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Ash

Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ash refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash is the non-gaseous, non-liquid residue after complete combustion.

Ashes as the end product of incomplete combustion are mostly mineral, but usually still contain an amount of combustible organic or other oxidizable residues. The best-known type of ash is wood ash, as a product of wood combustion in campfires, fireplaces, etc. The darker the wood ashes, the higher the content of remaining charcoal from incomplete combustion. The ashes are of different types. Some ashes contain natural compounds that make soil fertile. Others have chemical compounds that can be toxic but may break up in soil from chemical changes and microorganism activity.

Like soap, ash is also a disinfecting agent (alkaline). The World Health Organization recommends ash or sand as alternative for handwashing when soap is not available.

Natural occurrence
Ash occurs naturally from any fire that burns vegetation, and may disperse in the soil to fertilise it, or clump under it for long enough to carbonise into coal.

Composition
The composition of the ash varies depending on the product burned and its origin. The "ash content" or "mineral content" of a product is derived its incineration under temperatures ranging from 150 C to 900 C.

Wood and plant matter
The composition of ash derived from wood and other plant matter varies based on plant species, parts of the plants (such as bark, trunk, or young branches with foliage), type of soil, and time of year. The composition of these ashes also differ greatly depending on mode of combustion.

Wood ashes, in addition to residual carbonaceous materials (unconsumed embers, activated carbons impregnated with carbonaceous particles, tars, various gases, etc.), contain a between 20% and 50% calcium in the form of calcium oxide and are generally rich in potassium carbonate. Ashes derived from grasses, and the Gramineae family in particular, are rich in silica. The color of the ash comes from small proportions of inorganic minerals such as iron oxides and manganese. The oxidized metal elements that constitute wood ash are mostly considered alkaline.

For example, ash collected from wood boilers is composed of The pH of the ash is between 10 and 13, mostly due to the fact that the oxides of calcium, potassium, and sodium are strong bases. Acidic components such as carbon dioxide, phosphoric acid, silicic acid, and sulfuric acid are rarely present and, in the presence of the previously mentioned bases, are generally found in the form of salts, respectively carbonates, phosphates, silicates and sulphates.
 * 17–33% calcium in the form of calcium oxide (CaO)
 * 2–6% potassium in the form of potassium oxide (K2O)
 * 2.5–4.6% magnesium in the form of magnesium oxide (MgO)
 * 1–6% phosphorus in the form of phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5)
 * 3% in total of oxides such as iron oxide, manganese oxide, and sodium oxide

Strictly speaking, calcium and potassium salts produce the aforementioned calcium oxide (also known as quicklime) and potassium during the combustion of organic matter. But, in practice, quicklime is only obtained via lime-kiln, and potash (from potassium carbonate) or baking soda (from sodium carbonate) is extracted from the ashes.

Other substances such as sulfur, chlorine, iron or sodium only appear in small quantities. Still others are rarely found in wood, such as aluminum, zinc, and boron. (depending on the trace elements drawn from the soil by the incinerated plants).

Mineral content in ash depends on the species of tree burned, even in the same soil conditions. More chloride is found in conifer trees than broadleaf trees, with seven times as much found in spruces than in oak trees. There is twice as much phosphoric acid in the European aspen than in oaks and twice as much magnesium in elm trees than in the Scotch pine.

Ash composition also varies by which part of the tree was burnt. Silicon and calcium salts are more abundant in bark than in wood, while potassium salts are primarily found in wood. Compositional variation also occurred based on the season in which the tree died.

Food
In food processing, mineral and ash content is used to characterize the presence of organic and inorganic components in food for monitoring quality, nutritional quantification and labeling, analyzing microbiological stability, and more. This process can be used to measure minerals like calcium, sodium, potassium, and phosphorus as well as metal content such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and aluminum.

Specific types

 * Ash from Slash-and-burn
 * Ash from Stubble burning
 * Ash from Open burning of waste
 * Ash from Wildfire
 * Wood ash
 * Joss paper ash
 * Products of coal combustion
 * Bottom ash
 * Fly ash
 * Cigarette or cigar ash
 * Incinerator bottom ash, a form of ash produced in incinerators
 * Volcanic ash, ash that consists of fragmented glass, rock, and minerals that appears during an eruption.

Cremation ashes
Cremation ashes, also called cremated remains or "cremains," are the bodily remains left from cremation. They often take the form of a grey powder resembling coarse sand. While often referred to as ashes, the remains primarily consist of powdered bone fragments due to the cremation process, which eliminates the body's organic materials. People often store these ashes in containers like urns, although they are also sometimes buried or scattered in specific locations.

title: Ash


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Antiderivative

In calculus, an antiderivative, inverse derivative, primitive function, primitive integral or indefinite integral of a function $f$ is a differentiable function $F$ whose derivative is equal to the original function $f$. This can be stated symbolically as $F' = f$. The process of solving for antiderivatives is called antidifferentiation (or indefinite integration), and its opposite operation is called differentiation, which is the process of finding a derivative. Antiderivatives are often denoted by capital Roman letters such as $c$ and $F$.

Antiderivatives are related to definite integrals through the second fundamental theorem of calculus: the definite integral of a function over a closed interval where the function is Riemann integrable is equal to the difference between the values of an antiderivative evaluated at the endpoints of the interval.

In physics, antiderivatives arise in the context of rectilinear motion (e.g., in explaining the relationship between position, velocity and acceleration). The discrete equivalent of the notion of antiderivative is antidifference.

Examples
The function $$F(x) = \tfrac{x^3}{3}$$ is an antiderivative of $$f(x) = x^2$$, since the derivative of $$\tfrac{x^3}{3}$$ is $$x^2$$. Since the derivative of a constant is zero, $$x^2$$ will have an infinite number of antiderivatives, such as $$\tfrac{x^3}{3}, \tfrac{x^3}{3}+1, \tfrac{x^3}{3}-2$$, etc. Thus, all the antiderivatives of $$x^2$$ can be obtained by changing the value of $c$ in $$F(x) = \tfrac{x^3}{3}+c$$, where $c$ is an arbitrary constant known as the constant of integration. Essentially, the graphs of antiderivatives of a given function are vertical translations of each other, with each graph's vertical location depending upon the value $c$.

More generally, the power function $$f(x) = x^n$$ has antiderivative $$F(x) = \tfrac{x^{n+1}}{n+1} + c$$ if $n ≠ −1$, and $$F(x) = \ln |x| + c$$ if $n = −1$.

In physics, the integration of acceleration yields velocity plus a constant. The constant is the initial velocity term that would be lost upon taking the derivative of velocity, because the derivative of a constant term is zero. This same pattern applies to further integrations and derivatives of motion (position, velocity, acceleration, and so on). Thus, integration produces the relations of acceleration, velocity and displacement: $$\begin{align} \int a \, \mathrm{d}t &= v + C \\ \int v \, \mathrm{d}t &= s + C \end{align}$$

Uses and properties
Antiderivatives can be used to compute definite integrals, using the fundamental theorem of calculus: if $F$ is an antiderivative of the continuous function $f$ over the interval $$[a,b]$$, then: $$\int_a^b f(x)\,\mathrm{d}x = F(b) - F(a).$$

Because of this, each of the infinitely many antiderivatives of a given function $f$ may be called the "indefinite integral" of f and written using the integral symbol with no bounds: $$\int f(x)\,\mathrm{d}x.$$

If $F$ is an antiderivative of $f$, and the function $f$ is defined on some interval, then every other antiderivative $G$ of $f$ differs from $F$ by a constant: there exists a number $c$ such that $$G(x) = F(x)+c$$ for all $x$. $c$ is called the constant of integration. If the domain of $F$ is a disjoint union of two or more (open) intervals, then a different constant of integration may be chosen for each of the intervals. For instance $$F(x) = \begin{cases} -\dfrac{1}{x} + c_1 & x<0 \\[1ex] -\dfrac{1}{x} + c_2 & x>0 \end{cases}$$

is the most general antiderivative of $$f(x)=1/x^2$$ on its natural domain $$(-\infty,0) \cup (0,\infty).$$

Every continuous function $f$ has an antiderivative, and one antiderivative $F$ is given by the definite integral of $f$ with variable upper boundary: $$F(x) = \int_a^x f(t)\,\mathrm{d}t ~,$$ for any $a$ in the domain of $f$. Varying the lower boundary produces other antiderivatives, but not necessarily all possible antiderivatives. This is another formulation of the fundamental theorem of calculus.

There are many functions whose antiderivatives, even though they exist, cannot be expressed in terms of elementary functions (like polynomials, exponential functions, logarithms, trigonometric functions, inverse trigonometric functions and their combinations). Examples of these are

 * the error function $$\int e^{-x^2}\,\mathrm{d}x,$$
 * the Fresnel function $$\int \sin x^2\,\mathrm{d}x,$$
 * the sine integral $$\int \frac{\sin x}{x}\,\mathrm{d}x,$$
 * the logarithmic integral function $$\int\frac{1}{\log x}\,\mathrm{d}x,$$ and
 * sophomore's dream $$\int x^{x}\,\mathrm{d}x.$$

For a more detailed discussion, see also Differential Galois theory.

Techniques of integration
Finding antiderivatives of elementary functions is often considerably harder than finding their derivatives (indeed, there is no pre-defined method for computing indefinite integrals). For some elementary functions, it is impossible to find an antiderivative in terms of other elementary functions. To learn more, see elementary functions and nonelementary integral.

