Faith in Kierkegaards Breaking the Waves Essay -- Kierkegaard Breakin

Faith in Kierkegaard's Breaking the Waves In Soren Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling, he discusses the "Three Movements to Faith." For Kierkegaard, faith of any kind involves a paradox. This paradox, as well as Kierkegaard's suggested path to faith, is illustrated by the main characters of Breaking the Waves, Bess and Jan. Kierkegaard explains there are steps one can take towards faith; however, they are so difficult he believes only one person, the "Knight of Faith," has completed the movements. The first step is for one to make her/his wish the complete focus of her/his concentration. This finite desire must dominate one's consciousness, and must be the only wish she/he hopes for. Although the desire may seem impossible, it becomes possible when expressed spiritually. Kierkegaard calls the second movement the "infinite resignation": this involves the person acknowledging the impossibility of her/his wish. By resigning the finite desire, says Kierkegaard, the wish is bent inward. With this, the wish becomes religious, and thus not finite, but infinite. The third step involves...

Economics: Turn Around Is Fair Game :: essays research papers

Economics: Turn Around is Fair Game   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  America's size and prosperity have made it the largest consumer of imported products in the world. Brightly lit shopping malls adorned with the latest foreign-made apparel, gadgets and trinkets, testify to the vast selection of goods available for purchase. There is a dark side to this enormous quantity of choices: a hefty price tag - the federal deficit. Unfair trade agreements, and, predatory pricing strategies and practices from abroad, placed those goods on the store's shelves. The United States Trade Representative (USTR), who is directly responsible to the President and Congress for trade negotiations; is forecasting a two hundred billion-dollar trade deficit for fiscal year 1996. The American people must demand reciprocal trade agreements for overseas business competitors. Complimentary trading would; put an end to subsidized dumping, curb the loss of manufacturing jobs, and, tear down the barriers associated with free trade.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The practice of selling items at a price less than what it costs to make them is called dumping. Foreign governments subsidize the manufacturing processes of certain industries so their companies can displace the competition's industry. The television industry is a perfect example of subsidized dumping. The post World War II infusion of subsidized Japanese-made televisions, terminated the United States(U.S.) television manufacturing industry. In the late 1950's, half a million units crossed our borders, tax and tariff free. These television sets were made using cheaper components and cheaper labor. However, the cost of transportation, which would normally escalate each individual price, was paid for by the Japanese government. The pioneering inventors of the electronic marvel were forced out. No longer able to compete by meeting rapidly declining prices, companies had to stop production, liquidate all available assets, and release their entire work force.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unemployment figures for 1996 are predicted to be at seven percent (USTR, 1996.) This equates to nearly twenty million skilled American workers without jobs. The math is simple; imports cost an economy jobs, exports produce jobs. Reciprocal trading contracts would definitely curb the exponential loss of manufacturing jobs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Trade barriers are the largest problems facing American companies in overseas markets. The obstructions are sometimes overt, sometimes hidden and usually extremely complex. Deals are covertly impeded with complicated licensing and import procedures. Regulations concerning special specification standards and testing of American goods are hurdles deliberately enacted to block fair trade. If foreign governments were mandated to treat American businesses the same way native companies were treated, free commerce would truly be achieved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The U.S. has used an arsenal of tools to try to mitigate unfair trade practices and enhance U.S. access to overseas markets. These include: Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act - Section 301 serves as the flagship of the

Southern Arizona: Lives that Shaped the Frontier Experience :: Essays Papers

"Ordinary" Women in Early Twentieth Century Southern Arizona: Lives that Shaped the Frontier Experience Some historians have argued that women’s roles in early 20th century Arizona centered exclusively around the domestic sphere and typified values of femininity such as passivity, motherhood, and loyalty to marriage. Their journeys to the West are likewise portrayed as involuntary and life on the frontier a hated struggle. For example, Christiane Fischer states, â€Å"Frontier conditions tended to reinforce women in their traditional roles and did not open up any new possibilities for them† (Fischer, 46). Although this may have been true for some, women’s overall experiences and contributions to Arizona’s history were much more complex. Although historically â€Å"important† figures are often over-represented in the stories we tell about our past, it is essential to remember that social change cannot occur without the involvement of thousands of ordinary folks. According to E.D. Branch, â€Å"If there is a moral to the history of the westwa rd movement, it is this: the transcendent importance of small things and of unimportant people† (Branch in Poling-Kempes, xii). This is especially relevant to women’s history in that women’s experiences are often ignored in dominant discourse and their achievements are relegated to the invisible sphere of domesticity. This essay will explore the ways in which â€Å"ordinary† women influenced the development of the Arizona frontier and to what extent the conditions of this lifestyle affected their roles and opportunities. At the turn of the century, women in the West enjoyed greater freedom than their sisters in other parts of the country. Various social and economic necessities both allowed and forced women into situations that were traditionally reserved for men. Lesley Poling-Kempes states, â€Å"Liberation may have been a side effect, rather than a motivating force or premeditated goal, for women in the new society of the American West† (Poling-Kempes, 49). Women in this region generally had a better economic status, more job opportunities, and higher legal status than women in other regions (Rothschild and Hronek, xx). Historians have presented several hypotheses to explain this geographical distinction. One such theory is that the biased sex ratio (many more men were present than women) required men to be tolerant of women leading unconventional lifestyles. Another possibility is that, overall, the frontier embraced a more democratic way of life than settled areas, which in turn affected women’s rights (Rothschild and Hronek, xx).

