How to Write Columbia Universitys 2017-2018 Supplemental Essays

Want to go to college in the Big Apple? If combining New York City living with Ivy League prestige appeals to you, Columbia University should definitely go on your list. Located on the Upper West side of Manhattan, Columbia University is one of the 8 Ivy League universities and one of the most selective universities in the United States. Columbia prides itself on the core curriculum undergraduate students are required to follow during their undergraduate careers. The core curriculum is designed to educate all undergraduate students using the same texts and issues. Its goal is to elevate thinking and analysis and to stimulate challenging conversations and dialogue in small seminars that are unique to the Core. In addition, Columbia University’s undergraduate engineering program also puts the school on the top of many prospective students’ college list. If you’re applying to Columbia University this year, note that Columbia’s application also includes a few additional school-specific questions that give students an opportunity to highlight unique individuality beyond their transcripts and test scores. Prompt 1 In 150 words or fewer, please list a few words or phrases that describe your ideal college community. TIP: If you’re applying to Columbia, the natural assumption is you want to get accepted. Instinctively, you’d want your answer to match Columbia’s student body, so make sure your ideal college community truly matches Columbia’s. As long as you’ve done your research, this supplemental essay shouldn’t be a problem. Don’t elaborate on how great Columbia’s college community is if it does not match what you are looking for. Prompt 2 For the four list questions that follow, we ask that you list each individual response using commas or semicolons; the items do not have to be numbered or in any specific order. No narrative or explanatory text is needed. It is not necessary to italicize or underline titles of books or other publications. Author names may be included, but are not required. You do not need to fill the entire space or use the maximum number of words; there is no minimum word count in this section, so please respond to the extent that you feel is appropriate. Please list the following (150 words or fewer for each question): the titles of the required readings from courses during the school year or summer that you enjoyed most in the past year; the titles of books read for pleasure that you enjoyed most in the past year; the titles of print or electronic publications you read regularly; and the titles of the films, concerts, shows, exhibits, lectures and other entertainments you enjoyed most in the past year. TIP:This list of short answer questions is a way for the admissions office to get a glimpse of the type of reading and film you enjoy. Don’t think too hard about them and just answer truthfully. Why Columbia SupplementsPlease answer the following short answer questions (300 words or fewer for each question). Prompt 3 Please tell us what you value most about Columbia and why. TIP: All â€Å"Why Us† university supplemental questions are the same. They want to know what drew you to apply to their university, and why? How does it help you pursue your desired field? How does their community, resources and faculty match your needs and best learning environment? Finally, what can you do in return? Prompt 4 If you are applying to Columbia College, tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section. If you are currently undecided, please write about any field or fields in which you may have an interest at this time. TIP: Columbia splits their Why Us supplemental essay into two short answer questions, so take advantage of that. Use this prompt to write specifically about what you’ll be studying and why Columbia’s the best place to pursue that major. Then use prompt 3 to write about other aspects of Columbia you like: location, the core curriculum, extracurriculars, research opportunities, etc. Prompt 5 If you are applying to The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section. TIP: Again, same tips as above. With engineering and applied science, this response is usually more technical. You can take the time to talk about any research you’ve done in the past, engineering projects that first got you interested in the major. Share academic or personal experiences that demonstrate your passion for your desired field, and how the faculty and resources at Columbia will help you reach your potential. We hope these tips are helpful as you work on your Columbia supplemental essays! Remember to look at your college application as a whole. What else have you not shown or discussed in your application? Based on that answer, choose the essay prompt that will allow you to divulge a different aspect of who you are. Interested in seeing full successful Columbia application files? We’ve put together a package of Columbia profiles just for you: Ourpremium plansoffer different levels of profile access and data insights that can help you get into your dream school. Unlock any of ourpackagesor search ourundergraduate profile databaseto find specific profiles that can help you make an informed choice about where to apply!

