The eNotes Blog The Art of ReadingPoetry

The Art of ReadingPoetry In fifth grade, my music teacher asked me to recite a poem during our holiday concert. This meant having to stand in front of my classmates, teachers, and parents, and, I guess, read? I practiced it, but practice always felt like a weird term for that. More like, read it over and over in my head. Then, read it over and over out loud. I added some pauses after each line but didn’t really think there had to be more than that. After all, it was just reading aloud. And, reading was something I did all the time. During dress rehearsal, I went up to the microphone- armed only with my flimsy, single sheet of paper- as my nerves eventually got the best of me. My hands shook. My face flamed. My voice wobbled. It was terrible. Oh, the horror! I was so embarrassed. Everyone must have been wondering why I was chosen. Once rehearsal was over, I dreaded going back to the music room to go over notes for the performance. To my surprise, the only comment I received was â€Å"read slower.† So, I slowed down. And, with that, I found the poem more enjoyable. I began to hear the melodies and understand it more. Poetry is elusive. It’s a joy we experience as children. Its lyrical and musical state lends itself to natural enjoyment to children. But, inexplicably, poetry transforms into an object adults dare not touch. Perhaps its unpopularity lies in the expansive margins or its ability to confuse with so little words. Yet, there was once a time when poetry was highly enjoyed in your own lifetime (childhood) and highly enjoyed in history. We often use the term â€Å"poet† or â€Å"poetry† to describe something graceful, artful, or just plain beautiful. Sports media use the terms consistently to describe successful athletic endeavors. We find ourselves musing on beautiful things, like sunsets or movies, to be â€Å"like poetry.† Interestingly enough, we also use poetry to describe snobbery or college students who don’t know what else to study- a â€Å"confusing waste of time.† Why get caught up in it? Poetry is greatly misunderstood by most everyone. Many believe that all poetry needs to either change your life or confuse you greatly. This misunderstood concept is what keeps so many adults away from poetry. But, poetry can be enjoyable and the key to poetry is to understand that you won’t understand it on first try. There is nothing to â€Å"solve† about poetry. The art of reading poetry is merely to pay attention. Paying attention is the first thing to improve on when reading poetry. You will want to rush through it. Naturally, there’s something in you that wants to finish it as quickly as possible. But, there is no benefit from this. Poetry is meant to both be wrestled with and read many many times. The patterns, the structure, and, the meter can all hide subtle nuances that provide further meaning or understanding only with the fifth time reading it. Poetry, like any piece of art, requires critical thought. Reading poetry is critical in this day and age and should not be overlooked. Reading and writing poetry improves the ability to condense complex ideas, develop empathy, and increase creativity. The genius of poetry is using language we often already know and placing it in an entirely new context to provide a new depth. For a society that loves innovation and technology, let’s appreciate the innovation of poetry, shall we? Why is poetry important? Poetry speaks on what it means to be human, to be alive. When we engage fully and presently with poetry, by reading aloud, forming the words with our mouths and reciting it to no one in particular but ourselves, to me, that’s being alive. Sound intimidating? It shouldn’t be. All it takes is a simple word of advice from my music teacher: read slower. Do you enjoy reading poetry? Check out to explore our library of famous poets and their most notable works. Have specific questions about poetry or other subjects? Take a look at Homework Help where your questions are answered by real educators. Featured image via smashbomb.com.

