How to write a criticism essay
Interesting Topics To Write About In A Research Paper
Monday, August 24, 2020
Touch of Evil Abuse of Power and Corruption in the Police Force Free Essays
James Temple Coms 356 Paper on Lighting I accept a significant subject of Touch of Evil is the maltreatment of intensity and defilement in the police power. The film follows criminologists as they attempt and discover who planted explosive in a vehicle which exploded. Investigator Hank Quinlan appears on the scene and has an inclination that the explosive was planted by somebody on the Mexican side. We will compose a custom paper test on Contact of Evil: Abuse of Power and Corruption in the Police Force or on the other hand any comparable subject just for you Request Now Analyst Quinlan is a degenerate investigator who does anything he can to drag wrongdoers to equity. His individual officials wonderment him and his notoriety to assume control over equity. Investigator Quinlan can be both a decent and underhandedness fellow. In the main model, Chiaroscuro lighting is utilized to obscure Hank Quinlanââ¬â¢s face. This lighting shows how Quinlan is an abhorrent person who gets what he needs. This lighting is of calm since it is difficult to see Quinlanââ¬â¢s face. To one side of Quinlan is one of the Mexican crowd men and Susan with light sparkling on them originating from the correct side of the screen. This light is of high key and high differentiation. The light is sparkling on Susan as though this scene needs to give us how she is acceptable and that she is only a blameless spectator. On the essence of Hank is a harsh look which gives him an evil appearance that heââ¬â¢ll successfully get equity. The Mexican horde fellow is remaining there with his hands up with light sparkling all over him as to state that he is a hero and hasnââ¬â¢t done anything incorrectly yet we realize that this isnââ¬â¢t the case. In the subsequent model, we have light sparkling on Hank Quinlan and Ramon Vargas. Here the lighting is of high key and high complexity. This is picture is when Quinlan reveals to Vargas that the explosive has been in this case, however Vargas discloses to him that he just glanced in the crate and it wasnââ¬â¢t in there previously. Vargasââ¬â¢ face is lit demonstrating that he is of guiltlessness and is a hero. Then again Quinlan has his cap on which cast a little shadow over his eyes indicating that he is insidious. We can advise that Quinlan is planning some mischief and that it was no doubt him who put the explosive stick in the container. Investigator Quinlan has a great deal of intensity and he utilizes it without limit. [pic] Example 1 [pic] Example 2 The most effective method to refer to Touch of Evil: Abuse of Power and Corruption in the Police Force, Essay models
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Denver Art Museum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Denver Art Museum - Essay Example I went into the exhibition hall, I wanted to go into another world, which was a universe of craftsmanship and inventiveness. Something imperative that I saw was the conduct of the managerial staff. The managerial staff of the exhibition hall was agreeable and respectful. During my visit, I saw an enormous number of individuals from various foundations, races, and religions in the exhibition hall. Everybody was appreciating the assortment of fine arts just as the manner in which the works of art were housed in the exhibition hall. Nonetheless, the quantity of individuals present in the gallery was the least pleasant factor for me since I was unable to get the help of the organization staff appropriately. There were an enormous number of individuals while the quantity of staff individuals was exceptionally less. The most charming thing for me was the light music that was being played which was adding to the magnificence of by and large condition of the gallery. Another extensive thing was the ethnic and social assorted variety of America that Denver workmanship exhibition hall uncovers. I can always remember my excursion to the Denver craftsmanship exhibition hall since it made another picture of America in my psyche, which was the picture of a sociall y different America. Let me currently portray two bits of workmanship from Asian craftsmanship, which I truly preferred on my outing to the gallery. 