Barry Unsworth

Практикум по культуре речевого общения

Смоленск

Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации

Смоленский государственный университет

Л.А. Кузьмин, О.Е. Похаленков

Английский язык:

Практикум по культуре речевого общения

Учебные задания

по роману Б. Ансуорта «Моралите»

Для студентов направлений подготовки

«Педагогическое образование (английский язык)» и «Лингвистика»

Смоленск

Издательство СмолГУ

УДК 81.111.24 (075.8)

ББК 81.432.1 – 923. – 3

К 893

Печатается по решению редакционно-издательского совета Смоленского государственного университета

Рецензенты: Т.Е. Жакова, кандидат филологических наук

Кузьмин Л.А., Похаленков О.Е.

Английский язык: практикум по культуре речевого общения: учебные

К 893 задания по роману Б. Ансуорта «Моралите» для студентов направления подготовки «Педагогическое образование (английский язык)» и «Лингвистика»/ Л.А. Кузьмин, О.Е. Похаленков; Смоленский гос. ун-т. – Смоленск: Изд-во СмолГУ, 2014. – 22с.

Пособие содержит систему заданий по выработке навыков аналитического чтения на материале романа Барри Ансуорта «Моралите», а также навыков письменного перевода и устной монологической и диалогической речи. Оно также включает вопросы для обсуждения затекстовой информации; список лексических единиц, подлежащих активному усвоению; упражнения для их активизации; отрывки для перевода и их филологического комментария; темы для заключительного обсуждения. Предназначено для организации домашней и частично аудиторной работы по практике речи английского языка или практикуму по культуре речевого общения.

УДК81.111.24 (075.8)

ББК 81.432.1 – 923. - 3

© Кузьмин Л.А., Похаленков О.Е., 2014

© Издательство СмолГУ, 2014

Barry Unsworth

and his novel “Morality play”

“Morality play” is a semi-historical detective novel by Barry Unsworth. The book, published in 1995 by Hamish Hamilton was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

The novel is unique in its portrayal of medieval English drama and mystery plays, as it implies that instead of merely rehearsing and performing standard Biblically-based morality plays of the period, that an acting troupe might actually create and structure a play around events in their village, community or surrounding culture. The existence of such culturally-connected playcraft is important to scholars of the period, as it implies that works such as the N-Town Plays may have a provenance beyond simple Biblical literalness, and may speak to the concerns of the culture at that period, much as later drama of the Elizabethan period spoke directly to cultural concerns.

(по материалам Википедии: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality_Play_(novel))

Assignment I (Chapters 1 – 3)

1. Discuss the background of the book (see “Morality play” by Barry Unsworth (A Commentary with annotations)).

Find some information and present it in class:

a) the history and geography the action is laid in (p. 6 – 11);

b) give a brief characteristic of the genre the book is devoted (p. 15 – 20).

2. Read the following passage and answer the question.

“It was like that scene in the Morality Play when the besieged soul flies free at last”( p.3)

Find the basic elements of the morality plays pretended to the public in different episodes of the book.

3. Transcribe, read phonetically correctly and give a possible translation of the following words paying attention to their “archaic” meaning:

Holy Order (1), absolution (1), cleric (2), Lord (2), the Cross (2), to shrive (3), Death (3), the besieged soul (3), sermon (4), livery (4), zealot (4), tonsure (4), cassock (5), vice (5), diocese (5), Council (9), benefaction (13), Devil’s fool (15), epitaph (18), Antichrist (23), warrant (23).

4. Read, translate and memorize the following words and phrases. Describe the contexts they were used in. Give each word a definition in English (explain the words). Think of a situation (in Russian) using this vocabulary and let your fellow-students translate it into English.

folly (n) (1). Compare with: “inability”, “to think things out”, “thoughtlessness”

lust (n) (1). Compare with: “longing”, “craving”

to pursuit (v) (1)

cudgel (n) (2). Compare with: “stick”, “club”

to be copious (v) (in + doing or noun) (5)

animosity (n) (7)

to expound (v) (8). Compare with: “to explain”, “to elucidate”

perversity (n) (10). Compare with: “obstinacies”, “stubbornness”

famine (n) (17). Compare with: “starvation”, “hunger”

petulance (n) (24)

Phrases:

Mea maxima culpa (a Latin phrase) (1)

to come under the ban (2)

…when at large than when confined (3)

5. Translate the following extracts paying attention to linguistic and stylistic peculiarities of the text.

a) p. 19 – 20 from “During all this time” up to “him up to it”.

b) p. 26 from “We put Brendan in the rear” up to “instantly ceased”.

