SPEAK ENGLISH! MAGAZINE NO.31 - NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2013 IN THIS NUMBER: - Grammar: Present Simple and the time

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1 - Grammar: Present Simple and the time SPEAK ENGLISH! MAGAZINE NO.31 - NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2013 IN THIS NUMBER: - Monuments of Britain: Kensington Gardens - First Page: important announcements 1

2 First Page GIORNI DI CHIUSURA Cari studenti, vi informo che quest'anno Speak English! sarà aperta per le lezioni fino al 31 dicembre 2013, e sarà invece chiusa dal 1 gennaio 2013 al 6 gennaio Le lezioni riprenderanno normalmente per tutti martedì 7 gennaio Gli unici giorni in cui Speak English! sarà chiusa del tutto saranno mercoledì 25 e giovedì 26 dicembre. NOTA: chi ha intenzione di proseguire le lezioni si senta libero di farlo. D'altra parte, chiaramente le festività di dicembre rendono il periodo particolare, pertanto a tutti coloro che preferiscono interrompere le lezioni e riprenderle in gennaio il loro pacchetto sarà sospeso. Chiedo solamente agli studenti di collaborare e di informarmi entro venerdì 20 dicembre in merito alle loro intenzioni. Vi informo inoltre che, dal momento che sicuramente la maggior parte degli studenti preferirà interrompere le lezioni, nei giorni tra il 23 e il 31 dicembre sarà generalmente possibile modificare i giorni e gli orari a quanti hanno piacere di fare lezione. UNA SIMPATICA INIZIATIVA Speak English! spera di farvi cosa gradita proponendovi il seguente evento teatrale. Il trafiletto seguente è tratto dal sito ufficiale del Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine: "Il Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine propone(...) un grandissimo successo della Compagnia della Rancia: Frankenstein Junior, il musical di Mel Brooks interpretato da Giampiero Ingrassia e diretto Saverio Marconi. Sarà dunque la versione italiana del musical di successo planetario, tratta dal celeberrimo film, a divertire abbonati e appassionati da martedì 18 a giovedì 20 marzo 2014 alle La Compagnia della Rancia, un nome che garantisce altissima professionalità negli allestimenti e nelle scelte del cast dei musical, propone al pubblico udinese uno degli spettacoli di maggior successo(...). Frankenstein Junior è una trasposizione fedele del film di Mel Brooks, dove le scenografie in bianco nero dalle atmosfere gotiche si contrappongono ai coloratissimi costumi e fanno da sfondo ai tantissimi momenti di irresistibile comicità che accompagnano gli spettatori in uno spettacolo definito dalla critica uno spettacolo perfetto. Sarà Giampiero Ingrassia a vestire i panni del brillante e stimato dottor Frederick Frankenst-I-n (al cinema fu Gene Wilder) supportato dalle coreografie di Gillian Bruce, che spaziano dal tip-tap all energia del travolgente quadro Transilvania Magica, esaltando il ritmo dei numeri musicali musiche dello stesso Mel Brooks - e riproponendo un mix perfetto di tecnica, virtuosismi e interpretazione. L atmosfera del castello di Victor Von Frankenstein, del laboratorio e degli altri ambienti sarà ricreata dalle scenografie disegnate da Gabriele Moreschi. Due ore di spettacolo di perfetta comicità." A causa degli impegni lavorativi, il giorno che propongo agli studenti è mercoledì 19 marzo ore 20,45. Il costo dei biglietti è 35,00 euro per la platea, 30 euro per la prima galleria e 25 euro per la seconda galleria, a cui vanno aggiunti circa 2,00 di diritti di prevendita A quanti sono interessati prego di confermarmi entro venerdì 17 gennaio la loro presenza. SPEAK ENGLISH! Susanna Tagliavini 2

3 MONUMENTS OF BRITAIN KENSINGTON GARDENS In the past two numbers we considered Hyde Park and St. James's Park, and we said that they are part of a green area which also comprises the famous Kensington Gardens, this number's protagonist. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE PARK Kensington Gardens was originally part of Hyde Park. William III bought it in Kensington Gardens opens from 6 am every day and is very accessible by public transport. The Gardens are particularly popular for sunbathing 1 and picnics in fine weather. It is also popular as a healthy 2 walking route 3 to work for commuters 4. The paths 5 are used extensively by joggers, runners and cyclists. In Kensington Gardens you can find Kensington Palace, the Italian Gardens, Albert Memorial 6, the famous statue of Peter Pan, Diana Memorial Playground 7 and the Serpentine Gallery. The park has nice avenues 8 full of magnificent trees and ornamental flowerbeds 9 ; it also has fantastic green routes, where cyclists can go away from traffic and cycle through some of the most attractive areas of the capital. Dogs can enter the park but in some areas they must be kept on a lead 10. Picnics in the parks are a popular activity especially in summer. In the park there are two playgrounds for children and especially Diana Memorial Playground where more than 750,000 children play every year. And if you are tired of walking, you can of course stop in one of the refreshment points near the Italian Gardens and the Albert Memorial. They serve ice cream, hot and cold drinks, and fast food. 1 A map of Kensington Gardens with all its attractions THE ORANGERY The baroque Orangery 11, located next to Kensington Palace in Kensington Gardens, was built in for Mary s younger sister, Anne, who became Queen when William died. Today, it is a restaurant. 2 A view of Kensington Gardens and its flowerbeds THE ALBERT MEMORIAL The Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens is one of London's most ornate 12 monuments. It commemorates the death of Prince Albert (husband of Queen Victoria) in 1861 of typhoid 13. 3

