my favourite historical character · on 3rd august 1492 christopher columbus set sail from palos...
TRANSCRIPT
ISTITUTO COMPRENSIVO STATALE
“21 MARZO”
ANNO SCOLASTICO 2019 / 2020
MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
LAVORO ESEGUITO DAGLI ALUNNI DELLE CLASSI TERZE DI
GERACI SICULO e PETRALIA SOTTANA
TOPICS
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
GANDHI
GUY FAWKES
MARTIN LUTHER KING
NELSON MANDELA
QUEEN ELIZABETH II
ST. THERESA OF CALCUTTA
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Romeo and Juliet
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Daffodils
A cura dell’ins. Irene Cammarata
WRITE A TEXT ABOUT THE CHARACTER YOU LIKED BEST:
Homework 1 - MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
Here you are a list of questions you can use as a guide for you text.
1. What period/century did he/she live in?
2. Where and when was he/she born?
3. What do you know about his/her family?
4. What did he/she look like?
5. What was he/she like?
6. What were his/her greatest abilities according to you?
7. What special did he/she do?
8. What particular happened while he/she was alive?
9. Why do you like him/her?
10. Can everyone consider him/her a hero/heroine?
11. What would you like to imitate from him/her?
12. What did you learn from him/her?
13. Why do you think he/she succeeded in his/her deed?
14. If he/she were still alive, what would you like to tell him/her?
15. According to you, how would he/she live in this modern world?
16. Did he/she influence your life? If yes, how?
17. How could you put in action his/her right ideas?
18. If you had lived in his/her time, what would you have liked to do?
19. Do you know any of his/her famous words?
20. Why do / should people remember him/her?
or
Homework 2 - I AM …………
Choose a character you would like to be and……tell us everything about yourself!
(You can use the above guide if you need to!)
MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa in 1451. In 1477 he moved to
Portugal where two years later he married Felipa Perestrello Moniz, but she
died in 1485. In the same year Columbus moved to Cadiz, where he opened
a shop selling maps and charts.
However, his real dream was to sail across the ocean and discover a new route
to India. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to give him the
money and ships he needed for his exploration. It was 1492.
On 3rd
August 1492 Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos and led an
expedition with three ships: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, and
about 90 crew members.
On 12th
October Columbus reached land that he thought were the Indies.
On his second voyage from 1493 to 1496, Columbus sailed with 17 ships and
over 1,000 men to find gold, in reality he sailed to Trinidad and Venezuela,
later to Mexico, Honduras, Panama and Jamaica.
When Christopher Columbus died on 20th May 1506, he did not know that, in
fact, he had discovered a new land defined the New World.
MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
GANDHI
Gandhi was born in 1869 in India of a Hindu family. He studied law in London.
He protested peacefully to win rights for his population, but he never used violence.
He was arrested many times during his 20 years in South Africa.
His method of non-violence influenced Martin Luther King in the USA and Nelson
Mandela in South Africa.
In 1931 Gandhi went to London to press for the independence of India from the
British Empire.
On 30th
January 1948 Gandhi was assassinated in Delhi by a Hindu.
MAHATMA GANDHI
Gandhi was born in India.
He studied in London.
He protested peacefully for the rights of his population, but he never used violence.
His method of non-violence influenced Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.
Gandhi went to London to ask for the independence of India from Britain.
Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu.
MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
MARTIN LUTHER KING
Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta in 1929. He was a brave Afro-American who
devoted his life to win rights for his black population who was suffering for
segregation. Becoming enthusiastic about Gandhi and his policy of non-violence, he
carried out non-violent demonstration against racial discrimination.
For a year black people boycotted public transport and they walked, cycled or used
cars instead of taking a bus and in 1956 segregation was declared illegal on buses in
Alabama. Martin Luther King had won his first battle and he became famous for the
Black Freedom Movement. He was arrested and imprisoned many times but he never
stopped his campaign.
On August 28th 1963 Martin Luther King led a peaceful march to Washington.
About two hundred and fifty thousand people sang, prayed and listened to his famous
speech called “I Have a Dream”. In this speech, he talked about his dream for the
future when black and white children would play together and slaves and slave
owners would sit down to eat together at the table of brotherhood.
Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. In 1968 King started a battle
to secure better jobs and living conditions for the Blacks, but on 4th
April 1968 he
was assassinated on the balcony of his motel room the day before the new peaceful
march he had organized in Memphis. Now that day is called Martin Luther King Day
and it is celebrated on 4th April as a national holiday in the USA.
MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
NELSON MANDELA
Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in South Africa. He was a very brave
man. He became the leader of a political party called the African National Congress,
which fought against apartheid. Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison for
that, but he never stopped his anti-segregationist activities.
Released in 1990 after strong international pressures, in 1993 Mandela won the Nobel
Peace Prize and in 1994 he was elected the first black president of South Africa.
I like Nelson Mandela because he fought against apartheid and after the ANC
became illegal, he did not stop his struggles.
We can consider him a hero and what I would like to imitate from him is to be as
brave as he was.
If he were still alive, I would like to tell him that he was really courageous to have
fought against the governmental regime of apartheid.
If I had lived in Mandela’s time, I would have liked to do the same things as he did.
His famous phrase that I like so much is:
“I loved the ideal of a democratic society. It is an ideal for which I hope to live
and reach. But if necessary, it is an ideal for which I am honoured to die.”
Nelson Mandela died on 5th December 2013.
MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
NELSON MANDELA
Nelson Mandela lived in the 20th century, he was born in 1918 in South Africa. He
had dark skin, a large nose and dark, slightly flattened eyes and he was 1.85 m tall.
Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison because he was involved in the African
National Congress movement. This movement struggled against the apartheid regime.
The Apartheid was a system of racial segregation implemented by the government.
The international pressure allowed him to be freed in 1990.
Nelson Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and in 1994 he became the first
black president of South Africa.
His friendliness was his character, that is, never give up.
If I had lived in Mandela’s time, I would have liked to be a person working for the
press, especially to dedicate him many newspaper articles telling the world about the
many things he did for his country.
Nelson Mandela died on 5th
December 2013.
MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
NELSON MANDELA
Nelson Mandela lived in the apartheid period.
He was a South African politician and activist, president of South Africa from 1994
to 1999.
Antagonist of apartheid, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 with
the predecessor Frederik de Klerk. He was the first non-white South African
president to hold that position; civil rights activist and lawyer, he had served 27 years
in prison for his work on combating racial segregationism.
Revolutionary and subsequently a man of a government of reconciliation and
pacification, he was for a long time one of the leaders of the anti-apartheid movement
and played a decisive role in the fall of this regime, although he spent most of the
years of anti-segregationist activism in prison. Man symbol of equality and anti-
racism, Sakharov Prize for peace and freedom of thought, he has been able to dose
different political and pragmatic approaches to the liberation struggle of his people,
from the initial theories of non-violent opposition of Gandhi.
Of Ubuntu ideology, his political inspiration was influenced by Marxism. At the time
of the arrest that will lead him to a 27-year captivity he was a member of the Central
Committee of the South African Communist Party. In the following years, he brought
the ANC into the Socialist International. Together with President de Klerk, the
protagonist of the negotiations that led to the abolition of apartheid in the early
nineties, he was elected president in 1994, in the first multiracial elections in South
Africa, remaining in office until 1999. His party, African National Congress (ANC),
has since remained uninterruptedly in the government of the country.
Mandela is the surname taken by the paternal grandfather. The name "Rolihlahla"
(literally "he who causes trouble") was attributed to him at birth; "Nelson" was
assigned to elementary schools instead. The nickname Madiba was his name within
the tribe to which he belonged, of the Xhosa ethnic group. The house where Mandela
lived in Soweto is now home to the Mandela Family Museum, dedicated to the life of
Mandela.
MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
QUEEN ELIZABETH II
The longest-reigning monarch in the British history, Elizabeth II is the Queen of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. She was born in London on
April 21, 1926. She became queen at the age of 25, on February 6, 1952, and she was
crowned on June 2, 1953.
