The Musical Brain

The library was the crown jewel of the house. It was at the center, and occupied both floors with a cherry wood spiral staircase connecting both the floors. It also had a great balcony off the second floor that overlooked the whole estate, and her parents hosted a multitude of social gatherings with “important, respectable people” whose names Essily couldn’t be bothered to remember. Every wall of the library was covered with bookshelves that were either filled with books, or various souvenirs her parents had acquired through the years, such as a large globe or a painting of some idyllic city. It was all lit by an enormous chandelier.Waiting at one of the tables in the center of the library was her tutor, Mr. Smith, and her

In Chapter 27: Irrepressible: Music and the Temporal Lobes, Oliver Sacks describes the case of Vera B., an elderly lady who was a patient of a nursing home in view of medical issues. In 1984, when Sacks met her, he did not find any neurological problems, but was surprised by the way that Vera behaved. She was exuberant—garrulous, jokey, and a little coquettish. Four years later, Sacks saw her again. He found her singing old Yiddish songs and appeared to him that she was abandoning her inhibitions.

Entertainment was essential to daily life in Ancient Rome.  According to Juvenal1, it seemed that all Romans were interested in was "bread and circuses,"  and with theatres, amphitheatres, gambling, drama and public baths galore, the Romans never seemed to get bored.

I really enjoyed going to the circus as a child but, I never knew how it was planned out. After reading my novel I’m surprised at how many problems a circus faces, even though it’s such an exciting place.

A large body of study by doctors has determined that we stop growing between the ages of 18 and 21. Now even that statement is too broad. So I am going to narrow it down. The brain reaches maturity at the age of 20. But according to Dr. Matthew Edlund, the brain is like a muscle. Theoretically, if you exercise it you can make it last longer. Just like the muscles human posses. Many studies conclude that people the exercise their muscles regularly have a higher chance of avoiding illnesses that are associated with advanced age. This is true for the brain as well. The human body has a fascinating ability to adapt. While death is certain for us all and deterioration of the body is unavoidable. There are many activities we can perform to slow down the deterioration.

In the Roman Empire, culture was almost solely dependent on the several forms of entertainment, which consisted of various sports along with theatre. Panem et circenses, meaning “bread and circuses”, was penned by the Roman poet Juvenal who wrote that those were the only two things the people “anxiously desire”. The phrase is used by Juvenal to deplore/condemn the declining heroism of the Romans after the Roman Republic ceased to exist and the heavy-handed Roman Empire began. The government kept the Roman populace happy by disrupting free food (bread) and staging huge spectacles (circuses). Spectacle, or spectaculum - meaning “a show”, is a term of art in theatre, referring to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates. Playwrights would use humour in their plays to connect with the audience as a chorus of laughter meant that the audience were attentive. As a playwright’s main focus was to entertain and teach, the attention of the audience was essential. Roman dramatists like Plautus incorporated humour in many of his plays to achieve the praise of audiences.

The fair is a narrative poem that explores the sensual bombardment of a travelling circus by recreating the sights, sounds, and smells visitors experience. The poem is split into two parts. The first, an atmospheric description of the thrill and excitement of the rides and the effects on the senses. Whilst the second takes a dramatic turn to the worst when a horrible fate befalls a poor young girl in a field beyond the fair.

Marco and Celia are raised for years under the instruction of their respective teachers until a “suitable arena” can be found. This arena is fashioned when Alexander and Hector Bowen influence Chandresh, an incredibly wealthy entrepreneur, to create Les Cirque des Rệves, a new, ambitious breed of circus meant to inspire awe among every visitor. Marco is put into place as Chandresh’s personal assistant and Celia as the circus’s very own performing magician. On the night of the circus’s grand opening, Marco casts a spell on the circus so that he may monitor from afar, and at the exact moment of its inception, the Murray twins, Poppet and Widget, are born. As a result of their newborn interaction with the circus’s magic, they develop psychic abilities: Widget sees the past, Poppet sees the future.

