The African Country of Mozambique :: Geography

The African Country of Mozambique Mozambique is a country located on the southeast coast of Africa. It covers 308,642 square miles and has a population of about sixteen million. Maputo is the capitol, largest city, and chief port. Mozambique was governed by Portugal from the early 1500's until 1975 when it became independent after a ten year struggle against Portuguese rule. Mozambique is now controlled by Frelimo (the front for the liberation of Mozambique) the nations only political party. The president of Frelimo is also the nations president. Mozambiques highest governmental power lies with the parties central committee which is made up of fifteen members appointed by Frelimo. This party appoints the two hundred and ten members of the peoples assembly,(Mozambiques legislative body).This group meets twice a year. It's permanent committee handles legislative matters between sessions. Most Mozambicans are black Africans. Other groups such as Arabs, Europeans, and Pakistanis make up less than one percent of the population. Most blacks belong to groups that speak one of the Bantu languages. The largest of these groups, the Makua-Lomwe, accounts for forty percent of the population. The countries official language is Portuguese but few blacks can speak it. Some Mozambicans speak English when conducting business activities. Most Mozambicans are farmers with extremely simple techniques although farmers in some areas of the country use modern techniques. Fifty five percent of the people of Mozambique practice traditional African religions. Of this large group, many are animists who believe that everything in nature has a soul. Others worship spirits of their ancestors. About thirty percent of the population is Christian, mostly Roman Catholic. Many of the remaining are Muslim. Only about twenty five percent of Mozambiques people fifteen or older can read or write but the government has begun programs to help improve education. Almost one half of Mozambique is covered by a flat plain that extends inland from the coast. Land rises steadily beyond the plain and high plateaus and mountains run along much of the western border. Sand dunes and swamps line the coast. Grasslands and tropical rain forests cover much of the country. Many sizable rivers flow east through Mozambique into the Indian Ocean, there basins have extremely fertile soil. Cashew trees and coconut palms grow throughout the country. Animal life in Mozambique includes crocodiles, The African Country of Mozambique :: Geography The African Country of Mozambique Mozambique is a country located on the southeast coast of Africa. It covers 308,642 square miles and has a population of about sixteen million. Maputo is the capitol, largest city, and chief port. Mozambique was governed by Portugal from the early 1500's until 1975 when it became independent after a ten year struggle against Portuguese rule. Mozambique is now controlled by Frelimo (the front for the liberation of Mozambique) the nations only political party. The president of Frelimo is also the nations president. Mozambiques highest governmental power lies with the parties central committee which is made up of fifteen members appointed by Frelimo. This party appoints the two hundred and ten members of the peoples assembly,(Mozambiques legislative body).This group meets twice a year. It's permanent committee handles legislative matters between sessions. Most Mozambicans are black Africans. Other groups such as Arabs, Europeans, and Pakistanis make up less than one percent of the population. Most blacks belong to groups that speak one of the Bantu languages. The largest of these groups, the Makua-Lomwe, accounts for forty percent of the population. The countries official language is Portuguese but few blacks can speak it. Some Mozambicans speak English when conducting business activities. Most Mozambicans are farmers with extremely simple techniques although farmers in some areas of the country use modern techniques. Fifty five percent of the people of Mozambique practice traditional African religions. Of this large group, many are animists who believe that everything in nature has a soul. Others worship spirits of their ancestors. About thirty percent of the population is Christian, mostly Roman Catholic. Many of the remaining are Muslim. Only about twenty five percent of Mozambiques people fifteen or older can read or write but the government has begun programs to help improve education. Almost one half of Mozambique is covered by a flat plain that extends inland from the coast. Land rises steadily beyond the plain and high plateaus and mountains run along much of the western border. Sand dunes and swamps line the coast. Grasslands and tropical rain forests cover much of the country. Many sizable rivers flow east through Mozambique into the Indian Ocean, there basins have extremely fertile soil. Cashew trees and coconut palms grow throughout the country. Animal life in Mozambique includes crocodiles,

Summary of the Poem

Explore the ways in which Hopkins conveys the beauty of the nature in Pied Beauty? Hopkins creates a prayer like poem in praise of the beauty and design of nature that God has created. He chooses unusual descriptions to encapsulated the variety of beautiful sights and sounds that can be found in the world and celebrates the astonishing complexity of God's creation in this pared down sonnet. He creates a reverent and worshipful tone that epitomizes his feelings of awe and wonder when confronted with the natural world. Firstly ‘Pied Beauty' is a prayer like poem.We can see this at the beginning and end Of the poem when it says ‘Glory be to God for dappled things' and ‘Praise him'. This reminds us a lot of a prayer as we start a prayer with God and end with God this is a simple message from the poet that is he is writing about nature he is writing about god. Also it is a short poem, which makes a simple point. Secondly this poems design has a range of nature, which sta rts of big a gets smaller for example it starts of with the sky to cow to trout to chestnuts then finally with ‘finches wings'.So he really shows us the range of nature from the massive sky to tiny little, delicate finches wings. Thirdly ‘Pied Beauty has some unusual descriptions for example to describe the sky he says ‘For skies of -couple color as a branded cow' now here we can see that what he means is brindle but the author has change it to either fit the poem or because he thinks it sounds better. He means brindle as in striped with different colors this is unusual but a very good way to describe the sky. Fourthly Gerald Manly Hopkins uses a variety of beauty in his poem.He uses sights and sounds to his advantage we can see this when he says ‘swift, slow' and ‘sweet, sour he make these very opposite comparisons with nature. Fifthly the poem has astonishing complexity this has happened because he has made up his own words up for example ‘brand ed cow' and ‘couple-color' this makes him very individual. This also makes sounds very effective and makes us think more about the poem and what it is about. He makes words that are very similar to that actual one but he either changes them or edits hem for example ‘branded' which is actually ‘brindle'.Sixthly the pared down sonnet is very irregular as a normal sonnet has 14 lines here the sonnet has only eleven. However the poem has regular meter beats of ‘A, B, C, A, B, C, D, B, C, D, C' so it is regular apart from the last five lines which make their own meter. Seventh the worshipful tone this is a very religious poem and they have to make that impression by the time you have finished the poem. They achieve this by the last line it is very short and says ‘Praise him' this is a very simple one which makes it more affective.It also it very memorable as it is very short and to the point. It reminds us of a prayer as in a prayer you end with amen and her e it is ‘Praise him' they are both really short and to the point. Awe and wonder, in conclusion, In this way, we can see how Hopkins creates a powerful poem that skillfully describes and praises the beauty of nature. He achieves this through carefully chosen images that economically portray natural images whilst structuring a reverent piece of almost religious quality.