Activity Based Costing – Essay 4

Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Activity Based Costing Topic Gateway Series No. 1 1 Prepared by Stephanie Edwards and Technical Information Service Revised November 2008 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing About Topic Gateways Topic Gateways are intended as a refresher or introduction to topics of interest to CIMA members. They include a basic definition, a brief overview and a fuller explanation of practical application. Finally they signpost some further resources for detailed understanding and research. Topic Gateways are available electronically to CIMA Members only in the CPD Centre on the CIMA website, along with a number of electronic resources. About the Technical Information Service CIMA supports its members and students with its Technical Information Service (TIS) for their work and CPD needs. Our information specialists and accounting specialists work closely together to identify or create authoritative resources to help members resolve their work related information needs. Additionally, our accounting specialists can help CIMA members and students with the interpretation of guidance on financial reporting, financial management and performance management, as defined in the CIMA Official Terminology 2005 edition. CIMA members and students should sign into My CIMA to access these services and resources. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants 26 Chapter Street London SW1P 4NP United Kingdom T. +44 (0)20 8849 2259 F. +44 (0)20 8849 2468 E. [email  protected] com www. cimaglobal. com 2 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Activity based costing Definition and concept ‘An approach to the costing and monitoring of activities which involves tracing resource consumption and costing final outputs. Resources are assigned to activities, and activities to cost objects based on consumption estimates. The latter utilise cost drivers to attach activity costs to outputs. ’ CIMA Official Terminology, 2005 A development of the principles of activity based costing (ABC) is activity based management (ABM). Operational ABM is defined as: ‘Actions, based on activity driver analysis, that increase efficiency, lower costs and/or improve asset utilisation. CIMA Official Terminology, 2005 Strategic ABM is defined as: ‘Actions, based on activity based cost analysis, that aim to change the demand for activities so as to improve profitability. ’ CIMA Official Terminology, 2005 The main focus of this topic gateway is ABC. However, the development of ABC into ABM will be discussed further under Application. Context In the current syllabus, CIMA students will learn and may be examined on this topic in Paper P1, Management Accounting Performance Evaluation, Chapter 8, Developments in management accounting, and Paper P2, Management Accounting Decision Management, Chapter 10, Activity based approaches. Study systems for these papers are available from CIMA Publishing. Related concepts Activity based management; activity based budgeting; time driven activity based costing. Alternative approaches Traditional costing approaches. 3 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Overview The concept of ABC was first defined in the late 1980s by Robert Kaplan and William Burns. Initially ABC focused on manufacturing industry where technological developments and productivity improvements had reduced the proportion of direct labour and material costs, but increased the proportion of indirect or overhead costs. Comparison of traditional costing and ABC The traditional method of costing relied on the arbitrary addition of a proportion of overhead costs on to direct costs to attain a total product cost. The traditional approach to cost allocation relies on three basic steps. 1. Accumulate costs within a production or non-production department. 2. Allocate non-production costs to production departments. 3. Allocate the resulting production department costs to various products, services or customers. This type of costing system usually allocates costs based on a single volume measure, such as direct labour hours or machine hours. While using such a simplistic volume measure to allocate overheads as an overall cost driver, this approach seldom meets the cause-and-effect criteria desired in accurate cost allocation. This method of costing has become increasing inaccurate as the relative proportion of overhead costs has risen. This distortion of costs can result in inappropriate decision making. ABC is therefore an alternative approach to the traditional method or arbitrary allocation of overheads to product, services and customers. Stage 1. Activity cost pools Material Handling Stage 1. Activity cost pools Cost per material movement OVERHEAD COSTS Procurement Cost per purchase order Product lines Set-up Cost per set-up Figure 1. Framework of activity based costing 4 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Application In contrast to traditional cost accounting systems, ABC systems first accumulate overheads for each organisational activity. They then assign the costs of these activities to products, services or customers (referred to as cost objects) causing that activity. The initial activity analysis is clearly the most difficult aspect of ABC. Activity analysis is the process of identifying appropriate output measures of activities and resources (cost drivers) and their effects on the costs of making a product or providing a service. ABC systems have the flexibility to provide special reports so that management can take decisions about the costs of designing, selling and delivering a product or service. The key aspect is that ABC focuses on accumulating costs via activities, whereas traditional cost allocation focuses on accumulating costs within functional areas. The main advantage of ABC is that it minimises or avoids distortions on product costs that might occur from arbitrary allocation of overhead costs. Steps in development of an ABC System ABC uses cost drivers to assign the costs of resources to activities and unit cost as a way of measuring an output. There are four steps to implementing ABC. 1. Identify activities The organisation needs to undertake an in-depth analysis of the operating processes of each responsibility centre. Each process might consist of one or more activities required to produce an output. 2. Assign resource costs to activities This involves tracing costs to cost objects to determine why the cost occurred. Costs can be categorised in three ways: i. Direct – costs that can be traced directly to one output. For example, the wood and paint that it takes to make a chair. Indirect – costs that cannot be allocated to an individual output, that is, they benefit two or more outputs, but not all outputs. For example, maintenance costs or storage costs. ii. 5 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing iii. General/administration – costs that cannot be associated with any product or service. These costs are likely to remain unchanged, whatever output is produced. For example, salaries of administration staff, security costs or depreciation. 