FOR SALE! Complete handbook for this blog and its resources

I have recently compiled an Adobe pdf version of this entire Blog site plus some additional materials. The book is 580 pages in length and approx 7.5 Mb in file transfer size. The book spans 2008 - 2012 and covers various aspects of teaching ESL and EFL classes as well as mainstream English. It includes lesson plans, resource links, work sheets, student examples, Exam links (IGSE / IB etc).  I a presently taking pre-orders at € 10 each. The book is printable therefore the resources and examples can be used in your classes. It covers age groups Key Stage 3 -5 / US Grades 8 - 12 as well as college and University under graduate levels. This is a valuable resource for teachers and student teachers.

For more information and how to order your copy please write to me at the below link Thank you

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Shakespeare Study Guides – (Cummings)

For everyone who is interested in excellent Shakespeare guides and materials I really recommend Cummings Study Guides. We have recommended these materials in the past and are pleased to pass along that there have been many major updates and expansions to the original materials.

In their own words……

Plays, Sonnets, Poems

Play Summaries and Analysis: Plot summaries of all the plays, including those of doubtful or joint authorship, such as Edward III, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Sir Thomas More (partly written by Shakespeare), and Cardenio (probably partly written by Shakespeare). Criticism, sources, settings, dates, themes, and other information. 
Sonnet Summaries and Analysis: Definition, origin, and development of the sonnet form. Comparison of the Shakespearean sonnet with the Petrarchan sonnet. Analysis of the rhyme scheme of the Shakespearean sonnet. Common sonnet themes. Discussion of the "young man," "the dark lady," and the "rival poet" referred to in the sonnets. Sonnets and sexuality. 
Narrative and Complaint Poems: Background information, themes, style, and summaries of Shakespeare's long narrative poems—Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece—and the complaint poem, A Lover's Complaint (with an annotated text). Analysis of The Phoenix and the Turtle.

This is a

A Free Resource Posted by Michael J. Cummings (mcum.mings@mail.com)
Recommended as a Shakespeare Resource by The New York Times

The Times Literary Supplement.

Perhaps one of the best resources for reviews and critiques of recent literature is the London ‘Times Literary Supplement’.

Explore the different sections:

Explore The TLS

• TLS Selections

• TLS Archives

• TLS Arguments

• TLS Writers

• TLS Letters

• Poem of the Week

• Then & Now

Advanced Skills IV: POETRY – Listening, Reading and Interpretation Skills.

 

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldiers knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

—Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Notes: Tennyson's poem, published December 9, 1854 in The Examiner, praises the Brigade, "When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made!", while mourning the appalling futility of the charge: "Not tho' the soldier knew, someone had blunder'd… Charging an army, while all the world wonder'd." According to his grandson Sir Charles Tennyson, Tennyson wrote the poem in only a few minutes after reading an account of the battle in The Times. It immediately became hugely popular, even reaching the troops in the Crimea, where it was distributed in pamphlet form at the behest of Jane, Lady Franklin. Each stanza tells a different part of the story, and there is a delicate balance between nobility and brutality throughout. Although Tennyson's subject is the nobleness of supporting one's country, and the poem's tone and hoofbeat cadences are rousing, it pulls no punches about the horror of war: "cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, cannon in front of them, volley'd and thunder'd". With "into the valley of Death" Tennyson works in resonance with "the valley of the shadow of Death" from Psalm 23; then and now, it is often read at funerals. Tennyson's Crimea does not offer the abstract tranquil death of the psalm but is instead predatory and menacing: "into the jaws of Death" and "into the mouth of Hell". The alliterative "Storm'd at with shot and shell" echoes the whistling of ball as the cavalry charge through it. After the fury of the charge, the final notes are gentle, reflective and laden with sorrow: "Then they rode back, but not the six hundred"

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more."
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more."
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"- here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!" -
Merely this, and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more."
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning- little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."
But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered- not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "other friends have flown before -
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."
Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never - nevermore'."
But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore:
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted- tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
"Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend," I shrieked, upstarting -
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!- quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!

Poe was born in Massachusetts, the son of travelling actors David and Elizabeth Arnold Poe. His mother died when he was two and his father was an alcoholic, so Poe went to live with a prosperous Scottish tobacco merchant, John Allan, in Richmond. Allan always refused to adopt Poe which led to bad feeling between the two of them.
Poe was educated at Stoke Newington in London from 1815-20. Despite considerable academic success his gambling debts forced him to leave the University of Virginia, where he had gone to study, after one year. By 1827 Poe, with typical restlessness, had moved from Boston to Richmond and then back to Boston again. He gained a good reputation in the army which he joined in 1827, but spent a miserable year at the US Military Academy at West Point in 1830, before being dishonourably discharged.
Poe stayed in Baltimore from 1831-35 and began writing more seriously. In 1836 he married his 13 year old cousin, Virginia. He had been working as a journalist since 1831, earning a bare minimum to survive, and from 1835-37 edited the Southern Literary Messenger.
His short stories reveal a fascination with emotional extremes, particularly fear, though his essays show that he was capable of being objective and critical.
In 1844 Poe moved to New York, but despite popular acclaim his life was still wretched. Virginia died of tuberculosis in 1847 and Poe, still poor and an alcoholic, died in Baltimore two years later.

The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

PART THE FIRST

It is an ancient mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

"The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May'st hear the merry din."

He holds him with his skinny hand,
"There was a ship," quoth he.
"Hold off! unhand me, greybeard loon!"
Eftsoons his hand dropt he.

He holds him with his glittering eye -
The wedding-guest stood still,
And listens like a three years' child:
The Mariner hath his will.

The wedding-guest sat on a stone:
He cannot chose but hear;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed mariner.

"The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared,
Merrily did we drop
Below the kirk, below the hill,
Below the lighthouse top.

The sun came up upon the left,
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea.

Higher and higher every day,
Till over the mast at noon-"
The Wedding-guest here beat his breast,
For he heard the loud bassoon.

The bride hath paced into the hall,
Red as a rose is she;
Nodding their heads before her goes
The merry minstrelsy.

The Wedding-Guest he beat his breast.
Yet he cannot choose but hear:
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner.

"And now the Storm-blast came, and he
Was tyrannous and strong:
He struck with his o'ertaking wings,
And chased us south along.

With sloping masts and dipping prow,
As who pursued with yell and blow
Still treads the shadow of his foe
And forward bends his head,
The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast,
And southward aye we fled.

And now there came both mist and snow
And it grew wondrous cold:
And ice, mast-high, came floating by,
As green as emerald.

And through the drifts the snowy clifts
Did send a dismal sheen:
Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken -
The ice was all between.

The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around:
It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,
Like noises in a swound!

At length did cross and Albatross,
Thorough the fog it came;
As if it had been a Christian soul,
We hailed it in God's name.

It ate the food it ne'er had eat,
And round and round it flew.
The ice did split with a thunder-fit;
The helmsman steered us through!

And a good south wind sprung up behind;
The albatross did follow,
And every day, for food or play,
Came to the mariner's hollo!

In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud,
It perched for vespers nine;
Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white,
Glimmered the white moonshine."

"God save thee, ancient Mariner:
From the fiends, that plague thee thus! -
Why look'st thou so?" - "With my cross-bow
I shot the Albatross."

Coleridge's comments

In Biographia Literaria XIV, Coleridge writes:

The thought suggested itself (to which of us I do not recollect) that a series of poems might be composed of two sorts. In the one, incidents and agents were to be, in part at least, supernatural, and the excellence aimed at was to consist in the interesting of the affections by the dramatic truth of such emotions, as would naturally accompany such situations, supposing them real. And real in this sense they have been to every human being who, from whatever source of delusion, has at any time believed himself under supernatural agency. For the second class, subjects were to be chosen from ordinary life...In this idea originated the plan of the 'Lyrical Ballads'; in which it was agreed, that my endeavours should be directed to persons and characters supernatural, or at least Romantic; yet so as to transfer from our inward nature a human interest and a semblance of truth sufficient to procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith. ... With this view I wrote the 'Ancient Mariner'.

