Monday, January 27, 2020

Effect of Interpersonal Touch on Third-party Observers

Effect of Interpersonal Touch on Third-party Observers Observing Touch Boosts Social Interests Sun Yating Abstract The goal of this study is to investigate the effect interpersonal touch on third-party observers. Specifically, we aim to test whether observing interactions with touch biases individuals towards social information in their environment. To this end, participants will be presented with prime images that entail touch and no-touch interactions. Primes will be followed by a set of target images comprising social (i.e., faces) and non-social (i.e., vehicles) elements. Participants processing of these images will be explored using behavioural measures (e.g., recognition accuracy) and eye-gaze data obtained through eye-tracking. We expect stimulus recognition and gazing to be enhanced when presented with face than with vehicle stimuli. Moreover this difference should be more pronounced for stimuli primed with touch as compared with no-touch images. Keywords: Interpersonal touch; Social information; Facial bias; Eye-gazing. Observing touch boosts social interests Touch is crucial to our daily life, as it allows us to communicate with the external world (Barnett, 1972). By doing so, we are able to feel the warmth of a human hand; to tap the screen of a smart phone; to send messages to a friend; to feel the sharpness of the tip of a pencil; or to feel the softness of a comfortable mattress. Among different types of touch, the interpersonal touch is the social sub-area of touch that mainly includes our interaction with another people (Field, 2001). For example, a strong handshake, an encouraging pat on ones back, a short tap on ones forearm, or a comforting pat on ones shoulder. Research has focused on how interpersonal touch influences our social perception, social behaviour, as well as our social brain. For the social perception, Fisher, Rytting and Heslin (1976) have conducted a behavioural study: when handing back the library card, library clerk either casually touched the forearm of the subject or did not touch the subject. The results illustrated that subjects felt higher level of affective and gave more positive evaluation towards the clerk, when they had been casually touched, in compared with the no touch situation. In other words, interpersonal touch enhances our positive social perception towards others. For the social behaviour, Cruso and Wetzel (1984) have asked waitresses to either briefly touch customers hands and shoulders, or behaving in the controlled manner (no touch). They have found that, regardless of the place being touched (hand or shoulder), customers gave higher rate of tipping fee when they had been touched by the waitresses, compared with the control group (where customers had not been touched). The above results suggested that interpersonal touch affects o ur social behaviour, which maybe a practical knowledge that we could use in our daily life. For the social brain research area, both neuroimaging studies and EEG studies have shed light on the role of interpersonal touch. For example, Olausson et al. (2010) conducted an fMRI study and identified a system of unmyelinated low threshold mechanoreceptors (C tactile, CT afferents) which contribute to pleasant touch and provide an important sensory underpinning of social behaviour. It is important to note that their experiment was not strictly an interpersonal touch. In fact, it was a robot arm that held a brush that was stimulating participants. The brush touch was a slow, dynamic property of light touch in hairy skin. However, this kind of touch has been suggested to be salient in tactile interactions between individuals (Gallace and Spence, 2010; Vallbo et al., 1999). Also, as social processing include multiple mechanisms (e.g. vocal, facial, and olfactory), Olausson et al. (2010) have only suggested the CT afferents’ function in interpersonal touch. Thus, it is possibl e that the CT afferents do not wholly support the social processing, but only partially contribute to one specific aspect (i.e. the interpersonal touch aspect). Although having the above issues, the study done by Olausson et al. (2010) generally suggested that CT afferents (in posterior and middle insular cortex) is the brain system which works for both interpersonal touch and social processing. For the EEG evidence, Maria et al. (in progress) have conducted an experiment with facial stimuli. They asked participants to focus on the facial images displayed on a computer screen. At the meantime, they used a brush to briefly touch the forearm area of participants. According to the results, being touched by the brush enhanced the N170 ERP component, which has been proved to reflect the processes of neutral faces (Rossion et al., 2000). Again, the above study used a brush instead of a real human hand to touch participants, which may be not good for the consideration of validity. However, previous study has shown the similarity between being touched by a brush and a human hand. Therefore, this