William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, the greatest and most famous of English writers, and probably the greatest playwright who has ever lived, was bom on the 23d of April, 1564, in Stratford-on-Avon.

In spite of his fame we know very little about his life. At the age of six he was sent to school, but had to leave it at the age of 13. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glove-maker, and when he fell into debt, William had to help him in the trade.

Just what William did between his fourteenth and eighteenth year isn't known. At the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. Ann was eight years older than her husband and the marriage wasn't a happy one.

When Shakespeare was twenty-one, he went to London. We don't know why he left Stratford-on-Avon.

There is a story that Shakespeare's first job in London was holding rich men's horses at the theatre door. But nobody can be sure that this story is true.

Later, Shakespeare became an actor and a member of a very successful acting company. It's highly probable that The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet and some other plays by Shakespeare were performed for the first time on this stage.

Very soon, however, the actors were told that they could no longer use the land that their theatre was built on and the company had nowhere else to perform. There is a story that in the dead of night the whole acting troop took down their theatre, timber by timber, brick by brick. They carried it across the river and rebuilt it. The new theatre was called the Globe.

Shakespeare's Globe was rather different from modern theatres. The plays were performed in the open air and the audience got wet if it rained. There was no scenery, very few props, and the only lighting was the daylight that came from the open roof above. Women in those days weren't allowed to act in public and all the parts (even Juliet!) were played by men. Much of the audience stood to watch the performance and moved around, talking with each other and throwing fruit at the stage if they didn't like something.

Shakespeare wrote 37 plays: 10 tragedies (such as Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth), 17 comedies (such as As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing), 10 historical plays (such as Henry IV, Richard III.). He also left 7 books of poems.

Most of Shakespeare's plays were not published in his lifetime. So some of them may have been lost in the fire when the Globe burnt down in 1613.

Shakespeare spent the last years of his life at Stratford, where he died, ironically, on the same date as his birthday, the 23d of April, 1616. He was buried in the church of Stratford. A monument was erected to the memory of the great playwright in the Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey. In 1997, Shakespeare's Globe was restored.

Names

William Shakespeare [,wiliam -feikspia]

Вильям Шекспир

Stratford-on-Avon [,straetfad on 'eivn]

Стрэтфорд-на-Эвоне

Anne Hathaway ['haeSawei] Анна Хатавей

The Comedy of Errors [da 'komadi av 'eraz]

Комедия Ошибок

Romeo and Juliet [/aumiau and 'd3ii:liat]

Ромео и Джульетта

the Globe ['glaub] Глобус

Hamlet ['haemlit] Гамлет

King Lear [,kit) lie] Король Лир

Othello [a'Selau] Отелло

Macbeth [mak'beG] Макбет

As You Like It Как вам это понравится

Twelfth Night [,twelf0 'nait] Двенадцатая ночь

Much Ado [a'du:] About Nothing

Много шума из ничего

Henry IV [,henri da 'fo:9] Генрих IV

Richard III [,ritfad За 03:d] Ричард III

Westminster Abbey [,westminstar 'aebi]

Вестминстерское аббатсво

Vocabulary

playwright ['pleirait] драматург

fame ['feim] слава

glove-maker ['gl/wmeika] перчаточник

to fall into debt ['del] влезть в долги

trade [treid] ремесло

marriage ['maeridj] брак

to hold [tiauld] (held) держать

member ['memba] член

successful [sak'sesfal] удачливый, имеющий

успех

acting company ['tampani] театральная труппа

it's highly probable ['prababl] весьма вероятно

to perform [pa'fo:m] играть, исполнять

stage [steid3] сцена

however [hau'eve] однако, тем не менее

could no longer use больше не могут использовать

had nowhere else to perform негде было играть

in the dead [ded] of night под покровом ночи

troop [tru:p] труппа

to take down разобрать

timber by timber ['timba] по бревну

brick by brick [brik] по кирпичику

audience ['ordians] зрители

to get wet промокнуть

scenery ['shnari] декорации

props [props] реквизит

lighting [laitirj] освещение

daylight fdeilait] дневной свет

in public ['pAblik] публично, на людях

to move around ['mu:v e'raund] двигаться,

передвигаться

tragedy ['traed3idi] трагедия

comedy ['komidi] комедия

may have been lost возможно, утеряны

to burn down [ten 'daun] (burnt)

сгореть (до тла)

ironically [ai'ronikeli] по иронии судьбы

to be buried ['berid] быть похороненным

church ['tja:tf] церковь

monument ['monjumant] памятник

to erect [i'rekt] воздвигать

to the memory ['memeri] of в память о

to restore [ri'sto:] восстанавливать

Questions

1. The last half of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries are known as the age of Shakespeare. Can you explain why?

