Do You Need WordPress Certifications The Answer + 3 Unofficial Options

If you’re interested in becoming a WordPress developer or even just developing your own website you may be interested in WordPress certifications to help you learn and add credentials to your resume.In this post, well first quickly answer the question of whether you actually need any type of WordPress certifications to start working. Then, well share some of the ways that you can get WordPress certified. the WordPress software, doesnt directly offer any certifications.What you  can find, though, are some unofficial WordPress certifications from third parties.These certifications offer a more structured way to ensure that you know all the ins-and-outs of WordPress. Additionally, they give you something tangible to market yourself to potential clients or put on your resume.Its a fair assumption that most WordPress developers do  not have these types of certifications. But that doesnt mean they cant be valuable to you.Three third-party WordPress certifications to considerOu r top three WordPress certifications come from WP Training Courses  and are online, private, and hands-on with your own personal WordPress instructor. Basically, unlike many other WordPress courses, you’re not learning from a shared or pre-recorded webinar. You get to ask questions as they come up.Since 2010, WP Training Courses has helped over 4,000 students learn more about WordPress and development.Here are the three certifications that they currently offer1. WordPress ManagerIn this package, you’ll learn how to quickly manage, modify, and secure your WordPress website in a private, instructor-led class.You’ll learn all about†¦WordPress fundamentalsAdmin settingsDashboard settingsSEO page optimizationOn-page settingsOn-post settingsTheme option settingsHeader and footer customizationCustom menusSidebarsWidgetsPluginsAs well as some other advanced functionality and tools that all WordPress site developers should know about.This package was created to he lp you manage your website as well as the content you provide and costs $399.Next up, we have†¦2. WordPress AdministratorIn this training package, you’ll gain the experience, skills, and confidence needed for professional WordPress administration.You’ll learn how to administrate, manage, edit, and secure custom (or premium) WordPress themes.But that’s not all. You’ll also learn all about†¦WordPress Fundamentals all the basics of running a WordPress site.CSS and Child Themes customizing your site with child themes and custom CSS.Modifying Page Structure changing the layout of your site with PHP and HTML.Updating and Security keeping your site and its data secure.Advanced SEO go beyond basic WordPress SEO tips into more advanced topics.You get all of this for the price of $799. While this is quite a bit more than the first, it’s more in-depth and will provide tons of value to get your WordPress website up and running.Finally, we haveâ € ¦3. WordPress Front-end DeveloperThe final package that WP Training Courses offers was built for individuals looking to start a professional career developing WordPress websites.It covers everything you learn in the previous two courses, plus:Database installationMaintenance and securitySite publication and migrationMulti-Site Networking – creating a network of sites with WordPress Multisite.Multimedia – including multimedia content in your site.Social Media – marketing your WordPress sites on social networks.eCommerce – building a fully-functioning eCommerce site with WordPress.This package costs $1,487. It’s a hefty price to pay up front, but the one-on-one training and information you get from this package is worth it if you’ll use it all.Other less intensive options for WordPress certificationsIf you dont want to take a full course, there are a couple other routes you can go to get WordPress certifications.First, if youre active on the Freelancer.com platform, you can take the WordPress skill test to get certified that way. Youll also get a badge on your profile that says youve passed the skill test.Similarly, Upwork also offers a WordPress skill test that performs the same function.Neither approach is especially in-depth, but its a good way to display some credentials on your profile if youre active on either of those freelancing platforms.Final thoughtsWith the information we’ve provided, you’ll be able to choose a certification that fits your specific needs and get your WordPress site up and running in no time!If you’re not interested in these or want some more options, check out our review of the top 5 online WordPress courses. We take a deep dive into WordPress 101, WordPress for Beginners, and more including some free courses!We hope this article has been helpful! If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to submit them in the comments section below! Do you need #WordP ress certifications? Here's the answer, plus a few unofficial certifications

Easy and Quick Homemade Silly Putty Recipes

Easy and Quick Homemade Silly Putty Recipes Silly Putty was invented in 1943 when an engineer accidentally dropped boric acid into silicone oil. It made its big debut at the International Toy Fair in New York in 1950, packaged in plastic eggs to be sold as an Easter novelty item. Since then, Silly Putty has remained a popular science toy! While you probably dont have the ingredients to make the original Silly Putty polymer, there are a couple of Silly Putty Recipes that use common household ingredients. Silly Putty Recipe #1 1/4 cup glue3/8 cup water (1/4 cup water plus 1/8 cup water)1 tablespoon borax 1. Mix together 1/4 cup glue and 1/4 cup water. Add food coloring if you want colored Silly Putty. 2. In a separate container, dissolve 1 tablespoon borax in 1/8 cup water. 3. Stir the borax mixture and glue mixture together to make the putty. If the Silly Putty is too sticky, you can add more borax one teaspoon at a time to stiffen the mixture. Silly Putty Recipe #2 1/4 cup liquid starch1/4 cup glue 1. Mix the liquid starch and glue together. Add food coloring, if desired. 2. If the Silly Putty is too sticky, add more liquid starch until you get the consistency you want. How To Store Homemade Silly Putty Store homemade Silly Putty in a sealed plastic container. Putting the container in the refrigerator helps prevent mold from growing on the putty. Learn More Silly Putty ChemistryThings You Can Do with Silly PuttyMake Magnetic Silly PuttyBest Slime Recipes

