Preparare il domani con la scuola di oggi Un progetto Deascuola inclusivo, paritario, sostenibile e innovativo per essere più vicini a chi insegna e a chi studia
AGILE EDITION
S. Mochi • F. Galuzzi J. Cameron • E. Tonus
Firewords
S. Mochi • F. Galuzzi J. Cameron • E. Tonus
l’alleato del sapere!
• Organizzazione visuale e accessibile: firewords per identificare le parole-chiave; mappe concettuali per introdurre, riepilogare e ripassare • Consolidamento della lingua: attività sul lessico, di comprensione scritta e orale, di preparazione al B2 FIRST e IELTS • Approfondimenti interdisciplinari: schede di cultura, arte, storia e cinema; mappe di preparazione al colloquio d’esame • Visione multiculturale e pluralista: citizenship, Agenda 2030 verso il 2050, grande attenzione alla parità di genere
L’APP PER USARE LA VERSIONE DIGITALE DEL LIBRO DI TESTO E I CONTENUTI DIGITALI INTEGRATIVI
• Sviluppo del senso critico: Thinking Routine, Debate, attività per esercitare le competenze critiche, visuali e creative • Approccio tematico per gli autori dal 1950 ad oggi
Scopri di più su deascuola.it E IN PIÙ...
Un nuovo modo di apprendere gli argomenti fondamentali di letteratura inglese grazie a 30 percorsi digitali interattivi.
Tutte le risorse digitali del libro immediatamente accessibili, organizzate per argomenti e tipologia, facilmente condivisibili.
Firewords
I CONTENUTI DIGITALI INTEGRATIVI
AGILE EDITION
• Corposo corredo digitale: numerosi video, 30 percorsi digitali sui grandi autori e i grandi temi, timeline interattive, schede integrative e brani antologici extra
SITO LIBRO
AGILE EDITION
LA PIATTAFORMA PER LA DIDATTICA DIGITALE
From the Origins to the Romantic Age
DEAFLIX è la risorsa Deascuola che propone un modo nuovo di apprendere gli argomenti fondamentali delle principali discipline. Migliaia di percorsi digitali interattivi per una didattica stimolante e coinvolgente. Ogni percorso sviluppa un argomento fondamentale in modo completo e autoconsistente, con videolezioni e attività interattive. Facile e inclusivo, DEAFLIX è l’alleato ideale per ogni obiettivo di studio.
creaTEST plus
Migliaia di attività interattive o stampabili (in PDF e in Word) per comporre verifiche personalizzate da condividere con un semplice link.
PERCORSI DIGITALI CON VIDEO LITERARY GENRES
1
LANGUAGE COMPETENCES
DEAFLIX può essere utilizzato per: • avviare una lezione • lavorare in modalità flipped classroom • consolidare e ripassare un argomento • recuperare • studiare in modo autonomo
CITIZENSHIP AND DEBATE THINKING ROUTINES 2030 GLOBAL GOALS TOWARDS 2050 Seguici su
blog.deascuola.it
Il libro di testo in formato digitale e ogni contenuto digitale integrativo saranno fruibili esclusivamente dall'utente che ne chiederà la prima attivazione, per un periodo di tempo pari alla durata del corso della specifica materia a cui il libro si riferisce più un anno, a partire dal giorno della prima attivazione. Per i dettagli e per consultare la licenza d'uso del libro in formato digitale e dei contenuti digitali si rimanda al sito deascuola.it.
zi uz us N al on TIO .I. . G . T D I C.D • F • E E + -2 hi n ILE K 32 oc ro G O 23 M e A B O 0S. am DS E -53 AT + C R J. O E 1 -88 K C W 8 C R E U M 97 L A FI OL BN B V IS
Questo volume, sprovvisto del talloncino a lato, è da considerarsi copia di SAGGIO-CAMPIONE GRATUITO, fuori commercio (vendita e altri atti di disposizione vietati: art. 17, c. 2, L. 633/1941). Fuori campo applicazione I.V.A. (D.P.R. 26/10/72, n. 633, art. 2, 3° c., lett. d.)
Firewords Agile Edition Volume 1 + eBook + C.D.I. (elementi indivisibili)
CROSS-CURRICULAR THEMES
sempre con te!
I contenuti sono facilmente accessibili da tutti i dispositivi e sono fruibili*: • dal sito del libro • dai link presenti nelle pagine dell’eBook • dalle pagine del libro con l’App DEALINK *dopo aver attivato il libro tramite il codice.
€ 22,50
Inquadra il QR Code e scopri il nuovo modo di apprendere!
Contents
CONTENTS
Study skills Debate Poetry Poetry genres Literary devices Fiction The components of fiction The narrator and the point of view Novel genres Non-fiction prose Drama Tragedy Comedy
14 18 22 24 28 30 32 34 36 38 42 44
La risorsa Deascuola, dedicata a studenti e docenti: un nuovo modo di apprendere gli autori e le tematiche fondamentali di letteratura inglese grazie a 30 percorsi digitali interattivi.
1 The Origins and the Middle Ages 5 century-1485 th
Towards Thinking Routine • See, think, wonder
47
History Milestones
48
The Anglo-Saxons
50 50 52
History Culture
History • The Anglo-Saxon world comes alive: Sutton Hoo CITIZENSHIP • Social gathering places + Global Goal 3
Literature and texts Literary Overview Old English Epic verse
Cultures • An Anglo-Saxon storyteller: the scop
Beowulf
Movies • Beowulf T01
Beowulf’s funeral
Thinking Routine • Word, phrase, sentence
Pagan elegy T02 The Seafarer
Culture
The Normans
CITIZENSHIP • From Magna Carta to Human Rights + Global Goal 16
Literature and texts Literary Overview Middle English The ballad T03 Lord Randal Medieval romance
B2 First • Reading and Use of English, The legend of King Arthur
Miracle, mystery and morality plays T04 Goods, come away with me
Authors and texts
GEOFFREY CHAUCER The Canterbury Tales Cultures • The pilgrimage to Canterbury
Video overview Interactive timeline Cultures • The enduring mystery of Stonehenge
53 54 55 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 64 65 66 67 68 70 71 72 73
Literary text • Edward, Edward Movies • Robin Hood: one hero, many movies Movies • King Arthur Movies
74 75 76 9
CONTENTS The General Prologue T06 The Pardoner T07 T08 Two women: The Prioress and The Wife of Bath T05
Cultures • Chaucer and Boccaccio CITIZENSHIP • The hero then and now
REVISION MAPS
78 80 82 84 86
Early Britain Literature in the Middle Ages
88 89
FINAL REVIEW
90
TOWARDS THE ORAL EXAM • Living together in war and peace
91
Literary text • The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant Cultures • The importance of medieval relics
Cultures • Pardoners in the Middle Ages
Revision lessons
2 The Renaissance 1485-1625 93
History Milestones
94
Humanism and Renaissance The Elizabethan Golden Age
96
History • The six wives of
98 100 102
Cultures • Elizabethan beliefs
History Culture
Women’s words • Elizabeth I: Woman and Queen CITIZENSHIP • The long road to religious tolerance + Global Goal 10
Literature and texts
Literary Overview Towards Modern English Renaissance prose T09 PHILOSOPHICAL PROSE Thomas More, Religions and tolerance Renaissance drama Cultures • Elizabethan theatre
Authors and texts
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Shakespeare’s plays Art • Many faces for the Bard
Romeo and Juliet T10 The ball
Movies • William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet Thinking Routine • What makes you say that? T11 The balcony scene The Merchant of Venice T12 If you prick us, do we not bleed?
B2 First • Speaking
Hamlet T13 Hamlet and the Ghost T14 To be or not to be Macbeth T15 Is this a dagger which I see before me? T16 The downfall of Lady Macbeth The Tempest T17 Prospero and Caliban
Cultures • The Myth of the Good Savage begins
Renaissance poetry Shakespeare’s sonnets
10
Video overview
Towards Thinking Routine • See, think, wonder
103 104 106 107 108 110 112 114 117 118 120 121 121 122 124 126 127 128 130 132 134 136 138 140 142 145 146 147
Interactive timeline Henry VIII
Author and text • Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus
Literary text • Romeo and
Juliet, The lark
Literary text
The Merchant of Venice, • The contract • The lawyer Portia
Literary text • Hamlet, Polonius and Hamlet Literary text • Macbeth, I have done the deed Literary text • The Tempest, We are such stuff as dreams are made on Cultures • The sonnet up to contemporary times
CONTENTS T18 T19
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun
Cultures • Erano i capei d’oro a l’aura sparsi CITIZENSHIP • The explorer then and now Thinking Routine • Circle of viewpoints
REVISION MAPS
148 150 151 152 153
Humanism and Renaissance The Elizabethan Age Elizabethan Drama The Elizabethan stage The English sonnet
154 156 157 158 159
FINAL REVIEW
160
TOWARDS THE ORAL EXAM • The human being at the centre of the universe
161
Literary text • Sonnet 116
Revision lessons
3 The Puritan Age and the Restoration 1625-1714 Towards Thinking Routine • See, think, wonder
163
Video overview
History Milestones
164
Interactive timeline
The Puritan Age The Restoration CITIZENSHIP • Artistic freedom and censorship + Global Goal 16
166 167 168
Literary Overview Metaphysical poetry
169 170
JOHN DONNE The Good-Morrow
170 172
JOHN MILTON Paradise Lost T21 Better to reign in hell, than serve in heav’n
174 175 177 178 179 180 182 182 184 185 186 187 188
History Culture
Literature and texts Authors and texts T20
B2 First • Reading and Use of English, Paradise Lost
The forbidden fruit Prose in the 17 century T22
T23
PHILOSOPHICAL PROSE
Thomas Hobbes, The role of strength
Thinking Routine • 3-2-1 bridge
T24 PHILOSOPHICAL PROSE John Locke, The birth of ideas Women’s Words Aphra Behn Restoration drama
Movies • Stage Beauty CITIZENSHIP • The journalist then and now
REVISION MAPS Metaphysical poetry Puritan literature John Milton Restoration literature
190 190 190 191
FINAL REVIEW
192
TOWARDS THE ORAL EXAM • The individual and power
193
History • Bill of Rights: the voice of Parliament
Cultures • The Puritan settlement in America
Literary text • • The Apparition • Death be not proud
Literary text • On His Blindness
Author and text • William
Congreve, The Way of the World
Revision lessons
11
CONTENTS
4 The Augustan Age 1714-1760 Towards Thinking Routine • See, think, wonder
195
History Milestones
196
History Culture
The Augustan Age CITIZENSHIP • Constitutional monarchy and political parties + Global Goal 16
198 200
Literary Overview Augustan poetry Augustan drama The rise of journalism The Augustan novel
201 202 202 203 204
DANIEL DEFOE Robinson Crusoe
206 207 208 208 210 212 213
Literature and texts
Authors and texts
Cultures • The meaning of the desert island B2 First • Reading and Use of English, Robinson Crusoe’s ‘natural’ education T25 T26
A safe home Man Friday
Thinking Routine • What makes you say that?
JONATHAN SWIFT Gulliver’s Travels A Modest Proposal T27 The history and politics of Lilliput T28 Children for dinner
214 215 216 218 220 221
Samuel Richardson Pamela, or Virtue rewarded T29 A master’s immoral behaviour
222 223 224 226 227 228
History • The Irish question
Cultures • A new protagonist: the gentleman Art • William Hogarth: portrait of a society CITIZENSHIP • The traveller then and now + Global Goal 12
REVISION MAPS
Augustan Age literature The rise of the novel
230 231
FINAL REVIEW
232
TOWARDS THE ORAL EXAM • Reason and rationality
233
Video overview Art • Thomas Gainsborough, Mr and Mrs Andrews
Interactive timeline
Literary text
Robinson Crusoe, Robinson and the natives
Literary text • Gulliver’s Travels, The first meeting with the Yahoos
Revision lessons
5 The Romantic Age 1760-1837 Towards Thinking Routine • See, think
235
Video overview
History Milestones
236
Interactive timeline
The Industrial Revolution CITIZENSHIP • The rise of environmental awareness + Global Goal 13
238 240
Literary Overview The early Romantic poetry
241 242
History Culture
Literature and texts Authors and texts 12
History • The Declaration of Independence
Cultures • B2 First, Social
changes due to the Industrial Revolution
CONTENTS WILLIAM BLAKE
Art • Blake’s engravings INVALSI • Reading comprehension task T30
The Lamb
Thinking Routine • Connect, extend, challenge T31
The Tyger
B2 First • Reading and Use of English, Blake’s The Tyger T32 London The two generations of Romantic poetry
Cultures • The Rome cemetery of English poets
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH Preface to Lyrical Ballads T34 I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
244 247 247 248 249 250 251 252 254 256
Art • John Constable: the harmony of the countryside
257 260 262 264
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
266 269
GEORGE GORDON BYRON
272 275 276
T33
T35
Cultures • Lara, the Byronic hero T36
Oh Rome! My Country!
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY T37 Ozymandias
B2 First • Reading and Use of English, Ozymandias T38
Ode to the West Wind
JOHN KEATS
Movies • Bright Star
T39 Ode on a Grecian Urn Romantic non-fiction prose T40 PAMPHLET Mary Wollstonecraft, The rights of women Romantic fiction
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus T41 The exaltation of a discovery
Thinking Routine • Headlines T42
The loneliness of the monster
Movies • The story of a monster Cultures • Gothic is still alive! INVALSI • Reading comprehension task
EDGAR ALLAN POE
Cultures • The short story T43
The Oval Portrait
Thinking Routine • See, think, wonder
JANE AUSTEN In vain have I struggled
T44
B2 First • Reading and Use of English, Society and human relationships in Pride and Prejudice Movies • Pride and Prejudice Women’s words • Two very different lives: Mary Shelley and Jane Austen CITIZENSHIP • The scientist then and now + Global Goal 16
REVISION MAPS
278 281 282 283 286 289 290 292 293 294 296 297 300 301 302 304 305 305 306 309 310 313 314 318 320 321 322 324
Romantic poetry The novel in the Romantic Age
326 327
FINAL REVIEW
328
B2 First • Writing, Is it better to read a Gothic novel or a novel of manners?
328
TOWARDS THE ORAL EXAM • The Age of Revolution
Glossary
Literary text • Songs of Innocence, Infant Joy
Literary text
Lyrical Ballads • We are seven • Lines Written in Early Spring
Literary text
Poems, in Two Volumes • Composed upon Westminster Bridge
Literary text • Ode to a
Nightingale
Literary text • Walter Scott, Ivanhoe, The face of the knight Cultures • The fortune of Gothic novel
Cultures • Overreaching
Literary text • Morella
Literary text • Sense and Sensibility, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood Revision lessons
329 330 13
DEBATE
Debate Why debate?
What format of debate?
• To consolidate and deepen your language skills, both in terms of vocabulary and grammar.
Debates have been around for quite a while. They are rooted in ancient Greek and Roman cultures. Nevertheless, as an educational tool they are relatively new to Italy, where they have been imported in multiple formats from the US or other countries.
• To become more fluent when speaking before an audience. • To broaden your cultural horizons: before speaking, you will need to research the topic. • To fight shyness and gain more confidence. • To develop better public speaking skills. • To learn how to cooperate with your peers. • To acquire digital skills. • To grow and develop your personality.
Over to you 1 Can you find any more good reasons to debate?
The model presented here is known as ‘Class debate’ or ‘Educational debate’. This name underlines the strong learning impact it is supposed to have on students rather than the competitive dimension. The latter, however, should not be completely overlooked. Some degree of competition is necessary in this format of debate too, as this is what triggers the students’ commitment and engages them in the match. Unlike other formats, class debates feature great flexibility in the number and in the length of speeches. Your teacher’s focus will be on the class’ learning objectives and not on who the winner will be. The jury, if present, will not only declare the winning team or debater, but will also comment on the performances of their peers using a special rubric for debates. Remember, an excess of competitiveness must be avoided.