EEG study suggested that our social perception of faces could be enhanced after being touched. With the knowledge of how interpersonal touch influences our social life, it is interesting to find out whether such influence could be extended, so that individuals are not being touched with ones own experience, but simply observing a vicarious interpersonal touching interaction performed by another two people. It is important to figure out the vicarious interpersonal touch problem, as this is the social interaction that we have to process in everyday life. For example, the mess media propose thousands of news, which including pictures capturing the interpersonal touch interactions between politicians. When observing such pictures, readers may form stereotypes towards both politicians within in this interaction. Sometimes, being the toucher or the receiver in such a simple picture can determine the publics social-emotional attitudes towards politicians, which will later greatly affect the voting rates toward them. Therefore, having the knowledge of vicarious interpersonal touch is important for us to guide our behaviour pattern in our social life. To support both the real and vicarious experiences, a same neural system should be activated for both procedures, which is called the Mirror system. According to Blakemore et al. (2005), the mirror system lies in our Primary Somatosensory Cortext (SI). Moreover, Keyser, Kaas and Gazzola (2010) suggested that different sub-regions in SI make different contributions: BA2 functions to the perception of others experiences, whilst BA3 processes signals originate in our own body. Furthermore, Scharfer, Heinze and Rotte (2012) conducted an fMRI experiment that they assigned participants to either observe a painful vicarious touch (using a paintbrush to touch a hand), a non-painful vicarious touch, or become in the real touch condition (where participant watched no visual display and was touched by a paintbrush). The results suggested that, for the contrast between observed/ real touch, there was a significant overlap in SI. In other words, SI is the mirror neuron system for non-painful touc h. Also, among all sub-regions within SI, BA2 made around 50% contribution to the overlap activation. However, this fMRI study, as previous studies, risked validity by using paintbrush instead of a more realistic interpersonal communication stimulus. Also, although this study hinted the influence of vicarious touch on the social perception, it did not directly test any social-emotional issue as dependent variable. A recent study by Schirmer et al. (2014) has developed the Social Touch Picture Set (SToPS), which contain two characters within each image. The interaction between the two characters can be either touch or no-touch. Also, the interaction can be reciprocal (where there is no toucher and receiver) or non-reciprocal (where one character is a toucher while the other one is a receiver). This picture set enables the presentation of a more realistic vicarious interpersonal touch scene, compared with the previously used paintbrush one. In their study, they asked participants to watch the SToPS images, then rate the perceived valence, arousal, and likeability of the characters and the interaction procedure. They found that, when participants observed touch images, the image characters and interaction procedure seemed more positive, aroused, and likable, compared to the observation of no-touch images. Moreover, they used eye-tracking system to record the gazing pattern when participants were observing the touch/ no-touch images. The results illustrated more and longer fixations towards the upper body area rather than the expected touching area. With such unexpected results, it is interesting to locate the exact position(s) within the upper body area that people focus on, after they observed vicarious touch images. Among all human upper body areas, perhaps the facial area is the most important one for our social information processing. As Allison, Puce and McCarthy (2000) mentioned in their review about social perception, the reason why facial information is crucial to our daily communication is because human face not only provides multiple explicit information (i.e. age, sex, emotional state, etc), but also includes some implicit information. Therefore, it is likely that face is the key area in the upper body part that we focus on, after primed with a vicarious interpersonal touch scene. More specifically, the enhanced social processing (by observing interpersonal touch) may bias our attention towards faces and help us to deeply process facial related information. As no previous study has focused on the link between vicarious interpersonal touch and our facial information processing procedure, the current study is interested in such topic and will test: 1) whether observing touch biases individuals to attend to faces, and 2) whether a potential face bias facilitates the retrieval of facial information. Methods Participants Run pilot study with 10 participants. Depending on the effect size to decide