First World War

• Long Term Cause of First World War-1

World War I began in June of 1914, and is considered to have five major causes that led to the outbreak of the war.  These five causes include the four long-term causes (militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism) discussed in this reading and one short-term cause (the assassination of Franz Ferdinand).  The four long-term causes are as follows:

MILITARISM: The first long-term cause of World War I is militarism. In the decades before World War I many European countries began to practice militarism and worked to expand and strengthen their military forces.

ALLIANCES:The second long-term cause of World War I was the system of alliances that existed in the years before the outbreak of war in 1914.  When World War I began Europe divided between two separate alliance systems.  Britain, France and Russia made up the Triple Entente while Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy made up the Triple Alliance. The assassination of Austro-Hungarian archduke Franz Ferdinand and the resulting crisis between Serbia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire caused each system of alliances to enact and World War I began.

​IMPERIALISM:The third main cause of World War I was European imperialism that occurred in the 1800’s and early 1900’s before World War I erupted in 1914.  Imperialism is understood as a process in which a country overtakes another country or region’s political, economic or social life.  Imperialism was carried out by the powerful European nations against the rest of world in the decades before World War I began.

​NATIONALISM:The fourth and final long-term cause of World War I was the growth of nationalism that occurred in Europe in the decades before World War I and the tensions it caused. Nationalism grows when people share similar beliefs, values, ethnic heritage, relationship to land, language, culture and customs.

• Short Term Cause of First World War .

Answer: Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by Serbian Nationalists, which angered Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia which then Russia was an ally to. Germany promising an Alliance to Austria declared war on the Triple Entente. Italy did not follow through alliance Germany and Austria-Hungary had with them and joined the Allies later. The Ottoman Empire joined the CP thinking if they won then they could be more powerful and more recognized as a force to be reckoned with as they were back in industrialism. Bulgaria layer entered the CP in 1917 one year to the wars end. Britain, France, The US, and Italy had won.

·         The Effects of World War 1.

The effects of World War 1 are still being felt a century after its conclusion. The specific effects of World War-1 are as follows:

Specific Effects of World War 1:

• WW1 caused the downfall of four monarchies: Germany, Turkey, Austria-Hungary and Russia.
• The war made people more open to other ideologies, such as the Bolsheviks that came to power in Russia and fascism that triumphed in Italy and even later in Germany.
• WW1 largely marked the end of colonialism.
• The war changed the economical balance of the world.
• Inflation shot up in most countries and the German economy was highly affected by having to pay for reparations.
• With all the new weapons that were used, WW1 changed the face of modern warfare forever.
• Social life also changed: People all wanted better living standards.
• WW1 boosted research in technology, because better transport and means of communication gave countries an advantage over their enemies.

The Dream of the Rood

The Dream of the Rood

1. How does the personification of the cross in " The Dream of the Rood".

Answer:

In this very early English poem, the narrator has a dream in which he has a conversation with the rood, or cross on which Christ was crucified. The rood tells the story of the crucifixion from his point of view. He tells it as if he were a person who had to bear th weight of the crucified jesus.

  The personification conveys hope in several ways. The rood is "everyman", a simple, humble piece of wood, just as most followers of Christ are simple people. He is not special and yet God chose him for this important task. The rood's humbleness is driven home when he compares himself to the virgin mary, a simple handmaid of the lord.

  The rood conveys hope by describing to the narrator the story of how christ's death and resurrection brings the possibility of eternal life to all of mankind. The narrator ends the poem full of hope that although he is not "wealthy," he too can attain the bliss of the afterlife with the help of rood who is "able to heal:"

2. Literary(devices) analysis of the text? And

3. Comment on the story style of the Dream of the rood?

Answer: "The Dream of the Rood" is acknowledged is one of the great religious poems in the English language. In the tenth century, the poem was first discovered on a runic or Ruth well cross. The word "rood" translated from Old English to English as crucifix or cross.

The poem “The Dream of the Rood“ is one of the finest religious poems in the English language. In a dream the unknown poet beholds a beautiful tree—the rood, or cross, on which Christ died. The rood tells him its own story. The poem itself is divided up into three separate sections:

➢First Section (ll. 1–27):The representation of the Crucifixion as a battle. The narrator has a vision of the Cross. Initially when the dreamer sees the Cross, he notes how it is covered with gems. He is aware of how miserable he is compared to how glorious the tree is.

