Elements of Gothic Literature Essay Example for Free

Elements of Gothic Literature Essay Gothic literature was born in 1764 when Horace Walpole published The Castle of Otranto, which is considered to be the first gothic novel ever written. Gothic literature was originally written as a reaction to the age of reason, order, and the politics of eighteenth-century England. Containing anti-Catholic sentiments and mythical aspects, Gothic literature explored the tension between what we fear and what we desire. The stories were usually set in some kind of castle or old building that showed human decay and created an atmosphere of mystery and suspense. Often, one of the main characters would be some sort of damsel in distress, threatened by some man. The words chosen in these novels and short stories were very descriptive, creating overwrought emotion and often, feelings of gloom and horror. Also, within the plot, some sort of ancient prophecy, along with omens and visions, could usually be found. The most important elements to the structure of canonical gothic literature, however, are supernatural and unexplainable events. In The Castle of Otranto, much of the plot surrounds one unexplainable incident: a giant black helmet falls on Prince Conrad, thus killing him. Because of Prince Conrads death, Manfred, his father, captures a passing peasant, Theodore, and pursues Isabella, Conrads fiancee. Later, it is learned that Jerome (the minister) is Theodores father. If the helmet had never fallen on Conrad, Manfred never would have stopped Theodore, and Jerome would never have found his long lost son. Manfred, still believing that Theodore is guilty of dropping the helmet by sorcery, is ready to execute him. At this point in the story, Isabellas long lost father appears, which halts Theodores execution. It is later learned that Isabellas father found her because a dream he had led him to a monk, who led him to Otranto. The supernatural event here is the dream, which turned out to forecast reality. He accuses Manfred of not being the rightful ruler of Otranto. Eventually, everything is confirmed when the giant version of Alfonso the Good that has been living in the castle (another mysterious incident) breaks through the walls and proclaims Theodore the natural heir of Alfonso and the rightful ruler of Otranto. The Ruins of the Abbey of Fitz-Martin, whose author remains anonymous, also has a similar dependency on a chain of supernatural events. Sir Thomas Fitz-Martin acquires an abbey, which he finds in ruins. He is certain it can be repaired, so he and his people venture inside. Upon exploring the abbey, Fitz-Martin opens a door with difficulty, only to be met with severe shrieks from inside that particular room. Later in the story, the superstition surrounding those screams is explained. Evidently, every night, the ghost of St. Anna can be seen walking up to the altar. She stays there until midnight, and then walks to the south tower. She screams three times, and the ghost of the evil Baron, who possessed the abbey years before, comes. Then, Anna chases him with a fire-brand in one hand and a dead baby in her other arm. The two ghosts eventually come to the Barons old room, where dismal yells and dying groans can be heard from. Fiery lights surround the Barons old room until the clock that hasnt been touched in years strikes two, or sometimes three oclock. This story of supernatural occurrence strikes the curiosity of Rosaline, Sir Thomas Fitz-Martins daughter, who then decides to go investigate the south tower. When she does, she finds the torture chamber where they killed St. Anna so many years ago. She is debating whether or not to go in, when she hears a voice commanding her to enter. She feels almost possessed, as the voice tells her to reach inside the coffin. When she does, she pulls something out and takes it with her, fleeing in terror. It is the supernatural phenomenon of this voice that brings in St. Annas story, which is written on the papers with which Rosaline fled in terror. The Vampyre by John Polidori casts an interesting slant on the element of supernatural events. The entire story is a supernatural event because Lord Ruthven is a vampire, a supernatural creature. Before this is revealed to the reader, however, there are important unexplainable events that allude to his being a vampire and are of utmost importance to the story. It is the mystery of Lord Ruthvens appearance that first attracts Aubrey to him, and thus begins the story. Aubrey wants to get to know him better, hopefully to  understand the enigma of his demeanor. They leave on a trip together, and Aubrey notices that Lord Ruthven is extremely charitable. He also notices, though, that Lord Ruthven always gives his money to the scoundrels of society, those who will piddle away the charity pursuing their vices. Then he realizes that all who receive money from Lord Ruthven end up far worse than they were before the charity. Although Aubrey cannot explain this, it intrigues him and makes him wonder if there isnt a spark of evil in Lord Ruthven. Some time later, Aubrey receives letters from his sister and his guardians. The letter from his sister is very loving, but the letter from his guardians bears only bad and mysterious news. They tell him that his traveling companion is pure evil, that all the women at home that he wooed because of their virtues, have now come forth and shown that they are tainted, and pursue their vices publicly. The people of their town find this unexplainable and very unnerving. He was suspicious of Lord Ruthvens evil before, but upon reading the letter, Aubrey decides that he must leave Lord Ruthven for the remainder of the trip. Aubrey travels to Greece, where he stays with a kind family and falls in love with their daughter, Ianthe, although he does not act on it. It is here that he learns the legend of the vampire. One day he goes to a place to research, and they tell him to be back before dark because of the vampire. He loses track of time and it is soon dark. He hears a scream and runs toward it. He finds a hut, and picks up a dagger that is inside. However, he is too late. Ianthe was murdered by the vampire. Aubrey falls into a fever and Lord Ruthven returns to him and nurses him back to health. Soon after this, they are attacked by robbers and Lord Ruthven is wounded. He dies, but makes Aubrey promise to him that he will not speak a word of his death. When Aubrey goes back for Lord Ruthvens body, it is gone, and the robbers tell Aubrey that they had to put it in the moonlight the first night of Lord Ruthvens death. They go to where they left the corpse, but it has mysteriously disappeared. Aubrey decides that it is time to go home. On his way home, he goes through Lord Ruthvens things and finds a shaft that matches the dagger he found in the hut exactly. This confirms for Aubrey  that Lord Ruthven is the vampire. When he arrives home, his sister holds a drawing-room. Here, Aubrey is snatched by the arm and told to remember his oath. Aubrey is dumbfounded because Lord Ruthven is supposed to be dead, but here he is, pursuing his sister. This drives him into a terrible fever. During this fever, he figures out that his sister is engaged to Lord Ruthven and fears for her. He tries to stop the wedding, but everyone thinks that he is crazy and dismisses him. His sister is killed at the end of the story. The fact that Lord Ruthven is a supernatural creature accounts for all of the supernatural events and the entire story. If he was not a vampire, his demeanor would never have attracted Aubrey initially, and Aubrey never would have gone traveling with Lord Ruthven. Had Aubrey not gone traveling with him, he never would have discovered that Lord Ruthven was a vampire, and gone crazy. If Aubrey had not gone crazy, he would have been able to stop the wedding and save his sisters life. Supernatural and unexplainable events are crucial to the plot of a gothic story. Often, they act as the backbone of the plot and many of the circumstances and coincidences rest upon them. In The Castle of Otranto, they act as the coincidence drivers as well as supply some of the omens and visions, another element of gothic literature. They bring the real story to the surface in The Ruins of the Abbey of Fitz-Martin, and provide the foundation for the story in The Vampyre. Without the element of supernatural and unexplainable events, much of the canonical gothic literature would not stand on its own.