the sample size for the main study. A balanced number of male and female participants will be preferred, as sex difference may influence the results of current experiment. Also, as the face images will all be Asian, we will only include Asian participants. Experimental designated The current experiment is a 2 (Touch: touch/no-touch) X 2 (Stimulus: face/car) X 8 (AOIs) X 2 (Old target: face/car) within subject design, with dependent variables of looking duration, number of fixations, and d value for the facial recognition data. Stimuli SToPS Images (vicarious interpersonal touch images). There are 480 SToPS images (see figure 1 as an example), which could be divided evenly into different within participant conditions in the current study. The SToPS images contain ten different gestures, which could be either touch or no-touch. There are three different actors’ versions for each type of image. Each version has four female and male dyads: female-female/female-male/male-female/male-male. Therefore, there are 10*2*3*4 = 240 images. Also, a mirrored version for each of the above images serves to avoid the left-handiness/right-handiness issues. In total, there are 480 vicarious interpersonal touch images. Face and vehicle recognition task images. Instead of using traditional houses in the control condition, vehicle images will be used in the current experiment. This is because the shape of the frontal vehicle images is comparable to human faces. This will enable us to standardize face images and vehicle images in the same manner (see figure 2 as an example). Figure1: Example of touch/no-touch images in SToPS picture set. Figure 2: Example of face and vehicle images. Procedure The experiment will contain two phases: the study phase and the test phase. For the study phase, each experimental trial will start with a 200 ms presentation of a white fixation cross in the middle of the screen against a gray background. Participants will be presented with either a face image or a car image for 1 s. Participants will then be asked to explore the picture and try to remember it. In total, we will present 60 face images and 60 car images during the study phase. The inter-trial interval will be 1-3 s with a blank screen displayed. The study phase will last 6-7 mins for the 120 images. Then, participants will be told that this is the end of study phase and they will begin the test phase (see figure 3 for an illustration). Figure 3: The procedure of the study phase. For the test phase, there will be 240 trials. During each trial, a fixation cross will be presented for 200ms. Then, participants will be primed with a Touch or No-touch image for 1 s. After priming, we will display a pair of target face/car image on a computer screen for 1 s. For each of the Touch/No Touch priming, target image pair could be one of the following combinations: FaceNew/CarOld (30 trials), FaceOld/CarNew (30 trials), or FaceNew/CarNew (60 trials). We will present target images with primes in a counterbalanced manner. After watching the target image pair, participants will have to decide whether they have encountered an old image or not. To show their decision, they will need to press the left button or the right button to indicate whether the left image or the right image is an old one. Alternatively, if they decide both images are new, they press â€Å"Enter† to start the next trial. During the inter-trial interval, we will present a gray blank screen for 1-3 s . Based on the above design, each trial will last around 5 seconds. Therefore, the total length for test phase will be around 20 mins (see figure 4 for an illustration). Figure 4: The procedure of the test phase. Measurements Eye-tracking system. Eye-tracking data will be analysed using 8 AOIs (see figure 5 for illustration). We will measure the looking duration and number of fixations during the test phase. Figure 5: There will be 8 AOIs for face image as well as for vehicle image. Among the 8 AOIs, our interest will focus on the eye and mouth areas. D value for facial recognition. We will use d-prime as the data analysis method to find the difference in sensitivity towards facial images. We will compute the H values (hit / hit + miss), the F values (FA / FA + CR), and the d values for each trial. Expected results For the looking duration, we expect to find out the Stimulus main effect and an interaction effect between Touch and Stimulus (figure 6). Figure 6: We expect to see: 1) in general, participants look at face images longer than vehicle images; 2) primed with touch images will increase the looking duration towards faces. For the number of fixations, we expect to see a Stimulus main effect and an interaction effect between Touch and Stimulus (figure 7). Figure 7: We expect to find out that: 1) the number of fixations on face images will be larger than the number of fixations on vehicle images; 2) the priming of touch images will increase the number of fixations on face images. For the facial recognition, we expect to find out the Stimulus main effect, and an interaction effect between Touch and