14
DEBATE
The Class debate format The scheme below explains the phases of the Class debate format. This is particularly flexible and fit to be used in curricular lessons. Your teacher may want to adapt this format to their (his/her) teaching needs and to those of their (his/her) students.
FIRST ARGUMENT First argument for the statement/claim (supported by evidence) First argument against the statement/claim (supported by evidence) The against team rebuts the first argument of the pro team The pro team rebuts the first argument of the against team.
SECOND ARGUMENT Second argument against the statement/claim (supported by evidence) Second argument for the statement/claim (supported by evidence) The pro team rebuts the second argument of the against team The against team rebuts the second argument of the pro team.
THIRD ARGUMENT Third argument for the statement/claim (supported by evidence) Third argument against the statement/claim (supported by evidence) The against team rebuts the third argument of the pro team The pro team rebuts the third argument of the against team.
EPILOGUE • The teacher and/or the jury declare the winner. • A compromise (teams recognise that both of them spoke well and delivered good acceptable epilogue if the topic did not involve scientific issues, in which arguments) case the teacher will correct mistakes and debunk false information.
Over to you 2 Key words in debates: match words (1-9) and definitions (a-i). 1. rebuttal 2. chairman 3. statement/claim 4. time manager 5. speaker 6. argument 7. the jury 8. topic 9. evidence a. Someone who will speak supporting or criticising the statement/claim. b. What you will be speaking about.
c.
d. e. f. g. h. i.
A possible group of peers who will comment on the speakers’ performances together with the teacher. A quotation or a picture used to strengthen an argument or a rebuttal. The speech you will give to rebut your opponent’s argument. A peer who will check the time by means of a chronometer and signal when time is up. The sentence, affirmative or negative, you will be for or against. The reason you will be speaking for or against the statement/claim given. A peer or the teacher him-/herself who will manage the match. 15
LITERARY GENRES
Poetry genres There are three main genres of poetry: narrative, dramatic and lyrical. It is not always possible to make a clear distinction between them. For example, an epic poem can contain lyrical passages, or a lyrical poem can contain narrative parts. Poetry
Narrative
Dramatic
Lyrical
Narrative poetry Narrative poetry is poetry which tells a story. Typical examples are the epic, the verse tale, the romance. The ballad can also be included in narrative poetry because it contains a story. The epic The ‘primary’ epic was based on the oral traditions of a country: the major Anglo-Saxon example is Beowulf. The hero of an epic poem is an extraordinary character who is endowed with physical strength, courage or leadership, who represents a nation and performs superhuman actions. The dominant tone is heroic. The style is elevated, stylised and formal. The poem starts with the poet announcing the subject and then invoking the muse. The ‘literary’ or ‘secondary’ epic was modelled on the primary epic, and was the work of a learned, refined writer. An example is John Milton’s Paradise Lost. The most common metre of the epic is blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter, see page 19). The solemnity and seriousness of the epic led, almost inevitably, to parody and burlesque. This is how mock-heroic or mock-epic poetry was born. One of the best examples in English is Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock. The tale in verse The first great English narrative poem is The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Narrative in verse was very popular during the Renaissance, and met great favour again in the Romantic period thanks to Walter Scott, who started his career as a poet, and George Byron. The romance The medieval romance was a tale in verse dealing with chivalry and love. An example is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene and Alfred Tennyson’s Idylls of the King are modelled on the medieval chivalric romance.
22
Dramatic poetry The word drama implies one or more characters and action. Dramatic poetry aims at involving the reader in an experience or situation, and creates tension, immediacy, expectation and conflict. The speakers act out roles and therefore must not be identified with the poet. Dramatic monologue is a poetic form in which a fictitious or historical, single character, addresses a silent audience informing them about his or her feelings. The aim of dramatic monologue is for the reader to understand the personality and state of mind of the character, and so sympathise with him/her. This form of composition was made famous by poets like Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning and T.S. Eliot.
Lyrical poetry Lyrical poetry is the expression of individual thought and feeling by the poet, who wants to share his/her state of mind or mood with the reader. The most common forms of lyric poem are the following. The elegy A sad poem or song written for someone who has died or something that is lost. The ode A long poem, elevated in tone and elaborate in style. It usually begins with an invocation and contains archaisms. The subject of the poem is usually serious, and the concept conveyed is abstract. The pastoral One of the oldest literary forms, which conventionally describes the life of shepherds and the idyllic aspects of rural life. It developed in classical times (3rd century BCE) and was renewed in the Renaissance. The ballad A poem which is narrative in kind and dramatic in style. Ballads were originally transmitted in oral form, as songs, and were very common during the Middle Ages. The metre is simple. Repetitions – of words, lines, or stanzas – are a typical feature of ballads. The stanza consists of four lines, rhyming ABCB. The ballad also appealed to the poets of the Romantic period. The sonnet A poem with a fixed form of fourteen lines. It can be divided into an octave and a sestet (Petrarchan form) or three quatrains and a couplet (Elizabethan form). The sonnet appeals to feelings directly and intensely. As well as these well-established forms, any other poem expressing an intense mood or feeling can be defined a lyric.
Poetry genres
LITERARY GENRES
Activities 1 Complete the table about the genres of poetry. Narrative poetry
Dramatic poetry
Lyrical poetry
Genres of poetry
Definition
Tone of the poem
2 Read these short poem examples and write the poetry genre they belong to. 3.
1. But of all kings who e’er o’er Britain lords have been, Fairest was Arthur all, and boldest, so men tell; Therefore I think to shew a venture that befell In his time, which some men for a sheer wonder hold, And strange above all tales that be of Arthur told. (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) 2. Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light: The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true.
One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: Again I write it with a second hand, But came the tide, and made my pains his prey. Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay, A mortal thing so to immortalize, For I myself shall like to this decay, And eek my name be wiped out likewise. Not so, (quod I) let baser things devise To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: My verse, your virtues rare shall eternize, And in the heavens write your glorious name. Where whenas death shall all the world subdue, Our love shall live, and later life renew. (E. Spenser, Amoretti)
(A. Tennyson, In Memoriam)
3 Write one feature of each example of poem you have read in exercise 2. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3
23
The Augustan Age 1714-1760 A
Thomas Gainsborough, Mr and Mrs Andrews, 1748-1749, National Gallery, London.
TOWARDS THINKING ROUTINE See, think, wonder
See 1 What do you see in the picture? Think 2 The two people are a newly married couple. The man is a country landowner. What do you think is his relationship to the land he owns?
IN CLASS • Thinking Routine AT HOME • Activity 1 IN CLASS • Activity 2
Wonder 3 Why did the couple have themselves portrayed in this way?
ART
Thomas Gainsborough, Mr and Mrs Andrews
1
FIREWORDS Complete the text with the FIREWORDS. Then watch the video
and check.
Age of Reason • Augustan Age • Enlightenment • George I • George II • landed gentry • merchant class • middle-class readers • party system • Prime Minister • prosperity • rise of the novel • first periodicals
B
As truth distinguishes our writings from those idle romances which are filled with monsters… Tom Jones
C Reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body. The Tatler
Augustan Age of English literature, in The first half of the 18 century is known as the 0. ………………… reference to the Roman emperor Augustus, under whose reign the greatest works of Latin literature were created. The period has also been called ‘the 1. ……………………….. ’ because of the influence of the 2. ……………………….. , the philosophical movement that was spreading throughout Europe at the time. The literary scene was characterised by the 3. ……………………….. . While previous forms of fiction dealt mainly with fantastic stories, the new ones provided a realistic portrait of the society of the time and reflected the tastes of the new 4. ………………………..…………….. . These readers were also interested in knowing and discussing current ideas and events, and this led to the publication of the 5. ……………………….. like The Tatler and The Spectator. In general, this was a period of political stability, scientific progress, and economic 6. ……………………….. . The 7. ……………………….. began to develop, with the Whigs and the Tories alternating in government. The aristocracy and the 8. ……………………….. continued to own most of the land, but in the cities a wealthy 9. ……………………….. was growing. During the reign of 10. ……………………….. , and then of his son 11. ……………………….. , the monarch lost much of his influence on the policy of the country, and the 12. ……………………….. emerged as the key political figure. 2 Link the picture and the quotes to the largest possible number of FIREWORDS. Then explain the reasons for your choices.
DIGITAL RESOURCES
D
Video overview
Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it. William Pitt
Audio Interactive timeline Digitexts Revision lessons
THEME AUTHORS
THE RISE OF THE NOVEL D. DEFOE J. SWIFT
HISTORY
History Milestones
INTERACTIVE TIMELINE
1713 The Beginning of the English Slave Trade The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 put an end to the War of the Spanish Succession that began in 1701, when Charles II of Spain died childless. He offered his throne to the grandson of Louis XIV, Philip of Anjou, but this could have led to a union between France and Spain. The British Army took part in this war to stop France dominating Europe. Since a victory for Austria would have changed the European balance as much as a victory for France, the British government started to negotiate with France. The treaty established the so-called asiento, which means ‘settlement’ in Spanish, a thirty-year right to provide the Spanish colonies with an agreed number of slaves. The slave trade and the increasing prosperity of its colonies gradually allowed England to become a world power.
1714-1727
King George I
When George I (1660-1727) came to the throne, the Hanover dynasty began. The new king arrived in England from Germany when he was 54 years old. He neither spoke English nor had any knowledge of English culture and society. This, added to the corruption of his ministers and financial scandals, made him an unpopular king. The greatest of these financial scandals was the bankruptcy of the South Sea Company in 1720, which provoked the ruin of thousands of investors. George I was strongly contrasted by the Jacobites, supporters of Prince James Edward, a Stuart, called the Old Pretender and son of James II. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, James II had been deprived of the crown in favour of his daughter Mary and her husband, William III of Orange. In 1715, a Jacobite rebellion broke out. The rebels were defeated in Scotland and many of them were executed.
1714-1760
The Consolidation of Whigs and Tories
Politically, the 18 century marks the consolidation of the Whigs and the Tories. They became actual political parties: the Whigs represented the merchants and the business classes of London. They supported the Puritans and the other Protestant groups. The Tories, on the contrary, defended the rights of the landed gentry and the clergy. The Tories had been in power during the reign of Queen Anne, but George I was supported by the Whigs, and formed a mainly Whig ministry.
1721-1742
Robert Walpole Prime Minister
As a result of the Bill of Rights of 1689, Parliament had firm control over the king, and it was in this period that the figure of the Prime Minister began to acquire great relevance. Since George I could not speak English, he gave his ministers great autonomy. While in the past they used to meet in front of the king, during the reign of George I, under the guide of Sir Robert Walpole (1676-1745), they met without him. Another reason for this was that the king made many visits to Germany. The function of the king, then, was basically that of signing decisions already taken by the ministers. Even though the position of Prime Minister as such did not exist at the time, the historical circumstances allowed Walpole to create it de facto. For this reason, he is considered to be the first Prime Minister in Britain, even though his real post was as Lord of the Treasure. He was a Whig and was a capable and cunning politician, who encouraged trade and industry by abolishing export duties and lowering import duties on raw materials. Robert Walpole was also the first Prime Minister to reside at 10 Downing Street, in a house donated to him by King George II. Over the years, the house became the official residence of English Prime Ministers. 196
4
HISTORY
1727-1760
King George II
George II (1683-1760) was the last English monarch to fight in the battlefield. During his reign, England was involved in various wars. First with Spain, which was repealed in 1748. Then, against France during the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and during the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763).
1745-1746
The Jacobite Rebellion
In 1745, George II’s reign was also characterised by a new Jacobite rebellion which demanded the restoration of the Stuart kings. Prince Charles Edward, son of Prince James Edward, called the Young Pretender, was the leader. In this rebellion the Jacobites were also defeated, this time in the terrible battle of Culloden (1746). In the battle thousands of Scottish clansmen were massacred by an army of about 8,000 English soldiers. Because of the defeat, Charles Stuart was forced to flee to France in exile. The battle of Culloden was the last to be fought on British soil. After this defeat, the clan chiefs were stripped of their powers; cottages were burnt, people were imprisoned or sent to America, the wearing of the kilt and the playing of bagpipes were forbidden and the traditional way of life of the Scottish Highlands came to an end.
1756-1763
The Seven Years’ War
The Seven Years’ War saw England and Prussia warring against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden and Spain plus other allies on each side. The war broke out both for the possessions of various areas in Europe and for commercial supremacy at sea. As regards the commercial supremacy, it was particularly bloody between France and England, which fought for the control of their overseas colonies. This war took place not only in Europe and in the American colonies but also in India and Asia. It ended in 1763 with the victory of the English. Vast territories all over the world were lost by the French, including Canada, the Antilles, Senegal and India. In 1756, the Whig representative William Pitt (1708-1778) became Prime Minister and led England during the Seven Years’ War. He was a brilliant orator and tried to fight the spreading corruption of the times. This far-sighted politician understood that the main area of attention lay overseas. He also understood that in a mercantilist age wealth came from trade, and a trading empire was based on the control of world trade. Therefore, his first aim when he was in the government was to make the British navy stronger than that of any other country. Pitt resigned in 1768.
IMPROVE YOUR VOCABULARY Read the text, then match each word to its synonym or definition. 1. 2. 3.
settlement bankruptcy landed gentry
4. 5. 6.
cunning raw materials repeal
a. smart / clever b. agreement / deal c. wealthy landowners
d. inability to pay debts e. withdraw / call off f. basic materials
Comprehension 1 Decide if the following statements are true or false and correct the false ones. 1. The word asiento is the Spanish term for 6. The War of Austrian Succession was fought T F the slave trade in the 18 century. against the Russian Empire. 2. The Hanover dynasty in England started 7. The Seven Years’ War broke out for T F with Queen Anne. commercial supremacy. T F 8. As a Prime Minister, William Pitt encouraged 3. The Jacobites were supporters of George I. the development of trade. 4. The Whigs represented the interests of the Church. T F 9. William Pitt was the first Prime Minister 5. Robert Walpole served as a Prime Minister to reside at 10 Downing Street. T F under George II.
T
F
T
F
T
F
T
F
197
CULTURE
The Augustan Age
C21
The Augustan Age was characterised by political stability, after the turbulent previous period. The achievement of a greater well-being and the broadening of geographical knowledge, especially overseas, increased economic activities and consequently more money circulated.
Slave trade
r, ga su
b to
, co ac
West Indies
Atlantic Ocean
sl av es
SOUTH AMERICA
BRITAIN
on cloth, metal goo cott ds an da rm s
NORTH AMERICA
nd na to t co
fee cof
EUROPE
AFRICA
During the Augustan Age, non-European territories became more and more important, as they were the destination of explorations, especially for commercial and economic purposes. Powerful European countries such as England, France and Spain aimed to exploit resources, including human ones. In fact it was in this period that, with new routes opened to Africa, the slave trade reached its highest point. Historians calculated that Britain shipped about 3.1 million African men and women from various ports, and became the leader in the triangular trade between Britain, Africa and America. The cruelty of the slave trade was indescribable. During their voyages, British ships carried cotton cloth, metal goods and arms to West Africa, which were used to buy slaves from their African masters. Human beings were seized from their villages by slave traders and sold as objects. Many African chiefs took part in this terrible trade by selling their war prisoners, or helping slave traders choose people from their tribes. The slaves were carried to the Caribbean islands, to North America and to South America. Many of them died during the passage. In America they were sold at auction (competitive sale) and sent to work on plantations, where life was just as bad. Some estimate that over ten million Black men, women and children were taken from Africa to America. The same ships were then loaded with sugar, tobacco, cotton and coffee, for the trip back to Europe. The last decades of the 17 century saw the birth of the Anti-slave-trade Committee, and some politicians fought for the abolition of slavery.
