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Prometheus Unbound (Shelley)

Prometheus Unbound is a four-act lyrical drama by Percy Bysshe Shelley, first published in 1820. It is concerned with the torments of the Greek mythological figure Prometheus, who defies the gods and gives fire to humanity, for which he is subjected to eternal punishment and suffering at the hands of Zeus. It is inspired by the classical Prometheia, a trilogy of plays attributed to Aeschylus. Shelley's play concerns Prometheus' release from captivity, but unlike Aeschylus' version, there is no reconciliation between Prometheus and Jupiter (Zeus). Instead, Jupiter is abandoned by his supportive elements and falls from power, which allows Prometheus to be released.

Shelley's play is a closet drama, meaning it was not intended to be produced on the stage. In the tradition of Romantic poetry, Shelley wrote for the imagination, intending his play's stage to reside in the imaginations of his readers. However, the play is filled with suspense, mystery and other dramatic effects that make it, in theory, performable.

Background
Mary Shelley, in a letter on 5 September 1818, was the first to describe her husband Percy Shelley's writing of Prometheus Unbound. On 22 September 1818, Shelley, while in Padua, wrote to Mary, who was at Este, requesting "The sheets of 'Prometheus Unbound,' which you will find numbered from one to twenty-six on the table of the pavilion." There is little other evidence as to when Shelley began Prometheus Unbound while he was living in Italy, but Shelley first mentions his progress in a letter to Thomas Love Peacock on 8 October 1818: "I have been writing – and indeed have just finished the first act of a lyrical and classical drama, to be called 'Prometheus Unbound'."

Shelley stopped working on the poem following the death of his daughter Clara Everina Shelley on 24 September 1818. After her death, Shelley began to travel across Italy, and would not progress with the drama until after 24 January 1819. By April, the majority of the play was completed, and Shelley wrote to Peacock on 6 April 1819: "My Prometheus Unbound is just finished, and in a month or two I shall send it". Shelley also wrote to Leigh Hunt to tell him that the play was finished. However, the play was not yet published; Shelley would be delayed in editing and finishing the work by another death, that of his son William Shelley, who died on 7 June 1819.

On 6 September 1819, Shelley wrote to Charles and James Ollier to say, "My 'Prometheus,' which has been long finished, is now being transcribed, and will soon be forwarded to you for publication." The play was delayed in publication, because John Gisborne, whom Shelley trusted to go to England with the text, delayed his journey. It was not until December 1819 that the manuscript with the first three acts of Prometheus Unbound was sent to England. The fourth act was incomplete by this time, and on 23 December 1819, Shelley wrote to Gisborne, "I have just finished an additional act to 'Prometheus' which Mary is now transcribing, and which will be enclosed for your inspection before it is transmitted to the Bookseller."

While in Italy, Shelley became concerned about the progress of publishing Prometheus Unbound. He wrote many letters to Charles Ollier from March until April asking about the drama's progress and wanted to know if the text was accurate because he was unable to check the proofs himself. Both Percy and Mary Shelley were eager to hear when the book was published, and inquired Gisborne's wife, Thomas Medwin, and John Keats about its release throughout July 1820. It was not until late August that they received word that the book was published. They were eager to read the published version and obtained one by November 1820.

After they procured a copy, Shelley wrote to the Olliers on 10 November 1820: "Mr. Gisborne has sent me a copy of the 'Prometheus,' which is certainly most beautifully printed. It is to be regretted that the errors of the press are so numerous, and in many respects so destructive of the sense of a species of poetry which, I fear, even with this disadvantage, very few will understand or like." A corrected edition was sent on 20 January 1821 along with a letter from Shelley that explains "the Errata of 'Prometheus,' which I ought to have sent long since – a formidable list, as you will see". Shelley did not forget the printing errors, and even criticised Charles Ollier later when Shelley sent Adonaïs to be published.

Æschylus
Shelley's own introduction to the play explains his intentions behind the work and defends the artistic freedom he has taken in his adaptation of Aeschylus' myth: "The 'Prometheus Bound' of Æschylus supposed the reconciliation of Jupiter with his victim as the price of the disclosure of the danger threatened to his empire by the consummation of his marriage with Thetis. Thetis, according to this view of the subject, was given in marriage to Peleus, and Prometheus, by the permission of Jupiter, delivered from his captivity by Hercules. Had I framed my story on this model, I should have done no more than have attempted to restore the lost drama of Æschylus; an ambition which, if my preference to this mode of treating the subject had incited me to cherish, the recollection of the high comparison such an attempt would challenge might well abate. But, in truth, I was averse from a catastrophe so feeble as that of reconciling the Champion with the Oppressor of mankind. The moral interest of the fable, which is so powerfully sustained by the sufferings and endurance of Prometheus, would be annihilated if we could conceive of him as unsaying his high language and quailing before his successful and perfidious adversary."

When Shelley wrote Prometheus Unbound, the authorship of the Prometheia and its connection as a trilogy was not in question. Of the three works, Prometheus Bound is the only tragedy that survived intact, although fragments of Prometheus Unbound remained, allowing a fairly detailed outline based on the Prometheus myth told by Hesiod and extensive prophesying in the first work. It is this assumed trilogy, including Prometheus' reconciliation with Zeus, thought to occur in the final part of the cycle, which Shelley considers in the introduction.

Act I
Act I begins in the Indian Caucasus where the Titan Prometheus is bound to a rock face and he is surrounded by the Oceanides Panthea and Ione. As morning breaks, Prometheus cries out against the "Monarch of Gods and Daemons", Jupiter, and his tyrannous kingship. From his bound position, Prometheus claims to be greater than Jupiter before relating his suffering to the conditions of nature, including the Earth, Heaven, Sun, Sea, and Shadow. He turns to how nature has aided in his torture along with the constant tearing at his flesh by "Heaven's winged hound", the hawks of Jupiter. As he accounts his sufferings more and more, he reaches a peak of declaring that he would recall "The curse / Once breathed on thee..." Four voices, from the mountains, springs, air, and whirlwinds, respond to Prometheus through describing how they see the world and how "we shrank back: for dreams of ruin / To frozen caves our flight pursuing / Made us keep silence". The Earth then joins in to describe how all parts of the world cried out "Misery!".

Prometheus reflects on the voices before returning to his own suffering at Jupiter's hands and recalling his love for the Oceanid Asia. Shortly after, he demands to hear his curse against Jupiter, and the Earth tells Prometheus "I dare not speak like life, lest Heaven's fell King / Should hear, and link me to some wheel of pain / More torturing than the one whereon I roll" and also that he is "more than God / Being wise and kind". Prometheus asks who he is talking to, and the Earth admits to being the mother of all who suffers under Jupiter's tyranny. Prometheus praises her, but demands that she recalls the curse he laid upon Jupiter. The Earth responds by describing Zoroaster and that there are two realities: the current and the shadow reality that exists "Till death unite them and they part no more". She then mentions Demogorgon, "the supreme Tyrant" of the shadow realm, and asks Prometheus to call upon "Thine own ghost, or the ghost of Jupiter, / Hades, or Typhon or what mightier Gods / From all-prolific Evil" if he wishes to hear his curse spoken again.

Taking her advice, Prometheus calls upon the Phantasm of Jupiter, and Ione and Panthea describe the phantasm's appearance soon after. The phantasm first asks, "Why have the secret / powers of this strange world / Driven me, a frail and empty phantom, hither/ On direst storms?" Prometheus commands the phantasm to recall the curse against Jupiter, and the phantasm obeys:
 * Fiend, I defy thee! with a calm, fixed mind,
 * All that thou canst inflict I bid thee do;
 * Foul Tyrant both of Gods and Human-kind,
 * One only being shalt thou not subdue....

 * Thou art omnipotent.
 * O'er all things but thyself I gave thee power,
 * And my own will....

 * I curse thee! let a sufferer's curse
 * Clasp thee, his torturer, like remorse;
 * 'Till thine Infinity shall be
 * A robe of envenomed agony;
 * And thine Omnipotence a crown of pain,
 * To cling like burning gold round thy dissolving brain.

After hearing these words, Prometheus repents and claims, "I wish no living thing to suffer pain." The Earth laments that Prometheus is vanquished and Ione responds by claiming that he has not been, but both are interrupted by the appearance of Mercury. With him appear a group of Furies who hope to torture Prometheus, but Mercury keeps them from interfering as he brings his message from Jupiter: "I come, by the great Father's will driven down, / To execute a doom of new revenge."

Although Mercury admits to pitying Prometheus, he is bound to oppose Prometheus who stands against Jupiter. He asks Prometheus to reveal the secret of Jupiter's fate only Prometheus knows, and Prometheus refuses to submit to Jupiter's will. Mercury tries to barter with Prometheus, offering him the pleasure of being free from bondage and being welcomed among the gods, but Prometheus refuses. At the refusal, Jupiter makes his anger known by causing thunder to ring out across the mountains. Mercury departs at the omen, and the furies begin to taunt Prometheus by saying that they attack people from within before they attack Prometheus without. After all of the furies but one leave, Panthea and Ione despair over Prometheus's tortured body. Prometheus describes his torture as part of his martyrdom and tells the remaining fury, "Thy words are like a cloud of winged snakes; / And yet I pity those they torture not," to which the fury departs.

Soon after, Prometheus declares that peace comes with death, but that he would never want to be mortal. The Earth responds to Prometheus, "I felt thy torture, son, with such mixed joy / As pain and virtue give." At that moment, a Chorus of Spirits appears and celebrates Prometheus's secret knowledge, which then break into accounts of dying individuals and the ultimate triumph of good people over evil. The spirits together tell Prometheus, "Thou shalt quell this horseman grim, / Woundless though in heart or limb," an act which shall happen because of Prometheus's secret. The spirits depart, leaving Ione and Panthea to discuss the spirits' message with Prometheus, and Prometheus recalls the Oceanid Asia, and the Act ends with Panthea telling Prometheus that Asia awaits him.

Act II
Act II Scene I begins in an Indian Caucasus valley where the Oceanid Asia proclaims that "This is the season, this the day, the hour;/ At sunrise thou shouldst come, sweet sister mine" and so Panthea enters. Panthea describes to Asia how life for her and Ione has changed since Prometheus's fall and how she came to know of Prometheus's love in a dream. Asia asks Panthea to "lift/ Thine eyes, that I may read his written soul!" to which Panthea agreed, and the dream of Prometheus was revealed to Asia. Asia witnesses another dream in Panthea's eyes, and the two discuss the many new images of nature that both of their minds are filled with and the words "Follow! Follow!" are repeated in their minds. Their words are soon repeated by Echoes, which join in telling the two to follow. Asia questions the Echoes, but the Echoes only beckon them further, "In the world unknown/ sleeps a voice unspoken;/ By thy step alone/ Can its rest be broken", and the two begin to follow the voices.