The Door :: essays research papers

Everything (he kept saying) is something it isn't. And everybody is always somewhere else. Maybe it was the city, being in the city, that made him feel how queer everything was and that it was something else. Maybe (he kept thinking) it was the names of the things. The names were tex and frequently koid. Or they were flex and oid or they were duroid (sand) or flexsan (duro), but everything was glass (but not quite glass) and the thing that you touched (the surface, washable, crease-resistant) was rubber, only it wasn't quite rubber and you didn't quite touch it but almost. The wall, which was glass but turned out on being approached not to be a wall, it was something else, it was an opening or doorway--and the doorway (through which he saw himself approaching) turned out to be something else, it was a wall. And what he had eaten not having agreed with him. He was in a washable house, but he wasn't sure. Now about those rats, he kept saying to himself. He meant the rats that the Professor had driven crazy by forcing them to deal with problems which were beyond the scope of rats, the insoluble problems. He meant the rats that had been trained to jump at the square card with the circle in the middle, and the card (because it was something it wasn't) would give way and let the rat into a place where the food was, but then one day it would be a trick played on the rat, and the card would be changed, and the rat would jump but the card wouldn't give way, and it was an impossible situation (for a rat) and the rat would go insane and into its eyes would come the unspeakably bright imploring look of the frustrated, and after the convulsions were over and the frantic racing around, then the passive stage would set in and the willingness to let anything be done to it, even if it was something else. He didn't know which door (or wall) or opening in the house to jump at, to get through, because one was an opening that wasn't a door (it was a void, or kid) and the other was a wall that wasn't an opening, it was a sanitary cupboard of the same color. He caught a glimpse of his eyes staring into his eyes, in the and in them was the expression he had seen in the picture of the rats--weary after convulsions and the frantic racing around, when they were willing and did not mind having

