Apple Pie recipe

www.ehow.com/video_2935_make-apple-pie.html

Here is the recipe of the apple pie I took yesterday to class! Just in case you feel like making it, this is a very easy way of  making one, and it is very clearly explained! =)

"Ombre" in The Rape of the Lock

       

The Rape of the Lock, is a poem, that by now, we all know about. It is divided in five cantos, and I am going to talk about the third one. Throughout the beginning of this canto, the poet shows the reader the political situation of the country and the social conditions of it.

However, in line 18 the game of cards starts, and finishes in line 100. The poet, in line 25, sets his attention on Belinda. The ability that the poet has to make a game of cards sound like a battle is impressive. He introduces the battle presenting Belinda and two other “Knights”, ready to fight. Thanks to the clarity of the text, we can see their card playing skills easily. This game of cards is called “Ombre”, and it comes from a Spanish game of cards. It is very similar to the game of cards of Spades and Hearts that we play nowadays. The people of the highest social class played this game very frequently, because it became very popular very fast. Not only that, it is in the 19^th century when we see it stops been so popular, because it doesn´t appear as much in literary works. The last literary work, that I know of that mentions it is an essay in Texas Studies by Mr. Case published in 1944. The game that Pope describes in his long poem follows the rules by the book.

                This game is played with a Spanish deck of cards. It has kings and queens, and the 8´s, 9’s  and 10´s are removed. Every player has nine cards, and the other thirteen cards are placed in the talon. The game starts with a bet; each player has to bet on who will be able to take the majority of tricks- you can take five of nine- and the one who wins the bet becomes the “declarer” or “ombre”, and has to play against the other two players. The advantage of being the “ombre” is that the player is allowed to choose which suit will be trump. In the poem, Belinda is the one to choose it, like we see in line number 46: “Let spades be trumps” she said, and trumps they were. To win the hand, the ombre has to take five tricks. 

It is said that with the representation of a battle what Pope is trying to do is to make a point about his society, because at that time all what the elite did was play cards and gamble, which in a way were instruments to flirt, instead of using that energy and passion and dedicate them to brave and serious purposes.

Also, the fact that the Queen of Hearts falls, might be an anticipant of the misery Belinda is going to go through soon after the game is over. So, the poet might be making a connection between the card and Belinda, and suggesting that their fates are the same. In contrast to this, the victory of the King of Hearst might suggest the victory of the Baron himself at the end of the poem. He ends up doing what he wants to and, in a way, destroys everything else.

A Famous Pilgrim Story!

Hi everyone! I found a long poem that talks about Thanksgiving and about the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony. This poem is called "The Courtship of Miles Standish" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and it was written in 1858. However, the story that he told, talks about two men that are in love with the same woman, is invented. This is a famous American story.

In the Old Colony days, in Plymouth the land of the Pilgrims,
To and fro in a room of his simple and primitive dwelling,
Clad in doublet and hose, and boots of Cordovan leather,
Strode, with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan Captain.
Buried in thought he seemed, with his hands behind him, and
pausing
Ever and anon to behold his glittering weapons of warfare,
Hanging in shining array along the walls of the chamber,--
Cutlass and corselet of steel, and his trusty sword of Damascus,
Curved at the point and inscribed with its mystical Arabic
sentence,
While underneath, in a corner, were fowling-piece, musket, and
matchlock.
Short of stature he was, but strongly built and athletic,
Broad in the shoulders, deep-chested, with muscles and sinews of
iron;
Brown as a nut was his face, but his russet beard was already
Flaked with patches of snow, as hedges sometimes in November.
Near him was seated John Alden, his friend, and household
companion,
Writing with diligent speed at a table of pine by the window;
Fair-haired, azure-eyed, with delicate Saxon complexion,
Having the dew of his youth, and the beauty thereof, as the
captives
Whom Saint Gregory saw, and exclaimed, "Not Angles, but Angels."
Youngest of all was he of the men who came in the Mayflower.

