A close reading of Life is a dream by Pedro Calderon De La Barca. What Essay

A close reading of Life is a dream by Pedro Calderon De La Barca. What does this tell you about the nature of Spanish society, about its values, social mores, expectations, political culture - Essay Example jailer of Segismund said in the play, â€Å"Dreams are rough copies of the waking soul.†1 Therefore, what people dreamed about was not necessarily in vain. They were having dreams for a reason. With the idea that life was a dream, De La Barca was playing with notions of whether the consciousness present in life actually existed in Golden Age Spain. De La Barca, in his play, predicted that Segismund would one day grow up to revolt against his father the King. In chaining Segismund to the floor in a prison, he thought that he could keep his son sequestered, far enough away so that he could not hurt the King. However, this sense of fatalism that the King had felt in terms of his son growing up in the future to one day kill him, scared the King so much that he decided to do something about it (by chaining up his son). However, as one shall see, the idea of fatalism is a key Spanish value that we shall examine in the next portion which we will be reading. Spanish values included an unshakeable sense of fatalism, as Segismund speaks about the illusion and reality present in life—a dualism, if one will. He also speaks of the inevitable end of the world with precocious wit, intimating with a fatalistic sense that his suffering is only temporary. The Spanish people also believed very much in destiny (â€Å"el destino†) and how it related to their outlooks on life. Believing in destiny, many people in Spanish culture had the specific idea that one was supposed to be somewhere at a specific time in order to fulfill their destinies. As Segismund describes in this soliloquy, With the idea that values were important in Golden Age Spain—as well can one imagine—also important was the idea of having social mores. These were prescriptive ideals which were vanguards of the values of the people, which will now be discussed at length. Spanish social mores in the Golden Age were very strict. That is why the King warned Segismund once he approached the kingdom with

Phonetic exercises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Phonetic exercises - Essay Example Phonetic exercises This course has given me a good understanding of the processes involved in articulation, articulation points and the manner of articulation. This knowledge will prove handy in helping students with pronunciation difficulties especially those taking English as a second language and for whom, their first language structure is markedly different in structure fromthat of the English language e. g in the pronunciation of consonants. Sounds are the building blocks of language. A good understanding of sounds contribute to better spelling, flowing speech, and good reading skills and better comprehension. I have learned that in English there are many ways in which to spell the same sound. Therefore in oral tests, the manner in which a student perceives sound determines how he/ she spells it. Different words have different sounds and meaning attached to them and so sounds give melody to language. The right intonation of sounds can convey a host of human feelings such as empathy, anger. Sounds can show confidence or certainty of our words. This course has helped me a appreciate the two fold meaning that sound can bring into one sentence through the use of word stress and sentence intonations to alter meaning. Constructing exercises for learners of English as a second language is now easier because of the emphasis I have learned that phonetics play on the meaning and the message sentences carry. I can also comfortably test the oral capability of my students from my knowledge of how words are constructed and how the vocal apparatus achieves this.