Agriculture and food
QUICK CHEC Answer the questions. 1 How was the slave trade organised? 2 How did slave traders take people as slaves? 3 What were the main innovations in agriculture during the Augustan Age? 4 What were the main social changes and contradictions? 198
Gradually, the British landscape started to change: it became characterised by the enclosures, which separated farmland from open fields, while a network of canals and new roads was built to make transportation of people and goods easier. Agriculture became increasingly productive and innovative and this also influenced the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, a few decades later. Selective breeding was introduced to produce stronger, healthier animals and agriculturists made improvements to farming systems. Jethro Tull (1674-1741) invented a machine drawn by horses to plant the seeds which enormously improved the quantity of products extracted from the land. Food was cheaper than before thanks to the improvements in farming methods. Moreover, the colonies provided new kinds of food and drink like sugar, coffee and tea.
Scientific progress The scientific thought, which had started in the previous centuries, developed rapidly. The period was marked by important improvements: the progress of medicine, improvements in hygiene and a decrease in infant mortality which led to an extraordinary increase in population, in turn multiplying the demand for food, clothing and housing. Houses were increasingly being built with bricks and not with wood, so they were safer.
THE AUGUSTAN AGE CULTURE
Social classes
4
FOCUS ON
The rise of the middle classes, which became the fulcrum of society, laid the foundations for the Industrial Revolution, which would take place the following century. England started to change from an agricultural country to an industrial one. In the countryside the landed gentry began to impose itself culturally. On the other hand, the rise of the first factories made the role of the city more important. The intensity of trade with distant countries saw the birth of new social figures and thus modified the rigid social differentiation of previous centuries. Businessmen, shop-owners, traders and various professions were making themselves heard.
The Enlightenment, an intellectual movement which spread in Europe in the 17 and 18 century, was characterised by a firm belief in reason as a means to achieve progress. Through reason, the goals of humanity were considered to be knowledge, freedom and happiness. In politics, many Europeans pursued the ideals of personal freedom, equality, social justice and defence of human rights.
Social contradictions However, under the surface of balance and serenity there were disorder and social injustice: great wealth and rational order characterised the aristocracy, but the poor lived in miserable conditions, at the mercy of a strict penal code that foresaw the death penalty both for stealing an apple and for murder. The law was often administered by corrupt or inefficient magistrates, and there was almost nothing to stop crime in the streets of big cities like London. Outside London, government was in the hands of the big landowners who did not care about those who lived in poverty. The prosperity, the commercialism and the widespread corruption of the ruling class were the object of a campaign of criticism, and political cartoons became an established expression of satire; the most famous name is that of William Hogarth, who was especially concerned with satirising manners and morals.
Summing up Read the text and complete the map with the words given. agriculture • cheaper • corruption • decrease • economic • enclosures • farming • health and hygiene • improvements • increase • injustice • middle class • miserable • professional • resources • roads • slave • social
Political stability Explorations
New agriculture and infrastructures Scientific progress Rise of middle classes
• new routes to Africa • exploitation of 1. ….................…. • 2. ….................…. trade
• domestic 3. ….................…. growth
• 4. ….................…. separate farmland from open fields • better 5. ….................…. and transports • selective raising and new 6. ….................…. systems
• more production and innovation
• 9. ….................…. in medicine • better 10. ….................…. conditions
• 11. ….................…. of mortality • 12. ….................…. of population
• new 13. ….................…. and 14. ….................…. figures • important role of cities industries and commercial business • 15. ….................…. becomes the fulcrum of society
• increase of social 16. ….................….
in 7. ….............….
• 8. ….................…. food
and crime
• 17. ….................…. condition of the poor • 18. ….................…. of the ruling class
199
CULTURE
CITIZENSHIP Constitutional monarchy and political parties In the 18 century Britain was the first European country to develop a constitutional monarchy. In a constitutional monarchy the power of the king or queen is limited by a constitution. By ‘constitution’ we usually mean a formal document containing the basic principles that regulate the governing of the State. This is the case of the Italian constitution and of most modern constitutions. In the case of the United Kingdom there is no such document. The United Kingdom is said to have an unwritten constitution, in the sense that the constitution is made up of a combination of written laws and traditional practices that have generally been accepted as valid over the course of time. Efforts to limit the absolute power of English monarchs date back to the times of Magna Carta (1215) [> page 64], but it was with parliamentary acts like the Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Act of Settlement of 1701 [> page 164] that the basis of the British constitution was set. Kings and queens continued to exercise some influence on political decisions throughout the 18 and 19 centuries, but this influence diminished gradually, and by the end of Queen Victoria’s reign (1901) the monarchy had lost all political powers. Today, King Charles III still performs an important symbolic function as Head of State, but in politics his role is mainly ceremonial. All parliamentary bills must be approved by her before they become law, but in practice she must act on the advice of the Prime Minister, who has the real executive power. Was Great Britain already a democracy in the modern sense of the term in the middle of the 18 century? Political power was certainly shifting from hereditary monarchs to an elected Parliament, but only about 3% of the population could vote. The right to vote was reserved to wealthy men. There was no secret ballot and corruption was common. Two political parties, Tories
and Whigs, were in competition for control of Parliament, but the vast majority of the population had no direct representation. Things began to change only in the following century, with a series of electoral reforms. The Reform Act of 1832 [> page 237] gave the vote to small landowners and town residents who owned property. Further reforms during the century extended the suffrage (the right to vote) to middle-class men, but not to the working class. Women remained explicitly excluded. Universal suffrage was reached in 1928: all men and women over 21 had the right to vote. The British electoral system discourages small parties, so Parliament has always been dominated by two large parties. The original Whigs and Tories evolved along with the extension of the suffrage. In 1832 the Tory Party became the Conservative Party, and in 1859 the Whigs allied themselves with the Radicals to form the Liberal Party. In 1900 the Labour Party was founded as the political expression of the trade unions and of the socialist movements, and in the 1920s it replaced the Liberal Party as the main opposition to the Conservatives. Since then, Conservatives and Labour have been the two major parties in the House of Commons. During the 20 century many European monarchies became republics. Today republicanism is generally seen as the most suitable form of government for a modern democracy. Yet, there are still eight main monarchies in Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), and they are among the most advanced democracies on the continent. While many consider royal families a relic of the past, others think that monarchies can help democracy by strengthening the citizens’ loyalty to the system of government. In Italy, the monarchy was abolished in 1946 with the constitutional referendum that established the Italian Republic. In many ways, the President of the Italian Republic performs the same formal role as the Queen in the UK. However, the Italian president can send back a piece of legislation for revision after it has been approved by Parliament if the president thinks the law is unconstitutional. The president has also considerable influence in appointing prime ministers, especially in times of crisis. Both these prerogatives were lost by English monarchs in the 19 century.
Comprehension 1 Answer the questions. 1. Why is the UK constitution said to be ‘unwritten’? 2. Which two acts of Parliament are the original foundation of the UK constitution? 3. What is the role of the Queen of the United Kingdom today? 200
4. Which percentage of population had the right to vote in 18 -century Britain? 5. What were the two main parties in Parliament in 1859? And today?
CITIZENSHIP CULTURE
4
Debate • Form pairs. Half the pairs in the class prepare to support the statement, the other half prepare to argue against the statement. • Each ‘For’ pair joins an ‘Against’ pair to form a group of four. • In each group, the students present their arguments for and against the statement.
European monarchies still perform a useful role in the third millennium. FOR: • Monarchs represent the identity of the nation, so they are an important unifying factor. • Members of royal families are often engaged in social causes and charitable institutions. • (Add your own): ….................…. ….................…. ….................…. ….................….
AGAINST: • Monarchy is an expensive institution that has no real political function in today’s democracies. • Members of royal families are often rich, lazy people who don’t contribute to society. • (Add your own): ….................…. ….................…. ….................…. ….................….
Literary Overview Augustan poetry was dominated by an emphasis on form rather than on spontaneity and emotion. The main forms were the pastoral poem, the mock-epic poem and satire.
Augustan Age Poetry
> page 202
Pastoral poem
Mock-epic poem
Satire
Drama
> page 202
Sentimental comedy
Prose
Novel
> page 204
Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels Samuel Richardson, Pamela Henry Fielding, Tom Jones Laurence Sterne, Tristram Shandy
Parody
Pamphlet > page 220
Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal
Drama witnessed a steady downfall as a literary genre. The comedy of manners of the previous century gave way to the sentimental comedy. It revolved around themes which celebrated the importance of feelings and sentiments. Prose played an important role during the Augustan Age. The first half of the century witnessed the rise of journalism: Joseph Addison and Richard Steele founded two newspapers, The Tatler and The Spectator. The novel was developed as a literary genre. Writers like Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding and Laurence Sterne were the most well-known of the period. The 18 century also saw the publication of Samuel Johnson’s A dictionary of the English Language, which was used as the standard reference of English for a whole century.
201
LITERATURE
Augustan poetry AugustAn Age
Poetry
Drama
Prose
Pastoral poem
Sentimental comedy
Mockepic poem
Parody
Satire
C22
In an age which cultivated the intellectual side of man’s nature and the control of passions and instincts, poetry expressed universal truths rather than personal emotion, and great emphasis was laid on formal perfection. The Augustan Age saw the triumph of the Neoclassical norms and of the so-called poetic diction, with the use of elevated and poetical words, stock adjective-noun combinations, like ‘fair fields’, ‘cooling breeze’ and periphrasis, aimed at avoiding the direct mention of common, everyday things. The normal English word order was often inverted. • The pastoral poem romanticised the ideals of simple country life and exhalted the connection between man and nature. The heroic couplet – lines of iambic pentameter rhyming in pairs – was the favourite metre, even if this rhyming technique is difficult in the English language. • The mock-epic poem imitated ancient poems writing in the heroic style about a subject of no importance in order to ridicule contemporary vices. Alexander Pope (1688-1744) was the greatest poet of the age. He is best remembered for a brilliant mock-epic poem, The Rape of the Lock (1712-1714), based on a quarrel between two families resulting from a gentleman’s clipping a lock of a young lady’s hair. As the short extract below shows, Belinda, the heroine of the poem, is dressing to go out, after having woken up.
And now, unveil’d, the Toilet stands display’d1, Each silver Vase in mystic order laid2. First, rob’d in white, the laid Nymph3 intent adores, With head uncover’d, the Cosmetic pow’rs. 5 A heav’nly Image in the glass appears, To that she bends, to that her eyes she rears4; Th’inferior Priestess5, at her altar’s side, Trembling begins the sacred rites of Pride. Unnumber’d treasures ope6 at once, and here 10 The various off’rings of the world appear’.
1 stands display’d:
è esposta.
2 laid: posato. 3 Nymph: Belinda. 4 her... rears: alza
gli occhi.
5 inferior Priestess:
la domestica di Belinda. 6 ope: apre.
• Finally, satire was used to criticise the flaws of the times.
Towards Romantic Poetry From the middle of the century a number of poets began to
abandon the Neoclassical norms to get closer to the great Romantic poets. These transition poets are Edward Young, William Collins and Thomas Gray [> page 243]. They began to turn to the picturesque aspects of nature, melancholy emotions, rural people and to medieval architecture and poetry. Even though chronologically belonging to the Augustan Age, these poems are thought to be more characteristic of the Romantic Age, both for the themes they dealt with and the mood that pervaded them.
QUICK CHEC Answer the questions. 1 What was the favourite metre of the Augustan poets? What did it consist of? 2 Who was the greatest poet of this period? 3 How did comedy change in the Augustan Period? 4 What new features does John Gay display in his plays? 202
Augustan drama
C23
Although drama did not flourish as much as novel writing did, new types of plays emerged: • sentimental comedies, which originated as a reaction against the ‘immoral’ plays of the Restoration comedy of manners. They mainly dealt with the events of life and plots focused on virtue; • parodies, which aimed at satirising both the moralising tone of the sentimental comedy and the political corruption of the times. One of best examples of this genre was The Beggar’s Opera (1728), written by John Gay (1685-1732), which is a precursor of modern musical comedy. Thieves, beggars and prostitutes mimic and ridicule the manners of high society lords and ladies, thus launching satirical attack on social inequalities.
POETRY, DRAMA AND THE RISE OF JOURNALISM LITERATURE
The rise of journalism After the revolutions of the 17 century, the values of moderation and balance were affirmed and they spread in the culture, art and literature of the period. During the Augustan Age the reading public increased significantly. This rise was due to the simultaneous growth of the rate of literacy and the wish of the middle class to educate themselves. The need to acquire information increased, because of the importance of evaluating economic transactions and investments. The development of journalism and the birth of newspapers were also favoured by more efficient printing technologies. The best-known newspapers were The Tatler (1709) and The Spectator (1711), both largely written by Joseph Addison (1672-1719) and Richard Steele (1672-1729). Manners, literature, stories, gossip and moral reflections were the main themes of brief papers addressed to a middle-class audience. The two writers realised that the creation of a group of characters would be well received by the readers, because a conversation was easier and more pleasant to read than an essay. So they created the Spectator Club, where the chief character was an eccentric country squire (a country landowner or refined and powerful gentleman), Sir Roger de Coverley. In this way, the essayist was no longer a detached authority but an armchair companion, talking pleasantly about life.
The 18th-century coffee houses New spaces of aggregation and discussion arose, such as coffee houses. Samuel Johnson defined the coffee house in his A Dictionary of the English Language as ‘a house of entertainment where coffee is sold, and the customers are supplied with newspapers’. Such a definition sheds light on the significance these meeting-points had in 18 -century culture. They were not only places where coffee was sold, but also cultural centres. Their role and function went beyond the commercial enterprise they had been designed for and their contribution to the social, political and literary debate of the times was enormous. People meeting there, in fact, could not only read newspapers but any kind of printed material as well as discuss current affairs, political news and conduct economic transactions. From this point of view, they were democratic centres, open to all social strata, from the poor to the rich, in which any customer could express his point of view. Women, however, were excluded from coffee houses. Coffee houses were also important economic centres. The London Stock Exchange, for example, was created in a coffee house towards the end of the 18 century.
4 C24
QUICK CHEC Decide if the following statements are true or false and correct the false ones. 1 During the Augustan Age the reading public T decreased. 2 The Tatler was one of the most important newspapers of the T Augustan Age. 3 According to Samuel Johnson’s definition, coffee houses were places T to enjoy oneself. 4 Coffee houses were mainly economic centres. T 5 Coffee houses did not play any political T function. 6 Women were not allowed in coffee T houses.
F
F
F
F
F
F
Answer the questions. 1 Which factors contributed to the development of journalism and to the birth of newspapers? 2 What were the main themes of newspapers? To whom were they addressed? 3 What other function, apart from the economic one, did coffee houses play in 18 century England? 4 The text says that coffee houses were ‘democratic centres’. Why?
18 century Coffee House, engraving, illustration in English Men and Manners in the Eighteenth Century by A.S. Turberville, 1932. 203
LITERATURE
The Augustan novel DISCOVER THE THEME
AugustAn Age Poetry
Prose
C25
THE RISE OF THE NOVEL
Georgian is the name given to the architectural style which was fashionable from 1714 to 1830 in England. The term Georgian comes from the name of the four kings who ruled during this period: George I, II, III and IV (the Prince Regent). During the Georgian period, there was a revival of the classical styles of Greece and Rome. Another influence was the style of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580), who recreated these styles incorporating the classical features of symmetry and proportion. John Wood the Elder (1704-1754) and his son, who were influenced by the Palladian style, are remembered for their transformation of the city of Bath. The layout of the town took on a similar layout to the Roman Plan and the Circus: The Circus is a street of Georgian townhouses with, as its name suggests, a circular form.