4 ITALIAN GARDENS The Italian Gardens is a 150-year-old ornamental water garden 14 located on the north side of Kensington Gardens near Lancaster Gate. It is believed 15 to have been created as a gift 16 from Prince Albert to his beloved Queen Victoria. PETER PAN STATUE The Peter Pan statue shows squirrels 17, rabbits, mice 18 and fairies 19 climbing up 20 to Peter, who stands 21 at the top 22 of the bronze statue. It is located in Kensington Gardens to the west of the Long Water. 3 The famous statue of Peter Pan SERPENTINE GALLERY The Serpentine Gallery, located in Kensington Gardens, is one of London's best-loved galleries for modern and contemporary art. It is open 7 days a week from 10am - 6pm and admission is free 23. DIANA MEMORIAL WALK The Diana Memorial Walk is a seven-mile-long walk 24, charted 25 by 90 plaques set in the ground, that takes you in sight 26 of famous buildings and locations associated with the Princess during her life. ELFIN OAK The Elfin Oak is a sculpture made from the hollow 27 trunk of an oak tree 28 that is carved 29 with figures of fairies, elves 30 and animals. It is located alongside 31 the Diana Memorial Playground. KENSINGTON PALACE Kensington Palace is a royal palace overlooking 32 the Round Pond 33 in Kensington Gardens. It has been a royal residence since the 17th century. Areas of Kensington Palace are open to the public. King William III found Kensington Gardens quiet and the air salubrious, and so he commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to design the redbrick 34 building that is Kensington Palace. The palace is the birthplace 35 of Queen Victoria, who lived there until she became queen in SPEKE MONUMENT The Speke Monument is a red granite statue dedicated to John Hanning Speke, the explorer who discovered 36 Lake Victoria and led 37 expeditions to the source 38 of the Nile. It is located near the junction of Lancaster Walk and Budges Walk in Kensington Gardens. VOCABULARY 1 sunbathing: prendere il sole 12 ornate: elaborato 23 free: gratis 34 redbrick: mattoni rossi 2 healthy: salutare 13 typhoid: tifo 24 walk: percorso 35 birthplace: luogo di nascita 3 walking route: strada pedonale 14 water garden: giardino acquatico 25 charted: tracciato 36 discover: scoprire 4 commuter: pendolare 15 to believe: credere 26 sight: vista 37 to leed: condurre 5 path: sentiero 16 gift: dono 27 hollow: cavo 38 source: fonte 6 memorial: monumento 17 squirrel: scoiattolo 28 oak tree: quercia 7 playground: parco giochi 18 mice: topi 29 carved: intagliato 8 avenue: viale 19 fairy: fata 30 elves: elfi 9 flowerbed: aiuola 20 to climb up: arrampicarsi 31 alongside: lungo 10 lead: guinzaglio 21 to stand: stare in piedi 32 ovelooking: che dà su 11 orangery: aranciera (serra) 22 top: cima 33 pond: stagno 4

5 GRAMMAR PRESENT SIMPLE NOZIONI BASILARI In inglese il present simple corrisponde al nostro presente indicativo. Anche nell'uso è del tutto simile, ovvero: - si usa con azioni che sono sempre vere (quindi, frasi del tipo "l'acqua bolle a 100 gradi") - si usa con azioni che succedono sempre (quindi, frasi del tipo "vado a dormire alle 11 di sera") - si usa con azioni che succedono con una cadenza espressa dagli avverbi di frequenza (quindi, frasi del tipo "vado spesso a giocare a tennis", non esce mai il sabato sera"); per una trattazione completa degli avverbi di frequenza, il loro uso e la loro posizione nella frase, per favore fate riferimento al n.29 di questa rivista. Perciò, se vogliamo sintetizzare la regola per l'uso del present simple, possiamo dire che esso si usa per azioni che sono sempre vere o che accadono ripetutamente. Questo esclude che il present simple si possa usare per cose che stanno accadendo in questo momento o in questo periodo, ovvero cose momentanee (per questo tipo di espressioni si usa il present continuous, che verrà trattato in un altro articolo di questa rubrica). In altre parole, mentre in italiano la frase corretta è "sto mangiando un panino", ma è accettato anche "mangio un panino", in inglese questo non si potrà mai fare. In inglese, se si esclude il verbo "be" (trattato nello scorso numero) e il verbo "have" (la cui terza persona è "has"), tutti gli altri verbi inglesi vengono coniugati allo stesso modo: la forma base del verbo è uguale per tutte le persone (I, you, we, they) tranne la terza persona singolare (he, she, it), in cui alla forma base si aggiunge una "s". Ecco alcuni esempi di verbi coniugati al presente simple: HAVE (AVERE) DRINK (BERE) GO (ANDARE) DO (FARE) STUDY (STUDIARE) I have I drink I go I do I study you have you drink you go you do you study he has he drinks he goes he does he studies she has she drinks she goes she does she studies it has it drinks it goes it does it studies we have we drink we go we do we study they have they drink they go they do they study REGOLE PER L'AGGIUNTA DELLA "S" ALLA TERZA PERSONA SINGOLARE DEI VERBI E PER FARE IL PLURALE DEI SOSTANTIVI Generalmente, alla terza persona singolare si aggiunge una -s al verbo. Questo accade anche per fare il plurale dei sostantivi (ovvero i nomi), pertanto il significato della -s finale non va confuso: nei sostantivi esprime il PLURALE mentre nei verbi esprime la terza persona SINGOLARE. Le regole per l'aggiunta della -s sono identiche in entrambi i casi, ossia: - i verbi e i sostantivi che terminano per S, SS, SH, CH, X, O, Z aggiungono -ES. Esempi: sostantivi verbi BUS (autobus) BUSES TO BUS (andare in bus) HE BUSES PASS (lasciapassare) PASSES TO CLASS (classificare) HE CLASSES DISH (piatto) DISHES TO PUSH (spingere) HE PUSHES SANDWICH (panino) SANDWICHES TO REACH (raggiungere) HE REACHES BOX (scatola) BOXES TO TAX (tassare) HE TAXES POTATO (patata) POTATOES TO GO (andare) HE GOES BUZZ (brusìo) BUZZES TO RAZZ (sfottere) HE RAZZES 5