Mao Tse-tung

How far did Mao Tse-tung solve the political, economic and social problems that faced him? Mao was faced with a variety of problems. Firstly her had to deal with the aftermath of the Kuomintang. He tried to maintain peace and unity, and he also realised this could only be achieved by a strong central government. The communist party provided this for the first time in China in the twentieth century. They laid emphasis on persuasion rather than force. The communists under Mao aimed for what they called " democracy for the people and dictatorship for the reactionaries" and Mao understood that in order to stay in power he must oppose all opposition. He did so by the elimination of offices in the party leadership, e.g. the minister of defence and The minister of Finance were removed from office on charges of corruption whereby they were expelled from the party and sent to re- education camps, were given prison sentences which were followed by death. He encouraged the redistri bution of land; but he also understood that the upheaval caused by this could encourage reactionary forces to attempt a counter-revolution. To combat this the Communist government began a reign of terror. This resulted in no major opposition till 1957. Mao understood that the reason for the defeat of the Kuomintang was their failure to support the intellectuals. Therefore in 1957 he decided to allow candid and free expression of opinion. This episode is known as the " Hundred Flowers". Maos slogan had been " Let a hundred flowers bloom, let diverse schools of thought contend". However this plan backfired as it gathered momentum. This plan did have on a good point, it offered people the chance to be critical, BUT this was exploited by Mao since it enabled him to find out those people, and parties that were against him and thus eliminate them, and so get rid of opposition. In the mid 1960s China was convulsed by a movement ...

Flexible Labor in Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Flexible Labor in Organizations - Essay Example The increase in workload forces the employees to search for alternate options like flexible jobs. ‘48% of UK organizations offer flexitime to their employees compared to 90% in Germany, 94% in Sweden and 92% in Finland, and just 20% offer to telework compared to 44% in Germany and Sweden, 40% in Norway and 39% in Denmark.† (The UK’s flexible labor market may no longer be a source of competitive advantage) Flexible work is the option mostly the people are looking for because of the tight working schedules of regular work. Flexible labor has its own merits and demerits both for the organizations and the employees. Most people believe that flexible labor is going to be the future trend in organizations because of the immense benefits attached to it. â€Å"In the early 1970s, one in five American workers was employed by a Fortune 500 company; by the early 1990s, the ratio had dropped to one in ten† (Laubacher & Malone) Big organizations are no longer attractive to many employees because of the tight work schedule and lack of flexibility in work. Nowadays people are more conscious about the working environment rather than the salary alone. People are already living in a stressful world. Problems from family and society along with that from the workplace have made the life of an average person miserable. They wanted to reduce the stress level at any cost and flexible work is one option for reducing the job stress considerably. â€Å"Many observers believe that highly flexible organizational forms--often called networked organizations or virtual corporations--will become increasingly common in the future. Temporary networks of very small companies and independent contractors could undertake much of the work that is performed by large organizations today†Ã‚  

Advantages of Distributed Operating Systems Assignment

Advantages of Distributed Operating Systems - Assignment Example For instance, the design of distributed systems is such that a malicious program can easily be replicated across a large number of machines, and this can result in major damage (Moffett, 2004). To this extent, although distributed operating systems might attempt to enhance high reliability through fault tolerance, it is however clear that fault tolerance is hard to achieve. Secondly, the distributed operating systems are designed with the aim of enhancing performance. Evidence however shows that this is particularly a challenging concept since as these systems attempt to enhance performance; they actually end up conflicting with other properties, especially the reliability and security of the system. For example, in Amoeba distributed operating system, there are many applications that are replicated, an example being the databases (Tanenbaum, et al, 1990). These replications help this operating system to support fault tolerance, there enhancing its performance and reliability. However, it should be noted that as the software and hardware components are increased to enhance fault tolerance, this may end up negatively affecting the security and overall performance of the system. Third, there is evidence to show that indeed distributed operating systems helps to enhance communication. In many of these systems, communication is mainly through messages. This allows for communication in distributed operating system easy and efficient. In many cases, the communication needs in distributed operating systems are of the request/response type (Mullender, 1988). This allows for message passing to be embedded in protocols for the remote operations. In this case, a process sends a request to another process and the request is carried out and the response returned to the initial process. Through such a mechanism, the communication process in a distributed