  Suddenly breaking the silence, the diligent scribe
interrupting,
Spake, in the pride of his heart, Miles Standish the Captain of
Plymouth.
"Look at these arms," he said, "the warlike weapons that hang
here
Burnished and bright and clean, as if for parade or inspection!
This is the sword of Damascus I fought with in Flanders; this
breastplate,
Well I remember the day! once saved my life in a skirmish;
Here in front you can see the very dint of the bullet
Fired point-blank at my heart by a Spanish arcabucero.
Had it not been of sheer steel, the forgotten bones of Miles
Standish
Would at this moment be mould, in their grave in the Flemish
morasses."
Thereupon answered John Alden, but looked not up from his
writing:
"Truly the breath of the Lord hath slackened the speed of the
bullet;
He in his mercy preserved you, to be our shield and our weapon!"
Still the Captain continued, unheeding the words of the
stripling:
"See, how bright they are burnished, as if in an arsenal hanging;
That is because I have done it myself, and not left it to others.
Serve yourself, would you be well served, is an excellent adage;
So I take care of my arms, as you of your pens and your inkhorn.
Then, too, there are my soldiers, my great, invincible army,
Twelve men, all equipped, having each his rest and his matchlock,
Eighteen shillings a month, together with diet and pillage,
And, like Caesar, I know the name of each of my soldiers!"
This he said with a smile, that danced in his eyes, as the
sunbeams
Dance on the waves of the sea, and vanish again in a moment.
Alden laughed as he wrote, and still the Captain continued:
"Look! you can see from this window my brazen howitzer planted
High on the roof of the church, a preacher who speaks to the
purpose,
Steady, straight-forward, and strong, with irresistible logic,
Orthodox, flashing conviction right into the hearts of the
heathen.
Now we are ready, I think, for any assault of the Indians;
Let them come, if they like, and the sooner they try it the
better,--
Let them come if they like, be it sagamore, sachem, or pow-wow,
Aspinet, Samoset, Corbitant, Squanto, or Tokamahamon!"

  Long at the window he stood, and wistfully gazed on the
landscape,
Washed with a cold gray mist, the vapory breath of the east-wind,
Forest and meadow and hill, and the steel-blue rim of the ocean,
Lying silent and sad, in the afternoon shadows and sunshine.
Over his countenance flitted a shadow like those on the
landscape,
Gloom intermingled with light; and his voice was subdued with
emotion,
Tenderness, pity, regret, as after a pause he proceeded:
"Yonder there, on the hill by the sea, lies buried Rose Standish;
Beautiful rose of love, that bloomed for me by the wayside!
She was the first to die of all who came in the Mayflower!
Green above her is growing the field of wheat we have sown there,
Better to hide from the Indian scouts the graves of our people,
Lest they should count them and see how many already have
perished!"
Sadly his face he averted, and strode up and down, and was
thoughtful.

  Fixed to the opposite wall was a shelf of books, and among them
Prominent three, distinguished alike for bulk and for binding;
Bariffe's Artillery Guide, and the Commentaries of Caesar,
Out of the Latin translated by Arthur Goldinge of London,
And, as if guarded by these, between them was standing the Bible.
Musing a moment before them, Miles Standish paused, as if
doubtful
Which of the three he should choose for his consolation and
comfort,
Whether the wars of the Hebrews, the famous campaigns of the
Romans,
Or the Artillery practice, designed for belligerent Christians.
Finally down from its shelf he dragged the ponderous Roman,
Seated himself at the window, and opened the book, and in silence
Turned o'er the well-worn leaves, where thumb-marks thick on the
margin,
Like the trample of feet, proclaimed the battle was hottest.
Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying pen of the
stripling,
Busily writing epistles important, to go by the Mayflower,
Ready to sail on the morrow, or next day at latest, God willing!
Homeward bound with the tidings of all that terrible winter,
Letters written by Alden, and full of the name of Priscilla,
Full of the name and the fame of the Puritan maiden Priscilla!

