Operationalising the AMO (Ability, Motivation, Opportunity) framework Assignment

Operationalising the AMO (Ability, Motivation, Opportunity) framework - Assignment Example The AMO framework, also known as the people and performance model, is defined as the sum of the ability, motivation and opportunity of an employee (Raiden, Dainty, and Neale, 2006). ... As Boxall and Macky (2009) noted, â€Å"every human resources system works through its impacts on the skills and knowledge of individual employees, their willingness to exert effort, and their opportunities to express their talents in their work. However, human resource systems also affect a range of variables on a more collective level, helping to build organisational capabilities, and influencing the organisational culture, and social and psychological climate in which individuals are embedded.† More so, studies show that the AMO model does not only impact the organisational performance but the high performance work practice as well. Human resource managers are guided by policies and strategies covered by the disciplines of human resource management. These principles help managers in dealing with obstacles and serious situations of handling people well (O’Donnell, Livingston, and Bartram, 2009). Lee and Cummings (2008) supported this claim by recognising that managers â€Å"are credited with the responsibility of front line leadership and management.† As such, the knowledge of these leaders in applying the ability, motivation and job opportunities framework to employees and the workplace by implementing its theories into the company’s organisational behaviour is essential in the success of human resource management. Katou and Budhwar (2009) maintained that â€Å"the motivation to perform is further moderated by managerial style and organisational culture.† Strategies that can be used by managers include creating reward programmes, creative recruitment methods, job rotation and job redesign. To achieve high performance from employees, managers can apply the learning behaviour consequences feature of

5-color theorem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

5-color theorem - Essay Example There are three of them, four-color, five-color and six-color theorem. The five color theorem was proved in 1890 showing that five colors suffice to color a map. (Jensen and Toft 61) It all began with Francis Guthrie. He was a mathematician from British, who in 1952 discovered that he could color the states in the map of Great Britain by means of four colors without coloring of the neighboring countries with the same color. The problem hence arose if it was feasible to color any given map using four colors and it remained an area of interest for a while. The problem was; however, deciphered in 1879 when A. Kempe claimed to have found an explanation to the four color problem and went ahead to publish his solution and proof. In 1890; however, P. Heawood discovered an error in Kempers proof, which led to the demotion of the four color theorem as a credible theory. Heawood was unable to show that there was an error, which could have been colored with not less than five colors, but ultimately proved that Kempe was wrong in his argument. This led to a solution in the color problem with the five color theorem sufficing (Jensen and Toft 61). In order to proof the five color theorem mathematically, one relates a planar graph, G to a certain map. A vertex is placed on every area in the map. Two vertices are then connected with an edge where analogous areas share a boundary in common. This problem is then translated into a graph coloring problem. One is now required to color the graph vertices so that no border has its endpoints with a similar color. This proof relies heavily on the Euler characteristic to illustrate that there, it is mandatory to have a vertex V that is shared by at most five borders. It also relies on the fact that G is a planar. This is to denote that G may be embedded in a plane without necessarily intersecting the borders. Now take out

Management Information System Uses At Unilever Information Technology Essay

Management Information System Uses At Unilever Information Technology Essay The world is considerably very small because of globalization. The virtual closeness of the countries has made the trade and commerce an international event. Global businesses make every community more closely around the world. The discussion in this report shall involve the strategic role and analyze the information requirements of an organization operating in a competitive global environment, decision making at each of the managerial levels, the critical relationship between the Business strategies, Information System (IS) strategy and the Information Technology (IT) strategy in an organization and the latent ethical issues of information systems. In this case, the situation surrounding Unilever will be taken into consideration. The following annotations and propositions discussed in this discussion are supported by claims on journals, books and Unilever website. The modern technology is really helping those businesses where is using a Management Information System in the various level of managerial approach. The chosen company is Unilever to describe in this report how Unilever is benefitting using Management Information System in various level of the company. The discussion in this report shall involve the strategic role and analyze the information requirements of an organization operating in a competitive global environment, decision making at each of the managerial levels, the critical relationship between the Business strategies, Information System (IS) strategy and the Information Technology (IT) strategy in an organization and the latent ethical issues of information systems. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Background of the company 4 Analyzing Mission Statement 4 PESTEL Analysis of Unilever 4 Political Factors 4 Economical Factors 5 Socio-Cultural Factors 5 Technological Factors 5 Environmental Factors 5 Legislative Factors 5 SWOT Analysis of Unilever 5 Strength 6 Weaknesses 6 Opportunities 6 Threats 7 Recommended Information Systems 7 Strategic Level 8 Management Level 9 Knowledge Level 9 9 Operational Level 9 Ethical issues related in using Information System at Unilever 10 Conclusion 11 References: 12 Background of the company Unilever is a Dutch-British multinational company which acquired many consumers product brands in foods, ice-creams, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. Unilever got two headquarter one in Rotterdam, Netherlands and other one in London, United Kingdom. The Unilever is a dual listed company which has same directors and runs effectively. The current non-executive chairman of Unilever is Michael Treschowand and Paul Polman is Group Chief Executive. The main Competitors for Unilever are Proctor Gamble, Nestle, DANONE, Reckitt Benckiser, Kraft Foods, S.C Johnson and sons and Henkel. Analyzing Mission Statement The mission statement of Unilever UK represents two dimensions of their company, one is how Unilever products attached to the people everyday life and the other part is what Unilever wants to do in the nearest future. Everyday around the world, more than 150 million people in over 150 countries using Unilever products because people know they can help themselves feel good look good and can get more out of life, a few examples, Flora helps keep hearts healthy, a cup of PG Tips refreshes, Magnum gives an indulging treat, Persil to clean familys clothes, Domestos keeps germs free, Sure helps unbeatable protection and hair wash with Sunsilk helps looks great also gives confidence to take on life. The company is committed to provide a healthy lifestyle, variety, taste, quality products, enjoyment supporting increasingly precious commodity. The company is also committed to the vitality of the environment and the communities. The Unilever doing business in a responsible way has a positive b enefit also working in partnership with governments, international agencies (such as, UNICEF) and nongovernmental organizations (such as, WWF) to make a difference. PESTEL Analysis of Unilever Political Factors Unilever operating their businesses in globalise environment around the world. Unilever now operates their business over 150 countries around the globe. The performance of Unilever is highly influenced by legislative and political conditions of individual serving countries. If consider the employment legislations, the rules is different for every countries there need to be followed a rules for providing a mix job opportunity including flexible, lower paid locally based jobs, higher paid centrally located jobs etc. Also there has to be meet a demand from vast population categories like students, working parents and senior citizen, disabled people. Economical Factors Unilever is concern about economic factors because this is related with demand, costs, prices and profits. There is another most influential factors of economy is high unemployment which is directly related with the demand of many products and adversely affected on that may products. Those kinds of economic factors can not be controlled by the Unilever Socio-Cultural Factors The consumers demand the type of goods and services on the basis of consumers social condition, consequent attitude and beliefs. Now a day, the consumers are more aware of health related matters and the attitudes towards products are constantly changing. Technological Factors Technology is a macro-environmental variable which help the development of the Unilever products. The new technologies are beneficial for both companies and the customers; customer satisfaction rises because products are readily available. Unilever uses latest technologies for example wireless devices, intelligent scale, radio frequency identification etc. The use of Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS), Electronic Fund Transfer systems (EFTPoS) and electronic scanners have greatly improved the efficiency of distribution and stocking activities etc. (Finch 2004) Environmental Factors There are some issues threatening the producers and retailers have been environmental factors. In 2003, there was an increased pressure on many companies and managers to acknowledge their responsibilities to the society and act in a way which can help society (Lindgreen Hingley 2003). Unilever corporate social responsibility has to be concerned in this way where any organization exceeds minimum obligations to stakeholders specified through the regulation. (Johnson Scholes 2003) Legislative Factors There is the law of land and policies have a direct impact on the performance of Unilever. There is an enforceable Code of Practices have to be followed to set up banning many of current practices, for example, the payments from suppliers and changing agreed prices . (Mintel Report, 2004) The powerful competitors established brands creates a threat of intense price wars and a strong requirements for product differentiation. The governments policies for monopoly controls and reduction of buyers power can limit entry to this sector such controls on license requirements and limits on access to raw materials. (Mintel Report, 2004; Myers, 2004). SWOT Analysis of Unilever Successful businesses build on their strengths, correct their weaknesses and protect against internal vulnerabilities and external threats. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis helps businesses to understand overall business environment and exploit new opportunities more faster than any other competitors. Strength The market Share is increasing day by day because of playing a great profitable contribution the world economy. High reputations for quality products are a key strength. Unilever got excellent product safety in health, beauty and foods. Unilever is a global business which do business more than 150 countries around the world. There is a high performance of distribution where the suppliers are located around the UK. Competitive pricing is also a key strength in Unilever. Unilever uses latest technology which helps the company to introduce consumers good products. Unilever got experienced and qualified research and development team for product development. Weaknesses Brand image some time affect the common customer. High pricing for various products causes low earning customer to buy another companys less price products. Customer Relationship Management must be a qualified team as there have no retail shop company business always depends on sole distributors. Lack of market research in Unilever reduces total sales figure in a financial year. They do not have retail and online shop, it some time causes high pricing of products in the distributors retail shop. Depends on the distributors where some time does not take proper initiative to increase the sales. Opportunities Increasing market share comparable to the competitors is really a good opportunity which can help company to increase the growth rate. Unilever can open retail shop which will help to approach direct consumer. Increasing brand value by providing good quality of products. Unilever can acquire more companys brands and services which can be a key step to increase the value in the market. Greater promotion of some products can get more customers to use their products. Threats All successful businesses attract competition so the competitors would be