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SILVIA BALLABIO ALESSANDRA BRUNETTI HEATHER BEDELL

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Literature Art Big Questions

Il piacere di conoscere per “sentire” e capire letteratura, arte e tematiche sociali

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EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

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Literature Art Big Questions

MAPPING THE TIMES

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SILVIA BALLABIO ALESSANDRA BRUNETTI HEATHER BEDELL

6 The Modern Age (1901-1945)

FOR YOUR EXAMS

The beginning of modernity DVD mp3

Didattica inclusiva

Realtà aumentata

Flipped classroom

The two World Wars, the Great War of 1914-18 and

⓭ George Orwell’s

⓬ Ernest Hemingway’s

⓫ Wystan Hugh Auden’s

❿ World War II

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)

Another Time (1940)

(1939-45)

❿ ■

the Second World War of 1939-45 with Nazi Germany

Allies

■

■

Axis Powers

Neutral Counries

conquering almost all of Europe, dominated the first half of the 20th century and led to the end of the geopolitical scenario that had so far characterised

❶ Joseph Conrad’s

Western history; the British Empire disappeared, the

Heart of Darkness (1902)

U.S.A. became a great superpower together with the

❾ John

❹

U.S.S.R., which was born after the Bolshevik Revolution

PER CAPIRE L’EPOCA Mapping the times Geolocalizzazione dei grandi eventi e dei loro protagonisti, dei testi letterari e dei loro autori, con video per la Flipped classroom.

of 1917. The optimism that had dominated the

Victorian Age and the early years of the 20th century disappeared, also as a result of the world economic crisis triggered by the Great Depression of 1929 in the Victorian values were replaced by a fragmentary and

Propone la storia e la cultura per problemi, favorendo lo sviluppo delle critical skills.

PER SVILUPPARE LA COMPETENZA LETTERARIA Scenario Literature

❽ October 29, 1929,

❺

❷ World War I (1914-18) and the War poets

Black Tuesday

perception as the only way to understand the world.

New and ground-breaking artistic currents, grouped

❶

under the definition of ‘Modernism’, spread throughout Europe, forever changing the rules of art and literature.

❷ ■

Allies

■

Central Powers

❸ Thomas Stearns Eliot’s The Waste Land (1922)

Neutral Counries

❹ James Joyce’s Ulysses

❺ Edward Morgan

❻ Francis Scott

❼ Virginia

(1922)

Forster’s A Passage to India (1924)

Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925)

Woolf’s To the Lighthouse (1927)

BIG QUESTIONS Debates to develop your global competence

IN DEMOCRACY IM GOOD SHAPE? page 453 ARE THE TIMES CHANGING? page 487 282

Literature 1 ROMANTIC POETRY

Scenario

● The first generation

Romanticism fully developed with the poets of the first generation, William Wordsworth (17701850) (→ p. 157) and Samuel T. Coleridge (1772-1834) (→ p. 162); they were friends and lived and worked together in the Lake District to write the first collection of English Romantic poetry, Lyrical Ballads, published in 1798. They agreed that Wordsworth’s poetry was to be dedicated to the natural, while Coleridge would write poems of the supernatural.

Romanticism can be defined as the rediscovery of the As young poets their imagination was also fired by the spirit of change brought by the French imagination, of a sense of beauty and strangeness in Revolution, although they were later disillusioned. They were inspired in their search for new natural things, and of all the impulses of the mind and contents and a new language by the idea that the world was being made anew. They rejected senses. what was hollow and artificial in literature, and looked for something natural and genuine. The Nature, imagination, and escapism are common themes poets of the first generation thought that poets were prophetic figures whose creative talents throughout Romantic literature. Faced with the Nacould regenerate mankind spiritually and they highlighted the power of the imagination. poleonic Wars on the continent and the effects of the They changed the language of poetry by adapting forms of popular tradition to literary use.

Industrial Revolution at home, many authors expressed ● The second generation their desires to return to simpler times in nature.

The poets of the second generation, Percy B. Shelley (1792-1822) (→ p. 174), John Keats (1795-1821) Authors and works Nature is often seen as a “mother” or even as an absolute; (→ p. 179) and George G. Byron (1788-1824) (→ p. 169) were associated by an intense emotional life THE NOVEL IN THE AGE OF EXPERIMENTATION for Wordsworth, nature is a direct manifestation of the and a tragic early death. They lived through the disillusionment of the violence of the Reign Divine Power, which seems to him to be everywhere of Terror and the rise of the Napoleonic empire, and sought for beauty in Italy, Greece and immanent in her. Although not all writers make of to live the Mediterranean: Shelley and Byron defied all social conventions and left England(1927) nature their God, many works take the beauty of on the continent, as truly cosmopolitan citizens of To the Woolf rejects the conventional idea of “conflict” (→ p. 532) and nature for their theme or setting. Through nature accept theLighthouse the world; they were rebels unable to In CHECKVirginia IN eliminates plots. significant in the novel is the trip to the lighthouse, artists could escape from an unsatisfying present into a constraints of British mainstream. Keats shared with traditional 1. List the threeThe mostonly common themes of event Romanticism. day poet. after” in Part 1, and actually taken only in Part 3, after ten 2. Describeto the“the Romantic better world.

Another them love for Greek art and also had a planned really briefbut postponed A brief bio escape route was the exotic, with 3. What characterises poetry fromcompleting the point of view years, with Lily Briscoe, a painter,Romantic simultaneously a picture. life. They exploited all forms of poetry, with elaborate real and Virginia imaginary lands long ago in and far away, and was Sir Leslie Stephen, a well-known Woolf was of born in 1882 London.

Her father of style? rich in metaphors and classical allusions the dream, sometimes filled with supernatural events. essayist and editor; her mother, Julia Jackson, was a beautiful and sensitive womanlanguage who 4. How many poets can be considered Romantic, and what belonged to the aristocratic world.

The children all received their elementary education and also reinterpreted classical forms such as the ode Poets strongly believed in the power of imagination, which was the source of poetic inspiration differences can you identify among them? to Mrs Ramsay for comfort. The Ramsays and their mostly at home, but unlike her brothers, Virginia and her sister Vanessa did not go to according to new Romantic sensibility.Short plot and was also described in their theoretical works.

Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria (1817) guests have dinner together, and some tensions arise university as was customary for Victorian girls. However, the family had an immense library The novel focuses on two single days, one in Part 1 presents the distinction between the primary and secondary imagination.

Defencematerials. During her youth Virginia lived among them, but after dinner they all come together at the home and this gave her access Shelley’s to vast reading and the other in Part 3, separated by a ten-year period and Mrs Ramsay shares a moment of intimacy and of Poetry (1840) presents the poet as a prophet guiding to ahouse true in understanding of where Virginia learnt to love the sea. at Tallandmankind House, a large St Ives in Cornwall, which is narrated impersonally in Part 2. understanding with her husband. mother and father died in 1895 and in 1904 respectively, and Virginia started suffering reality and also to rebellion against all forms of Her oppression and dogmas.

Part 1 – The WindowWilliam Blake, Newton (1795) Part 2 – Time Passes from depression, even attempting suicide. In 1912 Virginia married Leonard Woolf; they lived Just before the start of World War I, Mr Ramsay, a Romantics believed in the natural goodness of men , which is eroded by civilisation and urban War breaks out across Europe. Ten years are narrated in Bloomsbury, an area next to the British Museum, and their home became the meeting philosopher, and MrsIsaac Ramsay, his(1642-1727), wife, bring their Newton with his laws of motion and of gravity and life. The child and the “savage” became the models the innocence in an impersonal way, through theDRAMA: decay ofWilliam the pointto forrediscover the Bloomsbury Group (→ p.lost 298).in In urban 1913 she had another breakdown and again ELIZABETHAN Shakespeare Authors and works eight children and some friends (Lily Briscoe, a young and astronomy, his discoveries in optics, mathematics life, because their emotions are pure and soar toattempted higher levels ofInunderstanding. abandonedsymbolised summer home; Mrs Ramsay and two of her suicide.

1917 the Woolfs founded the Hogarth Press, which was to publish most painter, Charles Tansley, aCOMPETENCE philosopher, William LITERARY for Blake the rationalism and materialism that he hated.

Through of Virginia’s works, as well as the works of talented young writers.

During the Second World children, Andrew andthe Prew, die.

Emotion was exalted over reason and senses over intellect. The rediscovery of emotions was Bankes, a botanist, August Carmichael, an unknown 12 figure of the cold scientist, Blake attacks anPart idea3of progress that is the Woolfs moved to their country house in Sussex to escape the air raids in London.

– The Lighthouse poet, and Paul UNDERSTAND Rayley and Minta Doyle) to their T8 War,modern part of the reaction to Rationalism, and anticipated discoveries about the importance 10. Ll. 1-14 are a sonnet (→ p. 532), spoken by both Romeo basedSix-year-old on science and technology, with to beJames sacrificed Virginia drowned herself in the river Ouse on March 28th, 1941.

Mrnature Ramsay, Ramsay and his sister Cam go summer home in thesolely Hebrides.

James of feelings to understand and guide human behaviour.

Juliet. Identify the speaker in the quatrains and WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 1.toWhat does Romeo wantacross from Juliet? at the altar of science.

In Blake’s drawing the scientist sitting onhouse a andwith Romeo is at the Capulet’s feast and sees Juliet; neither knows who the other is. These are their first back to theis summer Lily Briscoe and other Ramsay wants go to the lighthouse the ROMEO AND JULIET the couplet.

Each poet developed his own sensibility and style.

Poems the of child-like poems 2. When does shebottom givethey inoftothe hisocean request? rock athim the and drawingguests; his diagrams on a scroll Mr Ramsay declares that he will go to the bay, and Mrs Ramsay tells that will go the words and aranged perfectfrom example the lyrical language of the play. The theme here is love, which spans 11. “Prayer” (l. 10) rhymes withand “despair” (l. 12). Think Howbefore many times do theythe kiss? lighthouse with his children.

The Ramsays set off, of Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794) by Blake, to attraction the simplicity the “language reallyadoration and a deeper, spiritual connection. his feet. next day if the3.weather permits.

During course of physical andof sexuality to religious of painting the premonitions What do pilgrims usually do?

Lily begins completing the she hadconcerning begun on Romeo and Juliet as the afternoon, 4.

Paul proposes to Minta, Lily begins a spoken ▼byWORKS men” of Wordsworth Profile(Preface to The Lyrical Ballads, 1800), the imitation of popular the “star-crossed lovers”; 5. Who is the pilgrim, who is the shrine and whoher is the saint? last visit. The boat reaches the lighthouse andwhat Lily does this rhyme add painting, Mrs Ramsay soothes James, who is angry Enjoy! of the Ancient Mariner (1798) up to the elegant of Childe ballads in Coleridge’s The Rime Virginia CHECK IN to to theher premonitions?

Woolf explored man’s inner mentalstanza experience (memories, sudden thoughts, hidden 6. What a kiss identified with? is A sin, a prayer, puts or both? the finishing touches painting; she has because his father toldishim that the weather Dalloway Harold’s Mrs Pilgrimage (1812) by Lord Byron, and Keats’ and refinedwould in their Odes.

Not the Shelley’s way two teenagers talk today on their firstour date,mind. for sure,Following but a most ingenious way tohad get a kiss from a perfect Match element in theby picture toachieved the right description.

Romeo that his is purged” Juliet’s kiss; whather going to be bad7. the next1.says day, andeach Mr“sin Ramsay turns vision. feelings), in the continuous “stream ofimagery consciousness” of what Joyce

The rediscovery of the imagination

Presenta il panorama letterario del periodo con particolare risalto alla trattazione dei generi e dei movimenti letterari.

Authors and works

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)

▲ John Constable, The Hay Wain (1821).

To the Lighthouse

Explore images

La trattazione di ogni autore è strutturata in A brief bio, fatti salienti della biografia; Profile, caratteristiche della produzione (themes, characters, style, ecc.), presentazione delle opere e dei brani.

Ogni brano è introdotto da Enjoy!, una breve introduzione in chiave “emozionale” che ne sottolinea la bellezza e il significato universale, e avvicina gli studenti al testo attraverso l’immedesimazione.

L’apparato didattico, funzionale allo sviluppo della Literary competence, è graduato in 3 step (Understand, Analyse, Interpret). È sostenuto da un’analisi visiva con annotazioni riprese, per una lettura facilitata, nella sezione Analyse.

La sezione Interpret completa il percorso con attività per la personalizzazione della lettura delle opere e lo sviluppo delle competenze digitali.

In chiusura di ogni brano è segnalato l’accesso al testo commentato, che si trova nel volumetto

⓬

❻ ❽

❾

United States of America. subjective vision of reality and by refuge in personal

■

Scenario History and culture

Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939)

❸ ❼ ⓭⓫

With a kiss I take you

1925

stranger just seconds after seeing her for the first time. And no offense intended, because your love-to-be is a sacred place, a done, she abandoned traditional plot, time sequence, and developed the interior monologue “holy shrine” full of all the blessings that a young heart may desire. And who cares if this is going to be short-lasted, if it is so (→ p. 297). Her prose is often poetic asminute? she uses highly figurative language, delicate and rich in intense from the very first ● The precursor Lighthouse the choice of similes and metaphors, and she pays great attention to the rhythm and musicality 1927 152words. ) was a precursor of Romanticism; he broke away from the William Blake (1757-1827) (→ p.of Age of the Enlightenment and from conventional forms. His poetry is based on symbols and

The RomanticTopoets the

A Room

146

also includes social themes suchcondition as the exploitation of child labour in the factories built during of One’s Own The of women writers 1929 the Industrial Revolution.

[To JULIET] If Iobstacles profane with my unworthiest hand Translation Woolf believed thatROMEO women writers face two 1 gentle fine is this: This holy shrine , the – social inferiority and economic dependence – and My lips, two in blushing pilgrims, ready stand that they all deserve equal opportunity education 2 smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. and career. A Room of One’s To Own and Three Guineas 5 JULIET Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, (1938) (→ p. 329) are dedicated to her defence of the In A Room of One’s Own 3 Judith Shakespeare, Which mannerly devotion cause of equal rights for women. In A Room of One’s shows in this ; unlike her famous Forasaints havemust handshave that pilgrims’ hands do touch, brother William, didn’t Own, she claims that to write woman 4 go to a grammar school And palm to palma is holy palmers’ kiss. money and a room of her own, and imagines Judith and never read Ovid or ROMEO not saintsand lips,eager and holy palmers too?

Horace. She scribbled Shakespeare, William’s sister,Have as talented 5 poems in secret, and 10 JULIET Ay , pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. to pursue an artistic career as her brother, while in when she defied all ROMEO O, then, on dearthe saint, lips do what hands do; conventions and refused Three Guineas, written with Fascism riseletand 6 to marry, she escaped to They Woolf pray, grant thou,the lest faith turn to despair . the fear of a Second World War, presents London to be an actress, but she found out that JULIET do war not move, issue of how women could Saints prevent when though they grant for prayers’ sake. everything conjured Then not, whileand my prayer’s effect I take. are excluded fromROMEO education, themove professions, against her dreams 7 because she was a 15 Thus from my lips, by thine, the public sphere. In To the Lighthouse Lily Briscoe, an my sin is purg’d .8 [Kissing her.] woman. All she obtained JULIETtheThen myconclusion lips the sin that they have took . was an unwanted artist, symbolically brings novelhave to its pregnancy, and in the ROMEO my lips?

O trespass sweetly urg’d! and “fulfillment”; this shows Sin the from “fertility” of women, end she committed Give me my sin again. [Kissing her again.] suicide. as opposed to the “sterility” of men.

The Waves 1931 4 THE ROMANTIC AGE (1776-1837)

Rhyme scheme:

Religion

Sex

▲ Vanessa Bell, The Other Room, late 1930s.

(Abridged from Act I, Scene III) 324

6 THE MODERN AGE (1901-1945) 1. shrine_santuario 2. ready... touch_sono pronte a render morbido quel tocco 3. Which... this_ché nel gesto gentile essa ha mostrato la buona devozione che si deve 4. holy palmers’_santi palmieri (pellegrini in Terra Santa) 5. Ay_certo 6. They... despair_esse pregano, ascoltale, se non vuoi che la fede volga in disperazione 7. by... purg'd_dalle tue (labbra), la mia colpa è purificata 8. took_taken

8. Why Romeo use lighthouse the language ofisreligion to ask for apostponed 13. Write creativeyears Romeobefore, is courtingthe Juliet at a ball. Rewrite their Although the does trip the not the one so many d. hunched 5. to Flora and fauna kiss? as ifperceive they were two teenagers characters, and Lily in particular as sheand completes abstract dialogue painting, it as the meeting at a concert. e. cold fixed on hisher instrument 9. How does Juliet respond to Romeo’s words mixing religion same in Part consciousness has bridged the gap between the Enjoy!two days, and given unity and and 3; sex?

2. Write your description of Newton as the symbol of blind EXPLAINED meaning to the cold events. science. p. 10 In characterisation the roles of protagonist and antagonist (→ p. 532) With are abandoned; Part 1 a kiss I take youinexplained Mrs Ramsay is opposed to Mr Ramsay and their 147 conflict is given some prominence but she dies in Part 2, and her death is briefly reported in one parenthetical line.

• Consciousness and time 13 In Modern T9 Fiction, an essay written by Virginia Woolf in 1919, the writer states her view of the consciousness and how its workings should be presented in the stream-of-consciousness WILLIAM The balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous in the world. Romeo, in SHAKESPEARE novel.

“Examine for a moment an ordinary mind on an ordinary day. The mind receives ROMEO love with Juliet, climbs the walls around the Capulets’ home, hoping to see her again. Juliet AND JULIET a myriad of impressions – trivial, fantastic, evanescent, or engraved with the sharpness of comes out and considers his name and why this should be an obstacle to their love. Romeo steel. From all sides they come, an incessant shower of innumerable atoms. […] If a writer overhears her, reveals himself and declares his love. were a free man and not slave, if he could write what he chose, not what he must, if he could base his own work on his own feeling and not upon convention, there would be no Enjoy! plot, no comedy, In just Virginia novels minds areonimmense Would no you tragedy hide in the […]”. dark to see the face Woolf’s of your beloved?

Would you spy her to catch worlds, her sighs, all for each imprisoned in its individuality, and an each struggling to different the others; you? Would youown be ready to embrace a stranger, enemy, just because to it is connect him, something from a name, a family, country? you are, this is your scene. to If you Romeo and Juliet can help youexpands find hiddento treasures narrative time, e.g. athe timeIf the narrator needs tellareofnot,the characters’ doings, in you thatofyou areconsciousness, not aware of yet. which may transform one minute into an endless include the flowing the experience. External reality loses its traditional importance, except for the influence it has on inner life.But Thesoft, narrative focuses onyonder the workings of the mind as Oh, it isquale setluce into bylassù, dal vano di quella finestra?

ROMEO vedomotion sprigionarsi ROMEO what light through window breaks? the “myriad of impressions” by simply observing one’s Ènumberless l’oriente, lassù, etrivial Giuliettaactions. è il sole!

It is the east, and Julietreceived is the sun.

The balcony scene

Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.

Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green, And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.

It is my lady, O, it is my love!

10 O that she knew she were!

She speaks, yet she says nothing. What of that?

Her eye discourses, I will answer it.

I am too bold, ’tis not to me she speaks. […]

See how she leans her cheek upon her hand!

15 O that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek!

JULIET Ay me!

5

▶ A scene from the film adaptation Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio (1996).

78

INTERPRET Newton’s profile a. brightly coloured; with soft lines; rich does he1.mean?

Full plot 12. Usually the sonnet is from the lover to his beloved. Here 2.

Newton’s body and varied b. with straight lines and sharp angles Romeo and Juliet share it: what does this suggest about Newton’s gaze ANALYSE 3. their relation?

4.

Newton’s posture c. naked

Themes

Sorgi, bel sole, e l’invidiosa luna

325

già pallida di rabbia ed ammalata uccidi,

perché tu, che sei sua ancella, sei di gran lunga di lei più splendente.

Non restare sua ancella, se invidiosa essa è di te; la verginal sua veste s’è fatta ormai d’un color verde scialbo e non l’indossano altre che le sciocche. Gettala via!