WILFRED OWEN

Dulce et Decorum Est  -  best known poem of the First World War

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, 
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, 
Till on the haunting flares² we turned our backs 
And towards our distant rest³ began to trudge. 
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots 
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; 
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots⁴
Of tired, outstripped⁵ Five-Nines⁶ that dropped behind.

Gas!⁷ Gas! Quick, boys! –  An ecstasy of fumbling, 
Fitting the clumsy helmets⁸ just in time; 
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, 
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime⁹ . . . 
Dim, through the misty panes¹⁰ and thick green light, 
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, 
He plunges at me, guttering,¹¹ choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace 
Behind the wagon that we flung him in, 
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, 
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; 
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood 
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, 
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud¹²
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, 
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest¹³
To children ardent¹⁴ for some desperate glory, 
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est 
Pro patria mori.¹⁵

8 October 1917 - March, 1918

1 DULCE ET DECORUM EST - the first words of a Latin saying (taken from an ode by Horace). The words were widely understood and often quoted at the start of the First World War. They mean "It is sweet and right." The full saying ends the poem: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - it is sweet and right to die for your country. In other words, it is a wonderful and great honour to fight and die for your country 

2 rockets which were sent up to burn with a brilliant glare to light up men and other targets in the area between the front lines (See illustration, page 118 of Out in the Dark.) 

3 a camp away from the front line where exhausted soldiers might rest for a few days, or longer 

4 the noise made by the shells rushing through the air 

5 outpaced, the soldiers have struggled beyond the reach of these shells which are now falling behind them as they struggle away from the scene of battle

6 Five-Nines - 5.9 calibre explosive shells 

7 poison gas. From the symptoms it would appear to be chlorine or phosgene gas. The filling of the lungs with fluid had the same effects as when a person drowned

8 the early name for gas masks 

9 a white chalky substance which can burn live tissue 

10 the glass in the eyepieces of the gas masks 

11 Owen probably meant flickering out like a candle or gurgling like water draining down a gutter, referring to the sounds in the throat of the choking man, or it might be a sound partly like stuttering and partly like gurgling 

12 normally the regurgitated grass that cows chew; here a similar looking material was issuing from the soldier's mouth 

13 high zest - idealistic enthusiasm, keenly believing in the rightness of the idea 

14 keen 

15 see note 1

Notes copyright © David Roberts and Saxon Books 1998 and 1999. Free use by students for personal use only. The poem appears in both Out in the Dark and Minds at War, but the notes are only found in Out in the Dark.

Copyright © 1999 Saxon Books.

Shakespeare Extracts:

Faculty of Teacher Training - English Department

Course Title: Advanced English Language IV

Instructor: Dr. Rod

E-mail: sjrod55@gmail.com

Merchant of Venice – Act IV

ACT IV
SCENE I. Venice. A court of justice.
Enter the DUKE, the Magnificoes, ANTONIO, BASSANIO, GRATIANO, SALERIO, and others 
DUKE 
What, is Antonio here?
ANTONIO 
Ready, so please your grace.
DUKE 
I am sorry for thee: thou art come to answer
A stony adversary, an inhuman wretch
uncapable of pity, void and empty
From any dram of mercy.
ANTONIO 
I have heard
Your grace hath ta'en great pains to qualify
His rigorous course; but since he stands obdurate
And that no lawful means can carry me
Out of his envy's reach, I do oppose
My patience to his fury, and am arm'd
To suffer, with a quietness of spirit,
The very tyranny and rage of his.
DUKE 
Go one, and call the Jew into the court.
SALERIO 
He is ready at the door: he comes, my lord.
Enter SHYLOCK
DUKE 
Make room, and let him stand before our face.
Shylock, the world thinks, and I think so too,
That thou but lead'st this fashion of thy malice
To the last hour of act; and then 'tis thought
Thou'lt show thy mercy and remorse more strange
Than is thy strange apparent cruelty;
And where thou now exact'st the penalty,
Which is a pound of this poor merchant's flesh,
Thou wilt not only loose the forfeiture,
But, touch'd with human gentleness and love,
Forgive a moiety of the principal;
Glancing an eye of pity on his losses,
That have of late so huddled on his back,
Enow to press a royal merchant down
And pluck commiseration of his state
From brassy bosoms and rough hearts of flint,
From stubborn Turks and Tartars, never train'd
To offices of tender courtesy.
We all expect a gentle answer, Jew.
SHYLOCK 
I have possess'd your grace of what I purpose;
And by our holy Sabbath have I sworn
To have the due and forfeit of my bond:
If you deny it, let the danger light
Upon your charter and your city's freedom.
You'll ask me, why I rather choose to have
A weight of carrion flesh than to receive
Three thousand ducats: I'll not answer that:
But, say, it is my humour: is it answer'd?
What if my house be troubled with a rat
And I be pleased to give ten thousand ducats
To have it baned? What, are you answer'd yet?
Some men there are love not a gaping pig;
Some, that are mad if they behold a cat;
And others, when the bagpipe sings i' the nose,
Cannot contain their urine: for affection,
Mistress of passion, sways it to the mood
Of what it likes or loathes. Now, for your answer:
As there is no firm reason to be render'd,
Why he cannot abide a gaping pig;
Why he, a harmless necessary cat;
Why he, a woollen bagpipe; but of force
Must yield to such inevitable shame
As to offend, himself being offended;
So can I give no reason, nor I will not,
More than a lodged hate and a certain loathing
I bear Antonio, that I follow thus
A losing suit against him. Are you answer'd?
BASSANIO 
This is no answer, thou unfeeling man,
To excuse the current of thy cruelty.
SHYLOCK 
I am not bound to please thee with my answers.
BASSANIO 
Do all men kill the things they do not love?
SHYLOCK 
Hates any man the thing he would not kill?
BASSANIO 
Every offence is not a hate at first.
SHYLOCK 
What, wouldst thou have a serpent sting thee twice?
ANTONIO 
I pray you, think you question with the Jew:
You may as well go stand upon the beach
And bid the main flood bate his usual height;
You may as well use question with the wolf
Why he hath made the ewe bleat for the lamb;
You may as well forbid the mountain pines
To wag their high tops and to make no noise,
When they are fretten with the gusts of heaven;
You may as well do anything most hard,
As seek to soften that--than which what's harder?--
His Jewish heart: therefore, I do beseech you,
Make no more offers, use no farther means,
But with all brief and plain conveniency
Let me have judgment and the Jew his will.
BASSANIO 
For thy three thousand ducats here is six.
SHYLOCK 
What judgment shall I dread, doing
Were in six parts and every part a ducat,
I would not draw them; I would have my bond.
DUKE 
How shalt thou hope for mercy, rendering none?
SHYLOCK 
What judgment shall I dread, doing no wrong?
You have among you many a purchased slave,
Which, like your asses and your dogs and mules,
You use in abject and in slavish parts,
Because you bought them: shall I say to you,
Let them be free, marry them to your heirs?
Why sweat they under burthens? let their beds
Be made as soft as yours and let their palates
Be season'd with such viands? You will answer
'The slaves are ours:' so do I answer you:
The pound of flesh, which I demand of him,
Is dearly bought; 'tis mine and I will have it.
If you deny me, fie upon your law!
There is no force in the decrees of Venice.
I stand for judgment: answer; shall I have it?
BASSANIO 
Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?
SHYLOCK 
To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt there.
GRATIANO 
Not on thy sole, but on thy soul, harsh Jew,
Thou makest thy knife keen; but no metal can,
No, not the hangman's axe, bear half the keenness
Of thy sharp envy. Can no prayers pierce thee?
SHYLOCK 
No, none that thou hast wit enough to make.
GRATIANO 
O, be thou damn'd, inexecrable dog!
And for thy life let justice be accused.
Thou almost makest me waver in my faith
To hold opinion with Pythagoras,
That souls of animals infuse themselves
Into the trunks of men: thy currish spirit
Govern'd a wolf, who, hang'd for human slaughter,
Even from the gallows did his fell soul fleet,
And, whilst thou lay'st in thy unhallow'd dam,
Infused itself in thee; for thy desires
Are wolvish, bloody, starved and ravenous.
SHYLOCK 
Till thou canst rail the seal from off my bond,
Thou but offend'st thy lungs to speak so loud:
Repair thy wit, good youth, or it will fall
To cureless ruin. I stand here for law.
=====================================================================