EXPLORE THE THEME Digital path REVIEW Interactive test
Drama
Novel
Video introduction
HISTORY & WORKS Interactive timeline
During this age, the novel became very popular due to a growing interest in people’s private lives. Many 18 -century novels were written in the form of diaries, letters, religious instructions and, above all, accounts of every-day life. This was done to adapt to the public’s taste and satisfy the demands of the literary market, which required a form of writing that was as close as possible to real life.
mainly from the middle classes, which had been increasing in importance since the Middle Ages. More and more people were educated, and were eager to read about manners and behaviour, and about the world in which they lived. They were interested in reading about the behaviour of real individuals which could mirror their own. The novel was exactly the kind of prose that met these needs.
The development of the novel was also accelerated by other factors like more efficient printing technologies, the rapid expansion of the book market, the economic power achieved by the middle class and, finally, the appearance of circulating libraries. These libraries, moving from town to town, made it possible to borrow books at a penny a volume. For this reason, authors were often paid by booksellers to write their novels while the 16 -17 -century patrons were slowly disappearing.
The great new reading public was mostly made up of women, who were beginning to change their social role. They started to attend public places like coffee houses and theatres, were better educated and became an audience for this emerging literary genre. Women were not only readers but also writers and their social presence influenced the plots and characters of novels. Among them, Mary Manley (1663-1724), with her chronicle Secret Memoirs... of Several Persons of Quality (1709) presented political scandal in the form of romance; Eliza Heywood (1693-1756), with The Female Spectator (1744-1746), was the first woman to write a periodical; Charlotte Lennox (1729/30-1804) was appreciated for her novel The Female Quixote (1752).
The novel was easier to read than drama and poetry, because it told a story and presented the interaction between individuals and their relationships to society. The readers were
The importance women had achieved as readers was evident from an article in The Spectator. In the article Joseph Addison addresses female readers directly, with the typical 18 -century idea of morality, by writing that as women ‘compose half the World, and are by the just Complaisance and Gallantry of our Nation the more powerful Part of our People, I shall dedicate a considerable Share of these my Speculations to their Service, and shall lead the young through all the becoming duties of Virginity, Marriage, and Widowhood’. As regards the origin of the term novel, it referred to the Italian novella, therefore a generally short story. Before the Augustan 204
THE AUGUSTAN NOvEL LITERATURE Age, the novel was generally compared to the Medieval or Renaissance romance, a literary genre with its own specific characteristics and plots. From then on, novel was a long narrative, full of events, characters and plots. The novels written in this period tried to depict a faithful representation of life and were set in realistic places, accurately described and recognisable by the readers. Novels embodied the values and beliefs of the middle class. The middle classes were made up of artisans, merchants and shopkeepers who believed in hard work, private initiative, industry and had the conscience of the self-made individual with the consequent reward for the efforts made.
Daniel Defoe: the realistic self-made man
Different types of novels The most important novelists of the time were Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding and Laurence Sterne. Each of them developed a different type of novel. Even if the genres of the novel are different, there are shared characteristics: • a long narrative, • a main character, generally coming from the middle class, who ‘comes into contact’ with the reader. The latter follows all the protagonist’s events, sympathising with him or her, • the realism of the narrated events, • the chronological order of events (apart from the metanovel).
Defoe wrote what is considered the first English novel, Robinson Crusoe (1719). It describes the adventures of a man who is shipwrecked on an island, where he lives for about thirty years. The novel Robinson Crusoe owes much of its success to the fact that its hero embodies the practical spirit, the self-help and the moral strength in which the middle class recognised itself. It is not surprising, then, that the hero of the novel is familiar with the various techniques about how to build things and to protect himself. He is a self-made man. After a first moment of discouragement at finding himself alone and shipwrecked, he immediately starts thinking about how to survive on the island and reproduce on it conditions similar to those he left in England.
4
QUICK CHEC Answer the questions. 1 Who was the reading public of the Augustan novel? 2 What were the main aims of Augustan writers? 3 Which book is considered the first English novel? 4 What genre is Gulliver’s Travels? 5 In which form is Pamela written? 6 What novel imitates ancient epics? 7 What novel contains many features of the contemporary novel?
Jonathan Swift: the satirical novel Swift’s novel Gulliver’s Travels (1726) was conceived as satirical fiction, but it can be read as an imaginary travel story, with Gulliver visiting strange lands where he observes exotic cultures and finally changes his own outlook on life. It consists of several stories within the larger story of Gulliver’s evolution from unsuspecting innocence to his view that civilisation is corrupt. In the novel, satire emerges through the accurate description of apparently fantastic and utopian worlds, with characters that criticise the vices and corruption of the century.
Samuel Richardson: the epistolary novel Richardson wrote all his
novels in the epistolary form. His most famous work, Pamela (1740), is the tale of a young and beautiful servant girl who has to defend her virtue from the immoral advances of the son of her dead mistress, and sees her virtue rewarded because in the end the two get married. Richardson’s novels are instilled with a powerful feeling of sentimentality.
Henry Fielding: the picaresque novel Tom Jones (1749),
Fielding’s masterpiece, is the history of an orphan who is brought up by a generous gentleman and becomes the protagonist of a long series of adventures. The novel is written in a mock-epic style which imitates ancient epics. In the novel Fielding paints an extraordinary picture of 18 -century England. His writing is warm and realistic though comic and lively; his characters offer an extraordinary gallery of examples of great vividness and humanity. Fielding uses a third-person omniscient narrator, who not only tells the story and describes the characters, but often intervenes with his own opinions and helps the reader interpret key events and narrative devices.
Laurence Sterne: the metanovel Tristram
Shandy (1759-1767) is a very original novel in which the plot ceases to have any importance. A metanovel does not follow a linear, chronological order but it is organised into episodes, conversations, digressions, dialogues which are interrupted and resumed many pages later. The novel also contains various oddities, like blank pages, unfinished sentences, dashes, lines which curl and twist. This novel suggests the essential mix of chaos and logic in the mind of men and women and has the apparent incoherence of the stream of consciousness of the 20 -century novels. 205
AUTHORS
Daniel Defoe (1660-1731)
FIREWORDS Daniel Defoe is considered, along with Richardson, the founder of the English novel. Defoe was a product of the emerging middle class, a self-made man, and he represented and interpreted the likes and interests of this class to perfection. It is not surprising, then, that his heroes and heroines are capable of resolving the difficult situations they find themselves in with a certain skill and free spirit, be they economic or practical.
Video introduction LIFE & WORKS Interactive timeline ROBINSON CRUSOE Digital path REVIEW Interactive test DISCOVER THE AUTHOR
DANIEL DEFOE
A writer and a self-made man
AugustAn Age Poetry
Prose
Novel
Drama Pamphlet
Daniel Defoe was born in London in 1660 to a family of Nonconformists, also called ‘Dissenters’. These were Protestant groups who didn’t conform to the Church of England. In his early twenties he set up as a merchant. This allowed him to travel widely and to become an excellent economic theorist. In 1692, however, Defoe went bankrupt: this marked a lifelong struggle against debts and the fear of prison. The experience also gave him a deep understanding of the outcasts of society. Defoe’s political and religious views are expressed in one of his most famous pamphlets, The Shortest-Way with the Dissenters (1702), where he shows the absurdity of intolerance. Because of the ideas expressed in it, he was arrested. After being released from prison, Defoe worked as a secret agent for the government. From 1704 to 1713 he wrote the periodical The Review, a monthly essay in support of government policies. In 1719 he wrote Robinson Crusoe, which became immensely popular. Not only did he write novels, but also pamphlets and books of advice to salesmen, notably on business and accounting. Daniel Defoe died in 1731.
Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
LIFE Birth
Merchant and economic theorist
Family bankruptcy
1660
1680s
1692 1702 The Shortest-Way with the Dissenters
WORK 206
DANIEL DEFOE
4
Works
Moll Flanders The novel Moll Flanders (1722) is a fictional autobiography of a prostitute
who appears lively, sympathetic and generous. In a realistic setting, the heroine perfectly embodies the spirit of her age in her middle-class business-like attitude to life, which considers business the most important value. Moll’s actions and feelings, in fact, are always inspired by economic interests.
A Journal of the Plague Year This work of 1722 is a pseudo-historical account of the terrible plague which struck London in 1665. Roxana Defoe’s last novel, Roxana (1724), is the story of a high-society woman who uses
her beauty to reach her goals. She marries and has a daughter, then lives many adventures. Most revolve around money and romantic relationships. She prevents her husband from controlling her money, thus appearing a transgressive heroine. However, contrary to Moll Flanders, Roxana is a restless and unsatisfied woman, condemned to ambiguity and self-destruction. The men and women Defoe writes about are all placed in unusual circumstances; they are all, in one sense or another, solitary; they all struggle, in their different ways, through a life that is a constant fight against their destiny; they all become, to some extent, obsessive.
Robinson Crusoe (1719)
The plot Robinson Crusoe, the hero, is a young man who decides to travel around the world.
He embarks on a ship bound for London. Following a storm, Robinson decides to become a merchant. Then, after other travels and adventures, he becomes a plantation owner in Brazil. Interested in slave labour and its economic opportunities, he then embarks on a slavegathering expedition to West Africa, but he is shipwrecked on a small island. Crusoe soon becomes aware that no other human being lives on the island, but he does not lose heart. Thanks to his sensible and practical spirit, he organises his life on the island and exploits all the resources that the place offers. After a number of years, to his great amazement, he sees prints in the sand. Robinson can’t imagine how the footprints ended up there, and soon frightening ideas come to his mind. His fears are more than justified, because his next discovery is terrifying: the shore is littered with skulls and other bones of human bodies. The arrival of the cannibals brings Crusoe to the acquisition of a companion, Friday, who will become his devoted servant. Twenty-eight years pass before Robinson and his companion are finally rescued and taken to England.
A fictional autobiography The first part of the story is told in the first person by the hero himself, who describes his life up to the moment of the shipwreck. In the second part he begins to report, in diary form, his experiences on the island from the first day. This second section
Robinson Crusoe is also the name given to an economic principle that analyses the purposeful actions of an individual in a situation of serious scarcity. The main source for Robinson Crusoe was a travel book called A Cruising Voyage Round the World written in 1712 by a sea-captain called Woodes Rogers. It tells the story of the mariner Alexander Selkirk, who was abandoned on a desert island because of an argument with the captain of the ship on which he had embarked. He thought that the ship was not safe and instead of sailing with his mates, he chose to be left on the island. During the 1960s, the Chilean Government changed the name of the island Más a Tierra, where Alexander Selkirk was left, to Robinson Crusoe. The island is in the province of Valparaíso and it is inhabited by less than one thousand people.
Secret agent for government and journalist
Death
1703-1713
1731 1719 Robinson Crusoe
1722 • Moll Flanders • A Journal of the Plague Year • Colonel Jack
1724 Roxana
207
AUTHORS forms the main part of the novel and gives us a vivid account of the hero’s adventures. In the third part the narration in diary form is interrupted and the author goes back to the first person. Robinson explains such a change by saying that he had finished the ink, thus giving a realistic explanation for it.
The features of realism The device of the first-person narration brings the reader
LITERARY TEXT
Robinson Crusoe, Robinson and the natives
close to the narrator and ready to sympathise with him. The wealth of details and the documentary style Defoe used helped him to build up the world described. In fact, every page of the novel provides numerous and precise details of Robinson’s activities and the reader receives the illusion of truth. Robinson Crusoe is the personification of ordinary men and women from Defoe’s own class and their own qualities: practical-minded, resourceful, religious, mainly concerned with the basic needs of life. The hero shows a great utilitarian spirit but neither imagination nor the slightest emotion for the beauty of the environment. In spite of his total isolation and distance from Europe, this independent and resourceful individual finds relief in activity, and constantly tries to recreate the material and moral civilisation in which he was brought up. From this point of view, Robinson Crusoe can be considered a spiritual biography, where the Puritan belief in hard work and economic individualism allow the protagonist to successfully exploit the resources of the island. Robinson’s success is God’s reward both for his determination and for its spiritual integrity.
The colonising spirit The colonising spirit of the 18 century is evident in the novel.
Robinson establishes supremacy over the natives. He makes Friday use the English language and converts him to his religion. He thus becomes his ‘benevolent’ master. British colonial expansion was justified by the British who were convinced of the superiority of ‘white’ civilisation and of the Christian religion. This is why Robinson does not hesitate to consider Friday his slave, to teach him his language and his way of life. Robinson feels entitled to the territory on which he lands, and does not think for a moment that it might belong to the native inhabitants, with their culture and habits.
CULTURES Robinson Crusoe revolves around a man alone on a desert island, who must learn to think creatively in order to survive. This theme, which has always fascinated writers and poets, is also linked to philosophical reflection on what it means to rely only on oneself and to bring out one’s hidden abilities or potential. Here we look at the philosophical meaning of this experience and how it can be lived voluntarily and not out of necessity in the contemporary age.
208
The meaning of the desert island B2 FIRST Reading and Use of English Part 3 1 Read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fills in the gap in the same line.
Robinson Crusoe’s ‘natural’ education In his 1. …...................…. novel Emile, the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) 2. …...................…. the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on a desert island as a model for his idea of an education based on the relationship to nature experienced by a child. 3. …...................…. to Rousseau, only a man who can live alone on an island, without any help and compelled to procure for himself the means of sustenance, is capable of 4. …...................…. what is really 5. …...................…. in life and what is superfluous. Rousseau’s ideal student, that is Emile, should then follow Robinson’s example to fulfil his nature-based education so as to understand what is useful in life. Over the centuries, Robinson has also 6. …...................…. the myth of the solitary man who falls and gets up again. The desert island is, from this point of view, the place of 7. …...................…. , adventure, discovery but also enjoyment and self-realisation. This is the reason Daniel Defoe’s novel has never stopped 8. …...................…. the imagination of children and adults, of movie-makers and writers.
PEDAGOGY TAKE ACCORD EVALUATE ESSENCE
EMBODY EXPLORE STIR
DANIEL DEFOE
4
QUICK CHEC Focus on the novels below and find information for each of them.
Work
Protagonist’s qualities
Social status
Theme
Moll Flanders Roxana Robinson Crusoe Explain in what way Robinson Crusoe reflects the British spirit of colonisation of the time. Apart from his novels, what else was Defoe famous for?
Summing up Read the text and complete the map with the words given. bankruptcy • business • Church of England • colonising • diary • Dissenters • fictional autobiography • first-person • Great Plague • merchant • natives • pseudo-historical • Puritan • resourceful • rich • secret agent • themes • individualism • woman • work
Life
Main works
• family of 1. ….............................…. , protestants who didn’t conform to the 2. ….............................…. • 3. ….............................…. and economic theorist • after a 4. ….............................…. he always had problems with money • 5. ….............................…. for the government
• Moll Flanders (1722), autobiography of a prostitute 6. ….............................…. as most important value • A Journal of the Plague Year (1722), 7. …............................…. work about the 8. ….............................…. of the year 1665 in London • Roxana (1724), story of a 9. ….............................…. and beautiful 10. ….............................…. . Beauty, money and romantic relationships are the main 11. ….............................….
Robinson Crusoe (1719) Structure and style • 12. …............................…. of the adventures of a young man • 13. …............................…. form that becomes a
14. …............................….
narration
verisimilitude
Themes Economic features • 15. …............................…. spirit of the rising middle class • 16. …............................…. and merchant capitalism
Imperialist features rise of the
Religious features
spirit of Augustan Age idea of white superiority over
20. ….............................….
17. ….............................….
18. ….............................….
19. ….............................….
belief in hard
and economic individualism
209
TEXTS
T25
A safe home
T25
From Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Chapter 4 The following passage is from the beginning of the adventure on the island. After moments of dismay, Robinson realises that the ship has been carried within reaching distance, and manages to go on board, take as many things as he can that can be of use and carry them to the island on a raft. After twelve expeditions, he has stored up several useful provisions. Now he must provide himself with a safe shelter to be protected from beasts or savages.
B
AugustAn Age Poetry
Prose
Novel
Drama
5
Pamphlet
Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
10
15
20
25
1 I was… tent: la mia casa era nella
piccola tenda.