Oh, sì , è la mia donna, l’amore mio.

Ah, s’ella lo sapesse!

Ella mi parla, senza dir parola. Come mai? È il suo occhio che mi discorre, ed io risponderò.

Oh, ma che sto dicendo... Presuntuoso ch’io sono! Non è a me, ch’ella discorre. […]

Guarda com’ella poggia la sua gota a quella mano!

Un guanto vorrei essere, su quella mano, e toccar quella guancia!

GIULIETTA Ahimè!

2 THE RENAISSANCE AND THE RESTORATION (1509-1660)

79

Enjoy!

EXPLAINED .

Enjoy!EXPLAINED ENJOY THE ARTS

Opere artistiche rappresentative del periodo storico presentate attraverso strategie per la lettura critica.

Visual thinking skills

PER SVILUPPARE LA COMPETENZA CULTURALE E ICONOGRAFICA Enjoy the arts

Enjoy the show Opere di cinema, teatro e televisione e graphic novel che illustrano visivamente quanto di più interessante è emerso dal periodo, con suggerimenti per la visione di clip e trailer.

The new Empress of the world The portrait is known as “The Armada Portrait” because it commemorates the English victory in 1588 against the Spanish Invincible Armada. Queen Elizabeth I is portrayed as Empress of the world and commander of the seas and the whole picture is a statement of power and authority. Her upright posture, open arms and clear gaze all speak of vitality and strength, as does the crown to her right. She was about 55 when the portrait was made, but there is no trace of age or illness on her face, although she had suffered from smallpox in her youth.

The portrait is highly symbolic. The hand on the globe and the imperial crown show Elizabeth’s power and status as an Empress.

Her dress, covered with gems and pearls from the sea, a sign of virginity, also shows her royal status. On her skirt and her sleeves there are numerous suns to signify power and enlightenment.

England was a seafaring power, hence the numerous marine references from the gilded mermaid, calling the Spanish sailors to their fate, to the ships in the background, direct references to the Armada.

OBSERVE 1. Match each detail (1-6) to its significance (a-g). There is an extra item you do not need to use.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Upright posture and open arms Imperial crown and hand on the globe Pearls and gems on Elizabeth’s dress Suns decorating the sleeves Fine embroidery The mermaid, the ships

In love with

Shakespeare

KEY ENQUIRIES

1.

ENJOY THE SHOW

a. Royal power

All Is True

b. The English Empire all around the world

PRODUCTION U.K. RELEASE DATE 2018 DIRECTION Kenneth Branagh STARRING Kenneth Branagh_William Shakespeare Judi Dench_Anne Hathaway Ian McKellen_Earl of Southampton

All Is True has neither the glamour of young stars nor the excitement of love; it is Shakespeare in retirement, finally an insight into the greatest mystery of all. Shakespeare, the man.

c. Her virginity and her majesty d. Power and generosity e. England as a sea power f. Arrogance and hatred g. Wealth and elegance

2. How different are the two small seascapes in the background? Why is Elizabeth placed between them?

WONDER 3. Is this portrait a convincing representation of power? Why/Why not?

4. Think of other portraits of royal figures, or search the web to identify a few. Is the representation of power always Digital Competence so symbolic and powerful?

58

Little is known for sure about the details of Shakespeare’s life. But as Shakespeare says in the film, “I never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” Neither does Branagh; he directs the film, as well as playing Shakespeare who is living in retirement with his wife, Anne Hathaway, and grappling with a number of personal crises – including the death of his son Hamnet and the destruction of The Globe theatre in a fire. All Is True is written by Ben Elton, who was previously responsible for Upstart Crow, a BBC sitcom about Shakespeare. The sitcom tackled the death of Shakespeare’s son Hamnet at the age of 11 and Elton reopens that wound now, making it the emotional centre of his film.

S Kenneth Branagh (1960-) has grown Sir oold with William Shakespeare’s plays, exactly aas the Bard’s actors did in the Chamberlain’s aand King’s Men companies, and as two oother great actors and directors oof the 20th century, Orson Wells aand Laurence Olivier, did, fascinated by the Bard. b

Branagh has played in Shakespearean adaptations, made screen adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays and a film, In the Bleak Midwinter (1995) about how to bring the masterpiece of all, Hamlet, onto the stage today, and founded his own theatre company to act Shakespeare’s plays. If that is not love, what else?

Upstart Crow PRODUCTION U.K. RELEASE DATE 2016 DIRECTION Matt Lipsey, Richard Boden STARRING David Mitchell _Will Shakespeare Liza Tarbuck_Anne Hathaway

A BBC sitcom about William Shakespeare: how to laugh at a national myth and still love him.

Upstart Crow is a British sitcom, which premiered in 2016 on BBC Two as part of the commemorations of the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. The title comes from "an upstart Crow, beautified with our VICTORIAN NOVEL: Charlotte feathers",THE a critique of Shakespeare by one ofBrontë the University Wits, Robert Greene, written in 1592.

The real Brontë sisters The show is set from 1592 (the year of Greene's quotation) onwards. David Mitchell is Will As soon as the Brontë became known as writers, Shakespeare, an aspiring playwright who wishes Victorian preconceptions presented them as to overcome his humble origins and commutes secluded women oppressed by male authority so as between his family's home in Stratford-uponto justify their unacceptable sensuality and energy.

59 But the real story may be different, especially for Avon and Central London, where he does most WATCH and CHECK of his work. Recurring humour is drawn from Charlotte, a figure looking for her own voice as Mary 1. Watch the first clip to see Shakespeare as an old man talking to parallels between Will's travels and frustration Shelley hadindone before her. his former patron about how he made him immortal his verse. with modern day transportation, and Mitchell’s 2. Watch the second clip to see how Shakespeare proves that he was Shakespeare is a flowery show-off who always uses not just a great poet, but also an incredible businessman in London.

In July, 1848, the publisher George Smith found waiting ten words when one would do.

3. Watch the third clip to see how Shakespeare, now retired and a foradvice him inever histoLondon two “rather quaintly dressed gardener, gives a hopeful the best becomeoffice a great. little ladies, pale-faced and anxious-looking.” The smaller and plainer of them, wearing glasses, came up to him with a letter in her hand. It was addressed to Currer Bell, the somewhat notorious male novelist best known as the author of Jane Eyre. “Where did you get this from?” Smith asked her. “From the post office,” Charlotte Brontë replied.

“It was addressed to me.” So it was that the secret of the Brontë sisters was revealed. Mr Smith’s most famous author was a woman – and a provincial woman at that. The world 1 soon knew that there had been three women of genius, uneducated and unloved, prisoners within a house as bleak as any prison or asylum, insulted by a drunken and manic brother, oppressed In the Bleak Midwinter Hamlet (1996). by a stern and occasionally violent Love’s Labour’s Lost (2000).

As You Like It (2006).

(1995). father, finding their relief only in wonderful little treks in Yorkshire.

Actually the girls were neither mad nor bad nor particularly ▲ Anne, Emily, and Charlotte Brontë, by their brother dangerous to know. Their childhood was essentially a Branwell (ca. 1834). He painted himself among his happy one, and the accounts of suffering were largely sisters, but later removed the image so as not to clutter promulgated as a way of excusing those passionate elements the picture. of the Brontës’ fiction “which the Victorians found unacceptable.” They were three highly intelligent people who preferred one another’s company to anyone else’s.

Part of the reason for their immersion in fictional worlds was no doubt a certain irritable dissatisfaction with the real world around them. And Charlotte was, characteristically, Salvator Rosa (1615-1673) was an Italian Baroque the most irritable of all; she began to show all the signs painter, poet, and printmaker, who was active in Naples, Rome, and Florence. As a painter, he is best of a young writer’s frustration: she was angry at herself known as “unorthodox and extravagant” as well as for remaining unknown and angry at the world for its being a “perpetual rebel” and a proto-Romantic.

WATCH and CHECK 4. Watch the first clip to see how Shakespeare makes up modern English on the spot and fills it with everyday idioms.

5. Watch the second clip to see how Shakespeare struggles with the iambic pentameter to write the 154 sonnets that will give him fame.

ON STAGE

ON THE SCREEN

Insight into history/society/culture/literature, Women in history, Eye witness, Now and then, Here and there, Explore sources, Explore images chiaramente individuabili e con un accento posto sulla civic literacy, la competenza di cittadinanza fondamentale per il cittadino del XXI secolo.

Unknown English artist (formerly attributed to George Gower) Woburn Abbey

Women in history

Approfondimenti

Interactive analysis

The Armada Portrait (1588)

Henry V (1989).

90

EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

Much Ado About Nothing (1993).

Othello (1995).

Macbeth (2013).

A Winter’s Tale (2016).

Romeo and Juliet (2016),

91

PER IL SELF CHECK E LA PREPARAZIONE A CERTIFICAZIONI ED ESAMI Per ogni capitolo Check out History and culture e Check out Literature schede di autovalutazione con mappe ed esercizi riepilogativi, con attività che richiamano le tipologie degli esami.

Literature William Shakespeare 4. Fill in the blanks with the right words. There are three extra words you do not need to use.

For your exams 1603 The King’s Men

known • poetry • renamed • educated • patron • time • playwright • divided • somber • plots • poet • unknown • religion • comedies • tragedies • legend According to (1)

his children are (3)

. In London he worked as actor and (4)

; he was

the King’s Men in 1603 after Elizabeth

1594-95 Romeo and Juliet Lyrical tragedy

into histories, tragedies and comedies. Today this traditional distinction has

given way to more articulated subgroups, among which the (7)

have proved to be

the most difficult to classify. Some are called dark comedies because of their (8) atmosphere, or romances. Other plays are difficult to identify and are called problem plays, for

Shakespeare was also a (10)

Death

between the years 1592 and 1598; he wrote two

(13)

consistently bringing a sharp intelligence to bear on the complexities of the part. was remarkable (6) in (7)

its interpretation of Hamlet’s delay based on Freud’s analysis of the Oedipal complex, the son unconsciously desires to kill the father and possess the mother. In this reading, Hamlet cannot

illicit desires.

Man of justice

1594-95 A Midsummer Night’s Dream Comedy

divided into two groups, the first dedicated to a “Fair Youth”, and the second part (127-154)

A fine volume For your exams • certificazioni FIRST e IELTS, prova INVALSI ed Esame di Stato (Seconda Prova e Colloquio) con simulazioni di prove complete; • un glossario delle figure retoriche e della terminologia di base in ambito letterario.

more than a sweet and noble Prince,

bring himself to punish Claudius since his uncle has actually fulfilled what Hamlet obscurely knows to be his (8)

Man of doubt

narrative poems, Venus and Adonis (1592-93) and The Rape of Lucrece (1593), dedicated to his , the Earl of Southampton, and a collection of 154 sonnets. The sonnets are

the Prince in New York in 1964.

the character’s youthful changeability and mercurial

Laurence Olivier played an athletic and fiery Prince in Tyrone Guthrie’s full text production at the Old Vic in 1937. This production

Revenger

Fate

and characters for his plays.

Hamlet. He played the role

1930 and 1944, and also directed Richard Burton (3)

speed of thought. As he returned to the role over the years, he was (5)

1601 Hamlet Problem play

Mature love

example, Hamlet.

Like other writers of his time, Shakespeare was inspired by the classics, from whom he drew the

to the “Dark Lady”; the main themes are (12)

John Gielgud is (0) the actor of the twentieth century most closely associated (1) five times (2)

Aged 25 when he first took on the role, Gielgud brought (4)

I’s death. His works were not published until 1623 in the First Folio, which gathered 36 works (6)

GREAT HAMLETS OF THE 20TH CENTURY

1623 William Shakespeare’s First Folio

Arden. The reason why he left his village after his marriage with Anne Hathaway and the birth of

(11)

1. READ the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only ONE word for each gap.

There is an example at the beginning (0).

in Stratford-upon-Avon, the son of John Shakespeare and Mary

a member of the Chamberlain’s Men, (5)

(9)

FIRST

, William Shakespeare’s birth and death dates coincide; 23rd April.

He was born and (2)

, love, decay and the power of

.

Doting

Imagination

3 New forms of poetry and drama in the 17th century

Loving

John Donne 5. Answer the questions.

1. Which themes are present in John Donne’s poems?

2. Is Donne’s love poetry similar or different to the tradition of courtly love?

3. What characterises his style? Consider tone, versification, and imagery.

1572-1631 John Donne

The Jacobean Age 6. Match the elements in the columns.

Wit

1. Scientific revolution

a. John Donne (1572-1631)

2. Empiricism

b. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

3. Metaphysical poetry

c. Robert Boyle (1627-1691) and Isaac Newton (1642-1727)

4. Christian epic poem

d. John Milton (1608-1674)

5. Royal Society

e. Copernicus (1473-1543), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and Johannes

Conceit

Kepler (1571-1630)

7. Answer the questions.

1. What new feelings characterised the Jacobean Age in comparison with the Elizabethan period?

2. What did the Puritans advocate?

3. What is Paradise Lost (1667) about?

4. How different was Restoration drama from Renaissance drama?

98

▲ John Gielgud.

Love for god

▲ Laurence Olivier.

▲ Richard Burton.

IELTS 2. WRITE about the following topic.

1633 Songs and Sonnets Holy Sonnets Metaphysical poetry

FREEDOM FOR ART Some people think that theatres should be subsidised by the government, others believe that they should be independent commercial enterprises.

Sensual love

Discuss both sides and give your opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

1667 John Milton’s Paradise Lost

2 THE RENAISSANCE AND THE RESTORATION (1509-1660)

BIG QUESTIONS

99

Debates to develop your global competence

Democracy

BIG QUESTIONS BIG QUESTIONS

DEMOCRACY AND MINORITIES Literature has always spoken up against injustices, Norman Rockwell launched revolutions, addressed colonial abuse (1894-1978), The Problem WeIt Allhas also reflected and forged cultural identity.

Live With (1964).of minorities and the hopes and frustrations helped them assert their rights.

Is democracy in good shape?

89

Reading in the Dark (1966) by Seamus Deane The novel is set in Derry (Northern Ireland) during ‘The Troubles’ and the narrator is a Catholic boy who reports the events of those days through his personal experience.

T74

Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., shows an African-American girl walking surrounded by four men. The girl is six-year-old Ruby Bridges on her way to a ‘white-only’ public school in 1960, during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis following the introduction of black students into all-white schools. The four men are policemen that are escorting Ruby to school. The focal point in the painting is the girl, her white dress contrasting with the colour of her skin. The racial slur “nigger” and the letters “KKK” are visible on the wall behind, together with a smashed tomato thrown by unseen protesters. The policemen are more powerful symbols because of their anonymity, faceless forces of justice ensuring that a court order is enforced — despite the rage of the The IRA (Irish Republican Army) was a Northern Ireland paramilitary organisation seeking the end of British rule and Protestant supremacy in Northern Ireland, and its reunification with the Republic of Ireland.

Spaceships in the garden

Listen and number words with definitions.

citizenship □ Twentieth-century Ireland was shaped in 1922 T by a treaty between Great Britain and Ireland that recognised the Irish Free State (26 counties) constitution □ but excluded six Northern Ireland counties in the province of Ulster, which formed part of the United Kingdom. A Northern Ireland Parliament with a oligarchy □ majority of Protestants was established while the Catholic minority was excluded from official positions.

The 1922 treaty divided Irish public opinion into pro sovereignty □ and anti-treaty forces. However, a period of political stability followed, and in 1948 the Republic of Ireland (Eire) was finally proclaimed while Northern Ireland inalienable rights □ continued to remain within the United Kingdom.

In 1968 a Catholic Civil Right Movement started protest marches against systematic anti-Catholic discrimination, discrimination □ which led to violent reactions from some Protestant loyalists and from the police force. A period of violent ▲ The Bloody Su2nday mural, by the Bogside Artists, confrontation known as ‘The Troubles’ followed that Bogside, Derry, Northern Ireland. □ British forces opened lasted nearly 20 ethnicity years. In 1972 fire on a Catholic Civil Rights march in Derry killing 13 people during the so-called ‘Bloody Sunday’. This led to an escalation of violence that saw the IRA confronting British soldiers and paramilitary Protestants, with many atrocities committed by both sides. ‘The Troubles’ ended in Competence, attitudes and values → p. 468 1998 with the Belfast (or Good Friday) Agreement: direct rule of Northern Ireland was placed in the hands of a locally elected government. In 2007 the former rival parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin, that represented the Catholic minority, began to co-operate in government.

5

10

15

20

In that dark winter, there were two police cars, black and black, that appeared to have landed 1 like spaceships out of the early morning light of the street. I saw their gleaming metal reflected 2 3 in the lacquered window glass of the house next door as they took off with us. But first there 4 5 was the search . A bright figure, in a white rain-cape , came through the bedroom door and 6 stood with his back to the wall, switching the light on and off. He was shouting, but I was numb with shock and could see only his mouth opening and closing. They were, I knew, looking for the gun I had found the afternoon before in the bottom drawer inside the wardrobe of the room next door, where my sisters slept.

7 [...] We were huddled downstairs and held in the centre of the room while the kitchen was 8 searched. [...] Objects seemed to be floating , free of gravity, all over the room. Everybody had tears of sweat on their faces. Then my father, Liam and I were in the police cars and the 9 morning light had already reached the roof-tops as a polished gleam in the slates that fled as 10 we turned the corner of the street towards the police barracks , no more than a few hundreds yards away. Where was the gun? I had had it, I had been seen with it, where was it? Policemen with huge faces bent down to ask me, quietly at first, then more and more loudly. They made 11 my father sit at a table and then lean over it, with his arms outspread . Then they beat him 12 on the neck and shoulders with rubber truncheons , short and gorged-red in colour. He told them but they didn’t believe him. So they beat us too, Liam and me, across the table from him. I remember the sweat and rage on his face as he looked. [...] For long after, I would come awake in the small hours of the morning, sweating, asking myself over and over, “Where is the gun? Where is it? Where is the gun?”

12 14 15 I would rub the sweat and fear that lay like a cobweb across my face. If a light flickered from the street beyond, the image of the police car would reappear and my hair would feel 16 starched and my hands sweaty.

1. gleaming_scintillante 2. lacquered_laccato 3. took off_decollavano; (qui) se ne andavano portandoci via 4. search_perquisizione 5. rain-cape_mantello da pioggia

6. numb_intontito 7. huddled_stipati 8. to be floating_fluttuare 9. slates that fled_tegole che saltavano per aria 10. barracks_caserma

UNDERSTAND AND ANALYSE

1. Read and listen to the extract and answer the questions.

1. Decide if the statements are true (T) or false (F). Correct the false ones.

1. The Irish Free State was established by a treaty in 1922.

2. Ireland was then divided into Northern Ireland and Eire.

3. British soldiers were responsible for the Bloody Sunday massacre in Northern Ireland.

4. With the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 Northern Ireland and Eire began to cooperate.

462

2. Surf the web to find more information about T F T F T F T F

the ‘Irish Question’ from its origins to today’s situation.

92

In the following extract the police are informed that there is a gun in the house. The flat is ransacked and some members of the boy’s family brutally beaten.

Northern Ireland

The painting, considered one of the most iconic images of the

screaming mob.

Enjoy literature

Debates to develop your global competence Percorsi che affrontano 4 temi rilevanti quali l’identità, la democrazia, l’ambiente del futuro e la globalizzazione per dotare gli studenti di conoscenze, abilità, attitudini e valori che sono alla base della “competenza globale”.

I documenti, i testi letterari e le opere artistiche permettono di analizzare il tema attraverso differenti punti di vista e ottiche interdisciplinari.

Digital Competence

3. Mediation Summarise your findings in a digital form of your choice and get ready to explain the ‘Irish Question’ both in English and in your mother tongue.

1. What is the text about?

2. Why did the police search the boy’s house?

3. Where had the boy found the gun?

4. Why did the objects in the house seem to be floating?

5. Where did the police take the boy, his brother and father?

6. How were the three treated?

7. The boy sees the arrival of the police cars in an almost fantastic way. What are the cars compared with?

11. outspread_allungate, tese 12. truncheons_manganelli 13. rub_grattare via 14. cobweb_ragnatela 15. flickered_lampeggiava 16. starched_inamidati

8. Why is this simile used?

9. How did the boy react to this experience? Find evidence in the text.

2. Highlight in different colours: a. similes/metaphors b. words referring to science fiction INTERPRET

3. The boy knows that there is a gun in the house, but he does not say anything. Why?

IS DEMOCRACY IN GOOD SHAPE?