On November 20, 1947 Elizabeth married Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey. On
November 14, 1948 his first son, Prince Charles, was born. In 1950 the second
daughter Anna was born, in 1960 the third son Andrew came to life, and finally
Edward was born in 1964.
The Queen is short and thin, she has white hair and blue eyes, and she is very
smiling. She is very kind and nice. She loves colourful hats and she matches them
with her clothes.
The Queen adores drinking tea, old cars and dogs, too.
Elizabeth witnessed the Second World War: she spent some time on the front line
practising as a soldier in the duties of the army. However, she also learnt how to drive
trucks, learning, among other things, how to repair engines and how to handle them
in any situation or problem that involves vehicle or vehicle assistance.
I think it is curious to know that the Queen has the longevity record on the throne.
MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
QUEEN ELIZABETH II
Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21st April 1926, at 17, Burton Street in Mayfair
(London), to Prince Albert, who was the second son of king George V and Queen
Mary, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. At the time of her birth, nobody realized
Elizabeth would someday become queen of Great Britain. Elizabeth married Philip
Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, on 20th November 1947, but on 6
th February
1952, while Elizabeth and Philip were in Kenia, king George VI died and Elizabeth
assumed the responsibilities of the ruling monarch. Her official coronation took
place on 2nd
June 1953, in Westminster Abbey.
Elizabeth is the mother of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne, Anne,
Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
The Queen’s powers are very special because she “reigns but she does not rule” and
her functions are above all symbolic. By convention the Queen appoints the Prime
Minister, government ministers, judges, diplomats, and bishops in the Church of
England, she opens the new session of Parliament each year and she has to sign Bills.
Known is Elizabeth’s passion for bags, cars, horses and dogs, as well as her
composure and her responsible behaviour.
MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
SAINT THERESA OF CALCUTTA
Saint (Mother) Theresa of Calcutta, real name Agnese Gonxha, was born in 1910 in
Skopje to an Albanian family. She had a sister, Aga Bojaxhiu, a brother, Lazar
Bojaxhiu, and two other brothers who died in childhood.
At the age of 18, she entered the Sisters of Our Lady of Loreto in a convent in
Ireland, but they sent her to Bengal, where she taught at St. Mary's High School in
Calcutta.
In 1946 she left the order because she received the “call” to live and work for “the
poorest among the poor”.
I think her greatest abilities were to find a positive side in everything she did and to
know how to love people even if she had never met them before.
In 1950 she founded the Order of Missionaries of Charity and she devoted her entire
life to providing health care to street children, orphans, the sick and the homeless of
India. In 1979 she received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Subjected to so much effort and sacrifice, she died on 5th
September 1997, in
Calcutta. On 4th
September 2016, Pope Francisco proclaimed her a Saint.
I like Saint Theresa because she gave up her life in order to pursue her dream: to help
people in difficulty. I consider her a heroine because she succeeded in helping
people, she followed her dream and I admire her for that.
If she were still alive, I would like to tell her that I admire her for having changed the
world view a bit, and that people admire her for this reason.
She made me understand that if you do good, you will receive more.
I think that her most honourable phrase is:
"Unhappiness is needed to understand joy, doubt to understand the truth
... death to understand life. So face and embrace sadness when it comes".
MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare is the most important and well-known English playwright and poet. He
was an actor, too.
Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon on 23rd
April 1564. When he was 18,
he married Anne Hathaway and they had three children. Then, three years later,
Shakespeare left Stratford and moved to London. There he became a famous actor
and a playwright writing 37 plays and 154 sonnets.
Some of his comedies, tragedies and history plays are: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet,
Othello, the Tempest, Richard III, As You Like It, King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, Much Ado about Nothing and Macbeth. Comedies are amusing plays with a
happy ending, tragedies are serious and sad plays and history plays are plays based on
history or past events.
Shakespeare became so famous that he performed in front of Elizabeth I, the Queen.
He built his own theatre, the Globe Theatre, also known as the Globe.
Shakespeare became famous because he knew what people of his time liked and
because his plays represented the experiences of human life, such as friendship, love,
death, hate, jealousy.
Shakespeare is known everywhere. He became so famous that his plays Romeo and
Juliet and Hamlet became films.