2 viz.: in altre parole.
30
3 abated: ridotto di intensità. 4 dwelling: luogo dove vivere. 5 moorish: paludoso. 6 wholsome: salubre. 7 ravenous: fameliche, affamate. 8 steep: ripido, scosceso. 9 hollow: vuoto. 10 N.N.W.: direzione nord, nord-ovest. 11 stakes: pali. 12 piles: staccionata.
210
35
BEFORE YOU READ You have escaped a
shipwreck. You can choose items to organise your survival and build things you need. What are your priorities? Choose at least two of them. Which objects do you consider essential? Choose five of them. Then read the passage and compare your choices with Robinson’s.
ut I was gotten home to my little tent , where I lay with all my wealth about me very secure. It blew very hard all that night, and in the morning when I look’d out, behold, no more ship was to be seen; I was a little surpriz’d, but recover’d my self with this satisfactory reflection, viz.2 that I had lost no time, nor abated no diligence to get every thing out of her that could be useful to me, and that indeed there was little left in her that I was able to bring away if I had had more time. I now gave over any more thoughts of the ship, or of any thing out of her, except what might drive on shore from her wreck, as indeed divers pieces of her afterwards did; but those things were of small use to me. My thoughts were now wholly employ’d about securing my self against either savages, if any should appear, or wild beasts, if any were in the island; and I had many thoughts of the method how to do this, and what kind of dwelling4 to make, whether I should make me a cave in the earth, or a tent upon the earth: and, in short, I resolv’d upon both, the manner and description of which it may not be improper to give an account of. I soon found the place I was in was not for my settlement, particularly because it was upon a low moorish5 ground near the sea, and I believ’d would not be wholsome6, and more particularly because there was no fresh water near it, so I resolv’d to find a more healthy and more convenient spot of ground. I consulted several things in my situation which I found would be proper for me: 1st, health and fresh water I just now mention’d; 2dly, shelter from the heat of the sun; 3dly, security from ravenous7 creatures, whether men or beasts; 4thly, a view to the sea, that if God sent any ship in sight, I might not lose any advantage for my deliverance, of which I was not willing to banish all my expectation yet. In search of a place proper for this, I found a little plain on the side of a rising hill, whose front towards this little plain was steep8 as a house-side, so that nothing could come down upon me from the top; on the side of this rock there was a hollow9 place worn a little way in like the entrance or door of a cave, but there was not really any cave or way into the rock at all. On the flat of the green, just before this hollow place, I resolv’d to pitch my tent. This plain was not above an hundred yards broad, and about twice as long, and lay like a green before my door, and at the end of it descended irregularly every way down into the lowgrounds by the sea side. It was on the N.N.W.10 side of the hill, so that I was shelter’d from the heat every day, till it came to a W. and by S. sun, or thereabouts, which in those countries is near the setting. Before I set up my tent, I drew a half circle before the hollow place which took in about ten yards in its semidiameter from the rock, and twenty yards in its diameter, from its beginning and ending. In this half circle I pitch’d two rows of strong stakes11, driving them into the ground till they stood very firm like piles12, the biggest end being out of the ground about five foot
ROBINSON CRUSOE DANIEL DEFOE
4
40 and a half, and sharpen’d on the top. The two rows did not stand above13 six inches
13 above: oltre, più di. 14 spurr: supporto. 15 ladder: scala. 16 I apprehended: mi aspettavo. 17 tarpaulin: tela cerata.
from one another. Then I took the pieces of cable which I had cut in the ship, and I laid them in rows one upon another, within the circle, between these two rows of stakes, up to the top, placing other stakes in the in-side, leaning against them, about two foot and a half 45 high, like a spurr14 to a post, and this fence was so strong that neither man or beast could get into it or over it. This cost me a great deal of time and labour, especially to cut the piles in the woods, bring them to the place, and drive them into the earth. The entrance into this place I made to be not by a door, but by a short ladder to go over the top, which ladder, when I was in, I lifted over after me, and so I was compleatly 50 fenc’d in, and fortify’d, as I thought, from all the world and consequently slept secure in the night, which otherwise I could not have done, tho’, as it appear’d afterward, there was no need of all this caution from the enemies that I apprehended danger from. Into this fence or fortress, with infinite labour, I carry’d all my riches, all my provisions, ammunition, and stores, of which you have the account above; and I made me a large 55 tent, which, to preserve me from the rains that in one part of the year are very violent there, I made double, viz. one smaller tent within, and one larger tent above it, and cover’d the uppermost with a large tarpaulin which I had sav’d among the sails.
Comprehension 1 Read the extract and put the sentences in the correct order. a.
He carries all his belongings into this safe place and protects them with a tent.
b.
Robinson is pleased because he has wasted no time and has saved as much as he could.
c.
He carefully considers all the advantages that a safe place must offer.
d.
He makes a sort of fence.
e.
He resolves to find a place where he can be safe.
f.
He sees a safe spot and decides to settle there.
Analysis 2 Find the lines in the extract that refer to Robinson’s... 1.
fear of dangers: lines ……………………...............….
2. fear of other human beings: lines ……………………. 3. sense of property: lines ……………............…………. 3 Complete the paragraph about Robinson’s shelter. carried • describes • distance • impression of reality • protect • reader • shelter • stakes Robinson 1. ….................…. accurately how he’s building his
2. ….................…. . He gives an account of the number of
3. ….................…. he pitched, how deep he pitched them and
the 4. ….................…. between the two rows. He describes what exactly he 5. ….................…. into the new shelter, how he managed to effectively 6. ….................…. himself and his provisions from the rain. He creates an 7. ….................…. : the scene is visually constructed to the 8. ….................…. , as if he is describing something he actually sees.
4 Robinson represents the values of the rising English middle class of the 18 century. Can you determine from the extract what these values are? 5 Choose the adjectives that define Defoe’s style. a. e. simple f. b. straightforward g. c. essential h. d. vigorous
realistic effective moving digressive
Spunti per il capolavoro 6 Can you find any analogies between the enforced confinement due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Robinson’s situation on his desert island? Write a blog page.
Summing up 7 Complete the paragraph with the words given. beauty • considerations • drinking water • rationality • view of the sea • wild beasts Robinson shows his great 1. ….................…. in choosing the place to build his house. In order to do that, he sets his priorities: he needs a place where he can easily get 2. ….................…. because nobody can survive without it; the place must be far from the reach of 3. ….................…. as he does not know yet whether there are any on the island; the place must be in 4. ….................…. as he is still hoping that a boat or ship may rescue him. Robinson’s 5. ….................…. are exclusively practical, he seems not to be impressed by the 6. ….................…. of the landscape. 211
TEXTS
Man Friday
T26
From Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Chapter 14 The following extract is about the occasion on which Robinson meets Friday. One morning he sees a group of natives, or ‘savages’, as he calls them. They don’t live on the island but row their canoes from a nearby territory. Robinson is shocked. He scares them away with his guns and saves a young savage who was going to be killed, naming him Friday after the day when this happened.
H
AugustAn Age Poetry
Prose
Novel
Drama
5
Pamphlet
Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
10
15
20
25
1 comely: attraente. 2 well-shaped: ben proporzionato. 3 reckon: valutare, stimare. 4 countenance: espressione del viso.
30
5 surly: scontroso. 6 sparkling sharpness: vivace acume. 7 tawny: scuro. 8 slumbered: assopito. 9 antic: bizzarro.
35
10 earthen pot: ciotola di terracotta. 11 complied with: eseguì. 12 I beckoned to him: lo invitavo, lo
chiamavo.
13 stark: completamente. 14 dig them up: disseppellirli. 15 comrades: compagni.
212
40
T26
BEFORE YOU READ If you met a person who was very different from you, how would you feel (scared, curious, indifferent…)? Would you talk to him/her? What would be the first word you would say to him/her?
e was a comely1, handsome fellow, perfectly well made, with straight, strong limbs, not too large; tall, and well-shaped2; and, as I reckon3, about twenty-six years of age. He had a very good countenance4, not a fierce and 5 surly aspect, but seemed to have something very manly in his face; and yet he had all the sweetness and softness of a European in his countenance, too, especially when he smiled. His hair was long and black, not curled like wool; his forehead very high and large; and a great vivacity and sparkling sharpness6 in his eyes. The colour of his skin was not quite black, but very tawny7; and yet not an ugly, yellow, nauseous tawny, as the Brazilians and Virginians, and other natives of America are, but of a bright kind of a dun olive-colour, that had in it something very agreeable, though not very easy to describe. His face was round and plump; his nose small, not flat, like the negroes; a very good mouth, thin lips, and his fine teeth well set, and as white as ivory. After he had slumbered8, rather than slept, about half-an-hour, he awoke again, and came out of the cave to me, for I had been milking my goats which I had in the enclosure just by: when he espied me he came running to me, laying himself down again upon the ground, with all the possible signs of an humble, thankful disposition, making a great many antic9 gestures to show it. At last he lays his head flat upon the ground, close to my foot, and sets my other foot upon his head, as he had done before; and after this made all the signs to me of subjection, servitude, and submission imaginable, to let me know how he would serve me as long as he lived. I understood him in many things, and let him know I was very well pleased with him. In a little time I began to speak to him; and teach him to speak to me; and first, I let him know his name should be Friday, which was the day I saved his life; I called him so for the memory of the time. I likewise taught him to say Master; and then let him know that was to be my name; I likewise taught him to say Yes and No and to know the meaning of them. I gave him some milk in an earthen pot10, and let him see me drink it before him, and sop my bread in it; and gave him a cake of bread to do the like, which he quickly complied with11, and made signs that it was very good for him. I kept there with him all that night; but as soon as it was day I beckoned to him12 to come with me, and let him know I would give him some clothes; at which he seemed very glad, for he was stark13 naked. As we went by the place where he had buried the two men, he pointed exactly to the place, and showed me the marks that he had made to find them again, making signs to me that we should dig them up14 again and eat them. At this I appeared very angry, expressed my abhorrence of it, made as if I would vomit at the thoughts of it, and beckoned with my hand to him to come away, which he did immediately, with great submission. I then led him up to the top of the hill, to see if his enemies were gone; and pulling out my glass I looked, and saw plainly the place where they had been, but no appearance of them or their canoes; so that it was plain they were gone, and had left their two comrades15 behind them, without any search after them.
ROBINSON CRUSOE DANIEL DEFOE
4
Comprehension 1 Read the extract. The first lines describe Friday’s physical appearance in a very detailed way. Complete the table below with the adjectives which describe each part.
General aspect
Face and colour of the skin
Height:
Face:
Limbs:
Nose:
Hair:
Teeth:
Body:
Lips:
2 Why does Defoe describe Friday with so many positive details? a. He wants to justify why an Englishman has saved a very peculiar ‘savage’. b. He doesn’t want to scare his readers describing an ugly man. He doesn’t want to spoil his novel with the c. description of an ugly man. 3 How does Friday behave in front of Robinson and what relationship does he establish with him? 4 From the second paragraph to the end, Robinson starts teaching Friday some basic things. What does he teach him, exactly?
Analysis 5 What does Robinson assume, in his relationship with Friday, with the expression ‘he would serve me as long as he lived?’ 6 Consider again the basic words and manners Robinson teaches Friday. Does he respect Friday’s culture and beliefs?
THINKING ROUTINE Before you read Surf the internet and find out about the extent of the British Empire. What countries did it include? Which peoples lived there? Learn more about South Africa and find out what Apartheid used to be.
What makes you say that? Read the extract Man Friday from Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and scan the text searching for textual evidence to explain the racism possibly implied. • In lines 1-13, notice the details in the description of Man Friday’s: - shape
- complexion
- countenance
- hair
- face
• In lines 16-37, focus on Robinson’s attitude towards the native and the latter’s reaction to that. You can work in pairs/groups or individually. Finally, report on your findings and explain what makes you say that Robinson Crusoe is a racist or at least a colonialist novel.
Interpretation 7 Robinson does not teach Friday his real name. Why do you think he makes such a choice? What do you think it reveals about his attitude towards Friday?
Speaking competence 8 Use the memo to prepare a two-minute speech to sum up the main features of the novel.
Robinson Crusoe: a memo FORM LANGUAGE AND STYLE THEMES English School, Robinson Crusoe rescues Friday, 19 century.
Novel • Concrete, simple, straightforward • Partly narrated in diary form to make it more real Myth of the self-made man; middle-class values: industry, determination and hard work; supremacy over the natives 213
LITERATURE
CULTURES
A new protagonist: the gentleman
An important figure in 18 -century England was that of the gentleman. The term was used to describe a person who had liberality of spirit and was not involved in any professional kind of work. Any professional work was considered typical of people of low birth and education. The 18 -century code for an English gentleman, which included generosity, helping the poor, courage, sound education and good breeding, was separated from the more utilitarian, practical self-interest of the bourgeois middle class. His relations with his neighbours were supposed to be sophisticated and very civil. This view of the gentleman emerges from many 18 -century novels, one of the most remarkable of which is Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones.
In this novel the hero, Tom, together with Mr Allworthy, embodies, despite his faults, the gentleman’s code: he is brave, generous, has a sense of honour and concern for the weak. To better understand the idea of ‘gallantry’, read the following extract from an article written by Richard Steele, called ‘White’s Chocolate House’. Indeed, ‘White’s Chocolate House’ was a collective title for a series of articles which appeared on The Tatler dealing with ‘gallantry, pleasure, and entertainment’. The article was published on 26 May 1709.
Robert Dighton, Portait of George ‘Beau’ Brummell, 1805, which shows a typical dandy.
A gentleman
I
t is generally thought, that warmth of imagination, quick relish of pleasure, and a manner of becoming it , are the most essential qualities for forming this sort of man. But any one that is much in company will observe, that the height of good breeding is shown rather in never giving 5 offence, than in doing obliging things. Thus, he that never shocks you, though he is seldom entertaining, is more likely to keep your favour, than he who often entertains, and sometimes displeases you. The most necessary talent therefore in a man of conversation, which is what we ordinarily intend by a fine gentleman, is a good judgment. He that has this in perfection, is master 10 of his companion, without letting him see it; and has the same advantage over men of any other qualifications whatsoever , as one that can see would have over a blind man of ten times his strength. 1 relish: apprezzamento.
4 displeases: irrita.
2 of becoming it: corretto.
5 qualifications: credenziali.
3 good breeding: buone maniere.
6 whatsoever: di qualsiasi genere.
Comprehension 1 Sum up the prototype of the 18 -century gentleman. What example does the passage give about a model gentleman and what are his characteristics? 2 Now read the extract A gentleman, decide if the following statements are true or false and correct the false ones. T 1. A gentleman must be funny. T 2. A gentleman should use reason and common sense. T 3. A gentleman must always show his qualities openly. 4. The qualities that make up a gentleman make him superior T to other men. 226
F F F
F
4 ART
William Hogarth: portrait of a society William Hogarth, The Rake at the Rose Tavern, from the series known as A Rake’s Progress, 1733, Sir John Soane’s Museum, London.
William Hogarth (1697-1764) was one of the most important English painters. His style was characterised by a vigorous sense of reality and was rich in satirical and moralistic implications. Hogarth examined the contemporary world in great detail, in particular life in London. He observed society and social conventions and ridiculed them in many paintings. In a series of eight paintings, A Rake’s Progress (1732-1733), Hogarth tells the story of Tom Rakewell, the lascivious son of a frugal merchant, driven mad by the ways in which his son disregards his principles and carelessly wastes money on
extravagances. The word rake indicates a rich man who lives in an immoral way, having relationships with many women and wasting his fortune on gambling, wine, women and song. Therefore, he would have many debts. In the third painting, the rake is drinking in the company of two prostitutes, that take advantage of his inebriated state to slip off his watch. In the centre, another prostitute splashes some gin in a friend’s face, while another friend is showing affection to her partner. On the threshold, two musicians entertain their fellow guests, while a pregnant beggar sings. In the foreground a girl is just about to get undressed. The story of Tom Rakewell ends in an insane asylum, where the young man dies after a dissolute life.
