Introduction to 'Enuma Elish'

The Enuma Elish is an ancient creation poem from the Babylonian era which was published on seven clay tablets consisting of around 115-170 lines per tablet. It is estimated the tablets were written around the 18th century BCE, because this was when the feature god of the tablet, Marduk, was a popular figure. The poem is integral to understanding the Babylonian worldview of creation and mankind's service to the gods. It is also a story about Marduk rising as the chief god of Babylon above all other gods in this time.

One of the clay tablets

The name 'Enuma Elish' is taken from the first two words of the poem and when translated from the original Akkadian means 'when on high' or 'when in the heights'. The poem can be split into two parts, the first involves the beginning of the universe and the birth of the Babylonian gods and the second part is an epic battle between the god Marduk and the mother goddess Tiamat and the god Kingu-eventually leading to Marduk being the ruling god of gods. In the final phase of the poem the city of Babylon is created for Marduk with a temple for him known as 'Esagilla' and Marduk is announced as the central god of Babylon.

In the beginning the universe is not yet formed but there was water, Apsu the fresh water and his wife Tiamat the salt water and chaotic oceans. After some time the water mixes together and new gods arise bring into creation the universe. Apsu has no patience for the commotion of the other gods and decides to murder them all, Tiamat tries to stop him but is unsuccesful. Eventually Apsu is conquered by his great grandson Ea with a sleeping spell. Ea then has his own son, the god Marduk who is a favourite among the other gods, and he is gifted the winds to play with. His winds upset the salty seas which enrages Tiamat who has since given birth to a new group of gods to her new husband Kingu. Tiamat creates eleven monsters to fight for her and appoints Kingu as the supreme leader, in the end however Marduk defeats Tiamt and becomes very powerful. Marduk forms the world from the corpse of Tiamat and mankind is created from the blood of Kingu to serve the gods and do all their labor on earth for them.

Marduk attempting to kill Tiamut

Research the following questions:
Why was Babylon such a significant place for Jews?
How did Babylon affect Judaism?
What happened to the Jewish religion as a result of the Jews residing in Babylon?
Who is the author of the Enuma Elish?
What century was the Enuma Elish written and when was Genesis 1 and 2 written?
Who is the relevant audience to the Enuma Elish?
What is the literary style of the Enuma Elish? Identify literary features to justify your answer.
What purpose do creation stories serve?
Complete a list of the differences and similarities between the Enuma Elish and the Genesis creation stories.

'Romeo and Juliet' is not a play of love, but a play of hate

'Romeo and Juliet' is often referred to as one of the greatest love stories of all time but no love can survive because of the suffocating hate which engulfs the characters. Immediately readers are told that Romeo and Juliet meet a fatal end because of the loathsome feud between their families, the only thing which could finally end it is the extreme, worst case scenario of their children dying. "The continuance of their parents' rage, which, but their children's end, naught could remove" (Act 1, Prologue). Such hate could only be vanquished by such tragedy, love had no chance at exterminating the hate, and this is what leads to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. If love has no chance, no power throughout the play, then how can 'Romeo and Juliet' be a story of love? It must be a story of hate and the power hate reaps through the lives of those in the play.

Following the prologue the play immediately begins with a quarrel between the Montagues and the Capulets where the reader can unequivocally see that there is an intense hate between the two families. Tybalt declares that peace is as equally repulsive as the Montagues, "...talk of peace! I hate the word as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee." (Act 1, Scene 1). Readers can also see that age has not softened the disdain between Montague and Capulet as they pathetically in their old age seek to quarrel and uphold their reputations as "enemies of peace" (Act 1, Scene 1).

Tybalt hating on everything

From all this animosity readers are expected to believe that the greatest love can occur from this uncontrollable hate. When Romeo tries to abolish the hate Tybalt has for him following Romeo attending the Capulet party, his passiveness and affection has no affect against the raging Tybalt. "Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting" (Act 3, Scene 1). Romeo can not minimise the situation or the hate Tybalt has for him, even though Tybalt and Romeo scarcely know each other, "boy, this shall not excuse the injuries that thou hast done me" (Act 3, Scene 1). Romeo's loving response to Tybalt angers Mercutio who is "soon moved to be moody, and as soon moody to be moved" (Act 3, Scene 1). Mercutio intervenes between Romeo and Tybalt, fueling the anger and disdain for each other and leading to the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt. All this happened because love did not match the strength of hate and Romeo's "calm, dishonourable, vile submission" (Act 3, Scene 1). Romeo's love for Tybalt turns to hate, Mercutio curses the houses and the rift between the Montagues and the Capulets continues to grow.

Romeo's attempt to keep the peace through loving acts instead of anger and violence proves to have no affect because the intense loathing between the characters of the play is far too strong. Even his soft and feminine nature quickly turns to violent and impulsive like Tybalt, Benvolio and Mercutio. Romeo and Juliet who passionately love each other, so much so that they disobeyed their families and marry in secrect, end up failing because of the hate between their families. The "love sprung from my only hate" (Act 1 Scene 5) can not overcome the intense and longstanding disdain between the two families.

Fate is absent in 'Macbeth', only free will prevails

Fate in the plays of William Shakespeare helps to create a mysterious and ambiguous mood that entices readers and makes them question the motives of his characters.In the play 'Romeo and Juliet' readers are told from the start that Romeo and Juliet are "a pair of star cross'd lovers" (Act 1, Prologue) which sets the mood that fate is at play leaving little control in the hands of the young couple. Throughout the pair are confronted with omens which only furthers the idea that the tragic ending is an inescapable demise, "my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the stars...some vile forfeit of untimely death" (Act 1, Scene 4). Fate is clearly at play in 'Romeo and Juliet' but the same can not be said for 'Macbeth' which is obviously a story of free will concealed under the idea of fate. 'Macbeth' is sometimes perceived as a tragic journey giving readers the impression that fate is forcibly making Macbeth embark down this path, however this is not the case.

