Bøger af Volker Beckmann

Essay from the year 1990 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 3,0, Bielefeld University (Fakultät für Literaturwissenschaft), course: Humor in American Fiction, language: English, abstract: In this work the author discusses forms of humour in Sinclair Lewis' novels "Main Street" and "Babbitt" and tries to show his artistic use of humour. The author unveils the reflection of humour as satirical bitterness, ironical incongruity and joking, playful language. Therefore, the author examines contrast as a satirical device, invectives, caricature, parody, mimicry and colloquialism in Lewis¿ work.

Seminar paper from the year 1983 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 3,0, Bielefeld University (Sprachenzentrum), course: Elizabethan English, language: English, abstract: The aim of the following paper is to take a closer look at Shakespeare¿s prose from a stylistic, linguistic and rhetorical point of view. Given the fact that Shakespeare¿s prose occurs both in his comedies, tragedies and histories and prose is being used in his plays by characters of different social ranks the question is to be asked which various functions prose as a medium fulfils in relationship to such other functions as setting, dialogue, action and theme. According to Brian Vickers Elizabethan audiences must have been aware of the alternation of prose and verse. It can be assumed that any deviation from the norm which was blank verse was a) felt by attentive audiences and b) had an impact on the way actors behaved on the stage. In the following essay I shall employ the critical method devised by Vickers in his book ¿The Artistry of Shakespeare¿s Prose¿. First, I shall be dealing with different forms of Shakespearean imagery. For the sake of convenience, I am making use of the categories suggested by Vickers. Second, I am trying to find examples showing those recurrent Shakespearean devices which have a determinant influence on what Vickers calls ¿the linguistic structure¿. These devices include features like repartee, equivocation, comic logic; malapropism, repetition; foreign and regional English; unusual syntax; fondness for proverbs; word play and punning. Third, I shall prove that Shakespeare made frequent use of various rhetorical figures.

Essay from the year 1983 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, grade: 3,0, Bielefeld University (Sprachenzentrum), course: Elizabethan Language, language: English, abstract: The Elizabethan drama owed its development to two influential traditions: namely firstly to humanism as it was represented by the comedies written by Terence and Plautus and secondly to the English tradition of the English miracle and morality plays.From the Latin comedies the Elizabethan drama adopted both formal innovations and new material as regards contents. To the newly adopted dramatic elements belonged the clear division into acts and scenes, the introduction of the actors who are to speak a prologue or an epilogue and new types of characters like the parasite, the miles gloriosus (the boastful knight), the shrewd and witty servant, the obstinate father who is deceived in the end, the ardent lover, and the girl disguised as a man. As regards contents new motifs and themes like confusion, secret love affairs, separated families that happily reunite after having experienced many adventurous encounters, the unexpected reappearance of children who were believed to be lost were adopted from the plays written by Plautus.

Sustainable Life on Land, the fifteenth UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 15), calls for the protection, restoration and promotion of the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems. Among others, it requires societies to sustainably manage forests, halt and reverse land degradation, combat desertification, and halt biodiversity loss. Despite the fact that protection of terrestrial ecosystems is on the rise worldwide and forest loss has slowed, the recent IPBES report concluded that "nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history". Consequently, the United Nations General Assembly recently declared 2021-2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. There is no doubt that the current global responses are far from sufficient and significant transformative changes of societies are needed to restore and protect nature and ecosystems.Transitioning to Sustainable Life on Land presents reviews, original research, and practical experiences from different disciplines with a focus on:theoretical and empirical reflection about the necessary transformation of values, institutions, markets, firms and policies,reviews and research on protection, restoration and sustainable use of diverse terrestrial ecosystems,analyses and reporting of encouraging local, regional, national, and global initiatives.