Origins of the ‘Lisp’ of Spain

Origins of the ‘Lisp’ of Spain If you study Spanish long enough, sooner or later youll hear a tale about Spanish King Ferdinand, who supposedly spoke with a lisp, causing Spaniards to imitate him in pronouncing the z and sometimes the c to be  pronounced with the th sound of thin. Oft-repeated Story Merely an Urban Legend In fact, some readers of this site have reported hearing the tale from their Spanish instructors. Its a great story, but its just that: a story. More precisely, its an urban legend, one of those stories that is repeated so often that people come to believe it. Like many other legends, it has enough truth- some Spaniards indeed do speak with something that the uninformed might call a lisp- to be believed, provided one doesnt examine the story too closely. In this case, looking at the story more closely would make one wonder why Spaniards dont also pronounce the letter s with a so-called lisp. Heres the Real Reason for the ‘Lisp’ One of the basic differences in pronunciation between most of Spain and most of Latin America is that the z is pronounced something like the English s in the West but like the unvoiced th of thin in Europe. The same is true of the c when it comes before an e or i. But the reason for difference has nothing to do with a long-ago king; the basic reason is the same as why U.S. residents pronounce many words differently than do their British counterparts. The fact is that all living languages evolve. And when one group of speakers is separated from another group, over time the two groups will part ways and develop their own peculiarities in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Just as English speakers talk differently in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and South Africa, among others, so do Spanish speakers vary among Spain and the Latin American countries. Even within one country, including Spain, youll hear regional variations in pronunciation. And thats all were talking about with the lisp. So what we have is not a lisp or an imitated lisp, just a difference in pronunciation. The pronunciation in Latin America is no more correct, nor less, than that in Spain. There isnt always a specific explanation of why language changes in the way it does. But there is a plausible explanation given for this change, according to a graduate student who wrote to this site after the publication of an earlier version of this article. Heres what he said: As a graduate student of the Spanish language and a Spaniard, being confronted with people who know the origin of the lisp found in most of Spain is one of my pet peeves. I have heard the lisping king story many times, even from cultured people who are native Spanish speakers, though you will not hear it come from a Spaniard. Firstly, the ceceo is not a lisp. A lisp is the mispronunciation of the sibilant s sound. In Castilian Spanish, the sibilant s sound exists and is represented by the letter s. The ceceo comes in to represent the sounds made by the letters z and c followed by i or e. In medieval Castilian there were two sounds that eventually evolved into the ceceo, the à § (the cedilla) as in plaà §a and the z as in dezir. The cedilla made a /ts/ sound and the z a /dz/ sound. This gives more insight into why those similar sounds may have evolved into the ceceo. Pronunciation Terminology In the above student comment, the term ceceo is used to refer to the pronunciation of the z (and of c before  e or i). To be precise, however, the term ceceo refers to how the s is pronounced, namely the same as the z of most of Spain- so that, for example, sinc would be pronounced like roughly think instead of like sink. In most regions, this pronunciation of the s is considered substandard. When used precisely, ceceo doesnt refer to the pronunciation of the z, ci or ce, although that error is often made. Other Regional Variations in Pronunciation Although differences in the pronunciation of the z (and sometimes c) are the most well-known of the geographical differences in Spanish pronunciation, they arent the only ones. Another well-known regional variation involves yeà ­smo, the tendency, common almost everywhere, for the ll and the y to share to share the same sound. Thus, in most areas, pollo (chicken) and poyo (a type of bench) are pronounced alike. But in parts of South America, the sound of the ll can be something like the s in measure, also called a zh sound. And sometimes the sound can be something like the j or sh of English. Other regional variations include the softening or disappearance of the s sound and a merging of the l and r sounds. The cause of all these variations is much as the same as for the regional variations in the z- isolation of some speakers can lead to diverging pronunciations. Key Takeaways Languages such as English and Spanish that cover wide geographical areas tend to develop regional differences in pronunciation.Such a natural change in regional pronunciation- and not a long-ago royal edict as is sometimes believed- is responsible for the z (and c before e or i) being pronounced differently in Latin America than in Spain.Those used to the Latin American pronunciation should not think of the pronunciation of Spain ans being inferior, or vice versa- differences exist, but neither type of Spanish is inherently better.

