Pre Listening Stage English Listening Teaching

Pre Listening Stage English Listening Teaching Language can be recognized as a media of communication, rather than the simple complex of sound, vocabulary and grammar. English language teaching (ELT), therefore, has long been conducted through reading, listening as receptive skills and speaking, writing as productive skills in communication. Among all the factors, listening is an essential section of language competence and it indicates the comprehending of spoken language. During the process, listening input is usually accompanied with other sounds and sometimes with visual input (Lynch Mendelsohn, 2002). In making sense of the listening contents, the context of the communication happens in and listeners relevant prior knowledge is vital (ibid). However, as many linguists reviewed, listening has long been neglected until the early 1970s (Morley, 2001; Brown, 1987; Rivers, 1966). It is only since then that listening attracts more interests from linguists and researchers. Therefore, as it is far less studied than other fundamental skills, listening needs more research and is worth to be emphasized in ELT. II. An Overview of a Listening Lesson In the contemporary English language teaching and research, listening is becoming more and more important. Some researchers advocate and encourage teachers to apply listening strategies in classroom teaching and guide students to listen (Mendelsohn, 1994; Field, 1998). Listening approaches are also suggested and experienced. Harmer (1987) reviewed some basic principles of receptive skills and stated that, learners read and listen to language with purpose, desire and expectations. He further pointed out that, a lead-in stage can create expectations and arouse the students motivation in the following listening contents. Field (1998) proposed a diagnostic approach which involves pre-listening, listening and post-listening in a listening class. He asserts that the approach can check and adjust students listening skills through short micro-listening exercises. According to the introduction given by Hedge (2000), the process of listening class can be divided into three stages, pre-listenin g stage, while-listening stage and post-listening stage. 1. Pre-listening Stage It is commonly recognized that pre-listening is a preparation of the listening class. In this stage, teachers tend to arouse learners expectation and interest of the language text they are going to listen. They can also motivate learners by providing background knowledge of the text; organizing learners to discuss a picture or a related topic which involves in the text; asking some related questions to the text, and etc. In general, pre-listening plays a role of warming-up and the main aim of this stage is to make learners focus their attention on the following while-listening stage and decrease the difficulties of the text. It is more important in its relating to and being of help to many other aspects which will be represented later. 2. While-listening Stage While-listening is the main procedure of listening information input. In this stage, learners are given some audio materials for listening. Learners may be requested to deal with some questions with the listening materials, such as Yes/No questions, Cloze, True/False questions and etc. Usually learners need to answer the questions simultaneously or take note of some main points of the listening materials. Teachers, as a guide during this process take control of the speed of the materials, start or pause of the machine and raise some questions for discussions or give necessary explanations to help the learner comprehend the materials. Depending on the learners language level and the difficulty level of the materials, teachers can decide the times of presenting the listening materials. The purpose of while-listening is to provide the learners with audio material input with exercises and therefore promote the learners listening competence. 3. Post-listening Stage Post-listening is also an important stage as it reviews and checks the listening efficiency and result. During this stage, teachers are not only supposed to check the answers, they also need to lead the learners to consolidate the comprehension of the listening input. They can organize further discussions on the listening text, explain some new terms and phrases, summing up appeared language rules and designing some related exercise for the learners to strengthen their impression about the knowledge. In addition, giving a dictation on a summary of the text may check all the different language points and learners mastery of knowledge. Via the first two stages, learners have received many comprehensible input, thus, the purpose of post-listening is to transfer these input into intake. In another word, the stage of post-listening can be considered as a transformation of language knowledge to language competence in listening teaching section. III. The Essentiality of Pre-listening in a Listening Class Pre-listening, as the first stage of listening teaching, is long argued by linguists and teachers on its contexts and role in the listening teaching. For example, some researchers (Buck, 1991; Cohen, 1984) suggested arrange a question preview in pre-listening stage with the reason that it may guide the students attention in the right direction. On the contrary, others (Ur, 1984; Weir, 1993) argued that the question preview process may distract the learners from attending to the actual input. Hence, it is worthwhile to clarify the status of pre-listening in classroom teaching of listening. Before analyzing the role of pre-listening in the process of a listening class, it is useful to overview the difficulties in listening teaching initially so that the role of pre-listening stage can be further discussed. 1. The Difficulties in Teaching Listening Comparing to other language competence, such as reading and writing, listening has some specific features which could bring learners pressure and difficulty in dealing with it. They are concluded as follows (Lynch Mendelsohn, 2002; Thomson, 2005): High frequency in communication. Based on the investigation of Rivers and Temperley (1978), listening takes approximately 45% of the place in communication of an individuals daily life. Passivity. Apparently, listening is considered as a totally passive action in communication, though it is further regarded as an active process rather than its original passive role (Lynch Mendelsohn, 2002). Speediness and repeatlessness. Differ from reading, listening normally needs to process the information instantly and usually just once. It is not as flexible as in reading that readers can refer to the contents as many times as they like. Other widely-concerned aspects of natural characteristics. In the process of listening, many other aspects of language of knowledge are needed such as phonetic, vocabulary, grammar. Due to above features of listening, teaching listening was involved in an amount of difficulties. According to the introduction of Cherry (1957), in second and foreign language listening, most of the difficulties are caused by uncertainty which could present in the area of speech sounds and patterns, language and syntax, recognition of content and other influence of environment. The difficulties could show different representations in classroom teaching of listening: Learners could be anxious about a long text for the reason of lacking time to process information. Unfamiliar context and background could scare the learners and make them lose interests and patience. Learners may be influenced by new vocabularies, phonetic phenomenon, grammar structure and these affections could decrease their comprehension about the text. By giving a long audio material, learners could have difficulties to concentrate on the important information. There are also some other elements in the process of listening which could confuse the learners