W illiam S hakespea re

Love in Shakespeare:
Five Stories
FREE W eb A c t iv it ie s

n
 W illiam S ha kespeare

Love in Shakespeare
A d a p ta tio n a n d a c tivitie s b y Jennifer G ascoigne
illu s tra te d b y Gianni D e C onno
About the Author 4

The Taming of the Shrew 7

PART ONE 9
PART TWO 20

Romeo and Juliet 33

PART ONE 35
PART TWO 45

Twelfth Night 53
PART ONE 55
PART TWO 64

Othello 75
PART ONE 77
PART TWO 86

Antony and Cleopatra 93

PART ONE 95
PART TWO 102

d o s s ie r s Courtship and Marriage in Elizabethan Times 29

Elizabethan Acting Companies 72

INTERNET PROJECTS 43, 71

ACTIVITIES 8, 16, 24, 40, 50, 60, 70, 83, 91, 99 108

AFTER READING 110

PET Cambridge PET-style activities 8, 16, 18, 24, 28, 34, 42, 44, 50, 54,
60, 69, 70, 76, 83, 91,99,100,101,109

T: g r a d e s 5 Trinity-style activities 27, 71

The Taming o f the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night are recorded on the accompanying CD.
Part two from Othello and Antony and Cleopatra are downloadable from our website:
www.blackcat-cideb.com.

IB S ' These symbols indicate the beginning and end of the passages

(§1
linked to the listening activities.

www.biackcat-cideb.com passage downloadable from our site.

W illiam S h ak esp ea re (1800-03) by the Romantic poet and painter William Blake (1757-1827).

William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is probably the most well-known English playwright. His
plays have been translated into many languages and are performed all over the
world. There are many famous film versions of them too. However, not much is
known about his life. The information that exists comes from birth, baptism and
marriage certificates, court1 records and wills 2.
William was born in 1564 in the Warwickshire town of Stratford-upon-Avon. We
know this from the earliest record we have of his life - the record of his baptism.
This took place on Wednesday 26 April 1564. There is no proof of his real date of
birth but he was probably born three days earlier on 23 April, St. George's day
(St. George is the patron saint of England).
The baptism record also tells us th at W illiam 's father w as called John
Shakespeare. He was a town official and a local businessman. He worked with
white leather, which was used to make things like purses and gloves.
W illiam 's m other was called M ary Arden. She was the youngest of eight
daughters. She inherited 3 a lot of her father's land in a nearby village called
Wilmcote when he died.
1. cou rt : C ourt o f law.
2. w ill : a legal d o c u m e n t t h a t explains w h a t you w a n t d o n e w ith y o u r m o n e y an d
p o s se ss io n s w h e n you die.
3. in h erited : m o n e y or p ro p e rty received fro m s o m e o n e w ho h as died.

4
John and Mary had eight children and William was the third. However, three of
his brothers and sisters died when they were still children.
William probably attended the King's New Grammar School in Stratford because
of his father's status in the town. At grammar schools, boys between the ages of 7
and 14 were taught to read and write. They also studied Latin and Greek. We
don't know for how long William attended the school but we know that he didn't
continue his education when he left. So, although his works are studied in
universities now, Shakespeare didn't go to one himself.
The second docum ented event in W illiam 's life is his m arriage to Anne
Hathaway. They m arried in November 1582. He was eighteen and she was
twenty-six. Anne was already expecting their first child, Susanna, who was
baptised on the 26 May 1583.
Baptism records show that Anne also had twins in February 1592. They were
called Hamnet and Judith but sadly Hamnet, William's only son, died in 1596.
There isn't very much information about what William did between the years
1578 and 1592, so that part of his life is a mystery. However, there is evidence that
in 1592 he was living in London. Nobody really knows why he left his wife and
children, but perhaps it was because he was wanted for poaching 4 and went to
London to escape prosecution5.
By 1594, he was not only acting and writing for the Lord Chamberlain's Men but
was also one of their business managers. The company of actors was very popular
with theatre-goers and even Elizabeth I went to some of their performances.
In 1597 William and his friends built a new theatre in Southwark, London's
Bankside district. They called it the Globe Theatre and it was one of four most
important theatres in the area. The others were the Swan, the Rose, and the Hope.
The open-air, octagonal amphitheatre had three levels and held up to 3,000
spectators. William made a lot of money from the theatre and his plays and soon
he was a rich man.
He started to invest some of his money in his home town of Stratford. In 1597 he
bought the second largest house in Stratford, called New Place, for £60. This was
the new family home. Then in 1602 he bought a piece of land and later some
cottages near Stratford. He was able to make enough money from the income of
4. p oach ing : illegally c a tc h in g or killing an anim al on s o m e o n e e lse ’s p ro p e rty .
5. p ro secu tion : th e a c t of being fo rm ally ac cu se d an d ju d g e d in c o u rt fo r a crim e.
these properties to live without working.
However, he stayed in London until 1610,
when he finally returned to his family in
Stratford. There he lived the life of a
respected businessman.
W illiam Shakespeare died on 23 April
1616. Just four weeks before his death, on
25th M arch 1616, he m ade his w ill so
perhaps he knew that he was going to die.
His w ill is fam ous because in it
Shakespeare leaves most of his possessions
to his daughter, Susanna, and only the
"second best bed" to his wife Anne.
The G lobe Theatre.
This sounds unusual but we m ust
remember that by law Anne also had the right to one-third of his estate as well as
the right to live at New Place for the rest of her life.
William Shakespeare is buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon.
A request to be left to rest in peace and a curse on the people who try to move his
bones is written on his tomb.
Blest be the man that spares these stones ,
And curst be he that moves my bones.

Q Com prehension check

A n sw er the following questions.

1 How do we know that Shakespeare was born in April 1564?

2 Why was Shakespeare probably a pupil at the Grammar School in Stratford?
3 What sad event happened in 1596?
4 What was the name of Shakespeare’s acting company?
5 When did he finally return to Stratford to live?
6 What did he leave to his wife in his will?

G losses fo r p age 7.
1. tam in g : train in g a wild anim al to obey you.
2. sh rew : a small anim al like a m o use; (here) an ag g ressiv e w o m a n .

6
 1

The Taming1of the Shrew2

 B e fo re you read
Look at the list of characters in the story before you sta rt reading the story.

Characters in the story:

Bap tista Minola: gentleman of Padua
Katharina: Baptista Minola’s elder daughter
Bianca: Baptista Minola’s younger daughter
Petruchio: gentleman of Verona
Grem io and Hortensio: two men who would like to marry Bianca
Setting: the cities of Padua and Verona in Northern Italy

p t O L is te n in g
t Listen to the beginning of P a rt One. You w ill hear a conversation between Bap tista
Minola, his daughters and Hortensio and Gremio. Decide if each sentence is correct
or incorrect. If it is correct, put a tick ( / ) in the box under A fo r Y ES. If it is not
correct, put a tick ( / ) in the box under B for NO.

A B
YES NO
1 Katharina frightens men. □□
2
3
Katharina wants to marry Gremio.
Baptista decides to lock Bianca in the house because he doesn’t
□□
want her to marry. □□
4 Bianca likes studying. □□
5 Hortensio knows someone who wants to marry Katharina. □□
O V o c ab u la ry
Listen again to the beginning of P a rt One. Com plete the sentences w ith a w o rd
from the list. You w ill hear the w ords in the recording.

bad-tempered court d ow ry pestering suitors

1 Hortensio and Gremio wanted to marry Bianca. They were her

2 Every time they saw Baptista, they asked for his permission to see her. This
annoyed him. ‘S top me!’ he told them.
3 Katharina was always angry about something or with someone. She was
4 Hortensio and Gremio wanted to spend time with Bianca because it was
important for a man t o ......................................a woman before asking her to
marry him.
5 Rich men like Baptista could give their daughters a lot of money when they got
married. This large and generous.................................... was attractive to some
men who were looking for a wife.

8
 PART ONE

t was m id-m orning in the city of Padua and the main square was full of O S
people. Baptista Minola was there with his two daughters, Katharina and
Bianca. B ianca’s tw o su ito rs, H o rtensio and Grem io, w ere th e re too.
■ Katharina didn’t have any suitors. She was a p retty girl but she was very
bad-tem pered and m en were frightened of her because she shouted at them .
She s h o u te d a lot a t h er s is te r to o. B ianca had a c o m p lete ly d iffe re n t
c h a r a c te r . She w a s q u ie t a n d s w e e t a n d sh e w a s also p r e t t i e r th a n
Katharina.
T h a t m o rn in g H o rte n s io a n d G rem io w e re p e s t e r i n g B a p tis ta fo r
permission to court Bianca and he was getting a little annoyed.
‘How m any tim es do I have to tell you, gentlem en!’ he said. ‘The answ er is
‘n o ’! I have decided th a t K ath a rin a m u st m a rry first b eca u se s h e ’s th e
eldest.’
‘T hat’s ridiculous, father!’ Katharina shouted angrily when she heard this.
‘I don’t w ant to m arry, and I’m certainly not going to m arry one of these two
idiots!’
Bianca’s suitors w eren’t happy about Baptista’s decision either.
‘But Baptista,’ Hortensio said. ‘That m eans th a t Bianca will never m arry
because her sister will never find husband.’

9
Love in Shakespeare

‘Nobody w an ts a shrew for a wife!’ Gremio said, looking at K atharina’s

angry face.
‘T h a t’s my last w ord on th e subject, g e n tlem en !’ B ap tista said. ‘Now,
Bianca, my dear. I think it will be easier for Katharina to find a husband if
you stay at hom e for a few m onths. You can continue studying. I’ll find a
teacher for you.’
‘Thank you, fath er,’ Bianca said and smiled at him. ‘You’re very kind. You
know how much I love Latin and music.’
Her tw o suitors started to complain loudly.
‘Baptista! You can’t lock Bianca in the house!’ Hortensio said. ‘It isn’t fair!’
‘It isn’t her fault if her sister’s a shrew!’ Gremio said.
‘E n o u g h !’ B a p tis ta s h o u te d . ‘Bianca! Com e w ith me! You can s ta y ,
K atharina.’
‘Nobody tells m e w hat to do!’ K atharina said angrily. ‘I’m coming hom e
with you.’
Hortensio and Gremio w atched unhappily as Baptista and his daughters
walked away.
‘Neither of us has a chance of winning Bianca if we can’t find a husband
for K atharina,’ Hortensio said.
‘But who will have her?’ Gremio asked.
‘Someone will. Baptista is rich. She has a big dowry. Come on! Let’s sta rt

L ater th a t day a g e n tlem an arriv ed from V erona, a city n o t far from

Padua. His nam e was Petruchio. The first thing he did w as visit his friend
Hortensio.
‘This is a surprise, Petruchio!’ Hortensio said. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m very well, th ank you, my friend,’ Petruchio replied.
‘W hat brings you to P adua?’
‘I’m here for a visit. My father Antonio died recently and I inherited a lot
of m oney and a big house,’ Petruchio told his friend. ‘Now I need a wife. I’ve
come here to find one.’
‘T hat’s interesting,’ Hortensio said. ‘Come in and sit dow n.’
‘T h a n k you. Yes, I d e c id e d it w a s tim e to g e t m a r r i e d ,’ P e tru c h io
continued. ‘I don’t mind if the w om an is old, ugly and bad-tem pered. But she
m ust be rich. T hat’s very im portant.’

10
 The Taming of the Shrew

‘I k n o w a girl w ho n e e d s a h u s b a n d ,’ H o rte n s io said . ‘H er n a m e ’s

Katharina. She’s young and pretty, and her fa th e r’s rich. But I’m afraid sh e’s
very bad-tem pered.’
‘T hat’s alright,’ Petruchio said. ‘I’m not afraid of shrews. Take me to her
house! I w ant to m eet her.’
‘We can go th ere im m ediately,’ H ortensio said. ‘But you m ust do m e a
favour in return.’
‘Of course, my friend!’ Petruchio said.
‘K a th a rin a h as a y o u n g e r s is te r called B ianca. S h e ’s th e s w e e te s t,
m ost beautiful girl in Padua. I w an t to court her but her fath er has locked
her in th e house. He says th a t K atharin a m u st m arry before Bianca can
receive su ito rs. But K ath a rin a will n ev er find a h u sb an d . S h e’s so bad-
tem pered!’
‘I’m not afraid of sh rew s,’ Petruchio replied. ‘If sh e’s rich, sh e ’ll be the
perfect wife for m e.’
‘No, Petruchio! You don’t understand. She’s really horrible!’
‘Don’t worry, my friend! I’ll tam e her. Now, how can I help?’
‘Well, I have a plan,’ Hortensio told him. ‘I’m going to disguise 3 myself as
a music teacher. I’ll come to the house with you and you m ust say th a t I’m
your friend. Baptista is looking for a teacher for his daughters so I’ll offer to
give them lessons.’
‘Now I understand! Then you’ll see Bianca every day!’
‘Yes!’ Hortensio replied.
‘Alright, I agree. Let’s go!’
At Baptista’s house, Katharina was torm enting 4 her sister. They were in
their bedroom. Bianca’s hands were tied behind her back and Katharina was
shouting at her.
‘Com e on! Tell me! W hich s u ito r do you p r e f e r? H a n d so m e , y o u n g
Hortensio or rich, old Grem io?’
‘I don’t like either of them , Katharina! Please untie my hands!’
‘Is it Hortensio? ’

3. d isgu ise : m ak e ch a n g e s in th e w ay y ou look so t h a t people will n o t reco gn ise you.

4. to rm en tin g : m ak in g s o m e o n e s u ffe r physical or m e n ta l pain.

11
Love in Shakespeare

'No, no!’ poor Bianca cried. ‘If you like him, you can have him! But please
untie my hands!’
Just then the door opened and Baptista cam e in.
‘K ath arin a! S top to rm e n tin g y o u r s is te r! ’ he said. ‘U ntie h e r h a n d s
im m ediately! W hy c a n ’t you behave b e tte r? W hy c a n ’t you be m ore like
Bianca?’
This m ade Katharina angry.
‘She’s always been your favourite, h asn ’t she?’
‘Is it surprising?’ Baptista said. ‘Now go back to your lessons, both of you,
please!’
Katharina pushed Bianca out of the room.
‘I m ust m arry so th a t y o u can have a husband!’ she said angrily to her

sister.
‘Oh dear! W hat am I going to do w ith h e r? ’ B aptista said w hen he w as
alone.
There was a knock at the door and a servant cam e in.
‘These tw o gentlem en would like to see you, sir,’ he said.
Petruchio and Hortensio, who was disguised as a musician, were standing
behind him.
‘Good m o rn in g , S ig n o r!’ 5 P e tru c h io said. ‘I h e a r you h av e a p r e tt y
daughter called Katharina. I’d like to court her.’
‘I think you m ean my daughter Bianca,’ Baptista said sadly.'Katharina is
not your type of girl.’
‘No, Signor. I m ean K atharina,’ Petruchio continued. ‘But perhaps you say
th a t she isn’t my type because you don’t w ant to lose her.’
‘Oh — no, no,’ Baptista replied quickly. ‘I m eant th a t Katharina isn’t like
m ost other girls, th a t’s all.’
Then Petruchio rem em bered Hortensio. ‘Oh, this is my friend Litio. He’s
an excellent music teacher. And he can teach m athem atics too. He’d like to
offer his services to your daughters.’
‘Oh, -er, well, th ank you Signor —er?’
‘Petruchio. From Verona.’

