Two Generations Apart

Josephine Hong 031 Term Paper June 6, 2011 Two Generations Apart Throughout time, literature has always been used as an outlet for debate and discussion of structural flaws. Thus, the poets of the Romantic period sought to change society’s neoclassic state of mind by breaking away from reliance on reasoning and instead encouraging individualism, using imagination and emotion as inspiration. Initially, Romantic poetry became the antithesis of classical poety as the poets soley challenged the established precepts of the Age of Reason by creating their own manifesto of composing poetry. However, as the English began to revolt against the principles of the French Revolution, which originally sparked this movement, a new generation of poets evolved. Rather than only focusing on defying the works of Neoclassic times, these poets strove to attack the established social order of their time. As this generation of poets longed for social and political stability, they began to reach out to artworks of the past to give them hope for a better future. Despite the common, underlying themes of emotion, nature, and imagination in Romantic poetry, two distinct generations arose during this period as the first-generation Romantics strictly focused on establishing a new form of poetry that differed from their Neoclassic counterparts, while the second-generation Romantics used poetry as a vessel to explore the relationship between art and life. During the Romantic Period, poets from both generations challenged man’s reliance on rationality as they began to emphasis emotions over reason. As this shift occurred, the search for a creative force or spirit that lies only within a man’s inner self became apparent in the works of Romantic poets. In one of his poems, William Wordsworth seeks this supreme force as he cries out, â€Å"Wisdom and Spirit of the universe! / Thou Soul, that art the Eternity of thought! † (â€Å"Influence of Natural Objects†, lines 1-2, RPO). He personifies the universe and seeks its power to draw out this inner spirit within him, for the universe can shape and fill his mind with purifying images of natural beauty. Similarly, Samuel Coleridge describes â€Å"[his] feeling heart, [his] searching soul† as he dedicates himself to this great, unknown force (â€Å"Ode to Tranquillity†, line 26, Columbia Grangers). He hopes to â€Å"trace/ The greatness of some future race† through this spirit â€Å"within [himself]† rather than â€Å"scan/? The present works of present man–†¦/Too foolish for a tear, too wicked for a smile† (â€Å"Ode to Tranquillity†, lines 31-33, Columbia Grangers). As the Romantic poets began to focus on the power of human emotions, they rejected the authoritative precepts of their classical precedents who concentrated greatly on logic and reasoning. Wordsworth rebukes society’s reliance on rationality as he says, â€Å"Enough of Science and of Art;/ Close up those barren leaves;/ Come forth, and bring with you a heart/ That watches and receives† (â€Å"The Tables Turned†, lines 29-32, RPO). He strongly urges his friend to turn away from meaningless books and learn through feeling the heart. Thus, the Romantics surpassed logical reasoning by expanding their knowledge through the use of imagination as a gateway to express their emotions. Personifying a cloud, Percy Shelley uses first person narrative as he imagines a cloud’s experience in nature. To the cloud, the moon becomes an â€Å"orbed maiden with white fire laden† who â€Å"glides glimmering o'er [the cloud’s] fleece-like floor† (â€Å"The Cloud†, lines 45-47, RPO). Shelley introduces a new point of view to his readers that allows them to emotionally identify with natural objects around them rather than to analyze. The Romantic poets â€Å"called for a greater attention to the emotions as a necessary supplement to purely logical reason† (Flesch 2). As poets began to emphasis the significance of emotions during this time, a new focus emerged among British poets. Usually overlooked by the materialistic society of their time, nature became the key focus for the Romantic poets. These poets sought nature as place to explore fundamental aspects of human nature away from society’s hectic atmosphere. In one of his poems, Wordsworth states that â€Å"The elements of feeling and of thought† can only be purified â€Å"With life and nature† and â€Å"Not with the mean and vulgar works of Man† (â€Å"Influence of Natural Objects†, lines 8 ; 10-11, RPO). He conveys an aversion to materialistic goods, for he believes that these objects only distract one from truly discovering oneself. Romantics then attempted to show that even simple and insignificant parts of nature, if approached correctly, had