Shakespeare thought that:
“Life is a play and the world is its stage.”
where everyone must play a role; he considered man as:
“a poor player with only an hour on the stage
and then is heard no more!”
MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and he died in 1616.
He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon.
He married Anne Hathaway and they had three children.
Shakespeare wrote “Romeo and Juliet”.
He had a rivalry with Christopher Marlowe.
I like William Shakespeare because he is the greatest writer of any time.
Everyone can consider him a genius.
I would like to imitate his good will to do something.
He has influenced my life, indeed from him I learned that I can trust me.
He succeeded because he worked very hard.
If he were still alive, I would tell him he was a natural talented man.
I think he would live better now because he would be even more famous.
If I had lived in Shakespeare’s time, I would have liked to do the same things as
he did.
People should remember Shakespeare for his ability in using words.
“Waiting is the root of all heartache”
-that is one of his most famous statements.
I AM…
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
Hi, my name is Christopher Columbus. They say that I am very famous because in
1492 I discovered America. I am a sailor and an explorer, indeed!
I was born in Genoa in 1451. My wife’s name is Felipa Perestrello Moniz. We have
one child.
I am so famous that everyone thinks I am a very brave hero. My dream is to find a
shorter way to get to the Indies crossing the Ocean.
One day, Queen Isabella I of Spain lent me three ships, ninety men and some money
for my expedition. I left Palos on 3rd
August 1492 and on 12th October 1492 I landed
on an island in the Bahamas. I thought I had reached the Indies instead I had
discovered a New Continent that was defined as The New World.
Something about myself? Well…I like to dress in medieval, black clothes, I love to
wear hats and above all I’m proud to be admired all over the world for discovering
the Americas.
-I have chosen to write about this character because thanks to Christopher Columbus
the Europeans discovered America, and because I have been fascinated in
discovering that he explored Central America.
I AM …
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
Hello, folks! My name is Christopher, Christopher Columbus. I was born in Genoa,
Italy, in1451. I’m very old!!
You certainly know me because I went to the Indies, ops I’m sorry, I discovered
America, and the route to reach it.
Since my childhood my dream has been to navigate all the seas in the world and
discover new lands, which no one had ever visited before.
I have travelled a lot and when I was in Portugal I met my soulmate, Felipa
Perestrello Moniz, but unfortunately she died in 1485. After her death I came back to
think about my only dream: sailing across the Ocean because I wished to find a
shorter route to get to India. Modestly I suffered a lot to come my dream true, but in
the end I was very lucky as the Queen and the King of Spain trusted me, and then, on
3rd
August 1492, I could set sail from Palos and, after about three hard months…I
arrived in India –at least I believed so! It was 12th October!
I thought I had finally discovered a new route to India but it wasn't like that. Only a
few years later my friend Amerigo Vespucci stated that I was wrong and that, in fact,
I had discovered a New World, later, paradoxically, called America after Vespucci’s
first name. In return, still in the modern time, thanks to my discovery, in many
countries of America they celebrate "Columbus Day”. Wow! A party with my name!
I would have never expected so much!
I don't know when I am going to die and how, but I am sure you will never forget me!
P. S. I hope I’ve given you a good Geography lesson, meanwhile!
I AM …
GUY FAWKES
Hi everybody, my name is John Johnson. Err… I'm Guy Fawkes!
I was born in Stonande, Yorkshire, in 1570 and I am the second of four children of
Edward Fawkes and Edith.
In 1604 I began to be part of a group of English Catholics, camped by Robert
Catesby, who intended to assassinate the Protestant king James I. We prepared a
piano to enter the Houses of Parliament and blow it up and kill King James I, who we
didn't like.
It was November 5, 1605 and everything was ready for the attack: I had 36 barrels of
explosives, but when I was about to throw them in the cellars of Parliament the
guards came to arrest me. They also tortured me in order I could say who had paid
me for the murder of the king. The event is remembered as The Gunpowder Plot.
A year later, November 5 became a party called Guy Fawkes Day, which would be
my day, and however, this holiday has become a thanksgiving.