Scene II takes place in a forest with a group of spirits and fauns. Although the scene moves quickly to the next one, the spirits describe Asia's and Panthea's journey and how "There those enchanted eddies play/ Of echoes, music-tongued, which draw,/ By Demogorgon's mighty law,/ With melting rapture, or sweet awe,/ All spirits on that secret way". Scene III takes place in mountains, to which Panthea declares, "Hither the sound has borne us – to the realm/ Of Demogorgon". After Asia and Panthea are overwhelmed by their surroundings and witness the acts of nature around the mountains, a Song of Spirits begins, calling them "To the deep, to the deep,/ Down, down!" Asia and Panthea descend, and Scene IV begins in the cave of the Demogorgon. Panthea describes Demogorgon upon his ebon throne: "I see a mighty darkness/ Filling the seat of power, and rays of gloom/ Dart round, as light from the meridian sun,/ Ungazed upon and shapeless; neither limb,/ Nor form, nor outline; yet we feel it is/ A living Spirit."

Asia questions Demogorgon about the creator of the world, and Demogorgon declares that God created all, including all of the good and all of the bad. Asia becomes upset that Demogorgon will not reveal the name of God, first demanding, "Utter his name: a world pining in pain/ Asks but his name: curses shall drag him down." Asia continues to question Demogorgon, and accounts the history of Saturn and Jupiter as rulers of the universe. She declares that "Then Prometheus/ Gave wisdom, which is strength, to Jupiter,/ And with this law alone, 'Let man be free,'/ Clothed him with the dominion of wide Heaven. To know nor faith, nor love, nor law; to be/ Omnipotent but friendless is to reign". She criticises Jupiter for all of the problems of the world: famine, disease, strife and death. Prometheus, she continues, gave man fire, the knowledge of mining, speech, science, and medicine. Demogorgon simply responds, "All spirits are enslaved which serve things evil:/ Thou knowest if Jupiter be such or no", and, when Asia continues to press Demogorgon for answers, Demogorgon claims that "Fate, Time, Occasion, Chance and Change?—To these/ All things are subject but eternal Love".

Asia declares that Demogorgon's answer is the same as that her own heart had given her, and then asks when Prometheus will be freed. Demogorgon cries out "Behold!" and Asia watches as the mountain opens and chariots moves out across the night sky, which Demogorgon explains as being driven by the Hours. One Hour stays to talk to Asia, and Asia questions him as to who he is. The Hour responds, "I am the shadow of a destiny/ More dread than is my aspect: ere yon planet/ Has set, the darkness which ascends with me/ Shall wrap in lasting night heaven's kingless throne." Asia questions as to what the Hour means, and Panthea describes how Demogorgon has risen from his throne to join the Hour to travel across the sky. Panthea witnesses another Hour come, and that Hour asks Asia and Panthea to ride with him. The chariot takes off, and Scene V takes place upon a mountaintop as the chariot stops. The Hour claims that his horses are tired, but Asia encourages him onwards. However, Panthea asks the hour to stay and "tell whence is the light/ Which fills the cloud? the sun is yet unrisen", and the Hour tells her "Apollo/ Is held in heaven by wonder; and the light... Flows from thy mighty sister."

Panthea realises that Asia is changed, and described how her sister radiates with beauty. A song fills the air singing the "Life of Life", a song about the power of love. Asia tells of her current state and describes, "Realms where the air we breathe is love,/ Which in the winds on the waves doth move,/ Harmonizing this earth with what we feel above." It is through her love that she witnesses how people move through time, and ends with the idea of a coming paradise.

Act III
Act III Scene I takes place in heaven, with Jupiter upon his throne before other gods. Jupiter speaks to the gods and calls them to rejoice over his omnipotence. He claims to have conquered all but the soul of mankind, "which might make/ Our antique empire insecure, though built/ On eldest faith, and hell's coeval, fear". Jupiter admits that "Even now have I begotten a strange wonder,/ That fatal child, the terror of the earth,/ Who waits but till the distant hour arrive,/ Bearing from Demogorgon's vacant throne/ The dreadful might of ever-living limbs/ Which clothed that awful spirit unbeheld,/ To redescend, and trample out the spark." He commands the gods to drink before saying, "even then/ Two mighty spirits, mingling, made a third/ Mightier than either, which, unbodied now,/ Between us floats, felt, although unbeheld,/ Waiting the incarnation, which ascends... from Demogorgon's throne/ Victory! victory! Feel'st thou not, O world,/ The earthquake of his chariot thundering up/ Olympus? Awful shape, what art though? Speak!" Demogorgon appears and answers – Eternity. He proclaims himself to be Jupiter's child and more powerful than Jupiter. Jupiter pleads for mercy, and claims that not even Prometheus would have him suffer. When Demogorgon does not respond, Jupiter declares that he shall fight Demogorgon, but as Jupiter moves to attack, the elements refuse to help him and so Jupiter falls.

Scene II takes place at a river on Atlantis, and Ocean discusses Jupiter's fall with Apollo. Apollo declares that he will not dwell on the fall, and the two part. Scene III takes place on the Caucasus after Hercules has unbound Prometheus. Hercules tells Prometheus: "Most glorious among spirits! thus doth strength/ To wisdom, courage, and long-suffering love,/ and thee, who art the form they animate,/ Minister like a slave." Prometheus thanks Hercules, and then turns to Asia and describes to her a cave in which they could call home and be with each other forever. Prometheus requests the Hour to take Ione, with the conch shell of Proteus, over the earth so she can "breathe into the many-folded shell, Losing its mighty music; it shall be/ As thunder mingled with clear echoes: then/ Return; and thou shalt dwell besides our cave." He calls upon the Earth, and she responds that she feels life and joy. She then proclaims, "And death shall be the last embrace of her/ Who takes the life she gave, even as a mother/ Folding her child, says, 'Leave me not again.'"

Asia questions Earth as to why she mentions death, and the Earth responds that Asia could not understand because she is immortal. She then describes the nature of death, of war, and faithless faith. She then calls forth a spirit, her torch bearer, who would guide Prometheus, Asia, and the others to a temple that was once dedicated to Prometheus and will become their cave to dwell in. Scene IV takes place in a forest near the cave, the place the spirit guided them. Panthea describes how the spirit was once close to Asia, and Asia and the spirit begin to talk to each other about nature and love. The Hour comes and tells of a change: "Soon as the sound had ceased whose thunder filled/ The abysses of the sky and the wide earth,/ There was a change: the impalpable thing air/ And the all-circling sunlight were transformed,/ As if the sense of love dissolved in them/ Had folded itself round the sphered world." He then describes a revolution within mankind: thrones were abandoned and men treated each other as equals and with love. Mankind no longer feared Jupiter the tyrant, men no longer acted as tyrants themselves, and "The painted veil, by those who were, called life,/ Which mimicked, as with colours idly spread,/ All men believed and hoped, is torn aside;/ The loathsome mask has fallen, the man remains/ Sceptreless, free, uncircumscribed, but man/ Equal, unclassed, tribeless, and nationless,/ Exempt from awe, worship, degree, the king/ Over himself; just, gentle, wise: but man/ Passionless; no, yet free from guilt or pain".

Act IV
Act IV opens as a voice fills the forest near Prometheus's cave as Ione and Panthea sleep. The voice describes the dawn before a group of dark forms and shadows, who claim to be the dead Hours, begin to sing of the King of the Hours' death. Ione awakes and asks Panthea who they were, and Panthea explains. The voice breaks in to ask "where are ye" before the Hours describe their history. Panthea describes spirits of the human mind approaching, and these spirits soon join in with the others singing and rejoice in love. Eventually, they decide to break their song and go across the world to proclaim love. Ione and Panthea notice a new music, which Panthea describes as "the deep music of the rolling world/ Kindling within the strings of the waved air,/ Æolian modulations." Panthea then describes how the two melodies are parted, and Ione interrupts by describing a beautiful chariot with a winged infant whose "two eyes are heavens/ Of liquid darkness, which the Deity/ Within seems pouring, as a storm is poured/ From jagged clouds" and "in its hand/ It sways a quivering moon-beam". Panthea resumes describing a sphere of music and light containing a sleeping child who is the Spirit of the Earth.

The Earth interrupts and describes "The joy, the triumph, the delight, the madness!/ The boundless, overflowing, bursting gladness,/ The vapourous exultation not to be confined!" The Moon responds by describing a light which has come from the Earth and penetrates the Moon. The Earth explains how all of the world "Laugh with a vast and inextinguishable laughter". The Moon then describes how all of the moon is awakening and singing. The Earth sings of how man is restored and united: "Man, oh, not men! a chain of linked thought,/ Of love and might to be divided not,/ Compelling the elements with adamantine stress". The Earth continues by declaring that man now controls even lightning, and that the Earth has no secrets left from man.

Panthea and Ione interrupt the Earth and the Moon by describing the passing of the music as a nymph rising from water. Panthea then claims, "A mighty Power, which is as darkness,/ Is rising out of Earth, and from the sky/ Is showered like night, and from within the air/ Bursts, like eclipse which has been gathered up/ Into the pores of sunlight". Demogorgon appears and speaks to the Earth, the Moon, and "Ye kings of suns and stars, Dæmons and Gods,/ Ætherial Dominations, who possess/ Elysian, windless, fortunate abodes/ Beyond Heaven's constellated wilderness". The Demogorgon speaks to all of the voices the final lines of the play:
 * This is the day, which down the void abysm
 * At the Earth-born's spell yawns for Heaven's despotism,
 * And Conquest is dragged captive through the deep:
 * Love, from its awful throne of patient power
 * In the wise heart, from the last giddy hour
 * Of dead endurance, from the slippery, steep,
 * And narrow verge of crag-like agony, springs
 * And folds over the world its healing wings.

 * Gentleness, Virtue, Wisdom, and Endurance,
 * These are the seals of that most firm assurance
 * Which bars the pit over Destruction's strength;
 * And if, with infirm hand, Eternity,
 * Mother of many acts and hours, should free
 * The serpent that would clasp her with his length;
 * These are the spells by which to re-assume
 * An empire o'er the disentangled doom.

 * To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite;
 * To forgive wrongs darker than death or night;
 * To defy Power, which seems omnipotent;
 * To love, and bear; to hope till Hope creates
 * From its own wreck the thing it contemplates;
 * Neither to change, nor falter, nor repent;
 * This, like thy glory, Titan, is to be
 * Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free;
 * This is alone Life, Joy, Empire, and Victory.

Characters

 * Prometheus
 * Demogorgon
 * Jupiter
 * The Earth
 * Ocean
 * Apollo
 * Mercury
 * Hercules
 * Asia (Oceanides)
 * Panthea (Oceanides)
 * Ione (Oceanides)
 * The Phantasm of Jupiter
 * The Spirit of the Earth
 * Spirits of the Hours
 * Spirits
 * Echoes
 * Fawns
 * Furies

Satanic hero
Shelley compares his Romantic hero Prometheus to Milton's Satan from Paradise Lost. "The only imaginary being, resembling in any degree Prometheus, is Satan; and Prometheus is, in my judgment, a more poetical character than Satan, because, in addition to courage, and majesty, and firm and patient opposition to omnipotent force, he is susceptible of being described as exempt from the taints of ambition, envy, revenge, and a desire for personal aggrandizement, which, in the hero of Paradise Lost, interfere with the interest. The character of Satan engenders in the mind a pernicious casuistry which leads us to weigh his faults with his wrongs, and to excuse the former because the latter exceed all measure. In the minds of those who consider that magnificent fiction with a religious feeling it engenders something worse. But Prometheus is, as it were, the type of the highest perfection of moral and intellectual nature, impelled by the purest and the truest motives to the best and noblest ends."