the ability to expand one’s mind. Thus, Wordsworth depicts how not only †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ did Nature link/ The human soul that through [him] ran†, but also â€Å"†¦grieve [his] heart to think/ What man has made of man† (â€Å"Lines Written in Early Spring†, lines 5-8, Bartleby). â€Å"While in a grove [he] sat reclined†, Wordsworth was able to see the negative effects of industrialism by its contrast to nature’s beauty (â€Å"Lines Written in Early Spring†, lines 2, Bartleby). Similarly, Coleridge asks a skylark to â€Å"Teach [him], Sprite or Bird,/ What sweet thoughts are thine† (â€Å"To a Skylark†, lines 61-62, RPO). Despite the small size of this bird, Coleridge glorifies it as he seeks its guidance to help expand his perspective. As nature became a source of inspiration, the Romantics focused on the concept of the sublime to not only instill terror but also elevate admiration for the natural world. In â€Å"Influence of Natural Objects,† Wordsworth asserts nature’s way of â€Å"†¦sanctifying by such discipline/ Both pain and fear, — until [people] recognize/ A grandeur in the beatings of the heart† (lines 12-14, RPO). He conveys the idea that through nature’s awe-inspiring power humanity can comprehend the significance of life. Nature became the subject of Romantic poetry as poets sought in its beauty an insight of their soul. The first-generation poets became â€Å"rebels† as they attacked and broke away from the artificial and formal styles of the Age of Reason. These poets established that good poetry should arise from spontaneous flashes of insight, sparked by actual events, which ultimately became the topic of most of their poems. After revisiting a certain location, Wordsworth creates a poem on impulse as he â€Å"Once again/ †¦ [beholds] these steep and lofty cliffs† (â€Å"Tintern Abbey†, lines 4-5, RPO). Likewise, Coleridge produces a poem after a visit from his friends as he laments that â€Å"†¦they are gone, and here must [he] remain† at home, unable to walk with them through nature (â€Å"This Lime-tree Bower my Prison†, line 1, RPO). By spontaneously creating poetry, both these poets are able to break away from the previous Neoclassic precept of strictly, structured poetry. Furthermore, the first-generation poets strayed away from using complex, elaborate expressions like their Neoclassic counterparts and instead used simple, everyday language. In â€Å"Lines Written in Early Spring,† Wordsworth uses common, sylvan words rather than complicated, lofty language to illustrate nature. He writes that â€Å"The birds around [him] hopped and played† and â€Å"The budding twigs spread out their fan, / To catch the breezy air† (lines 13 ; 18-19, RPO). By using such diction, Wordsworth knows that his readers can easily visualize and understand his poem, leaving a more permanent impact in their minds. Finally, the first-generation poets used imagination to contrast the dry intellectualism of the Age of Reason. In his poem â€Å"This Lime-tree Bower my Prison,† Coleridge imagines his â€Å"Friends†¦ /On springy heath, along the hill-top edge† because he cannot physically join them (lines 6-7, RPO). By visioning this imaginary scene, he emancipates himself from the tyranny of conventions and literary rules of the Neoclassic Era, for his imagination cannot be controlled. The first-generation Romantics’ ultimate goal was to liberate themselves from the authoritative ways of the previous era. Unlike the Neoclassic poets who greatly focused on the society as a whole, the first-generation poets became more concerned with the individual. Thus, rustic life generally became the topic of these poets, who believed that only in this humble setting could one truly discover basic thoughts and feelings. In â€Å"Influence of Natural Objects,† Wordsworth states how â€Å"By day or star-light, thus from [his] first dawn/ Of childhood [did nature] intertwine for [him]/ The passions that build up [the] human soul† (lines 5-7, RPO). He expresses the idea of nature establishing a connection between his emotions and spirit, allowing him to recognize the elemental feelings that engender the human soul. Likewise, Coleridge realizes that nature â€Å"†¦may well employ/ Each faculty of sense, and keep the heart/ Awake to Love and Beauty! † (â€Å"This Lime-tree Bower my Prison†, line 64-66, RPO). As he sits and imagines a walk through nature, he is reminded of how human senses and feelings come alive in nature’s environment. The first-generation poets then centered around the common man, who typically lived closer to and interacted more with the unseen spirit of nature that the poets seeked. In one of his poems, Wordsworth apostrophizes a Highland girl and praises