3. Identify outputs Identify all of the output for which an activity segment performs activities and consumes resources. Outputs might be products, services or customers. 4. Assign activity costs to outputs This is done using activity drivers. Activity drivers assign activity costs to outputs (cost objects) based on the consumption or demand for activities. ABC in practice ABC activities have been around for nearly 20 years and many companies in a variety of sectors have implemented activity based thinking. ABC and ABM have brought about radical changes in cost management systems. The principles and philosophies of activity based thinking apply equally to service companies, government agencies, process and manufacturing industries. Management practices and methods have changed over the last decade and will continue to change. Organisations have moved from managing vertically to managing horizontally. There has also been a move from a function orientation to a process orientation. However, management information systems to track and provide information about the horizontal aspects of business have lagged significantly behind managers’ needs. ABC and ABM fill this information gap by providing cost and operation information that mirrors a horizontal view. ABC focuses on accurate information about the true cost of products, services, processes, activities and customers. Using ABC, organisations gain a thorough understanding of their business processes and cost behaviour during ABC analysis. Management then applies this insight to improve decision making at operating and strategic levels. This is then known as ABM. Simply, ABM is ABC in action. 6 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Better management activity based costing survey: how ABC is used in the organisation This detailed study of how organisations are practically applying ABC can be found on the BetterManagement. com website (to access this study you must register, and then click on the link to activity based management in the top left hand corner of the home page). Available from: www. bettermanagement. om [Accessed 4 November 2008] The study was carried out in July 2005 to determine the state of ABC within over 500 organisations across numerous industries of different sizes and locations. It provides a useful and interesting insight into how ABC is used in organisations. Reported benefits †¢ †¢ ABC provides a more accurate method of costing of products and services. It allows for a better and more comprehensive understanding of overheads and what causes them to occur. It makes costly and non-value adding activities more visible, so allowing managers to focus on these areas to reduce or eliminate them. It supports other management techniques such as continuous improvement, scorecards and performance management. †¢ †¢ Reported drawbacks †¢ ABC can be difficult and time consuming to collect the data about activities and cost drivers. It can be costly to implement, run and manage an ABC system. Even in ABC some overhead costs are difficult to assign to products and customers. These costs still have to be arbitrarily applied to products and customers. †¢ †¢ Case studies Technical Matters: Activity-based costing. (PDF 99KB). This article, published in Financial Management (March 2005), provides a case study of implementation of an activity based costing system in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/financialmanagement [Accessed 8 November 2007]. 7 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing The Value Creation Group website provides a comprehensive range of examples of case studies within different sectors where ABC has been implemented, including financial services and social services. Available from: www. valuecreationgroup. com [Accessed 4 November 2008] References Barrett, R. Getting a better view of business with activity based costing. CIMA Insight, February 2005. Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/insight [Accessed 4 November 2008]. CIMA Technical Services. (2001). Activity-based management – an overview. (PDF 69KB). CIMA Technical Briefing. Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/technicalreports [Accessed 4 November 2008]. Friedman, A. L. and Lyne, S. R. (1995). Activity-based techniques: the real life consequences. London: CIMA Publishing. Further information Articles Full text from Business Source Corporate through My CIMA www. cimaglobal. om/mycima [Accessed 4 November 2008] Allott, A. Activity Based Management can work for your company. CIMA Insight, January 2004. Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/insight [Accessed 4 November 2008]. Barrett, R. How ABC can make shared services work. CIMA Insight, March 2005. Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/insight [Accessed 4 November 2008]. Barrett, R. Get a better view of business with activity-based costing. CIMA Insight, February 2005. Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/insight [Accessed 4 November 2008]. Cleland, K. As easy as CBA? Financial Management, September 2004, pp 28-32 Available from: www. imaglobal. com/financialmanagement 8 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing [Accessed 4 November 2008]. Johnson, B. and Glad, E. Spring chicken or dead lunch? Chartered Accountants Journal, March 2006, Volume 85, Issue 2, pp 35-36 Kaplan, R. S. and Anderson, S. R. Time-driven activity-based costing. Harvard Business Review, November 2004, Volume 82, Issue 11, p. 131 Larson, P. and Kerr, S. Integration of process management tools to support TQM implementation: ISO 9000 and activity-based costing. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, January-March 2007, Volume 18, Issue 1-2, pp 201-207 Leahy, T. Where are you on the ABC learning curve? Business Finance, December 2004, Volume 10, Issue 12, p. 47 Liu, L. Activity-based costing. Financial Management, March 2005, pp 25-29 Max, M. Leveraging process documentation for time-driven activity based costing. Journal of Performance Management, November 2007, Volume 20, Issue 3, pp 16-28 Meelah, R. and Ibraham, D. N. Factors influencing activity based costing (ABC) adoption in manufacturing industry. Investment Management & Financial Innovations, 2007, Volume 4, Issue 2, pp 113-124 Plowman, B. Activity based management driving profitability. Accountancy Ireland, April 2007, Volume 39, Issue 2, pp 23-25 Abstract only from Business Source Corporate through My CIMA www. cimaglobal. com/mycima [Accessed 4 November 2008] Sandison, D. , Hansen, S. C. and Torok, R. G. Activity-based planning and budgeting: a new approach. Journal of Cost Management, March/April 2003, pp 16-22 Liu, L. Activity-based costing. Financial Management, March 2005, p. 29 Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/financialmanagement [Accessed 4 November 2008]. The competitive advantage of management accounting. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 2006, Volume 18, pp 127-135 Books Friedman, A. and Lyne, S. Success and failure of activity-based techniques: a long-term perspective. London: CIMA Publishing. (CIMA Research Series) 9 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Hansen, D. and Mowen, M. (2006). Cost management: accounting and control. Mason, OH: London: Thomson/South-Western Kaplan, R. and Anderson, S. (2007). Time-driven activity-based costing: a simpler and more powerful path to higher profits. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Turney, P. (2005). Common cents: how to succeed with activity-based costing and activity-based management. New York: London: McGraw-Hill CIMA Publications CIMA Technical Services. (2001). Activity-based management – an overview. (PDF 69KB). CIMA Technical Briefing. Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/technicalreports [Accessed 4 November 2008]. Websites University of Pittsburgh: Introduction to ABC An online presentation on ABC, by Narcyz Roztocki of Pittsburgh University. Includes links to further sources of information on ABC. Available from: http://digbig. com/4xtmc [Accessed 4 November 2008] The Activity Based Costing Portal Global community portal explaining all aspects of Activity Based Costing. Available from: www. offtech. com. au/abc/Home. asp [Accessed 23 March 2009] The Value Creation Group – Activity Based Costing Gateway site on Activity Based Costing. Available from: http://digbig. com/4xtmg [Accessed 4 November 2008] Where are you on the ABC learning curve? An article by Tad Leahy in Business Finance Magazine. Business Finance Magazine and ALG Software recently surveyed more than 250 finance executives from companies of all sizes and types about the scope and current status of their organisation’s ABC efforts. Available from: www. businessfinancemag. com [Accessed 4 November 2008] 10 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Bain and Company's 2005 Management Tools and Trends Survey. Shows that usage of ABM is slightly below the mean, but satisfaction with it is considerably below the mean. Available from: http://digbig. com/4xtmk [Accessed 4 November 2008] Copyright  ©CIMA 2006 First published in 2006 by: The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants 26 Chapter Street London SW1P 4NP United Kingdom Printed in Great Britain No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of any material in this publication can be accepted by the authors or the publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means method or device, electronic (whether now or hereafter known or developed), mechanical, photocopying, recorded or otherwise, without the prior 11 permission of the publishers. Permission requests should be submitted to CIMA at [email  protected] com

The Second Coming Analysis

Between the symbolism and allusions, the poem covers the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelations. In the first stanza, â€Å"mere anarchy† refers to the flood in Genesis. The last stanza refers to the anti-christ and the time of the apocalypse. In the final lines Yeats describes the sinners as â€Å"rough beasts† dragging themselves to Bethlehem for the second coming of Christ. The body of the poem describes the decay of society. It refers to the non-believers, or atheists and the real problem, the sinners. However, he does point out that even Christ was tempted in the desert, hell on earth.He uses a metaphor to allude to the Great Sphinx (The body of a lion and the head of a man), which symbolizes the devil’s home. Furthermore, this is also a reference to the Book of Exodus, which describes the morphing of locusts and scorpion’s tails. These layers of meaning make it difficult for high school students to interpret the poem. I suggest that a teacher star t with eight vocabulary words: gyre, vexed, anarchy, revelation, falconer, Spiritus Mundi, reel, indignant. Denote the text. Then discover all the metaphors and symbols. It takes quite a bit of research to connote â€Å"gyre†.The dictionary definition is simple, but Yeats uses gyre in many of his writings. He uses a double-helix to symbolize the spiraling decay of society through â€Å"blood-dimmed tides† or wars. Then he uses the upward spiral to symbolize the times of peace. For Yeats society was a never-ending cycle of war and peace. From there he takes us to medieval times, to a violent, but orderly sport of hunting, until the falcon cannot hear the falconer and it turns into chaotic, unreasonable violence. Is you use the Bible to interpret the rest of the poem, it will be clear: Yeats is a pessimist who saw the underbelly of society.

Message of the poem “On my first Sonne” Essay

â€Å"On my first Sonne† is a poem where Jonson describes his reaction to sorrow when his first son dies. Jonson confronts conflict, loss and despair when â€Å"Ben Jonson his best piece of poetrie† was â€Å"exacted by fate, on the just day†. He uses his son as an inspiration in this poem and describes his different stages that he has gone through by using language and structural features in this poem. The structural layout in this poem suggests that a progression of ideas is taking place. The first five lines indicate struggle, conflict, loss and despair. He experiences shock and guilt as he says, â€Å"My sinne was too much hope of thee, loved boy†. The feeling then develops to acceptance in line six, where he asks rhetorically â€Å"For why will man lament the state he should envie?† Jonson then follows this statement with various points trying to argue his bitterness and guilt. Simultaneously, he resolves his feelings in the last lines by saying â€Å"For whose sake henceforth, all his vowes be such,† Throughout the poem, modality in verbs changes, this supports the idea mentioned above. Jonson uses low modalities and conditional phrases at the beginning of the poem to show doubt, confusion and guilt. Because of the progression of ideas throughout the poem, the modality in the verbs change from low and conditional to high modality and declarative. He shows this by using this phrase at line nine: â€Å"REST in soft peace, and, asked, SAY here doth LYE.† These contrasts with the phrase used in line five when he says â€Å"O, COULD I loose all father now?† which has a low modality. Jonson uses part rhyme in the words â€Å"Sonne†, â€Å"sinne†, â€Å"soone† and â€Å"Jonson† to link them together. This highlights the development of ideas and the motif of the poem. These words are meant as metaphors of all his feelings towards the loss of his son. Jonson uses the phrase â€Å"Farewell, thou child of my right hand and joy† to describe what his first child meant to him. Jonson uses an intertextual link to the bible when mentioning â€Å"child of my right hand†. He is referring to Benoni, the eleventh son of Jacob [Israel] in the book of Genesis. Benoni means child of grief and Benjamin means the son of my right hand. The poet  uses this analogy to describe his feelings of the painful departing of his son and what it meant to him. â€Å"Joy† is used to contrast Benoni and causes confusion and uncertainty. Another language feature in this poem is presented in line three, â€Å"Seven yeeres thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay†. This phrase has twelve syllables and has three stresses at â€Å"SEVEN YEERES THOU†, meanwhile the other lines have ten syllables and are in iambic metre. This is used to emphasis the â€Å"seven yeeres† that his child lived. â€Å"Lent† and â€Å"pay† are contrasts. These two words illustrate that Jonson considered God as an owner of his child, rather than his own. â€Å"O, could I loose all father now.