There exist many properties and techniques for finding antiderivatives. These include, among others:

 * The linearity of integration (which breaks complicated integrals into simpler ones)
 * Integration by substitution, often combined with trigonometric identities or the natural logarithm
 * The inverse chain rule method (a special case of integration by substitution)
 * Integration by parts (to integrate products of functions)
 * Inverse function integration (a formula that expresses the antiderivative of the inverse $f$ of an invertible and continuous function $G$, in terms of the antiderivative of $f$ and of $f$).
 * The method of partial fractions in integration (which allows us to integrate all rational functions—fractions of two polynomials)
 * The Risch algorithm
 * Additional techniques for multiple integrations (see for instance double integrals, polar coordinates, the Jacobian and the Stokes' theorem)
 * Numerical integration (a technique for approximating a definite integral when no elementary antiderivative exists, as in the case of $exp(−x^{2})$)
 * Algebraic manipulation of integrand (so that other integration techniques, such as integration by substitution, may be used)
 * Cauchy formula for repeated integration (to calculate the $n$-times antiderivative of a function) $$ \int_{x_0}^x \int_{x_0}^{x_1} \cdots \int_{x_0}^{x_{n-1}} f(x_n) \,\mathrm{d}x_n \cdots \, \mathrm{d}x_2\, \mathrm{d}x_1 = \int_{x_0}^x f(t) \frac{(x-t)^{n-1}}{(n-1)!}\,\mathrm{d}t.$$

Computer algebra systems can be used to automate some or all of the work involved in the symbolic techniques above, which is particularly useful when the algebraic manipulations involved are very complex or lengthy. Integrals which have already been derived can be looked up in a table of integrals.

Of non-continuous functions
Non-continuous functions can have antiderivatives. While there are still open questions in this area, it is known that:
 * Some highly pathological functions with large sets of discontinuities may nevertheless have antiderivatives.
 * In some cases, the antiderivatives of such pathological functions may be found by Riemann integration, while in other cases these functions are not Riemann integrable.

Assuming that the domains of the functions are open intervals:

\sum_{i=1}^n f(x_i^*)(x_i-x_{i-1}) & = \sum_{i=1}^n [F(x_i)-F(x_{i-1})] \\ & = F(x_n)-F(x_0) = F(b)-F(a) \end{align}$$ However if $f$ is unbounded, or if $f$ is bounded but the set of discontinuities of $[a, b]$ has positive Lebesgue measure, a different choice of sample points $$x_i^*$$ may give a significantly different value for the Riemann sum, no matter how fine the partition. See Example 4 below.
 * A necessary, but not sufficient, condition for a function $f$ to have an antiderivative is that $y$ have the intermediate value property. That is, if $f(a)$ is a subinterval of the domain of $f(b)$ and $f(c) = y$ is any real number between $f$ and $f$, then there exists a $f$ between $c$ and $a$ such that $f$. This is a consequence of Darboux's theorem.
 * The set of discontinuities of $f$ must be a meagre set. This set must also be an F-sigma set (since the set of discontinuities of any function must be of this type). Moreover, for any meagre F-sigma set, one can construct some function $F$ having an antiderivative, which has the given set as its set of discontinuities.
 * If $f$ has an antiderivative, is bounded on closed finite subintervals of the domain and has a set of discontinuities of Lebesgue measure 0, then an antiderivative may be found by integration in the sense of Lebesgue. In fact, using more powerful integrals like the Henstock–Kurzweil integral, every function for which an antiderivative exists is integrable, and its general integral coincides with its antiderivative.
 * If $f$ has an antiderivative $f$ on a closed interval $$[a,b]$$, then for any choice of partition $$a=x_0 <x_1 <x_2 <\dots <x_n=b,$$ if one chooses sample points $$x_i^*\in[x_{i-1},x_i]$$ as specified by the mean value theorem, then the corresponding Riemann sum telescopes to the value $$F(b)-F(a)$$. $$\begin{align}

Basic formulae

 * If $${\mathrm{d} \over \mathrm{d}x} f(x) = g(x)$$, then $$\int g(x) \mathrm{d}x = f(x) + C$$.
 * $$\int 1\ \mathrm{d}x = x + C$$
 * $$\int a\ \mathrm{d}x = ax + C$$
 * $$\int x^n \mathrm{d}x = \frac{x^{n+1}}{n+1} + C;\ n \neq -1$$
 * $$\int \sin{x}\ \mathrm{d}x = -\cos{x} + C$$
 * $$\int \cos{x}\ \mathrm{d}x = \sin{x} + C$$
 * $$\int \sec^2{x}\ \mathrm{d}x = \tan{x} + C$$
 * $$\int \csc^2{x}\ \mathrm{d}x = -\cot{x} + C$$
 * $$\int \sec{x}\tan{x}\ \mathrm{d}x = \sec{x} + C$$
 * $$\int \csc{x}\cot{x}\ \mathrm{d}x = -\csc{x} + C$$
 * $$\int \frac{1}{x}\ \mathrm{d}x = \ln|x| + C$$
 * $$\int \mathrm{e}^{x} \mathrm{d}x = \mathrm{e}^{x} + C$$
 * $$\int a^{x} \mathrm{d}x = \frac{a^{x}}{\ln a} + C;\ a > 0,\ a \neq 1$$
 * $$\int \frac{1}\sqrt{a^2 - x^2}\ \mathrm{d}x = \arcsin\left(\frac{x}{a}\right) + C$$
 * $$\int \frac{1}{a^2 + x^2}\ \mathrm{d}x = \frac{1}{a}\arctan\left(\frac{x}{a}\right) + C$$

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Antiderivative


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The ABC Song

"The ABC Song" is the best-known song used to recite the English alphabet in alphabetical order. It is commonly used to teach the alphabet to children in English-speaking countries. "The ABC Song" was first copyrighted in 1835 by Boston music publisher Charles Bradlee. The melody is from a 1761 French music book and is also used in other nursery rhymes like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", while the author of the lyrics is unknown. Songs set to the same melody are also used to teach the alphabets of other languages.

History
The melody of "The ABC Song" was first published in the French book of music Les Amusements d’une Heure et Demy () (1761) without lyrics. It was adapted in Mozart's Twelve Variations and used in many nursery rhymes around the world, including "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman", "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and later "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep", before being used in this song. The author of the lyrics are unknown.

"The ABC Song" was first copyrighted in 1835 by Boston music publisher Charles Bradlee under the title "The A.B.C., a German air with variations for the flute with an easy accompaniment for the piano forte." The melody was attributed to 18th-century composer Louis Le Maire.

"The ABC Song" is commonly used in preschools across English-speaking countries. Due to the speed at which ' L, M, N, O, P ' is spoken, it is a common misconception among children still learning the alphabet to believe that it is in fact its own letter called "elemenopee". Some have proposed teaching slower versions of the song to avoid this issue, but attempts to do so have been criticized for lacking the end rhymes and the 'L, M, N, O, P" part being an essential part of the song. The television series Sesame Street has covered the song many times, collaborating with popular artists such as Stevie Wonder, Katy Perry, Nina Simone and Usher.

Composition and variations
Lyrics: (each line represents two measures, or eight beats)
 * A, B, C, D, E, F, G...
 * H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P... ("L, M, N, O" spoken twice as quickly as rest of rhyme)
 * Q, R, S.../ T, U, V... (pause between S and T, though in some variants, "and" is inserted)
 * W... X.../ Y and(/&) Z. (pause between X and Y, and W and X last for two beats)
 * Now I know my ABCs.
 * Next time, won't you sing with me?

Lyrics for the alternate Zed version: (each line represents two measures, or eight beats)
 * A, B, C, D, E, F, G...
 * H, I, J, K, L, M, N...
 * O, P, Q, R, S, T, U…
 * V, W... X, Y and(/&) Z. (W lasts for two beats)
 * Now I know my ABCs.
 * Next time, won't you sing with me?

Pronunciation of "Z"
In American English, the dialect in mind by the composer, the letter name for Z is pronounced /ziː/ (Zee), but in most other anglophone countries, the letter name is pronounced /zɛd/ (Zed). In such dialects, the absent Zee-rhyme is generally not missed, although while singing the song, some children may accommodate for Zee which they would otherwise not use on a regular basis. Variants of the song exist to accommodate Zed. One such variation is shown below:

 * a-b-c-d-e-f-g
 * h-i-j-k-l-m-n
 * o-p-q-r-s-t-u
 * v-w-x-y-z(ed)

This version has no closing line and the tune is modified accordingly. There is no lengthening of the W in this version.

Backwards alphabet
Several versions exist covering the alphabet backwards, i.e. Z to A. One version is shown below.

 * z-y-x and(/&) w
 * v-u-t, s-r-q
 * p-o-n-m-l-k-j
 * i-h-g-f-e-d-c-b-a
 * Now you know your ZYXs
 * I bet that's not what you expected!

The e-d-c-b part is as fast as the l-m-n-o part in the normal alphabet song.

Versions for other languages
The same melody used for "The ABC Song" has also been used for the German, French, and Arabic alphabets. A French-language version of the song is also taught in Canada, with generally no alterations to the melody except in the final line that requires adjustment to accommodate the two-syllable pronunciation of the French y.

