МОСКОВСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ЛИНГВИСТИЧЕСКИЙ

УНИВЕРСИТЕТ

МЕТОДИЧЕСКИЕ ЗАДАНИЯ ПО РОМАНУ И. ВО «УПАДОК И

РАЗРУШЕНИЕ»
(для студентов II курса факультета заочного отделения)

Москва 2005
 EVELYN WAUGH (1903-1966)
Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh was born in the London suburb of Hampstead
in 1903, the son of Arthur Waugh, a prominent man of letters and one of the
directors of the puplishing firm of Chapman and Hall. Among Evelyn’s ancestors
were clergymen, doctors, and lawyers; his great-great-grandfather was one of the
best-known Nonconformist ministers of his time, while his great-grandfather was a
clergyman in the Church of England. Arthur Waugh was a church-going Anglican,
and Evelyn’s own early bent was religious. For a time he thought of becoming a
parson. His father sent him to Lancing School, an institution with decided Anglican
associations.
Ironically, in such atmosphere, Waugh lost his faith. In June of 1921 he
wrote in his diary: “In the last few weeks I have ceased to be a Christian. I have
realized that for the last few terms I have been an atheist in all except the courage
to admit it myself.” Primary factors in this development were reading materials
that encouraged disbelief and the influence of a particularly appealing teacher, later
to become an Anglican bishop, who presented his pupils with challenging
questions about Christ and religion and allowed the boys to present their own
theories and speculations without helping them to resolve doubts and confusions:
“We were encouraged to ‘think for ourselves’ and our thoughts in most cases
turned to negetions.” Waugh’s atheism gave him no consolation; he records that
during this period his diary was full of pagan gloom and the consideration of
suicide.”
From Lancing School Waugh went to Hertford College, Oxford. There he
studied in a rather desultory fashion, wrote for the college magazines, and, in
general, greatly enjoyed the abundant social life. Waugh gives the impression that
he did not take much interest in scholastic matters and that his years at Oxford
were those of a playboy. Considering some of the comments about his pre-college
and college days, one notices that he read very widely in his father’s well-stocked
library and that his classical training was more potent and pervasive than he
frequently cared to admit. In some matters Waugh’s non-fictional pronouncements
must be accepted with a grain of salt. For example, Waugh liked to pretend that he
had dashed off his novels in a rather off-the-cuff fashion. He generally posed as a
gentlement dilettante who had “little learning” and regarded his own writing
casually. In fact much thought, care, and artistry went in the production of his
fiction.
When it was determined that Waugh’s primary vocational interest was
painting, he left Oxford without taking degree and entered an art school in London.
But Waugh discovered that his ability in this area was limited so he quit the
academy and for a time became a schoolmaster. A career in journalism followed
his stint as a teacher and Waugh also bagan to write books.
In 1928 Waugh married Evelyn Gardner, the daughter of Lord Burghclere.
The marriage lasted only a short time during which Evelyn was idyllically happy.
While he was away for three weeks working on his second novel, Vile Bodies, his
wife became involved with another man. Evelyn was crushed by his wife infidelity
and at this point remarked to his brother Alec, “The trouble about the world today
is that there’s not enough religion in it.”
In 1930 Waugh became a Roman Catholic; without a doubt the
disillusionment of his first marriage was a basic factor in his conversion. Five
years previously, in atheistic despair, Waugh had attempted suicide. The world as
he had experienced it and the break-up of his marriage convinced him, in his own
words, that his existence “was unintelligible and unendurable without God.”
From 1930 on, Waugh’s life was for many years devoted to travelling and
writing, and a series of novels and travel books came from his pen. His literary
reputation increased in stature. In 1937 he married Laura Herbert, the youngest
daughter of the Honorable Aubrey Herbert, M.P. Laura Herbert’s family was
staunchly Roman Catholic, and this marital union together with his religion
profession gave stability and full meaning to his life. Waugh’s literary cereer
continued although he did not reach wide popular audience appeal, particularly in
the United States, until the publication of Brideshead Revisited (1945) and The
Loved One (1948).
 Another biographical fact is of especial significance, and that is Waugh’s
distinguished service in the British Army – especially with the Commandos, the
Royal Horse Guards, and the British military Mission to Yugoslavia – during
World War II. Not only did these experiences give Waugh the opportunity to fight
in the defence of his homeland, but they also presented him with material that he
was able to translate into several important novels about British military life.
Waugh’s last years before his fatal heart attack on Easter Sunday, 1966, were
characterized by increasing tendencies to reclusiveness and by poor health. His
disillusionment with modern world was intense; but he never list his zest for
pranks (he disconcerted an interviewer when he appered for an arranged Paris
Review interview at London Hyde Park Hotel in 1962 by donning pyjamas,
climbing into a bed, and smoking a cigar throughout the interrogation); he
continued to exercise his comic wit at every opportunity (“I used to have a rule
when I reviewed books as a young man never to give an unfavourable notice to a
book I hadn’t read. I find even this simple rule is flagrantly broken now”), and to
take solace in spiritual faith.
***
One of the salient and most distinguishing features of Waugh’s work is his
abiding preoccupation with style. His vocabulary proved exceptionally rich, and he
was gifted with a special ability to choose the precise, absolutely correct word, and
his economy in the use of language has been unchallenged. Fowler’s Modern
English Usage and the Oxford English Dictionary were constant companions. He
once wrote a letter answering the query as how youthful authors could improve
their style. His response is worth quoting because he followed this advice most
diligently in his own career:
“The most valuable advice you can give young writers today is “Learn your Language.”
This means first a sound but not necessarily scholarly knowledge of Latin and a smattering of
Greek. Don’t worry your heads about your own emotions or opinions. Study the great writers
(and stylists particularly) of the past. Read a page of Pushkin every day. Enlarge and enrich your
vocabulary. Use the dictionary – full-sized Oxford if available – constantly noting the change of
nuances in each word. Learn strict formal grammar. Try to speak correctly and frequent the
company of those who do. Get the habit of grammatical construction so that you can’t make a
mistake. Keep Fowler’s Modern English Usage at your elbow. You must own a copy. Practise
imitating and parodying the styles of writers such as Boswell, Gibbon, Matthew Arnold, Pushkin,
Henry James, etc.”
***
Waugh had little sympathy with novelists such as Virginia Woolf, D.H.
Lawrence and the later James Joyce, who were delving ever-deeper into the mental
states of their characters. In the 1942 edition of Work Suspended, the first-person
narrator John Plant (who usually projects Waugh’s own views on art and literature)
says: “The alternative, classical expedient is to take the whole man and reduce him
to a manageable abstraction…. It is, any way, in the classical way that I have
striven to write.”
The stylised and objective treatment of characters is evident throughout the
early satirical novels. In Decline and Fall Waugh makes much of the fact that his
hero, Paul Pennyfeather, is ordinary, even uninteresting…
***
Waugh’s first work of fiction, Decline and Fall, is a picaresque comic novel
describing the adventures of an innocent young man, a latter-day Candide, from
the time when he is unjustly sent down from the Oxford college where he is
reading for the Church, to the time a little more than a year later when he returns
there disguised to resume his studies, having experienced in the meanwhile a world
fantastic in its nature, totally challenging to all his assumptions….
… The action is fantastic, highly stylised, suited only to a comic novel. Yet it
is an archetypal, masterful comic plot. The way in which characters return again
and again in different roles and guises … is part of the novel’s burlesque quality,
demanding that we accept a different set of probabilities than those in life. … From
the very start we know that this is a world which is arbitrary, without anything but
the appearance of justuce, the moral and legal codes being exploited for the
convenience of the characters… The probabilities are the those who have the
chance to profit from others’ misfortunes will do so, that those who have ideas will
suffer for them, that honour will not serve one well. The social probabilities are
just as free…