➢In section two(ll. 28–121): In the metaphoric battle within the poem, Christ and the Cross are Warriors;

            The Cross shares its account of Jesus' death. The Crucifixion story is told from the perspective of the Cross. It begins with the enemy coming to cut the tree down and carrying it away. The tree learns that it is not to be the bearer of a criminal, but instead Christ crucified. The Lord and the Cross become one, and they stand together as victors, refusing to fall, taking on insurmountable pain for the sake of mankind.

➢In section three (ll. 122–156): Whose deaths are victories, and whose burials are preludes to the triumph of their Resurrections."

            The author gives his reflections about this vision. The vision ends, and the man is left with his thoughts. He gives praise to God for what he has seen and is filled with hope for eternal life and his desire to once again be near the glorious Cross.

4. Purpose of the poem? Or 8.  Explain 3 Sections.

Answer:

The poem “The Dream of the Rood“ is one of the finest religious poems in the English language. In a dream the unknown poet beholds a beautiful tree—the rood, or cross, on which Christ died. The rood tells him its own story. The poem itself is divided up into three separate sections:

➢First Section (ll. 1–27): The representation of the Crucifixion as a battle. The narrator has a vision of the Cross. Initially when the dreamer sees the Cross, he notes how it is covered with gems. He is aware of how miserable he is compared to how glorious the tree is.

➢In section two(ll. 28–121): In the metaphoric battle within the poem, Christ and the Cross are Warriors;

            The Cross shares its account of Jesus' death. The Crucifixion story is told from the perspective of the Cross. It begins with the enemy coming to cut the tree down and carrying it away. The tree learns that it is not to be the bearer of a criminal, but instead Christ crucified. The Lord and the Cross become one, and they stand together as victors, refusing to fall, taking on insurmountable pain for the sake of mankind.

➢In section three (ll. 122–156): Whose deaths are victories, and whose burials are preludes to the triumph of their Resurrections."

            The author gives his reflections about this vision. The vision ends, and the man is left with his thoughts. He gives praise to God for what he has seen and is filled with hope for eternal life and his desire to once again be near the glorious Cross.

5. How is Christ portrayed?

Answer:  "The Dream of the Rood" is acknowledged is one of the great religious poems in the English language. In the tenth century, the poem was first discovered on a runic or Ruth well cross. The word "rood" translated from Old English to English as crucifix or cross.

  The poem “The Dream of the Rood“ is one of the finest religious poems in the English language. In a dream the unknown poet beholds a beautiful tree—the rood, or cross, on which Christ died. The rood tells him its own story.

   The poem takes the form of a dream, which the narrator, an unnamed man, relates to the reader. While the term "rood" refers to a cross, the dream is really about a tree that has been fashioned into a cross. Specifically, the tree has been turned into the cross used to crucify Christ, and feels immense sorrow and pain at what he has become which he relates to the dreamer in a long passage.

  While the poem is clearly a religious text, a closer examination actually reveals some elements of German Heroism (a non-Christian culture competing with Christianity during this time). While in many works these Germanic and Christian elements are shown as diametrically opposed in philosophy, they are actually reconciled rather nicely within "The Dream of the Rood." Although nothing is known about the original author or context of the poem, the possibility exists that finding a way to blend these two elements of society might have been one of the primary motivations of the author.

6. Comment on the Dream vision of the poem?

    Answer:  At the beginning of the poem, the reader sees the hallucination of the cross transforming from being covered in blood to being covered in jewels. In the poem, Jesus is being placed upon the cross but is done so in such a vicious manner (as it is told in the Bible as well). The idea of the cross being glorified is such a striking contrast to what the cross was used for. Obviously it is a symbol of what the Bible says was Christ’s ultimate sacrifice so naturally Christians view the cross as an extremely humbling image; Today, crucifixion is not widely practiced as it was in Biblical times, but the image of the cross still rings true because it has such a profound mysticism about it. The Dream of The Rood is an incredibly mystical poem and it is centered around the image of the cross. The tree being used to make the cross has a voice of it’s own, and what I found to be most profound about the Cross’ narration was how it was surprised to be the cross that Jesus was to be crucified on. When the tree was cut down, it was believed to be made to be a cross for a criminal but as it learns that it will be the cross for Christ’s crucifixion, it is aware that it being part of the killing of Christ. Ultimately, the cross is aware of it’s purpose and I found the poem to be saying that the cross and Jesus were together in the crucifixion of Christ.

