Why is Shakespeare the greatest writer of all time?

The first point one should make is that there is absolutely no way to prove this claim. There have been many great and influential writers across a wide range of periods and cultures, and there is really no way to measure who is the "greatest." To say Shakespeare is somehow objectively "greater" than Homer, Basho, Lady Murasaki Shikibu, Dante, Sophocles, Tolstoy, or the anonymous author of the Epic of Sundiata is to make a claim that one cannot...

The first point one should make is that there is absolutely no way to prove this claim. There have been many great and influential writers across a wide range of periods and cultures, and there is really no way to measure who is the "greatest." To say Shakespeare is somehow objectively "greater" than Homer, Basho, Lady Murasaki Shikibu, Dante, Sophocles, Tolstoy, or the anonymous author of the Epic of Sundiata is to make a claim that one cannot really support without being narrowly ethnocentric.

What one can actually claim is that Shakespeare is one of the most innovative and influential figures in English literature. He was important for the development of two genres, poetry and drama. In drama, he was a pioneer of the "mixed" drama which blended comic and tragic elements, often by the introduction of "rustics" or "mechanicals" into a drama otherwise dealing with the travails of noble characters. He also is generally credited with inventing the device of the quarreling lovers (such as Beatrice and Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing). Many of Shakespeare's phrases have become part of the common currency of the English language. He was also quite important for his contributions to the evolution of the English sonnet. 

What is the message of the poem "To Autumn" by John Keats?

As always, it's difficult to say what the single most important message of a particular work of literature is, and John Keats' "To Autumn" is no different. However, it is possible to say what one of the major themes/messages is. In general, one can argue that the poem's message focuses on describing the melancholy beauty of the season of autumn and connecting this description to the general beauty of endings and conclusions within the cycles...

As always, it's difficult to say what the single most important message of a particular work of literature is, and John Keats' "To Autumn" is no different. However, it is possible to say what one of the major themes/messages is. In general, one can argue that the poem's message focuses on describing the melancholy beauty of the season of autumn and connecting this description to the general beauty of endings and conclusions within the cycles of the natural world.

Throughout the poem, Keats lingers on the beauty of the natural world during autumn. However in the last stanza, he more forcefully connects autumn to the beauty of endings (or death) within the natural world. For instance, Keats says, "Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn / Among the river sallows, borne aloft / Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies" (27-29), and these lines reference the "death" that autumn ushers in in preparation for winter. However, while melancholy, Keats sees this natural "death" as beautiful in its own right, as it follows a productive harvest that symbolizes a fruitful existence. Keats underscores this melancholy positivity by infusing even this last stanza with exceptionally beautiful natural imagery.

What is ironic about Finny's remark that he knows Gene better than anyone else in A Separate Peace by John Knowles?

It is, indeed, ironic that Finny tells Gene in Chapter 11, "I know you better than anybody," because he truly believes that Gene is his loyal friend. Despite what others suspect and know, Finny does not suspect Gene of any jealousy or of having jounced the tree limb, an action which has caused Finny's terrible fall and broken leg--a shocking fact that Finny learns at the end of this chapter.

Finny's statement about Gene's loyalty comes as he listens to Gene, who helps him with Latin. Gene translates Julius Caesar's recounting of his war against the Gauls. It is revealing of Finny's character that he has never believed that Caesar and ancient Rome ever existed, but thinks that tales of Caesar and Rome were merely created to be the "bane and bore of schoolboys." Nor has he believed that a world war exists now. 

"Naturally I don't believe books and I don't believe teachers,...but I do believe--it's important after all for me to believe you. I've got to believe you, at least. I know you better than anybody."

In affirmation of his faith in Gene, after Gene informs Phineas that Leper has "cracked," Finny tells his roommate that he believes him, and he now believes that there really is a war: "If a war can drive somebody crazy, then it's real all right." But, he does admit that at first he doubted Gene's words, thinking that perhaps Gene's imagination became "a little inflamed in Vermont" when he visited Leper. 

This conversation hints at the possibility of doubt in Finny's mind about everything that Gene says.  This doubt is raised later when Brinker and three "cohorts" enter their room and escort Gene and Finny to the Assembly Room for an "inquiry" into what actually happened on the night that Finny's leg was broken.

Still believing in Gene during his questioning by Brinker about their positions that night, Finny turns to Gene, "You were down at the bottom, weren't you?" When Gene lies and says that he was, Brinker then questions Gene. Further, he asks if Leper Lepellier was there at the river, and a voice affirms that he was, and also states that Leper is on campus. Brinker sends the two cohorts after this new witness, and Leper soon enters the room. Leper testifies that he was standing at the bottom of the tree, and he shaded his eyes against the sun so that he could see above him the two boys:

"The two of them looked as black as--as black as death standing up there with this fire burning all around them."

He testifies that he could not make out the boys; they were just "two shapes." Then he says, "The one who moved first shook the other one's balance." But he will not "implicate" himself; he refuses to answer Brinker on specifics. "I know when I have information that might be dangerous."

Shortly after this, Finny rises and interrupts, "I don't care." Frantically, Gene runs to him, but Finny closes his eyes with his face revealing no expression. "I just don't care. Never mind." He then rushes from the room, shouting with emotion, "You get all your facts!...You collect every fact there is in the world!"

Finny's hurried departure is heard as his cane raps along the corridor; then, his tumbling body is heard striking against the marble stairs. Finny has been devastated by the terrible irony of his having believed that Gene is his loyal friend.

When asked at a seminar at the University of Virginia about the meaning of the title "A Rose for Emily," Faulkner replied, "Oh, it's simply the...