The Longest Day (World War II) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Longest Day (World War II) - Essay Example Although "The Longest Day" to some extent lacks personality development and the typical film plot that trails the "plight of the hero", it still succeeds to include the watcher in the dreadful actions that encircled the D-Day. The movie depicts to carry all the divides impartially, from the Germans, the United States, French and the British. Â  The film regularly covers the German point of action, and how they are getting ready for the violence against the allies, who were their enemies. What makes this movie so convincing is that it attempts to cover the two sides. The film is approximately two hours and fifty minutes in length with a vast joint of a cast, all playing supportive roles. The performers were at all times of the identical race as their fellow characters, and spoke in their instinctive languages. This mouthwatering film offers the feel of the ‘D-Day’ Offensive, "Operation Overlord" which occurred on June 6th, 1944. This mission involved about three and a ha lf million men, two-thirds of whom were Americans. It shows the horror which was undertaken during the preparation and final assault taking place. An issue of the film was the site of invasion. The movie clearly shows that it was difficult for the Germans to comprehend the day when invasion was to happen (Blouin, Blouin and Rosenberg). The allies echoed the airwaves for several months with coded messages about the expected invasion that was taking the place by surprise. Their main objective was to create or awaken resistance from the French forces (Zanuck). The movie did not show the fact that the French soldiers had been mobilized to start assault on the morning when the allied forces began to attack. Hitler during the attack was asleep and the surprise caught everyone by surprise. Â  The film had many fine performances. One of which involved a brave woman who attacked a German soldier at the railway. In deception, John Wayne's firm, petulant commander retaliating his troops, the courageous, British soldier who hints the first round of attack in the at dark to seize a passage, the UK beach commandant who pushes his troops to stand up because the organizations charm is in vulnerability. This scene shows "Winston", the talisman and friend of the beach frontrunner, and the quarrelsome, pessimistic German; Luftwaffe pilot, who constantly is in worry for his weary superiors (A&E Television Networks, LLC). The play’s act was very informative. Â  One of the German high command officers wondered if the allies were on their way to attack the ‘Pas de Calais’ in the place of Normandy. They seem troubled and worried, and tried but were deprived of attainment to reach Adolf Hitler. They made a wrong choice to let German troops under their control stay on base. The German High official in France ascertained that the Allied strategy of attack would finish them off. The movie started by covering a short background of political and military leaders that led the invasion (A&E Television Networks, LLC). One of the notable civilian scenes was when a German soldier goes to French dairy rancher and orders him to give up his milk and leaves on a mule. These actions made the French inhabitants very angry (Blouin, Blouin and Rosenberg). Later on, same French dairy rancher overhears the commencement of the scuffle and the weaponry blasts; he opens his door and praises the Allies. This movie heavily embedded in the allies’

Globalization and Organization design

Globalization and Organization design Introduction Nowadays, Globalization is the indispensable trend of many companies. What motivates them to expand internationally? They do business on global scales in order to expand their markets, increase sales and increase profits. In other side, Organizations have to face a lot of challenges from globalization such as communication, culture, technology and transportation etc. It requires top leaders must be having a global outlook, creating global strategies and structure designs for global advantage. So how managers design the organization for international environment? Content What motivates organization to expand internationally? There are 3 major factors which motivate companies to expand internationally: Economies of scale, Economies of scope, Low-cost production factors. The economies of scale refer to reduction in the cost per unit by increasing the scale of output. It means producing in the large-volume by new technologies and production methods. The second factor is economies of scope. This factor refers to increasing the number and variety of products and services which company offers. In other hand, company also increase the number and variety of regions, countries, and markets it servers. The third factor is Low-cost production relates to factor of production. Nowadays, a lot of companies in the world, special in USA, usually invest aboard to get the lowest cost of labor, raw materials and other resources. Those factors show that this is necessary for organization to focus on globalization. In some industries, a company can be successful only by succeeding on global scale. Stages of International Evolution: Domestic => International => Multinational => Global. There are