variations on this tune (known by its French title “<em>Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman</em>”). Less than a hundred years ago, Ernst von Dohnányi (a Hungarian composer/pianist/conductor) used the tune as the foundation for “<em>Variations on a Nursery Song</em>” (which was written for pianos and orchestras).\r\n\r\nHaydn\'s original intention for the second movement of this symphony was to write variations on a well-known tune. The famous double-forte outburst (which gave the work its nickname) was put in really more of an afterthought. It was not provoked by his supposed wish to wake the audience and make them jump. He saw it as a significant piece towards the need to be competitive with his former pupil Ignaz Pleyel (who had been brought toEnglandby a rival of Salomon, a German-bornLondonmusician and impresario who proposed Haydn visitLondonand compose symphonies there). Pleyel had similar devices in his own compositions, having gotten the idea from earlier symphonies of Haydn.\r\n\r\nBach’s famous “Goldberg” Variations (also a Baroque work and in the same form) contrast with the “Surprise” symphony. Bach’s work begins with a highly elaborate aria, but plays no part in the variations that follow it. Instead, each variation is independent. They are created, not from the aria’s melody, but from the bass line. Through this, Bach maintains the work’s overall unity as a set of variations. He achieves this on an unconscious level, however, since the audience isn’t expected to pay attention to the bass line. Each variation calls for a new theme specific to the feeling being expressed. Obviously, Haydn’s approach was quite different. In his symphony, the same simple tune reveals new emotion within each subsequent variation.\r\n\r\nI quite enjoy this piece. The first movement\'s gentle melodies and breathtaking harmonies may possibly put one to sleep. However, the abrupt fortissimo in the second movement will surely awaken you and recapture your attention, while the third and fourth movements provide a wonderful ending to this classical symphony. It would have been interesting though if Haydn had placed the surprise in a different place within the symphony every time it was preformed.\r\n\r\nI think this piece should be preserved because its composition illustrates the importance of sound patterns in perceiving music. Moreover, it proves how a sound that listeners are not expecting to hear can manipulate the listeners\' experience towards the music.','Haydn\'s \"Surprise\" Symphony','','inherit','open','open','','1764-revision-3','','','2011-10-10 11:19:19','2011-10-10 17:19:19','',1764,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1773',0,'revision','',0),(1782,41,'2011-10-10 11:27:23','2011-10-10 17:27:23','[caption id=\"attachment_1774\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"196\" caption=\"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)\"]<a href=\"http://www.biographyonline.net/music/mozart.html\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1774 \" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Mozart1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"256\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf Ludwig van Beethoven were alive today he would be mounting a formidable effort to request a prestigious spot in the Classical Music Hall of Fame at the Royal College of Music, for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). While many details about the genesis of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik are still a mystery, the fact remains that this one musical piece is the most well-known of Mozart\'s 600+ works. Mozart\'s acclaimed composition created the foundation of classical music in Vienna and is the fundamental reason why Mozart deserves a coveted place in the Classical Music Hall of Fame [Einstein].\nIn 1787, when Eine Kleine Nachtmusik\'s (German translation, \"a little night music\" or \"a little serenade\") was composed, the world was experiencing growing pains due to international commerce, a rising middle class, political upheaval, and civil unrest. These difficulties washed over Europe and the Americas. The Spanish and Austrian Succession, Seven Years War, American and French Revolutions created a groundswell of democracy and the emergence of an increasingly independent and powerful middle class. This fact, when coupled with the Industrial Revolution, brought about a style of music that abandoned the grandiosity and ornamentation of the Baroque family of styles and, instead, focused on simplistic harmonies and textures. This new style was a direct representation of the ascent of the middle class and the crumbling of the aristocracy [Siepmann].<!--more-->\nEine Kleine Nachtmusik encapsulates the Classical-style because it is a sonata and contains a clearer and more symmetrical expression of emotions. The economical use of four or five chords and two or three short themes evokes a distinctive departure from previous pretentious styles, and most musical historians believe that this has roots in the affluent middle-class that was beginning to commission such works [Siepmann].