Thursday, March 19, 2020

The Great Flood Story in Mythology Essays

The Great Flood Story in Mythology Essays The Great Flood Story in Mythology Essay The Great Flood Story in Mythology Essay Essay Topic: The Epic of Gilgamesh There are several myths that include accounts of a great flood. The common reason for the flood, as testified in most of these myths, is usually punishment upon mankind for their sins. Typically, an angry god seeking revenge administers the flood. Some of mankind may be spared through the building of some sort of protective boat, ark, or even a golden egg. Seeds from all animals and vegetation will be stored inside until the flood subsides. At this time, the world will begin again. Genesis of Noah The Bible contains a flood story in Genesis of Noah. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the Sumerian myth that tells the story of a flood.In India, The Creation, Death, and Rebirth of the Universe tells the Hindu story of the great flood. The Yoruba myth that tells a flood story is The Creation of the Universe and Ife. Each of these myths has similarities regarding the great flood. Each of these also has some conflicting details of the account. Sumerians The Sumerians lived in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, hence the name, Mesopotamia that directly translates to between the rivers.Today, this area is known as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, but it was once occupied by one of the oldest known civilizations. This civilization is given credit to spreading the great myth, The Epic of Gilgamesh.This epic was written in cuneiform on clay tablets dating back to around 2100 B.C.Sin-leqi Unninni, a priest, has been given credit for writing the epic. It was discovered in Ninevah in 1845 in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is searching for Utnapishtim, the Faraway, to inquire about immortality.When Gilgamesh finds Utanipishtim, he is told of the great flood. In this account of the flood, Enlil, ruler of the Gods, decides to destroy the Earth.He assembles the other gods in a discussion of what is to be done.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

The Anticipatory It in English Grammar

The Anticipatory 'It' in English Grammar In English grammar, anticipatory it involves the placement of the pronoun  it in the usual subject position of a sentence as a stand-in for the postponed subject, which appears after the verb. It is also called an  extraposed subject. Anticipatory it  tends to place the emphasis on the verb or (more commonly) on the noun phrase that follows the verb.   When the subject works better at the end of the sentence,  anticipatory it is often the best way to go, and its commonly heard in everyday speech and found regularly in all types of writing. Shifting Nominal Clauses to the End Gerald C. Nelson and Sidney Greenbaum discuss nominal clauses in An Introduction to English Grammar (2013): It is unusual to have a nominal clause  as the subject of the sentence:  That they canceled the concert is a pity. Instead, the subject is usually moved to the end (the postponed subject), and its position is taken by it (the anticipatory subject):  It  is a pity that the concert was canceled. Here are some more examples: It  is likely  that well be moving to Glasgow. It  doesnt matter to me  who pays for my ticket.Its impossible  to say when they are arriving. It  has not been announced  whether negotiations between the employers and the employees have broken down. The exception is that nominal  -ing  clauses  are natural in the normal subject position: Having a good self-image  keeps me sane.Living in France  was a wonderful experience. Anticipatory It, Dummy It, and Preparatory It Bas Aarts, Sylvia Chalker, and Edmund Weiner sort through more grammatical it details in The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar from  2014. In the first sentence below,  it is an anticipatory subject (the grammatical subject), and in the second  sentence it is an anticipatory object: It  is better  to have loved and lost  than never to have loved at all.I take  it that you agree with me. There  is considerable confusion in the usage of the terms available to describe the various functions of the word it. For some grammarians,  anticipatory it (used with  extraposition) and  preparatory it  are  identical, but they distinguish this usage from  dummy it,  as in  It is raining. Others use all or some of these terms differently or use one of them as an umbrella term. Examples of Anticipatory It It is a shame that the break-in wasnt immediately reported to the police.It is clear that inadequate resources will have an impact on the care of children with disabilities.  Its no concern of mine what happens in this village, so long as my customers dont quarrel when theyre in here. John Rhode (Cecil Street), Murder at Lilac Cottage (1940)It is time you stopped  working. You are the head of the family and it is right that you should be at home to see that everything is in order. Masti Venkatesha  Iyengar, The Curds-Seller in Best Loved Indian Stories, Volume 2 ed. by  Indira Srinivasan and Chetna Bhatt (1999)