† (line 5) and â€Å"Ben Jonson his best piece of poetrie† (line 10) uses polysemy to interpret different characters. Jonson uses polysemy in line five to interpret three characters; Ben Jonson Sr., Ben Jonson Jr. and the Heavenly father himself. If the words are moved around, there will be different interpretation to the phrase. â€Å"O† signifies pain and clamor. â€Å"Could I loose all father now† can have different interpretations. Ben Jonson Sr. could have meant that he will lose his privilege as a father, Ben Jonson Jr. could interpret that he will lose his father and the â€Å"father† can be read as the heavenly father. Likewise, the line â€Å"Ben Jonson his best piece of poetrie† can be referred as Ben Jonson Sr. or Ben Jonson Jr. This polysemy can refer as the son being the â€Å"best piece of poetrie† that Ben Jonson Sr. has ever wrote or that the inner self of Ben Jonson Sr. â€Å"doth lye† dead. Rhyming couplets are used to indicate Father and Son are paired as one together. The poem is composed in twelve lines with the rhyming scheme of AABB. This suggests that the Father and Son are united even though that death has separated them. Line five and six has the same rhyme than line nine and ten. Line six set up a rhetoric question, â€Å"For why Will man lament the state he could ENVIE? Line nine and ten define the â€Å"state† that â€Å"man†¦could envie† in reference to the poet’s feeling, â€Å"Rest in soft peace, and, asked, say here doth lye Ben Jonson his best piece of POETRIE.† These four lines have the same rhyme. This language device is used to link the four lines together to indicate us a connection between the question and the answer. Throughout the poem, Jonson changes from first person to third person. This stresses the separation between the father and the departed son. Jonson uses first person in the first half of the poem, speaking to Jonson jr. directly as he is alive, when he says:: â€Å"My sinne was too much love of thee, loved boy,† This line puts the words into the reader’s mouth, making the reader think that Jonson was speaking to the boy. But as the poem develops; Ben Jonson Sr. and Son are being divided apart. Later on, third person is used to indicate separation. Jonson uses this technique to show polysemy and argue that the son and father are still together even though death separated them. The use of sibilance in the poem creates a peaceful and restful atmosphere. Jonson builds up sibilance consonants throughout the poem. This could mean that Ben Jonson Sr. is reconciling with the feeling of pain that he is undergoing with his struggle. A good indication could be line seven; â€Å"soone scap’d worlds†, it has three unstressed syllables in a row, suggesting a change of mood in the poem. This is followed by line nine that has five sibilance: â€Å"REST in SOFT PEACE, and, ASKED, SAY here doth lye.† This line possesses sibilance supporting the idea of a tranquil mood in line seven. Jonson concludes the poem by vowing not to love â€Å"he†¦never like too much†. This father’s feeling on the loss of his son, has brought Jonson to use various structural features to identify his stages of sorrow he has gone thought. The use of various language features, such as polysemy and rhyme describe his various interpretations to his grief and gives the reader the challenge to understand fully â€Å"Ben Jonson his best piece of poetrie†.

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 20

Dante was waiting for me when I got home. I normally liked having the company, but after being with Seth, Dante's presence now made me feel uncomfortable and confused. He didn't seem to notice right away, though, and instead was immediately caught up by Maddie's condo packet. â€Å"What's this?† he asked, leafing through some pages. â€Å"Maddie's been playing real estate agent for me.† â€Å"Wow. I didn't think you were serious about that.† I leaned back on the couch, weary from dancing, sex, and the emotional miasma I seemed to be swimming through lately. Bringing up Maddie didn't make me feel so great. â€Å"I didn't think I was either. I mentioned it offhand, and she kind of went crazy.† â€Å"Alki Beach, huh? Some of these are pretty nice.† He held up one print-out. â€Å"Brand-new condo, still being built. You can weigh in on the colors and trim.† I shrugged. â€Å"I don't know. I don't have time to go shopping right now.† â€Å"One of the power spots on your list is near Alki. You could swing by.† I gave him a puzzled look. â€Å"Since when are you interested in me moving?† He sat down opposite me, still looking through the listings. â€Å"Well, if you buy locally, I can rest easy that you're sticking around. Besides, get a bigger place, and we could try some cohabitation.† That caught me off-guard. â€Å"Oh?† â€Å"You gave me a key. I might as well live here anyway.† â€Å"You're going to freeload off me for some more space, huh?† I teased. He sighed, looking pained. â€Å"Man, you really do think the worst. I'd pay you rent.† â€Å"With what?† I asked incredulously. â€Å"Business has been good. I think things are on the upswing.† â€Å"No offense, baby, but your business doesn't seem like the type that can maintain that kind of momentum. I think this has been a fluke.† I spoke too soon and felt bad when I realized I'd hurt him. â€Å"But we can play it by ear if you want to move in. Maybe your reputation's spreading, and business will keep booming.† He seemed a little mollified after that, yet as I spoke the words, I found I wasn't overly thrilled at the prospect of us living together. I still had Seth on the brain. Obsessing on him was foolish, I knew. This fling of ours could only last a few more days at most. I shouldn't be mooning over him when I'd just be going back to Dante anyway. Dante wanted to know how my beach investigation had gone, and I welcomed the change in subject. I gave him a brief rundown of my non-progress. â€Å"You want me to look with you?† he asked. â€Å"I've finally got some time tomorrow.† I hesitated. The truth was, just before we'd parted, Seth had said he'd look with me and that he'd bring Kayla. The afterglow could be very persuasive. Still, I'd had to do a lot of convincing that she'd be safe, and honestly, I hoped I was right. â€Å"I roped some other people into it,† I said. â€Å"We should be fine.