Vocabulary. masterpiece - шедевр ridicule - высмеивать harmful - вредный welfare - благосостояние distinguished - выдающийся parish - приход

masterpiece - шедевр ridicule - высмеивать harmful - вредный welfare - благосостояние distinguished - выдающийся parish - приход

deshearten - приводить в уныние, расхолаживать

amount - равняться, доходить

abuse - злоупотребление

decbive - ухудшаться

delight - восхищаться

desturbing - беспокойный, волнующий

puny - маленький, незначительный

odd - странный

converse - разговаривать

urge - побуждать

avoid - избежать moderate - умеренный, сдержанный

outrageous - неистовый, возмутительный

tub - бочонок

surface - поверхность

wage a war - вести войну

prank - шутка

improbable - неправдоподобный, невероятный

prediction - предсказание

sharply - остро

exaggerate - преувеличивать

accomplishment - достоинство, достижение

overlook - не обращать внимания

Answer the Questions

1.Why is Swift called a great satirist?

2. What was Swift deeply concerned about?

3. When and where was Swift born?

4. Was Swift's particular work successful?

5. Why was he disappointed with his political efforts?

6. Is the book «Gulliver's Travels» for adults or for children?

7. How many voyages and to what countries did Swift describe in «Gulliver's Travels»?

8. What are scholars still trying to discover in the book?

9. What other works did Swift write?

10.What is his style characteristic of?

11. Did Swift hate humanity? What do you think?

■

5.4. Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (1707—1754), an English author, wrote «The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling» (1749), one of the world's great novels. The book is an exciting, humorous story of an orphan and his adventures. Although it begins when Tom is a baby, most of the story concerns the hero as a young man. Tom's many adven­tures include a variety of love affairs, ranging from passing en­counters (o his true love for Sophia Western.

In «Tom Jones», Fielding did more than create a humorous ad­venture story. He skillfully incorporated the plot's many twists into a unified structure, beginning each of the novel's 18 books (chap-

Icrs) with a brilliant and related essay. He filled his story with un­forgettable characters whom he described in a sophisticated and lively style. These qualities greatly influenced later novelists, as did Fielding's realistic, basically unsentimental attitude toward life. Fielding ridiculed hypocrites and selfish people but avoided a preaching tone. His tongue-in-chcck irony makes Tom Jones an outstanding satire on society.

Fielding's novel «Joseph Andrews» (1742) is a parody (mock imitation) of «Pamela», Samuel Richardson's serious novel about the rewards of a virtuous life. «The Life of Jonathan Wild the Great» (1743) is fictional, but its criminal hero was a real person whom Fielding treated ironically to contrast «greatness» with «goodness».

Fielding's last novel, «Amelia» (1751), is arelatively sober work. It attacks social evils more directly than Tom Jones does. However, «Amelia» is less successful as a novel.

Early in his career, Fielding supported himself by writing plays. The most enjoyable is «The Tragedy of Tragedies»; or, «The Life and Death of Tom Thumb the Great» (1730—1731), a burlesque of English heroic drama. «Pasquin» (1736) and «The Historical Regis­ter for The Year 1736» (1737) attack Prime Minister Robert Walpole. These satires helped bring about the Licensing Act of 1737, which resulted in strict control and censorship of the London theater.

Fielding was also an excellent journalist and essayist. In 1752, he published the «Covent Garden Journal», a satirical review of society and literature of his time that appeared twice a week. His «Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon», published in 1755 after his death, describes a trip he made to Portugal.

Fielding was born near Glastonbury in Somerset. He attended Eton College and then studied law. He became a justice of the peace in 1748. Throughout his life, Fielding fought for social and legal reforms, both as a writer and as a magistrate.