Stimulus on the d values (figure 8). Figure 8: We expect to see that: 1) participants are more sensitive to face images, rather than vehicle images; 2) the sensitivity towards face images will be enhanced by touch priming, but not no-touch priming. Discussion The current study aims at seeking the relationship between observing an interpersonal touch and the social information procedure. We expect stimulus recognition and gazing to be enhanced when presented with face than with vehicle stimuli. Moreover this difference should be more pronounced for stimuli primed with touch as compared with no-touch images. If the results will be the same as our expectations, we can conclude that observing touch biases individuals to attend to faces, and a potential face bias facilitates the retrieval of facial information. These possible findings will provide us knowledge on the link between observing an interpersonal touch and our facial information processing. Future studies could use fMRI to locate the brain areas that work for both observing an interpersonal touch and our facial information processing. References Allison, T., Puce, A., McCarthy, G. (2000). Social perception from visual cues: role of the STS region.Trends in cognitive sciences,4(7), 267-278. Barnett, K. (1972). A theoretical construct of the concepts of touch as they relate to nursing.Nursing research,21(2), 102-109. Blakemore, S. J., Bristow, D., Bird, G., Frith, C., Ward, J. (2005). Somatosensory activations during the observation of touch and a case of vision–touch synaesthesia.Brain,128(7), 1571-1583. Crusco, A. H., Wetzel, C. G. (1984). The Midas Touch The Effects of Interpersonal touch on Restaurant Tipping.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,10(4), 512-517. Field, T. (2001). Touch. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Fisher, J. D., Rytting, M., Heslin, R. (1976). Hands touching hands: Affective and evaluative effects of an interpersonal touch.Sociometry, 416-421. Gallace, A., Spence, C. (2010). The science of interpersonal touch: an overview.Neuroscience Biobehavioral Reviews,34(2), 246-259. Gobbini, M. I., Haxby, J. V. (2007). Neural systems for recognition of familiar faces.Neuropsychologia,45(1), 32-41. Keysers, C., Kaas, J. H., Gazzola, V. (2010). Somatosensation in social perception.Nature Reviews Neuroscience,11(6), 417-428. Kleinke, C. L. (1986). Gaze and eye contact: a research review.Psychological bulletin,100(1), 78. Perrett, D. I., Smith, P. A. J., Potter, D. D., Mistlin, A. J., Head, A. S., Milner, A. D., Jeeves, M. A. (1985). Visual cells in the temporal cortex sensitive to face view and gaze direction. Proc. R. Soc. London B 223: 293–317. Rossion, B., Gauthier, I., Tarr, M. J., Despland, P., Bruyer, R., Linotte, S., Crommelinck, M. (2000). The N170 occipito-temporal component is delayed and enhanced to inverted faces but not to inverted objects: an electrophysiological account of face-specific processes in the human brain.Neuroreport,11(1), 69-72. Schaefer, M., Heinze, H. J., Rotte, M. (2012). Embodied empathy for tactile events: interindividual differences and vicarious somatosensory responses during touch observation.Neuroimage,60(2), 952-957. Schirmer, A., Reece, C., Zhao, C., Ng, E., Wu, E., Yen, S. C. (2014). Reach out to one and you reach out to many: Social touch affects third-party observers.British Journal of Psychology. Vallbo, Ã…. B., Olausson, H., Wessberg, J. (1999). Unmyelinated afferents constitute a second system coding tactile stimuli of the human hairy skin. Journal of Neurophysiology,81(6), 2753-2763.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Ideology of True Womanhood

Ideology of True Womanhood Between 1820-1830, and sometime between the Civil War, there was a lot of growth of businesses and new industries. All of this growth created a new middle class in America. Back in the nineteenth century, middle class families could survive off of the goods or services that their husband’s jobs produced without making all the money they needed to survive. The men did all of the work which helped create a vision that all men should support the family while their wives and children stayed at home.This started the public sphere, the belief that the work was a rough job, and that a man had to do everything he had to do in order to be successful. It was engulfed in violence, trouble and temptations, and women were thought of as weak and delicate by nature. Women were then put into the private sector, in their homes where she was in control of everything that happened. Everyone in the middle class families saw themselves as the backbone of society. A new i deology about the home came after opinions towards work and family arose.This new ideal, called â€Å"domesticity,† provided us with a new view of women’s duties and roles but still treated men and women as total opposites. There were four characteristics that all good and proper young women should follow: piety, purity, domesticity and submissiveness. In the nineteenth century it was believed that American women were to demonstrate a particular