A class performance Essay

magine you are going to direct act 3 scene 4 for a class performance what advice would you give to your actors to make this scene interesting and tense? Hello, with the performance creeping closer all the time we need to look at act 3 scene 4 so today we will be concentrating on that, I will be giving you all some advice to made the scene tense and interesting for your audience who will be watching you all I will first go thought the basis plot of this scene telling you in detail of a few important features. So here we go Macbeth and his wife lady Macbeth are hosting a banquet at their castle the other lords attending are Ross, Lennox and other lord that are un-named. Macbeth and Lady macbeth enter and sit on the thrones provide for them there is some dialog greeting the lords and thanking them for them for coming before this scene macbeth has ordered two murders to go and kill his loyal friend Banquo and his son Flence because they are a threat to Macbeth as Banquo is the only other one except lady macbeth that knows about the witches and their predictions in the predictions the witches tell Banquo he will not be king himself but he will father a line of kings so Macbeth feels that if Flence is dead then there is no way that will happen and no one will take over from Macbeth as king, but the murder bring bad news he has successfully killed banquo but his son escaped. Macbeth is not too worried because he does not feel he is too much of a threat at the moment but will grow up to be trouble. Lady macbeth still knows nothing and is carry on with the banquet while Lady macbeth is talking to the lords Banquos ghost enters and sit in Macbeths place no one else can see this because it is in Macbeth mind the lords start to ask Macbeth to take a seat on the table to join in with the feast but Banquo ghost is sat there. The other lords can’t work out why Macbeth won’t sit down and join them. Macbeth then starts to talk about Banquo to the lords and says that he could not make it tonight. Inside Macbeth mind the ghost is talking over. Macbeth starts to talk to the ghost Lady Macbeth and the lords are very puzzled by this. One of the lords Ross say the king is unwell Lady macbeth reassures the lords that everything is fine then talks to Macbeth on her own Macbeth tells her what he sees Lady macbeth tells him to behave and act like a man and it is all in your head. They both resume back to the lords, as Macbeth can no longer see the ghost. But the he comes back. In angry Macbeth starts shouting at Banquos ghost. Ross asks him what he sees but Lady macbeth steps in so that he doesn’t say anything she asks them all to leave which they do they are very puzzled as to the way the king has acted. But noting is said. After they have all left Macbeth and Lady macbeth talk Macbeth is going on about how Banquo and he is dead and his blood is on his hands, At the end of the scene Lady macbeth says â€Å"you lack the seasons of all natures, sleep. He is lacking this sleep because thought out the play sleep is one of the main themes and it is only for innocent people which he is not because he has killed Duncan he was killing god too because they though that the king was god so they had gone against god and killed him. So they were now evil and they would have no sleep. Well that is a round up of this sence as you can see it is one that needs a lot of effort put into to keep the audience concentrating on the play. Paul as Macbeth you have a big role to play in this scene also do you Pam Lady macbeth is trying very hard to take control over the situation and stop Macbeth spilling the beans on the bad deeds that he has done. You need to make sure that you look like you are in control of the matter and know how to handle it. When you are telling Macbeth to act like a man you need to be very harsh with him knock him back into the real world and make him see sense. Paul when you are talking to Banquos ghost at first you are very scared but then you could out of your shell slowly and face up to him, you will need to speak as if you are angry so talk in a low husky voice. Pam your voice needs to be firm and stern both of you need to act tired as you can as both of you are getting no sleep as I have already explained so if you take all this information I have told you today and work on it you will have them all hanging off the edge of their seat thank you for you all coming today I hope this advice has been help to you all.