LESSON I
(Prelude, Part I Chapters 1-3, pp.35-52)

I. Learn the pronunciation of the following proper names. Record their reading:
Postlethwaite ['pPslTweIt], Alastair ['1lqstFq], Digby ['dIgbI], Augustus
[L'gAstqs], Levy ['lJvI], Beste-Chetwynde ['best 'CetwInd], Prendergast
['prendegxst], Tangent ['txnGqnt], Circumference [sq'kAmfqrqns],
Clutterbuck ['klAtqbAk], Humphry ['hAmfrI] Maltravers [mxl'trxvqz],
Sidebotham ['saId"bPtqm], Sebastien [sI'bxstjqn] Cholmondley ['CAmlI],
Solomon ['sPlqmqn], Otto ['2to4] Friedrich ['fredrIk] Silenus [saI'lJnqs],
Malpractice [mxl'prxktIs], Lennox ['lenqks], Potham ['pPpqm], Parakeet
['pxrqkJt], Lucas ['lHkqs], Vanburgh ['vxnbArq].
II. Find the following words and word-combinations in the text and give their
Russian equivalents. Get ready to reproduce them in the situations from the novel.
learned societies, in authority, past members, to do smb harm (do smb good), at
length, well-off, to get rid of smb / smth, to send down, to face the facts, for
personal reasons, on hand, a slip of paper, testimonials (a letter of
recommendation), to hold a diploma in smth, on the strength of smth, to have
good reason for smth, to be out of the top drawer, without more ado, to be
accustomed to smth, Do you take sugar in your tea?, to have (very little)
difficulty in doing smth, hard on smb, to be in the war, to put smb under arrest,
to try smb’s case.
III. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences bringing out their meaning.
1. “For two years he had lived within his allowance, aided by two valuable

scholarships.” (p.37)
2. “Well, that saves a great deal of trouble.” (p.38)

3. “I have put you in charge of the fifth form for the rest of the term.” (p.47)
 4. “That man’s all right, really,” he added, “ only he wants washing.” (p.48)

5. “Then I shal play that as my last card.” (p.50)

6. “Let me put you on your feet again.” (p.52)