Macbeth going to kill Duncan

From the start of the play the witches reveal their premeditated encounter with Macbeth where they will embed in him the seeds of their evil game. They eagerly await his approach and instantly reveal to him their 'prophecy' before he has a chance to make a reasonable judgement of them. Macbeth freely listens to them and demands that the witches  speak more to him "stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more" (Act 1, Scene 3). Banquo however approaches the witches in a way one should approach supernatural beings, by showing them that their words no matter how curious they might be, have no impact on him, "speak, then, to me, who neither be nor fear your favours nor your hate" (Act 1, Scene 3). In the beginning Macbeth appears to find the ramblings of the witches as nothing more then nonsense, but he still entertains them and their ideas by requesting to hear more. Macbeth makes the decision to acknowledge what the witches are saying in contrast to Banquo, a decision made by Macbeth and not by fate.

Banquo's ghost/Macbeth's hallucination after killing his friend

Macbeth's eagerness to accept what the witches have told him is evident in his quick explanation of the event to Lady Macbeth. He writes her a letter detailing his encounter with the witches, their prophecies and the unbelievable fulfillment of the the premonition that he would be the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is quick to consider the seriousness of the prophecies, unlike Banquo who sees no merit for himself in what the witches have said "to you they have show'd some truth" (Act 2, Scene 1). At no time in the prophecy did the witches explain that Macbeth would be King through the act of murder, it was on his own accord that he decided to seize the kingdom this way. Macbeth know's that he has made a grave decision and the audience or readers can instantly see he will lose his sanity as a result of his decision. "These deeds must not be thought after these ways' so, it will make us mad" (Act 2, Scene 2), Lady Macbeth predicts the downfall of her and her husband and Macbeth's ramblings foreshadow his descent into guilt ridden madness, "Macbeth shall sleep no more" (Act 2, Scene 2). The fall of the Macbeth's sanity is a result of their own actions and decisions, they have exercised free will and were not fated to commit the murder of Duncan.

Macbeth's murderous rampage is all on his own accord and not the result of of a supernatural predetermined event, the murder of his former friend Banquo and his son Fleance is committed out of fear and has little to do with the prophecy. Following the murder of Duncan and Macbeth's sudden ascent to the throne Banquo calls into the question the ease for which Macbeth has been granted all the witches said to him. "As the Weird Women promised, and, I fear, thou play'dst most foully for 't" (Act 3, Scene 1). Banquo suspects that Macbeth is responsible for the death of Duncan and ridicules Macbeth and his trust in the prophecy of the witches, "myself should be the root and father of many kings...as upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine" (Act 3, Scene 1). Banquo's death only reveals the evil and corrupt nature of Macbeth "barefaced power sweep him from my sight and bid my will avouch it" (Act 3, Scene 1) he uses his power as King to cover up his murder. Banquo's murder proves nothing about fate, but more that Macbeth has freely through his actions shamefully fallen into the mindset of an evil madman.

Although fate is is common element of Shakespearean plays it is only used as a ruse to disguise the terrible decisions Macbeth makes. Macbeth enjoys the idea of fate and prophecies because it helps to veil the wavering line he walks between a proper man and a tyrant. Indeed Macbeth is a man of free will who uses his power to wage chaos and evil, not a man caught up in the fate of three conniving witches.

Seriously though

Life for women in colonial Australia

Modern interpretations of convict history do not depict the injustices women suffered. 

Life for women in colonial Australia was undoubtedly hard because of the lack of equal rights and opportunities for women during this period. Women had very little chances to better their lives in Australia and many of them worked as servants for men. The men did not respect the women and took advantage of them or objectified them for their own benefit, making the living conditions in colonial Australia very dangerous. Maria would avoid looking into the faces of men, she would "avoid the eyes of the men with their thin and filthy faces who'd take a smile as invitation".

Rachel is taken advantage of by Surgeon White and there is little that she can do to help herself because of her position as a woman. He impregnates her, but refuses to marry her because he does not want her to come with him when he returns to England. "Even without her convict past, the tongues would wag if he married the likes of her. Gentleman did not marry servants". Once Rachel gives birth to their son, Andrew, Surgeon White has no issue in taking their child away from his mother and back with him to England, "A father has every right to what happens to his child".

A stereotypical image of early female convicts

There was a big misconception of convict women that they were prostitutes, and as a result were often pressured to pay for things with sexual services. This was however an incorrect notion, because in England prostitution was a not an offence that would result in transportation. Women were unable to own land, even if that land had previously been owned by their father or husband. This is what happens to Maria when Captain Patterson sells all of her husbands land, leaving her without anything."A woman can't own land, not with the Governor's special permit. And we have no governor".

All of these examples in Jackie French's novel "Nanberry Black Brother White" reflect how women had extremely tough lives during colonial Australia and that they were most disadvantaged group of people throughout this time. Out of the 717 convicts who arrived with the first fleet only 188 were women, meaning women were vastly outnumber and put at an even bigger disadvantage. Women of all the groups of people in colonial Australia were the most disadvantaged, nobody had it harder then women in colonial Australia.

Your response should include the following things.

1] Your point of view regarding the issue presented above
2] A well constructed TEEEL paragraph [50-100words]
3] Evidence from the text to support your answer