Since the beginning of time, literature has been a core part of human culture

QUESTION 1
Since the beginning of time, literature has been a core part of human culture. It is through literature that human beings are able to interact with one another. The Merchant of Venice is a romantic comedy which gives a good example of how literature provides a source of entertainment as well as, giving an approach to human nature. Literature enable enables us to understand humanity and how people are different from one another in terms of character. Literature also enables us to understand how human mind works by portraying what is going on in someone’s mind (Westling, 2014). The Merchant of Venice also shows how human beings interact with one another. It is a story that brings out laughter due to the down fall of one of the characters known as Antonio. Throughout the play there is a lot of a lot laugher thus making it a comic play. Literature is a form of social studies which provides a form of entertainment. From the readings we see that if people took time to study literature, they would have a deeper and clear understanding of human behavior and also the working of human mind. We also see that study of literature gives one a deeper knowledge on how people interact with one another. Although literature may not be 100% accurate, study reveals that in most cases it is correct (Goody, 2013)
QUESTION 2
Narratives are part of human literature where by stories are shared either in writing or in form of movies. In order for a piece of writing to be considered as a story, it has to have the essential elements within it.

One of the essential elements that make a piece of writing to be considered as a story is setting. Setting includes the place and the time that the story took place. Time includes the period and the year. Place is the exact location that the story was happening. Setting can also be weather conditions and social conditions such as traditions and the code of dressing for the characters (Flaherty, 2009).
Another essential part of a narrative is the plot. Plot is the series of events in a story. It shows how the actions of the characters relate with the story. Plot shows the flow of the story from introduction, rising action, climax, falling action and lastly denouement. Conflict shows the opposition between characters in the story. It is conflict that forms the essential part of the plot for without it there would be no plot. Characters are people or animals that take part in the story. Characters are fictional and have different traits in order to make the story interesting. A story must have a core belief which is known as theme (McCarthy, 2009).
QUESTION 3
Romeo is a main character in Shake spears Romeo and Juliet. At the start of the comedy he is in love with Rosaline. He however abandons Rosaline after meeting Juliet. Romeo is an intelligent guy who is quick to respond to any questions (Lampert, 2008). He is also a brave person who is not afraid of sneaking to the Capulet in order to see Juliet immediately after the party. Romeo is a likeable character due to his passion and love for Juliet which has no boundaries. Romeo says that he would rather die than live without his lovely wife Juliet. There is enmity between the two families and that is why their love is not accepted by the families (Shakespeare, 2011).
QUESTION 4
For a group of words to be referred to as a poem, there has to be elements of rhythm and meter. There is a connection between sense and sound in a poem. There is a huge difference between a verse and a poem. Verse contains both unstressed and stressed syllables. These syllables are arranged form rhythmic patterns. They are rhymed to form a continuous flow of the words. On the other hand, poetry includes few words that are used to express ideas and thoughts. Words organized in verses attract the attention listeners more than those of poetry (Olsen, 2011). They draw the attention of the audience from the usual day to day life and bring them to a better understanding of modern world. Verses also allow the element of repetition to be used. I chose Garden of Gold since it is a nature poem. Nature poems attract different kind of audience from young to old, male to female.
Garden of Gold by Loise E Felder
I walk through the garden,On this warm summer’s day,To smell the flowers,That grandma raised.In the middle,Of this garden of gold,Stood this one,Single red stem rose,The rose means so many things,From the ones you receive on your wedding day,To the one you get on Valentine’s Day,But this single rose standing here today,Represents the love grandma gave.From the love she gave,When she planted it that day,To the love she gave us,Each and every day,So when you pass this garden of gold,Remember the love that this rose holds.(Fabb, 2015)
QUESTION 5
Kwame Dawes is a Jamaican poet who was born in Ghana. As a young boy, he spent most of his time in Jamaica. Kwame Dawes is my favorite poet who has written a number of poems that have seen him win numerous awards in poetry. Kwame has written sixteen poetry books. As a Jamaican his work is greatly influenced by reggae music which is a cultural music genre in the country. He has great love for Bob Marley who is considered as the king of reggae. His has a great engagement with reggae music (Dawes & Shenoda, 2013).
Death
First your dog dies and you prayfor the Holy Spirit to raise the ineptlump in the sack, but Jesus’s nameis no magic charm; sunsets and theflies are gathering. That is how faithdies. By dawn you know death,the way it arrives and then growssilent. Death wins. So you walkout to the tangle of thorny weeds behindthe barn, and you coax a blackcat to your fingers. You let it lickmilk and spit from your hand beforeyou squeeze its neck until it messesitself, its claws tearing your skin,its eyes growing into saucers.A dead cat is light as a liveone and not stiff, not yet. Yougrab its tail and fling it asfar as you can. The crows findit first; by then the stenchof the hog pens hides the cankerof death. Now you know the powerof death, that you have it,that you can take life in a secondand wake the same the next day.This is why you can’t fear death.You have seen the broken neckof a man in a well, you know whopushed him over the lip of the well,tumbling down; you know all aboutblood on the ground. You know thata dead dog is a dead cat is a deadman. Now you look a white manin the face, talk to him aboutcotton prices and the cost of land,laugh your wide openmouthed laughin his face, and he knows one thingabout you: that you know the powerof death, and you will die as easilyas live. This is how a man seizeswhat he wants, how a manturns the world over in dreams,eats a solid meal and waitsfor death to come like nothing,like the open sky, like lightat early morning. Like a manin red pinstriped trousers, a blacktop hat, a yellow scarf,and a kerchief dipped in eaude cologne to cut throughthe stench coming from his mouth.
(Dawes, 2011)
QUESTION 6
I disagree with the poets opinion that poem is to enjoyed and not analyzed. I believe that poetic words have hidden meaning that needs to be analyzed so that the audience can understand the message passed by the author. Most of the poems use shortcuts in order to create the rhythm of the stanza. For a poem lover to enjoy poems he or she needs to analyze the poem in order get the true meaning of the verses (Bohn, 2011). According to Eagleton (2007), if the poet has already published the poem to the larger world, then whether he likes or not the readers must interpret it. When the poem has been published and released to the larger world, the meaning of the poem belongs to the readers since people have a different understanding of things and everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. The interpretation of a poem belongs to the poet before it is published, but once it has been published and released to the public the readers have the right to interpret it.
QUESTION 7
Drama has been part of human culture for many years. People perform different types of plays with different meaning ranging from comedy, family life, nature and fiction. in most cases drama is presented through live performances. However, due to the introduction of televisions, computers and internet; live performances are declining. Drama is educative by teaching people the good morals that are acceptable in the society (McDermott & Anderson, 2007). Consequently, people are able to mould their ways and adopt the good form of conduct. Drama creates diversity in the entertainment industry. When people get bored of listening to music, they can shift to dram for entertainment. Another important factor is that drama keeps the youth busy since they are the ones that are involved in. As a result, moral decay is prevented since the youth are busy in the theatres. Drama also helps to prevent human culture in such a way that the play that we performed in the past can be used in the modern society to remind people of their origin as well as their culture. In most cases, dram is associated with comedy and tragedy. a good example of is William shake spheres tragedy of Oedipus the king which was written by Sophocles in the 429 BC (Gray, 2014). Drama also enables to be to be to respond to problems spontaneously. it improves people thinking and reasoning capacity. Drama helps to build the actor’s confidence as well as, improving interpersonal skills. Drama connects people with real life experiences. The tragedy of Oedipus the king is a play that is educative and connects well with our daily lives. it teaches on the importance of adhering to the cultures set by the society (McDermott & Anderson, 2007).
QUESTION 8
Rainsgford (2014) argues that literature should be included in college education since it enables the students to have a different view of the world. In most cases students enroll to college with the aim of learning everything about the courses that they study. It is through study of literature that they explore new areas of study and gain diversity. As much as literature is not part of practical work for courses, it is important since it gives students a better approach of the world and is able to live in harmony with one another (Durant & Fabb, 2013). Behaviors related to different ages, sex and culture can be well understood through study of literature. In order to get a clear understanding, one requires studying widely. In our modern society, literature should be part of school curriculum since students need to understand different cultures so that they can be able to interact well with one another.