7. Importance of prologue of epilogue?

Answer: At the beginning of the poem, the reader sees the hallucination of the cross transforming from being covered in blood to being covered in jewels. In the poem, Jesus is being placed upon the cross but is done so in such a vicious manner (as it is told in the Bible as well). The idea of the cross being glorified is such a striking contrast to what the cross was used for. Obviously it is a symbol of what the Bible says was Christ’s ultimate sacrifice so naturally Christians view the cross as an extremely humbling image;

   The Cross shares its account of Jesus' death. The Crucifixion story is told from the perspective of the Cross. It begins with the enemy coming to cut the tree down and carrying it away. The tree learns that it is not to be the bearer of a criminal, but instead Christ crucified. The Lord and the Cross become one, and they stand together as victors, refusing to fall, taking on insurmountable pain for the sake of mankind.

   The author gives his reflections about this vision. The vision ends, and the man is left with his thoughts. He gives praise to God for what he has seen and is filled with hope for eternal life and his desire to once again be near the glorious Cross.

The Spanish Tragedy

1. Spanish Tragedy as a Revenge Tragedy.

   Answer: The Spanish Tragedy, or Hieronimo is Mad Again[1] is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1582 and 1592. Highly popular and influential in its time, The Spanish Tragedy established a new genre in English theatre, the revenge play or revenge tragedy. Its plot contains several violent murders and includes as one of its characters a personification of Revenge. The Spanish Tragedy was often referred to (or parodied) in works by other Elizabethan playwrights, including William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and Christopher Marlowe.
   Many elements of The Spanish Tragedy, such as the play-within-a-play used to trap a murderer and a ghost intent on vengeance, appear in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

     A long time dispute among scholars has been the moral status of revenge. Because revenge is the most obvious theme of the play, a lot of debate has been made over it. One can make judgments on the morality of Hieronimo based on his revenge-focused goals but the question many scholars face is whether the fault of his intentions is truly his. Steven Justice theories that the judgment of the play falls less on Hieronimo than on a society in which the tragedy results from a way of life.[29] It is argued that Kyd used the revenge tragedy to give body to popular images of Catholic Spain.[29] Kyd tries to make Spain the villain in that he shows how the Spanish court gives Hieronimo no acceptable choice. The court turns Hieronimo to revenge in pursuit of justice, when in reality it is quite different.

5. Role of Servant (Pedringano, The page, Ambasador.)

Answer: Role of Servant:

Pedringano - Bel-Imperia's servant. Pedringano is easily bribed, and he betrays Bel-Imperia and is one of the gang of four murderers who kill Horatio. In fact, Pedringano seems to have no moral considerations, only following the person whom he thinks can help him most. Ironically, this leads him to trust Lorenzo, who ends up betraying him.

The Page  - The page is a messenger boy who brings Lorenzo's empty box to the execution, which is believed to hold a pardon for Pedringano. After the page looks inside, he does not tell anyone that it is empty, out of fear for his own life. This has a distinct impact on the play, since Pedringano's belief that he will be pardoned stops him from exposing Lorenzo as one of Horatio's murderers before it is too late.

The Ambassador  - The Portuguese Ambassador is the agent of communication between the King and Viceroy. His presence appears purely functional, exchanging information between the Portuguese and Spanish court.

6. Character Horatio, Lorengo, Bel Imperia

Answer:Horatio: The proud, promising son of Hieronimo. Horatio sense of duty and loyalty is shown in his actions towards Andrea, and he gives Andrea the funeral rites that let the ghost cross the river Acheron in the underworld. He also captures Andrea's killer, Balthazar, in battle, thus recovering Andrea's body. His sense of pride is shown in his confrontation with Lorenzo; though Lorenzo greatly outranks him in stature, he does not defer, but instead continues to argue his case in front of the King.