1. Shiva, King of Dancers Retrieved from http://www.denverartmuseum.org/explore_art/assortments/objectDetails/objectId- - 104894 ââ¬ËShiva, King of Dancersââ¬â¢ was made by an Indian masterful virtuoso, named Narja Narayan as indicated by some workmanship students of history, in the tenth century AD. The figure was made utilizing bronze material and the components of the model are 111.51 x 101.64 cm (43 6/8 x 40.5 inches). Shiva, spoke to as Nataraja, is one of the most stunning images of celestial forces. Storl states, ââ¬Å"As Nataraja, Shiva shows up as the ruler of artists with a drum in one hand and a fire in the otherâ⬠(34). The figure uncovers an idea of Shiva moving all through the presence of the world. ââ¬Å"The sound of his drum proclaims its creation; his consuming fire flags its last conflagrationâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Asian Artâ⬠). In the figure, it is indicated that one hand of Shiva is up though the other one is down. The up hand shows that Shiva is assuaging the feelings of dread while the other hand is towards his foot, which he has brought up in a moving position uncovering the feeling of opportunity. As indicated by Berkson, Shiva shows a trancelike face appearance in the figure (12). Shiva is indicated moving around of time uncovering a feeling of freedom and self-rule. Summarizing it, the bronze made figure of Shiva pulls in everybody on account of its style, structure, inventiveness, and sentiments that it provides for the guests. 2. Group of Tigers Retrieved from http://www.denverartmuseum.org/assortments/objectDetails/objectId- - 104878 ââ¬ËFamily of Tigersââ¬â¢ was made by a Korean craftsman in 1600s. The artistic creation was made utilizing ink and shading on paper and the elements of the work of art are 23 x 14 5/7 inches (58.5 x 37.1 cm). During the 1600s, individuals used to appreciate Ko rean tigers for their free soul and quality (ââ¬Å"Asian Artâ⬠). The artistic creation uncovers the mentality of Korean individuals of the past time when they accepted tigers as watchmen of their families. Around then, individuals used to make artistic creations of tigers on the papers so as to drape them on the dividers of their homes. The composition likewise appears
Monday, July 20, 2020
How Does Reductionism Work in Psychology
How Does Reductionism Work in Psychology Basics Print How Does Reductionism Work in Psychology? By Kendra Cherry facebook twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial policy Kendra Cherry Updated on July 30, 2019 More in Psychology Basics Psychotherapy Student Resources History and Biographies Theories Phobias Emotions Sleep and Dreaming In This Article Table of Contents Expand A Closer Look How It's Used Benefits Drawbacks Examples in Psychology Reductionism vs. Holism View All Back To Top Reductionism is a theory in psychology centered on reducing complex phenomena into their most basic parts. It is often contrasted with holism, which is focused on looking at things as a whole. The purpose of reductionism is to simplify psychological events and processes by looking at their smallest elements, thus âreducingâ something rather complex into its most simple. These two approaches are often pitted against one another. Where a reductionist would propose that the best way to understand something is to look at what it is made up of, a holist would argue that the sum-product is more than simply the sum of its parts. Illustration by Emily Roberts, Verywell A Closer Look Reductionism is an approach that is used in many disciplines, including psychology, that is centered on the belief that we can best explain something by breaking it down into its individual parts. If you want to understand something, the reductionist approach would propose simply taking a look at each of its constituent pieces. If you wanted to understand a car, for instance, you would look at each part of the engine, body, and interior. The big question in psychology is not whether or not reductionism has valueâ"it is to what extent it can be useful. It can be quite helpful in some types of research, but in many cases, the sum is much more than simply the total of its pieces. The complete item in question has what are known as emergent properties that are simply not present in its smaller pieces. In the example of a car, looking at each individual component can tell you a great deal about the mechanics of the vehicle, but you will not know other details such as how comfortable the interior is, how smooth the ride is, or how good the gas mileage will be until the pieces are reassembled back into the whole. How Its Used When trying to understand human behavior, scientists using this perspective would say that the best way to understand it would be to look at the parts that make up each system of the human brain and body. By knowing how each part works, reductionists suggest that we can then form an understanding of the whole based on what we know about each element that contributes to how the whole functions. Within psychology, there also exist different areas in which reductionism operates. At its most basic level, reductionism might focus on the neurons and neurological processes that impact how people think and act. Another very basic level of reductionism would involve looking at DNA and genes to determine how human behaviors are influenced by genetics. This level of reductionism might also focus on the different parts of the brain and how each structure in the brain affects different processes