References
Bohn, W. (2011). Reading visual poetry. Madison New Jersey Lanham, Maryland: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press Co-published with the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
Dawes, K. & Shenoda, M. (2013). Duppy conqueror : new and selected poems. Port Townsend, Washington: Copper Canyon Press.
Dawes, K. (2011). Wheels. Leeds: Peepal Tree Press.
Durant, A. & Fabb, N. (2013). Literary Studies in Action. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
Eagleton, T. (2007). How to read a poem. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Pub.
Fabb, N. (2015). What is poetry? : language and memory in the poems of the world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Flaherty, F. (2009). The elements of story : field notes on nonfiction writing. New York: Harper.
Goody, A. (2013). Technology, Literature and Culture. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Gray, R. (2014). Francophone African poetry and drama : a cultural history since the 1960s. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
Lampert, R. (2008). Romeo and Juliet. Waco, Tex: Prufrock Press.
McCarthy, T. (2000). Teaching literary elements with short stories. New York: Scholastic Professional Books.
McDermott, J. & Anderson, D. (2007). The drama of possibility experience as philosophy of culture. New York: Fordham University Press.
Olsen, F. (2011). Leigh Hunt and What is poetry? : romanticism and the purpose of poetry. Brighton England Portland, Or: Sussex Academic Press.
Rainsford, D. (2014). Studying Literature in English an Introduction. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
Shakespeare, W. (2011). Romeo and Juliet study guide. Costa Mesa, California: Saddleback Educational Publishing.
Westling, L. (2014). The Cambridge Companion to Literature and the Environment. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.