5. Signor : (red uced fo rm of Signore) Italian fo r ‘M r’.

12
Love in Shakespeare

‘Oh yes, I knew your father Antonio/ Baptista said. ‘Well, Signor Litio, you
look like a serious young man. You can sta rt immediately. My daughters are
in the library. My servant will take you th e re /
Then he turned to Petruchio and said, ‘So, you’re interested in K atharina/
‘Yes, Signor. I’d like to m a rry her, w ith y o u r p e rm issio n of c o u r s e /
Petruchio replied.
‘But you don’t know her,’ Baptista said. ‘If you’re looking for an o b e d ie n t6
wife, Signor Petruchio, Katharina isn’t the girl for you.’
‘I’ll tam e her,’ Petruchio said. ‘How big is her dow ry?’
‘Twenty thousand crow ns.’7
‘Good! I’m sure she’ll be the perfect wife for m e.’
The door opened and Hortensio cam e in. There was a big cut on his head
and blood was running down his face.
‘Katharina hit me with her lute,’ 8 he said sadly. ‘I don’t know w hat I did
w rong.’
Petruchio laughed.
‘I can’t wait to m eet her,’ he said. ‘I love w om en with spirit.’9
‘I’ll go and get her for you,’ Baptista said.
While he w as w aitin g for th e m , P etru ch io decided how to deal w ith
Katharina.
‘When she’s rude to me, I’ll be nice to her,’ he decided. ‘W hen she shouts
at me, I’ll tell her she has a beautiful voice. When she hits me, I’ll kiss her. I’ll
show her th a t I’m her m aster. She’ll soon stop behaving badly and become an
obedient wife!’
Katharina cam e in and looked at him angrily. Petruchio smiled at her and
took her hand.
‘Hello, Kate!’ he said. ‘T hat’s your nam e, isn’t it?’
‘People usually call me Katharina,’ she replied sharply and pulled her hand
back.
‘I prefer the nam e Kate,’ he said. ‘I’ve heard a lot about you but you are
much sw eeter th an I imagined. I’d like to m arry you.’

6. o b ed ien t : doing w h a t a p e rs o n or law say s you m u s t do (verb : obey).

7. crow n s : u nit of m o n e y u sed in th e UK in th e p ast.
8. lu te : m usical in s tru m e n t like a guitar.
9. sp irit : e n th u s ia s tic a ttitu d e to life.

14
 The Taming of the Shrew

‘Don’t be stupid!’ she said.

‘No, I’m serious. I think you’re lovely. Come and sit on my lap 10 and give
me a kiss!’
‘Certainly not!’ she replied and slap p ed 11 his face.
Petruchio only laughed and said, ‘Kate! You’re wonderful!’
‘Go away, you idiot!’ she shouted angrily.
‘My darling Kate!’ he replied. ‘No w om an has more charm th an you!’
This was too much for Katharina.
‘Get out of my house! Immediately!’ she scream ed.
‘Kate! Sweet Kate!’ Petruchio said. ‘Your father has already agreed to our
m arriage. He has given you a good dowry. You’re going to be my wife.’
‘Why me? Why don’t you ask som eone else?’ she asked.
‘Because we will m ake a p e rfe c t couple, K ate,’ P etruchio replied in a
serious voice. ‘Only I can see your beauty, and I love you for it. You m u s t
m arry me! I w o n’t let ano th er m an have you. I was born to m arry you, Kate,
and I’m going to tam e you.’
K atharin a lifted her hand to hit him again. At th a t m o m e n t B ap tista
walked in.
‘How are you tw o getting on?’ he asked.
‘Very well!’ Petruchio said. ‘Kate has told me she loves me and can’t wait
to be my wife. W e’re going to get m arried on Sunday.’
B aptista couldn’t believe his luck. ‘Good! I’ll organise th e w edding and
send the invitations,’ he said.
‘And I’ll go to V enice to buy so m e w e d d in g c lo th e s a n d th e r in g s ,’
Petruchio said. ‘Kiss me, Kate! On Sunday you’ll be mine!’

10. lap : th e to p h alf of yo u r legs w h e n you sit dow n.

11. slap p ed : hit s o m e o n e w ith y o u r h and.

15
 The text and beyond

PET Q Com prehension check

For each question, m ark the letter next to the correct answ er — A, B, C or D.

1 Katharina
A Q was prettier than Bianca.
b Q was older than Bianca.
C Q had a bigger dowry than Bianca.
D Q] had more suitors than Bianca.

2 Baptista was annoyed with Hortensio and Gremio because

A Q] he didn’t like them.
B □ they pestered Bianca.
C Q they were always asking him the same question.
D Q they were bad-tempered.

3 It was difficult for Katharina to find a suitor because

A Q she was too old.
b Q she didn’t like men.
C Q she wanted to marry a rich man.
D Q she frightened men.

4 Petruchio was looking for

A □ a wife with money.
B Q a young wife with money.
C [ ] a pretty wife with money.
D □ a wife from the city of Padua.
5 Hortensio disguised himself as a musician
A Q because Baptista was looking for a music teacher.
B Q to get a job.
C Q because Bianca liked music.
D □ to make a good impression on Baptista.

6 Petruchio decided to
A Q learn to love Katharina as she was.
B Q accept Katharina as she was.
C Q change Katharina’s character.
D Q deal with Katharina in a kind way.

16
C h a r a c te r s
A M atch a ch aracter (1-5) to an adjective (a-e)that describes him/her.

1 □ Baptista Minola a serious

2 □ Katharina Minola b confident
3 □ Bianca Minola c rich
4 □ Hortensio d rude
5 □ Petruchio e disappointed
B Here are five more adjectives to describe the characters in 2A. W h ich adjective
(1-5) could describe w h ich c h a ra c te r? W r it e a nam e next to the ad jectives.
Explain your choice to a partner.

1 gentle ............ 4 difficult

2 realistic ......... 5 sad ......
3 old-fashioned

A n to n y m s
Complete the table w ith antonym s (opposites). Use the adjectives in exercise 2.

Adjective Antonym

aggressive 1
cheerful 2
easy-going 3
fun-loving 4
impractical 5
modern 6
polite 7
poor 8
satisfied 9
shy 10

A d je c tiv e s
Complete the sentences w ith a suitable adjective from exercise 3.
1 Hortensio was a ......................person. He hated all forms of violence.
2 Bianca couldn't cook, sew or knit. She was a very.................... girl.
3 Katharina took life very seriously. She wasn’t a n ......................person.
4 Petruchio wasn’t ......................when he met Katharina. People said she was pretty
and she was.
 W h en she hits m e, I’ll kiss her.
We use a form of the present, not a form of the future, in time clauses introduced by
when, after, as soon as, before, while and until that refer to the future.

• W h en K ath arin a m arries, her father will give her a big dowry.
• Will Baptista allow Hortensio to court Bianca afte r Petruchio and K ath arin a are
m arried ?
• As soon as he gets an opportunity, Hortensio will tell Bianca he loves her.
• Katharina will have to suffer before she learns to be an obedient wife.
• Hortensio will be able to court Bianca w hile he is teaching her music.
• Petruchio won’t be happy until he has tam ed Katharina.

Q T im e clau ses
W rite com plete sentences.

1 Baptista / be happy / when / Katharina / have a husband.

2 Petruchio / take his wife / Verona / as soon as / they / be married.
3 While / Petruchio / buy rings / his servant / look after their horses.
4 Bianca / not improve her lute-playing / until / she / learn to read music.

Q C o n ju n ctio n s of tim e
Complete the sentences w ith the words in the box. Use each w o rd ONCE.

after before until w hen w hile

1 Petruchio became rich......................his father died.

2 Katharina slapped Petruchio he tried to kiss her.
3 Hortensio was teaching Katharina a song, she hit him with his lute.
4 A girl’s suitors had to get her father’s permission they could court her.
5 Gremio and Hortensio couldn’t court Bianca......................they had her father’s
permission.

P E T © W ritin g
If you are a girl, im agine you are K ath arin a. W rite a le tte r to yo u r friend S y lv ia
describing your m eeting w ith Petruchio, your im pression of him and w h at you are
going to do after yo u ’re m arried.

Start like this:

'bear Sy\\Aa}

,
Guess ulUat! Xm getti/ig married! X b et youre surprised a re a t you? X m et my future
husbaad for th e first time today. H e ......

18
 If you are a boy, im agine you are Petru ch io. W r ite a le tte r to y o u r frie n d Luca
describing your m eeting w ith Katharina, your im pression of her and how you are
going to teach her to be an obedient wife.

Start like this:

h ear (mca,

x'l/e g o t some. /teu)s for cjou. lV<s decided to g e t married, /ffij future u )fe is from
Tixdua. X m et [\er todaxj. SKe......

Write your letter in about 100 words.

B efore you read

Q R e a d in g p ic tu re s
Look at the picture on page 21 and an sw er the questions.

1 The two men in the picture are Baptista and Petruchio. Which is which?
2 Are they dressed for the wedding?
3 What is Baptista thinking?
4 Why are there some flowers on the steps?

Q P re d ic tio n
W h ich of the following do you th in k Petruchio does to tam e K a th a rin a ? Pu t a tick
(/ ) in the boxes.

1
1 □ He makes her leave Padua immediately after the wedding.
□
22 ^ He makes her wash the kitchen floor before they have dinner.
3 □ He
□
4 __ | He makes her read to him before they go to bed.

□
5 j He doesn’t let her sleep.
□
6 ^ He doesn’t let her have any new clothes.
Read Pa rt Two and check your ideas.

19
 PART TWO

n Sunday morning Katharina took out her best silk dress and put B P

O
it on. T hen she p u t so m e flo w e rs in h e r h air, p icked up h er
bouquet and w ent downstairs. She expected to see Petruchio but
he w asn ’t there.
‘W here is he?’ she cried. ‘It’s time to go to the church.’
She turned to her father.
‘Go and see if he’s coming!’
Baptista w ent outside to look for him.
‘I can’t see him,’ he said when he cam e back.
Katharina threw down her bouquet and burst into te a r s .12
Baptista began to get worried.
‘Perhaps he’s changed his m ind,’ he thought sadly.
Then som eone shouted, ‘Petruchio’s coming!’
B a p tis ta ra n b ack o u ts id e to m e e t him . W h en he saw him , he w as
horrified. Instead of his wedding clothes, Petruchio was wearing a dirty old
jacket and a pair of trousers th a t were full of holes.
‘W here are your wedding clothes, Petruchio?’ he asked.

12. burst in to tea rs : su d d e n ly s ta r t crying.

20
Love in Shakespeare

‘K a te ’s m a rry in g m e n o t m y c lo th e s, is n ’t s h e ? ’ P e tru c h io rep lied .

‘Anyway, w here is she? We m ust go to the church. We haven’t got tim e to
waste! Tell her to hurry!’
Petruchio behaved very badly at the wedding. He spoke rudely to the priest
and threw wine in his face. Then he kissed Katharina loudly in front of everyone.
She felt very em barrassed. After the cerem ony, he refused to stay for the
wedding dinner. He took his new wife back to his house in Verona immediately.
As soon as they arrived, he called a servant.
‘Bring som e w ater for my wife!’ he told him. ‘She w ants to w ash her hands
before we e a t.’
The servant brought a bowl of w ater. It was very full and he spilt some of
the w ater on the floor.
‘What are you doing?’ Petruchio shouted and hit the servant on the head. ‘Idiot!’
‘Please be m ore patien t, Petruchio!’ K atharina said to her husband. ‘It
w a sn ’t his fault.’
Another servant cam e in and put som e m eat on the table.
‘You m ust be hungry, Kate,’ Petruchio said. ‘Sit down and eat!’
He picked up a piece of m eat for her and looked at it.
‘This is burnt!’ he shouted and threw the m eat at the wall. ‘My wife doesn’t
eat burnt m eat!’
‘Petruchio!’ Katharina said quietly. ‘The servants are doing their best. Don’t
shout at them like that! Anyway, the m eat w asn’t really burnt.’
‘Yes, it w as,’ he said. ‘You c an ’t eat b u rn t food. But it’s too late to eat
now. It’s tim e for bed.’
Poor Kate was hungry but she didn’t say anything.
W hen they were in bed, Petruchio started telling her how lovely she was
and how happy he w as to be m arried. He talked for hours in a very loud
voice. It was impossible for her to sleep.
The next day was the same. Petruchio continued to to rm en t her. She ate
very little and slept very little so soon she was very hungry and very tired.
Finally she decided to ask a servant for som e food.
‘Please give me som ething to eat!’
‘W hat about a cow’s foot?’ one servant said.
‘Oh, yes, please!’ Kate replied.

22
 The Taming of the Shrew

‘No, no! A cow’s foot isn’t the right kind of food for a lady,’ another servant said.
‘But I’m hungry! Give it to me!’ Kate shouted.
Just then Petruchio walked in.
‘Are you still shouting, K ate?’ he said. ‘W hat a pity! The tailor’s 13 here
with som e new clothes. But th e y ’re for a lady, not a shrew .’
‘I’m sorry. I w on’t shout again, Petruchio,’ she said sweetly. ‘May I see th em ?’
Petruchio to o k a couple of silk d resse s and a h a t from th e tailor and
’ooked at them .
T hey are very badly m ade!’ he told him. ‘My wife can’t w ear these. Take
them away!’
‘I think th ey ’re very nice, Petruchio,’ Kate said. ‘Please let me keep them !’
‘No, Kate,’ he said. ‘You’ll have to w ear your old clothes. Anyway, we m ust
'eave now. Tonight w e’re having dinner in Padua with your fath er.’
In the carriage 14 on the way to Padua, Petruchio decided to to rm en t his
wife a little more.
‘How bright the moon is!’ he said.
‘T hat’s not the moon. It’s the sun,’ Kate said, a little angrily.
‘If yo u ’re going to disagree w ith m e abo ut everything,’ Petruchio said,
w e’ll have to go back home. Your father w on’t be happy with you.’
“No, no! I’m sorry! If you say it’s the moon, it’s the m oon.’
Petruchio tu rn ed to his serv ant and said, ‘Grumio! Kate says t h a t’s the
moon. But it’s obviously the sun, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, yes, you’re right of course,’ Kate said. ‘It’s the sun.’
Petruchio smiled to himself. ‘I’ve finally tam ed her,’ he thought.
When they got to B aptista’s house, he said to Kate, ‘So, are you going to
ze a shrew this evening?’
‘No, I’ve learned my lesson,’ Kate replied.
Petruchio laughed. ‘And w hat lesson is th a t? ’
T o agree with you about everything and let you think you are my m aster!’
Petruchio took her in his arm s and said, ‘Kiss me, Kate!’
Then Katharina understood th a t he w a s the perfect husband for her and
th a t she loved him very much.

13. tailor : m a n w ho m a k e s clothes.

14. carriage : a fo rm of t r a n s p o r t used in th e p a s t pulled by h orses.

23
s»/ V /

The text and beyond

PET Q Com prehension check

Read these sentences about C hapter Two. Decide if each sentence is co rrect or
incorrect. If it is correct, m ark A. If it is not correct, m ark B.

A B
1 Katharina was worried because Petruchio was late for the wedding. □ □
2 Petruchio was embarrassing at the wedding. □ □
3 The couple left Padua immediately after the wedding dinner. □ □
4 Katharina didn’t approve of the way Petruchio talked to his servants. □ □
5 Petruchio talked in his sleep and kept Katharina awake all night. □ □
6 Petruchio wanted the tailor to make some new clothes for his wife. □ □
7 Katharina tried to be obedient. □ □
8 Katharina was happy to be Petruchio’s wife in the end. □ □
Q V o c a b u la r y
Complete the sum m ary of Parts One and Two of The Tam ing o f the Shrew . Choose
words from the list. There are some extra w ords th a t you don’t need.

angry anybody become behave court d ifferent meeting

nobody rich rude sim ilar torm ent wedding w in

A (1)......................................man from Padua, Baptista, has two daughters. The elder

daughter Katharina is a very bad-tempered girl whom (2)....................................
wants to marry her. Bianca, her younger sister, is (3)...................................... She has
a lot of suitors but Baptista decides that Katharina must marry before her sister
does. Petruchio arrives from Verona and goes to see his friend Hortensio, who
wants to ( 4 ) Bianca’s love. When he hears that Katharina has a
big dowry, he wants to meet her. Katharina is very (5).................................... to
Petruchio but he tells her father that he plans to marry her. After the
(6).................................... Petruchio and Katharina return to Verona. Petruchio has
decided to (7)......................................his new wife until she becomes obedient.
Eventually Katharina realises she loves Petruchio and starts to
(8).................................... like a good wife.
Q C h a ra c te rs
W h o is speaking and who, or w hat, do the underlined pronouns refer to ?