Soft!
The Jew shall have all justice; soft! no haste:
He shall have nothing but the penalty.
GRATIANO 
O Jew! an upright judge, a learned judge!
PORTIA 
Therefore prepare thee to cut off the flesh.
Shed thou no blood, nor cut thou less nor more
But just a pound of flesh: if thou cut'st more
Or less than a just pound, be it but so much
As makes it light or heavy in the substance,
Or the division of the twentieth part
Of one poor scruple, nay, if the scale do turn
But in the estimation of a hair,
Thou diest and all thy goods are confiscate.
GRATIANO 
A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew!
Now, infidel, I have you on the hip.
PORTIA 
Why doth the Jew pause? take thy forfeiture.
SHYLOCK 
Give me my principal, and let me go.
BASSANIO 
I have it ready for thee; here it is.
PORTIA 
He hath refused it in the open court:
He shall have merely justice and his bond.
GRATIANO 
A Daniel, still say I, a second Daniel!
I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word.
SHYLOCK 
Shall I not have barely my principal?
PORTIA 
Thou shalt have nothing but the forfeiture,
To be so taken at thy peril, Jew.
SHYLOCK 
Why, then the devil give him good of it!
I'll stay no longer question.

Romeo and Juliet Act II

SCENE II. Capulet's orchard.
Enter ROMEO 
ROMEO 
He jests at scars that never felt a wound.
JULIET appears above at a window
But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
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!
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:
Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,
Having some business, do entreat her eyes
To twinkle in their spheres till they return.
What if her eyes were there, they in her head?
The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,
As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven
Would through the airy region stream so bright
That birds would sing and think it were not night.
See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!
O, that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek!
JULIET 
Ay me!
ROMEO 
She speaks:
O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art
As glorious to this night, being o'er my head
As is a winged messenger of heaven
Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes
Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him
When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds
And sails upon the bosom of the air.
JULIET 
O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.
ROMEO 
[Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?
JULIET 
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.
ROMEO 
I take thee at thy word:
Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized;
Henceforth I never will be Romeo.
JULIET 
What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night
So stumblest on my counsel?
ROMEO 
By a name
I know not how to tell thee who I am:
My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself,
Because it is an enemy to thee;
Had I it written, I would tear the word.
JULIET 
My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words
Of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound:
Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?
ROMEO 
Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike.
JULIET 
How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?
The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,
And the place death, considering who thou art,
If any of my kinsmen find thee here.
ROMEO 
With love's light wings did I o'er-perch these walls;
For stony limits cannot hold love out,
And what love can do that dares love attempt;
Therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me.
JULIET 
If they do see thee, they will murder thee.
ROMEO 
Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye
Than twenty of their swords: look thou but sweet,
And I am proof against their enmity.
JULIET 
I would not for the world they saw thee here.
ROMEO 
I have night's cloak to hide me from their sight;
And but thou love me, let them find me here:
My life were better ended by their hate,
Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.
JULIET 
By whose direction found'st thou out this place?
ROMEO 
By love, who first did prompt me to inquire;
He lent me counsel and I lent him eyes.
I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far
As that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea,
I would adventure for such merchandise.
JULIET 
Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face,
Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek
For that which thou hast heard me speak to-night
Fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny
What I have spoke: but farewell compliment!
Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say 'Ay,'
And I will take thy word: yet if thou swear'st,
Thou mayst prove false; at lovers' perjuries
Then say, Jove laughs. O gentle Romeo,
If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully:
Or if thou think'st I am too quickly won,
I'll frown and be perverse an say thee nay,
So thou wilt woo; but else, not for the world.
In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond,
And therefore thou mayst think my 'havior light:
But trust me, gentleman, I'll prove more true
Than those that have more cunning to be strange.
I should have been more strange, I must confess,
But that thou overheard'st, ere I was ware,
My true love's passion: therefore pardon me,
And not impute this yielding to light love,
Which the dark night hath so discovered.
ROMEO 
Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear
That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops--
JULIET 
O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.
ROMEO 
What shall I swear by?
JULIET 
Do not swear at all;
Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self,
Which is the god of my idolatry,
And I'll believe thee.
ROMEO 
If my heart's dear love--
JULIET 
Well, do not swear: although I joy in thee,
I have no joy of this contract to-night:
It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden;
Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be
Ere one can say 'It lightens.' Sweet, good night!
This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,
May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.
Good night, good night! as sweet repose and rest
Come to thy heart as that within my breast!
ROMEO 
O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?
JULIET 
What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?
ROMEO 
The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.
JULIET 
I gave thee mine before thou didst request it:
And yet I would it were to give again.
ROMEO 
Wouldst thou withdraw it? for what purpose, love?
JULIET 
But to be frank, and give it thee again.
And yet I wish but for the thing I have:
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.
Nurse calls within
I hear some noise within; dear love, adieu!
Anon, good nurse! Sweet Montague, be true.
Stay but a little, I will come again.
Exit, above