VISUAL COMPETENCE 1 Look at the picture. What are the details that justify the title of the work? 2 The majority of the characters are women. What, in their behaviour, shows that they are uninhibited and lacking decency?
3 Critics say that Hogarth’s work was inspired by the theatre. What confirms this interpretation in the composition of this painting? a. Colour of clothes. b. Exaggerated gestures, as if they were acting. c. Choice of characters. d. People positioned as if they were on a stage. 227
CITIZENSHIP • THE TRAVELLER Then... In the 17 century British sailors travelled to the four corners of the world. Many were privateers and pirates who attacked Spanish ships and towns for their own profit, in the tradition of Francis Drake, but new kinds of explorers were emerging. William Dampier, for example, sailed around the world three times and was the first Englishman to visit the coast of Australia. He was a pirate, but he was also a curious and careful observer. He collected data about ocean currents and winds, and made detailed observations of the new plant and animal species he met, anticipating the scientific explorations of the following centuries. During one of his voyages he rescued Alexander Selkirk, a sailor who had been abandoned on a desert island and had survived there for four years. The books that Dampier wrote about his voyages became very popular in Britain and inspired other authors. Jonathan Swift used Dampier’s descriptions of faraway lands when he wrote the novel Gulliver’s Travels [> page 215], and Selkirk’s story was probably one of the sources for Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe [> page 207]. Even the great naturalist Charles Darwin brought Dampier’s books with him on his famous journey around the world in 1831-1836, which led him to formulate his theory about the origin of species. Another adventurer and explorer was John
Smith, who in 1606 helped found the first permanent English settlement in the New World, Jamestown, in the Colony of Virginia. At first, the colonists struggled to survive but later the settlement flourished under his leadership, and with the help of the local Indians. Smith had an important role in securing a peaceful relationship with the Native Americans, who supplied the colonists with food. He is best known for the episode of Pocahontas. Smith was exploring the land when he was captured by the Powhatan Indians. He was saved from execution by the intervention of Pocahontas, the Powhatan king’s daughter. Smith himself reported the story, but some historians think that he invented it to gain favour with Queen Anne. Years later, Pocahontas converted to Christianity, married an English tobacco planter and travelled to England, where she died of smallpox. A different kind of traveller was sailing from English ports in this period. Starting from the middle of the century, it became common for young upper-class men to take a trip to the Continent as part of their education. It was considered important for a young gentleman to experience the customs and culture of other European nations. This trip was called the Grand Tour. Although less adventurous than a voyage to the New World, the trip could involve considerable hardships. After visiting Paris, English travellers would typically cross the Alps on foot at Mont Cenis. Italy was an essential part of the Grand Tour, providing travellers with a first-hand experience of Renaissance culture, architecture and art. They would then visit Turin, Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples and the south of Italy, often staying for months in some of these places.
Comprehension 1 Read the text ‘Then...’ and complete the summary with the words given. explore • pilgrimage • pirate • recorded • scientific In the 17 century British ships sailed to all five continents. ships in search of treasure, Some were 1. other ships carried colonists who wanted to settle in the New World. Some of those adventurers began to 2. the territories where they landed. They drew maps and 3. their impressions of the people, animals and plants that lived there, pioneering the 4. observations of the following centuries. In the same years, young men of the British aristocracy and gentry were taking the Grand Tour, a sort of cultural 5. to Italy that was considered the finishing touch to a gentleman’s education. 228
2 Read the text ‘...and now’ and answer the questions. 1. When did it become fashionable for girls from wealthy families to go on the Grand Tour? 2. How did Thomas Cook begin his career as a tour operator? 3. What is a package holiday? 4. What are the negative effects of global mass tourism? 5. What needs should sustainable tourism address?
Writing competence 3 To prepare for the debate, write down a few ideas to support each argument. Argument: If there are too many tourists in a city, life becomes difficult for local residents. Reasons: Housing prices and rents rise, local shops are replaced by shops for tourists, streets become congested.
THE TRAvELLER CITIZENSHIP
4
...and now After World War II the package holiday was introduced. It combined transport, accommodation and leisure activities in one single package, arranged and sold by a tour operator. Air fares were getting cheaper and holidays abroad became affordable for a large number of citizens in industrialised countries. The advent of mass tourism in the 1960s allowed people to travel extensively and created a profitable industry in economically depressed areas. On the other hand, it encouraged a passive attitude in many modern tourists, who expected to be entertained with picturesque views and exciting attractions, without really getting to know the country they were visiting. Travel writer Paul Theroux was remarking sarcastically on this change when he wrote, ‘Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travellers don’t know where they’re going.’
The Grand Tour was a rite of passage traditionally reserved for men. Towards the end of the 18 century some upper-class women began to demand the right to receive an education comparable to that available to men, and a few were able to travel across Europe without the accompaniment of a male relative. Among them was Mary Wollstonecraft [> pages 292-293], one of the first feminist philosophers and the mother of Mary Shelley. As roads and means of transport improved, travel was easier and less expensive. With the advent of rail transport in the 19 century, going on the Grand Tour became a requisite for most educated young men from wealthy families. It became fashionable for young women too. They were usually accompanied by a chaperone, an older female relative, as in the novel A Room with a View. The word tourism was first used at the beginning of the 19 century to indicate the activity of travelling for recreation. An Englishman named Thomas Cook can be considered the inventor of modern tourism. He was a member of the temperance movement, which aimed at eliminating alcoholism. In 1841, he chartered a train to take a group of fellow members from Leicester, where they lived, to a meeting of the movement a few miles away. The idea was met with enthusiasm by people eager to try the newly introduced method of transport, and soon Cook was arranging holidays abroad. As the idea of the organised tour gained popularity, the Thomas Cook Company expanded into one of the largest travel agents in the world.
Debate
1
Today, international tourism has become an essential source of income and employment in many countries. The crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that when tourists stop coming the economic consequences can be catastrophic. Yet, many people agree that global tourism is destroying the environment and cultural diversity, and there is a growing demand for sustainable forms of tourism. The World Tourism Organization defines sustainable tourism as ‘Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities’.
2
3
4
5
6
11
12
• Form pairs. Half the pairs in the class prepare to support the statement, the other half prepare to argue against the statement. • Each ‘For’ pair joins an ‘Against’ pair to form a group of four.
7 for and against 8 9 • In each group, the students present their arguments the statement.
10
The access of tourists to famous locations should be limited. FOR: AGAINST: • If there are too many tourists in a city, life becomes Everyone 13 difficult 14 • Limiting tourism 15 is undemocratic. 16 17 has the right to for local residents. visit famous historic cities and beautiful natural attractions. • No authentic experience of local life is possible with • Limiting tourism has negative economic consequences for local excessive tourism. communities. • Fragile natural environments are destroyed if too many • Tourism encourages countries to invest in the protection of people visit them. wildlife and the environment. • (Add your own): • (Add your own): ….................…. ….................…. ….................…. ….................…. ….................…. ….................…. ….................…. ….................…. 229
REVISION MAPS Augustan Age literature POETRY
DRAMA
Satire
Theatres Licensing Act (1737) Censorship of satire
Mock-heroic poems
Shakespeare’s plays cut to suit new morality
Ridiculing characters using heroic terms ALEXANDER POPE
Theatre loses its social force
The Rape of the Lock (1714)
More interest in novels JOHN GAY The Beggar’s Opera (1728)
PROSE
NOVEL
Pamphleteering
Middle class and new values
Journalism Essays
New social spaces for public debates
Concerns of real life
Literary clubs DANIEL DEFOE Coffee houses JONATHAN SWIFT
Criticism SAMUEL RICHARDSON SAMUEL JOHNSON HENRY FIELDING A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) 230
LAURENCE STERNE
4
The rise of the novel FIRST MODELS
Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantagruel (1532-64)
Adventures of two giants
Cervantes, Don Quixote (1615)
Adventures of an old knight who lives in a world of fantasy
Unrealistic lives
CULTURAL CHANGES OF 18TH CENTURY
Growth of the middle class
their aspirations
Increasing circulation of newspapers
Rationalism in philosophy
Influence of Methodism
NEW LITERARY THEMES
Demand for a literature that reflects
Concerns of real life
their lives
their tastes
Interest about events
More women readers
Importance of characters to identify with
Importance of the individual and of experience
Individualist approach of stories
Application of the Puritan ethic of hard work
Pragmatic solutions
Idea of a virtuous life
Redemption 231
FINAL REVIEW 1
REVISION LESSONS 4 Answer the questions and then say who the author is. Which work… 1. deals with a hero stranded on a desert island?
FIREWORDS Match the key terms below to their
definitions. heroic couplet • increase in literacy • journalism • middle class • novel • satire • self-made man • sentimental comedy 1.
Play which has plots focused on feelings and emotions:
2.
The idea that man is responsible for his own destiny:
3.
A form of writing which discusses the news of the day as well as political and economic matters:
4.
A way to make fun of the corruption of the times:
5.
The development in reading skills:
6.
Merchants, craftsmen and professionals:
7.
A form of fiction prose which tried to reproduce reality:
8.
Verse form consisting of iambic pentameter, rhyming in pairs:
2 Three of the following events and phenomena do not characterise the Augustan Age. Identify them. 1. Political parties started to form. 2. Scientific progress developed. 3. Overseas explorations took place. 4. Theatres were closed. 5. Coffee houses were founded. 6. Agricultural productions improved. 7. Political stability was preserved. 8. The number of readers increased. 9. The idea of morality was based on sobriety. 10.
232
introduces a character who appears to be a giant?
3.
speaks about a young maid servant who marries a rich Lord?
4.
presents horses as intelligent animals?
5.
is written in letter-form?
6.
includes a diary written by the hero himself?
7.
narrates various voyages to different countries?
8.
ironically gives details of a proposal that children can serve as food for the rich?
5 Answer the questions about the 18 -century novel. 1. Which were the main aims of the novel?
2.
Which factors contributed to its development?
3.
Explain as many differences as you can between Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.
4.
Discuss the idea of the self-made man.
The queen/king was seen as an absolute monarch.
3 Match the title of the works below with the themes they tackle. 1. A Modest Proposal 2. Robinson Crusoe 3. Gulliver’s Travels 4. Pamela a. b. c. d.
.......
2.
Satire against 18 -century society The myth of self-made man Education of women Irony against England’s treatment of Ireland
6 Choose one of the topics below and discuss it in a two-minute speech. a. English female writers in the 18 century b. The rise of the novel c. Satire in the 18 century
4
TOWARDS THE ORAL EXAM Reason and rationality
The 18 century left behind the civil wars and institutional crises of the previous century, as well as the absolutism that had reigned throughout the century. A new sense of balance, rationality and stability now prevailed. Reason became the focus around which both the political sphere and that of scientific, artistic and philosophical thought moved. In the political sphere, the concept of liberalism was born, and during the course of the century the debate on citizens’ rights increased in importance, becoming central with the Enlightenment. The middle class emerged and new social figures were born, such as businessmen, commercial agents and journalists, with new values based on pragmatism and economic and social advancement. In literature, this is known as the age of the novel. This genre observed society and narrated how it behaved, spreading its values and mentality.
Storia
Letteratura tedesca
• L’Europa tra assolutismo, parlamentarismo e dispotismo illuminato • Il progresso scientifico verso la rivoluzione industriale
• Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Minna von Barnhelm
Storia dell’arte
Letteratura inglese
• La pittura “borghese”: Thomas Gainsborough e William Hogarth • Il Neoclassicismo: Jacques-Louis David, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Antonio Canova
Letteratura francese
• L’Illuminismo: Denis Diderot e JeanBaptiste d’Alembert, L’Encyclopédie • Montesquieu, Lettres persanes; De l’Esprit des lois • Voltaire, Lettres philosophiques (ou anglaises) • Abbé Prévost, Manon Lescaut • Choderlos de Laclos, Les liaisons dangereuses
Cittadinanza e Costituzione
• Da suddito a cittadino: l’importanza del Parlamento
• Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe • Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels
Reason and rationality
Letteratura italiana
• Giuseppe Parini, Discorso sopra le caricature; Dialogo sopra la nobiltà • L’Illuminismo: Pietro Verri, Cesare Beccaria
Scienze
Filosofia
• David Hume, Trattato sulla natura umana • Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discorso sull’ineguaglianza tra gli uomini • Immanuel Kant, Critica della ragion pura; Critica della ragion pratica
• Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, scala di temperatura (F°) • Anders Celsius, scala di temperatura (C°)
Project Prepare a presentation, individually or in groups, on the proposed topic. You can use quotations from the proposed works and you can use pictures and other materials from this section. 233
Preparare il domani con la scuola di oggi Un progetto Deascuola inclusivo, paritario, sostenibile e innovativo per essere più vicini a chi insegna e a chi studia
AGILE EDITION
J. Cameron • F. Galuzzi F. Evans • E. Tonus
Firewords
J. Cameron • F. Galuzzi F. Evans • E. Tonus
• Organizzazione visuale e accessibile: firewords per identificare le parole-chiave; mappe concettuali per introdurre, riepilogare e ripassare • Consolidamento della lingua: attività sul lessico, di comprensione scritta e orale, di preparazione al B2 FIRST e IELTS • Approfondimenti interdisciplinari: schede di cultura, arte, storia e cinema; mappe di preparazione al colloquio d’esame • Visione multiculturale e pluralista: citizenship, Agenda 2030 verso il 2050, grande attenzione alla parità di genere
L’APP PER USARE LA VERSIONE DIGITALE DEL LIBRO DI TESTO E I CONTENUTI DIGITALI INTEGRATIVI
• Sviluppo del senso critico: Thinking Routine, Debate, attività per esercitare le competenze critiche, visuali e creative • Approccio tematico per gli autori dal 1950 ad oggi
Scopri di più su deascuola.it E IN PIÙ...
SITO LIBRO
Tutte le risorse digitali del libro immediatamente accessibili, organizzate per argomenti e tipologia, facilmente condivisibili.
Firewords
I CONTENUTI DIGITALI INTEGRATIVI
AGILE EDITION
• Corposo corredo digitale: numerosi video, 30 percorsi digitali sui grandi autori e i grandi temi, timeline interattive, schede integrative e brani antologici extra
Un nuovo modo di apprendere gli argomenti fondamentali di letteratura inglese grazie a 30 percorsi digitali interattivi.
AGILE EDITION
LA PIATTAFORMA PER LA DIDATTICA DIGITALE
From the Victorian Age to Contemporary Times
creaTEST plus
Migliaia di attività interattive o stampabili (in PDF e in Word) per comporre verifiche personalizzate da condividere con un semplice link.
2
PERCORSI DIGITALI CON VIDEO LANGUAGE COMPETENCES AND ESAME DI STATO CITIZENSHIP, DEBATE AND THINKING ROUTINES 2030 GLOBAL GOALS TOWARDS 2050
blog.deascuola.it
CROSS-CURRICULAR THEMES WITH EXTRA TEXTS
Il libro di testo in formato digitale e ogni contenuto digitale integrativo saranno fruibili esclusivamente dall'utente che ne chiederà la prima attivazione, per un periodo di tempo pari alla durata del corso della specifica materia a cui il libro si riferisce più un anno, a partire dal giorno della prima attivazione. Per i dettagli e per consultare la licenza d'uso del libro in formato digitale e dei contenuti digitali si rimanda al sito deascuola.it.
THEMATIC APPROACH FOR TODAY'S LITERATURE
Seguici su
zi uz N al s IO I. . G nu IT .D. • F . To ED + C -9 3 on E LE K er s • I O 33 m an AG BO 0-2 Ca v S E 3 T J. F. E RD 2 + 8-5 CA O 8 W E 8- CK RE UM 97 LA FI OL BN B V IS
Questo volume, sprovvisto del talloncino a lato, è da considerarsi copia di SAGGIO-CAMPIONE GRATUITO, fuori commercio (vendita e altri atti di disposizione vietati: art. 17, c. 2, L. 633/1941). Fuori campo applicazione I.V.A. (D.P.R. 26/10/72, n. 633, art. 2, 3° c., lett. d.)