IV. Explain the idea and comment on the following sentences.

1. “There is tradition behind the Bollinger…”
2. “You have led too sheltered a life, Paul. Perhaps I am to blame. It will do
you the world of good to face facts a bit – look at life in the raw, you know.
See things steadily and see them whole, eh?”
3. “…Llanabba hasn’t a good name in the profession.”
4. “We schoolmasters must temper discretion with deceit.”
5. “Paul felt this was not a moment for candour…”
6. “Still, it’s out of the question to shoot an old Harrovian.”
V. Make up a topical vocabulary list pertaining to the topic “Education”.
VI. Give a written translation of the following passage into Russian: “The
explanation of this rather striking contrast… a great deal of work had been done
very cheaply”.
VII. Get ready to answer the following questions. Write out the key words and
word-combinations that would help you to answer the questions.
1. What kind of society was the Bollinger club? Why was the Bollinger dinner
a difficult time for the college authorities?
2. How did Paul Pennyfeather get involved with a rag initiated by the club?
Why did the Juniour dons refuse to intervene?
3. What were the incaculable consequences of the evening for Paul? What do
you think could have prevented the unfair decision? What tone does the
event set for the whole book?
4. How did Paul’s guardian manage to take advantage of Paul’s dissmissal?
What sound advice did he give to Pennyfeather?
5. In what profession did Paul have to seek refuge? What ‘education
discontinued’ post was he offered?
 6. Describe Dr Fagan. What did you learn about him and his school from the
interview?
7. What kind of educational institution was Llanabba? What was the history of
the place?
8. What does the reader come to know about the other two shoolmasters?
9. What instructions did Paul receive from the Headmaster?
10. How did Captain Grimes find himself in Llanabba? What according to
Grimes helped him to make his way in the world?
VIII. Translate the following into English using the active vocabulary.
1. Опекун Поля воспользовался ситуацией и лишил его наследства, дав
молодому человеку такой совет: «Тебе будет очень полезно взглянуть
фактам в лицо, как говориться, узнать жизнь без прикрас».
2. Наконец толпа разошлась, и мистер Сниггс облегченно вздохнул. «Все
в порядке. Это не лорд Рендинг, а всего лишь Пеннифезер – так что
можно не волноваться».
3. Понимая, что Поль Пеннифезер не сможет заплатить крупного штрафа,
власти колледжа решили просто избавиться от него, исключив его за
«непристойное поведение».
4. Друзья Дориана видели, как взволнован он был, и поэтому согласились
поехать с ним в театр.
5. Доктор Фейган признался, что ему приходится трудно с подбором

учителей. Особое недовольство директора вызывал капитан Граймс, так

как он не был «человеком надлежащего круга».
IX. Give a short account of Paul Pennyfeather’s background. Record it on tape.

LESSON II
(Part 1 Chapters 4-7, pp.52-75)
I. Find the following words and word-combinations in the text and give their
Russian equivalents. Get ready to reproduce them in the situations from the novel.
to keep house for smb, informal gatherings, to hold prayers, at random, on
account of smth, trunk calls, to look to smb to do smth, to make a hit with smb,
to do smb an injustice, to be in smb’s set, there is every reason for smth, to be
down in the mouth, to favour smb with smth, just my luck, to make
arrangements, to spare no expense, to draw a line, to omit to do smth, out of
respect, to be well up in smth, to run smth, to take to smth (doing smth), to be
up to smth, to have one’s eye on smb, to dismiss smb, in disguise.
II. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences bringing out their meaning.
1. “I have rather dropped out of the conversation.” (p.54)

2. “There was my mother and the Bundles and Mrs Crump talking away quite

unconcernedly…” (p.54)
3. “I’ve rather got him into a mess.” (p.62)

4. “Owing to his party I have suffered irreparable harm.” (p.64)

5. “I can’t help it: it’s born in me.” (p.64)

6. “I cannot pretend to understand your attitude in this matter, but no doubt you

are the best to judge.” (p.64)

7. “I’ve been in the trade some time.” (p.75)

III. Explain the idea and comment on the following sentences.

1. “It’s not a gentlemanly fault.”
2. “The great problem of education is to train moral perceptions, not merely to
discipline the appetites.”
3. “He says great sensibility usually leads to enervation of will.”
4. “It was a severe struggle, but his early training was victorious.”
5. “It’s a test-case of the durability of my ideals.”
6. “For generations the British bourgeoisie have spoken of themselves as
gentlemen, and by that they have meant, among other things, a self-
respecting scorn of irregular perquisites.”
 7. “It is rarely that the scholarly calm of Llanabba gives place to festival, but
when it does taste and dignity shall go unhampered.”
IV. Make up a topical vocabulary list pertaining to the topics “Education”,
“Sports”.
V. Give a written translation of the following passage into Russian: “Sitting over
the Common Room … to a treatise in psychoanalysis.”
VI. Get ready to answer the following questions. Write out the key words and
word-combinations that would help you to answer the questions.
1. What did Paul come to know about Mr Prendergast’s ecclesiastical past?
2. Dwell on Paul’s first experience in teaching the boys. Did he find them
difficult to manage?
3. Why did Prendy wear his ill-fitting wig?
4. What was Paul’s impression of his first week at Llanabba?
5. Why did Paul choose to refuse the offer from one of the Bollinger? Why did
he feel “a great wave of satisfaction” when he learnt that Grimes on his
behalf had sent for the money?
6. What other letter did Paul receive?
7. Why did Dr Fagan decide to hold the earlier postponed Annual School
Sports? What arrangements were made on the occasion?
VII. Translate the following into English using the active vocabulary.
1. За обедом д-р Фейган сообщил, что в этом году соревнования в беге по
пересеченной местности не будут проводиться из-за паводка.
2. Пеннифезеру нечего было ждать поддержки от своего опекуна, который
не забыл упомянуть бедных родителей Пола и поспешил выгнать его из
дома.
3. У молодого учителя были все основания подозревать, что дети
устраивали подобные испытания всем своим наставникам в школе.
Однако это его нисколько не успокаивало, и он был расстроен.
 4. Элиза считала, что профессор Хиггинз был к ней несправедлив.
Конечно, она не принадлежала к его кругу, но ей казалось, что он
должен к ней хорошо относиться.
5. В обществе с Базилом Дориан чувствовал себя неуютно. Он полагал,
что Базилу не следует вмешиваться в его личную жизнь. Но из
уважения к другу Дориан не желал показывать своих чувств и поэтому
пригласил художника к себе.
VIII. Write out examples to illustrate features characteristic of conversation.