\nFor example, Luigi Boccherini\'s Minuetto is a perfect example of Baroque-style that the aristocracy adored. It is opulent and pompous and was created to impress listeners. Click on the following link to listen to Boccherini\'s Minuetto:\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSE15tLBdso\">Luigi Boccherini\\\'s Minuetto </a>\n\nMozart created Eine Kleine Nachtmusik to cater to the newly affluent middle-class in a way that was elegant, respectful, and tasteful, but definitely not pompous. His composition was straightforward and melodic. It seems worlds apart when compared to Baroque-style compositions of just a couple of years prior. Click on the following link to listen to Mozart\'s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Romananza, fourth movement:\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Okl6WSDfLE\">Mozart\\\'s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Romananza</a>\n\nThe structure of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik\'s four movements was innovative and original because, according to Siepmann,\n\"It is overwhelmingly these [four movements] that have ensured Mozart\'s immortality as a symphonist. In their perfection of form, variety of character, individuality of tone and emotional and spiritual reach, they are like nothing written before them, not even by Haydn.\" He goes on to say that, for the first time in musical history, Mozart \"liberated the wind instruments.\"\nWhen this composition was written Mozart was 31, but it was first published posthumously in 1827. Although it is not known who commissioned the piece, it is thought to have originally contained five movements, one of which has been lost forever. Whether the fifth movement was stolen by a music rival or simply destroyed by Mozart will never be known [Einstein].\nWhen compared to Haydn\'s Surprise II, Symphony No. 94 in G Major, published in 1791, Mozart\'s compositions show quite a bit more restraint and less aggressive transitions. Although the melodic elements are very similar, Haydn seems to focus on startling (or \"surprising\") his audience, as evidenced by the fortissimo chord at the end of the lovely, and almost mesmerizing, opening theme of the second movement. Click on the following link to listen (be prepared for the \"surprise\" chord) to Haydn\'s Surprise II, Symphony No. 94 in G Major:\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLjwkamp3lI\">Haydn\\\'s Surprise II, Symphony No. 94 in G Major</a>\n\nWhen Eine Kleine Nachtmusik was composed Mozart had deep emotional turmoil surrounding him. The changing relationship between the Church and the aristocracy was directly affecting him especially since Emperor Joseph II had banned \"loud\" church music (Mozart\'s bread and butter)[Keefe]. He lost two children that year and had met a new student, the sixteen-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven. Mozart was appointed to the Kammer Musik as its sole composer and this left only two composers at Court, Mozart and Antonio Salieri[Keefe]. Mozart was suffering financially and he viewed his appointment as a new start professionally. Salieri and Mozart quickly became musical rivals and stories have long been told about the circumstances of Mozart\'s death just four years after his appointment. If the stories are true, and Salieri did poison Mozart, then Salieri did not get the result he desired. After Mozart\'s death his music soared in popularity [Sadie].\nEven though Mozart was appointed a rather prestigious post in Court, his pay was minimal, and his ability to sway the fickle public ran hot and cold. He was commissioned to write pieces for wealthy middle-class families and his work was generally well-liked at the time; however, he was seen as just another composer among many. Most of his professional success was never realized until after his death, in 1791, at the young age of thirty-five. Since it is not known who commissioned this piece and it was not published until 36 years after his death, it is believed that very few people had knowledge of or ever heard the composition [Sadie].\nToday, when conducting an Internet search of Mozart\'s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, I found 1.8 million sites related to this one specific work. It has been played by well-known symphony orchestras throughout the world and it is chosen for hundreds of collections of top ten classical compositions. It is amazing to me that one man\'s \"throw away\" symphony may have been lost forever and never played or published. Mozart did not seem to value this piece since he did not ever perform it publicly and never delivered it to whomever commissioned the work. It was found amongst a pile of unpublished works that his wife eventually sold after his death. Fiero states, \"Mozart achieved a balance between lyrical invention and formal clarity that brought the classical style to its peak.\" I completely agree with Fiero and feel that although this composer made little money during his lifetime and never received accolades befitting his talent while he was alive, he would certainly deserve a spot in the Classical Music Hall of Fame. Future generations could benefit from his example of spending your life doing what you love even if you don\'t make much money.\nWORKS CITED\nEINSTEIN, Alfred., Mozart: His Character, His Work. Oxford University Press, New York, 1945, p144; p157-159; This is a book that I used to research the simplistic composition of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and the limited number of keys Mozart selected.\n\nSIEPMANN, Jeremy., Mozart: His Life &amp; Music, Sourcebooks Media Fusion, Naperville, Illinois, 2006, p163-167; p169-171; This is a book that I used to research how this piece was innovative or unusual for its time.