463

PER LA COMPETENZA DIGITALE SILVIA BALLABIO ALESSANDRA BRUNETTI HEATHER BEDELL

Enjoy!

Enjoy!

EXPLAINED

Your texts explained and your personal response Competence kit Fiction, poetry and drama, also through time

• Video di Mapping the times • Analisi interattive di testi antologizzati e di opere artistiche • 187 file audio • Mappe storiche e letterarie personalizzabili • Autori e brani extra • Trailer cinematografici • Esercizi interattivi a risposta chiusa

DVD mp3

Didattica inclusiva

Flipped classroom

Realtà aumentata

EXPLAINED YOUR TEXTS EXPLAINED

Enjoy!

Mr and Mrs Bennet, an old couple JANE AUSTEN PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Mr and Mrs Bennet’s dialogue

Marriage and irony

Mr Bennet’s and Mrs Bennet’s personalities

Enjoy!

27

T31

Your texts explained and your personal response

p. 192

Jane Austen may have never married, but she did have a feeling for those skirmishes that often happen between old married couple, like Mr and Mrs Bennet. The man wants to be left alone, but the woman wants him to do something, and they have a row. Not a serious row, but one of many for sure; so fixed in their opinions, you know. You see one, and you’ve seen them all. And you smile. Because all women become like their mothers, and maybe men like their fathers.

Chapter 1 introduces the Bennet family through a conversation between Mr and Mrs Bennet; they have been married for more than 20 years and have five “grown-up daughters”, of whom three, Jane, Lizzy and Lydia, are named in the extract with some comments about their different personalities. At the beginning of their conversation, Mrs Bennet asks her husband to visit their new neighbour, Mr Bingley, a rich unmarried man who has recently rented Netherfield Park.

She knows quite a lot considering he is a perfect stranger: his marital status, his wealth, precise details about when he is due to arrive and that he has servants about to come to Netherfield Park to prepare it for him. Mr Bennet unsuccessfully tries to ignore her, but Mrs Bennet, the typical nagging wife, won’t leave her husband alone and is not interested in what he really thinks. She informs him that their neighbours are all going to visit Mr Bingley, and Mr Bennet replies that his wife and daughters could go on their own. She is irritated by his answers, and insists on his duty as a father to think of his daughters’ future, and to visit their new neighbour.

The issue they are debating – whether to pay a first visit to the new unmarried neighbour – is a very serious one given the context of the time: the Bennets and the Lucases, their neighbours, both want to marry off their daughters, as is stated both in the first ironic comment of the narrator and in the exchange between Mr and Mrs Bennet. Mrs Bennet’s concern about “marrying off” her daughters and so her obsession with rich single men is ridiculed, but it has a solid foundation.

A dowry for each married daughter was a financially important burden for a landed gentry family, and five daughters are beyond the means of the Bennet family, as will be confirmed in the rest of the novel. However, the narrator takes a clear stand against this concern becoming an obsession with the opening sentence of the chapter. The initial sentence (ll. 1-2) is ironic because young men do not want to marry at all costs, and they do not belong to potential brides.

The external, non-omniscient narrator lets her voice be heard directly through her comments.

The characters’ personalities are revealed through the dialogue and confirmed by the narrator’s comment in the last paragraph. Mr Bennet is a quiet man who has a low opinion of women in general, apart from his daughter Lizzy; he knows his wife, her concern about the marriage of their daughters and her nerves very well, but is not sympathetic. He is ironic and even sarcastic.

Mrs Bennet likes gossiping, loses her patience quickly and often complains she is unwell. She sounds egocentric and only interested in rich men for her daughters. She has a very different view of her daughters; she praises Jane for her beauty and Lydia for her easy-going personality and

Per ogni testo d’autore antologizzato viene presentato un commento esplicativo e critico con attività di stimolo per l’interpretazione personale.

Tutti i commenti sono corredati di audio.

Competence kit I generi letterari con le caratteristiche fondamentali e ampie attività didattiche, seguite da una trattazione cronologica che mostra l’evoluzione di poetry, drama e fiction.

EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

Seamus Deane (1940-) is an Irish poet, novelist, and critic. Deane’s first novel, Reading in the Dark (1996), won The Irish Literature Prize in 1997.

Contents

MAPPING THE TIMES

1F rom the origins to the end of the Middle Ages At the roots of British identity

Scenario

14

History and culture

1 Invasions and migrations 16 Insight into culture Stonehenge between mystery and identity 17

Women in history Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians 19

2 The rise and decline of feudalism 20 3 Magna Carta, a landmark in English liberty 22 23

Explore sources The Magna Carta

ENJOY THE ARTS The Bayeux Tapestry Check out

24

26

For your exams

Scenario

I nsight into history • Who were the Celts? vidence suggests Stonehenge E was an elite cemetery The Last Kingdom agna Carta and the emergence M of Parliament

27

Literature

1 Old English (450-1066) 28 T1 The Wanderer

29

2 Middle English (1066-1500) 30

Authors and works Beowulf

32 33 35

T2 Beowulf’s death

Explore images The Sutton Hoo helmet

ENJOY THE SHOW Beowulf – A long-lasting hero T3 Lord Randal

Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales

T4 General Prologue

Here and there Chaucer, Boccaccio and Dante

T5 The Wife of Bath

Now and then Why Chaucer and why now?

Check out

EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

Full plot T2 The fight with Grendel

38

Translation

40

Lord Randal in music

41 42 43 44 46

49

4

T1 Geordie

36

48

For your exams

Translation

Translation T3 The Knight

MAPPING THE TIMES

2 T he Renaissance and the Restoration (1509-1660) A brave new world

Scenario

50

History and culture

1 Strong monarchs for a young nation

52

2 Religion and politics in Europe and England

54

3 The age of exploration and economic growth

56

Insight into society The Puritan revolution and society Insight into society Elizabethan London

ENJOY THE ARTS The Armada Portrait

60

For your exams

Scenario

57 58

Check out

55

61

Literature

1 The Renaissance

62

2 Elizabethan drama

64

3 New forms of poetry and drama in the 17th century

68

Here and there The printing revolution: an Italian invention Insight into literature Public theatres in the Elizabethan Age

63 66

Authors and works William Shakespeare

70 71 T6 Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (Sonnet XVIII) 7 1 T7 That time of year thou mayst in me behold (Sonnet LXXIII) 72

Sonnets

T4 Set me whereas the sun

by Sir Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey Christopher Marlowe Dr Faustus T5 Faustus’ last hour J ohn Milton Paradise Lost T6 Satan’s speech Full bio Translation Translation

Shakespeare’s plays 74

Insight into literature S.T. Coleridge on Shakespeare’s imitation of the classics 75

Romeo and Juliet 76

T8 With a kiss I take you 78 T9 The balcony scene 79 Eye witness Juliet; a teenager in love, but more mature and practical than Romeo 81

Full plot Translation

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 82

Full plot

Insight into literature Music in Shakespeare’s plays 85

T7 The Willow Song (from Shakespeare’s Othello)

T10 Doting for an ass 84

Hamlet 86 T11 Hamlet, the man of inaction 88

ENJOY THE SHOW In love with Shakespeare

90

John Donne 92

T12 The Sun Rising 93 T13 Batter My Heart 94 Here and there Michelangelo Buonarroti 96 Check out

Full plot I nsight into literature • The story of the three pigs and the three avengers Insight into society • Shakespeare in the bush Translation Translation

97

For your exams

99

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Contents

MAPPING THE TIMES

3 The Augustan Age (1660-1776) The Age of Enlightenment and of global wars

Scenario

100

History and culture

1 Politics and institutions 102 Insight into society The Bill of Rights: towards Constitutional monarchy

103

2 Global conflicts and commercial expansion 104 ENJOY THE ARTS Interior of a London Coffee House Check out

106 108

For your exams

Scenario

109

Literature

1 The Age of Enlightenment 110 2 The new genres: novel, satire and comedies 112 Explore images How does satire work?

115

Authors and works

Daniel Defoe 116

Robinson Crusoe 116

T14 Are cannibals like us? 118 T15 Friday, the ideal “savage” 119 Insight into culture Races do not exist 121 ENJOY THE SHOW Survivors

Full plot I nsight to literature • Robinson Crusoe, the economic man

122

Jonathan Swift 124 Gulliver’s Travels 125

T16 The right way to break an egg 127 T17 Slaves of perfect reason 129 Insight into literature Swift, politics and satire 131

Check out

amuel Richardson S Clarissa T8 Clarissa’s death Henry Fielding Tom Jones T9 The foundling Laurence Sterne Tristram Shandy T10 Tristram’s breeches Alexander Pope The Rape of the Lock T11 Belinda’s toilet

132

For your exams

133

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Full plot T12 Yahoos and Houyhnhnms

MAPPING THE TIMES

4 The Romantic Age (1776-1837)

The age of revolutions

Scenario

134

History and culture

1 The American Revolution (1775-83) 136 Explore sources The Declaration of American Independence (1776)

137

2 The French Revolution and Napoleon (1789-1815) 138

Explore sources The fight for justice and liberty 139

3 The Industrial Revolution in the 1760s 140 Insight into society The Chartists 141

ENJOY THE ARTS William Turner, The Shipwreck Check out

144

For your exams

Scenario

142

145

Literature

1 Romantic poetry 146 Explore images William Blake, Newton 147

2 The Gothic novel 148 Explore images Terror and pleasure: the sublime 149

John Constable, The Cornfield

3 The novel of Manners 150

Insight into society Social conventions in the early 19th century 151

Authors and works William Blake

152 152 T18 The Lamb 154 T19 The Tyger 155 Now and then The power of contrasts 156

Songs of Innocence and of Experience

William Wordsworth

157 157 T20 The new poetry 158 T21 I wandered lonely as a cloud 159 Here and there Emily Dickinson: “Nature” is what we see

160

Lyrical Ballads

T22 My heart leaps up 161

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

162 162 T23 The killing of the Albatross 164 Insight into literature Ballads are back in!

166

Translation Translation

T13 Lines composed upon Westminster Bridge Translation Translation

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Full plot

T24 Kubla Khan: or, a Vision in a Dream. A Fragment 167

I nsight into literature • The mystery of a sea story Translation

George Gordon, Lord Byron

169 170 Now and then The Byronic Hero, the “Hero of Sensibility” 171

Translation

T25 The Byronic Hero

Translation

T26 The Beauty of Nature – Sunset in Venice 172 T27 The Beauty of Nature – The Ocean 173

Translation

Percy Bysshe Shelley

174 T28 Ode to the West Wind 175 Here and there Romantic poets in Livorno in the 19th century 178

Translation

Translation

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Contents John Keats 180 T29 Ode on a Grecian Urn

180 182

Explore images Art makes you immortal

Mary Shelley

183 183 T30 The miserable wretch 185 Insight into literature Not just a Gothic tale 186 Insight into literature Science Fiction or Sci-Fi 187

Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus

ENJOY THE SHOW Bad but charming

Full plot T14 The mystery of live unveiled

188

Jane Austen

190 190 T31 Mr and Mrs Bennet, an old couple 192 T32 Know yourself 195 Women in history A new world for women 196

Pride and Prejudice

Check out

Translation

Full plot T15 The difficult art of conversation

197

For your exams

199

MAPPING THE TIMES

5 The Victorian Age (1837-1901) An age of power and contradictions

Scenario

200

History and culture

1 A two-faceted period 202 Insight into history The scramble for Africa

205

ENJOY THE ARTS Crystal Palace

208

2 A revolution successfully prevented 206

Scenario

THE U.S.A. History and culture

1 The growth of a new world power 210 Explore sources The Gettysburg address

211

2 After the Civil War 212 Insight into history Two Frontiers: the Frontier of hope, and the Frontier of conquest

213

Check out

214

For your exams

Scenario

215

Literature

1 A mirror held up to society 216 2 The Victorian novel 217 Women in history Unconventional George Eliot

219

3 Victorian poetry and drama 220 Explore images The Pre-Raphaelites and beautiful Ophelia

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221

lfred, Lord Tennyson A T16 Ulysses George Bernard Shaw Mrs. Warren’s Profession T17 Kitty Warren’s self-defence

Authors and works

Charles Dickens 222 The Adventures of Oliver Twist T33 Oliver starved to death Hard Times T34 Coketown

223 224 226 226

Charlotte Brontë 228 Jane Eyre

228 229 Women in history The real Brontë sisters 233 T35 I am a free being

Robert Louis Stevenson 234 The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

234 T36 I was him, all the time 236 Explore images In your double is your end 237

Thomas Hardy 238 Tess of the d’Urbervilles

239 T37 Tess pays for her “crimes” 240 Insight into literature Wessex, a dream country 242

Robert Browning 243 T38 My Last Duchess

244 247

Now and then The dramatic monologue lives on

Oscar Wilde 248 The Picture of Dorian Gray

248 250 252 The Importance of Being Earnest 254 T41 What’s in a name?

255 T39 The Preface T40 The horror revealed

ENJOY THE SHOW The sad Happy Prince of art

Scenario

258

THE U.S.A. Literature

1 American literature becomes independent 260

Authors and works

Edgar Allan Poe 262 The Black Cat

263 264 Now and then Poe scares me to death 267 T42 The final horror

Herman Melville 268 Moby Dick, or The White Whale

T43 The chase: third day

Insight into literature The sublime whiteness of the whale

268 270 273

xplore images • The exploitation E of children has not died out Full plot I nsight into literature • Dickens’ crusade against evil T18 Oliver becomes a thief Full plot Full plot

Full plot

Full plot

Translation

Full plot

Full plot I nsight into literature • Wilde’s high comedy

Henry David Thoreau Walden T19 Solitude Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass T20 For You O Democracy Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlett Letter T21 Pearl Full plot I nsight into literature • Rationality and irrationality T22 The spirit of perverseness Full plot

Emily Dickinson 274 Insight into culture An eye for flowers

T44 Me, change!

T45 I tie my Hat Check out

275 276 276

Translation Translation

278

For your exams

281

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Contents

MAPPING THE TIMES

6 The Modern Age (1901-1945) The beginning of modernity

Scenario

History and culture

282

1 The Great War (1914-18)

284 285

2 The end of the British Empire

286 287

3 The Roaring Twenties in the U.S.A

288 289

4 World War II (1939-45) and Europe after the war Insight into history The extermination of the Jews

290 291

ENJOY THE ARTS The rhetoric of war

292

Insight into history From Russia to U.S.S.R., from Lenin to Stalin (1917-52) Women in history Women’s suffrage in the 20th century Insight into society The Dust Bowl exodus

Check out

294

For your exams

Scenario

295

Literature

1 The novel in the age of experimentation

296 298

2 Poetry in the Modern Age

299

Insight into culture Paris, la ville du Modernisme

Authors and works Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness

T46 The journey upwards

Eye witness No more the Dark Continent

Edward Morgan Forster A Passage to India

T47 Can different cultures meet?

Now and then India, from rebellions to a difficult independence

James Joyce Dubliners

T48 Eveline A COMPLETE SHORT STORY

Explore images Girls at the window

Ulysses

T49 Nausicaa’s dreamhusband

Virginia Woolf

To the Lighthouse T50 Dinner together

I nsight into history • 1940s-1950s: the denial of humanity

Women in history We the new women, you the old men

George Orwell

Nineteen Eighty-Four

T51 Two and two make five

Insight into culture Against torture

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David Herbert Lawrence Lady Chatterley’s Lover T23 Tevershall William Butler Yeats T24 Easter 1916

Ezra Pound T25 In a Station of the Metro

Dylan Thomas T26 Do not go gentle into that good night

302 302 304 306 307 307 309 311

Full plot

Full plot

312 312 314 319 320 321 324 325 326 329 330 330 332 335

Full plot T27 I will Yes Full plot T28 Lily’s vision

Full plot T29 Newspeak

The War poets

Insight into culture Shell shock, or post-traumatic stress disorder

John McCrae

T52 In Flanders Fields

Here and there / Now and then Giuseppe Ungaretti and Fabrizio De André

338 338 339

Wilfred Owen

340 340

Thomas Stearns Eliot

342 343 345 348

T53 Anthem for Doomed Youth

The Waste Land

T54 Much hated April T55 Unreal city, real Hell

Four Quartets

350 350

Wystan Hugh Auden

Explore images Landscape with the Fall of Icarus

352 353 355

lienation and a prophecy of disaster ENJOY THE SHOW A in the modern city

356

T56 Present time of eternal salvation T57 Musée des Beaux Arts

Scenario

336 337

THE U.S.A. Literature

1 Voices of America

358

Authors and works Francis Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby

T58 Gatsby’s funeral

360 361 362 364

Now and then A cat, Tiffany and Angst

Ernest Hemingway

For Whom the Bell Tolls

365 366

T59 A soldier’s mission

367 368

Insight into history The Spanish Civil War (1936-39) A total war and Robert Jordan’s disillusion

John Steinbeck

370 371 373 374

The Grapes of Wrath

Insight into culture Route 66, the route of hope?

T60 A lost Paradise

ENJOY THE SHOW From glamour to misery

Check out

Translation La Guerra di Piero Translation

Translation Translation Translation

Translation

T30 Refugee Blues

William Carlos Williams T31 The Red Wheelbarrow Edgar Lee Masters Spoon River Anthology T32 George Gray Langston Hughes T33 The Negro Speaks of Rivers Full plot

Full plot

Full plot

376

378

For your exams

380

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Contents

MAPPING THE TIMES

7 The Present Age (1945-today) A global world searching for national identity

Scenario

382

History and culture

1 The Cold War (1945-90)

384 385

2 Europe looking for peace

386 387

3 The present

388 389

Insight into history Why did the Berlin Wall fall in 1989?

Insight into culture The 1960s and 1970s, a watershed in 20th-century history Insight into society The European migrant crisis

ENJOY THE ARTS The present on walls and graphic novels Check out

392

For your exams

Scenario

390 393

Literature

Literatures worldwide 1 Contemporary literature in the U.K.

394 395

2 Contemporary literature in the U.S.A.

399 402

Insight into literature Falling Man (2007) by Don DeLillo

3 Literatures in English

403

Authors and works Samuel Beckett Waiting for Godot

406 406 408 410

T61 Repeated time, meaningless life

Now and then / Here and there A play that needs life

Seamus Heaney

T62 Digging

411 412 415

Jack Kerouac

416 416 418 420

Now and then Old English lives on and on

On the Road

T63 More, more life

Insight into culture The Beat Generation

J.R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings T34 The power of the RIng William Golding Lord of the Flies T35 Piggy’s murder Doris Lessing The Grass is Singing T36 The “poor Whites” Ian McEwan Enduring Love T37 Co-operation Zadie Smith NW T38 Faces in London Ted Hughes T39 The Thought-Fox Philip Larkin T40 Mr Bleaney Harold Pinter The Caretaker T41 Friends forever?

John Osborne Look Back in Anger T42 An angry young man

Explore images • Venus of the Rags Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 T43 Books will make us free J.D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye T44 Name something you’d like to be Philip Roth American Pastoral T45 Father and daughter T46 Killing the time

Translation

Full plot

Wole Soyinka

421 422

Translation

Derek Walcott

424 425

Translation

Alice Munro

426 427 427

T64 Telephone Conversation T65 Love After Love

Boys and Girls T66 Flora

Insight into culture Where is here? A literature defined by a country’s landscape and a language

ENJOY THE SHOW The music that tried to change the world Check out

429 430 432

For your exams

434

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BIG QUESTIONS Debates to develop your global competence

Who are we?

