A Synthesis of the Themes in Selected Poems about War Essay - 2

A Synthesis of the Themes in Selected Poems about War - Essay Example Richard Lovelace’s ‘To Lucasta, Going to the Wars’ is addressed to a soldier’s sweetheart at the point of his leaving for war, who he tries to convince of the importance of going to war. The soldier first admits that the war may be compared to having another ‘mistress’, as he will now be chasing the ‘foe’ with more ardor and embracing his weapons and horse with a ‘stronger faith’ than he has chased or embraced his lover but then goes on to justify this comparison. The narrator then says that the only reason he is capable of loving her so much is because he loves honor more. This love of honor is proved by his taking to war so eagerly. In the poem, the act of love and act of war are compared and war is considered a nobler activity. The poem goes so far as to assert that not only is war a greater love, it is the only reason that men are capable of loving women – they are both quests to prove their honor. This view of bringing up the question of honor in war and placing it over other lesser concerns like romantic love appears in this poem of the 17th century. England, at the time, was known for valorizing bravery and war and espousing values of strong patriotic feeling among its citizens. This trend of thought is again reflected in English poetry in a poem like Alfred Tennyson’s ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’, which was written in 1854. Nearly two hundred years after the appearance of Richard Lovelace’s poem. Tennyson’s famous poem also speaks of the ‘noble six hundred’ who were part of the Light Brigade that fought for England against Russian troops in the Crimean War. Most of the poem is a fervent exhortation to the cavalry but there is already a note of recognizing the futility of war. As Tennyson writes: ‘Not tho' the soldier knew / Someone had blunder’d’; the soldiers are themselves unaware of why they are to fight the war that they are being sent to fight and this is a crucial idea that changes the perception of war from something seen as honorable and brave to something that is later conceived as foolish, wasteful and cruelly absurd. Wilfred Owen was among the first poets to most poignantly write about the horrors of war. His poem ‘Futility’ reveals a pained voice that is bewildered by the continuance of something as dreadful as the war. ‘Was it for this the clay grew tall?’ the speaker asks, as he describes the death of a young soldier from France. Already the style has changed from being one of fervent exhortation and pride to one of tragic loss and dismay. There is no encouragement to the troops or mention of ‘honor’ or even praises for the sacrifices made during the war. The poem instead humanizes the soldiers who are compelled to lose their lives in pointless wars that they have not been responsible for starting. Owen’s other poem ‘Dulce et D ecorum est’ takes head on the older perceptions on war and debunks them. The title of his poem and the final line challenges Horace’s quote ‘Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori’, which roughly means that it is good to die for one’s country, and calls it an ‘old lie’. The language of this poem is harsh and unforgiving, describing the soldiers as ‘beggars’ and ‘hags’, who ‘all went lame, all blind’. The physical torture that the soldiers undergo at the front is described in all its horror, and there is no idealistic ‘

Engineering - Steel Report Lab Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Engineering - Steel - Lab Report Example According to Degarmo and Black (2003, p.56), reinforced bars with high ductility and tensile strength are often preferred because they allow the materials to be rolled, drawn or made longer without breakage. Generally the tensile strength of reinforcing steel can be measured by dividing the cross sectional area of the steel tested by the stress exerted on the material. The amount of stretching force (N) needed to break the test material can then be measured and recorded. Experimental Procedure The tensile testing experiment involved calculating mechanical properties of three specimen samples of reinforcing steel bars which were designated as N12, R12 and RW11.9. Some of the main mechanical properties that were tested include yield stress, modulus of elasticity, elongation, tensile strength, ductility and reserve length. Specimen N12 was a hot rolled deformed bar that was derived from a microalloy TEMCORE material. Generally such steel alloys are made by adding expensive alloys such a s Silicon, Carbon, Manganese and Vanadium to the steel. As compared to the other steel samples that were used in the experiment, the surface of hot rolled deformed bar was rough and more imperfect. On the other hand, specimen R12 was a hot rolled plain round bar which was made from a mild steel material. Although the presence of carbon significantly lowered the ductility of the alloy, it was stronger and had more resistance to breakage (Pavlina and Tyne, 2008, p.216). Another important physical property of specimen R12 was that it was quite malleable and the surface was more polished. Lastly, specimen RW11.9 was cold robbed riled wire which was also made from middle steel material. The surface was relatively smoother and malleable but the specimen was easier to bend than specimenR12. In terms of the geometry of the specimens, N12 had a diameter of 12mm, length of 500mm and a cross sectional area of 255mm2 . Specimen R12 was also 12mm in diameter, 500mm in length and had a cross sect ional area of 113.1m2 . RW11.9 was 11.9mm in length, 12mm in diameter and the cross sectional area was 111.3mm2. The testing equipment that was used in the experiment included an Instron universal Machine and a clip on extensometer Epsilion model 3543 10 inch gauge length. The model of Instron universal machine that was used300LX, SATEC Series, and the equipment had a large frame with a single test space which allows easy and safe loading and unloading of specimens for testing. Additionally the single print design of the Machine significantly reduced the floor space requirement and enhanced its use for testing high capacity tension, flex as well as shear of the specimens. Figure1. Instron Universal Machine model 300LX Designed by Epsilon technology, the Epsilion model 3543, 10 inch gauge length used in the experiment was uniquely designed to help in the testing of long samples such as wire materials, steel reinforcing bars and weld joints. During the testing, the upper part of the e xtensometer is expected to pull out of the main body to deliver high accuracy and the equipment is only calibrated to measure displacement and loading using tension units only. Finally, the optional gauge length spacers of the extensomet