LESSON III
(Part 1 Chapters 8-9, pp.75-94)

I. Find the following words and word-combinations in the text and give their
Russian equivalents. Get ready to reproduce them in the situations from the novel.
dressed up (to the nines), to be at a loss to do smth, to have an encounter with
smb, an effort at smth, in the background, to the good, to get unnerved, to keep
a firm hand on smb / smth, the other day, to present smb with smth, to join smb
in smth, to abide by smth (decision), to bring an accusation against smb, against
a background of, to be intent on smth, inferiority-complex, to live up to smb, at
times, to be on one’s best behaviour.
II. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences bringing out their meaning.
1. “I was sure you had not, but one cannot be too careful.” (p.81)

2. “I was never any use at short distances.” (p.83)

3. “I know a cheat when I see one.” (p.87)

4. “Clearly the social balance was delicately poised…” (p.89)

5. “Well, we all feel the wind a bit since the war.” (p.91)

III. Explain the idea and comment on the following sentences.

1. “…there was a spring in his step and a pronounced sprightliness of bearing
that Paul had not observed before.”
 2. “One way or another, I have been consistently unfortunate in my efforts at
festivity. And yet I look forward to each new fiasco with the utmost relish.”
3. “ … and, Pennyfeather, if you would with tact direct the photographer so
that more prominence was given to Mrs Beste-Chetwynde’s Hispano Suiza
than to Lady Circumference’s little motor car, I think it will be all to the
good.”
4. “He took a note-case from his pocket, the sight of which seemed to
galvanize the musicians into life.”
5. “No one spoke of the race, but outraged sportsmanship glinted perilously in
every eye.”
IV. Add new words and word-combinations to your topical vocabulary list
pertaining to the topics “Education”, “Sports”.
V. Pick out the words and phrases the author employs to describe Mrs Beste-
Chetwynde. Comment on the way the character is introduced.
VI. Get ready to answer the following questions. Write out the key words and
word-combinations that would help you to answer the questions.
1. Why did Dr Fagan feel a mixture of detestation and relish because of the
approaching sporting events?
2. Who arrived at Llanabba to watch the competitions?
3. What did the Clutterbucks and Lady Circumference have an argument
about? What event prevented its further development?
4. What caused the division of the party into two hostile camps? Why was the
social balance “delicately poised”?
5. What in Mr Cholmondly’s manner irritated the other guests?
VII. Translate the following into English using the active vocabulary.
1. Базил был в полном недоумении: как могло случиться, что Дориан стал
равнодушен к судьбе Сибилы. Объяснения молодого человека лишь
встревожили Базила. Однако вскоре он склонился к мысли, что,
возможно, это и к лучшему: теперь Дориан не примет каких-либо
опрометчивых решений.
 2. Казалось, ученики были увлечены рассказом учителя. Но тут одна из
учениц с грохотом уронила крышку парты. Учитель был вынужден
прекратить чтение и заменить его письменной работой, так как дети не
могли писать и хлопать крышками парт одновременно. По правде
сказать, не все ученики активно подключились к новому способу
испытать своего учителя, но те, кто не участвовал в этом, очевидно,
были на стороне зачинщиков.
3. По словам Марго, ее чернокожий друг вел себя просто идеально.
Остальные гости восприняли его появление в их обществе в штыки. Но
тот факт, что Марго Бест-Четвинд была чрезвычайно важной особой,
заставил их смириться с присутствием мистера Чолмондлей.
VIII. From Chapter IX pick out examples of epithets. Get ready to discuss their use
at the session.

LESSON IV
(Part 1 Capters 10-13, pp.94-118)

I. Find the following words and word-combinations in the text and give their
Russian equivalents. Get ready to reproduce them in the situations from the novel.
the daily round, to be none the worse for smth, to be much of a one for smth, to
give way, to get mixed up in smth, to come as a surprise to smb, to get hold of
the right end of the stick, to pull smb’s leg, to be the apple of smb’s eye, to
receive a summons, to be neither here nor there, fair and square, a week today,
by far, not by a long chalk, in the abstract, to subscribe (a shilling), to see little
of smb, to get on well with smb, to get on smb’s nerves, too good to be true, up
to date, to some extent, charges against smb, on purpose, to confess to doing
smth.
II. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences bringing out their meaning.
1. “It’s not becoming of him.” (p.94)
 2. “I also resented the references to the Liberal Party. Mr Clutterbuck has stood

three times, you know.” (p.95)

3. “He just moved into a bigger house and went on writing away fifteen to the

dozen.” (p.102)
4. “He asked how he could make reparation.” (p.102)

5. “… the spelling in your last letter has been just too shattering for words.”

(p.103)
6. “I should be quite prepared to offer a partnership in Llanaba to a son-in-law

of whom I approved.” (p.105)

7. “He does not entertain at all, but he always has the best of everything

himself, sir.” (p.107)

8. “The service passed off without a hitch, foe Grimes’s Irish wife did not turn

up to forbid the banns.” (p.112)

9. “I was no end of a one for poetry when I was a kid – love and all that.”