Macbeth Act I

ACT I
SCENE I. A desert place.
Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches 
First Witch 
When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
Second Witch 
When the hurlyburly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.
Third Witch 
That will be ere the set of sun.
First Witch 
Where the place?
Second Witch 
Upon the heath.
Third Witch 
There to meet with Macbeth.
First Witch 
I come, Graymalkin!
Second Witch 
Paddock calls.
Third Witch 
Anon.
ALL 
Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
Exeunt
SCENE II. A camp near Forres.
Alarum within. Enter DUNCAN, MALCOLM, DONALBAIN, LENNOX, with Attendants, meeting a bleeding Sergeant 
DUNCAN 
What bloody man is that? He can report,
As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt
The newest state.
MALCOLM 
This is the sergeant
Who like a good and hardy soldier fought
'Gainst my captivity. Hail, brave friend!
Say to the king the knowledge of the broil
As thou didst leave it.
Sergeant 
Doubtful it stood;
As two spent swimmers, that do cling together
And choke their art. The merciless Macdonwald--
Worthy to be a rebel, for to that
The multiplying villanies of nature
Do swarm upon him--from the western isles
Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied;
And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling,
Show'd like a rebel's whore: but all's too weak:
For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name--
Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like valour's minion carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave;
Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps,
And fix'd his head upon our battlements.
DUNCAN 
O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!
Sergeant 
As whence the sun 'gins his reflection
Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break,
So from that spring whence comfort seem'd to come
Discomfort swells. Mark, king of Scotland, mark:
No sooner justice had with valour arm'd
Compell'd these skipping kerns to trust their heels,
But the Norweyan lord surveying vantage,
With furbish'd arms and new supplies of men
Began a fresh assault.
DUNCAN 
Dismay'd not this
Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo?
Sergeant 
Yes;
As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion.
If I say sooth, I must report they were
As cannons overcharged with double cracks, so they
Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe:
Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds,
Or memorise another Golgotha,
I cannot tell.
But I am faint, my gashes cry for help.
DUNCAN 
So well thy words become thee as thy wounds;
They smack of honour both. Go get him surgeons.
Exit Sergeant, attended
Who comes here?
Enter ROSS
MALCOLM 
The worthy thane of Ross.
LENNOX 
What a haste looks through his eyes! So should he look
That seems to speak things strange.
ROSS 
God save the king!
DUNCAN 
Whence camest thou, worthy thane?
ROSS 
From Fife, great king;
Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky
And fan our people cold. Norway himself,
With terrible numbers,
Assisted by that most disloyal traitor
The thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict;
Till that Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof,
Confronted him with self-comparisons,
Point against point rebellious, arm 'gainst arm.
Curbing his lavish spirit: and, to conclude,
The victory fell on us.
DUNCAN 
Great happiness!
ROSS 
That now
Sweno, the Norways' king, craves composition:
Nor would we deign him burial of his men
Till he disbursed at Saint Colme's inch
Ten thousand dollars to our general use.
DUNCAN 
No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive
Our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death,
And with his former title greet Macbeth.
ROSS 
I'll see it done.
DUNCAN 
What he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won.
Exeunt
SCENE III. A heath near Forres.
Thunder. Enter the three Witches 
First Witch 
Where hast thou been, sister?
Second Witch 
Killing swine.
Third Witch 
Sister, where thou?
First Witch 
A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap,
And munch'd, and munch'd, and munch'd:--
'Give me,' quoth I:
'Aroint thee, witch!' the rump-fed ronyon cries.
Her husband's to Aleppo gone, master o' the Tiger:
But in a sieve I'll thither sail,
And, like a rat without a tail,
I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do.
Second Witch 
I'll give thee a wind.
First Witch 
Thou'rt kind.
Third Witch 
And I another.
First Witch 
I myself have all the other,
And the very ports they blow,
All the quarters that they know
I' the shipman's card.
I will drain him dry as hay:
Sleep shall neither night nor day
Hang upon his pent-house lid;
He shall live a man forbid:
Weary se'nnights nine times nine
Shall he dwindle, peak and pine:
Though his bark cannot be lost,
Yet it shall be tempest-tost.
Look what I have.
Second Witch 
Show me, show me.
First Witch 
Here I have a pilot's thumb,
Wreck'd as homeward he did come.
Drum within
Third Witch 
A drum, a drum!
Macbeth doth come.
ALL 
The weird sisters, hand in hand,
Posters of the sea and land,
Thus do go about, about:
Thrice to thine and thrice to mine
And thrice again, to make up nine.
Peace! the charm's wound up.
Enter MACBETH and BANQUO
MACBETH 
So foul and fair a day I have not seen.
BANQUO 
How far is't call'd to Forres? What are these
So wither'd and so wild in their attire,
That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth,
And yet are on't? Live you? or are you aught
That man may question? You seem to understand me,
By each at once her chappy finger laying
Upon her skinny lips: you should be women,
And yet your beards forbid me to interpret
That you are so.
MACBETH 
Speak, if you can: what are you?
First Witch 
All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!
Second Witch 
All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!
Third Witch 
All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!
BANQUO 
Good sir, why do you start; and seem to fear
Things that do sound so fair? I' the name of truth,
Are ye fantastical, or that indeed
Which outwardly ye show? My noble partner
You greet with present grace and great prediction
Of noble having and of royal hope,
That he seems rapt withal: to me you speak not.
If you can look into the seeds of time,
And say which grain will grow and which will not,
Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear
Your favours nor your hate.
First Witch 
Hail!
Second Witch 
Hail!
Third Witch 
Hail!
First Witch 
Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.
Second Witch 
Not so happy, yet much happier.
Third Witch 
Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:
So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!
First Witch 
Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!
MACBETH 
Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:
By Sinel's death I know I am thane of Glamis;
But how of Cawdor? the thane of Cawdor lives,
A prosperous gentleman; and to be king
Stands not within the prospect of belief,
No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence
You owe this strange intelligence? or why
Upon this blasted heath you stop our way
With such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you.
Witches vanish

William Shakespeare Plays

 

William Shakespeare - the Complete Works

Shakespeare Site Map
Shakespeare Biography
Bubonic Plague
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First Folio
Shakespearean Insults!
Pictures of Shakespeare
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Shakespeare Quiz!
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The Plays of William Shakespeare  
The plays written by the great Bard are listed below by category and alphabetical order. The section relating to the Chronology of Plays provides a list of when plays were written and published. This section provides access to the plot summary of each play, pictures, key dates, characters, history and the full script of every one of William Shakespeare's plays.

History themed Plays
Click a link below to access full scripts and information about Shakespeare's Plays

• King Henry IV Part 1 - play by William Shakespeare
• King Henry IV Part 2 - a Shakespearean play
• King Henry V - play by William Shakespeare
• King Henry VI Part 1 - play by William Shakespeare
• King Henry VI Part 2 - a Shakespearean play
• King Henry VI Part 3 - a Shakespearean play
• King Henry VIII - play by William Shakespeare
• King John - play by William Shakespeare
• Richard II - play by William Shakespeare
• Richard III - play by William Shakespeare

Tragedy themed Plays
Click a link below to access full scripts and information about Shakespeare's Plays

• Antony and Cleopatra - play by William Shakespeare
• Coriolanus - a Shakespearean play
• Hamlet - play by William Shakespeare
• Julius Caesar - play by William Shakespeare
• King Lear - play by William Shakespeare
• Macbeth - play by William Shakespeare
• Othello - play by William Shakespeare
• Romeo and Juliet - play by William Shakespeare
• Timon of Athens - a Shakespearean play
• Titus Andronicus - a Shakespearean play

Comedy themed Plays
Click a link below to access full scripts and information about Shakespeare's Plays

• Alls Well That Ends Well - play by William Shakespeare
• As You Like It - play by William Shakespeare
• Comedy of Errors - play by William Shakespeare
• Cymbeline - a Shakespearean play
• Love's Labour's Lost - a Shakespearean play
• Measure for Measure - play by William Shakespeare
• Merchant of Venice - play by William Shakespeare
• Merry Wives of Windsor - play by William Shakespeare
• Midsummer Nights Dream - play by William Shakespeare
• Much Ado About Nothing - play by William Shakespeare
• Pericles, Prince of Tyre - a Shakespearean play
• Taming of the Shrew - play by William Shakespeare
• The Tempest - play by William Shakespeare
• Troilus and Cressida - a Shakespearean play
• Twelfth Night - play by William Shakespeare
• Two Gentlemen of Verona - a Shakespearean play
• Winter's Tale - a Shakespearean play

Registration of Plays

Plays were required to be registered prior to publication. It was important that plays were regulated as  playwrights used the stage as a forum to express their own views on religion and politics. Registration provided an opportunity to invoke a form of censorship and the means to suppress too much freedom of thought and criticism of the crown and public affairs.

Information provided about the plays

The Bard never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts have survived. Eighteen unauthorised versions of his plays were, however, published during his lifetime in quarto editions by unscrupulous publishers (there were no copyright laws protecting Shake-speare and his works during the Elizabethan era). A collection of his works did not appear until 1623 (a full seven years after Shakespeare's death on April 23, 1616) when two of his fellow actors, John Hemminges and Henry Condell, posthumously recorded his work and published 36 of William’s plays in the First Folio. Some dates are therefore approximate other dates are substantiated by historical events, records of performances and the dates plays appeared in print.