Project Report on “Malnutrition” Essay

For its sustenance on the earth, every living organism requires food, which is quite essential for carrying out its physical and mental activities, growth and development. For normal growth and development, man requires some specific nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, roughage and water in right proportion and sufficient quantity, which he gets through the food he eats. The food, which provides all these essential nutrients in proper amounts, is called balanced diet. The deficiency or even excess of any of these in a person’s diet results into disorders regarding nutrition, which may be collectively, called malnutritional disorders. The condition in which the people become weak and sick because of insufficient and unbalanced food is called malnutrition. A large no of people in our country and other developing countries suffer from malnutrition because of poverty, lack of education, wrong notions and frequent pregnancies. The main cause of malnutrition is poverty. The deficiency diseases are of three types: 1. Protein energy malnutrition (PEM)-the condition of being nourished on low protein and low energy diet is called Protein Energy Malnutrition or PEM.So, deficiency of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in PEM. It is the most important nutritional disorder affecting Indian children, in the age of period 1-3 years. The symptoms of PEM are: (A) Loss in weight and height (B) Poor muscular development (C) Susceptible to many diseases of respiratory and gastro intestinal systems. 2. Mineral deficiency disease (Anemia, Goiter and Rickets): these are caused due to the deficiency of either iron or iodine. The symptoms are: either he will feel tiredness easily or there will be swelling in his throat region of neck. Goiter is an endemic disease (the diseases, restricted to a given reason and arising from its specific environmental condition are called endemic diseases) which is more common in hilly areas because soil of hilly areas is poor in iodine. Due to this the drinking water as well as food grown in this area is deficient in iodine. So, it leads goiter among them. 3. Vitamin deficiency disease: the diseases which are caused due to the deficiency of Vitamins in diet are called Vitamin Deficiency diseases. Some of the diseases that are caused due to the deficiency of Vitamins are Night blindness, Exophthalmia, Beri-Beri. (A) Night Blindness and Xerophthalmia: these are caused due to the deficiency of Vitamin A (retinol). (B) Beri-Beri: the deficiency of vitamin B1 causes beri-beri. Vitamin B1 is also called anti beri-beri or antineuretic factor Types of Malnutrition In human beings, these disorders may be classified into three categories-UNDER NUTRITION, which means the malnutrition, caused due to the availability of less food for a long period. For example slow starvation, which is found most in extremely poor or low income group people. Excessive nutrition that means disorders developed due to overfeeding or over-eating for a long time. For example obesity (or motapa). Such disorders are more evident in the families belonging to the middle class families or rich category. Deficiency disease which are caused due to the lack of a specific nutrient in our diet. For example protein energy malnutrition, mineral deficiency diseases like anemia etc. such diseases may be found in nearly every family-rich, middle class or poor. It is thus evident that the problem of malnutrition is not confined to poor families alone but is spreading fast even in the middle and rich class families. If the increasing level of diseases in children due to the malnutrition is not taken care off than this may result into excessive weakness or obesity after a few years. We must not forget that malnutrition affects the immune system of a child which may cause frequent sickness, increase the possibility of infections from communicable diseases like cold and cough etc. So, malnutrition must be checked in the childhood itself. Importance of studying malnutrition Today we are living in computer age. The work that required a long time to be completed can now be done with in a few seconds. In other words man is progressing in his mental abilities, but if we measure the physical standards, we will find he is becoming physically weak and now he is not so able as he used to be. Now, the question arises what is the cause behind this physical disability, that even after attaining complete independence in the field of agriculture, children of our country are suffering from malnutrition. Malnutrition in children can prove as an obstruction in the progress of any country because today’s children are tomorrow’s future. Therefore for the progress of a country it is necessary that its children are healthy. Malnutrition is found in rich and middle class families also. Although, the type and level is different from the one found in poor families still it is a serious problem. Causes and solutions There are two reasons for Malnutrition in middle and high class families – 1.Inbalanced diet 2.Ignorance of wrong food habits in children by parents. It is also found that some parents are totally unaware of what a balanced diet should consist of. They don’t know the importance of balanced diet. They only care that their children eat adequate diet. If child wants to eat chips,samosas,maggi,chowmin,pastries, their parents do not resist. parents themselves also eat junk food and allow their children also. Children don’t want to eat green vegetables. They only prefer food items made of potatoes which increases their weight. Cold drinks, chocolates, coffee etc. that give sufficient calories but don’t give nutrition. Therefore, parents need to improve food habits of their children. They should take balanced diet. Earlier boys and girls were treated differently. So, girls were found to suffer from malnutrition. But, today that is not the case. Suggestions for preventions Malnutrition in children is a major obstruction in progress of a nation. In our country about 60% children are suffering from malnutrition. Therefore, it is very important to eradicate this problem completely. After working on this project we suggest the following ways to prevent malnutrition: 1.Guardians, themselves must change their food style, as children learn their food habits from their home. 2.Mothers should breast feed their children for adequate period. 3.Children should be provided medical check up from time to time. 4.Teachers must give information to students on how to prevent disease from malnutrition. 5. All the people should eat the food which is sufficiently boiled. What we came to know after preparing this project All the data collected for the project revealed that most of the children suffer from malnutrition due to their wrong food habits and eating imbalanced diet. If the parents show a little concern towards their children, this problem can also be eradicated. Meetings between parents, teachers and child specialist doctors would be of much help in solving this problem. All these steps should be taken in a hurry because today’s children are tomorrow’s future. Collected data In a survey which was held in our own school last year, it came to light that : 1.only 5% students in the age group of 3-7 years like green vegetables. 2. 3% students like pulses. 3. only 2% students like milk. 4. 5% students like fruits. 5. 40% students like maggi /chowmin. 6. 40%students like cold drink. 7. 5% students like juice. In this survey study of malnutrition in students was done according to the weight of the children. It was found that 15% children are weighing above the normal weight, 70% children are weighing below the normal weight and only 15% children are found with the normal weight. Also in this survey it was found that 20% students have low frequency of infection while 80% students have high frequency of infection. Also the activities of the children were examined and were observed which revealed that 35%children were lazy while 65% were found active.