1 ‘Perhaps he’s changed his mind.’ ...............................

2 ‘It wasn’t his fault.’ ...............................
3 ‘You can’t eat burnt food.’ ...............................
4 ‘May I see them?’ ...............................
5 ‘If you say it’s the moon, it’s the moon.’ ...............................

24
 VI✓ 1*
C T I V I T I

H e spoke rudely to the priest.

Rudely is an adverb. We can use adverbs to say how somebody does something or
how something happens.
This kind of adverb usually goes after the verb.
Petruchio spoke rudely to the p riest
The sun shone brightly on their wedding day.

We form many adverbs by adding -ly to the adjective. Sometimes we need to make
spelling changes.
adjective + -ly (no change) e.g bad-ly quick-ly
adjective ending in -y —►-ily e.g. eas-ily laz-ily
adjective ending in -e + -ly (no change) e.g. com plete-ly politely
adjective ending in -le -* -ly e.g. possib-ly terrib-ly
Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective: early, fa r, fast, hard, late.
K atharina g ot up early.
Bianca worked hard during her m usic lesson.

Be careful! good (adjective); well (adverb).

-ortensio plays the lute very well.

Q A dverb fo rm s
W rite the adverb form s of the adjectives.

1 careful............................ 5 unhappy......
2 loud............................ 6 comfortable
3 sw eet............................ 7 hungry.........
4 good............................ 8 serious.........

0 A dverb or adjective?
Complete the sentences w ith a suitable adjective or adverb from exercise 4.

1 a Katharina w atched......................as the servants prepared a delicious dinner

for themselves.
b ‘Could you give me something to eat too,’ she said in a ......................voice,
smiling her best smile.
2 a Petruchio s a t ......................in bed and talked.....................to Katharina all night
so she couldn’t sleep.
b ‘I’m really..................., Kate,’ he said to her. ‘You are the Iovliest girl in the
world.’
3 a ‘Be m o re....................!’ Petruchio shouted at his servant when he spilt water
on the floor.
b The servant burst into tears. ‘I’m sorry, signor. It won’t happen again,’ she
said, and walked aw ay......................

25
IH£jr @ L is te n in g : w e d d in g s a ro u n d th e w o rld
L is te n to th e d e s c rip tio n s o f h o w p eop le c e le b ra te w e d d in g s in 4 d iffe r e n t
countries around the w orld — H aw aii, Poland, China and Morocco.
A n sw er the questions. W rite the names of the countries in the spaces.

According to the descriptions, where

1 do the couple have to drink w ine?...........................................
2 do both the bride and the groom wear w hite?....................
3 is traditional music played?...........................................
4 does the bride receive money before or during the wedding dinner?....................

5 does the couple have to play gam es?....................

6 do the bride and groom share food and drink?...........................................
7 must the bride perform a special ritual before she can enter her new home?

8 does the couple wear flowers?....................

9 does the bride have a bath in milk the day before?....................
10 do the couple exchange rings with their names engraved inside?

26
 T: G R A D E 5
Q S p e a k in g - W ed d in g s
Talk to a p artn er about weddings in your country. Ask and an sw er the questions.

1 Where do people usually get married?

2 Which day is the most popular for weddings?
3 What happens at the wedding ceremony?
4 What kind of clothes do people wear when they get married?
5 What happens after the ceremony?
6 Are there any traditions or superstitions associated with weddings?

Q W o rd g a m e
Six w ords connected w ith m arriage in these sentences have been substituted by
the names of fruits. W h a t are the w o rd s? W rite them under the pictures.

1 Tony and Sue have decided to get married but they haven’t chosen a date for the
peach yet.
2 In Renaissance Europe if a woman had a big banana she usually had a lot of
cherries.
3 It’s traditional for the bride to throw her melon over her shoulder before she
goes away. The girl who catches it will be the next to marry.
4 The bride and groom exchange gold oranges in church.
5 In Elizabethan times, a man’s apple was his property.

n I HI I Hi

27
PET Q The Quarto a n d the Folio publishing formats
Read the text below and choose the correct w ord for each space (1-8). There is an
example at the beginning (0).

William Shakespeare and other authors of

(0) ...his...................... time wrote their plays
for acting companies (1)..............................
main purpose was to put on plays rather SHAKE-SPEARES
(2) ...............................publish them.
However, it sometimes happened that
actors wrote down the words of a play SONNETS
(3) ...............................memory and sold this
bad copy to a dishonest publisher. N eu er before Imprinted*
Occasionally, the publishers
(4) ...............................attended
performances and made copies of the
script while they were watching the play.
These methods of getting a copy often
resulted (5)................................ the AT LONDON
publication of playscripts with many By Cj . Eld for T. T » and are
to be {bide by willsam
errors. The plays containing errors were 1609 .

often in quarto format. This was one of

two publishing formats — the quarto and the folio — in Shakespeare’s time.
Before the publication of the First Folio (as the first single volume of Shakespeare’s
works is called) in 1623, twenty-two of his thirty-eight plays (6)...............................
already appeared in quarto format. Ten of (7)................................ are believed to be
bad quartos, or inaccurate copies, including one called The Tam ing o f a Shrew (not
the Shrew).
The only quarto version of The Tam ing o f the Shrew was printed in 1631
( 8 ) ............................... A W ittie and Pleasant comedie called The Tam ing o f the Shrew.
This quarto text was based on the 1623 First Folio text.
0 (A) his B their C our D its
1 A its B whose C which D their
2 A to B of C that D than
3 A from B by C in D for
4 A had B they C themselves D have
5 A by B of C in D with
6 A were B are C have D had
7 A these B which C they D their
8 A like B as C how D named

28
 The Armada Portrait (about 1588) by George Gower.

Courtship and Marriage

in Elizabethan Times
Elizabeth I (1533-1603) received many offers of marriage but she chose not to
accept any of them and remained unmarried all her life. This was very unusual
• : those times. Women and men from all social classes in the sixteenth century
ere expected to m arry. M arriage gave them not only status but also the
p >sibility of having heirs 1.
Life for a single woman wasn't easy in Elizabethan times but perhaps Elizabeth
never married because she didn't want to lose her independence. After marriage,
the law gave a husband full rights over his wife. She became part of his property.
'•Cost people got married in their mid- or late-twenties although it was legal for
boys to marry at the age of 14 and girls at 12 with their parents' permission. The

1. heirs : th e people w ho receive m o n e y or p ro p e rty w h e n s o m e o n e dies.

 Scene from the film Elizabeth —The Golden Age (2007).

sons and daughters from noble 2 or rich families usually married at a younger age
than those from the lower classes. This was because poorer couples had to wait
until they had enough money or possessions to start a home of their own.
Elizabethans were free to choose their partners but arranged marriages were
common among the upper classes. An arranged m arriage was more like a
business arrangement than a relationship between two people. It was a way for
the families on both sides to obtain property, money and useful friends.
However, marriage wasn't seen only as a business arrangement. Elizabethans also
thought that real love was important in a good marriage, too. In order to give real
love time to grow, a period of courtship was usual before the relationship became
serious. Courting allowed the man and the woman to get to know each other
better before they made any binding 3 promises. A courting couple could meet at
their homes, not always very private because other family members were there,
and also alone in parks, fields and gardens. They often gave each other precious
gifts like coins, rings and lockets 4, but more practical gifts were also popular, like
gloves, belts, purses, ribbons 5 and slippers.

2. noble : belonging to th e h ig h e st social class.

3. binding : s o m e th in g th a t you c a n n o t legally sto p or avoid.
4. lo ck et : a piece of jew ellery c o n tain in g s o m e th in g such as a p icture.
5. ribbons : small d ec o ra tiv e strip s of cloth w hich are given to s o m e o n e to w e a r on
th e ir clothes.

30
C : urting wasn't a promise to marry someone and courtship didn't always end in
edding. This was perhaps a good thing because divorce, as we know it today,
didn't exist in those days.
den a man and a woman decided to marry, they became betrothed. Being
irirothed was a formal state that was as binding as marriage. At a betrothal
r remony, the couple exchanged vows, or promises, to be faithful to each other. The
- in gave the woman a ring to wear on her right hand. Then they kissed and signed
n e contract. When they married later in church, the ring was put on the left hand.
The couple had to announce their intention to marry on each of the three Sundays
ref ?re their wedding day. This was called 'crying the banns'. During these three
re'vs there was time to stop the wedding if it was discovered, for example, that
r r of the couple was already married.
A r ccmgs were held in church because they were always religious ceremonies. It
i rr : necessary for the couple to send wedding invitations because communities
r :-r small and everybody knew what was happening.
“r Elizabethan bride didn't wear a white dress on her wedding day. Wearing
"::e was a later tradition that became popular in the 1800s. She wore her best
dress, made of silk or velvet6 if she came from a rich family, or linen, cotton or
wool if she came from a poorer family. She often decorated her dress with flowers
and she also wore flowers in her hair, which she wore loose over her shoulders.
Unmarried girls were allowed to wear their hair loose but after they were married
they had to hide it under a hat.
She carried a bouquet or a garland 7 of roses and rosemary, decorated with
ribbons. This was made by her bridesmaids. Rosemary was used because it
symbolized fidelity 8.
After the marriage, there was a wedding dinner to celebrate. The Elizabethans
loved dishes which are very unusual to us, like small birds in a pie, hedgehogs 9
or roast swan 10. Richer people might even have had an exciting new bird, the
turkey, recently introduced from America. They were keen on presenting dishes
as attractively as possible, too. If they were eating peacock, for example, they
decorated the dish with its colourful feathers.
The tradition of having a w edding cake began in the mid-17th century. At
Medieval and Elizabethan weddings, a pile of sweet buns was put in front of the
bride and groom and they had to kiss over them without knocking the pile down.
There was beer, mead (a sweet wine made from honey) or wine, sometimes
spiced, to accompany the food. There wasn't usually any water because it wasn't
safe to drink it.

Q C o m p reh en s io n c h e c k
A n sw er the questions.

1 Why was it important for people to marry in the sixteenth century?

2 At what age could a girl be legally married?
3 What were the advantages of arranged marriages?
4 How was courtship different from betrothal?
5 Why was rosemary a popular choice for the bride’s bouquet?
6 What did the bride and groom have to do with the pile of sweet buns?

6. v elv et : a kind of cloth t h a t is s o ft on

one side an d s m o o th on th e o th er. |P * 'i
9. h e d g e h o g :
7. garland : ^
8. fid elity : lastin g su p p o rt. 10. sw an :

32
 2
The Tragedy of
Romeo and Juliet
 B e fo re you read

Q Look at the list of characters in the sto ry before you sta rt reading the story.

Characters in the story:

Escalus: the Prince of Verona
Romeo: a young man
Benvolio: one of Romeo’s friends
Juliet: a young girl
Lord and Lady Capulet: Juliet’s parents
Mercutio: one of Romeo’s friends
Tybalt: Juliet’s cousin
*'■" Ju lie t’s Nurse
a priest and Romeo’s teacher
F ria r Laurence:
Count Paris: Juliet’s suitor

Setting: The city of Verona in northern Italy

jS Ir G Listening
3 £--|- Listen to the beginning of P a rt One. You w ill hear a conversation between Romeo
and his frie n d Benvo lio. Decide if each sentence is corre ct or in co rrect. If it is
correct, put a tick ( / ) in the box under A for Y ES. If it is not correct, put a tick ( / )
in the box under B for NO.

A B
YES NO

1 Romeo doesn’t hear the Prince’s announcement. □ □

2 Benvolio wants Romeo to go out with him that evening. □ □
3 Rosaline, the girl that Romeo’s in love with, loves someone else. □ □
4 The Capulet servant wants to know the way to Rosaline’s house. □ □
5 Romeo and Benvolio can go to the masked ball because nobody
will recognise them. □ □
6 Romeo doesn’t really want to go to the ball. □ □
G V o c a b u la r y
Complete the sentences w ith the correct words.

1 A person who hates you and tries to hurt you is y o ur...........

2 The daughter of your brother or sister is y o u r......................
3 The child of your aunt and uncle is yo ur......................
4 A person whose job is to protect a place or a person is a .....

The words are in P a rt One of The T ragedy o f Rom eo and Ju lie t.

34
 PART ONE

he Montague and Capulet families of Verona were bitter enemies. They S IS '
were always fighting and disturbing the peace in the city streets.
One quiet sum m er afternoon two groups of young men, one from the
Montague family and the other from the Capulet family, started a fight in
a:\<et square. The women who had gone there to do their shopping quickly
z up their skirts and ran home because they were afraid. The young men
hghting with knives and swords and the ground was already red with their
"inally, som eone w ent and told the royal guards w hat was happening,
cam e im m ediately and stopped the fight. Then Escalus, the Prince of
a. himself arrived. He was tired of their fights.
te next tim e one of you disturbs the peace, I’ll put him to death!’ 1 he
.e two families.
~d an d Lady M o n ta g u e h ad one son called R om eo. He w as m o re
e s te d in love t h a n f ig h tin g . W h ile th e P rin c e w a s m a k in g his
_ncem ent in the square, Romeo was sitting under a tree, thinking about
He was in love but he w asn ’t happy. His friends were worried for him.
~at’s the m atter, Rom eo?’ Benvolio asked. ‘You never come out with us
ave fun any m ore.’
put som eon e to d eath : h ave s o m e o n e killed.