Traditional alphabet songs in other languages

 * "A Haka Mana" recites the syllabary of the Māori language to the tune of "Stupid Cupid"
 * "Alef-Bet" by Debbie Friedman, a song commonly used in American Hebrew school classrooms to teach the letters of the Hebrew alphabet
 * "Iroha", a recital of the Japanese syllabary
 * "Shiva Sutra", Sanskrit
 * "Thousand Character Classic", Chinese and Korean Hanja
 * "Ganada" (가나다), Korean Hangul
 * "Zengő ABC" by Ferenc Móra, Hungarian
 * "Adalama" (𞤀⹁ 𞤣𞤢⹁ 𞤤𞤢⹁ 𞤥𞤢... A, da, la, ma...), devised for Fulani speakers in West Africa to memorise the Adlam script.
 * There are several recordings of the Cherokee syllabary with this melody.
 * A singable version for memorising the Déné/Carrier syllabics chart.

title: The ABC Song


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Talk:The ABC Song

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Eculotta.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 13:56, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

"Zee"
I'm not sure *where* my variant comes from; at first I was thinking it might be a local Canadian one, but the fact that it uses the pronunciation "zee" for "Z" (look at the rhymes) makes me think not. -- Paul Drye

Haddocks Eyes
how is Haddocks Eyes related to the alphabet song? -- Tarquin

 * I for one have no idea. It seems more related to "The House that Jack Built". Removed the link. --Anonymous

"(z = zee to rhyme with v, not zed)"
This was not true where I learned it (Ontario, Canada.) I don't believe this is how it's universally sung. Jonathan Grynspan

 * I agree. I added a note reflecting the assertion to American and British English differences, which was quickly deleted, so I also assume it can be sung with zed.  I guess the lack of rhyme is not troubling to non-Americans.  After all, American children call Chicken Licken Chicken Little, which throws that rhyme out. Joestynes 07:43, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)
 * I've tried another wording to see if we can get the 'disputed' off the page. My big question is, where does the 'what does {letter} say' song come from? I suspect it is regional. Niteowlneils 18:22, 27 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * Actually I remember reading a study about how the younger generation in Canada was starting to pronounce z as "zee" rather than "zed" due to the popularity of the rhyming version of the alphabet song . I don't know if this should be reflected in the article somehow. --DropDeadGorgias (talk) 04:13, Apr 8, 2005 (UTC)

 * I learnt it with the line "W X Y Z you see", so that we could sing "zed" but still get a rhyme. I can't find anything about this version online, though; does anyone know anything about it? smithers888 (talk) 12:18, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

We always used to repeat the 'LMNOP', further encouraging the view that it was a seperate letter. And our ending was different. "...U V W X Y Z. X Y Z, Butter on your bread. If you don't like it you'll have to go to bed." This also means that ours had drifted from the original tune somewhat, and it rhymed. 14:04, 27 January 2006 (UTC) (Skittle)

I understand the zee-zed argument, but why on earth are the lyrics showing W to be pronounced "dub-a-U"? I've never heard anyone do that, and it's wrong. Lancelarock (talk) 11:40, 13 December 2021 (UTC)

The alphabet song?
Does anyone outside the USA label it as such? Otherwise, it would be somewhat POV to single this one out for mention. If this particular one was officially renamed "The Alphabet Song" then it might be filed as such ... but would C. Bradlee (or indeed anybody who covered it commercially) have ever renamed it to be "The alphabet song" with a lowercase "a" and "s"?

Here in the UK, I suppose most of us are acquainted with this version only through Sesame Street in the days when it was shown over here. We probably have quite a few alphabet songs. One my mum taught me when I was little was set out rather like this

A B C D E F G, H I J K LMNOP, Q R S T U V W X, Y, Z

One of my primary school teachers also knew one to the tune of Jack and Jill.

-- Smjg 10:57, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

My dad, who grew up in Ireland, taught me the following version. I don't know how commonplace it was. It was sung to a completely different melody, which is difficult to describe through text, but I'll try to give the general idea through emphasis:

A-b C-d E-f G-h I-j K-l M (pause) n O-p Q-r S-t U-v W X-y Z

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.16.126.71 (talk • contribs).

 * Okay, so I tried typing the version I remember into Melodyhound today and got " f4 f8 f4 f8 f4 f8 f4 f8 f4 f8 g4 f8 e4 r4 e8 e4 e8 c4 c8 e4 e8 c4 c8 e8 f8 e8 d4 c''8 ais'4 ". Completely tone deaf, but you get the idea.  So then I pressed the Search thing and got My Old Man['s a Dustman]!
 * So the version I learned goes something like
 * So the version I learned goes something like

 * My old||man's a||dustman
 * A b||C d||E f
 * _ He||wears a||dustman's||hat _
 * G h||I j||K l||M _
 * _ He||wears cor-||blimey||trousers
 * _ n||O p||Q r||S t
 * _ And-he||lives in-a||coun-cil||flat _
 * U v||Double-yu||X y||Zed _
 * }
 * (except with the q, r, u, and v dropped by a semitone or so (and the lines go A b c d e f g/H i j k l m/N o p q r s t u/V w x y z)). Hmmm, pretty much like Jack and Jill, then.—Dah31 (talk) 03:39, 11 March 2008 (UTC)
 * _ n||O p||Q r||S t
 * _ And-he||lives in-a||coun-cil||flat _
 * U v||Double-yu||X y||Zed _
 * }
 * (except with the q, r, u, and v dropped by a semitone or so (and the lines go A b c d e f g/H i j k l m/N o p q r s t u/V w x y z)). Hmmm, pretty much like Jack and Jill, then.—Dah31 (talk) 03:39, 11 March 2008 (UTC)
 * }
 * (except with the q, r, u, and v dropped by a semitone or so (and the lines go A b c d e f g/H i j k l m/N o p q r s t u/V w x y z)). Hmmm, pretty much like Jack and Jill, then.—Dah31 (talk) 03:39, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

 * By the way I learned version user Smjg mentioned above in scool, great song - really helps to remember english alphabet -- Xil/talk 23:35, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

I asked 4 people who went to primary school in 1950s England, and they all sang the alphabet to the twinkle, twinkle tune when asked, "When you were little, did you learn a song to help you remember the alphabet?". But no-one knew it as "the alphabet song".HJMG 09:18, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

alphabet chant
My mother used to teach me the alphabet through a song similar to a military chant. I think it went:
 * A B C D E and F
 * G H I J K L M
 * N O P Q R S T
 * U V W X Y Z —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.240.55.173 (talk) 17:42, 11 March 2011 (UTC)

Alternate grouping
A version supposedly favoured at one time in California, either by the state university or the DOE, grouped the letters thus:

 * A B C D E F G
 * H I J K L M N
 * O P Q, R S T
 * U V W X Y Z

and otherwise used the usual closing lines and the French melody. Thought it worth a mention. knoodelhed 04:05, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

This is also the version taught in some international schools too, like in Japan and China. It should be noted that this version has three advantages over the original grouping: 1.) it avoids the confusing "lmnop" cluster (elemental pee) 2.) there is one less rest in the song, namely between W and X, since the letters are more evenly spread, 3.) there is no "and" between y and z, therefore eliminating the confusion of thinking that "&" is an actual letter of the alphabet.

The only advantage I can think for the original is that it consistently rhymes in the American pronunciation of Zee. For education purposes, this grouping seems far more logical.

Thegargoylevine (talk) 03:06, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

Non-English alphabet songs?
I would guess most languages have some kind of alphabet song? Do they have articles? I don't ever recall learning one in German class, although Spanish had one that goes something like (sung quite quickly):

 * Aah Bay Say, Chay Day Eh, Effay Hey Aahchey larey
 * E. hota kah el-lay, emmay, ennay, E. ennyeah
 * ennyeah, oh, pay coo erray, erray essay tay E. ooh
 * bay day baca, double-lay ooh, icky see zeta laroo

Then there's also that crazy Three Stooges song, "B.A. Bay, B.E. Bee, B.I. Bicky-bye, B.O. B'oh, Bicky-bye B'oh, B.U. Boo, Bicky-bye B'oh Boo; C.A. Say, C.E. See", etc. Schizombie 02:50, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

Regarding foreign versions, I did learn one in German class (same rhythym as English except for the last line, and the third line was repeated):
 * Ah Bay Tsay Day Ay Ef Gay
 * Ha Ee Yot Ka El-Em-En-O-Pay
 * Ku Er Es Te Uu Fau Vay
 * Ku Er Es Te Uu Fau Vay
 * Iks Upsilon Zet (Zed? Tsed?)

I wonder, though, if the original version was English and the foreign ones were made up to help English speakers learn the foreign alphabets, rather than for foreign children to learn their own? --Tocharianne 17:36, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

I'd like to see more information about non-English and non-Latin alphabet songs and chants. I was taught the Greek alphabet as a chant with a humorous rhyming line, but with no music. GMcGath 19:29, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

 * The last line of the German version of the song is rather:
 * Iks Iks Iks Iks Upsilon Zet - Juhe! Das ist das ganze ABC.
 * English translation of the last part: Hurrah! This is the whole ABC.
 * And that's how the song would be written in German:
 * A Be Ce De E eF Ge
 * Ha I Jod Ka eL eM eN O Pe
 * Qu eR eS Te U Vau We
 * Qu eR eS Te U Vau We
 * iX iX iX iX Ypsilon Zet, Juhe!
 * Das ist das ganze ABC!

--Stl 21:10, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Here's a Dutch alphabet song: A, B, C, D, E, F, G H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P. Q, R, S, T, U, V, W. X, Y, Z, doen ook nog mee. Als je goed hebt opgelet, Ken je nu het alfabet! 99.101.127.167 (talk) 13:16, 1 February 2016 (UTC)

Verify template
Is there anything else which requires verification within this article? The template is resting atop this article, but I'm not sure why its there or what needs to be sourced exactly. Can't sleep, clown will eat me 23:13, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
 * This template has been removed since no one has specified why it was still needed. If there are specific concerns please address them here on this talk page.  Can't sleep, clown will eat me 19:07, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Misspelling in "summer camp" alphabet song
"Klaustrophobia" could not be used in the K-word line: First, the correct spelling begins with a C. Second, even if the word were intentionally misspelled as a joke, that joke works only in writing:  someone hearing this song could not tell the difference between a K and a hard C.

Incidentally, the lyrics look as if this were a parody of the love song "A, You're Adorable" (although it imitates only part of the original). Should the article mention this? ISNorden 16:11, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

The Atomic Alphabet (?)
I originally posted this segment of this other "alphabet song" on the article page. I have now removed it to this talk page because I realized that it does not help the article. The song in question is not an actual alphabet song used by or for children, AND it is not well-known. It is a punk song that happens to use the alphabet, in a way reminiscent of children's alphabet songs, for artistic purposes.

Initially, I had hoped someone would add an attribution for this song, because I cannot find any mention of it online. No one has added an attribution, underscoring that the song really is obscure or forgotten.

An alphabet song, heard once on the radio (1980s?):

 * A is for the atom bomb
 * ''B for bee and bone

C for civilazation D. for (sounds like, but is not...) diroccimont E for evolution F for fighting mother nature
 * G, I love you baby
 * ''H, I hate you too'

I I idolize you J I jappadize you K I keep for you to keepin while I'm going L for Lover M is for the morning N is for the night O for omen P for people Q for quiet life R for revolution S for something steady T for two and tea for me like the twidle.............. U for universal V for victory W for wonder who can mister X be Y for me and me for you Z for Zero Z for Zoo z for Zulu here we go

Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvw xyz

then repeat, then alfabet backwards...