Shirley Chisholm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8250 words

Shirley Chisholm - Essay Example She was active in the League of Women Voters, the Bedford-Stuyvesant Political League, and the Brooklyn branch of the NAACP, and served in the New York State Assembly from 1964-68, the first black woman from Brooklyn to serve in the Assembly. In 1968 Shirley Chisholm ran for U.S. representative from the Twelfth District under the slogan, "Unbought and Unbossed" and won the election by 788 votes. She attended the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a New York state national committeewoman. The first black woman to serve in the U.S. Congress, Chisholm voted against the anti-ballistic missile and the SST, co-sponsored a day-care facilities bill with Bella Abzug, supported the Equal Rights Amendment and the right to abortion, and helped to found the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971. Chisholm entered the presidential campaign in 1972 and earned 152 delegate votes at the Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach before withdrawing her candidacy. She served in Congress until 1982, continuing to work for equal rights for blacks, women, and other minorities. She was married to Conrad Q. Chisholm in October 1949. Chisholm commented on her 1972 campaign for the presidency: "I ran because someone had to do it first. In this country everyone is supposed to be able to run for President, but that's never really been true. I ran because most people think the country isn't really ready for a black candidate, not ready for a woman candidate. Someday. . . ." ( The Good Fight, Chapter 1, 1973) When Shirley Chisholm decided to make a historic run for Congress in 1968, her candidacy was greeted, once again, with dismay by black male politicians within her district. Publicly they voiced concern about Chisholm's "independence" from the local Democratic leadership, but privately they objected to her because she was an uppity woman. Chisholm won the primary only to discover that her Republican opponent James Farmer (the former director of the civil rights organization Congress of Racial Equality) planned to make a campaign issue of her gender. His strategy backfired; and Chisholm, who had cleverly responded by organizing the women of her district, beat Farmer by a margin of 2.5 to 1. Four years later when Chisholm entered the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, she faced an even more uphill battle. First, the Democratic front-runners had more money and larger, professionally trained campaign staffs than did Chisholm. Second, Chisholm's race and gender made her candidacy "suspect" in the eyes of the press, the political elite, and among many voters; few people were willing to see her as a "serious" candidate (a point she laments in her account of the 1972 campaign, The Good Fight). Third, Chisholm's candidacy created a political dilemma for two groups, feminists and the civil rights establishment, predisposed to support her. Should they support her because of her strong congressional record on women's rights and civil rights, or should they use their political clout to extract promises of support for their issues from someone (like George McGovern) who stood a better chance of capturing the Democratic party's nomination In the end, although

The CCPI, ICCS, FutureGen Project and FutureGen 2.0 Project Essay - 233

The CCPI, ICCS, FutureGen Project and FutureGen 2.0 Project - Essay Example It was established to retrofit an existing Illinois coal plant and ensure carbon dioxide emission reduction by 90 percent. The project aimed at massively reducing carbon emission by utilizing safe pipeline technology to ship carbon dioxide and permanently store it underground in a designated storage site located near Ashland (Folger, 2012). FutureGen projects were viewed as the solution to ensuring clean future while using dirty fossil-fuel plants, thus received enormous backing from potential private investors to boost the clean technology. However, numerous challenges rocked the project and would never let it reach its maturity stage and deliver the much-anticipated results of reducing the emission of carbon dioxide by 90 percent. According to Folger (2012), one of the challenges that led to the failure of the FutureGen projects is increasing production costs. The existing technologies for capturing carbon dioxide did not cost cost-effective in the dimension of giant power plants ( Folger, 2012). Another challenge that led to the failure of FutureGen projects was development issues surrounding the project and inadequate incentives for private investors to venture into the projects. The sluggish development in the projects, both new and old, can be attributed to the laxity on part of the private investors to inject their finances into the project. This is because private investors were risk averse, especially because of the uncertainty surrounding the future of the projects and high project costs (Folger, 2012). According to Marxa et al. (2007), uncertainty makes people wary of the future. It was a huge challenge to secure funding from the private sector to meet the increasing cost of the project. Time constraint was also a major challenge for successful implementation of the project that was proving to be over the budget and competition from other countries made the project appear less feasible.

