B.A.,L.L.B.(Hons.

Ist Semester

Subject -- English
Project

Position Papers

Submitted to – Submitted by –
Mrs. Alka Singh Spandan Srivastava
Lecturer in English. Roll No. - 135
Section – B
 Acknowledgement
I am Spandan Srivastava a student of 1st Semester of Dr. Ram Manohar

Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow and I am obliged to my English teacher Mrs. Alka

Singh for allowing me to work on this project as it has given me the opportunity to work on the

fields discussed in my project and study some interesting works while preparing for it. I really

enjoyed making this project.

This project is truly dedicated to God.

 Was Shakespeare an expert of Law?

 What are the health conditions of women during the 21st century and

how should it be improved?

 How are Environmental Degradation and Humans related?

“And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew,

That one small head could carry all he knew.” - Goldsmith

William Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon.

He was an English poet and playwright widely regarded as the greatest writer in the

English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He was also given the title of “Bard of

Avon”. Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. Many of his plays

were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. In 1623, two of his

former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that

included all but two of the plays now recognized as Shakespeare's. His writings became legendary

and were admired by people for its perfection of expressions, displaying of the true human

emotions which were not always all good and nice or all bad and full of vice but were an

amalgamation of honesty and dishonesty, selflessness and selfishness, ambition and pity. What has

been most observed in his works is the different knowledge of various fields of professions and

areas of studies of those times like carpentry, falconry, etc.

One of the things most observed in his plays is his legal knowledge.

Many Shakespearean Researchers have observed absolutely correct use of legal terms and phrases

which were generally unknown to common people of those times and could not be used with such

accuracy by a person who had not studied law deeply. Shakespeare’s persistent and correct use of

legal terms was long ago noticed and caused the conjecture that he must have studied at an

attorney’s office. What is the truth in this respect will probably never be known; but that he was
addicted to the employment of legal nomenclature than any English writer (excepting, of course, the

jurists) is contestable. Though many believe that he may have acquired this knowledge of law as he

obtained knowledge about other professions but such people are very few because the accuracy of

his use of the legal language is as good as any other legal professional of those times. Mr. Charles

Allen, a critique while discussing the use of legal nomenclature in The Merchant of Venice brings

to notice that when Shylock says:

“Go with me to a notary, seal me there

was a bond without condition, but Antonio’s bond was to have a condition, and therefore it was

wrongly described as a single bond. A bond is an instrument under seal whereby the party from

whom the security is taken obliges himself to pay a certain sum of money to another at a day

specified. If this be all, the bond is called a single one (simplex obligatio), but there is generally a

condition added that if the obligor does, or abstains from doing, some particular act, the obligation

shall be void, or else shall remain in full force, and the sum mentioned in the obligatory part of the

bond is in the nature of a penal sum (or penalty), and is usually fixed at much more than is

sufficient to cover any possible damage arising from the breach of the condition." Now in The

Merchant of Venice, Antonio bound himself to pay to Shylock a certain sum of money "on such a

day, in such a place" and what was the "condition" "upon the performance of which the bond was to

become void? There was no such condition. Antonio binds himself absolutely to pay this certain

sum at a certain place on a certain day. True there was a penalty attached if he failed to do so. In

that case he was to forfeit a pound of flesh. But that was not a "condition" on the performance of

which the bond was to become void. On the contrary, it was a penalty pure and simple, dependent
for its effect upon the existence of the bond. If it had been provided by the document that Antonio

should enter into an obligation to allow Shylock to cut off a pound of his flesh, "on such a day, in

such a place," the "condition" of the bond being that if he paid a certain sum of money at a fixed

date then the bond should become void and of no effect, in that case the bond would have been a

"conditional" one. But we have only to refer to the passage cited from the play to see that this was

not so, for, I repeat, Antonio simply bound himself to pay the money at a fixed time and place,

without condition or qualification, and, says Shylock, if he did not do so:

“Let the forfeit

A well-known Shakespearean, Richard Grant White, has written: "No dramatist of the time, not

even Beaumont, who was a younger son of a judge of the Common Pleas, and who, after

studying in the Inns of Court, abandoned law for the drama, used legal phrases with

Shakespeare’s readiness and exactness… legal phrases flow from his pen as part of his

vocabulary and parcel of his thought."

Many lawyers and judges who have studied Shakespeare complement his

perfection of the knowledge of law. Many object saying that he had made many mistakes in

phrasing legal terms in his plays. The question of Shakespeare’s knowledge of law is still debatable

because there are certain wrong usages of legal phrases and terms that cannot be justified. The

conclusion that we can achieve for now is that he had no more knowledge of law than his

contemporaries and there is no proof as to if he obtained any specific expertise in the field of law.
What are the health conditions of women in the 21st century

and how should it be improved?