Enjoy the music Childhood by Michael Jackson

Personal identity

Can we make a better planet? 469

435

Defining the self

436

Enjoy literature Growing Up by Russell Wayne Baker T67 That unforgivable defect

National identity Cultural identity

437 438 439 439 440 442

Enjoy literature T68 I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman 444

T69 I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes 444 T70 I, Too, Sing América by Julia Alvarez 445

Identity and ethnicity

446

INDIA Enjoy literature The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy T72 Ammu’s last days

448 448 449

SOUTH AFRICA Enjoy literature Youth by John Maxwell Coetzee T71 Loneliness in London

446 447 447

AUSTRALIA Enjoy literature Us Mob by Mudrooroo T73 Our indigenality

450 451 451

Competence, attitudes and values

452

emale, white F and American

hree countries T in one: The evolution of the United Kingdom Britain’s ancient roots lie in DNA The British are a mixture of different peoples America: a multiracial society

Enjoy the music Democracy by Leonard Cohen

454

The struggle for human rights Witnessess of change The future of rights Democracy and minorities

NORTHERN IRELAND Enjoy literature Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane T74 Spaceships in the garden

455 456 458 460 462 462 463 463

THE U.S.A. Enjoy literature 464 Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates 464 T75 Destroying the black body 464 SOUTH AFRICA Enjoy literature

July’s People by Nadine Gordimer T76 Why do the whites come here?

466 466 467

Competence, attitudes and values

468

Enjoy the music Do it now!

J asper Johns, Flag The policy on gender equality in Italy Women’s labour market participation in the U.K. Rugby uniting white and black South Africa American Reconstruction Civil rights dreaming “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King

470 470

Act now!

Inspiring environments The power of words NEW ZEALAND Enjoy literature

476 478 480

THE U.S.A. Enjoy literature Walden by Henry David Thoreau T78 Freedom in the woods The Road by Cormac McCarthy T79 Keep the fire alive!

482 482 483 484 484

T77 No Ordinary Sun by Hone Tuware

480 480

Competence, attitudes and values

486

Are the times changing?

487

The pace of change

Is democracy in good shape? 453 What is democracy?

Nature at risk

Enjoy the music The Times They are A-Changin’

by Bob Dylan

488 489

How far is the future?

Old and new economic trends Brexit and the future of Britain Literature and change

490 492 496 498

THE U.K. Enjoy literature Saturday by Ian McEwan T81 Accustomed to change Middle England by Jonathan Coe T82 Now and then

500 500 501 502 502

Competence, attitudes and values

506

THE U.S.A. Enjoy literature I, Robot by Isaac Asimov T80 Runaround

CANADA Enjoy literature The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood T83 Us and them

FOR YOUR EXAMS

International certifications (FIRST and IELTS) INVALSI

507

GLOSSARY OF LITERARY TERMS INDEX

532 538

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T he Handmaid’s Tale TV Series

502 504 504

21st Century Skills

Reading (Complete Exam Format – B2 level) Listening (Complete Exam Format – B2 level) Esame di Stato Seconda Prova (Complete Exam Format – Lingua 1) Colloquio (Map of the ideas)

rtificial A Intelligence and ethics

498 498 499

508 513 514 520 523 524 526 528

hat has W happened and what will happen Earth Tutorial: The Problem Greta Thunberg speaking to the Members of the American Congress in 2019

FIRST (full test) IELTS (full test)

MAPPING THE TIMES

1 From the origins to the end of the Middle Ages At the roots of British identity

British identity has been shaped by thousands

of years of migration. Ever since the very first inhabitants arrived in Britain, probably from

❶ Stonehenge, built from around 3000 to 1500 B.C.

southern Europe, there has been a continuous

process of settlement.

When, about eight thousand years ago, the country found itself geographically separated from the European continent (in what

today we would call the ‘first Brexit’), it was already a land of many cultures and languages.

Archaeological evidence has proved that before the Romans’ arrival in the first century

❷ Hadrian’s Wall, built by the Romans in 128 A.D.

Britain's population already included people from North Africa, Syria, the Balkans and Scandinavia.

From the fifth century onwards, the Angles, the Saxons, the Vikings and the Normans invaded the land.

Christianity provided strong cultural links with Europe

while trade brought influences from Muslim countries and Western Asia. All this favoured the development of new ideas and a new language that formed the basis of English literature.

BIG QUESTIONS

Debates to develop your global competence

❸ Beowulf (early 8th century) the first English epic in Old English

Who are we? page 435 Is democracy in good shape? page 453 14

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❸

❾ Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400)

❷

❽ Magna Carta, signed in 1215

by King John I

❼ The Normans introduce

❶

the feudal system into England (XI century)

❾

❽

❹

❻

❺ ❹ King

❺ Norman

❻ The Bayeux Tapestry (1073-

Alfred the Great (849-899 A.D.), King of Wessex and of the Anglo-Saxons

Conquest (1066); William of Normandy becomes King of England as William I

83) tells how King Harold was defeated

by William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings

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Once upon a time in Europe

Recent research has proved that the first humans (called ‘Pioneer men’) lived in Britain more than a hundred thousand years ago. Pioneer man was eventually wiped out by Ice Age. As climate conditions became more benign, a new group of humans arrived. They migrated across the land bridge that at that time joined Britain to the European mainland.

Archaeologists call that vanished strip of land ‘Doggerland’.

The area was a series of gently sloping hills, marshland, valleys, and swampy lagoons, at first inhabited by deer and other wild animals. Later the hunters followed, coming from what is now continental Europe.

Evidence of Doggerlanders’ nomadic presence can be found embedded in the seafloor, where modern fishermen often find ancient bones and tools that date to about 9000 years ago. Then, some 8200 years ago, the sea level rose following the last Ice Age and water inundated this area, creating the Europe we are familiar with today.

Britain was definitively cut off from Europe. Those first inhabitants of Doggerland were in part swept away by the flood, while the rest (known as Ancient Britons) remained in Britain and developed separately, living undisturbed on hunting and fishing. Around 4500 B.C. a new group of immigrants arrived from Europe and settled in southern England and Ireland.

They came in boats, with sheep, cattle, and cereals and began to cultivate the land. They started clearing the forests to make more space for crops and animals, thus changing the landscape. These first farmers built special monuments for the dead, where rituals and ceremonies were held. The Ancient Britons also built stone circles, probably for religious ceremonies involving hundreds of people. Stonehenge, near Salisbury, is the most famous of these stone circles.

▲ Map showing hypothetical extent of Doggerland, which provided a land bridge between Britain and continental Europe.

The Celts (7th-4th centuries B.C.)

▲ The stunning Gundestrup cauldron (Celtic bowl). Made from nine kilos of solid silver and more than half a metre in diameter, it is decorated on the outside with faces that stare out from the bowl; inside are elaborate scenes of what appear to be the stories of gods.

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Around 2000 B.C. the Celts, a group of people from central Europe, started settling across much of Britain and Ireland. Their settlement, in various waves, continued until about 600 B.C. Although they were a war-like people, they mixed with the indigenous populations and created a distinct Celtic-British culture of their own.

The Celts were organised in tribes each with its own king or chief. Women had a special place in Celtic society: they could be warriors and leaders of tribe.

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Insight into history • Who were the Celts?

Insight into culture

History and culture 1 INVASIONS AND MIGRATIONS

Scenario

Insight into culture Stonehenge between mystery and identity Stonehenge is the most important prehistoric monument in the whole of Britain. What exists today is only a small part of the original complex.

The construction of Stonehenge probably took place in several stages.

It is still difficult to trace back the exact date of the monument, but it is likely that the first Stonehenge was built in about 3000 B.C: the outer circular bank and a large 1 earthwork were built to be used as 2 a place of Neolithic worship and 3 burial . Around 2500 B.C. the first forty bluestones from the Preseli Mountains in Wales were raised within the earthwork and over the next six hundred years a circle of twenty-five trilithons (two upright blocks crossed 4 by a lintel ) were added. The purpose 5 of all this work remains baffling .

The location of the site (a slight rise in a flat valley with a view of the horizon in all directions) as well as 6 its alignment towards the points of sunrise and sunset on the summer and winter solstices suggest that

Civic Literacy

Stonehenge was some sort of observatory or time-measuring device.

Today, new studies suggest that monuments like Stonehenge acted like prehistoric focal points, where Britons from the far corners of Scotland, England and Wales gathered to feast together as compatriots (the inclusion of the bluestones from Wales might simbolise some kind of “political unification” of different British peoples). Feasts were a crucial part of life in prehistoric Britain, involving long-distance travel, spectacular ceremonies and vast quantities of food. Since animals such as cows and pigs were also brought to the site from hundreds of miles away, experts concluded that in 2500 B.C. Stonehenge was known across Britain as a place of pilgrimage and celebration.

1. earthwork_terrapieno 2. worship_culto 3. burial_sepoltura 4. lintel_architrave 5. baffling_incomprensibile 6. alignment_allineamento

CHECK IN

1. Read the text and tick where appropriate.

Stonehenge probably served as: a. □ an astronomical observatory b. □ a site for human sacrifice c. □ a temple d. □ a cemetery e. □ a gathering place 2. Read again and find a. how old Stonehenge is. b. where it is located. c. what recent theories about this monument suggest. d. who gathered at Stonehenge and why.

3. Watch the video “Evidence suggests Stonehenge was an elite cemetery”. What are the questions posed by the video?

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Scenario

History and culture Roman Britain (55 B.C.-410 A.D.)

The Romans arrived in Britain in 55 B.C. with the aim of conquest. At that time, the leader of the Roman army was Julius Caesar, who wanted to make the north-west border of the Roman Empire safe. Caesar invaded Britain twice: first in 55 B.C. and then a year later, when he marched up to Essex. However, the Roman leader could not complete the conquest: a rebellion in Gaul (the territory that comprised modern-day France and Belgium, already occupied by the Romans) forced him to leave Britain with his troops. Ninety years passed before the Roman army returned to Britain. In 43 A.D. Rome’s new emperor, Claudius, decided to invade Britain again.

The island was potentially a very wealthy place, since it had “gold, silver and other metals to make it worth conquering”, as Roman historian Tacitus wrote. From north to south, the Romans built an incredible network of roads, most of which are still in use today, and a gigantic wall, Hadrian’s Wall, near the Scottish border to control and defend the area from Scottish tribes.

Gradually, the Britons (as the Celtic peoples living in Britain were called) adopted Roman law and ways. Towns were rebuilt following Roman architecture, and soon London (Londinium) started serving as the administrative capital with a basilica, a forum, a governor’s palace, and a bridge crossing the Thames. The Romans remained in Britain for nearly four centuries, until the beginning of the 5th century (410 A.D.), when the last troops were completely withdrawn to defend Italy, which was itself under attack.

▲ Hadrian’s Wall (128 A.D.).

▲ The ancient Roman baths in Bath.

Anglo-Saxon invasion and settlement (410-1066)

▼ Viking ship (11th century).

The Vikings’ invasion and Alfred the Great (8th-10th centuries)

Between the 8th and the 10th centuries, the Vikings came from today’s Denmark, Norway and Sweden raiding throughout Europe. They landed in the British Isles several times. Most of the Vikings were raiders in search of gold, animals and slaves. The following is a description from The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of how a group destroyed a church, killing the monks and stealing their treasure in 793:

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Women in history

The departure of the Romans in 410 A.D. left the island undefended against the invasions of the Germanic tribes of the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes from Northern Germany. The Anglo-Saxon invaders colonized northwards and westwards, subduing the Romanised Britons and pushing the Celtic tribes to the fringes of Britain, mainly to Cornwall, Wales and Scotland.

In 597 St Augustine began the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon pagans to Christianity. Churches and monasteries were built all over England and written culture started.

INVASIONS AND MIGRATIONS

From 835 onwards, the Vikings attacked East Anglia, southern England and Ireland; the territories occupied and controlled by the Danish Vikings came to be known as Danelaw.

In 865 a great Viking army landed again in England, where there were four important separate kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex. Alfred (849-899), King of Wessex – a Saxon kingdom in south-western England – fought a long-lasting struggle against the Vikings and defeated their king, Guthrum, at the Battle of Edington in 878. Alfred, the only English king known as ‘the Great’, is famous not only for his military successes but also for his social and educational reforms. He began to shape the English nation, founding cities, creating coinage and establishing law and government. Alfred had a strong belief in education and arranged for key books to be translated from Latin to Anglo-Saxon. He also gave his support to the compilation of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that reconstructed the history of the English people. It was the first history of a European people written in their own language. Alfred’s example was followed by his successors. Under his daughter Aethelflaed and his son Edward, the first step towards the unification of the kingdoms was taken.

The Last Kingdom

The Norman Conquest (1066)

When the Saxon king Edward the Confessor died in 1066, Harold of Wessex was chosen as the new monarch, but the throne was also claimed by William, Duke of Normandy (1028-87), who defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings in the same year. Norman armies soon conquered the rest of the country and the Duke was proclaimed King William I, but he did not give up his territorial possessions in France.

The Normans brought new expertise in the construction of churches, cathedrals and especially castles that served as fortresses against external attacks. It was this military development which allowed the new nobility to assert control over the country and keep its boundaries safe from incursions from Wales and Scotland, where the Celts had retreated.

Women in history

Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians She defeated bloodthirsty invaders, secured a kingdom and laid the foundations for England. Today, more than 1100 years after her death, one of the great forgotten figures in British history is emerging from the shadows.

Born during the war against the Viking invaders, Aethelflaed (872?-918), daughter of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, grew up in a realm on 1 the brink of disaster because of the constant struggle with the Vikings.

When she was 16, her marriage with Aethelred, Lord of Mercia, enabled an alliance between Mercia and Wessex, the last Saxon kingdom to resist a complete Viking victory.

Civic Literacy

When Aethelflaed’s husband died, she became Queen of Mercia. She led armies, built fortresses and campaigned against the Vikings.

She was a brilliant diplomat and her fame spread across the British Isles: she was beloved by her warriors and her people, who simply called her ‘the Lady of the Mercians’. She continued her father Alfred’s policies, which resulted in diminishing the power of the Vikings in Britain, and allowed for the final unification of the land under her brother Edward (the Elder), who extended his authority over almost all of England by conquering areas that were in the hands of the Danish invaders.

CHECK IN

1.

What problem affected Wessex when Aethelflaed was born?

2. Who was Aethelred and what relationship did he have with Aethelflaed?

3. Why was Aethelflaed appreciated by her people?

4. Who was Edward?

5. Discuss Aethelflaed was a diplomat. How important is diplomacy in wartime?

1. brink_orlo

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History and culture 2 THE RISE AND DECLINE OF FEUDALISM

Scenario

The feudal system: a pyramidal society

▶ Pyramid of feudal hierarchy.

The Normans introduced the feudal system into England. The country that William I had conquered in 1066 was a rural territory that the King subdivided among the Norman lords who had fought with him and the Church that was supporting him.

In the feudal social system the King was at the top of the social ladder. Below him were the barons, who included all the nobles who were direct vassals of the King, regardless of their rank, and bishops. Bishops and abbots held the land on behalf of the Church. The nobility’s best soldiers, the knights, were loyal to the barons and received lands in return for their favours.

KING All these categories not only owned the land but also the people who lived and worked on it: the landless serfs who were at the bottom of the feudal pyramid. Serfs were ‘unfree’ and tied to the land: they shaped the farming landscape and had to work BARONS long hours for the landlord, but not all peasants were serfs. Many were freemen who owned their own land, but had to pay a high rent to greater landowners.

The feudal system began a slow yet inexorable decline in the 13th and 14th KNIGHTS centuries. Some great events contributed to this remarkable social change: the signing of the Magna Carta, the Black Death and the Peasants’ Revolt.

The Magna Carta of 1215 with its idea of a limited monarchy led to the PEASANTS foundation of modern democracy. Killing up to half of the population, the Black Death was the largest disaster in European history. The 1381 Peasants’ Revolt called for the abolition of serfdom, threatening the existing social structure and the country’s ruling elite.

SERFS

Women in the Middle Ages

▲ An illustration of Christine de Pizan, poet and author at the court of King Charles V of France, from The Book of the Queen (ca. 1410).

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The role of women gradually grew in importance during the Middle Ages. Aristocratic women could exercise considerable power through their possession of land. Though women generally had to accept combined marriages, they could nonetheless enjoy a certain degree of independence and some economic rights. Another field where women enjoyed considerable authority was religion. Monasteries and nunneries were often run by abbesses. In the convent, nuns were usually given some sort of education, and they, in turn, provided education for upper-class girls.

As for the lower classes, peasant women had many domestic responsibilities, including caring for children, preparing food, and tending livestock. During the harvest, women often joined their husbands in the fields to bring in the crops. Women often participated in vital cottage industries, such as brewing, baking and manufacturing textiles. Women living in towns assisted men in a variety of trades and crafts, including the production of textiles, leather goods, and metal work. Some women ran market-stalls and inns, while others worked as nurses and even acted as medical practitioners.

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The Plantagenets (1133-1453)

The first Plantagenet King, Henry II of Anjou (1154-89), ruled over England, most of Wales, Normandy, and other parts of France (acquired through his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine).

Through the Constitutions of Clarendon (1164), Henry II created a body of laws regulating the relationship between the King and State, Church and society. Thomas à Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, refused to submit to the King’s laws since the Church would be deprived of its rights. Thomas was first sent to exile in France and then murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. The Church made Thomas a martyr and a saint and from then on Canterbury became a place of pilgrimage.

Plantagenet comes from Latin ‘planta genista’, a yellow flower that Henry’s father wore on his helmet.

→

Henry II was succeeded by Richard I (the Lionheart), who joined the Third Crusade. On

returning to England Richard had to defend his French possessions but was killed in 1199.

▲ Henry II disputing with Thomas Becket.

The Crusades and Britain’s role

The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims that started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups. They were also the first European attempt to expand in non-Christian lands. England’s contribution to the Crusades varied over the centuries.

Though some Anglo-Norman nobles participated in the First Crusade (1096-99), the most celebrated English crusader was Richard I the Lionheart, who distinguished himself for his abilities as a commander during the Third Crusade (1189-92). In 1191, Richard’s forces defeated the Saladin’s army and in 1192, Richard and Saladin signed a peace treaty that ended the Third Crusade.

The Church in medieval England

Throughout the medieval period there was only one universal Christian Church, which possessed vast wealth, political influence and a virtual monopoly of thought and education.

Its values, sacraments and holidays defined the lives of ordinary people from birth to death.

The conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity was started by St Augustine in 597, and in less than a century all the Saxon kingdoms of England had accepted the new religion. When the Danish invaders occupied the country, they destroyed monasteries and weakened the Church’s power. A religious revival took place in the 9th and 10th centuries, when political and religious unity was established by Alfred the Great and his heirs. After the Norman Conquest, England became more closely connected with the culture of Latin Europe, and the English church became a major unifying element in society. When, in the later Middle Ages, religious unrest spread all over Europe, it also affected England. John Wycliffe (1320-84), a reformer and theologian, strongly criticised the papacy and had a major influence on the Protestant Reformation that followed in the 16th century.

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▲ 15th-century miniature of the Siege of Antioch, Third Crusade.

John Lackland and the Magna Carta

On the death of Richard I, his brother became King John I (1166-1216). He reigned from 1199 to 1216 and was called Lackland because he lost Normandy and most of the English possessions in France. In England John had to face the revolt of the barons and clergy against the high taxes he imposed on them and in 1215 he was forced to agree to the barons’ terms.

On June 15, 1215, at Runnymede, John signed the Magna Carta, a document that marks a milestone in English history. It limited the King’s absolute powers and recognised some fundamental rights for the barons.

▼ Richard II meets the rebels on June 1381 in a miniature from a 1470s copy of Jean Froissart’s Chronicles.

The Model Parliament

John’s grandson, Edward I (1239-1307), started to recognise the importance of a new middle class that was growing with the increase in towns and trade. It was easier for the King to raise taxes from this new class of merchants (or burghers) than from the barons. Edward therefore decided to include representatives of this class in the Great Council, which approved the King’s plans for taxes.

In 1295 the king summoned two representatives of the burgher class from every town and two knights from every county to serve as a parliament, known as The Model Parliament. The foundations for the creation of the House of Commons had been laid.

The Black Death and the Peasants’ Revolt (1348-81)

▲ The Triumph of Death is a painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, painted ca. 1562. It was inspired by the waves of the Black Death plaguing the 14th century.

22

The terrible Black Death was a bubonic disease from Asia and Europe that struck Britain in 1348 and created social unrest.

It decimated the population and especially the peasants, who were essential for working the land.