a threat. International competitors may also intrude as Unilever expands. Every products can not be marketed every countries because of different race of people around the world. Natural disaster could damage many area of the business, for example, earthquake in Haiti and Chile. Recession causes loss of jobs where people less use of branded products, for example recent recession in USA, UK and Europe caused a vast impact in world economy. Recommended Information Systems The following cross-functional system concepts and how they can provide significant business value to Unilever will be discussed in this document: The operational level is for taking day to day decision. Transaction Processing System can help to take operation level decision like supermarket, Biometric device etc. The knowledge level of decision is takes for research, design and procurement. Knowledge Work System can help to take knowledge level decision. The tactical or managerial control level decision takes for 1 to 3 years, it is for resource allocation. Management Information System or Decision Support System can help to take the managerial level decision. The strategic level decision takes for 3 to 10 years, it is for long term. Executive Information System can help to take the strategic level decision. Figure 1 Strategic Level Complex Mathematical Model: Unilever can use a Complex Mathematical Model for monitoring operations, costs, revenues, market shares, share prices etc. Unilever is categorized as fast moving consumer goods, quick acquisition, processing of market information. The information of market is usually collect from research companies, historical data and individual analysis. Enterprise Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence Solution: In order to gain a clear view of business performance across Unilevers companies in around the world. Unilever Information Program: When transformation is taking place in the organisation, information systems are inevitably involved. Currently Unilever is reshaping operational responsibilities for greater clarity between what is better done by the local company, at regional level or global organisations. The Unilever Information Program (UIP) is to develop an infrastructure to support the Path to Growth strategy, with the key priority of finding a quick data integration solution to allow user access to any number of data sources for in-depth analysis. Management Level Supply Management Information System: Unilever can integrated a supply management information system which will helps local, regional and global supply managers make appropriate sourcing of decisions, allowing them to collate and analyze informations more quickly and easily. The system enables managers to negotiate with suppliers in a transparent and efficient way where benefiting both parties. Knowledge Level Procurement System: The procurement is inevitability for future supply chain optimisation the supply market, particularly in Europe is still suffering from under-development. The Procurement System can help total supply chain operation rather than just transactional activity. The Procurement System provides a catalyst for positive improvement in supply management profiles. Supply-Chain Management Systems: The using of a variety information system and several other supply chain management technologies, Unilever can enhance the usability of the supply chain. Research Development System: Used for formula development Operational Level Specifications System: Specification System will help in packaging, formula, raw material, finished products and process specification. Manufacturing Planning System: Manufacturing Planning System can help in production orders, purchase orders, standard costs, inventory, financial transactions, and production reporting. Planning System: Planning system can help in Demand Planning (DP), Demand Requirement Planning (DRP), Constrained Product Planning (CPP), Finite Scheduling. Order and Cash System: Order and Cash system can help in order entry management, terms of sale, deduction tracking, stock allocation and invoicing. Finished Goods Management System: Finished good management system can be used for shipping, warehouse, transportation, production and traceability. Ethical issues related in using Information System at Unilever A new technology introduces some new ethical dilemmas. Computer technology is used for gathering, storing, manipulating data and spread the processed data which is information. Information system uses local and global networks, databases, programs for processing information. Information is a key to prosperity and it is a source of power also. This is very important to think about ethical considerations, how information will be used in an information system because there is social and political issues involved. There are severe social problems exist today because government and business organisations have failed to uphold the highest ethics standard in Management Information System use. These problems exist in such forms as invasion of privacy and software piracy. The most widely publicized classification of human rights in the computer area is Richard O. Masons PAPA. The letters in PAPA stand for Privacy, Accuracy, Property and Accessibility. (McLeod and Schell, 2001) Privacy: The right of privacy is threatened by two forces. One is increasing ability is of the computer to be used for surveillance and other one is the increasing value of information in decision making. Decision maker sometime invade someones privacy to get the information. Unilever need to do market research in need to know what type of products customers really need or what they use. There is a ethical issue concerned because of Data Protection Act, UK 1998. Accuracy: The Management Information System is given credit for making possible a level of accuracy and which is not unachievable in manual system. Most of the time errors cost much greater. Property: There is some intellectual property like computer programs. The software or the systems Unilever using are they copyrighted, agreed to use from the vendors. Access: There are some information is available to the general public in the form of printed documents or microform of images stored in libraries which includes news stories, results of scientific experiments, government statistics and so on. Access right is required to access some other databases to get information. A right to access is a Modern-day ethical issue. Conclusion Finally it can be said that Unilever can make their market position stronger than before by using different information system at different level. But Unilever must have enough consideration in various sectors to use Management Information System.