Life and Work of Herbert Spencer

Life and Work of Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer was a British philosopher and sociologist who was intellectually active during the Victorian period. He was known for his contributions to evolutionary theory and for applying it outside of biology, to the fields of philosophy, psychology, and within sociology. In this work, he coined the term survival of the fittest.  In addition, he helped develop the functionalist perspective, one of the major theoretical frameworks in sociology. Early Life and Education Herbert Spencer was born in Derby, England on April 27, 1820. His father, William George Spencer, was a rebel of the times and cultivated in Herbert an anti-authoritarian attitude. George, as his father was known, was the founder of a school that used unconventional teaching methods and was a contemporary of Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles. George focused Herberts early education on science, and simultaneously, he was introduced to philosophical thinking through Georges membership in the Derby Philosophical Society. His uncle, Thomas Spencer, contributed to Herberts education by instructing him in mathematics, physics, Latin, and free-trade and libertarian political thinking. During the 1830s Spencer worked as a civil engineer while the railways were being constructed throughout Britain, but also spent time writing in radical local journals. Career and Later Life Spencers career became focused on intellectual matters in 1848  when he became an editor for  The Economist, the now widely-read weekly magazine that was first published in England in 1843. While working for the magazine through 1853, Spencer also wrote his first book,  Social Statics, and published it in 1851. Titled for a concept of August Comte, in this work, Spencer used Lamarcks ideas about evolution and applied them to society, suggesting that people adapt to the social conditions of their lives. Because of this, he argued, social order would follow, and so the rule of a political state would be unnecessary. The book was considered a work of libertarian political philosophy, but also, is what makes Spencer a founding thinker of the functionalist perspective within sociology. Spencers second book,  Principles of Psychology, was published in 1855 and made the argument that natural laws govern the human mind. At about this time, Spencer began to experience significant mental health problems that limited his ability to work, interact with others, and function in society. Despite this, he began work on a major undertaking, which culminated in the nine-volume  A System of Synthetic Philosophy. In this work, Spencer elaborated on how the principle of evolution had been applied within not only biology, but in psychology, sociology, and in the study of morality. Overall, this work suggests  that societies are organisms that progress through a process of evolution similar to that experienced by living species, a concept known to as social Darwinism. In the latter period of his life, Spencer was regarded as the greatest living philosopher of the time. He was able to live off of income from the sale of his books and other writing, and his works were translated into many languages and read all over the world. However, his life took a dark turn in the 1880s, when he switched positions on many of his well-known libertarian political views. Readers lost interest in his new work and Spencer found himself lonely as many of his contemporaries died. In 1902, Spencer received a nomination for the Nobel Prize for literature, but did not win it, and died in 1903 at the age of 83 years old. He was cremated and his ashes interred opposite the grave of Karl Marx in Highgate Cemetery in London. Major Publications Social Statics: The Conditions Essential to Human Happiness (1850)Education (1854)The Principles of Psychology (1855)The Principles of Sociology (1876-1896)The Data of Ethics (1884)The Man Versus the State (1884) Updated by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

