Friday, January 3, 2020
Essay on Bullying a Social Issue That the School System...
Running Head: BULLYING Bullying: A Social Issue That the School System Ignores ââ¬Å"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no ones definition of your life, but define yourselfâ⬠. ââ¬â Harvey S. Firestone The Issue Strong, influential and cruel are just some of the words that come to mind when you hear the word bully. In American culture, bullying among children and teenagers has often been dismissed as a normal part of growing up. Little attention has been paid to the devastating effects of bullying, or to the connection between bullying and other forms of violence. Bullying in the American educational system is a significant social issue that it is steadily increasing. Many experts fearâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦Even more devastating than that is that many youth who are the victims of bullying have taken there own lives, children as young as seven have committed suicide because of constant bullying. Politically anti-bullying policies have been adapted by different local legislation but no national laws have been passed that would hold people suspected of bullying to any jail time. Currently bullying is only held as a form of harassment in many state courts, this is only enforced through documented harassment not hearsay. To fully address the problems that result from the emotional and sometimes physical obstacles faced by victims the schools must encourage children to report incidents of bullying and ensure students believe they will be helped. Censorship as it relates to what can and can not be entered on websites should be strictly enforced. Accountability on behalf of school officials that notice victims and perpetrators should also be strictly enforced. Educational institutions are perfect conduits for change because they have a captive audience to teach the basic human values of respect for self and others. Claims A very persuasive claim can be made to the media that involves the children themselves who have been bullied or were once a bully to share their stories. Showing family pictures of the children that have committed suicide to escape the torment that bullying brings coupled with interviewsShow MoreRelatedBullying Is A Problem For School1318 Words à |à 6 PagesBullying has been a problem for schools for a long time and has continued to be so. It has increased dramatically, taking everything that happens at school and moving it to the Internet. Pre-teens and teens are the most likely victims because they do not fit in a certain group or the bully just wants to show them that they are better than anyone else. While, the school focuses on only the academic part of the students and not the social, they cause students to build barriers between everyone in orderRead MoreThe Internet and Cyberbullying Essay576 Words à |à 3 PagesCyber Bullying Nowadays, the Internet is regarded as the most widely used source of social media and the fastest way to exchange knowledge and information all over the world, playing a vital role in everyoneââ¬â¢s daily life. The internet has countless functions, useful for everyday work and entertainment, but it is being abused by people nowadays. One of the ways it is being abused is by cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is when people use the internet to make fun of others, belittle them, andRead MoreThe Effects Of Bullying On Everyone s Bullying1220 Words à |à 5 Pages2016 The Effects of Bullying on Everyone Bullying and in its many various ways effects everyone in a lot of ways. A lot of the people are being humiliated and hurt. Victims of bullying commit suicide because people that are being bullied think bullying will not stop. Bullying is a big problem in many countries, it is a problem that everyone can experience at anytime and anywhere. Bullying can be the number one problem everyone experiences in daily basis. Bullies think that bullying is fun. Bullies areRead MoreCyber Bullying Essay example1112 Words à |à 5 PagesSocial Networking has taken bullying to the extreme. Before advanced technology, children and teenagers were troubled by school bullies. Today, they are targeted by bullies via internet. Most people undergo some form of bullying in life. Growing up, I experienced the typical name calling and spiteful comments. I also dealt with minor cases of virtual bullies. These bullies are known as cyber bullies. I find this topic compelling because itââ¬â¢s a matter that has spiraled out of control. ââ¬Å"Cyber bullyingRead MoreEducation And Its Importance Of Education1255 Words à |à 6 PagesEducation and Its Importance Education is an important part of US society and all its issues should be recognized and addressed. Unfortunately this is not the case. Education has many issues and the three most important are the day-one problem, bullying, and high dropout rates. These issues are often a big problem and can lead to an education that does not do the United States justice. The first issue is the day one problem. This problem states the beginning of a childââ¬â¢s life is extremely importantRead MoreCyber Bullying And Its Effects On Children1314 Words à |à 6 PagesBullying, according to Oxford Dictionary, is the use of ââ¬Å"superior strength or influence to intimidate, typically to force someone to do what one wants.