Lingua inglese - Scuola secondaria di secondo gradoPerformer Shaping Ideas (Second Edition) Performer Shaping Ideas (Second Edition) / Volume 1Shakespeare’s sonnets

EXTEND – Two loves I have (Sonnet CXLIV)

5 esercizi
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Lingua inglese

STEP 3 Fair Youth or Dark Lady?
Decide if the expressions taken from the first two quatrains refer to the Fair Youth or the Dark Lady.

worser spirit ________
coloured ill ________
saint ________
despair ________
better angel ________
comfort ________
devil ________
right fair ________
Extend
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STEP 4 The Fair Youth, the Dark Lady and the allegory of the angels
Choose the correct alternative to complete the text.

This sonnet, especially in the first two quatrains, makes use of ________ terminology: the Fair Youth is almost like a ________ angel at the side of the poet, drawing him towards good deeds. The words associated to him recall ________ and ________. Opposed to this figure is one that recalls ________ characterised as 'coloured ill' and with a ________ character. She tempts him towards lust and ________ desire. These two figures stand at the poet's side, fighting for his soul and confirming the Christian dichotomy of good versus evil.
Extend
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STEP 5 Think further and prepare for your oral test: The blurred line between good and evil
Focus on the words in bold in the third quatrain and final couplet, which show how the poet goes beyond the traditional Christian idea of a clear opposition between good and evil. Decide if the statements are true or false. Then reflect on how Shakespeare overcomes the separation between good and evil to affirm the complexity of human nature.

And, whether that my angel be turn'd fiend,
Suspect I may, yet not directly tell,
But being both from me both to each friend,
I guess one angel in another's hell.
Yet this shall I ne'er know, but live in doubt,
Till my bad angel fire my good one out.
A: The expression 'turn'd fiend' points to a possible change in the nature of the Fair Youth.
B: The two characters are not acquainted with each other.
C: The poet believes that they might be experiencing a relationship.
D: The relationship is not a destructive one.
E: The last line, which indicates both the good and bad spirit as angels, indicates a collapse of the initial distinction between saint and devil or good and evil.
Extend
Vero o falso
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STEP 1 Focus on the content of the sonnet
Read the sonnet and select the sentences which are true.
A: In the first lines, the poet says that there are two loves in his life.
B: These loves are the Fair Youth and the Dark Lady.
C: He considers them equal in their worth.
D: He believes the Fair Youth is a good influence on him while the other is a bad one.
E: The Dark Lady tries to corrupt the Fair Youth.
F: Though she is irresistible, the poet knows the Fair Youth's virtue will not be tempted.
G: The poet fears that the Fair Youth has already been won by the Dark Lady as they are both in each other's company and far from him.
H: The ending clearly indicates that the poet knows that he has lost the Fair Youth forever.
I: The final couplet leaves the poet in doubt as to what is happening between his two loves.
Extend
Scelta multipla
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STEP 2 Paraphrase the sonnet
Complete the text with the words given to paraphrase the sonnet.

I have two conflicting loves: one is ________, and one is sinful. The good love, a noble man, guides me towards ________. The evil love, a wicked woman, leads me towards ________. She tempts my good love to abandon me and embrace ________. I fear that my good love might be ________ by her influence. I suspect this, but I cannot be ________. However, since both are far from me and in each other's company, I suppose that the young man has already been ________ over to evil. I will remain in doubt until the evil love ________ the good.
Extend
Posizionamento
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