Traditionally, the Gunpowder Plot I organized to blow up the Houses of Parliament is
still commemorated. This party is also called Bonfire Night and it is an exclusively
British feast. Traditionally, for my party, children prepare an effigy, similar to me,
with old clothes, stuffed with straw and newspapers and a hat, they also use a mask.
Then, my puppet is taken around to collect money for the fireworks. Every year
people organize a bonfire where they burn my puppet to commemorate my failed
attempt to burn the Houses of Parliament. People organize parties and light fireworks,
they have traditional food like soup, sausages and baked potatoes. During the bonfire
people say the prayers of 1606.
I will be executed on January 31, 1606.
-I liked this brave historical figure because of his great courage in trying to blow up
all the Houses of Parliament.
I AM …
MARTIN LUTHER KING
Hi, my name is Martin Luther King; I was born in Atlanta in 1929. I live in
a black family, but in the USA, where black people don’t have the same
rights as white people because we are considered inferior. I have always
thought it is not fair because black people are equal to white people.
So during my life, I have fought against racial discrimination and I have
defended human rights.
When I studied in Philadelphia, Ghandi inspired me, I think he was very
brave to use such non-violent protests in his battles, that’s why in my
struggles I use his method of peaceful demonstrations.
Following an incident, when a black lady, Rosa Parks, was arrested for
sitting in a seat on a bus reserved for white men, I decided to organize a
bus boycott that lasted one year, but in the end, in 1956, segregation was
declared illegal on buses in Alabama: that was my first won battle.
I spent some years in prison in spite of my peaceful protests, but I’ve never
given up. On 28th August 1963, I led a peaceful march to Washington, and
when I reached the statue of Abraham Lincoln, who had abolished slavery
just 100 years before, I read my famous speech called “I have a dream”, to
let people know about my great dream for the future of the black people,
when we would enjoy the same rights as the white people. Thanks to my
speech, I was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Now I am organizing another peaceful march in Memphis and I hope that…
… everything will be fine!
I AM …
NELSON MANDELA
Good morning to everyone!
My name is Nelson Mandela and I must say that I’m very proud of my life … Well
you probably know something about me, but have you ever heard my story told by
me? Let’s start!
My real name is Rolihlahla. I was born on 18th July 1918 in Transkey, but I lived in
Qunu.
In my life I have had 3 wives: Graca Machel, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and
Evelyn Ntoko Mase. I have 6 children: Zindziswa, Zenani, Makgatho, Madiba,
Thembekile and Makaziwe.
As a young student, while I was at the University of Fort Hare, my willpower and my
outrage against injustice emerged. When my ideas about equality emerged, I was
expelled from the university.
Around 22 years old, politics began to play a very significant role in my life. Moved
by the humiliation and suffering of my people and offended by the unjust and
intolerable laws, I became the leader of a political party called the African National
Congress (ANC). Well but what did we fight against? Easy!… Against the apartheid,
a system of racial discrimination. After a bloody peaceful protest, the ANC became
illegal but I didn’t stop my activities. I was arrested and I remember that during my
trial I said:
“I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons
live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope
to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to
die.” In fact it is just like that, if it were necessary, I would be ready to die
knowing that I tried to make this world less unfair.
In 1964 I was sentenced to life in prison but in 1980 an international campaign
was started to free me and in 1990 the president of South Africa, Frederick
Willem de Klerk, freed me after 27 long years spent in the prison of Robben
Island. In 1993 we won the Nobel Peace Prize together.
And now?
Now I’m here! Well, since 1994 I've been here in my wonderful country with the
honour of being its first black President!
I AM …
NELSON MANDELA
Good day everyone!
My name is Nelson Mandela and I was born in South Africa, in 1918.
I am the leader of a political party called the African National Congress. Greatly
influenced by Gandhi, we have adopted a peaceful resistance policy against
apartheid, a race-based discrimination system in force here in South Africa.
After the killing of 69 people during a peaceful protest, the ANC became illegal but I
haven't stopped my activities. So I was arrested and accused of trying to overthrow
the Government.
In 1964 I was sentenced to life imprisonment.
