ISTITUTO COMPRENSIVO STATALE

“21 MARZO”

ANNO SCOLASTICO 2019 / 2020

MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

LAVORO ESEGUITO DAGLI ALUNNI DELLE CLASSI TERZE DI

GERACI SICULO e PETRALIA SOTTANA

TOPICS

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

GANDHI

GUY FAWKES

MARTIN LUTHER KING

NELSON MANDELA

QUEEN ELIZABETH II

ST. THERESA OF CALCUTTA

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Romeo and Juliet

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Daffodils

A cura dell’ins. Irene Cammarata

WRITE A TEXT ABOUT THE CHARACTER YOU LIKED BEST:

Homework 1 - MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

Here you are a list of questions you can use as a guide for you text.

1. What period/century did he/she live in?

2. Where and when was he/she born?

3. What do you know about his/her family?

4. What did he/she look like?

5. What was he/she like?

6. What were his/her greatest abilities according to you?

7. What special did he/she do?

8. What particular happened while he/she was alive?

9. Why do you like him/her?

10. Can everyone consider him/her a hero/heroine?

11. What would you like to imitate from him/her?

12. What did you learn from him/her?

13. Why do you think he/she succeeded in his/her deed?

14. If he/she were still alive, what would you like to tell him/her?

15. According to you, how would he/she live in this modern world?

16. Did he/she influence your life? If yes, how?

17. How could you put in action his/her right ideas?

18. If you had lived in his/her time, what would you have liked to do?

19. Do you know any of his/her famous words?

20. Why do / should people remember him/her?

or

Homework 2 - I AM …………

Choose a character you would like to be and……tell us everything about yourself!

(You can use the above guide if you need to!)

MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa in 1451. In 1477 he moved to

Portugal where two years later he married Felipa Perestrello Moniz, but she

died in 1485. In the same year Columbus moved to Cadiz, where he opened

a shop selling maps and charts.

However, his real dream was to sail across the ocean and discover a new route

to India. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to give him the

money and ships he needed for his exploration. It was 1492.

On 3rd

August 1492 Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos and led an

expedition with three ships: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, and

about 90 crew members.

On 12th

October Columbus reached land that he thought were the Indies.

On his second voyage from 1493 to 1496, Columbus sailed with 17 ships and

over 1,000 men to find gold, in reality he sailed to Trinidad and Venezuela,

later to Mexico, Honduras, Panama and Jamaica.

When Christopher Columbus died on 20th May 1506, he did not know that, in

fact, he had discovered a new land defined the New World.

MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

GANDHI

Gandhi was born in 1869 in India of a Hindu family. He studied law in London.

He protested peacefully to win rights for his population, but he never used violence.

He was arrested many times during his 20 years in South Africa.

His method of non-violence influenced Martin Luther King in the USA and Nelson

Mandela in South Africa.

In 1931 Gandhi went to London to press for the independence of India from the

British Empire.

On 30th

January 1948 Gandhi was assassinated in Delhi by a Hindu.

MAHATMA GANDHI

Gandhi was born in India.

He studied in London.

He protested peacefully for the rights of his population, but he never used violence.

His method of non-violence influenced Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

Gandhi went to London to ask for the independence of India from Britain.

Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu.

MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

MARTIN LUTHER KING

Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta in 1929. He was a brave Afro-American who

devoted his life to win rights for his black population who was suffering for

segregation. Becoming enthusiastic about Gandhi and his policy of non-violence, he

carried out non-violent demonstration against racial discrimination.

For a year black people boycotted public transport and they walked, cycled or used

cars instead of taking a bus and in 1956 segregation was declared illegal on buses in

Alabama. Martin Luther King had won his first battle and he became famous for the

Black Freedom Movement. He was arrested and imprisoned many times but he never

stopped his campaign.

On August 28th 1963 Martin Luther King led a peaceful march to Washington.

About two hundred and fifty thousand people sang, prayed and listened to his famous

speech called “I Have a Dream”. In this speech, he talked about his dream for the

future when black and white children would play together and slaves and slave

owners would sit down to eat together at the table of brotherhood.

Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. In 1968 King started a battle

to secure better jobs and living conditions for the Blacks, but on 4th

April 1968 he

was assassinated on the balcony of his motel room the day before the new peaceful

march he had organized in Memphis. Now that day is called Martin Luther King Day

and it is celebrated on 4th April as a national holiday in the USA.

MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

NELSON MANDELA

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in South Africa. He was a very brave

man. He became the leader of a political party called the African National Congress,

which fought against apartheid. Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison for

that, but he never stopped his anti-segregationist activities.

Released in 1990 after strong international pressures, in 1993 Mandela won the Nobel

Peace Prize and in 1994 he was elected the first black president of South Africa.

I like Nelson Mandela because he fought against apartheid and after the ANC

became illegal, he did not stop his struggles.

We can consider him a hero and what I would like to imitate from him is to be as

brave as he was.

If he were still alive, I would like to tell him that he was really courageous to have

fought against the governmental regime of apartheid.

If I had lived in Mandela’s time, I would have liked to do the same things as he did.

His famous phrase that I like so much is:

“I loved the ideal of a democratic society. It is an ideal for which I hope to live

and reach. But if necessary, it is an ideal for which I am honoured to die.”

Nelson Mandela died on 5th December 2013.

MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

NELSON MANDELA

Nelson Mandela lived in the 20th century, he was born in 1918 in South Africa. He

had dark skin, a large nose and dark, slightly flattened eyes and he was 1.85 m tall.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison because he was involved in the African

National Congress movement. This movement struggled against the apartheid regime.

The Apartheid was a system of racial segregation implemented by the government.

The international pressure allowed him to be freed in 1990.

Nelson Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and in 1994 he became the first

black president of South Africa.

His friendliness was his character, that is, never give up.

If I had lived in Mandela’s time, I would have liked to be a person working for the

press, especially to dedicate him many newspaper articles telling the world about the

many things he did for his country.

Nelson Mandela died on 5th

December 2013.

MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

NELSON MANDELA

Nelson Mandela lived in the apartheid period.

He was a South African politician and activist, president of South Africa from 1994

to 1999.

Antagonist of apartheid, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 with

the predecessor Frederik de Klerk. He was the first non-white South African

president to hold that position; civil rights activist and lawyer, he had served 27 years

in prison for his work on combating racial segregationism.

Revolutionary and subsequently a man of a government of reconciliation and

pacification, he was for a long time one of the leaders of the anti-apartheid movement

and played a decisive role in the fall of this regime, although he spent most of the

years of anti-segregationist activism in prison. Man symbol of equality and anti-

racism, Sakharov Prize for peace and freedom of thought, he has been able to dose

different political and pragmatic approaches to the liberation struggle of his people,

from the initial theories of non-violent opposition of Gandhi.

Of Ubuntu ideology, his political inspiration was influenced by Marxism. At the time

of the arrest that will lead him to a 27-year captivity he was a member of the Central

Committee of the South African Communist Party. In the following years, he brought

the ANC into the Socialist International. Together with President de Klerk, the

protagonist of the negotiations that led to the abolition of apartheid in the early

nineties, he was elected president in 1994, in the first multiracial elections in South

Africa, remaining in office until 1999. His party, African National Congress (ANC),

has since remained uninterruptedly in the government of the country.

Mandela is the surname taken by the paternal grandfather. The name "Rolihlahla"

(literally "he who causes trouble") was attributed to him at birth; "Nelson" was

assigned to elementary schools instead. The nickname Madiba was his name within

the tribe to which he belonged, of the Xhosa ethnic group. The house where Mandela

lived in Soweto is now home to the Mandela Family Museum, dedicated to the life of

Mandela.

MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

QUEEN ELIZABETH II

The longest-reigning monarch in the British history, Elizabeth II is the Queen of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. She was born in London on

April 21, 1926. She became queen at the age of 25, on February 6, 1952, and she was

crowned on June 2, 1953.

On November 20, 1947 Elizabeth married Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey. On

November 14, 1948 his first son, Prince Charles, was born. In 1950 the second

daughter Anna was born, in 1960 the third son Andrew came to life, and finally

Edward was born in 1964.