The demands of the underpaid and over-exploited peasants (who asked for rights and equality and claimed the end of serfdom) were considered unacceptable by the lords, since they could undermine the feudal system. Chaos exploded in 1381, following the imposition of a tax on the population.

Peasants marched on London but the Peasants’ Revolt (as it was called) was repressed and the leaders killed.

The reduced number of serfs resulting from the Black Death forced the lords to pay free labourers to cultivate the land. Some landlords substituted arable lands with pastures (mainly with sheep), increasing the production of wool. The Black Death is thus considered the main cause of the end of the Middle Ages.

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Explore sources

History and culture 3 MAGNA CARTA, A LANDMARK IN ENGLISH LIBERTY

Scenario

Explore sources

The Magna Carta

Civic Literacy

Written in 1215, the Magna Carta was an agreement between King John I and the powerful barons who owned the land and had challenged his rule. In it, the King was forced to agree to a series of concessions concerning the rights of the community against the King, and dealing with matters such as the reform of law and justice, trade, the freedom of the Church and the behaviour of royal officials. These protections formed the basis of British human rights that were gradually extended to all citizens over the centuries. The Magna Carta also established a Council of Barons to enforce it, which paved the way to an independent parliament. Here is the final part of the charter.

We [the King] make and grant to [the barons] the following security: that the barons may elect at their pleasure twentyfive barons from the realm, who ought, with all their strength, to observe, maintain the peace and privileges which we have 1 granted to them. In such wise that if we, or our justice, or 2 our bailiffs , or any one of our servants shall have transgressed against any one in any respect, or shall have broken one of the articles of peace or security, and our transgression shall have 3 been shown to four barons of the aforesaid twenty-five: those four barons shall come to us, and shall ask us to cause that 4 error to be amended without delay. And if we do not amend that error, the aforesaid four barons shall refer the matter to the remainder of the twenty-five barons who shall oppress us in every way in their power, – namely, by taking our castles, lands and possessions. Saving the persons of ourselves, our queen and our children. Wherefore we will and firmly decree that the English church shall be free, and that the subjects of our realm shall have and hold all the aforesaid liberties, rights and concessions, duly and in peace, freely and quietly, fully and entirely, for themselves and their heirs from us and our heirs, in all matters and in all places, forever, as has been said.

Given through our hand, in the plain called Runnymede, on the fifteenth day of June, in the seventeenth year of our reign.

1. In such wise that_in modo tale che (Here ‘wise’ is roughly

equivalent to modern ‘way’ or ‘ways’.)

2. bailiffs_ ufficiali giudiziari 3. aforesaid_

suddetti 4. to be amended_ essere riparato

▲ The signing of the Magna Carta by King John I in 1215.

CHECK IN

1. Read the text and find out a. how many representatives the barons can elect. b. what the function of such representatives is. c. who will report the king about any transgression of the articles. d. what will happen in that case. e. what the King risks if he does not amend the error. f. what subjects of the realm will be granted.

2. Find the words/expressions that have a meaning

similar to the following: 1. kingdom 3. so that 2. force 4. mistake

5. freedoms 6. therefore

3. Watch the video “Magna Carta and the emergence

of Parliament” and answer the questions.

1. Who/What was the cause of the barons’ anger?

2. Who was Robert Fitzwalter?

3. Who else was against King John?

Conflicts outside and inside Britain

The Kings of England still had territories in France, which were claimed by the French. A series of conflicts between England and France broke out in 1337 – known as the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453), that ended with the loss of all English possessions in France.

The end of the Middle Ages in English history corresponds with the end of the dynastic conflict known as the Wars of the Roses (1455-85), a dispute between two rival noble families and their supporters about the royal succession. The name comes from the emblems of the two sides, the red rose of the House of Lancaster and the white rose of the House of York. In the final battle at Bosworth (1485), the Yorkist King Richard III was defeated by the Lancastrian Henry Tudor, who was then crowned Henry VII (1457-1509). The final resolution of the conflict, however, was Henry’s marriage to Elizabeth of York, and the founding of the Tudor dynasty in 1486.

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Visual thinking skills

ENJOY THE ARTS

Interactive analysis

The Bayeux Tapestry (1073-83)

Musée de la tapisserie, Bayeux, France The first comic book

The Bayeux Tapestry is a remarkable work of medieval art. It is a beautiful work of embroidery representing the events leading up to the decisive Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the invasion of Britain by William of Normandy, known as ‘The Conqueror’.

It was probably made by William’s wife Matilda and her court ladies between 1073 and 1083. The tapestry is almost 230 ft long, and the story is shown in more than 70 scenes with Latin inscriptions, which resemble a modern comic book. The images are lively and simple, and the figures are outlined in a cartoonlike fashion, giving a sense of movement and vitality.

The scene shown here depicts William’s boats before landing at Pevensey, near Hastings, in the south of England. Two wavy lines indicate the sea water. Apart from the soldiers, some horse heads are visible, which indicates that also horses were carried in the ships. The figures are perfectly outlined, and their gestures convey a vivid sense of reality.

KEY ENQUIRIES

OBSERVE The two pictures reproduce a scene called ‘The crossing’. The one above gives you a broad view of the scene while the other focuses on William’s ship, which is carrying the Pope’s banner.

1. What is happening in the picture above?

2. Look at the Latin words on top. What do they mean?

3. The use of colours for the ships and sails serves a particular aim. What is it?

4. Two of the ships are smaller than the others. Why? 5. Focus on William’s ship. Which two main differences are there between that and the other ships?

6. Consider the banner on William’s ship. What was its aim in your opinion?

WONDER 7. It is the night of September 26th, 1066. You are crossing the Channel on William’s ship, on one of the adventures that will change the future of England. What do you see round you? How do you feel?

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History and culture

ROAD MAP

Check out

Complete your own map

1 Invasions and migrations

1. Decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F). Correct the false ones.

T F 1. Doggerland is the name of the first people who lived in Britain.

T F 2. Britain was cut off from Europe more than 8000 years ago.

T F 3. The first farmers arrived around 4500 B.C. 4. The Celts started settling across much of Britain and Ireland from Central Europe.

T F

5. England was a Roman colony until the Norman Conquest.

6. The Anglo-Saxon invasion started soon after Roman withdrawal.

7. The territories conquered by the Vikings were known as Danelaw.

8. The Normans brought Christianity to England for the first time.

9. Alfred the Great defeated the Anglo-Saxons at Edington in 878.

10. William of Normandy defeated King Harold at Hastings in 1066.

T F T F

7th-4th centuries B.C. Celts 55 B.C.-410 A.D. Romans

T F T F T F T F

2. Explain in your own words 1. what Doggerland was.

2. where the Celts came from and where they settled.

3. why Julius Caesar did not complete the invasion of Britain.

4. cause and consequence of the Roman withdrawal.

5. who Alfred was and why he was called The Great.

6. who William I was.

3. Summarise the different migrations to Britain in a table/poster similar

to the one below and get ready to report back the information. You may search the web for more detailed data.

Date

Until the 7th century B.C. Neolithic people (Britons)

MIGRATIONS TO BRITAIN FROM THE ORIGINS TO 1066 Group migrating From Reasons and causes

From 449 • Angles, Saxons, Jutes (different kingdoms) • Alfred the Great of Wessex (871-899) • Edward the Confessor (1042-66) • Harold (1066) 597 Christianisation begins (St Augustin) 8th-10th centuries Vikings or Danes 1066 Normans 1096-1192 Crusades 1199-1216 John Lackland

2 The rise and decline of feudalism 4. Answer the questions.

1. Who introduced the feudal system into Britain?

2. What was the social hierarchy under the feudal system?

3. What problem did the Constitutions of Clarendon try to solve?

4. Why was Thomas à Becket killed and what were the consequences of his death?

5. What was the aim of the Crusades?

6. Which English King distinguished himself in the Holy Land?

7. Who was John Wycliffe?

8. What was the position of women in the feudal period?

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1215 Magna Carta 1327-77 Edward III 1328 Scottish Independence 1337-1453 Hundred Years’ War 1348 Black Death

3 Magna Carta, a landmark in English liberty

1455-85 Wars of the Roses

5. Answer the questions.

1. Who signed the Magna Carta and why is it such an important document?

2. What effects did the Black Death have on British society?

3. What was the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 caused by?

4. What caused the Hundred Years’ War? How and when did it end?

1485-1509 Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch

For your exams INVALSI 1

1. LISTEN to “The biggest revolution in history”. What

revolution does the text refer to?

IELTS

4. WRITE about the following topic.

History has demonstrated that people have always moved and migrations have always contributed to shaping the identity of a country. We should expect people in the future to migrate.

This is what people will always do.

2. Listen again. Decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F). Correct the false ones.

1. The first humans who arrived in Britain were

Mesolithic people.

2. Nomadic people lived in Britain for over 25,000 years.

3. They lived from hunting, fishing and wild plants.

4. Primeval forests were burnt down in order to build houses.

5. Moorlands are the product of soil exhaustion which started in the Mesolithic period.

6. Farming was introduced into Britain during the Neolithic period.

T F T F T F T F T F

Do you strongly disagree, disagree, agree or strongly agree with the statement above? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience. Write at least 150 words.

5. CONSIDER the following statement.

The basic principles of the Magna Carta are seen very clearly in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, drafted in 1948 just after the Second World War. It is a document that, for the first time, articulated the rights and freedoms to which every human being is equally and inalienably entitled.

T F

FIRST

3. READ about the importance of the Magna Carta today.

Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line.

There is an example at the beginning (0).

Surf the web to find evidence for this and prepare a digital presentation to compare the two documents.

Digital Competence

WHY DOES MAGNA CARTA MATTER TODAY? Magna Carta established the principles of a (0) limited monarchy, the right to a fair trial, and the need for common consent to levy taxes. It also carried within it individual (2)

(1)

ideas about the importance of

, and its influence has spread across the centuries around the globe.

In 1215, the Magna Carta was a peace treaty between the King and the respect it was a (4)

(3)

King and his subjects. The 1225 version of the Magna Carta,

POWER FREE

barons. In that

, but it provided a new framework for the relationship between the (5)

LIMIT

issued by Henry II (1216-72),

REBEL FAIL FREE

became the definitive version of the text. Three clauses of the 1225 Magna Carta remain on the statute book today. Although most of the clauses of the Magna Carta have now been (6) different uses that have been made of it since the Middle Ages have shaped its (7) modern era, and it has become a potent, international cry against the

(8)

, the in the use of power.

REPEAL MEAN ARBITER

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Literature 1 OLD ENGLISH (450-1066)

Scenario

Three languages

The history of the English language started with the arrival of Germanic tribes (the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes), who crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and Northern Germany and invaded Britain during the 5th century A.D., soon after the Romans’ withdrawal.

At that time, the inhabitants of Britain (the Britons) spoke a number of Celtic dialects while the invaders’ language was Anglo-Saxon (or ‘Englisc’), a branch of the Indo-European language family – based on an alphabet consisting of signs called ‘runes’ – that developed into Old English.

It soon became dominant over the language spoken by the Britons and also over Latin, which had been brought to Britain by the Romans and was in use among the elite, mainly in the south.

Latin, however, did not disappear. With the arrival of Christianity at the end of the 6th century, a new written culture came into being: the monks wrote manuscripts in Latin that were later translated into Old English. Old English was spoken until around 1100 and greatly influenced modern English: about half of the most commonly used words in today’s language have Old English roots.

▲ The runic alphabet.

▶ An example of Old English manuscript.

Bards, epics and elegies

Before writing was introduced, the history of the Anglo-Saxons and their songs were passed down from generation to generation thanks to bards, story-tellers who narrated popular oral poems. They were also master improvisers, who composed poems freely and sang or chanted them. Rhythm was given by alliteration (→ p. 532), while repetition of certain words and phrases helped the poet to memorise the lines. Poems were often recited during meals when warriors were invited to commemorate their deeds. Some compositions survived for centuries before they were finally written down.

The highest form of poetry was the epic, or heroic poem (→ p. 532), a long narrative poem that told of the deeds and incredible adventures of heroes. It was generally based on historical facts, but was also inspired by songs and legends of the past that provided both entertainment and education for the audience. The hero represented the values of a certain culture, race or religious group, and on his victory or failure depended the destiny of the whole nation.

The first known epic in English literature is Beowulf (→ p. 32), composed by an unknown poet probably in the 8th century.

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Elegies (→ p. 532) are another form of Old English literature. They are lyrics written in the first

person dealing with the loneliness and melancholy of the poet. The main themes are the acceptance of fate with resignation, the sorrows of exile and separation from a loved one.

All the existing Anglo-Saxon elegies – like The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Wife’s Lament – are collected in The Exeter Book, a manuscript of Anglo-Saxon poems produced by a single scribe around 950 A.D. The Exeter CHECK IN Book also contains religious verse, nearly 100 riddles, and a 1.

Decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F). heroic narrative. It is the largest collection of Old English Correct the false ones. poetry in existence. These sorrowful poems reflect the often 1. Old English was rooted in Anglo-Saxon, a T miserable lives of the people who created them. language of Celtic origin.

T 2.

I t was spoken until the 12th century.

When the Normans conquered England in 1066, they 3. Old English was the language of epic introduced the French language into the country. Old English T poems and elegies. and Latin – spoken by churchmen and scholars – melded 4. After 1066 Old English melded with Latin. T with Norman French, thus giving origin to Middle English.

5. The origin of Middle English has to do with the Norman Conquest.

T1

The Wanderer (late 10th century)

F F F F

T F

2

The poem begins with the Wanderer expressing his sorrow for his fate that has forced him into exile at sea. Resigned melancholy is a characteristic of much English verse.

Some critics see it as a reflection of the English climate – the grey skies and the mist – or of the harsh sounds of Old English.

Translation

Oft I alone must 1 Utter my sadness , Each day before dawn.

Living there’s none, 5 No man, to whom I’d clearly speak 2 My innermost mind . […]

So I, wandering, Bereft of my homeland, 3 10 Far from my kinsmen , 4 Oft in wretchedness , My innermost feelings 5 Am forced to fetter , Over these long years 15 Since my lord I buried Deep in the dark earth, And from there, dully, 6 Went winter-freighted Over the icy waves. […]

Solitude Sad feelings The passing of time CHECK IN

1. Fill in the summary with the words from the box. winter • homeland • alone • lord • miserable Exile

because he is (2)

, far from his

family and friends. He has been exiled, deprived of his (3)

for many years since

he buried his (4)

. And from then

on he has had to face cold (5) at sea.

“Cold”: figurative language

(Modern English version by A.S. Kline, British poet) 1. Utter my sadness_lamentare la mia pena 2. My innermost mind_i miei più

The Wanderer feels sad and (1)

intimi pensieri 3. kinsmen_amici e parenti 4. wretchedness_miseria

2. Discuss The theme of exile was probably much felt by Anglo-Saxons, as it appears in the The Wanderer. Why was it so? Is this theme still present in today’s society and literature?

5. fetter_incatenare 6. winter-freighted_dall’inverno affaticato

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Literature 2 MIDDLE ENGLISH (1066-1500)

Scenario

A new language

3

Word bite meet meat mate out boot boat

Middle English is the name given to the different forms of English spoken after the Norman invasion of 1066 until the end of the 15th century. Middle English developed as a contamination of Old English dialects and Norman French.

For much of the early Medieval period, Norman-French continued to be the language of the court and the aristocracy, Latin was used by the clergy and scholars while most of the population still spoke Anglo-Saxon (or Old English), the language of the pre-Conquest period. Gradually the three languages mixed together, and by the end of the XIV century a new language, Middle English, had developed. It retained inflectional verb endings from Old English, but its rich vocabulary contained The Great Vowel Shift many words from Norman-French and from Latin, alongside those Vowel pronunciation of Anglo-Saxon origin.

Late Middle English Modern English before the GVS after the GVS Later, in the space of the 150 years or so between Chaucer and /iː/ /aɪ/ Shakespeare, English became simplified. At some time in this period /eː/ the so-called Great Vowel Shift occurred: the pronunciation of vowel /iː/ /ɛː/ sounds in English began to differ from other European languages. /aː/ /eɪ/ Meanwhile the printing press had been developed by Johannes /uː/ /aʊ/ Gutenberg in 1470, and the first English printer William Caxton was /oː/ /uː/ issuing books by 1476. /ɔː/ /oʊ/

New literary forms

New schemes of rhyme and metre were borrowed from continental literary forms. The Normans brought in metrical romances (tales in verse dealing with love, chivalry and religion) and a new form of lyric poetry focused on nature and joyous themes, like in The Cuckoo Song (ca. 1260), one of the most popular lyrics.

Middle English

Modern English

Sumer is icumen in – Luhde, sing cuccu!

Groweth sed and bloweth med And springth the wde nu Sing! cuccu, nu. Sing cuccu!

Summer has arrived –

Ballads

Sing loud, cuckoo!

Grows seed and blows mead And blossoms the wood now.

Sing cuckoo!

The ballad (→ p. 532) is probably the simplest form of Modern English poetry. Ballads were anonymous and spontaneous oral poems accompanied by music and dance that had been handed down from generation to generation since Anglo-Saxon times. Their themes were religion, love, supernatural events (ghosts, magic, superstition) or famous people of the time, and they had a recreational function but no moralising intent.

Since they originated from and were directed at illiterate people, the stories were simple, direct and full of repetitions.

▲ The manuscript of The Cuckoo Song.

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A ballad is a type of narrative song composed in simple stanzas, generally of two or four lines. In many ballads there is a refrain, and a frequent characteristic is the repetition of a stanza with slight modifications as the story advances. The story is usually a single episode, sometimes organised in brief scenes. Many ballads are about domestic tragedies where love – generally the sorrow and tragedy of love – has a prominent place. Ballads are always objective: the author never attempts to interpret the actions or the characters of the story. Ballads reflect the social conditions of the period: one of the most famous ballads is about a famous outlaw, Robin Hood, who is portrayed as the people’s hero as opposed to the aristocracy.

T1 Geordie (British ballad, around 16th century)

Medieval drama

Medieval English drama had a religious origin. Dramatic performances focused mainly on short episodes of the Old Testament and about the ‘mystery’ or the ‘miracle’ of the arrival of Christ as the Saviour of mankind. These performances, called Mystery plays and Miracle plays, had a religious intent: their aim was to instruct ordinary Christians in the mysteries concerning their faith. The earliest mystery plays date back to the 14th century; at the beginning Latin was used, later replaced by Middle English. Performances were first held inside churches and later transferred outside church buildings as they developed into something more entertaining and less tied to religion.

Morality plays were not based on sacred history but on the eternal struggle between good and evil, with the characters as allegorical personifications of virtues and vices fighting inside man’s soul. Everyman (ca. 1495)is considered the masterpiece of this genre, its theme being man’s ultimate destiny and death. By the end of the Middle Ages, drama was established as a form of entertainment put on by itinerant groups of performers at markets or in the courtyards of inns or taverns on semi-permanent stages.

After being informed

by Death that he must die, Everyman is abandoned by friends, family, Knowledge, Beauty, etc. Only Good Deeds will accompany him to his final destination.

Prose

For more than a century and a half after the Norman invasion, English prose did not produce any relevant expression. Then, in the 14th century, John Wycliffe (1328?-84) gave impulse to prose literature with his translation of the Bible (1382), which had a remarkable influence on English intellectual life. The nobles and wealthiest part of England had already started speaking a more refined variety of Middle English, the same language that was used by Geoffrey Chaucer, who contributed to Middle English literary dignity with his masterpiece The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400) (→ p. 41).

▲ A rare copy of the famous Morality play Everyman.

CHECK IN

1. How did Middle English originate?

2. What was the Great Vowel Shift?

3. Who introduced the first printing press into England?

4. What are the main characteristics of a ballad?

5. What themes are most common in ballads?

6. What were the origins of English drama? ▲ John Wycliffe.

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Authors and works

Beowulf (early 8th century)

Beowulf is a narrative poem in verse and is considered the first example of literature in English. The story tells the deeds of a mythical hero and is set in present-day Scandinavia. Though written in Old English, three Germanic peoples are involved, the Danes, the Swedes and the Geats, whose hierarchical societies were based on strength and loyalty. Fights against mythical creatures in a harsh natural background form the basis of Beowulf, which also bears Christian elements, mixed with a strong feeling of melancholy.