such as different accent, background noise and assimilation, etc. 2. The Functions of Pre-listening in a Listening Class As discussed above, pre-listening can be recognized as a stage of preparation and warming up of the whole process of listening. As some researchers (Rees,2002; Peachey,2002)review, there are a few of aims and types of pre-listening tasks that enable the learners deal with the following listening text smoothly and strategically, such as to generate interest, build up confidence and facilitate comprehension. Following is the detailed discussions on the functions of pre-listening. (1) Motivating learners People believe Interest is the best teacher. To arouse students interests is one of the most important conditions for a teaching process. Only when the students are interested in the contents of teaching can the efficiency of teaching and learning be guaranteed. Therefore, the first role of pre-listening is motivating learners. Underwood (1989) summarizes a variety of ways of pre-listening work can be carried out during the classroom teaching. Some of them are suitable in motivating students: The teacher gives background information. Organizing the students to have a discussion about the topic or situation in the upcoming text. Showing a picture which is related to the content of the text. To make the listening task interesting, the teacher also can tell the beginning part of the text and provide with some questions as a guideline for the students to guess the end or take some keywords for brainstorming. (2) Activating current world knowledge and acquiring new knowledge The main purpose of listening is to teach the knowledge of language and help the learners to be competent in listening. Design some activities that can activate learners world knowledge will facilitate them behave better in the listening. Moreover, pre-listening can also play a role to input some new language knowledge. Therefore, it is necessary and meaningful to introduce or review the language knowledge in pre-listening session. There could be a number of ways to make this part meaningful, depends on the content of the text, the teacher can: List the new vocabularies and make sure the students know the meaning and the pronunciation of each one. Introduce some phonetics knowledge which could impact on comprehension, such as jointed sounds, lost sounds and etc. Review the complex grammar rules and introduce new sentence patterns if any. Introduce some language discourse knowledge briefly. (3) Setting context and predicting content Rees (2002) emphasized the importance of setting context for listeners in pre-listening session because even in exams learners have the chance to know a general idea of the listening materials. It will greatly help them to predict what they are going to learn. It will help learners to form expectancy of what they will listen and this is an important listening strategy for their future study. Listening is a difficult and complex section in language learning. Especially in foreign language teaching which has no language environment for practising, listening competence seems even harder to be developed. Thus, before presenting a long and horrible text, acquiring some listening techniques (for instance, concentrating on the stressed words, predicting the information, etc.) could be helpful for the students to deal with the task. (4) Checking the listening task To check with the learners if they have full understanding of the task is important in pre-listening. In this procedure, the teacher is recommended to set some tasks according to the content of the text for the students. They can also directly make sure with them in case misunderstanding happens and it may demotivate them. In the specific classroom activity, the task could be one or two simple questions which relate to the final or important point of the text. For example, if the main content of the text is concerned about competing for a job, the task could be Who got the job in the end, if it is about a process of making a manufactory, the task could be designed as How many procedures are needed to make xxx. IV. The Appropriate Length of Pre-listening By analyzing the role and functions of pre-listening, the essentiality of pre-listening stage is undoubted and it seems that it is worthwhile to spend much time and energy on this stage. However, the main process of listening class must be a fluent work. It does not make sense to spend too much time on pre-listening. The fundamental aim of pre-listening is to prepare learners behave better in while-listening. Actually, the length of pre-listening is not fixed in every listening class. As Rees (ibid) argues, pre-listening should take a fair proportion of a lesson but it usually depends on the teachers aim and the learners language level to decide how long it should take. Also, based on the different backgrounds of the texts (length, difficulty, genre, etc.) and the level of the learners (beginning, intermediate, advanced, etc.), the type and length of pre-listening can be various. For example, if the content of the text is easy to understand, teachers do not need to spend too much time on basic language knowledge teaching any more; if the students are advanced learners, it is unnecessary to spend much time on pre-listening part for the reason that they have already have enough language basis and may be confident in what they are going to listen. On the contrary, if the learners are at beginning level, the pre-listening part is supposed to be longer. In addition, a very short listening task can be prepared by simply presenting several sentences to clarify the situation of the listening or the necessary information in which the length of pre-listening can be very short. Therefore, pre-listening is rather flexible and the length can be based on the specific aim and situation. Via analyzing the role of pre-listening in a listening lesson and its relationship with the other two stages, it shows that well-arranged pre-listening activities are essential for listening comprehension. V. Conclusion Listening is an essential competence in language teaching and learning. On account of the features of listening teaching and the role of pre-listening stage, it is vital to design and arrange appropriate pre-listening activities in a listening lesson. A well-planned pre-listening activity could prepare the students to deal with the listening text smoothly. It is also helpful to build up students confidence and motivate them to listen. During the pre-listening process, teachers can take the opportunity to introduce world knowledge and related language knowledge related to the text. Moreover, it devotes to fulfill the whole process of a listening lesson in making the work more effective and efficient. However, even though pre-listening plays a significant role in the whole listening process, it does not mean that it needs to occupy too much time in the classroom teaching. The length of pre-listening part could be flexible in different circumstance. Based on the analysis of the features and aim of listening teaching and the role of pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening stage in a listening lesson respectively, a successful listening class is recommended to include following elements: The audio materials are appropriate for the learners in length, speed and difficulty. The students are well motivated before listening to the text. The aim and forms of the listening task is clarified to students. The length of each stage are well arranged and closely connected with each other. The old saying goes, Well begun is half done. As the warming-up of formal listening process, pre-listening should be well-organized and emphasized to play its role of stimulating students motivation and expectations for the text. Hence, more investigation should be focused on designing optimizing pre-listening activities in order to facilitate the listening teaching in ELT.