In 1980 an international campaign was launched to free me, but only in 1990 the
President of South Africa, my dear friend Frederick Willem de Klerk, managed to
free me after 27 years in prison, in Robben Island.
In 1993 we won the Nobel Peace Prize together.
In 1994 I was elected President of South Africa.
I will die on December 5, 2013.
I AM …
HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II Hello, my beloved people!
I am Queen Elizabeth II and I belong to the House of Windsor. Obviously I’m the
present British Sovereign, I’m indeed the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, and other Realms and Territories -nineteen countries
altogether.
Did you know I have the longevity record on the throne? Yes, I’m the longest-
reigning monarch in the British history. I celebrated my 65 years on the throne in
February 2017, with my Sapphire Jubilee.
I was born princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on 21st April 1926, at 17, Burton
Street in Mayfair (London), to Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Elizabeth Bowes-
Lyon. I was educated at home by tutors.
My father was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. I spent the first
decade of my life without the pressures of being the future heir to the throne. In 1939
the course of my life changed: with the death of my grandfather and my uncle King
Edward VIII’s abdication, my dad became King George VI. With the outbreak of
WWII, I started to take on public duties.
I married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, on 20th
November 1947. On 6th
February 1952, while I and my husband were in Kenia, king George VI died and I
assumed the responsibilities of the ruling monarch, but being on mourning for a year,
my official coronation took place on 2nd
June 1953, in Westminster Abbey.
I’m the mother of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne, Princess Anne,
Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, as well as William and Harry’s grandmother. I
have got four splendid great-grandchildren, too.
Every day, I get up at 6.45 and then I drink a cup of tea. I am a huge fan of detective
books and my favourite authors are P. D. James, Agatha Christie and Dick Francis. I
adore horses and dogs. I love travel; I have visited 120 countries that is 60% of the
world. My favourite travel destination in the world is Canada, which I have visited
more than 25 times; in Europe it is Italy, that I have visited 5 times, and France. I
travel by private jet or by train, with personal chef and embroidered pillows. I can
travel without the passport and I can drive without a license.
I never go out without gloves; I have more than 200 bags and I love hats. For my look
I don’t like beige and black is used only for funerals.
As a queen my powers are very special because I “reign but I do not rule”, that is I
never intervene in political matters; I have to sign the new laws, but I haven’t real
power, I’m subject to law like every British citizen, so my functions are only
symbolic and ceremonial: I am the symbol of unity and a link with tradition.
My most exciting moments are when I receive foreign Heads of State in Buckingham
Palace, my official London residence.
When are you coming to meet me?
I AM …
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen!
I am William Shakespeare.
You probably know me because of my very famous plays such as:
“Romeo and Juliet” or “Hamlet”!
“To be or not to be, this is the question!”
-Do you remember that?
They say I am a genius for my gift of words!
Well, I was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23rd
April 1564. At the age of 18 I
married Anne Hathaway and we have three children: Susan and Judith and Hamnet
(who are twins). I lived in Stratford with Anne until I was 21, then I moved alone to
London in search of fortune. There I started my successful career as a playwright and
an actor, playing even in front of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I.
I have written 38 plays altogether, quite two a year; today they are collected in
comedies, tragedies and historical plays, and I have written 154 sonnets, as well.
In 1613 I retired from my theatrical career and came back to Stratford, where I’m
living in my pretty house called “New Place”. If you get a chance, come to Stratford
and see it!
When you think of me, remember these two dates:
23rd
April 1564
23rd
April 1616
?......
ROMEO AND JULIET
“ But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun.”
The most beautiful and famous love story in the world!
“Romeo and Juliet”, written between 1594 and 1596, is mainly about the love story
of two young lovers from Verona: Romeo, who is part of the Montague family, and
Juliet, who is part of the Capulets, but the two families have hated each other for
generations and therefore their love is not granted.
The two young teenagers meet at the party held in the Capulets’ house, where
Romeo, his friend Mercutio and his cousin Benvolio go masked.
It is love at first sight, but Juliet is promised in marriage to count Paris, who she does
not love. The young lovers decide to get married secretly the day after.