The Queen is short and thin, she has white hair and blue eyes, and she is very

smiling. She is very kind and nice. She loves colourful hats and she matches them

with her clothes.

The Queen adores drinking tea, old cars and dogs, too.

Elizabeth witnessed the Second World War: she spent some time on the front line

practising as a soldier in the duties of the army. However, she also learnt how to drive

trucks, learning, among other things, how to repair engines and how to handle them

in any situation or problem that involves vehicle or vehicle assistance.

I think it is curious to know that the Queen has the longevity record on the throne.

MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

QUEEN ELIZABETH II

Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21st April 1926, at 17, Burton Street in Mayfair

(London), to Prince Albert, who was the second son of king George V and Queen

Mary, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. At the time of her birth, nobody realized

Elizabeth would someday become queen of Great Britain. Elizabeth married Philip

Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, on 20th November 1947, but on 6

th February

1952, while Elizabeth and Philip were in Kenia, king George VI died and Elizabeth

assumed the responsibilities of the ruling monarch. Her official coronation took

place on 2nd

June 1953, in Westminster Abbey.

Elizabeth is the mother of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne, Anne,

Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

The Queen’s powers are very special because she “reigns but she does not rule” and

her functions are above all symbolic. By convention the Queen appoints the Prime

Minister, government ministers, judges, diplomats, and bishops in the Church of

England, she opens the new session of Parliament each year and she has to sign Bills.

Known is Elizabeth’s passion for bags, cars, horses and dogs, as well as her

composure and her responsible behaviour.

MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

SAINT THERESA OF CALCUTTA

Saint (Mother) Theresa of Calcutta, real name Agnese Gonxha, was born in 1910 in

Skopje to an Albanian family. She had a sister, Aga Bojaxhiu, a brother, Lazar

Bojaxhiu, and two other brothers who died in childhood.

At the age of 18, she entered the Sisters of Our Lady of Loreto in a convent in

Ireland, but they sent her to Bengal, where she taught at St. Mary's High School in

Calcutta.

In 1946 she left the order because she received the “call” to live and work for “the

poorest among the poor”.

I think her greatest abilities were to find a positive side in everything she did and to

know how to love people even if she had never met them before.

In 1950 she founded the Order of Missionaries of Charity and she devoted her entire

life to providing health care to street children, orphans, the sick and the homeless of

India. In 1979 she received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Subjected to so much effort and sacrifice, she died on 5th

September 1997, in

Calcutta. On 4th

September 2016, Pope Francisco proclaimed her a Saint.

I like Saint Theresa because she gave up her life in order to pursue her dream: to help

people in difficulty. I consider her a heroine because she succeeded in helping

people, she followed her dream and I admire her for that.

If she were still alive, I would like to tell her that I admire her for having changed the

world view a bit, and that people admire her for this reason.

She made me understand that if you do good, you will receive more.

I think that her most honourable phrase is:

"Unhappiness is needed to understand joy, doubt to understand the truth

... death to understand life. So face and embrace sadness when it comes".

MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Shakespeare is the most important and well-known English playwright and poet. He

was an actor, too.

Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon on 23rd

April 1564. When he was 18,

he married Anne Hathaway and they had three children. Then, three years later,

Shakespeare left Stratford and moved to London. There he became a famous actor

and a playwright writing 37 plays and 154 sonnets.

Some of his comedies, tragedies and history plays are: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet,

Othello, the Tempest, Richard III, As You Like It, King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s

Dream, Much Ado about Nothing and Macbeth. Comedies are amusing plays with a

happy ending, tragedies are serious and sad plays and history plays are plays based on

history or past events.

Shakespeare became so famous that he performed in front of Elizabeth I, the Queen.

He built his own theatre, the Globe Theatre, also known as the Globe.

Shakespeare became famous because he knew what people of his time liked and

because his plays represented the experiences of human life, such as friendship, love,

death, hate, jealousy.

Shakespeare is known everywhere. He became so famous that his plays Romeo and

Juliet and Hamlet became films.