Lorenzo  - One of Horatio's murderers. Lorenzo's character remains fairly constant throughout the play. He is a proud verbal manipulator and a Machiavellian plotter. A great deceiver and manipulator of others, Horatio unsurprisingly has an enthusiasm for the theater. Lorenzo has a foil in Horatio; they are both brave young men, but Horatio's directness, impulsiveness, and honesty, contrast and highlight Lorenzo's guardedness, secretiveness, and deception.

Bel Imperia: Lorenzo's sister and Andrea's former lover. She finds "second love" in Horatio, if only partly to spite Balthazar. She eventually stabs Balthazar as a character in Hieronimo's play and commits suicide. Heironimo claims that the suicide is out of love for Andrea, but this point remains a matter of dispute. Her actions in the second half of the play are motivated by the desire to exact revenge .She is headstrong, as evidenced by her decisions to love Andrea and Horatio, both against her father's wishes. She is intelligent, beautiful, and, in moments of love, tender. She also is bent on revenge, both for her slain lover Andrea and for Horatio. She is seen to have "Machiavellian"- type traits which really surface towards the end of the play.

7. Lorengo as a Machiarellian hero.

Answer: Lorenzo is an example of the Machiavellian villain. He is typical of many Elizabethan tragedies and dramas. Lorenzo uses his verbal cleverness to lead the people around him to injustice, playing on their moral weakness as well as their lack of knowledge.

9. Use of Supernatural element?

Answer:Significance of the supernatural element in a most perfect descriptive manner in the spanish tragedy. The Ghost and Revenge act as the Greek-style Chorus to the tragedy. The Ghost acts as a metaphysical measure of good and evil. It is part of the afterlife that is removed from reality yet still plays a role in the unfolding of the future.

12. Play within the play?

Answer:  Of the nine deaths that occur on stage (not including Villuppo's and Andrea's), three of them are suicides. Of the three, Isabella and Hieronimo's suicides are the realization of a death wish expressed throughout the play: they desire to join Horatio in death. But this wish is not repeated by the Viceroy, an equally loving father. This difference is intriguing, as Hieronimo and his wife have a reason to delay their deaths (they must exact revenge), whereas nothing holds back the Viceroy-or so it seems. The lack of a real death wish may reflect a politically-oriented part of his character that complicates his desire to live in solitude after he discovers that Balthazar is still alive. Finally, Bellimperia's suicide remains an unexplained aspect of the play. Why does she unnecessarily keep to her role in Hieronimo's play-within-a-play? Hieronimo's explanation that she loved Andrea too much is unsatisfactory at best. Her death thus shows a vague but strong link between the fulfillment of revenge and the death wish.

13. Role of handkerchief.

Answer: The handkerchief starts off as a symbol of love and memory, becomes a symbol of the memory of a lost loved one, and then a symbol for the desire to avenge that loved one. Ironically, by the end of the play, it can be seen as a symbol of the need to erase memory through death. Before Andrea went off to war, Bel-Imperia gave him a scarf, which he wore into battle something by which to remember her. Initially a symbol of love between Andrea and Bel-Imperia, Horatio takes it off his friend's dying body as a memorial, and it then becomes a symbol of Horatio's remembrance of his friend, a symbol of love between Horatio and Bel-Imperia, and of Bel-Imperia's memory of her lost knight. Of course, Bel-Imperia's love for Horatio is itself a form of revenge against Balthazar, so the scarf begins to take on connotations of vengeance. After Horatio's death, Hieronimo presumably takes the same handkerchief. It is now a symbol of both love and vengeance, intertwined in Hieronimo's desire to avenge his beloved son. By the end of the play, it becomes a symbol of annihilation and erasure. Hieronimo holds the handkerchief up in the midst of the corpses onstage and then runs off to commit suicide, embracing death and the erasure of all memories.

10. Description of hell? (Gost)

Answer:   Except that he's dead. And that he and Bel-imperia were in love. And that he was killed by an un-chivalrous, cowardly act in war. And that he is very, very, impatient while waiting for the revenge he so desperately craves. Strangely enough, Andrea isn't alive at all in the play.He's a ghost. Boo!

