Abstract This paper details Tom Stoppard's play, "Arcadia", and offers complete analysis of the characters and their relationships with one another. The way Stoppard provides social commentary, through his skillful juxtaposition of two different centuries within the same play and through the development of the characters in those centuries, is described and analyzed as well.
From the Paper "Gracefully gliding between two different centuries, Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" brilliantly juxtaposes two sets of characters on the same set, the English estate of Sidley Park. The play traces two separate generations of the Coverly family and the interactions of odd scholars, ridiculous researchers, and "wannabe" authors. The most interesting relationships within Stoppard's play?the gentle one between Thomasina and Septimus and the considerably more acrimonious one between Hannah and Bernard-- illustrate most of the social commentary the work is known for. Stoppard succeeds in developing platonic relationships-- disrupted by natural curiosity and universal truth-- against a poignant sense of a paradise doomed."
Tags:arcadia, play, septimus, stoppard, thommasina, tom
Abstract This paper discusses how it is hard to miss the evident congruence between the character known as "Philisides" and Philip Sidney himself in his novel "The Old Arcadia". It discusses how, because Philisides does not appear nearly as much in the revision of the Arcadia, the reader of "The Old Arcadia" is left to wonder why Philisides is included in the novel and what the role is he is meant to play. In order to understand the true meaning, the paper explores Sidney's self-representations in the novel.
From the Paper "Another instance in which Philisides appears to be a representation of Philip Sidney is at the end of Philisides's song in the Third Eclogues. Philisides mentions the animals that follow him when he is walking, but who never run ahead of him. "Thus I did sing and pipe for eight sullen hours / To sheep whom love, not knowledge, made to hear; / Now fancy's fits, now fortune's baleful stours. / But then I homeward called my lambskins dear; / For to my dimmed eyes began t'appear..." (Sidney 223). While the sheep understand the meaning of Philisides's pipe, their knowledge of the instrument only goes as far that they know enough to follow the noise. The sheep are easily swayed by the spontaneity and sound of his pipe, and because of the large admiration that they have for him, they completely trust him with their entire beings. "
Abstract This paper examines Tom Stoppard's play "Arcadia", which is set in an English country manor house where two levels of action take place-- the action of the present day and the action set in 1809 around a young student of mathematics. In particular it analyzes the influence on the plot of the poet Lord Byron by drawing parallels between his life and the characters in the play. It looks at how Byron's influence is felt not only on the mathematical side of the play, but also in the continuing debate over the nature of landscape art and how the young girl Thomasina, is a living and dead parallel with Byron's own, real-life abandoned female child. When Byron fled his pregnant wife, the young girl he produced became a mathematical prodigy herself just like the protagonist in the play.
From the Paper "The intersection between the beautiful and the perfect in mathematics, between the theoretical and the personal, is perfectly embodied in the character of Lord Byron. Thomasina, the girl being tutored, is an exponent of the geometry of irregular forms, a precursor to the chaos theory being studied by the modern characters in the house. The introduction and variations of small elements and their potential to create great later changes is important in the scheme of the play."
Abstract This paper examines how the portrayal of different time periods, the early nineteenth century and the late twentieth century in Tom Stoppard's ?Arcadia? reveals a progression of knowledge and values, which differentiate across the generations and centuries. It looks at how both periods of time focus around the two female heroines of the novel Thomasina Coverly and Hannah Jarvis and the events, ideas and attitudes are sometimes quite different.
From the Paper "There are many other instances, especially through the character Hannah who epitomises pessimism, where Stoppard may be viewed to present the late nineteenth century as "weary cynicism". A good illustration of this can be seen by looking at the two households. The family of Thomasina's age is refined and aristocratic, at the height of high society. However in Hannah's generation, the Croom family may be seen to have dissolved somewhat into disarray. Chloe appears rather uneducated, the parents are absent and all the children have developed what may be considered curious characteristics, or at least would have been to their early nineteenth century ancestors."
Abstract An analysis of O. Henry's short story "Transients in Arcadia" that discusses the central theme and the literary devices utilized by the author to reinforce it. It also looks at O. Henry's use of irony.
From the Paper "O, Henry's short stories generally involve an ironic twist near the end of the story and "Transients in Arcadia" does not disappoint in this manner. "Transients in Arcadia" illustrates the atmosphere and culture of the Hotel Lotus..."