--Whiner01 03:10, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

--Edited_Feb_3_2014____smudo@compuserve.com The mentioned song is "A-Z" from Steve Gibbons. Lyrics is "A is for the Atom Bomb - B for Being Born..." - released Polydor 1980 from the album Street Parade --- — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.241.86.90 (talk) 11:53, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

Don't have a source other than the top of my head - I remember I found an old tape from my brother with Steve Gibbons band I remember I listened to this song over and over to try to singalong with it when they did the alfabet backwards which was really hard until I had practiced quite a lot. Mind you I was only 7 years old in 1981 and my mother tongue is Norwegian and I had not learned any english more or less at the time...

Inge

English alphabet
From the History of the page: 11:06, 1 December 2006 PBS (The Latin alphabet means more and less than the 26 letters of the English alphabet, See Italian alphabet and Danish alphabet for examples.

The English alphabet uses 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, but different alphabets which are based on the Roman alphabet letters, use more or less letters than the English alphabet. I think this confusion arises because for historical reasons the computer and telecommunications industries based their "Basic Latin alphabet" on the 26 letters of the English alphabet (see Latin alphabet and international standards and ISO/IEC 646). If during the 1960's Italy had dominated the computer and telecommunication industry then the number of letters in the Basic Latin alphabet might well have bee the 21 used in the Italian alphabet. So I think to equate the Latin alphabet with the English alphabet is a systemic bias that people who are fimilar with installing software on PCs make. --PBS 11:30, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Here's a version
Here's a version I can't find any reference for, but I definitely knew this long before Sesame St came along. Not very educational, but if I or anyone can find a ref, maybe we can put it into the article somewhere?

a-b-c-d-e-f-g, h-i-j-k-lmnop, lmnop is watching me, so I can't say my a-b-c.

--Nigelj 14:11, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Origins of Letter Order
Okay so in this article, the origins of the song are explicitly stated but what I'm left wondering is where the order of the alphabet came from... Logically, most would put the song ordered with vowels first then consonants or vice-versa but the consonants and vowels are mixed in the rhymes used to remember them in every country no matter what language. So, did the order occur because of the rhyme or was it something else??

 * Actually, the Latin alphabet got most of its letter order from the Greek alphabet, which got most of its order from the Phoenician alphabet, etc. going back to the fourteenth century BC. I don't know how it originated, but alphabetical order is clearly much older than the song. Lunaibis (talk) 20:11, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Different version again
There is one my wife knows which goes like this:

A b-C d-E f-G h-I j-K l-M (clap clap) N-o P-q R-s T-u V W-X-Y-Z It's sung at a much faster tempo and also separates all the letters, including the L-M-N-O-P run (even so far as including two quick claps in between it). - Gohst 11:33, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Yep - I also know this version (assume we're thinking of the same tune) without the clapping. I would have separated it up so you can see the rhythm like so: abc. de,fg. hi,jk,lm. no,pq. rs,tu. vwxyz. (with a zed). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.1.146.44 (talk) 22:42, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

The version posted by 'Gohst' was the version we learned at primary school (England, 1980s) but without the claps. It rhymes the 'em' with the 'zed' (sort of), as Z wasn't pronounced 'zee'. Any chance of it getting added to the main article? Ubertoaster (talk) 12:54, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

Backwards variant
So, I know I've heard a backwards variant of the ABCs. It's song to the same melody as the traditional ABCs. The first time I remember hearing it was on Lamb Chop's Play-Along.

 * Z-y-x-w-v-u-t,
 * S-r-q-p-o-n-m,
 * L-k-j, i-h-g,
 * F-e-d, c-b-a,
 * A little practice, and you won't go wrong,
 * Then, you can sing this backwards song.

Don't know if this can be verified, and/or should be another article, or included in this one. . .but, just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

--KevinDM84 03:02, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

 * I think my Dad taught me this version, which he got from his Dad, who was a librarian -

 * Z Y X, W V
 * U T S, R Q P
 * O N M, L K J
 * I H G, F E D, and C B A

 * smithers888 (talk) 12:30, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

Confusion over an entry
The "ABC's abroad" has this:
 * x,y,z ''z-(as in zed)

Can this be clarified? It is not obvious what is going on after z... is z sung twice? Does the single quotation mark refer to a pronunciation that must be followed? -Rolypolyman

Germany and Japan
Why has somebody given the section the heading "In other languages"? The first one has been given in English. Is this a song in German that somebody has translated to English here, what Germans use when learning English, or what?

The Japan one doesn't have any words given, so it could be in almost any language that uses the Latin alphabet, and Japanese doesn't. Which is it? And are the "many variations of the last two ""now I know my A-B-C's"" lines" sung in English, translated to Japanese or what? -- Smjg (talk) 16:59, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

 * Just added contradict. Moreover, if they really are "in other languages" as stated, we should give the words both in the other language and translated into English. -- Smjg (talk) 21:28, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

Alphabet Song Example
I just can't find (non proprietary) audio example of this song on Wikipedia, but I found this free sample:
 * http://www.hello-world.com/English/song/alphabet.php --Popski 09:32, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

There's one (musical, with written lyrics) on the following gov't website (hence not copyrighted): http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/alphabet.htm (which also has lots and lots of other childhood songs available). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wiki-ny-2007 (talk • contribs) 00:25, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

 * adldmxkdo
 * Skskskwkwkwksjd 112.197.86.146 (talk) 01:58, 31 August 2023 (UTC)

Balkans Version - Write As You Read
Balkans (ex Yu) would probably read English letters right if they write them like this:
 * A (ej), B (bi), C (si), D (di), E (i), F (ef), G (dži), H (ejdž), I (aj), J (džej), K (kej), L (el), M (em), N (en), O (ou), P (pi), Q (kju), R (ar), S (es), T (ti), U (ju), V (vi), W (dabl ju), X (eks), Y (vaj), Z (zi)

It looks ugly, I know, but it's useful for those who don't have speakers! :) --Popski (talk) 11:37, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

Ay Aa Ah?
To me, this is /eɪ/ /ɑ:/ /ɑ:/, leaving the /æ/ sound unmentioned. Is this the way it's meant to be? If so, why has /ɑ:/ been written in two different ways?

Moreover, what are the asterisks meant to mean in the same lyrics? What is a "leading sound", anyway? -- Smjg (talk) 18:03, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

Jerome
Jerome (4th century) in his Epistle CVII "ad Laetam" mentions an alphabet song ("canticum") as well as ivory or boxwood blocks with letters on them when giving advice to a friend on how to educate her daughter. It seems these things are pretty old. Rwflammang (talk) 21:46, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

"In Other Languages" - Australia
I've lived in Australia my entire life, and never heard anything like this. Can anyone cite it? We're typically taught the ordinary lyrics. 58.161.181.60 (talk) 13:55, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

I agree. I'm another Australian, and I've never heard this variation of ths song 124.168.196.3 (talk) 06:51, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Pronunciation
What's up with the weird pronunciation guide next to the lyrics of the song? It makes sense to clarify letter pronunciation, especially for any letters which may be variable (like 'Z'), but do we really need a guide on how to pronounce the last two lines? Looks like somebody has been smoking a little too much IPA. — atchius (msg) 19:12, 2 December 2009 (UTC)

Christmas Alphabet
Surely a quick mention of Dickie Valentine's 1955 Christmas Alphabet is worthy here, even though it only spells out Christmas, rather than the alphabet:
 * ''C is for the Candy trimmed around the Christmas tree
 * ''H is for the Happiness with all the family
 * ''R is for the Reindeer prancing by the window pane
 * ''I is for the Icing on the cake as sweet as sugar cane
 * ''S is for the Stocking on the chimney wall
 * ''T is for the Toys beneath the tree so tall
 * ''M is for the Mistletoe where every one is kissed
 * ''A is for the Angels who make up the Christmas list
 * ''S is for old Santa who makes every kid his pet
 * Be good and he'll bring you everything in your Christmas Alphabet

Skinsmoke (talk) 08:40, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

Name that Tune
The modern tune used to sing along to the alphabet is Mozart's Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. What was sung before this was composed?

Shtanto (talk) 21:40, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

Big Bird's alphabet song?
How can the article mention Sesame Street without mentioning Big Bird's alphabet song?! ...Ab-ker def-gee jekyll man-op-qua stoove wux-zee! It's even got it's own Wikipedia page, so I think it deserves a mention. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.104.54.248 (talk) 15:52, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

Additional citations
Why and where does this article need additional citations for verification? What references does it need and how should they be added? Hyacinth (talk) 06:38, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

POV
As touched on in the above header 'The alphabet song?' the article refers to US tradition only. The standard alphabet tune here in the UK is, as I understand it, that of 'Jack and Jill went up the hill,' altho the difference of context can make it unrecognisable to hearers.--91.198.180.76 (talk) 15:26, 15 May 2013 (UTC)

Baa Baa Black Sheep
In Australia (for me anyway) Baa Baa Black Sheep has a different, slightly more complex melody than Twinkle Twinkle. It is similar though, with minor differences in the sixth and eighth bars and only the second and seventh bars significantly differing. We don't repeat the opening lines at the end of the song stopping after "One for the little boy who lives down the lane" in the eighth bar. I think the reference to Baa Baa should be "similar to" Baa Baa, not "the same as" or maybe just delete it and leave the Twinkle reference. Danielklein (talk) 11:28, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

 * Same here. Where Twinkle enunciates little in two syllables with one percussed note each; in Black Sheep, the corresponding position is occupied by have you any, which is *four* syllables. Nuttyskin (talk) 14:29, 20 June 2018 (UTC)

Rhyming Zed?
The examples in the excerpt I've pasted below do not demonstrate anything about the accommodation of "zed" that they claim to demonstrate.

Aside from the omission of a period after "z" in the second version, how are they different from each other?