\n\nKEEFE, Simon., The Cambridge Companion to Mozart, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2003, p xii-xvii; This is a book that I used to research the chronology of Mozart\'s life and learn about the events occurring in his life at the time he composed Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. I also researched his appointment to the Kammer Musik in this book.\n\nSADIE, Stanley., The New Grove: Mozart, Norton, New York, 1980, p108-115; This is a book that I used to research Mozart\'s life and associations in Vienna during the years of 1785 to 1788.\n\nFIERO, Gloria., The Humanist Tradition, Volume Two, Chapter 26, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2011. Accessed online version, pages unknown; Date accessed October 2-7, 2011. This is a book that I used to learn about Mozart\'s connection to Haydn and different elements that he brought to Classically-styled music.','Mozart in the Hall of Fame?','','inherit','open','open','','1749-revision-4','','','2011-10-10 11:27:23','2011-10-10 17:27:23','',1749,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1782',0,'revision','',0),(1774,41,'2011-10-10 11:22:31','2011-10-10 17:22:31','','Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)','Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)','inherit','open','open','','mozart-2','','','2011-10-10 11:22:31','2011-10-10 17:22:31','',1749,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Mozart1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1775,45,'2011-10-10 11:22:11','2011-10-10 17:22:11','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1772\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"215\" height=\"231\" /></a></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">(Joseph Haydn)</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_(small).jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_(small).jpg</a></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Josef Haydn was born March 31, 1732. His mother secretly desired the idea of her child joining the priesthood. His father, however, hoped Joseph would lead towards a musical career and, despite poverty, was determined to aid Joseph in every way he could. A distant relative, Johann Mathias Frankh, arrived for a visit one day and noted Josef and his toy violin. Seeing Joseph had the makings of a musician, he offered to take him to teach him the ways of music.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><!--more--></p>\r\nJosef Haydn wrote the “<em>Surprise”</em> Symphony in London in 1791. The work opens and proceeds in the most subdued manner of slow movement. Once the audience may be imagined to have comfortably settled, a sudden explosive fortissimo chord is introduced. This symphony was composed for the first of Haydn\'s two extended visits to London, in 1791. Its first performance did not appear until March 23, 1792. The composition includes flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns and trumpets in pairs, with timpani and strings and lasts for 23 minutes. The symphony has remained exceedingly popular in the repertoire for its various musical qualities. It is particularly memorable for the surprise fortissimo in the second movement (<em>Andante</em>),<em> </em>which, according to Haydn, would make the women scream.\r\n\r\nThe effect of this new composure was incredibly successful. It brought numerous, and varied, descriptions and interpretations in the premier’s press reports. The insightful writer in <em>The Diary </em>was pleased to describe the slow movement as “<em>simple, profound, and sublime</em>,” but his colleague in <em>The Oracle </em>wrote:\r\n\r\n“<em>The surprise might not be inaptly likened to the situation of a beautiful Shepherdess who, lulled to slumber by the murmur of a distant Water-fall, starts alarmed by the unexpected firing of a fowling-piece</em>.”\r\n\r\nThe symphony was from then on known as the “Surprise Symphony” in English and French areas. It is known as <em>Sinfonie mit dem Paukenschlag</em> (“Symphony with the Drumbeat”) in German. Today, the symphony is still popular. It is still performed, recorded, and frequently adapted to teach musical beginners. For instance, the composer Charles Ives wrote a parody of the second movement (1909). He wrote the words “Nice little easy sugar-plum sounds” using the opening notes, which were a fitting choice for Ives\'s purpose since the notes of Haydn\'s second movement are very simple.\r\n\r\nDespite his clever and unusual addition to the “Surprise” symphony, Haydn cited popular tunes in his symphonies quite often, particularly in the variation-type slow movements. He based the <em>Andante </em>of this Symphony in G major on a universal tune (we know it by the name of “Twinkle, twinkle, little star”). Mozart had already composed keyboard variations on this tune (known by its French title “<em>Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman</em>”). Less than a hundred years ago, Ernst von Dohnányi (a Hungarian composer/pianist/conductor) used the tune as the foundation for “<em>Variations on a Nursery Song</em>” (which was written for pianos and orchestras).