The Characters and Scripts
These enduring works  feature many famous and well loved characters. The text and scripts convey vivid impressions. The language used today is, in many ways, different to that used in the 16th century Elizabethan era and this is often reflected in the script and text used in the plays. It is therefore not surprising that we have no experience or  understanding of some of the words contained in the text / script of the various works. We have therefore included a Shakespearean Dictionary for most of the more obscure words used in the script of his plays, some of which are obsolete in modern language or Dictionaries. Make a note of any unusual words that you encounter whilst reading the scripts and check their definition in the Dictionary by clicking Dictionary at the top of the page to access Elizabethan Dictionary - Guide to language and words used in the Elizabethan era.

Chronology of Plays
The section relating to the Chronology of Plays provides a list of when plays were written and published. This section provides access to the plot summary of each of the plays, pictures, key dates, characters, history and the full script of every one of William Shake-speare's plays. 

Chronology of Plays - First performance and publications

Editions of Plays
This selection of Collections of Shake-speare conveys the number of different editions of the Plays of the Bard that have been published. Editions may vary in content and variations are generally detailed and explained in the modern forewords.1623 The First Folio (F1) 
1632 The Second Folio (F2) 
1663 The Third Folio (F3) Second issue of the F3 in the following year includes Pericles. 
1685 The Fourth Folio (F4)
1709 Nicholas Rowe's edition
1723-25 Alexander Pope's edition. 
1733 Lewis Theobald's edition. 
1734-5 Robert Walker's small-format editions of the individual plays
1734-6 Jacob Tonson
1743-4 Thomas Hanmer's edition.
1747 William Warburton's edition. 
1765 Samuel Johnson's edition. 
1767-8 Edward Capell's edition.
1773 George Stevens's revision of Samuel Johnson's edition. 
1773-4 John Bell's edition - Based on the prompt books then being used in the London theatres. 
1778 Isaac Reed's revision of Stevens's Johnson edition. 
1790 Edmond Malone's edition.
1791-1802 J. & J. Boydell's edition.
1795 First American edition published at Philadelphia. 
1807 Francis Douce's edition
1821 A revised edition of Malone, prepared by James Boswell.
1822-23 Pickering edition.
1838-43 Charles Knight's edition.
1859-60 Mary Cowden Clarke's edition.
1863-6 Clark, Wright and Glover Cambridge University Press edition.
1870-1911 William J. Rolfe edition 
1899-1931 W. J. Craig and R. H. Case's 'The Arden Shakespeare'.
1921-66 John Dover Wilson and Arthur Quiller-Couch's 'New Cambridge Shakespeare'.
1937-59 George B. Harrison's 'Penguin Shakespeare'.
1951 Peter Alexander's edition.
1956-67 Alfred Harbage's 'Pelican Shakespeare'. 
1974 G. Blakemore Evans's 'Riverside Shakes-peare'.The edition most widely used among US colleges  
1986 Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor's 'Oxford Shakespeare'.
1995- Richard Proudfoot, Ann Thompson and David Scott Kastan's revision of the Arden (now known as 'Arden 3').

First Folio - Description of William Shakespeare Quarto Texts and first published plays as Comedies, Histories and Tragedies

Plays and the Globe Theatre
Plays were big!! There was money to be made!! There was a constant demand for new material!! Rivalry between the Theatres Playhouses was enormous!! As soon as plays were written they was immediately produced - printing followed productions! So the actors initially used 'foul papers' or prompts. Rival theater companies would send their members to attend plays to produce unauthorised copies of plays - notes were made and copied as quickly as possible. In Shakespeare’s time copyright did not exist. Alternative versions of Shakespearean plays were produced! These unauthorised and inferior text copies of Shakespeare's plays are called Quarto Texts.

The success of the Elizabethan theaters, including that of the Globe, was such that other  forms of Elizabethan entertainment were being seriously affected. In 1591 the growing popularity of theatres led to a law closing all theaters on Thursdays so that the bull and bear bating industries would not be neglected! Many of the plays of the Great Playwright were first featured in the Globe Theatre of London.

Comedies, Histories and Tragedies

William Shakespeare Plays

Skills IV Reading: KES extract

 

Faculty of Teacher Training - English Department

Course Title: Advanced English Language IV

Instructor: Dr. Rod

E-mail: sjrod55@gmail.com

The following I recommend reading and we will discuss it in class on Tuesday.

Optional readingFor Tuesday 16th March.

BARRY HINES: Kes

Barry Hines (1939- ) was born in Yorkshire into a working-class family. After finishing school, he had various jobs, among them as a teacher, before he started his career as a writer. He has written a number of novels and short stories which are all set in Yorkshire. The following extract is taken from his most popular novel, Kes (1969), which has also been made into a film. It deals with a working-class boy called Billy Casper, who comes from a fatherless family and is unloved and neglected both at home and at school. At the beginning of the extract, five pupils, including Billy, are standing in front of the headmaster's study, awaiting some sort of disciplinary measures.

When you read this text, observe the attitudes of the headmaster towards his pupils and note them down for yourself and later use.

"I'm sick of you boys, you'll be the death of me. Not a day goes by without me having to deal with a line of boys. I can't remember a day, not one day, in all the years I've been in this school, and how long's that? ... ten years, and the school's no better now than it was on the day that it opened. I can't understand it. I can't understand it at all." ...

"I've taught in this city for over thirty-five years now; many of your parents were pupils under me in the old city schools before this estate was built; and I'm certain that in all those years I've never encountered a generation as difficult to handle as this one. I thought I understood young people, I should be able to with all my experience, yet there's something happening today that's frightening, that makes me feel that it's all been a waste of time. ... Like it's a waste of time standing here talking to you boys, because you won't take a blind bit of notice what I'm saying. I know what you're thinking now, you're thinking, why doesn't he get on with it and let us go, instead of standing there babbling on? That's what you're thinking, isn't it? Isn't it, MacDowall?"

"No,sir."

"O yes it is. I can see it in your eyes, lad, they're glazed over. You're not interested. Nobody can tell you anything, can they, MacDowall? You know it all, you young people, you think you're so sophisticated with all your gear and your music. But the trouble is, it's only superficial, just a sheen with nothing worthwhile or solid underneath. As far as I can see there's been no advance at all in discipline, decency, manners or morals. And do you know how I know this? Well, I'll tell you. Because I still have to use this every day."

He brought the stick round from behind his back for the boys to have a look at.

"It's fantastic, isn't it, that in this day and age, in this super-scientific, all-things-bright and-splendiferous age, that the only way of running this school efficiently is by the rule of the cane. But why? There should be no need for it now. You lot have got in on a plate."

"I can understand why we had to use it back in the 'twenties and 'thirties. Those were hard times; they bred hard people, and it needed hard measures to deal with them. But those times bred people with qualities totally lacking in you people today. They bred people with respect for a start. We knew where we stood in those days, and even today a man will often stop me in the street and say 'Hello, Mr Gryce, remember me?' - And we'll pass the time of day and chat, and he'll laugh about the thrashings I gave him."

"But what do I get from you lot? A honk from a greasy youth behind the wheel of some big second-hand car. Or an obscene remark from a gang - after they've passed me. 'They took it then, but not now, not in this day of the common man, when every boy quotes his rights, and shoots off home for his father as soon as I look at him. ... No guts... . No backbone ... you've nothing to commend you whatsoever. You're just fodder for the mass media!"

He slashed the stick in front of their chests, making the air swish in its wake, then he turned round and leaned straight-armed on the mantelshelf, shaking his head. ...

"So for want of a better solution I continue using the cane, knowing full well that you'll be back time and time again for some more. Knowing that when you smokers leave this room wringing your hands, you'll carry on smoking just the same. ...

"Now get that other junk back into your pockets, and get your hands out."

He picked his stick up from his desk and tested it on the air. The first smoker stepped out and raised his right hand. He proffered it slightly cupped, thumb tucked into the side, the flesh of the palm ruttled up into soft cushions.