and behaviors. Another level of reductionism would focus on how behavior can be reduced to stimulus-response cycles (ie, behaviorism). The cognitive approach would also represent another aspect of reductionism centered on understanding how people gather, store, process, and use information. Higher levels of the reductionist approach might take a broader look at how specific things such as social interactions and culture impact how people think and act. As you can see in each of these examples, reductionism involves taking psychological topics and breaking it down into a much more narrow focus. Benefits So why would researchers choose to take a reductionist approach when looking at different psychological phenomena? While this process often involves oversimplifying things, there are reasons why reductionism can be useful. Focus One of the major benefits of reductionism is that it allows researchers to look at things that can be incredibly varied and complex such as the human mind and behavior, and break them down into smaller parts that are easier to investigate. It allows researchers to focus on a specific problem. For example, researchers might utilize the reductionism approach when studying a psychiatric condition such as depression. Rather than trying to account for all of the many different forces that may contribute to depression, a reductionist perspective might suggest that depression is caused by biological processes within the body. Make the Complicated Less Intimidating When approaching a truly difficult problem, it can be all too easy to become overwhelmed by all the questions and information that are available. When studying psychological issues, for example, researchers might struggle to even form a basic hypothesis unless they find some way to focus their attention on a very small aspect of a phenomenon. While this point of view neglects other factors that might contribute, such as genetics, social relationships, and environmental variables, it gives researchers a more narrow focus of their studies. By using reductionism to simplify what they want to study, researchers can explore a component is much greater depth. Drawbacks While reductionism has some important benefits, it also has a few significant downsides that should be noted. Ignores All Factors Contributing to a Problem The clear downside of reductionism is that it is so totally focused on the smaller elements that contribute to a phenomenon that it fails to account for other forces that might play a role as well. In our above example, researchers taking a biological approach for explaining depression might focus their studies on chemical reactions and balances within the body that contribute to symptoms of depression. While this type of research might lead to important medical advances in the treatment of depression, it excludes other variables such as cognitions, hereditary influences, personal problems, substance abuse, and other variables. Does Not Account for the Whole While reductionism can lead to exploring components of a phenomenon in greater depth, it also misses how these variables interact with one another. Few things have only one simple cause. Reductionism might allow researchers to look at each component individually, but it does not really explore how each of these smaller elements work together. Complex systems are dynamic and always changing, and it is often by looking at how things work together as a whole that we can gain a clearer picture of how something works. Examples in Psychology There are a number of different approaches to psychology that are reflective of a reductionist approach to science. These include: Biopsychology The biological approach to psychology is centered on understanding how the underlying biological processes contribute to human behavior. This represents a type of reductionism because researchers are focused on a smaller part of the human experience. When approaching a psychological condition, for example, biopsychologists would suggest that the problem is the result of a biological process in the brain and body. To treat the condition, they would recommend medications that treat the problem at the physiological level. Understanding the Field of Biopsychology Behaviorism The behaviorist approach to psychology focuses on how interactions with the environment contribute to learning and human behavior. At its strictest, behaviorism suggests that all human behaviors can be thought of in terms of conditioning and reinforcement. This reductionism approach ignores other factors such as cognition and biology in favor of simply focusing on environmental influences. A behaviorist might look at a psychological condition in terms of how to present behavior has been caused by past learning. To treat the condition, a behaviorist would recommend utilizing behavior modification techniques to weaken old associations and form new ones. Cognitive Psychology The cognitive