A Dream – creative writing

One by one we stepped of the bus after a comfortable nap on the red beds situated at the end of the bus. I was last to get off, I had a feeling of perpetual tiredness in my legs, I felt shaky and nervous. At first I couldn't think about what I was going to do on the pitch, all I thought about was after the match. As we walked down the tunnel, I saw framed pictures of legends such as Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and Eric Cantona. The sense of ‘I could be one of them' filled my empty head full of impossible thoughts. The tunnel was painted red and white, our home colours, the colours of victory. It was very long; all you could see in the darkness was the grass at the end of the tunnel like little green spikes they stuck out of the ground with light catching glimpse of their strong straight body. The smell of the hazy grass from down the tunnel went up my nose and soon reached my brain to intensify my nerves even more. It was quite a walk down to the home changing rooms. On the way I was greeted by many enthusiastic fans but instead of helping me, this made me even shakier and plunge further into my lethargy. I couldn't understand this as I had just had a two-hour nap. I silently entered the freezing cold changing rooms, which were supposedly painted white to give each player a calm feeling, checked my watch and looked around. I felt numb, the feeling of expectation had got to me, the blood in my body began to freeze and I couldn't hear anything. After a few moments the gaffer put his arms around me and I came out of my mood. All the players were lively, each one getting changed, concentrating on their own thoughts and weird pre-match rituals and superstitions. All focused on the one thing that really mattered; winning. When everyone was ready, the gaffer started talking. He said that we be should our best and all other things a managers says to make their players comfortable. To be honest with you I wasn't listening somehow the things he said just went into one ear and out of the other like an elephant talking to a cat. All I listened to was the roars and scream of the passionate fans waiting who started on their usual tones. I think the gaffer new I wasn't concentrating. He suddenly walked towards me and patted me on the back with his warm, big-palmed hands. As he did this I felt a big burden on my back. I felt as If I was carrying a big box full of millions of hopes and desires. As we walked out of the changing rooms we were joined by the away team, who all looked irregular. I was the captain for today so I was at the front of the team. The captain for the away team looked serious; he was tall with broad shoulders, had scruffy black hair, had a cold white face like a newly chilled corpse and stank of rubber. Funny I heard he had two left feet. Now adrenaline had kicked in and excitement had begun. We started slowly walking out to the stadium and soon we got faster and faster until we were jogging. The crowd was ecstatic. The stadium was jam-packed and all I could see was a sea of flashing bulbs from the photographers. The crowd started chanting my name and soon a feeling of nausea from the grass hit me hard. I walked slowly to the centre circle, with the ball at my feet. I looked at the other team, they all looked serious and some looked at me with spite. All of their players were bigger than us; almost Herculean in stature, most of them had short black hair and muscled legs like an army of action-man dolls. I took my feet off the ball and put my worn out boots into the soft, sturdy green grass. Everyone was in their positions and the whistle was blown, we were off†¦ The whistle went and it was half time, we were 2-0 down and everybody was disappointed. In the changing rooms, it was very quiet. Not really because of anyone but because of our performance, we were being stuffed. No-one was talking. The gaffer didn't lay into us. He didn't have to. We all knew we were playing rubbish. It was now going to be like a cat and mouse chase. The expression on each players face said it all really. I was just thinking of what I was going to do. Could I pull it off? Could I do the unimaginary? Could I†¦.. I couldn't understand why we were playing so badly but I had an epiphany, it must be because of their lazy useless captain not giving enough support†¦. me! I was going to pull it off I told myself. I was going to do the unimaginary. I was going to†¦ I gave a huge shout of encouragement to all the players like a commander rallying his weary troops. I slowly turned my head to face the other team. They all looked happy, as if this was a stroll in the park, as if they thought it was all wrapped up, as if they thought they had me all worked out, but had they? The whistle blew once more and we were off†¦ It was the 80th minute and we scored. It was better late than never. The ball rattled the net, and bounced on the floor a few times like a bouncy ball waiting to be caught. The crowd went mad. The player, who scored, picked up the ball after a little melee with the goalie who tried to stop him. He jogged back to the centre circle with the ball, with one hand in the air, appreciating the support the fans were giving him. The whistle was blown once more and we were off again†¦ The final whistle went it was 2-2. We scored in the last dying seconds of the match. All content with ourselves we trudged off to the gaffer and sat down on the pitch. I still couldn't get my head around the smell of the grass, warm and comforting like high summers. The gaffer sent all the coaches to massage the life back to our limbs. I could see that even the fans were tired, hoarse and emotional from their unswerving enthusiasm, as most of their voices had now gone from all the shouting, but I guessed it had helped as we were still in this match. Now the tables had turned, as I looked at the other team, they were all tired and didn't have a grin on their face any more. The whistle was blown louder than before this time and again we kicked-off†¦ Extra-time ended and scores were still 2-2 and everyone looked dead beat. We kept looking at the referee as we just wanted this to end. We were under pressure and running scared. Many times I thought it might be over but I still kept my head held high as I thought I had done a pretty good job, being the captain of a previously sinking ship, though with my skill, we had avoided the metaphorical iceberg. As we were walking back to the referee, the players had their heads down, as if they were out of this. I guess this was mostly because of what was to follow, penalties! The gaffer had a little notebook and pencil in his hand as he was going round asking each player if they wanted to take a penalty, it reminded me of what had happened last time I was here. Most of them just stood still and were too shocked and scared to say anything. Although he never came around to me, I was on the list. I guess I had to take one, or be blamed if we lost. They missed one and scored the rest, we had scored all our penalties up to now. Their fans had now got restless and started booing their own team; it showed how fickle 56,000 fans can be in times of need. Their manager looked disappointed, for all the training they had put in, wasn't going to help. One more player was left to take a penalty†¦ me, if it went in, we won, and if it didn't then more penalties would follow. I slowly started making my way to the ball. Half way, I stalled, I stood still but it seemed time had stood still. This time there was no-one near to put their arms around me to help me to come out of this mood again. My whole body froze and cold chills were sent to my brain. I looked forward and all I could see was the goalie looking nervous, billboards gaudily advertising a shirt brand and the thousands of faceless fans. Fans were screaming and shouting my name, I felt proud to be leading my team. My boots were frozen into the soft ground. No blood was felt at my toes and my knees were giving way as if my fit and tones body had been replaced by an arthritic and wizened shell. I couldn't stand any longer. There was no life left in my body. I was nervous; I was scared as I was remembering the last penalty shoot-outs. I had walked steadily to the ball and had concentrated on where I was going to kick it. The goalkeeper had gone the right way and my shot was stopped to the delight of the away supporters. They had won the cup. This was the same match, the same cup, the same away team, but would it be the same outcome. I returned to the present. My stomach was still frozen searching for any water left in my parched body, any lifeline left to give, any blood left to melt. My neck wouldn't twitch and my Adams apple felt frozen, I couldn't speak as my mouth was so dry that I felt my lips were being savaged off. My head was stiff; my face was pure cold white and my brain full of ghastly thoughts (I still couldn't get over what had happened the last time I was here). The fans started making their voices heard even more by intensifying the stadium with their passion, something not many people can give, something only a true fan possesses. Nerve receptors in my body didn't know which way to flow and no warm blood could be felt anywhere around my body except my ears. Even they wouldn't twitch, only the sound of screaming entered my ears, the sound I had heard many times throughout my lifetime. As a child I was abused by my violent father, who beat me every time I lost a match. That's why football is my life. It has always meant everything! I would scream in my bedroom but my mother was too scared to do anything about it, she too couldn't stand in my father's way. It took me until I was sixteen to stand up to him and kick him out of the house. I was bullied in school for not having a father, for not having many friends, for not having any football talent. I used to be called ‘footballer wannabe'; this infuriated me so much that all I concentrated on throughout my school years was football. And now what can those measly kids say to me, captain of a famous team, playing in a cup-final. Again my mind returned to the present. My body still stalled me, I didn't know what to do, either to let my knees give way, or stand there waiting for a lifeline to be found from the empty abyss†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Suddenly I heard the gaffer shout ‘come on ma lad, you can do it'. I woke of this terrible moment and blood started to flow again around my body. I coolly walked up to the ball, stepped back a few paces and ran as fast as I could towards the ball, hit it as hard as possible and stare. The ball rotated in mid-air and travelled towards the goal†¦..