2. When was Shakespeare bom?

3. He lived in Stratford-on-Avon until he was twenty-one, didn't he? Why did he leave Stratford?

4. What was his first job in London?

5. Why did the acting company decide to build a new theatre?

6. In what way was Shakespeare's Globe different from modem theatres?

7. How many plays did Shakespeare write?

8. Have you read any of his plays?

9. What happened to the Globe?

10. When was the Globe restored?

11. When did Shakespeare die?

12. Is Shakespeare famous in Russia?

ANTON CHEKHOV

My favourite writer is Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. In my opinion, he is the greatest Russian dramatist and short-story writer. I'm never tired of reading and rereading his plays and humorous stories.

Chekhov was bom in 1860 in Taganrog. In 1879 he went to Moscow, where he studied medicine. Though he practised little as a doctor in his lifetime, he was prouder of his medical knowledge than of his writing talent.

While in college, Chekhov wrote humorous sketches for comic papers to support his family. He collected the best ones into a volume, Motley Stories, in 1886. The book attracted the attention of the publisher of the Novoje Vfemja, Russia's largest paper, and Chekhov was asked to contribute stories regularly.

Chekhov, as an established writer, was able to develop a style of his own.

Though he never gave up writing comic stories, he began working in a more serious vein. In 1887 Ivanov, his first play, established Chekhov as a dramatist.

From then on, he concentrated on writing plays, as well as short stories.

Chekhov was seriously ill. He had tuberculosis and knew what it meant.

By 1892 his health was so bad that he was afraid to spend another winter in Moscow. He bought a small estate near a village Melikhovo, 50 miles from Moscow. He spent 5 years there, and those were happy years in spite of the illness. He wrote some of his best stories there, including Ward No.6, several well-known one-act comedies and two of his serious dramatic masterpieces, The Seagull and Uncle Vanya.

The Seagull was first staged in the Alexandrinsky Theatre in Petersburg.

It was a complete failure because of the dull and clumsy production. It was a cruel blow to Chekhov. However, the play was successfully performed as the first production of the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898. From then on, Chekhov was closely connected with this theatre and with its founder, K.S. Stanislavsky. In 1901 he married an Art Theatre actress, Olga Knipper, who acted in his play The Three Sisters the same year.

Chekhov's health went from bad to worse and he had to spend the remaining years in the Crimea and other health spas.

The Cherry Orchard, his last play, was produced in 1904. Soon after the first night Chekhov died. He was 44.

Chekhov had an immense influence on the 20th century drama. Besides, several generations of writers both in Russia and abroad studied and imitated Chekhov to perfect their own literary style.

Names

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich ['tjekof,aentan 'paevlovitf]

Чехов Антон Павлович

Taganrog [Дэедэп'год] Таганрог

Motley ['motli] Stories Пестрые рассказы

Ivanov [i'va:nof] Иванов

Ward [wo:d] No.6 Палата N 6

The Seagull ['si:,gAl] Чайка

Uncle Vanya ['AQkl 'va:nja] Дядя Ваня

the Alexandrinsky [ajegzan'drmski] Theatre

Александрийский театр

the Moscow Art Theatre Московский

Художественный театр

The Three Sisters Три сестры

the Crimea [krai'mia] Крым

The Cherry Orchard [Men 'o:tjad] Вишневый сад

Vocabulary

in my opinion по-моему

dramatist ['dramatist] драматург

humorous ['hju:maras] stories юмористические рассказы

medicine f'medsin] медицина

lifetime (вся) жизнь

to be proud [praud] of гордиться чем-либо

sketch [sketj] зарисовка, набросок

comic ['komikj комический

to support [sa'po:t] поддерживать, содержать

volume [volju:m] том

to attract [a'traekt] attention привлечь внимание

to contribute [kan'tribju:t] сотрудничать (в газете,

журнале), писать (для газеты, журнала)

regularly ['regjulali] регулярно

established [is'taeblijt] признанный, известный

to develop [di'velap] развивать

a style of one's own собственный стиль

to give up бросить, отказаться (от чего-либо)

vein [vein] стиль, направление

from then on с тех пор, с той поры, с того времени

to concentrate ['konsantreit] on концентрироваться,

сосредоточиваться

tuberculosis [tju:,b3:kju'lausis] туберкулез

(сокр. форма: ТВ [,ti:'bi:])

estate [is'teit] поместье

one-act comedy ['komidi] одноактная комедия

masterpiece ['ma:stapi:s] шедевр

it was a complete [kam'pli:t] failure ['feilja пье-

са провалилась

dull [с!л1] скучный, монотонный

clumsy ['klAmzi] неуклюжий, грубый,

неудачный

production [pra'dAkfn] постановка

It was a cruel ['kru:al] blow to Chekhov.