Short plot

This violent poem of over 3000 lines is the story of a warrior, Beowulf, and of his battles with a monster, Grendel, with Grendel’s vengeful mother and with a dragon which is guarding a treasure.

The poem opens in Denmark, where Grendel is terrorising King Hrothgar of Jutland and his warriors. Beowulf, Prince of the Geats, hears of his neighbours’ plight, and sails from Sweden to help them.

Full plot

Themes and language

▲ Miniature from the epic poem Beowulf.

Old English poetry uses alliterative meter: the stressed words in a line begin with the same sound. Each line has two halves and there is a brief pause between them. The two halves of a line are linked by alliteration (repetition of an initial consonant). In Beowulf, kennings are used, that is metaphors to name a person, place or thing in a figurative way (“heaven’s candle” for the sun, “shepherd of evil” for Grendel and “sleep of the sword” for death).

“This is a poem whose grim music is the snapping of fangs, the crunching of bones, and whose colour is the grey of the northern winter, shot by the red of blood. […] But it is in no way a primitive composition. It shows great skill in its construction, its imagery and language are sophisticated” (Anthony Burgess, English Literature, 1990).

With its distinct style, this war tale is a moving depiction of heroism, generosity and virtue in an age plagued by violence. Beowulf’s main themes concern courage and revenge, honour and tribal loyalty, which were the predominant features of Anglo-Saxon culture.

Fame

Though neglected for centuries, Beowulf is now considered one of the most popular and enduring epic poems ever written. Since the nineteenth century, the poem has continued to receive praise as a great work of literature.

Beowulf has been translated several times: what we read today is a translated version of the poem from CHECK IN Old English, and for this reason, it is difficult to fully 1. What type of society was Beowulf’s? appreciate its language and style. It has influenced 2. What is a ‘kenning’? Can you give an a number of modern poets and fiction-writers, of example? whom perhaps the most notable is J.R.R. Tolkien, 3. What values are highlighted in this who draws much of the material for his fantasy epic? world in Lord of the Rings from Beowulf.

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OLD ENGLISH (450-1066)

T2

BEOWULF

T2 The fight with Grendel

Beowulf’s death

4

In the following text you will read the last words spoken by Beowulf. Mortally wounded, the hero has collapsed and Wiglaf, his kinsman, brings water to refresh his master.

Enjoy!

That was so tragic, so noble, so sad: to see my lord Beowulf burn, to collect his weapons, to hear his last words, still full of love for us, his people. But he died in honour, and that is what we live and die for: fame.

“To the everlasting Lord of All, to the King of Glory, I give thanks that I behold this treasure here in front of me, that I have been thus allowed to leave my people 5 so well endowed on the day I die.

Now that I have bartered my last breath to own this fortune, it is up to you to look after their needs. I can hold out no longer.

Order my troop to construct a barrow 10 on a headland on the coast, after my pyre has cooled.

It will loom on the horizon at Hronesness and be a reminder among my people— so that in coming times crews under sail will call it Beowulf’s Barrow, as they steer 15 ships across the wide and shrouded waters.”

“All’eterno Signore di ogni cosa,

Then the king in his great-heartedness unclasped the collar of gold from his neck and gave it to the young thane, telling him to use it and the war-shirt and the gilded helmet well.

Poi il re, nella sua magnanimità, si tolse dal collo

20

25

“You are the last of us, the only one left of the Waegmundings. Fate swept us away, sent my whole brave high-born clan to their final doom. Now I must follow them.”

That was the warrior’s last word.

He had no more to confide. The furious heat of the pyre would assail him. His soul fled from his breast to its destined place among the steadfast ones.

“Sei l’ultimo della nostra stirpe, il solo rimasto

al Re della Gloria, io dico grazie perché posso ammirare questo tesoro, qui davanti a me, che mi è stato concesso di lasciare alla mia gente così che io ne fossi dotato il giorno della mia morte.

Ora che ho barattato il mio ultimo respiro con il possesso di questa fortuna, sta a te provvedere ai loro bisogni. Non posso resistere oltre.

Ordina alle mie truppe di costruire un tumulo su un promontorio della costa, dopo che la mia pira si è spenta.

Si leverà alto su Hronesness e sarà a memoria per il mio popolo – così che in futuro gli equipaggi sotto le loro vele lo chiameranno il Tumulo di Beowulf, mentre spingono le navi per le acque vaste e nebbiose.”

la collana d’oro e la diede al giovane seguace, dicendogli di farne buon uso, insieme alla cotta e all’elmo adorno.

dei Waegmunding. Il fato ci ha spazzati via mandando tutta la mia coraggiosa genia d’alto rango al loro destino finale. Ora tocca a me seguirli.”

Queste furono le ultime parole del guerriero.

Altro non aveva da confidare prima che la furia delle fiamme della pira lo assalisse. La sua anima volò via dal petto verso il suo destino tra i giusti.

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Authors and works

UNDERSTAND

1.

Complete the text with the words from the box. There are

3. Underline and write the lines that express the following elements.

two extra words you do not need to use.

Gratitude

death • dragon • treasure • Wiglaf • collar • helmet • hero • fate • build • die • Barrow • funeral Beowulf is about to (1)

Self-sacrifice

. With him Material and moral legacy

is Wiglaf, a young kinsman who has helped him in the fight against the

(2)

. Although he is

dying, the (3)

Power

thanks God for allowing

him to leave his people the

(4)

Memory and glory

found in the dragon’s den. Then he asks Wiglaf to (5)

a great burial mound for him as

a reminder of his glory, which people will call Beowulf’s (6)

Explore images

LITERARY COMPETENCE

Fate

. Finally the king hands Wiglaf

his golden (7)

, his battle shirt and

In his last words he reminds (9)

4. Look at the first 5 lines and find other examples of a. alliteration b. consonance

that he is the last of his breed and accepts his

5. The passage is highly dramatic. What elements help create

(8)

in a sort of investiture ceremony.

(10)

this dramatic tension?

in resignation.

6. What feelings do Beowulf’s last words and fate arouse in the

ANALYSE

reader?

2. Answer the questions.

1. (Lines 1-5) Who does Beowulf thank? What for?

2. (Lines 6-15) a. Who is Beowulf speaking to? b. What does he ask him? c. What place will be called “Beowulf’s Barrow”? By whom?

3. (Lines 16-27) a. Who will Beowulf’s successor be? Why?

b. What does the king give him?

c. What will remain of this great hero?

INTERPRET

7.

There are elements in Beowulf that have been associated with Christianity. Can you find any traces of them in the extract?

8. Discuss What values does the poem promote and how does it promote them?

9. Write creative Consider the following statement.

One of the reasons that Beowulf is such a popular example of the heroic ideal is his willingness to risk anything of his own in order to help others. His courage, which is displayed early in the poem, and his determination never abandon him. He fits the definition of an epic hero until his very end.

What about today’s heroes? What are the main features of a modern hero, what values does he/she represent? Are they similar to or do they differ from Beowulf?

Write a text of about 100 words and give an example of a person/character that you consider a hero.

Enjoy!

EXPLAINED

Beowulf’s death explained

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p. 4

OLD ENGLISH (450-1066): Beowulf

Explore images

The Sutton Hoo helmet The Sutton Hoo helmet has become an icon of the early Medieval period. This helmet was found at a burial site in Suffolk along with many other valuable objects. The burial provides insights into the life of the Anglo-Saxon elite and into connections between Britain and other parts of the world. The finds at Sutton Hoo changed historians’ views about the AngloSaxon period, which had been regarded as a Dark Age following the end of Roman Britain.

The helmet was discovered in 1939 at Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk, where archaeologists unearthed the remains of an Anglo-Saxon ship, possibly the tomb of a 7th-century nobleman. Inside the ship, among the gold, silver and iron, was a sword, a shield and this warrior’s helmet, which has become an icon of the AngloSaxon period. Though the helmet was badly damaged, it was possible to restore it. It comprised an iron cap, neck guard, cheek pieces and a face mask. The surface was covered with copper panels that gave it a bright, silvery appearance. Many of these panels were decorated with animal ornaments and heroic scenes of warriors, very popular in the Germanic world of the period. The Sutton Hoo helmet is one of the most important Anglo Saxon finds of all time. It was buried in the grave of a warrior chieftain together with a vast array of weapons and a 27-metre-long ship. Although it is proved that the helmet belonged to a powerful war-leader, we cannot be certain who he was. When it was found, it conjured up images of the warrior culture depicted in Beowulf, the great Anglo-Saxon epic poem written in a similar period.

CHECK IN

1.

Look at the reconstructed helmet and complete the description with the words from the box.

nose • eyebrows • face • mask • human Hanging from the helmet is a (1) protect the

(2)

to

and flaps to protect

the jaw and the ears. The mask is the helmet’s most remarkable feature. It has a (3) 1

face, comprising eye-sockets , eyebrows, moustache, mouth and a (4)

with two small

holes so that the warrior could breathe. The copper 2

(5)

3

garnets .

1. eye-sockets_ orbite oculari

are inlaid with silver wire and tiny

2. inlaid_intarsiate 3. garnets_pietre

preziose rosso granata

2. Discuss Do you think there could be any relationship between the Sutton Hoo helmet and Beowulf?

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ENJOY THE SHOW

BEOWULF

A long-lasting hero

Film-makers and artists have repeatedly extracted, translated, and reimagined this epic adventure for modern audiences and readers of all ages.

A timeless tale of heroism in the face of wild and unknowable evil, the story of Beowulf has been the inspiration for many other tales, from J.R.R. Tolkien to modern fantasy films.

There are also a number of graphic-novel adaptations of Beowulf, in which the hero’s grim confrontation with the dark and the monstrous is filtered through the universal language of art.

The graphic novel

Beowulf: The Graphic Novel, by Stephen L. Stern, Christopher Steininger and Chris Studabaker, is a black and white retelling of the poem with the aim “to remain as faithful as possible to the original as the graphic novel form allows”. In his introduction to the graphic novel, the writer Stephen L. Stern emphasises the relationship between Beowulf and Tolkien’s works: “Simply put, Midgard – Middle Earth, the realm of the humans in Norse mythology – is mentioned no less than six times in the epic poem that Tolkien so assiduously studied and was so obviously influenced by”. It can confidently be said that, without Beowulf, there would be no Lord of the Rings. And it is just as true to say that Beowulf was the first true hero of Middle Earth.

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On the screen

Three films dedicated to the epic hero were released in less than ten years: Beowulf by Graham Baker in 1999, Beowulf and Grendel by Sturla Gunnarsson in 2005 and the last Beowulf by Robert Zemekis in 2007.

Beowulf (1999) The film is a science fiction adaptation set in an undetermined time in the future. Beowulf first rescues a damsel, Pendra, who is being threatened by two men.

Then he hears of Grendel, a force of evil that kills Hrothgar’s warriors, and later Beowulf finds himself in battle with Hrothgar’s daughter, Kyra, and Grendel’s mother.

Beowulf and Grendel (2005) In 2005 Beowulf and Grendel, Beowulf comes across the sea to help Hrothgar and just, as in the poem, fights Grendel and kills him, then fights a sea-creature that turns out to be Grendel’s mother. The film was shot in Iceland and the scenery is stark but beautiful and it feels remarkably true to the cultural background behind Beowulf.

Beowulf (2007) The 2007 version was designed as a visual spectacle (in its 3D version) and was a big success since the viewer is immersed in a wild, savage, world. The film is animated and employs “photorealistic animation”, which means that the characters look almost human. Their features resemble the actors who provide the voices. The story relies on the ancient poem for its basic structure but with important changes.

Grendel is Hrothgar’s son and Grendel’s mother is vicious and vengeful but also seductive.

Hrothgar promises to make Grendel his heir but, when Grendel turns out to be a monster, Hrothgar holds back on his promise.

As a result, the terror begins. When Beowulf goes to fight Grendel’s mother, he doesn’t kill her but has sex with her thus becoming the father of the dragon that plagues the country fifty years later, when he takes the throne.

WATCH and CHECK

1.

Summarise in this table the features of the three different adaptations of the epic Beowulf.

Title

Author/Director

Year

Features

1.

2.

3.

2. You have to draw a graphic novel on Beowulf. Prepare a drawing to be

used for the cover and a short summary to be written on the back cover.

Also think of a subtitle for the book.

37 EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

Authors and works T3 Lord Randal in music

Lord Randal (about 13th century)

5

Interactive analysis

Lord Randal is an Anglo-Scottish border ballad consisting of a dialogue between a young lord and his mother; like most ballads it is a narrative focusing on one single event concerning its protagonist, Lord Randal. His dialogue with his mother develops through incremental repetition of a stanza with slight modifications as the story advances, until the tragic climax and final revelation.

Enjoy!

Lord Randal and a lady full of mystery meet, and tragedy erupts. What can a poor mother do but ask one, two, three more questions? I can tell my son is sick, mothers have a heart for that; he is not just tired, he is dying. She poisoned him, and he was the more deceived. In the end all that is left of a young knight’s life is just livestock, gold and silver, houses and lands for his mother, sister and brother. And an everlasting curse for the femme fatale who killed him: who killed my son?

Translation

1

4

O where ha’ you been, Lord Randal my son?

And where ha’ you been, my handsome young man?

I ha’ been at the greenwood; mother, make my bed soon, 2 3 For I’m wearied wi’ hunting and fain wad’ lie down.

8

An’ wha met ye there, Lord Randal my son?

An’ wha met you there, my handsome young man?

O I met wi’ my true-love; mother, make my bed soon, For I’m wearied wi’ hunting and fain wad’ lie down.

4

And what did she give you, Lord Randal my son?

And what did she give you, my handsome young man?

5 Eels fried in a pan; mother, make my bed soon, 12 For I’m wearied wi’ hunting and fain wad’ lie down.

6

▲ Medieval musicians.

1. ha’_have 2. wearied wi’_ sono stanco di 3. I… fain wad’_e mi piacerebbe 4. An’ wha met ye_and whom did you meet 5. Eels_anguille 6. And wha gat you leavins_and who got your leavings (e chi ha avuto i tuoi avanzi) 7. hawks… hounds_ il mio falco e i miei cani da caccia 8. kye_cow (mucca da latte)

Repetition to create suspence

Suspicion and a distrust of Randal’s lover

And wha gat you leavins , Lord Randal my son?

And wha gat you leavins, my handsome young man?

7 My hawks and my hounds ; mother, make my bed soon, 16 For I’m wearied wi’ hunting and fain wad’ lie down.

Premonition

20

And what becam of them, Lord Randal my son?

And what becam of them, my handsome young man?

They stretched their legs out an’ died; mother, make my bed soon, For I’m wearied wi’ hunting and fain wad’ lie down.

The mother already knows what has happened

24

O I fear you are poisoned, Lord Randal my son.

O I fear you are poisoned, my handsome young man.

O yes, I am poisoned; mother, make my bed soon, For I’m sick at the heart and fain wad’ lie down.

Confirmation of the mother’s suspects

28

What d’ye leave to your mother, Lord Randal my son?

What d’ye leave to your mother, my handsome young man?

8 Four and twenty milk kye ; mother, make my bed soon, For I’m sick at the heart and fain wad’ lie down.

The reason for Randal’s visit to his mother is revealed: he wants to settle things before he dies

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Change in refrain to mark a change in tone

MIDDLE ENGLISH (1066-1500)

32

What d’ye leave to your sister, Lord Randal my son?

What d’ye leave to your sister, my handsome young man?

My gold and my silver; mother, make my bed soon, For I’m sick at the heart and fain wad’ lie down.

36

What d’ye leave to your brother, Lord Randal my son?

What d’ye leave to your brother, my handsome young man?

My houses and my lands; mother, make my bed soon, For I’m sick at the heart and fain wad’ lie down.

40

What d’ye leave to your true-love, Lord Randal my son?

What d’ye leave to your true-love, my handsome young man?

I leave hell and fire; mother, make my bed soon, For I’m sick at the heart and fain wad’ lie down.

Irony Revenge

LITERARY COMPETENCE UNDERSTAND

1. Complete the summary with the words from the box. There are two extra words you do not need to use.

happened • question • poisoned • dogs • hunting • fate • heirs • lover • mother • heart The ballad repeatedly informs the audience of Randal’s tragic (1)

. The young lord is dying and he rides

back home to his mother after (2)

with his

dogs in the woods. There he met his lover who prepared him fried eels. The mother’s (3)

(“What did she give

you?”) immediately indicates a certain amount of suspicion and distrust of Randal’s (4)

on her part.

Again, the question about the meal’s leftovers (that were eaten by his (5)

who died soon after) implies

that the mother already knows what (6)

to

her son. Once it is clear that Randal is aware of having been (7)

, the nature of Randal’s visit to his

mother is revealed – he wishes to express his will naming his (8)

: his mother, his sister and his brother. As for

his “true love” he wishes her “hell and fire”.

2.

Who are the people speaking in the ballad?

3. What did Randal do before going back home to his mother?

4. What is wrong with the young man? And with his dogs?

5. What does the mother understand about her son when he talks about his dogs?

6. What is Lord Randal leaving to his mother, sister and brother after his death, and what feeling do his presents reveal for them?

7. What is Lord Randal leaving to his true love, and what feeling does his present reveal for her?

8. Why does the woman in the woods, the “true-love”, kill Lord Randal?

▲ Illustration by Arthur Rackham for Lord Randal in Some British Ballads (1919).

ANALYSE

9. Identify the two parts in which the story can be divided.

10. Underline all the parts or lines that remain exactly the same throughout the ballad.

11. Identify the lines in each stanza that advance the story.

INTERPRET

12. Discuss The ballad was written when feudalism was

the dominant social system in England. Are there any references to Randal’s social status? At what level of the social ladder would you put him?

Enjoy!

EXPLAINED

Lord Randal explained

p. 5

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Authors and works

Geoffrey Chaucer (1343?-1400) A brief bio

Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, some time around 1343; his father was a wine merchant. In 1357 Chaucer became a page to Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster, and this is the first evidence of his life-long connection with the court. In 1359, during the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453), a series of conflicts between England and France, he was taken prisoner in France and King Edward III paid the large sum of sixteen pounds for his release. In 1366 he married Philippa Roet, a lady in waiting to Queen Philippa. In 1372 he made his first journey to Italy on a diplomatic mission. In 1374 he was appointed Controller of Customs in the port of London and then employed as an envoy to France and Italy in 1378. He died in London before completing his most important work, The Canterbury Tales, and was buried in Westminster Abbey because of his services to the crown, in what is now known as Poets’ Corner.

Profile

Fourteenth-century English society was in a state of accelerating transition from the feudal system to new social forms. Chaucer was particularly sensitive to these changes and he masterfully portrayed them in his best work, The Canterbury Tales.

A very cultured man, Geoffrey Chaucer knew Italian and French and travelled to both countries. At a time when French and Latin were the languages of culture, he decided to write in English, which was a real revolution in the intellectual scenario of his time.

He also introduced metrical innovations in poetry, such as the line based on syllables and rhyme, and new devices in prose fiction, such as humour, characterisation and plot development.

In his earliest production, Chaucer experimented with octosyllabic couplets. His first work was probably the translation of a long French love poem, the Roman de la Rose, followed by The Book of the Duchess, an elegy on the death of a noble woman killed by the plague, and The House of Fame, an unfinished work full of irony and vivid characterisation. In The Parliament of Fowls and the long narrative poem Troilus and Cryseide he used a seven-line stanza, called ‘rhyme-royal’, and in The Legend of Good Women he created the rhyming pentameter, or ‘heroic couplet’ (→ p. 532), which became the main metre of The Canterbury Tales.

▼ WORKS Troilus and Criseyde 1385?

The Book of the Duchess 1389?

The Canterbury Tales 1387-1400 (unfinished)

Language and themes

Chaucer wrote in one of the Middle English dialects – the East-Midland dialect – and enriched it through French borrowings: the result was psychological realism and an effective narrative.

The tone varies from ironical and mocking to serious and thoughtful.