Education System Comparison Between Usa and Latvia Essay Example for Free

Education System Comparison Between Usa and Latvia Essay Introduction Everyone knows that in nowadays there are many possibilities and ways to learn, but in Latvia this is very topical theme right now. Many of the high school graduates want to learn abroad. And I do not think that this is good, because like about half of the students or people that go to learn abroad, never comes back to the native country. That is why I have chosen this topical theme. I am going to study educational systems in these countries. I am going to poll some of the 12th grade students about what are they thinking about learning in USA. I want to achieve that kind of position when a student reads my research project and especially the higher education in Latvia part he changes his mind and stays to learn here. My hypothesis for this Research Work is the education systems in Latvia and in the USA are different and this is a reason why people in Latvia choose the USA for studies very often. The Aim of the Research Work is to compare the education systems in the USA and in Latvia and to find out middle school students opinion about studies in Latvia and in the USA. The main objectives of the Research Work are: †¢ To collect the information about educational system in Latvia †¢ To collect the information about educational system in the USA †¢ To make a questionnaire and analyze the results of middle school students opinion about studies in Latvia and in the USA Educational system in USA Education in the United States is provided mainly by government, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. School attendance is mandatory and nearly universal at the primary and secondary levels. At these levels, school curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies are set through locally elected school boards with jurisdiction over school districts. School districts are usually separate from other local jurisdictions, with independent officials and budgets. Educational standards and standardized testing decisions are usually made by state governments. The age for compulsory education vary by state, beginning at the age five to eight and ending at the age of fourteen to eighteen. A growing number of states are now requiring school attendance until the age of 18.[6] 1.1 Preschool There are no mandatory public prekindergarten or crà ¨che programs in the United States. The federal government funds the preschool program for children of low-income families, but most families are on their own with regard to finding a preschool or childcare. In the large cities, there are sometimes upper-class preschools catering to the children of the wealthy.[6] 1.2 Elementary and Secondary Education Schooling is compulsory for all children in the United States, but the age range for which school attendance is required varies from state to state. Most children begin elementary education with kindergarten (usually five to six years old) and finish secondary education with twelfth grade (usually eighteen years old). In some cases, pupils may be promoted beyond the next regular grade. Some states allow students to leave school at the age of 14–17 with parental permission, before finishing high school. Most parents send their children to either a public or private institution. According to government data, one-tenth of students are enrolled in private schools. Approximately 85% of students enter the public schools, largely because they are free (tax burdens by school districts vary from area to area). Most students attend school for around six hours per day, and usually anywhere from 175 to 185 days per year. Most schools have a summer break period for about two and half months from June through August. This break is much longer than in many other nations. Originally, summer vacation, as it is colloquially called, allowed students to participate in the harvest period during the summer. However, this remains largely by tradition.[6] Parents may also choose to educate their own children at home; 1.7% of children are educated in this manner. 1.2.1 Junior high school Junior high school is any school intermediate between elementary school and high school. It usually includes seventh and eighth grade, and sometimes sixth or ninth grade. In some locations, junior high school includes ninth grade only, allowing students to adjust to a high school environment. Middle school is often used instead of junior high school when demographic factors increase the number of younger students. At this time, students are given more independence as choosing their own classes. Usually, starting in ninth grade, grades become part of a student’s official transcript. Future employers or colleges may want to see steady improvement in grades and a good attendance record on the official transcript. Therefore, students are encouraged to take much more responsibility for their education.[6] 1.3 Higher education Post-secondary education in the United States is known as college or university and commonly consists of four years of study at an institution of higher learning. There are 4,352* colleges, universities, and junior colleges in the USA. Students traditionally apply to receive admission into college, with varying difficulties of entrance. Schools differ in their competitiveness and reputation; generally, the most prestigious schools are private, rather than public. Admissions criteria involve the rigor and grades earned in high school courses taken, class ranking, and standardized test. Most colleges also consider more subjective factors such as a commitment to extracurricular activities, a personal essay, and an interview. While numerical factors rarely ever are absolute required values, each college usually has a rough threshold below which admission is unlikely.