Soon after their marriage, unfortunately Romeo kills Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, who had
murdered Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend; not to be executed, Romeo is banished
from Verona and he leaves for Mantua.
Meanwhile Juliet’s father agrees with Count Paris to marry Juliet. To avoid that,
Juliet asks friar Lawrence for help and he gives her a sleeping potion to make her
believe she is dead, unbeknownst to Romeo, who gets the news about Juliet’s death.
Romeo decides to come back to Verona to see his loved wife for the last time.
When Romeo realizes that Juliet is dead, he kills himself with a powerful poison;
immediately after Juliet wakes up and, finding Romeo dead, she stabs herself with
Romeo’s dagger.
After the death of their young children, the two families reconcile.
“…Never was a story of more woe
than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”
I AM…
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Good morning to you, my simple Maid…
Good morning wise countryman! Good morning to you … oh my beloved Nature!
My name is William Wordsworth and people know me as the promoter of the English
Romanticism. I do not know who you are, but I want to tell you something about
myself! As I have just said, my name is William Wordsworth and I lived between the
18th and the 19
th centuries, exactly I was born on 7
th April 1770. During my life
many things happened, but the most striking event was the French Revolution.
I have had more than one relationship, but the most important ones were with Annette
Villon, the mother of my beautiful daughter, called Caroline; and with my wife Mary
Hutchinson. Am I a beautiful man?… No, unfortunately, I’m not. No matter! In my
life I’ve always been searching for solace in the beauty of nature for I think it has got
the healing qualities for a suffering mind and heart: Nature is definitely able to give
me, and to offer us, HAPPINESS and PEACE!
I love writing poems and, of course, my favourite subject is the countryside with its
simple folks: man’s communion with nature is so important to me because there
everyone can find the true values of our human life.
I must admit I am very good, or, at least so people say, at writing my poems, for
which I have always been inspired by the wonders of the Lake District landscapes,
which can never be forgotten.
So that everyone could understand my thoughts, my mind, my deep feeling with
Nature, I have chosen to write my lyrics using a common language concerning
common life: hills, valleys, fields, mountains, rivers, lakes, woods, clouds, wind,
daffodils… that are crowding my poems, will carry you till the Milky Way, so that to
reach the … Infinite!
I wish everyone will remember me, and above all I wish all people can never forget
that ‘Man is part of Nature’, where he can discover moral and spiritual values, if he
only lives in communion with it!
In addition,
You all remember: the country man can teach lessons that the wisest philosopher
cannot!
By the way, read my comment to…
“Daffodils”!
DAFFODILS
In English literature there is a particular reference to the Universe, but not in a
scientific sense, rather in a metaphorical one. In the poem entitled “Daffodils”,
written by William Wordsworth in 1804, in the Romantic Age, the author describes
the Universe that is inside himself, and which is made of emotions and feelings.
Wordsworth starts his poem comparing himself to a solitary cloud which admires the
underlying landscape; in particular, he focuses on a specific element: “a crowd of
golden daffodils”. The golden daffodils aren’t only a simple element of nature, they
aren’t common flowers, they rather represent a source of solace and happiness: they
are a source of joy. The melancholy diction used to describe how the speaker
“wandered lonely as a cloud” shifts into a euphoric tone when he describes the “host
of golden daffodils”; the vivid descriptive imagery gets more powerful when we
assimilate the crowd of flowers to people that are “fluttering and dancing in the
breeze”!
Really, Wordsworth doesn’t describe the true moment in which he sees those
wonders of nature, but the remember of it; this is the perfect example of “emotions
recollected in tranquillity”.
In this poem, as in others, we can note Wordsworth’s praise for the power of nature
and, in particular, for its healing qualities.
Like Wordsworth, to understand the real function of nature, I think it’s necessary to
go beyond appearances: thanks to the use of one’s imagination, you can go further
than the sensory experience. The “abstract” thought of an ordinary element of nature
makes real in Wordsworth’s mind, who reaches the complexity and the mystery of
the Universe and life giving us a gift of “Infinite”!
Only so humans can understand the real spirit of nature.
“…. my heart with pleasure fills
and dances with the daffodils.”