It is true, as Faulkner said, that Emily lives a life of unhappiness. Her only apparent lover, Homer Barron, deserts her, and she deserves some compensation for her life of unrequited love. However, the title could also suggest that giving Emily a rose is akin to paying homage to a lost time. Miss Emily lives in the only house left on a street that has now been turned over to garages. She is representative of...

It is true, as Faulkner said, that Emily lives a life of unhappiness. Her only apparent lover, Homer Barron, deserts her, and she deserves some compensation for her life of unrequited love. However, the title could also suggest that giving Emily a rose is akin to paying homage to a lost time. Miss Emily lives in the only house left on a street that has now been turned over to garages. She is representative of decayed gentility. Faulkner writes, "Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town." She is a responsibility that they must care for, so they let her get away with not paying her taxes and don't question her when she mysteriously purchases arsenic. She is someone people still feel that they must pay obeisance to, and that is what the title could suggest—paying homage to her as a relic of bygone days.

What is the rising action of the plot in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein?

The rising action of a plot is the scenes where critical events enhance or deepen the conflict. That is to say, rising action intensifies the conflict for the protagonist and makes it more difficult to solve the main problem. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, it seems as though any time someone from Victor's family dies the plot thickens. Victor's must take responsibility for giving the creature life and then do something about it. The more Victor avoids this responsibility, the more people die. 

The rising action begins when Victor actually creates the monster. Then he runs away from his creation and doesn't take any responsibility for its life. As a result, the creature is left to fend for itself and deal with his feelings of abandonment. While left alone for two years, the creature learns how to read and speak. The creature's heightened sense of intelligence and self is part of the rising action because it makes him more of a threat to Victor in the future.

Then, when the creature comes back to find Victor, he winds up killing William first. This gets Victor's attention. While on the journey home for William's funeral, Victor sees the creature for the first time by lightning in a storm. It is at this point that he realizes that the creature murdered his brother.

Next, a family servant named Justine is tried and killed because of the creature's crime. If these deaths weren't bad enough, the next rising action occurs when Victor and the creature meet in chapter ten and Victor says the following:

"For the first time, also, I felt what the duties of a creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness" (70). 

From chapter 11 to chapter 16 the creature tells the story of his life since Victor left him helpless two years earlier. Then in chapter 17 the creature asks for a female to be created to subdue his loneliness. This request is part of the rising action because it makes one wonder how Victor will respond to the creature's demands. It takes Victor a long time to start creating the female, but when he is almost finished with her he goes back on his word and destroys the body. This is the next rising action because rather than approach a solution to his problem, he creates a worse problem: now the creature is angrier and more vengeful. The creature vows revenge on Victor's wedding night in response to the destruction of the female creature. 

The next rising action is Victor's best friend Henry Clerval's murder in chapter 21. Still, Victor does nothing to stop the creature or solve the problem. It isn't until the murder of Elizabeth in chapter 23 that Victor finally decides to do something about the creature once and for all. After she dies, an epic chase ensues over vast geographical distances. The creature leads his creator up towards the Arctic, where he finally kills Victor on Captain Walton's ship. Victor's death is the climax that ends the rising action because there is nothing more between creator and creature to fight about. 

What is the difference between value and price?

There is a major distinction in business between the terms value and price.  

Let's start with the term price.  The price of an object or service is what you spend to purchase the product or service.  For instance, if I purchase a television set, the price might be $500.  If I purchase a service, such as a haircut, the price might be $20.  A simple definition of price is the amount one pays to...

There is a major distinction in business between the terms value and price.  

Let's start with the term price.  The price of an object or service is what you spend to purchase the product or service.  For instance, if I purchase a television set, the price might be $500.  If I purchase a service, such as a haircut, the price might be $20.  A simple definition of price is the amount one pays to acquire the product or service.  Price is numerical.  For instance $1, $10, $100 are all numbers.

Conversely, value is the utility of the good or service to the consumer.  In other words, value is a person's opinion about the amount of worth the product or service has to you.  For instance, a business CEO who is about to go into a job interview might highly value an Italian suit because his appearance may impact the reactions of the interview committee.  The price of the Italian suit is high, but the value derived may be greater than the price.  On the other hand, a teacher may not find the same value in an Italian suit because the price is higher than the benefits derived from the suit.  A teacher does not have to dress in an Italian suit to teach children in a classroom.  Value cannot be calculated in numbers and varies from person to person.  

Let's take a classic Adam Smith example of price and value and consider the differences between diamonds and water.  We most certainly need water to survive, but we do not necessarily need diamonds to survive.  Yet, we are willing to pay a much higher price for a diamond than a bottle of water.  Why?  Well that comes down to the ease of acquiring such a product.  Water is abundantly available on Earth.  Diamonds require an intense amount of labor to extract from the Earth, and they are not readily available like water.

Which techniques and practices should be applied to combat soil degradation?

Soil is mostly degraded through erosion, agricultural activities, and industrial activities. Soil erosion occurs when it rains on areas with loose soils. Soil degradation occurs through agricultural and industrial activities because of the chemicals applied to or released in the soil.

Soil erosion can be controlled by growing some vegetative cover on the soil. The plants will stop soil degradation by holding the soil together and preventing soil erosion. Plants will also slow down the surface runoff caused by rain water. Building gabions in areas suffering extreme soil erosion will help stop the degradation.

Soil degradation caused by agricultural activities can be controlled by ensuring farmers use the correct types and amounts of agrochemicals. Constructing terraces in hilly areas can also prevent excessive surface runoff and erosion.

Soil degradation caused by industrial activities can be remedied through the restoration of utilized areas such as quarries. Stronger regulations and restrictions can also be imposed to control the industrial dumping of wastes, which contaminate the environment.