John Donne and Reformation

John Donne was born in Bread Street, London in 1572 to a prosperous Roman Catholic family – a precarious thing at a time when anti-Catholic sentiment was rife in England. His father, John Donne, was a well-to-do ironmonger and citizen of London. Donne's father died suddenly in 1576, and left the three children to be raised by their mother, Elizabeth, who was the daughter of epigrammatist and playwright John Heywood and a relative of Sir Thomas More. [Family tree. ] Donne's first teachers were Jesuits. At the age of 11, Donne and his younger brother Henry were entered at Hart Hall, University of Oxford, where Donne studied for three years. He spent the next three years at the University of Cambridge, but took no degree at either university because he would not take the Oath of Supremacy required at graduation. He was admitted to study law as a member of Thavies Inn (1591) and Lincoln's Inn (1592), and it seemed natural that Donne should embark upon a legal or diplomatic career. In 1593, Donne's brother Henry died of a fever in prison after being arrested for giving sanctuary to a proscribed Catholic priest. This made Donne begin to question his faith. His first book of poems, Satires, written during this period of residence in London, is considered one of Donne's most important literary efforts. Although not immediately published, the volume had a fairly wide readership through private circulation of the manuscript. Same was the case with his love poems, Songs and Sonnets, assumed to be written at about the same time as the Satires. Having inherited a considerable fortune, young â€Å"Jack Donne† spent his money on womanizing, on books, at the theatre, and on travels. He had also befriended Christopher Brooke, a poet and his roommate at Lincoln's Inn, and Ben Jonson who was part of Brooke's circle. In 1596, Donne joined the naval expedition that Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, led against Cadiz, Spain. In 1597, Donne joined an expedition to the Azores, where he wrote â€Å"The Calm†. Upon his return to England in 1598, Donne was appointed private secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, afterward Lord Ellesmere. Donne was beginning a promising career. In 1601, Donne became MP for Brackley, and sat in Queen Elizabeth's last Parliament. But in the same year, he secretly married Lady Egerton's niece, seventeen-year-old Anne More, daughter of Sir George More, Lieutenant of the Tower, and effectively committed career suicide. Donne wrote to the livid father, saying: â€Å"Sir, I acknowledge my fault to be so great as I dare scarce offer any other prayer to you in mine own behalf than this, to believe that I neither had dishonest end nor means. But for her whom I tender much more than my fortunes or life (else I would, I might neither joy in this life nor enjoy the next) I humbly beg of you that she may not, to her danger, feel the terror of your sudden anger. 1 Sir George had Donne thrown in Fleet Prison for some weeks, along with his cohorts Samuel and Christopher Brooke who had aided the couple's clandestine affair. Donne was dismissed from his post, and for the next decade had to struggle near poverty to support his growing family. Donne later summed up the experience: â€Å"John Donne, Anne Donne, Undone. † Anne's cousin offered the couple refuge in Pyrford, Surrey, and the couple was helped by friends like Lady Magdalen Herbert, George Herbert's mother, and Lucy, Countess of Bedford, women who also played a prominent role in Donne's literary life. Though Donne still had friends left, these were bitter years for a man who knew himself to be the intellectual superior of most, knew he could have risen to the highest posts, and yet found no preferment. It was not until 1609 that a reconciliation was effected between Donne and his father-in-law, and Sir George More was finally induced to pay his daughter's dowry. In the intervening years, Donne practised law, but they were lean years for the Donnes. Donne was employed by the