3 More Examples of Misplaced Modifiers

3 More Examples of Misplaced Modifiers 3 More Examples of Misplaced Modifiers 3 More Examples of Misplaced Modifiers By Mark Nichol Words and phrases that provide additional information to clarify relationships between people, places, or things should, for the sake of clarity, be carefully placed to aid readers in understanding a statement. In each of the following sentences, the writer has failed to achieve that goal. Discussions explain the problems, and revisions resolve them. 1. Mistakes can only be acted on and shared across the company when they are discussed, not hidden. Listeners do not bat an eye when a speaker prematurely utters an errant only, but in writing, place it immediately before the pertinent verb or verb phrase: â€Å"Mistakes can be acted on and shared across the company only when they are discussed, not hidden.† (The original placement erroneously suggests that acting on and sharing mistakes is all that can be done in response to them; the revision correctly associates the word with discussion.) 2. The agency should work to protect both the environment and enable a growing economy. Similarly, both is often incorrectly located, but this usage is more patently problematic than casual placement of only. When both follows a verb, what comes after should be parallel nouns or noun phrases, each of which pertains to the verb. Here, both refers to not only the verb protect (and the noun that follows) but also the verb enable (and the noun phrase that follows), so it must precede both verbs: â€Å"The agency should work to both protect the environment and enable a growing economy.† 3. At least two men were escorted out of the meeting by police officers, one of whom had to be carried. The syntax of this sentence suggests that one of the police officers, rather than one of the two men, had to be carried. Readers will recognize the intent of the statement, but a writer should not make readers work to comprehend what is written; â€Å"two men† and â€Å"one of whom had to be carried† should be adjacent to each other: â€Å"At least two men, one of whom had to be carried, were escorted out of the meeting by police officers.† (An alternative, active revision is â€Å"Police officers escorted at least two men, one of whom had to be carried, from the meeting.†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:45 Synonyms for â€Å"Food†36 Poetry TermsTrooper or Trouper?

Economics of the Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Economics of the Environment - Essay Example Particular issues include the cost and benefits of alternative environmental policies to deal with air pollution, water quality, and toxic substances, Solid waste, and global warming (Hanely, Shogern & White, 2001). Some of the major projects, which have substantial environmental impacts, is Afforestation of Surplus agricultural land, hydroelectric schemes, Building, or widening roads, constructing a new Airport and Manufacturing cars. All the above projects are likely to generate substantial Environmental costs and/or benefits, and they can be considered as Potential Investment. Potential Investment: A Potential Investment can be defined as the Investment made by an investor for growth (profit) of his/her investments in a firm or in a project. Investors look for evidence that, we can really produce growth in our project, and they look for three important things before investing, excellent growth potential, exceptional return on investment, up to 25% to 45% and a way to get their mon ey out. We have to show them how our opportunity will deliver all three, and doing so will be a potential investment made by an investor in our firm or in a project. A Potential Investment can also be a huge project, which has a substantial impact on the environment. It can be a Hydroelectric project, Afforestation project, Building or widening roads, constructing a new airport, and Manufacturing cars. As these projects, have many impacts such as on environment, for profit of an investor, public convenience and many more. When a project is been started, they are many calculation done for different purpose, such as profit, low initial cost, higher efficiency of the project, easy maintenance, etc... In addition, for doing such calculation different numerical, theoretical, ratio analysis and analytical methods such as CBA (cost beneficial analysis) and CEA (cost effectiveness analysis) are been use. For this assignment, we select Afforestation of surplus agricultural land as our major project, which deals with planting of trees on land that did not carry forest for centuries, i.e. Afforestation is a clear shift in land use of a certain area. Afforestation in form of planting trees and future maintenance is an investment for landowner, and possible forgone revenues from Agriculture need to be included. Afforestation of former arable land will have many positive environmental effects. The change from agriculture to forestry means less input of pesticides and Fertilizers that may possibly leach to ground water reserves and the establishment of habitat for species associated with forest. Forest's also able to better retain nitrogen from arable use in the ecosystem, thereby avoiding eutrophication of water reserves. In this paper, we show how CBA can be used as a decision support mechanism for the location of new (urban) forestland, starting from the multifunctional role of these new forests. We start with a simple presentation of the Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) technique. Key features of these evaluation techniques are that (i) assess the monetary value of all benefits and cost (ii) the issue of discounting and (iii) the decision rules used in CBA. Finally, we apply the CBA to a real life policy problem. We investigate the net benefits per Hectare of combinations of potential forests that meet the surface restriction of 540 ha. We show the importance of including recreation benefits in the evaluation of afforestation projects and more specifically the role of alternative forests (substitutes) in the valuation of one specific Forest. We find that this substitution effect is significant in the decision