Это был страшный удар для Чехова.

to perform [pa'fo:m] исполнять, играть

to go from bad to worse ухудшаться,

становиться все хуже и хуже

spa [spa:] курорт (с минеральными водами)

to produce [pra'dju:s] ставить (о пьесе)

first night премьера

immense [i'mens] огромный

influence [Influans] влияние

drama ['dra:me] драма

generation [,d3ena'rei/n] поколение

to imitate ['imiteit] подражать

to perfect [pa'fekt] совершенствовать

literary [litrari] литературный

Questions

1. Do you like Chekhov's humorous stories?

2. When and where was he born?

3. When did he begin writing his first humorous sketches?

4. Who helped Chekhov in his writing career?

5. What made Chekhov move to Melikhovo?

6. The Seagull was first staged in the Alexandrinsky Theatre. Why was it a complete failure?

7. What was Chekhov's last play?

8. Do you know any English or American writers who were influenced by Chekhov?

AGATHA CHRISTIE

Agatha Christie is known all over the world as the Queen of Crime. She wrote 78 crime novels, 19 plays and 6 romantic novels under the name of Mary Westmacott. Her books have been translated into 103 foreign languages.

She is the third best-selling author in the world (after Shakespeare and the Bible). Many of her novels and short stories have been filmed. The Mousetrap, her most famous play, is now the longest-running play in history.

Agatha Christie was born at Torquay, Devonshire. She was educated at home and took singing lessons in Paris. She began writing at the end of the First World War. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published in 1920. That was the first appearance of Hercule Poirot, who became one of the most popular private detectives since Sherlock Holmes. This little Belgian with the egg-shaped head and the passion for order amazes everyone by his powerful intellect and his brilliant solutions to the most complicated crimes.

Agatha Christie became generally recognised in 1926, after the publishing of her novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It's still considered her masterpiece.

When Agatha Cristie got tired of Hercule Poirot she invented Miss Marple, a deceptively mild old lady with her own method of investigation.

Her last Poirot book, Curtain, appeared shortly before her death, and her last Miss Marple story, Sleeping Murder, and her autobiography were published after her death.

Agatha Christie's success with millions of readers lies in her ability to combine clever plots with excellent character drawing, and a keen sense of humour with great powers of observation. Her plots always mislead the reader and keep him in suspense. He cannot guess who the criminal is. Fortunately, evil is always conquered in her novels.

Agatha Christie's language is simple and good and it's pleasant to read her books in the original.

Names

Agatha Christie ^зедэвэ 'kristi] Агата Кристи the Bible ['baibl] Библия

Mary Westmacott [,теэп 'wes(t)makot] The Mousetrap ['maustraep] Мышеловка

МэриВестмакогт Torquay [torki:] Торки

Devonshire ['devnfla] Девоншир (графство в Англии)

The Mysterious [mis'tiarias] Affair [a'fea] at Styles

Таинственное дело в Стайпз

Hercule Poirot [ea,kju:l pwa:'rau] Эркюль Пуаро

Sherlock Holmes [Ja:lok 'haumz] Шерлок Холмс

Belgian ['ЬеМзэп] бельгиец

The Murder ['rra:da] of Roger ['rod3a] Ackroyd

['aekroid] Убийство Роджера Экройда

Miss Marple ['ma:pl] мисс Марпл

Curtain ['ka:tn] Занавес

Sleeping Murder Спящее убийство

Vocabulary

queen [kwi:n] королева

crime [kraim] преступление

to film [film] снимать фильм, экранизировать

running идущий, демонстрирующийся (о пьесе,

фильме)

appearance [a'piarans] появление

private detective [praivit dftektiv] частный детектив

egg-shaped ['egjeipt] в форме яйца, яйцевидный

the passion ['pae[n] for order страсть к порядку

to amaze [a'meiz] изумлять, поражать

powerful ['pauaful] сильный, могучий, мощный

intellect [Intilekt] интеллект

solution [sa'lu:Jn] решение, разгадка

complicated ['komplikeitid] сложный

to invent [in'vent] изобретать

deceptively [di'septivli] обманчиво

mild [maild] мягкий

method ['meSad] метод, способ, система

investigation [in,vesti'geijnj расследование

autobiography [p:tabai'ografi] автобиография

to combine [kam'bain] объединять, сочетать

plot [pbt] сюжет

character ['kaerakta] персонаж, литературный

герой, образ

to draw [dro:] (drew, drawn) выводить (образ)

keen sense of humour [hju:ma] тонкое чувство юмора

powers of observation [pbza'veijn] наблюдательность

to mislead [mis'lird] (misled) вводить в заблуждение

to keep in suspense [sAS'pense] держать в

напряжении, в мучительной неизвестности

evil [1:vl] зло

to conquer ['korjka] завоевывать

Questions

1. Some people say that reading detective stories is a waste of time. Are you of the same opinion?

2. What famous detective-story writers do you know?

3. Agatha Christie's novels have been translated into 103 languages. Shakespeare's plays have been translated into 14 languages. Do you know why?

4. When was Agatha Christie's first novel published?

5. When did general recognition come to her?

6. Can you describe Hercule Poirot?

7. What were Agatha Christie's last novels?

8. Why are her books so popular with the readers?

9. Have you read any books by Agatha Christie? Did you read them in the original or in translation?

10. Have you seen any films based on her novels?