Variants of the song exist to accommodate the zed pronunciation. One variation shortens the second line and lengthens the last, to form a near-rhyme between N and zed:

a-b-c-d-e-f-g h-i-j-k-l-m-n-o-p q-r-s t-u-v w, x   y and z.    Now, I know my ABCs. Next time, won't you sing with me?

In UK

a-b-c-d-e-f-g h-i-j-k-l-m-n-o-p q-r-s t-u-v w, x   y and z    Now, I know my ABCs. Next time, won't you sing with me?

--23.119.204.117 (talk) 19:11, 20 July 2015 (UTC)

There was a version of the A-B-C song I discovered on youtube that matched the description given https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak7JszFwYtU. This version sings the letters in this cadence:

a-b-c-d e-f-g h-i-j-k l-m-n o-p-q r-s-t-u v-w-x-y-z(ed)

I have updated the article to reflect this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:A601:742:1200:C654:44FF:FEB7:57E (talk) 17:02, 9 August 2015 (UTC)

The logo alphabet?
Have you ever heard this version? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.66.235.65 (talk) 13:13, 30 December 2015 (UTC)

Dutch
In dutch, W has one syllable and so their song goes like this:

ABCDEFG, HIJKLMNOP, QRSTUVW, XYZ. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.71.121.148 (talk) 15:08, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

/ˈkeɪk/, not [ˈkaːkɛ]
Since you are talking about the actual pronunciation in both cases, why do you use slashes for the first one and brackets for second one? What is [ˈkaːkɛ] supposed to mean anyway? The underlying phonemic form which used to exist in older English? The whole sentence doesn't make any sense. The alphabet song does not choose a particular pronunciation for each letter due to a language's morphophonemic variation. Stop using fancy words you don't know. Letter names predate the song and of course, it's not comfortable to consonants without vowels and English vowel names not "particular", they are just what are historically as long vowels. --188.99.140.78 (talk) 16:33, 21 February 2017 (UTC)

 * Agreed. The alphabetic principle, and whatnot, described there has nothing to do with the alphabet song, which just states the names of the letters, which may or may not be used in writing according to the alphabetic principle. So, I'm deleting that part. 151.141.81.91 (talk) 01:35, 7 November 2017 (UTC)

Editing war
There has been an ongoing editing war in section Pronunciation of "Z" about whether or not to label the W lyrics as "dub-a-U" or "doub-le-U" and (in the text a little further down) about whether or not most English people pronounce that L. FWIW, AFAIK a frequent pronunciation is "dubbllyou" with a syllabic L (I mean, syllables dub-bl-you). I've never heard it pronounced "dub-a-you" but maybe that syllabic L sound, when coming out of a Brit's mouth, sounds like a schwa to American ears. In any case, IMHO an agreement ought to be reached about how to formulate the lyrics and the text, and then the article set according to the result, rather than perpetually edit-warring back and forth. — Tonymec (talk) 22:45, 15 September 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:The ABC Song


text:
Antigonid dynasty

The Antigonid dynasty (Ἀντιγονίδαι) was a Macedonian Greek royal house which ruled the kingdom of Macedon during the Hellenistic period. Founded by Antigonus I Monophthalmus, a general and successor of Alexander the Great, the dynasty first came to power after the Battle of Salamis in 306 BC and ruled much of Hellenistic Greece from 294 until their defeat at the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC (Third Macedonian War), after which Macedon came under the control of the Roman Republic.

The wars of the Diadochi witnessed the fall of the Argead dynasty in Macedon resulting in a power vacuum, which the Antigonid and Antipatrid dynasties sought to occupy. The Antigonid family first rose to power when Demetrius I Poliorcetes, son of Antigonus I, ousted Cassander's governor of Athens in 306 BC giving his father control over a land spanning from the Aegean Sea to the Middle East. Despite the subsequent instability and loss of the Asian territory, the family managed to maintain its power in mainland Greece and the islands, with Antigonus II Gonatas ultimately solidifying Antigonid rule over Hellenistic Macedon –a territory also known as the Antigonid Empire. Antigonus III Doson further expanded Macedonian influence in southern Greece reestablishing the Hellenic Alliance with himself as the president. Under Philip V, Antigonid Macedon first came into conflict with Rome, which had become a decisive power in the eastern Mediterranean. In the second century BC, the last Antigonid king, Perseus, became known as the champion of Greek resistance against Rome, albeit Rome's control over Antigonid Greece began to steadily expand, culminating in the fall of the dynasty in 168.

History
The beginning of Hellenistic Greece was defined by the struggle between the Antipatrid dynasty, led first by Cassander ( r.  305 – 297 BC), son of Antipater, and the Antigonid dynasty, led by Antigonus I Monophthalmus ( r.  306 – 301 BC) and his son, the future king Demetrius I Poliorcetes ( r.  294 – 288 BC). After the power crisis in Macedon, which culminated in Philip III's and Euridice's death, Cassander managed to seize control from Olympias and began to establish his authority in the kingdom; in 316 BC he buried Philip III and Euridice at Aegae and married Philip II's daughter, Thessalonica, thus becoming a member of the Argead dynasty. In 310/309 BC, Cassander commanded Glaucias to secretly assassinate the 14-year-old Alexander IV, son of Alexander the Great, and his mother Roxane and the Macedonian Argead dynasty became extinct.

In 307 BC, Demetrius I successfully ousted Cassander's governor of Athens, Demerius of Phalerum, and after defeating Ptolemy I at the Battle of Salamis in 306 BC he conquered the island Cyprus. Following that victory, Demetrius' father, Antigonus I, assumed the title of Basileus ("King" of Alexander's Empire) by the assembled armies and gained control over the Aegean, the eastern Mediterranean, and most of the Middle East. While Antigonus and Demetrius attempted to recreate Philip II's Hellenic league with themselves as dual hegemons, a revived coalition of Cassander, Ptolemy I Soter, Seleucus I Nicator, and Lysimachus decisively defeated the Antigonids at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, during which Antigonus I was killed. Demetrius I survived the battle and in 294 BC –during the struggles between Casander's sons Alexander V and Antipater I– he managed to seize control of Athens and establish himself as king of Macedon. In 288 BC, he was driven out by Phyrrus and Lysimachus and eventually died as a prisoner of Seleucus I Nicator. After a long period of instability, Demetrius' son Antigonus II Gonatas was able to establish the family's control over the old Kingdom of Macedon, as well as over most of the Greek city-states by 276 BC.

Legacy
The Antigonid was one of four dynasties established by Alexander's successors, the others being the Seleucid dynasty, Ptolemaic dynasty and Antipatrid dynasty. The last scion of the dynasty, Perseus of Macedon, who reigned between 179 and 168 BC, proved unable to stop the advancing Roman legions and Macedon's defeat at the Battle of Pydna signaled the end of the dynasty.

Dynasty
The ruling members of the Antigonid dynasty were:

The Greek rebel against Rome and last King of Macedonia, Andriscus, claimed to be the son of Perseus.

title: Antigonid dynasty


text:
Abingdon

Abingdon may refer to:

United Kingdom

 * Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
 * Abingdon (UK Parliament constituency) 1558–1983
 * Abingdon railway station (closed)

United States

 * Abingdon, Iowa
 * Abingdon, Illinois
 * Abingdon, Maryland
 * Abingdon, Virginia
 * Abingdon (plantation), Virginia

Other countries

 * Abingdon Downs, Queensland, Australia
 * Abingdon Airport
 * Abingdon, Ontario, Canada
 * Abingdon Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Other uses

 * Abingdon (1902 automobile)
 * Abingdon (1922 automobile)
 * Abingdon Arms, in Oxford, England
 * Abingdon Health, a British manufacturer of diagnostic tests
 * Abingdon Motorcycles, a former British motorcycle manufacturer
 * Abingdon Press, publishing house of the United Methodist Church
 * Abingdon Road, in Oxford, England
 * Abingdon School, in Abingdon-on-Thames, England
 * Earl of Abingdon, a title in the Peerage of England
 * USS Abingdon, a U.S. Navy ship

title: Abingdon


text:
Abjuration

Abjuration is the solemn repudiation, abandonment, or renunciation by or upon oath, often the renunciation of citizenship or some other right or privilege. The term comes from the Latin abjurare, "to forswear".

Abjuration of the realm
Abjuration of the realm was a type of abjuration in ancient English law. The person taking the oath swore to leave the country directly and promptly, never to return to the kingdom unless by permission of the sovereign. This was often taken by fugitives who had taken sanctuary:

"I swear on the Holy Book that I will leave the realm of England and never return without the express permission of my Lord the King or his heirs. I will hasten by the direct road to the port allotted to me and not leave the King's highway under pain of arrest or execution. I will not stay at one place more than one night and will seek diligently for a passage across the sea as soon as I arrive, delaying only one tide if possible. If I cannot secure such passage, I will walk into the sea up to my knees every day as a token of my desire to cross. And if I fail in all this, then peril shall be my lot."

English Commonwealth
Near the start of the English Civil War, on 18 August 1643 Parliament passed "An Ordinance for Explanation of a former Ordinance for Sequestration of Delinquents Estates with some Enlargements." The enlargements included an oath which became known as the "Oath of Abjuration": "I ..; Do abjure and renounce the Pope's Supremacy and Authority over the Catholic Church in General, and over my self in Particular; And I do believe that there is not any Transubstantiation in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, or in the Elements of Bread and Wine after Consecration thereof, by any Person whatsoever; And I do also believe, that there is not any Purgatory, Or that the consecrated Host, Crucifixes, or Images, ought to be worshipped, or that any worship is due unto any of them; And I also believe that Salvation cannot be Merited by Works, and all Doctrines in affirmation of the said Points; I do abjure and renounce, without any Equivocation, Mental Reservation, or secret Evasion whatsoever, taking the words by me spoken, according to the common and usual meaning of them. So help me God."

In 1656–7, it was reissued in what was for Catholics an even more objectionable form. Everyone was to be "adjudged a Papist" who refused this oath, and the consequent penalties began with the confiscation of two-thirds of the recusant's goods, and went on to deprive him of almost every civic right.

