Tuesday, 26 December 2023
Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Friday, 1 December 2023
DECEMBER
"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is time for home."
Edith Sitwell
Tuesday, 21 November 2023
Friday, 27 October 2023
WILLIAM BLAKE - 5^C LINGUISTICO
"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity ... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself."
William Blake (1757-1827) is one of the key figures of English Romanticism, and some of his poems are universally known thanks to their memorable phrases and opening lines. Read here.
"One thought fills immensity."
William Blake
Wednesday, 11 October 2023
Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Monday, 18 September 2023
Wednesday, 12 July 2023
SUMMERTIME
"And
so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just
as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was
beginning over again with the summer."
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Wednesday, 7 June 2023
THE LOST GENERATION
The Lost Generation is a term used to describe those who came
of age during World War I. This term more specifically refers to a group of
American writers whose works
were published after that period. The term Lost Generation comes from a comment
that Modernist writer Gertrude Stein made to author Ernest Hemingway.
The
Lost Generation rebelled against post-World War I American materialism. Their
faith in the moral ideals that had earlier given them hope was “lost”. They found
themselves disillusioned with post-war American society during the 1920s, often
settling in Paris where they pursued more artistically liberated lifestyles.
In
literature, the "Lost Generation" refers to a group of writers and poets who were men and
women of that period. The most famous members were Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T. S. Eliot.
Tuesday, 6 June 2023
Saturday, 27 May 2023
VIRGINIA WOOLF
“When you consider things like the stars, our affairs don’t seem to matter very much, do they?”
Virginia Woolf is recognised as one of the most innovative writers of the 20th century. Perhaps best known as the author of Mrs Dalloway (1925) and To the Lighthouse (1927), she was also a prolific writer of essays, diaries, letters and biographies. Both in style and subject matter, her work captures the fast-changing world in which she was working.
Thursday, 4 May 2023
THE MODERN AGE - THE LITERARY CONTEXT
The Modern Age in English literature occupied the years from shortly after the beginning of the 20th century through roughly 1965. In broad terms, the period was marked by sudden and unexpected breaks with traditional ways of viewing and interacting with the world. Experimentation and individualism became virtues, whereas in the past they were often heartily discouraged. Modernism was set in motion, in one sense, through a series of cultural shocks.
Continue reading here.
Monday, 10 April 2023
THE CANTERBURY TALES - 3^C LINGUISTICO
The Canterbury Tales is known as the foundational English literary book of tales written in verse style by Geoffrey Chaucer. The author is famous as one of the pioneers of English poetry. The book was likely published around 1387 to 1400 when Chaucer joined the royal court. The stories, in verses, though some are in prose, present the social norms, characters, situations, and religious devotion of the pilgrims presented in them. The stories became so much popular and are considered classics across the globe. Read here.
Friday, 31 March 2023
ROBIN HOOD - 3^C LINGUISTICO
The spirit of adventure is alive and well in this
retooling of the exploits of a legendary hero, the valiant and principled
outlaw Robin Hood. Director Kevin Reynolds and screenplay writers Pen
Densham and John Watson have come up with just the right mix of action, dash,
romance, and humor.
With the
help of Azeem (Morgan Freeman), young nobleman Robin of Locksley (Kevin
Costner) escapes from a Middle Eastern prison and makes his way home to
England, where a rude surprise awaits him. His father has been murdered, King
Richard is in exile, and Prince John has usurped the throne. Locally, the
wicked Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman), has laid siege to the countryside.
Robin gathers his merry men and fights back, pausing only for romance with the
lovely, strong-willed Maid Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio).
https://fsharetv.io/movie/robin-hood:-prince-of-thieves-episode-1-tt0102798
Thursday, 2 February 2023
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE - 4^C LINGUISTICO
The Merchant of Venice is regarded as a tragic comedy.
The main
character is the merchant, Antonio who fails and becomes indebted to the
merciless moneylender, Shylock. Antonio’s
friend Bassanio has
borrowed money from Antonio in order to woo Portia, the beautiful
resident of Belmont and it is the reason why Antonio has fallen prey to
Shylock. The other main characters are Jessica, the daughter of Shylock, and
Lorenzo and Gratiano, associates and friends of Bassanio. Read here.
Wednesday, 1 February 2023
Tuesday, 31 January 2023
CHARLES DICKENS - 5^C LINGUISTICO
There is no contemporary English writer whose works are read so generally through the whole house, who can give pleasure to the servants as well as to the mistress, to the children as well as to the master.
Walter Bagehot
Charles Dickens, of all the Victorian novelists, was probably the most antagonistic to the Victorian age itself.
Edmund Wilson
Monday, 30 January 2023
OTHELLO ~ 4^C LINGUISTICO
The plot of Shakespeare's Othello (1603) is largely taken from the Italian Giraldi Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi (1565), a tale of love,
jealousy, and betrayal; however, the characters, themes, and attitudes of the
two works are vastly different, with Shakespeare's play being a more involved
study of human nature and psychology.
One reason for the overwhelming popularity of the play
throughout the ages is that it focuses on two people who defied society in
order to follow their own hearts. Read here.
Friday, 27 January 2023
INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY
“For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of a past that belongs to our collective memory. To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.”
Elie Wiesel
Wednesday, 25 January 2023
ROMAN BRITAIN - 3^C LINGUISTICO
From Julius Caesar’s first landing on the shoreline of England in 55BC to the famous "Look to your own defences" letter of AD410, the Romans played an important part in British history for over 400 years. Read here.
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/romans/
https://www.history.org.uk/primary/resource/3851/roman-britain-a-brief-history
Friday, 13 January 2023
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
William I of England, better known as William the Conqueror, overcame a difficult childhood to become one of the most influential kings in British history. Read 10 facts about the man and his rise to power here.