(p.113)
10. “God’s own job, and mine for the asking.” (p.116)

III. Explain the idea and comment on the following sentences.

1. “I hope you don’t think me a snob. You may have discerned in me a certain
prejudice against the lower orders.”
2. “Those that live by the flesh shall parish by the flesh.”
3. “Our life is lived between two homes. We emerge for a little into the light,
and then the front door closes.”
4. “Paul was the best man.”
5. “Married life is not all beer and skittles…”

6. “I’m getting an inferiority complex.”

IV. Add new words and word-combinations to your topical vocabulary list
pertaining to the topic “Education”.
V. Give a written translation of the following passage into Russian: “It was built in
the ample days … not long enough for the beds.”
VI. Get ready to answer the following questions. Write out the key words and
word-combinations that would help you to answer the questions.
1. What were Paul’s feelings towards Mrs Beste-Chetwynde?
2. What stories did Philbrick tell Prendy, Grimes and Paul?
3. What message did Paul receive from Mrs Beste-Chetwynde? How did he
take the news?
4. Why was Grimes so depressed about his engagement?
5. Why did Paul receive a summons from the Headmaster that evening? What
was Dr Fagan’s idea of his future son-in-low?
6. What place did the three masters choose to celebrate Grimes’s engagement?
How did Grimes explain to them the reasons for his marrige?
7. Why did Grimes find his married life rather hard on him?

8. What letter did Grimes get a few days after his marriage? What was his
attitude to the offer?
9. What events marked the end of the term at Llanabba?
VII. Translate the following into English using the active vocabulary.
1. Несмотря на то, что небылицы, придуманные дворецким, были мало
похожи на правду, многие были склонны ему верить. Действительно,
Филбрик очень умело разыгрывал своих слушателей.
2. Граймс был по горло сыт своей семейной жизнью. Он прекрасно ладил
с женой, но натянутые отношения с тестем действовали ему на нервы.
Он прожил с ним всего неделю, но уже почти стыдился себя, когда
чувствовал не себе надменный взгляд доктора. По мнению Фейгана,
Граймс не был джентльменом.
3. Последнее время Базил очень редко виделся с Дорианом и почти
ничего не знал о его жизни. Поэтому ужасные слухи, ходившие в
Лондоне о непристойных поступках и нравственной низости его
молодого друга, не могли не встревожить художника.
4. Когда освободилось место учителя в одной из школ в рабочем квартале
восточной части Лондона, мистер Брейтуайт был приглашен на
 собеседование в министерство образования. После стольких долгих
месяцев без работы это предложение показалось ему просто
невероятным.
VIII. Write out set expressions and comment on the degree of their motivation.

LESSON V
(Part 2 Chapters 1-3, pp.119-137)

I. Find the following words and word-combinations in the text and give their
Russian equivalents. Get ready to reproduce them in the situations from the novel.
by universal consent, opinion was devided, to exite comment, to do
restorations, to be responsive to smth, to be ordained for smb, to sink into the
oblivion, a general election, in consequence, to make a hero, to do oneself
proud, a creature of a different species, to conform to smth, to cut smb, ill at
ease, there’s no money in it, to fall short, to do proof-reading, to learn
shorthand, an officer of state, to give smb notice, on the grounds that, to pull
down (a house), a good omen.
II. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences bringing out their meaning.
1. “… the reporter … did not take in what she meant or include the statement

in his story.” (p.121)

2. “In ten years she will be almost worn out.” (p.128)

3. “He supposed he must have a sympathetic air.” (131)

4. “Heavy money, too.” (p.133)

5. “Peter is horribly fastidious.” (p.134)

III. Explain the idea and comment on the following sentences.

1. “From having been considered rather a blot on the progressive county,
King’s Thursday gradually became the Mecca of week-end parties.”
2. “He supposed about eight or nine, but as they all wore so many different
clothes of identically the same kind, and spoke in the same voice, and
 appeared so irregularly at meals, there may have been several more or
several less.”
3. “… and from the first showed himself as a discordant element in the gay
little party by noticing the absence of their hostess.”
4. “If I’d stayed at the Bar I’d have been a rich man by now.”
5. “It’s not till you get to my age that you really feel the disadvantage of having
been born poor.”
6. “He and Margot and Peter and Sir Humphrey Maltravers were just
insignificant incidents in the life of the house: this new-born monster to
whose birth ageless and forgotten cultures had been in travail.”
IV. Make up a topical vocabulary list pertaining to the topic “Housing”.
V. Give a written translation of the following passage into Russian: “Margot Beste-
Chetwynde had two houses … of this remarkable house.”
VI. Get ready to answer the following questions. Write out the key words and
word-combinations that would help you to answer the questions.
1. What made King’s Tuesday a remarkable building?
2. Why did Lord Pastmaster decide to sell the house? Why was the whole
neighbourhood excited at the news?
3. Why did Margot Beste-Chetwynde’s decision to rebuild the house cause so
much disagreement in the public?
4. Who was hired as an architect? Speak on Professor Silenus’s views of art
and architecture.
5. What impression did the house and its architect ptoduce on Paul? What was
his first day at King’s Tuesday like?
6. Describe the weekend party at King’s Tuesday.
7. What did Paul come to learn about Humphrey Maltravers’s life and career?
8. What was Margot’s offer to Paul?
9. How did Peter, Margot’s son, take the news of Paul’s proposal to his
mother?
VII. Translate the following into English using the active vocabulary.
 1. Два преподавателя, Сниггс и Побалдей, с радостью ожидали, что в
результате беспорядков, к которым обычно приводили встречи
Боллинджер-клуба, колледж получит большие штрафы.
2. Несмотря на свои неудачные попытки наладить дружеские отношения с
детьми, Э. Брейтуайт верил, что дети отзывчивы на любовь и ласку.
Именно эти качества, полагал он, помогут ему, в конечном счете,
завоевать их расположение.
3. Последние месяцы миссис Вейн бывало как-то не по себе, когда она
оставалась наедине со своим суровым и грубоватым сыном.
4. Решение Марго снести старый дом и построить новый по проекту
архитектора-модерниста можно считать символичным. Для Марго
стиль эпохи Тюдоров был слишком «буржуазным», Отто Силен
понимал задачи современного зодчества и искусства как «исключение
всего человеческого», потому что все зло исходит от человека.
VIII. Pick out examples of metaphor and simile. Get ready to comment on them at
the session.