5. Questions:

a) What part the descriptions of nature play in creating the medieval atmosphere of the book?

b) Describe the major members of the theatrical company travelling to their destination?

c) Give a psychological portrait of the main character Nicholas?

6. Discussion:

a) Comment on the following: “Travelling players are wanders also, but these had a badge of livery, they had the license of a lord” (see “Morality play” by Barry Unsworth (A Commentary with annotations))

b) Give your opinion why the genre of morality plays was widely spread in Middle Ages and is now extinct.

Assignment II (Chapters 4 – 6)

1. Discuss the background of the book (see “Morality play” by Barry Unsworth (A Commentary with annotations)).

Find some information about “The Play of Adam” (p.18) and present it in class.

2. Transcribe, read phonetically correctly and give a possible translation of the following words paying attention to their «archaic» meaning:

the King’s Justice (28), breastplates (29), ostler (29), palfrey (29), surcoat (30), the Knight (30), jousting (31), fief (31), the Sheriff (32), retinue (32), the nobles (34), the Church (35), the Eucharist (35), the Commons (35), Orders (35), the Prologue (40), an attendant demon (40), the King of Heaven (41), the Creator (48), subdeacon (49), the Plague (51), Judgement Day (51).

3. Read, translate and memorize the following words and phrases. Describe the contexts they were used in. Give each word a definition in English (explain the words). Think of a situation (in Russian) using this vocabulary and let your fellow-students translate it into English.

to haggle for (v) (28). Compare with: “to bargain”

brawny (adj) (28)

bustle (n) (29). Compare with: “turmoil”, “noise”

alms (n) (31)

to cavil (v) (33). Compare with: “to carp”, “to find fault”

to concubinage (v) (35)

cupidity (n) (35). Compare with: “greediness”, “avidity”

brawler (n) (38). Compare with: “troublemaker”

foray (n) (40)

timorous (adj) (43)

copulation (n) (44)

elation (n) (46)

gaunt (adj) (47). Compare with: “emaciated”, “thin”, “slim”, “slender”

profanities (n) (49). Compare with: “blasphemy”, “obscenity”, “profanation”

to resurrect (v) (51)

Phrases:

with one eye turned inward (28)

to be tethered to smth (37)

to be with small play of mind (31)

to serve the time is the mark of wisdom (35)

4. Translate the following extracts paying attention to linguistic and stylistic peculiarities of the text:

a) p. 31 – 32 from “Why, he said…” up to “before Christmas.”

b) p. 50 – 51 from “We drank” up to “Dream of Pilate’s Wife.”

5. Questions:

a) Describe the scenery and the mood of the main characters on the arrival to an unknown?

b) Will you depict the preparations to the performance and the part of each of the character of the company in the first performance?

c) What unexpectedly clever talk did the company have after the performance?

d) What is the Seventh Commandment? What other Commandments do you know?

e) Show how Martin arrives at the decision of making their performances really popular? Would you relate the late-night talk between Nicholas and Martin in the tavern?

6. Discussion:

Comment on the following phrase: “The nature of power is always the same, though the masks it wears are various. The masks of the powerless are various also” (p. 54).

Assignment III (Chapters 7 – 9)

1. Discuss the background of the book.

Find some information about “the play of Thomas Wells” (as it was described in the book) and present it in class.

2. Transcribe, read phonetically correctly and give a possible translation of the following words paying attention to their “archaic” meaning:

shroud (57), vestry (57), plague-mound (57), Beast from the Pit (59), Reverlation (59), mare (59), bonnet (60), bowman (61), the nobility (64), Holy Writ (64), the Nativity (66), Lucifer (65), Vespers (68), Order of Knighthood (70), Order of Benedictines (70), the common (74), the mask of Avarice (79), livery servants (80), to stable (a horse, horses) (81), vermin (84), lewdness (91), exhortation (91),

Divine Justice (96), the (Heavenly) Host (98).