In other words, while Milton's Satan embodies a spirit of rebellion, and, as Maud Bodkin claims, "The theme of his heroic struggle and endurance against hopeless odds wakens in poet and reader a sense of his own state as against the odds of his destiny", his character is flawed because his aims are not humanistic. Satan is like Prometheus in his struggle against the universe, but Satan loses his heroic aspect after being turned into a serpent who desires only revenge and becomes an enemy to mankind. But Bodkin, unlike Shelley, believes that humans would view Prometheus and Satan together in a negative way: "We must similarly recognize that within our actual experience the factors we distinguish are more massively intangible, more mutually incompatible and more insistent than they can appear as translated into reflective speech. Take, for example, the sense of sin imaginatively revived as we respond to Milton's presentation of Satan, or to the condemnation, suggested by Aeschylus' drama, of the rebellion of Prometheus in effecting the 'progress' of man. What in our analysis we might express as the thought that progress is evil or sinful, would, in the mind of Aeschylus, Abercromer comments, 'more likely be a shadowy relic of loyalty to the tribe' – a vague fear of anything that might weaken social solidarity. Not in the mind of Aeschylus only but in the mind of the reader of to-day."

If the reader sympathises with Prometheus or Satan, he views Jupiter and God as omnipotent and unchallengeable beings that rely on their might to stay in power. Furthermore, Æschylus's Jupiter is a representation of Destiny, and it is a force that is constantly at odds with the individual's free will. In Milton, God is able to easily overthrow Satan. Although both divine beings represent something that is opposed to the human will, both represent something inside of the human mind that seeks to limit uncontrolled free will: reason and conscience. However, Shelley's version of Jupiter is unable to overwhelm the will of Prometheus, and Shelley gives the power of reason and conscience to his God: the Unseen Power of "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty".

The character Demogorgon represents, according to Bodkin, the Unconscious. It is "the unknown force within the soul that, after extreme conflict and utter surrender of the conscious will, by virtue of the imaginative, creative element drawn down into the depths, can arise and shake the whole accustomed attitude of a man, changing its established tensions and oppressions." The Demogorgon is the opposite of Jupiter who, "within the myth, is felt as such a tension, a tyranny established in the far past by the spirit of a man upon himself and his world, a tyranny that, till it can be overthrown, holds him straightened and tormented, disunited from his own creative energies."

Apocalyptic
In his Prometheus, Shelley seeks to create a perfect revolutionary in an ideal, abstract sense (thus the difficulty of the poem). Shelley's Prometheus could be loosely based upon the Jesus of the Bible and Christian orthodox tradition, as well as Milton's character of the Son in Paradise Lost. While Jesus or the Son sacrifices himself to save mankind, this act of sacrifice does nothing to overthrow the type of tyranny embodied, for Shelley, in the figure of God the Father. Prometheus resembles Jesus in that both uncompromisingly speak truth to power, and in how Prometheus overcomes his tyrant, Jupiter; Prometheus conquers Jupiter by "recalling" a curse Prometheus had made against Jupiter in a period before the play begins. The word "recall" in this sense means both to remember and to retract, and Prometheus, by forgiving Jupiter, removes Jupiter's power, which all along seems to have stemmed from his opponents' anger and will to violence.

However, in Act I, Shelley relies on the Furies as the image of the crucifixion of Jesus. When Prometheus is tortured by the furies, Panthea describes Prometheus as "a youth/ With patient looks nailed to a crucifix." Soon after, Prometheus asks a fury "Remit the anguish of that lighted stare;/ Close those wan lips; let that thorn-wounded brow/ Stream not with blood" and "So thy sick throes shake not that crucifix".

The regeneration of mankind and the world is symbolised by the union of Prometheus and Asia. To achieve this, Shelley relies on classical myth to draw upon the idea of Saturn's Golden Age, and then he combines it with the Biblical ideas of the fall and the millennium.

Political
Prometheus, then, is also Shelley's answer to the mistakes of the French Revolution and its cycle of replacing one tyrant with another. Shelley wished to show how a revolution could be conceived which would avoid doing just that, and in the end of this play, there is no power in charge at all; it is an anarchist's paradise.

Shelley finishes his "Preface" to the play with an evocation of his intentions as a poet: "My purpose has hitherto been simply to familiarize the highly refined imagination of the more select classes of poetical readers with beautiful idealisms of moral excellence; aware that, until the mind can love, and admire, and trust, and hope, and endure, reasoned principles of moral conduct are seeds cast upon the highway of life which the unconscious passenger tramples into dust, although they would bear the harvest of his happiness."

Essentially, Prometheus Unbound, as re-wrought in Shelley's hands, is a fiercely revolutionary text championing free will, goodness, hope and idealism in the face of oppression. The Epilogue, spoken by Demogorgon, expresses Shelley's tenets as a poet and as a revolutionary:

To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite; To forgive wrongs darker than death or night; To defy Power, which seems omnipotent; To love, and bear; to hope till Hope creates From its own wreck the thing it contemplates; Neither to change, nor falter, nor repent; This, like thy glory, Titan, is to be Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free; This is alone Life, Joy, Empire, and Victory.

Shelley's Prometheus Unbound responds to the revolutions and economic changes affecting his society, and the old views of good and evil needed to change to accommodate the current civilisation.

Later editing
Shelley continued working on the play until his death on 8 July 1822. After his death, his father Timothy Shelley refused to allow Mary Shelley to publish any of Shelley's poems, which kept any immediate corrected editions of the play from being printed. Although reluctant to help the Parisian publishers A. and W. Galignani with an edition of Shelley's works, she eventually sent an "Errata" in January 1829. The Galignanis relied on most of her punctuation changes, but only a few of her spelling changes. The next critical edition was not released until 1839, when Mary Shelley produced her own edition of Shelley's work for Edward Moxon. Included with the edition were Mary Shelley's notes on the production and history of Prometheus Unbound.

Before his death, Shelley completed many corrections to a manuscript edition of his work, but many of these changes were not carried over into Mary Shelley's edition. William Rossetti, in his 1870 edition, questioned Mary Shelley's efforts: "Mrs. Shelley brought deep affection and unmeasured enthusiasm to the task of editing her husband's works. But ill health and the pain of reminiscence curtailed her editorial labours: besides which, to judge from the result, you would say that Mrs. Shelley was not one of the persons to whome the gift of consistent accuracy has been imparted". Later, Charles Locock, in his 1911 edition of Shelley's works, speculated: "May we suppose that Mrs. Shelley never made use of that particular list at all? that what she did use was a preliminary list, – the list which Shelley "hoped to despatch in a day or two" (10 November 1820) – not the "formidable list"... which may in the course of nine years have been mislaid? Failing this hypothesis, we can only assume that Shelley's 'formidable list' was not nearly so formidable as it might have been".

Although Mary Shelley's editing of Prometheus Unbound has its detractors, her version of the text was relied on for many of the later editions. G. G. Foster, in 1845, published the first American edition of Shelley's poems, which relied on both Mary Shelley's edits and her notes. Foster was so attached to Mary Shelley's edition that, when Edgar Allan Poe suggested changing some of the text, Foster responded "But I have not felt at liberty to change the text sanctioned by Mrs. Shelley – whom I regard as the evangelist of her transifigured lord". However, he, like Rossetti, tended to differ from Mary Shelley when it came to punctuation and capitalisation. Rossetti went beyond Foster, and, prefaced his edition with: "I have considered it my clear duty and prerogative to set absolutely wrong grammar right... and to set absolutely wrong rhyming right... and to set absolutely wrong metre right..." but made sure to point out that his purpose was to respect Shelley's original poetic intent.

Allegory or myth
Earl Wasserman believed that Prometheus personified "One Mind" among humanity, and thus "the drama is the history of the One Mind's evolution into perfection."

Critical response
Melvin Solve believed that Prometheus Unbound is so highly idealised and so remote from the conditions of life that the moral lesson is not essential to the enjoyment of the piece, and is, in fact, so well disguised that the critics have differed widely as to its interpretation. William Butler Yeats famously called it "among the sacred books of the world."

Musical adaptations
Hubert Parry set extracts of the poem in Scenes from Shelley's "Prometheus Unbound" (1880), first performed on 7 September 1880 at the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester. It has been described as "a fitting poetic choice for an orchestral choral cantata that spoke to Parry's radical political commitments at the time". Havergal Brian set parts one and two complete in his Prometheus Unbound for chorus and orchestra, which he composed between 1937 and 1944.

title: Prometheus Unbound (Shelley)


text: Category:Indonesian badminton players

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

title: Category:Indonesian badminton players


text:
Kate O'Brien (novelist)

Kate O'Brien (3 December 1897 – 13 August 1974) was an Irish novelist and playwright.

Biography
Kathleen Mary Louise "Kate" O'Brien was born in Limerick City in 1897 to a middle-class family. Following the death of her mother when she was five, she joined her three older sisters as a boarder at Laurel Hill Convent becoming the youngest pupil at the school. She graduated in 1919 in English and French from the newly established University College, Dublin, and she then moved to London, where she worked as a teacher for a year.

In 1922–23, she worked as a governess in Bilbao, Basque Country, in the north of Spain, where she began to write fiction. Upon her return to England, O'Brien worked at the Manchester Guardian. She married Dutch journalist Gustaff Reiner in 1922 but the marriage ended within a year. After the success of her play Distinguished Villa in 1926, she took to full-time writing and was awarded both the 1931 James Tait Black Prize and the Hawthornden Prize for her debut novel Without My Cloak.

Many of her books deal with issues of female agency and sexuality in ways that were new and radical at the time. Her 1936 novel, Mary Lavelle, was banned in Ireland and Spain, while The Land of Spices was banned in Ireland upon publication. In addition to novels, she wrote plays, film scripts, short stories, essays, copious journalism, two biographical studies, and two very personal travelogues. Throughout her life, O'Brien felt a particular affinity with Spain—while her experiences in the Basque Country inspired Mary Lavelle, she also wrote a life of the Spanish mystic Teresa of Avila, and she used the relationship between the Spanish king Philip II and Maria de Mendoza to write the anti-fascist novel That Lady.