Gryce measured the distance with the tip of his stick, settled his feet, then slowly flexed his elbow. When his fist was level with his ear, the hinge flashed open swish down across the boy's palm. The boy blinked and held up his left hand. The stick touched it, curved up and away out of Gryce's peripheral vision, then blurred back into it and snapped down across the fingers.

"Right, now get out."

White-faced, he turned away from Gryce, and winked at the others as he passed in front of them to the door.

"Next."

They stepped forward in turn, all adopting the same relaxed hand position as the first boy. Except for the messenger. He presented his hands stiff, fingers splayed, thumbs up. The full force of both strokes caught him thumbs first, cracking across the side of the knuckle bone. The first stroke made him cry. The second made him sick.

Difficult words:

 

sophisticated

(here) trendy

gear

(here) clothes

all-things-bright-and-splendiferous:

allusion to children's hymn "All things bright and beautiful"

splendiferous

(infml. or humorous): splendid

cane

stick for beating

thrashing

(here) beating

guts

(infml.): courage

mantelshelf

(old-fashioned) = mantelpiece: shelf above a fireplace

junk

(infml.): useless things

proffer sth.

offer sth.

Related Lord of the Flies Resources

 

Related Links on Lord of the Flies

Summary and Map - A well-designed website that includes a quick overview of the themes and a brief summary of the novel. The map is an artistic rendering of the island.

Nobel Prize Official Website - A biography of William Golding and a transcript of his entire Nobel lecture.

Nobel Prize in Literature: Lord of the Flies - A Lord of the Flies adventure game that requires you to use your knowledge of the novel to complete the challenges.

Lord of the Flies Adventure Maze - A text adventure game you can play, based closely on the novel.

Lord of the Flies: Vocabulary - A game designed to test your knowledge of the vocabulary used in the novel.

Related Content for Lord of the Flies

• Essays on Lord of the Flies
• Forum for Lord of the Flies
• Purchase Lord of the Flies and Related Material
• Biography of William Golding

Study Guide for Lord of the Flies

• Short Summary
• About Lord of the Flies
• Character List
• Glossary of Terms
• Major Themes
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter One: The Sound of the Shell
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter Two: Fire on the Mountain
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter Three: Huts on the Beach
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter Four: Painted Faces and Long Hair
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter Five: Beast From Water
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter Six: Beast from Air
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter Seven: Shadows and Tall Trees
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter Eight: Gift for the Darkness
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter Nine: A View to a Death
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter Ten: The Shell and the Glasses
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter Eleven: Castle Rock
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter Twelve: Cry of the Hunters
• The Lord of the Flies: Biblical Allegory or Anti-Religious Critique?
• Related Links on Lord of the Flies
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my new essay is on lord of the flies.

sc15pcz

Mar 26, 09, 12:14am

#1

you can combine topics as long as you show how they are connected in supporting your specific thesis on human nature and society.
1. character interpretation: choose one of the main characters and interpret the changes he goes through. what do these changes suggest about the novel's message regarding society and human nature? or, compare 2 or even 3 characters to show what ideas these characters represent regarding society or human nature.
2. symbolic interpretation: choose one or more of the main symbols and interpret the importance of that symbol in the novel. what do the symbols suggest about society and human nature. you might analyze changes in the conch throughout the novel and the changes in the tribe it represents. or compare changes in the conch to changes in the lord of the flies (pigs head) to explain how these changes reflect changes in the tribe. or compare different uses of fire. or examine piggy's specs, face paint, or any combination of these symbols. make sure that you compare each of them as you go and link them all together with a thesis regarding human nature and society. use symbol and symbolize only once or twice.
3. interpretation of irony: interpret various ironic situations and their importance in developing the novel's message regarding human nature and society. you might examine the boys' assumptions about grown-ups, the use of fire, their assumptions about the beast, the death of simon and their eventual rescue by the naval commander. in each case make sure you explain exactly how the situation is ironic: how is the reality or outcome of the situation the exact opposite of the characters expectations? what do these ironies suggest about human nature, society, or the nature of reality?
topic should have to do with human nature and society and the novel's message about them. you might also analyze what effect society has on human nature. what kind of societies or governments best keep human nature under control? can any government really suppress problems of human nature completely? why/why not?
i was thinking of maybe doing the symbolism one, the boys clothes fall apart as the novel goes on, and so does their social interactions, and their "humanity".
but then again this is humanity in a way, so i wasnt sure.
also maybe something about how golding uses piggy to keep the novel going, if they didnt have him for the other boys to ridicule and taunt, then they might just end up running around and hunting instead of hunting eachother.
maybe the littluns role, they serve as a gauge of the older boys' morality, how they treat the littuns is how they are. but maybe they might represent something else, innocence... maybe...
how golding uses the gentler characters, simon and piggy to enrage the other boys and get them to the point where they show their true humanity and loose all ties to society.
if you didnt read this book ill just post it somewhere else. i want to have an original topic, and im not sure what i am the most interested in.

sc15pcz
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sc15pcz

Mar 26, 09, 01:04am

#2

some ideas, a little more developed than the first. still cant choose one.
Are the littluns filler, or do they mean something more?
The littluns seem to just be in their own little group that does whatever they want, they build castles and play on the beach all day, but they can be useful. Golden uses the littluns to gauge the older boys morality, if they are cruel to them, then they are cruel in general. But they also seem to symbolize the connection between the boys and society, they are innocent and remind us of how people behave in society. The littluns cry a lot, and they are not scared to admit that they are frightened, and they don't go off and hunt or do any of that, they link the boys with their last shreds of normal behavior, and are not caught up in the older boys war.
Piggy, Ralph and Simon Made Me Do It
Would the boys become killers without Piggy, Simon, and Ralph?
Well, obviously they couldn't kill Simon and Piggy if they never existed, but if they were like the others, blood thirsty and savage, the others may have never been driven to kill at all. These softer characters are used to create a contrast between them that brings out the truth about humanity.
No Clothes, No Morals
As time on the island passes, their clothes fall apart, and with them their links to society, and their true human nature emerges.

sc15pcz
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lowryder49

Mar 26, 09, 09:50am

#3

history shows us that Humans tends to commit the same mistakes over and over again
Killing, rage adn anger are parts of human nature as well as loving, caring and nursing
lord of the flies topics are war, power, superiority,frienship these are a few

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EF_Kevin [Moderator]

Mar 27, 09, 12:28am

#4

I agree that symbolism is always a safe bet... and it can make for such a great essay. Symbolism is fascinating.
I really like your section about whether the Littluns are filler or something more!
Who is the kid that turned all evil? It would be cool to write about the changes he went through... but that would not be original.
Your ideas are good. Write some more of it!

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EF_Sean [Moderator]

Mar 28, 09, 06:16pm

#5

I like where you seem to be going with the clothes as symbolic approach. Clothes conceal us, after all, hide our bodies. If, then, as the clothes decay, we see the children's true nature, which is animalistic and brutal, it is presumably the case that the children's nature doesn't decay, so much as get revealed as the civilizing veneer of socialization wear's off. So, the clothing would then actually represent socialization. You can definitely build on that to create a solid essay. Good luck.