\r\n\r\nHaydn\'s original intention for the second movement of this symphony was to write variations on a well-known tune. The famous double-forte outburst (which gave the work its nickname) was put in really more of an afterthought. It was not provoked by his supposed wish to wake the audience and make them jump. He saw it as a significant piece towards the need to be competitive with his former pupil Ignaz Pleyel (who had been brought toEnglandby a rival of Salomon, a German-bornLondonmusician and impresario who proposed Haydn visitLondonand compose symphonies there). Pleyel had similar devices in his own compositions, having gotten the idea from earlier symphonies of Haydn.\r\n\r\nBach’s famous “Goldberg” Variations (also a Baroque work and in the same form) contrast with the “Surprise” symphony. Bach’s work begins with a highly elaborate aria, but plays no part in the variations that follow it. Instead, each variation is independent. They are created, not from the aria’s melody, but from the bass line. Through this, Bach maintains the work’s overall unity as a set of variations. He achieves this on an unconscious level, however, since the audience isn’t expected to pay attention to the bass line. Each variation calls for a new theme specific to the feeling being expressed. Obviously, Haydn’s approach was quite different. In his symphony, the same simple tune reveals new emotion within each subsequent variation.\r\n\r\nI quite enjoy this piece. The first movement\'s gentle melodies and breathtaking harmonies may possibly put one to sleep. However, the abrupt fortissimo in the second movement will surely awaken you and recapture your attention, while the third and fourth movements provide a wonderful ending to this classical symphony. It would have been interesting though if Haydn had placed the surprise in a different place within the symphony every time it was preformed.\r\n\r\nI think this piece should be preserved because its composition illustrates the importance of sound patterns in perceiving music. Moreover, it proves how a sound that listeners are not expecting to hear can manipulate the listeners\' experience towards the music.','Haydn\'s \"Surprise\" Symphony','','inherit','open','open','','1764-revision-4','','','2011-10-10 11:22:11','2011-10-10 17:22:11','',1764,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1775',0,'revision','',0),(1776,45,'2011-10-10 11:24:58','2011-10-10 17:24:58','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1772\" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"215\" height=\"231\" /></a></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">(Joseph Haydn)</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_(small).jpg\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_(small).jpg</a></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Josef Haydn was born March 31, 1732. His mother secretly desired the idea of her child joining the priesthood. His father, however, hoped Joseph would lead towards a musical career and, despite poverty, was determined to aid Joseph in every way he could. A distant relative, Johann Mathias Frankh, arrived for a visit one day and noted Josef and his toy violin. Seeing Joseph had the makings of a musician, he offered to take him to teach him the ways of music.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><!--more--></p>\r\nJosef Haydn wrote the “<em>Surprise”</em> Symphony in London in 1791. The work opens and proceeds in the most subdued manner of slow movement. Once the audience may be imagined to have comfortably settled, a sudden explosive fortissimo chord is introduced. This symphony was composed for the first of Haydn\'s two extended visits to London, in 1791. Its first performance did not appear until March 23, 1792. The composition includes flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns and trumpets in pairs, with timpani and strings and lasts for 23 minutes. The symphony has remained exceedingly popular in the repertoire for its various musical qualities. It is particularly memorable for the surprise fortissimo in the second movement (<em>Andante</em>),<em> </em>which, according to Haydn, would make the women scream.\r\n\r\nThe effect of this new composure was incredibly successful. It brought numerous, and varied, descriptions and interpretations in the premier’s press reports. The insightful writer in <em>The Diary </em>was pleased to describe the slow movement as “<em>simple, profound, and sublime</em>,” but his colleague in <em>The Oracle </em>wrote:\r\n\r\n“<em>The surprise might not be inaptly likened to the situation of a beautiful Shepherdess who, lulled to slumber by the murmur of a distant Water-fall, starts alarmed by the unexpected firing of a fowling-piece</em>.”\r\n\r\nThe symphony was from then on known as the “Surprise Symphony” in English and French areas. It is known as <em>Sinfonie mit dem Paukenschlag</em> (“Symphony with the Drumbeat”) in German. Today, the symphony is still popular. It is still performed, recorded, and frequently adapted to teach musical beginners. For instance, the composer Charles Ives wrote a parody of the second movement (1909). He wrote the words “Nice little easy sugar-plum sounds” using the opening notes, which were a fitting choice for Ives\'s purpose since the notes of Haydn\'s second movement are very simple.\r\n\r\nDespite his clever and unusual addition to the “Surprise” symphony, Haydn cited popular tunes in his symphonies quite often, particularly in the variation-type slow movements. He based the <em>Andante </em>of this Symphony in G major on a universal tune (we know it by the name of “Twinkle, twinkle, little star”). Mozart had already composed keyboard variations on this tune (known by its French title “<em>Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman</em>”). Less than a hundred years ago, Ernst von Dohnányi (a Hungarian composer/pianist/conductor) used the tune as the foundation for “<em>Variations on a Nursery Song</em>” (which was written for pianos and orchestras).