35
Love in Shakespeare

T m in love with a girl/ Romeo replied. ‘But she will never love me because
she has prom ised never to love anyone/
‘Why not? Who is she?’ his friend asked.
‘Rosaline. Lord Capulet’s niece.’
‘Well, she isn’t the only girl in Verona,’ Benvolio said. ‘You’ll find another one!’
Just then a Capulet servant came up to them. He had a piece of paper in his hand.
‘Excuse me, sirs,’ he said. ‘I have to invite the people on this list to a masked ball
at the Capulets’ house tonight but I can’t read. Could you tell me who they are?’
Romeo read the nam es to him. One of them was Rosaline’s.
The servant thanked him and w ent to find the guests.
‘Benvolio!’ Romeo exclaimed. ‘Rosaline is going to be at the ball tonight.’
‘Well,’ Benvolio said. ‘Why don’t we go to the ball too, Romeo? Nobody will
recognise us in m asks. T here’ll be lots of p retty girls there and you’ll soon
forget Rosaline!’
‘I don’t think so, Benvolio. I w on’t enjoy it but if you w ant to go, I’ll come
with you. Let’s ask Mercutio to come to o.’
So they set off to tell their friend and find som e m asks and clothes to
w ear at the ball th a t evening.
Not far away at the Capulets’ house, Lady Capulet was running upstairs.
She had som e interesting news for her daughter.
‘Juliet!’ she shouted. ‘W here are you?’
‘Here I am, Mother! In my bedroom. W hat is it?’
Lady Capulet w ent in and sat down on the bed.
‘Count Paris would like to m arry you, Juliet!’ she said. ‘I know you’re only
thirteen but a lot of girls of your age are already married. Do you think you
can love him ?’
Juliet didn’t know Count Paris but she said, ‘I’ll try, M other, if you and
Father believe he’ll be a good husband for m e.’
‘G o o d !’ h er m o th e r said . ‘H e ’s co m in g to th e ball to n ig h t so w e a r
som ething pretty!’
Later that evening Romeo and his friends went to the Capulets’ house. They
were wearing their masks so nobody recognised them. Everyone was having a
good time. Hundreds of candles lit the room. A band of musicians was playing
and the tables were full of good things to eat and drink. Benvolioand Mercutio
immediately asked a couple of girls to dance but Romeo was still thinking about
36
 The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

Rosaline. He looked around the room for her but she w asn’t there. He didn’t want
to dance with anyone else so he waited for his friends in a corner of the room. He
was watching them on the dance floor when his eyes fell on a girl he had never
seen before. She w as dancing w ith Count Paris. She w as young and very
beautiful. Suddenly he completely forgot about Rosaline. He had fallen in love.
‘W ho’s th at girl?’ he asked a servant but the servant didn’t know her name.
U nfortunately, Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, was standing next to him and he
recognised Rom eo’s voice. He was very angry and he im m ediately w en t to
*:nd his uncle, Lord Capulet.
‘Uncle!’ he said. ‘Romeo Montague is here! I’m going to challenge him to fight.’
‘No, Tybalt! You m u s tn ’t! R em em ber the prin ce’s w ords!’ Lord Capulet
said. ‘It was wrong of him to come to our ball w ithout an invitation but he’s
m e of our guests now. Anyway, he isn’t causing any trouble, so let him stay .’
Tybalt w as furious and left th e ball. He plann ed to tak e revenge 2 on
Romeo the next day.
Juliet was thinking about Count Paris. He w asn ’t a very interesting m an
and she didn’t know if she liked him or not. He was very kind and polite, it
was true. She decided to go and find her old nurse and tell her all about him.
. cst then she heard a voice behind her. It was Romeo. He took her hand.
T don’t know who you are but I’ve fallen in love with you,’ he said. ‘I’d like
to kiss you.’
Ju liet looked a t th e boy in f r o n t of her. She could see t h a t he w as
"andsom e under his mask. She didn’t know who he was but she w anted him
co kiss her. She moved her face closer to his and their lips met.
‘Excuse me, m adam !’ It was Juliet’s nurse. ‘Your m other w ants to see you,’
s ee said and Juliet hurried away.
‘Who is her m o th er?’ Romeo asked.
‘Don’t you know, sir?’ the nurse replied. ‘She’s the lady of the house, Lady Capulet!’
‘Oh, no!’ Romeo exclaimed. ‘The girl I love is my enem y’s daughter!’
Romeo was leaving the house when Juliet saw him again. She called her nurse.
‘Find out th a t boy’s nam e!’ she told her. ‘I m ust know who he is. And find
cut if he’s married, too!’
‘Madam!’ the nurse replied. ‘His n a m e ’s Romeo. Romeo Montague! He’s
the only son of your fa th e r’s enem y.’
2. reven ge : h u rtin g or p un ishing s o m e o n e w ho has h u r t or in su lted you.

37
Love in Shakespeare

Romeo couldn’t stop thinking about Juliet. He had to see her again. Later that
night he went back to the Capulets’ house and climbed over the garden wall. Juliet
was standing on her balcony. She was looking at the moon and talking to herself.
‘Oh, Romeo! W hy are you a M ontague? It’s only your nam e th a t is my
enemy, not you. Your n am e’s not im portant to me. Change it or forget it and
then we can be to g eth er.’
W hen he heard this, Romeo knew th a t she loved him.
‘Juliet!’ he called. ‘Give me ano th er name! Call me your love!’
‘Romeo! Is th a t y o u ?’ she w hispered. ‘W hat are you doing here? If the
guards find you, th e y ’ll kill you!’
‘Juliet!’ It was her nurse calling. ‘Come inside now!’
‘I had to see you again. I love you, Juliet,’ Romeo said. ‘Please say you’ll
m arry me and be mine forever!’
She w asn ’t sure th a t he was serious. Could she tru st him?
Then her nurse called her again.
‘Juliet! It’s late!’
She had to decide quickly.
‘I’ll send my nurse to you at nine o’clock tom orrow m orning,’ she said. ‘If
you still feel the same, give her a note for me. Tell me w hat tim e and where
we can get married. I m ust go in now.’
‘I will, my love,’ Romeo replied. ‘Goodnight! Until tom orrow !’
Romeo im m ediately w ent to see his old teacher, F riar3 Laurence. He told
him th a t he was in love with Juliet and asked him to m arry them .
The friar was surprised because he thought th a t Romeo was in love with
Rosaline. But he agreed.
‘This m arriage might be a good thing,’ he thought. ‘Perhaps it will bring an
end to the feud 4 betw een the families.’ He told Romeo to come back at two
o’clock in the afternoon.
The next morning, Juliet’s nurse w ent to find Romeo.
‘Tell your lady to go to Friar Laurence’s house at two this aftern oo n,’ he
told her. ‘He’ll m arry us then. Hurry!’
That afternoon, less th a t tw enty-four hours after they first m et, Romeo
and Juliet were married.
3. friar : a m e m b e r of a Catholic religious order.
4. feu d : an a n g ry d is a g re e m e n t t h a t lasts a long tim e.

38
 V T E S

The text and beyond

Q Com prehension check

M atch the beginnings of the sentences (1-15) w ith the endings (A-O).

1 □ The Montague and Capulet families

2 □ The Prince of Verona
3 □ Romeo was in love
4 □ A Capulet servant asked Romeo
5 □ Benvolio suggested going to the Capulet’s ball
6 □ Lady Capulet had
7 □ Juliet is only thirteen
8 □ Romeo’s friends enjoyed the ball but
9 □ Tybalt recognised Romeo’s voice
0 □ Lord Capulet didn’t want any trouble
1 □ Juliet was talking to herself on her balcony
2 □ Juliet agreed to marry Romeo
3 □ Romeo went to see Friar Laurence
4 □ The nurse found Romeo
5 □ Romeo and Juliet were married
A to cheer up his friend.
B to read a list a names for him.
C some interesting news for her daughter.
D and he gave her a message for Juliet.
E but only the friar and the nurse knew.
F but her parents want her to marry.
G because he needed his help.
H with the niece of his enemy.
I between his nephew and Romeo.
J made an announcement in the square.
K although she wasn’t sure that she could trust him.
L Romeo didn’t want to dance with anyone.
M were always disturbing the peace in Verona.
N when he heard him speaking to a servant.
O and Romeo was in the garden listening to her.

40
Ju et w as standing on her balcony.
*Ve use the past continuous
• to talk about what was happening at or around a past time.
.: .*/as nine o'clock and people w ere sta rtin g to arrive a t the ball.
• to talk about simultaneous actions
When Romeo firs t saw Ju liet, she was dancing with Count Paris.
Tybalt was listening, while Romeo was talk in g to a servant.

• to describe a scene
jW ie t was standing on her balcony.

0 P a s t c o n tin u o u s
Complete the sentences w ith a suitable ending. Use the past continuous.

1 When Romeo took Juliet’s hand at the ball, s h e ..........................................

2 While Juliet was talking to herself on her balcony, s h e ..............................
3 Juliet had to leave Romeo because her nu rse............................................
4 Juliet found it difficult to sleep that night because s h e .............................
5 When she woke up the next morning, the s u n ............................................
6 While the nurse was looking for Romeo, Juliet...........................................
7 When the nurse came back, Juliet............................................
8 It was very quiet in Verona at two in the afternoon because everyone

Q P re p o s itio n s
Complete the sentences w ith the correct prepositions.

1 Escalus, the Prince of Verona, was tired .................... the fights between the
Montagues and the Capulets.
2 Romeo was more interested.................... love than fighting.
3 The tables in the Capulet’s hall were full.................... good things to eat and
drink.
4 When Romeo saw Juliet, he completely forgot......................Rosaline.
5 It was w rong......................Romeo and his friends to go to the ball without an
invitation.
6 The marriage might bring an e n d ......................the feud between the families.

41
P E T © Writing
Look at the photos of Verona. Imagine you are spending the weekend there. W rite
a p o stca rd to a frien d . S a y w h a t y o u ’ve a lre a d y seen and done, and give y o u r
impressions. Tell your friend w h at yo u ’re going to do tom orrow .
W rite 35-45 words.

The Arena. Juliet’s balcony.

Church of San Zeno. Piazza delle Erbe.

Castelvecchio. Ponte Pietra.

42
 rH IN T E R N E T PROJECT M
Verona, the city of R om eo and Juliet. 0 ^ ro THEJUUET CLUB -RomeoandJuliet, Verona, Shakespeare

Connect to the Internet and go to

.*■ .. Dlackcat-cideb.com. Click on the title
of the book and on the Internet project link.

1 Look at the page for the Juliet Club.

► When was the Roman Amphitheatre,
the Arena, built?
► Which is older - Juliet’s house or
Rom eo’s house?
► What is the name of Cangrande II
della S ca la ’s residence and fortress?
► Which historic building in Verona is
used for theatrical and dance
productions today?
► W hy did Ponte Pietra need to be
rebuilt?

Look at the 2008/9 Schools Wikipedia

Selection page.
► Look at the paintings on this page.
Which part of the story of Romeo
and Juliet is shown in Francesco
Hayez’s painting?

Look at the page from the Internet -tetter toJuliet'-- one of thousands of missives iefiat

Movie Database for Letters to Juliet

m
► Who are the three main stars of
S i
Letters to Juliet ?
► What nationality is the character
called Sophie?

- ^ook at the page from the Internet

Movie Database for Romeo and Juliet
► When was this film m ade?
► Who was the director?
► How many Oscars did it win?

43
 ■PNMMNHHM
A C T ■
1onT 1 E S

B e fo re you read

Q V o c a b u la ry
M atch the w ords to the pictures. Use your d iction ary if necessary.

1 apothecary 2 phial 3 poison

4 sword 5 tomb 6 vault

Q R e a d in g p ic tu r e s
Look at the picture on page 49. A n sw er the questions.

1 What has just happened?

2 What is the significance of the small bottle?
3 Where did it come from?
4 What is going to happen next?

1 ^ 0 L isten in g
3 £7 -|- Listen to the beginning of P a rt Two. You w ill hear a conversation between Romeo,
Benvolio, M ercutio and Tybalt. Decide if each sentence is correct or incorrect. If it
is correct, put a tick ( / ) in the box under A for Y ES. If it is not correct, put a tick ( / )
in the box under B fo r NO.
A B
YES NO
1 Romeo is with his friends in the market square the morning
after the ball. □□
2 Romeo wants to be Tybalt’s friend. □□
3 Tybalt challenges Mercutio to fight. □□
4 Benvolio tells Romeo to escape. □□
44
 PART TWO

he following morning Tybalt sent a letter to Romeo’s house, challenging BET

the young Montague to a fight. Then he and some of his Capulet friends
w ent to look for Romeo in the streets of Verona. They were on their
way to the m arket square, when they saw Benvolio and Mercutio.
‘Hey, you two!’ Tybalt shouted at them . ‘You’re Romeo’s friends. Tell me
aere he is!’
We don’t know,’ Benvolio said. ‘The last time we saw him was last night.’
‘Look! Isn’t th a t him over th e re ? ’ Mercutio said. ‘Hey! Romeo! W here have
ou been?’
Tybalt didn’t give him tim e to to answer.
M ontague!’ he sh o u ted , draw ing 5 his sw ord. ‘You have insulted me!
rnallenge you to fight!’
? don’t want to fight you, Tybalt,’ Romeo said. ‘Please! I’d like to be your friend.’
He couldn’t tell him about his m arriage to his cousin Juliet yet because it
as still a secret.
Romeo’s reply m ade Mercutio angry. He drew his sword.
'How can you say that, Rom eo?’ he shouted. ‘Are you a cow ard?’6
Tybalt started to laugh.
5 draw ing : ta k in g out. 6. cow ard : s o m e o n e w ho is n o t brave.

45
Love in Shakespeare

‘So! You want to fight for him, do you?’ he said. ‘Well, come on. I’m ready for you.’
‘Put your sword away, Mercutio!’ Romeo said but it was too late. Tybalt
and Mercutio were already fighting.
Romeo tried to stop th em but Tybalt lunged 7 to w ard s him. His sw ord
w e n t un d er R o m eo’s arm and into M ercutio’s body. M ercutio fell to th e
ground. There w as blood on his shirt. A lot of blood. T yb alt’s sw ord had
pierced his heart. Benvolio and Romeo ran over to him.
‘He has w ounded m e,’ Mercutio said in a w eak voice.
‘Don’t worry. The cut isn’t deep. Tell my servant to find a doctor!’
But his wound was very serious and he died a few m inutes later.
Romeo was m ad with grief. 8 He picked up Mercutio’s sword and turned to
face Tybalt.
‘Mercutio is dead!’ he shouted. ‘Now one of us m ust die too!’
Both young m en fought bravely but at the end of the fight it was Tybalt
who was lying dead on the ground.
Romeo looked at the blood on his sword. Then he looked at Tybalt’s body.
‘W hat have I done?’ he cried.
‘Run, Romeo!’ Benevolio shouted. ‘The guards are coming!’ PS
W hen Escalus arrived, th e re w as a crow d of people in th e square. He
w a n te d to know th e fa c ts a b o u t th e fight b efo re he m ade his decision.
Benvolio told him everything. Then the Prince said, ‘Romeo killed Tybalt but
Tybalt killed Rom eo’s friend Mercutio. Romeo’s punishm ent will be exile. 9 If
he comes back to Verona, he’ll be arrested and put to d eath .’
Juliet’s nurse was in the crowd.
‘Oh, my goodness!’ she said to herself. ‘I m ust tell my m istress immediately.’
Juliet burst into tears when she heard about Romeo’s punishm ent..
‘Exile is the sam e as d eath ,’ she sobbed. ‘W hat am I going to do, nurse? I
can’t live w ithout him. Oh! I w ant to die!’
She lay on the bed sobbing. The nurse felt very sorry for her.
‘I know w here Romeo is,’ she said. ‘He’s at Friar Laurence’s house. I’ll go
there now and bring him here.’
She hurried to the friar’s house and knocked on the door.
7. lunged : m o ved sud d e n ly a n d w ith a lot of force.
8. grief : sa d n e ss.
9. exile : a s itu a tio n in w hich you are fo rc ed to live in a foreign place.