6 - la desinenza -ES si legge -IS tranne nelle parole che terminano per -O, dove la -E è di fatto non pronunciata. Si noti inoltre che se un sostantivo o un verbo finisce per -SE, ZE e CE, per motivi di pronuncia la -E si legge -I: SUNRISE - SUNRISES (sanraisis, albe), LOSE - LOSES (lusis, perde), ORGANIZE - ORGANIZES (organaisis, organizza), DICE - DICES (daisis, dadi). - i sostantivi e i verbi che terminano per Y preceduta da consonante cambiano la Y in I e aggiungono ES. Esempi: CITY (città) CITIES TO TRY (provare) HE TRIES (prova) COUNTRY (paese) COUNTRIES TO CRY (piangere) HE CRIES (piange) - le parole che terminano per Y preceduta da vocale invece fanno il plurale normalmente: DAY (giorno) DAYS TO PLAY (giocare) HE PLAYS (gioca) FRASI NEGATIVE E INTERROGATIVE AL PRESENT SIMPLE NOZIONI BASILARI Quando si creano frasi negative e interrogative in inglese, occorre tenere presente che: 1) l'inglese è una lingua basata sugli ausiliari e quindi la forma negativa e quella interrogativa vengono sempre fatte mediante l'uso di un ausiliare, in qualsiasi tempo e modo verbale ci esprimiamo. 2) L ausiliare che è stato scelto per il Present Simple è il verbo DO 3) L'ausiliare "do", quando è usato per formare le frasi negative ed interrogative, è snaturato del suo significato "fare". Infatti, se voglio dire "io non faccio", in inglese si dice "I don't do" (di fatto ripetendo due volte il verbo do). 4) nella forma negativa DO diventa DON T (contrazione di DO NOT, pronunciato dont ) per le persone I, YOU, WE e THEY, e DOESN T (contrazione di DOES NOT, pronunciato dasent ) per la terza persona singolare HE-SHE-IT, e viene messo nella stessa posizione del nostro italiano non. Esempi: I READ I DON T READ I WRITE I DON T WRITE YOU READ YOU DON T READ YOU WRITE YOU DON T WRITE HE READS HE DOESN T READ HE WRITES HE DOESN T WRITE SHE READS SHE DOESN T READ SHE WRITES SHE DOESN T WRITE IT READS IT DOESN T READ IT WRITES IT DOESN T WRITE WE READ WE DON T READ WE WRITE WE DON T WRITE THEY READ THEY DON T READ THEY WRITE THEY DON T WRITE 5) nella forma interrogativa, si usano DO (pronunciato du ) per le persone I, YOU, WE e THEY, e DOES (pronunciato das ) per la terza persona singolare HE-SHE-IT. La loro posizione è sempre prima del soggetto. Esempi: I DREAM DO I DREAM? I GO DO I GO? YOU DREAM DO YOU DREAM? YOU GO DO YOU GO? HE DREAMS DOES HE DREAM? HE GOES DOES HE GO? SHE DREAMS DOES SHE DREAM? SHE GOES DOES SHE GO? IT DREAMS DOES IT DREAM? IT GOES DOES IT GO? WE DREAM DO YOU DREAM? WE GO DO WE GO? THEY DREAM DO THEY DREAM? THEY GO DO THEY GO? 6) Ricordate che dopo DO, DOES, DON T e DOESN T il verbo che segue va sempre all infinito. Ecco perché, come si può notare dagli esempi qui sopra, il verbo non prende mai la -S della terza persona singolare. Questa regola vale per qualsiasi ausiliare inglese (DID, CAN, MUST, WILL, WOULD,...). NOZIONI AVANZATE E CENNI STORICI: L'USO DELL'AUSILIARE "DO" In inglese "do" significa "fare". Tuttavia, esso viene usato anche come ausiliare del present simple per 6