\r\n\r\nHaydn\'s original intention for the second movement of this symphony was to write variations on a well-known tune. The famous double-forte outburst (which gave the work its nickname) was put in really more of an afterthought. It was not provoked by his supposed wish to wake the audience and make them jump. He saw it as a significant piece towards the need to be competitive with his former pupil Ignaz Pleyel (who had been brought toEnglandby a rival of Salomon, a German-bornLondonmusician and impresario who proposed Haydn visitLondonand compose symphonies there). Pleyel had similar devices in his own compositions, having gotten the idea from earlier symphonies of Haydn.\r\n\r\nBach’s famous “Goldberg” Variations (also a Baroque work and in the same form) contrast with the “Surprise” symphony. Bach’s work begins with a highly elaborate aria, but plays no part in the variations that follow it. Instead, each variation is independent. They are created, not from the aria’s melody, but from the bass line. Through this, Bach maintains the work’s overall unity as a set of variations. He achieves this on an unconscious level, however, since the audience isn’t expected to pay attention to the bass line. Each variation calls for a new theme specific to the feeling being expressed. Obviously, Haydn’s approach was quite different. In his symphony, the same simple tune reveals new emotion within each subsequent variation.\r\n\r\nI quite enjoy this piece. The first movement\'s gentle melodies and breathtaking harmonies may possibly put one to sleep. However, the abrupt fortissimo in the second movement will surely awaken you and recapture your attention, while the third and fourth movements provide a wonderful ending to this classical symphony. It would have been interesting though if Haydn had placed the surprise in a different place within the symphony every time it was preformed.\r\n\r\nI think this piece should be preserved because its composition illustrates the importance of sound patterns in perceiving music. Moreover, it proves how a sound that listeners are not expecting to hear can manipulate the listeners\' experience towards the music.','Haydn\'s \"Surprise\" Symphony','','inherit','open','open','','1764-revision-5','','','2011-10-10 11:24:58','2011-10-10 17:24:58','',1764,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1776',0,'revision','',0),(1777,41,'2011-10-10 11:25:11','2011-10-10 17:25:11','[caption id=\"attachment_1774\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"196\" caption=\"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)\"]<a href=\"http://www.biographyonline.net/music/mozart.html\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1774 \" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Mozart1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"256\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nIf Ludwig van Beethoven were alive today he would be mounting a formidable effort to request a prestigious spot in the Classical Music Hall of Fame at the Royal College of Music, for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). While many details about the genesis of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik are still a mystery, the fact remains that this one musical piece is the most well-known of Mozart\'s 600+ works. Mozart\'s acclaimed composition created the foundation of classical music in Vienna and is the fundamental reason why Mozart deserves a coveted place in the Classical Music Hall of Fame [Einstein].\nIn 1787, when Eine Kleine Nachtmusik\'s (German translation, \"a little night music\" or \"a little serenade\") was composed, the world was experiencing growing pains due to international commerce, a rising middle class, political upheaval, and civil unrest. These difficulties washed over Europe and the Americas. The Spanish and Austrian Succession, Seven Years War, American and French Revolutions created a groundswell of democracy and the emergence of an increasingly independent and powerful middle class. This fact, when coupled with the Industrial Revolution, brought about a style of music that abandoned the grandiosity and ornamentation of the Baroque family of styles and, instead, focused on simplistic harmonies and textures. This new style was a direct representation of the ascent of the middle class and the crumbling of the aristocracy [Siepmann].\nEine Kleine Nachtmusik encapsulates the Classical-style because it is a sonata and contains a clearer and more symmetrical expression of emotions. The economical use of four or five chords and two or three short themes evokes a distinctive departure from previous pretentious styles, and most musical historians believe that this has roots in the affluent middle-class that was beginning to commission such works [Siepmann].