† I feared he'd question me further, particularly about whether I had a psychic to go with me or not. Mercifully, he let it go. I honestly didn't think he wanted to wander beaches and was grateful for the reprieve. When we went to bed later, there was no way I could put his arduous advances off any longer, not without raising suspicion. I'd made a good recovery and no longer had my back excuse. Yet†¦something was nagging at me. Dante himself had been the one to first joke about whether I could get pregnant in my pseudo-human state. I still didn't know if that was possible, and even if it was, would it matter if I returned to my immortal state in a few days? I had no clue how any of this would work, but Seth and I hadn't used protection. And suddenly, I realized that if there were any chance in the world that I could get pregnant-if Nyx's vision might really come true-I didn't want to chance a paternity dispute. So, I turned on the charm for Dante and went down on him again, something he didn't really seem to mind. He tried to get me off in return, but it was to no avail. After being with Seth, I had zero desire of my own and found I couldn't come. And so, for the first time with Dante, I faked it. I was a pretty good faker. He never suspected. He slept late the next morning, so I slipped out early without waking him. Seth and I were meeting over at a restaurant in Bellevue, hopefully far enough away from anyone we knew to see us. While walking to my car, I felt someone fall into step beside me. â€Å"So, I hear you're spreading stories about me,† Cedric said amiably. Startled, I glanced over at him, unease spreading through me. Cedric was my suspect du jour, and I'd already seen one demon's reaction to my theories. Of course, he didn't look particularly destructive at the moment, and there was also the fact that I had yet to tell anyone my latest theories about him implicating Nanette. â€Å"What do you mean?† I asked. â€Å"Kristin said you said that I told Nanette how you thought she might have summoned Jerome.† He paused as though trying to make sense of that. â€Å"For the record, I didn't.† I nearly stopped walking. â€Å"Then who did?† â€Å"Hell if I know. Just figured you should know I wasn't responsible for what happened to you.† He offered no more, no condolences or queries to my health. I honestly couldn't expect that from a demon. The fact that he'd bothered to come talk to me was a rarity enough-and naturally, he could be lying. â€Å"Well, I don't know who else could have told her, then. Or why. I only told a handful of people.† The more I thought about it, the more I realized he had to be lying. I'd only told my friends. He maintained his perfectly bland face. â€Å"Like I said, I don't know.† We reached my car, and I paused, leaning against it. â€Å"You came all the way here to tell me this?† Not that it would have been an arduous journey for him. â€Å"Don't flatter yourself,† he said with a smile. â€Å"I'm here to chat with your demonesses. Hell's pretty much ruled out Jerome coming back. There'll be someone official here in days to settle the matter.† I tried to ignore the chill that sent down my spine and parse the rest of his words. Cedric was cozying up to Grace and Mei. Not a surprise. Whoever came here to assign a new archdemon would question those two the most. â€Å"Well, thank you,† I said. I didn't really know what else to say in that matter, so I switched to something else that had been on my mind. â€Å"Hey, I haven't heard much about your cult lately.† â€Å"Yeah, they've been pretty quiet. Maybe you helped after all.† â€Å"Well, I don't think I did much.† I was also starting to suspect the cult had nothing left to do. Now that their â€Å"Angel† had used them as an effective distraction during Jerome's summoning, they were no longer needed. I clicked my door open, and another curious thought struck me. â€Å"How's it going with Tawny?† Cedric grimaced. â€Å"Well†¦we went out a couple of times.† â€Å"And?† â€Å"My private life is no concern of yours.† â€Å"Fair enough.† I started to get in. â€Å"But if you must know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I paused and arched an eyebrow. â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Her conversation is†¦lacking a little,† he admitted. I couldn't help it. I laughed. â€Å"Are you seriously surprised by that?† â€Å"Beauty's skin deep, I know†¦I guess I'd just hoped for a little more depth.† I chose not to comment on what he considered beautiful. â€Å"Don't take this the wrong way, but I figured you wouldn't really want more than cheap sex.† He cut me a look. â€Å"Because I'm a demon?† â€Å"Don't look at me like that. Being romantic isn't really in your job description.† â€Å"True, true. But at the very least, I'd like to have a little understanding with my cheap sex. Someone who had some vague inkling of what I endure on a daily basis.† He was still being gruff and demonlike, but there was a faint whisper of something surprisingly human under there. I started to tell him that I didn't think that was very likely. Then, I thought of Kristin, Kristin who watched him with doe eyes and fretted over his well-being. â€Å"Someone who sort of gets your job and has an appreciation for its absurdity? Someone who's interested in helping you when you're stressed, in connecting with you and understanding things to an extent where you don't even have to say them anymore? Is that what you're looking for?† He snorted. â€Å"Yeah, like that'll happen.† â€Å"I don't know. Maybe there's someone out there like that.† â€Å"You may not have been human for a long time, but you still cling to their delusions. That's fairy-tale stuff. You can't have that. I can't have that. See you later.† He vanished, uncaring of any mortals who might see him. I stared vacantly at where he'd been, wondering if what he said was true. Was he missing a good match right in front of him? Or was Kristin deluding herself with her crush on him? And was I deluding myself with my feelings for Seth? Was I really feeling connected to him or was it all just lust? There was no use fretting about any of it now. Cedric didn't seem to want to kill me at the moment, so that was the best I could get. I drove over to Bellevue, just in time for the morning commute out of the city to be winding down. Bellevue was a suburb, a city in its own right, and the restaurant we'd chosen was in Bellevue's old downtown, one that had eventually been supplanted when a mall rearranged the city's trendy areas. The place was a quiet little bistro, tucked between a jewelry store and a bakery. Seth and Kayla were already there. She sat in a booster seat beside him, examining a stuffed unicorn while he leafed through a menu. Seeing both of them sent ripples of warmth and happiness through me. â€Å"Hey guys,† I said, sliding in across from them. Kayla gave me a shy smile, and Seth positively lit up. His hair was as messy as usual, and his T-shirt today advertised Trix, a cereal I'd forgotten even existed. â€Å"Thanks for doing this,† I said. â€Å"I really appreciate it.