New Years Ressaylutions 2015

New Years Ressaylutions 2015 It’s that time of year again: New Year’s resolutions. Today I spoke with a friend whose resolutions are beautifully concrete and achievable: Declutter his journals, letters and cards from his apartment, and make sure all his and his parents’ affairs are in order, with all i’s dotted and t’s crossed. I envied the simplicity of that. In my world, one of my personal resolutions looks like this: Build relationships as I take on leading teams and prioritize those relationships over getting stuff done. But still get stuff done. And inspire my teams with energy so they want to satisfy me! This sort of goal is much less straightforward and measurable, but it’s my goal and my resolution. I hope to see great progress in that area by the end of 2015. For now, let’s check in on the resolutions I made last year for my business. How am I doing? 2014 â€Å"Ressaylutions† and Current Status: Increase college essay / personal statement portion of my business to 25% of business. As predicted in my October blog, I reached just about 10%. Most of the marketing efforts I made in good faith did not result in new clients; however I received some inquiries by people doing Google searches (great news for me) and several resume writers have referred clients (thank you- you know who you are if you are reading this!). December is traditionally a busier month for college admissions, so if you know someone applying to school please let them know about The Essay Expert! Roll out a new â€Å"responsive† (mobile-friendly) website. This project is finally on track and I expect to roll out a new site in January! Just missed my 2014 deadline by a smidge. Choose a CRM and project management system. I am still working with an Infusionsoft expert to create these systems. I have reviewed about 100 pages of email messages that will go out to clients and writers in the course of working on various projects. I have now been advised to get the website up and running before implementing Infusionsoft. I look forward to having things run seamlessly by Q2 2015! Serve 250 clients. Total clients this year is 160. I did not reach my goal. I will be looking at my lead generations strategies and expect that my new website and Infusionsoft implementation will support The Essay Expert’s expansion to a wider client base in 2015. Generate 214 success stories. I did not meet this goal (we’re at 50). When I look honestly, I think I may have gotten lazy on my follow-up efforts. I have automated messages that go out to clients but I could do more to reach out individually and personally. My 2015 resolutions are as follows: Increase college essay / personal statement portion of my business to 25% of business. I’m going for this one again and am encouraged by the uptick in this part of my business in the last month! Roll out a new â€Å"responsive† (mobile-friendly) website. This will be happening for real in January! Implement Infusionsoft. See 2015 report! Serve 250 clients. Going for this again! Publish a print version of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile. I have a publisher all set to go on this project. The challenge is that LinkedIn’s interface changes so frequently; I was almost ready in December to move forward and then almost everything about LinkedIn’s home page and functionality changed! Nevertheless, I’m determined. Implement a robust referral program. I want to encourage people to refer clients to The Essay Expert and to reward them for their efforts. If you have an idea of what would be a great incentive for you, please let me know! Create more internal systems/guidelines. I faced a couple of difficult negotiations this year that might have been prevented by clearer agreements with my writers. Although I have detailed agreements that I sign with all writers, as well as guideline documents, I’m discovering some missing pieces and will be putting those in for 2015. Setting clear expectations is key to running a business smoothly! 2015 is looking to be an exciting year of growth, both personally and professionally (and I happen to believe they are one and the same). What are your New Year’s Resolutions for 2015 and your growth edges? Please share!

A&P Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A&P Discussion - Essay Example The five-liter per minute blood flow indicates how the fatty materials have built up along the arterial walls that the volumetric blood rate becomes this low. (2) Immunosuppressive Disorder, otherwise known as immunodeficiency disorder, pertains to any condition that impairs the ability of a human body to combat infections as such disorder suppresses a natural response of the immune system to an antigen. Besides being genetically transferred, it may be acquired in the form as AIDS and one may obtain the virus responsible for it through sexual intercourse or transfusion with a contaminated blood or needles. This sensitive condition would normally require isolation of an immunosuppressive person for becoming increasing prone to infections. Health care environment may put the person to a higher risk of exposure to factors that worsen his situation since there are several other ill patients who possess contagious disease that may readily spread in the open and bring about different types of infections at varying degree. (3) G.I.

Managing Working Capital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing Working Capital - Essay Example The working capital management takes the concept of managing inventories, cash, receivables and payables and the short term funding. Inventory management is quite important for an organisation. Maintaining a high level of inventory can incur higher cost for the firm, while a low inventory level can put a hindrance on the way to meet the customer needs. So it is very much necessary to have ideal inventory level to meet the customer demands at a minimum possible cost. In a similar way, the receivables would indicate about the willingness of the organisation to offer products or services on credit based. This credit sale is quite risky if not managed well. On the other hand sometimes firms have to offer their products or services on credit basis, as that would fetch more customers to increase the business volume. This again is a risk return trade-off for the organisation. Cash is an important component of the current assets on balance sheet. This is the most liquid asset that a company can avail in troubled situation. On the other end, having an excess level of cash can block to use that as operating capital. So having an optimum cash level is necessary for proper business functioning. Cash and short term securities management is very much needed from liquidity point of view. In all, a proper management of working capital is very much necessary to generate cash and improve profits at a reduced risk level. The allocation can be changed with due change in the financial and operational environment. For an instance in recession time, firms would like to cut down their inventory levels, delay the debt payment and at the same time would like to accelerate the payments from debtors. So different periods can have different working capital needs. Even this can vary depending upon the industry or depending upon the size of the organisation. For an instance retail

