What are examples of alliteration in "God's Grandeur"? How do they contribute to the tone, color and meaning of the poem?

It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil / crushed.

In this line, the alliteration is happening on the stressed syllables.  ("Ooze of oil" is not quite a perfect alliteration, but it is close enough to have the desired effect, especially since visually, both words begin with the same letter.)  The main effect in this line is to slow the reader down.  The letter g is a heavily voiced sound, and the "oo" and "oi" sounds both require some effort to make, because they are long vowels and call for rounded lips.  Therefore the reader has to slow down a bit on these words, which gives them a slightly greater emphasis and a ponderous dignity, just like something gathering to a greatness.

Why do men then now not reck His rod?

The alliteration in this line has a very different effect.  It does not just slow the reader down, it actually makes the line very difficult to read, especially on the first pass.  The rhyme of "men then" sets us up to expect few effects, or at least easy effects, after it ... but instead we immediately get "now" coming before "not," which trips us up.  Then some difficult alliteration with r's, which is one of the hardest sounds in English to pronounce.  This is called cacophony, and it is very appropriate to have a difficult, cacophonous line here because the poet is telling us that something is not right.  The line also sounds really cool when it is mastered and read quickly and smoothly.  Because "now not" interrupts the rhythm of the line, the alliteration in this line actually encourages us to move through it quickly, though trippingly. 

... and all is seared with trade; smeared, bleared with toil,

In this line we have the unpleasant s sound in "seared" alliterating with sm sound in "smeared" (which is also difficult because we have to notice the addition of the m).  We also have a lot of r's, near the beginning of the word in "trade," and near the end in the other key words.  None of these words (except "toil") are particularly easy to say.  The effect is like a tongue twister.  It is, again, difficult to read aloud, and gives the reader the same unpleasant feeling that the poet gets when looking at this smeared, bleared world. 

Who was Julius Caesar?

Julius Caesar was a Roman leader who lived in the first century before the Common Era.  He is most famous for having ended the Roman Republic.  It was he who moved Rome away from a republican system of government and towards an imperial form.  Because a group of Roman Senators disliked the idea that they could lose their republic, they assassinated him on the Ides of March in the year 44 BCE.

Julius Caesar (his full name was Gaius Julius Caesar) was born in July (the month would later be named after him) of the year 100 BCE.  His family was aristocratic, but not wealthy.  At a young age, Caesar entered the military.  He was to spend the rest of his life building power through his political skills and through his military service.  By the time Caesar was in his early 30s, he had been elected to relatively high political office in Rome.  From there, his power continued to grow until he became (when in his early 40s) part of a three-man triumvirate that ruled Rome.  The triumvirate eventually fell apart, leading to war between its members.  Caesar won this civil war in 48 BCE, at which time he was appointed dictator of Rome. 

During his time as dictator (a title which he held almost continuously for the rest of his life), Caesar enacted many reforms that consolidated political power.  He moved Rome towards an imperial system of government, though he was never actually made emperor.  Because of this he was assassinated.  He is remembered as one of the most important figures in Roman history.

Identify three events in the play that had a significant impact on the lives of Romeo and Juliet, and explain why each event had a role in their...

There are several events that take place during Romeo and Juliet which have a direct effect on the ultimate fate of the two young lovers. The three most important are their initial meeting, the fight that breaks out in Act III, Scene 1, and the plot of Friar Laurence to have Juliet fake her death.

Obviously, the meeting between the son and daughter of Montague and Capulet is important. They fall instantly in love and even after they find out each other's identity they continue their ill-fated relationship. As the Prologue indicates, they are "star-crossed" and so the audience already knows that their lives are doomed.