46
 The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

The friar was afraid when he heard the knocking. He thought the prince’s
scidiers had come to arrest Romeo.
‘W ho’s th a t? ’ he shouted.
‘It’s Juliet’s nurse. Let me in! I have a m essage for Romeo.’
W hen th e friar heard th a t Juliet w an ted to die, he knew he had to do
som ething to help the two young lovers.
‘1 have an idea,’ he said. ‘Spend to night with Juliet, Romeo. Then leave
early in the m orning and go to the city of Mantua. Stay there. When the time
:s right, I’ll tell your families about the m arriage and ask the Prince to forgive
you. I’ll send you a m essage when it’s safe for you to come back.’
Later th a t evening, Lord Capulet told Count Paris he could m arry Juliet.
‘The w edding will tak e place th re e days from now ,’ Lord Capulet said.
.Veil tell Juliet tom orrow .’
When the sun rose the next morning, Romeo kissed Juliet goodbye.
1 m ust go now, my love,’ he said. ‘Don’t be sad! W e’ll soon be together again.’
There was a knock on the door and the nurse cam e in.
‘Get up, Juliet!’ she said. ‘Your parents are coming. They w ant to speak to you!’
There was just enough time for Romeo to climb out of the window before
_c:*d and Lady Capulet cam e in.
‘Good new s, Juliet!’ her m o th e r said. ‘Your fa th e r has agreed to your
—arriage to Count Paris!’
Juliet was shocked. ‘But I’m too young to marry, Father! And I don’t w ant
: d m arry Paris.’
Lord Capulet was furious when he heard this.
‘Paris is a good man. You will m arry him on Thursday. If you d o n’t you
m ust leave this house forever!’ he said and left the room.
Juliet looked at her m other.
‘Can’t you d e lay 10 the m arriage for a week or a m o n th ?’ she asked.
‘Ungrateful girl!’ her m other replied. She stood up and w ent to the door.
Do w hat you like! I don’t w an t anything more to do with you!’ And she left.
Juliet was desperate. She decided to ask Friar Laurence for som e advice,
- e was the only person who could help her.
Tell me what to do, friar!’ Juliet said. ‘I can’t marry Paris. Romeo is my husband.’
10. delay : do s o m e th in g la te r th a n p lan n ed .
Love in Shakespeare

‘Listen!’ he said. ‘I have a plan. Go back and tell your parents th a t you’ve
c h an g ed y o u r m ind. Say th a t y o u ’ll m a rry Paris a f te r all. T o m o rro w is
W ednesday. Before you go to bed, drink the liquid in this phial. It will make
you sleep so deeply th a t everyone will think th a t you are dead. Your body will
be ta k en to th e C apulets’ vault and laid on your tom b. I’ll send Romeo a
m essag e and explain th e plan. A fter fo rty -tw o hours y o u ’ll w ake up and
Romeo will be there. Then you can escape to gether to M antua.’
Juliet agreed to do w hat the friar said. She took the phial and w ent back
home. The following evening she drank the liquid.
The friar se n t a m essen g e r to Romeo but he never arrived in M antua.
Romeo heard the news of Juliet’s ‘d e a th ’ from his own servant. He couldn’t
believe it. He had to go to Verona and see for himself. On his way back he
w ent to an apothecary and bought a phial of poison.
There was already someone in the Capulets’ vault when Romeo arrived. Paris
was putting flowers on Juliet’s tomb. When he saw Romeo, he pulled out his knife.
‘It’s your fault th a t Juliet is dead, M ontague,’ he said.
‘Get out of my way!’ Romeo shouted and pulled out his knife too. He was
like a m ad man. He stabbed Paris in the chest and Paris fell to the ground.
Romeo walked slowly up to the tom b where Juliet’s body was. He kissed her
pale lips. Then he took out the phial and emptied the poison into his mouth.
At th a t m om ent the friar ran in and Juliet opened her eyes.
‘Friar Laurence! W here’s Rom eo?’ she said.
‘He’s lying next to you, Juliet,’ the friar replied. ‘He’s dead. Paris is dead
too. We m ust go! I can hear the guards.’
‘No, friar. You go. I’m staying here.’
The friar understood. He didn’t try to persuade her. He turned and ran out
of the vault.
Juliet took th e phial from R om eo’s hand but it w as em pty. She looked
around and saw his knife. She picked it up and plunged 11 it into her heart.
After the tragic death of the two young lovers, their families decided to
forget their feud and become friends.
But it was too late for Romeo and Juliet!

11. plunged : quickly p u sh e d s o m e th in g deeply into s o m e th in g else.

48
 C T V T

The text and beyond

PET Q C o m p reh en sio n c h e c k

For each question, m ark the lette r next to the correct answ er — A, B, C or D.

1 Romeo didn’t want to fight Tybalt because

A Q he was a coward.
B Q he was married to his cousin.
C [ J he didn’t like fighting.
D Q he didn’t want to get into trouble.

2 The Prince’s decision to send Romeo into exile was based on

A Q] the laws of the city.
B □ what he knew about Romeo.
C |~] what he had seen.
D Q what someone else had seen.

3 Friar Laurence told Romeo

A [ ] to tell his parents about his marriage.
B Q to ask the Prince to forgive him.
C Q to leave for Mantua the next morning.
D Q to stay in Mantua for a few days.

4 Lord Capulet was angry with Juliet because

A Q her marriage to Paris was already arranged.
B Q she wanted to delay the marriage.
C Q she was rude to him.
D Q she said that she didn’t like Paris.

5 The friar’s plan went wrong because

A Q Juliet didn’t follow his instructions.
B Q he forgot to send a message to Romeo.
C Q Romeo didn’t wait for his message.
D Q Romeo didn’t receive his message.

6 Juliet woke up and found

A Q Friar Laurence and some guards in the vault.
B Q nobody in the vault.
C Q her husband’s body on her tomb.
D Q the bodies of Romeo and Paris on her tomb.

50
 w
A T I E S

Q C h a ra c te rs
Answer the questions with the name of one of the characters from the story.
W ho...
1 wanted peace in the streets of his city?...............................
2 promised never to love anyone?...............................
3 wanted to start a fight at the ball?...............................
4 died in a fight with Juliet’s cousin?...............................
5 put flowers on Juliet’s to m b ?...............................

Q Th e s o u rces fo r Romeo and Juliet

Complete the text with the words in the list below.
collection familiar feuding idea known location
theatre-goers translation way young
Shakespeare didn’t invent the story of two ( 1 ) ................................ lovers from Verona
who killed themselves because their families were enemies. He took the idea from
already existing tales.
The story probably originated in Italy at some time during the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries. There are three (2)................................ sources:
1 a story in a collection called II Novellino by Masuccio Salernitano, published in
1476;
2 a short story by Luigi Da Porto, published in 1531;
3 a story by Matteo Bandello in the second volume of his Novelle (1554).
Luigi da Porto gave the story many of the details we find in Shakespeare’s play:
the lovers are called Romeo and Giulietta, the (3) families are
called the Montecchi (Montagues) and the Capuleti (Capulets), and the
(4) ...............................is Verona.
Another similarity between Da Porto’s story and Shakespeare’s play is the
(5) ............................... the lovers die — Romeo takes poison and Giuletta kills herself
with his knife.
It is possible that Shakespeare was (6)................................ with Da Porto’s story,
or even all three of the Italian stories. But it is more likely that he got the
(7)............................... for his play from two other sources. One was a poem called
The Tragicall Historye ofRom eus and Ju lie t , written in 1562 by Arthur Brooke, based
on an English (8)................................ of Bandello’s story. The other source was a short
story by William Painter in a ( 9 ) ................................ of stories called The Palace o f
Pleasure (1567) based on Italian novelle (short stories).
Italian tales were very popular with Elizabethan ( 1 0 ) ................................ and
Shakespeare used ideas from several of them for other plays.

51
Q Fam o u s q u o tatio n s fro m th e play
R ead these fam ous q u otation s fro m the orig inal versio n of S h a k e s p e a re ’s The
Tragedy o f Rom eo and Ju lie t.
W h o do you thin k is speaking? Choose a character from the list.

Romeo Ju lie t M ercutio Ju lie t’s nurse Escalus, Prince of Verona

1.... ........................."Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!

For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."
(Act I, Scene V)
2 ........................."But, soft! What light from yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!"
(Act II, Scene II).
3............................."O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name.
Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love
And I'll no longer be a Capulet."
(Act II, Sc. II)
4 ........................."What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet".
(Act II, Sc. II).
5............................."Good night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say good night till it be morrow."
(Act II, Scene II).
6 "A plague o' both your houses!"
(Act III, Scene I)
7 "O woe! O woeful, woeful, woeful day!
Most lamentable day. Most woeful day
That ever, ever I did yet behold!
O day, O day, O day! O hateful day!
Never was seen so black a day as this.
O woeful day! O woeful day!"
(Act IV, Scene V)
8 .........................."For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
(Act V, Scene III)

52
 B e fo re you read

Q Look at the list of characters in the sto ry before you sta rt reading the story.

Characters in the story:

Viola:a young girl
A ship’s captain: friend to Viola
Duke Orsino: Ruler of Illyria
Maria: Countess Olivia’s maid
Countess Olivia: young woman
Sebastian: Viola’s twin brother
Antonio: a ship’s captain, friend to Sebastian
Duke Orsino’s officers

Setting: the country of Illyria (modern-day Albania)

mo Listening
Listen to the beginning of P a rt One. You w ill hear a conversation betw een Viola
and a ship’s captain. Decide if each sentence is correct or incorrect. If it is correct,
put a tick ( / ) in the box under A for Y ES. If it is not correct, put a tick ( / ) in the box
under B for NO.
A B
YES NO
1 The ship carrying Viola and Sebastian went down in bad weather. □□
2 The captain saw Sebastian in the sea after the ship went down. □□
3 Duke Orsino can’t court Olivia because he’s too busy. □□
4 Olivia doesn’t like visitors because she likes to be alone. □□
5 Viola wants to change her clothes before she meets the Duke. □□
Q Reading pictures
Look at the picture on page 57. A n sw er the questions.

1 The two people in the picture are Viola and Duke Orsino. Which is which?
2 What is the Duke saying?
3 What is Viola saying?
Q Vocabulary
M atch the w ords in the list (A-E) to the definitions (1-5).

A a maid B a shipwreck C the shore D to be in mourning E to sink

1 Q to show sadness because someone had died
2 [ ] an accident in which a ship is destroyed
3 Q the land along the edge of a river, lake or the sea
4 Q a female servant
5 [ ] to disappear below the surface of water

54
 PART ONE

T he ship t h a t w as carry in g Viola, th e d a u g h te r of th e M arquis of

Messaline, and her identical twin brother Sebastian, was caught in a
violent storm and sank. Luckily it w ent down near the coast and the
captain and Viola m anaged to swim to the shore. They were exhausted
and very w et but alive. When she got her breath back, Viola looked up and
down the beach for Sebastian.
‘W here’s my b ro th er?’ she asked the captain anxiously. ‘He was with us
on the ship.’
‘I saw him before the ship w ent down,’ he replied. ‘He was holding on to
the ship’s m a s t.1 Don’t worry, madam! He’s strong. He’s probably on another
beach som ew here.’
Viola hoped the captain was right. She felt very lonely w ithout Sebastian.
‘W h at’s the nam e of this country?’ she asked.
‘Illyria, m adam ,’ the captain replied. ‘I live here so I know it well.’
‘Who rules it?’
‘Duke Orsino. He’s a kind m an and he’s a good ruler but at the m om ent
he’s in love. He can’t think about anything else. He lies on his bed all day,
listening to music and composing m essages of love to Countess Olivia.’

, n
55
Love in Shakespeare

‘W ho’s she?’
‘A young w om an who lost both her father and her brother about a year
ago. She has been in m ourning since then and h asn ’t left her house.’
Viola im m ediately felt sorry for the lady.
‘I’d like to be her m aid,’ she said. ‘I could w ork for her while I w ait for
Sebastian.’
‘That will be difficult, I think,’ the captain told her. ‘She refuses to receive
visitors.’
‘Then perhaps I could work for Duke Orsino,’ Viola said. ‘Will you help me,
captain? I’ll disguise myself as a boy and you can introduce me to him.’
‘Very well, m adam ,’ the captain replied. ‘I can lend you some of my son’s
clothes. I’ll go and get them now.’
Later th a t day the captain took Viola, who now called herself ‘Cesario’, to
Duke Orsino’s palace. The Duke liked her imm ediately and gave her a job. In
only a few days she becam e his fav o u rite and m o st tru s te d serv an t. He
d ecid ed she w as th e p e rfe c t p e rso n to sen d to O livia’s h o u se w ith his
m essages of love.
‘Y ou’re young and h a n d s o m e ,’ he said. ‘S h e ’ll like you. S h e’s sure to
receive you.’
‘And if she refuses, my lord?’
‘You m ust insist on seeing her!’ he replied.
‘And if she agrees, my lord, w hat m ust I tell h er?’
‘Tell her how much I love her, how much I am suffering,’ the Duke said.
‘Your voice is as sw eet as a w om an’s. She w on’t be afraid of you and will listen
to you. My other servants don’t know how to talk about love. They can’t tell
her how I feel. But you’re different. You understand w hat I w ant to say.’
‘I’ll do my b e st,’ Viola said. She didn’t feel very happy about taking the
Duke’s m essages of love to Olivia. She liked Orsino very much. Too much. In
fact, she was falling in love with him!
Maria, Olivia’s maid, told her m istress th a t there was a m essenger from
Duke Orsino at the gates.
‘I said th a t you didn’t w ant to see anyone but he refuses to go aw ay.’
‘W h at’s he like?’ Olivia asked.

56
Love in Shakespeare

‘He’s very young — only a boy, m adam . He has a nice face and he’s very
polite, not like the Duke’s other serv ants.’
‘Alright, I’ll see him,’ Olivia said. ‘I’ve been in m ourning for too long. Show
him in, Maria. And bring me my veil, 2 please.’
Viola, disguised as Cesario, cam e in and asked to see th e lady of th e
house.
‘I’ve p re p a re d a very nice speech and I d o n ’t w a n t to w a ste it on th e
wrong person,’ she said.
Olivia laughed. She liked this young man. She took off her veil.
‘I am the lady of the house,’ she said.
‘You are very beautiful, m adam . It’s a pity th a t you hide your face,’ Viola
said. ‘Now I understand why my m aster loves you.’
‘But I can’t love him,’ Olivia said. ‘Go back and tell him th a t I don’t w ant to
hear from him again. Unless ...’ she looked at Viola and smiled sweetly. This
young m an fascinated her. He was obviously from a good family and well-
educated. And he was very handsom e.
‘Unless w hat, m ad am ?’ Viola said.
‘Unless you w ant to come back tom orrow and tell me w hat he said.’
Viola’s brother Sebastian survived the shipwreck by holding on to a piece
of the m ast. After tw enty-four hours in the w ater, Antonio, the captain of a
passing ship, rescued him and took him to the nearest port.
‘W here will you go now, S ebastian?’ he asked as they were getting off the
ship.
‘I think I’ll go and see Duke Orsino,’ Sebastian replied. ‘He knew my father
and will help me. Why don’t you come with me, Antonio?’
‘I’ve got a lot of enem ies here, sir. The Duke’s officers will arrest me if
they see m e,’ the captain said. ‘I’ll go and find a room in the tow n and m eet
you later.’
He gave Sebastian his purse and said, ‘Take this! You m ight need som e
m oney.’
Sebastian thanked his new friend and set off tow ards the Duke’s palace.

58
 Twelfth Night; or, What You Will

The next day the Duke sent for Viola. He w anted to talk about love.
‘You understand me very well, Cesario,’ he told her. ‘I think you m ust be in
love, too! Tell me about her. W h at’s she like?’
Viola blushed. 3 She didn’t know w hat to say.
‘Er — she looks a bit like you, my lord.’
‘Oh dear! She can’t be very pretty, th en .’ Orsino laughed. ‘How old is she?’
‘Er — about your age, my lord.’
‘Too old for you, Cesario. You m ust look for a younger w om an.’
‘Yes, my lord.’
Then the Duke asked his musicians to play a love song for them . It was a
very sad one.
‘Go back to Olivia, C esario!’ Orsino said w hen th e m usicians finished
playing. ‘Tell her th a t I love her more th an everything I own!’
‘But w hat if she c a n t lo ve yo u , my lord?’
‘Impossible!’
‘Supposing th e re ’s a w om an who loves y o u as m uch as you love Olivia,’
Viola said. ‘But you can’t love her. W hat m ust she do? Must she accept the
tru th ? ’
‘A m a n ’s love is different from a w o m an ’s, Cesario,’ Orsino replied. ‘It’s
much stronger. My love for Olivia can’t be com pared with a w o m an’s love for
m e.’
‘I don’t think th a t’s true, my lord,’ Viola said and sighed. She was thinking
about how much she loved the Duke. ‘Shall I go to Countess Olivia now ?’
‘Yes, Cesario. Take this jewel to her. Hurry!’

3. b lu sh ed : ch e ek s b e c a m e red b e c a u se she felt e m b a r ra s s e d .

59
 ;'L: * x !^ _____________
C T I V 1 T I E -S

The te xt and b e y o n d

PETQ C o m p reh en sio n c h e ck

Decide if each sentence is correct or incorrect. If it is correct, put a tick ( / ) in the
box under A fo r Y ES. If it is not correct, put a tick ( / ) in the box under B for NO.

