Thursday, November 28, 2019

Huswifery Essays - Conceptions Of God, Patriology,

"Huswifery" Puritan language is the most striking in the doubleness of its appeal. It looks both ways: to radical voluntarism, yet to utter submission; to absolute authority, yet to limited authority, defined as duties more than powers and constrained by mutual obligation from God on down; to God the father, yet to God the mother; to the Word as strict law, yet to the Word as spiritual milk; to the self filled with filth as lustful pride, or anger, yet to the self reborn of the Father in infantile ecstasy or collectively married to Christ in virgin purity (Leverenz, 7). It is possible that all of these traits that Leverenz describes in Puritan language exist in this poem. However, those that are most obvious are the doubleness of God as both father and mother as well as the doubleness of radical voluntarism to utter submission. In portraying God as a spinster, one who will "[Taylor's] Distaff make for [him]" and "knit therein this Twine," Taylor is essentially offering his soul up to a patriarchal and authoritative God, one who will "clothe" his "ways with glory" and who will "make [Taylor] [His] Loom." This authoritative and omniscient God coincides with that which is easily interpreted as a father figure, one to which both the individual and the community submit in reverence. This figure represents the patriarchy so evident in Puritanism but it is also the existence of this patriarchy that Leverenz doubts. Though God is being employed in this poem as a dominator and a creator, God is also unavoidably portrayed as doing a woman's work or "huswifery". God is implicated as a maternal force as well, one which will nurture and make "[Taylor's] Soul [Her] holy Spool to be." In this respect, Leverenz is correct in assuming the "doubleness" of Puritan language - a language which cannot be solely patriarchal or emanating a paternal authority because of the maternal implications of God that exist alongside it. This doubleness is also made manifest by the fact that Taylor both supplicates to God but makes a demand from him as well. The language of the poem is strictly imperative, commanding God to "make [his] affections Thy Swift Flyers neat" and to "weave the Web [Him]self. The yarn is fine." It is almost as if the poet is designing that which God will weave - the glorified Taylor - and God is merely the employee. However, at the same time, Taylor still consistently objectifies himself to God, making the job imperative to Taylor's dressing himself in clothes suitable to the glory of God and representative of his submission to God. The language of this poem and the way in which Taylor makes use of both the commonly accepted Puritanical God who is paternal and authoritative and to whom the individual is automatically subordinated also explicitly portrays this second part of Leverenz' double nature of Puritan language - that which allows for a more maternal God as well as deviance from pure submission and reverence.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

What Makes Grammar a Timeless Subject to Study and Teach

What Makes Grammar a Timeless Subject to Study and Teach Grammar has long been a subject of study- as a companion to  rhetoric  in ancient Greece and Rome and as one of the seven  liberal arts  in medieval education. Although the  methods  of studying grammar have changed dramatically in recent times, the  reasons  for studying grammar have remained essentially the same.   One of the most sensible answers to the question of why grammar matters appears in a position statement on the teaching of grammar in American schools. Published by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the report is refreshingly free of educational cant. Heres how it begins: Grammar is important because it is the language that makes it possible for us to talk about language. Grammar names the types of words and word groups that make up sentences not only in English but in any language. As human beings, we can put sentences together even as children- we can all do grammar. But to be able to talk about how sentences are built, about the types of words and word groups that make up sentences- that is knowing about grammar. And knowing about grammar offers a window into the human mind and into our amazingly complex mental capacity. People associate grammar with errors and correctness. But knowing about grammar also helps us understand what makes sentences and paragraphs clear and interesting and precise. Grammar can be part of literature discussions when we and our students closely read the sentences in poetry and stories. And knowing about grammar means finding out that all languages and all dialects follow grammatical patterns. (Haussamen, Brock, et al. Some Questions and Answers About Grammar, 2002.) Note: The full report, Some Questions and Answers About Grammar, can be found on the website for the National Council of Teachers of English. Its well worth the read for anyone interested in English grammar. Additional Perspectives on Grammar Consider these explanations from other experts in English and education on why grammar matters: On  the utility and importance of  the study of Grammar,  and the principles of composition, much might be advanced, for the encouragement of persons in early life to apply themselves to this branch of learning... It may indeed be justly asserted, that many of the differences in opinion amongst men, with the disputes, contentions, and alienations of heart, which have too often proceeded from such differences, have been occasioned by a want of proper skill in the connexion and meaning of words, and by a tenacious misapplication of language. (Murray,  Lindley. English Grammar: Adapted to the Different Classes of Learners, Collins and Perkins, 1818.) We study grammar because a knowledge of sentence structure is an aid in the interpretation of literature; because continual dealing with sentences influences the student to form better sentences in his own composition; and because grammar is the best subject in our course of study for the development of reasoning power. (Webster,  William Frank. The Teaching of English Grammar, Houghton, 1905.) The study of language is a part of general knowledge. We study the complex working of the human body to understand ourselves; the same reason should attract us to studying the marvelous complexity of human language... If you understand the nature of language, you will realize the ground for your linguistic prejudices and perhaps moderate them; you will also more clearly assess linguistic issues of public concern, such as worries about the state of the language or what to do about the teaching of immigrants. Studying the English language has a more obvious practical application: It can help you to use the language more effectively. (Greenbaum, Sidney, and Gerald Nelson. An Introduction to English Grammar, 2nd ed., Longman, 2002.) Grammar is the study of how sentences mean. And that is why it helps. If we want to understand the meaning conveyed by sentences, and to develop our ability to express and respond to this meaning, then the more we know about grammar, the better we will be able to carry out these tasks... Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. The more we are aware of how it works, the more we can monitor the meaning and effectiveness of the way we and others use language. It can help foster precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression available in English. And it can help everyone - not only teachers of English but teachers of anything, for all teaching is ultimately a matter of getting to grips with meaning. (Crystal, David. Making Sense of Grammar, Longman, 2004.) [T]he study of your own grammatical system can be quite revealing and useful, and provides you with insights into how language, your own and others, whether spoken or signed, actually works... With an understanding of how language actually works, and a concise vocabulary to talk about it, you will be equipped to make more informed decisions and choices about grammar and usage, and to tease out linguistic fact from linguistic fiction. (Lobeck, Anne and Kristin Denham,  Navigating English Grammar: A Guide to Analyzing Real Language,  Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.)

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Relationship between Fashion and Art Assignment

The Relationship between Fashion and Art - Assignment Example This assignment discusses if the fashion belongs in an art gallery, how the fashion and art collision are defined. To identify the similarities and differences of fashion and the field of art, the research will focus on the changes that the industry has experienced over the last 10 years. Starting from the year 2005, it will be possible to observe the historical transformation of the two fields and examine any relationship between the two. The main focus of this research is to identify the difference between art and fashion and the way the two relate. Over history, the topic of the relationship between fashion and art has been of great importance. A controversy exists among scholars as some agree that fashion and art are close to each other while others believe that they are two different fields. Those who support the idea say that fashion is a manifestation of art and the two change in the same style. They are dynamic and they have to change with time. Those who view fashion and art as separate entities explain that Art produces ugly things that become beautiful with time, while fashion produces beautiful things that become ugly with time. On this note, there seems to be no major concession on whether there is a major relationship between fashion and art. By focusing on this topic, it will be possible to focus on the question of when fashion can be seen as art or vice versa. As a student of films and arts, the concept of fashion and art are relevant and one must have a clear understanding.