7 creare domande e frasi negative. La necessità di avere un ausiliare può sembrare incomprensibile e quindi difficile da applicare per noi italiani. Tuttavia, è possibile comprendere meglio questo punto considerando che l'inglese è una lingua basata sugli ausiliari: tranne la forma affermativa, esso prevede che la forma negativa e quella interrogativa vengano sempre fatte mediante l'uso di un ausiliare. Questo vale per tutti i tempi e i modi verbali. Per il Present Simple e il Past Simple, a parte il verbo essere (che essendo un ausiliare usa se stesso per creare negative e interrogative), tutti gli altri verbi hanno bisogno di un ausiliare. Nel corso dei secoli è stato scelto il verbo DO (DID al passato) per diventare l ausiliare. Il linguista Michael Lewis spiega questo fatto così: If a particular pattern -or structure or stress- is made using an auxiliary, that pattern is preserved for all English verb phrases which do not contain an auxiliary by introducing part of (do) as a dummy auxiliary. The patterns are then followed without exception (se un particolare schema - o struttura o accento - è fatto usando un ausiliare, quello schema è preservato per tutte le frasi verbali inglesi che non contengono un ausiliare mediante l introduzione di parte di (do) come ausiliario fittizio. Gli schemi sono quindi seguiti senza eccezione.) Il discorso che fa Lewis, in sintesi, è che l introduzione di DO come ausiliare, che lui chiama ausiliare fittizio ovvero privo di un vero significato, serve a rendere regolare la lingua inglese, prevedendo così che in tutti i tipi di frasi verbali in ogni modo e tempo verbale si usi un ausiliare per fare frasi negative e interrogative. Di fatto, l inglese non ha sempre usato DO come ausiliare. Questa è la spiegazione storica che ne fa Richard Hudson: Auxiliary DO is often called `periphrastic' DO because it has no meaning independent of the meaning of the construction concerned; the only reason for using auxiliary DO in Modern English is because the syntax requires an auxiliary and no other auxiliary is needed by the sentence's meaning. DO fills the gaps where non-auxiliary verbs are not allowed and where other auxiliaries are not needed. (...)In Middle English, in contrast, DO had no special role because auxiliary and non-auxiliary verbs could be used in much the same way. (...) The `periphrastic' (semantically empty) DO appeared first in the 13th century, but at that time it had no special connections with negation or inversion; nor, indeed, were these restricted by rule to auxiliary verbs. The link between auxiliary-hood and these sentencetypes appeared first in the 15th century, and had almost reached its modern solidity (with some differences of detail) by the end of the 16th. (L ausiliare Do è spesso chiamato DO perifrastico perché non ha significato indipendente dal significato della costruzione in esame; l unica ragione per usare l ausiliare DO nell inglese moderno è perché la sintassi richiede un ausiliare e non serve nessun altro ausiliare al significato della frase. DO riempie i buchi lasciati dove verbi non ausiliari non sono permessi e dove non servono altri ausiliari. (...)Nel Medio Inglese, in contrasto, DO non aveva nessun ruolo speciale perché i verbi ausiliari e non ausiliari potevano essere usati abbastanza nello stesso modo. (...). Il Do perifrastico (semanticamente vuoto) apparì per la prima volta nel 13 secolo, ma a quel tempo non aveva collegamenti con la negazione o l inversione (tra soggetto e verbo, NdT); né, in realtà, questi erano ristretti per regola ai verbi ausiliari. Il legame tra l ausiliarità e questi tipi di frase apparì per la prima volta nel 15 secolo, e aveva quasi raggiunto la sua solidità (con qualche differenza di dettaglio) per la fine del 16 secolo.) L ORA FORMALE E COLLOQUIALE L ORA FORMALE L ora formale in inglese si esprime più o meno come in italiano. Le seguenti sono le regole generali: - i minuti vengono espressi come numero: quattro e dieci - FOUR TEN, dodici e quindici - TWELVE FIFTEEN - sono le... in inglese si dice sempre IT S - non si dice e tra l ora e i minuti: sono le sette e trenta: IT S SEVEN THIRTY 7

8 - in contesti molto formali l ora formale inglese si comporta come in italiano, ovvero dopo mezziogiorno si parla di tredici, quattordici, ecc. Tuttavia, generalmente è preferibile riferirsi alle ore antimeridiane con am e quelle pomeridiane con pm : 11 am - le 11 del mattino, 8 pm - le 8 di sera. L ORA COLLOQUIALE L ora colloquiale inglese si comporta più o meno come in italiano, chiamando i minuti 15 e 45 quarter (quarto), e 30 half (mezzo). - l ora in punto si esprime con O CLOCK, che significa dell orologio ( O è l abbreviazione di OF - i minuti da 1 a 30 vengono espressi con PAST, che significa dopo" e rimpiazza il nostro e ; esempi: FIVE PAST EIGHT = otto e cinque (letteralmente cinque dopo le otto ), QUARTER PAST THREE = tre e un quarto (lett. un quarto dopo le tre) - i minuti dda 31 a 59 vengono espressi con TO, che significa a e rimpiazza il nostro meno ; esempi: TWENTY TO FIVE = cinque meno venti (lett. venti alle cinque ), QUARTER TO ONE = una meno un quarto (lett. un quarto all una ) Lo schema qui sotto spiega in modo visivo le summenzionate regole: - L ora si chiede generalmente con le seguenti domande: - WHAT TIME IS IT? = che ora è? - WHAT S THE TIME? = qual è l ora? - CAN YOU TELL ME THE TIME, PLEASE? = Può dirmi l'ora per favore? - qui esemplifichiamo qualche risposta: - IT S FIVE O CLOCK = sono le cinque (in punto) - IT S ALMOST/NEARLY HALF PAST FOUR = sono quasi le quattro e mezza - IT S ABOUT QUARTER TO TWELVE = sono circa le dodici meno un quarto - IT S JUST AFTER EIGHT O CLOCK = sono passate da poco le otto, è poco dopo le 8 - IT S JUST BEFORE HALF PAST ELEVEN = sono poco prima delle undici e mezza 8