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sc15pcz

Mar 30, 09, 05:13pm

#6

i wrote this before i got any of your comments, but i couldnt decide so it is kind of a mixture of all of them. some of my classmates read it, and they didnt think it was too random but i do... does it fit together at all? it seems to me to just be a jumble but im not sure...
They Made Me Do it
SEE BELOW

sc15pcz
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EF_Kevin [Moderator]

Mar 31, 09, 04:16pm

#7

Everyone feels this way at one time or another; and no matter how much society tries to force it out of us, we still have our human nature under it all the facade of civility, and we will do what is necessary to survive.
How about that, with the semi-colon and a slight tweak.
This essay is great! I like the way you expertly attended to all the important things: narrative hook at the start, clear thesis, logical sequence of ideas. It is great!
The only gripe I have with you is that you oversimplify Golding's message. The story obviously shows that we have savagery beneath our civilized appearances, but I don't think he meant to say that we will always revert to our animal instincts. Instead, his exposition of the mechanisms that give rise to violence, and the factors that work against good leadership, gives readers real wisdom and insight. Golding shows a model of the human societal process... shows it in the form of a sort of experiment on an island, a "what if" scenario. Golding is showing something about human nature, and, more importantly, he is exposing the demons that need to be conquered if we are to succeed in keeping the violence out of society.

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EF_Sean [Moderator]

Mar 31, 09, 05:23pm

#8

The great flaw in your argument is that Ralph and Piggy don't in fact lose their morals. Both remain decent human beings standing up for what they believe is right to the very end. Piggy is murdered, and Ralph would have been, if not for the arrival of adults, or course, but they die, or come close to it, precisely because they refuse to give up their moral nature. So, perhaps you need to go a little deeper into your analysis than merely saying that everyone loses their morals when they don't have supervision. Why does Ralph lose out to Jack in the political battle? Why does Jack set the entire island ablaze in an effort to destroy him, even though he is smart enough to realize that this must surely end in his own destruction too? You might want to throw in some Freudian analysis here -- id, ego, superego. Also, what could Ralph have done to change the outcome? Why doesn't he?
"We need societies structure to keep us from reverting back to animals" But the larger society in the book is essentially on the verge of WWIII. That is, the planet itself is about to burn as the island does, only in a nuclear conflagration. So, even with society's structure, our destructive impulses can still emerge and destroy us.
Good essay overall, then, but try to dig a bit deeper to make it even stronger.

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sc15pcz

Apr 1, 09, 02:11am

#9

sean, i get what you mean about ralph and piggy, but there is one point where they are so caught up in the hunters dance that they want to join in and kill simon. they do not loose their morals, but they arent completely intact either.
will work on the rest, just wanted to say that.

sc15pcz
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sc15pcz

Edited by: sc15pcz Apr 1, 09, 02:47am

#10

maybe a little better, not sure if i caught everything. ill change more of the stuff you said sean, i just need to have this done tonight for the second draft to show my teacher, and i already blew it by falling asleep.
They Made Me Do it
Have you ever been so mad you wanted to kill someone? Been so angry you just wanted to rip their head off? Everyone feels this way at one time or another; no matter how much society tries to force ...
SEE BELOW

sc15pcz
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EF_Kevin [Moderator]

Apr 1, 09, 05:25pm

#11

The boys are all "going native" to one extent or another, and loosing their footholds that keep them from going over the edge; however, it is sometimes hard to tell ...
Above, that was a run-on sentence without the semi-colon. I had not noticed it before! You tried to use "however" in the way you would use "but"; however, "however" cannot be used as a conjunction. "But" can be used in a compound sentence, but "however" needs its own sentence.
This is really quite a great essay, and the last paragraph leaves no doubt tha you understand the theme. It would be better, though, if you add a few sentences about how the society on the island is like a model that shows how larger societies sink into violence -- as a result of the savage ways to which we resort we are frightened.

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sc15pcz

Apr 10, 09, 12:33am

#12

so, my teacher didnt really think the ideas were connected. he said to have two of the paragraph topics be the theme and the other two the body, but im not exactly sure what he meant. i tried rewriting it like he said but i got stuck. help? suggestions? im pretty much at a block and cant seem to write anything else. thanks.
SEE BELOW

sc15pcz
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EF_Kevin [Moderator]

Apr 10, 09, 01:59pm

#13

Have you ever wanted to kill someone?
I like it! You toned down this opening in a good way. The mention of killing someone is enough to grab the attention. In general, it will be good for you to eliminate unnecessary sentences in your writing. Same for all of us.
Most would say no; however, if you think about it we get outraged very easily, and sometimes it takes all our self-control to keep from lashing out.

sc15pcz:

Humans fear what they do not understand, and unfortunately we understand very little. It is up to us to try to explain the mysteries of our world in order to maintain civility, and refrain from aggression.

Excellent! Now, reread your whole essay and think of it as advice you were writing for kids who were about to become policy-makers, senate, congress, etc. The essay is all very good. But I think you are neglecting the fact that the lessons in the story are most useful for those who would participate in government -- an important thing to at least acknowledge.