a lot of ways to enter foreign markets and each company has their own strategies. However, organizations should grow up step by step, from domestic to global. In the first stage, the Domestic stage, the company has to focus on domestic market which is limited and is their home country. They build basically structure in domestic and deal with foreign sales by an export department. From this stage, the company collects experiences to expand abroad. The next stage is the international stage. In this stage, the company begins to focus on export more seriously and begins to think Multi-domestically. They enter into multiple countries and have to deal with each country individually because each country has independent competitive issues. So the export department has replaced by an international division and specialists who are hired to handle sales, service, and warehousing abroad. In stage three, the multinational stage, company expands into some international markets and establishes marketing, manufacturing, or research and development facilities in several foreign countries. And they have business units scattered around the world along with suppliers, manufacturers and distributors. Thats why company obtains a large percentage of revenues from sales outside the home country. We call this stage of development is explosion and structure is worldwide geographic product. Example of multi-national companies is Coca-cola in United States, Sony of Japan, Wal-Martà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The final stage is the global stage. In this stage, company has inner force and experiences enough to transcend any singer country. They become stateless corporations which have market in the whole world. They have subsidiaries which are interlinked to the point where competitive position in one country significantly influences activities in other countries in whole world. Become global company make their structure to be matrix or transnational model. The example is Nestlà ©, Unilever.ect. They appear in more than a hundred countries. How to enter new markets? Globalization gives organizations a lot of opportunities and it also give them a lot of challenges. One of a lot questions which it gives organization is: How can expand globally? But firstly, we have to answer this question How to enter new markets? And weve find out one of the most popular ways which company uses to enter the new markets is through International strategic alliances: licensing, joint ventures, and consortia. They joint venture with their partners such as customers, suppliers or even competitors to share development and production costs and penetrating new marketsFor example, the Joint Venture that Canadian mining company Placer Dome has with Newmont Mining and the result helps lower operating costs at their Nevada gold-mining operations. The subsidiary is Placer Dome Turquoise Ridge Inc. and Placer Dome owns 75% while Newmont owns 25%. The project expects to mine 300,000 ounces per year of gold with gold over $300 an ounce, this deal is worth $90 million annually (Tuesday, January 6, 2004-Torontostar newspaper). They also can limit risks and take the money from selling licenses when entering new markets by licensing. The example is Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys New York. Saks has licensed stores in Riyadh and Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico. Barneys has licensed stores in Japan. Both of them as well as other US- based department stores, are currently making a strong international push in light of weak sales and stiff competition in the United States (OConnell, Department Stores: Tough Sell Abroad). Another typical alliance is that companies become involves in Consortia, groups of independent companies including suppliers, customers, and even competitors. Companies join together to share skills, resources, cost, and access to anothers markets. There is a difference between joint ventures and consortia that in a joint venture, the partners will create a legal corporate entity to carry out the activity with an agreement that the parent companies have controlling interests. The difference between alliances and consortia is that consortiums are usually created for a specific short term project, whereas alliances can take place over many years and involve multiple aspects of the relationship whereas consortiums usually are arranged for one specific topic or project. Global strategy To survive and develop in International environment, an organizations structure must fit its situation by providing sufficient information processing for coordination and control while focusing employees on specific functions, products, or geographic regions. Managers must choose and decide whether to emphasize global standardization or national responsiveness (globalization strategy or multi-domestic strategy). The standardization strategy means that product design, manufacturing, and marketing strategy are standardized throughout the world (Kenichi Ohmae, Managing in a Borderless World). But the advertising and marketing need to be tailored for different regions, Think globally, and Market locally. For example, Coca-cola uses that Converging customer needs and preferences and sells the same Coke beverage worldwide. But they also changed a little in their logo and the style of glass bottle. They make their own special characteristics which associate a strong and cross-cultural brand image. In other hand, Globalization strategy can help manufacturing company gains economies of scale