Saint Edmund (written From His View Point) :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hi. My name is Edmund,now called Saint Edmund, the mart- yer. I was born in Surrey in 841. My mother was thought to have been royalty and my father died at a young age in was. When I was fourteen, I became the youngest King of the Anglo-Saxton Kingdom of East Anglia. When I first met King Offa, he was taken by my devout faith,sincerity, and virtues. He had no heirs and so he adopted me. Soon after, he died and I became king.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The people of my kingdom thought I was sent from God because of Christianity. They thought I had come to rescue His faithful people and save them from poverty and dispair. I was marked from the start to become king and destined for sainthood. Because I sailed by boat to my new kingdom, the people thought I had come from a mysterious land of myth. I was their hero and savior. My reign as king saw a massive invasion of the Vikings, which I fought valiantly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The end was near, but I was not afraid. I beleived God was with me. My troops were defeated and I was taken prisioner by the Vikings, but I still did not lose my faith.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On November 20, 870, the Danish leader,Ingwar, ordered his men to tie me to a tree and torture me, to denounce my God and my faith. They first stripped me of my royality. Surrounded by several groups of cheering, ugly men, they shot at me with arrows, whipped, and clubbed me. I did not waiver, but became stronger in my beleif in God and salvation. I would make the ultimate sacrifice for my God, a sacrifice of love and life, and so I prayed. The Danes soon tired of my undying faith and courage,and beheaded me. My body was to be tossed into the underbrush to be forgotten, but my head they continued to abuse because I would not say the words they wanted to hear.

Using Satire to Create Awareness of Gender Roles: Egalia’s Daughters

Egalia’s Daughters and â€Å"Sultana’s Dream†Egalia’s Daughters and â€Å"Sultana’s Dream† both portray examples of what it would be like to have gender roles reversed in societies. They both criticize gender roles and show people how gender discrimination leaves the submissive gender in suppressed conditions. Poking fun at gender role reversal was one way these books helped in educating the readers. â€Å"Sultana’s Dream† has a time of setting of the early twentieth century. The author of Egalia’s Daughters is Gerd Brantenberg, born on October 27th, 1941 and is presently still alive. She was born in Oslo but grew up in Fredrikstad which is the largest city in Norway. Some of her greatest accomplishments are establishing women’s shelters, working in lesbian movements, in 1978 she created a literary Women’s Forum, her drive being to encourage all women to write and publish, and lastly she has also published ten novels and two plays. In 1983 she was awarded the Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment. Rokeya Hossain was born in 1880 and died on December 9th, 1932. She was born into a Bengali Muslim upper-class family in the village of Pairaband. Her main accomplishments were establishing the Sakhawat Memorial Girls’ School in 1909, in 1916 she founded the Anjuman-e-Khawatin-e-Islam, and even though English was her 5th language she still wrote a book in English to show her proficiency in English to her husband. In Gerd Brantenberg’s novel she clearly shows that in her society women were put on the back burner just like the men were in her novel. Gerd was born back when women had very little rights. She lived during a time where women were stepping up and rallying against the fact that they were not allowed certain rights that men were allowed and this showed in her book. For example in Egalia’s Daughters the guys or the â€Å"menwim† have the â€Å"burning of the pehos† along with other â€Å"masculist activities. † 1 In Rokeya Hossain’s short story she is trying to relate to her readers about the inequality of her society and the dominance of one gender over another. â€Å"In ladyland men are a part of the society but are shorn of power, as women were in Rokeya’s India. They live in seclusion and look after the house and the children, again, just like the women in Rokeya’s India. † 2 Her society must have had a lot of sins and hatred along with harm because in the short story it says â€Å"this is Ladyland, free from sin and harm. 3 In â€Å"Sultana’s Dream† women became dominant when men failed to win the war against a nearby country. The women then became the dominant gender by using science and advanced technology to then win the war. At first they were taunted for being smart and into science instead of being focused on military strength like the men. In the end it paid off being smart because â€Å"they directed all of the rays of the sunlight and heat toward the enemy. The heat and light were too much for them to bear. They all ran away panic-stricken, not knowing in their bewilderment how to counteract the scorching heat. 4 This was a major turning point in the story because at that moment the men thought that there was no hope for their country which is why they went into the zenanas without protest and were locked in. The men then remained in seclusion and got used to the â€Å"purdah system†. 4 The women then â€Å"rule over the country and controlled all social matters. † 5 Since that point there had been â€Å"no more crime or sin† and that is how it remained. 