[2] *- January 2009. data from www.ed.gov Once admitted, students engage in undergraduate study, which consists of satisfying university and class requirements to achieve a bachelors degree in a field of concentration known as a major. The most common method consists of four years of study leading to a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), a Bachelor of Science (B.S.), or sometimes another bachelors degree such as Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.), Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.,) or Bachelor of Philosophy (B.Phil.) Five-Year Professional Architecture programs offer the Bachelor of Architecture Degree (B.Arch.) Professional degrees such as law, medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry, are offered as graduate study after earning at least three years of undergraduate schooling or after earning a bachelors degree depending on the program. These professional fields do not require a specific undergraduate major, though medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry have set prerequisite courses that must be taken before enrollment.[2] Some students choose to attend a community college for two years prior to further study at another college or university. In most states, community colleges are operated either by a division of the state university or by local special districts subject to guidance from a state agency. Community colleges may award Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree after two years. Those seeking to continue their education may transfer to a four-year college or university. Some community colleges have automatic enrollment agreements with a local four-year college, where the community college provides the first two years of study and the university provides the remaining years of study, sometimes all on one campus. The community college awards the associates degree, and the university awards the bachelors and masters degrees. Graduate study, conducted after obtaining an initial degree and sometimes after several years of professional work, leads to a more advanced degree such as a masters degree, which could be a Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MS), Master of Business Administration (MBA), or other less common masters degrees such as Master of Education (MEd), and Master of Fine Arts (MFA). After additional years of study and sometimes in conjunction with the completion of a masters degree, students may earn a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or other doctoral degree, such as Doctor of Arts, Doctor of Education, Doctor of Theology, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor of Physical Therapy, or Doctor of Jurisprudence. Some programs, such as medicine, have formal apprenticeship procedures post-graduation like residency and internship which must be completed after graduation and befor e one is considered to be fully trained. Other professional programs like law and business have no formal apprenticeship requirements after graduation.[3] Entrance into graduate programs usually depends upon a students undergraduate academic performance or professional experience as well as their score on a standardized entrance exam. Many graduate and law schools do not require experience after earning a bachelors degree to enter their programs; however, business school candidates are usually required to gain a few years of professional work experience before applying. Only 8.9 % of students ever receive postgraduate degrees, and most, after obtaining their bachelors degree, proceed directly into the workforce.[7] 1.4 Basic Curricular Structure Generally, at the high school level, students take a broad variety of classes without special emphasis in any particular subject. Curricula vary widely in quality and rigidity. The following subjects are fairly universally required in the United States: †¢ Science (usually two years minimum, normally biology, chemistry and physics) †¢ Mathematics (usually two years minimum, normally including algebra, geometry, algebra II, and/or trigonometry) †¢ English (usually four years minimum, including literature, humanities, etc.) †¢ Social Science (usually three years minimum, including various history, government/economics courses) †¢ Physical education (at least one year) Many states require a health course in which students learn about anatomy, nutrition, first aid, sexuality, and birth control. Anti-drug use programs are also usually part of health courses. In many cases, however, options are provided for students to test out or perform independent study in order to complete this requirement. Foreign language and some form of art education are also a mandatory part of the curriculum in some schools.[6] 1.5 Extracurricular activities A major characteristic of American schools is the high priority given to sports, clubs and activities by the community, the parents, the schools and the students themselves. Extracurricular activities are educational activities not falling within the scope of the regular curriculum but under the supervision of the school. These activities can extend to large amounts of time outside the normal school day; home-schooled students, however, are not normally allowed to participate. Student participation in sports programs, drill teams, bands, and spirit groups can amount to hours of practices and performances. Most states have organizations which develop rules for competition between groups. These organizations are usually forced to implement time limits on hours practiced as a prerequisite for participation. Many schools also have non-varsity sports teams, however these are usually afforded less resources and attention. The idea of having sports teams associated with