The Catholic Encyclopaedia makes the point that the oath and the penalties were so severe that it stopped the efforts of the Gallicanizing party among the English Catholics, who had been ready to offer forms of submission similar to the old oath of Allegiance, which was condemned anew about this time by Pope Innocent X.

Scotland
During The Killing Time of the 1680s an Abjuration Oath could be put to suspects where they were given the option to abjure or renounce their allegiances. The terms of the oath were deliberately designed to offend the consciences of the Presbyterian Covenanters. Those who would not swear "whether they have arms, or not" could be "immediately killed" by field trial "before two witnesses" on a charge of high treason. John Brown was included among those executed in this judicial process by John Graham (Bluidy Clavers) on 1 May 1685. The wives and children of such men could also be put out of their houses if they had spoken to the suspect or refused the oath themselves.

Great Britain and Ireland
In England (and after 1707 Great Britain) the Oath of Abjuration denied the royal title of James II's heirs (i.e. the direct Catholic descendant of the House of Stuart exiled after the Glorious Revolution in 1688). In England, an Oath of Abjuration was taken by Members of Parliament, clergy, and laymen, pledging to support the current British monarch and repudiated the right of the Stuarts and other claimants to the throne. This oath was imposed under William III, George I and George III. It was superseded by the oath of allegiance. In Ireland, the oath was imposed of state officeholders, teachers, lawyers, and on the clergy of the established church in from 1703, the following year it was on all Irish voters and from 1709 it could be demanded of any adult male by a magistrate.

Bilino Polje abjuration
The Bilino Polje abjuration, also known as "Confessio Christianorum bosniensis", was an act of alleged heresy abjuration by clergy of the Bosnian Church in presence of the Bosnian ruler, Ban Kulin, and Giovanni da Casamari. It affirmed the primacy of the pope and related to errors of practice, stemming from ignorance, rather than heretical doctrines. It was signed by seven Bosnian priors, on 8 April 1203 at Bilino Polje field, near today town of Zenica, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The same document was brought to Buda, in 30 April by Giovanni da Casamari, Ban Kulin and two abbots, where it was examined by Emeric, King of Hungary, and the high clergy.

The Netherlands
Another famous abjuration was brought about by the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe of July 26, 1581, the formal declaration of independence of the Low Countries from the Spanish king, Philip II. This oath was the climax of the Eighty Years' War (Dutch Revolt).

title: Abjuration


text:
Abitibi

Abitibi may refer to:

Election districts in Canada

 * Abitibi—Témiscamingue (electoral district)
 * Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou
 * Abitibi (provincial electoral district)

Places in Canada

 * Abitibi Canyon, Ontario, community on the Abitibi River
 * Abitibi Canyon Generating Station, hydroelectric power plant
 * Abitibi County, Quebec, historical county in southwestern Quebec
 * Abitibi gold belt, a gold mining region spanning the border of Ontario and Quebec
 * Abitibi Regional County Municipality, Quebec
 * Abitibi River
 * Abitibi-Ontario Band of Abitibi Indians, or Abitibi, former name of Wahgoshig First Nation
 * Abitibi-Témiscamingue, administrative region in Quebec
 * Lake Abitibi

Other uses

 * AbitibiBowater, former name of Resolute Forest Products, a pulp and paper manufacturing company
 * Abitibi-Consolidated, the company that merged with Bowater to create AbitibiBowater
 * Abitibi (train), former name of the Montreal–Senneterre train in Canada
 * Abitibi Eskimos, former name of the Timmins Rock, an ice hockey team in Canada

title: Abitibi


text:
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects (1792), written by British philosopher and women's rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797), is one of the earliest works of feminist philosophy. In it, Wollstonecraft responds to those educational and political theorists of the eighteenth century who did not believe women should receive a rational education. She argues that women ought to have an education commensurate with their position in society, claiming that women are essential to the nation because they educate its children and because they could be "companions" to their husbands, rather than mere wives. Instead of viewing women as ornaments to society or property to be traded in marriage, Wollstonecraft maintains that they are human beings deserving of the same fundamental rights as men.

Wollstonecraft was prompted to write the Rights of Woman after reading Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord's 1791 report to the French National Assembly, which stated that women should only receive domestic education. From her reaction to this specific event, she launched a broad attack against double standards, indicting men for encouraging women to indulge in excessive emotion. Wollstonecraft hurried to complete the work in direct response to ongoing events; she intended to write a more thoughtful second volume but died before completing it.

While Wollstonecraft does call for equality between the sexes in particular areas of life, especially morality, she does not explicitly state that men and women are equal. Her ambiguous statements regarding the equality of the sexes have made it difficult to classify Wollstonecraft as a modern feminist; the word itself did not emerge until decades after her death.

Although it is commonly assumed that the Rights of Woman was unfavourably received, this is a modern misconception based on the belief that Wollstonecraft was as reviled during her lifetime as she became after the publication of William Godwin's Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1798). The Rights of Woman was generally received well when it was first published in 1792. Biographer Emily W. Sunstein called it "perhaps the most original book of [Wollstonecraft's] century". Wollstonecraft's work had significant impact on advocates for women's rights in the nineteenth century, particularly the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention which produced the Declaration of Sentiments laying out the aims of the women's suffrage movement in the United States.

Historical context

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman was written against the tumultuous background of the French Revolution and the debates that it spawned in Britain. In a lively and sometimes vicious pamphlet war, now referred to as the Revolution controversy, British political commentators addressed topics ranging from representative government to human rights to the separation of church and state, many of these issues having been raised in France first. Wollstonecraft first entered this fray in 1790 with A Vindication of the Rights of Men, a response to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790). In his Reflections, Burke criticized the view of many British thinkers and writers who had welcomed the early stages of the French revolution. While they saw the revolution as analogous to Britain's own Glorious Revolution in 1688, which had restricted the powers of the monarchy, Burke argued that the appropriate historical analogy was the English Civil War (1642–1651) in which CharlesI had been executed in 1649. He viewed the French revolution as the violent overthrow of a legitimate government. In Reflections he argues that citizens do not have the right to revolt against their government because civilization is the result of social and political consensus; its traditions cannot be continually challenged – the result would be anarchy. One of the key arguments of Wollstonecraft's Rights of Men, published just six weeks after Burke's Reflections, is that rights cannot be based on tradition; rights, she argues, should be conferred because they are reasonable and just, regardless of their basis in tradition.

When Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord presented his Rapport sur l'instruction publique (1791) to the National Assembly in France, Wollstonecraft was galvanized to respond. In his recommendations for a national system of education, Talleyrand had written: "Let us bring up women, not to aspire to advantages which the Constitution denies them, but to know and appreciate those which it guarantees them... Men are destined to live on the stage of the world. A public education suits them: it early places before their eyes all the scenes of life: only the proportions are different. The paternal home is better for the education of women; they have less need to learn to deal with the interests of others, than to accustom themselves to a calm and secluded life."

Wollstonecraft dedicated the Rights of Woman to Talleyrand: "Having read with great pleasure a pamphlet which you have lately published, I dedicate this volume to you; to induce you to reconsider the subject, and maturely weigh what I have advanced respecting the rights of woman and national education." At the end of 1791, French feminist Olympe de Gouges had published her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, and the question of women's rights became central to political debates in both France and Britain.

The Rights of Woman is an extension of Wollstonecraft's arguments in the Rights of Men. In the Rights of Men, as the title suggests, she is concerned with the rights of particular men (eighteenth-century British men) while in the Rights of Woman, she is concerned with the rights afforded to "woman", an abstract category. She does not isolate her argument to eighteenth-century women or British women. The first chapter of the Rights of Woman addresses the issue of natural rights and asks who has those inalienable rights and on what grounds. She answers that since natural rights are given by God, for one segment of society to deny them to another segment is a sin. The Rights of Woman thus engages not only specific events in France and in Britain but also larger questions being raised by political philosophers such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Themes
The Rights of Woman is a long (almost 87,000 words) essay that introduces all of its major topics in the opening chapters and then repeatedly returns to them, each time from a different point of view. It also adopts a hybrid tone that combines rational argument with the fervent rhetoric of sensibility. Wollstonecraft did not employ the formal argumentation or logical prose style common to eighteenth-century philosophical writing.

Hysteria was once seen as a physical phenomenon – physicians and anatomists believed that the more "sensitive" people's "nerves", the more emotionally affected they would be by their surroundings. Since women were thought to have keener nerves than men, it was believed that women were more emotional than men. The emotional excess associated with sensibility also theoretically produced an ethic of compassion: those with sensibility could easily sympathise with people in pain. Thus historians have credited the discourse of sensibility and those who promoted it with the increased humanitarian efforts, such as the movement to abolish the slave trade. But sensibility also paralysed those who had too much of it; as scholar G. J. Barker-Benfield explains, "an innate refinement of nerves was also identifiable with greater suffering, with weakness, and a susceptibility to disorder".

By the time Wollstonecraft was writing the Rights of Woman, sensibility had already been under sustained attack for a number of years. Sensibility, which had initially promised to draw individuals together through sympathy, was now viewed as "profoundly separatist"; novels, plays, and poems that employed the language of sensibility asserted individual rights, sexual freedom, and unconventional familial relationships based only upon feeling. Furthermore, as Janet Todd, another scholar of sensibility, argues, "to many in Britain the cult of sensibility seemed to have feminized the nation, given women undue prominence, and emasculated men".

Rational education
One of Wollstonecraft's central arguments in the Rights of Woman is that women should be educated in a rational manner to give them the opportunity to contribute to society. In the eighteenth century, it was often assumed by educational philosophers and conduct book writers, who wrote what one might think of as early self-help books, that women were incapable of rational or abstract thought. Women, it was believed, were too susceptible to sensibility and too fragile to be able to think clearly. Wollstonecraft, along with other female reformers such as Catharine Macaulay and Hester Chapone, maintained that women were indeed capable of rational thought and deserved to be educated. She argued this point in her own conduct book, Thoughts on the Education of Daughters (1787), in her children's book, Original Stories from Real Life (1788), as well as in the Rights of Woman.