Recurrent themes are love and marriage, explored from different angles (i.e. sensual love and platonic love, women’s submission to men and their dominance in the couple). The sources of the tales range from popular tradition to French poets, to ancient classics. Many of them had a long tradition and already existed in different versions. “[Chaucer] had to create the English language and to establish its literary traditions. To do this he had to turn to the literature of France and bring something of its elegance to East Midland English. He ransacked the tales and histories of Europe to find subject matter.

But, finally, in his masterpiece he gave literature something completely new: pictures of people who are real and a view of life which, in its tolerance, humour, scepticism, passion, and love of humanity, we can only call ‘modern’.”(A. Burgess, English Literature)

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MIDDLE ENGLISH (1066-1500)

The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400) Structure

The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer’s masterpiece, describe late Medieval society. It is an unfinished work, containing only 23 of the original 120 short stories. Its protagonists are a group of pilgrims from three social classes (the nobles, the clergy and the middle class) travelling from Southwark to Canterbury Cathedral on a pilgrimage to St Thomas à Becket’s grave. The pilgrimage represents the frame containing all the stories. The pilgrims meet at the Tabard Inn, whose host sets up a competition to find the best story-teller.

The poem is divided into two parts: the General Prologue, which presents the characters, and the pilgrims’ tales.

Characters

The author borrowed the idea of bringing together a collection of short stories from Boccaccio’s Decameron, but, while the storytellers in the Italian poem all belong to the nobility, those in The Canterbury Tales represent three Medieval social classes: the low nobility, the clergy and the middle class, or people with a profession. High nobles and peasants were excluded because they didn’t travel with pilgrims.

The characters are at the same time conventional, as they represent their classes, and realistic, since they are individuals with their own personalities. The narrator of the poem, one of the pilgrims, presents them from his own personal point of view and his mildly ironic outlook shows his sympathy for almost all of them. The result is a gallery of characters in a constant balance between their individuality and their universal types.

▲ William Caxton’s edition of The Canterbury Tales (1485).

Social groups in The Canterbury Tales

In the poem the narrator presents some of the characters from the three main social groups of the late Middle Ages.

• The low nobility: the Knight with his Yeoman, and the Squire.

• The clergy: the Prioress, the Nun, the Second Nun, the Poor Parson, the Pardoner, the Monk, the Friar, and the Canon with his Yeoman.

• The characters with a profession: the Wife of Bath, the Miller, the Reeve, the Merchant, the Clerk, the Summoner, the Man of Law, the Franklin, the Cook, the Manciple, the Shipman, the Physician, the Host, the Dyer, the Weaver, the Carpenter, the Tapestry-Maker and the Haberdasher (the last five belong to trade guilds).

The last group is the largest to show that the feudal system was coming to an end, with new classes rising in economic and social importance. The institution of chivalry declined in the fourteenth century; most knights preferred to be hired as mercenaries in the Hundred Years’ War, and the idea of conducting wars against the infidel, which was a knight’s first duty, was dying out, as well as the practice of fighting in formal duels.

CHECK IN

1.

What were Chaucer’s innovations in literature?

2. Explain the features of the characters in The Canterbury Tales.

3. In what way did The Canterbury Tales

reflect the crisis of the feudal system?

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Authors and works T4

GEOFFREY CHAUCER THE CANTERBURY TALES

General Prologue

6

The General Prologue opens with a passage about spring, the time of year when pilgrimages were held, which portrays the season as a moment of rebirth for all creatures. You are going to read a modernised version of the text, which reproduces some of the characteristics of the original poem.

Enjoy!

We have never seen spring before reading this, have we? This is life, not just of rain and wind, flowers and plants, birds and people, but of the spirit of man, who sets out on the journey of life to find himself, as the pilgrims found Becket, at his shrine, and others like them on the way to Canterbury. That’s the law of pilgrimages: you walk on and on and on, but there’s a goal: to find new life, for you, again.

When in April the sweet showers fall And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all The veins are bathed in liquor of such power As brings about the engendering of the flower, When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath Exhales an air in every grove and heath Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run, And the small folk are making melody That sleep away the night with open eye (So nature pricks them and their heart engages) Then people long to go on pilgrimages And palmers long to seek the strangers strands Of far-off saints, hallowed in sundry lands, And specially, from every shire’s end Of England, down to Canterbury they wend To seek the holy blissful martyr, quick To give his help to them when they were sick.

It happened in that season that one day In Southwark, at The Tabard, as I lay Ready to go on pilgrimage and start For Canterbury, most devout at heart, At night there come into that hostelry Some nine and twenty in a company Of sundry folk happening then to fall In fellowship, and they were pilgrims all That towards Canterbury meant to ride.

Quando in Aprile cadono le dolci piogge E penetrano la siccità di Marzo alle radici, e tutte Le vene sono impregnate di un tale liquido Da poter generare i fiori Quando anche Zeffiro con il suo dolce soffio Esala una brezza in ogni bosco e brughiera Sui teneri germogli, e il giovane sole Ha compiuto metà del suo corso nel segno dell’Ariete, Ed i piccoli uccelli cantano una melodia Che spazza via la notte ad occhi aperti (Così la natura li punge e stimola i loro cuori) allora la gente desidera andare in pellegrinaggio ed i palmieri desiderano andare alla ricerca dei lidi lontani di santi venerati in vari luoghi, e soprattutto dai confini di ogni contea dell’Inghilterra, giù verso Canterbury si dirigono per cercare il santo beato martire, pronto a dar loro il suo aiuto quando erano malati.

Accadde in questa stagione che un giorno A Southwark, all’osteria The Tabard, mentre ero Pronto per andare in pellegrinaggio e partire Per Canterbury, il più devoto nel cuore, Nella notte vennero dentro quella locanda In ventinove in un gruppo Di diverso ceto, accade allora di diventare Amici, e loro erano tutti pellegrini Che cavalcavano verso Canterbury.

(From the Modern English version)

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Here and there

5

10

15

20

25

▲ Illustration showing the pilgrims at the Tabard Inn.

MIDDLE ENGLISH (1066-1500): Geoffrey Chaucer

LITERARY COMPETENCE UNDERSTAND

3. obliges:

1. Complete the text with the missing words.

4. desire:

The General Prologue opens with a description of the return of

(1)

(2)

characterised by April

, the

blossoming of flowers and the (3)

of birds.

the time when people decide to go on (5)

, and

travellers from all corners of England make their journey to visit the shrine of (7)

saint who helped them when they were narrator – (9) fellow (10)

,a

(8)

. The

himself – meets his twenty-nine at the Tabard Inn in Southwark

(London), on the night before their (11)

feelings do they convey?

what way are they similar? Think of the role they both play.

of the zodiac, Aries, the “Ram”. Spring is also

to (6)

3. What images are described in the first lines (1-18) and what 4. Chaucer in some way compares April with pilgrimages. In

The sun has gone through the second half of the (4)

ANALYSE

to

Canterbury.

5. Consider the rhyme scheme. The style of The Canterbury Tales is characterised by rhyming couplets. Look at the first a. b. c.

eight lines and choose the correct rhyming scheme: AB BA CD DC AB AB CD CD AA BB CC DD

INTERPRET

6. In Chaucer’s times people of all classes went to holy sites to

ask for help. Think of the historical and social situation of the period. List three aspects that characterised it.

7.

Discuss If you went on a pilgrimage today, what sort of people would you come across?

2. Find the words corresponding to these definitions in the text.

1. total lack of water:

Enjoy!

EXPLAINED

2. group of trees:

General Prologue explained

p. 6

Here and there

Chaucer, Boccaccio and Dante Chaucer is indebted for his narrative poem The Canterbury Tales to the Italian authors Boccaccio and Dante. Themes like courtly love and conventions as the narrative frame for a collection of stories first appeared in Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron (composed between 1348 and 1353), and the idea of life as a pilgrimage for a narrative poem is modelled on Dante’s Divine Comedy (composed between 1304 and 1321).

In Boccaccio’s Decameron, ten young story-tellers gather in a castle outside Florence, and tell one another stories to pass the time away. They come from the same social class, and focus on a given theme each day, while Chaucer’s story-

tellers come from all social classes, and their tales are usually related to their own characters and professions.

Dante’s pilgrimage through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, the three other-worldly realms Dante crosses in the Divine Comedy, may have inspired Chaucer to create the narrative frame of the pilgrimage to Canterbury. Dante and his preference for the vernacular, i.e. Italian, may also have motivated Chaucer in his decision to use his own language, English, for his work.

The French tradition of love poetry, also present in Dante’s work through Dante and Beatrice, greatly helped the English writer to develop the language of courtly love in English.

▲ Dante Alighieri.

▲ Giovanni Boccaccio.

CHECK IN

1.

How important are Boccaccio and

Dante for understanding Chaucer’s relationship to western Medieval literature?

2. What difference(s) is/are there between Chaucer’s and Boccaccio’s story-tellers?

3. What may Chaucer have learnt from Dante?

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Authors and works T5

GEOFFREY CHAUCER THE CANTERBURY TALES

The Wife of Bath

The Wife of Bath is a core character portrayed in the poem. She is a merchant and cloth maker from Bath, an important centre of the weaving trade in the Middle Ages.

Enjoy!

T3 The Knight

Translation

7

She is the stubborn independent woman who made money and a career; she is proud of her wealth and position, she is rich and vain, and so delightfully funny. Big hat, big hips, big list of dead husbands, big ego, everything’s big with her. The first feminist portrait in English literature by the first great realist of English literature, Chaucer. Not so bad for medieval times, right?

There was a WIFE of BATH, or a near city, Who was somewhat deaf, it is a pity.

At making clothes she had a skilful hand 1 She bettered those of Ypres and of Ghent .

5 In all the parish there was no wife to go 2 And proceed her in offering , it is so; And if one did, indeed, so angry was she It put her out of all her charity.

Her headkerchiefs were of finest weave and ground; 10 I dare swear that they weighed about ten pound Which, on a Sunday, she wore on her head.

3 Her stockings were of the finest scarlet red, Tightly fastened, and her shoes were soft and new.

4 Bold was her face, and fair, and red of hue.

15 She’d been respectable throughout her life, Married in church, husbands she had five, Not counting other company in youth; 5 But thereof there’s no need to speak, in truth.

Three times she’d travelled to Jerusalem; 6 20 And many a foreign stream she’d had to stem ; At Rome she’d been, and she’d been in Boulogne, 7 In Spain at Santiago, and at Cologne .

She could tell much of wandering by the way: 8 Gap-toothed was she, it is the truth I say.

9 25 Upon a pacing horse easily she sat, 10 Wearing a large wimple , and over all a hat 11 As broad as is a buckler or a targe ; 12 13 An overskirt was tucked around her buttocks large, 14 And her feet spurred sharply under that.

30 In company well could she laugh and chat.

15 The remedies of love she knew, perchance , For of that art she’d learned the old, old dance.

(From the Modern English version) 1. Ypres and Ghent_città fiamminghe famose per la tessitura 2. offering_la donna è la prima a fare le offerte perché è di rango più alto 3. stockings_calze

44

4. Bold_audace 5. thereof_di questo 6. stem_attraversare 7. At Rome... Cologne_note mete di pellegrinaggio

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8. Gap-toothed_con i denti separati; per l’epoca era sinonimo di lascivia 9. pacing_al trotto 10. wimple_tipo di copricapo tipico del Medioevo che copriva la testa, il collo e parte del viso 11. a buckler or a targe_tipi di scudo 12. overskirt_gonna per cavalcare 13. buttocks_fondoschiena 14. spurred_usavano gli speroni 15. perchance_per certo

MIDDLE ENGLISH (1066-1500): Geoffrey Chaucer

LITERARY COMPETENCE UNDERSTAND

1.

Decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F). Correct the false ones.

1. The Wife of Bath loses her temper in church when the other believers do not pray well.

2. When she is at Mass she is only interested in the celebration.

3. She is not vain at all because she doesn’t care about her physical appearance.

4. She is class-conscious and very proud of her wealth and status.

5. She has had lovers all her life.

in your own words. Find at least three adjectives for her.

7. Describe the Wife of Bath’s personality, quoting from the text and making deductions from the narrator’s presentation.

T F T F

8. The Wife of Bath behaves in a contradictory way. Comment on this statement.

T F T F T F

6. She is sociable and friendly.

6. Describe the Wife of Bath’s physical appearance and clothes

9. Describe the tone used by the poet to portray this character.

10. Choose the best answer.

1. The Wife of Bath is

T F

7. She is expert in the art of love.

a. b.

T F

2. Why did the Wife of Bath know a lot about wandering?

3. Why does she go on pilgrimages?

c.

4. Is she a pleasant woman?

2. The narrator presents the Wife as a. a weak character, easily dominated by other people and conventions. b. a comic character, modelled upon the tradition of the “stubborn impudent woman”. c. a model to follow because of her professional skills and her perfect morality.

ANALYSE

5. Match the different colours in the text (1-7) with the corresponding definitions (a-g).

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

ious and devoted to her faith. p a perfect hypocrite. She goes to church and on pilgrimages only to respect the conventions of her time. ambiguous in her attitude to religion and faith.

a. Physical defects b. Profession c. Clothes d. Appearance e. Love life f. Pilgrimages g. Personality

3. The narrator’s attitude to the Wife of Bath is a. of total condemnation. He despises her because she is hypocritical in her faith and only interested in appearances and sex. b. of mild irony. He shows her virtues, and hints at her defects instead of openly describing them. c. totally impersonal. He neither approves nor disapproves of her.

INTERPRET

11. Discuss What is your personal evaluation of The Wife of Bath? In your opinion, does she have more positive or negative aspects? Justify your answer.

12. Debate Consider the following statement.

The overall image Chaucer gives of the Wife of Bath is that of a wealthy, independent, skilled, sociable and adventurous character. Some critics consider this character the first feminist portrait in English literature, a woman who knows that her place is not below her husband in medieval, maleruled society.

Do you agree with this view? What was the stereotype of women like in the Middle Ages? How does it differ from today’s stereotype of women? ▶ Laura Betti as the Wife of Bath in the 1972 film adaptation by Pier Paolo Pasolini.

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EXPLAINED

The Wife of Bath explained

p. 7

45 EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

Now and then

Why Chaucer and why now?

Tailor-made stories for the 21st century Chaucer’s socially diverse pilgrims – ranging from the virtuous Knight and the austere Parson to the hypocritical Prioress, the false relic-selling 1 Pardoner and the foul-mouthed Miller – tell stories that seem tailor-made for today’s readers.

Chaucer knows, as we do, that societies are 2 inevitably contentious , and he finds a way to live with that knowledge. Not only does the pugnacious Miller mock the gentle Knight, but the Friar finds the Wife of Bath verbose, the Clerk 1. foul-mouthed_sboccato

satirises her assertiveness, the Merchant laughs at his fellow pilgrims’ ignorance of marriage, the Man of Law ridicules Chaucer himself.

This might be Chaucer’s special relevance today.

He portrays a society which is very much like ours, in constant disagreement, but he teaches us an important thing: that competition and disputes can always be faced and solved, and a final resolution can be achieved.

(Abridged and adapted from www.theguardian.com)

2. contentious_conflittuali

CHECK IN

1. Complete the summary with the words from the box. There are two extra words you do not need to use. pilgrims • affinity • quarrelsome • reflects • tale-tellers • varied • society The passage underlines the (1) their stylistically (3) that he depicts (5)

46

that today’s readers would feel with Chaucer’s (2) stories seem tailor-made for the 21st century and the (4) ours in many ways.

1 From the origins to the end of the Middle Ages EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

: society

Chaucer’s modernity Professor David Wallace reflects on the master of Middle English verse, his world, and ours.

What can a poet from 600 years ago have to tell us today? We turn the question to David Wallace, a University Professor and a renowned expert in Chaucer, who has just published a book about the medieval poet.

“Just about everything,” notes Wallace. “Chaucer was an encyclopaedic writer (as well as a man of the world), whose work touches on nearly every aspect of life from women’s rights to ecology. In addition, there’s the excitement of seeing a writer at work when the language was still malleable. He wrote when most everything in English literature was yet to come.”

Chaucer’s language was Middle English, which differs quite a bit from the English we speak today.

Middle English is a hybrid language, formed when Germanic or Anglo-Saxon elements began fusing with French (after the Norman Conquest of 1066), and also with Viking (Norse), Celtic languages, and Latin. That’s why we sometimes have alternative words for the same concept: the Holy Ghost and the Holy Spirit; brotherhood and fraternity. All these elements began to stabilise during Chaucer’s lifetime, but the language was highly flexible.

English literature, for Chaucer, was something close to a tabula rasa. Was he aware that he was launching something like a national culture?

Chaucer looked to Italy and to the great poetry of Dante; he thought that English might, eventually,

achieve something comparable. He first imagines himself as a makere, or maker of verses, like a good artisan or craftsman, rather than as a poet.

Chaucer was born roughly at the peak of the Black Death, when Europe was devastated by plague. Did this affect his outlook and his work?

People assume that experiencing the Black Death when he was about five years old and seeing up to half the population of London die must have traumatised Chaucer and made him deathobsessed. I would say the opposite: he came to appreciate life, and the process of natural regeneration, as something deeply precious. The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales begins, after all, with the return of Spring: “Whan that April…”

In your book you describe Chaucer’s England as an open, European society. In what way was Chaucer ‘European’?

In Chaucer’s lifetime, English territories extended into continental Europe. Chaucer lived multilingually. His wife was French and French was the preferred language of international diplomacy.

He spoke fluent Italian and dealt with Italian merchants every day by the Thames, at the London customs house. Latin was the language of the Catholic religion. He was twice chosen to take part in diplomatic and trade missions to Italy, and he also travelled to Spain. He fought in France as a young man and was captured and ransomed.

(Abridged from http://thepenngazette.com)

CHECK IN

1. What does Chaucer’s

modernity consist of, according to Professor Wallace?

2. How did the Black Death affect Chaucer’s work?

3. Why is Chaucer defined a ‘European’?

◀ John William Waterhouse, A Tale from the Decameron (1916).

47 EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

Literature

ROAD MAP

Check out

Complete your own map

Old English / Middle English

1. Decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false ones.

T 1. English is a member of the Germanic family of languages.

T 2. Old English developed from a Celtic language.

T 3. After 1066, Old English was used by the aristocracy.

T 4. Middle English was influenced by Norman French and Latin.

5. The invention of printing contributed to the standardization of English. T 6. With the Great Vowel Shift, new words were introduced into the English language.

F F F F F

T F

Ballads / Epics 2. Do the following features refer to the ballad (B), to the epic (E) or to both (B+E)?

B E B+E 1. It celebrates the deeds of ancient warriors or heroes.

B E B+E 2. It is shorter in length.

B E B+E 3. It combines pagan and Christian values.

B E B+E 4. It is composed to be sung.

B E B+E 5. It is composed to be narrated.

B E B+E 6. It is passed orally from generation to generation.

B E B+E 7. It has the supernatural among its themes.

3. Go back to the texts about Beowulf and Lord Randal. Summarise the

content filling in this chart.

Beowulf

Lord Randal

Author Genre

Old English (450-1066) • EPIC Beowulf (early 8th century) • HISTORY Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (9th century) • ELEGIES The Exeter Book (10th century) Genre Epic, narrative poem in verse

Language Old English

Early 8th century Beowulf

Setting Denmark and present-day Scandinavia

Themes Mythical creatures, heroism, generosity and virtue

Transition to Middle English (1066-1300) • LYRIC The Cuckoo Song (ca. 1250)

Setting Protagonist(s)

• BALLADS Lord Randal (about 13th century)

Antagonist(s)

• DRAMA Mystery plays • Miracle plays

Point of view Themes Brief summary of the text

Genre Ballad

Language Middle English, repetitions and refrains

Medieval prose and drama 4. Answer the questions.

1. What was the origin of medieval drama?

2. Why were miracle plays called so?

3. In what language were these plays performed?

4. Were Morality plays similar to Miracle plays?

5. How important was prose after the Norman invasion?

6. What prose work had a remarkable influence on literature in the 14th century?

48

1 From the origins to the end of the Middle Ages EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

About 13th century Lord Randal

Characters Lord Randal, his mother and his lover

Themes Death, betrayal

5. Complete the chart with the missing information.

Middle English (1300-1500) • Great Vowel Shift • Translation of the Bible into English (1382 by John Wycliffe)

Medieval drama

Mystery and (1)

plays

(2)

plays

• Aim and content: (3)

• Aim and content: (6)

• Language: (4)

• Language: (7)

• Performed: (5)

• Performed: (8)

• NARRATIVE POEM The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400 by Geoffrey Chaucer) • DRAMA Morality plays (Everyman, 1495)

• Most representative work: (9)

6. Refer back to the Wife of Bath in The Canterbury Tales. Complete the text with the words from the box. There are two extra words you do not need to use.