high schools is relatively unique to the United States in comparison with other countries. Sports programs and their related games, especially football and/or basketball, are major events for American students and for larger schools can be a major source of funds for school districts. High school athletic competitions often generate intense interest in the community. Inner city schools serving poor students are heavily scouted by college and even professional coaches, with national attention given to which colleges outstanding high school students choose to attend. State high school championship tournaments football and basketball attract high levels of public interest. In addition to sports, numerous non-athletic extracurricular activities are available in American schools, both public and private. Activities include musical groups, marching bands, student government, school newspapers, science fairs, debate teams, and clubs focused on an academic area or cultural interests.[5] 1.6 Electives Many high schools offer a wide variety of elective courses, although the availability of such courses depends upon each particular schools financial resources and desired curriculum emphases. Common types of electives include: †¢ Visual arts (drawing, sculpture, painting, photography, film) †¢ Performing arts (drama, band, chorus, orchestra, dance) †¢ Technology education (woodworking, metalworking, automobile repair, robotics) †¢ Computers (word processing, programming, graphic design) †¢ Athletics (cross country, football, baseball, basketball, track and field, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, water polo, soccer, wrestling, cheerleading, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, field hockey, boxing, skiing/snowboarding) †¢ Publishing (journalism/student newspaper, yearbook/annual, literary magazine) †¢ Foreign languages (Spanish, French are common; Chinese, Latin, Greek, German, Italian, Arabic, and Japanese are less common)[5] 1.7 Advanced Courses Many high schools provide Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. These are special forms of honours classes where the curriculum is more challenging and lessons more aggressively paced than standard courses. AP or IB courses are usually taken during the 11th or 12th grade of high school.[6] 1.8 Home Schooling There was 1,3 million children that were home schooled in 2008, up 74% from 1999 when the US Department of Education first started keeping statistics. This was 2.9% of all children. Parents select moral or religious reasons for home schooling their children.[1] 1.9 School grades As you can see in the table (Table N.1), in the U.S. the first year of compulsory schooling begins with children at the age of five or six. Children are then placed in year groups known as grades, beginning with first grade and culminating in twelfth grade. Typical ages and grade groupings in public and private schools may be found through the U.S. Department of Education. Many different variations exist across the country.[2] For more foreseen scheme of education in USA see Appendix N.1. 1.10 Grading scale In schools in the United States children are continually assessed throughout the school year by their teachers, and report cards are issued to parents at varying intervals. Generally the scores for individual assignments and tests are recorded for each student in a grade book, along with the maximum number of points for each assignment. At any time, the total number of points for a student when divided by the total number of possible points produces a percent grade which can be translated to a letter grade. Letter grades are often used on report cards at the end of a marking period, although the current grade may be available at other times. Although grading scales usually differ from school to school, the grade scale which seems to be most common is as follows. The grading is based on a scale of 0-100 or a percentile. Note that in some jurisdictions the D grade (or that below 70) is considered a failing grade. In other jurisdictions a D grade is considered passing in certain classes , and failing in others. If you need a concept of grading scale, see Table N.2.[6] Table N.2 Example grading scale in USA |E,N,U or F |D |C |B |A | | |- | |+ |- | |arodpamatskola |vocational basic school |9-year education may be |2 |no | | | |incomplete | | | |arodvidusskola |vocational secondary school|9-year education |3 |no | |arodgimnazija |vocational gymnasium |9-year education |4 |yes | |arodskola |vocational school |general secondary education |1-2 |no | | |(postsecondary) | | | | As it is seen from table (Table N.4), just one type of vocational schools – four year vocational gymnasium concurrently to vocational training provide general secondary education and, consequently, access to higher education.[10] 2.8 Access to Higher Education In principle, access to higher education is general for all holders of general secondary education certificates. However, the institutions of higher education are free to determine which of the elective subjects must have been taken by the applicant at the secondary school in order to become eligible for admission to a chosen program. There are no fixed all-Latvian rules determining the admission system and it may differ between different institutions and even between different faculties of the same institution of higher education. The main forms of admission procedure may be as follows: †¢ 1 to 4 competitive entrance examinations; †¢ a competition of diplomas plus an interview by the Admission board, which may include general questions in subjects important to the chosen specialty; †¢ just a competition of diplomas (usually judging by the marks in subjects important to the chosen program and/or average mark in the secondary school certificate); †¢ knowledge of Latvian language is evaluated in these cases when the applicant has not had Latvian as the language of instruction in secondary school. An admission board consisting of staff members is formed in all higher educational institutions to carry out admission procedures in accordance with conditions announced at least 5 months before.