Firewords Agile Edition Volume 2 + eBook + C.D.I. (elementi indivisibili)
€ 25,50
Contents
CONTENTS
La risorsa Deascuola, dedicata a studenti e docenti: un nuovo modo di apprendere gli autori e le tematiche fondamentali di letteratura inglese grazie a 30 percorsi digitali interattivi.
6 The Victorian Age 1837-1901 Towards Thinking Routine • See, think, wonder
History History Milestones Culture The early and mid-Victorian Era Culture The late Victorian Era
Women’s words • Victoria and the women of the era CITIZENSHIP • Child labour + Global Goals 4 and 8
Literature and texts Literary Overview Literature and texts Poetry in the Victorian Age
B2 First • Reading and Use of English, Robert and Elizabeth – a literary love story T45
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, How Do I Love Thee
Art • The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Victorian fiction
Authors and texts CHARLES DICKENS Oliver Twist T46 Lunch time
Cultures • Dickens and London
Hard Times T47 Nothing but the facts THE BRONTË SISTERS
Movies • Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre T48 Do you think me handsome?
Cultures • The woman in the attic
Wuthering Heights T49 If I were in heaven, I should be miserable ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde
15 16 18 20 22 24 25 26 28 29 30 32 34 37 38 40 41 42 44 46 47 48 50 51 52
T51
54 55 57 58 60
Art • Beauty above all
62 63 64 66 67
B2 First • Reading and Use of English, Gothic or Victorian?
The voice from the laboratory The experiment RUDYARD KIPLING Kim T52 Little friend of all the world The Aesthetic movement T50
OSCAR WILDE The Picture of Dorian Gray T53 Preface T54 In the painter’s studio T55 A touch of cruelty Theatre in the Victorian Age The Importance of Being Earnest T56 Born in a handbag
68 71 73 74 76 78 80 81
Video overview Interactive timeline Cultures • B2 First, The Great Exhibition and the Crystal Palace
Author and text • Alfred Tennyson, Ulysses
Cultures • B2 First, Realism and Naturalism Author and text • Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd, Batsheba arrives
Cultures • Stefan Zweig on
Dickens
Literary texts • Great Expectations, Meet Miss Havisham Literary texts • David Copperfield, • The birth of David • The Maths lesson Literary text • Jane Eyre, Teaching modesty
Literary text • The Strange
Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, A strange, unpleasant man
Cultures • The double in the 20 century
Literary text • The Picture
of Dorian Gray, An instinct for beauty
9
CONTENTS Movies • The Importance of Being Earnest
Non-fiction literature
Charles Darwin, Natural selection Culture North America in the 19 century CITIZENSHIP • The legacy of slavery in the United States + Global Goal 10 Literature Literary Overview American poetry T57
SCIENTIFIC PROSE
Cultures • Transcendentalism
Authors and texts
WALT WHITMAN For You O Democracy
T58
Thinking Routine • Word, phrase, sentence
EMILY DICKINSON T59 I’m Nobody! Who Are you? T60 LETTER Letter to Higginson American fiction NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE The Scarlet Letter
83 84 85 86 88 89 90 90
Literary text • Leaves of Grass,
94 95 96 97
Literary texts • Presentiment is that long
T61
CITIZENSHIP • The teacher then and now + Global Goal 4
102 102 104 106
REVISION MAPS
108
FINAL REVIEW
112
TOWARDS THE ORAL EXAM • Social changes and new social classes in the 19 century
113
Reverend Dimmesdale confesses HERMAN MELVILLE Moby Dick T62 Ahab vs the white whale
Americans
91 92 92
98 98 99 100
Movies • The Scarlet Letter
History • The Native
On the Beach at Night Alone
Shadow
• I died for Beauty
Revision lessons
7 The Modern Age 1901-1950 Towards Thinking Routine • See, think, wonder
History History Milestones Culture Modern Age
Women’s words • The long struggle for equality CITIZENSHIP • From the League of Nations to the United Nations + Global Goal 17
Literature and texts Literary Overview War poetry
Art • No man’s land in World War I T63
Rupert Brooke, The Soldier
Movies • 1917 T64
Wilfred Owen, Futility
Cultures • Voices from the trenches: Giuseppe Ungaretti
Authors and texts
Poetry in the Modern Age WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS T65 Easter 1916 History • The Irish Question
THOMAS STEARNS ELIOT
Cultures • The objective correlative: Eliot and Montale
The Waste Land T66 The Burial of the Dead
10
115 116 118 120 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 132 135 138 140 143 144 147
Video overview Interactive timeline
Literary text • Peace
Author • Ezra Pound Literary text • An Irish Airman foresees his Death
CONTENTS T67
A Game of Chess
Art • Eliot’s portrait
WYSTAN HUGH AUDEN T68 Refugee Blues
Thinking Routine • Red light, yellow light
Modern fiction JOSEPH CONRAD Heart of Darkness T69 The company’s outer station
IELTS • Academic listening Cultures • The different faces of imperialism: Chinua Achebe and Edward W. Said IELTS • Academic reading
EDWARD MORGAN FORSTER A Passage to India T70 The Caves The stream of consciousness VIRGINIA WOOLF Mrs Dalloway T71 The visit of Peter Walsh T72 ESSAY A Room of One’s Own, Freedom and writing JAMES JOYCE
Cultures • Virginia Woolf reading James Joyce
Dubliners T73 The memory of the dead Culture Culture up to the end of World War II
IELTS • Academic listening CITIZENSHIP • Mass media and popular culture
Literature Literary Overview
History • Without victory there is no survival
Dystopian novel
Authors and texts
Aldous Huxley Brave New World T74 The fertilizing room GEORGE ORWELL T75 MEMOIR Homage to Catalonia, A revolutionary atmosphere Nineteen Eighty-Four
150 151 152 154 155 156 158 159 160 161 162 162
170 173 174 176 178 181 182 184 186 187 188 189 190 191
204 204 206 208 210 212 214
REVISION MAPS
216
FINAL REVIEW
224
TOWARDS THE ORAL EXAM • The discovery of one’s inner self
225
Thinking Routine • What makes you say that?
Authors and texts
Darkness, Kurtz’s death
Author and text •
D.H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, The power of spring
Literary text • To the
Lighthouse, She felt herself
Literary text • Dubliners, Eveline
Literary text • Ulysses, He said I was a flower of the mountain
Art • The tragedy of war in Picasso’s Guernica
191
SAMUEL BECKETT Waiting for Godot T77 He didn’t say for sure he’d come T78 Shall we go? Yes, let’s go T79 John Osborne, Look back in Anger, Jimmy’s frustration T80 Harold Pinter, The Caretaker, I don’t talk to anyone CITIZENSHIP • The soldier then and now + Global Goal 16
Who controls the past, controls the future
Literary text • Heart of
192 193
Theatre towards Contemporary Age
T76
Beaux Arts
164 165 166 168
194 196 198 199 200 201 202
Cultures • A very famous commercial
Literary text • Musée des
Literary text • Animal Farm, All animals are comrades
Revision lessons
11
CONTENTS
8 American voices 1900-1950 Towards Thinking Routine • See, think, wonder
History History Milestones Culture American culture 1900-1950
CITIZENSHIP • Henry Ford and the beginning of mass production + Global Goal 12
Literature Literary Overview
American literature 1900-1920 Cultures • The Spoon River Anthology
Authors and texts
ROBERT FROST The Road Not Taken
T81
IELTS • Academic listening, Frost and The Road Not Taken in popular culture Thinking Routine • Tug of war
American literature 1920-1950
Authors and texts
FRANCIS SCOTT FITZGERALD The Great Gatsby T82 The party Art • Skyscrapers
ERNEST HEMINGWAY The Killers, Thanks for coming around
227 228 230 232 233 234 235
242 242 244 246
Thinking Routine • Step inside
Cultures • The Great Depression Art • Edward Hopper’s America CITIZENSHIP • The self-made man then and now
252 252 254 257 258 260
REVISION MAPS
262
FINAL REVIEW
264
TOWARDS THE ORAL EXAM • Two generations marked by war
265
JOHN STEINBECK The Grapes of Wrath T84 The accident
Interactive timeline History • F.D. Roosevelt, The forgotten man
236 238 239 239 240
248 250 251
T83
Video overview
Cultures • The Harlem Renaissance
Literary text • Tender is the Night, The French riviera
Revision lessons
9 Between two millennia 1950-today History History Milestones Themes, authors and texts
THEME 1 • BEYOND THE EMPIRE + Global Goals 5, 10, 16
IELTS • Academic reading
Nadine Gordimer, July’s People Wole Soyinka, Telephone Conversation T87 Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children Cultures • Women in India + Global Goal 5 T88 Derek Walcott, Blues T85 T86
IELTS • Academic reading T89
Nuruddin Farah, Gifts
Art • Yinka Shonibare, Scramble for Africa; Amrita Sher-Gil, Three girls
THEME 2 • LIFE STAGES + Global Goals 3, 4, 5 T90 Stephen King, The Body
12
268
Interactive timeline
270 271 272 274 276 277 278 279 280 282
Literary text • Sally Morgan, My place
284 286
Literary text • Roger McGough, Let me die a youngman’s death
CONTENTS T91
Seamus Heaney, Digging
IELTS • Academic reading T92
Jack Kerouac, On the Road
Cultures • The Beat Generation IELTS • Academic reading Cultures • Rock music and Woodstock IELTS • Academic reading
Sylvia Plath, Mirror THEME 3 • RIGHTS AND IDENTITIES + Global Goals 4, 5, 10, 16
T93
IELTS • Academic reading T94
SPEECH
Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream
Cultures • The struggle for education and the Civil Rights Movement + Global Goals 4, 10 IELTS • Academic reading; Academic listening
Alice Walker, The Color Purple Toni Morrison, A Mercy T97 Alice Munro, Boys and Girls THEME 4 • CONTEMPORARY ANXIETIES + Global Goals 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16 T95 T96
IELTS • Academic reading T98 T99
Zadie Smith, White Teeth Don DeLillo, White Noise
IELTS • Academic reading
Ian McEwan, Solar SCIENTIFIC STUDY David Quammen, Spillover THEME 5 • VISIONS OF THE FUTURE + Global Goals 4, 5, 9, 16, 17 T100 T101
288 289 290 292 293 294 296 297 298 300 301 302 304 306 308 309 310 312 313 314
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 T103 Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go T104 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale T105 Ursula K. Le Guin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
REVISION MAPS
328
T102
Literary text • Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• Jonathan Franzen, Freedom
316 318 319 320 322 324 326
IELTS • Academic reading
Literary text • Angela Carter, The Werewolf
Literary text • Kurt Vonnegut,
Slaughterhouse-Five
• Dave Eggers, The Circle
Percorsi interdisciplinari Il viaggio
■ Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia
Il patriottismo
■ Walt Whitman, O Captain! my Captain!
La riscoperta del tempo
■ Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse
La malattia
■ Edgar Allan Poe, The Mask of the Red Death
L’uomo e la natura
■ J. G. Ballard, Concrete Island
Il cambiamento
■ Don DeLillo, Falling Man
La solitudine
■ Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
La guerra
■ Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
La dittatura e il totalitarismo
■ Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
La responsabilità verso se stessi e gli altri
■ Siegfried Sassoon, A Soldier’s Declaration
L’artista
■ James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Glossary
334 336 338 339 340 342 344 346 348 350 352 354 356 358 360 362 364 365 368 370 371 372 374 13
Between two millennia 1950-today
THEME 1. Beyond the Empire As the British Empire vanished, writers from the former colonies appropriated the language of the coloniser to express their own meanings and rewrite the history of colonialism from the point of view of the colonised. In their works, English is often contaminated by local words and expressions, so that a new, more diverse language results. Explore this Theme to learn what happens when ‘the Empire writes back’.
THEME 2. Life stages Growing up and getting old are natural, inevitable processes, but the passage from one life stage to the next often involves struggle and profound changes in the way we perceive ourselves. The texts included in this Theme throw a sorrowful, nostalgic or humorous light on the difficult task of developing as a human being.
266
THEME 3. Rights and identities The texts in this Theme deal with inequality in society. This can take the form of open injustice, as in the case of the racial discrimination suffered by African Americans, or it can be a matter of implicit social expectations preventing girls from enjoying the same opportunities as boys. These authors show how social injustice is often rooted in individual prejudice.
THEME 4. Contemporary anxieties Some of these texts focus on the struggle to live a meaningful life in an increasingly technological world, where cultures and ethnicities mix, and neither religion nor science can provide reassuring answers to existential questions. Other authors deal with threats that can potentially affect everyone in our globalised world, such as terrorism, disease and environmental disasters.
THEME 5. Visions of the future Fictional narratives about the future are usually called science-fiction and focus on technological advances. In this Theme, some great authors explore the possible developments not only of present technologies, but also of today’s social and cultural trends. Take a trip to the future in their company to discover what these imaginary worlds have in common with the one we live in.
267
T99
Don DeLillo
From White Noise (1985) Don DeLillo was born in New York in 1936 in an Italian family. He began writing in the early 1970s but it was White Noise, his eighth novel published in 1985, that brought him
widespread recognition as a novelist. Since then, he has continued writing fiction and essays dealing with many contemporary subjects. White Noise is set in a small town in the Midwest of the United States, where Jack Gladney, a college professor, lives with his wife Babette and four children from their
T
IL CAMBIAMENTO Falling Man > page 354 5
10
1 tiers: piani. 2 pretzels: brezeln.
15
3 souvlaki: kebab greco. 4 scouted ahead: aprivano la
strada.
5 spotting: individuando. 6 plead with: pregavano. 7 swarmed: sciamava.
20
8 gloried: si gloriava di. 9 badgered: tormentavano. 10 on my behalf: per conto mio. 11 paring: per pelare le verdure. 12 reckless: spericolato. 13 contingencies: eventualità future.
25
14 fabric books and pattern books:
cataloghi di tessuti.
15 filled myself out: mi sentivo
completo.
16 traded: barattavo. 17 sweepingly: indiscriminatamente.
30
18 fanned out: si sparpagliarono. 19 baksheesh: mancia o bustarella in
Medio Oriente.
20 Muzak: musica di sottofondo nei
luoghi pubblici.
21 swirled: vorticava. 22 chiming bells: campane che
rintoccavano.
23 hum: ronzio. 24 buzz: brusio.