approach focuses on studying how internal mental processes can be carefully and objectively studied. This approach is reductionist because it focuses only on cognitions and neglects other factors that might contribute to behavior. A cognitive psychologist might explain a psychological condition in terms of the underlying thought patterns that contribute to the personâs feelings and behaviors. They might recommend a treatment approach centered on changing the unhealthy cognitions in order to replace them with more positive, realistic ones. How Cognitive Psychology Explains the Science Behind Mental Processes Reductionism vs. Holism The reductionist approach to science is frequently contrasted with the holistic approach, which approaches things as a whole rather than focusing on the individual parts. The holistic approach does not discount the importance of each individual component but instead suggests that understanding the whole requires looking at how these parts work on different levels as well as how they interact and influence one another. There are many areas of psychology that tend to take a more holistic approach to the science of human thought and behavior. Social psychology, humanistic psychology, and positive psychology, for example, are more focused on understanding how people function on the whole rather than simply looking at a tiny slice of the human experience. A Word From Verywell Critics of reductionism often suggest that his approach oversimplifies complex things, but this does not mean that the reductionist approach is not useful. Human behavior is often so varied and complex that breaking certain things down into smaller parts allows researchers a way to understand problems in different ways. While relying solely on reductionism might lead to gaps in knowledge, using this approach to learn more about some topics can be quite useful and informative. Whether a more reductionist or holistic approach would be the most beneficial way to think about the problem often depends upon the specific topic and situation. How Theories Are Used in Psychology
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Case Study 3 Bipolar Disorder. Steven Fry Made A Documentary
Case Study 3: Bipolar Disorder Steven Fry made a documentary about individuals who suffer from bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, and even includes his own personal experience with the disorder. Many of them are well-known in the public eye and have decided to speak out about their disorder. Not every person in the documentary had the same experience and Steven Fry also spoke with many professionals about possible explanations to bipolar disorder and possible age of onset/diagnosis. He talked about his own personal story of suffering from bipolar depression, including details such as getting expelled from school, stealing, slapping a teacher, getting arrested, and attempting suicide all before the age of seventeen. Listeningâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦It was also quite informative to hear about inheritance of the disorder and related aspects. A mom who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder had children and I never really considered pregnancy having such an effect on the disorder. The doctor explain ed to Steven Fry that pregnancy and child birth are both extremely hard for women diagnosed with manic depression. The woman, Gaynor Thomas, was talking about how she believed her child was the messiah, she was sent from God to have this child, and they would change the world together. The influence her pregnancy had on her disorder made her fearful of having another child. Rick Stein also worried about him inheriting the condition after his father dived off a cliff near his house. Rick also worries about his sons having the condition as well. These people know first-hand the struggles and repercussions of bipolar disorder and are justifiably worried about their loved ones going through the same experience. I think the most educational part of this documentary was when Steven Fry spoke to others who have manic depression that he would not have guessed had the disorder. Robbie Williams for example, a very popular performer talked about his extremely low lows dealing with the depressi on part of bipolar disorder. A majority of people would not have been able to recognize that Robbie was very depressed because he did not show it all the time. He was a performer,
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
The Odyssey and Dantes Inferno - 1300 Words