Advice for Drama Teachers - Rehearsal Activities

Recently, we received a message in our Plays/Drama forum. We thought we would share it with you because it touches upon an issue many directors and drama teachers deal with. Here it is: I am currently working on my major production that my drama class is putting on at the end of next month. There are 17 students in the cast, but obviously some have bigger parts than others. Any suggestions for what I can get those with smaller parts to do while they are not on stage? They are really struggling with just watching the rehearsals (when not involved), and since its a class, I feel I should be making them do something, since they are also getting a credit for the course. Im just not sure how to make the best use of these students. Whenever youre directing youth theater, many of the children will smaller roles. Therefore, youll have to make certain those children dont waste their time during rehearsals. Your goal should be not just to put on a great show, but to make certain all  performers (no matter how small the part) improve their acting and their knowledge of the theatrical arts. If you find yourself in a similar situation, then yours is a challenging problem that many teachers and youth theater directors face. If this were a professional production, you would be able to focus your attention on the principal actors. However, as an instructor, you want all of your performers to have a positive educational experience. Lets explore some ideas for  making  the most out of your rehearsals. Choose Plays to Fit The Cast Size This first rule is simple — but its important. If you know that you will be directing a cast of twenty or more kids, make certain that you dont choose a play where only three characters have lines and the rest are lingering in the background. Some family-themed shows such as Annie or Oliver have a lot of kids in one or two scenes, and thats it. The rest of the show focuses on only a handful of characters. Therefore, look for scripts that offer a lot of little but juicy roles in addition to the lead characters. Background Extras Enhance the Setting Lets assume it is too late to pick another script. What then? Go through the play and find all of the scenes in which actors can liven up the background. Are there any crowd scenes? Are there scenes that take place in a park? A senior center? A courtroom? On film sets, there is an assistant director (AD), with one of the primary jobs of the AD being to place the background extras — actors who may simply walk across the scene or play a part in the crowd. With that introduction, before you watch an AD in action, you might figure it to be a simple job. But while  watching an experienced AD work youll realize that theres an artistry to directing background. Characters in the background can help to establish the setting and the energy of the play. If your show has a large cast with several crowd scenes, make the most of it. Create a whole world on the stage. Even if the young actors dont have a single line, they can convey a character and enhance the play. Create Character Outlines No matter how big or small the role, every young actor can benefit from character outlines. If you are directing the principals and the ensemble cast members have some downtime, ask them to write about their characters. Ask them to respond to some of these prompts: Describe your characters personality.What thoughts are going through your characters mind?What goals and dreams does your character have?What worries or frightens your character?Describe your characters most embarrassing moment.Describe your characters greatest triumph. If time allows, the cast members could develop scenes (either written or improvisational) showing these not-so-minor characters in action. And if you have any students that enjoy reading and writing, teach them more about creative ways to analyze plays to get more out of the experience and possibly influence them to write their own work. Practice Scene Work If the students/actors have a lot of downtime during rehearsal, give them sample scenes from other plays to work on. This will allow them to learn more about the diverse world of theater, and it will help them become more versatile performers. Also, this is an easy way for them to sharpen their acting skills in order to land a larger role in the next production. Toward the end of rehearsal, make certain you set aside time for the students to perform their scene work to the rest of the cast. If you are able to do this consistently, the students with the smaller roles will still be able to get a great deal of acting experience — and those who observe the scenes will get a taste of the classic and contemporary pieces you present. Improv! Improv! Improv! Yes, whenever the cast is down in the dumps, cheer up your young performers with a quick improvisation exercise. Its a great way to warm up before rehearsal, or a fun way to wrap things up. For more ideas, check out our list of improv activities. Behind the Scenes Oftentimes students sign up for a drama class as an elective, and even though they love the theater, they arent yet comfortable being in the spotlight. (Or maybe they just arent ready yet.) In that case, teach the participants about the technical aspects of theater. They could spend their free time during rehearsals learning lighting design, assistant directing, sound effects, costumes, prop management, and marketing strategies. But however you involve your young actors, make certain you are giving them creative work — NOT busy work. Give them projects that will challenge them artistically and intellectually. And, above all, show them through example how fun the theater can be.