religious pamphleteer Thomas Morton, later Bishop of Durham. It is possible that Donne co-wrote or ghost-wrote some of Morton's pamphlets (1604-1607). To this period, before reconciliation with his inlaws, belong Donne's Divine Poems (1607) and Biathanatos (pub. 1644), a radical piece for its time, in which Donne argues that suicide is not a sin in itself. As Donne approached forty, he published two anti-Catholic polemics Pseudo-Martyr (1610) and Ignatius his Conclave (1611). They were final public testimony of Donne's renunciation of the Catholic faith. Pseudo-Martyr, which held that English Catholics could pledge an oath of allegiance to James I, King of England, without compromising their religious loyalty to the Pope, won Donne the favor of the King. In return for patronage from Sir Robert Drury of Hawstead, he wrote A Funerall Elegie (1610), on the death of Sir Robert's 15-year-old daughter Elizabeth. At this time, the Donnes took residence on Drury Lane. The two Anniversaries— An Anatomy of the World (1611) and Of the Progress of the Soul (1612) continued the patronage. Sir Robert encouraged the publication of the poems: The First Anniversary was published with the original elegy in 1611, and both were reissued with The Second Anniversary in 1612. Donne had refused to take Anglican orders in 1607, but King James persisted, finally announcing that Donne would receive no post or preferment from the King, unless in the church. In 1615, Donne reluctantly entered the ministry and was appointed a Royal Chaplain later that year. In 1616, he was appointed Reader in Divinity at Lincoln's Inn (Cambridge had conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity on him two years earlier). Donne's style, full of elaborate metaphors and religious symbolism, his flair for drama, his wide learning and his quick wit soon established him as one of the greatest preachers of the era. Just as Donne's fortunes seemed to be improving, Anne Donne died, on 15 August, 1617, aged thirty-three, after giving birth to their twelfth child, a stillborn. Seven of their children survived their mother's death. Struck by grief, Donne wrote the seventeenth Holy Sonnet, â€Å"Since she whom I lov'd hath paid her last debt. According to Donne's friend and biographer, Izaak Walton, Donne was thereafter ‘crucified to the world'. Donne continued to write poetry, notably his Holy Sonnets (1618), but the time for love songs was over. In 1618, Donne went as chaplain with Viscount Doncaster in his embassy to the German princes. His Hymn to Christ at the Author's Last Going into Germany, written before the journey, is laden with apprehension of death. Donne returned to London in 1620, and was ap pointed Dean of Saint Paul's in 1621, a post he held until his death. Donne excelled at his post, and was at last financially secure. In 1623, Donne's eldest daughter, Constance, married the actor Edward Alleyn, then 58. Donne's private meditations, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, written while he was convalescing from a serious illness, were published in 1624. The most famous of these is undoubtedly Meditation 17, which includes the immortal lines â€Å"No man is an island† and â€Å"never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. † In 1624, Donne was made vicar of St Dunstan's-in-the-West. On March 27, 1625, James I died, and Donne preached his first sermon for Charles I. But for his ailing health, (he had mouth sores and had experienced significant weight loss) Donne almost certainly would have become a bishop in 1630. Obsessed with the idea of death, Donne posed in a shroud – the painting was completed a few weeks before his death, and later used to create an effigy. He also preached what was called his own funeral sermon, Death's Duel, just a few weeks before he died in London on March 31, 1631. The last thing Donne wrote just before his death was Hymne to God, my God, In my Sicknesse. Donne's monument, in his shroud, survived the Great Fire of London and can still be seen today at St. Paul's.