â⬠Growing up, the only bullying that I have witnessed is on the television. The majority of people perceive a bully as a tough boy threatening another for his lunch money, but times have changed in unison with technology evolving. One of the overwhelmingly popular uses of the internet is to contact friends and relatives by posting pictures and sendingRead MoreCyberbullying : A New Form Of Bullying1203 Words à |à 5 PagesEliminating Cyberbullying Bullying has had a well known status for destroying the confidence and esteem of our worldââ¬â¢s youth for decades. Recently, a new form of bullying has emerged and has taken over the technological environment. Similar to a student physically bullying another peer, we see victims hurt after an attack over misuse of the Internet. Cyberbullying has been much harder to track than face-to-face bullying. It has also been easier for someone to attack another merciless and guiltlessRead MoreAn Analysis of Cyber-Bullying in a Multiethnic Sample Essays974 Words à |à 4 Pagescombating what is popularly known as cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying emerged from the anonymity technology provides bullies, the victimsââ¬â¢ would receive repeated taunts, flames, in the form of emails, text messages, messages lefts on the victimsââ¬â¢ social networking sites up to exclusion from those media sites. Goebert, D., Else, I., Matsu, C., Chung-Do, J., and Chang, J.Y., (2011) looked into the effects of cyber bullying on the mental health of ethnic high school students. The independent variables (IVs)Read MoreSba Sample on Bullying1333 Words à |à 6 PagesStatement Of Problem Topic: Bullying Focus Question: What effect does Bullying have on its victims and how are their emotional selves impacted? Guiding Questions: What are the signs of a person being bullied? At what age does the effect of bullying impact an individual the most? What causes someone to be bullied? Reason For Selecting Area of Research I chose the topic of bullying because I believe that it is a problem thatRead MoreSba Sample on Bullying1341 Words à |à 6 PagesStatement Of Problem Topic: Bullying Focus Question: What effect does Bullying have on its victims and how are their emotional selves impacted? Guiding Questions: What are the signs of a person being bullied? At what age does the effect of bullying impact an individual the most? What causes someone to be bullied? Reason For Selecting Area of Research I chose the topic of bullying because I believe that it is a problem that is making
Thursday, December 26, 2019
Pro-Life Side Of Abortion. Abortion Is The Ending Of...
Pro-life side of abortion Abortion is the ending of pregnancy by removing an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive outside the uterus. An abortion can either happen through a miscarriage or a medically induced termination of pregnancy. The two sides of abortion are the pro-life side, which is against abortion, and the pro-choice side, which supports it. Abortion should not be legal with the exception of some cases of rape and health risk to the mother. The unborn person should have the right to live and to have the same opportunities as any other human, even if it does not have the care and affection from the mom. There is always the choice of adoption for a family who wants a child but cannot conceive. More education on ways toâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦Bioethical issues include life-prolonging treatments, organ transplantation, medical physician-assisted suicide, abortion, new reproductive technologies, and recent advances in genetics diagnosis and therapy. Such issues often prove to be controve rsial and can leave us questioning a lot. New medical treatments and technologies often do not come with sufficient precedents to guide our moral reasoning where the life of a woman is in danger. Illegal abortions are common worldwide and carry a high risk of complications, including severe bleeding, infertility, or death often occur. One of the most common reasons for abortions at the latter stage of pregnancy is detection that the fetus has a serious genetic defect. With currently approved technology, these procedures can only be done later in pregnancy. Another common reason is that the woman is young or in denial about her pregnancy, and does not seek an abortion until she is unable to hide it. In the ancient cultures there are a few recorded legal prohibitions against abortion. Abortion may not have been a real issue in ancient times. Killing the baby outside the womb after it was born was a topic of debate much like abortion is today and for most of the same reasons. The father of the modern medicine and the greatest of the ancient gynecologist were both against the abortion procedure but were not clear if it was for safety of the mother orShow MoreRelatedThe Pros And Cons Of Abortion924 Words à |à 4 PagesAbortion is a rather sensitive topic that carries various and strong personal opinions. The first question is what is an abortion? Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removing or expelling the fetus or embryo from the uterus before it is ready for birth. It has become one of the most controversial arguments in the world having to decide between pro-choice or pro-life. Religious conservatives side with the opinion that being pro-choice is a crime and a si n. Juxtaposed to the right toRead MoreArgumentative Essay About Abortion1330 Words à |à 6 Pages Abortion is one of the most debatable and controversial issues that exist today in our society. Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy by removing a fetus or embryo before it can survive outside the uterus. Over 205 million women get pregnant per year worldwide, over a third of those pregnancies are unintended and a fifth end in abortion. Women should be able to get abortions because the procedures are legal; also there are minimal physical side effects, and on the other side of the argument peopleRead MoreShould Abortion Be Legalized?1200 Words à |à 5 PagesAbortion is a very hot topic that has been repeatedly contended over for the past few years. The argument is should abortion be legalized or not? First before we get into the many sides of abortion we must to know what is abortion. Abortion means ending a pregnancy before the fetus can live independently outside the world. If abortion happens unplanned before 24 weeks of pregnancy. It is called a miscarriage. Abortion is caused design to order to end the pregnancy (Brown, 2013). This can be completeRead MoreAbortion is Immoral Essay1518 Words à |à 7 PagesFor centuries society has placed their own opinions on the topic of abortion. Some claim to be Pro Choice, and believe that the decision should lie only in the hands of the woman carrying the child. Others are Pro Life, and say that abortion is unethical and is considered as a form of homicide. All depending on oneââ¬â¢s human dignity, the argument differs. Human dignity is the sense of self-worth and self-respect that one inhabits. With this being said, the way one feels about themselves as a human-beingRead More Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life: No Correct Answer Essay1707 Words à |à 7 PagesAbortion is the ending of a pregnancy before birth; it causes the termination of the embryo or fetus inside the women. There are two different types of abortion , a spontaneous abortion, which is also known as a miscarriage, and an induced abortion, where the embryo or fetus is purposely removed from the womenââ¬â¢s body. The topic of induced abortion has been widely debated for hundreds of years. The issue of abortion was argued way back in the time of the ancient Hebrews. In the United States itRead MoreAbortion : A Controversial Debate888 Words à |à 4 PagesAbortion is a highly debated and controversial topic within the United States. Abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. When you have an abortion, you decimate the life of a fetus in the womb prior to delivery. There were 5,013 abortions in the state of Oklahoma alone in 2013. In the same year, there were approximately, collectively in the United States, 983,000 total abortions performed. In addition, there have been almost 60 million abortions performed in the United States sinceRead MoreAbortion Is Not A Black And White Issue1524 Words à |à 7 Pagesan abortion. The issues surrounding abortion is in the forefront of many political races and seem to be the issue that many Americans are passionate about. It is important to realize that abortion is not a black and white issue. Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy by removing a fetus or embryo before it can survive outside of the uterus. Once a women finds out that she is pregnant she does have a constitutional protected right to have an abortion in the early stages of pregnancy. Abortions areRead MorePro Choice On Abortion : Abortion Essay1439 Words à |à 6 PagesPRO-CHOICE ON ABORTION What do you think about when you hear the word abortion? According to dictionary.com Abortion is the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy and also any of various surgical methods for terminating a pregnancy, especially during the first six months. Abortion itââ¬â¢s a decision a woman has the right to make. No government should have the right to dictate what happens to the womanââ¬â¢s body. Nobody should have a word or say in the decision the womanRead MoreA Comprehensive Review Of The Civil Liberty Debate On Abortion.1500 Words à |à 6 PagesA Comprehensive Review of the Civil Liberty Debate on Abortion Of all the issues plaguing the United States, currently and in the past, abortion rights have been one of the most passionately debated civil liberty issues. Edward Sidlow and Beth Henschen define civil liberties as ââ¬Å"Individual rights protected by the Constitution against the powers of the governmentâ⬠(72). Some argue that women should be protected from the powers of government in terms of reproductive rights while others argue thatRead MoreAbortion : The Pro Life Action League873 Words à |à 4 PagesAnother pro-life group is known as the Pro-life Action League. This group holds prayer vigils outside abortion facilities and provides sidewalk counseling to women and/or couples seeking abortions. The goal of this is to provide abortion alternatives, counseling, access to pregnancy resources, etc. This group is also involved in public protests to raise awareness of the injustice of abortion; they participate in marches, pickets, prayer vigils, and also raise awareness by h olding large abortion pictures