\nFor example, Luigi Boccherini\'s Minuetto is a perfect example of Baroque-style that the aristocracy adored. It is opulent and pompous and was created to impress listeners. Click on the following link to listen to Boccherini\'s Minuetto:\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSE15tLBdso\">Luigi Boccherini\\\'s Minuetto </a>\n\nMozart created Eine Kleine Nachtmusik to cater to the newly affluent middle-class in a way that was elegant, respectful, and tasteful, but definitely not pompous. His composition was straightforward and melodic. It seems worlds apart when compared to Baroque-style compositions of just a couple of years prior. Click on the following link to listen to Mozart\'s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Romananza, fourth movement:\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Okl6WSDfLE\">Mozart\\\'s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Romananza</a>\n\nThe structure of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik\'s four movements was innovative and original because, according to Siepmann,\n\"It is overwhelmingly these [four movements] that have ensured Mozart\'s immortality as a symphonist. In their perfection of form, variety of character, individuality of tone and emotional and spiritual reach, they are like nothing written before them, not even by Haydn.\" He goes on to say that, for the first time in musical history, Mozart \"liberated the wind instruments.\"\nWhen this composition was written Mozart was 31, but it was first published posthumously in 1827. Although it is not known who commissioned the piece, it is thought to have originally contained five movements, one of which has been lost forever. Whether the fifth movement was stolen by a music rival or simply destroyed by Mozart will never be known [Einstein].\nWhen compared to Haydn\'s Surprise II, Symphony No. 94 in G Major, published in 1791, Mozart\'s compositions show quite a bit more restraint and less aggressive transitions. Although the melodic elements are very similar, Haydn seems to focus on startling (or \"surprising\") his audience, as evidenced by the fortissimo chord at the end of the lovely, and almost mesmerizing, opening theme of the second movement. Click on the following link to listen (be prepared for the \"surprise\" chord) to Haydn\'s Surprise II, Symphony No. 94 in G Major:\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLjwkamp3lI\">Haydn\\\'s Surprise II, Symphony No. 94 in G Major</a>\n\nWhen Eine Kleine Nachtmusik was composed Mozart had deep emotional turmoil surrounding him. The changing relationship between the Church and the aristocracy was directly affecting him especially since Emperor Joseph II had banned \"loud\" church music (Mozart\'s bread and butter)[Keefe]. He lost two children that year and had met a new student, the sixteen-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven. Mozart was appointed to the Kammer Musik as its sole composer and this left only two composers at Court, Mozart and Antonio Salieri[Keefe]. Mozart was suffering financially and he viewed his appointment as a new start professionally. Salieri and Mozart quickly became musical rivals and stories have long been told about the circumstances of Mozart\'s death just four years after his appointment. If the stories are true, and Salieri did poison Mozart, then Salieri did not get the result he desired. After Mozart\'s death his music soared in popularity [Sadie].\nEven though Mozart was appointed a rather prestigious post in Court, his pay was minimal, and his ability to sway the fickle public ran hot and cold. He was commissioned to write pieces for wealthy middle-class families and his work was generally well-liked at the time; however, he was seen as just another composer among many. Most of his professional success was never realized until after his death, in 1791, at the young age of thirty-five. Since it is not known who commissioned this piece and it was not published until 36 years after his death, it is believed that very few people had knowledge of or ever heard the composition [Sadie].\nToday, when conducting an Internet search of Mozart\'s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, I found 1.8 million sites related to this one specific work. It has been played by well-known symphony orchestras throughout the world and it is chosen for hundreds of collections of top ten classical compositions. It is amazing to me that one man\'s \"throw away\" symphony may have been lost forever and never played or published. Mozart did not seem to value this piece since he did not ever perform it publicly and never delivered it to whomever commissioned the work. It was found amongst a pile of unpublished works that his wife eventually sold after his death. Fiero states, \"Mozart achieved a balance between lyrical invention and formal clarity that brought the classical style to its peak.\" I completely agree with Fiero and feel that although this composer made little money during his lifetime and never received accolades befitting his talent while he was alive, he would certainly deserve a spot in the Classical Music Hall of Fame. Future generations could benefit from his example of spending your life doing what you love even if you don\'t make much money.\nWORKS CITED\nEINSTEIN, Alfred., Mozart: His Character, His Work. Oxford University Press, New York, 1945, p144; p157-159; This is a book that I used to research the simplistic composition of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and the limited number of keys Mozart selected.\n\nSIEPMANN, Jeremy., Mozart: His Life &amp; Music, Sourcebooks Media Fusion, Naperville, Illinois, 2006, p163-167; p169-171; This is a book that I used to research how this piece was innovative or unusual for its time.