her â€Å"†¦mien, or face,/ In which more plainly [he] could trace/ Benignity and home-bred sense/ Ripening in perfect innocence† (â€Å"To a Highland Girl†, lines 24-26, RPO). Moreover, this girl’s humble upbringing attracts Wordsworth as he wishes â€Å"†¦here to dwell/ Beside [her] in some heathy dell† and â€Å"Adopt [her] homely ways† (â€Å"To a Highland Girl†, lines 49-51, RPO). By degrees, the first-generation Romantics appealed not to the logical mind, but to the complete self, in the whole scope of senses, emotions and intellectual abilities. Despite the first-generation’s initial deviation from the use of artifice, the second-generation Romantics began to value art over nature admist the escalating social conflicts of their time. Rather than finding inspiration in nature, the second-generation poets became moved by literature and artwork from the past. John Keats writes an ode to a urn that expresses â€Å"A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme† (â€Å"Ode on a Grecian Urn†, line 4, RPO). He asserts that the story this urn portrays is far more superior to the poetry of his time. Likewise, he writes a poem about his reaction to reading George Chapman’s translation of Homer. He describes how he â€Å"then felt†¦like some watcher of the skies/ When a new planet swims into his ken†, for Chapman’s translation opened up a new perspective for Keats that broadened his intellect. Moreover, the latter poets of the Romantic era sought the art of the past as inspiration for hope amid the chaos of the world surrounding them. In â€Å"Ode on a Grecian Urn,† Keats concludes that â€Å"When old age, shall this generation waste,/ [the urn shall] remain, in midst of other woe† (lines 46-47, RPO). He places faith in the urn to remain and tell its story despite the decay of his own generation. Earlier art becomes crucial for the second-generation poets as it allowed the poets to escape the turmoils of their time. The second-generation Romantics then began to reflect upon the relationship between the real and the ideal. Departing from prior methods, these poets did not write about actual experieneces but instead created imagined places in their poetry. In â€Å"Ode to Psyche,† Keats creates a supernatural setting â€Å"In deepest grass,/ beneath the whisp’ring roof/ Of leaves and trembled blossoms†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (lines 10-11, RPO). Rather than reiterating a past experience, Keats employs the power of his imagination to create a credible, sylvan scenery. Futhermore, despite being figments of the poets’ imaginations, the subjects of the poems were usually actual objects in nature, which allowed readers to identify with them. In one of his poems, Shelley uses his imagination to become a cloud. He paints a pictures for his readers as he personifies the cloud to â€Å"†¦bind the Sun’s throne with a burning zone,/ And the Moon’s with a girdle of pearl† (â€Å"The Cloud†, lines 59-60, RPO). Readers are able to visualize this image and connect with nature because they are familiar with these objects. Thus, the second-generation poets were able to escape the disorder of their world by using their imagination to create ideal locations. Despite the common notion of the Romantic Period being a unified, literary movement, there are two distinct generations that arise within this single era. As the first-generation poets focused on defying their classical precedents, the second-generation poets concentrated on analyzing the materialistic world around them and using their imagination to bring their thoughts into reality. However, both generations hoped that their poetry would lead the world to change by enlightening others to strive for a more perfect society. Thus, the poets of the Romantic period established that future generations should seek new ideas and not just accept past beliefs, for the goal of poetry is to illustrate a greater picture. Works Cited Flesch, William. â€Å"Romanticism. The Facts On File Companion to British Poetry, 19th Century. New York: Facts On File, Inc. , 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. . (accessed May 1, 2011). Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. â€Å"Ode to Tranquillity. † Columbia Granger's World of Poetry Online. 2011. Columbia University Press. 6 Jun. 2011. . â€Å"RPO — John Keats : Ode to Psyche. â⠂¬  Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 01 June 2011. . â€Å"RPO — John Keats : On First Looking into Chapman's Homer. † Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 03 June 2011. . â€Å"RPO — Percy Bysshe Shelley : The Cloud. † Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 03 June 2011. . â€Å"RPO — Percy Bysshe Shelley : To a Skylark. † Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 03 June 2011. . RPO — Samuel Taylor Coleridge : This Lime-tree Bower My Prison. † Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 04 June 2011. . â€Å"RPO — William Wordsworth : Influence of Natural Objects in Calling Forth and Strengthening the Imagination in Boyhood and Early Youth. † Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3. 