Learning Chinese with Skritter

In many regards, learning Chinese is much like learning any other language. This means that some apps are universally useful for learning languages, including Chinese, such as general flashcard apps like Anki or those that put you in contact with native speakers like LinqApp. However, any service, program or app that target language learners, in general, will inevitably miss some things, because Chinese isnt 100% like other languages. Chinese characters are fundamentally different from most other writing systems and require a unique approach and tools specifically designed for learning characters. Enter: Skritter Skritter is an app for iOS, Android and web browsers that offers the same functions as most other flashcard programs (spaced repetition, for instance), with one, important exception: handwriting. While there are apps that allow you to write characters on the screen of your mobile phone or using a writing tablet for your computer, Skritter is the only one that gives you corrective feedback. It tells you when youre doing something wrong and what you should have done instead. The most important advantage with Skritter is that writing on screen is much closer to actual handwriting than many alternatives. Of course, the best way to learn to write by hand is to have someone check your handwriting manually all the time, but this is impractical and would be prohibitively expensive if you hired someone to do it for you. Skritter isnt free either, but it allows you to practice as much as you want and is always available. There are several other advantages: Skritter keeps track of stroke order for you, so just by using the app, you will quickly learn the correct stroke order of characters and character componentsActively writing characters is a much more efficient way of reviewing characters than just looking at them or doing multiple-choice questionsUse mnemonics to remember characters and words - There are many mnemonics included (created by other users) and you also have the option of creating your ownIts practical since you need nothing except your phoneSkritter also tests your tones, definitions, and PinyinSkritter includes vocabulary lists for most textbooksWriting on-screen is more fun with feedback than without You can see an official trailer for the iOS app here, which shows how Skritter works in general. the web browser and Android apps dont look exactly the same, but generally speaking, they work the same way. If you want to know more about Skritter, you can check out a longer review here: Boosting your character learning with Skritter. Getting More out of Skritter if youve already started using Skritter, I suggest you make a few changes to the settings to get more out of the app: Increase the stroke order strictness in study options - This enforces correct stroke order and wont allow you to continue reviewing unless youve given the right answer.Turn on raw squigs - This is much closer to real handwriting and you dont fool yourself into believing that you know things you have actually forgotten.Study regularly - The best thing with mobile learning is that it can be done anywhere any time. Use the small gaps in your schedule to review a dozen characters.

Evolution And Evolution Of Evolution - 1110 Words

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Financial Analysis Of Microsoft Corporation - 971 Words

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Gates III is also known as Bill Gates, left Harvard to devote his energies to Microsoft, a company he had begun in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen (Microsoft Corporation, 2017).†¦show more content†¦Intelligent Cloud This Company’s Intelligent Cloud segment consists of, â€Å"Server products and cloud services, including SQL Server, Windows Server, Visual Studio, System Center, and related CALs, as well as Azure, and Enterprise Services, including Premier Support Services and Microsoft Consulting Services†, as described at Reutuer.com (Reutuer, 2017). This includes the server platform, database, business intelligence, storage, management and operations, virtualization, service-oriented architecture platform, security, and identity software (Reutuer, 2017). Microsoft competes with heavily Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Oracle, Red Hat, CA Technologies, Linux, Adobe, and Ruby on Rails, Amazon, Google and Salesforce.com (Reutuer, 2017). 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William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience Free Essays

string(144) " The harmlessness of the lamb and the purity of the heart of a child are nothing but the manifestation of heart nor does he act premeditatedly\." Trace how Flake’s thought develops from his poem ‘The Lamb’ and ‘The Tiger’ together- â€Å"l have no name: I am but two days old. † What shall I call thee? â€Å"l happy am, Joy is my name. † Sweet Joy befall thee! † ‘ The good character as well as the bad abstractions such as virtues and vices is framed up in symbols to elaborate their suggestiveness and implications. We will write a custom essay sample on William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience or any similar topic only for you Order Now Flake’s cosmology is too large and complex to be given in brief. His symbols help to express his visions which may be obscure to a common reader. Blake says: â€Å"Allegory is addressed to the intellectual powers, while it is altogether hidden from the corporeal. Understanding is my definition of the Most Sublime Poetry. † From this it is clear that in his view poetry is concerned with something else than the phenomenal world and that the only meaner of expressing it is through what he calls ‘allegory. For Blake allegory is a system of symbols which presents events in a spiritual world. The modest Rose puts forth a thorn, The humble Sheep a threatening horn; White the Lily white shall in love delight, Nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright. † Blake imagined himself under spiritual influences. He saw various forms and heard he voices of angels, fairies, kings of the past and even God; the past and future were before him and he heard in imagination, even the awful voice which called on Adam amongst the trees of the garden. In this kind of dreaming abstraction, he lived much of his life; all his s wor ks are stamped with it. Though this visionary aspect explains much of the mysticism and obscurity of his work, it is also the element that makes his poems singular in loveliness and beauty. It is amazing that he could thus, month after month and year after year, lay down his engraver after it had earned him his lily wages, and retire from s the battle, to his imagination where he could experience scenes of more than-earthly splendor and creatures pure as unfasten dew. Like Sweeteners, Blake narrates things unheard and unseen; more purely a mystic than Sweeteners, he does not condescend to dialectics and scholastic divinity. Those who fancy that a dozen stony syllogisms seal up the perennial fountain of our deepest questions, will affirm that Flake’s belief was an illusion, constant and self-consistent and harmonious with the world throughout the whole of a man’s life, cannot differ from much reality. However, it is also important to note hat he was unlike common atheists. â€Å"Selfish Father of Men! Cruel, Jealous, selfish Fear! Can delight, Chained in night, The virgins of youth and morning bear? In the clash of creeds, it is always a comfort to remember that sects with their sectaries, orthodox or otherwise, could not intersect all, if they were not in the same