5 In Egalia’s Daughters women being the dominant gender went a little differently. The women in this novel ruled from the beginning. There was never a time in their culture that males ruled before the females. Spinnerman Owlmoss explained to the boys that â€Å"the menstrual cycle in wom was precisely what bound the huwom race to life, to nature’s own great cycle and to the phases of the moon. By virtue of this endlessly recurring rhythm in her body, she was bound in a very different way, to nature, and this contact with her natural surroundings gave her an inner power and strength, which allowed her to dominate nature and the environment. In the same way that she dominated her own body by releasing an egg once a month. Wim therefore had greater control over everything; over their own bodies, over the cultivation of the soil, and over the world. 6 Therefore, the wim were in charge from the very beginning. In â€Å"Sultana’s Dream† women’s religion was â€Å"based on love and truth. † 7 The women say â€Å"we don’t take pleasure in killing a creature of god, especially a human being. † 7 They believe this works because unlike the men who were violent and fought in the war, they used science to win without hurting anyone. As far as biology goes, basically the women explained their power over the men because of the simple fact that they were smarter and that women’s brains are rather quicker than men’s. They pretty much said men are good for nothing. All of that together was their argument for why they were biologically better. In the novel, Sister Sarah explains why women are smarter than the males. She says â€Å"our good Queen liked science very much. She circulated an order that all the women in her country should be educated. Accordingly a number of girls’ schools were founded and supported by the Government. Education was spread far and wide among women. And early marriage also stopped. † This is her explanation of why the women are so much smarter than men and now are the dominant race. Religion in Egalia’s Daughters is quite different. In this novel, God is a wim instead of a manwim. Donna, who is wim and also God’s daughter who is like Jesus for Egalia, and they are the ones all Egalia are supposed to look up to. The reason wim in Egalia are more biologically dominant is because they bear the children and have the menstrual cycles. For some reason the people of Egalia felt that since they had a monthly natural cycle it connected them to nature and made them powerful, more powerful than any man. This in their thoughts made them the dominant gender as if they were the chosen ones. As far as history goes Spinnerman Owlmoss taught his class the history of the wim. Like we in our society have fore fathers they had a version of those except they were women. Those women created rules and regulations for Egalia that were always followed. In Ladyland the men and the women both had very different jobs. The men â€Å"do no skilled work† and â€Å"they look after the house and children. † 2 They â€Å"mind babies, cook, and do all sorts of domestic work. † 2 The women in Ladyland embroider; engage in scientific researches and garden. Sister Sarah says that â€Å"our noble Queen is exceedingly fond of botany; it is her ambition to convert the whole country into one grand garden. † 5 Therefore, they are never sitting still and constantly gardening and such. In the town of Egalsund, the wim and menwim had very different jobs. The menwim do nothing but sit at home and take care of their children. Once they receive â€Å"fatherhood protection† from the wim, they are to stay home and raise the children while the wim goes to work and does as she pleases. 8 The wim of course, do all the things a man would do in our society now. They were sailors too. Menwim were never sailors and hardly allowed to be either because the wim said â€Å"they’re always trouble! They never leave the us in peace and there’ll be strife and quarrelling and jealousy in the crew. † 9 The wim also hold government positions and hunt as well. In both the short story and novel the women’s jobs were viewed as more important even though staying home and taking care of the kids was a really big and important job as well. It was just not viewed that way by the women. In both Egalia’s Daughters and â€Å"Sultana’s Dream† the women/wim were very happy. They were at the top of the pecking order and they liked it that way. Women/wim ruled and things happened as they wanted it to, not the other way around. On the other hand, the men/menwim were by any means happy with their lives. The men in â€Å"Sultana’s Dream† at first protested. The men wanted to be free, but Her Royal Highness told them if their services were ever needed they would be sent for, so therefore, they should remain where they were. After that they slowly became accustom to the â€Å"purdah system. † 4 In Egalia’s Daughters at first they were accustom to the way things were. Then later on in the book, the menwim began to protest. They give speeches, burn pehos, and strip down at the menstrual games out of chicken costumes as a way of protesting. 