The Mood in Funeral Blues by W.H. Auden Essay -- Poetry Analysis

The Mood in Funeral Blues by W.H. Auden The poem, "Funeral Blues", by W.H. Auden tells about a person's grief and is successful in creating a very sad and depressing mood. This is achieved by the poet's use of language, word choice and sentence structure. The way in which the author describes his feeling - along with the use of rhythm and rhyme - was created in a very effective way which made it clear to the reader. In the first stanza the depressing mood is created straight away by the poet's use of commands, which created the impression that he wanted the whole world to come to a stand still: "Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone" These particular commands are demanding silence from everyone as he is requesting silence from everyone as he wants the clocks to stop ticking, the phone to stop ringing, the dog to be quiet and basically every aspect of normal, everyday life to come to a halt. By doing this the author has made it obvious that the person he has lost was his whole world and he feels as if the world cannot go on anymore without this person. W.H Auden also made effective use of rhythm and rhyme in order to create the atmosphere, which exists at a funeral: "à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦with muffled drum, Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come." By the use of the word 'muffled' I was given the impression of a foggy, depressing and cold day with the coffin being removed from the black hearse. I thought it to be effective when 'drum' was mentioned as normally it is at state funerals for very important people where drums are used. The impression I received was that it... ...der to swallow pills. This is then continued as the next line is telling of the complete despair that he feels and shows the lack of hope and happiness he possesses: "For nothing now can ever come to any good." The use of the word nothing also shows he does not see a future for himself anymore. As it is a short sentence and if you follow the rhythm intended it is a drowsy beat which again extends the overdose idea as it is him falling asleep and puts him out of his misery but at the same time the ending remains sad and does not give a happy ending. In conclusion, Funeral Blues by W.H Auden was successful in creating a very depressing mood that was full of despair and contained absolutely no hope. This was effective by the use of simple language, sentence structure and most importantly the use of rhythm and rhyme.

Fact Sheet on Effects of Marijuana on the Body

MEMORY/PERCEPTION/BEHAVIOR 1. Attention, memory and learning are impaired among heavy marijuana users, even after users discontinued its use for at least 24 hours. Heavy marijuana use is associated with residual neuropsychological effects even after a day of supervised abstinence from the drug. Heavy users displayed significantly greater impairment than light users on attention/executive functions, as evidenced particularly by greater preservations on card sorting and reduced learning of word lists.These differences remained after controlling for potential confounding variables, such as estimated levels of premorbid cognitive functioning, and for use of alcohol and other substances in the two groups. However, the question remains open as to whether this impairment is due to a residue of drug in the brain, a withdrawal effect from the drug, or a frank neurotoxic effect of the drug. (â€Å"The Residual Cognitive Effects of Heavy Marijuana Use in College Students,† Pope, HG Jr. , Yurgelun-Todd, D. , Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, JAMA February 21, 1996. 2. Impaired memory for recent events, difficulty concentrating, dreamlike states, impaired motor coordination, impaired driving and other psychomotor skills, slowed reaction time, impaired goal-directed mental activity, and altered peripheral vision are common associated effects. (Adams and Martin 1996; Fehr and Kalant 1983; Hollister 1988a; Institute of Medicine 1982; Tart 1971) 3. A roadside study of reckless drivers who were not impaired by alcohol, showed that 45% of these drivers tested positive for marijuana. Dr. Dan Brookoff, published in the New England Journal of Medicine) 4. Marijuana smoking affects the brain and leads to impaired short-term memory, perception, judgment and motor skills. (Marijuana Facts: Parents Need to Know, National Institute on Drug Abuse ) 5. In a survey of 150 marijuana using students, 59% surveyed report they sometimes forget what a conversa tion is about before it has ended. 