plane. [My spiritual intelligence is certainly becoming confused by your words of conflicting conclusions, therefore ascending one of them; please reveal definitely that by which I may obtain the greatest benefit. ] We find in Flake’s poetry many of the elements characterizing Romantic poetry. The world of imagination is the world of Eternity’, says Blake. In his championship of liberty, his mysticism, naturalism, idealization of childhood, and simplicity Blake could be called a precursor of Romantic poetry in nineteenth century England. â€Å"Now enjoy†¦. Dip him in the river who loves water†¦.. The busy bee has no time for sorrow†¦.. The most sublime act is to set another before you†¦ The cistern contains: the fountain overflow†¦. † In explaining these lines we waver in interpreting the drops of tears that water the heaven as the outcome of the rage of the defeated rebelling angels or as tears of Eric. If this wrath is one of the two aspects of God, the tiger’s cruelty and wildness is only superficially fearful. It can otherwise be construed as a prophetic rage. But after, all wrath and mercy unite at the same point where the ultimate reality of God is felt. There are two meaner for the achievement of the goal, the first being through the ‘innocence’ of the lamb and other being through the ‘experience’ of the tiger. The close of the poem gives us the clue: the daring of the creator whether God or man is the cleansing wrath of the tiger. Blake is first and foremost a poet of visions and mysticism. But of, his visions are not confined to a narrow streamline of thought about futurity alone; they take the present into consideration and unfold those aspects of contemporary society detrimental to free growth of the mental powers of man. He ridicules the artificial ethos of religion that professes a complete negation of man’s sensual life and vehemently argues for a more complete life which combines the senses and the spirit. He probes beneath the surface of things and exposes the roots of social vices, the hidden sores and scars of a tradition-bound society. â€Å"Can a mother sit and hear An infant groan, and infant fear? No, no! Ever can it be! Never, never can it be! † Flake’s maxim that the human soul is made of contrary elements can be applied here also. Indistinct and imagination or the beastly and divine nature of man is necessary for a fuller life of the soul and for its progress. It is a grievous mistake to sanctify the lamb and turn an eye of defiance towards the tiger. Blake opposes such a view and gives equal prominence to sense and soul, the wild and meek aspects of human beings. â€Å"Does spring hide its Joy When buds and blossoms grow? † What holds our attention is not merely the brute’s beauty but the mystery and repose behind its creation. In ‘The Lamb’ the poet visualizes the holiness of the lamb and child and unifies them with Jesus Christ. It is obvious that the link that connects these figures is ‘innocence’. The harmlessness of the lamb and the purity of the heart of a child are nothing but the manifestation of heart nor does he act premeditatedly. You read "William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience" in category "Papers" The air of innocence is clearly visible on the face of all the three of them. â€Å"How sweet is the Shepherd’s sweet lot! From the morn to the evening he strays; He shall follow his sheep all the day, And his tongue shall be filled with praise. † More than this element of innocence there is another thread of connection between the lamb and Christ. Christ refers to himself as the Lamb of God: â€Å"The lamb of God that take away the sin of the world. † In the Bible Christ is referred to both as a lamb and as a shepherd. In this aspect the lamb has a religious significance too. (â€Å"The whole universe is a symbol, and God is the essence behind. † ? Swami Vegetarian ?) ‘The Tiger’ displays the poet’s excellence in craftsmanship and descriptive skill. In the forest of experience Blake finds the bright- eyed tiger which appears to involve all the cosmic forces. The tiger has made its appearances in the ‘Prophetic books’ of Blake. The poet’s reliance in the cosmic and preternatural forces is increasingly exemplified and asserted when he describes the creation and the creator of the tiger. The creator is a supernatural being and not necessarily the Christian God. The creation, according to another elucidation takes place in an extraordinary cosmic commotion. When the constellations turn round in their course there is a move from light to darkness. The pattern and method of asking questions here are quite different from those employed in ‘The Lamb’. In ‘The Tiger’ the questions are put in a terrified and awe-inspired tone. It is also held that ‘The Tiger’ deals with the colossal problem of evil, but in Blake evil does not exist as an abstract quality. Instead, the evil is embodied in the wrath of God. Christ, like all other Gods, has a dual duty. He punishes the sinners and offenders and loves the followers. Thus Christ or God becomes the God of both love and unkindness. The fire is a popular symbol of wrath. Milton and Spencer have described wrath as fire, but we are not to misapprehend Flake’s use of wrath as one of the ‘deadly sins’ by the miracle and morality plays. Blake finds virtue in wrath and what he describes in the righteous indignation or the wrath of a pious soul. In addition to this, if we also construe the symbolic meaning of the forest, then we can substantiate the meaning of the lines. â€Å"Tiger Tiger burning bright In the forests of the night. † The poet is struck with surprise and awe to behold the wild animal’s majestic elegance and grandeur. Its symmetry is fearful and the glow of its eyes is unearthly. When the process of creation is over, â€Å"a terrible beauty is born. † The strength of the animal and its moves/ are its peculiar features. The tiger beyond its superficial tatty is a prototype of God whose harsher aspect is present n the wildness of the creature. It is a contrast and counterpart to the innocence of the lamb. The poet wonders: â€Å"Did he who made the Lamb make thee? † In the poem ‘The Tiger’ a description of the process of creation is given, but no clarification is given about who the creator is. In the first stanza the creator is described as having wings by which he may have reached the skies to bring the fire for the luster of the wild beast. The creation of the tiger is conveyed in words and phrases which, though meaningful in their totality, do not yield any explicit elucidation of the creator. We sense the strong shoulders thrusting forward in the process of forging the body of the carnivore. The dexterity of the strokes is further conveyed in the ‘dread hand’ which is gifted with unprecedented craftsmanship. If the ‘dread feet’ and ‘dread hand’ are applied to those of the busily engaged creator we can elicit the fact that those limbs are busy in working diligently. At the moment of achieving the perfection of his sublime creation the poem grows tense, the questions are broken in midway and the speaker’s hindered gasps let out incomplete harass of exclamation. â€Å"The star floor. The watery shore. Is given thee till the break of day. † In the world of innocence even the meanest creature such as a lamb (which is low only in the eyes of human beings) is treated as having unbound divinity. Here is an exclusive unification of the three characters- Christ, child and the Lamb who constitute the Christian concept of ‘Trinity in the world of innocence. Flake’s concept of God is closely aligned to his mysticism. He conceives of God as the very epitome of