A B
YES NO
1 Viola and the captain didn’t have to swim a long way to the shore. □ □
2 The captain thought that Sebastian was probably safe too. □ □
3 According to the captain, Count Orsino was a lazy ruler. □ □
4 Viola wanted to meet Countess Olivia. □ □
5 The captain offered to lend Viola some of his clothes. □ □
6 Duke Orsino liked ‘Cesario’ because he was young and handsome. □ □
7 Maria thought the Duke’s servants were usually rude. □ □
8 Olivia enjoyed ‘Cesario’s’ visit and wanted to see him again. □ □
9 Sebastian and Antonio decided to go and see Duke Orsino together. □ □
10 The Duke liked 'Cesario’ because ‘he’ understood his feelings. □ □
11 Viola told the Duke that Olivia didn’t love him. □ □
12 The Duke refused to believe that Olivia couldn’t love him. □ □

Your voice is as sw eet as a w o m a n ’s.

• We use as + adjective/adverb + as to say that two people, things or actions are the
same in some way.
Antonio was as ta ll as Sebastian.
The Duke's love was as strong as V iolas.
Viola swam as fa s t as the ship's captain.

• We can use not as + adjective/adverb + as to compare people, things or actions.

Antonio w asn 't as ta ll as Duke Orsino.
The Duke thought th at a wom an's love w asn 't as strong as a man's.
The ship's captain d id n't swim as fa s t as he could.

• We use as + adjective/adverb + as in similes.

A sim ile is a phrase th at describes som ething by com paring it tosom ething else.
O livia's h a ir was as soft as silk.

60
Q Com parisons
Look at the fact file about V iola and Sebastian. W rite sentences to com pare the
tw in s using (not) as + ad jective/ad verb + as. Use the ad jectives and adverbs in
brackets.

Sebastian V iola

Personal characteristics
1 Height (tall) 1.80m 1.75m
2 Weight (heavy) 70 kilos 55 kilos
3 Appearance (attractive) handsome pretty
Abilities
4 Singing (sweetly) / /
5 Writing (well) X /
6 Painting (badly) X X

^ Similes
Complete these common similes w ith the names of the anim als in the pictures.

1 as blind as a/an

2 as brave as a/an

3 as quiet as a/an

4 as wise as a/an

61
Q Writing
Read this short love poem.

filiated ate tee/.

^^ioJeb ate /i/ue.

<yu^at
4 U Aeoeel

fOJ'tfnd 60, ate (fou.

Create some new poems by changing the w ords in third line. Y our poems can be
rom antic or insulting! Here are tw o examples:

Roses are red.............................................................................

Violets are blue. ................................................
Parties are fun...........................................................................
And so are you. ................................................
Roses are red.............................................................................
Violets are blue. ................................................
Poetry’s dull...............................................................................
And so are you. ................................................
Pass your poem round the class and vote for the best, w o rst or funniest one.

Q P ro verb s
Read the proverbs about love (1-5) and m atch them w ith th eir m eanings (A-E).

1 Q Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

2 Love me, love my dog.
3 Q All’s fair in love and war.
4 Q ] Love is blind.
5 Q Love makes the world go round.

A Love is the main force behind human life.

B Behaviour that is unpleasant or not fair is acceptable during an argument or
competition.
C We start to love someone more when they are far away.
D If we want someone’s friendship we must accept them totally, including their
faults.
E When we love someone, we don’t notice their faults.
Are there any similar proverbs about love in your language?
Make a list with a partner.

62
 B e fo re you read

mo Listening
Listen to the beginning of P a rt Two. You w ill hear a conversation between O livia
and ‘Cesario’, and a conversation between Viola and Antonio. Choose the corrrect
an sw er — A, B or C.

1 When ‘Cesario’ tells Olivia ‘he’ has a message for her from the Duke, Olivia is
A Q interested.
B Q bored.
C □ angry.
2 What does Olivia tell ‘Cesario’ when ‘he’ visits her for the second time?
A Q She thinks she can love the Duke.
B Q] She loves ‘him’ (Cesario) not the Duke.
C Q Not to bring any more messages from the Duke.

3 Olivia asks ‘Cesario’

A Q to tell the Duke not to send any more messages.
B Q not to come back again.
C [ ] to come back with another message from the Duke.

4 What does Antonio ask Viola to give him?

A □ some help.
B □ some coins.
C Q his purse.

5 Antonio is angry because he thinks his friend Sebastian

A □ is false.
b D is responsible for his arrest.
C Q doesn’t like him any more.

6 Viola wants to find out

A Q why Antonio knows Sebastian.
b Q if Sebastian is alive.
C Q where Sebastian is.

Q P red ictio n
A n sw er the questions. Discuss your ideas w ith a partner.

1 Someone is going to marry Olivia. Who do you think it is? ....................

2 The Duke is going to ask someone to marry him. Who do you think it is?...................

63
 PART TWO

M M # iola knocked at the gates of the C ountess’s house for the second tim e HE
in tw o days. Maria let her in and took her to Olivia.
‘Good morning, m adam ,’ she said. ‘I’ve brought another m essage for
w you from the Duke.’
‘W hat does he say this tim e?’ Olivia asked, not really interested.
‘He says th a t he loves you m ore th an everything he owns. He has sent you
this jewel.’
‘Really?’ she said in a bored voice. Then she smiled at Viola and said, ‘I
don’t w ant to talk about the Duke. Let’s talk about you. W h at’s your n am e?’
‘Cesario, m adam . But my m aster...’
‘Cesario, please don’t m ention his nam e again! I don’t and can’t love him.’
‘Yes, m adam . I’ll give him your m essage,’ Viola said and turned to leave.
‘No! Wait!’ Olivia cried. ‘I w an t to ask you som ething.’
‘Yes, m adam .’
‘W hat do you think of me, Cesario?’
‘That you think you are not w hat you are.’
‘If I think so then I think the sam e of you.’
‘You are right, m adam ,’ Viola replied. ‘I’m not w hat I am .’

64
Love in Shakespeare

‘Cesario,’ Olivia was very serious now. ‘I m ust tell you som ething.’
Viola waited for her to speak.
‘Cesario!’ Olivia said softly. ‘Don’t you understand? I love you! I fell in love
with you the m om ent I first saw you.’
Viola didn’t know how to reply.
‘B-b-but madam! You can’t!’ she said. ‘I m ean, I can’t,’ she added quickly.
‘I can’t love you. My heart can never belong to a w om an, only to myself. I
m ust go now. I w on’t come again.’
‘No!’ Olivia said quickly. ‘Please come again! Tell the Duke to send another
m essage to me! Perhaps you can persuade me to love him after all!’
Viola w as leaving Olivia’s house w hen she heard a lot of noise in th e
square outside. Some of the Duke’s officers were there. They were arresting
a man. He was dressed in the clothes of a ship’s-captain. As she passed, he
shouted to. her.
‘Hey! Wait!’
She stopped in surprise.
‘I thought it was you,’ he said. ‘Listen! I’m in trouble.These officers w ant
to arrest me. I’m sorry but I m ust ask you for the purse I gave you. I need the
m oney to pay for my freedom .’
‘W hat m oney?’ Viola asked. ‘I don’t have very much but I’ll be glad to give
you half of it. Here take these coins!’
The m an looked confused.
‘What! You refuse to give me back my m oney afte r all the favours I’ve
done for you!’ he said.
‘Favours?’ Viola repeated. She didn’t know w hat he was talking about.
‘Yes, Sebastian!’ he said. He was angry now. ‘I saved your life! I thought
you were my friend. And now you refuse to give me my m oney.’
Then one of the officers said, ‘Come on, sir! We haven’t got all day.’ And
they took him away.
Viola’s heart was beating fast.
‘He called me Sebastian!’ she thought. ‘He thought I was my brother. Does
th a t m ean Sebastian is alive?’ She decided to follow them to Duke Orsino’s

66
 Twelfth Night; or, What You Will

A few m o m e n ts la te r S e b a stia n w alked p a s t O livia’s ho use. He w as

looking for Antonio. Maria saw him and called to him, ‘Cesario! Have you
changed your mind about my lady?’
‘I’m sorry! W hat are you talking about? And my nam e isn’t ...’ Sebastian
said.
But Maria was already pulling him through the gates and into the house.
‘Come on!’ she said. ‘She’s waiting for you!’
Olivia was delighted to see him.
‘You’ve come back!’ she cried w hen Maria brought him in. ‘You love me
after all. Say you’ll be mine forever!’
Sebastian couldn’t believe his ears or his eyes. This beautiful w om an was
asking him to m arry her!
‘Er — well, alright,’ he replied.
‘Oh! I’m so happy!’ Olivia said. ‘Let’s go and find the priest! 4 He can m arry
us immediately!’
While Sebastian and Olivia were looking for the priest, the Duke arrived
with Viola.
‘Tell your lady th a t I’m here!’ he said to Maria. ‘Bring her to see me!’
Before Maria could reply, the Duke’s officers came in with Antonio.
‘My lord!’ the chief officer said. ‘W e’ve caught the pirate!’
The Duke was surprised to see the sea captain.
‘Why did you come back, Antonio?’ he asked.
‘I’ve changed, sir. I’m not a pirate any m ore,’ the captain said. ‘I rescued
this boy from the sea a few days ago and brought him here. I knew it was
dangerous for me but I did it. I gave him my purse with all my m oney but
now he refuses to give it back to me! He has betrayed 5 my friendship.’
‘Don’t hurt him, my lord!’ Viola said. ‘I believe th a t he’s a good m an.’
Just at th a t m om ent Olivia appeared.
‘Cesario!’ she said. ‘W hat are you doing here?’
‘I’m talking to my m aster, the Duke, m adam .’
‘You are n ’t his servant any more, Cesario. You’re my husband.’

4. p riest : m a n w ho p e rfo rm s religious d u ties in a church.

5. b etrayed : did s o m e th in g to h a rm th e friendship.

67
Love in Shakespeare

W hen Orsino heard this, he was furious.

‘H usban d?’ he shouted. ‘I tru ste d you, Cesario! And you m arried Olivia
behind my back! Well, take her! I never w ant to see you again!’
Just then Sebastian arrived.
‘Antonio!’ he said going up to his friend. ‘I was looking for you. I w an t to
give you back your money. W here have you been?’
Antonio looked confused.
‘Am I seeing double?’ he said. ‘Is th a t you Sebastian?’
‘Of course it’s me!’ Sebastian said. ‘W h at’s going on here?’
Everyone was looking at him. Then he saw Viola.
‘Who are you?’ he asked. ‘You can’t be my brother because I don’t have
one. I had a sister but she died in a shipwreck.’
‘No, she d id n ’t , ’ Viola said w ith te a r s ru n n in g do w n h e r face. ‘She
survived. She’s alive! Sebastian! It’s me! Viola!’ And she ran into her b ro th er’s
arms.
The Duke smiled. Suddenly he understood everything. Olivia was m arried
to Sebastian, not ‘C esario’. He im m ediately forg ot abo ut his love for the
Countess and turned to Viola.
‘You often told me how much you loved me, Viola. But I thought you were
a boy. Do you still love m e?’
‘Yes! Oh, yes!’ Viola cried.
‘Will you m arry m e?’ Orsino asked.
‘Yes! Yes! But I m ust change out of these boy’s clothes and into a dress
first!’
‘Come! Let’s have some music!’ the Duke said. ‘Everyone is invited to my
wedding!’

68
 v /
■■■■■■■h h h h m im h h h m h m h h bh h m h h h m bh h iih h h h h h m bh m h h m h h h m h m h h h h m h bh h h h m
A C T I V I T I E S

The text and beyond

=e t O C o m p re h en sio n c h e c k
For each question, m ark the le tter next to the correct answ er — A, B, C or D.

1 Olivia asked Viola ‘What do you think of me?’ because

A Q she thought ‘Cesario’ didn’t like her.
B Q she thought ‘Cesario’ was secretly in love with her.
C Q she was worried that ‘Cesario’ had a bad opinion of her.
d D she wanted to know if ‘Cesario’ found her attractive.
2 Olivia wanted ‘Cesario’ to go back and see her again because
A Q she hoped to make ‘him’ fall in love with her.
B Q she liked getting messages from Duke Orsino.
C Q] she wanted ‘Cesario’ to persuade her to love the duke.
D Q she liked getting messages of love.

3 Antonio wanted his money back

A Q to lend to someone else.
B Q to give to the officers.
C Q] because he didn’t trust Sebastian.
D Q because he had to pay some bills.

4 Sebastian agreed to marry Olivia because

A Q he wanted to stay in Illyria.
B Q he was looking for a wife.
C Q he found her very attractive.
D □ he didn’t have any money.

5 Viola defended Antonio because

A [ ] he had changed his ways.
B □ she knew the truth.
C Q he was her brother’s friend.
D Q she felt sorry for him.

6 Duke Orsino asked Viola to marry him because

A Q] Olivia had refused him.
B □ Olivia had married Sebastian.
C [ ] he had suddenly fallen in love with her.
D [ ] he knew she loved him.

69
P E T ^ Sentence transform ation
Here are some sentences about the story. For each question, com plete the second
sentence so th a t it means the same as the first, using no m ore than three words.

Example: Sebastian and Viola both have the same colour hair.
Sebastian’s hair is the sam e colour as Viola’s.
1 Olivia told Cesario that she could never love the Duke.
Olivia said: ‘I ...............................the Duke.’
2 Sebastian was in the sea for 24 hours until Antonio rescued him.
Sebastian was in the sea for 24 hours until h e ................................Antonio.
3 Duke Orsino’s palace is quite near Olivia’s house.
Olivia’s house is ...............................Duke Orsino’s palace.
4 Viola arrived in Illyria two days ago.
Viola...............................in Illyria for two days.
5 The ship’s captain lent Viola some clothes.
Viola...............................clothes from the the ship’s captain.

Q C hildren’s com panies

Read the text about Children’s Companies in the sixteenth century. U nderline the
correct words.

Female actors did not start appearing on the English stage until after 1660. Before
this, women’s roles were always (1) playing/played by male actors. These were
often teenage members of the acting companies (2) who/which still had smooth
faces and high voices. Although they were very skilful, they weren’t paid as much
(3) than/as the other actors.
However, there were also acting companies that were completely composed
(4) of/from boys. These young actors were usually taken from choir schools that
(5) attached/belonged to important chapels and cathedrals. In these schools, they
received musical training and were (6) taught/learnt to perform in religious dramas
and classical Latin plays. During the reign of Henry VIII, they (7) been/were often
asked to perform in royal pageants. When Elizabeth I was queen, these groups
became professional acting companies and started giving public performances
(8) outside/out the court. The boys received training in acting and singing, but they
had to study subjects (9) like/as grammar and Latin too.
Two of the most successful children’s companies were the ‘Children of the Chapel’
and the ‘Children of Paul’s’. They were extremely popular and provided strong
competition for the adult companies. Between 1558 and 1576, for example,
companies of boy actors performed 46 times at Court, (1 0 ) com paring/com pared to
only 32 times for companies of adult actors in the same period.

70
 T: G R A D E 5
Q Speaking: Entertainment
Talk to a p artn er about entertainm ent. Ask and an sw er the questions.

1 What can young people do for entertainment where you live?

2 What can older people do?
3 How often do you go to the cinema or the theatre?
4 What kind of television programmes do you like watching?
5 Have you ever been to a pop concert?

►► IN T E R N E T PROJECT
Film s based on S h a k e s p e a re ’s plays
Hi
There are many film versions of Shakespeare’s plays and there are also films
based on the stories. Here are three. Do you know them?

► 10 Things I Hate A bout You (1999):

The Taming o f the Shrew

► West Side Story (1961): Romeo and Juliet

► She’s The Man (2006): Twelfth Night

Connect to the Internet and go to LAWSES?

w w w .b la c k c a t-c id e b .c o m . Click on the title of
the book and on the Internet project link. ... .

1 Look at the page from the Internet Movie

Database for 10 Things I Hate A bout You.
Which actor and actress play the two
characters based on Katharina and
Petruchio?