[9] 2.9 Higher Education 2.9.1 Academic higher education (AkadÄ“miskÄ  augstÄ kÄ  izglÄ «tÄ «ba) is understood as a general higher education based upon fundamental and/or applied science. Academic education can be (and in most cases is) divided into two stages. A student has to perform a thesis of a Research Work at the end of each stage. I. First degree An academic degree and a Bachelor diploma (Bakalaura grÄ ds) can be awarded after successive completion of the first stage. Bachelor degree is an intermediate degree and can be treated as a completed higher education only in these cases when duration of program is 4+ years. However, part of the students leave universities having a bachelor`s degree and find their gap in the labor market. II. Second degree Academic master degree (MaÄ £istra grÄ ds) and the appropriate diploma is awarded after the second stage of academic education and should be treated as a complete university-type higher education. Master degree or a degree equivalent to it (e.g. medical studies are of a level of master`s degree but name of master`s degree is not applicable) can be awarded after total duration of 5-7 years of university studies. Master degree (or equivalent) is required for admission to doctoral studies. III. Higher degrees There are two of doctoral degrees in Latvia Degree of Ph.D. (Doktora grÄ ds) Holders of master`s degree are eligible for doctoral studies and the holders of Ph.D. is expected to be achieved in a 3-4 year period of full-time doctoral studies after a public defense of doctoral thesis. After defense of habilitation thesis you are awarded with a degree of habilitated doctor (habilitÄ“ts doktors). Doctoral degrees are awarded by specialized councils: †¢ promotion council (promocijas padome) awarding the degree doktors only †¢ habilitation council (habilitÄ cijas padome) awarding both doctoral degrees. The regulations for awarding of doctoral degrees are set and the promotion and habilitation councils are appointed by Latvian Science Council (Latvijas ZinÄ tnes Padome). 2.9.2 Higher professional education (ProfesionÄ la augstakÄ  izglÄ «tÄ «ba) is a higher education based upon applied science. It provides knowledge and skills for professional activities. Acquirement of the programs of professional studies can take place independently of academic studies, concurrently to or after them. Non-university type higher education institutions offer higher professional education programs leading directly to professional qualifications. To be treated as a completed higher education, the duration of professional studies has to be not less than 4 years. University-type higher education institutions may offer 1-2 year programs leading to professional qualification after achieving bachelor degree (bakalaurs).[8]

Analysis of Joy Williams Save the Whales, Screw the Shrimp Essay

Analysis of Joy Williams' Save the Whales, Screw the Shrimp Save the Whales, Screw the Shrimp is an essay written by Joy Williams, about the overwhelming complacency that todays culture shows towards nature.Williams argues in a very satirical way, that todays culture has all but completely lost touch with what nature really is, and that unless we as a nation change our morals regarding the role that nature plays in human existence, we may very well be witnessing the dawn of our own destruction. An Evaluation of: Save the Whales, Screw the Shrimp Williams is very satirical in the presentation of her topic, and the way that she addresses the reader from the very first paragraph is very interesting inasmuch as she is almost offensive with her gestures. This served it's purpose well as an attention getter or hook, but it was a little over done to the point of being unecessarily redundant. If the author's intention was to seem obsessively passionate about her topic then she did a wonderful job, but if her aim was to provide helpful information regarding the seriousness of her percieved problem, then she may have offended some of the readers that would have benefited most from understanding her point of view. Also the reader gets the impression from the authors voice that she is very pessimistic about the future, almost as if she has given up and is simply lashing out in anger at the percieved harbingers of this atrocity. She starts by bringing a pessimistic view to photographs of nature, by describing what may or may not lie just outside the boundaries of the picture. Mockingly she leads the reader to assume that there are no real nature photos left in the world, but rather only digitaly enhanced photos of nature wit... ...ral issue that many humans contemplate seriously while changing the disposable diaper on their baby?s bottom, without having to be thankful for the technology that supplies it, or wonder what it must have been like without them. I personally agree with Williams, and because I stand on her side with regards to human culture and our disrespect for nature, I was moved by her sarcasim and how eloquently it was directed towards those who ceaselessly overindulge and waste the few precious natural resources that we have left. Mine is a position of turmoil, as I stand rapt in awe at how wonderfully creative our race is, but at the same time how horribly destructive. The wonders that we have created in my short lifetime, the technological advances that we have made as a race are a testament to the power we possess. But so is the trail of damage we have left in our wake.