characteristics which man is capable of developing. If he nurtures these qualities, an can attain godliness-it merely depends on what set of qualities a man develops. A child asks a lamb if it knows its merciful creator, its feeder or the giver of its delightful and coos clothing of fleece. He also asks the lamb whether it knows who gave it its tender voice that fills the valleys with pleasant Joy and music. Quite childlike, the lines â€Å"Little lamb who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? † are repeated, presumable with wonder in the eyes of the child. The speaker does not wait for any answer. He tells the lamb that its creator is one who is called after the name of the lamb itself. He is one who calls Himself a lamb. He is meek and mild and came on earth as a little child. The poem comes to have a meaningful pause at this juncture. The questions are asked, answers done and the child (or the poet) turns to conclude the lines in a wise hymnal vein or spiritual implication. He says: â€Å"l a child, and thou a lamb, We are called by His name:† Blake intends to suggest that the great purpose of wrath is to consume error, to annihilate those stubborn beliefs which cannot be removed by the tame â€Å"horses of instruction. It is typical of Blake to ask questions when he is overpowered by wonder ND amazement and it is effective especially in the case of this poem, where it results in an â€Å"intense improvisation†. The phrase fearful symmetry- whatever is possible in symbolic suggestions- is clearly the initial puzzle† the ‘symmetry implies an orderin g hand or intelligence, the fearful’ throws doubt about the benevolence of the creator. The forest of the night’ is the darkness out of which the tiger looms brilliant by contrast: They also embody the doubt or confusion that surrounds the origins of the tiger. In the case of the lamb the creator â€Å"is meek and he is mild†:†He became a little hill†. In the case of the tiger creator is again like what he creates. The form that must be supplied Him is now that of the Promethean Smith working violently at the forge. The tiger is an image of the Creator: its dreaded terror must be His. â€Å"In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thin eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire? † There is scarcely any poem in Songs of Innocence and of Experience which does not have a symbolic or allegorical or allusive implication. Though these poems are rendered in the simplest possible poems is somewhat scriptural- simple and rebound at the same time. The Biblical allusions add prodigious significance to his poems when foe example, we read the ‘The Shepherd’ it commemorates Christ as the Good Shepherd and reminds us that the parables are clad in pastoral elements. Without reference to the Bible the poem, ‘The Shepherd’ is meaningless and insignificant. Furthermore, Blake makes use of Biblical phrases too, as we see in the poem ‘The Lamb’. Gave thee life, and bid thee feed, By the stream and o’er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing, woolly, bright: Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice? † In Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Flake’s symbols are not as obscure or abstruse as we find them in his other poems. In his later poems (Prophetic Books) they are rather incomprehensible. The principal symbols used by Blake have been classified by critics as innocence symbols. Many of these, of course, overlap, and among themselves weave richness into Flake’s poetry. Then come home, my children, the sun is gone down, And the dews of night arise†¦ † In the first, the word ‘dews’ evokes an image of harmlessness but in the second context it evokes a feeling of chill and damp. In the first there is a feeling that the eight will pass, but in the second poem the word â€Å"dew’ assumes further ramifications of meaning. It implies materialism, the philosophy of experience, the indifference to spiritual truth. Knowledge of these symbolic meanings enriches our understanding of the poem. Blake gives his own interpretation to traditional symbols. The rose traditionally associated with love and modesty assumes the aura of ‘sicknesses and disease in Blake for he considered love to be free and honest and open in order to be good. The lily’s purity assumes added depth in Flake’s poetry, not because it is chaste but because it feels honestly. The sun flower’s movement with the sun has deep meaning: on the one hand it represents a search for spirituality: on the other, it expresses regret for being attached to the ground. The simple vocabulary and movement of Flake’s verse should not lull us into a feeling that the thought too is childish. Indeed there is a complex thread of syllogism in his poetry that gives multiple layers of meaning to his words. Sometimes this syllogism even lends obscurity to his poems because it evolves out of Flake’s own system of symbols. The manner in a particular mood is a remarkable illustrated in the ‘Nurse’s Songs’ in Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience occur in both poems: yet the feelings evoked because of the accompanying words are in sharp contrast. â€Å"To this day they dwell In a lonely dell. Nor fear the wolfish howl Nor the lion’s growl. The world of ‘Experience’ welcomes a child of sorrow, who rather than being a fiend himself is also born into a monstrous world of totems and taboos. Strange to notice, it is not actually upon the growing boy that the shadows of prison house close; on the other hand, the shadows spread on the infant at the moment of birth itself. Predictably enough, there is no scope of a ‘heaven’ lying about its infancy. Its struggle begins from the very moment of its birth, it is choked from the very start of its life and it finds its only rest on its mother’s breast. As a contrast to ‘Infant Joy here the child is not a ‘Joy but a fiend’ and neither its mother nor the father, though it is not explicit from Flake’s poem, accords a warm s welcome to him. The child hides behind the cloud. The speaker is evidently the child himself who laments against life. â€Å"But to go to school in a summer morn, Oh! It drives all Joy away Under a cruel eye outworn The little ones spend the day In sighing and dismay. † Admittedly, the poem brings out Flake’s ideas on love and hints at his well-known belief that sex is not sinful. For Blake nakedness is a symbol of pure innocence and he lauds uninhabited love. The Golden Age is that in which the people have love for their fellowmen and mingle with one another freely. In the Golden Age love is not a crime but a grace and beauty signaling unbridled innocence, but in the present age the most tender sentiments are frozen by the trembling fear’ coming from the cruel eyes of experience. â€Å"In every cry of every Man In every Infant’s cry of fear In every voice, in every ban The mind-forged manacles I hear. Flake’s vision of man in Songs of Experience, especially with reference to ‘A Divine Image’ can be summed up as, The human dress is forge iron The human form is a fiery forge, The human face a furnace sealed, The human heart its hungry gorge. † The poem ‘A Divine Image’ is a contrast to ‘The Divine Image’ in its very title. In ‘The Divine Image’, the definite article ‘Theâ€⠄¢ shows the real, one and only Divine Image. In ‘A Divine Image’ the indefinite article ‘A’ points at a particular divine image which has a unique growth. The contrast is also visible in the two stanzas of these two poems. â€Å"For Mercy has a human heart, Pity a human face, And Love the human form divine. Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace†¦ † Can be seen as a stark contrast to the lines of ‘A Divine Image’ that run as: â€Å"Cruelty has a human heart And Jealousy a human face; Terror the human form divine And Secrecy the human dress. † This is truly terrifying. His soul (the human form) is burning with frightfulness within the iron body of secrecy (the condition of deceit; his face is a furnace sealed up wherein Jealousy rages; his heart is recklessly cruel. The imagery is similar to that of ‘The Tiger’, but where the Tiger had broken all bounds as a symbol of regeneration, man is here imprisoned in a ‘dress’ of an iron suit, of his own forging; and all his energies burn within it, consuming him. â€Å"For I dance, And strength and breadth, And the want Of thought is death;† Blake is not merely a revolutionary thinker on man’s physical or corporeal freedom; he is also one who broods over the spiritual freedom or spiritual salvation of mankind. The former point, showing Blake as a humanitarian, cans be well understood from poems such as ‘The Chimney-sweeper’, ‘Holy Thursday and ‘A little Girl Lost’. In all these cases Flake’s fury makes him lash out at the hypocrisy of man and the society that enslaves children to utter lifelessness. In ‘Holy Thursday Flake’s sympathetic and compassionate heart shares the agony of the children and his pent up feelings are let out through an ironical comment: â€Å"Beneath them sit the aged men wise guardians of the poor, Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door. William Blake is considered a precursor of Romantic Movement in English Literature. Romanticism laid considerable stress on the elements of imagination, tauter worship, humanitarianism, liberty, mysticism and symbolism. It differed from the outlook expounded by the preceding age of Neo classicism which promoted the notion of reason, balance and logic with regard t o prose and poetry. The Romantic creed of poetry rests on recording the simple emotions of humanity in a simple diction. Recollections of childhood (nostalgia) are also a common subject of Romanticism. When the voice of children are heard on the green And whisperings are in the dale, The days of my youth rise fresh in my mind, My face turns green and pale. † But of, the flood of feelings gains more fury in the poem of the same title in Songs of Experience: â€Å"Is this a holy thing to see In a rich and fruitful land. Babes reduced to misery, Fed with cold and usurious hand? † With vehemence Blake argues for the freedom of human energy too. He deplores any religion that denies sexual and emotional life of man. Virility and vigor are divine and its free play should never be hindered. He is called by thy name, For he calls Himself a Lamb. He is meek, and He is mild; He became a little child. † Many of Flake’s poems celebrate the divinity and innocence of not merely the child UT also the least harmless of creatures on earth, namely the lamb. The child asks the lamb if it knows who has created out. The child does not wait but answers his questions himself. He does so, we feel, not because the lamb cannot communicate, but because the child is so enthusiastic and eager to mention the creator and his virtues. He refers to the meekness of Christ, his glorious infancy as well as his reference to himself as a lamb. He concludes with a reference to his own and the lamb’s affinity to God and thus establishes their oneness. Qualities of simplicity, innocence and divinity are extended even to the world of animals and the innocent creatures like the lamb are raised from their level of lowness in the human eye. Both the child and Christ are unified with the lamb and the three forms the Trinity on earth. â€Å"Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright In the forest of the night, What immortal hand or eye Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? In ‘The Shepherd’ the Shepherd is depicted as enjoying vast freedom, and his fortune is praised. He is so fortunate that he can wander about in carefree way wherever he chooses and sing in praise of God. Not only is he always near his lambs, listening to heir innocent cries, bleats and answering bleats ,but he is never exposed to the world of ‘Experien ce’ where he may be startled by roars of cruelty and fierceness. This is a simple pastoral poem in which liberty and freedom are praised. We are again brought to realize the affinity of lamb and innocence. Frowning, frowning night, O’er this desert bright Let the moon arise, While I close my eyes. † The pastoral convention, which represents the occupations of shepherds in an idealized way, against an idealized country background had to face severe criticism in the eighteenth century because of its unreality. It was held that men and women were neither so Joyful nor carefree, nor so innocent, as they were represented; but according to Blake, young children do have these qualities, they live in a golden world of their own. This convention is used by Blake to give us an insight into childhood, and one ‘state of human soul’. In the poem, the poet tells us about the valley along which he goes piping and about his sudden meeting with a child. The child bids him pipe a song about a lamb- another pastoral element. The ‘pipe’ is a conventional pastoral musical organ on which the shepherds play melodiously as the sheep graze. It is also worth nothing that when the child appeals to him to write down the song, the poet says â€Å"And I plucked a hollow reed, And I made a rural pen And I stained the water clear, And I wrote my happy songs Every child may Joy to hear. The phrase ‘reed’, ‘rural pen’ and Water clear’ contributes much to the elements of pastorals or rustic innocence. In the so-called world of experience, callousness, tyranny and insincerity await the blithe new-comer and subject him to an entire transformation. The child -turned-youth experiences a curb on his spontaneous instincts, by the repelling codes of social moralities and etiquette. There is hypo crisy in full swing and there is cruelty. In this unsanitary forge, he is reshaped and bestowed with an altered outlook. He is no more the rollicking child. His fertile imagination yields to the aged atrophied intellect and mature reason. He is in fact fallen’ or ‘lapsed’- fallen from his primordial abode of life. â€Å"What the hammer? What the chain? The two diverse natures- Innocence and Experience are essential for the ultimate salvation of his soul. From experience man moves to a world of higher innocence. Blake seems to argue that Joy and peace, which man had experienced in his holding, can have solid foundations only if man has experienced and overcome the impediments and unpleasant realities which day to-day life presents. That is to say, to attain a higher innocence man must be tested by suffering and misery, physical as well as emotional; he must go through the actual experience of life. Through the state of childhood innocence is charming; it is not prefect and cannot last long. For spiritual elevation, lessons from both experience and innocence are essential. â€Å"And it bears the fruit of Deceit, Ruddy and sweet to eat: And the raven his nest has made In its thickest shade. † Flake’s The Tiger blends child-like innocence with adult wisdom. The child-like innocence is revealed in the volley of questions and exclamations about the fearful symmetry of the tiger’s body and the reactions of the stars and God to the tiger’s creation. Like the innocent child the poet wonders to know who framed the tiger’s body, fearful but well-proportioned: â€Å"What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? † The following volley of questions bears the stamp of child-like innocence: â€Å"Shades