behavior towards religion. They thought religion was good for women and that it helped put their minds at rest. Women who weren’t religious were considered the most disgusting human characteristic.They also believed that women were not women, but instead a lower form of being if they weren’t sexually pure. Marriage was supposed to be the greatest night in a woman’s life, when her she could give her greatest gift to her husband, her virginity. From this point on, she was dependent on him. A woman must remain pure regardless of any attempt made by a man to assault her. A woman who allowed herself to be seduced by a man was either killed or had her baby taken from her. Female purity also gave them some sort of â€Å"power. Her purity was used to keep men in control of their sexual needs and desires. The biggest feminine virtue is probably submissiveness. Although men were supposed to religious, they generally weren’t. Men were also supposed to be pure, but nobody really expected it from them. But men were never supposed to be submissive. Men were the ones that did everything and made all the decisions. Women were more passive and obeyed the husbands. Women were forced to wear tight corsets that pinched her organs and caused limited mobility.True women knew their place, and they knew what qualities their husbands wanted. Finally, they believed a woman’s place was in the home. They thought of housework to be an uplifting task. Her job was to make sure the home was perfect fo r when her husband came home. It was supposed to be a relaxing place for the husband to escape from work. Women were also thought of as intellectually and physically inferior to men. They thought they woman just because woman were generally smaller than men in physical size that their stamina wasn’t good either.They believed that the brain was smaller in women than in men. They believed that because women menstruated there was a periodic illness that was inflicted on them. Women were thought of as very emotional and very delicate and that they have an unpredictable nature. It was believed that sexual feelings were very strong in men but they were absent in women. Puberty played a large role as well. This was a period when boys became strong and vigorous men, and girls became timid and weak women. â€Å"Even if you have a child two years of age, you need to go to work,† said Mitt Romney, on CNN on April 2012.He argued that the women would be better off having â€Å"the dignity of work. † This proves that there is still evidence on how people perceive women. Mitt Romney wanted women to work even if they have a two year old child and some people said it was â€Å"heartless. † He said it isn’t because he would raise the money from the state for daycare so you could provide daycare for your child while getting a job for yourself. His intentions were to increase the work requirement but a lot of people had different opinions.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Prometheus Unbound

In examining Asia’s speech, appearing in Act 2 of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s ‘Prometheus Unbound,’ it is evident that Shelley utilised a vast range of themes to create such a unique piece. Overall, the play draws chiefly from areas such as Philosophy, Romanticism, Mythology, Music and Religion (Rossetti). However, the play itself could not have been created without Shelley’s reading of Aeschylus’s play, â€Å"Prometheus Bound† (McDonald). In this sense, the play is very much an appropriation of and sequel to the original.With the above matters combined, Shelley created a work that is conceptually complex, providing the foundations for a challenging yet dramatic play that â€Å"paradoxically performs itself inside the mind of the reader† (Quillin). Asia’s speech in Act 2 reveals Prometheus as fundamentally, the first humanitarian. As such, Prometheus is known as the liberator of humanity and referred to as the â€Å"culture br inger† (Greenblatt 821). Symbolically, Rossetti affirms, â€Å"The unbinding of Prometheus is the unbinding of the human mind† (28).In addition, Rossetti suggests the cave that retains Prometheus â€Å"†¦is the cavern of the human mind- the recesses of creative and contemplative thought, vocal with human sympathy, fertile of human enlightenment and elevation† (31). Therefore, Shelley's ideas signify Romanticism, as his writing insinuates when individuals attain freedom, the power of their imagination is unlocked (Quillin). This can be seen in the â€Å"Prometheus saw, and waked the legioned hopes Which sleep within folded Elysian flowers, Nepenthe, Moly, Amaranth, fadeless blooms; That they might hide with thin and rainbow wings The shape of death; and Love he sent to bindThe disunited tendrils of that vine† â€Å"Prometheus saw, and waked the legioned hopes Which sleep within folded Elysian flowers, Nepenthe, Moly, Amaranth, fadeless blooms; That th ey might hide with thin and rainbow wings The shape of death; and Love he sent to bind The disunited tendrils of that vine† subsequent fragments of Asia’s speech. First and foremost, Asia’s