3. Read, translate and memorize the following words and phrases. Describe the contexts they were used in. Give each word a definition in English (explain the words). Think of a situation (in Russian) using this vocabulary and let your fellow-students translate it into English.

superfluous (adj) (56). Compare with: “extra”, “excess”, “excessive”, “unnecessary”

to be sated (v) (57)

to gash (v) (57)

mutilation (n) (59)

devious (adj) (63). Compare with: “insidious”, “cunning”

to reprove (v) (64)

blithe (adj) (73)

to dispel (v) (77). Compare with: “allay”, “scatter”, “refute”, “debunk”

to wince (v) (86). Compare with: “shudder”, “flinch”

temptress (n) (90)

lascivious (n) (92). Compare with: “voluptuous’

to impel (v) (94)

ruffian (n) (95). Compare with: “thug”, “hooligan”, “villain”, “bully”

flattery (n) (99)

Phrases:

to be delivered from evil (59)

Pater Noster (59)

to beat about the bush (62)

to live smb in the void (65)

to stake all on the throw (70)

to flounder in smth (71)

4. Translate the following extracts paying attention to linguistic and stylistic peculiarities of the text.

a) p. 58 – 59 from “I was in this state…” I had not.”

b) p. 96 from “The strangling of Thomas Wells” up to “we were possessed.”

5. Questions:

a) Convey the facts and the emotional atmosphere of Brendan’s funeral?

b) What other fresh grave did the players see nearby and how (as you learnt later) did this discovery contribute to the development of Martin’s plan of a new play?

c) What unexpected scene occurred at the appearance of a riding Knight and his squire? Would you try to describe all the Knight’s munition?

d) Give an account of the players’ preparations for the Play of Thomas Wells? What kind of a new turn does Barry Unsworth’s book acquire since the moment the actors, already familiar to you, turn into medieval “detectives”?

e) In what way does a new performance of the players extend your idea of a morality play as one of the earliest British theatrical genres? What do you think about the mastery of rehearsals, the choice of scenery and actual acting of the main characters of the book? What proofs of a much closer contacts of the players with the audience during their second performance (The Play of Thomas Wells) can you bring forth?

f) In what way does the entire atmosphere of the book change with the new parts the actors start to play?

g) Comment on a rather stained and sometimes gloomy accord of the weather with the development of the plot of the book?

6. Discussion:

Comment on the following phrase: “….Some fascination of power led us to imprison ourselves in this Play of Thomas Wells” (p.104).

Assignment IV (Chapters 10 – 12)

1. Discuss the background of the book.

Find some information about the Knighthood as a specific class of the English medieval society and present it in class (see “Morality play” by Barry Unsworth p. 7-8 (a Commentary with annotations)).

2. Transcribe, read phonetically correctly and give a possible translation of the following words paying attention to their «archaic» meaning:

tinker (105), weaver (106), hearth (107), loom (108), Lord’s chaplain (108), the Children of the Spirit (109), spawn of Hell (109), God’s service (110), a brood of Satan (111), a minister of Hell (112), a dungeon (115), the Last Days (120), Mass (121), the King of Persia (124), Matthew the Evangelist (130), the Lord’s steward (141), the Lord’s confessor (141), the noble Lord (141).

3. Read, translate and memorize the following words and phrases. Describe the contexts they were used in. Give each word a definition in English (explain the words). Think of a situation (in Russian) using this vocabulary and let your fellow-students translate it into English.

shambling (adj) (106)

scum (n) (109). Compare with: “scumbas”, “scoundrel”, “bastard”

to repent smth (v) (110)

to vouch (for) (v) (111)

to poach (labour) (v) (116)

repugnance (n) (118)

to venture (v) (123)

to enhance (v) (124)

to buffet smb (with smth) (v) (129)

lamentation (n) (131)

to lash (out at smb) (v) (136)

to avail (v) (138)

audible (n) (137)

remnant (n) (142)

Phrases:

to cut smb short (109)

to take all the air of smb (109)

to take down one’s stalls (114)

the rambling of one’s mind (124)

to make a gesture of doing smth (132)

vertit impios et non runt (Latin proverb) (135)

4. Translate the following extracts paying attention to linguistic and stylistic peculiarities of the text.

a) p. 112 – 113 from “They will burn, he said…” up to the end.

b) p. 120 – 121 from “The boy had no sign of frost…up to “…trust.”