of the prison-house begin to close Upon the growing boy. † Like a child not contaminated by the evils of experience the poet is curious to know what instruments were used to frame the tiger’s â€Å"fearful symmetry’. With the innocence of the child the poet thinks that the angels were so amazed to see the fearful tiger created that they threw down their spears and wept. He also wonders if God smiled with satisfaction to see his new creation (I. E. The tiger) – the wondering that becomes a child. Uniform spring and your day are wasted in play, And your winter and night in disguise. † With this child-like innocence is blended adult wisdom. The Tiger expresses the sadism (I. . Experience) that comes of age that becomes a man who has gone through his life. The wisdom sought to be conveyed is as follows. Man passes from innocence to experience. And for experience man has to pay a bitter price not merely in such unimportant things as comfort and peace of mind, but in the highest spiritual values. Experience debases and perverts noble desire. It destroys the state of childlike innocence and puts destructive forces in its place. It breaks the free life of imagination and substitutes a dark, cold, imprisoning fear, and the result is a deadly low to blithe human spirit. The fear and denial of life which come with experience breed hypocrisy which is as grave a sin as cruelty. To destroy these forces of experiences the benign creator assumes the role of a malignant creator. In the scheme of things the tiger is as much a necessity as the lamb. So the God who created the lamb also created tiger. In other words, is not only a God of mercy, but also a God of wrath, the creator of Satan and social and political cataclysms. Flake’s conception of God here betrays a striking similarity with the Hondo hydrological Avatar theory. Round the laps of their mothers Many sisters and brothers, Like birds in their nest, Are ready for rest; And sport no more seen On the darkening Green. † It is indispensable that the boy who enjoyed full freedom and liberty in innocence ought to pass into experience. This is because the design of human life gives prominence to the contrariety of human nature without which there is no ‘progression’. A complete life on earth meaner the life of innocence and experience. Without experience or innocence the life cycle is incomplete and imperfect. The memos of Songs of Innocence and of Experience are based on this viewpoint of contrariety. â€Å"Why of the sheep do you not learn peace Because I don’t want you to shear my fleece. † ‘The Tiger’ is typically representative of the most characteristic features of ‘experience’ which in the poetic context of Blake involves deep meaning. From this powerful symbol we construe that Blake was a devotee of energy which, for him, was an aspect of true divinity. In this poem the poet’s irrepressible curiosity at the extraordinarily exquisite creation of God finds its vent in small broken questions. After wondering at the symmetry of its body and stripes, the luster of its eyes, the strong muscles, elegant paws and its powerful strides, the poet turns to the reaction of the creator when he beholds his own creation. The poet says that God may have smiled at the surrender of the rebelling angels at his own master craftsmanship in the creation of the tiger. The ‘stars’ are the rebellious angels under Satan. When they failed to defeat God and were beaten they threw down their spears as in surrender and moaned for their defeat. It is after this event that God started creating inhabitants for the earth. So, at the time of the defeat of the rebelling angels, God might have Just finished the creation of the awesome tiger and smiled on his hidden purpose behind all his acts. â€Å"Because I was happy upon the heath, And smiled among the winter’s snow, They clothed me in the clothed of death, And taught me to sing the notes of woe. † ‘The Lamb’ is the most significant poem in the section of Innocence not merely because it propounds the idea of innocence in the simplest way, but also because here we notice the poet extending the world of innocence even to the animals that re insignificant and base in the human eye. In this poem we see a child patting a lamb and asking if it knows who the giver of its life and brad is. He asks it whether it knows who has given it the silken fleece immaculate white and thin voice of its bleat. The child himself answers his questions. He defines the Almighty God as who is known after the name of his lamb who is meek and gentle. Since God descended to the earth as infant Jesus he is also called a child. The child, lamb and God are all brought to unite to form a single divine entity. The essence of the poem lies in these How to cite William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, Papers

Elasticity on Demand, Breakeven Analysis and Pricing Decisions free essay sample

When a firm changes prices, the effect on profits is more important than the effect on revenue. There is a simple formula to calculate the critical Price Elasticity of demand which is just sufficient to maintain the contribution to overheads and profits. This will be greater than that required to maintain revenue. A common issue in business and in business studies is whether a firm should change the prices at which products are offered. The calculations begin with estimates of the reaction of customers to the new prices. This reaction is represented as Price Elasticity of Demand (PED), the ratio of the proportionate changes in volume and price. Students are always told and some students even remember that Elastic Demand (PED gt;1) means more revenue from a lower price and less from a higher one; and Inelastic Demand (PED But who wants the same revenue with lower profits? Any change in price will have a much bigger impact, proportionately, on the contribution per item for the firm than on the asking price to the customer. We will write a custom essay sample on Elasticity on Demand, Breakeven Analysis and Pricing Decisions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It follows that an increase in price may succeed in raising profits, even though revenue falls; and that a lower price may reduce profits even though revenue increases. So the critical question is not whether the PED is greater or less than one, but whether it is sufficiently high (for a lower price) or sufficiently low (for a price increase) to improve profits. The critical level of PED can be found by an application of breakeven analysis. We can take the current level of contribution to overheads and profit; and ask what the volume (units sold) must be to give the same level of contribution at the alternative price. Having found this critical volume, we can then compute what the PED would be to give us this volume at the new price, compared with the existing price and quantity. This then will be the Critical Price Elasticity of Demand (CPED). If we are raising prices, any PED less than CPED will increase profits; if we are lowering price, we want PED to be more than CPED. And while there is no way, short of trying the price change, to know what the PED actually is, a firm may well have sensible ideas about the likelihood of its being significantly greater or less than a specified value. It may seem that calculating the CPED is rather a waste of time, since we should have to calculate the required change in quantity first; and might just as well reckon our chances of getting this volume after our price change, without entering into Elasticity computations at all. However it turns out that there is a very simple formula for calculating the CPED.