\n\nKEEFE, Simon., The Cambridge Companion to Mozart, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2003, p xii-xvii; This is a book that I used to research the chronology of Mozart\'s life and learn about the events occurring in his life at the time he composed Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. I also researched his appointment to the Kammer Musik in this book.\n\nSADIE, Stanley., The New Grove: Mozart, Norton, New York, 1980, p108-115; This is a book that I used to research Mozart\'s life and associations in Vienna during the years of 1785 to 1788.\n\nFIERO, Gloria., The Humanist Tradition, Volume Two, Chapter 26, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2011. Accessed online version, pages unknown; Date accessed October 2-7, 2011. This is a book that I used to learn about Mozart\'s connection to Haydn and different elements that he brought to Classically-styled music.','Mozart in the Hall of Fame?','','inherit','open','open','','1749-revision-2','','','2011-10-10 11:25:11','2011-10-10 17:25:11','',1749,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1777',0,'revision','',0),(1778,45,'2011-10-10 11:26:16','2011-10-10 17:26:16','','Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_(small)','','inherit','open','open','','haydn_portrait_by_thomas_hardy_small-3','','','2011-10-10 11:26:16','2011-10-10 17:26:16','',1764,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_small2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1779,41,'2011-10-10 11:25:33','2011-10-10 17:25:33','[caption id=\"attachment_1774\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"196\" caption=\"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)\"]<a href=\"http://www.biographyonline.net/music/mozart.html\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1774 \" src=\"http://jeanatacc.com/2011/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Mozart1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"256\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nIf Ludwig van Beethoven were alive today he would be mounting a formidable effort to request a prestigious spot in the Classical Music Hall of Fame at the Royal College of Music, for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). While many details about the genesis of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik are still a mystery, the fact remains that this one musical piece is the most well-known of Mozart\'s 600+ works. Mozart\'s acclaimed composition created the foundation of classical music in Vienna and is the fundamental reason why Mozart deserves a coveted place in the Classical Music Hall of Fame [Einstein].\r\nIn 1787, when Eine Kleine Nachtmusik\'s (German translation, \"a little night music\" or \"a little serenade\") was composed, the world was experiencing growing pains due to international commerce, a rising middle class, political upheaval, and civil unrest. These difficulties washed over Europe and the Americas. The Spanish and Austrian Succession, Seven Years War, American and French Revolutions created a groundswell of democracy and the emergence of an increasingly independent and powerful middle class. This fact, when coupled with the Industrial Revolution, brought about a style of music that abandoned the grandiosity and ornamentation of the Baroque family of styles and, instead, focused on simplistic harmonies and textures. This new style was a direct representation of the ascent of the middle class and the crumbling of the aristocracy [Siepmann].\r\nEine Kleine Nachtmusik encapsulates the Classical-style because it is a sonata and contains a clearer and more symmetrical expression of emotions. The economical use of four or five chords and two or three short themes evokes a distinctive departure from previous pretentious styles, and most musical historians believe that this has roots in the affluent middle-class that was beginning to commission such works [Siepmann].\r\nFor example, Luigi Boccherini\'s Minuetto is a perfect example of Baroque-style that the aristocracy adored. It is opulent and pompous and was created to impress listeners. Click on the following link to listen to Boccherini\'s Minuetto:\r\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSE15tLBdso\">Luigi Boccherini\\\'s Minuetto </a>\r\n\r\nMozart created Eine Kleine Nachtmusik to cater to the newly affluent middle-class in a way that was elegant, respectful, and tasteful, but definitely not pompous. His composition was straightforward and melodic. It seems worlds apart when compared to Baroque-style compositions of just a couple of years prior. Click on the following link to listen to Mozart\'s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Romananza, fourth movement:\r\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Okl6WSDfLE\">Mozart\\\'s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Romananza</a>\r\n\r\nThe structure of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik\'s four movements was innovative and original because, according to Siepmann,\r\n\"It is overwhelmingly these [four movements] that have ensured Mozart\'s immortality as a symphonist. In their perfection of form, variety of character, individuality of tone and emotional and spiritual reach, they are like nothing written before them, not even by Haydn.\" He goes on to say that, for the first time in musical history, Mozart \"liberated the wind instruments.