efficiencies by standardizing product design and manufacturing or using common suppliers. It introduces products around the world faster, coordinating prices, and eliminating overlapping facilities. For example, Coca-cola gains economies through the competent running of a large-scale franchising system for its bo ttling operations. The multi-domestic strategy means that company deals with each national market independently of other national markets and tailors products to individual countries to meet the need of people in different countries. In this strategy, there is decentralization of decision making and local RD department takes responsibility for innovations. Some companies have products and services which fit for a multi-domestic strategy, which means taking advantages through differentiation and customization to meet local need. For example, Kraft, which is a Food Company, has recognized that they must tailor their cookies and crackers to different markets. Krafts Oreo, which is the top-selling cookie in the United States, had poorly result in China until the company re-changed itself to suit local tastes. And now, Krafts Oreo also is the top seller in China (Julie Jargon, Kraft Reformulated Oreo, Scores in China, The Wall Street Journal (May 1, 2008), B1, B7). For entering global market, organization designs should suit to the need both of global standardization and national responsiveness depending on situation, type of product and service.etc. How to design the structure fit to globalization? To meet the need of globalization, the top managers must design the organizations structure which is adaptive with the changing environment. Firstly, we should understand the meaning and purpose of organizational structure which formally determines the hierarchy within an organization. There are three most common structural types among global organizations are: Functional structure, Divisional structure and Global matrix structures. Functional structure groups people together into functional departments such as marketing, finance, RD, operations etc. Functional structures are the most common organizational model are used domestically. Divisional Structure is broken down into some sub-types: global product division structure and global geographic division structure. The product division takes responsibility for global operations in their specific product area in global product structure. It provides a fairly straightforward way to effectively manage a variety of businesses and products around the world. And each divisions manager is responsible for planning, organizing, and controlling all functions for the production and distribution of its products for any market in the world. The global product structure is great for standardizing production and sales but it also has some problems such as the product divisions do not work well together, competing instead of cooperating in some countries; and some countries may be ignored by product managers. These problems are solved by Eaton Corporation. They use country coordinators who have a clearly defined role is a superb way The global geographic structure groups people together based on specific geographic location. Each geographic division reports to the CEO and has full control of functional activities within its geographic area. To apply geographic structure, the organization must be large with mature product lines and stable technologies. This structure suits to organizations that use multi-domestic strategy. This means that products and services will be successful if they are tailored to local needs and cultures. For example, Nestlà © uses a geographic structure to focus on the local needs and competition in each country (Carol Matlack, Nestlà © is starting to slim down at last: but can the worlds No.1 food colossus up its profits as it slashes costs? Business week (October 27, 2003), 56). Other example is IBM; they are creating new regional division for developing markets such as the Middle East, Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Eastern Europe. IBM tailors software and services to meet the needs of these emerging and fast-growing information technology markets (William M. Bulkeley, Spinning a Global plan, The wall street Journal (February 14, 2008), B1). http://www.unc.edu/~nielsen/soci410/nm13/m7009.gif The global matrix structure groups people by both of product division and geographic division. This structure works best when the pressure for decision making balances the interests of both product standardization and geographic localization and when coordination to share resources is important. Global matrix structure is the most complex of the different organizational structures. There are many international firms such as ABB, Colgate, IBM, Nestlà ©, or Eaton Corp which are using a global hybrid or mixed structure. Finding the right structure for organization that works best for particular company is very important. If using the wrong structure, organization will have the poor communication, poor product development, poor customer service and a lot of other problems. http://www.unc.edu/~nielsen/soci410/nm13/m7010a.gif Transnational model Transnational model is the most advanced kind of international organization. It allows for the attainment of benefits inherent in both global and multi-domestic strategies. The key of a transnational organization is adaptation to all environmental situations and achieving flexibility by capitalizing on knowledge flows, which take the form of decisions and value-added information, and two-way