10 Women have always been suppressed throughout history, constantly having to fight for their rights. Women in history have always been taken advantage of and also been able to be rough housed a lot easier than men because of their gentle nature. Therefore, these fictional books are related in the sense that in these books, the men’s roles are actually what women’s roles have been all along throughout history. Women are the ones that have always been raped and beaten but in the novel Egalia’s Daughters the boys are actually the ones that are terrorized. Is satire an effective way of drawing attention to gender inequality? Yes, it is because it makes things appear even more ridiculous which in turn makes it more entertaining to read. For example if both books had it where women’s and men’s roles were normal, the books would have been boring and lacked in attention grabbers. But since it was a bizarre setting, it makes you immediately more interested and it puts a twist on things so that it captures your attention. . Brantenberg, Gerd. Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes, translated by Louis Mackay. (California: Seal Press, 1977), 218. 2. Jahan, Roshan. â€Å"‘Sultana's Dream': Purdah Revisited,† in Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Sultana's Dream and Selections from the Secluded Ones. Edited and translated by Roushan Jahan. (New York: The Feminist Press, 1988), 4. 3. Jahan, Roshan. â€Å"‘Sultana's Dream': Purdah Revisited,† in Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Sultana's Dream and Selections from the Secluded Ones. Edited and translated by Roushan Jahan. (New York: The Feminist Press, 1988), 8. 4. Jahan, Roshan. â€Å"‘Sultana's Dream': Purdah Revisited,† in Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Sultana's Dream and Selections from the Secluded Ones. Edited and translated by Roushan Jahan. (New York: The Feminist Press, 1988), 14. 5. Jahan, Roshan. â€Å"‘Sultana's Dream': Purdah Revisited,† in Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Sultana's Dream and Selections from the Secluded Ones. Edited and translated by Roushan Jahan. (New York: The Feminist Press, 1988), 15. 6. Brantenberg, Gerd. Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes, translated by Louis Mackay. (California: Seal Press, 1977), 168. 7. Jahan, Roshan. ‘Sultana's Dream': Purdah Revisited,† in Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Sultana's Dream and Selections from the Secluded Ones. Edited and translated by Roushan Jahan. (New York: The Feminist Press, 1988), 16. 8. Brantenberg, Gerd. Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes, translated by Louis Mackay. (California: Seal Press, 1977), 37. 9. Brantenberg, Gerd. Egalia' s Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes, translated by Louis Mackay. (California: Seal Press, 1977), 72. 10. Brantenberg, Gerd. Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes, translated by Louis Mackay. (California: Seal Press, 1977), 251.

Development of English Sonnet Essay

It is the Italian sonnet (or Petrarchan) which is the legitimate form, for it alone recognizes that peculiar unbalance of parts which is its salient characteristic. The English sonnet does something rather different with the form which is not quite as interesting or as subtle. English took Petrarchan sonnet, modified and elevated it to most celebrated and well-known form of poetry. Petrarchan sonnet was restricted to the idealization of women and illustration of the agonies of amorous affairs but English poets transformed it into a form capable of convey the subtle feelings, intricacies of mental processes, socio-economic concerns and the individual pathos and miseries. English sonneteers not only re-invented the form of sonnet but also revolutionized and rationalized its subject matter enabling it to include and articulate the subtle ideas and thoughts. The Italian sonnet has two parts – the Octave, a stanza of eight lines and the Sestet, a stanza of six lines, The Octave is composed of two rhymes that has the following scheme ; a b b a, a b b a. The, sestet has sometimes two rhymes, sometimes three, different from the rhymes of the Octave c d e, c d e, c d c, d c d, c d e, d c e. , The Octave may be divided into two quatrains, the sestet into two tercets. At the end of the Octave, i. e. , after the eighth lines, there is a conspicuous pause or Caesura (it is often manifested by a space) followed by a Volta or a turn in the thought. But it may be noted that in Italian sonnets this break of thought is not found as a rule. (Spiller, 1992, p. 3) Sonnet in England was pioneered by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard in the first half of the 16th century, but they did not follow the Italian pattern of the sonnet and thought about a change in its form. It was Sir Thomas Wyatt who first initiated the Petrarchan sonnets and reinvented the art of sonnet (Spiller, 1992, p. 3) He founded the beauty of the form of a sonnet excellently suited as a vehicle for the expression of personal feeling, without taking recourse to allegory or fiction. And through sonnet, translated or imitated, lyricism with its music of feeling and passion flowed through poetry in England. Wyatt’s sonnets `The Long Love . . . and `Whoso List to Hunt` justifies the opinion. But this change was related to subject matter only. Thomas P. Roche says in this regard; â€Å"Petrarch poems of fourteen line and that the earliest examples in English by Wyatt and Surrey established the norm. Almost equally surely there can be no question that the word sonnet in the renaissance did not refer merely to fourteen-line norm. † (p. XI) With Wyatt discovered the rhythm and music of English sonnets-born out of a Petrarchan convention. Surrey particularly introduced a rhyme-scheme, different from the Italian model, for instance `The Soote Season`. Surrey substituted the less elaborate and easier form, eschewing the Italian