LESSON VI
(Part 2 Chapters 4-6, pp.137-153)

I. Find the following words and word-combinations in the text and give their
Russian equivalents. Get ready to reproduce them in the situations from the novel.
to be after smb, good fortune, to be at a loose end, to be down on one’s luck, on
leave, to take an interest in smth, advance on smb’s wages, to afford smb little
rest, to have the heart to do smth, to be in store for smb, to be in the
neighbourhood, to be on a false sent, at any rate, to take chances, to decorate a
room, to make out a receipt, How are you off for clothes?, to be engaged on
smth, to accept an invitation, to come to grief, smb’s social advancement, a man
 of the world, conscious of smth, a taste for smth (colour), every now and then,
to be in the way.
II. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences bringing out their meaning.
1. “That suicide didn’t go down well.” (p.138)

2. “… he owed him a great deal of his present good fortune.” (p.145)

3. “… Paul’s sudden elevation from schoolmaster to millionaire struck a still

vibrant chord of optimism in each of them.” (p.146)

4. “There’s heaps of time.” (p.152)

III. Explain the idea and comment on the following sentences.

1. “It was the last relic of a great genius, for before that King’s Thursday had
been again rebuilt.”
2. “… his only difficulty in filling his place was the fear of offending any of his
affectionate new friends.”
3. “Paul was beginning to feel cosmopolitan… How patheticaly insular poor
Potts was, he thought, for all his talk of internationalism.”
4. “He hasitated, and then, forsaking, in a moment of panic, both his black hat
and his self possession, he turned and fled for the broad streets and tram
lines where, he khew at heart, was his spiritual home.”
5. “To Fortune,” he said, “ a much-maligned lady!”
IV. Make a list of words used to describe Margot at work.
V. Give a written translation of the following passage into Russian: “For some
reason or other, Paul’s marriage seemed to inspire … with weeping and hysterical
women.”
VI. Get ready to answer the following questions. Write out the key words and
word-combinations that would help you to answer the questions.
1. Whom did Paul meet at King’s Tuesday? What had happened to Grimes
since his faked suicide? What brought him to Margot’s house?
2. What did Dr Fagan write to Paul in connection with his resignation? What
did Paul learn about the state of things at Llanabba?
 3. Who else visited King’s Tuesday that day? What was the purpose of this
visit?
4. What business was Margot in? What struck Paul about her conduct of
business? Did Paul comprehend the sordiness of the trade?
5. What were the preparations for Paul’s wedding? Why did the public look
upon it as a “romantic” affair? Why was the event a roaring success?
6. Why do you think Lord Tangent’s fate apart from the initial event is
conveyed entirely by allusions?
7. Where did Paul have to go just a few days before his wedding? Who was his
travelling companion on the way to Paris?
8. What part of Marseilles did Paul find himself in in his search of the place
given by Margot?
9. Why was Paul’s business more difficult than he had expected?
10.What came in the way of Paul’s marriage?
VII. Translate the following into English using the active vocabulary.
1. Профессор Хиггинз был немало удивлен, когда увидел, что у бедной
девушки хватило духу прийти к нему с предложением стать его
ученицей. Позже он заинтересовался этой идеей и решил
способствовать продвижению Элизы по социальной лестнице.
2. Пеннифезеру посчастливилось попасть в общество, к которому
принадлежала Марго Бест-Четвинд. Но Поля не интересовали ни ее
деньги, ни ее положение. Именно поэтому он никогда не смог бы стать
его полноправным членом.
3. Прендергаст не может не вызвать сочувствия у читателей. Его карьера
священника потерпела крах, так как он не захотел мириться с фальшью,
не желал притворяться и скрывать свои «сомнения».
4. Мистер Брейтуайт чувствовал, что его ждет еще более неприятное
испытание. То и дело он ловил на себе тревожные взгляды учеников.
Когда он напрямую обращался к кому-нибудь из детей, тот улыбался
 учителю, как будто давая понять, что он не побоится бросить ему
вызов.
5. Джеймс Вейн поверил, что чуть не совершил срташную шибку.
Человек, которого он хотел убить, был, пожалуй, не старше, чем
Сибила, когда Джеймс расстался с ней. «Простите, сэр, - пробормотал
он. – Меня сбили с толку. Случайно услышанные слова направили меня
по ложному следу».
VIII. Explain the meaning of the saying “It’s a small world”. Get ready to speak on
the characteristic features of sayings and proverbs.

LESSON VII
(Part 3 Chapter 1-3, pp.154-174)

I. Find the following words and word-combinations in the text and give their
Russian equivalents. Get ready to reproduce them in the situations from the novel.
a lame coclusion, an old hand at smth, in a sing-song voice, to be intended for
smth, one’s predecessor in office, under smb’s care, to take (a) pride in smth,
broad-minded, to stamp out, associated labour, to take exercise, under the
pretence of (doing) smth, far-seeing, to ascertain facts, to avail oneself of a
privilege, a breach of the regulations, to lead a lonely life, with the most minute
care, to keep at a distance of, at hand, in a flash, to bring to smb’s notice, in
(prejudicial) terms, to be of a different opinion, to be used to smth, to deprive
smb of smth, to find vent in smth, irritation at smb / smth.
II. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences bringing out their meaning.
1. “Even then things were very flat.” (p.154)

2. “She rather feels the whole thing’s rather her fault, really, and, short of going

to prison herself, she’ll do anything to help.” (p.155)

3. “… I shall ever be able to make up to him for all this.” (p.156)

4. “Has the paste any nutritive value?” (p.164)

 5. “Standing Orders are most emphatic on the subject.” (p.165)

6. “Dissatisfied curiosity contended in his thoughts with irritation at this

interruption of routine.” (p.172)

7. “But Paul did not reap the benefits of this happy reversion of tradition…”

(p.174)
III. Explain the idea and comment on the following sentences.
1. “At first he pleaded guilty on all charges, despite the entreaties of his
counsel, but eventually he was galvanized into some show of defence by the
warning of the presiding judge that the low allowed punishment with the cat-
o’-nine-tails for offences of this sort.”
2. “So Paul was sent off to prison, and the papers headed the column they
reserved for home events of minor importance with “Prison for Ex-ociety
Bridegroom. Judge on Human Vampires.””
3. “The loss of personal possessions gave him a curiously agreeable sense of
irresponsibility.”
4. “Give hell to the man immediately below you, and you can rely on him to
pass it on with interest.”
5. “His eminent qualities, however, did not keep him from many severe
differences of opinion with the Chief Warder.”
6. “Sir Wilfred Lucas-Dockery felt very much like Solomon at ten o’clock
every morning of the week except Sunday.”
7. “… dispensing automatic justice like a slot machine: in went the offence; out
came the punishment.”
8. “Paul read wholesale massacres in the warders’s face.”
IV. Make up a topical vocabulary list pertaining to the topic “Crime and Justice”.
V. Give a written translation of the following passage into Russian: “The next four
weeks of solitary confinement … so desirable in the early morning.”
VI. Get ready to answer the following questions. Write out the key words and
word-combinations that would help you to answer the questions.
1. What were the charges against Paul Pennyfeather? What was his sentence?
 2. Who visited Paul in prison?
3. What prison was Paul sent off? What was his first day there like?
4. How did Prendy find himself in the position of the Prison Chaplain? Why
was he displeased with his new job?
5. Comment on the way the author describes the Governor, Sir Wilfred Lucas-
Dockery. What was the Governor’s predecessor’s advice?
6. What were the Governor’s most notable innovations in prison life? What did
you learn about the so-called “system of progresive stages”?
7. Whay did Paul find his first weeks of solitary confinement among the
happiest in his life?
8. What did Sir Wilfred Lucas-Dockery think would eventually bring him fame
and recognition? Comment on his manner of governing the prison.
9. What was Paul’s “petition” to the Governor about? What decision did Sir
Wilfred Lucas-Dockery make?
10. What was the first stage of the experiment prescribed by the Governor?
What did Paul learn from his new acquaintance?
11. Why did Paul find the next stage more disquieting?
12. What led to Mr Prendergast’s tragic death? Why did it pass unnoticed by the

authorities?
VII. Translate the following into English using the active vocabulary.
1. Дориан надеялся, что все будут думать, что Базил уехал в Париж, как и

намеревался. Он вел замкнутый образ жизни, так что пройдут месяцы,

прежде чем полиция начнет искать его.
2. Предшественник сэра Уилфреда, полковник в отставке, посоветовал
ему превратить тюрьму в такое ужасное место, что люди сами
старались бы держаться от него подальше. Однако сам сэр Уилфред
решил, что заключенные, находящиеся в его попечении, должны
гордиться своей тюрьмой.
 3. Когда Базил поинтересовался, не вызывали ли Дориана в суд по поводу
смерти Сибилы, Дориан почувствовал, что все это его раздражает, как
нечто грубое и пошлое.
4. Когда лорд Генри выслушал историю о первом добром деле, которое
совершил Дориан, он сказал, придерживается на этот счет другого
мнения. Дориан разбил сердце девушке. Теперь она будет презирать
своего будущего мужа и чувствовать себя несчастной.
VIII. Cive examples of metonymy and irony. Get ready to comment on the use of
these devices.