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sc15pcz

Apr 13, 09, 11:47pm

#14

i had to rush at the end but here it is. i kind of lost interest in the topic because i didnt do it right away...
56093
An Adaption to Ruthlessness
What would it mean to be the lord of the flies? William Golding entitles his work the Lord of the Flies leading one to wonder weather he refers to the decapitated pigs head or to Ralph. The fly is an ignoble creature. It is small. It is a bearer of germs. It is known to feed on feces. If Golding perceives the boys as flies, his view of human beings is completely pessimistic. His premise is that if left alone on an island away from the supervision, rules, and laws of adults, boys would revert to a state of total savagery and would proceed to murder one another. Survival of the fittest would be enacted. To become a lord or ruler of such creatures would require becoming the most violent and vicious person among the group. In short this ruler would rule over insignificant creatures and thus be no true lord at all. Ralph is not able to maintain his rule over the boys because his power stems from his ability to think with forethought rather than physical strength. Ultimately Ralph's intelligence cannot overcome jack's force. One of the true marks of maturity is learning that simply because you can, doesn't mean that you should. In a human context, what does it take to maintain rule, intelligence or strength? Golding puts forth the idea that force is superior to intelligence in the quest for power.
In the beginning it appears that Ralph is the logical leader of the group, but if Ralph hadn't been so calm, Piggy so smart, and Simon so gentle, the other boys would still have come to kill. These softer characters were used as a catalyst to expose the true nature of the boys. They were all just looking for food and playing at first, but when the hunters start messing around and let the fire go out, Ralph says the "smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one" (81), and he is not impressed by their kill. They are angry because they think their game is impressive, and they do not appreciate him telling them that all their manly efforts were not of any use. Jack uses this annoyance towards Ralph to his advantage; planting the idea that Ralph is an annoying know-it-all and causing the rest of the hunters to want to show off more to spite him. He revs them up into a frenzy until all they want to do is "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood" (69), and all Ralph's ideas about keeping the fire going seem to be a joke. The hunters feel that they are too strong to take orders from a weakling that "[is] not a hunter. [And would] never have got [them] meat" (126). They don't know anything about him, so when Jack says, "He just gives orders and expects people to obey for nothing" (126), the hunters start to question the idea that they will be rescued with fire, and begin to follow Jack even more. Piggy and Simon are similar to Ralph, being smart and unique. They consider the consequences of their actions, rather than just going for whatever whim comes their way. The hunters don't like this. They want to be able to do what they want, when they want, so when the odd ones tell them to behave, they get annoyed and think they are better than them and shouldn't be ruled by the ones who are not the most vicious or violent. They are not the lord, and therefore are nothing.
That which we want the most is often the worst possible thing for us. It is important in life to know when to draw the line. To know what is ok, and what is going too far. The flies have lost this sense. They can no longer tell the bad from the good, they simply do what they feel is necessary to survive, so when they attack they never think to stop. Never think it is wrong to kill another boy. Thus as the boys forget about their civility, the reader begins to wonder how far they have really gone, and Golding uses the littluns to remind us of the empire waiting for them back home. They act as a gauge, to tell us how far each character has fallen. The littluns are around six, terrified of everything, spend all their time eating and playing, but are essentially harmless. They aren't expected to do anything, but what really shows a persons character is how they act towards those who cannot protect themselves. If you go and poke a baby with a stick, you cannot be a very nice person. Some people pretend, but on the island with no consequences, how they act towards the weak shows a lot about who they are. Ralph, being the leader, is not mean to them, and tries to include them in meetings by using "simple words so that even [they] would understand"(79); however, he doesn't find them useful. This demonstrates his nature. He is a pensive boy who finds delight in swimming, and simple things, and does not find the affairs of others particularly intriguing unless they directly affect him. This is displayed when he tells them to make sure they do not go to the bathroom near the food, water, or tents, and also when they start all the talk about the beast which makes all his followers begin to question him. Piggy is similar to Ralph in that respect, he is not mean, but does not think they warrant his attention. He feels that they are childish, and he is above their games, saying, "If the littluns climb back on the twister again they'll only fall off in a sec. So they might as well sit on the ground and listen" (84), in a rather irritated manner. Correspondingly, Piggy always feels that he is smarter than everyone else, and he comes up with most of the good ideas, even if no one listens to him. Simon on the other hand goes out of his way to be kind to them, bringing them "fruit they [cannot] reach" (56), and looking out for them when no one else does, which exemplifies his kind, caring nature, to sacrifice himself for the well-being of others. One of the middle kids (neither bigun, nor littlun), Maurice throws sand in their eyes and rocks around them; however, when they are all at a meeting he "save[s] them" (87) crying out, "Look at me!" (87), and pretending to fall over in order to make them laugh and avoid their crying. This is not a completely selfless act, in that he would have to wait for them to stop, nonetheless, he still tries to help, which is illustrated later when he follows the rest of the hunters, not exactly wanting to kill, but simply trying to avoid being singled out like the other three, and saving his own skin. This leads to Jack who is mean and thinks they are a "useless lot of cry-babies!" (83), and it would "serve [them] right if something did get [them]" (83) for causing all the trouble about the beast. When Jack's tribe splits off, he leaves all the littuns with the nicer characters who care if they are unhappy or in danger, which shows how he is savage, and will waste no effort in trying to help out little children, simply hunting and killing whatever he can. It's like stealing candy from a baby, if you do it to make yourself happy, then you are a horrible person, and you can't deny it.
Golding uses clothing as a symbol for civilization. Every morning we put on clothes without thinking about their function. Clothes provide warmth and preserve modesty. They also maintain cleanliness and give a protective covering to the skin. The first description of Ralph is that he is trailing his school sweater by one arm and that the clothing he still wears is causing him to sweat. Thus his clothes do not suit the climate or circumstances in which he finds himself. As the book goes on, the boys' clothing deteriorates with their morals. It is a logical response to a tropical climate to wear less clothing. The boys take off their shirts and shoes to remain cool. This is liberating in a physical sense as well as a mental one as they would not be permitted to do this at home. They run around and play enlivened by this new freedom from the restrictions of vestments. The longer they live in this state of virtual nakedness, the dirtier and more ragged they become. The longer they exist without the restrictions of civilization, the mental reaction to autonomy is moral deterioration. Even at the beginning of the book when Ralph pulls off all his clothes, he stands "among the skull-like coconuts" (10), which foreshadows the future. A person who sheds all clothing and discards all morals is less protected from death. Near the end of the book when all the boys' shorts are in tatters and are being held up by mere threads as well as their links to society, Ralph makes one last attempt to rein them in. He puts on his shirt from the first day even though it is stiff with sweat and very uncomfortable. Just as in a restaurant a sign will warn "No shirt no shoes no service", the wearing of clothing represents accountability and responsibility or the consciousness that human nakedness requires covering to be civilized. As the deterioration of morality intensifies, the boys begin to rely more on their fear of danger to make decisions. Unlike animals who navigate their world with instinct, the fear begins to overshadow their common sense. They completely loose their minds when the "demented" dance starts. "Out of the terror (rises) another desire, thick, urgent, blind"(152). They are overcome by their fear and their instincts turn to bloodlust. They are possessed with the urge to kill and they cannot stop themselves. Then at Castle Rock, all the hunters chant and yell, and the "storm of sound beat at them, in an incantation of hatred"(180). Roger is gripped "with a sense of delirious abandonment" (180), and he leans on the lever, causing the boulder to crush piggy. Every time the boys start to chant someone dies. After that the hunters give up all control, and Jack shouts, "There isn't a tribe for you anymore!"(181) They all proceed to attack him with spears and every last trace of humanity is gone. The alpha instinct in Jack to lead overcomes him and he gets the whole tribe to attack. The bloodlust is summoned and the façade of civility is discarded like an unwanted garment.
As the boys deteriorate, they begin to rely more on their fear to determine danger than common sense, more animal than human. When the "demented" dance starts they loose their heads, and "out of terror [rises] another desire, thick, urgent, blind" (152). They are overcome by their fear and it turns into bloodlust, they are possessed, and cannot stop themselves from killing, nor do they want to. Then at castle rock when all the hunters are chanting and yelling, and the "storm of sound beat[s] at them, in an incantation of hatred" (180), Roger is gripped "with a sense of delirious abandonment" (180), and he leans on the lever and the boulder crushes Piggy. When they let themselves be taken over they let all their human thoughts fall away. The sound revs them up, and every time they start to chant, someone dies. After that the hunters give up control all together and Jack shouts "there isn't a tribe for you anymore!" (181). They have fallen into an animalistic state, and Ralph is forced to run for his life as they stab at him. Every last trace of their attempts at society is gone. The alpha instinct in Jack to be leader overcomes him and he gets the whole tribe to attack. Underneath it all, the bloodlust comes out, the façade crumbles, and there is nothing you can do about it, its just human nature.
We need society's structure to keep us from reverting back to animals. When all the hallmarks of civilization have been striped away it is all we can do to refrain from using our instincts to make decisions, and attacking whatever we fear. It is important to try to understand what we fear, or we will live in fear forever, and that fear will turn to aggression and we won't be able to resist. It is our ability to consider the consequences of our actions that separates us from animals. We can consider all angles of a situation, and determine weather it is better to stay and fight, or run and hide. Golding uses the island as a model of larger societies to illustrate how they sink into violence, which makes everyone scared, which in turn brings more carnage. Just like Bush's "war on terror", everyone fights out of fear, fear of loosing what they have. Most do not simply fight for the sake of fighting. Humans fear what they do not understand, and unfortunately we understand very little. It is up to us to try to explain the mysteries of our world in order to maintain civility and refrain from aggression, or we will undoubtedly be doomed to repeat, over and over, all the violence.

sc15pcz
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Winpapamon

Apr 14, 09, 03:54am

#15

Should parents be responsible if their children behave badly?
Most children in the duration between childhood and adulthood may be problem-makers of society because they start to learn about the life only at that time.In some places,parents neglect or do not know what their children did wrongly and they have not been nothing to do with their children did.This essay will discuss whether parents should pay attention to their children' committing.
Parents are the very first teachers of their children.Only parents should guide when children start to observe about the environment.In addition,children do not have anyone to rely on except parents.That is why,parents should keep an eye on their children's deed and always take care of their children's behaviors.
There are many excuses for which parents should not take responsibility if their children commit some crimes.One of those is because parents are earning money to support their children's requirements such as educational fees,living,food supplies,clothes and others.For these reasons, they cannot care well about children.What is more,adolescents do not want to stay under the control of parents.They desire to make own decisions and to face everything and to be free from parents' management.Furthermore,some adolescents do not let their parents know what they will do and they did.They want to be secretive on parents.
From my point of view,the phenomenon of that children act badly does not deal with parents because parents are responsible to guide them right from wrong. That is why they are called parents.In my opinion, humans should be effected by the consequences of that they did.It is not for their parents.

Winpapamon
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