Abstract
The paper briefly highlights the combination of comedy and irony that infuses two notable works, John Betjeman's, "In Westminster Abbey," and Robert Browning's, "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister," with an eye towards revealing the attitudes of the poets in question. Specifically, the paper shows how Betjeman's narrator thinks all manner of irreverent and despoiled thoughts while in a sacred place infused with a genuine religious spirit; for his part, Browning's protagonist thinks all manner of evil thoughts while serving in a monastery, while wearing the lineaments of piety, and while acting outwardly in a manner consonant with the greatest devotion to God. The paper notes that the irony is sometimes heavy-handed, but posits that the humor it brings forth strengthens the message and prompts the reader to consider the fatuousness of much that human beings do and believe.

From the Paper
"The following paper will briefly highlight the combination of comedy and irony that infuses two notable works, John Betjeman's, "In Westminster Abbey," and Robert Browning's, "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister," with an eye towards revealing the attitudes of the poets in question. Specifically, Betjeman's narrator thinks all manner of irreverent and despoiled thoughts while in a sacred place infused with a genuine religious spirit; for his part, Browning's protagonist thinks all manner of evil thoughts while serving in a monastery, while wearing the..."

Tags:browning, betjeman, irony

Abstract
This paper reviews how the poem 'Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister' by Robert Browning utilizes a dramatic monologue that provides aesthetic detail and moral values. In many ways, this poem echoes the other poetical works of Browning, by providing a moral insight into the sometimes hypocritical nature of organized religion. By realizing these facets of his poetry, Browning's dramatic monologue offers character narratives that are morally based within a Christian milieu.

From the Paper
"This literary study will analyze morality within the dramatic monologue of Robert Browning's "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister." The morality of the monk that is narrating in this poem reflects the often hypocritical clerical view of Christianity. Browning shows a propensity for this form aesthetics in portraying a character that is morally declaratory, but lives an immoral lifestyle. This aspect of the poem is a common thread in Browning's dramatic dialogue, since it relies on morality and character details to reflect the hypocrisy of religious values."

Tags:browning, literature, poetry

Abstract
The paper relates that both poems concern themselves with some form of religious hypocrisy; Robert Browning's speaker harbors murder and hatred in his heart while conforming to the religious and pious rituals of the place of worship, while Betjeman's female speaker appears to pray very sincerely, but is as hypocritical at heart. The paper explores how both poets, through the use of diction, contrast and symbolism, juxtapose the true nature of the respective speakers with the symbolic veneer of piety represented by the places of worship.

From the Paper
"A very prominent element in Browning's poem is diction, which he uses to emphasize
the contrast indicated by the Cloister and the speaker. From the beginning to the end of the poem, the speaker's interior monologue is violent, angry, and even murderous towards a fellow monk, Brother Lawrence. His diction is contrasted to the pious diction; generally in Latin, that he quotes. As such, his colloquial and non-verbal utterances form a strong contrast to the formal Latin used in the Cloister. This is the reality of the monk's inner world. It is angry and destructive, in contrast to his external veneer, which is formal and pious, according to the conventions of the Cloister.
"This conventional approach to religion is also suggested by the rhyme scheme, which is comprised of nine eight-line stanzas, with a cross-rhyming scheme. This correlates with the formally religious symbolism of the Cloister and its schedule.
"The speaker's tone is angry and destructive. He uses increasingly extreme language to depict his increasing departure from formal faith. Although he retains the form of faith, his inner world becomes increasingly angry, until his anger replaces his faith entirely, as depicted by his shocking reference to Satan in the final stanza: "Or, there's Satan!--one might venture/ Pledge one's soul to him..." The speaker's final words both echo and seal his anger: "Ave, Virgo! Gr-r-r--you swine!""

Tags:diction, contrast, symbolism, faith, piety, worshipers

From the Paper
"Kathleen Norris's The Cloister Walk is a fascinating account of the author's year-long spiritual experience as an "oblate" among Benedictine monks in St. John's Abbey in Minnesota. The author defines oblate as one who engages in "an abbreviated yet powerful profession of monastic vows; you attach yourself to a particular monastery" and "promise to follow the rule of St. Benedict insofar as your situation in life will allow" (Norris xvii). Norris becomes, in effect, a sort of part-time monk for a year. Athough her dedication to and love of the monastic life during that period are anything but half-hearted. Norris is a poet as much as a down-to-earth mystic, and her book gives the lay reader tremendous insights into and appreciation of the spiritual riches of the monastic life.

Norris's book makes the monastic life appear so fascinating.."

Abstract
In this article, the writer looks at two poems connected with religion and the church. The writer studies the works 'Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister' by Robert Browning and 'In Westminster Abbey' by John Betjeman.

From the Paper
"Robert Browning's "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister" was written in 1842, and is a witty, humorous poem. It is told from the point of view of a jealous, twisted monk and is set somewhere between 1550 and 1816, evident from the reference to "Barbary Corsairs". The speaker complains of, and condemns a fellow monk, Brother Lawrence, for his evil and immoral ways."

Tags:poems, analysis, irony

Abstract
The paper shows how the articles "The Debate Has Been Miscast From the Start," by Henry Louis Gates Jr., "The Absence of Girls in the Current Debate on Education," by The American Association of University Women, (AAUW), and "The Cloister and the Heart," by Jane Tompkins, all use a rhetorical structure as a means of communicating their opinions. The paper asserts that the tone and complex issue of Gates' article are effective because while his examples are rather complicated, the overall tone is casual, proving that even multi-faceted issues can be easily understood. The paper then highlights the AAUW's use of statistics and shows how it clearly demonstrates the gender gap in education, and finally, the paper discusses how Tompkins' personal stories and interviews are familiar while still maintaining a sense of legitimacy.