Even though Kate O'Brien lived outside of Ireland for most of her adult life, the country played a crucial role in her creative output. Many of her novels are set in Ireland, in 'Mellick' which is her fictional name for Limerick. She lived in Roundstone in Connemara for a period in the 1950s. She wrote a regular newspaper column for the Irish Times entitled From a Distance which captured the ambivalent relationship she had with Ireland. In her novels after 1936, she is outspokenly critical of the conservatism of the new Irish State, particularly during the De Valera years. Her work promoted European identity, which she saw as being rooted in the Christian tradition—despite the fact that she was herself agnostic.

O'Brien wrote a political travelogue, Farewell Spain, to gather support for the leftist cause in the Spanish Civil War, and it has been argued that she was close to anarchism in the 1930s. She also wrote a travelogue My Ireland (1962), where she offers a lively and engaging record of the places in Ireland that she loved (such as Connemara) or did not impress her (such as Dublin).

A feminist, her novels promoted gender equality and were mostly protagonised by young women yearning for independence. Kate O'Brien's determination to encourage a greater understanding of sexual difference — several of her books include positive gay/lesbian characters —, make her a pioneer in queer literary representation. O'Brien was herself lesbian, and had a number of relationships with women, including the novelist E.M. Delafield, and the artist Mary O'Neill, who has been described as her 'life partner'. She was very critical of conservatism in Ireland, and the banning of her books highlighted the Irish censorship laws. Following a debate on the banning of The Land of Spices in the Irish senate, and a campaign supported by Seán Ó Faoláin and others, the censorship laws were somewhat reformed in 1946 by creating an Appeals Board. The Land of Spices which had been banned in 1941 was 'unbanned' in 1949, but Mary Lavelle was never officially 'unbanned'. In this way, O'Brien helped bring to an end the cultural restrictions of the 1930s and 40s in the country. She lived much of her life in England and died in Faversham, near Canterbury, in 1974. At the time of her death, she was poor and most of her books were out of print. In the 1980s, her work was recovered by feminist scholars and reprinted by feminist publishers such as Arlen House in Dublin and Virago in London. She is now considered to be a major twentieth century Irish writer.

Legacy
The Glucksman Library at the University of Limerick holds an important collection of O'Brien's writings.

In August 2005, Penguin reissued her final novel, As Music and Splendour (1958), which had been out of print for decades.

The Limerick Literary Festival in honour of Kate O’Brien (formerly the Kate O'Brien Weekend), takes place in Limerick every year, attracting academic and non-academic audiences.

In the classic film Brief Encounter (1945), the co-protagonist Laura (Celia Johnson) says she has reserved "the new Kate O'Brien" at her local Boots library, which prepares the audience for the moral dilemmas that the character is about to face.

Fiction

 * Without My Cloak (1931) – (winner of the James Tait Black Prize and Hawthornden Prize))
 * The Ante-Room (1934)
 * Mary Lavelle (1936) (adapted as the 1998 film Talk of Angels)
 * Pray for the Wanderer (1938)
 * The Land of Spices (1941)
 * The Last of Summer (1943)
 * That Lady (1946) (later a 1949 Broadway show and a 1955 movie)
 * The Flower of May (1953) - (winner of the Book of the Year award, by the Women Writers Association in Ireland)
 * As Music and Splendour (1958)
 * Constancy (two chapters of an unfinished novel were published in 1972)

Plays

 * Distinguished Villa: A Play in Three Acts (1926)
 * Gloria Gish (play, n.d., archive of the National Library of Ireland)
 * The Anteroom (adaptation of her novel)
 * That Lady: A Romantic Drama (adaptation of her novel, 1949)

Film scripts

 * Mary Magdalen (n.d., one version at the archive of the National Library of Ireland)
 * A Broken Song (n.d., Kate O'Brien Papers at University of Limerick)

Life writing

 * Teresa of Avila (biography, 1951)
 * Presentation Parlour (biography, 1963)
 * English Diaries and Journals (literary criticism, 1943)
 * Kate O'Brien: Self-Portrait (documentary for RTÉ television, broadcast 28 March 1962; script by Kate O'Brien)

Travel writing

 * Farewell Spain (political travelogue, 1937)
 * Dublin and Cork (photographic book with text by O'Brien, 1961)
 * My Ireland (travelogue, 1962)

Journalism

 * Long Distance (column for The Irish Times newspaper, 1967–71)
 * book reviews (see E.Walshe's Ordinary People Dancing for Listings)

Critical studies on O'Brien

 * John Jordan (editor): Special issue on Kate O'Brien, Stony Thursday Book, vol. 7, 1981
 * Lorna Reynolds: Kate O'Brien: A Literary Portrait (1987)
 * John Logan (editor): With Warmest Love: Lectures for Kate O'Brien 1984–93. (1994)
 * Adele M. Dalsimer: Kate O'Brien: A Critical Study (1990)
 * Éibhear Walshe (editor): Ordinary People Dancing: Essays on Kate O'Brien (1993)
 * Éibhear Walshe: Kate O'Brien: A Writing Life (2006)
 * Mary Coll (editor): Faithful Companions: Collected Essays Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Kate O'Brien Weekend. (2009)
 * Aintzane L. Mentxaka: Kate O'Brien and the Fiction of Identity (2011)
 * Michael G. Cronin: Impure Thoughts: sexuality, Catholicism and literature in twentieth-century Ireland. Manchester: Manchester University Press. (2012)
 * Aintzane L. Mentxaka: The Postcolonial Traveller: Kate O'Brien and the Basques (2016)
 * Jane Davison: Kate O'Brien and Spanish Literary Culture (2017)
 * Paige Reynolds (editor): Special Issue on Kate O'Brien, Irish University Review (Spring/Summer 2018)

Critical essays on O'Brien

 * Joan Ryan: "Class and Creed in the Novels of Kate O'Brien" in M. Harmon (editor): The Irish Writer and the City (1984)
 * Lorna Reynolds: "The Image of Spain in the Novels of Kate O'Brien" in W. Zack and H Kosok (editors): National Images and Stereotypes (1988)
 * Emma Donoghue. "'Out of Order': Kate O'Brien's Lesbian Fictions". in Ordinary People Dancing: Essays on Kate O'Brien. Eibhear Walshe ed. Cork: Cork University Press, 1993, pp. 36–59.
 * Anne C. Fogarty: "The Ear of the Other: Dissident Voices in Kate O'Brien's As Music and Splendor and Mary Dorcey's A Noise From the Woodshed" in Éibhear Walshe (editor): Sex, Nation and Dissent in Irish Writing (1997)
 * Gerardine Meaney. “Territory and Transgression – History, Nationality and Sexuality in Kate O’Brien’s Fiction.” Irish Journal of Feminist Studies. Col. 2, issue 2 (December 1997): 77–92.
 * Eamon Maher: "Love and the Loss of Faith in the Novels of Kate O'Brien" in Crosscurrents and Confluences (2000)
 * Angela Ryan:"'A Franco-Irish Solution?' Francois Mauriac, Kate O' Brien and the Catholic Intellectual Novel". in France and Ireland: Anatomy of a Relationship. Ed E. Maher and G. Neville. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2004: 97–109.
 * Sharon Tighe-Mooney. “Sexuality and Religion in Kate O’Brien’s Novels”. Essays in Irish Literary Criticism: Gender, Sexuality, and Corporeality. Deirdre Quinn and Sharon Tighe-Mooney eds. Lewiston, New York, Queenston, and Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press, 2008, pp. 125–140.
 * Aintzane L. Mentxaka. "La Belle – Kate O’Brien and Female Beauty". in Women, Social and Cultural Change in Twentieth Century Ireland: Dissenting Voices?. Sarah O’Connor and Christopher C. Shepard eds. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars’ Press, 2008, pp. 183– 198.
 * Aintzane L. Mentxaka. "A 'Catholic Agnostic' – Kate O’Brien”. in Breaking the Mould: Literary Representations of Irish Catholicism. Eamon Maher and Eugene O’Brien eds. Peter Lang, 2011. 87–104* Aintzane L. Mentxaka. "Politics and Feminism: The Basque Contexts of Kate O’Brien’s Mary Lavelle". in Irish University Review, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Spring/Summer 2009): 65–75.
 * Emma Donoghue. "Embraces of Love". in Faithful Companions: Collected Essays Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of The Kate O'Brien Weekend. Mary Coll ed. Limerick: Mellick Press, 2009, pp. 16–31.
 * Aintzane L. Mentxaka: “Film Into Novel: Kate O’Brien’s Modernist use of Film Techniques”. in Viewpoints: Theoretical Perspectives on Irish Visual Texts. Clare Bracken and Emma Radley eds. Cork: Cork University Press, 2013, pp. 124–36.
 * Michael G. Cronin: 'Kate O'Brien and the Erotics of Liberal Catholic Dissent'. Field Day Review, 6.(2010)
 * Michael G. Cronin: ‘‘Fantastic Longings’: The Moral Cartography of Kate O’Brien's Mary Lavelle’. In: Werner Huber, Sandra Mayer and Julia Novak (eds). Irish Studies in Europe, 4. Trier: WVT Wissenschaftlicher Verlag. (2012)

Film adaptations

 * That Lady (1955) starring Olivia de Havilland, Gilbert Roland, and Paul Scofield
 * Last of Summer (TV, 1977)
 * Talk of Angels (1998) starring Polly Walker, Vincent Perez, Franco Nero, Frances McDormand, Ruth McCabe and Penélope Cruz

title: Kate O'Brien (novelist)


text:
Convergent series

In mathematics, a series is the sum of the terms of an infinite sequence of numbers. More precisely, an infinite sequence $$(a_1, a_2, a_3, \ldots)$$ defines a series $S$ that is denoted
 * $$S=a_1 + a_2 + a_3 + \cdots=\sum_{k=1}^\infty a_k.$$

The $n$th partial sum $S_{n}$ is the sum of the first $n$ terms of the sequence; that is,
 * $$S_n = a_1 +a_2 + \cdots + a_n = \sum_{k=1}^n a_k.$$

A series is convergent (or converges) if and only if the sequence $$(S_1, S_2, S_3, \dots)$$ of its partial sums tends to a limit; that means that, when adding one $$a_k$$ after the other in the order given by the indices, one gets partial sums that become closer and closer to a given number. More precisely, a series converges, if and only if there exists a number $$\ell$$ such that for every arbitrarily small positive number $$\varepsilon$$, there is a (sufficiently large) integer $$N$$ such that for all $$n \ge N$$,

 * $$\left | S_n - \ell \right | < \varepsilon.$$

If the series is convergent, the (necessarily unique) number $$\ell$$ is called the sum of the series.

The same notation
 * $$\sum_{k=1}^\infty a_k$$

is used for the series, and, if it is convergent, to its sum. This convention is similar to that which is used for addition: $a + b$ denotes the operation of adding $a$ and $b$ as well as the result of this addition, which is called the sum of $a$ and $b$.

Any series that is not convergent is said to be divergent or to diverge.