Stating in her preface that "my main argument is built on this simple principle, that if [woman] be not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge and virtue; for truth must be common to all", Wollstonecraft contends that society will degenerate without educated women, particularly because mothers are the primary educators of young children. She attributes the problem of uneducated women to men and "a false system of education, gathered from the books written on this subject by men who [consider] females rather as women than human creatures". Women are capable of rationality; it only appears that they are not, because men have refused to educate them and encouraged them to be frivolous (Wollstonecraft describes silly women as "spaniels" and "toys" ).

Wollstonecraft attacks conduct book writers such as James Fordyce and John Gregory as well as educational philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau who argue that a woman does not need a rational education. (Rousseau argues in Emile [1762] that women should be educated for the pleasure of men; Wollstonecraft, infuriated by this argument, attacks not only it but also Rousseau himself.) Intent on illustrating the limitations that contemporary educational theory placed upon women, Wollstonecraft writes, "taught from their infancy that beauty is woman's sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and, roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison", implying that without this damaging ideology, which encourages young women to focus their attention on beauty and outward accomplishments, they could achieve much more. Wives could be the rational "companions" of their husbands and even pursue careers should they so choose: "women might certainly study the art of healing, and be physicians as well as nurses. And midwifery, decency seems to allot to them... they might, also, study politics... Business of various kinds, they might likewise pursue."

For Wollstonecraft, "the most perfect education" is "an exercise of the understanding as is best calculated to strengthen the body and form the heart. Or, in other words, to enable the individual to attach such habits of virtue as will render it independent." In addition to her broad philosophical arguments, Wollstonecraft lays out a specific plan for national education to counter Talleyrand's. In Chapter 12, "On National Education", she proposes that children be sent to free day schools as well as given some education at home "to inspire a love of home and domestic pleasures". She also maintains that schooling should be co-educational, contending that men and women, whose marriages are "the cement of society", should be "educated after the same model".

Feminism

It is debatable to what extent the Rights of Woman is a feminist text; because the definitions of feminist vary, different scholars have come to different conclusions. The words feminist and feminism were not coined until the 1890s, and there was no feminist movement to speak of during Wollstonecraft's lifetime. Rights of Woman is often considered the source or original, "the ur-document of modern liberal feminism". In the introduction to her work on Wollstonecraft's thought, Barbara Taylor writes: "Describing [Wollstonecraft's philosophy] as feminist is problematic, and I do it only after much consideration. The label is of course anachronistic... Treating Wollstonecraft's thought as an anticipation of nineteenth and twentieth-century feminist argument has meant sacrificing or distorting some of its key elements. Leading examples of this... have been the widespread neglect of her religious beliefs, and the misrepresentation of her as a bourgeois liberal, which together have resulted in the displacement of a religiously inspired utopian radicalism by a secular, class-partisan reformism as alien to Wollstonecraft's political project as her dream of a divinely promised age of universal happiness is to our own. Even more important however has been the imposition on Wollstonecraft of a heroic-individualist brand of politics utterly at odds with her own ethically driven case for women's emancipation. Wollstonecraft's leading ambition for women was that they should attain virtue, and it was to this end that she sought their liberation."

In the Rights of Woman, Wollstonecraft does not make the claim for gender equality using the same arguments or the same language that late nineteenth- and twentieth-century feminists later would. For instance, rather than unequivocally stating that men and women are equal, Wollstonecraft contends that men and women are equal in the eyes of God, which means that they are both subject to the same moral law. For Wollstonecraft, men and women are equal in the most important areas of life. While such an idea may not seem revolutionary to twenty-first-century readers, its implications were revolutionary during the eighteenth century. For example, it implied that both men and women – not just women – should be modest and respect the sanctity of marriage. Wollstonecraft's argument exposed the sexual double standard of the late eighteenth century and demanded that men adhere to the same virtues demanded of women.

However, Wollstonecraft's arguments for equality stand in contrast to her statements respecting the superiority of masculine strength and valour. Wollstonecraft states: "Let it not be concluded, that I wish to invert the order of things; I have already granted, that, from the constitution of their bodies, men seem to be designed by Providence to attain a greater degree of virtue. I speak collectively of the whole sex; but I see not the shadow of a reason to conclude that their virtues should differ in respect to their nature. In fact, how can they, if virtue has only one eternal standard? I must therefore, if I reason consequentially, as strenuously maintain that they have the same simple direction, as that there is a God."

Wollstonecraft calls on men, rather than women, to initiate the social and political changes she outlines in the Rights of Woman. Because women are uneducated, they cannot alter their own situation – men must come to their aid. Wollstonecraft writes at the end of her chapter "Of the Pernicious Effects Which Arise from the Unnatural Distinctions Established in Society": "I then would fain convince reasonable men of the importance of some of my remarks; and prevail on them to weigh dispassionately the whole tenor of my observations... I appeal to their understandings; and, as a fellow-creature, claim, in the name of my sex, some interest in their hearts. I entreat them to assist to emancipate their companion, to make her a help meet for them! Would men but generously snap our chains, and be content with rational fellowship instead of slavish obedience, they would find us more observant daughters, more affectionate sisters, more faithful wives, more reasonable mothers – in a word, better citizens."

Wollstonecraft's last novel, Maria: or, The Wrongs of Woman (1798), the fictionalized sequel to the Rights of Woman, is usually considered her most radical feminist work.

Sensibility
One of Wollstonecraft's most scathing criticisms in the Rights of Woman is against false and excessive sensibility, particularly in women. She argues that women who succumb to sensibility are "blown about by every momentary gust of feeling"; because these women are "the prey of their senses", they cannot think rationally. Not only do they do harm to themselves but they also do harm to all of civilization: these are not women who can refine civilization – these are women who will destroy it. But reason and feeling are not independent for Wollstonecraft; rather, she believes that they should inform each other. For Wollstonecraft the passions underpin all reason. This was a theme that she would return to throughout her career, but particularly in her novels Mary: A Fiction (1788) and Maria: or, The Wrongs of Woman. For the eighteenth-century Scottish philosopher David Hume, reason is dominated by the passions. He held that passions rather than reason govern human behaviour, famously proclaiming in A Treatise of Human Nature that "Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions".

As part of her argument that women should not be overly influenced by their feelings and emotions, Wollstonecraft emphasises that they should not be constrained by or made slaves to their bodies or their sexual feelings. This particular argument has led many modern feminists to suggest that Wollstonecraft intentionally avoids granting women any sexual desire. Cora Kaplan argues that the "negative and prescriptive assault on female sexuality" is a leitmotif of the Rights of Woman. For example, Wollstonecraft advises her readers to "calmly let passion subside into friendship" in the ideal companionate marriage (that is, in the ideal of a love-based marriage that was developing at the time). It would be better, she writes, when "two virtuous young people marry . . . if some circumstances checked their passion". According to Wollstonecraft, "love and friendship cannot subsist in the same bosom". As Mary Poovey explains, "Wollstonecraft betrays her fear that female desire might in fact court man's lascivious and degrading attentions, that the subordinate position women have been given might even be deserved. Until women can transcend their fleshly desires and fleshly forms, they will be hostage to the body." If women are not interested in sexuality, they cannot be dominated by men. Wollstonecraft worries that women are consumed with "romantic wavering", that is, they are interested only in satisfying their lusts. Because the Rights of Woman eliminates sexuality from a woman's life, Kaplan contends, it "expresses a violent antagonism to the sexual" while at the same time "exaggerat[ing] the importance of the sensual in the everyday life of women". Wollstonecraft was so determined to wipe sexuality from her picture of the ideal woman that she ended up foregrounding it by insisting upon its absence. But as Kaplan and others have remarked, Wollstonecraft may have been forced to make this sacrifice: "it is important to remember that the notion of woman as politically enabled and independent [was] fatally linked [during the eighteenth century] to the unrestrained and vicious exercise of her sexuality."

Republicanism

Claudia Johnson, a prominent Wollstonecraft scholar, has called the Rights of Woman "a republican manifesto". Johnson contends that Wollstonecraft is hearkening back to the Commonwealth tradition of the seventeenth century and attempting to reestablish a republican ethos. In Wollstonecraft's version, there would be strong, but separate, masculine and feminine roles for citizens. According to Johnson, Wollstonecraft "denounces the collapse of proper sexual distinction as the leading feature of her age, and as the grievous consequence of sentimentality itself. The problem undermining society in her view is feminized men". If men feel free to adopt both the masculine position and the sentimental feminine position, she argues, women have no position open to them in society. Johnson therefore sees Wollstonecraft as a critic, in both the Rights of Men and the Rights of Woman, of the "masculinization of sensitivity" in such works as Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France.

In the Rights of Woman Wollstonecraft adheres to a version of republicanism that includes a belief in the eventual overthrow of all titles, including the monarchy. She also suggests that all men and women should be represented in government. But the bulk of her "political criticism", as Chris Jones, a Wollstonecraft scholar, explains, "is couched predominantly in terms of morality". Her definition of virtue focuses on the individual's happiness rather than, for example, the good of society. This is reflected in her explanation of natural rights. Because rights ultimately proceed from God, Wollstonecraft maintains that there are duties, tied to those rights, incumbent upon each and every person. For Wollstonecraft, the individual is taught republicanism and benevolence within the family; domestic relations and familial ties are crucial to her understanding of social cohesion and patriotism.

Class
In many ways the Rights of Woman is inflected by a bourgeois view of the world, as is its direct predecessor the Rights of Men. Wollstonecraft addresses her text to the middle class, which she calls the "most natural state". She also frequently praises modesty and industry, virtues which, at the time, were associated with the middle class. From her position as a middle-class writer arguing for a middle-class ethos, Wollstonecraft also attacks the wealthy, criticizing them using the same arguments she employs against women. She points out the "false-refinement, immorality, and vanity" of the rich, calling them "weak, artificial beings, raised above the common wants and affections of their race, in a premature unnatural manner [who] undermine the very foundation of virtue, and spread corruption through the whole mass of society".