Did you know that music is one of the few activities that utilizes the whole entire brain? Did you know that music can physically alter your brain structure? Today I am going to be talking about the power of music and its impacts and effects on the brain. Throughout my whole life I have always had a passion for music of all different types and genres. I listen to music wherever I go and during whatever I’m doing. My mom would continually badger me about the music I was listening to and how it was corrupting my brain. After much research and many songs later, I discovered it actually has many positive effects on the brain. In the rest

Gladiators have long been regarded as entertainers performing spectacles of great violence for an avid audience. Many scholars debate whether the gladiators could be considered athletes due to the stark differences between the Greek athletes of the Olympics and the Roman gladiators of the arena. There are many myths surrounding the gladiators. Most people think that the gladiators were savage and would fight each other to the death every time they entered the arena. Many people are also unaware of the training that each gladiator would undergo. The virtue of the gladiators is often brought into question because they are seen as vicious and thoughtless. In this paper, the true nature of the gladiators will be investigated by analysing the cultural context surrounding the definition of an athlete throughout history.

Music is a reflection of the human soul that encompasses the direct emotion of the inner being. Music has existed from the beginning of time from the very creation of the universe, as the angles worshiped God. Throughout the centuries music has dramatically changed, exposing our nature of each generation time and time again. Truth is, you can expose the mindset of an individual based on the music he or she is currently listening to. The article “Surprising Science: What Music Does to Our Brains” by, Belle Beth Cooper makes eight points on how a person reacts when listening to music. Each person will react to music differently depending on their generation and perception at the given moment and has the ability to control

In Macedonian hills, the music of Orpheus was said to possess certain magical qualities, having powers strong enough to alter the very behavior of people and animals. Among its abilities, the notes of Orpheus' lyre were said to calm the guard-dog of Hades (1), to cause the evil Furies to cry, and to tame the deadly voices of the Sirens (2). Was this power simply a divine and magical gift with no other explanation, or can we explain more specifically the connections between music and behavior?

Alexie remembers being poor, and living on “…a combination of irregular paychecks, hope, fear and government surplus food” (Alexie 583). His father “…went to Catholic school on purpose, was an avid reader” (Alexie 583) of various types of books. There were stacks of books throughout the house that his father had purchased from discount stores, mostly in bulk. This emphasizes that although they were poor, his father still valued reading.

Music has been apart of society for thousands of years and an outlet for people's stress and other problems they may be facing. It helps the brain function and understand conditions better by breaking it down and trying to comprehend it. Music has made and is still making an impact on the lives of people all around the world. Because of its impact on peoples lives neuroscientist wanted to get to the source and have been looking at the brain to determine the exact effects of music and they can now answer the question, what effects does music have on the brain? Listening to music can send pleasure to your mind, decide your emotions, lower stress, and improve learning.

In the novel, the circus itself is a symbol of the riddle of life and a symbol of dreams. The story gives a hopeful perspective to which it depicts the capacity to overcome obstacles utilizing passion. Nonetheless, there is an all-encompassing topic to which the author portrays a darker message where the failure to isolate passion from obsession prompts the downfall one's character and the blurring one's judgment. A notable example in The Night Circus would be Bailey’s obsession with the circus. Bailey is the son of farmers in Massachusetts and portrays obsessive behaviour towards the circus. “a solitary white glove that has gone rather grey...being kept in a small box with rocks," (Morgenstern 111) and never forgetting about the circus. Then again, his family has extensive desires with him. His dad wants him to take over the family farm and he was conceded into the Cambridge and Harvard. His over the top conduct with the circus clouds his judgment as surrenders all family desires to become a part of the circus. He abandons his family without a goodbye. Bailey can outweigh the circus over his own family and disregard his friends and family who raised him, tended to him and gave their time to him. Many people trust that family is a standout amongst the most vital parts of life, and surely it is, yet Bailey can surrender all that only for his obsession with the