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
The Movement Of The Church Of England - 2289 Words
The people whose hearts sought for the freedom to worship God however they pleased, helped spark a revolution that led to the country we have today. When the Church of England was established, it suppressed many other religions that the people clung so tightly to. The center and whole of many peopleââ¬â¢s lives were ripped apart and re-centered on the now, dominant Church of England. After a short period of time, it seemed that there had been some sort of dryness in the church, where people tended to go through the motions and carry on with their everyday lives. It seemed that the church had fallen into a religious sleep. People could no longer worship in the way they wanted. ââ¬Å"The cause of many people leaving their country was their libertyâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦The desire to journey to the new land began when the Church of England was started and people no longer had the freedom to worship God in the way they wanted. The Church of England persecuted other religions being practiced. The people wanted a simpler form of faith and a less structured way of worship. They called themselves the ââ¬Å"Puritansâ⬠because they wanted to purify the church. A group that was even more radical called themselves the ââ¬Å"Separatistsâ⬠because they demanded a completely new congregation. After being persecuted, this group set sail for the new world. Maybe here, they could worship God in the way they pleased. One hundred and two pilgrims boarded the Mayflower, their ticket to a whole new way of life. The ticket was a dangerous one, and the people knew it. They understood that the ticket they held, the voyage to the new world, was a risky one. They knew they were risking their lives as well as their own families. Yet they traveled on, realizing the importance of the freedom they could have to worship the Lord. To them, that was of much more importance than their very lives, showing their commitment to the Lord. Puritans came to the new world in thou sands, letting the Bible guide their every step. The Bible was the governing document of the New England colonies. Although, as strong and moral as the Puritan faith was, they too began to make the mistake of the church they were fleeing from. Like the Church of England,
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Iron And Silk Essay Example For Students
Iron And Silk Essay Salzman, M., (1986). Iron and Silk. New York: Random House. This book was given to me by a good friend who knew that I had an interest in Asia. I chose to read it because it was a true story and was told that it was a good read. The author travels to China as an English teacher for the Hunan Medical School. There he stayed for two years picking up many anecdotes along the way. The author already had spent a large amount of his life studying Chinese language and the martial arts. However, when he arrives in China he meets teachers who have dedicated their entire lives to perfecting a particular art or skill, whether it be martial arts or calligraphy. Mark Salzman was perfecting his calligraphy skills and as weeks had passed he began to make progress. He was getting tired of the models and wanted to try something new. When he told Hai Bin,(his teacher), he frowned and said,Some people spend their entire lives researching a single model. You should be willing to spend a year on this one. This is an example of the dedication and perseverance these men have towards their chosen artform or skill. Another example of this theme, was Marks Wushu teacher, Pan, who punched a fifty pound plate of steel up to ten thousan d times a day. Marks relentless practicing of the many forms of Wushu was influenced by Pan. Salzman also showed that there was great oppression. The people of China were under constant surveillance and control. Rarely were they able to make important decisions for themselves. It was sad to see thatin a country with so many people there was so little freedom. The government controlled everything from the railroad to the Rat Collection Office to whether families and friends could mourn for lost loved-ones. Mark found this way of life troublesome yet he had stay strong and focused for his calligraphy and martial arts. Another example of this theme, was Marks Wushu teacher, Pan, who punched a fifty pound plate of steel up to ten thousand times a day. Marks relentless practicing of the many forms of Wushu was influenced by Pan. Salzman also showed that there was great oppression. The people of China were under constant surveillance and control. Rarely were they able to make important decisions for