Macbeth Commentary Essays - Characters In Macbeth, Free Essays

Macbeth Commentary Essays - Characters In Macbeth, Free Essays Macbeth Commentary Macbeth Commentary In Macbeths speech about the witches telling him their prophecies, central and dramatic purpose are given in more than one way. Macbeths aside is mainly an inward conflict in a case of man versus himself. Many times in the passage, Macbeth relays signs of fear but with reward near by. Contained in Macbeths aside are very important elements of dramatic purpose as well as a central purpose that foreshadows the underlying theme of the whole play. Central purpose is achieved through Macbeths arguments with himself and the tone he conveys. He asks himself questions, attempting to work them out in his head, giving the reader a short psychoanalysis of what he is thinking and why. The central purpose in the passage is that of ultimate betrayal. The witches have given him prophecies that he will become Thane of Cawdor and later the King of Scotland and one thinks that will please Macbeth but in actuality it wreaks havoc with his emotions and feelings. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs...? is a question posed by Macbeth to himself. The use of such rhetoric lets the reader realize that there is inevitably something wrong with Macbeth becoming king and that something will have to go down before his success. Showing the reader that there is evil masked among the great success, gives off images of betrayal and also that nothing is ever as it seems. Dramatic purpose is shown in many ways throughout the passage. The main instrument used to advance the drama in the passage are the questions that Macbeth asks himself. The questions reveal that something is wrong and that Macbeth feels insecure about receiving these positions, showing how much evil is rustling beneath the glory. Also boosting the drama is Macbeths repetition of words favoring darkness. If ill...., ...horrid images..., and ...whose murder..., all reemphasize the fact that above all, darkness is ever present in the passage. In the passage from Macbeth, dramatic purpose and central purpose are conveyed to show the ultimate image of darkness and eventual betrayal of Duncan by Macbeth. Although slight, Shakespeare skillfully goes around the point and turns the words into more a foreshadowing image that a tell-all image. The tact in Shakespeares language is essential the reader understanding the complexities of the play.

Jomon Culture Hunter Gatherers of Japan

Jomon Culture Hunter Gatherers of Japan Jomon is the name of the early Holocene period hunter-gatherers of Japan, beginning about 14,000 B.C.E. and ending about 1000 B.C.E. in southwestern Japan and 500 C.E. in northeastern Japan. The Jomon made stone and bone tools, and pottery beginning at a few sites as early as 15,500 years ago. The word Jomon means cord pattern, and it refers to the cord-marked impressions seen on Jomon pottery. Jomon Chronology Incipient Jomon (14,000–8000 B.C.E.) (Fukui Cave, Odai Yamamoto I)Initial Jomon (8000–4800 B.C.E.) (Natsushima)Early Jomon (ca 4800–3000 B.C.E.) (Hamanasuno, Tochibara Rockshelter, Sannai Maruyama, Torihama Shell Mound)Middle Jomon (ca 3000–2000 B.C.E.) (Sannai Maruyama, Usujiri)Late Jomon (ca. 2000–1000 B.C.E.) (Hamanaka 2)Final (1000–100 B.C.E.) (Kamegaoka)Epi-Jomon (100 B.C.E.–500 C.E.) (Sapporo Eki Kita-Guchi) The Early and Middle Jomon lived in hamlets or villages of semi-subterranean pit houses, excavated up to about one meter into the earth. By the late Jomon period and perhaps as a response to climate change and a lowering of sea levels, the Jomon moved into fewer villages sited mainly on the coastlines and there relied increasingly on river and ocean fishing, and shellfish. The Jomon diet was based on a mixed economy of hunting, gathering, and fishing, with some evidence for gardens with millet, and possibly gourd, buckwheat, and azuki bean. Jomon Pottery The earliest pottery forms of the Jomon were low-fired, round and pointed-based forms, created during the Initial period. Flat-based pottery characterized the Early Jomon period. Cylindrical pots are characteristic of northeastern Japan, and similar styles are known from mainland China, which may or may not suggest direct contact. By the Middle Jomon period, a variety of jars, bowls, and other vessels were in use. The Jomon have been the focus of much debate concerning the invention of pottery. Scholars today debate whether pottery was a local invention or diffused from the mainland; by 12,000 B.C.E. low-fired pottery was in use throughout East Asia. Fukui Cave has radiocarbon dates ca. 15,800–14,200 calibrated years BP on associated charcoal, but Xianrendong Cave in mainland China so far holds the oldest pottery vessels discovered on the planet, by perhaps a thousand years or so. Other sites such as Odai Yamomoto in Aomori prefecture have been found to date the same period as Fukui Cave, or somewhat older. Jomon Burials and Earthworks Jomon earthworks are noted by end of the Late Jomon period, consisting of stone circles around cemetery plots, such as at Ohyo. Circular spaces with earthen walls up to several meters high and up to 10 meters (30.5 feet) thick at the base were built at several sites such as Chitose. These burials were often layered with red ochre and were accompanied by polished stone staffs which may represent rank. By the Late Jomon period, evidence for ritual activities is noted at sites by elaborate grave goods such as masks with goggle eyes and anthropomorphic figurines accompanying burials placed in ceramic pots. By the Final period, farming of barley, wheat, millet, and hemp developed, and the Jomon lifestyle diminished all over the region by 500 C.E. Scholars debate whether the Jomon were related to the modern Ainu hunter-gatherers of Japan. Genetic studies suggest that they are likely biologically related to the Jomon, but the Jomon culture is not expressed within modern Ainu practices. The known archaeological correlate of the Ainu is called the Satsumon culture, who are believed to have displaced the epi-Jomon about 500 C.E.; Satsumon may be a descendant of the Jomon rather than a replacement. Important Sites Sannai Maruyama, Fukui Cave, Usujiri, Chitose, Ohyu, Kamegaoka, Natsushima, Hamanasuno, Ocharasenai. Sources Craig OE, Saul H, Lucquin A, Nishida Y, Tache K, Clarke L, Thompson AH, Altoft DT, Uchiyama J, Ajimoto M et al. 2013. Earliest evidence for the use of pottery. Nature 496(7445):351-354.Crawford GW. 2011. Advances in Understanding Early Agriculture in Japan. Current Anthropology 52(S4):S331-S345.Crema ER, and Nishino M. 2012. Spatio-temporal distributions of Middle to Late Jomon pithouses in Oyumino, Chiba (Japan). Journal of Open Archaeology Data 1(2).Ikeya N. 2017. Group migration and cultural change following the Akahoya volcanic ashfall: Identifying the pottery production centers at the beginning of the Early Jomon period of Japan. Quaternary International 442(Part B):23-32.Moriya T. 2015. A Study of the Utilization of Wood to Build Pit Dwellings from the Epi-Jomon Culture to the Satsumon Culture in Hokkaido Region, Japan. Journal of the Graduate School of Letters 10:71-85.Nakazawa Y. 2016. The significance of obsidian hydration dating in assessing the integrity of Holocene midden , Hokkaido, northern Japan. Quaternary International 397:474-483.