Governments come and go; religions rise and fall, but there is perhaps one thing that remains constant throughout the history of mankind: story-telling. It can be said that there is no better way to captivate and provoke the imagination of a person than being told the tale from the heart of a poet, whether it be romance, adventure or simply a story from experiences. And perhaps there are no better poets that are better able to drag their willing audience along a journey than Homer and Dante. The epic tales of The Odyssey and Inferno, respectively, were seemingly written along a parallel train of thought when describing their characters journey, easily engaging the creative functions of the reader with adventurous tales of hope and adventure. Their characters, Odysseus and Dante himself, reflect upon their like and equal struggles in the quest to return home and the help that they received along the way that helped them make the return possible. The Odyssey begins far ago when Odysseus had finished his duty as a soldier, fighting in the Trojan War, ultimately winning, while the opening setting of Danteââ¬â¢s Inferno eventuates with Dante himself in the dark forest. The similarities are set in motion nearly from the beginning, with both seemingly lost in life, yearning for the path to normality that seemingly evades them. Though the way seems daunting initially, each receives guidance and protection from a divine intervention, seemingly bent on ensuring that they make itShow MoreRelatedEssay about Comparing the Underworlds in Danteââ¬â¢s Inferno and The Odyssey2108 Words à |à 9 PagesDanteââ¬â¢s Inferno is a narrative poem, with a very complicated rhyme scheme, originally written in Italian. It documents the authorââ¬â¢s, Dante, trip through hell, where he learns how hell is organized and the way in which sinners are punished. Dante is guided by the great poet Virgil, who leads him throughout hell. The Od yssey, is an epic authored by the Greek, Homer. The epics centers on Odysseusââ¬â¢ protracted journey home. The protagonist, Odysseus, visits the underworld for a very short amountRead MoreThe Odyssey, By Homer, And The Inferno1005 Words à |à 5 PagesHell The two epics The Odyssey, by Homer, and The Inferno, by Dante, both works have two different perspectives of the character Ulysses. The Odyssey is told from the ancient Greek perspective around 700BC, and The Inferno is told from a Christian point of view in 1300AD. Both epics are written nearly 2000 years apart from each other. What set apart the ideals of both epics are the Pagan warrior perspective in Homerââ¬â¢s epic and the Christian Europe perspective in Danteââ¬â¢s epic. The controversial topicRead MoreWhy Is Humanities Important?3163 Words à |à 13 Pagesup. These works are continuously referenced. Another reason that humanities is taught is because it helps people express themselves better, and have a broader base from which to do so. If most of us have read and memorized the punishments in the Inferno than most people would understand. But the basic idea is that by studying humanities we ll communicate and understand each other better. And while memorizing these i nfernal punishments may seem tedious, if looked at pragmatically it s really notRead MoreDifferences and Similarities in The Odyssey and Inferno When going through the stories The Odyssey600 Words à |à 3 PagesDifferences and Similarities in The Odyssey and Inferno When going through the stories The Odyssey by Homer and Inferno by Dante, you get the feeling of how diverse, yet similar the two stories are. When reading The Odyssey, you find Ulysses trying to get home to his love, Penelope. He has been gone for twenty years, and through those years, he has struggled with good and evil, just like Dante in Inferno. Ulysses finds himself time after time fighting off gods and their children. Dante, strugglingRead MoreThe Divine Comedy And Dantes Inferno1079 Words à |à 5 PagesIn the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is viewed as a brave and virtuous hero by most people, especially the Greeks. However, the poet Dante Alighieri shares a much different view within his book The Divine Comedy: Inferno. Dante was born and raised in Italy and therefore had a natural hate for everything Greek related. The Inferno was written thousands of years after the Trojan war, and yet Dante still had a burning grudge against the Greeks for the way in which they defeated the Romans. Dante also validatedRead MoreAthena in the Odyssey vs. Virgil in the Inferno Essay1500 Words à |à 6 PagesAthena in the Odyssey VS. Virgil in the Inferno Two of the greatest works ever written, The Odyssey by Homer and The Inferno by Dante, are detailed, multi-sectioned poems about the journeyââ¬â¢s of two men. In each story, the main character is given some sort of guidance by another character in order to aid them in their travels. In The Odyssey, Athena is portrayed as the protector to Odysseus on his journey back home from the Trojan War to his family in Ithaca. In The Inferno, Virgil is requestedRead More1. The Russian-American sociologist Pitirim Sorokin categories three cyclical waxing and waning1800 Words à |à 8 Pagesin the sensate category belongs Danteââ¬â¢s Inferno, in the ideational category belongs both of the Gospels, and in the idealistic category belongs