   Even though he dies before the action of the play, we do get a ride-along with him as he tours Hell for three days. On the tour we learn that he was a lover and a fighter during his life, which leaves the administrators in Hell scratching their heads as to whether he should spend eternity with warriors or lovers. Since the hellish experts can't even make up their mind, we'll leave that alone for now.

   But in the process of describing his trip through Hell, Andrea gives us an early clue about a character trait that proves vitally important

   Basically, he's saying he's from the wrong side of the tracks compared to Bel-Imperia. And this is a big problem for the aristocratic snobs in the play. Given his warrior credentials and his boldness for dating way over his head, we can probably assume he is courageous. And since he's not the only courageous guy of humble birth in the play (we've got Horatio and Hieronimo, remember?), maybe the point is that you're not born with nobility, you earn it.

4. Role of Madness?

Answer: The role that madness plays in The Spanish Tragedy, indeed in all revenge tragedies, is a vital one; it provides an opportunity for the malcontent to be converted by the environment into the avenger. In almost all revenge tragedies, the malcontent takes the form of a renaissance man or woman who is confronted with a problem - the deed to be avenged. This crime, and the criminals that perpetrated it, effect that surroundings to such an extent that it is impossible to remain unchanged by them.

   Or as Hieronimo put it in The Spanish Tragedy, while holding a noose (this is to symbolise suicide, which is the ultimate form of withdrawal from the world) and a dagger (the tool that is most appropriate for the avenger to interact with the world with):

This way or that way? Soft and fair, not so:

For if I hang myself, let's know

Who will revenge Horatio's murder then?

2. Spanish Tragedy as a senecan Tragedy.

Answer:

The Spanish Tragedy belongs to a class of drama known as the revenge play, which comes from the pen of Thomas Kyd (1558-1594).  In all the plays of Seneca we find the revenge theme. Revenge was the main plot, main motive in his plays. Like him, Kyd also used the revenge theme. As we find The Ghost of Andrea, Bel-Imperia, Horatio, Isabella and Hieronimo all the characters want to take revenge. In Senecan plays, all the characters think that if they take revenge upon the killers who have murdered their dearest persons, it can never be a sin. Rather it is a sacred duty. Because by killing the murderers they will be able to get proper justice. Very same tendency we observe in the character of Bel-Imperia and Hieronimo. We see Bel-Imperia uttering: “But how can love find harbor in my breast, / Till I revenge the death of my beloved?” (1. 4. 64-65).

3. Use of Melodramatic element as a Spanish Tragedy.

Answer:

Melodramatic elements, such as declamatory speech, excessive passion, musically acted, cured appeal to poetic justice, all of such qualities were used by Seneca in his plays. Similarly Kyd in this play has employed such elements too. We find declamatory speech in Hieronimo’s soliloquies and excessive passion in Bel-Imperia’s dialogues. In Melodrama good characters are rewarded and bad characters are punished. The Spanish Tragedy does not maintain this rule of Melodrama properly.

            Seneca used horror elements, blood-shed, violence and terror, bloody atmosphere in his plays, so does Kyd. The brutal killing of Horatio, the preparation of the upcoming burning of Alexandro, the killing of Serberine, the stabbing scene of Isabella, the killing of Lorenzo, Balthazar, and Don Cyprion, the biting of Hieronimo’s tongue himself, all these elements of horror incidents, of blood-shed, create an atmosphere of terror and violence in the mind of the readers.

11. Use of Greek Mythological character?(Pluto, Proserpine, Hactas, Lacherron, Charan).

Answer: Pluto:The ancient Roman people were afraid to utter the name of Pluto for fear it would attract the attention of the deity known as the judge of the dead. Pluto was also a god of wealth, as the lord of all the metals and riches that lie under the ground. His name is derived from the Latinized form of the Greek name Plouton, which means wealth.

  Pluto was previously referred to as Dis Pater, meaning Father of Gods. However, he is best known for his role as ruler of the underworld and as the counterpart to the Greek god Hades. When the Romans conquered Greece, the gods Hades and Pluto were combined and replaced Dis Pater as the god of wealth, the dead and agriculture.