Examples of convergent and divergent series

 * The reciprocals of the positive integers produce a divergent series (harmonic series):
 * $${1 \over 1}+{1 \over 2}+{1 \over 3}+{1 \over 4}+{1 \over 5}+{1 \over 6}+\cdots \rightarrow \infty. $$
 * Alternating the signs of the reciprocals of positive integers produces a convergent series (alternating harmonic series):
 * $${1 \over 1}-{1 \over 2}+{1 \over 3}-{1 \over 4}+{1 \over 5}-\cdots = \ln(2)$$
 * The reciprocals of prime numbers produce a divergent series (so the set of primes is "large"; see divergence of the sum of the reciprocals of the primes):
 * $${1 \over 2}+{1 \over 3}+{1 \over 5}+{1 \over 7}+{1 \over 11}+{1 \over 13}+\cdots \rightarrow \infty.$$
 * The reciprocals of triangular numbers produce a convergent series:
 * $${1 \over 1}+{1 \over 3}+{1 \over 6}+{1 \over 10}+{1 \over 15}+{1 \over 21}+\cdots = 2.$$
 * The reciprocals of factorials produce a convergent series (see e):
 * $$\frac{1}{1} + \frac{1}{1} + \frac{1}{2} + \frac{1}{6} + \frac{1}{24} + \frac{1}{120} + \cdots = e.$$
 * The reciprocals of square numbers produce a convergent series (the Basel problem):
 * $${1 \over 1}+{1 \over 4}+{1 \over 9}+{1 \over 16}+{1 \over 25}+{1 \over 36}+\cdots = {\pi^2 \over 6}.$$
 * The reciprocals of powers of 2 produce a convergent series (so the set of powers of 2 is "small"):
 * $${1 \over 1}+{1 \over 2}+{1 \over 4}+{1 \over 8}+{1 \over 16}+{1 \over 32}+\cdots = 2.$$
 * The reciprocals of powers of any n>1 produce a convergent series:
 * $${1 \over 1}+{1 \over n}+{1 \over n^2}+{1 \over n^3}+{1 \over n^4}+{1 \over n^5}+\cdots = {n\over n-1}.$$
 * Alternating the signs of reciprocals of powers of 2 also produces a convergent series:
 * $${1 \over 1}-{1 \over 2}+{1 \over 4}-{1 \over 8}+{1 \over 16}-{1 \over 32}+\cdots = {2\over3}.$$
 * Alternating the signs of reciprocals of powers of any n>1 produces a convergent series:
 * $${1 \over 1}-{1 \over n}+{1 \over n^2}-{1 \over n^3}+{1 \over n^4}-{1 \over n^5}+\cdots = {n\over n+1}.$$
 * The reciprocals of Fibonacci numbers produce a convergent series (see ψ):
 * $$\frac{1}{1} + \frac{1}{1} + \frac{1}{2} + \frac{1}{3} + \frac{1}{5} + \frac{1}{8} + \cdots = \psi.$$

Convergence tests
There are a number of methods of determining whether a series converges or diverges. Comparison test. The terms of the sequence $$\left \{ a_n \right \}$$ are compared to those of another sequence $$\left \{ b_n \right \}$$. If, for all n, $$0 \le \ a_n \le \ b_n$$, and $\sum_{n=1}^\infty b_n$ converges, then so does $\sum_{n=1}^\infty a_n.$

However, if, for all n, $$0 \le \ b_n \le \ a_n$$, and $\sum_{n=1}^\infty b_n$ diverges, then so does $\sum_{n=1}^\infty a_n.$

Ratio test. Assume that for all n, $$a_n$$ is not zero. Suppose that there exists $$r$$ such that

 * $$\lim_{n \to \infty} \left|{\frac{a_{n+1}}{a_n}}\right| = r.$$

If r < 1, then the series is absolutely convergent. If r > 1, then the series diverges. If r = 1, the ratio test is inconclusive, and the series may converge or diverge.

Root test or  nth root test. Suppose that the terms of the sequence in question are non-negative. Define r as follows:

 * $$r = \limsup_{n\to\infty}\sqrt[n]{|a_n|},$$

 * where "lim sup" denotes the limit superior (possibly ∞; if the limit exists it is the same value).

If r < 1, then the series converges. If r > 1, then the series diverges. If r = 1, the root test is inconclusive, and the series may converge or diverge.

The ratio test and the root test are both based on comparison with a geometric series, and as such they work in similar situations. In fact, if the ratio test works (meaning that the limit exists and is not equal to 1) then so does the root test; the converse, however, is not true. The root test is therefore more generally applicable, but as a practical matter the limit is often difficult to compute for commonly seen types of series.

Integral test. The series can be compared to an integral to establish convergence or divergence. Let $$f(n) = a_n$$ be a positive and monotonically decreasing function. If

 * $$\int_{1}^{\infty} f(x)\, dx = \lim_{t \to \infty} \int_{1}^{t} f(x)\, dx < \infty,$$

then the series converges. But if the integral diverges, then the series does so as well.

Limit comparison test. If $$\left \{ a_n \right \}, \left \{ b_n \right \} > 0$$, and the limit $$\lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{a_n}{b_n}$$ exists and is not zero, then $\sum_{n=1}^\infty a_n$ converges if and only if $\sum_{n=1}^\infty b_n$  converges.

Alternating series test. Also known as the Leibniz criterion, the alternating series test states that for an alternating series of the form $\sum_{n=1}^\infty a_n (-1)^n$, if $$\left \{ a_n \right \}$$ is monotonically decreasing, and has a limit of 0 at infinity, then the series converges.

Cauchy condensation test. If $$\left \{ a_n \right \}$$ is a positive monotone decreasing sequence, then $ \sum_{n=1}^\infty a_n $ converges if and only if $ \sum_{k=1}^\infty 2^k a_{2^{k}} $  converges.

Dirichlet's test

Abel's test

Conditional and absolute convergence
For any sequence $$\left \{ a_1,\ a_2,\ a_3,\dots \right \}$$, $$a_n \le \left| a_n \right|$$ for all n. Therefore,

 * $$\sum_{n=1}^\infty a_n \le \sum_{n=1}^\infty \left| a_n \right|.$$

This means that if $\sum_{n=1}^\infty \left| a_n \right|$ converges, then $\sum_{n=1}^\infty a_n$  also converges (but not vice versa).

If the series $\sum_{n=1}^\infty \left| a_n \right|$ converges, then the series $\sum_{n=1}^\infty a_n$  is absolutely convergent. The Maclaurin series of the exponential function is absolutely convergent for every complex value of the variable.

If the series $\sum_{n=1}^\infty a_n$ converges but the series $\sum_{n=1}^\infty \left| a_n \right|$  diverges, then the series $\sum_{n=1}^\infty a_n$  is conditionally convergent. The Maclaurin series of the logarithm function $$\ln(1+x)$$ is conditionally convergent for $x = 1$.

The Riemann series theorem states that if a series converges conditionally, it is possible to rearrange the terms of the series in such a way that the series converges to any value, or even diverges.

Uniform convergence
Let $$\left \{ f_1,\ f_2,\ f_3,\dots \right \}$$ be a sequence of functions. The series $\sum_{n=1}^\infty f_n$ is said to converge uniformly to f if the sequence $$\{s_n\}$$ of partial sums defined by

 * $$ s_n(x) = \sum_{k=1}^n f_k (x)$$

converges uniformly to f.

There is an analogue of the comparison test for infinite series of functions called the Weierstrass M-test.

Cauchy convergence criterion
The Cauchy convergence criterion states that a series
 * $$\sum_{n=1}^\infty a_n$$

converges if and only if the sequence of partial sums is a Cauchy sequence. This means that for every $$ \varepsilon > 0, $$ there is a positive integer $$N$$ such that for all $$n \geq m \geq N$$ we have
 * $$ \left| \sum_{k=m}^n a_k \right| < \varepsilon. $$

This is equivalent to

$$\lim_{m \to \infty} \left(\sup_{n>m} \left|\sum_{k=m}^{n} a_k \right| \right) = 0.$$

title: Convergent series


text:
Seven Factors of Awakening

In Buddhism, the Seven Factors of Awakening (Pali: satta bojjhagā or satta sambojjhagā; Skt.: sapta bodhyanga) are:

 * Mindfulness (sati, Sanskrit smṛti). To maintain awareness of reality, in particular the teachings (dhamma).
 * Investigation of the nature of reality (dhamma vicaya, Skt. dharmapravicaya).
 * Energy (viriya, Skt. vīrya) also determination, effort
 * Joy or rapture (pīti, Skt. prīti)
 * Relaxation or tranquility (passaddhi, Skt. prashrabdhi) of both body and mind
 * Concentration (samādhi) a calm, one-pointed state of mind, or "bringing the buried latencies or samskaras into full view"
 * Equanimity (upekkhā, Skt. upekshā). To accept reality as-it-is (yathā-bhuta) without craving or aversion.

This evaluation of seven awakening factors is one of the "Seven Sets" of "Awakening-related states" (bodhipakkhiyadhamma).

The Pali word bojjhanga is a compound of bodhi ("awakening," "enlightenment") and anga ("factor").

Etymology
Satta sambojjhaṅgā:
 * satta – seven;
 * sam- - a prefix meaning complete, full, highest
 * bojjh(i) < bodhi – an abstract noun formed from the verbal root *budh- (to awake, become aware, notice, know or understand) corresponding to the verbs bujjhati (Pāli) and bodhati or budhyate (Sanskrit);
 * aṅga – a part of a whole; factor, cause.

Pali literature
In the Sutta Pitaka's Samyutta Nikaya, the bojjhangas refer to wholesome, mundane factors leading to enlightenment. In the Abhidhamma and Pali commentaries, the bojjhangas tend to refer to supramundane factors concurrent with enlightenment.

Sutta Pitaka
According to one discourse in the Samyutta Nikaya entitled "Bhikkhu Sutta" (SN 46.5):
 * [Bhikkhu:] "Venerable sir, it is said, 'factors of enlightenment, factors of enlightenment.' In what sense are they called factors of enlightenment?"
 * [Buddha:] "They lead to enlightenment, bhikkhu, therefore they are called factors of enlightenment...."

During meditation, one may contemplate the seven Factors of Enlightenment as well as on their antithesis, the Five Hindrances (sensual pleasure, ill-will, sloth-torpor, restlessness-worry, doubt). In addition, one Samyutta Nikaya sutta identifies developing each of the enlightenment factors accompanied by each of the four brahma viharas (loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity).

In the Samyutta Nikaya's "Fire Discourse," the Buddha identifies that mindfulness is "always useful" (sabbatthika); while, when one's mind is sluggish, one should develop the enlightenment factors of investigation, energy and joy; and, when one's mind is excited, one should develop the enlightenment factors of tranquility, concentration and equanimity.

Again according to the Samyutta Nikaya, once when the Buddha was gravely ill he asked Venerable Mahacunda to recite the seven Factors of Enlightenment to him. In such a way the Buddha was cured of his illness.