the Odyssey. I chose Danteââ¬â¢s Inferno for the sensate category because it is our sense perception that shows the truth and the Inferno is all about Danteââ¬â¢s idea of how people should pay for their sins. I chose the Gospelââ¬â¢s for the ideatio nal category because it was different versions of how people saw Jesus. I chose the Odyssey for the idealistic category becauseRead MoreDantes Inferno Ulysses777 Words à |à 4 PagesUlysses in Danteââ¬â¢s The Inferno Dante places many figures of Greek mythology, Roman antiquity, and some political enemies in Hell. For some of these people his reasoning suits their punishment, for others it doesnââ¬â¢t, and for some we donââ¬â¢t know enough about them to verify their placement. Ulysses is placed in the eighth circle of Hell and in the eighth bolgia with the evil counselors for his acts in the Trojan War. Danteââ¬â¢s reasoning behind his placement was unjust and Ulysses does not deserve theRead MoreOdysseus and Dante1517 Words à |à 7 PagesThe two stories or myths, The Inferno written by Durante Alighieri published in 1314 and the Odyssey by Homer in 800 B.C.E. are about true love, great journeys that are different but in some ways parallel and end with them back with their true love. Both Dante and Odysseus have a woman who waits for them and in their travels must search themselves and make the right choices to get back to them. Odysseus longs to be with his wife Penelope and Dante t o be with the woman he wants to marry BeatriceRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Comedia 947 Words à |à 4 Pagesbest known for his critically acclaimed epic poem, Comedà ¬a, which would later be called The Divine Comedy. Comedà ¬a has 3 parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The first installment, Inferno, may currently be the most well known of the three poems, spawning countless reprints, several movies and even a video game. Despite being known as a comedy, anyone who has read Inferno realizes that the story is full of symbolism, double entendres, political messages, allusions, religious undertonesâ⬠¦ the list
Wisdom in Revenge Free Essays
A Savage Wisdom is a novel that chronicled the fictionalized life of Toni Joe Henry as inspired by the life and crime of Annie Beatrice McQuiston. She was the first and only woman to suffer the penalty of dying in an electric chair at a basement in a courthouse at Lake Charles. She was convicted of murdering a Houston businessman that was her lover. We will write a custom essay sample on Wisdom in Revenge or any similar topic only for you Order Now She turned into a cold-blooded murderer because she was consumed with passion and feelings of betrayal. However, at the beginning of the novel she is depicted as beautiful, naà ¯ve, Southern girl that would elicit sympathy from the readers. Because of her naivety, she was taken advantage by Herald Nevers. It is unknown to the girl that Nevers is selling indecent pictures of her. Furthermore, Nevers allowed other men to watch them make love with each other. She then realized that this man has turned her into a prostitute. She was eventually rescued by Arkie Burk. One incident leads her to the killing, while she and Burk were traveling; they encountered a hitchhiker that turned out to be Nevers. Consumed by anger, she lost control and killed Nevers. After the death of her ex-lover, she was imprisoned. While in prison, she had a love affair with a deputy that impregnated her. Before she was executed, she gave birth to a child. The author has been successful in inciting feelings of sympathy towards the protagonist from the readers. That is exactly what I feel towards the protagonistââ¬â¢s predicament. I do not necessarily like and agree to her lifeââ¬â¢s choices and her lifeââ¬â¢s decisions; however, she is not to blame. She appears to be a very beautiful, good, and naive girl that deserves love and attention more than what was given to her by Nevers. I pity her because her naivety was taken advantage of by Nevers. Her act of killing him is a kind of revenge for the humiliation that he has done. Women abuse are palpable because of a common belief that women are naturally, biologically, and emotionally weak in relation to men. Cases of sexual abuse spawned from another common belief that it is difficult for women to defend themselves. However, this was proven wrong by Toni Jo Henry. Her act of killing Nevers is exemplary. It serves as a model for men and even for women to take heed on the fact that women should not in any way be taken advantage of because they have the capacity to defend themselves by any means. This is where the title of the novel best works. It suggests the wisdom and realization that people get from the incident despite a savage one. While the act of killing may serve a purpose and Henry had a reasonable justification for it, I still believe that she deserves to be punished. I understand that she did the crime because Nevers has done her wrong. She needs to fight for her right as a woman and as a human being that should be respected despite her status in life. But that does not justify the killing itself. I believe that she has to be punished for the crime that she has done. It was no doubt an act of retaliation and revenge that would not be justified in the eyes of criminal justice. For her to attain justice is to make the law work for her and not against her. A wrong done would not be made right by doing another wrong. I believe she has reasons to kill but those reasons are never justified in the eyes of the law and morals. Works Cited German, Norman. A Savage Wisdom. Thibodaux: Thunder Rain, 2008. How to cite Wisdom in Revenge, Papers