0. Universit y of Toronto Libraries. Web. 03 June 2011. . â€Å"RPO — William Wordsworth : Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour. July 13, 1798. † Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 02 June 2011. . â€Å"RPO — William Wordsworth : The Tables Turned. † Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 03 June 2011. . â€Å"RPO — William Wordsworth : To a Highland Girl. † Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 03 June 2011. . â€Å"Wordsworth, William. 1888. Complete Poetical Works. Lines Written in Early Spring. † Bartleby. com: Great Books Online — Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Bartleby. com. Web. 03 June 2011. . Works Consulted Oerlemans, Onno. â€Å"Romantic Poetry, English. † Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy. Ed. J. Baird Callicott and Robert Frodeman. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2009. 212-214. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 02 June 2011. â€Å"Preface to Lyrical Ballads. William Wordsworth (1800). 1909-14. Famous Prefaces. The Harvard Classics. † Bartleby. com: Great Books Online — Quotes, Poems, Novels,

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WHOLESALE INTEREST RATES Wholesale interest rates are the rates at which the central bank loans out money to retail banks, which in turn loan out their money to consumers and producers at a higher rate (the difference, in a very basic sense, is their profit margin, or revenue minus costs). If the wholesale interest rates are increased, then retail banks must also increase their rates, otherwise their business would become less profitable (or unprofitable). For large purchases, producers (e.g. investments) and consumers (e.g. buying a home) need loans, since they do not have sufficient cash on-hand. Interest rates are effectively the price of borrowing money and hence affects the Consumption and Investment components of GDP (Consumption + Investment + Govt. Spending + Net Exports). (A small caveat, however, that central banks are created by legislation but are not run by government their actions are independent of politicians agendas.) GOVERNMENT SPENDING Government Speeding (revenues taken from taxes, mentioned above) creates what is known as the Spending Multiplier. When the government consumes, called Government Spending, it is demanding goods and services in the economy. However, that demand in turn generates more demand than a single consume, because of not only the size of the demand (the government has a lot more money than you do) but also the type of demand (e.g. building infrastructure benefits everybody, as opposed to building a private mansion); government spending affects aggregate demand. The spending  multiplier, or how much additional demand is generated from each dollar of government spending, is calculated as follows: Change in Equilibrium divided by Change in Investment. Case Study – Romania Romania is a country of considerable potential: rich agricultural lands, diverse energy sources (coal, oil, natural gas, hydro, and nuclear), a substantial industrial base encompassing almost the full range of manufacturing activities, an educated work force, and opportunities for expanded development in tourism on the Black Sea and in the Carpathian Mountains. The Romanian Government borrowed heavily from the West in the 1970s to build a substantial state-owned industrial base. Following the 1979 oil price shock and a debt rescheduling in 1981, Ceausescu decreed that Romania would no longer be subject to foreign creditors. By the end of 1989, Romania had paid off a foreign debt of about $10.5 billion through an unprecedented effort that wreaked havoc on the economy and living standards. Vital imports were slashed and food and fuel strictly rationed, while the government exported everything it could to earn hard currency. With investment slashed, Romanias infrastructure fell behind its historically poorer Balkan neighbours. Since the fall of the Ceausescu regime in 1989, successive governments sought to build a Western-style market economy. The pace of restructuring was slow, but by 1994 the legal basis for a market economy was largely in place. After the 1996 elections, the coalition government attempted to eliminate consumer subsidies, float prices, liberalize