Critical analysis Twelfth Night Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical analysis Twelfth Night - Essay Example Although categorized as a romantic comedy, relating the story of a pair of twins washed up separately upon the same shore, each thinking the other is dead, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night provides a great deal of this kind of social commentary as the two youths become involved with nobles they meet in their journey back together. By analyzing a single scene of this play, one can begin to understand how Shakespeare managed to convey social position and degree of intelligence in such a way that calls into question the prevailing social assumptions of his time. The scene is divided by the arrivals of two of the characters to Olivia’s house that quickly demonstrate the difference of social classes existent in England at the time. At the opening of the scene, Feste, the house jester, returns after an unexplained absence and finds it necessary to charm his way back into his mistress’ good graces. According to Richard Holinshed, â€Å"These men are profitable to none; for, if their condition be well perused, they are enemies to their masters, to their friends, and to themselves† (1580). Thus, his behavior seems to suit his station as in attempting to ease his way back into the household, he distracts the other characters from pursuing his personal activities by making jokes until the scene is interrupted by the arrival of Viola, disguised as the servant Cesario, delivering a message of love from Duke Orsino for the noblewoman Olivia. The conversation between Olivia and Cesario sparks an immediate and intense interest from Olivia, who recognizes Viola belongs to her own upper class. In both halves of this scene, language variety reveals social class as well as sincerity of intention within the characters portrayed. Feste changes his language style depending upon whom he is speaking with, making it possible for him to switch from one class to another simply by changing his means of communicating. As he speaks

Sources of Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sources of Finance - Essay Example The major challenge faced by SMEs is to access the capital to take advantage of new investment opportunities. The studies on SME financing in the past showed the lack of financing a major constraint for start-ups as well as expansion but recent statistics show an improved capital access for SMEs. This essay aims to present the definition of SMEs from the point of view of European Commission, the sources of finances available to SMEs along with the suitable financing options according to the stage the SME is in, the barriers SMEs face in procuring the capital or if the financing constraints still exist, and the steps needed by policy makers to provide congenial environment to SME sector. Background of Small and Medium sized Enterprises The Small and Medium sized Enterprise can be defined in two ways- Quantitatively and Qualitatively. The quantitative definition is based on the various criteria set by the different countries. Qualitatively SME can be defined on the basis of ownership w hich is limited to a few individuals. SMEs are privately owned with low volume of sales and a very few employees. The definition regarding the number of employees varies from country to country with 15 employees in Australia under Fair Work Act 2009, 50 employees under EU and a little less than 500 employees in USA to qualify for Small Business Administration. The European Commission has given a definition of an SME which qualifies an enterprise to be small or medium sized enterprise if it fulfils the criteria of maximum ceilings in either one of staff headcount, turnover or balance sheet given in Table 1. Table 1: Qualification to be an SME (Source: European Commission-a, 2009, p.3) This new definition was adopted by EC in 2003 and came into effect in 2005. The main reasons behind adopting new definition were to improve availability of capital, to update thresholds and to improve access to R&D and promote innovation (European Commission-b, 2005, p.8-10). The European Commission wor ks on policies regarding SMEs throughout Europe and assists them through business support measures. In 2010, the number of SMEs in EU was around 20.8 million, 99.8% of the total enterprises. These SMEs employed 87.5 million people, almost two-thirds of the total employed people producing GVA of 58.4% (Cambridge, 2011, p.8). In 2010, SMEs accounted for 60% of UK’s total public sector employment and 50% of the private sector turnover (Turner, 2010). In February 2011, UK ministry announced the reform measures specifically to open-up public sector markets for SMEs. This included the set-up of ‘contracts finder’ a source to access information regarding procurement, tenders and contracts and directives to government departments to set targets to increase businesses with SMEs. They also presented an SME Action Plan taking into account the limited means to increase non-UK business for SMEs in UK (Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 2011). Sources of Finance for SMEs Finance i s considered a key element that drives the SMEs to successively build productive capacities and create jobs. Without capital, SMEs cannot acquire