Prosepine: Proserpine ("to emerge") (Proserpina) is a Goddess of the Underworld, her story is the basis of a myth of springtime. Her Greek goddess equivalent is Persephone. She was abducted by Pluto who wished to marry her and live together in the underworld. Her mother Ceres searched for her, but was unable to find her, in sorrow she stopped the fruits and vegetables from growing.

Eventually Jupiter sent Mercury to order Pluto to free Proserpina. Before letting her go he made her eat three pomegranate seeds which meant she would have to live three months of each year with him. In spring when Ceres receives her daughter back, the crops blossom, and in summer they flourish.

Hades: Hades, Greek Aïdes (“the Unseen”), also called Pluto or Pluton (“the Wealthy One” or “the Giver of Wealth”), in Greek mythology, god of the underworld. Hades was a son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and brother of the deities Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia.

After Cronus was overthrown by his sons, his kingdom was divided among them, and the underworld fell by lot to Hades. There he ruled with his queen, Persephone, over the infernal powers and over the dead in what was often called “the house of Hades,” or simply Hades. He was aided by the dog Cerberus. Though Hades supervised the trial and punishment of the wicked after death, he was not normally one of the judges in the underworld, nor did he personally torture the guilty, a task assigned to the Furies (Erinyes). Hades was depicted as stern and pitiless, unmoved by prayer or sacrifice (like death itself).

Chiron: Chiron, in Greek mythology, one of the Centaurs, the son of the Titan Cronus and Philyra, an Oceanid or sea nymph. Chiron lived at the foot of Mount Pelion in Thessaly. Unlike other Centaurs, who were violent and savage, he was famous for his wisdom and knowledge of medicine. Many Greek heroes, including Heracles, Achilles, Jason, and Asclepius, were instructed by him. Chiron frequently appears in the legends of his grandson, Peleus, and his great-grandson, Achilles. Accidentally pierced by a poisoned arrow shot by Heracles, he renounced his immortality in favour of Prometheus and was placed among the stars as the constellation Centaurus.

12. Role of letter?

Answer:  Balthazar is captured by Horatio, son of Hieronimo.  Bel-Imperia falls in love with Horatio, only to find that Balthazar is in love with her. Bel-Imperia and Horatio meet in secret, but she is betrayed by her servant, Pedringano, to her brother, Lorenzo, and Balthazar. Horatio is murdered and Bel-Imperia taken away.

   Hieronimo finds his son’s body and vows revenge. He receives a letter from Bel-Imperia revealing the identity of the killers but  suspects it is a trick. Lorenzo tries to cover his tracks by disposing of witnesses, using Pedringano. Hieronimo realises Lorenzo’s guilt and the truth of  the letter, but his struggle to obtain justice and the breakdown of his wife, Isabella, make him go mad. Bel-Imperia’s betrothal to Balthazar is announced.

    Hieronimo and Lorenzo seem reconciled, but secretly he and Bel-Imperia vow to avenge Horatio’s death. After Isabella’s suicide, Hieronimo arranges a play, in which the characters take part. Hieronimo stabs Lorenzo, Balthazar and Bel-Imperia, explains the reason for the killings, bites out his tongue so he won’t reveal more and kills himself.

14. Diary of Hieronimo.

Answer: Hieronimo is one of the principal characters in Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy. He wrote a play on his dairy. The screen of the play was  the nine deaths that occur on stage (not including Villuppo's and Andrea's), three of them are suicides. Of the three, Isabella and Hieronimo's suicides are the realization of a death wish expressed throughout the play: they desire to join Horatio in death. But this wish is not repeated by the Viceroy, an equally loving father. This difference is intriguing, as Hieronimo and his wife have a reason to delay their deaths (they must exact revenge), whereas nothing holds back the Viceroy-or so it seems. The lack of a real death wish may reflect a politically-oriented part of his character that complicates his desire to live in solitude after he discovers that Balthazar is still alive. Finally, Bellimperia's suicide remains an unexplained aspect of the play. Why does she unnecessarily keep to her role in Hieronimo's play-within-a-play? Hieronimo's explanation that she loved Andrea too much is unsatisfactory at best. Her death thus shows a vague but strong link between the fulfillment of revenge and the death wish.