Abhidhamma and commentarial literature
In the Visuddhimagga, in a section discussing skills needed for the attainment and maintenance of absorption (jhana), Buddhaghosa identifies the bojjhangas in the following fashion:
 * "Strong mindfulness ... is needed in all instances...."
 * "When his mind is slack with over-laxness of energy, etc., then ... he should develop those [three enlightenment factors] beginning with investigation-of-states..." (i.e., dhamma vicaya, viriya, piti).
 * "When his mind is agitated through over-energeticness, etc., then ... he should develop those [three enlightenment factors] beginning with tranquility..." (i.e., passaddhi, samadhi, upekkha).

Meditation
The seven factors of awakening are closely related to the practice of dhyana, resembling the various factors that are part of the four dhyanas.

In meditation everyone most likely experiences two of the five hindrances (Pāli: pañca nīvaraṇāni). They are sloth and torpor (Pāli: thīna-middha), which is half-hearted action with little or no collectedness, and restlessness and worry (uddhacca-kukkucca), which is the inability to calm the mind.

As indicated above, in the "Fire Discourse" (SN 46.53), it is recommended that joy or rapture, investigation, and energy are to be developed when experiencing sloth and torpor. Relaxation, concentration, and equanimity are to be developed when experiencing restlessness or worry. Mindfulness should be constantly present to remain aware of physical change as well as mental change in either skillful or unskillful direction.

title: Seven Factors of Awakening


text:
Make Room! Make Room!

'Make Room! Make Room!' is a 1966 science fiction novel written by Harry Harrison exploring the consequences of both unchecked population growth on society and the hoarding of resources by a wealthy minority. It was originally serialized in Impulse magazine.

Set in 1999 from August until moments after New Year's Eve ends and the year 2000 begins, the novel explores trends in the proportion of world resources used by the United States and other countries compared to population growth, depicting a world where the global population is seven billion people, plagued with overcrowding, resource shortages and a crumbling infrastructure. The plot jumps from character to character, recounting the lives of people in various walks of life in New York City, population 35 million.

The novel was the basis of the 1973 science fiction film Soylent Green, although the film changed much of the plot and theme and introduced cannibalism as a solution to feeding people.

Plot summary
''Make Room! Make Room!'' is set in an overpopulated New York City in 1999 (33 years after the time of first publication). Thirty-year-old Police Detective Andy Rusch lives in half a room, sharing it with Sol, a retired engineer who has adapted a bicycle to generate power for an old television set and a refrigerator.

When Andy lines up for their continually reducing water ration, he witnesses a public speech by the "Elders", older people forcibly retired from work. A riot breaks out after a nearby food shop has a surprise sale on "soylent" (soy and lentil) steaks. The shop is looted by the mob. Billy Chung, an 18-year-old Taiwanese-American, grabs a box of steaks. He eats some of them and sells the rest to raise enough money to land a job as a Western Union messenger boy. His first delivery takes him into a fortified apartment block, complete with the rare luxuries of air conditioning and running water for showers. He delivers his message to a rich racketeer named "Big Mike" O'Brien and sees Shirl, Mike's 23-year-old live-in mistress. Billy leaves the apartment but fixes it so he can get back into the building later. He breaks into Mike's place, but when Mike catches him in the act, Billy accidentally kills him and flees, empty-handed.

A piece of evidence may connect an out-of-town crime boss who may be trying to expand into New York City, a threat to Mike's associates. They see to it that Andy keeps working on the case, in addition to his regular duties.

During his investigation, Andy becomes enamored of Shirl. He ensures that she is permitted to stay in the apartment until the end of the month. During this month, they enjoy the luxuries. Afterwards, Shirl moves in with Andy. Shirl soon becomes disappointed with how little time the overworked Andy has for her. She eventually sleeps with a wealthy man she meets at a party.

To evade capture, Billy leaves the city, eventually breaking into the abandoned Brooklyn Navy Yard, where he comes to live with Peter, who is eagerly awaiting the new millennium as the end of the world. Soon they are attacked and displaced by a trio. They find a new home in a car. Months after the murder, Billy decides to visit his family, believing the police have lost interest in him.

Meanwhile, Sol decides he can no longer remain passive in the face of humanity's overpopulation crisis. He joins a march to protest the overturning of a legislative bill that supports population control. Sol is injured in a riot and catches pneumonia. A few days after his death, an obnoxious family takes over his living quarters, making Shirl and Andy's life much more miserable than before.

Andy stumbles upon Billy Chung, cornering him in his family's home. When Billy moves to attack Andy with a knife, he stumbles, and Andy accidentally shoots and kills him. The gangsters have lost interest by this point, but his superiors disavow Andy's actions, and he is temporarily demoted to ordinary patrolman. When he returns to his quarters, he finds Shirl has left him.

Andy is on patrol in Times Square on New Year's Eve, where he spots Shirl among rich party-goers. As the clock strikes midnight, Andy encounters Peter, who is distraught that the world has not ended and asks how life can continue as it is. The story concludes with the Times Square screen announcing that "Census says United States had biggest year ever, end-of-the-century, 344 million citizens."

Concept and creation
Author Harry Harrison claimed, "The idea came from an Indian I met after the war, in 1946. He told me, 'Overpopulation is the big problem coming up in the world' (nobody had ever heard of it in those days) and he said, 'Want to make a lot of money, Harry? You have to import rubber contraceptives to India.' I didn't mind making money, but I didn't want to be the rubber king of India!"

Short story
Several years after writing the novel, Harrison created the short story "Roommates" (1971), largely by joining excerpts from the novel. Harrison describes the impetus and creation of the short story in his introduction for it in The Best of Harry Harrison. He recounts how he was asked for an excerpt for reprinting, but that he did not think any simple excerpt stood alone. So he took various scenes from the "roommates" plot strand and combined them into the short story.

title: Make Room! Make Room!


text:
Ventriloquist (character)

The Ventriloquist is the name of multiple supervillains appearing in American comic books and other media published by DC Comics. All of the Ventriloquist's versions are enemies of Batman, belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.

The character has been featured in various media adaptations, such as feature films, television series and video games. Andrew Sellon portrays a new version of the character in the television series Gotham. In the fifth season, he finds the dummy Scarface and becomes the Ventriloquist.

Publication history
There are currently three incarnations of the Ventriloquist: the first and original incarnation, Arnold Wesker, first appeared in Detective Comics #583 (February 1988) and was created by John Wagner, Alan Grant, and Norm Breyfogle; the second Ventriloquist, Peyton Riley, was introduced in Detective Comics #827 (March 2007) by Paul Dini and Don Kramer; in September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity and, in this new timeline, the third and final incarnation of the character was introduced, Shauna Belzer, first appearing in Batgirl #20 (July 2013), as created by Gail Simone and Fernando Pasarin.

Arnold Wesker
A meek, quiet man named Arnold Wesker (the first Ventriloquist) plans and executes his crimes through a dummy named Scarface, with the dress and persona of a 1920s gangster (complete with pinstripe suit, cigar, and Tommy gun). His name comes from the nickname of Al Capone, after whom Scarface is modeled. Born into a powerful organized crime family, Wesker develops dissociative identity disorder after seeing his mother assassinated by thugs from a rival family. Growing up, his only outlet is ventriloquism.

Showcase '94 #8-9 establishes an alternate origin story: after a barroom brawl in which he kills someone during a violent release of his repressed anger, Wesker is sent to Blackgate Penitentiary. He is introduced to "Woody" — a dummy carved from the remains of the former Blackgate gallows by his cellmate Donnegan — who convinces him to escape and kill Donnegan in a fight which scars the dummy, thus resulting in the birth of Scarface. Wesker lets the Scarface alter do the dirty work, including robbery and murder. He is totally dominated by Scarface, who barks orders at him and degrades him with verbal (and even physical) abuse. Wesker is unable to enunciate the letter "B" in his words while throwing his voice and replaces them with the letter "G" instead (for example, Scarface often calls Batman and Robin "Gatman" and "Rogin").

In the 1995 Riddler story Riddler: The Riddle Factory, it is revealed that a gangster named "Scarface" Scarelli had once been active in Gotham City, though he had apparently died long before Batman's era. A supernatural aspect to Scarface was hinted at in Wesker's alternate origin story in Showcase '94 #8-9, when Wesker's cellmate creates the first Scarface dummy from pieces of wood from the remains of Blackgate Prison's gallows. Batman/Scarface: A Psychodrama (2001) reinforces this and shows the dummy to be indirectly responsible for two accidents while separated from Wesker (with at least one fatality). The dummy also retained his speech impediment while operated by a young boy and seemed to even show awareness of his name during this period.

The Ventriloquist is one of many villains in the Batman's rogues gallery to be confined to Arkham Asylum when Batman apprehends him. One particularly memorable series of events concerning him took place during the Knightfall storyline, after Bane had destroyed Arkham and released its inmates. Unable to find Scarface, the Ventriloquist uses a sock puppet in his place for a short time (aptly named Socko). After an ill-fated team-up with fellow escapee Amygdala, he procures a number of other hand puppets to fill in for Scarface, including one of a police officer which he refers to as "Chief O'Hara". Later, when Wesker does indeed find Scarface, Scarface and Socko are set at odds until a standoff occurs and the dummy and the puppet both shoot each other, leaving Wesker unconscious and bleeding from two wounded hands.

During the events of the Cataclysm story arc, the stress caused by the earthquake apparently triggered the release of another personality within Wesker in the form of the Quakemaster, who claimed to have caused the earthquake himself over a video and threatened to trigger another unless he was paid $100 million. However, the seismologist Quakemaster had captured to provide him with information deliberately feeds him inaccurate scientific data to provide detectives looking for her with information as to her location. Robin subsequently deduces 'Quakemaster's' true identity, due to his speeches always taking great effort to avoid saying any words with the letter "B". In one issue, Wesker is apparently killed, and in a bizarre twist, Scarface appears to still talk and act alive before he is destroyed. This death appears to have been retconned in "One Year Later" (presumably due to the events of the Infinite Crisis crossover event). Wesker appears as one of the members of the Secret Society of Super Villains that faces the Jade Canary, who pitches Scarface off the top of a roof.

In Detective Comics #818, an issue later included in the trade paperback Batman: Face the Face, Wesker is murdered by an unseen assailant. The dummy Scarface is stepped on and its head crushed. The dying Wesker uses Scarface's hand to leave a clue regarding his murder: a street name. Later in the storyline, it is revealed that the Tally Man II, acting as an enforcer for the Great White Shark, is responsible for the murder. During the Blackest Night crossover, Wesker is among the many deceased villains that receive a black power ring and is reanimated into a Black Lantern. Using his power ring, Wesker creates a construct of Scarface made of black energy. He is shown murdering many police officers.

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Arnold Wesker was never killed. He appears in Batman: The Dark Knight (vol. 2) #2. Implied to be in possession of the Venom steroid, he clashes briefly with Nightwing.

During The War of Jokes and Riddles, Wesker and Scarface are seen as part of the Joker's gang in his gang war against the Riddler's gang. In Harley Quinn: Rebirth, after turning on the Penguin, the Ventriloquist and Scarface join up with the few remaining crime lords of New York that managed to escape from the Penguin's giant penguins and they help Harley Quinn to fight back. Afterwards, he is put in charge of Coney Island's Mafia.