† Seth's smile grew, though I saw the tiniest bit of apprehension in his eyes. â€Å"Just so long as you're sure it's†¦you know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He glanced over at Kayla, who was groping for her glass. Seth hastily intervened to help her before she could knock it over. â€Å"It'll be easy,† I said. â€Å"Maybe even boring. We'll just walk around and look for something resembling white stone or rock.† â€Å"And Kayla can help?† I turned toward the little girl. She glanced between both of us, her blue eyes wide and eerily knowing. â€Å"I think so. Again, at this point, she just senses stuff without really understanding why. If we get anywhere near Jerome, I think she'll show some sort of reaction, even if she doesn't know what it is.† At least I hoped so. After that, we didn't mention our mission for the rest of the meal. We made small talk instead and fawned over Kayla, but it was almost something we did on autopilot, something we weren't even paying attention to. Really, Seth and I were consumed by each other. It was more than just lust too, though I certainly hoped he'd noticed my low-cut top today. I found myself just aglow from his presence. I loved being close to him, feeling the joy that spread within me. It was like falling in love again. It was that connection and understanding that Cedric had said was a fairy tale. And even when we finished up and went and scoped out our first beach, that electricity and warmth continued flowing between us. Kayla walked between us for a while, with each of us holding one of her hands. She struggled a little with the sand but seemed infinitely fascinated by the sights around her: the waves, the seagulls, other children. The rain had faded away today, and we had sunshine taunting us with the hope that spring had truly arrived. We found no white rocks, however, and Kayla had no out-of-the-ordinary reactions like she'd had with me in the past, or even with Dante. When we got to our second beach, she began slowing down, and I realized this wasn't going to be the aggressive day of hunting I'd hoped for. After a while, Seth picked her up and carried her. She managed to stay awake until we finished our search but promptly fell asleep in the car. I knew we'd have to call it a day, but we stopped off at a little caf? ¦ on the way home that served great desserts. We settled into a corner booth, Seth and me sitting side by side while I held Kayla on my lap. We decided to simply split a piece of cheesecake, and naturally, I required coffee. Kayla still leaned drowsily against me, but she'd valiantly woken up as though sensing the approach of sugar. I brushed her hair back from her face. â€Å"Hey,† I said gently. â€Å"Did you see anything magic today?† That was how she'd referred to me in the past. She shook her head and reached up to touch my cheek in a mirror of my own gesture. â€Å"When will you be magic again?† she asked. â€Å"I don't know,† I told her. â€Å"Soon.† Seth's leg against mine was starting to stir up some illicit feelings, something I felt a little ashamed of with Kayla there. I was further startled when I glanced up at him and saw not lust in his eyes, but rather, something soft and tender. â€Å"What?† I asked. â€Å"Why are you looking at me like that?† â€Å"Because of you,† he said. â€Å"Just the way you interact with her†¦it's remarkable.† â€Å"Because I can get her to talk?† He shook his head. â€Å"Nah. More than that. I've seen it with the other girls. You have a knack with kids. You'd make a great mother.† Maddie had made the same offhand comment. I don't think Seth had ever really and truly grasped how much I'd pined for children. His words filled me with both elation and sorrow. For an instant, I considered telling him about Nyx's dream and the bizarre pregnancy theory. Those things were too fragile and too precious to me, however, and the cheesecake's serendipitous arrival saved me from further deliberation. The cheesecake was lemon raspberry, a bit adventurous for Kayla, perhaps, but she ate it without hesitation. Seth gave up on his share before us, and she and I finished it down to the last bite. â€Å"Perfect,† he mused. â€Å"I'll return her to Terry and Andrea, just in time for her the sugar rush to kick in. They'll never let her go out again.† He frowned. â€Å"Will you need her again? I think she has some kind of play-date thing tomorrow.† I sighed, and reality dimmed my golden moment. â€Å"I don't know. I'm running out of close places. I'll have to head up north next, up around Edmonds, though Dante pointed out that Jerome could be farther out-out on the Olympic Peninsula or something. The summoners would want to keep him close, but ‘close' could mean ten miles or a hundred.† â€Å"You're not going to be able to go out to the coast in an easy day trip,† observed Seth. Under the table, his hand rested on mine out of sympathy. â€Å"I'm sorry.† I squeezed his hand in return. â€Å"It'll be as it'll be, I guess.† â€Å"I still want to help if I can.† I offered him a rueful smile. â€Å"You want to help me get back to being a succubus?† His return smile was equally bittersweet. â€Å"There's no way any of this can end well, Georgina. Sometimes†¦sometimes we have to choose the lesser of evils and simply enjoy our sweet moments while we can.† Like this one. And through some shared instinct, we both fell silent, savoring this brief interlude, this dream we'd gotten ourselves ensnared in. For now, it was enough to just sit together like this. His hand moved idly on my leg, offering comfort and love†¦at least for a little while. Before long, the sweet affection turned into something with a bit more desire. I met his eyes, and while it wasn't the same animal intensity that had thrown me against the wall last night, there was still a longing in his eyes that told me how much he wanted me, to be closer to me. My body responded to it, and then we both glanced over at Kayla, who had fallen asleep again. We laughed, realizing the absurdity of our current situation. â€Å"I should get her back,† said Seth. â€Å"Yeah,† I said, sad at the thought of parting but certainly not aroused enough to make out while his niece was around. He drove me back to my car in Bellevue. Our parting kiss was gentle and light, almost hesitant. It seemed typical of this entire affair, like it was hardly real and would blow away at any moment. â€Å"Anything you need, Thetis,† he breathed into my ear. â€Å"Anything you need, I'll do it. You know I will.† A flower of agony and euphoria burst open in my chest. He hadn't called me Thetis, his old pet name for me, since the day we broke up. â€Å"I know,† I murmured into his shirt. â€Å"I know.† I returned to Queen Anne not long after that, getting a nice spot right in front of my building. My head was swimming with Seth and Kayla and Jerome and a hundred other things. I was so distracted that when I stepped into my apartment, I nearly walked right past Grace sitting on my couch. Of course, considering she was the first demon all week who hadn't attacked me the instant I cleared the door, my reaction to her subtlety was understandable. â€Å"Grace?