speech is one of unrhymed rhythm and abundant of religious connotations depicting parallels between Greek mythology and Christianity (Quillin). The word ‘Elysian’ refers to Greek mythology and the paradise to which heroes on whom the gods deliberated immortality were sent (Encyclop? ia Britannica). The word ‘hope’ is personified as it is ‘woken’. The awakening of ‘legioned hopes’ may also signify the mass of humanity, in the sense they have been transitorily paralysed by Jupiter’s wrath. It also provides parallels to purgatory, as the forced temporary suffering upon human kind occurs for an unspecified period of time (Padgett). The heavenly flowers act as strength to Prometheus. With Prometheus’ epiphany that lo ve is the answer, the ‘binding’ of the ‘disunited tendrils’ symbolises Prometheus’ realisation that he can be reunited with his wife.The ‘vine’ may also symbolise the chains that bound Prometheus to the cliff. In addition, metaphorically, the vine could represent the almighty strength of a vine in comparison to Prometheus and Asia’s undying love. Rossetti expands this notion, by stating Prometheus and Asia may be regarded as the â€Å"union of the mind and body, or mind and â€Å"Which bears the wine of life, the human heart; And he tamed fire which, like some beast of prey, Most terrible, but lovely, played beneath The frown of man, and tortured to his will Iron and gold, the slaves and signs of power, And gems and poisons, and all subtlest forms,Hidden beneath the mountains and the waves. † â€Å"Which bears the wine of life, the human heart; And he tamed fire which, like some beast of prey, Most terrible, but lovely, p layed beneath The frown of man, and tortured to his will Iron and gold, the slaves and signs of power, And gems and poisons, and all subtlest forms, Hidden beneath the mountains and the waves. † beauty, or intellectual and emotional/loving elements in the human soul† (32). The first line alludes to the greatest gift in life and predominant theme in Prometheus Unbound; love. Love aids the strength and power in Prometheus’ defeat of Jupiter.Evidently, ‘The frown of man’ refers to Jupiter, the chief of Gods who initiated the binding of Prometheus (Magill). After the annulment of Jupiter’s curse upon Prometheus, the play suggests if human kind decides to embrace love, freedom and reject all evil, then the reforming of humanity should occur (Padgett). Thus, the poem is contradictory to Shelley’s statement in the preface stating that â€Å"Didactic poetry is my abhorrence† (Greenblatt 797) as it essentially teaches morality. Once more, the play provides a parallel to Christianity, in the sense that the characters ‘Prometheus’ can be compared to Christ and ‘Jupiter’ to Satan (Padgett).As pointed out, Shelley’s philosophical roots are strongly embedded throughout the play. With this is mind, it is clear that Shelley utilised Aristotle’s theory of the four basic constituents of matter; earth, water, air and fire as a thematic element within the play (Fowler). Thus, words such as ‘fire’ and ‘forms’, refer to Shelley’s cosmic approach to symbols represented throughout the play (Padgett). This distinctive style of imagery enabled Shelley to thoroughly capture the readers’ imagination, as his writing suggests imagery â€Å"He gave man speech, and speech created thought, Which is the measure of the Universe;And Science struck the thrones of Earth and Heaven Which shook, but fell not; and the harmonious mind Poured itself forth in all-propheti c song, And music lifted up the listening spirit Until it walked, exempt from mortal care, Godlike, o’er the clear billows of sweet sound; And human hands first mimicked and then mocked With moulded limbs more lovely than its own The human form, till marble grew divine, And mothers, gazing, drank the love men see Reflected in their race, behold, and perish. † â€Å"He gave man speech, and speech created thought, Which is the measure of the Universe; And Science struck the thrones of Earth and HeavenWhich shook, but fell not; and the harmonious mind Poured itself forth in all-prophetic song, And music lifted up the listening spirit Until it walked, exempt from mortal care, Godlike, o’er the clear billows of sweet sound; And human hands first mimicked and then mocked With moulded limbs more lovely than its own The human form, till marble grew divine, And mothers, gazing, drank the love men see Reflected in their race, behold, and perish. † that can be concei ved various ways simultaneously (Padgett). The final section of Asia’s speech further glorifies Prometheus and the birth of liberation for human kind.It also typifies the premise of the entire drama; Prometheus is acknowledged as â€Å"the culture bringer† (Greenblatt 821). Meaning, he has given human kind the power of intellectual ability, made up of the creative arts and sciences, thus, liberating human kind. This is evident as â€Å"He gave man speech, and speech created thought, which is the measure of the universe†. This line highlights what Prometheus has achieved for the human race. Proving his suffering was not in