LESSON VIII
(Part 3 Chapters 4-7, pp.175-200)

I. Find the following words and word-combinations in the text and give their
Russian equivalents. Get ready to reproduce them in the situations from the novel.
to be shy of doing smth, to do the right thing in doing smth, to face the music,
to set smb to work, to shut down (a school), to be cut out for smth, for good, to
run smth on a plan, to stretch a point and do smth, to risk severe reprimand, to
put oneself in the wrong, point-blank, socially ostracized, on no account, in a
low voice, to be out of earshot, on any pretext whatever, a law-abiding citizen,
to make a will, on a large scale, to carge smb for smth, to be much the worse for
smth, to operate on smb, without regaining consciousness, to be observant of
smb / smth, a distant cousin.
II. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the sentences bringing out their meaning.
1. “Her son’s succession to the earldom recalls the sensation caused in May of

this year by the announcement of her ingagement to Mr Paul

Pennyfeather…” (p.176)
2. “He had ‘done the right thing’ in shielding the woman…” (p.176)

3. “As luck would have it, there was a fog next day…” (p.184)

4. “The driver is not in on this.” (p.187)

 5. “Below, it was stated, with the usual legal periphrases, that he left all he

possessed to Margot Beste-Chetwynde.” (p.188)

6. “I’m sure this is all very irregular.” (p.188)

7. “I think this is an important evening for most of us … most of all for my

dear friend and sometime colleague Paul Pennyfeather…” (p.190)

III. Explain the idea and comment on the following sentences.
1. “They give an appearance of industry which on investigation is quite
illusionary…”
2. “… it was torn and distracted bu two conflicting methods of thought.”
3. “… he felt a flush about his knees as Boy Scout honour whispered that
Margot had got him into a row and ought jolly well to own up and face the
music.”
4. “It was impossible to imprison the Margot who had committed the crime.”
5. “… for anyone who has been to an English public school will always feel
comparatively at home in prison.”
6. “…Grimes … was of the immortals. He was a life force.”
7. “Robbed of their uniforms, it seemed natural that they should treat each
other with normal consideration.”
8. “A time must come to every man when he begins to doubt his vocation.”
IV. Add new words and word-combinations to your topical vocabulary list
pertaining to the topic “Crime and Justice”.
V. Give a written translation of the following passage into Russian: “The granite
walls of Egdon Heath Penal Settlement … that there is very little work done.”
VI. Get ready to answer the following questions. Write out the key words and
word-combinations that would help you to answer the questions.
1. What kind of place was Egdon Heath Penal Settlement?
2. Why was it uneasy for Paul to solve his moral response to Margot? What
made him come to the conclusion that Margot was above and beyond any
moral code?
3. Whom did Paul meet at Egdon? What story did Grimes tell him?
 4. What were the manifistations of Paul’s favoured treatment at Egdon?
5. Speak on Margot and Paul’s meeting. What news did she break to Paul?
Why do you think Paul was so little pained by it?
6. Why did Paul refuse to believe in Grimes’s death?
7. Under what circumstances was Paul transferred to Cliff Place Sanatorium?
What kind of medical establishment was it?
8. Why do you think Otto Silenus compared life to the Big Weel at Luna Park?
9. What did Paul choose to become after his mock death? Do you find much
difference between the early Paul Pennyfeather and the Paul of the last
pages? Comment on the author’s words: “In fact, the whole book is really an
account of the mysterious disappearance of Paul Pennyfeather. So that
readers must not complain if the shadow which took his name does not
amply fill the important part of hero which he was originally cast”.
10. How did Paul describe his curious moral confusion to Peter Pastmaster?
What do you think this explanation implies?
VII. Translate the following into English using the active vocabulary.
1. После всех приключений, заключения в тюрьму, так называемого
побега, организованного при помощи взяток и влияния Малтрэверса,
Пол вернулся к своим занятиям теологией. Единственным изменением
в его облике была его новая бородка, а в остальном все пережитое,
казалось, никак не отразилось на нем.
2. Дориан был уверен, что поступил правильно, когда спрятал портрет в
старой классной. Нельзя рисковать, что тайна раскроется. Ни в коем
случае портрет не должен был оставаться в комнате, куда мог прийти
любой из его друзей или знакомых.
3. В разговоре дети под любым предлогом использовали эти слова, и
всегда их голоса были достаточно громкими, чтобы учитель их мог
услышать.
4. Последняя выходка детей не могла не остаться незамеченной. Учитель
понимал, что им придется за это отвечать.
 5. Мистер Флориан объяснил молодому учителю, что большинство детей
в школе считаются трудными и успели проявить еще в начальных
классах некоторое неуважение к администрации. Но школа Гринслайд
управляется по особому плану, который, прежде всего, способствует
духовному, нравственному и физическому развитию учеников.
VIII. Comment on the repetition of the phrase: “Fortune, a much-maligned lady.”

TOPICS FOR GENERAL DISCUSION

1. The role of the main character Paul Pennyfeather.
2. The principal objects of Waugh’s satire in the novel Decline and Fall.

3. The author’s techniques to achieve the commic effect.

4. Character sketches of: Paul Pennyfeather, Margot Beste-Chetwynde, Doctor
Fagan, Captain Grimes, Prendergast, Otto Silenus, Sir Wilfred Lucas-
Dockery.

Books of reference
1. Malcolm Bradbury. Evelyn Waugh. – Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1964. – 120p.
2. Jacqueline McDonnel. Evelyn Waugh. – Macmillan, 1988. – 168p.
3. A.A. De Vitis. Roman Holiday: The Catholic Novels of Evelyn Waugh. – N.Y.:
Bbookman Associates, 1956. – 88p.
4. Paul A. Doyle. Evelyn Waugh. A critical Essay. – William B. Eerdmans/Publisher, 1969.
– 48p.
5. James F. Carens. The satirical art of Evelyn Waugh. – Seattle and London: University of
Washington Press, 1966. – 195p.
6. Evelyn Waugh. The critical Heritage. / Ed. by Martin Stannard. – Lnd.: Routledge &
Kegan Paul, 1984. – 537p.