2 Look at the page from the Internet Movie

Database for West Side Story.
How many Oscar Awards did this film win? ——
What are the names of the main actors?
Everybody has a se c re t...
3 Look at the trailer for the film She’s Duke w ants Olivia who Wees
Sebastian who is reaUfS.VioJ^ ^ ^
The Man. „whose brother
Monique so she hivaSteptf v * ?fSl4 •*
Would you like to see this film? If you have who's with Duke
Sakstian jealous who
already seen it, did you like it? " " l a who's crushing
io thinks she's a

She’s the
M A N .«««

71
 Actors performing William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest in a summer theatre.

Elizabethan Acting Companies

The Elizabethans were very fond of entertainment and, although there weren't
any theatres until after 1576, there were a lot of opportunities for them to see
theatrical performances. Groups of travelling actors regularly performed in
market places, on village greens 1 and in inn-yards 2 around the country. They
used special carts called pageant 3 w agons 4 to travel from one place to
another. These wagons were mobile stages where the actors could also store
costumes, props 5 and baggage.
There was theatrical entertainment at court and in the houses of the nobility, too,
especially as part of celebrations like Christm as and Easter, or on special
occasions like the visits of important people. Richard III, Henry VII and Henry
VIII had their own small acting companies that performed on these occasions.
Acting, however, wasn't a respectable profession, and travelling actors didn't
have a good reputation. People regarded them as vagabonds 6 or thieves. A law,
1. village green : a large a r e a of g rass.
2. inn-yard : a large open a r e a a tta c h e d to a pub.
3. p agean t : a play, c o n c e rt or o th e r p e rfo rm a n c e b a s e d on a religious or historical
story.
4. w agon : a vehicle w ith fo u r w heels pulled by a h orse.
5. props : o bjects used in plays.
6. vagab on d s : s o m e o n e w ith no h o m e or job w ho tra v e ls fro m place to place.

72
The Act for the Punishment of Vagabonds', introduced in 1572 by Elizabeth I's
ministers, defined vagabonds as people without land or a master. So, in order to
avoid the punishment, which was a whipping 7 and a hole burnt through the right
ear, actors had to find a master, or patron. Their patrons were usually members of
the nobility, Dukes and Earls, for example, who could obtain a special licence to
support an acting company. By law, the actors could only perform in the
nobleman's house, but patrons didn't insist on this and actors continued to travel
around the country giving performances.
Patrons had no control over the m anagem ent of an acting company. They
couldn't tell it which plays to perform or how much to pay actors. They provided
respectability, and perhaps gave the company some money. This system was the
beginning of the Elizabethan acting companies.
Between 1590 and 1642 there were approximately twenty companies of actors in
London, although only four or five played in the city at one time. They usually
played in London in the winter and spring and then travelled the provinces in the
summer when there were outbreaks of the bubonic plague8 in the city.
During this period, theatrical companies gradually changed from irregular
associations of m en who depended on a patron to respectable business
organizations.
Some of the more important companies at this time were:
Leicester’s Men.
Their patron was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the Queen's favourite. The
Company was very successful in the 1570s and played at the court of Elizabeth I
during the winters of 1574 and 1575. One of the company's members, James
Burbage, built the first permanent theatre in England in 1576 and Leicester's Men
performed there. When the Earl of Leicester died in 1588, the company broke up
and several of its members went to work for other companies.
Lord Strange’s Men.
Their patron was Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange. From 1588 to 1594 they were
also associated with the Admiral's Men. The company performed at The Theatre

7. w h ipping : p u n ish e d by being hit w ith a whip.

8. bubonic plague : a seriou s in fectiou s d ise ase c o m m o n in th e 16th ce n tu ry .
and at the Rose Theatre and it's possible that they staged several of Shakespeare's
plays. After their patron's death in 1594, the group left London and started
performing in the provinces. Many members, however, decided to stay and
joined the Chamberlain's Men.
Chamberlain’s Men.
They were the most important company of players in Elizabethan England. Their
patron was Henry Carey, Lord Chamberlain. William Shakespeare worked for
this company for most of his career. When James I became king in March 1603,
they changed their name to the King's Men. It was one of the few companies to
own its own theatres - the Globe, an open-air theatre, which they used in the
summer months, and the Blackfriars, an indoor theatre, which they used during
the winter season.
Admiral’s Men.
Between 1576 and 1579 they were known as Lord Howard's Men after their patron
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham. In 1585, when Lord Howard became
England's Lord High Admiral, the company changed its name to the Admiral's
Men. They were the second most important company after the Chamberlain's Men.
Unfortunately the Fortune Theatre burned down in 1621 and destroyed their
play scripts and costumes. The owner, Edward Alleyn, rebuilt it in 1623, in brick,
at a cost of £1000. The actors moved back in, but it was difficult for them to
recover their reputation. The company finally collapsed in 1631.

Q Comprehension check
A n sw er the questions.

1 Where could Elizabethans see theatrical performances before the first

theatre was built?
2 Why were actors regarded as vagabonds?
3 Why were patrons important for acting companies?
4 Why did the Chamberlain’s Men change their name in 1603?
5 Who was Edward Alleyn?

Gloss fo r p ag e 75.
1. Moor : (here) a p e rs o n w ith a d a rk skin.

74
 4
The Tragedy of Othello,
Moor of Venice
1
 B e fo re you read

Look at the list of characters in the sto ry before you sta rt reading the story.

Characters in the story:

Othello: a general in the Duke of Venice’s army
Desdemona: Othello’s wife
Brabantio: Desdemona’s father
Iago: Othello’s ensign1
Roderigo: a Venetian nobleman
Cassio: Othello’s lieutenant
The Duke of Venice: ruler of Venice
Em ilia: Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s maid

Setting: The city of Venice in northern Italy, and the island of Cyprus.

Listening
PET Listen to the beginning of P a rt One. You w ill hear about Othello and Desdem ona’s
m arriage, and her fa th e r’s feelings about it. Decide if each sentence is correct or
in co rrect. If it is correct, put a tic k ( / ) in the box un der A fo r Y E S . If it is not
correct, put a tick ( / ) in the box under B for NO.

A B
YES NO
1 Othello is respected because he is a brave soldier. □ □
2 Brabantio doesn’t know that Othello and his daughter are married. □□
3 Iago has a plan to hurt Othello. □□
4 Michael Cassio is a soldier with a lot of experience. □ □
5 Roderigo has given Iago some money because he wants his help. □ □
6 Brabantio goes to Othello’s house to look for his daughter. □ □
7 Othello is angry with Brabantio for calling him a thief. □ □
8 The Duke of Venice sends Brabantio to prison. □ □
9 Desdemona will go to Cyprus with Othello. □ □
10 Roderigo wants to kill Othello. □ □

Q R e a d in g p ictu res
Look at the picture on page 81. A n sw er the questions.

1 Who do you think the characters in the picture are?

2 How would you describe the expressions on their faces?
3 What do you think the man is looking at?
4 What do you think the woman is thinking?

76
 PART ONE

O th ello th e Moor, a g e n e ra l in th e Duke of V en ice’s arm y , and

Desdem ona, the daughter of a Venetian politician, w ere m arried
secretly. He was much older than she was but she loved him. He was a
simple, honest man and brave in battle. He was highly respected as a
soldier but he w asn ’t respected as a person. Their m arriage had to be secret
because Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, didn’t think that Othello was good enough
for his daughter. Othello was a Moor and Brabantio didn’t want a black son-in-law.
When Iago, Othello’s ensign ,1 heard about the secret marriage, he saw an
opportunity to hurt the general. Iago was an ambitious m an — but he was also
dishonest and scheming, 2 and he hated Othello. He hated him for choosing
Michael Cassio, a very young soldier with no experience, as his new lieutenant.
Iago was older th an Cassio. He had a lot of experience in battle and three
im portant men in the city had recom m ended him for the position. But Othello
chose Michael Cassio, not Iago. He decided to have his revenge on the general.
One night, while he was walking through the city streets, he m et Roderigo,
a rich Venetian. Roderigo was in love with Desdemona and w anted to m arry
her but B rabantio d idn’t like him. He had told th e noblem an to leave his
daughter alone. Iago heard about this and saw an opportunity to m ake some
money. He knew th at Roderigo was very rich, and a little stupid, so he offered
1. en sign : an officer in th e a rm y of low position.
2. sch em in g : m ak in g s e c re t plans in o rd e r to gain s o m e th in g fo r him self.

77
Love in Shakespeare

to help him win Desdem ona in return for gold. Roderigo agreed. A few days
after this he heard about her marriage to Othello. Now he was angry with Iago.
‘Iago! I gave you m oney to win the lady. Now she’s m arried to the Moor,’
he said. ‘W hat can I do?’
‘Don’t worry, sir! There is still a chance for you. Othello is happy with his new
wife but you can spoil 3 his happiness. Let’s go and tell her fa th e r th a t his
daughter has married a black man. He will be furious and will dem and a divorce.’
‘Yes, yes!’ Roderigo replied.
‘Look! Here’s Barbantio’s house. I’ll shout to him. Hey! Brabantio! Signor
Brabantio!’ ‘Wake up, Brabantio!’ Iago shouted. ‘Thieves! Thieves! You have
been robbed, sir.’
An old m an cam e to the window. He looked angry.
‘W h at’s the m atter? Why are you shouting like th a t? ’ he asked. ‘Don’t you
know th a t it’s the middle of the night!’
‘Your daughter has run away to m arry the Moor, sir,’ Roderigo told him.
‘She’s with him now.’
‘W hat!’ Brabantio said. ‘Who are you?’
‘Roderigo, sir.’
‘I told you to stay away from my house!’ Brabantio shouted. ‘ You are not
going to m arry my daughter. Go away and leave me in peace!’
‘If you don’t believe me, go to her room, sir!’ Roderigo said. ‘If she is there,
call the duke’s guards. I’m ready to go to prison for lying to you.’
Brabantio looked at him. W as Roderigo really telling the truth?
‘Give me a light!’ he said to one of his servants, and he w ent to look for his
daughter.
Iago saw th a t his plan was working so he left quietly.
B raban tio looked all over th e house bu t he co u ld n ’t find D esd em ona
anywhere. The noblem an was telling the truth. She m ust be with the Moor!
He was furious. He w ent back to Roderigo.
‘Take me to the Moor!’ he said. ‘I must get my daughter back before it’s too late.’
They arrived at Othello’s house at the sam e tim e as Cassio and Othello
w ere leaving it. The general and his lieu ten an t w ere going to th e Council
Chamber for a m eeting with the Duke of Venice.

3. spoil : p re v e n t s o m e th in g fro m being s a tisfa c to ry .

78
 The Tragedy of Othello, Moor of Venice

Brabantio w ent up to Othello and shouted at him angrily.

‘Thief! You have stolen my daughter! W hat kind of magic did you use?
You will go to prison for this!’
‘If I go to prison, I w on't be able to obey the Duke’s orders,’ Othello replied
calmly. ‘He w ants to see me about a very im portant m atter. I’m going to see
him now.’
W hen Brabantio heard that, he decided to go with them .
‘I’ll tell the Duke th a t you’re a thief. He’ll understand and give me back my
daughter.’
The Duke was sitting in the Council Chamber when Othello, Brabantio and
Roderigo arrived. He w anted to discuss a serious military problem with his
general but he realised im m ediately th a t he had to solve Brabantio’s problem
first. He listened patiently while Othello explained how he and Desdem ona
had fallen in love.
‘I used no magic,’ he said. ‘But why don’t you speak to Desdem ona? She’ll
tell you.’
The Duke called Desdemona.
‘Father,’ she said. ‘You gave me my life and an education. While I was your
daughter, you were my lord and I obeyed you. But Othello is my husband and
my lord now. I m ust obey him.’
W hen her fa th e r heard her w ords, he un derstoo d th a t she really loved
Othello. There was nothing he could do.
‘She’s yours, Moor. Take her! I don’t w ant anything else to do with her,’
Brabantio said sadly and w ent home.
Then Othello turned to the Duke and said, ‘W hat did you w ant to see me
about, my lord?’
‘The Turks are planning to a ttack the island of Cyprus,’ 4 the Duke said.
‘You m ust prepare your ships and leave im m ediately.’
‘Yes, m y lo r d ,’ O th ello said . ‘May I h a v e y o u r p e r m is s io n to ta k e
Desdem ona with me? She can’t stay here alone.’
The Duke agreed and Othello and D esdem ona left.
Roderigo was very disappointed.

4. Cyprus : an island in th e M e d iterran e an ; it w as u n d e r V en etian rule a t th e tim e

Othello is set.

79
Love in Shakespeare

‘W hat should I do now,’ he asked Iago. ‘I love D esdem ona but if she can’t
be mine I prefer to die.’
‘Rubbish!’ Iago replied. ‘Desdem ona will soon get tired of the Moor, then
you’ll have your chance. Put m oney in your purse and follow us to Cyprus to
fight the Turks!’
There w as a violent sto rm at sea and m ost of the Turkish fleet 4 sank
before they reached the island of Cyprus. The Venetian ships, however, all
arrived safely and Othello ordered a general celebration.
‘Come, D esdem ona! Come, Cassio!’ he said. ‘Let’s go to th e castle and
prepare for the feast.’
Iago w atched as D esdem ona and Cassio followed the general to the city.
He w as still th in k in g a b o u t how to g e t his re v e n g e an d w h en he saw
Desdem ona and Cassio together he had an idea. He w ent to find Roderigo.
‘Desdem ona is in love with Michael Cassio,’ he told the unhappy Venetian
n o b lem an . ‘She is a lre a d y tire d of O thello. She w a n ts a yo un ger, m ore
handsom e m an and Cassio is both young and handsom e.’
‘But Desdem ona is a good w om an,’ Roderigo replied sadly.
‘No wom en are good, Roderigo. And Cassio is stupid!’ Iago replied. ‘But I
have a plan.You m ust tru st me. I need your help.’
He told Roderigo to sta rt a fight with Cassio th a t evening.
‘It will be easy,’ he said. ‘Insult him. He gets angry very easily and will try
and hit you. Make him hit you. A street fight will destroy his reputation as a
good soldier. W hen Othello hears abo ut it, h e ’ll take aw ay his rank. Then
you’ll get w hat your heart w ants.
Later th at night the Governor of Cyprus heard a lot of noise in the street
outside his house. He w ent to see w hat was happening. Cassio and Roderigo
were fighting. He tried to stop them but Cassio, who had drunk too much wine,
attacked and wounded him. Roderigo disappeared quickly. When Othello arrived
he was very angry with Cassio and took away his rank.5 Iago was delighted.
‘Good!’ he thought. ‘Now I will poison Othello’s mind against his wife. I’ll
tell him th a t she is having an affair 6 with Cassio. He’ll be m ad with jealousy.’

4. fle e t : a g roup of ships.

5. rank : p osition in th e arm y.
6. an affair : a ro m a n tic relatio nsh ip .