Modernism in poetry Essay

Modernism. It is a direction of poetry, literature and art in general that uses and describes â€Å"new and distinctive features in the subjects, forms, concepts and styles of literature and the other arts in the early decades of the present century, but especially after World War I. † (Abrams 167) More often than not â€Å"Modernism† engages in â€Å"deliberate and radical break† (Abrams 167) with more traditional foundation of art and culture, established since XIX century. Here two poets of modernist age – T. S. Elliot and H. Crane – are compared to T. Hardy and G. M. Hopkins, a pair of contemporary classical poets. I’d like to begin the study with T. S. Elliot, the famous poet whose very name sounds like a synonym to word â€Å"modernism†. Elliot was and is the personification of modernism, and images and verses from his poems are remembered even today, and integrated in today works of literature and fiction. One can remember Steven King’s â€Å"Dark Tower† saga where images of Elliot’s works resurface frequently – in fact, one of King’s volumes of that saga is called â€Å"The Waste Lands†, obviously inspired by Elliot’s . For example, Elliot’s â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† had brought us a vision of a man whose world had split in and around himself, a lost person in search of love which can only be destructive and formidable for him. Since he is confined in the abyss of his own consciousness, reality is merely some kind of emotional experience for him. He can still observe the world around him, but psychologically he is alone, in the waste lands of unfertility and spiritual emptiness. Prufrock (the epitome of Elliot himself, or the reader) lets his thoughts and sentiments drift off incoherently. The external world around him, to which he is so sardonic, reflects his inner world, deprived of spiritual serenity. As he cannot get involved in a dialogue with the external world, only through the dramatic monologue can Prufrock whisper his intention : â€Å"Let us go then, you and I† (Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, 242). Elliot wanted his hero (and the reader) to compare himself with a character of Dante’s â€Å"Inferno†. But while they are alike, their fates are different: While Guido has at least the courage to open up to Dante, Prufrock is too complacent and too inert to make that effort. His only confident can be his alter ego – a distorted reflection of himself in the mirror of outside world. He sees this person, and begs to him for unification – as if there can be an answer different from the one he gives himself†¦ Prufrock’s wisdom of the ages he seems to feel returns to him as cruel mockery. What, indeed, could be the meaning of â€Å"life, universe and everything† (D. Adams), if .. one, settling a pillow, or throwing off a shawl, And turning toward the window, should say: â€Å"That is not it at all, That is not what I meant, at all. † (Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, 245). That Prufrock’s mawkish and evasive nature is shattered is delineated in the last ten lines of the poem. As the recurrent images of and references to the sea (â€Å"silent seas†, â€Å"mermaids†, â€Å"seagirls†) crop up more and more, Prufrock’s self-evasion becomes more marked. His psychic para1yis culminates when he realizes that even the mermaids will not do him a favor by singing to him; thus, all his source of possible inspiration fades away. (Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, 245). He has never rea1ly been a religious man: he cannot, thus, expect Christ to restore him to a potent life, as was Lazarus restored to his. It is no wonder that while Prufrock is felt to be an epitome to all society of his times – so brilliant and so exquisitely empty inside. In modern times, his words had been referenced to in mockery by one of the most horrible machines the human mind had ever invented, Blaine the Mono: â€Å"In the rooms the people come and go. But I doubt that any of them is talking of Michelangelo† (King). Elliot’s other masterpiece, Gerontion, depicts a dream of memory. While Prufrock is at least â€Å"here† (even if he is unsure of his own location in the world), Gerontion’s hero is the time itself, sifted through the sieve of human memory. The observer is neither here not there, but the remains of memory, the dregs of time are spread before him – an enchanting display, but meaningless essentially. Elliot seems to ask – would the dregs of our own memory, if spread before some stranger, mean as little to him as these remains of one’s time mean to us now? All Elliot’s images are dark, broody and disturbing. They imply to ask – is it all? Can there be anything else around us, or are we lost eternally in the world which wasn’t mean for us? And, as Elliot hadn’t answered that questions himself, each reader must substitute his own answers and test their validity on Elliot’s words of man, world and time. Hart Crane is other example of modernist poets, his images are less brooding than Elliot’s and more defined, but the power they wield over us is intensified by their hidden meanings, unseen at first glance. Crane’s â€Å"Black Tambourineâ€Å" reflects on author’s own experience of time spent with some negro workers in a cellar. But the cellar expands in author’s view to the size of the whole world, and its closed door