Shakespeare thought that:

“Life is a play and the world is its stage.”

where everyone must play a role; he considered man as:

“a poor player with only an hour on the stage

and then is heard no more!”

MY FAVOURITE HISTORICAL CHARACTER

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and he died in 1616.

He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon.

He married Anne Hathaway and they had three children.

Shakespeare wrote “Romeo and Juliet”.

He had a rivalry with Christopher Marlowe.

I like William Shakespeare because he is the greatest writer of any time.

Everyone can consider him a genius.

I would like to imitate his good will to do something.

He has influenced my life, indeed from him I learned that I can trust me.

He succeeded because he worked very hard.

If he were still alive, I would tell him he was a natural talented man.

I think he would live better now because he would be even more famous.

If I had lived in Shakespeare’s time, I would have liked to do the same things as

he did.

People should remember Shakespeare for his ability in using words.

“Waiting is the root of all heartache”

-that is one of his most famous statements.

I AM…

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

Hi, my name is Christopher Columbus. They say that I am very famous because in

1492 I discovered America. I am a sailor and an explorer, indeed!

I was born in Genoa in 1451. My wife’s name is Felipa Perestrello Moniz. We have

one child.

I am so famous that everyone thinks I am a very brave hero. My dream is to find a

shorter way to get to the Indies crossing the Ocean.

One day, Queen Isabella I of Spain lent me three ships, ninety men and some money

for my expedition. I left Palos on 3rd

August 1492 and on 12th October 1492 I landed

on an island in the Bahamas. I thought I had reached the Indies instead I had

discovered a New Continent that was defined as The New World.

Something about myself? Well…I like to dress in medieval, black clothes, I love to

wear hats and above all I’m proud to be admired all over the world for discovering

the Americas.

-I have chosen to write about this character because thanks to Christopher Columbus

the Europeans discovered America, and because I have been fascinated in

discovering that he explored Central America.

I AM …

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

Hello, folks! My name is Christopher, Christopher Columbus. I was born in Genoa,

Italy, in1451. I’m very old!!

You certainly know me because I went to the Indies, ops I’m sorry, I discovered

America, and the route to reach it.

Since my childhood my dream has been to navigate all the seas in the world and

discover new lands, which no one had ever visited before.

I have travelled a lot and when I was in Portugal I met my soulmate, Felipa

Perestrello Moniz, but unfortunately she died in 1485. After her death I came back to

think about my only dream: sailing across the Ocean because I wished to find a

shorter route to get to India. Modestly I suffered a lot to come my dream true, but in

the end I was very lucky as the Queen and the King of Spain trusted me, and then, on

3rd

August 1492, I could set sail from Palos and, after about three hard months…I

arrived in India –at least I believed so! It was 12th October!

I thought I had finally discovered a new route to India but it wasn't like that. Only a

few years later my friend Amerigo Vespucci stated that I was wrong and that, in fact,

I had discovered a New World, later, paradoxically, called America after Vespucci’s

first name. In return, still in the modern time, thanks to my discovery, in many

countries of America they celebrate "Columbus Day”. Wow! A party with my name!

I would have never expected so much!

I don't know when I am going to die and how, but I am sure you will never forget me!

P. S. I hope I’ve given you a good Geography lesson, meanwhile!

I AM …

GUY FAWKES

Hi everybody, my name is John Johnson. Err… I'm Guy Fawkes!

I was born in Stonande, Yorkshire, in 1570 and I am the second of four children of

Edward Fawkes and Edith.

In 1604 I began to be part of a group of English Catholics, camped by Robert

Catesby, who intended to assassinate the Protestant king James I. We prepared a

piano to enter the Houses of Parliament and blow it up and kill King James I, who we

didn't like.

It was November 5, 1605 and everything was ready for the attack: I had 36 barrels of

explosives, but when I was about to throw them in the cellars of Parliament the

guards came to arrest me. They also tortured me in order I could say who had paid

me for the murder of the king. The event is remembered as The Gunpowder Plot.

A year later, November 5 became a party called Guy Fawkes Day, which would be

my day, and however, this holiday has become a thanksgiving.

Traditionally, the Gunpowder Plot I organized to blow up the Houses of Parliament is

still commemorated. This party is also called Bonfire Night and it is an exclusively

British feast. Traditionally, for my party, children prepare an effigy, similar to me,

with old clothes, stuffed with straw and newspapers and a hat, they also use a mask.

Then, my puppet is taken around to collect money for the fireworks. Every year

people organize a bonfire where they burn my puppet to commemorate my failed

attempt to burn the Houses of Parliament. People organize parties and light fireworks,

they have traditional food like soup, sausages and baked potatoes. During the bonfire

people say the prayers of 1606.

I will be executed on January 31, 1606.

-I liked this brave historical figure because of his great courage in trying to blow up

all the Houses of Parliament.

I AM …

MARTIN LUTHER KING

Hi, my name is Martin Luther King; I was born in Atlanta in 1929. I live in

a black family, but in the USA, where black people don’t have the same

rights as white people because we are considered inferior. I have always

thought it is not fair because black people are equal to white people.

So during my life, I have fought against racial discrimination and I have

defended human rights.

When I studied in Philadelphia, Ghandi inspired me, I think he was very

brave to use such non-violent protests in his battles, that’s why in my

struggles I use his method of peaceful demonstrations.

Following an incident, when a black lady, Rosa Parks, was arrested for

sitting in a seat on a bus reserved for white men, I decided to organize a

bus boycott that lasted one year, but in the end, in 1956, segregation was

declared illegal on buses in Alabama: that was my first won battle.

I spent some years in prison in spite of my peaceful protests, but I’ve never

given up. On 28th August 1963, I led a peaceful march to Washington, and

when I reached the statue of Abraham Lincoln, who had abolished slavery

just 100 years before, I read my famous speech called “I have a dream”, to

let people know about my great dream for the future of the black people,

when we would enjoy the same rights as the white people. Thanks to my

speech, I was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Now I am organizing another peaceful march in Memphis and I hope that…

… everything will be fine!

I AM …

NELSON MANDELA

Good morning to everyone!

My name is Nelson Mandela and I must say that I’m very proud of my life … Well

you probably know something about me, but have you ever heard my story told by

me? Let’s start!

My real name is Rolihlahla. I was born on 18th July 1918 in Transkey, but I lived in

Qunu.

In my life I have had 3 wives: Graca Machel, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and

Evelyn Ntoko Mase. I have 6 children: Zindziswa, Zenani, Makgatho, Madiba,

Thembekile and Makaziwe.

As a young student, while I was at the University of Fort Hare, my willpower and my

outrage against injustice emerged. When my ideas about equality emerged, I was

expelled from the university.

Around 22 years old, politics began to play a very significant role in my life. Moved

by the humiliation and suffering of my people and offended by the unjust and

intolerable laws, I became the leader of a political party called the African National

Congress (ANC). Well but what did we fight against? Easy!… Against the apartheid,

a system of racial discrimination. After a bloody peaceful protest, the ANC became

illegal but I didn’t stop my activities. I was arrested and I remember that during my

trial I said:

“I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons

live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope

to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to

die.” In fact it is just like that, if it were necessary, I would be ready to die

knowing that I tried to make this world less unfair.

In 1964 I was sentenced to life in prison but in 1980 an international campaign

was started to free me and in 1990 the president of South Africa, Frederick

Willem de Klerk, freed me after 27 long years spent in the prison of Robben

Island. In 1993 we won the Nobel Peace Prize together.

And now?

Now I’m here! Well, since 1994 I've been here in my wonderful country with the

honour of being its first black President!

I AM …

NELSON MANDELA

Good day everyone!

My name is Nelson Mandela and I was born in South Africa, in 1918.

I am the leader of a political party called the African National Congress. Greatly

influenced by Gandhi, we have adopted a peaceful resistance policy against

apartheid, a race-based discrimination system in force here in South Africa.

After the killing of 69 people during a peaceful protest, the ANC became illegal but I

haven't stopped my activities. So I was arrested and accused of trying to overthrow

the Government.

In 1964 I was sentenced to life imprisonment.

In 1980 an international campaign was launched to free me, but only in 1990 the

President of South Africa, my dear friend Frederick Willem de Klerk, managed to

free me after 27 years in prison, in Robben Island.

In 1993 we won the Nobel Peace Prize together.

In 1994 I was elected President of South Africa.

I will die on December 5, 2013.

I AM …

HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II Hello, my beloved people!

I am Queen Elizabeth II and I belong to the House of Windsor. Obviously I’m the

present British Sovereign, I’m indeed the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great

Britain and Northern Ireland, and other Realms and Territories -nineteen countries

altogether.

Did you know I have the longevity record on the throne? Yes, I’m the longest-

reigning monarch in the British history. I celebrated my 65 years on the throne in

February 2017, with my Sapphire Jubilee.

I was born princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on 21st April 1926, at 17, Burton

Street in Mayfair (London), to Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Elizabeth Bowes-

Lyon. I was educated at home by tutors.

My father was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. I spent the first

decade of my life without the pressures of being the future heir to the throne. In 1939

the course of my life changed: with the death of my grandfather and my uncle King

Edward VIII’s abdication, my dad became King George VI. With the outbreak of

WWII, I started to take on public duties.

I married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, on 20th

November 1947. On 6th

February 1952, while I and my husband were in Kenia, king George VI died and I

assumed the responsibilities of the ruling monarch, but being on mourning for a year,

my official coronation took place on 2nd

June 1953, in Westminster Abbey.

I’m the mother of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne, Princess Anne,

Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, as well as William and Harry’s grandmother. I

have got four splendid great-grandchildren, too.

Every day, I get up at 6.45 and then I drink a cup of tea. I am a huge fan of detective

books and my favourite authors are P. D. James, Agatha Christie and Dick Francis. I

adore horses and dogs. I love travel; I have visited 120 countries that is 60% of the

world. My favourite travel destination in the world is Canada, which I have visited

more than 25 times; in Europe it is Italy, that I have visited 5 times, and France. I

travel by private jet or by train, with personal chef and embroidered pillows. I can

travel without the passport and I can drive without a license.

I never go out without gloves; I have more than 200 bags and I love hats. For my look

I don’t like beige and black is used only for funerals.

As a queen my powers are very special because I “reign but I do not rule”, that is I

never intervene in political matters; I have to sign the new laws, but I haven’t real

power, I’m subject to law like every British citizen, so my functions are only

symbolic and ceremonial: I am the symbol of unity and a link with tradition.

My most exciting moments are when I receive foreign Heads of State in Buckingham

Palace, my official London residence.

When are you coming to meet me?

I AM …

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am William Shakespeare.

You probably know me because of my very famous plays such as:

“Romeo and Juliet” or “Hamlet”!

“To be or not to be, this is the question!”

-Do you remember that?

They say I am a genius for my gift of words!

Well, I was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23rd

April 1564. At the age of 18 I

married Anne Hathaway and we have three children: Susan and Judith and Hamnet

(who are twins). I lived in Stratford with Anne until I was 21, then I moved alone to

London in search of fortune. There I started my successful career as a playwright and

an actor, playing even in front of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I.

I have written 38 plays altogether, quite two a year; today they are collected in

comedies, tragedies and historical plays, and I have written 154 sonnets, as well.

In 1613 I retired from my theatrical career and came back to Stratford, where I’m

living in my pretty house called “New Place”. If you get a chance, come to Stratford

and see it!

When you think of me, remember these two dates:

23rd

April 1564

23rd

April 1616

?......

ROMEO AND JULIET

“ But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun.”

The most beautiful and famous love story in the world!

“Romeo and Juliet”, written between 1594 and 1596, is mainly about the love story

of two young lovers from Verona: Romeo, who is part of the Montague family, and

Juliet, who is part of the Capulets, but the two families have hated each other for

generations and therefore their love is not granted.

The two young teenagers meet at the party held in the Capulets’ house, where

Romeo, his friend Mercutio and his cousin Benvolio go masked.

It is love at first sight, but Juliet is promised in marriage to count Paris, who she does

not love. The young lovers decide to get married secretly the day after.

Soon after their marriage, unfortunately Romeo kills Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, who had

murdered Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend; not to be executed, Romeo is banished

from Verona and he leaves for Mantua.

Meanwhile Juliet’s father agrees with Count Paris to marry Juliet. To avoid that,

Juliet asks friar Lawrence for help and he gives her a sleeping potion to make her

believe she is dead, unbeknownst to Romeo, who gets the news about Juliet’s death.

Romeo decides to come back to Verona to see his loved wife for the last time.

When Romeo realizes that Juliet is dead, he kills himself with a powerful poison;

immediately after Juliet wakes up and, finding Romeo dead, she stabs herself with

Romeo’s dagger.

After the death of their young children, the two families reconcile.

“…Never was a story of more woe

than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”

I AM…

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Good morning to you, my simple Maid…

Good morning wise countryman! Good morning to you … oh my beloved Nature!

My name is William Wordsworth and people know me as the promoter of the English

Romanticism. I do not know who you are, but I want to tell you something about

myself! As I have just said, my name is William Wordsworth and I lived between the

18th and the 19

th centuries, exactly I was born on 7

th April 1770. During my life

many things happened, but the most striking event was the French Revolution.

I have had more than one relationship, but the most important ones were with Annette

Villon, the mother of my beautiful daughter, called Caroline; and with my wife Mary

Hutchinson. Am I a beautiful man?… No, unfortunately, I’m not. No matter! In my

life I’ve always been searching for solace in the beauty of nature for I think it has got

the healing qualities for a suffering mind and heart: Nature is definitely able to give

me, and to offer us, HAPPINESS and PEACE!

I love writing poems and, of course, my favourite subject is the countryside with its

simple folks: man’s communion with nature is so important to me because there

everyone can find the true values of our human life.

I must admit I am very good, or, at least so people say, at writing my poems, for

which I have always been inspired by the wonders of the Lake District landscapes,

which can never be forgotten.

So that everyone could understand my thoughts, my mind, my deep feeling with

Nature, I have chosen to write my lyrics using a common language concerning

common life: hills, valleys, fields, mountains, rivers, lakes, woods, clouds, wind,

daffodils… that are crowding my poems, will carry you till the Milky Way, so that to

reach the … Infinite!

I wish everyone will remember me, and above all I wish all people can never forget

that ‘Man is part of Nature’, where he can discover moral and spiritual values, if he

only lives in communion with it!

In addition,

You all remember: the country man can teach lessons that the wisest philosopher

cannot!

By the way, read my comment to…

“Daffodils”!

DAFFODILS

In English literature there is a particular reference to the Universe, but not in a

scientific sense, rather in a metaphorical one. In the poem entitled “Daffodils”,

written by William Wordsworth in 1804, in the Romantic Age, the author describes

the Universe that is inside himself, and which is made of emotions and feelings.

Wordsworth starts his poem comparing himself to a solitary cloud which admires the

underlying landscape; in particular, he focuses on a specific element: “a crowd of

golden daffodils”. The golden daffodils aren’t only a simple element of nature, they

aren’t common flowers, they rather represent a source of solace and happiness: they

are a source of joy. The melancholy diction used to describe how the speaker

“wandered lonely as a cloud” shifts into a euphoric tone when he describes the “host

of golden daffodils”; the vivid descriptive imagery gets more powerful when we

assimilate the crowd of flowers to people that are “fluttering and dancing in the

breeze”!

Really, Wordsworth doesn’t describe the true moment in which he sees those

wonders of nature, but the remember of it; this is the perfect example of “emotions

recollected in tranquillity”.

In this poem, as in others, we can note Wordsworth’s praise for the power of nature

and, in particular, for its healing qualities.

Like Wordsworth, to understand the real function of nature, I think it’s necessary to

go beyond appearances: thanks to the use of one’s imagination, you can go further

than the sensory experience. The “abstract” thought of an ordinary element of nature

makes real in Wordsworth’s mind, who reaches the complexity and the mystery of

the Universe and life giving us a gift of “Infinite”!

Only so humans can understand the real spirit of nature.

“…. my heart with pleasure fills

and dances with the daffodils.”