[0:02]4.1. William Shakespeare, 1564 to 1616. When and where was Shakespeare born? Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in Stratfordupon Avon. At that time, Stratford had a population of about 1,000, but just after his birth, 200 people were killed by the plague. Fortunately, William survived. His father, John Shakespeare, was a wealthy wool trader who owned three houses in the town. In the 1500s, it used to take two days to ride the 100 miles from Stratford to London. Did Shakespeare go to school? Shakespeare went to his local grammar school from the age of 7 until 15. Only boys attended school in the 16th century. They were taught Latin and had to memorize stories from history. Did Shakespeare marry? Shakespeare married Ann Hathaway, a farmer's daughter, in 1582, when he was just 18 years old. Ann was 28. They had three children: Susanna in 1583, and twins, Judith and Hamnet, in 1585. Hamnet died of the Black Plague in 1596, when Shakespeare was living and working in London. What did Shakespeare do in London? He came to London in about 1590, and by 1592, he had become a well-known actor and playwright. One of his first plays, Henry VI, was performed in the Rose Theater in 1591. Then, for two years, from 1592 to 1594, theaters were closed because of the plague. This was when Shakespeare wrote most of his poetry. Most of his 37 plays were written between 1594 and 1613, after he had joined an acting company called The Lord Chamberlain's Men. The actors often used to perform for Elizabeth I. In 1597, they bought 10 shares in a new theater, the Globe. This theater was and still is a huge success. Did Shakespeare ever visit Italy? Six of Shakespeare's plays have an Italian background, including Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of Venice. Because of this, many people believed that he had visited Italy, but there is no evidence of this. Was Shakespeare famous in his own lifetime? When did he die? He was famous during his lifetime. His plays and poems were held in high regard by other writers. He died on April 23rd, 1616 in Stratford, and he was buried in Holy Trinity Church. It surprises many people that in his will, the only thing he left his unfortunate wife was their second-best bed.
[3:39]4.2. I didn't do much. One. What did you do last night? I didn't do much. Just made myself something to eat, watched TV for a bit, and then bed by 10. I had an early night. I was asleep by 11. Boring. Two. What did you do last night? I went to my yoga class. It does me good after a day's work. Then some of us went for a drink. I got home about 9 and did a bit of online shopping, just supermarket stuff. And that was it. Three. What did you do last night? I went to see a film with a couple of friends, the latest James Bond. It wasn't really my kind of thing. I liked the previous one better. Then I missed my train, so I didn't get home until after midnight. Not the best of nights for me. Four. What did you do last night? Well, that's easy, what I do every night. Studied till after midnight. I even took my laptop to bed. I've got a major exam coming up. Oh, boy, I'm going to be out every night when it's all over. 4.3. How Shakespeare caused an air crash. On October 4th, 1960, a Lockheed Electra plane was taking off from Boston Airport in the U.S. when a flock of about 20,000 starlings suddenly flew into its path. The plane crashed into the sea, and 62 people were killed. Tragically, only 19 people survived. So, what is the link to Shakespeare? The starling is not a species of bird that's native to North America. Starlings were introduced in 1890 by a New Yorker called Eugene Schieffelin. Schieffelin was not only interested in birds, he was obsessed with Shakespeare. He made a list of all the songbirds mentioned in Shakespeare's plays and poetry, and he wanted to introduce these birds to Central Park in New York. This he did. But some birds, such as thrushes and blackbirds, found it difficult to survive. Others, however, particularly the starlings, thrived, and by the 1940s, they had spread across America from California to Alaska. They formed gigantic flocks of up to a million birds.
[6:30]Many native species, such as bluebirds and woodpeckers, were driven out. Schieffelin's romantic gesture not only caused an air crash, but an ecological disaster too. So, where does Shakespeare mention starlings? In all of his 37 plays and 154 poems, there is only one brief reference, and that's in Henry IV, Part 1.
[7:00]4.4. Spelling and pronunciation. Good. Food. Blood. Enough. Through. Cough. Bought. 4.5. Which words rhyme? One. Love. Move. Glove. Two. Some. Come. Home. Three. Pair. Dear. Fear. Four. Lost. Most. Post. Five. Death. Breath. Beneath. Six. Boot. Shoot. Foot. Seven. Eight. Weight. Height. Eight. Blood. Stood. Flood. Nine. Flower. Power. Lower. Ten. Allow. Swallow. Follow. 4.6. Write the word you hear. Right. Eight. See. Through. New.