exchange rates, and put in place a tight monetary policy. The Parliament enacted laws permitting foreign entities incorporated in Romania to purchase land. Foreign capital investment in Romania had been increasing rapidly until 2008, although it remained less in per capita terms than in some other countries of East and Central Europe. Romania was the largest U.S. trading partner in Eastern Europe until Ceausescus 1988 renunciation of most favoured nation (MFN, or non-discriminatory) trading status resulted in high U.S. tariffs on Romanian products. Congress approved restoration of MFN status effective November 8, 1993, as part of a new bilateral trade agreement. Tariffs on most Romanian products dropped to zero in February 1994, with the inclusion of Romania in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Major Romanian exports to the U.S. include shoes, clothing, steel, and chemicals. Romania signed an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU) in 1992 and a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1993, codifying Romanias access to European markets and creating the basic framework for further economic integration. At its Helsinki Summit in December 1999, the European Union invited Romania to formally begin accession negotiations. In December 2004, the European Commission concluded pre-accession negotiations with Romania. In April 2005, the EU signed an accession treaty with Romania and its neighbour, Bulgaria, and in January 2007, they were both welcomed as new EU members. Romania suffered through a deep economic recession beginning with the 2008 global financial crisis, but should return to positive if very modest growth by the end of 2011. Due to rapidly deteriorating economic conditions, a ballooning budget deficit, and large external imbalances, the Romanian Government was forced to conclude a 2-year, $27 billion financial assistance package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission, and the World Bank in March 2009. Under the terms agreed with the IMF, the Romanian Government embarked on a difficult austerity program to reduce the budget deficit, cut public sector employment, and restructure local and national government agencies. Austerity measures included a 25% cut in public sector wages, a hike in the national value added tax (VAT) rate from 19% to 24%, and thousands of layoffs. GDP declined by 7.1% in 2009 and a further 1.3% in 2010, but the government succeeded in meeting IMF-agreed deficit targets despite strong op position to the austerity measures from labour unions. In late 2010 and early 2011 the government also pushed several important pieces of reform legislation through Parliament, including  pension reforms, an overhaul of public sector pay systems, and modernization of the labour code. The final IMF review under the 2009 agreement, conducted in February 2011, declared the agreement a â€Å"success† in stabilizing the economy and setting the stage for a return to growth. A new 2-year â€Å"precautionary† agreement between Romania and the IMF, effective March 2011, focuses on deepening structural reforms and restructuring or privatizing unprofitable state-owned enterprises. Privatization of industry was first pursued with the transfer in 1992 of 30% of the shares of some 6,000 state-owned enterprises to five private ownership funds, in which each adult citizen received certificates of ownership. The remaining 70% ownership of the enterprises was transferred to a state ownership fund. With the assistance of the World Bank, European Union, and IMF, Romania succeeded in privatizing most industrial state-owned enterprises, including some large state-owned energy companies. Romania completed the privatization of the largest commercial bank (BCR) in 2006. Two state-owned banks remain in Romania, Eximbank and the National Savings Bank (CEC), after an attempt to privatize CEC Bank was indefinitely postponed in 2006. Four of the countrys eight regional electricity distributors have now been privatized. Privatization of natural gas distribution companies also progressed with the sale of Romanias two regional gas distributors, Distrigaz Nord (to E.ON Ruhrgas of Germany) and Distrigaz Sud (to Gaz de France). Further progress in energy sector privatization has been delayed as the government is contemplating the creation of two integrated, state-owned energy producers. However, this â€Å"bundling† scheme has been challenged in court and is also under review by the Romanian Competition Council and by competition authorities at the European Commission. Romania has a nuclear power plant at Cernavoda, with one nuclear reactor in operation since 1996 and a second one commissioned in the fall