Abstract The paper discusses how one of the most interesting features about Tom Stoppard's play "Arcadia" is the use of the dual structure. The play features two sets of characters in the same place but in different times. The paper analyzes this play and concludes that by utilizing a unique dual structure that parallels two sets of characters, Stoppard cleverly makes his point about the role of the unknown in life. In doing so, he offers a warning about approaching life from a purely rational viewpoint and shows that people should use their curiosity and be willing to explore.
From the Paper "The first effect of the dual structure is to contrast the characters of Thomasina and Hannah. They are both the main female characters and their stories take place in the same place, though at a different time. They are also both driven by a search for knowledge. Thomasina makes the focus of her quest for knowledge clear where she asks what carnal knowledge is in the first scene. This shows that her curiosity is based on human desire rather than being based on a quest for scientific knowledge. This is later seen again when Septimas tries to explain equations to Thomasina. Thomasina seems uninterested and says that she wants to create equations for nature, such as how to make a flower. Thomisina asks why the equations "only describe the shapes of manufacture" and then suggests starting with a maple leaf (Stoppard 26)."
Abstract The paper explains that Percy Bysshe Shelley's "A Defense of Poetry" works in harmony with ?Arcadia?, an essay wherein he praises the Romantic poetic practice of preferring imagination and creative inspiration to reason and rational thought. The author points out that Shelley inextricably links rational thought and imagination to acts of creation, a concept crucial to understanding the role of Thomasina Coverly, the adolescent daughter of the manor, as the central character in ?Arcadia?. The paper stresses that, in ?Arcadia?, Thomasina represents Shelley's poet as a prophetic voice.
From the Paper "Hannah Jarvis and Valentine Coverly are two modern era characters studying the historical records and gardens of the Croom Estate. Both characters present an indifferent disdain for Romanticism with each passionately defending their preference for the rational thinking Neoclassicists of the Enlightenment. Hannah Jarvis, an emotionally detached historian, is interested in Sidley Park's hermit as a symbolic representation of Romanticism's ?decline from thinking to feeling" (Stoppard 27). However, she undermines her stated rationalist view when she fervently proclaims to Valentine, "it's wanting to know that makes us matter" (Stoppard 75). By claiming, the passion for knowledge matters most and not the attainment of knowledge Hannah's statement explicitly demonstrates her reliance on feeling over reason in what otherwise appears as her wholly analytic thought process. Valentine Coverly, an Oxford mathematics and biology student, dismisses Thomasina's genius declaring, "she was just playing with numbers" (Stoppard 47). A theory he declares unknowable in Thomasina's time, "You can"t open a door until there's a house? (Stoppard 79). By opening that door Septimus become Hannah's lunatic and Thomasina becomes Valentine's poet."
This paper discusses Sir Phillip Sidney who wrote three of the most famous works of the 16th century: "The Defense of Poesie", ?Arcadia, and Astrophil? and "Stella".
Abstract This paper presents Sir Philip Sidney, one of the greatest writers in the English tradition. The author compares Sidney to great writers such as Wyatt, Surrey, Sackville, Spenser and Petrarch. The paper uses examples from his poems "The Defense of Poesie", ?Arcadia, and Astrophil? and "Stella" to exemplify his style.
From the Paper "Stella is more than just an object of adoration and becomes a convincing human being who can assert her own rights. From the very beginning, she acquires credibility because Astrophil does not fall suddenly in love with her at the first glance, but, as he puts it in the second sonnet, "knowne worth did in mine of time proceed, / Till by degrees it had full conquest got." Her "worth," which he gradually comes to know, is the important factor, not her physical beauty. As the sequence proceeds, Stella's physical attributes do indeed come to the fore with all the traditional imagery of light and dark, warmth and cold, sweetness and jewels and there are times when, lifted out of context, it would be quite possible to say. Here is a typical Petrarchan lady, with her separate parts described as though she were an unfeeling object. But, intermingled with praise of Stella is criticism of her, sometimes covert and sometimes blatant."
Abstract This paper discusses the article "Do it my way or not at all", in the guardian newspaper on 8th October 2002, written by Amanda Hall. It was reported that Philip Green, owner of BHS and Arcadia Group said to a supplier of garments during a recent meeting: "Help me understand why I would pay for instance ?9 for something that is worth ?4?" It explains what Mr. Green had in mind when he said the product in question was worth "?4"? And what effects would a reduction in price have upon the suppliers term of; competitiveness against other suppliers, product cost quantity of output, profit maximization point, retail price etc.