9 THE HISTORY OF BRITAIN THE WAR OF THE ROSES: THE HOUSE OF YORK In the past issue we talked about what is called in English the War of the Roses: it was a civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York about who had the right to become king. We saw that Henry V and Henry VI were both Lancastrian, but thanks to the help of the Earl of Warwick, Edward (descendant of the House of York) became king in 1461 with the name of Edward IV, but was later deposed by the same earl to re-establish Henry VI on the throne. Henry VI was finally put to death in 1471, and Edward IV became king again. In this issue we will consider better the story of Edward IV and his successor Richard III. EDWARD IV (KING FROM 1461 TO 1470 AND FROM 1471 TO 1483) Edward was born on 28 April 1442 in Rouen in France. He was the son of Richard Plantagenet Duke of York. Edward's father was the leading 1 Yorkist during the Wars of the Roses, which began in When Richard Plantagenet was killed at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, Edward inherited his claim 2. With the support of the powerful Earl of Warwick, known as 'the Kingmaker 3 ', Edward defeated 4 the Lancastrians in a series of battles, culminating in the Battle of Towton in Henry VI was deposed and Edward was crowned Edward IV. Edward owed 5 his throne to the Nevilles (his mother s relatives) and Warwick, so he was happy to be guided by them. Warwick believed he could continue to control the new king, but Edward little by little started making progress. Warwick wanted to negotiate a foreign marriage for Edward, and for his foreign policy 6 he had projected a marriage with a French princess; but in 1464 Edward secretly married Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner 7. Warwick was furious because now the Woodvilles (Elisabeth s relatives) obtained the king s favours: her father was made treasurer 8, and great marriages were made for Elisabeth s brothers and sisters. Even in foreign affairs Edward frustrated Warwick s plans by favouring an alliance with Burgundy instead of France. In 1469 Warwick allied himself to Edward's brother George, Duke of Clarence, leading a revolt against the king. Edward was surprised and made prisoner, and for six months he had to submit to Warwick s tutelage. Then, Sir Robert Welles, the leader of a rebellion in Lincolnshire, made a confession implicating Warwick, so he and Clarence fled 9 to France. However, they joined 10 Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI. Margaret's Lancastrian army invaded England in September Edward fled to the Netherlands, and in the meantime Henry VI became king again. But in March 1471 Edward IV and his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, returned to England. Edward defeated and killed Warwick at Barnet and then defeated the Lancastrians at Tewkesbury in May. Henry VI was put to death in the Tower of London and Edward IV was restored 11 to the throne. The second part of Edward's reign, from 1471 to 1483, was a period 1 King Edward IV of relative peace and security. His position became stronger by the birth of a son and the confiscation of the possessions of his opponents. He used income 12 from the Crown Estates 13 and the annual subsidy paid by the French king Louis XI to pay governmental costs, and was therefore less in need of parliamentary grants 14 than his predecessors - he called parliament only six times. Commercial treaties, external peace and internal order revived trade 15, benefiting customs duties 16 and other revenues 17. Edward died on 9 April 1483; as a king, he had been ambitious and capable; his affable manners and love for pleasure and entertainments gave him personal popularity with citizens and their 9