buy custom Customer Service Delivery in Starbucks Corporation essay

buy custom Customer Service Delivery in Starbucks Corporation essay Evaluation of Customer Service Delivery in Starbucks Corporation Starbucks Corporation is a leader in providing quality coffee to customers. Although it operates hundreds of product lines, the largest percentage of its profit comes from beverages. The corporation has an overwhelming presence and offers convenience. Moreover, its distribution strategy is unsophisticated and the corporation puts great efforts in making customers access to its products with ease and as well its locations avails more convenience to the customers (Evans and Hansen 4). The company has huge numbers of customers since most of its outlets are located in high- visibility, high-traffic and non-company retail channels. Nevertheless, Starbucks faces stiff competition from other similar corporations such as the McDonalds and Minneapolis-based Caribou Coffee. Despite this competition, Starbucks has always provides its customers with high-quality coffee (Roby 2). This paper therefore evaluates customer service delivery in the corporation. The success of this multinational corporation can be attributed to its focus on customer service delivery and customer satisfaction. To ensure that its customers derive utility from the consumption of its products, the corporation has through time been making good use of human resources in creating this customer-oriented value. The corporation has actually ensured that it has put in place a conducive atmosphere where any visiting customer will be in a position to relax, enjoy (to fullest) his/her social interactions as w ell as have ample time with others (Evans and Hansen 7). In so doing, the company has actually transformed the original norm of buying coffee just as a drink to a more attractive new-fashioned norm of having an experience of enjoying the drink. Owing to this fact therefore, any visiting customer would wish to stay for a longer period in the store since the environment is inviting. Another element that the cororation has looked into in ensuring that its customers get utility is the provision of quality coffee. Since all its stores are company-owned, the company is in a position to control the quality of services and products for the customers. Besides, Starbucks has engaged in controlling its supply chain by working hand in hand with coffee growers and has implemented the enforcement of coffee standards (Roby 8). This move makes customers to esteem Starbucks products. Starbucks has greatly invested in employee training and development for both old and new employees. Its workforce has continuously been trained of hard as well as soft skills with an objective of making the service delivery experience to customers pleasant. Through the soft skills, the workforce is better equipped to smoothly connect with customers. This equally enhances a friendly environment between the workforce and the visiting customers (Roby 11). Besides, the company has always ensured that the workforce is satisfied since this satisfaction among the employees leads to a higher level of customer satisfaction. The workforce is well remunerated and empowered and as thus feels that it is important part of the company. Through this, they feel appreciated and would also want to own the company; which as a result makes them offer excellent service to the customers. The corporation has also been involved in product innovation; making an expansion in its beverage menu as well as includ ing food items. This has seen tremendous changes in the companys customer demographics (Evans and Hansen 16). Markedly, however, the value preposition for Starbucks still remains the compelling factor. This is simply because the company places the customer and the service offered to the customer at the fore front. This value preposition- as earlier mentioned is not about coffee, but pertains to the experience of drinking coffee in Starbucks stores and at the same time integrating the product with the related emotional benefits. On the contrary, there havve been indications that the level of customer satisfaction has been of late declining. Nevertheless, this does not suggest that the quality of the services offered has declined. This might have been as a result of changes in the customers expectation, issues in marketing or even other forces from the external environment (Evans and Hansen 20). The corporations customer base in the recent past has been growing and statistics has shown that most of those less satisfied customers are the new ones or who it is their very first time to visit the stores. Owing to this fact therefore, it can be concluded that service delivery has not at its least been compromised; but that these new customers might be having relatively higher expectations since the established customers have a better opinion of the corporation (Roby 24). However, a possible reason of the declining customer service delivery could be the companys product innovation and retail expansion strategy. Initially, this business giant had set standards for its customers at a high level via its value preposition; of which it used to meet. However, following the companys strategy of product innovation and retail expansion - which ran hand in hand with the customization of drinks - negative effects were experienced in the atmosphere, service delivery and coffee quality. All these led to the decline in customer satisfaction, besides changing the image of the brand (Roby 30). With reference to the above discussion and more especially the reason behind declining customer service delivery and customer satisfaction, Starbucks ought to make a redefinition of its marketing strategies in which it will research and keenly evaluate the needs, wants and perceptions of its changing customer base. Moreover, the company is obliged to evaluate innovative sales in order for it to determine the impact of labor costs that will help tell whether or not sales prop the costs. Managing the increased customer base requires only fine-tuning of operations. Buy custom Customer Service Delivery in Starbucks Corporation essay