communication throughout the organization. Decision making and knowledge generation are distributed among the units of a transnational organization. Transnational firms usually enter into strategic alliances with their customers, suppliers, and other business partners to save time and capital. There are five implementation tactics which used for implementing the transnational model: Mass customization-synergies through global research and development (e.g., American Express, Time Warner, Frito-Lay, MCI). Global sourcing and logistics (e.g., Benetton, Citicorp). Global intelligence and information resources (e.g., Andersen Consulting, McKinsey Consulting). Global customer service (e.g., American Express). Global alliances (e.g., British Airways and US Air; KLM and Northwest). For example, Nestlà © CEO Peter Brabeck recently questioned the idea of a so-called global consumer. The company appears to be successfully implementing a transnational strategy by making centralization decisions based partly on whether value-chain activities are upstream or downstream. According to Brabeck, The closer we come to the consumer, in branding, pricing, communication, and product adaptation, the more we decentralize. The more we are dealing with production, logistics, and supply-chain management, the more centralized decision making becomes. After all, we want to leverage Nestlà ©s size, not be hampered by it (Wetlaufer, 2001). Information technology in global organization Firstly, we should know what is the information system? This is an integrated set of components for collecting, storing, processing, and communicating information. Its more than just computer program. Information and communications technologies are playing an increasing role in meeting the needed information of organization. Information systems refer to the wider systems of people, data and activities, both computer-based and manual, that effectively gather, process, store and disseminate organizations information. There are several types of information systems: Executive Information System (EIS), Management Information System (MIS), Decision support system (DSS) and Transaction Processing System (TPS). A management information system is used by managerial or mid-level managers. It provides mid-level managers with reports that summarize data and support day-to-day decision making. There are two common types of reports such as Key-Indicator report and Drill-Down report. MIS is subset of the overall internal controls. For example, at Harrahs casinos, an information reporting system keeps track of detail information on each player and uses quantitative models to predict each customers potential long-term value. An Executive information system is used by highest levels of management. These systems are based on software that can convert large amounts of complex data into pertinent information and provide that information to top managers in a timely fashion. We can use the shortest words to define it as EIS requires only the summary of the whole business. It requires the facts and numbers to be taken and easy access to both internal and external information. For example, Motorolas Semiconductor Products Sector, based in Austin, Texas, implemented an EIS using online analytical processing software so that more than a thousand senior executives, as well as managers and project analysts in finance, marketing, sales, and accounting departments around the world, could quickly and easily get information about customer buying trends, manufacturing, and so forth, right from their desktop computers, without having to learn complex and arcane search commands (Megan Santosus, Motorolas Semiconductor prod ucts Sectors EIS, Working Smart column, CIO, section 1 (November 15, 1998), 84). A Decision support system provides specific benefits to managers at all levels of the organization. This is the software which user can pose a series of what-if questions to test the possible alternatives and based on assumptions used in the software or specified by user. It helps managers choose the alternative that will have the best outcome. A Transaction processing systems used at operational level of an organization for making transactions through online processing. For example, paying a utility bill from bank account or sales and orderingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Those are several IT systems which are useful for organizations, especially global organizations. We can recognize that most successful organizations which are knowledge-based organizations are generally those that most effectively apply information technology. IT has enable creation of the network organization structure and also help the top managers design organization which is smaller, decentralized and improved internal and external coordination. Conclusion Globalization gives top managers a lot of challenges, especially in designing organization which fits the needs of globalization. Organization must follow the steps form domestic to global. It helps organization have a sound basis to face with the changing and competitive global environment. Besides that, top managers should understand the strength and the weakness of organization or market to find out the right strategy to enter new market and the structure which flexible and effective with changing environment. To do this, IT is the best choice to invest in. It provides the needed information both of internal and external organization and this is the most effective way to communicate both inside and outside company.