Act III is the turning point of the play. Romeo and Juliet have just been married, but since the play is a tragedy, there must be a plot twist which turns the play toward conflict and death. In Scene 1, despite the warnings of Benvolio, Mercutio remains in the street and encounters the Capulet men led by Tybalt. When Romeo enters the scene Mercutio and Tybalt are given an excuse to fight as Romeo, who has just married Tybalt's cousin Juliet, backs down. Mercutio cannot tolerate the supposed cowardice and challenges Tybalt himself. When Romeo attempts to break up the fight, Mercutio is killed. In revenge, Romeo kills Tybalt, remarking that he is "fortune's fool." Indeed he is, as the event leads to his banishment. Because Romeo is banished, he never receives word of the Friar's plot for Juliet to fake her death. When he is mistakenly told that she is dead, he buys poison in order to commit suicide inside the Capulet tomb next to Juliet.

Friar Laurence's plan for Juliet to fake her death is important because it lands the girl in the tomb where she and Romeo will kill themselves. The Friar believes that if Juliet takes a potion which will make her look dead, she can avoid the arranged marriage with Count Paris. The Friar will send a note to Romeo and the two will eventually be reunited. Unfortunately, the note is never delivered to Romeo and when Balthasar arrives in Mantua, he tells Romeo that Juliet is dead. Romeo buys poison from a poor apothecary and goes to the tomb. Even though he comments that Juliet still looks very much alive he drinks the poison. When Juliet awakens, she is distraught by seeing Romeo's dead body and so kills herself with Romeo's dagger.

Why is the world "too much with us" today? Are we any different today than Wordsworth's contemporaries in the nineteenth century?

William Wordsworth was a "Romantic" poet, meaning he belonged to a group of poets writing in a particular style at the end of the nineteenth century. That historical moment was characterized by the incredible rise of the Industrial Revolution, and the technology, industry, and wealth that came with it. Romantics wrote in response to this changing context with poems that celebrated and elegized nature, and recalled classical themes (like Muses and spirits) as an antidote to what they considered to be dislocating modernization. 

"The World is Too Much With Us" is a poem in this tradition. In it, Wordsworth bemoans the "getting and spending" that drains society, and how "little we see in Nature that is ours." In giving away Nature in order to pursue wealth, he believes that "we have given our hearts away." 

Certainly, industrialization and capitalism have intensified over the last hundred years, as has the consumerism and accumulation of wealth that have accompanied them. Whether you believe that we, today, have also continued to trade in the gifts of nature for money and technology is a personal opinion. 

Today I doused a scrape in hydrogen peroxide, H2O2, and it bubbled profusely. Why?

Hydrogen peroxide is often used as an antiseptic, a substance used to help reduce microbes on living tissue. When applied to a wound, you will notice that the hydrogen peroxide begins to form bubbles. These bubbles are actually oxygen gas being released due to a chemical reaction. The reaction is due to an enzyme contained in red blood cells called catalase. This enzyme is also produced by some bacteria, like Staphylococcus. The enzyme catalyzes the splitting of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen gas:

2H2O2-->2H20 + O2

This enzyme is important for organisms that live and grow in the presence of oxygen. Aerobic respiration also results in the formation of reactive oxygen species. Hydrogen peroxide is an example of a reactive oxygen species in addition to those produced by using oxygen for respiration. Catalase helps to protect cells against these potentially damaging molecules by neutralizing them into water and oxygen, for example.

Provide a counterclaim to the narrator in "The Black Cat" that explains why he is guilty of the murder.

In Poe's short story "The Black Cat," the first person narrator, while admitting he killed his wife by taking an axe to her head, nevertheless seems to deny that he is actually guilty of murder. As he weaves his tale from his jail cell the night before the hanging, he attempts to justify his actions three ways. First, he implies that some supernatural force that he was powerless against drove him to commit the deed. In his introductory remarks, he anticipates that by sharing his story, someone will be able to ascertain that the whole affair was "nothing more than an ordinary succession of very natural causes and effects." In saying this, he shows that he himself believes the events had a supernatural cause. He describes his state when he killed his wife as "a rage more than demoniacal," and he equates the cat's screams with the screams of demons from hell. The implication is that he was unable to not kill his wife because supernatural forces were at work. To provide himself with other excuses, the narrator also at various times blames his action on alcoholism and on the cat. He uses these three excuses to try to avoid guilt for the crime he admits he committed.

