Emily Dickinson I hope this is the poem you asked me about. I found it quite easily in the internet; I'm nobody! Who are You? Are you Nobody, too? Then there's a pair of us no - don't tell! They'd banish us, you know. How dreary to be somebody! How public, like a frog To tell your name the livelong day to an admiring bog! (Emily Dickinson)
confused by the poem? or what? Emily D. became more and more reclusive as she aged. Many of her poems reflected her reluctance to go out in public. Very sad.
Quite a number of poets are also manic depressives and much poetry gets lost as a result. It is a real shame. There is room for all sorts in he world - after all Beethoven had hearing problems, didn't he?
stone deaf by the time he wrote the fifth... Another case of insanity was Van Gogh. Do you realize that his vast volume of work was achieved in less than 10 years.
I thought that Beethoven's problem was ear wax and that he could hear (sort of) by contact, ie. by bone contact.
this is what encarta says: Beethoven was born in Bonn. His fathers harsh discipline and alcoholism made his childhood and adolescence difficult. At the age of 18, after his mothers death, Beethoven placed himself at the head of the family, taking responsibility for his two younger brothers, both of whom followed him when he later moved to Vienna, Austria. In Bonn, Beethovens most important composition teacher was German composer Christian Gottlob Neefe, with whom he studied during the 1780s. Neefe used the music of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach as a cornerstone of instruction, and he later encouraged his student to study with Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whom Beethoven met briefly in Vienna in 1787. In 1792 Beethoven made another journey to Vienna to study with Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, and he stayed there the rest of his life. The combination of forceful, dramatic power with dreamy introspection in Beethovens music made a strong impression in Viennese aristocratic circles and helped win him generous patrons. Yet just as his success seemed assured, he was confronted with the loss of that sense on which he so depended, his hearing. Beethoven expressed his despair over his increasing hearing loss in his moving Heiligenstadt Testament, a document written to his brothers in 1802. This impairment gradually put an end to his performing career. However, Beethovens compositional achievements did not suffer from his hearing loss but instead gained in richness and power over the years. His artistic growth was reflected in a series of masterpieces, including the Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major op. 55 (the Eroica, completed 1804), Fidelio, and the Symphony No. 5 in C minor op. 67 (1808). These works embody his second period, which is called his heroic style.
It doesn't say to what his hearing loss is attributable. I have some hearing loss (my wife would say quite a lot - I don't) and I can tell you that it is not a bit like it might be expected to be. I have become more (not less) sensitive to noise so that loud noises annoy me. Furthermore if I am talking to one person only and there is no other noise at all then I can hear quite well. As soon as there is the slightest other noise then I can't hear a word they are saying. My wife and I need tv at different levels of volume, so i use headphone at my volume and she has the set at her volume. That is hearing loss. I also have tinnitus - a continuous (or continual - I always get confused over those two words) whistling in the ears which, fortunately, I can generally ignore. On the other hand if you allow a large build of up wax (my ears are suspectible to that) then eventually you will not be able to hearing anything much either. But hearing by actual contact with the surface making the noise makes hearing so much easier. Like everything else they didn't know so much about sound until relatively recently.
Man, you have a mean combination of problems. I will look a little deeper to see if anyone knows. This is one situation where hindsight doesn't always shed maximum light...
I saw a documentary some years ago which suggested that Beethoven had to place his ear on an instrument, such as piano, in order to hear it. That would suggest to me that what he was looking for was bone contact type hearing Perhaps they don't actually know what his problem was. I have problems, yes, but who doesn't? I would not dream of asking you what your problems were. I am not arthritic and I am still reasonably (tolerably) fit. I sleep very well generally, and very long - a bit too long really. I can walk well and I can, generally, hear reasonably well with people who understand partial deafness (not my wife!). I have three great kids and four great grandchildren. We are having dinner at my daughters house on christmas day this year, which is great because she is a much better cook than my wife. My wife is really good, but not too brilliant on cooking or understanding, but she did nearly all the double glazing in our house!
there is room in the world for a practical wife. Its a good thing we all don't have to be martha stewart or arnold swartz......
Phillip here is some more information The following info is copied from: http://www.kingsbarn.freeserve.co.uk/miscellaneous.html There are various theories circulating today regarding Beethoven's health and hearing loss. It has been suggested that Beethoven was suffering from Syphilis (now discredited) or that he was poisoned. I have listed the presently accepted causes of his ailments and death, though tests are being carried out on his hair and should prove the matter conclusively. Further test results on the Guavera lock of Beethoven's hair have been published - I quote : 'The second test was a trace metals analysis conducted by Dr. William Walsh at the HRI & Pfeiffer Research Center in Naperville, Illinois. This test will reveal the presence of any trace heavy metals. The following results of this test were announced by Dr. Walsh on Tuesday, October 17th 2000: High lead concentrations in Beethoven's hair were found in independent analyses by McCrone Research Institute & Argonne National Laboratory. This is evidence that Beethoven had plumbism (lead poisoning) which may have caused his life-long illnesses, impacted his personality, and possibly contributed to his death. Distinctive trace-metal patterns associated with genius, irritability, glucose disorders, and malabsorption were not present in the Beethoven samples tested by McCrone Research Institute. Very low (undetectable) mercury levels were reported independently by McCrone Research Institute and Argonne National Laboratory. These results provide no evidence that Beethoven received medical treatment for syphilis, usually treated in the 1820's with mercury compounds. This supports the consensus of Beethoven scholars who believe that Beethoven never had syphilis. Rumors that Beethoven suffered from syphilis have been discounted in all serious musicological literature for the last thirty years.' For those seeking further information, check out the new book, 'Beethoven's hair' by Russell Martin (New York, Broadway Book 2000) DEAFNESS The cause of Beethoven's deafness is generally thought to have been Otosclerosis - the abnormal growth of bone of the inner ear. This bone prevents structures within the ear from working properly and causes hearing loss. Otosclerosis is a disease, which results in new bone formation either in the area of the stapes bone or in the cochlea housing the hearing nerve; or it can be a combination of both. When the bony deposits infiltrate the stapes bone, this bone is unable to vibrate and pass the sound into the inner ear. This results in what is called a conductive hearing loss, i.e., the sound is not being properly "conducted" into the inner ear. As a general rule, the thicker the bony deposit the greater the hearing loss, and the longer the hearing loss, the greater is the amount of deposits. The fixation of the stapes usually follows a slow and relentless course with progressively worsening hearing.