form, which Wyatt had introduced-three quatrains with different rhymes followed by a couplet. His sonnets are divided into three quatrains (of four lines each followed by a rhyming couplet of two lines). Additionally, he totally changed the purpose of sonnets as he wrote elegiac sonnets as well. Surrey’s elegiac soonets on the death of Wyatt and of Thomas Clere are presumably the first elegiac sonnet in England. (John, 1938, p. 10) Shakespeare has followed the pattern of Surrey in his sonnets. Since he has made a splendid use of this form, it is known after him and not surrey, its real originator. The end of octave in English sonnet does not have any hiatus or twist of thought. It carries the though up to the concluding couplet, where poets wrap up pitching the subject matter of the sonnet at the highest level of his thought. Its rhyme scheme is a b a b, c d c d, e f e f, g g. In Shakespearean sonnet, the quatrains stand apart so far as the rhyming scheme is concerned, though in their subject matter they are linked together. Spenser evolved a new variety in that each of his quatrains was linked to the other by an intermixture of the rhymes in the following manner a b a b, b c b c, c d c d, e e. (Spiller, 1992) In addition to the form, the major development was the subject matter of the sonnet. Petrarchan sonnet was entirely based on the idealization of women but unlike it, English sonnet showed a consistent resistance to the glorification of women. â€Å"There was never ffile half so well field† by Wyatt and â€Å"When my love swears that she is made of truth† are example of this. Dasenbrock labels this as the â€Å"blame-style† of Wyatt and his subsequent sonneteers. As it has already been noted, the sonnet found its way to the Tudor court of England through Wyatt and Surrey. Although mid-Tudor miscellanies were very popular in those days but were unable to left its imprint on the form and/or subject matter of the poem. So there was no remarkable development in English sonnet from Wyatt and Surrey in 1830s and 1840s to the time of Spenser and Sidney in 1580 and 1590. This was due to the fact that there was no critical interest of the contemporary poet in the poetry of the time. This phenomenon is mourned by C. S Lewis as â€Å"the late medieval swamp†. (p. 25) Additionally, as far as the metre is concerned, Elizabethan poetic mindset was unable to accept anything else than pentameter. Other metric forms were considered insubstantial but C. S. Lewis considered this metric form in insufficient to comprehend â€Å"something fully human and adult†. (p. 139) Even then the point of the Italian form was not entirely grasped, for Wyatt’s sonnets all ended with a couplet, and Surrey, after some experimentation, used a pattern of alternately rhymed quatrains, which encouraged logical exposition right up to this final couplet and postponed the turn. However, Wyatt’s sonnets are rigid and awkward, whereas Surrey’s have great artistic merits. Sir Philip Sidney set the vogue of writing sonnet-sequences, In fact, after Wyatt and Surrey, the sonnet was neglected for a number of years. It was for Sidney to revitalize this form by composing one hundred and eight sonnets, all put in Astrophel and Stella, commemorating his fruitless love for Penelope Deveneux, the daughter of his patron, the Earl of Essex. Sidney wrote the sonnet not to satisfy the call of the age, but to express his heart-felt love-experience. Sidney’s sonnets reveal a true lyric emotion. On the one hand, there is in these sonnets much of the conventional material of the Italian sonneteers; but on the other hand there are touches so apt to the situation of a man who loves too late that one hesitates to ascribe them to mere dramatic skill. Sidney’s sonnets are not rich in Words in words only; in vague and unlocalised feelings they are full, material, and circumstantiated. They are struck full of amorous, fancies, far-fetched conceits, befitting his occupation. As a sonneteer Sidney is placed next only to Shakespeare and Spenser. Sidney’s sonnet-sequence known as Astrophel and Stella created a taste for the sonnet form. Many poets tried their hand at the form, mostly to express love for some imagined mistress. This accounts for the artificiality of most of the Elizabethan sonnets. No true passion was the motivation. Sonnets were written merely for the sake of literary fashion. However, Spenser’s Amoretti, a collection of about 88 sonnets, is marked with sincerity. In these sonnets Spenser ran be seen to express his genuine feelings without recourse to allegory. In the first ranks of the works of the English Renaissance, Spenser’s sonnets come between those of Sidney and Shakespeare from which they are different in forms as in sentiment. Spenser wrote Amoretti, a sequence of eighty-eight sonnets, addressed to Elizabeth Boyle whom he married in 1594. Spenser’s sonnets are unique for their purity. They tell a story of love without sin or remorse. There is the purity of tone in them and they show better than anything else the quality in Spenser which Coleridge named ‘Maidenliness†. The love embodied in these sonnets is not of the body, but it for the lady’s divine qualities. In this respect Spenser’s sonnets are distinguished from the sonnets of other Elizabethan sonneteers. They are also unique in form, though written in English style. They are written in three interlinked quatrains in alternative rhyme with the couplet standing alone, i. e. , a b a b, b c b c, c d c d, e e. His best sonnets include: ‘Like as a ship that through