But Wollstonecraft's criticisms of the wealthy do not necessarily reflect a concomitant sympathy for the poor. For her, the poor are fortunate because they will never be trapped by the snares of wealth: "Happy is it when people have the cares of life to struggle with; for these struggles prevent their becoming a prey to enervating vices, merely from idleness!" She contends that charity has only negative consequences because, as Jones puts it, she "sees it as sustaining an unequal society while giving the appearance of virtue to the rich".

In her national plan for education, she retains class distinctions (with an exception for the intelligent), suggesting that: "After the age of nine, girls and boys, intended for domestic employments, or mechanical trades, ought to be removed to other schools, and receive instruction, in some measure appropriated to the destination of each individual... The young people of superior abilities, or fortune, might now be taught, in another school, the dead and living languages, the elements of science, and continue the study of history and politics, on a more extensive scale, which would not exclude polite literature."

Rhetoric and style

In attempting to navigate the cultural expectations of female writers and the generic conventions of political and philosophical discourse, Wollstonecraft, as she does throughout her oeuvre, constructs a unique blend of masculine and feminine styles in the Rights of Woman. She uses the language of philosophy, referring to her work as a "treatise" with "arguments" and "principles". However, Wollstonecraft also uses a personal tone, employing "I" and "you", dashes and exclamation marks, and autobiographical references to create a distinctly feminine voice in the text. The Rights of Woman further hybridizes its genre by weaving together elements of the conduct book, the short essay, and the novel, genres often associated with women, while at the same time claiming that these genres could be used to discuss philosophical topics such as rights.

Although Wollstonecraft argues against excessive sensibility, the rhetoric of the Rights of Woman is at times heated and attempts to provoke the reader. Many of the most emotional comments in the book are directed at Rousseau. For example, after excerpting a long passage from Emile (1762), Wollstonecraft pithily states, "I shall make no other comments on this ingenious passage, than just to observe, that it is the philosophy of lasciviousness." A mere page later, after indicting Rousseau's plan for female education, she writes "I must relieve myself by drawing another picture." These terse exclamations are meant to draw the reader to her side of the argument (it is assumed that the reader will agree with them). While she claims to write in a plain style so that her ideas will reach the broadest possible audience, she actually combines the plain, rational language of the political treatise with the poetic, passionate language of sensibility to demonstrate that one can combine rationality and sensibility in the same self.

In her efforts to vividly describe the condition of women within society, Wollstonecraft employs several different analogies. She often compares women to slaves, arguing that their ignorance and powerlessness places them in that position. But at the same time, she also compares them to "capricious tyrants" who use cunning and deceit to manipulate the men around them. At one point, she reasons that a woman can become either a slave or tyrant, which she describes as two sides of the same coin. Wollstonecraft also compares women to soldiers; like military men, they are valued only for their appearance and obedience. And like the rich, women's "softness" has "debased mankind".

Revision
Wollstonecraft was forced to write the Rights of Woman hurriedly to respond to Talleyrand and ongoing events. Upon completing the work, she wrote to her friend William Roscoe: "I am dissatisfied with myself for not having done justice to the subject... Do not suspect me of false modesty – I mean to say that had I allowed myself more time I could have written a better book, in every sense of the word... I intend to finish the next volume before I begin to print, for it is not pleasant to have the Devil coming for the conclusion of a sheet fore it is written." When Wollstonecraft revised the Rights of Woman for the second edition, she took the opportunity not only to fix small spelling and grammar mistakes but also to bolster the feminist claims of her argument. She changed some of her statements regarding female and male difference to reflect a greater equality between the sexes.

Wollstonecraft never wrote the second part to the Rights of Woman, although William Godwin published her "Hints", which were "chiefly designed to have been incorporated in the second part of the Vindication of the Rights of Woman", in the posthumous collection of her works. However, she did begin writing the novel Maria: or, The Wrongs of Woman, which most scholars consider a fictionalized sequel to the Rights of Woman. It was unfinished at her death and also included in the Posthumous Works published by Godwin.

Reception and legacy
When it was first published in 1792, the Rights of Woman was reviewed favourably by the Analytical Review, the General Magazine, the Literary Magazine, New York Magazine, and the Monthly Review, although the assumption persists that Rights of Woman received hostile reviews. It was almost immediately released in a second edition in 1792, several American editions appeared, and it was translated into French. Taylor writes that "it was an immediate success". Moreover, other writers such as Mary Hays and Mary Robinson specifically alluded to Wollstonecraft's text in their own works. Hays cited the Rights of Woman in her novel Memoirs of Emma Courtney (1796) and modelled her female characters after Wollstonecraft's ideal woman.

Although female conservatives such as Hannah More excoriated Wollstonecraft personally, they actually shared many of the same values. As the scholar Anne Mellor has shown, both More and Wollstonecraft wanted a society founded on "Christian virtues of rational benevolence, honesty, personal virtue, the fulfillment of social duty, thrift, sobriety, and hard work". During the early 1790s, many writers within British society were engaged in an intense debate regarding the position of women in society. For example, the respected poet and essayist Anna Laetitia Barbauld and Wollstonecraft sparred back and forth; Barbauld published several poems responding to Wollstonecraft's work and Wollstonecraft commented on them in footnotes to the Rights of Woman. The work also provoked outright hostility. The bluestocking Elizabeth Carter was unimpressed with the work. Thomas Taylor, the Neoplatonist translator who had been a landlord to the Wollstonecraft family in the late 1770s, swiftly wrote a satire called A Vindication of the Rights of Brutes: if women have rights, why not animals too?

After Wollstonecraft died in 1797, her husband William Godwin published his Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1798). He revealed much about her private life that had previously not been known to the public: her illegitimate child, her love affairs, and her attempts at suicide. While Godwin believed he was portraying his wife with love, sincerity, and compassion, contemporary readers were shocked by Wollstonecraft's unorthodox lifestyle and she became a reviled figure. Richard Polwhele targeted her in particular in his anonymous long poem The Unsex'd Females (1798), a defensive reaction to women's literary self-assertion: Hannah More is Christ to Wollstonecraft's Satan. His poem was "well known" among the responses to A Vindication.

Wollstonecraft's ideas became associated with her life story and women writers felt that it was dangerous to mention her in their texts. Hays, who had previously been a close friend and an outspoken advocate for Wollstonecraft and her Rights of Woman, for example, did not include her in the collection of Illustrious and Celebrated Women she published in 1803. Maria Edgeworth specifically distances herself from Wollstonecraft in her novel Belinda (1802); she caricatures Wollstonecraft as a radical feminist in the character of Harriet Freke. But, like Jane Austen, she does not reject Wollstonecraft's ideas. Both Edgeworth and Austen argue that women are crucial to the development of the nation; moreover, they portray women as rational beings who should choose companionate marriage.

The negative views towards Wollstonecraft persisted for over a century. The Rights of Woman was not reprinted until the middle of the nineteenth century and it still retained an aura of ill-repute. George Eliot wrote "there is in some quarters a vague prejudice against the Rights of Woman as in some way or other a reprehensible book, but readers who go to it with this impression will be surprised to find it eminently serious, severely moral, and withal rather heavy". The suffragist (i.e. moderate reformer, as opposed to suffragette) Millicent Garrett Fawcett wrote the introduction to the centenary edition of the Rights of Woman, cleansing the memory of Wollstonecraft and claiming her as the foremother of the struggle for the vote. While the Rights of Woman may have paved the way for feminist arguments, twentieth-century feminists have tended to use Wollstonecraft's life story, rather than her texts, for inspiration; her unorthodox lifestyle convinced them to try new "experiments in living", as Virginia Woolf termed it in her famous essay on Wollstonecraft. However, there is some evidence that the Rights of Woman may be influencing current feminists. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a feminist who is critical of Islam's dictates regarding women, cites the Rights of Woman in her autobiography Infidel, writing that she was "inspired by Mary Wollstonecraft, the pioneering feminist thinker who told women they had the same ability to reason as men did and deserved the same rights". Miriam Schneir also includes this text in her anthology Feminism: The Essential Historical Writings, labelling it as one of the essential feminist works. Further evidence of the enduring legacy of Wollstonecraft's A Vindication may be seen by direct references in recent historical fiction set: for example, in The Silk Weaver (1998) set in the late eighteenth century among Dublin silk weavers, author Gabrielle Warnock (1998) intervenes as narrator to hold up ‘Rights of Woman’ for the reader to reflect upon the politics, morals, and feelings of her female characters. In Death Comes to Pemberley (2011), set in 1803, P. D. James has one male character reference Rights of Woman in reproving another (Darcy) for denying voice to the woman in matters that concern her.

Modern reprints

 * Wollstonecraft, Mary. The Complete Works of Mary Wollstonecraft. Ed. Janet Todd and Marilyn Butler. 7 vols. London: William Pickering, 1989. ISBN 0-8147-9225-1.
 * Wollstonecraft, Mary. The Vindications: The Rights of Men and The Rights of Woman. Eds. D.L. Macdonald and Kathleen Scherf. Toronto: Broadview Literary Texts, 1997. ISBN 1-55111-088-1
 * Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Ed. Miriam Brody Kramnick. Rev. ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2004. ISBN 0-14-144125-9.
 * Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Ed. Deidre Shauna Lynch. 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2009. ISBN 0-393-92974-4.
 * Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Men and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Ed. Sylvana Tomaselli. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-521-43633-8.

Contemporary reviews

 * Analytical Review 12 (1792): 241–249; 13 (1792): 418–489.
 * Christian Miscellany 1 (1792): 209–212.
 * Critical Review New Series 4 (1792): 389–398; 5 (1792): 132–141.
 * General Magazine and Imperial Review 6.2 (1792): 187–191.
 * Literary Magazine and British Review 8 (1792); 133–139.
 * Monthly Review New Series 8 (1792): 198–209.
 * New Annual Register 13 (1792): 298.
 * New-York Magazine 4 (1793): 77–81.
 * Scots Magazine 54 (1792): 284–290.
 * Sentimental and Masonic Magazine 1 (1792): 63–72.
 * Town and Country Magazine 24 (1792): 279.

title: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman