“British Writers”(«Британские писатели»)
план-конспект урока по английскому языку (9 класс) по теме

William Shakespeare

There are a lot of famous names in the history of Great Britain. The name of William Shakespeare is one of them. William Shakespeare, the great English poet and dramatist, was born in 1564 in the town of Stratford-on-Avon. There were no theatres in England then. Groups of actors travelled from town to town showing performances in the street. Sometimes actors came to Stratford-on-Avon. The boy went to see all their shows and liked them very much. Не wanted to become an actor. Sometimes he wrote little plays and staged them with his friends. When he was twenty-one, William went to London. There he joined a group of actors. At first he only helped actors and then began writing plays for them. Soon Shakespeare’s plays were staged more and more and became famous. The theatre where he worked was called «The Globe». It became the first professional theatre. Everyone knows Shakespeare’s plays. The most famous of them are «Othello»,«Hamlet», «Romeo and Juliet», «King Lear». Shakespeare showed the real life and attitudes between people. Love and death, friendship and treason, devotion and lie are the main ideas of his plays. Shakespeare’s works will always be interesting for ail people.

Oscar Wilde is one of the most interesting representatives of British literature. He was born in 1856 in the Irish family. His father was an optician, an author of some books on Irish folklore. His mother was a poetess and was well-known in aristocratic society. After graduating from Oxford University Wilde delivered lectures on ethics and aesthetics in Europe and America. He was accused of immoral behaviour and got into prison. After it he left for Paris where he died in1900. He is well-known for his extraordinary talent and humour. «The truth is rarely pure and never simple», «There is no sin except stupidity», «Art never expresses anything but itself» are only a few of his famous aphorisms. He always considered the aesthetic feeling of a person to be the moving force of human development. Wilde’s fairy-tales always depicted the union between the good and the beauty. Every detail in his lyrical fairy-tales has symbolic meaning. «The Picture of Dorian Gray» is one of his most famous novels. It is a story of a young man Dorian Gray. Under the influence of Lord Henry, his spiritual «teacher», Dorian becomes an immoral murderer. Despite this fact his face remains young and beautiful. But his portrait painted by his friend reflects Dorian’s immorality and cruelty. Thrusting a knife into his portrait Dorian kills himself. His face becomes ugly while the portrait shines with perfect beauty. Oscar Wilde’s literary heritage is very large and his works are often staged nowadays.

Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling is one of the outstanding British writers. He was bom in 1865 in the family of an Englishman in India. He got his education in England but returned to India in 1882. There he spent 6 years working in colonial English press. There he published his first literary works. In 1890 he published his first novel «The Light that Failed», which brought him fame. He was one of the most popular writers of his time. During his life he visited South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. «Plain Tales from the Plain Hills», «Barrack Room Ballads», «Naulakka» enjoyed great popularity. During the years of Anglo-Boer War Kipling used to visit the English Army. His novel «Kim» was written under the impressions of the War. In October 1902 his «Just so Stories for Little Children» were published. His fairy-tales from the book were rather unusual for the British literature of that period. One can find the influence of Lewis Carroll’s «Alice in Wonderland» in Kipling’s work. But this influence didn’t prevent Kipling from creating absolutely new, unusual fairy-tales. The unusual effect of his tales is reached by the rhythm and the music of words. Those who were lucky to listen to Kipling reading his fairy-tales noted that they always sounded truthful. Besides, not only children but even adults were very fond of «Just so Stories». Together with «The Jungle Book» it still enjoys great popularity. Every year the children in «Kipling Society» write continuation to his fairy-tales. In 1907 Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize.

Charlotte Bronte

Charlotte Bronte is a unique English writer of the 19th century. Her literary works were characteristic for the English realism trend. She was born in 1816 in Yorkshire. Charlotte was the third child in the family. Her father was Irish and he was a cleric of England Church. Charlotte’s mother died in 1821 and the children were cared for by their aunt, Elizabeth Branwell. Charlotte attended the Clergy Daughter’s School. After it she worked as a teacher and a governess. In 1846 «Poems» written by the three Bronte sisters were published. Charlotte Bronte’s novel «Jane Eyre», published under the pseudonym Currer Bell brought her fame. Her other novels «Shirley» and «Villette» were not so famous. «Villette» is one of the first psychological novels in the English literature of that period, and later it was developed by different writers. «Jane Eyre» is an autobiographical novel. It is a story about a shy, but independent girl, Jane Eyre. From her childhood she learned to be independent and rely only on herself. Jane studied at Lowood institution for poor children, and worked as a teacher and later as a governess. She fell in love with her master, Mister Rochester, but found out that he was already married. On the eve of their wedding she left his house and started a new life. At the end of the novel Jane married Rochester who had lost his wife and got blind. The novel combines realistic and romantic descriptions of the reality. A lot of screen versions of the novel were made, and it is still read with great interest nowadays.