Pulwama attack Essays - Articles, Religion, Agnosticism, Freethought

Pulwama attack Essays - Articles, Religion, Agnosticism, Freethought We, Indians, are living up in the back-drop of looming black cloud in the post colonialism psychological landscape with hues of political, cultural, religious, and to my mind even philosophical absurdities being played down in the field of personal and collective thoughts. The Pulwama attack is a kind periodic climax in the never-ending politico-military script played out in Indian political stage. The most deplorable of the things coming out of such eruptions are the blows those inflict upon the near and dear ones of the people killed - military and civilian. It should be well to remember that those died, civilian as well as military, in reality, belong to poor families. Monetary compensation is likely to be of great help for the bereaved families, but nothing brings back the dead father, brother, son, friend, lover, etc. as the case may be. The loss of properties and loss of army morale and diplomatic points from such incidents come off as secondary level fall out, and are very muc h redeemable with corrective actions. Any attack on security forces in war fare and quasi war fare situations is a win-win situation for the government of the country, more correctly the party constructing the government. Firstly, the blame for such heinous act, with all and sundry adjectives attached, could be easily and conveniently placed atop the shoulder of the enemy soldiers of the enemy country and a perceived enemy community, and the government cleans up its hands. Secondly, equally crucially, such attacks give off tremendous potential opportunities for the ruling party - more so when the party is baptized upon majoritarianism and hatred based post-nationalism - as rich dividend could be reaped from such happenings, and how much reach depends upon how well or how badly the political drums are beaten by the minion media. The perceived enemy community, as is seen post-Pulwama, being attacked in orchestrated moves to score some brownie points in duels against un-armed, frightened, and cornered opponents. In essence some children of Mother India are attacking some other children of the same mother, with the cry of praise for mother India - Bande Mataram and Bharat Maata ki Jay in their leaps!! Some parasitic politicians are giving calls to boycott Kashmris!! Where is patriotism and where is nationalism in the chain of events? Look at AFSPA; the army is given free hands to deal with one segment of citizens of the country -cut to an army officer threatening mothers of Kashmiris for the perceived misdeeds perpetrated by their children. But when it comes to teach good lessons to Pak army and ISIS, the government comes out with list of diplomatic and other constraints. Thus the army is given open hand to punish Indian citizens and the same army's hands are being tied while punishing enemies of the country. Any level of human sense does not consider tigers, lions, deers, and other wild animals as more useful to human beings than cows are. But surprisingly laws prohibit their killings, but not of cows! A civilized human being seems absurd to be seen in a queue in-front of a meat shop with killed and skin-ripped off goats hanged upside down with blood smeared upon chosen parts of their dead bodies marking 21st century meat shop marketing strategy! The same person, whom we saw in the queue, comments against killing of some stray dogs by some lunatics! Where is animal welfare? Where does it exist in real sense? Not in the files of bureaucrats of course. Why such discrimination between animals when it comes to protecting rights of animals from being killed? On what basis the society decides that life of a crocodile is more important than life of a cow or for that matter a goat? Secularism, in essence, means non-adherence to any religious dictum. This is a bubble of high-value thoughts and so bursts occasionally. Secularism can only exist where religion is not heard of, and certainly India does not fall in that category. Every religious person thinks his/her religion is the best, and that is quite rational to think too, else why should one adhere to and participate in particular religious practices. Religion is codified with peoples' identity. So one can

Capital Punishment Essay - Death Penalty as a Deterrent to Crime

The death penalty was killed as a deterrent of crime by an undoubted man, and an innocent 12 - year - old girl was taken from her mother. This poor little girl's mother was hit by sorrow and anger, but the murderer did not want to die for himself, but to protect other innocent girls like herself. She sat and stared at the eyes of the man who killed her daughter. She saw inserting a needle containing a liquid they might take their lives. Execution of the death penalty (capital punishment) is an effective deterrence. The death penalty is a criminal who committed a crime such as rape or murder. Discussion about the death penalty has been going on for years and remains a very decisive and complicated problem. Society must protect them from these murderers by depriving their social role, but at the same time we are convicted or sentenced to death for offenses for which innocent people were not committed I have to make sure nothing has happened. Perhaps the most common argument of the deat h penalty is deterrence. The general idea is that enforcement of the death penalty prevents other offenders from committing violent acts. Many studies have been done to prove this belief. One reason for the capital punishment of the death penal servitude is the effectiveness of criminal deterrence. According to the advocates of the death penalty, potential criminals are afraid of receiving such severe penalties, so they will hesitate to commit crimes such as rape and murder. Without capital punishment, the number of deadly sins will increase like murder and murder. The bad guys are not afraid to do what they want to do, from handling drugs to killing others. If they do not punish their crime, the criminals will use the weaker people and the victims. Death penalty and death penalty can be said to be the maximum deterrent. The purpose of punishment is to serve as a deterrent to people who wish to follow the punishment footprints. Of course, if you commit a serious crime such as homici de, you are sentenced to death and actually executed, of course, this creates great fear for anyone who progresses on their footsteps. Nobody wants to die. Therefore, if a criminal knows that you will be sentenced to death if you are committed, they will not commit a particular heinous crime.