Abstract This paper discusses the works of Herodotus, Thucydides, and Polybius, which were all based fundamentally in the historical circumstances in which they were written. The paper examines the aims, methods, outlooks, and approaches of these three writers, in addition to the historical context of their writings. The paper iilustrates how the ideas represented in these historians' works differed significantly, reflecting their individual historical circumstances.
From the Paper "Herodotus is often referred to as the father of history. However, Herodotus' telling of history differs significantly from many modern tales in that it is not chronologically ordered. Further, Herodotus' famous work, The Histories, contains many tall tales, a technique not seen in modern history books. Herodotus wrote The Histories after the Persian war in which the Greek states fought with the mighty Persian Empire (Luraghi). Herodotus wrote The Histories without the aid of any written sources (Romm)."
Tags: persian, war, empire, athens, sparta, peloponnesian, arcadia, oral, tradition
Abstract Gaugin's "Ia Orana Maria" and Reni's "The Immaculate Conception" are two very different representations of the Virgin Mary. The paper explains that by utilizing more classical composition techniques, smooth, curving lines and rich, strong colors, Reni portrays Mary as an idealized version of Baroque femininity in a heavenly setting. It shows, in contrast, how Gauguin adheres to the primitive tradition, illustrating Mary as a native woman, a naked Christ child set on her shoulders. His use of asymmetrical composition in a cluttered, unplanned scene provides a feeling of energy and naturalism, a striking contrast to the serenity of Reni's work. The paper shows therefore that in illustrating the Virgin Mary in their works, each painter adheres to the very different sensibilities of their time periods.
From the Paper "Paul Gaugin's "Ia Orana Maria," translated as "Hail Mary," treats a similar subject matter, in that it illustrates the Virgin Mary with adoring attendants. However, this is not the Mary of the Immaculate Conception, but with Christ who is perched upon her shoulders. Painted in the post-impressionist genre known as Arcadia, which exemplifies scenes of blissful simplicity and retreat from the complex, this work was completed in 1891 and hangs in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. It is not a large work, only 44 inches by about 36 inches. In keeping with its primitive tradition, and in stark contrast to "The Immaculate Conception," the composition is highly asymmetrical, with the central Mary figure set off to the right of the picture. The poses are unstudied, casual and almost accidental, with Mary and the Christ child looking at the viewer, and the two prayerful, adoring native women gazing at them. This casual approach may be an attempt of Gauguin to emphasize the "naturalness" of the scene, despite the obviously supernatural halos."
This paper looks at the urban crisis in Detroit, while studying the works "Detroit Arcadia" by Rebecca Solnit and "The Origins of the Urban Crisis' by Thomas Sugrue.
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that as the industrial powerhouse that the United States was in the years of and immediately following World War II began to slow down in the 1960s, many of America's urban areas saw the economic base eroding with the disappearance of industry as well as the huge migration of Caucasians from the cities when the economies of the cities fell into decline. The writer discusses that the by-product of all of these occurrences was the fight to prevent racial integration of the suburban areas into which the Caucasians fled, and a swift decline of American cities. The writer looks at the city of Detroit that has been devastated over the years because of economic and racial issues. Such urban crises are the focus of this research. The research studies and cites the works of two pivotal writers on the topic in an effort to better understand the topic itself.
Outline:
Introduction
Historical Consequences of the Urban Crisis
Political Consequences of the Urban Crisis
Agreements/Disagreements
Conclusion
From the Paper "A brief history lesson of the socioeconomic history of Detroit is the best way to begin to understand the historical consequences of the urban crisis as well as what the crisis is in and of itself. During and immediately after World War II, the machine shops and automobile plants of Detroit, and as a result the other supporting businesses, were flush with cash because of the need for implements of war, during the war years of course, and the need for consumer vehicles after the war, as men and women returning from battle settled back into a state of normalcy and went on a buying spree in unprecedented quantities. Because of the proliferation of available jobs, Caucasians and African-Americans alike were able to gain employment; true, the racial inequality was existent, but it was not as acute or damaging at this point as it would eventually become. With the passage of time, however, the gap between the races was intensified by the power of capitalism, and the African-Americans of Detroit, as well as elsewhere, soon saw the economic and social gap between them and their racial opposites increasing to their disadvantage."
