Inglese Appunti Amazing Minds, Sintesi del corso di Inglese

Scarica Inglese Appunti Amazing Minds e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! CULTURAL INSIGHT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH The history of the English language begins with the settlement of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in Britain. The lack of political unity among them encouraged the existence of a number of dialects, but the Wessex dialect prevailed over the others. The history of the English language can be divided into three periods: Old English (ca 700-1100), Middle English (ca 1100-1450) and Modern English (ca 1450-present day). The main features of Old English were: inflectional endings; the infinitives of the verbs ending with an and the stress of words generally as near the beginning as possible. Nonetheless you would have no difficulty in recognising the Old English words mann, wif and cild. You are familiar with the hus in which they libben, the mete they etan, the waeter they drincan and this bok you are reading. After the Norman Conquest French, Old English and Latin were spoken in England: it was from their blend that Middle English originated. Middle English lost almost all of the Anglo- Saxon inflections: the definite article the and adjectives became indeclinable, and the to form for infinitives started to be used. The various origins of the English language give it many synonyms with slight differences in meaning. For example ask (Saxon) is what ordinary people do; interrogate (Latin) or question (French) is done by officials or superiors. Pig and sheep (Saxon) are the animals, pork and mutton (French) is the meat of those animals. once eaten by the rich. Poetry A M A ZI N G M IN D S © P ea rs on It al ia , M ila n o- To ri n o text store 1.2 1 The Seafarer (10th century) AN ANGLO-SAXON DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE The Seafarer is one of the anonymous Anglo- Saxon poems contained in the Exeter Book, one of the four codices containing most of the surviving Anglo-Saxon poetry. The codex was probably written at the end of the 10th century, but the texts it contains are probably much earlier. The Seafarer is a dramatic monologue, a kind of poetry written in the form of a speech by a single character. The poem can be divided into two sections: the first has an elegiac tone and its pervading feelings are loneliness and melancholy. The second is more didactic and has a strong moral tone. In the first part the speaking voice explains the perils and the attractions of his life on the sea, while in the second part the speaker focuses on moral issues and addresses the reader with admonitions towards a life based on Christian virtues and values. Given the difference in tone and content between the two parts, The Seafarer is sometimes read as the union of two different poems on two completely different subjects. THE COEXISTENCE OF PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN VALUES The poem is interestingly characterised by the coexistence of pagan and Christian values: this is shown by the fact that the speaker gives equal importance to the pagan idea of being buried with one’s treasures and to the Christian idea of the existence of an afterlife. The poem is extremely interesting not only because of its historical value, but also thanks to its great modernity: it is the private and intimate confession of a man who bemoans loneliness as a general condition affecting all humans and who describes life as a journey across multitudinous seas. A MODERN VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL TEXT The poem you are going to read is an English translation from the original version of the poem written in Old English. The original poem was characterised by verses containing the same number of stressed syllables (four) divided by a pause in the middle called ‘caesura’ (cut). The syllables of the first part of each line are usually linked to the ones contained in the second half of the line by alliterations. The version published here tries to reproduce the conventions of Anglo- Saxon poetry as much as possible. You will notice that each line is usually divided into two halves; the division is marked by a pause represented by a comma or by a full stop; there is a constant attempt to reproduce internal alliterations between the two parts of each line. 1. What do we know about the author of The Seafarer? 2. What kind of poem is The Seafarer? 3. How many sections does it have? What are the main themes? 