Genre Collection of stories

adventures • beauty • emancipated • five • middle class • respectability • marriage • horse • sensuality • vitality • irony The Wife of Bath is presented as a(n) woman, representative of the (3)

(1)

. Her excessive care for clothes and

shows her vanity and one detail, the scarlet red of her stockings,

is a symbol of her (4)

. She has been married (5)

and has had numerous

(6)

times

, probably during her pilgrimages, so

the reason for her journey is not religious at all. The author comments with mild (7)

her

1343?-1400 Geoffrey Chaucer 1387-1400 The Canterbury Tales

and skilful business-

(2)

Language Middle English, East-Midland dialect

on her appearance and her behaviour, which seem to contradict (8)

The tale she tells reveals her opinion. However, the Wife

Setting and characters Pilgrimage to Canterbury People from all classes

Themes Pilgrimages, love, social satire

of Bath is not just a stereotype, but a full human being with her defects and positive aspects, such as her great (9)

.

For your exams FIRST

ESAME DI STATO

1. In this chapter you have learned about the development

of the English language. WRITE an essay in 140-190 words using all the notes, and give reasons for your point of view.

Language is fundamental to everything we do: it helps us communicate ideas, express our feelings, and talk to other people. Studying the origin of a language means discovering its relationship with the past, history, and culture.

Notes Write about: 1. Old English 2. Middle English 3. ………………. (your own ideas)

2. ORAL PRESENTATION

Choose one of the texts that you have studied and prepare to present it. You may give your presentation in any form you like, using pictures, videos, music and/or any other tool you think proper.

3. COLLECT information from the web and

Digital Competence

write a text of about 150 words about the origin of your own language.

49 EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

2 The Renaissance and the Restoration 3 The Augustan Age 4 The Romantic Age 5 The Victorian Age 6 The Modern Age 7 The Present Age

Big Questions Debates to develop your global competence • Who are we?

• Is democracy in good shape?

• Can we make a better planet?

FOR YOUR EXAMS

• International certifications – FIRST and IELTS • INVALSI

• Esame di Stato Seconda Prova Colloquio • 21st Century Skills

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EXPLAINED

Enjoy! EXPLAINED

• Are the times changing?

BALLABIO - BRUNETTI - BEDELL

Literature Art Big Questions

EUROPASS

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1 From the origins to the end of the Middle Ages

SILVIA BALLABIO ALESSANDRA BRUNETTI HEATHER BEDELL

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Your texts explained and your personal response

EXPLAINED

Competence kit

Fiction, poetry and drama, also through time

Your texts explained and your personal response Commenti esplicativi e critici, corredati di audio, di tutti i brani presenti su Enjoy! con attività di stimolo per l’interpretazione personale

Competence kit

I generi letterari: caratteristiche, attività di analisi ed evoluzione nel tempo

Ballabio - Brunetti - Bedell

per l’insegnante

ISBN 978-88-416-4320-4 Prezzo al pubblico

� 30,50 (IVA 4% inclusa) Volume 2 di 2 venduti insieme

Nel rispetto dell’ambiente, questa copertina non è stata sottoposta a processo di plastificazione.

per l’insegnante

COPIA SAGGIO

Enjoy! Literature Art Big Questions + Enjoy! EXPLAINED + DVDmp3

COPIA SAGGIO

Questo volume è da considerarsi copia SAGGIO – CAMPIONE GRATUITO fuori commercio (vendita ed altri atti di disposizione vietati: art. 17 c. 2 L. 633/1941).

Esente da I.V.A. D.P.R. 26-10-1972 n.

633, art. 2 c. 3 lett. D). Esente da bolla di accompagnamento (D.P.R. 6-10-1978 n.

627, art. 4 n. 6)

DVD mp3

Didattica inclusiva

Realtà aumentata

Flipped classroom

SILVIA BALLABIO ALESSANDRA BRUNETTI HEATHER BEDELL

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EXPLAINED

Your texts explained and your personal response Commenti esplicativi e critici, corredati di audio , di tutti i brani presenti su Enjoy! con attività di stimolo per l’interpretazione personale

Competence kit Fiction, poetry and drama, also through time I generi letterari: caratteristiche, attività di analisi ed evoluzione nel tempo

1 EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

Contents YOUR TEXTS EXPLAINED 1 From the origins to the end of the Middle Ages Beowulf’s death Lord Randal

Samuel T. Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The killing of the Albatross 4 4 5

Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

General Prologue

6

Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

The Wife of Bath

7

26

Samuel T. Coleridge

Kubla Khan: or, a Vision in a Dream. A Fragment 27 George Byron, Oriental Tales (Lara)

The Byronic Hero

28

George Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage

The Beauty of Nature Sunset in Venice The Ocean

29 29

Percy Bysshe Shelley

2 The Renaissance and the Restoration (1509-1660)

Ode to the West Wind 8

John Keats, Great Odes

Ode on a Grecian Urn

William Shakespeare, Sonnets

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus The miserable wretch 33

9

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Mr and Mrs Bennet, an old couple

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

With a kiss I take you

10

34

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Know yourself

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

The balcony scene

31

8

William Shakespeare, Sonnets

That time of year thou mayst in me behold

30

35

11

5 The Victorian Age (1837-1901)

William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Doting for an ass

12

William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Hamlet, the man of inaction

14

John Donne, Songs and Sonnets

The Sun Rising

15

36

Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

Oliver starved to death

36

Charles Dickens, Hard Times

Coketown

37

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

John Donne, Holy Sonnets

Batter My Heart

17

I am a free being

38

Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

3 The Augustan Age (1660-1776)

18

Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

I was him, all the time

40

Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles

Are cannibals like us?

18

Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

Tess pays for her “crimes”

41

Robert Browning, Dramatic Lyrics

Friday, the ideal “savage”

19

Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels

My Last Duchess

42

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

The right way to break an egg

20

Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels

The Preface

44

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Slaves of perfect reason

21

The horror revealed

45

Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

4 The Romantic Age (1776-1837)

23 23

The final horror

23

Herman Melville, Moby Dick, or The White Whale

The chase: third day

William Wordsworth, Poems in Two Volumes

I wandered lonely as a cloud

25

Emily Dickinson, Complete Poems

26

Me, change!

I tie my Hat

William Wordsworth, Poems in Two Volumes

My heart leaps up

46

Edgar Allan Poe, The Black Cat

William Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience

The Lamb The Tyger

What’s in a name?

2 EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

47 48 49 49

6 The Modern Age (1901-1945)

51

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

The journey upwards

51

Edward Morgan Forster, A Passage to India

Can different cultures meet?

52

James Joyce, Dubliners

Eveline

53

James Joyce, Ulysses

Nausicaa’s dreamhusband

55

Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse

Dinner together

56

COMPETENCE KIT FICTION, POETRY AND DRAMA

75

FICTION

75

Explore Fiction

78

Charles Dickens, David Copperfield T1 I am born Jerome D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye T2 Who cares about my birth?

Michael Faber, The Crimson Petal and the White T3 Into the city Cormac McCarthy, The Road T4 The life I lost

78 79 80 81

George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

POETRY

82

Two and two make five

Explore Poetry

90

57

John McCrae

In Flanders Fields

59

Wilfred Owen

Anthem for Doomed Youth

60

Thomas Stearns Eliot, The Waste Land

Much hated April

61

Thomas Stearns Eliot, The Waste Land

Unreal city, real Hell

62

FICTION

105

68

Flannery O’Connor, Parker’s Back T14 Parker and Sarah Ruth T15 A special name for a special man T16 Parker’s name

65

Ernest Hemingway, Form Whom the Bell Tolls 66

John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

Repeated time, meaningless life Seamus Heaney, Death of a Naturalist

Digging

69

Jack Kerouac, On the Road

More, more life

101 102 103

POETRY Seamus Heaney T17 When all the others were away at Mass

105 106 107 108 108 110

71

Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead T18 The missed moment

110

73

EVOLUTION THROUGH TIME

112

74

HOW DID POETRY CHANGE? HOW DID DRAMA CHANGE? HOW DID FICTION CHANGE?

112 114 116

Derek Walcott, Sea Grapes Alice Munro, Boys and Girls

Flora

99

DRAMA

70

Wole Soyinka, Modern Poetry in Africa

Love After Love

98

67

7 The Present Age (1945-today)

Telephone Conversation

94 98

68

Francis Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

A lost Paradise

DRAMA

Explore Drama

105

64

A soldier’s mission

92

Explore Texts with TIPS!

Wystan Hugh Auden, Another Time

Gatsby’s funeral

91

104

63

Musée des Beaux Arts

90

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet T8 A summary Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire T9 Meeting again Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot T10 How do I feel today?

John Osborne, Look Back in Anger T11 A world in a room Thornton Wilder, Our Town T12 Welcome to the theatre!

George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion T13 A flower girl’s ambition

Thomas Stearns Eliot, Four Quartets

Present time of eternal salvation

Samuel T. Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner T5 The beginning of the Mariner’s voyage William Shakespeare, Sonnets T6 Let me not to the marriage of true minds Thomas S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock T7 Let us go then…

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YOUR TEXTS EXPLAINED

1 From the origins to the end of the Middle Ages At the roots of British identity

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Beowulf’s death

1

T2 p. 33

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That was so tragic, so noble, so sad: to see my lord Beowulf burn, to collect his weapons, to hear his last words, still full of love for us, his people. But he died in honour, and that is what we live and die for: fame.

Beowulf is about to die but he is not alone on his death bed. Wiglaf is beside him, a young kinsman who has helped him in the fight against the dragon. Beowulf’s last words express gratitude to the Lord who has allowed him to bequeath to his people the treasure that he found in the dragon’s den. With death imminent, the old King orders the construction of a great burial mound on the coast as a reminder of his own glory. The tumulus will loom on the horizon and the sailors navigating past that place will call it Beowulf’s Barrow.

Beowulf’s last words and wishes

Beowulf then appoints Wiglaf as his successor passing on to him his own golden collar, the token of a glorious past to be perpetuated, together with his own war shirt and gilded helmet. This acts as a symbolic investiture, accompanied by Beowulf’s words on his inevitable fate. All the warriors of the Waegmund family, in fact, have died and the old King must now follow them accepting his destiny with resignation.

Beowulf’s inevitable fate: death

The last lines are about the ‘furious’ fire that will burn Beowulf’s pyre. His body will disappear, but the fame of his deeds will live on and his soul will survive among ‘the steadfast ones’.

The reference to the soul has a strong Christian connotation. The fusion of pagan elements (the dragon, Beowulf’s power and material legacy, the hint at fate, the death-pyre) with Christian themes and values (gratitude, self-sacrifice, generosity, moral legacy) creates a dramatic tension that results in a sense of both sadness and tenderness for the old hero. The dying Beowulf is the emblem of values and ideals which still appeal to us today, probably because they are difficult to find in our society: courage, determination, self-sacrifice for a higher purpose, for the common good.

Fusion of pagan elements and Christian themes

YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSE

•

Beowulf has risked his life several times and he has sacrificed himself to guarantee the survival of his people.

He now faces death with his usual courage, as he has faced the many trials life has forced him to deal with.

His force has always resided in his patience, strength and faith. The reward for this is incomparable. Beowulf’s

Barrow will “loom on the horizon … and be a reminder” for everybody. This is what heroes in the 8th century were like. What is your reaction to such a generous, heroic character? How much do today’s heroes have in common with Beowulf?

4 EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

Lord Randal

Enjoy!

2

T3

p. 38

Enjoy!

Lord Randal and a lady full of mystery meet, and tragedy erupts. What can a poor mother do but ask one, two, three more questions? I can tell my son is sick, mothers have a heart for that; he is not just tired, he is dying. She poisoned him, and he was the more deceived. In the end all that is left of a young knight’s life is just livestock, gold and silver, houses and lands for his mother, sister and brother. And an everlasting curse for the femme fatale who killed him: who killed my son?

The development of Lord Randal’s tragic fate and his final will

Language and style of the ballad

Climax of the ballad

The ballad opens with two people speaking. There is no precise reference to where and when the conversation is taking place, but we can infer that the setting is a castle and that it is (late) afternoon since the man has just come back from hunting. He is tired and sick and tells his mother a strange story. The young man went hunting in the “wild wood” where he met his lover. She prepared him fried eels for dinner; his dogs and hawk ate the leftovers and died soon after. There is no more doubt: Lord Randal’s true-love wanted to kill him for some reason that the reader doesn’t know. In the end, the mother, who is now aware of her son’s destiny, asks how he intends to share his worldly goods among his family. In his will he is leaving his cows to his mother, gold and silver to his sister and his houses and lands to his brother. These presents reveal Lord Randal’s love for and attachment to his family. They also reveal that he is a rich man. There is no direct reference to his social status, but from his oral will we know that he owned cattle, gold and silver, land and houses. Once his properties have been divided, his last words are a curse for his true-love to whom he leaves “hell and fire” because he wants revenge for his death.

The ballad develops through repetition of a stanza with slight modifications as the story advances, until the final revelation. The repetition of vocatives (e.g. “Lord Randal my son/my handsome young man/mother”) is another device generally used in ballads, which were generally sung.

Repetitions worked as refrains sung by a chorus, while a single voice sang the new lines.

There are two main parts in the story. In the first part (stanzas 1-5) we are informed of Lord Randal’s ride, his visit to his lover and the food (fried eels) that she prepared for him. In stanza 5, we have a sneaking suspicion of what has happened when we learn that the dogs and hawk died after eating the leftovers. In the second part, what has happened is finally revealed to Lord Randal – and the audience/readers: the young Lord has been poisoned and is going to die. This part also contains the so-called oral testament, a device typical of the folk ballad in which, through the usual repetition of questions and answers, the main character is asked what he will bequeath to various people after his death.

Like most ballads, this one too has two climaxes, which introduce two moments of “surprise” into the story. The first climax is at line 21 (“O I fear you are poisoned”, which is no longer a question but a statement) and is marked by a change in the structure of this and the subsequent stanzas, which all now start with “What”. The second climax instead appears in the last stanza, when we learn that Lord Randal has actually been poisoned by his true-love.

YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSE

•

Though this traditional Scottish border ballad is one of the oldest narrative poems we know, it is alive and still sung today because it deals with timeless subjects. What

is there in this ballad that makes it appealing for you? Are there any ballads from contemporary songwriters that attract and intrigue you?

5 EUROPASS © Casa Editrice G. Principato SpA

YOUR TEXTS EXPLAINED

General Prologue

GEOFFREY CHAUCER THE CANTERBURY TALES

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3

T4

p. 42

Enjoy!

We have never seen spring before reading this, have we? This is life, not just of rain and wind, flowers and plants, birds and people, but of the spirit of man, who sets out on the journey of life to find himself, as the pilgrims found Becket, at his shrine, and others like them on the way to Canterbury. That’s the law of pilgrimages: you walk on and on and on, but there’s a goal: to find new life, for you, again.

The General Prologue opens with the image of spring, the season of rebirth for all creatures. Chaucer contrasts March, a cold wet month with its “drought” (l. 2) with April with its “sweet showers”, the blossoming of flowers and the singing of birds. The first lines convey an image of peace, calm and harmony between man and nature. The sun has gone through the second half of the zodiac, Aries, the “Ram”.

The rebirth of man and nature in spring

Around this time of year, inspired by the rebirth of nature, people begin to feel the desire to go on pilgrimages to seek spiritual regeneration. Pilgrimages, therefore, bring new life to the soul in the same way as April brings new life to the soil; pilgrimages represent a symbolic journey towards spiritual salvation but at the same time they also preserve their peculiar function of holiday-making and an opportunity for amusement. Many devout English pilgrims set off to visit shrines in distant holy lands, but most people choose to travel to Canterbury to visit the relics of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, where they thank the martyr for helping them when they were in need.

Pilgrimages: the rebirth of the spiritual soul

From the narrator (Chaucer himself), we learn that London was the usual departure point for pilgrims.

Chaucer meets his twenty-nine fellow travellers at the Tabard Inn in Southwark – a London suburb just across London Bridge – on the night before their journey to Canterbury.

We can imagine that numerous company to be quite picturesque and colorful, since the pilgrims belonged to different social classes. Besides giving us some interesting information about the pilgrimage, the last lines of the text also provide a particular link between the work and its author. In fact, by allowing Chaucer to “take the way to Canterbury” with them, the “company” turns the poet into a true eyewitness and makes his narrative more realistic.

A realistic picture of the different social classes

YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSE

•

You are at Tabard Inn when Chaucer and his fellow travellers arrive. It is sunset. The air is mild, full of the perfumes and sounds of spring. Inside the inn you can smell hot soup, roasted meat, baked potatoes… Around you people of all sorts, standing or sitting at the tables.

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Some are talking, others are listening, a few young people are singing in a corner. Plunge into this atmosphere and imagine… Who are you? Who are you with? What are you doing? What has brought you here? What is your reaction to the group of people who have just arrived?

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The Wife of Bath

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T5 p. 44

GEOFFREY CHAUCER THE CANTERBURY TALES

The Wife of Bath: a symbol of social emancipation and gender equality

Her personality

Her physical appearance

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She is the stubborn independent woman who made money and a career; she is proud of her wealth and position, she is rich and vain, and so delightfully funny. Big hat, big hips, big list of dead husbands, big ego, everything’s big with her. The first feminist portrait in English literature by the first great realist of English literature, Chaucer. Not so bad for medieval times, right?

The Wife of Bath is a core character in the Canterbury Tales. She represents the rising middle class, since she is a merchant and cloth maker from Bath, an important centre of the weaving trade at the time. The overall image Chaucer gives of the Wife of Bath is that of a wealthy, independent, skilled, sociable and adventurous character, who is class-conscious and proud of her wealth and status. She is described as an emancipated and skilful business-woman, and for this reason some critics consider her the first feminist portrait in English literature.

In presenting her, Chaucer reveals several aspects of her personality, job, life and social condition and comments with mild irony on her appearance and behaviour.

The first thing we learn about her is her skill at weaving, a profession in which she is much better than her colleagues in Belgium in Ypres and Ghent. She is also a very religious woman.

Every Sunday she goes to mass but gets angry when other believers precede her to the altar for the offering. This fact reveals that mass is a social rather than a religious event for her. She pays extreme attention to her clothes, which reflects her vanity. She wears fine quality heavy “headkerchiefs” and expensive shoes with scarlet red stockings. Scarlet red is the colour of passion and anger and Chaucer associates the colour with her temper: she gets angry easily but she also has a deep sensuality. Evidence of this is the fact that she has been married five times and is experienced in love affairs (she knows “the remedies of love”).

The Wife is lively and likes chatting to people, too. She has travelled widely, on pilgrimages through Europe (to Rome, Boulogne, Cologne and to Santiago in Spain) and to Jerusalem.

As for her physical appearance, Chaucer tells us that she is “gap-toothed” and also a bit deaf which, as he says, “was a pity”. She is an expert horse rider and on the pilgrimage to Canterbury she wears a large mantle, a wimple and over it a hat that is broader than a shield. With this simile, Chaucer adds one more detail to the description of the character. Her skill, her temper, her many husbands and lovers, the clothes and the colours she wears and the places she has been to give us a detailed portrait of this woman, who is not a stereotype but a full human being with her qualities and defects.

The rhyme scheme is that of a couplet: the two lines rhyming together (following the pattern AABB) give the narrative a particular rhythm that, at times, resembles the sound of the galloping of the Wife’s ride towards Canterbury.

YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSE

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Chaucer’s description of the Wife of Bath is not oldfashioned, rather it seems tailor-made for today’s readers.

Chaucer chooses a woman to best represent the newlyborn middle class in a society that was on the brink of

great transformation, which would bring about the end of the Middle Ages and the feudal system. Our world too is undergoing enormous changes. What aspects of today’s society are portrayed in this character?

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