10 wives. Although in his last years he exceeded with self-indulgence and scandalous excesses and governed almost tyrannically, he had the merit of restoring the order, being patron of the new Renaissance culture and friend of Caxton (please refer to Number 30 page 15). EDWARD V AND RICHARD III (KING FROM 1483 TO 1485) When Edward IV died, his son Edward had to become king Edward V. But since he was only twelve, he and his brother Richard were left in the protection of their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Edward IV s brother). A struggle 18 for power took place between him and young Edward s maternal uncle, Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers. Gloucester obtained possession of the king's person, and, having arrested Rivers and some of his supporters, assumed the crown himself on the ground 19 that the marriage of Edward and Elizabeth Woodville was invalid, and consequently Edward V was illegitimate. According to the various accounts 20, some historians think that Richard had always wanted to become king and he had persuaded Parliament to crown him instead of his nephew, other historians think that Parliament requested that Richard take the throne and that he was reluctant, because Richard had always been loyal to his brother Edward IV even during the events of , Edward's exile and their brother's rebellion (the Duke of Clarence). Whatever 21 the truth, Richard was crowned as King Richard III in June 1483 usurping the throne from his nephew who, together with his brother, was put in the royal apartments of the Tower of London. A movement was organized to free them from captivity, and that is probably why Richard III killed them: according to Thomas More, Sir Robert Brackenbury, the constable 22 of the Tower, refused to obey Richard's command to put the young princes to death; but he accepted to give up 23 his keys for one night to Sir James Tyrell, who had arranged for the assassination. Two men, Miles Forest and John Dighton, then smothered 24 the youths under pillows 25 while they were asleep. However, Richard III s reign didn t last for long: soon one of his allies, the Duke of Buckingham, rebelled against him in October. The rebellion quickly collapsed. However, the defection of Buckingham and his supporters eroded Richard's power and support among the aristocracy and gentry 26. In August 1485, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who was a Lancastrian claimant 27 to the throne living in France, landed in South Wales. He marched against Richard in battle on Bosworth Field in Leicestershire on 22 August Although Richard possessed superior numbers, several of his key lieutenants defected. Refusing to flee, Richard was killed in battle and Henry Tudor took the throne as Henry VII. This was the final act of the War of the Roses. 2 Portrait of Richard III, by an unknown artist TO TALK TOGETHER: - What are the main facts happened during the reign of Edward IV? - What happened to Edward V and his brother, and why? - Why did the reign of Richard III last only 2 years? VOCABULARY 1 leading: principale 8 treasurer: tesoriere 15 trade: commercio 22 constable: connestabile 2 claim: diritto 9 to flee: fuggire 16 custom duty: dazio doganale 23 to give up: cedere 3 kingmaker: fautore di re 10 to join: unirsi a 17 revenue: entrata 24 to smother: sofocare 4 to defeat: sconfiggere 11 to defeat: sconfiggere 18 struggle: lotta 25 pillow: cuscino 5 to owe: dovere 12 income: entrata 19 ground: base (qui) 26 gentry: piccola nobiltà 6 foreign policy: politica estera 13 estate: patrimonio 20 account: resoconto 27 claimant: pretendente 7 commoner: plebeo 14 grant: concessione 21 whatever: qualunque 10

11 11 XÇzÄ á{ _ àxütàâüx tçw céxàüç From Chaucer to the Renaissance ( ) 1485) - Part 2 In the past issue we talked about the period of transition going from the age of Chaucer (please refer to numbers 28 and 29) and the Renaissance. As regards poetry, this period is called the "Barren 1 Age" because there were no important writers, and also, there was no significant production. As regards prose, the most important writer of the period was Thomas Malory, who wrote "La Morte d'arthur", a long poem gathering 2 all the most important myths about Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. We also saw Caxton and the introduction of the printing press in England, and the importance of print for English language and culture. In this issue we will treat the development of drama. DRAMA If the 15th century was comparatively poor in poetry and prose, it was, instead, rich in plays 3 : in fact it saw the flourishing of Medieval Drama, which would pave 4 the way for the great Elizabethan theatre. Medieval Drama developed out of liturgical ceremonies. It is in the Church, in fact, and in its rituals that we can find the origin of medieval plays. The Clergy had always tried to teach to an unlettered people the chief 5 events of the Christian religion through dramatic performances. In the 16th century, music was introduced into churches, and words were composed for the melodies. So, a dramatic dialogue began to appear, at first in the form of chants between the priest 6 and the choir 7. Little by little processional and scenic effects were added 8, which, by increasing dramatic action, also required more complicated stage 9 properties. All of this gave life to the gradual evolution from liturgical drama to Miracle and Mystery plays. Latin was slowly replaced by vernacular, and secular elements became more and more frequent. As the Miracle Plays grew in popularity, performances inside churches became more and more difficult because of 10 the increasing size of the audience. So the plays left the church and began to be performed first in the churchyard 11, then in other open spaces of the town. Because of the English climate, performances had to take place at the time of the year when the weather was fine, so the favourite period became the one connected with the Feast of Corpus Christi. Miracle Plays were grouped into four cycles, which are now known by the name of the town they were probably performed: Chester, York, Coventry and Wakefield. 1 Everyman fighting against Death In order to enable 12 as many people as possible to see it, each play was repeated several times in different parts of the town, with the help of a movable structure called a pageant: originally, it was the name of any individual play in a Miracle Cycle, then it came to indicate a carriage 13 in the form of a small house with two vertical rooms: in the lower 14 room the actors prepared themselves, and in the upper 15 one, which was open on four sides, they played their parts. As to the performance itself, at first it took place under the management and supervision of the Clergy, but later on it was taken over by the trade guilds 16 under the management of the municipal authorities. It was also stated that,