4. Why is The Seafarer considered a very modern poem? CHECKPOINT The Exteter Book or Codex Exoniensis on display at Exeter Cathedral, Devon. Poetry A M A ZI N G M IN D S © P ea rs on It al ia , M ila n o- To ri n o 4 text store 1.2 d Those who do not know the dangers of a seaman’s life do not understand the meaning of the word ‘exile’ e The sea attracts the poet with the promise of letting him explore unknown and far-away territories f City men cannot understand the complexity of a life on the sea g The poet’s soul is irresistibly attracted by adventures h The traveller’s mind is always ready to leave for adventures Section Theme lines 1-17 c lines 18-24 lines 27-30 lines 33-38 lines 39-43 lines 44-52 lines 53-57 lines 58-64 7. Find in the poem the expressions/words that describe the speaker’s condition and say what effect they create. 8. From line 1 to line 32 the poet expresses the perils of a life on the sea. But lines 33-38 express a different feeling: can you explain it using your own words? 9. What do you think is ‘modern’ and ‘universal’ about this poem? YOUR vOICE 10. The following sentence taken from The Seafarer has the power of a universal statement: ‘But there isn’t a man on earth [...] That he feels no fear as the sails unfurl, Wondering what Fate has willed and will do.’ Do you agree with the poet? Write a paragraph in which you express your opinion about it and give some personal examples to make your point clear. IL NAVIGANTE Questa storia è vera, e mia. Racconta Come il mare mi prese, mi portò avanti E indietro nel dolore, nella paura e nella pena, Mi mostrò la sofferenza su cento navi, In mille porti, e in me. Racconta Della schiuma delle onde infrante quando sudavo nel freddo Di una veglia ansiosa, appollaiato a prua Mentre la schiuma si frangeva sotto le scogliere. Avevo i piedi ricoperti Di strisce di ghiaccio, legate dal gelo, Da catene gelate, e la fatica gemeva Intorno al mio cuore. La fame strappava La mia anima stremata dal mare. Nessun uomo che stia al riparo Nella quiete e nella bellezza della terra può percepire Quanto fossi infelice, alla deriva attraverso l'inverno Su un mare gelido, preso da gorghi di dolore, Solo, in un mondo svuotato d'amore, Appeso con i ghiaccioli. Volavano le tempeste di grandine. L'unico suono era il mare che ruggiva, Le onde gelide. Il canto del cigno Potrebbe dare piacere, il grido degli uccelli marini, Quel suono di morte degli uccelli invece di una risata, Lo stridìo dei gabbiani invece di una dolce bevanda. Le tempeste battevano sulle scogliere rocciose e echeggiavano Nei versi delle sterne con le piume ghiacciate e le urla delle aquile; Nessun parente poteva offrire conforto lì, A un'anima lasciata annegare nella desolazione. E chi potrebbe credere (conoscendo soltanto Le passioni delle città, gonfie di orgoglio e di vino, E non avendo mai assaggiato la sfortuna) che tante volte, e così stancamente, Mi sono rimesso sui sentieri del mare? La notte si oscurava; nevicava dal nord; Il gelo legava la terra e cadeva la grandine, I semi più freddi. E come il mio cuore Iniziava a battere, sperimentando ancora una volta Le onde salate che si agitavano e il mare imponente! Il tempo dei viaggi veniva e la mia anima Mi chiamava con impazienza, mi mandava oltre L'orizzonte, a cercare case straniere. Who were the Anglo-Saxons? The Anglo-Saxons were the people who settled in England after the Romans left, coming from parts of what is now Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. How big was the Anglo-Saxon population? Why? The Anglo-Saxon SPopulation was of roughly 2 million people, this was due to the low life expectancy and high infant mortality. What did they do? Most of the population were farmers, who cultivated the land in order to grow what they needed to live on. Who were the Ceorls? The Ceorls were free peasant farmers who were not tied to their land. They worked on the land for the lord, however, could go and work for a different lord if they wished to. What group was found in the bottom of the societal ladder and what were their differences? Slaves were at the bottom of societal ladder. They occupied 10% of the population and were seen as property, which meant that they could be bought or sold. What did the normans think of slave ownership? The Normans thought slave ownership was demeaning and barbaric. Who were the earls? The Earls were the most important aristocrats. They were Second from the King and competed with each other, through loyalty, to be the most trusted and relied on by the king in return for reward. How does the Anglo-Saxon Societal ladder differentiate from the rest of Europe? Unlike the rest of europe, where the societal status depended on ancestry, in the Anglo-Saxon society, anyone could move up and down the ladder.