of 2007. The return of collectivized farmland to its cultivators, one of the first initiatives of the post-December 1989 revolution government, resulted in a short-term decrease in agricultural production. Some four million small parcels representing 80% of the arable surface were returned to original  owners or their heirs. Many of the recipients were elderly or city dwellers, and the slow progress of granting formal land titles remains an obstacle to leasing or selling land to active farmers. Financial and technical assistance continues to flow from the U.S., European Union, other industrial nations, and international financial institutions facilitating Romanias reintegration into the world economy. The IMF, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and European Investment Bank (EIB) all have programs and resident representatives in Romania. U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs were phased out completely in 2008, except for Small Project Assistance Grants, which are still available through the Peace Corps. According to the National Office of the Trade Register, which measures foreign direct capital registered and disbursed to firms, between 1990 and November 2010 Romania attracted a total of $37.91 billion in foreign direct investment, of which the U.S. represented 2.59%. The actual level of U.S. investment, however, is underreported as much of it flows to Romania through European subsidiaries of U.S. companies. After years of consistently high inflation in the 1990s, Romanias inflation rate steadily decreased through 2004, only to rise again along with high GDP growth rates of 4% to 8% through 2008. The deep recession beginning in late 2008 dramatically reduced inflationary pressures, but the VAT tax hike from 19% to 24% imposed in mid-2010 reversed that trend and pushed prices higher. Stoked also by rising global food and energy prices, inflation hit an annualized rate of 8% at the end of 2010, the highest in the EU. The IMF has been critical of Romanias low rate of tax collection and poor enforcement mechanisms as a medium- to long-term impediment to growth. Tax arrears are slightly decreasing, but Romania still has one of the lowest percentages in the EU of revenues collected, at 33% of GDP in 2010. The current account deficit had been a concern, as it reached 13.6% of GDP in 2007 and 12.4% of GDP in 2008. However, due to the recession, the current account deficit dropped to 4.2% of GDP in 2010. Deteriorating education and health services and aging and inadequate physical infrastructure continue to be seen as threats to future growth. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words Conclusion As a conclusion we can say that government’s intervention in the economy can have both a positive and a negative influence on the market. Government intervention does not always end up the way it was intended or the way in which economist’s theories say it would. A fascinating part in the study of Economics is that the law of unintended consequences often comes into play – events can affect a particular policy, and consumers and businesses rarely behave precisely in the way in which the government might want! We will consider this in more detail when we consider government failure. One important thing to remember is that the effects of different forms of government intervention in markets are never neutral thus financial support given by the government to one set of producers rather than another will always create winners and losers. Taxing one product more than another will similarly have different effects on different groups of consumers. A concret example of too much government intervention is the following. Let’s assume that in a time of recession, a government makes and agreement with the banks to lower interest rates and people will start buying houses and other goods on loan. As time goes by, government debt also rises and thus they will be obliged to print out their own money. Printing their own money has a negative impact on the inflation rate and money value will go down. Also, after the recession, the interest rates will go up again and people will end up losing their previously bought goods. Nevertheless in most cases, the government’s intervention proved to be efficient and actually helped the market economy. It all depends on the people that take the decisions and they need to take into consideration any factors that can influence the result of their decision. The European Union provides me the best opportunity to connect with people Europe and to develop my ability of communication. I think is very important to get in touch with different people from different cultures and different countries.