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Romeo And Juliet Essays (1181 words) - Film, Romeo And Juliet
Romeo And Juliet ROMEO AND JULIET Consumed by Fire - by Scott Walters I hate and I love. Why I do so, perhaps you ask. I know not, but I feel it and I am in torment. Gaius Valerius Catullus Too hot, too hot! William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale For a love story, Romeo and Juliet has more violence and bloodshed than most TV mini-series. The play begins with a riot, ends with a double suicide, and in between has three murders. And all this takes place in the span of four short days. Of course, when you're dealing with love and passion, you're operating on an elemental level. The funny thing is that they have their roots in the same soil. How many times have you seen love turn to hate, and vice versa, in the blink of an eye? Love and hate are twin sons of different mothers, separated at birth. They have a doubleness. This ambiguity is reflected throughout Romeo and Juliet, whose language is riddled with oxymorons. O brawling love, O loving hate, Romeo cries in the play's very first scene, using a figure of speech and setting up a theme that will be played out during the next five acts. Like the poles of an electrical circuit between which runs the high voltage of emotions, love and hate create a dialogue and a dialectic, a dynamic tension which powers the action and generates heat. Hot Enough for You? When I noticed that two of the plays this season had settings in Verona, I decided to find out a thing or two about the place. Reading the section on climate in Harold Rose's rather chatty book Your Guide to Northern Italy, I noted that Italy is very hot in summer and that Rose recommends that the smart traveler should avoid August if you can because it is the hottest month. Checking another book, I discovered that Rose, in a typically English way, was understating the severity of the summer weather rather considerably. The second book pointed out that there are times when Scirocco winds sweep Saharan conditions northward; winds which, by the time they reach Italy, bring humid, stifling weather with temperatures commonly topping the 100 degree mark. After reading this, a great deal of the violence in Romeo and Juliet became more understandable: they're all short-tempered because of the heat! This is even noted by Benvolio when he warns Mercutio that The day is hot, and Capulet's abroad,/ And if we meet we shall not scape a brawl,/ For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring. Unfortunately, he warns too late, and the brawl he seeks to avoid is met in the form of Tybalt. The mad blood is stirring... Think back a few summers to the drought that plagued Illinois: after days and days of humid, 90+ temperatures, didn't you want to kill somebody? Tempers explode when it's hot. At the end of a ten-day heat wave, one newspaper reported that a knife fight broke out when one man asked another, Hot enough for you? The connection between heat and violence is well-known and documented. In 1968, the United States Riot Commission, investigating the ghetto riots that had taken place the previous year found that In most instances, the temperature during the day on which the violence first erupted was quite high. In fact, in 9 of 18 riots, the temperature reached 90 degrees or more during the day, and in all but one of the remaining cases, the temperature had been in the 80s. The long, hot summer of 1967 was just that. Perhaps it is not too great a stretch to postulate that Verona is experiencing just such a long, hot summer. Something must have happened to have touched off the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. By the time Romeo and Juliet begins, the violence is already under way. The play opens with a riot, after which the Prince angrily notes that Three civil brawls...have thrice disturbed the quiet of our streets. Obviously, this violence has not been continual, for it is still young enough for people to keep count of the fights. No, this is a new outbreak of an older conflict, as the Capulets and Montagues from ancient grudge break to
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