41% report if they read while stoned they remembered less of what they had read hours later. (Dr.Richard Schwartz, Vienna Pediatric Associates in Psychiatric Annals as reported in NIDA Capsules) NEUROBIOLOGICAL EFFECTS 6. Marijuana activates the same pleasure centers in the brain that are targeted by heroin, cocaine and alcohol. (Dr. Gaetano Di Chiara, University of Caligari, Italy) CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS 7. Physiological effects of marijuana include an alteration of heart rate. Use of marijuana may result in intense anxiety, panic attacks or paranoia. (National Institute of Drug Abuse) CHRONIC EFFECTS RESPIRATORY SYSTEM EFFECTS . The daily use of 1 to 3 marijuana joints appears to produce approximately the same lung damage and potential cancer risk as smoking 5 times as many cigarettes. (UCLA) The study results suggest that the way smokers inhale marijuana, in addition to its chemical composition, increases the adverse physical effects. The same l ung cancer risks associated with tobacco also apply to marijuana users, even though they smoke far less. (reported in NIDA Capsules) 9. Benzopyrene is the chemical in tobacco that causes lung cancer.An average marijuana cigarette contains nearly 50% more benzopyrene than a tobacco cigarette. An average marijuana cigarette contains 30 nanograms of this carcinogen compared to 21 nanograms in an average tobacco cigarette (Marijuana and Health, National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine Report, 1982) Benzopyrene suppresses a gene that controls growth of cells. When this gene is damaged the body becomes more susceptible to cancer. This gene is related to half of all human cancers and as many as 70% of lung cancers. 10.Marijuana users may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers have, such as chronic bronchitis and inflamed sinuses. (Marijuana Facts: Parents Need to Know, National Institute on Drug Abuse ) 11. Marijuana smokers, when compared to non marijua na smokers, have more respiratory illness. (Polen et al. 1993). 12. Marijuana smoke produces airway injury, acute and chronic bronchitis, lung inflammation, and decreased pulmonary defenses against infection. Smoking one marijuana cigarette leads to air deposition of four times as much cancer-causing tar as does tobacco smoke (Dr.D. Tashkin, Western Journal of Medicine) ENDOCRINE SYSTEM EFFECTS 13. Heavy marijuana use can affect hormones in both males and females. Heavy doses of the drugs may delay the onset of puberty in young men. Marijuana also can have adverse effects on sperm production. Among women, regular marijuana use can disrupt the normal monthly menstrual cycle and inhibit the discharge of eggs from the ovaries. (Marijuana Facts: Parents Need to know, National Institute on Drug Abuse) ADVERSE MENTAL EFFECTS 14. An â€Å"amotivational syndrome† can develop in heavy, chronic marijuana users.It is characterized by decreased drive and ambition, shortened attention spa n, poor judgment, high distractibility, impaired communication skills, and diminished effectiveness in interpersonal situations. (National Institute of Drug Abuse) 15. Adults who smoked marijuana daily believed it helped them function better, improved self-awareness and improved relationships with others. However, researchers found that users were more willing to tolerate problems, suggesting that the drug served as a buffer for those who would rather avoid confronting problems than make changes that might increase their satisfaction with life.The study indicated that these subjects used marijuana to avoid dealing with their difficulties and the avoidance inevitably made their problems worse. Although users believed the drug enhanced understanding of themselves, it actually served as a barrier against self-awareness. (case studies by research team from Center for Psychosocial Studies in New York. ) IMMUNE SYSTEM EFFECTS 16. Marijuana and some of its compounds influence the immune sy stem and affect the body's ability to resist viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa, and decreases the body's anti tumor activities.Marijuana has the potential to alter the backup safeguards of the immune system because it affects diverse types of cells in the body. This could compromise the immune system's ability to screen out cancer cells and eliminate infection. (Dr. Guy A. Cabral, Professor, Medical College of Virginia, speaking at NlDA's National Conference on Marijuana Use: Prevention, Treatment and Research. ) Limitations of Marijuana Research â€Å"Unfortunately, much of what is known about the human pharmacology of smoked marijuana comes from experiments with plant material containing about 2% THC