Peyton Riley
A new female Ventriloquist, Peyton Riley, called "Sugar" by Scarface, soon surfaced in the pages of Detective Comics. Batman responded to a police scanner call - witnesses said Catwoman had been shot. He got to the body, which had a note on it that read "dummy." A counter started at four seconds - he got out as the place exploded. When he got back to his car, there was a dummy posing as Robin. He shot it with a grapple and it, too, exploded.

Batman had the police exhume Arnold Wesker's body, but the coffin was empty. Bruce uses one of his disguises, small-timer Lefty Knox, to see what the underground was saying. Within a week, he heard the Ventriloquist was making a comeback at the Iceberg Lounge. "Lefty" attended the big show - as the curtains parted, the deceased Wesker sat with Scarface in his lap. A beautiful blonde whom Scarface calls "Sugar" knocked over the dead body, picked up the dummy, and continued on. When she was questioned by an audience member, she shot him. Scarface told the room he was working on a plan to take over the city, but would have to remove Batman from the equation first. He called Batman out, knowing that he would be in the audience. Bruce threw his voice and made it look like one of the other criminals was confessing. A batarang flew and took out the lights, causing Scarface to open fire. Batman swooped in and grabbed the woman and the dummy. He separated them and realized the dummy was a bomb, forcing him to dispose of it and allowing the woman to escape. Batman then informed Gordon of what had happened.

Sugar is a more compatible partner than Wesker, since Scarface no longer substitutes "B" with "G", and she is far more willing to commit violent crime. When nearly captured by Batman and Harley Quinn (who had been close to Wesker after he tried to cheer her up when she was initially sent to Arkham while the Joker was still on the loose), Sugar has Scarface say, "Save yourself." Unlike Wesker, who is horrified at any damage to Scarface, Sugar rigs her dummies to explode, using this to cover her escapes. She has numerous identical dummies at her hideout, easily switching from one Scarface to another as needed.

During Gotham Underground #2 (January 2008), Sugar and Scarface, along with Lock-Up, the Firefly, and Killer Moth are told by the Scarecrow that the Penguin is working for the Suicide Squad. They attack him, but end up meeting a team of criminals working for the Penguin. While they try to escape, they are brought to a dead end by the Scarecrow. Tobias Whale shoots Scarface, but lets Sugar live, although he informs one of the men escorting her that she is to be "hurt".

In Detective Comics #843 (April 2008), Scarface kidnaps a rival gangster, Johnny Sabatino, and takes Bruce Wayne hostage. While alone, Sugar breaks away from Scarface and talks to Bruce in what appears to be her 'real' personality. She reveals that she was engaged to Wayne's friend, Matthew Atkins, "years ago." Her real name is revealed to be Peyton Riley, and she expresses remorse for her crimes before the Scarface persona reappears and interrupts their conversation. In the following issue, Riley reveals that her father, an Irish Mafia boss named Sean Riley, wanted to marry her off to Sabatino, forming a permanent alliance between Gotham's Irish and Italian gangs. Atkins is beaten severely, leaving him in intensive care. Sean's alcoholism gets worse, and Peyton was forced to marry Sabatino. This does not lead to the hoped-for gang alliance, as Sabatino proves to be an inept gangster. He and Peyton are eventually taken to see Scarface, as Sabatino had cheated him on a weapons deal. Both Scarface and Wesker were impressed by Peyton's intelligence, and gave Sabatino a second chance, taking 30% of his profits.

In Detective Comics #850 (November 2008), she and Tommy Elliot bond over their mutual resentment of their families, and vow that they will escape together when Elliot comes into his fortune. However, Elliot's ailing mother does not approve of their relationship, and when Tommy refuses to stop seeing Peyton, she writes him out of her will. Peyton subsequently runs the departing family lawyer off of the road and kills him (calling in a favor from some of her father's men to "take care of the details"), while Elliot murders his mother. Peyton declares that they can finally be free together - only to be abandoned by Elliot, who later describes her as a "sweet girl, but too needy."

When Scarface's hold on the mob begins to crumble, Sabatino, now a crime boss in his own right, decides to cement his own position by wiping out the Rileys. After killing his father-in-law, he personally shoots his wife in the head. She survives, however, and regains consciousness just as the Tally Man is killing Wesker nearby. Peyton finds the body of Wesker, and is shocked to hear Scarface talking to her. Although she suspects she may be hallucinating, she forms a partnership with him when he expresses sympathy and says that he will help her get revenge.

Scarface and Peyton plan to throw Sabatino over the side of his own yacht. After Bruce is rescued by Zatanna, he assumes the role of Batman and proceeds to rescue Sabatino while Zatanna tries to talk down Peyton, explaining that dolls and puppets have powerful magic. Before she can have any effect, a thug named Moose hits her with an oar. While Batman protects Zatanna from Moose, Peyton makes another attempt to throw Sabatino over the side, but gets too close, and he begins to strangle her with the rope around his wrists. Scarface quietly says, "Jump, Sugar", and Peyton sends them both over the side. Before they hit the water, Scarface says "G'bye, kiddo. I loved y..." Riley has not appeared again ever since and is presumed to have drowned with Sabatino.

Shauna Belzer
In the continuity resulting from DC's 2011 reboot of its entire monthly line of books, The New 52, a new Ventriloquist debuted in the pages of Batgirl. Shauna Belzer grew up in the shadow of her twin brother Ferdie, whom their parents treated as a favorite while ignoring her; other children, meanwhile, idolized Ferdie while bullying her. When Shauna learned she could move things with her mind, she used her newfound powers to murder one of her tormentors. She would later use these powers to kill her hated brother and make it look like an accident. Shauna was trying to find her place in the world when she first met Ferdie, the dummy. She saw him at a birthday party and killed the clown who was using him. Shauna would later go on to kill her parents and start doing ventriloquist acts that would usually end with a dead audience.

Shauna is one of six individuals who are kidnapped by a man identifying himself as the Mockingbird, and sealed inside a shipping container on the bottom of the ocean. Besides Shauna, the others are the Catman, Big Shot, Black Alice, Strix and Porcelain. After escaping, this group becomes known as the new Secret Six. The Mockingbird is eventually revealed to be the Riddler, who believes that one of the six stole a priceless diamond from him, but he does not know who. The thief is revealed to be the ventriloquist doll Ferdie, who had stolen the diamond and hidden it within his own wooden body, his persona being so separate from Shauna's that she did not even realize that her doll was the thief. In the final issue of the Secret Six series, Shauna betrays the team and abandons Ferdie when he insists that they remain loyal to the group. Shauna is incarcerated in Arkham Asylum, where she is now using a sock puppet as her new doll.

Powers and abilities
The first Ventriloquist has no superhuman powers, but possesses some basic hand-to-hand combat skills, though as a side-effect of his mental illness he possesses some degree of telepathic immunity; when the supervillain Psycho-Pirate attempted to use his emotion-manipulating powers to instill Wesker with fear, Wesker responded by punching Psycho-Pirate as Scarface quipped, "No one controls the Ventriloquist! No one! But me." He is a skilled ventriloquist and his Scarface persona is a skilled criminal strategist. However, he is unable to pronounce any word with a letter "B" in it accurately without moving his lips, giving Scarface a speech impediment in which he says every "B" in a word as a "G". Wesker usually carries a handgun of some kind, while Scarface carries a trademark Tommy gun. However, Wesker tends to show that he and Scarface hold two different personalities and he and Scarface can sometimes argue amongst each other, which tends to work as an advantage to Batman on several occasions.

The second Ventriloquist is much more skilled in ventriloquism than her predecessor and is capable of pronouncing all speech patterns with more proficiency when in her Scarface persona. Unlike the first one, the second Ventriloquist's personality does not contradict Scarface's and is much more willing to commit cruel acts, especially since she believes that she and the dummy are in a romantic relationship. Coming from an elite mob family, she is also a brilliant criminal mastermind.

Other versions

 * The Ventrilomaker, an amalgamation of the Ventriloquist and Toyman, appears in Superman/Batman.
 * An alternate universe incarnation of Arnold Wesker / Ventriloquist appears in Flashpoint.
 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist appears in Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
 * An alternate universe incarnation of Arnold Wesker / Ventriloquist makes a cameo appearance in The Batman Who Laughs as one of several villains killed by the Joker.
 * An alternate universe incarnation of Arnold Wesker / Ventriloquist appears in Batman: White Knight. This version is African-American.

Television

 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist and Scarface appear in The Batman, both voiced by Dan Castellaneta. This version of Wesker is a ventriloquist who snapped after being booed off stage one night and turned to crime, with his first successful caper being the robbery of every person who had booed him. In his most notable appearance in the episode "The Big Dummy", Scarface commissions the construction of a giant robot of himself capable of carrying Wesker, only to be foiled by Batman.
 * An original incarnation of the Ventriloquist appears in Gotham, portrayed by real-life ventriloquist Andrew Sellon. This version is Arthur Penn, Oswald Cobblepot's mild-mannered accountant and a criminal associate of mob boss Carmine Falcone and his daughter Sofia. Introduced in the fourth season, Penn works for Cobblepot until the fifth season episode "Penguin, Our Hero", in which the former is seemingly shot and killed by a street gang called the Street Demonz. In the episode "Nothing's Shocking" however, he wakes up in the GCPD morgue, treats his own injuries, and makes his way to an abandoned magic shop, where he finds an unsold ventriloquist dummy called Scarface. This triggers the creation of a split personality called Scarface. Together, Penn and Scarface approach and threaten to kill Cobblepot so the latter can become Gotham City's dominant mob boss, but Cobblepot "kills" Scarface while his friend Edward Nygma kills Penn, arguing that he can no longer be trusted. Originally, Penn's role as the Ventriloquist was going to be cut from the fifth season due to it being shortened to 10 episodes. However, after Fox extended the season to 12 episodes, this allowed the creative team to continue with their original plan.
 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist and Scarface make cameo appearances in Titans, portrayed by an uncredited stunt double.

DC Animated Universe
The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist and Scarface appear in media set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), both voiced by George Dzundza. The series' version of the former is a master ventriloquist who can pronounce every sound perfectly as Scarface, a decision series co-creator Bruce Timm fought for even though DC Comics wanted to maintain Scarface's speech impediment. Their henchmen, Rhino (voiced by Earl Boen) and Mugsy (voiced by Joe Piscopo in Batman: The Animated Series and Townsend Coleman in The New Batman Adventures) also appear throughout the franchise.
 * The Ventriloquist and Scarface first appear in Batman: The Animated Series. In the DVD commentary for their introductory episode "Read My Lips", Timm stated that the Fox Kids censors allowed the recurring destruction of Scarface because he was not a "living" character, allowing the production staff to vent their darker impulses by doing so in increasingly gruesome ways.
 * The Ventriloquist and Scarface appear in The New Batman Adventures episode "Double Talk". By this time, the former has reformed and been employed at Wayne Enterprises, though Rhino and Mugsy attempt to force him into relapsing before Batman stops them.
 * Alternate universe incarnations of the Ventriloquist and Scarface make a cameo appearance in the Justice League two-part episode "A Better World" as one of several supervillains that Superman of the Justice Lords lobotomized to ensure peace.

