Richard II Essay: The Characters of Bolingbroke and Richard II

The Characters of Bolingbroke and Richard II "What tongue speaks my right drawn sword may prove" is the sentence which concludes a short speech delivered by Henry Bolingbroke to King Richard II (1.1.6). These words are but the first demonstration of the marked difference between the above-mentioned characters in The Tragedy of Richard II. The line presents a man intent on action, a foil to the title character, a man of words. When Bolingbroke first appears in the play, he is accusing Thomas Mowbray of treason and then states that he is ready to act upon his accusations, to draw his sword against Mowbray. He declares, "Besides I say and will in battle prove . . ." (1.1.92, emphasis mine). Richard yields to the request of trial by combat. It is a ruling on which he later reneges, pronouncing banishment on the two parties rather than allowing their confrontation. This is a prime example of Richard using his authority by way of rulings and pronouncements rather than action, even to the point of disallowing an action. Bolingbroke, on the other hand, is quite ready to do battle no matter what the consequences. Moments before Richard puts a stop to the proceedings, Bolingbroke says, ". . . let no noble eye profane a tear / For me, if I be gorged with Mowbray's spear" (1.3.58-59). Here is a man who is resolved in his intent. To be sure, even in the ensuing banishment, Bolingbroke is not hindered. When he learns of the seizure of the estate of his dead father, John of Gaunt, by Richard, he comes back to England despite the ... ...essing anyone who was around or even just addressing himself. However, Bolingbroke is not a man of many words; he feels the need to physically atone for his part in the murder, "To wash this blood off [his] guilty hand" (5.6.50). Nevertheless, as a man of action, Bolingbroke has achieved for himself the goal of retrieving his father Gaunt's estates and much more. He, in the end, is king, King Henry IV. And though Richard as king was full of pomp and ceremony, those things were no match for ambition carried to its fullest. His strong words belied incompetence as a ruler, and he could not hold his position. It seems that it was inevitable that Bolingbroke would be the victor at last. Richard should have taken more note of his usurper, before he was such, this man he called "[Gaunt's] bold son" (1.1.3).

A Documentary Film

In modern world, social dimensions are manifested in the ability of media to control the circulation of ideas about economic and political events, social problems and ethical issue.Documentary films play a special role in filmmaking unveiling vital problems of modern mankind or informing the audience about historical or social events, outstanding personalities and their historical significance.It is known fact that people copy or borrow their identities from the media, and very often social images are misrepresented and just exploited by the media. In this case, the aim of documentary genre is to inform the audience about current problems and social troubles. The genre of documentary appeared at the beginning of XX century.The documentary film movement had a great impact on filmmaking during the 1930s and 1940s, and was a response to social and economic conditions faced by many nations around the world.Taking into account British filmmaking, critics suggest that: â€Å"the movement and its leader played a pivotal role in stifling the growth of a critical British film culture, and in establishing a realist paradigm which critically marginalised the avant-garde† (Aitken, 1998, p. 1).  Getting the message across, not just through ascetic lectures but getting the right images as well documentaries can speak volumes to a greater number of people across the globe. Where documentaries are largely responsible for promoting the culture, one can still trust their power to reverse it to bring a certain outlook of current events avoiding unnecessary blames and aggression.There are no strict guidelines for producers to follow. Alan Rosenthal (2002) admits that: â€Å"In the last twenty years, tremendous changes have taken place in documentary and nonfiction filmmaking, including changes in subject matter, form, and the very way in which documentaries and industrial films are made† (p.1).In general, the main idea of the documentary is to portray the real soci al and historical images and social problems. According to Michelson (1984): â€Å"In fact, the film is only the sum of the facts recorded on film, or, if you like, not merely the sum, but the product, a ‘higher mathematics' of facts† (Michelson 1984:84 cited Bruzzi, 2000, P. 11).The documentary genre is based on the idea to create â€Å"the authentic representation of the real† (Bruzzi, 2000, p. 9). This is achieved through specific techniques and methods which help to recreate authentic atmosphere in order to appeal to emotions of viewers and their feelings through emotional tension and deep experience.The remarkable feature of modern documentary films is that producers select techniques and cinematographic tools according to plot development and meaning of the film. Usually, the plot structure of documentaries is clearly set out, with few diversions of sub-plot and with fairly obvious contrasts of characters.It can consist of several frames which force the vie wer to rethink the events and interpret them in a different manner according to behavior and thoughts of the narrator (Bruzzi, 2000).Similar to fiction genre, the main thematic elements of documentaries include: theme and focus which frame events and facts depicted in the film. The themes of documentaries can be interpreted as responses towards problems and issues under discussion.Evaluating the themes, producers try to unveil important problems which marked the film. For instance, in the documentary â€Å"Bowling for Columbine†, Michael Moore portrays extreme violence and hostility of modern youth toward other people based on wrong media images and social indifference.

Ahnentafel Genealogical Numbering System

From a German word meaning ancestor table, an ahnentafel is an ancestor based genealogy numbering system. An ahnentafel is an excellent choice for presenting a lot of information in a compact format. What is an Ahnentafel? An ahnentafel is basically a list of all known ancestors of a specific individual. Ahnentafel charts use a standard numbering scheme which makes it easy to see—at a glance—how a specific ancestor is related to the root individual, as well as easily navigate between generations of a family. An ahnentafel also typically includes (if known) the full name, and dates and places of birth, marriage, and death for each listed individual. How to Read an Ahnentafel The key to reading an ahnentafel is to understand its numbering system. Double any individuals number to get his/her fathers number. The mothers number is double, plus one. If you created an ahnentafel chart for yourself, you would be number 1. Your father, would then be number 2 (your number (1) x 2 2), and your mother would be number 3 (your number (1) x 2 1 3). Your paternal grandfather would be number 4 (your fathers number (2) x 2 4). Other than the starting person, males always have even numbers and women, odd numbers.   What Does an Ahnentafel Chart Look Like? To look at it visually, here is the layout of a typical ahnentafel chart, with the mathematical numbering system illustrated: root individualfather (1 x 2)mother (1 x 2 1)paternal grandfather (2 x 2)paternal grandmother (2 x 21)maternal grandfather (4 x 2)maternal grandmother (4 x 21)paternal grandfathers father - great grandfather (4 x 2)paternal grandfathers mother - great-grandmother (4 x 21)paternal grandmothers father - great-grandfather (5 x 2)paternal grandmothers mother - great-grandmother (5 x 21)maternal grandfathers father - great-grandfather (6 x 2)maternal grandfathers mother - great-grandmother (6 x 21)maternal grandmothers father - great-grandfather (7 x 2)maternal grandmothers mother - great-grandmother (7 x 21) You may notice that the numbers used here are exactly the same as youre used to seeing in a pedigree chart. It is just presented in a more condensed, list format. Unlike the brief example shown here, a true ahnentafel will list each individuals full name, and dates and places of birth, marriage and death (if known).   A true ahnentafel includes only direct ancestors, so non-direct line siblings, etc. are not included. However, many modified ancestor reports do include children, listing non-direct line children under their respective parents with roman numerals to indicate birth order in that particular family group.   You can create an ahnentafel chart by hand or produce it with your genealogy software program (where you may see it referred to as an ancestor chart). The ahnentafel is great for sharing because it only lists direct line ancestors, and presents them in a compact format that is easy to read.