vain, Rossetti states it has provided intellectual freedom for the rest of society (31).Furthermore, the line; â€Å"music lifted up the listening spirit† reiterates Prometheus’ liberation of human kind. From this, it is clear that Shelley adopts musical themes in his poetry when language no longer proves to be an effective mode o f aestheticism (Quillin). Overall, Shelley produces a dramatic piece addressing his revolutionary ideals by combining music and dialogue, which ironically performs itself in the mind of the reader (Quillin). In Conclusion, Percy Bysshe Shelley’s ‘Prometheus Unbound’ was conceptually inspired by a plethora of key factors.Throughout ‘Prometheus Unbound’, it is evident that Shelley’s approach to imagery stems profoundly from his interest in Philosophy, Romanticism, Mythology, Music, Religion and most importantly, the appropriation of and sequel to Aeschylus’s play, â€Å"Prometheus Bound† (McDonald). These key elements have enabled a multifaceted approach to Shelley’s’ writing, formulating the dramatic shape of the play as a whole. Works Cited â€Å"Elysium†. Encyclop? dia Britannica. Encyclop? dia Britannica Online. Encyclop? dia Britannica Inc. , 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. ;http://www. britannica. om/EBchecked/t opic/185418/Elysium; Fowler, Micahel. â€Å"Aristotle. †Ã‚  Beginnings of Science and Philosophy in Athens. N. p. , 9  Feb. 2008. Web. 11  Mar. 2013. ;http://galileoandeinstein. physics. virginia. edu/lectures/aristot2. html;. Greenblatt, Stephen, Ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th  Ed. New York, United States: W. W Norton ; Company, Inc. ,  2012. Print. Magill, Frank. â€Å"Prometheus Unbound. † Magill Book Reviews,  2011. Web. 10  Mar. 2013. ;http://www. enotes. com/prometheus-unbound-salem/prometheus-unbound-0089900364;. McDonald, Marianne. â€Å"Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound.   Osher Lifelong Learning Institute – UC San Diego Extension. N. p. ,  2008. Web. 10  Mar. 2013. . Padgett, John B. â€Å"The Imaginary Ideal: Prometheus Unbound. †Ã‚  Shelley, Dante, and Romantic Irony. N. p. ,  1995. Web. 11  Mar. 2013. . Quillin, Jessica K. â€Å"An assiduous frequenter of the Italian opera: Shelley’s Promet heus Unbound and the opera buffa. †Ã‚  Romantic Circles. University of Maryland, 15  Mar. 2005. Web. 10  Mar. 2013. .

Thursday, January 2, 2020

The Significance of the Host/Guest Relationship in The...

The Odyssey is an epic poem attributed to the now-famous Greek poet, Homer, written approximately in the early sixth century B.C.E. The poem shares the tale of the wily adventuring solider, Odysseus, return from the Trojan war to his wife and home in Ithaca. The poem details his misadventures, the efforts of his son, Telemachus, to find him, and revenge on his wifes suitors. While many themes run through this poem, the most prevalent is that of hospitality. The Host-Guest relationship is significant in the Odyssey as it acts as one of the main thematic devices used by Homer and examples of good hospitality versus bad hospitality and their results serve as the main plot elements throughout the tale. The Host/Guest relationship,†¦show more content†¦Trade between city-states increased suspicions of the outsider. There were two main views of the stranger. In the primitive times, the poet seems to be suggesting, man lived in a state of permanent struggle and war to the death against the outsider. Then the gods intervened, and through their precepts, their themis, a new ideal was set before man, and especially before a king, an obligation of hospitality: `all strangers and beggars are from Zeus. One of Zeus aspects was that of the god of hospitality, Zeus Xenios. The Guest-Friend relationship provided the traveling stranger with protection, kinsmen, refuge and store-house. The poem begins with a perfect example of the hospitality laws being abused. Book I opens with the son of Odysseus, Telemachus, calling the assembly because his house has been plagued with guests who will not leave. They have broken the laws of Hospitality by remaining within the house and eating the food of Odysseus while trying to woo Odysseuss wife, Penelope. The suitors claim the right to stay through hospitality laws, stating that they remain solely because Penelope will not choose a husband amongst them, it is not the Achaean suitors who are to blame: it is your own mother with her unexampled trickery. Three years have passed, -and a fourth will soon be gone - since she began to baffle her suitors hearts. She gives hope to all, sh promises every man in turn.... TheShow MoreRelatedEssay Homers Hospitality1386 Words   |  6 Pagesthat arose during1600 BC. It was during this time that Ancient Greece began to take form, in both cultural and religious aspects. Historians often r efer to this period as Mycenaean, but due to the culture and values embodied in Homer’s poem, The Odyssey, it is also known as the Homeric Age. In Homer’s world, society consisted of city-states controlled by well-respected Kings. 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