Horace Boigraphy Essay Example

Horace Boigraphy Essay Quintus Horatius Flaccus was born at Venusia, Italy, Dec. 8 65 B.C.E and died in Nov. 27 8 B.C.E (Crystal, http://www.crystalinks.com/horace.html).He is recognized as one of historys greatest poets.Horace was a humble person, for this he was loved by all his friends.He had very few enemies.His favorite subjects for poetry were love and nature.Later in his life he went from writing poetry to writing philosophy (Gilleland, http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/horatius.htm). There were many things that affected Horace in his youth which influenced his adulthood.Horaces father was a freed slave and found employment in the areas of tax collecting and as an auction broker.Horace lived a modest childhood (Crystal, http://www.crystalinks.com/horace.html).Even though his family was barely getting by, Horaces father made sure that Horace got the best education possible.At a young age, Horace was sent to Athens to study, and after went to Rome to find a career.Horace always expressed his gratitude toward s his father for getting him a good education and teaching him deep-rooted morals.Horace joined the army at the age of nineteen.He fought on the side of the conspirators, Brutus and Cassius, as a military tribune, which was exceptional for a freemans son.When the war was lost, all his assets were seized and he was forced to return home penniless.Along with living a modest childhood, war greatly humbled Horace.By the age of twenty he had already experienced loss, death, and tragedy, which made him want no more excitement in his life (Gilleland, http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/horatius.htm). Horace was a renowned writer.He was known mostly for his poems.Earlier in his career, his poems were about love, pleasure, wine, friendship, and the beauty of a simple life.Later in his life, his subjects turned more serous, involving the race for power and position, the folly of extremes, the desirability of

To what extent was Macbeth the architect of his own downfall Essay Example

To what extent was Macbeth the architect of his own downfall Essay Example To what extent was Macbeth the architect of his own downfall Paper To what extent was Macbeth the architect of his own downfall Paper Essay Topic: Macbeth Trifles The play Macbeth attempts to communicate to readers that once someone begins to use violence in his or her quest for power, it is hard to halt them. It also seeks to show the corrupting and demoralizing effect of ambition on any person, regardless of their integrity. Macbeth, the main character, is the protectorate of everything good, and shows the qualities of a hero. However, during the course of the play, Macbeth changes drastically under the influence of power; power he has acquired through ambition and unjust murder. Macbeth goes to great lengths in order to maintain this status of power and finds himself killing and harming people without remorse to keep his status. However, none of this would have occurred if it hadnt been for the witches, the characters who are to blame for Macbeths downfall. The witches play a key part in the play and are the representation of evil in mankind. Although witches are mythical beings now, back when the play was written they were very real. These witches represent evil in the play as well and are the ones responsible for causing all of Macbeths and all subsequent problems. From the beginning of the play it is made clear that they gain nothing from harming Macbeth and only wish to bring harm to other people. For these reasons they are the characters with the most blame upon their shoulders. The witches set things in motion by giving Macbeth a set of prophecies, the most important one being All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter. Here we find the source of all problems in the play. The witches had counted on Macbeths own ambition to push him into committing terrible acts with horrific consequence in order to make sure that prophecy would come and true, so that he would become king. At the same time, Banquo, a good friend of Macbeths who is present when the witches speak to him, is not fooled by the witches. Banquo recognizes from the very beginning that the witches mean no good and realizes that the instruments of darkness tell us truths; win us with honest trifles, to betrays in deepest consequence. What this means is that the witches are not to be trusted. They may have told Macbeth some truth but in the end they mean him harm. Act 4, Scene 1 supports this argument. Macbeth wishes to speak to the witches a second time in order to receive a second set of predictions. The predictions he receives are made out to deceive him and take advantage of the fact that he yearns for power. One very important prediction, the second one, given by the witches is, Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth. It would appear that this prediction can only mean good because, at first glance, it looks as if no one born of a woman can harm Macbeth. However Banquo is proven right later on when Macbeth realizes the witches were speaking to him in paradoxs in order to confuse him, having him misinterpret key prophecies. Macbeth states be these juggling fiends no more believd that palter with us in a double sense, that keep the word of promise to our ear and break it to our hope. In this line Macbeth realizes that the witches have betrayed him. They made it appear to him that he was invincible, unable to be killed by any man born of a woman. Yet they failed to tell him that a man born of Cesarean birth, like Macduff, could still kill him. This is the reason behind his death. He had trusted the witches to speak the truth, yet their paradoxical predictions, which were meant to create a sense of ambition and total power, caused him to underestimate the enemy and eventually led to his downfall. Although it is possible to throw the blame onto somebody else, such as Lady Macbeth, who persuades Macbeth into committing the initial murder, it is undisputable that without the witches none of the events would have occurred. Even Macbeth cannot be held accountable for his actions because the witches took advantage of him. They relied on mans ambition and his strive for power, all they had to do is give him the initial nudge. For this reason they decided to present Macbeth with these predictions, in order to raise his hopes. Macbeth was manipulated by the witches and therefore everything resulting from his speaking to them (all of the murders and Macbeths own downfall) are the witches fault, which is why all other arguments are rendered invalid and the witches are entirely to blame.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Essay Example Some of praises accredited to his name include the invention of lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove. Analysis of this book determines that the source of information in it is first-hand or rather primary. This is because, the book puts across that, it is through Franklin’s own voice that makes this book worth reading, and how he describes the world in his own words. In addition to that, Franklin started writing his first autobiography portraying how fascinating Philadelphia was including his shrewd literature observations. This regarded how he viewed America’s Colonial and Revolutionary periods while residing in England in 1771 (67). Due to the prevailing circumstances, he had to stop writing but later resumed writing thirteen years later upon returning to the States. However, the work is second-hand information after different authors wrote it upon Franklin’s death. Since his work is a tale of success depicting a remarkable man, Franklin states clearl y that the reason or purpose of putting down this piece of work that took him a period of more than eighteen years was to set an exemplary life to the younger generations. He would do so by showing them how he emerged from poverty to amassing enormous wealth, power, and success. He continues to illustrate that all that he possessed came by means of immense hardship and constant diligence (118). This is the reason why his autobiography is very important to Americans as it addresses real time essential values of life. According to part of his life story, Franklin depicts another reason for writing his life history. He says that, it would be agreeable for a son, in this case his son, to get to know some of his father’s life incidents. While in quest for this purpose, he decided to accord himself whole week leisure in order to put down for his son, William. As he continues, he states that he must speak thanking God for his kind providence and happiness that he owed Him. Franklin directly engages these thoughts to his son, as he wanted William to lead happy life just like his father by striving to better his life. During composition of his work, Franklins attempt to reach a unified structure of the whole story. He argues that, the reason behind great success and power is through immense hard work and determination. Even after dividing his work into four parts, the overall goal remains intact. His work seems entirely planned even before he commenced the actual writing. The autobiography traces Franklin’s personal development from obscurity to his profound significance. It presses that the main form of attaining any goal is through hard work. Franklin’s life history is entirely a secret success message for the younger and upcoming generations, as he believed his life story would serve as an exceptional example to others. Presuppositions give contrast between the ideas and values in a book. Franklin’s autobiography offers a semi ready-made formula for gaining power and amassing wealth leading to a successful life. He portrays companionship of a real flesh and blood extraordinary man with an extraordinary mind and quality whereof his daily walkie-talkie conversation would lead us to meeting our goals and facing challenges. Franklin values hard work as the key to success. Today, hard work without work makes the difference between him and the