[9:17]4.7. Common words. Answer. Biscuit. Fruit. Human. Cure. Receipt. Recipe. Vegetable. Woman. Women. Knee. 4.8. Reciting a poem. The Unfortunate Tale of Henry King by Hilaire Belloc. The chief defect of Henry King was chewing little bits of string. At last he swallowed some which tied itself in ugly knots inside. Physicians of the utmost fame were called at once, but when they came, they answered, as they took their fees, There is no cure for this disease. Henry will very soon be dead. His parents stood about his bed, lamenting his untimely death. When Henry, with his latest breath, cried, "Oh, my friends, be warmed by me that breakfast, dinner, lunch, and tea are all the human frame requires." With that, the wretched child expires.
[10:49]4.9. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. London, late 19th century.
[11:03]One.
[11:16]Basil Hallward was working in his studio on a portrait of a beautiful young man, when he was visited by his pleasure-loving friend, Lord Henry Wotton. Henry was very impressed by the portrait, and wanted to meet this charming youth, Dorian Gray. This worried Basil.
[11:41]It's the best work you've done. I must see Dorian Gray. I don't want you to meet him. Lord Henry, are you really such a bad influence as Basil says? I believe the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. Two.
[11:55]At that moment, Dorian arrived and, to Basil's distress, invited Henry to stay and watch. Immediately, Henry started to charm Dorian with his clever ideas about life. Basil continued painting, but Dorian was tired and went into the garden. Henry followed.
[12:20]Lord Henry, are you really such a bad influence as Basil says? I believe the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. Youth is the one thing worth having. Your beauty will go. I will grow old, but the portrait will never be older. I would give my soul for that. Three. Dorian listened wide-eyed to Henry's words about the horrors of old age. He had never thought about this before. He viewed his youthful self in the finished portrait, troubled. It would never grow old and ugly. He would sell his soul to remain young forever, like the portrait. Youth is the one thing worth having. Your beauty will go. I will grow old, but the portrait will never be older. I would give my soul for that. Four. Dorian and Henry soon became great friends. Dorian began to seek new pleasures around London. One day, he confided to Henry that he had been to an old Shakespearean theater in the East End and fallen in love with Juliet, a beautiful young actress called Sibyl Vane. Who are you in love with? Sibyl Vane. Night after night, I go to see her play. I worship her. Oh, I love Prince Charming. Who is he? I'm sure he means you no good. If he does you any wrong, I'll kill him. Five. Sibyl lived with her poor mother and brother James, who was preparing to sail to Australia. James was frightened for his beloved sister. She had told them of her great love of Prince Charming, whose real name she did not know, but who came to see her play each night. Oh, I love Prince Charming. Who is he? I'm sure he means you no good. If he does you any wrong, I'll kill him. Six. Finally, Dorian asked Sibyl to marry him. He invited Henry and Basil to see her act so that they could see why he had fallen for her. She looked lovely as Juliet. Then she spoke. Her acting was terrible, meaningless. Dorian, embarrassed and furious, ended the engagement.
[15:07]You have killed my love. What are you now? A third-rate actress with a pretty face. Dorian, Dorian, don't leave me.