themselves. It was sad to see that in a country with so many people there was so little freedom. The government controlled everything from the railroad to the Rat Collection Office to whether families and friends could mourn for lost loved-ones. Mark found this way of life troublesome yet he had stay strong and focused for his calligraphy and martial arts. Mark Salzmans Iron and Silk did a wonderful job of illustrating the people of China. He brought to life a corner of the world that we would rarely be able to see, outside of picture books. His representation is a very personal one, taking you beyond the scenery and into the action and heartache. Throughout this book, Salzman expertly reveals the personality and spirit of the Chinese people. He does this with his own type of special imagery. He drops in enough key details and leaves the rest to your imagination. This caused me to pay close attention to what was going on. His style of writing makes you feel like you are right there beside him, participating in each of his many escapades. I was influenced by the dedication his teachers had for their chosen artform and will remind myself to use that dedication and perseverance in my long-term goals. Mark Salzmans purpose was to take you to China and introduce you to the people he had met on his journey. He had published this book only two years after he had gone to China. He desperately wanted to share an outsiders look into China and what influences were in his life. Mark wrote so fluidly that it was person to person. Anyone can pick up this book and be an observer in the memories of the author. I found that my reading skills vary like a roller coaster. I had days when I found my reading to be very choppy and I had to remind myself to see the words in the book as speech and not words in a book,(if that makes any sense). My vocabulary was up to par and the book was an easy read. I began to use my speed reading techniques without discomfort near the last few chapters in the book.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Stages in the Consulting Process
The Different States of the Consulting Process The consulting process involves giving respect to the audience, identifying with the client, being equipped with a good base of information, alluding to the real day-to-day facts, and making the audience crave for more information. Each of these stages is important in ensuring that the overall goal of the consultation process is achieved with minimal resistance by the client and the audience (Lucas, 2008).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Stages in the Consulting Process specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The professor accords respect to the audience from the point that he enters the room to address them. This is exhibited when he appreciates how much the audience already knows. Thus, by doing this he is winning the faith and trust of those who may be skeptical about what he speaks and how he acts. This shows how keen he is concerning the application of emotional intell igence in order to understand the mood of the audience. In addition, he maintains that the audience is part of the system and gives credit for any effort made as a result. This is why he gets credit for being good at using creative approaches to analyze his ideas. Furthermore, he believes that understanding of the information in his area of study is essential. Thus, it is difficult for the audience to challenge the professor as the information he presents is verified. More so, when he talks he ensures that he alludes to what happens in the real life situation and this helps in supporting his assertions. He also winds up his talk by making the audience crave for more by arguing that much is yet to be accomplished (Lukas, 2008). Management of the Consulting Process Proper management of the consulting process requires broad knowledge in the area of consultation, skills in creative approach analysis, auditing the clientââ¬â¢s business capabilities, evaluating business opportunities, sample consulting contract, and the ability to use emotional intelligence. It should be mentioned that these aspects combine into a perfect means through which one can create the best consulting process while ensuring that everything pertaining to the process is not compromised (Schein, 1998). The skills in creative approach are of utmost importance as they enable the manager to come up with new and innovative ideas that will improve the business comparing to others (Haan, 2004). This approach largely depends on a common sense rather than on what one necessarily knows. It is through the approach that the business gets information that may be borrowed by other businesses requiring to streamline their operations to develop (Lukas, 2008). More so, it is important to audit the clientââ¬â¢s business capabilities and know exactly the potential of the business in terms of the growth of assets and overall value.