312
35
previous marriages. The main theme explored in the novel is the fear of dying; both Jack and Babette are obsessed with the possibility of imminent death. Another theme is consumerism in American society, which, DeLillo says, has a ‘consume or die’ mentality. People try to avoid death by buying things. In the following extract, Jack is in a shopping centre and feels more alive with each purchase he makes, saying that each item he buys gives him ‘existential credit’.
he encounter put me in the mood to shop. I found the others and we walked across two parking lots to the main structure in the Mid-Village Mall, a ten-story building arranged around a center court of waterfalls, promenades and gardens. Babette and the kids followed me into the elevator, into the shops set along the tiers , through the emporiums and department stores, puzzled but excited by my desire to buy. When I could not decide between two shirts, they encouraged me to buy both. When I said I was hungry, they fed me pretzels , beer, souvlaki . The two girls scouted ahead , spotting things they thought I might want or need, running back to get me, to clutch my arms, plead with me to follow. They were my guides to endless well-being. People swarmed through the boutiques and gourmet shops. Organ music rose from the great court. We smelled chocolate, popcorn, cologne; we smelled rugs and furs, hanging salamis and deathly vinyl. My family gloried in the event. I was one of them, shopping, at last. They gave me advice, badgered clerks on my behalf . I kept seeing myself unexpectedly in some reflecting surface. We moved from store to store, rejecting not only items in certain departments, non only entire departments but whole stores, mammoth corporations that did not strike our fancy for one reason or another. There was always another store, three floors, eight floors, basement full of cheese graters and paring knives. I shopped with reckless abandon. I shopped for immediate needs and distant contingencies . I shopped for its own sake, looking and touching, inspecting merchandise I had no intention of buying, then buying it. I sent clerks into their fabric books and pattern books to search for elusive designs. I began to grow in value and self-regard. I filled myself out , found new aspects of myself, located a person I’d forgotten existed. Brightness settled around me. We crossed from furniture to men’s ware, walking through cosmetics. Our images appeared on mirrored columns, in glassware and chrome, on TV monitors in security rooms. I traded money for goods. The more money I spent, the less important it seemed. I was bigger than these sums. These sums poured off my skin like so much rain. These sums in fact came back to me in the form of existential credit. I felt expansive, inclined to be sweepingly generous, and told the kids to pick out their Christmas gifts here and now. I gestured in what I felt was an expansive manner. I could tell they were impressed. They fanned out across the area, each of them suddenly inclined to be private, shadowy, even secretive. Periodically one of them would return to register the name of an item with Babette, careful not to let the others know what it was. I myself was not to be bothered with tedious details. I was the benefactor, the one who dispenses gifts, bonuses, bribes, baksheesh . The children knew it was the nature of such things that I could not to be expected to engage in technical discussions about the gifts themselves. We ate another meal. A band played live Muzak . Voices rose ten stories from the gardens and promenades, a roar that echoed and swirled through the vast gallery, mixing with noises from the tiers, with shuffling feet and chiming bells , the hum of escalators, the sound of people eating, the human buzz of some vivid and happy transaction. We drove home in silence. We went to our respective rooms, wishing to be alone. A little later I watched Steffie in front of the TV set. She moved her lips, attempting to match the words as they were spoken.
WHITE NOISE DON DELILLO
9
Esame di Stato Comprehension and interpretation
N
F
N
F
N
F
N
2 Consider the whole text and answer the questions below. Use complete sentences and your own words. 1. The text is full of words relating to sense impressions. How are the narrator’s five senses stimulated during the experience of shopping? How does this relate to his desire to buy? 2. How does the narrator’s perception of himself change during the shopping? 3. How does the behaviour of the children change?
Written production 4 American theologian Brennan Manning (1934-2013) has written: The conversation of most middle-class Americans, we are told, revolves around consumption: what to buy, what was just bought, where to eat, the price of the neighbor’s house, what’s on sale this week, our clothes or someone else’s, the best car on the market this year, where to spend a vacation. Apparently, we can’t stop eating, shopping, or consuming. Success is measured not in terms of love, wisdom, and maturity but by the size of one’s pile of possessions. Discuss the quotation in a 300-word essay. Support your ideas by referring to your reading and/or to your personal experience.
LIFE STAGES
F
RIGHTS AND IDENTITIES
N
CONTEMPORARY ANXIETIES
F
The narrator is visiting a 1. …………………………. centre with his family. His wife and the children 2. …………………………. him to buy things and he enjoys 3. …………………………. money on a variety of items. Every 4. …………………………. he makes increases his status in the eyes of his family. In a burst of generosity the narrator invites the children to 5. …………………………. their Christmas presents. Later, they all drive home in silence. A buying B choose C encourage D invites E purchase F purchasing G shopping H spending
BEYOND THE EMPIRE
3 Complete the summary using the list of words, A-H, below.
VISIONS OF THE FUTURE
1 Read from line 1 to 20. Say whether each of the following statements is True (T), False (F) or Not Stated (N). Put a cross in the correct box. 1. The parking lots of the Mid-Village Mall T are full of cars. 2. The narrator and his family get T into the lift together. 3. The narrator knows exactly what T he wants to buy. 4. There aren’t many people in the T Mid-Village Mall. 5. The narrator’s family ask shop assistants questions about items he might want T to buy.
IELTS Academic reading
313
Percorsi interdisciplinari IL VIAGGIO
Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia
IL PATRIOTTISMO
Walt Whitman, O Captain! My Captain!
LA RISCOPERTA DEL TEMPO Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse
LA MALATTIA
Edgar Allan Poe, The Mask of the Red Death
L’UOMO E LA NATURA J. G. Ballard, Concrete Island
332
IL CAMBIAMENTO
Don DeLillo, Falling Man
LA SOLITUDINE
Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
LA GUERRA
Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
LA DITTATURA E IL TOTALITARISMO
Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
LA RESPONSABILITÀ VERSO SE STESSI E GLI ALTRI
Siegfried Sassoon, A Soldier’s Declaration
L’ARTISTA
James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
333
PERCORSI INTERDISCIPLINARI
Il viaggio Letteratura inglese • Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia (1977), > p. 336 • Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner (1798), > vol. 1, p. 269 • Alfred Tennyson, Ulysses (1833) • Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken (1916), > p. 236 • Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1899), > p. 238 • Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1957), > p. 290
Letteratura italiana
• Italo Calvino, Le città invisibili • Luigi Pirandello, Il fu Mattia Pascal • Edmondo de Amicis, Sull’oceano • Luigi Barzini, La metà del mondo vista
da un’automobile. Da Pechino a Parigi in 60 giorni • Alberto Moravia, Un’idea dell’India
Storia
• La conquista dello spazio
Letteratura latina
• Seneca, De tranquillitate animi • Orazio, Satira V • Apuleio, Le Metamorfosi
Filosofia
• Immanuel Kant e la sua concezione
di essere e conoscere
Fisica
• Stephen Hawking, A Brief
History of Time 334
IL VIAGGIO
Letteratura francese
• Charles Baudelaire, Invitation au voyage • Stendhal, Rome, Naples et Florence:
Promenades dans Rome
Storia dell’arte • Il Crystal Palace e l’Esposizione Universale del 1851 • John Constable, Barca in costruzione • Honoré Daumier, Il vagone di terza classe • Paul Gauguin, Da dove veniamo? Dove siamo?
Dove andiamo?
Letteratura spagnola
• Miguel de Cervantes, El ingenioso
hidalgo Don Quijote de La Mancha • Luis Sepúlveda, Patagonia express
Letteratura tedesca
• Ernesto Che Guevara, Notas de viaje
• Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Italienische
Reise o Wandrers Nachtlied • Joseph von Eichendorff, Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts • Thomas Mann, Der Tod in Venedig
Scienze umane
• La “vita virtuale” e i social network come
esperienza di viaggio • La generazione Erasmus (nascita ed evoluzione del progetto Erasmus)
335
BRUCE CHATWIN
In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin (1940-1989)
About the text In Patagonia (1977) is about travel and exile. Chatwin uses his quest for a ‘piece of brontosaurus’ (as a child he had always admired his grandparents’ piece of brontosaurus in their cabinet) as a frame for the story of his trip to Patagonia. Chatwin spent six months in Patagonia, travelling around gathering stories of people who came from different parts of the world, and set up home there. At the time
Patagonia was a far-away place that was seldom visited. While in search for this strange animal, the ‘brontosaurus’, the narrator describes the odd situations he finds himself in, the people he meets and their stories. Whether these stories were factual or fictional is still debated today but his book definitely revitalised the genre of travel writing, and won awards and praise from other important authors of the time.
After visiting Buenos Aires and La Plata, Chatwin begins his journey south to Patagonia. Here we meet Chatwin fairly near the beginning of his quest in the city of Bahia Blanca, still in the province of Buenos Aires, ready to take the bus. This extract contains descriptions of the people he meets, his own travel experiences, reflections and descriptions of the landscape and places around him as he is travelling south.
B 5
10 1 dropped: left. 2 glassed-in: surrounded
by glass, not open.
3 reeled in: came in, in a
very confused and incoherent way. 4 flung: threw. 5 rags: old bits of clothing. 6 thornscrub: semi-desert vegetation. 7 sweeps: gently curving lines. 8 salt-pans: areas with dried salt. 9 bulk: herself and everything she came with. 10 jangly: making a noise when they move. 11 braids: hairstyle. 12 tangle: unorganized mix. 13 shacks: temporary and unstable homes. 14 slunk off: went away trying not to be seen. 336
15
20
25
30
ahia Blanca is the last big place before the Patagonian desert. Bill dropped me at the hotel near the bus station. The bar-room was green and brightly lit and full of men playing cards. A country boy stood by the bar. He was shaky on his feet but he kept his head up like a gaucho. He was a nice-looking boy with curly black hair and he really was very drunk. The owner’s wife showed me a hot airless room, painted purple, with two beds in it. The room had no window and the door gave out on to a glassed-in courtyard. It was very cheap and the woman said nothing about having to share. I was half asleep when the country boy reeled in , flung himself on the other bed and groaned and sat up and was sick. He was sick on and off for an hour and then he snored. I did not sleep that night for the smell of the sick and the snoring. So next day, as we drove through the desert, I sleepily watched the rags of silver cloud spinning across the sky, and the sea of grey-green thornscrub lying off in sweeps and rising in terraces and the white dust streaming off the saltpans , and, on the horizon, land and sky dissolving into an absence of colour. Patagonia begins on the Rio Negro. At mid-day the bus crossed an iron bridge over the river and stopped outside a bar. An Indian woman got off with her son. She had filled up two seats with her bulk . She chewed garlic and wore real gold jangly earrings and a hard white hat pinned over her braids . A look of abstract horror passed over the boy’s face as she manoeuvred herself and her parcels on to the street. The permanent houses of the village were of brick with black stove pipes and a tangle of electric wires above. When the brick houses gave out, the shacks of the Indians began. These were patched out of packing cases, sheet plastic and sacking. A single man was walking up the street, his brown felt hat pulled low over his face. He was carrying a sack and walking into the white dustclouds, out into the country. Some children sheltered in a doorway and tormented a lamb. From one hut came the noise of the radio and sizzling fat. A lumpy arm appeared and threw a dog a bone. The dog took it and slunk off . The Indians were migrant workers from Southern Chile. They were Araucanian Indians. A hundred years ago the Araucanians were incredibly fierce and brave. They
IL VIAGGIO
35
40
15 flayed: took the skin off. 16 out of their wits: until
they nearly went crazy. 17 withies: branches of willow trees. 18 sap: liquid from a plant. 19 keeled them over: made them fall over. 20 fluttering: trembling. 21 sheer: perpendicular. 22 easing: moving carefully.
45
50
painted their bodies red and flayed their enemies alive and sucked at the hearts of the dead. Their boys’ education consisted of hockey, horsemanship, liquor, insolence and sexual athletics, and for three centuries they scared the Spaniards out of their wits . In the sixteenth century Alonso de Ercilla wrote an epic in their honour and called it the Araucana. Voltaire read it and through him the Araucanians became candidates for the Noble Savage (tough version). The Araucanians are still very tough and would be a lot tougher if they gave up drink. Outside the village there were irrigated plantations of maize and squash, and orchards of cherries and apricots. Along the line of the river, the willows were all blown about and showing their silvery undersides. The Indians had been cutting withies and there were fresh white cuts and the smell of sap . The river was swollen with snowmelt from the Andes, fast-running and rustling the reeds. Purple swallows were chasing bugs. When they flew above the cliff, the wind caught them and keeled them over in a fluttering reversal and they dropped again low over the river. The cliff rose sheer above a ferry-landing. I climbed a path and from the top looked up-stream towards Chile. I could see the river, glinting and sliding through the bone-white cliffs with strips of emerald cultivation either side. Away from the cliffs was the desert. There was no sound but the wind, whirring through thorns and whistling through dead grass, and no other sign of life but a hawk, and a black beetle easing over white stones.
Now, let’s talk about… Travel 1 Find in the text the descriptions of a journey, the act of travelling. How does Chatwin travel? Justify your answer with quotes and examples from the text. 2 What does Chatwin notice as he is travelling? How does he describe the scenery and landscape around him? What aspects does he include? Justify your answers. landscape • geological aspects • sky • meteorological aspects • wildlife • vegetation
3 When Chatwin describes the people he meets on his travels, what does he tell you about them? Justify your answers with examples from the text. their clothes • their accessories • their origins • their history • their behaviour • their appearance Now prepare your presentation about the theme of travel and Bruce Chatwin’s In Patagonia. Try to use examples from the text you have read.
337
PERCORSI INTERDISCIPLINARI
Il patriottismo Letteratura inglese • Walt Whitman, O Captain! my Captain! (1865),
> p. 339, I Hear America Singing (1860) • I discorsi di Winston Churchill: Blood, toil, tears and sweat (13 maggio 1940), > p. 190; We shall fight on the beaches (4 giugno 1940); This was their finest hour (18 giugno 1940) • Rudyard Kipling e l’Impero Britannico, > p. 62
Letteratura italiana
• Giacomo Leopardi, All’Italia
• Alessandro Manzoni, Marzo 1821 • Ippolito Nievo, Frammento sulla rivoluzione
nazionale • Giovanni Pascoli, La grande proletaria si è
mossa • Gabriele D’Annunzio, Canto augurale per la
nazione eletta
Storia dell’arte
• Eugène Delacroix, La libertà che guida il popolo • La pittura patriottica dei Macchiaioli
Letteratura francese
• De Gaulle e l’appello ai francesi del
18 giugno 1940
Letteratura tedesca
• I fratelli Grimm e le tradizioni popolari
• Bertolt Brecht, Über die Bezeichnung Emigranten • Wolf Biermann, Berlin, du deutsche deutsche Frau
Filosofia
• Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Discorsi
alla nazione tedesca • Giuseppe Mazzini, Nazionalità
Storia
• I moti del 1820-1821 e i moti del 1830-1831 • Le guerre d’indipendenza • L’attentato a Hitler del 20 luglio 1944
(von Stauffenberg)
Letteratura latina
• Tacito, Historiae
Letteratura spagnola
• Federico García Lorca, Mariana Pineda
Fisica
• Il campo magnetico 338
IL PATRIOTTISMO
O Captain! my Captain! by Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
About the text O Captain! my Captain! was published after the death of Abraham Lincoln. It is a fairly unique poem for Whitman as, contrary to most of his other poems which were written in free verse, it is written in rhyme with a regular verse pattern.
The ship in the poem represents the US and ‘rack’ or storm refers to the problems the Union had to face during the Civil War (1861-1865). The ‘prize we sought is won’ refers to the abolition of slavery in 1865. In the poem, Abraham Lincoln is the captain and so leader of all Americans but is also referred to as the ‘father’ of the poet and so of all Americans.
O 5
10 1 rack: storm. 2 sought: looked for. 3 keel: bottom part of the
boat.
4 deck: part of the boat
where you walk. 5 flung: thrown; opened. 6 bugle trills: instrument is played. 7 wreaths: circle of vegetation. 8 shores a-crowding: lots of people out to welcome you. 9 swaying: moving. 10 mournful tread: sad walking.
15
20
Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather’d every rack , the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel , the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up—for you the flag is flung —for you the bugle trills , For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths —for you the shores a-crowding , For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; Here Captain! dear father! This arm beneath your head! It is some dream that on the deck, You’ve fallen cold and dead. My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will, The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won; Exult O shores, and ring O bells! But I with mournful tread , Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.
Now, let’s talk about… Patriotism 1 How does the first stanza illustrate patriotism, and a great leader in touch with his people? Use these words and phrases to help you justify your answer. the poet uses ‘our’ and ‘we’ • weather’d every rack • prize sought is won • bells • people exulting • steady keel
3 The third stanza takes the form of an elegy honouring Lincoln for his patriotic achievements. Find words and phrases to justify this in the third stanza.
2 The second stanza contains recognised symbols of patriotism, therefore paying homage to Abraham
Now prepare your presentation about the theme of patriotism and Walt Whitman’s O Captain! my Captain!
Lincoln as a great president of America. Explain how these symbols show this.
339