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case study - Essay Example The potential for conflict arses when the conditions under which the service is provided is poor. High High High Identify their changing needs and make the necessary changes to facilitate them Suppliers Interested in continued business with the company. Conflict can arise when they also compete with Garden City Ltd Moderate Moderate Moderate Ensure that more than one supplier is used so that shortages can be avoided. Employees Interested in maintaining their jobs Moderate Moderate Moderate Train them and ensure that they are motivated so that they can provide quality customer service Shareholders Interested in the profitability of the business and maintaining or improving their net worth. Moderate Moderate Moderate Ensure that the business maintains or increases its value so that they can sell their shares easily. Manage it in such a way that people will be willing to invest in the company The Community Interested in the continuity of the business. Potential for conflicts may arise i f the company is not obeying government rules and regulations Low to Moderate Moderate Moderate The company needs to ensure that it meets its obligations in relation to the environment and make contributions to the uplift the community. Loan Creditors Collecting debts as they fall due. Borrowing in excess of certain limits and expending funds on unprofitable projects place them at risk and are likely to cause conflicts. Moderate Moderate Moderate Avoid conflicts and ensure business continuity by ensuring that agreements are adhered to. The table shows six of the stakeholders of Garden City Ltd - customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, the community in which the business is operated and loan creditors. It shows their main interest and matters that could potentially cause conflict. It also shows their level of influence, importance and net impact. Based on the information provided by Sally the customers are the stakeholders with a high level of power and influence, importance a nd net impact. It therefore means their needs should be satisfied if Garden City Ltd wishes to remain in business. The other stakeholders are not as influential and important as customers. Without customers the business ceases to exist. However, it is important to note that loan creditors can wield a lot of power, especially when a company is in financial distress. A business’s ability to remain in good favour with loan creditors depends on how its finances are managed and whether it discharges its obligations when they are due. Anything to the contrary may result in loan creditors using their powers to take over the assets of the business. Although the shareholders are owners of the business the influence that they wield depends on the percentage of shares that they own. The decisions that management makes are highly likely to coincide with the interest of the customers. Maintaining shareholder value is of paramount importance. The community has the power to bind the company to act in accordance with government regulations. It is through the community that companies find a supply of workers to

Effective Management of Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Effective Management of Research - Essay Example that helps little in the meaningful scholastic development of students. Most research models, in effect, send out students with a shopping cart who go scooping up all the data they can find about the subject assigned to them - a state, a province, a foreign country, an historic battle, a famous person, a scientific issue. Most of the information collected in this manner is available in encyclopedias or books, such that it precludes diligence, care or the need to work "again." This kind of research puts students in the role of information consumers instead of information producers as befit a researcher in the true sense of the word. The implications are that this research, ending up as information consumption, demands little thought, imagination or skill on the part of the students. Working as information producers, on the other hand, the student researchers are encouraged to make up their own minds, create their own answers to the research questions and show independence and judgment. With all kinds of new information technologies around, the "cut-and-paste" method inherent to the topical approach to school research is proving more and more untenable. A new approach has thus emerged enshrining the rule that students cannot embark on a research project without an ideal research model selected for them by a search team composed of teachers, librarians and the school administrators. This team assists the student researchers in analyzing different models then settle for one that matches the projected needs and preferences of the project. The other method synthesizes the best features of all available models to go into the building of a new one. (Assiniboine SSD) Ideally, a research topic is considered worth the students' effort if it is controversial, has attracted much interest and debate, a first-of-its-kind process or product, involves innovative or new techniques, and has value in other disciplines. The work of an eminent researcher is another interesting subject for research, as well as any individual who has achieved prominence the hard way. In the new approach, the students are not only asked to turn in a paper on, let us say, the atrocities ordered by Hitler. They are also required to put together a template of questions that would shed light on many interrelated issues, such as why Hitler behaved the way he did, the history of both the Jews and the Aryan race, the lessons learned from the Holocaust, etc. There is a primary questions accompanied by a set of subsidiary questions to get to the bottom and all angles of the subject. (McKenzie, 2000) In this new perspective, research is a process in repetition (Olin Uris Libraries). The earlier phases of the research influence the later stages, while the later stages have some bearing on the earlier phases. Going back and forth is necessary to ensure the reliability and validity of the research, which can be done only through constant review and revision. Remember that at the end of your journey, your research will be subjected to