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we ca n help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The fairness of the Anecdote at the Beginning of the Article The anecdote at the beginning of the sentence is fair. It comes clear that the driver outlines the obvious facts about the shepherd and his flock. Besides the shepherd does not ask the driver about that, meaning that the initiative comes from the consultant. Finally, taking the dog instead of a sheep, it shows how unprofessional and shallow the management consultants can be. Thus, one may question the necessity of such a profession if the specialists cannot bring any new information or just be helpful to their clients (Skapinker, 2010). References Haan, E. (2004). The consulting process as drama: Learning from King Lear. London, UK: Karnac Publishing. Lukas, C. (2008). Consulting with nonprofits: A practitionerââ¬â¢s guide. Saint Paul, MN: Amherst Wilder Foundation. Schein, E. (1998). Process consultation revisited: Building the helping relationship. Lond on, UK: Addison-Wesley. Skapinker, M. (2010). The consulting process: A flair for stating the obvious, New York, NY: McGraw Hill. This essay on Stages in the Consulting Process was written and submitted by user Rylie A. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Free Essays on Tradition English Courtship In The 17th Century
TRADITIONAL ENGLISH COURTSHIPS IN THE 17th CENTURY TIFFANY NORWOOD ââ¬Å"We live in a conjugal age, when the couple has become the standard for all intimate relationships, the unmarried and the married, the homosexual as well as the heterosexual.â⬠Men and women are always searching for that ââ¬Å"certain someone.â⬠Courtship is defined as wooing, but in the 17th century England it was much more. It was a session that had stages, rituals, and procedures. The parents played a huge role in the courtship and even the marriage. Traditional courtship in the 1600s was much more complex and drowns out then todayââ¬â¢s engagement. Many were arranged or based on social status. There was also a large age difference between the men and women. Marriage and courting was often thought of as a brutal and painful ordeal. There were many problems with courting in the 17th century. Courtship was approached with caution and little romantic spontaneity that we expect from our young lovers today. Straight forwardness and personal expressions of love was not accepted. The action of courting was very impersonal. ââ¬Å"There has never been a time in recorded history when the relations between the sexes have not been highly problematic. ââ¬ËThe rituals and procedures had very distinctive acts among them. This consisted of betrothal, posting of banns, and a big church wedding, all combined in a period of several months. There were three steps to a proper marriage; first there was the consent of the friends and parents, publicly making their engagement known or the exchange of love tokens. Then following was a required public blessing by the family and close kin. And finally the big church ceremony after the posting of the banns. The very being of this was all too impersonal. The young were the owners of courtship. ââ¬Å"Its rites expressed their needs, its symbols their desires.â⬠Family consent as well as the friendsââ¬â¢ approval had a large e... Free Essays on Tradition English Courtship In The 17th Century Free Essays on Tradition English Courtship In The 17th Century TRADITIONAL ENGLISH COURTSHIPS IN THE 17th CENTURY TIFFANY NORWOOD ââ¬Å"We live in a conjugal age, when the couple has become the standard for all intimate relationships, the unmarried and the married, the homosexual as well as the heterosexual.â⬠Men and women are always searching for that ââ¬Å"certain someone.â⬠Courtship is defined as wooing, but in the 17th century England it was much more. It was a session that had stages, rituals, and procedures. The parents played a huge role in the courtship and even the marriage. Traditional courtship in the 1600s was much more complex and drowns out then todayââ¬â¢s engagement. Many were arranged or based on social status. There was also a large age difference between the men and women. Marriage and courting was often thought of as a brutal and painful ordeal. There were many problems with courting in the 17th century. Courtship was approached with caution and little romantic spontaneity that we expect from our young lovers today. Straight forwardness and personal expressions of love was not accepted. The action of courting was very impersonal. ââ¬Å"There has never been a time in recorded history when the relations between the sexes have not been highly problematic. ââ¬ËThe rituals and procedures had very distinctive acts among them. This consisted of betrothal, posting of banns, and a big church wedding, all combined in a period of several months. There were three steps to a proper marriage; first there was the consent of the friends and parents, publicly making their engagement known or the exchange of love tokens. Then following was a required public blessing by the family and close kin. And finally the big church ceremony after the posting of the banns. The very being of this was all too impersonal. The young were the owners of courtship. ââ¬Å"Its rites expressed their needs, its symbols their desires.â⬠Family consent as well as the friendsââ¬â¢ approval had a large e...