Action and Observation in Shakespeares King Lear Essay -- King Lear E

Action and Observation in King Lear      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Auden once asserted that Shakespearean tragedy is necessarily parabolic, pertaining to the only myth that Christianity possesses: that of the 'unrepentant thief'. We as the spectators are thus implicated in the action since each of us 'is in danger of re-enacting [this story] in his own way'.1 The sufferings of the hero could be our own sufferings, whereas in Greek tragedy, such a notion is precluded precisely because the misfortunes of a character can be traced back to the discontent of the gods. Hippolytus is not a moral agent; Hamlet is. The aesthetic of Shakespearean tragedy is therefore dynamic, with an audience that, to a certain extent, are also participants. Auden proposes a model of observing based upon an Aristotelian conception of drama, one that involves the spectator in an emotional relationship with the characters on stage. King Lear too, offers the audience several quite distinct paradigms of both observation and action, and crucially, it is on the var ying successes of these models that the tragedy hinges.    One does not need to look far in King Lear for a figure that might fit Auden's mould. Kent surely embodies that which Schlegel termed the 'science of compassion' in the play.2 He is publicly traduced and humiliated by Lear in Act I, Scene 1, and yet, in the guise of Caius, risks his life in order to serve his king still. Kent observes Lear's 'hideous rashness' (I.i.153) and he is motivated into participating in his master's sufferings:    I have a journey, sir, shortly to go; My master calls me; I must not say no. (V.iii.323-324)    The simple rhyme, metric balance, and monosyllabic plainness of this couplet infuse the lines with a sen... ...onathan Bates, Penguin 1992, p. 381 3 Samuel Johnson, Johnson as Critic, ed. John Wain, Routledge & Kegan Paul 1973, pp. 216-217 4 John Willet, The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht, Methuen 1964, p.170 5 Ibid, p.172 6 Euripides, Alcestis and other plays, trans. John Davie, Penguin 1996, p.80 7 The Romantics on Shakespeare, ed. Jonathan Bates, Penguin 1992, p. 390 8 Kiernan Ryan, 'King Lear: The Subversive Imagination' in New Casebooks: King Lear, ed. Kiernan Ryan, Macmillan 1993, p.80 9 A. C. Bradley, Shakespearian Tragedy, Macmillan 1908, p.55 10 W. H. Auden, The Dyer's Hand and Other Essays, Vintage New York 1989, p.201 11 Harold Bloom, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, Fourth Estate 1999, p.481 12 William Blake, 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell' (plate 3 lines 11-12) in The Complete Poems, Penguin 1977, p.181    Action and Observation in Shakespeare's King Lear Essay -- King Lear E Action and Observation in King Lear      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Auden once asserted that Shakespearean tragedy is necessarily parabolic, pertaining to the only myth that Christianity possesses: that of the 'unrepentant thief'. We as the spectators are thus implicated in the action since each of us 'is in danger of re-enacting [this story] in his own way'.1 The sufferings of the hero could be our own sufferings, whereas in Greek tragedy, such a notion is precluded precisely because the misfortunes of a character can be traced back to the discontent of the gods. Hippolytus is not a moral agent; Hamlet is. The aesthetic of Shakespearean tragedy is therefore dynamic, with an audience that, to a certain extent, are also participants. Auden proposes a model of observing based upon an Aristotelian conception of drama, one that involves the spectator in an emotional relationship with the characters on stage. King Lear too, offers the audience several quite distinct paradigms of both observation and action, and crucially, it is on the var ying successes of these models that the tragedy hinges.    One does not need to look far in King Lear for a figure that might fit Auden's mould. Kent surely embodies that which Schlegel termed the 'science of compassion' in the play.2 He is publicly traduced and humiliated by Lear in Act I, Scene 1, and yet, in the guise of Caius, risks his life in order to serve his king still. Kent observes Lear's 'hideous rashness' (I.i.153) and he is motivated into participating in his master's sufferings:    I have a journey, sir, shortly to go; My master calls me; I must not say no. (V.iii.323-324)    The simple rhyme, metric balance, and monosyllabic plainness of this couplet infuse the lines with a sen... ...onathan Bates, Penguin 1992, p. 381 3 Samuel Johnson, Johnson as Critic, ed. John Wain, Routledge & Kegan Paul 1973, pp. 216-217 4 John Willet, The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht, Methuen 1964, p.170 5 Ibid, p.172 6 Euripides, Alcestis and other plays, trans. John Davie, Penguin 1996, p.80 7 The Romantics on Shakespeare, ed. Jonathan Bates, Penguin 1992, p. 390 8 Kiernan Ryan, 'King Lear: The Subversive Imagination' in New Casebooks: King Lear, ed. Kiernan Ryan, Macmillan 1993, p.80 9 A. C. Bradley, Shakespearian Tragedy, Macmillan 1908, p.55 10 W. H. Auden, The Dyer's Hand and Other Essays, Vintage New York 1989, p.201 11 Harold Bloom, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, Fourth Estate 1999, p.481 12 William Blake, 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell' (plate 3 lines 11-12) in The Complete Poems, Penguin 1977, p.181