\"\r\nWhen this composition was written Mozart was 31, but it was first published posthumously in 1827. Although it is not known who commissioned the piece, it is thought to have originally contained five movements, one of which has been lost forever. Whether the fifth movement was stolen by a music rival or simply destroyed by Mozart will never be known [Einstein].\r\nWhen compared to Haydn\'s Surprise II, Symphony No. 94 in G Major, published in 1791, Mozart\'s compositions show quite a bit more restraint and less aggressive transitions. Although the melodic elements are very similar, Haydn seems to focus on startling (or \"surprising\") his audience, as evidenced by the fortissimo chord at the end of the lovely, and almost mesmerizing, opening theme of the second movement. Click on the following link to listen (be prepared for the \"surprise\" chord) to Haydn\'s Surprise II, Symphony No. 94 in G Major:\r\n<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLjwkamp3lI\">Haydn\\\'s Surprise II, Symphony No. 94 in G Major</a>\r\n\r\nWhen Eine Kleine Nachtmusik was composed Mozart had deep emotional turmoil surrounding him. The changing relationship between the Church and the aristocracy was directly affecting him especially since Emperor Joseph II had banned \"loud\" church music (Mozart\'s bread and butter)[Keefe]. He lost two children that year and had met a new student, the sixteen-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven. Mozart was appointed to the Kammer Musik as its sole composer and this left only two composers at Court, Mozart and Antonio Salieri[Keefe]. Mozart was suffering financially and he viewed his appointment as a new start professionally. Salieri and Mozart quickly became musical rivals and stories have long been told about the circumstances of Mozart\'s death just four years after his appointment. If the stories are true, and Salieri did poison Mozart, then Salieri did not get the result he desired. After Mozart\'s death his music soared in popularity [Sadie].\r\nEven though Mozart was appointed a rather prestigious post in Court, his pay was minimal, and his ability to sway the fickle public ran hot and cold. He was commissioned to write pieces for wealthy middle-class families and his work was generally well-liked at the time; however, he was seen as just another composer among many. Most of his professional success was never realized until after his death, in 1791, at the young age of thirty-five. Since it is not known who commissioned this piece and it was not published until 36 years after his death, it is believed that very few people had knowledge of or ever heard the composition [Sadie].\r\nToday, when conducting an Internet search of Mozart\'s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, I found 1.8 million sites related to this one specific work. It has been played by well-known symphony orchestras throughout the world and it is chosen for hundreds of collections of top ten classical compositions. It is amazing to me that one man\'s \"throw away\" symphony may have been lost forever and never played or published. Mozart did not seem to value this piece since he did not ever perform it publicly and never delivered it to whomever commissioned the work. It was found amongst a pile of unpublished works that his wife eventually sold after his death. Fiero states, \"Mozart achieved a balance between lyrical invention and formal clarity that brought the classical style to its peak.\" I completely agree with Fiero and feel that although this composer made little money during his lifetime and never received accolades befitting his talent while he was alive, he would certainly deserve a spot in the Classical Music Hall of Fame. Future generations could benefit from his example of spending your life doing what you love even if you don\'t make much money.\r\nWORKS CITED\r\nEINSTEIN, Alfred., Mozart: His Character, His Work. Oxford University Press, New York, 1945, p144; p157-159; This is a book that I used to research the simplistic composition of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and the limited number of keys Mozart selected.\r\n\r\nSIEPMANN, Jeremy., Mozart: His Life &amp; Music, Sourcebooks Media Fusion, Naperville, Illinois, 2006, p163-167; p169-171; This is a book that I used to research how this piece was innovative or unusual for its time.\r\n\r\nKEEFE, Simon., The Cambridge Companion to Mozart, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2003, p xii-xvii; This is a book that I used to research the chronology of Mozart\'s life and learn about the events occurring in his life at the time he composed Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. I also researched his appointment to the Kammer Musik in this book.\r\n\r\nSADIE, Stanley., The New Grove: Mozart, Norton, New York, 1980, p108-115; This is a book that I used to research Mozart\'s life and associations in Vienna during the years of 1785 to 1788.\r\n\r\nFIERO, Gloria., The Humanist Tradition, Volume Two, Chapter 26, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2011. Accessed online version, pages unknown; Date accessed October 2-7, 2011. This is a book that I used to learn about Mozart\'s connection to Haydn and different elements that he brought to Classically-styled music.','Mozart in the Hall of Fame?','','inherit','open','open','','1749-revision-3','','','2011-10-10 11:25:33','2011-10-10 17:25:33','',1749,'http://jeanatacc.com/2011/?p=1779',0,'revision','',0);