From the Paper
"Gates argues that contrary to what many believe, multiculturalism already exists in American society, but is lacking in the American educational system itself. He believes that multiculturalism in education will only truly be achieved when immigrants and minorities are equally accepted to universities, and are educated in the language that they are accustomed to speaking. In response to the opinion that this sort of multi-lingual education is potentially divisive and will alienate students, Gates replies that the American public is already separated in much that same way, and that scholarship and education should reflect that diversity. He then argues that it is precisely this diversity that, when combined and nurtured, forges a communal identity that is unique to American culture. He gives examples of dancers, artists, and writers, all from different cultural backgrounds, who have worked together to form part of American culture."

Tags:tone, statistics, narratives, multiculturalism, gender, gap, education, pre-professionalism

Abstract
This paper explains that, in the metaphor of the cave and its dwellers, Plato states that the world as human perceive it is like a dark cave, where all human beings sit around a fire, staring into the light; they cannot see one another, the nature of reality, or the heavens with any great understanding in such a dark and cloistered environment. The author points out that any individual who dwells in "real life" can have some inkling of the use of the metaphor, separating the gesture of goodness in name or in physical action alone from the actual, meaningful gesture of either selfless love that does not demand a reward or enact a real, physical result in the world, rather than simply obey a social code. The paper concludes that Plato's metaphor is a positive and active approach for human philosophy because it suggests that a complete form of understanding is possible, despite the pain it may cause.

From the Paper
"The reason that human beings do not have a full sense of a real and a complete life is because the world, as we cave dwellers see it, is not experienced fully and in the flesh of the present moment. Rather, it is only experienced in a shadowy and inconsequential fashion. Because human beings are distanced, because of a poor philosophical education, from the nature of the world's reality, the fire blinds us, or we mistake the shadows we see for truth. The heavenly philosophical apprehension of a greater truth that is more fully conceived and more intellectually substantive than the life on earthly is much better than what we actually pass our day to day existence in, which are simply copies of "the real"."

Tags:dwellers, dark, environment, cloistered, goodness

Abstract
This essay examines how writing emerged as means towards emancipation for forcefully cloistered nuns in the late renaissance period. It begins with a re-examination of the renaissance, the corresponding rise of paternalism, and the reaction to it made by "male feminists" such as Erasmus, Garzoni and Agrippa. It goes on to examine proto-feminist works by the likes of Lucrezia Marinella and Moderate Fonte. Following this, a background is provided of the custom of forcefully cloistering daughters whose dowries their fathers were not able to pay, specifically in the context of Venetian society. The paternalistic corruptions of this society are outlined, with emphasis of the greed of fathers who appropriated the inheritances of their daughters, and how church and society were accomplices in this task. This is followed by a detailed exposition of Archangela Tarabotti's writings, preceding by a background to her forceful cloistering. It is shown how Tarabotti, through her writings, accepted male privilege, but only spoke out against the abuses of it, and how church and society were implicit in this abuse. Tarabotti's approach is then contrasted with the letters of Maria Celeste Galilei to her father, in which she uses writing as a means of self-expression when it was denied her in other ways.

Outline:
Introduction
The Renaissance Re-examined
Proto-Feminist Works
The Corruption of Venetian Society
The Appropriation of Female Inheritance
Archangela Tarabotti
Background and Works of Tarabotti
Insights into Fundamental Corruption
The Benign Approach of Maria Celeste Galilei
Conclusion

From the Paper
"It is customary to view feminism in terms of political activism, and therefore historians of the movement struggle to find exemplars before the 20th century. However, political activism is only one aspect of feminism, and it should not be conflated with the whole. Another aspect is related to the expression of the female voice. This is where women seek novel avenues of expression in the event that her natural means of expression are denied her. We do in fact notice this form of feminism arising from the time of the renaissance, and the voices heard in this period deserve to be studied in the context of the prevailing repression. One form of repression was the forceful cloistering of unmarriageable daughters in Italy in the late renaissance period. The extant writings of these forcefully cloistered nuns provide a remarkable example of feminine expression as overcoming the severest of barriers. They thus project a spirit of emancipation as well as describe the evasion of paternalistic restrictions."

Tags:Paternalism, emancipation, evasion, forceful, cloistering, Tarabotti

Abstract
This paper explains that many white students remain cloistered in their own schools; meanwhile, non-white racial groups, Latinos and blacks in particular, are often located in schools with a non-white majority, often in areas with high crime and poverty rates and no access to a quality education. The author points out that a better solution than school vouchers are charter schools, which allow communities and educators greater leeway in designing their curricula, lesson plans, and school missions. The paper states that a quality education is the right of all Americans, not just a select few.

From the Paper
"This new segregation will have several important long-term consequences not only for the Latino and black students but also for society as a whole. Education is seen as a stepping-stone for a brighter future. The goal of educators, after all, is not only to teach students skills for gainful employment. In doing so, education is supposed to give young people the critical and analytical foundations that will later allow them to contribute to their communities."

Tags:vouchers, charter, funding, white, non-white

From the Paper
"The form of the piece is essentially a ternary with an extended coda. The initial A extends from measure 1 to measure 32. The contrasting B section extends from measure 33 to measure 42. A extends from measure 45, to measure 73 leaving the coda from measure 74 to the end of the piece. Also, A and A contain internal repeats. Within A, measures 19-32 are essentially a repeat of measures 5-18, disregarding the text. Within A, the music for measures 43-56 is essentially identical to the previous two iterations. However, the second repeat within A (measures 57-73) is varied, explained in greater depth below. "

Tags:analysis, harmony, melody, music, rhythm