A counterclaim against the narrator's arguments could center around deconstructing any legal defenses that could be used to acquit him of the murder. First, people can be acquitted of a murder charge if they acted in self-defense. By the narrator's admission, this cannot be used as a defense in his case. His wife was only trying to keep him from killing the cat; she did not threaten the narrator's life in any way. Second, another defense that can result in a "not guilty" verdict is the insanity defense. Interestingly, the narrator chooses not to pursue a defense that may, in fact, apply to him. He begins the story by proclaiming, "Mad am I not." Even if he had tried to use an insanity defense, one could point out that his actions after the murder show that he was in possession of his mental faculties. An insanity defense often relies on showing that the person did not know that what he or she was doing was wrong. By walling up the body to dispose of the evidence, the narrator shows he knew he had committed a crime. Since the man admitted to killing his wife, and since it was not in self-defense and the man cannot claim the insanity defense, he is guilty of murder. He cannot be exonerated by blaming a supernatural force, alcoholism, or a black cat.
 

What vital life lessons do Scout and Jem learn in chapters 12 and 13 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

Humility and its antithesis, arrogance, are two lessons Scout and Jem learn in chapters 12 and 13 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.

Scout and Jem learn a lesson in humility from Calpurnia the day she brings them to church with her when their father is out of town. Walking home from church, Jem notes that Calpurnia does not speak the way the rest of the African Americans speak when she is with them at the Finch household; instead, she speaks with proper grammar. However, the children also noticed that while she was at the church speaking with her fellow African Americans, she used the same slang and dialect they use. When Scout and Jem want to know why she speaks "nigger-talk to the--to your folks" when she knows how to speak grammatically, Calpurnia's response gives them a lesson in humility. First, she explains that she would seem out of place if she "talked white-folks' talk at church, and with [her] neighbors." Second, and more importantly, she explains that it is "not necessary to tell all you know." Just because she is literate and knows how to speak grammatically does not give her the right to show off her knowledge at every chance she gets. Most importantly, she knows that showing off her knowledge won't change things; it will only infuriate people. As she further explains to Jem and Scout,

"You're not gonna change any of them by talkin' right, they've got to want to learn themselves, and when they don't want to learn there's nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language."

In other words, Calpurnia's answer shows that she is willing to accept the folks around her as they are. Her willingness to accept those around her shows that she is an extremely humble person, and Scout and Jem learn a lesson about humility by having this conversation with her.

Scout and Jem learn the exact opposite of humility from their Aunt Alexandra when she comes to stay with them. Contrary to Calpurnia, Aunt Alexandra insists in believing she is better than those around her and in acting in a way that shows her superiority. Since the Finch family has been well-educated and wealthy for multiple generations, Aunt Alexandra feels that the Finch family is a family of high quality. She is very surprised to learn that Atticus hasn't taught his children to value their family background and tries to get him to do so. Atticus walks into Jem's bedroom to give both children a lecture about how they are the "product of several generations' gentle breeding" and of a family that has been very influential throughout all of Maycomb County for multiple generations. Finally, at Aunt Alexandra's encouraging, he tries to impress upon the children that they "must try to behave like the little lady and gentleman that [they] are."

However, Scout breaks into tears and Jem is stunned because they know these are not their father's own thoughts, who has only ever said that "Fine Folks" are people who could use their intelligent minds well. The children's reactions bring Atticus to his senses, and he humbly retracts the lecture. But what is most interesting is that Aunt Alexandra tries to teach the children the exact opposite of what Calpurnia teaches them; Aunt Alexandra tries to teach them how to think of themselves and act as if they are better than others, which is the exact opposite of humility. It's arrogance, and this is a lesson that the children reject.