the ocean wide’; ‘Most glorious Lord of fife that on this day: ‘Fresh spring the herald of love’s mighty king’; ‘One day I write her name upon the strand’; and ‘Men call you fair, and you do credit it’. Shakespearean sonnets are periodically narrative unlike Sidney and Spenser due to its variety of thematic expressions. He takes into account the socio-economic disquiet about the poet’s abode to frequent worries for the posthumous standing of the poet. Shakespeare’s sonnets, 154 in number, form â€Å"the casket which encloses the most precious pearls of Elizabethan lyricism, some of them unsurpassed by any lyricist. † It is in these sonnets that Shakespeare unlocks his heart. Besides their sincerity of tone, they possess literary qualities of high order, for instance `When I consider every thing that grows` , `Not marble, nor the gilded . . . ` , `My mistress eyes . . . ` and `Whoever hath her wish . . . `. They touch perfection in their phraseology, in their perfect blending of sense and sound, in their versification. He is truly a marvelous sonneteer. However, the still sonnet had to wait till Milton in the post. Elizabethan period, for the English passion for sonneteering died out in the early 17th century. It was Milton who widened the scope of the sonnet which had hitherto been a vehicle to express only love and friendship. Milton uses the form to express his deeply felt emotions on contemporary politics, religion, public, figures, womanhood, and such personal subjects as his blindness. In the words of Henford, â€Å"These later English sonnets are the most immediately personal of all Milton’s utterances, representing emotional moments in his later life, experience which find no adequate expression in his prose-writing in the publication of which he was during these years primarily engaged. We may believe also that they were, like the Psalms, prompted in part by a conscious desire in Milton to exercise himself in verse in preparation for the epic poem which he still intended. † (p. 56) While following Petrarchan pattern, Milton made many stylistic changes in the form. His sentence structure is more complex and the rhythm is slowed down, the syntax tends to overflow the two main and two subsidiary divisions of the poem. Milton’s use of the new style in the Sonnets foreshadows the methods of his later blank verse, where we also find ‘the sense variously drawn out from one verse into another’. The technical changes he takes over from the Renaissance Italians make what is necessarily a short poem into one that seems weighty and sustained; pauses within the lines are added to those suggested by the rhymes, which are partly submerged by the flow of the sense. The sonnet thus becomes a single verse-paragraph flowing through a sound pattern made up of four divisions marked by the rhymes. Milton wrote in all, eighteen sonnets in English and two in Italian. These were composed over a period of twenty years when Milton was busy with political problems and affairs of the common wealth. They are in the nature of occasional outbursts of poetical enthusiasm and do not form a continuous series. Unlike some of the Elizabethan sonnet sequences Milton was never tempted by the idea of writing a sonnet series, nor was he attracted by the subject of love. In fact, he saved it from Cupid and Venus. The sonnets of Milton are simple but majestic records of the feelings of the poet himself. He enlarged the scope of the sonnet by expressing through it sentiments stirred by historical events. Some of his sonnets are personal and domestic. After Milton, the form sonnet fell on evil days for no writer tried his hand on this form seriously. Hardly any sonnet worth the name and recognition was written during the period of one hundred years. It was for Wordsworth to revitalize the form. He adopted the sonnet and used this form with great artistic skill and care. The sonnet was suited to Wordsworth’s poetic genius, because he could handle one thought at a time effectively and the sonnet was best suited to it. The sonnet with its freedom, of choice in theme and emotion, united to its exacting discipline, and to its need of a clear intellectual basis, was a predestined form for Wordsworth. Now Wordsworth adopted the Italian form and introduced some changes in its form and structure best suited to his moods. Sometimes he avoided the break, sometimes, he varied its position. He practiced many varieties of rhyming schemes. In fact, Wordsworth’s sonnets are marked with a greater variety than that in Milton’s. So above-mentioned discussion and supported evidence clearly suggest that English poets not only re-invented the Petrarchan sonnet but developed it to an elevated form of poetry. It remains no more a love-poem reflecting the diversity of thought and creativity of the English poets that made it substantial and sustained form to express and to contain the subtle and delicate thought. Works Cited Dasenbrock, Reed W.Wyatt’s transformation of Petrarch. Comparative Literature. 1988. 40. 122-123. Hanford. James H. John Milton Poet and Humanist: Essays. The Press of Western Reserve University. 1966. John , Lisle Cecil. The Elizabethan Sonnet Sequences: Studies in Conventional Conceits. Columbia University Press. 1938. Lewis. C. S. English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, Except Drama. Oxford: Clarendin Press. 1954. Roche, Thomas P. Petrarch and the English Sonnet Sequences. AMS Press. 1988 Spiller, Michael. The Development of the Sonnet: An Introduction. New York: Routledge. 1992