Introduction to Organisations and Management Essay - 1

Introduction to Organisations and Management - Essay Example This case study is basically analyzing the behavioral approaches of the two different organizations and they are the Watsons Engine Components and H & M Consulting . This case will mainly focus on the competitive analysis of the organizational behavior between these two corporate entities. The organizational culture, behavior, leadership and motivational approaches and the interactive communicational processes will be given importance to prove the competitive analysis between these two organizations. Introduction: Organizational behavior is one of the most important factors in the organizational setting. The behavioral approach of the management towards the employees is the most important aspect of the human resource department. It is basically a practice of proper or suitable human behavior within the organizational setting (Griffin and Moorhead, 2009). The human behavior within the organization depends on many important factors and they are the organizational structure, motivationa l factors, job satisfaction, leadership qualities of the managers, communication processes and many more. In this case two companies; Watsons and H&M consulting follow different paths for the improvement of their organizational cultures. However, the Watsons follow the traditional approaches with the old fashioned organizational management techniques. ... It is basically into manufacturing parts for the cars. And this company requires people who are ready to accept changes. However, the present picture is different. It is a company which is managed by few top level managers. The managing director Gordon Watson is an aged man who rules the company. However, he is going to get retired very soon. The structure of the organization is very traditional and strictly hierarchical in nature. And the formation of the union is an astonishing act in a company of overall headcount of only 200. The centralized decision making process makes many of the lower managers unhappy regarding their recognition and power of controlling the teams. And many of the top level managers are also not happy with their jobs due to the dictating top level managers within the organizations. The organization is having 20 managers for only less than 200 working employees. This structure depicts the decentralization organizational structure where managers can take their o wn decisions. However, the real scenario is different and it is strictly hierarchical centralized organization. H&M Consulting: H&M consulting is a global consulting company which is into global management, development and engineering consulting. It is a very modern organization which has started its journey in 1989 with the great merger within two consulting groups. This organization has great visions towards the future and they follow their mission statement very intently. They are in a constant growth mode. It is practically more than 50 times larger than the Watsons; the H&M is having more than 13000 global employees. They follow the international business module as they are concentrating on the global format of the business. Acquisition and take-over are the technical tools for

Lab 5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Lab 5 - Assignment Example For the debt collectors, it is revealed that they earn commissions based on the amounts they collect. Consequently, the debt collectors has been employing underhand tactics, harassment and even breaking the law, to accomplish desired targets. Some of the debt collectors have even resulted to using coercion and force in the pursuit of collecting amounts due. Some agencies have even resulted to breaking and entering personal property to recover debts due. The subsequent episodes show how a portion of the population is taking advantage of people in credit card debt through fraudulent means. Additionally, it is later revealed that credit companies, may actually be lying regarding credit card debt, repayment plans and interest rates. The credit card firms have also began selling accounts of customers in debt to collection agencies, which is illegal. That last two episodes are more advisory and reflective. They place emphasis on the fact that, in yester years, American citizens did not accrue so much date. In the last episode, viewers are advised against falling into the trap of credit card debt and for those already in debt, they should be vigilant. Indeed, credit card debt is termed as the next big crisis in America. 2) Caveat emptor is a legal principle that confers to the buyer, the responsibility of ensuring that the good/service bought, is operational and in good condition. In the legal and business sense, the credit card companies were not liable since, the parties were competent. Moreover, the credit card companies acted in good faith, since the economy was booming and they could not foretell the financial crisis (Andrews 2011). 6) As a judge, I would rule against the 30 year old because his history suggest he is mentally competent. Furthermore, the primary reason for his inability to repay the debt is financial irresponsibility and the credit crunch. 8) (A) I think

Chinese tea art from the Tang dynasty until recent times Essay

Chinese tea art from the Tang dynasty until recent times - Essay Example The essay "Chinese tea art from the Tang dynasty until recent times" discovers The development of Chinese tea art from the Tang dynasty until recent times in China or overseas. In China, tea came to be developed in a very funny manner. It started from the initial perception that the forefathers had about tea. Their understanding about tea was very different from the way that it is understood today. This perception originated from the agricultural god who was also known as Shannon. He was the inventor of Chinese medicine. He is also the foundation upon which the five cereals were discovered as well as the variety of herbals that are able to cure a broad range of human diseases. This god was able to do this through the engagement in tasting the varied range of herbal substances in order to master the different characteristics of the herbal medicines. As a result, he was poisoned more than seventy times on every day. However, he was able to be detoxified through the accidental eating of tea leaves. The different ways with which tea was taken were closely related to the way through which it was discovered. Tea leaves were later developed into a famous beverage subsequent to the long application process. This was during the period within which it was used as a food, medicine as well as a sacrificial offering. The Tang Dynasty is a very important period in the history of China due to its function in the expansion of the feudal society in China. This provided social conditions that were excellent for making tea.