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Shakespeares New Year and Christmas Quotes
Shakespeare's New Year and Christmas Quotes New Year Celebrations hardly feature in Shakespeareââ¬â¢s works and he only mentions Christmas three times. Explaining the lack of New Year quotes is easy enough, but why did Shakespeare dodge Christmas in his writing? Shakespeare New Year Quotes New Year barely features in Shakespeareââ¬â¢s plays simply because it wasnââ¬â¢t until 1752 that the Gregorian calendar was adopted in Britain. In Elizabethan England, the year changed after Lady Day on 25 March. For Shakespeare, the New Year celebrations of the modern world would have seemed bizarre because in his own time New Yearââ¬â¢s Day was nothing more than the eighth day of Christmas. However, it was still customary in the court of Elizabeth I to exchange gifts at New Year, as this quote from Merry Wives of Windsor demonstrates (but note the distinct lack of celebratory tone): Have I lived to be carried in a basket, like abarrow of butcherââ¬â¢s offal, and to be thrown in theThames? Well, if I be served such another trick,Iââ¬â¢ll have my brains taââ¬â¢en out and buttered, and givethem to a dog for a new-yearââ¬â¢s giftâ⬠¦Merry Wives of Windsor (Act 3, Scene 5) Shakespeare Christmas Quotes So that explains the lack of New Year celebration; but why are there so few Shakespeare Christmas quotes? Perhaps he was ââ¬Å"a bit of a Scrooge!â⬠Joking aside, the ââ¬Å"Scroogeâ⬠factor is actually very important. In Shakespeareââ¬â¢s time, Christmas simply wasnââ¬â¢t celebrated in the same way as it is today. It was 200 years after the death of Shakespeare that Christmas was popularized in England, thanks to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert importing many of the German Christmas traditions. Our modern conception of Christmas is immortalized in Charles Dickensââ¬â¢ A Christmas Carol, from the same period. So, in many ways,à Shakespeare was ââ¬Å"a bit of a Scrooge!â⬠Here are the three times Shakespeare did mention Christmas in his plays: At Christmas I no more desire a roseThan wish a snow in Mayââ¬â¢s new-fangled mirth;Loveââ¬â¢s Labours Lost (Act 1, Scene 1) I see the trick onââ¬â¢t: here was a consent,Knowing aforehand of our merriment,To dash it like a Christmas comedy:Some carry-tale, some please-man, some slight zany,Loveââ¬â¢s Labours Lost (Act Five, Scene 2) SLY. Marry, I will; let them play it. Is not a comonty a Christmas gambold or a tumbling-trick?PAGE. No, my good lord, it is more pleasing stuff.The Taming of the Shrew (Intro, scene 2) Did you notice how downbeat these Shakespeare Christmas quotes are? Thatââ¬â¢s because, in Elizabethan England, Easter was the main Christian festival. Christmas was a less-important 12-day festival known for pageants put on at the Royal Court and by churches for townspeople. In the quotes above, Shakespeare does not hide his dislike of pageant acting: In Loveââ¬â¢s Labours Lost, Berowne guesses that a wooing strategy has failed and that the ladies are now ridiculing the men. The ridicule is compared to a Christmas play: ââ¬Å"dash it like a Christmas comedy.â⬠In The Taming of the Shrew, Sly disregards the action as a Christmas ââ¬Å"gamboldâ⬠, a word meaning a frolic or light entertainment. Page suggests that it will be better than that awful acting you see at Christmas. Overlooking New Year and Christmas The lack of New Year and Christmas celebration may seem strange to the modern reader, and one must look at the calendar and religious conventions of Elizabethan England to contextualize this absence. None of Shakespeareââ¬â¢s plays are set at Christmas, not even Twelfth Night, which is commonly considered to be a Christmas play. It is widely believed that the playââ¬â¢s title was written for a performance on the twelfth day of Christmas at the royal court. But a reference in the title to the timing of the performance is where the Christmas references of this play end. It actually has nothing to do with Christmas.
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