† I asked curiously, as though maybe it wasn't her. She was leafing through a copy of Seattle Metropolitan magazine, their issue on Seattle's best brunches. When she glanced up at me, there was a tiredness in her eyes that even demonic perfection couldn't hide. Seeing her alone was almost as strange as her being here at all. I'd grown so used to her and Mei being a unit that their forced separation lately seemed almost as tragic as Jerome's summoning. â€Å"There you are,† she said. â€Å"I almost left.† â€Å"Sorry,† I said. I meant it. I seemed to be on her and Mei's good side lately and wanted to keep it that way. Demons didn't like waiting, and without that innate connection of an archdemon, she couldn't instantly find me across time and space. Grace gave a half-hearted shrug. â€Å"I don't mind. It's rather pleasant having a few moments' respite from all the politics and bickering.† â€Å"I can imagine.† I frowned. â€Å"No, wait. I don't think I can.† I swear, I thought for a second she might laugh, but she kept that same stone face she excelled at. â€Å"It'll all be over soon, which is why I came to see you. Mei and I have been talking to all of the other lesser immortals today. The day after tomorrow, a corporate demon named Ephraim will be making his final decision on who will replace Jerome.† A cold lump settled into my stomach. â€Å"So soon?† â€Å"Hell doesn't like to waste time and resources.† â€Å"I guess not.† â€Å"Ephraim's already in the area and may come speak to you as he attempts to assess the situation. He'll want to know about your job, how things ran under Jerome, etc.† With each word, my spirits sank further and further. My window to find Jerome was shriveling up. We were going to get a new archdemon anytime now. â€Å"Don't be afraid to speak the truth,† she advised. â€Å"I know that's often a concern among lesser immortals, for fear of causing offense.† â€Å"Something like that,† I muttered, thinking of Nanette. â€Å"Clearly, you don't want to actively anger Ephraim, but he has no affiliations with anyone currently involved in the dispute here. He won't punish you for stating your opinion.† â€Å"I'm guessing he might not listen to it either.† There it was. A tiny quirky of her lips, gone so quickly that I wasn't even sure I saw it. She rose from the sofa and absentmindedly tugged on her blazer. It was deep, deep red, paired with sleek black trousers and patent leather heels. Underneath the collar of her coat, I caught a glimpse of that same chunky necklace she'd worn at the meeting. I recalled Mei's sleeker one and couldn't resist my next words. â€Å"This may sound weird†¦but I can't help but notice you and Mei are dressing differently lately.† As soon as I said that, I hoped she wouldn't get mad at me essentially calling her and Mei copycats. Fortunately, she remained as blas? ¦ as usual. â€Å"In these times, it's wise to distinguish yourself. None of our jobs are secure right now.† I did a double-take. In all of this madness, it had never occurred to me that Grace and Mei might have something to fear. But of course they did. When Hell did re-orgs, they tended to tweak the larger structure. They could very well decide to transfer Grace and Mei and institute a whole new set of demonic leaders here. I didn't like that idea any better than losing Jerome. I wanted things to stay the same. And studying that fatigue I'd seen on Grace's face, I realized I wasn't the only one with a lot to worry about. â€Å"Well†¦for what it's worth, I think you're doing a great job. You've had to do so much clean-up and damage control, and then with all these demons†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I shook my head. â€Å"I don't know. They'd be stupid not to recognize that.† The strangest look came over Grace's face. I would have almost called it surprise, but her careful, icy composure made it hard to say for sure. â€Å"Thank you, Georgina.† Her voice was stiff, like dealing with compliments made her uncomfortable. â€Å"I hope you'll share your feelings with Ephraim, should he speak with you.† â€Å"Sure,† I said. â€Å"No problem.† After a quick glance at my kitchen clock, she turned back to me and gave a smart nod. â€Å"I have to meet with the others. I'll speak with you again soon.† She vanished, but I could offer no farewell in return. I had just seen something. Something that changed everything. I stood frozen. This whole time, for the last week, something had been percolating in my head. I'd noted Grace and Mei's dedication to their job, how they were always there to help when chaos broke out. I'd noted also how they'd been forced to split up a lot lately with the new workload, and as Grace had said, they would now probably be scrutinized individually. And why wouldn't they be? If someone was going to scout for a new demon to run Seattle, why not look at the ones who were already running it? â€Å"Oh my God,† I breathed. But there was more to it than that. It wasn't just that Grace or Mei had the perfect motive to get Jerome summoned. I had more than motive before me. I had proof. Sprinting to my bedroom, I searched frantically for the photo of Mary's medallion, certain it would be gone. Nope. It was still there, knocked off my nightstand to the floor. I picked it up. â€Å"Oh my God .† There it was. When Grace had turned her head, I'd caught a fuller glimpse of the chunky necklace and its network of brown and black stones. The answer had been right in front of me. At the Cellar meeting, I'd noticed a piece of the necklace's stonework shaped like a crescent moon. I hadn't recognized it as anything more than ornamentation, but now, comparing the photo to what I'd just seen on Grace, the truth was obvious. Grace had part of the seal. It was the left side of the medallion, separated in an irregular way to give it that fanciful crescent shape. But I'd seen the fine etchings of the symbols when she tilted her head. They were the same. It was the seal. The picture fell from my hands, and I ran back to the living room, grappling for my cell phone. My hands shook, and I could barely dial. Of course, for a second, I wasn't sure who I was dialing. Hugh, I decided. I had to tell him and the rest of my friends that- â€Å"Drop it.† A strong hand covered my mouth and jerked me backward. My back hit somebody, a tall man with a rock-solid chest. His other hand reached out and wrapped around my wrist, making the links of my watch dig in painfully. â€Å"Drop it,† he said. â€Å"I know what you saw. I saw it too. But you can't tell anyone. Not yet.† I could barely hear through the pounding of my heart in my ears, but it didn't matter. I knew this voice, knew it intimately. It had haunted my dreams-or rather, my nightmares-for the last six months. It was a sign of how truly out of it I'd been after Nanette attacked me that I hadn't recognized his voice that day. I dropped the phone. He released his grip on my wrist, and a moment later, the hand on my mouth moved away as well. Miraculously, I didn't start screaming. Slowly, slowly, I turned around, knowing exactly what I'd find. Blue-green eyes, just like the sea I'd grown up around. â€Å"Roman.†