12 as far as possible, each guild should act a pageant. Even if there is no big distinction between Miracles and Mysteries, some critics say that Mysteries usually deal with 17 Gospel 18 events and their main object is the Redemption of Man, while Miracles are concerned with episodes from the lives of the Saints. Some critics say that the word Mystery derives from the Latin "ministerium" and means a play acted by craftsmen 19. Miracle Plays were a form, of popular art characterized by realism, simplicity of diction, absence of metaphors and of sentimentalism. Of a different and higher quality was the second great product of the time, the Morality Play, which, in its structure, was complementary to the Miracle. It too, in fact, was a religious play, but white Miracles were concerned with Biblical historical events, it instead focused on the conflict between good and evil 20, as it did not want to teach the Scriptures, but to improve 21 people's moral behaviour 22. It was therefore 23 intended for more learned people, with some culture. No longer inspired by episodes from the Bible, for the first time dramatists invented a plot, 24 though stereotyped, which was didactic in content and allegorical in form. In harmony with the medieval love of allegory, in fact, the Morality Play presented personifications of vices and virtues (Avarice, Luxury, Gluttony, Anger 25, etc.) and generalized characters' (Everyman, Mankind 26 ). The lines were rhymed, as in the Miracles, but the atmosphere was more melancholy. Sometimes, however, it was enlivened 27 by the presence of some characters, especially the Vice who, with his rather clownish behaviour, may be considered the forerunner 28 of the future Shakespearean "fool". The best Morality Play is perhaps Everyman, written about 1500; It is the story of Everyman, who is informed by Death that he must die. He looks for someone to go with him, but he everybody deserts him (Fellowship 29, Beauty, Strength 30, Knowledge, Five Wits, etc.). Only Good Deeds will follow him and sink with him into the grave, as we can see in the final scene of the play: EVERYMAN'S DEATH Five Wits. I will no longer thee keep; Now farewell; and there an end. [exit Five Wits] Everyman. O Jesu, help! All hath forsaken me. Good Deeds. Nay, Everyman; I will bidè with thee, I will not forsake thee indeed; Thou shalt find me a good friend at need. Everyman. Gramercy, Good Deeds! Now may I true friends see. They have forsaken me, every one; I loved them better than my Good Deeds alone. Knowledge, will ye forsake me also? Knowledge. Yea, Everyman, when ye to Death shall go; But not yet, for no manner of danger. Everyman. Gramercy, Knowledge, with all my heart. Knowledge. Nay, yet I will not from hence depart Till I see where ye shall become Everyman. Methink, alàs, that I must be gone To make my reckoning and my debts pay, For I see my time is nigh spent away. Take example, all ye that this do hear or see, How they that I loved best do forsake me, Except my Good Deeds that bideth truly. Good Deeds. All earthly things is but vanity: Beauty, Strength, and Discretion do man forsake, Foolish friends, and kinsmen, that fair spake All fleeth" save Good Deeds, and that am I. Everyman. Have mercy on me, God most mighty; And stand by me, thou mother and maid, holy Mary. LA MORTE DI OGNIUOMO Cinque Sensi: Non ti tratterrò più: Ora addio; e alla fine (Cinque Sensi esce) Ogniuomo: O Gesù, aiuto! Tutti mi hanno abbandonato. Buone Azioni: No, Ogniuomo; Io resterò con te, Davvero non ti lascerò; Tu mi troverai un buon amico al bisogno. Ogniuomo: Grazie, Buone Azioni! Ora possa io Vedere veri amici. Mi hanno abbandonato, tutti quanti; Li amavo più del mio Buone Azioni da solo. Conoscenza, mi abbandonerai anche tu? Conoscenza: Sì, Ogniuomo, quando andrai alla Morte; Ma non ancora, a nessun costo. Ogniuomo: Grazie, Conoscenza, con tutto il mio cuore. Conoscenza: No, tuttavia non me ne andrò da qui Finché non vedo quale sarà la tua sorte. Ogniuomo: Io penso, ahimé, che devo andarmene Per dare il mio resoconto e pagare i miei debiti Perché capisco che il mio tempo è quasi trascorso. Prendete esempio, voi tutti che sentite o vedete, Come quelli che amavo di più mi abbandonano, Eccetto il mio Buone Azioni che rimane fedele. Buone Azioni: Ogni cosa terrena non è che vanità; Bellezza, Forza e Discrezione davvero l'uomo abbandonano, Amici stolti, e parenti, che parlavano onestamente Tutti fuggono salvo Buone Azioni, che sono io. Ogniuomo: Abbi pietà di me, Dio potentissimo; E stammi vicino, tu madre e vergine, santa Maria 12