or less, or occasionally up to 4% THC.In addition, human experiments typically are done in laboratory settings where only one or two smoked doses were administered to relatively young, medically screened, healthy male volunteers well experienced with the effects of marijuana. Fem ales rarely participated in past marijuana research because of prohibitions (now removed) against their inclusion. Thus the clinical pharmacology of single or repeated smoked marijuana doses given to older people or to people with serious diseases has hardly been researched at all in a controlled laboratory or clinic setting.Some of the very few reports of experiments that have included older or sicker people, particularly patients less experienced in using marijuana suggest the profile of adverse effects may differ from healthy student volunteers smoking in a laboratory experiment (Hollister, 1986a, 1988a) THC administered alone in its pure form is the most thoroughly research cannabinoid. Much of what has been written has been inferred from the results of experiments using only pure THC.Generally, in experiments actually using marijuana, the assumed dose of marijuana was based only on the concentration of THC in the plant material. The amounts of cannabidiol and other cannabinoids in the plant also vary so that pharmacological interactions modifying the effects THC may occur when marijuana is used instead of pure THC. The result of this research strategy is that a good deal is known about the pharmacology of THC, but experimental confirmation that the pharmacology of a marijuana cigarette is indeed entirely or mainly determined by the amount of THC it contains remains to be completed.The scientific literature contains occasional hints that the pharmacology of pure THC, although similar, is not always the same as the clinical pharmacology of smoked marijuana containing the same amount of THC (Graham 1976, Harvey 1985, Institute of Medicine 1982)† (Report to the Director, National Institutes of Health, by the Ad-Hoc Group of Experts, â€Å"Workshop on the Medical Utility of Marijuana. â€Å")

Biography of Edward Low, English Pirate

Edward Ned Low (1690–1724) was an English criminal, sailor, and pirate. He took up piracy sometime around 1722, after the execution of Charles Vane. Low was very successful, plundering dozens if not hundreds of ships over the course of his criminal career. Like Vane, Low was known for his cruelty to his prisoners and was greatly feared on both sides of the Atlantic. Fast Facts: Edward Low Known For: Low was an English pirate known for his viciousness and brutality.Also Known As: Edward Lowe, Edward LoeBorn: 1690 in Westminster, London, EnglandDied: 1724 (place of death unknown) Early Life Low was born in Westminster, London, probably sometime around 1690. As a youth, he was a thief and a gambler. He was a strong young man and would often beat up other boys for their money. Later, as a gambler, he would cheat brazenly: if anyone called him on it, he would fight them and usually win. When he was a teenager, he went to sea and worked for a few years in a rigging house (where he made and repaired ships ropes and rigging) in Boston. Piracy Tiring of life on land, Low signed on board a small vessel that was headed to the Bay of Honduras to cut logwood. Such missions were risky, as the Spanish coastal patrol would attack them if they were sighted. One day, after a long days work cutting logwood, the captain ordered Low and the other men to make one more trip, so as to fill the ship faster and get out of there. Low became enraged and fired a musket at the captain. He missed but killed another sailor. Low was marooned and the captain took the opportunity to rid himself of a dozen or so other malcontents as well. The marooned men soon captured a small boat and turned pirate. The new pirates went to Grand Cayman Island, where they met a pirate force under the command of George Lowther on board the ship Happy Delivery. Lowther was in need of men and offered to let Low and his men join. They did happily, and Low was made lieutenant. Within a couple of weeks, the Happy Delivery had taken a big prize: the 200-ton ship Greyhound, which they burned. They took several other ships in the Bay of Honduras over the next few weeks, and Low was promoted to captain of a captured sloop, which was outfitted with 18 cannons. It was a quick rise for Low, who had been a junior officer on board the logwood ship only weeks before. Not long after, as the pirates refitted their ships on an isolated beach, they were attacked by a large group of angry natives. The men had been resting on the shore, and although they