Hope you like it! =)

Thanksgiving!

                   I know that this post has very little to do with what we are studying, but since it is one of my favorite festivities, I couldn´t stop myself. I guess you all know a little, if not more, about this American celebration. For Americans, it is a very important day, I an even say that for some, it is even more important than Christmas. And if you think about it, it makes sence, because Christmas has its origins in a Religious belief, the Christian one, and in the States, there is a lot of variety of religions. As a concequence, a lot of people do not celebrated. However, Thanksging is not related to a religion, but to be grateful for what you have, and share a special meal with your family and friends. Not only that, this tradition is exclusively American, and it has been celebrated even before the United Sates became a country, therefore we can say that it is a symbol for the American culture. 

Here is an example of the influence of this tradition in literature. 

A Thanksgiving Poem

The sun hath shed its kindly light,
Our harvesting is gladly o'er,
Our fields have felt no killing blight,
Our bins are filled with goodly store.

From pestilence, fire, 'flood, and sword
We have been spared by thy decree,
And now with humble hearts, O Lord,
We come to pay our thanks to thee.

We feel that had our merits been
The measure of thy gifts to us,
We erring children, born of sin,
Might not now be rejoicing thus.

No deed of ours hath brought us grace;
When thou wert nigh our sight was dull,
We hid in trembling from thy face,
But thou, O God, wert merciful.

Thy mighty hand o'er all the land
Hath still been open to bestow
Those blessings which our wants demand
From heaven, whence all blessings flow.

Thou hast, with ever watchful eye,
Looked down on us with holy care,
And from thy storehouse in the sky
Hast scattered plenty everywhere.

Then lift we up our songs of praise
To thee, O Father, good and kind;
To thee we consecrate our days;
Be thine the temple of each mind.

With incense sweet our thanks ascend;
Before thy works our powers pall;
Though we should strive years without end,
We could not thank thee for them all. 

by Paul Laurence Dunbar
(1872-1906)

                  Thanksgiving is celebrated the fourth Thursday of November, therefore we almost have three weeks ahead, and I am going to keep on posting things about it! Hope you like it! 

The Recovery

St. Paul´s Cathedral

           After the devastating fire that burned five sixths of the walled area of the oldest part of London, the only thing that was left for the Londoners was to start from scratch.
           From everything that was destroyed, only the churches, made of stone, and especially their towers, were left. Consequently, at least 65,000 people became homeless due to the Fire. These people had lost eveything, so they could not afford renting a place to stay in the unburnt part of the city for long, so, after a few days these people started to move to the villages sorrounding London. Therefore, the city lost a lot of its population in very little time.
           When the rebuilding of the city started, many streets were widened or straightened. However, no new public squares were built. Also, the four affected gates, the Ludget, Newgate, the Moorgate and Temple Bar were rebuilt, although now they were more decorative than useful. Inspite of the rebuilting of these gates, in the 1760s all the gates were removed. In the following decades, fewer houses were built than the ones before the Fire. Gran residences were built for merchants and aldermen.

Temple Bar Gate

          The courtyard houses which were in mayor streets had a limit of four floors of height. In contrast,  before the Fire, these houses were six floors tall. Houses in ordinary streets were limited to three storeys.
           Another mayor aspect that changed was the material they used when building houses. Before the Fire, they used wood in most cases; now, the started to use brick, and when building important houses, they would sometimes use stone in their doorways and windows. Theses houses were now considered to be more sanitary, and to last longer than the ones from before the Fire. However, one thing that hadn´t changed relating to houses was the distribution of the rooms. The outside of the houses had a little architectual influence from France and Holland.

Medieval London before the Fire

            As a conclusion, we can say that the Fire was a devastating one for the city of London and its habitants. However, it also gave the oportunity to create a new, modern city within the medieval city, and with influences of the time. Also, the Londoners were able to improve their lifestyle by making the city safer than before. 

London after 1666