Film

 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist and Scarface make a cameo appearance in The Batman vs. Dracula.
 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of Ventriloquist was originally planned to appear in The Lego Batman Movie, according to concept art, but did not appear for unknown reasons.
 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist makes a cameo appearance in Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
 * The DCAU incarnations of Arnold Wesker / Ventriloquist and Scarface make a cameo appearance in Space Jam: A New Legacy.

Video games

 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist and Scarface appear as a boss in Batman: Dark Tomorrow, voiced by Michael Goz. This version is a crime boss and rival of Black Mask.
 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist and Socko appear in Batman: The Telltale Series, both voiced by Larry Brisbowitz.
 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist appears as an unlockable playable character in the Nintendo DS version of Lego Batman: The Videogame.
 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist appears as an unlockable playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced by Dave B. Mitchell.

Batman: Arkham
Scarface makes minor appearances in the Batman: Arkham games Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, and Batman: Arkham Knight.

Miscellaneous

 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist and Scarface make a minor appearance in Batman: Arkham Unhinged.
 * The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist and Socko appear in the Harley Quinn and The Joker: Sound Mind Spotify podcast, both voiced by Andre Royo.

title: Ventriloquist (character)


text:
Talk:Shad Thames

Untitled
I see that my reference to Jacob's Island has been removed. The following website claims that Jacob's Island was part of, or another name for, Shad Thames:

http://www.thames.org.uk/pages/guide2.htm

Does anyone have any reason to cast doubt on it? Ogg 08:02, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I found another link: http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/southwark/bermondsey/jacobs-island-02.htm which said Jacob's Island was east of St Saviour's Dock; whereas Shad Thames is (IMO) just west of St Saviour's Dock, or at least the street itself and the proper area is; that said estate agents call the area up to about 100m east of St Saviour's Dock Shad Thames too (though this may be for lack of a better modern name or so as sell outlying properties at a higher price). So you may be right. Please reinstate if you have better information! Ben Finn 13:09, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I've now found an 1889 map of London which has the Shad Thames area marked 'Horsely Down' (there is still a Horselydown Lane by Tower Bridge today), so I've added this to the article. The name Jacob's Island isn't marked, but presumably was an earlier name in the vicinity. The fact that Jacob St is (then and now) in the area just east of St Saviour's Dock, and St Saviour's Dock blocks access and forms an 'island' on either side, suggests to me that Jacob's Island is indeed likely to have been on the east side of St Saviour's Dock only, i.e. east of Shad Thames proper. But I haven't checked extensively on the Internet for more information. Ben Finn 15:48, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I'm now fairly certain from other descriptions of Jacob's Island I've read or heard about that it was the area east of St Saviour's Dock and hence east of Shad Thames proper (though arguably Shad Thames now extends a short distance east of St Saviour's Dock, at least in estate agents' parlance). Ben Finn 22:50, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Failed GA
No references. Please read WP:GA? --SeizureDog 15:47, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

List of films
I've restored the list of films shot in Shad Thames - it seems harmless to me and of some interest, e.g. to people who have seen one or more of the films and who are visiting the area. Ben Finn 18:12, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Knights Templar removed
I have removed the end of the introductory paragraph, that read " itself because the Knights Templar of the Order of St John owned land locally; if so..."

The Knights Templar had nothing to do with St. John. I believe the author was confusing them with the Knights Hospitaller. However, as I cannot say whether the Hospitallers ever owned land at Shad Thames it would be inappropriate to simply change the wording.

OTOH, if anybody can make an etymological link between "Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon" and "Shad Thames" I will buy them a Mars Bar.

The reference for the orignial statement was also no longer functioning, which itself hardly adds weight to the original wording. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.80.105.207 (talk) 11:26, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

All Time Low
I've cut this as the lyrics don't mention Shad Thames - they mention Thames Street:

The pop punk band All Time Low from Baltimore refer to the location in their 2007 single "Six Feet Under The Stars" in a line in which the singer says "Meet me on Thames Street"

Ben Finn (talk) 15:37, 16 September 2010 (UTC)

Name
Can we find a reliable source for the etymology of the name "Shad Thames"? It's already in evidence on William Morgan's 1682 map of London, so the article's supposition that it has something to do with the 18th century Church of St John is not plausible (moreover, the idea that "St John at Thames" could somehow transform into "Shad Thames" stretches credulity). The second supposition made in the article, that the name means something like "stretch of the Thames abounding in shads", is not out of the realm of possibility, but this would be a very unusual name for a street. I've consulted A. D. Mills' Dictionary of London Place-Names, but Shad Thames is skipped over unfortunately. Zacwill (talk) 13:22, 7 August 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Shad Thames


text:
The Lemon Pipers

The Lemon Pipers were a short-lived 1960s American rock band from Oxford, Ohio, United States, known chiefly for their song "Green Tambourine", which reached No. 1 in the United States in 1968. The song has been credited as being the first bubblegum pop chart-topper.

The Lemon Pipers comprised drummer William (Bill) E. Albaugh (1946–1999), guitarist Bill Bartlett (born 1946), vocalist Dale "Ivan" Browne (born 1947), keyboardist Robert G. Nave (1944–2020), and bassist Steve Walmsley (born 1948), who replaced the original bass guitarist Bob "Dude" Dudek.

Career
The band was formed in 1966 by student musicians from Oxford, Ohio, who had played the college bars with their previous groups that included The Wombats (Nave), Ivan and the Sabres (Browne), and Tony and the Bandits (Bartlett, Albaugh and Dudek). The band played a mixture of blues, hard rock and folk rock, with a few covers from The Byrds and The Who. They gigged regularly in an Oxford bar called The Boar's Head, and Cincinnati underground rock venues, The Mug Club and later The Ludlow Garage, before releasing a single on the Carol Records label, "Quiet Please". The original band existed as a quartet, and then gained notoriety by reaching the finals in the Ohio Battle of the Bands at the Cleveland Public Auditorium in 1967, losing out to the James Gang.

Signing a record deal
The band then recruited Miami University student Browne as frontman, and also engaged Ohio music industry impresario Mark Barger, who steered the Lemon Pipers to Buddah Records, then run by Neil Bogart. The Lemon Pipers, relying in part on advice from Barger, agreed to enter into a recording contract and music publishing deal with Buddah. The group began playing larger auditorium and concert hall venues around the US, including an appearance at Bill Graham's Fillmore West in San Francisco on the same bill with Traffic, Moby Grape and Spirit on March 21, 1968. Buddah's plans for the group focused on bubblegum pop rather than rock music, and the Lemon Pipers joined a stable already containing Ohio Express and the aptly named 1910 Fruitgum Company. Paul Leka was assigned to be their record producer.

Number one hit
The group's debut on Buddah was a Bartlett composition, "Turn Around and Take a Look". When the song failed to make the charts, the label asked Leka and his songwriting partner, Shelley Pinz, who were working out of a Brill Building office on Broadway, to come up with a song. The pair wrote "Green Tambourine" and the band reluctantly recorded it. The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at the end of 1967 and reached No. 1 in February 1968 on the Billboard and Cashbox charts. The song peaked at No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart, and was also a hit worldwide. It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.) in February 1968. The success of "Green Tambourine" caused the label to put pressure on the group to stay in the same genre, and in March 1968 the band released another Leka/Pinz song, "Rice Is Nice", which peaked at No. 46 on the US Billboard charts, No.42 on the US Cashbox charts and No. 41 in the UK in May. The band had little enthusiasm for either song, however, dubbing them "funny-money music" and recording them only because they knew they would be dropped by Buddah if they refused. "Ordinary Point of View", written by Eric Ehrmann and featuring a Bartlett country solo, was recorded, but rejected by Buddah. Disenchanted with Buddah and the music industry, Ehrmann stopped writing songs and went on to become one of the early contributors to Rolling Stone magazine. As is common with the music associated with the 1960s, a few copyright and royalties issues connected with the previous owner of Buddah Records inherited by current owners of the Kama Sutra music publishing catalog and Lemon Pipers songs remain unresolved.

Stereotyped
The Lemon Pipers' evolution from 1960s rock music into a gold-record pop group created what Nave has described as "the duality of the Lemon Pipers": "We were a stand-up rock 'n' roll band, and then all of a sudden, we're in a studio, being told how to play and what to play." The chasm between the label's aspirations and the band's own musical tastes became apparent on the Lemon Pipers’ debut album, Green Tambourine. Produced by Leka, the album contained five Leka/Pinz songs, as well as two extended tracks written by the band, "Fifty Year Void" and "Through With You" (the latter, written by Bartlett, bearing influences of The Byrds and, according to the original LP label, running 8:31 in length). "Ask Me If I Care" written by Ehrmann, was also included. Like Lemon Pipers' members Nave and Albaugh, Ehrmann was a member of the Kappa chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Writing in Bubblegum is the Naked Truth, Gary Pig Gold commented: "It was the Pipers’ way with a tough-pop gem in the under-four-minute category which was most impressive by far: "Rainbow Tree", "Shoeshine Boy" and especially "Blueberry Blue" each sported a taut, musical sophistication worthy of The Move and, dare I say it, even the Magical Mystery Beatles."

The band recorded a second album for Buddah, Jungle Marmalade, which again showed both sides of the band – another Leka/Pinz song, "Jelly Jungle (of Orange Marmalade", (released as a single and peaking at No. 51 on Billboard and No. 30 on Cashbox in the US), a version of the Carole King/Gerry Goffin penned song "I Was Not Born to Follow," and an 11-minute, 43 second epic, "Dead End Street"/"Half Light".

Dissolution
The band left the Buddah label in 1969 and later dissolved. Bartlett, Walmsley and Nave formed Starstruck, whose recording of a Lead Belly song, "Black Betty", was reworked by Super K Productions producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz, and released in 1977 under the name of Ram Jam, featuring Bartlett. Browne moved to California to continue playing music, Walmsley played bass around Oxford. Bartlett became despondent and reclusive following the death of his wife Dee Dee. Nave became a jazz disc jockey on WVXU in Cincinnati and played organ occasionally with The Blues Merchants in southwestern Ohio venues.

Drummer Bill Albaugh died on January 20, 1999, at the age of 53.

Keyboardist Bob Nave (born Robert Gordon Nave on November 3, 1944 in Dayton, Ohio) died on January 28, 2020, at the age of 75.

Members
Timeline

Compilation albums

 * Best of the Lemon Pipers (Camden/BMG, 1998)
 * Green Tambourine: The Best of the Lemon Pipers (Buddha 99798, 2001)

title: The Lemon Pipers


text: Talk:Buffalo Springfield (box set)

title: Talk:Buffalo Springfield (box set)


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