becomes the famous wall of the three Biblical judgments – MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN: â€Å"numbered, weighed and found wanting†. All universe seems to be contained between â€Å"here and now† – the dark cellar with tambourine on the wall – and mystical â€Å"somewhere†, where all human hopes end as â€Å"carcass, quick with flies† (Black Tambourine). â€Å"At Melville’s Tomb† brings dark and melancholy beneath which a memory of forces lingers that were bright and vicious once before – before the Death took its toll, equaling the furious Ahab and unnamed sailor. The image of the sea is indefinite and vague too, for it can be perceived as deep grave, or Death itself, or Sea of Time which will eventually give endless calm to every living being. In all modernist poetry, the concept of such multipart images and veiled references was honed and detailed up to its perfection. Now this is an instrument which is frequently used in literature and other spheres of life, such as advertising, but in times of T. S. Elliot and H. Crane it was a powerful innovation with which readers were stunned literarily. To compare with modernist poetry of Elliot and Crane, classical works by T. Hardy and G. M. Hopkins are selected. The classical English poetry of Thomas Hardy is more structured both in rhythm and meaning than modernist examples of Elliot and Crane. His poetry can be called â€Å"methodic†, for he explains methodically the one symbol which forms a poem. He explains it, details it, brings it before our eyes in maddeningly realistic manner, until the reader not simply understands it, but is enthralled by its vision. â€Å"Neutral tones† brings us a vision of lost love which turned into deadliness – the blank neutrality which opposes love and joy and happiness of life. The feelings deepen further with each stanza – from tranquility to blankness, to melancholy, and finally to utter despair. The concluding stanza forms the moral of the poem, adding to the finality of the sentence – what is lost in time, can never be found again. â€Å"The Darkling Thrush† is an example of more hopeful vision. Dedicated to the coming century, it is full with dark images of definite meaning: the gate as the gate of a new age (or a new Century), frost and Winter as Death itself that comes to all, and the land becomes a body which dies together with Century, for its time has passed. But the mere voice of the thrush changes the picture, illuminating it with some inner light of â€Å"blessed Hope†. And, while the reader (as the man who stands at the gates) is yet unaware of a definite knowledge of that Good Sign that only the bird has, he still accepts the bird’s song as a sign that there is hope for the future. Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins is yet another example of what classics had to offer then. His images are as definite as Hardy’s, if somewhat more fluent, and the moral is present too in his poems. â€Å"Spring and Fall† shows Margaret – a young girl who had realized for the first time that all things in life change and eventually die, that life is not permanent. A child’s mind can grasp concepts at levels they are not aware of, and understand something without ever having it explained. It is simple because of the innocent way the child absorbs the life itself. As an adult, one can see a subject or idea in a completely different way by viewing it through the eyes of a child. In the poem, Margaret looks at death and understands it symbolically, through the death of leaves to her own imminent demise. â€Å"God’s Grandeur† is another example of short and conclusive classical poetry. The tension in scenes of man-made destruction, pictured with vivid detail, is intensified by alliteration. Disturbing images of oozing oil and ever-repeating trod of countless generations result in deep, uncontrolled fear. But the conclusion opposes all said before by references to never-ending nature and God as its creator and protector. It states to us that God will as surely brings life after death and resurrection after destruction, as each day he brings the morning light after the dark of night. From fear of Man to hope in God – that is the meaning of the poem in general. To conclude the work, one should remind that modernist poets had learned to use their images from classical poetry. But, taking the basic elements and images from their predecessors, their works had transcended from single pictures (or contented stories explained to reader part by part) to grandiose intertwined canvases, full of elements and colors, or bottomless abysses of veiled hints and allusions. Certainly, the works of classics had formed the foundation for these magnificent creations of modernist poets, and without them the whole modernism in English literature would not be able to exist or progress. Works Cited Abrams M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Wilson, 1941 Hardy, Thomas. Wessex poems and other verses. New York: Harper, 1898. Hopkins, Gerard Manley. Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins. London: Humphrey Milford, 1918. King, Stephen. The Waste Lands. Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc, 1991. Simon, Marc. The Complete Poems of Hart Crane. New York: Liveright, 1986. The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. New York and London:W. W. Norton & Company, 1988