5. Questions:

a) Try to give a full account of the course of the further “investigation” the actors conducted in search of the real truth of Thomas Well’s murder? Reconstruct all the peaces of information each member of the company has discovered to be inserted into their evening performance.

b) Could you prognosticate the character of evil-doing in the surroundings the action of the book is laid, having found that it was not Thomas Well only that was murdered but several boys previously?

c) What impression did Martin’s meeting with the accused woman in prison, watched very carefully by the main narrator (Nicholas) make on you? Why do you think Martin appeared in the inn so much convinced that the woman was not guilty of the murder?

d) Convey the course of the last performance in the yard?

e) In what way did your knowledge of the Morality play as one of the main theatrical genres of the English medieval performances deepen after reading this particular part of the book? Could you comment on the complexity of the actors’ reactions to different episodes of their playing?

f) What happened at the very end of the performance and why do think the Lord’s people came to take away the actors?

6. Discussion:

a) Comment on the following phrase: “The Reckoning is coming, the time is near…” (p. 113).

b) Comment on the following phrase: “Truth is your armour and your stay” (p.132).

Assignment V (Chapters 13-16)

1. Discuss the background of the book:

a) сompare the description of the castle in the novel “Quentin Durward” by Walter Scott (see Supplementary material 1);

b) render the article “Mystery and performance in Barry Unsworth’s Morality play” by Ma. Jesus Martinez Alfaro from the University of Zaragoza (see Supplementary material 2);

2. Transcribe, read phonetically correctly and give a possible translation of the following words paying attention to their “archaic” meaning:

to dismount (143), chamber (143), the Rage of Herod (144), a blast of trumpets (146), to prance (146), harness (146), meless (147), the Dominicans (147), vainglory (147), excommunication (147), to sit astride (148), feats of arms (149), plate armour (149), the Holy Land (150), hem (149),canter (149), to hurtle (150), Poitiers (150), stirrup (150), quilted robe (154), the Lord of the Damned (156), Miniom (156), Arrogancy (161), Sway (161), the Holy Unction (164), man-at-arms (163), the Monk (171), Royal Commissioner (175), flower of chivalry (185).

3. Read, translate and memorize the following words and phrases. Describe the contexts they were used in. Give each word a definition in English (explain the words). Think of a situation (in Russian) using this vocabulary and let your fellow-students translate it into English.

fervour (n) (144). Compare with: “fervor”, “fever”, “ardor”

complacency (n) (145)

bout (n) (148). Compare with: “battle”, “duel”, “fight”

towager (v) (149). Compare with: “to bet”

adversary (n) (150). Compare with: “rival”, “enemy”, “foe”

prudence (n) (155)

restrain (n) (160). Compare with: “reticence”, “abstinence”

incongruous (adj) (164)

felony (n) (175)

to lessen (v) (175)

recompense (n) (184)

Phrases:

to be plunged into smth (144)

at smb’s behest (145)

in attendance (152)

the sap of life (153)

the stark silence (156)

as an afterthought (172)

to wave a hand in dismissal (177)

to be at one’s wits’ end (179)

4. Translate the following extracts paying attention to linguistic and stylistic peculiarities of the text.

a) p. 146 from “It was a scene…” – “and crested helmets.”

b) p. 184-185 from “I did not in my heart…” up to “flower of chivalry.”

5. Questions:

a) In what way and what for were the actors delivered to the castle?

b) Describe their night before the jousting tournament?

c) Can you describe the professional details of the knights’ munitions, decorations of the yard and general preparations of the jousting?

d) Give details of the jousting. What happened closer to the end of the tournament?

e) What strange smell did Nicholas feel when he and the company were led for their last performance in the castle?

f) Give account of the last performance of the company in front of the Lord Richard de Guise.

g) Why was the performance interrupted? What duty unexpectedly was entrusted of Nicholas? How did he serve the last Sacrament to the dying knight Roger of Yarm? What did Nicholas see in the room?

h) Speak on the first part of the intercourse between Nicholas Barber and the Lord Justice. What impression did the Lord Justice produce on you? What new details about Nicholas Barber’s intellect did you learn from the passage?

6. Discussion:

a) Comment on Nicholas’ escape from the castle.

b) Speak on the last meeting between Margaret and Nicholas.

c) Speak on the final outcome of the narration. What conclusion can you make of the horrible discovery of the Lord Justice and his retinue at night?