13 Good Deeds. Fear not: 1 will speak for thee. Everyman. Here I cry God mercy. Good Deeds. Short our end, and minish our pain; Let us go and never come again. Everyman. Into thy hands, Lord, my soul I commend: Receive it, Lord, that it be not lost. As thou me boughtest, so me defend, And save me from the fiend's boast, That I may appear with that blessed host That shall be saved at the day of doom. In manus tuas, of miglits most For ever, commendo spiritum meum. He sinks into his grave. Buone Azioni: Non temere: parlerò per te. Ogniuomo: Eccomi ad invocare a Dio la misericordia. Buone Azioni: Accorcia la nostra fine e attenua il nostro dolore; Andiamo per non tornare più. Ogniuomo: Nelle tue mani, Signore, raccomando la mia anima Ricevila, Signore, affinché non sia persa. Come mi hai riscattato, così me difendi, E salvami dalla boria del demonio, Affinché io possa apparire con quella schiera beata Che sarà salvata al giorno del giudizio. Nella tua mano, onnipotente Per sempre, affido il mio spirito. Scende nella sua tomba It is in this last scene that the moral purpose 31 of the play is explained. Everyman is in a critical moment of his life, when death is near. He is afraid of dying, but his final spiritual victory over death means the triumph of Christian faith and the importance of the "good deeds" done in life. The story is closely 32 connected with the medieval "Dance of Death" or "danse macabre" so often portrayed 33 in medieval paintings (in the Middle Ages if was believed that the dead returned at night among the living to dance over their graves 34 and to lure 35 passers-by 36 into the dance and to death. This superstition was represented in pageants and illustrations). The metre of the play is almost always the rhymed couplet 37 and the presence of Latin sentences adds new dignity to the language. The main theme of the work is "solitude", seen as a consequence of evil and as a symbol of the vanity of human values. It is this solitude that makes the play so dramatic, so that Everyman stands as the forerunner of future lonely 38 heroes. INTERLUDES Moralities continued to be performed for a great part of the century and were gradually replaced by Interludes. The origin of interludes can be traced back 39 to previous centuries, when, now and then, independent comic dialogues began to be inserted into Miracle Plays (inter-ludos) to enliven their atmosphere. Interludes were distinguished from Morality Plays because they were shorter, made very little use of allegories, usually replaced abstractions with real characters, introduced humour and satire and had little didactic purpose. The best example of Interludes was "The Four P's" (1545?) by John Heywood (1497?-1580?), in which a Palmer 40, a Pardoner 41, a 'Pothecary (Apothecary 42 ) and a Pedlar (Peddler 43 ) discussed which of them would tell the biggest lie: the winner was the Palmer, who swore 44 that he had never in his life seen a woman lose her patience. Interludes represented a great advance upon moralities and, with their new realistic elements, they became the bridge that linked Medieval Drama to the future Elizabethan Theatre. VOCABULARY 1 barren: sterile 12 to enable: permettere 23 therefore: pertanto 34 grave: tomba 2 to gather: raccogliere 13 carriage: carro 24 plot: trama 35 to lure: adescare 3 play: rappr. teatrale 14 lower: inferiore 25 anger: rabbia 36 passer-by: passante 4 to pave: tracciare (qui) 15 upper: superiore 26 mankind: umanità 37 couplet: coppia di versi 5 chief: principale 16 trade guild: corporazione 27 to enliven: animare 38 lonely: solitario 6 priest: sacerdote 17 to deal with: trattare 28 forerunner: precursore 39 to trace back: risalire a 7 choir: coro 18 Gospel: Vangelo 29 fellowship: amicizia 40 palmer: pellegrino 8 to add: aggiungere 19 craftsman: artista 30 strength: forza 41 pardoner: venditore di indulgenze 9 stage: palcoscenico 20 evil: male 31 purpose: scopo 42 apothecary: farmacista 10 because of: a causa di 21 to improve: migliorare 32 closely: strettamente 43 peddler: venditore ambulante 11 churchyard: sagrato 22 behaviour: comportamento 33 to portray: rappresentare 44 to swear: giurare 13

14 LET S LAUGH TOGETHER! My wife walked into the living-room and asked: "What's on the TV?" I replied "dust". And that's how the fight started... My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our anniversary. She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 200 in about 3 seconds. I bought her a scale. And that's how the fight started... VOCABULARY to walk into: entrare dust: polvere fight: litigio to hint: alludere shiny: lucido scale: bilancia 14

15 YOUR SPACE! Questo mese Manuela Foramitti, che studia inglese da circa un anno, ha deciso di presentare questo lavoro, basato sul suo libro di testo New Headway Elementary. Questo esercizio prevede imparare a descrivere una o più persone usando il vocabolario tipico della descrizione fisica e del carattere, e al contempo imparare ad usare congiunzioni nuove per formare frasi più articolate. Manuela ha deciso di descrivere le sue due figlie paragonando le loro caratteristiche. MANUELA FORAMITTI my DAUGHTERS I have two daughters, Cladia and Giorgia. Giorgia is older than Claudia because she is 29 while Claudia is 25. Although Claudia is younger than Giorgia, she is the tallest. They both have long hair, but Claudia's hair is dark, and Giorgia's hair is blond. My daughters have dark eyes, but Claudia's eyes are bigger than Giorgia's. They like doing different things: Claudia loves doing sports, for example swimming, walking, climbing. She loves reading, too, while Giorgia loves riding, shopping and watching TV. Giorgia is very tidy, but Claudia is untidy. 15

16 BIBLIOGRAFIA MONUMENTS OF BRITAIN: articoli tratti e adattati dal sito internet: - Fotografie tratte da internet GRAMMAR: schede di grammatica prodotte da Susanna Tagliavini. Spiegazione grammaticale di pag. 7 tratta dal libro The English Verb di Michael Lewis, Edizioni LTP Teacher Training. Luogo e data di pubblicazione non precisati sul libro. Spiegazione storica di pag.7 tratta dal sito THE HISTORY OF BRITAIN: vdeposed.aspx i.aspx A concise history of England from Stonehenge to the Atomic Age, F. E. Halliday,1980 Thames & Hudson Ltd, London Immagini tratte dai siti summenzionati. ENGLISH LITERATURE AND POETRY: - "A mirror of the times" di Rosa Marinoni Mingazzini e Luciana Salmoiraghi, 1989, Morano Editore S.p.A., Napoli - Testo di "Everyman" tratto da "A mirror of the times", op. cit.: Everyman, , traduzione in inglese moderno di A.C. Cawtey (Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays, London, 1979), traduzione in italiano di Susanna Tagliavini. Immagine tratta da LET'S LAUGH TOGETHER: tratto da un articolo fatto girare in internet, autore sconosciuto. YOUR SPACE!: Lavoro presentato da Manuela Foramitti. 16