[15:30]4.11. Once Upon a Time... Richard and Ian. Why is this your favorite story? I think it's because I saw it on stage first. I was 7, and it was the first time I'd been to the theater. I was fascinated by the flying and the magic, and it was frightening too. I was terrified of the pirates and Captain Hook. But I was at that age when you love being scared. But Captain Hook was funny. He wasn't scary. Well, he was scary to me. I really believed his hand was a hook. Hadn't his hand been eaten by a crocodile? Yes, and the crocodile had swallowed a clock, so before you saw it, you heard this tick tock, tick tock. And all the kids in the audience screamed to Captain Hook, "He's behind you! He's behind you!" Brilliant stuff. Was Captain Hook your favorite character? Oh, no, no. Peter was, of course. I love the idea of never growing up. It's brilliant. And being able to fly, just opening your bedroom window and soaring over London to a country called Neverland. Magical. I think a lot of people dream of flying. Didn't Peter have this really naughty fairy? What was her name again? Tinkerbell. Ah. I liked her. She was so cheeky, really rude. And she hated Wendy. Remember Wendy? Tinkerbell was jealous because Peter loved Wendy. Actually, I wasn't too keen on Wendy either, or her brothers, John and Michael. Yeah, that's right. I thought being able to fly to Neverland was wasted on them and Wendy. She was a bit sappy. And the dog. What about the dog? Nana. Oh, I loved Nana. Poor dog. She was looking after the children when Peter taught them to fly and took them away. You know, I read this story to my own kids, and they love it just as much as I did. Actually, I think I understand it more as a grown-up. Why's that? Well, I think growing up is quite a scary thing to do. Childhood is safe, no responsibility. Adulthood is tough. I think a lot of people would like to stay young forever. True. Some people never grow up, do they? I suppose that's why it's called Neverland. Beth and Anna. I think I remember this story. I think my dad read it to me at bedtime. My dad read it to me too. And I've just read it to my four-year-old daughter. It was my favorite when I was little, and now it's her favorite too. Did you like it when you were a child? Well, I used to love any story with princes and princesses who lived happily ever after. But actually, this is a dark story. It's really sad, and it's cruel. And the wicked witch is really wicked. Wasn't it about a married couple who were longing for a baby? That's right. And then, when they finally had a baby, a wicked witch whisked it away. Yeah, but only because the wife's husband had stolen salad stuff from the witch's garden. Oh, I'd forgotten that. Yeah. The wife craved lettuce, presumably because she was pregnant. And the husband was caught stealing it, so the witch took the baby, a girl, and when she became 16, locked her up at the top of a tower without any door or any stairs. So, how did the witch get her into the tower in the first place? You're too logical. Don't ask difficult questions. Anyway, the girl had beautiful, thick, long, very long, blonde hair, and she used to throw it out of the window, so there was a window. Yeah, one window. So the witch used to call, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair." And then climb up the hair to the girl. Oh, wow. Then one day, I know. One day, a handsome prince came riding by on a white horse and saved the girl. And she became a princess, and they lived happily ever after. No. You're going too fast. Oh. The witch discovered the prince, and threw him out of the window. Oh. He didn't die, but he was blinded, and spent years wandering around.
[20:11]What about the girl? Ah, the witch took her to a desert. And finally, the prince heard her singing. They met, and her tears fell on his eyes, and Don't tell me. He could see again. And they went off together to his castle, got married, and lived happily ever after. No. You got it. You got it. 4.12. Giving opinions. So, what do you think of the latest Bond movie? It's really great, isn't it? Definitely, I think it's absolutely fantastic. Do you think so? I'm not so sure. It wasn't as good as the last one. Oh, yes, it was. I thought it was much more exciting. It was okay, but it wasn't that good. My favorite will always be Skyfall. Why? Because Daniel Craig was Bond. No, of course not, but he does make a pretty good Bond, doesn't he? Pretty good? He's absolutely brilliant. Yeah, he's a cool guy. Do you two have a favorite Bond? Me? No, not really. They're all so different. For me, it's Sean Connery. Surely he's the best. He's the original. I've got the whole box set of all the Bond movies and he was definitely the best. I totally agree. He's the definitive James Bond. I love his Scottish accent. Well, I do too, but you're only saying he's the best because he was the first. Who do you think the next Bond will be? I've no idea. Maybe they'll have a female Bond one day. Jemima Bond. Now, that's something I could be really enthusiastic about. Jemima Bond saves the world!
[22:11]4.13. It's great, isn't it? He does make a pretty good Bond, doesn't he?
[22:24]4.14. Question tags. One. We had a great time in New York, didn't we? We did. It was amazing. Two. But the weather wasn't that good, was it? It wasn't that bad. Three. New Yorkers lead very busy lives, don't they? Indeed they do. Four. Our friends took us to a fabulous show on Broadway, didn't they? They did. I just loved it. Five. We'd never been to a musical before, had we? Well, actually I had. I went once in London. Six. I lost my passport. I'm such an idiot, aren't I? Well, you're certainly good at losing things. 4.15. Making opinions stronger. Pretty good. He was absolutely wonderful! One. He was pretty good in the role. Pretty good? He was absolutely wonderful! Two. The talk was quite interesting. Quite interesting? It was really fascinating! Three. The bride looked quite nice. Quite nice? She looked absolutely fabulous! Four. I quite liked the chocolate dessert. Quite liked it? I really loved it! Five. He quite likes Maria. Quite likes her? He totally adores her! Six. The book wasn't very good. Not very good? It was really awful! Seven. I don't like noisy bars. Don't like them? I just can't stand them!