The desire for good health is universal, common to all men and women of all

cultural and racial origins. Good health for all citizens of all nations is essential for that nation to

prosper and develop. The coming of globalization and industrialization has put health services on a

backseat. Unfortunately, the medical advancements are not so developed and are very expensive to

undertake that it has created health problems worldwide. Many diseases are still cureless and after

spending millions on their research there is hardly any clue of any medicine.

Women have suffered a lot due to these medical lacking as in many countries

women are not provided with proper health care and due to gender discrimination are made second

priority for health care over the males of the family. They even face nutritional discrimination and

thus the mortality rate is very high. Gender based inequalities – for example in education, income

and employment – limit the ability of girls and women to protect their health. The maternal

mortality in India is the second highest in the world. Only 42% of births in the country are

supervised by health professionals. Most women deliver with help from women in the family who

often lack the skills and resources to save the mother's life if it is in danger. 99% of the more than

half a million maternal deaths every year happen in developing countries. Not surprisingly, the

highest burden of morbidity and mortality – particularly in the reproductive years – is concentrated

in the poorest and often the institutionally weakest countries, particularly those facing humanitarian

crises. According to UNDP Human Development Report (1997), 88% of pregnant women (age
15-49) were found to be suffering from anaemia. The number of girls born and surviving in India is

significantly less compared with the number of boys, due to the disproportionate numbers of female

foetuses being aborted and baby girls deliberately neglected and left to die. Women have their own

health problems but they are generally ignored to the health of the men. Within countries, the health

of girls and women is critically affected by social and economic factors, such as access to

education, household wealth and place of residence. In almost all countries, girls and women living

in wealthier households have lower levels of mortality and higher use of health-care services than

those living in the poorest households. Such differences are not confined to developing countries

but are found in the developed world.

Due to the continuous efforts of the World Health Organization and many

other organizations – either governmental or non-governmental are creating change. Though the

change in women’s health care is being brought about in only the major urban areas and it is not

reaching most of the rural areas. Various campaigns are being run around the globe especially for

the care of women’s health. New medicines are being researched for women to cure there specific

diseases. Various nutrition companies have launched various nutritional products made especially

for women which help them to complete their required daily nutrition intake. Addressing women’s

health is a necessary and effective approach to strengthening health systems overall – action that

will benefit everyone. Improving women’s health matters to women, to their families, communities

and societies at large.

Improve women’s health – improve the world.

Since, the formation of the Earth it had slowly changed over periods of

thousands of years to become such that it could support the human life. But, after the human life

started developing it brought about major changes in the environment and that led to the

environmental degradation. Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment

through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the

extinction of wildlife. It is defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be

deleterious or undesirable.

Man in its hunger for growth and development started ruining the

environment in which it lived. During the early years of the existence of the humans there was not

much environmental disturbance as the population was low and very few resources were needed for

their survival but as the population growth took place, the humans started extracting the

environmental resources without thinking how it was effecting our environment and the future

generations. As the industrial revolution took place, industries started rising in the skyline and

pumping out pollution into land, air and water, thus ruining their future use and affecting the other

living organisms dependent on those resources. The natural sources of energy started being

consumed, without thought, to support the rising population.

Gradually, when the resources started depleting, the humans became aware

of the damage they had done. The environmental instability caused various species of animal and

plants to be extinct and caused such damage to some of the species that became endangered.

Various forests were destroyed for agriculture, industrialization and to accommodate the population
growth. This is slowly resulting in various climatic changes which in return affect the humans that

had created this circle. Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect are a few major problems that

the earth is facing today and they are affecting the natural processes in such a way that they are a

danger to the survival of the humans.

Soil erosion, desertification, water logging, etc. are the results of exploitation

of land by humans and these phenomenons are in result effecting the agricultural produce, rainfall,

and weather which are important to the survival of mankind. Air pollution caused by industries is

causing various breathing disorders and thus is again affecting humans.

Humans are the cause of the environmental degradation and the results of the

environmental degradation ultimately affect the humans and the other living things on earth. The

extinction of various species of plants and animals is evident that it is a danger to the existence of

humans too. Though it may provide for luxuries and comfort for now, but in the long run, it is

harmful for the health of the humans.

1.

(i) The Law in Shakespeare By Cushman Kellogg Davis

(ii) Shakespeare’s Law By George Greenwood

(iii) “William Shakespeare, Attorney at Law and Solicitor at Chancery” in Atlantic

Monthly by Richard Grant White

2.

(i) The World Health Report 2008 – World Health Organization

(ii) Women and health: today's evidence tomorrow's agenda – World Health

Organization

(iii) Global Women and Children's Health in the 21st Century: the Case for a

Comprehensive Approach – Rahim Kanani

3.

(i) Environmental Degradation – Wikipedia

(ii) Environmental Issues in India – Wikipedia

(iii) [Link] – Green Living