were able to escape, they lost much of their loot and the Happy Delivery was burned. Setting out in the remaining ships, they resumed piracy once more with great success, capturing many merchant and trading vessels. In May 1722, Low and Lowther decided to part ways. Low was then in charge of a Brigantine with two cannons and four swivel guns, and there were some 44 men serving under him. Over the next two years, Low became one of the most successful and feared pirates in the world. He and his men captured and robbed dozens of vessels over a wide area, ranging from the western coast of Africa to the southeastern United States. His flag, which was well-known and feared, consisted of a red skeleton on a black field. Tactics Low was a clever pirate who would use brute force only when necessary. His ships collected a variety of flags and he would often approach targets while flying the flag of Spain, England, or whatever other nation they thought their prey might be from. Once close, they would run up the Jolly Roger and begin firing, which was usually enough to demoralize the other ship into surrendering. Low preferred to use a small fleet of two to four pirate ships to better outmaneuver his victims. He could also use the threat of force. On more than one occasion, he sent messengers to coastal towns threatening an attack if they were not given food, water, or whatever else he wanted. In some cases, he held hostages. More often than not, the threat of force worked and Low was able to get his provisions without firing a shot. Nevertheless, Low developed a reputation for cruelty and ruthlessness. On one occasion, as he prepared to burn a ship he had recently captured and no longer needed, he ordered the ships cook tied to the mast to perish in the fire. The reason was that the man was a greasy fellow who would sizzle—this proved amusing to Low and his men. On another occasion, they caught a galley with some Portuguese aboard. Two friars were hung from the Fore-Yard and jerked up and down until they died, and another Portuguese passenger—who had made the mistake of looking sorrowful at the fate of his friends—was cut to pieces by one of Lows men. Death In June 1723, Low was sailing in his flagship Fancy and was accompanied by the Ranger, under the command of Charles Harris, a loyal lieutenant. After successfully seizing and plundering several ships off of the Carolinas, they ran into the 20-gun Greyhound, a Royal Navy ship on the lookout for pirates. The Greyhound pinned down the Ranger and shot down its mast, effectively crippling it. Low decided to run, leaving Harris and the other pirates to their fate. All of the hands on board the Ranger were captured and brought to trial in Newport, Rhode Island. Twenty-five men (including Harris) were found guilty and hung, two more were found not guilty and sent to prison, and eight more were found not guilty on the grounds that they had been forced into piracy. Historians are not quite sure what happened to Low. According to the National Maritime Museum in London, the pirate was never captured and spent the rest of his life in Brazil. Another history suggests that his crew tired of his cruelty (he supposedly shot a sleeping man he had fought with, causing the crew to despise him as a coward). Set adrift in a small ship, he was found by the French and brought to Martinique for trial and hanged. This seems the most likely account, although there is little in the way of documentation to prove it. In any event, by 1725 Low was no longer active in piracy. Legacy Edward Low  was the real deal: a ruthless, cruel, clever pirate who terrorized transatlantic shipping for about two years during the so-called Golden Age of Piracy. He brought commerce to a halt and had naval vessels searching the Caribbean for him. He became, in a sense, the poster boy for the need to control piracy. Before Low, many pirates were either cruel or successful, but Low was a sadist with a well-armed and organized fleet. He was hugely successful in pirate terms, plundering well over 100 ships in his career. Only  Black Bart Roberts  was more successful in the same area and time. Low was also a good teacher—his lieutenant Francis Spriggs had a successful pirate career after absconding with one of Lows ships in 1723. Sources Defoe, Daniel, and Manuel Schonhorn. A General History of the Pyrates. Dover Publications, 1999.Konstam, Angus. World Atlas of Pirates: Treasures And Treachery On The Seven Seas—In Maps, Tall Tales, And Pictures. The Lyons Press, October 1, 2009.Woodard, Colin. The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down. First edition, Mariner Books, June 30, 2008.