80
Love in Shakespeare

After the fight, Cassio w ent to see Iago to ask for his advice.
‘Iago!’ he cried. ‘I’ve lost my reputation as a soldier! This is the end of me!
Tell me w hat to do!’
‘All is not lost, Cassio! You m ust ask Desdem ona to help you. Our general’s
wife is the general now. Ask her to speak to Othello about giving you back
your rank.’
Cassio trusted Iago so he w ent to speak to Desdem ona the next day.
‘Don’t worry, Cassio! I’ll speak to Othello,’ Desdemona said. ‘Oh, look! There
he is now, with Iago. Why don’t you stay and listen to w hat I say to him?’
‘T hank you, m adam , but I w o n ’t stay. I feel too e m b a rra s s e d ,’ Cassio
replied and hurried away.
Othello saw him.
‘Was th a t Cassio?’ he asked Iago.
‘No, I’m sure it w asn ’t, sir,’ his ensign replied. ‘Cassio has no reason for
running away like a guilty m an when he sees you.’
‘Yes, you’re right,’ Othello said. ‘But I think it was him.’
D e sd e m o n a w e n t up to h er h u sb a n d an d im m e d ia te ly ask e d him to
forgive Cassio and give him back his rank.
‘Call him back now, my love!’ she said. ‘He’s very sorry about the fight.’
‘Not now. Later.’
‘Tonight, th e n ? ’
‘No, not tonight. We have guests for dinner.’
‘Tom orrow evening?’
‘I’m eating with my captains tom orrow evening.’
‘When, then? Tuesday? W ednesday? W hen can he com e?’
Othello began to feel an n oy ed. ‘He can com e w h en he likes,’ he said
sharply. ‘Now, leave me. I have other things to think about.’
Later th a t day, when he was alone with Othello, Iago hinted 8 th a t Cassio
and Desdem ona were lovers. Othello didn’t w an t to believe him but he was
already a little suspicious 9 of Cassio.
‘Iago is an h o n e s t m a n a n d he u n d e r s t a n d s p e o p l e ,’ he th o u g h t .
‘D esd em o n a is g e ttin g tire d of m e. I’m to o old for her. Or p e rh a p s it’s
because I’m black.’ He felt very unhappy.
8. h in ted : said w h a t he w a s th in k ing in an in d irect w ay.
9. su sp iciou s : believing t h a t s o m e o n e has p ro b a b ly d on e s o m e th in g w rong.

82
 The text and beyond

3ET Q C o m p re h e n s io n c h e c k
For each question, m ark the le tter next to the correct answ er — A, B, C or D.

1 Iago wanted to hurt Othello because

A Q Othello had a higher position in the army.
B Q Othello didn’t promote him.
C Q Othello was black.
D Q Othello was rich and successful.
2 Desdemona went to Cyprus because
A Q she wanted to watch the battle against the Turks.
B Q Othello didn’t want her to stay in Venice alone.
C Q the Duke ordered her to go with her husband.
D Q she was afraid to stay in Venice alone.

3 Othello wanted to celebrate

A Q his marriage to Desdemona.
B Q their safe arrival in Cyprus.
C |~] the Venetian victory over the Turks.
D Q the destruction of the Turkish ships.

4 After the fight outside the Governor’s house

A Q the Governor was angry with Othello.

B □ Cassio lost his rank.

C Q Othello promoted Iago.
D Q Iago was wounded in the leg.

5 When Othello saw Cassio leaving Desdemona, Iago suggested

A Q that Cassio had something to hide.
B Q that Desdemona was having an affair with Cassio.
C Q that Cassio was very unhappy .
D Q that Cassio was a rude person.

6 Othello was unhappy because

A Q he didn’t trust anyone.
B □ he felt old and tired.
C [ ] he knew Iago was dishonest
D Q he thought Desdemona no longer loved him.

83
Q Characters
A C o m p le te th e s e n te n c e s a b o u t th e m a in c h a ra c te r s . C hoose a c h a r a c t e r
adjective from List A and a suitable reason from List B.

1 Othello is because ............................................................

2 Desdemona is because ............................................................
3 Iago i s ............................................ because..............................................................
4 Cassio i s ....................................... because..............................................................
a C haracter adjectives
ashamed brave depressed disappointed dishonest jealous kind simple
b Reasons
• pretended to be a friend to Othello.
• thought that his young wife was tired of him.
• ran away from home and married for love.
• drank too much wine and behaved badly.
B W r it e fo u r m ore sen ten ces ab ou t th e sam e ch a ra c te rs. Use th e re m ain in g
adjectives in List A and invent a suitable reason to explain your choice.

Tell m e w hat to do!

We use the infinitive
• In indirect questions after question words.
Tell me w h at to do!
Iago told Roderigo who to speak to.

• After nouns/pronouns
Desdem ona needs a m aid to help her dress.
Othello has som ething to ask his wife.
There was now here to go.

• After adjectives
It's d ifficu lt to like Iago.
It's easy to understand why Desdem ona loved Othello.

• After some verbs.

Iago pretended to respect Othello.
Othello decided to prom ote Cassio instead o f Iago.

• After some verbs + object

Cassio didn't w an t Othello to see him with Desdemona.
Desdem ona couldn't persuade O thello to speak to Cassio.

84
 A C T I V T

Q Complete the sentences in an appropriate way.

1 Roderigo wanted to speak to Iago but he didn’t know where t o ....................

2 Othello asked someone t o because he was very thirsty.
3 Roderigo was happy t o .................... because Iago promised to help him win
Desdemona.
4 The Duke allowed Desdemona t o ......................to Cyprus with Othello.
5 Desdemona offered t o .................... by speaking to her husband about him.
6 Othello began t o ......................after he saw her with Cassio.

B e fo re you read

Q V o ca b u lary
M atch the w ords (1-4) to the pictures (A-D).

1 a dagger 2 a handkerchief 3 a letter 4 a pillow

m n

H D 0 J

@ The four things in the pictures in exercise 1 appear in Pa rt Two. Think about how
th ey could be im portant to the story. Discuss your ideas w ith a partner.

85
 PART TWO

n
■
-
www.blackcat-cideb.com

.............................
was with her maid Emilia, who was also Iago’s wife. She was a good
w om an but Iago was cruel to her.
Desdem ona was worried w hen she saw her husband’s sad face.
‘W h at’s the m atter, my love?’ she said. ‘You don’t look well.’
‘I have a headache,’ Othello replied.
‘Here!’ she said. ‘Take my handkerchief and tie it round your head. You’ll
feel b etter soon.’
‘It’s too small,’ Othello said and threw it on the floor. ‘Let’s go and have
dinner!’
Emilia picked up the handkerchief and put it in her pocket.
‘This is th e handkerchief th a t Othello gave to D esdem ona,’ she said to
herself. ‘Iago has asked me for it m any times. I’ll give it to him. Perhaps he’ll
love me a little more if I do him this favour!’
The h a n d k e r c h ie f w a s an im p o r t a n t p a r t of Ia g o ’s plan to g e t his
revenge.

86
Love in Shakespeare

After dinner Othello looked for Iago. He couldn’t forget the ensign’s words
and now he was certain th a t D esdem ona was un faith fu l10 to him.
‘W hat are you hiding from me, Iago?’ he shouted. ‘Tell me! I m ust know
the truth!’
‘Sir,’ Iago replied. ‘You are putting me in a difficult situation.’
‘Tell me w hat you know, honest Iago. Please! I beg you. I’m suffering!’
‘W ell,’ Iago began. ‘D esdem ona has a h an d k erch ief w ith a s tra w b e rry
pattern on ...’
‘I know,’ Othello interrupted. ‘It was a present to her from m e.’
‘Well, she doesn’t have it any more. Cassio has it. I saw him with it this
m orning.’
Othello nearly exploded with anger.
‘Blood! Iago!’ he shouted. ‘I w an t blood!’
‘Be patient, sir,’ Iago said. ‘Think first! You m ight w an t to change your
mind.’
‘No, Iago. Cassio and Desdem ona m ust die. You m ust help me kill th em .’
‘Very well, sir. I’ll take my orders from you.’
Before Othello left, he m ade Iago his new lieutenant.
D esdem ona looked everyw here for her h an d k erch ief but she couldn’t
find it.
‘W here can it be, Emilia?’ she asked her maid. ‘Othello gave it to me. I
hope I haven’t lost it!’
‘I don’t know, m adam ,’ Emilia lied. ‘But, look! Othello is coming now.’
Othello greeted his wife coldly but she didn’t notice. She smiled at him
and said:
‘How are you, my lord? How is your headache?’
‘I have a cold,’ he replied. ‘May I have your handkerchief?’
‘I’m sorry but I don’t have it on me at the m om ent,’ she said.
‘H av e y o u lo s t i t ? ’ he d e m a n d e d a n g rily . ‘I h o p e n o t. It w a s m y
m o th er’s.’
‘No, I haven’t lost it.’
‘Then go and get it!’

10. u n faith fu l : having a ro m a n tic re la tio n sh ip w ith s o m e o n e w ho isn ’t y o u r p a rtn e r.

88
 The Tragedy of Othello, Moor of Venice

‘Not now, my love. I’ll get it later. Have you spoken to Cassio yet? He’s a
good m an and has served you well.’
‘The handkerchief!’ Othello shouted.
‘He’s shared m any dangers with you and ...’
‘The handkerchief!’ Othello shouted, even m ore loudly.
Desdem ona started to feel a little afraid.
‘Othello! W h at’s the m a tte r? ’
He didn’t answ er her. He turned and walked away.
‘He’s jealous,’ Emilia said.
‘No, he can’t be,’ Desdem ona said. ‘He m ust be worried about something.
Perhaps there are problem s here in Cyprus.’
The next day a m essenger arrived from Venice. He had a letter from the
Duke for Othello.
‘The Duke has o rd e red me to re tu rn to V enice,’ Othello said bitterly.
‘Cassio will be the new Governor of Cyprus.’
‘Oh, th a t’s good!’ Desdem ona said. ‘I’m glad about th a t.’
‘Are you?’ Othello said and slapped her face.
D esdem ona started to cry.
‘Othello! W hat have I done w rong?’ she sobbed and ran to her room.
L ater th a t day Iago m e t R oderigo and p e rs u a d e d him to kill Cassio.
R oderigo ag reed b u t th e figh t d id n ’t go acco rding to th e ir plan. Cassio
stabbed 11 Roderigo, who ran away. Then Iago tried to kill Cassio but only
w ounded him in the leg.
W hen Othello heard Cassio’s shouts of pain, he thought:
‘Good! Iago has killed Cassio. Now I will kill D esdem ona.’
He w ent to her room, w here she was asleep in bed. He looked at her.
‘I m ust kill her,’ he said. ‘She has been unfaithful.’
He kissed her three times. Desdem ona opened her eyes.
‘Are you coming to bed, my lord?’ she asked.
‘Have you prayed tonight, D esdem ona?’
‘Yes, my lord. W hy?’

11. stab b ed : p u sh e d a knife into him.

89
Love in Shakespeare

‘I don’t w ant to kill you if your so u l12 isn’t ready.’

‘Kill m e?’
‘Yes! You’ve been unfaithful to me with Cassio.’
‘No, my lord!’
‘Don’t lie to me! That handkerchief I gave you — you gave it to Cassio.’
‘I didn’t!’
‘You did. Iago saw it in his hand.’
‘Perhaps Cassio found it. Ask him!’
‘He’s dead. Iago has killed him.’
‘Oh, no! My lord, please don’t kill me! Let me live tonight! Just one more
night!’
‘It’s too late. Too late.’
Othello picked up a pillow and pressed it on her face. Desdem ona tried to
push it away but he only pressed it down harder. Finally she stopped moving.
She was dead.
A little later, Othello learnt the tru th about the handkerchief from Emilia
and Cassio. He couldn’t forgive himself for killing Desdemona. He pulled out
his dagger and stabbed himself in the heart.

12. soul : th e spiritual p a rt of a p erso n .

90
 A C T I V I T I E S ___________ _

The text and b e y o n d

3 E T 0 C o m p re h e n s io n c h e c k
For each question, m ark the le tter next to the correct answ er — A, B, C or D.

1 Emilia picked up Desdemona’s handkerchief because

A Q it was part of her job as Desdemona’s maid.
B Q she wanted to give it back to her mistress.
C Q she liked it and wanted to keep it.
D Q she wanted to give it to someone else.

2 Othello believed what Iago told him about Desdemona because

A □ he thought Iago was an honest man.
B □ he knew Desdemona liked Cassio.
C Q he didn’t trust Cassio.
D Q he knew his wife was tired of him.

3 Othello asked his wife for her handkerchief because

A Q he had a headache.
B Q he wanted to use it.
C □ he wanted to see it.
D Q it was his mother’s.

4 Desdemona
A Q probably thought the handkerchief was in her room.
B □ knew that Emilia had the handkerchief.
C Q had given the handkerchief to Cassio.
D Q didn’t want to give Othello the handkerchief.

5 In the fight,
A Q Iago was wounded.

b n Iago wounded Cassio.

C Q] Roderigo wounded Iago.
D Q Cassio killed Roderigo.

6 Othello killed Desdemona

A Q because he hated her.
B Q although he loved her.
C Q because he was a cruel man.
D Q although he knew she hadn’t been unfaithful.

91
Q V o c ab u la ry
A Complete the table. All the words are in the story of Othello.

verb noun adjectives

respect respect (1 ) ....................../respectable
scheme scheme (2 ) ....................
( 3 ) ....................... obedience obedient
wound wound ( 4 ) .......................
embarrass embarrassment embarrassing/(5).........................
suspect suspicion ( 6 ) .......................

B Complete the sentences w ith four w ords from the table.

Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, treated Othello with (1)...................................

because he was black and a Moor, but Othello’s men had a lot of
( 2 ) ................................... for their general. They thought he was a good leader.
Othello believed in discipline and expected total ( 3 ) .....................................from his
soldiers. Anyone who disobeyed his orders was severely punished.
Othello’s race and colour didn’t worry Desdemona. She felt no
( 4 ) ................................... at all when they were together in public. In fact their
mixed race marriage wasn’t unusual in Venice in those days. It was common for
merchants from North Africa to marry local women.
Q T h e M o o rs in S pain
The sentences in this text about the Moors in Spain, the country in Europe w here
th eir presence had the greatest influence, are in the w rong order. Pu t them in the
correct order. Num ber them 1-8.

A Q Only the small Kingdom of Granada was left under Moorish rule.
BQ These Moors arrived in Spain in the year 711 CE and by 720 CE most of the
country was under the Moors’ rule.
C Q During the next few centuries the northern and western states slowly
continued the process of reconquering their land.
D [T] The word ‘Moor’ comes from the Latin word m aurus (plural m auri) and
originally referred to people from the Roman province of Mauretania in
north-west Africa (modern-day Morocco and Algeria).
E Soon after the Islamic conquest, however, Asturias, a small kingdom in the
north-west, started the Reconquista (the ‘reconquest’).
F Q In 1212, an army made up of men from Castile, Aragon, and Navarre, as well
as volunteers from Leon and France, finally managed to push the Moors out
of Central Spain and Portugal.
G Q Then, on 2 January 1492, the Moorish leader in Granada surrendered to the
armies of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of
Castile and that was the end of Moorish domination in Spain.
H □ Later the term ‘Moors’ was used to refer to the North African and Arab Muslims
who conquered the Iberian Peninsula (modern day Spain and Portugal).

92
 B e fo re you read
Look at the list of characters in the sto ry before you sta rt reading the story.

C haracters in the story:

M ark Antony: 1
Octavius Caesar: r the three rulers of the Roman Empire
M arcus Lepidus: ^
Pompey: a rebel soldier
Enobarbus: Antony’s friend
M enecrates and Menas: Pompey’s friends
M aecenas and Agrippa: Caesar’s friends
Cleopatra: the Queen of Egypt
Octavia: Caesar’s sister
Charmian: Cleopatra’s maid

Setting: The city of Rome in central Italy, the island of Sicily and the city of
Alexandria in Egypt.
PET 0 Reading
Read the beginning of P a rt One. Are the following sentences true (T) or false (F )?
Correct the false ones.

T F
1 Antony rules the eastern part of the Empire. □□
2 Antony enjoys receiving news from Rome. □□
3 The third messenger brings a message about Antony’s wife. □□
4 Antony decides to go back to Rome. □□
5 Rome is in danger. □□
6 Cleopatra decides to go to Rome with Antony. □□
Q Vocabulary
M atch a w ord in A w ith a definition in B. Use your d iction ary if necessary.

A B
1 □ an assassination a to win against someone in a fight
2 □ quarrels b to find and organise men to fight
3 □ to be united c the killing of an important person
4 □ to defeat someone d to go against a political leader
5 □ to raise an army e disagreements
6 □ to rebel against someone f to have the same beliefs

94
 PART ONE

A
www.blackcat-cideb.com

fter the assasination of Julius Caesar in 44BCE, three powerful men

took control of Rome: Mark Antony, a great soldier and a respected
leader, Octavius Caesar, Julius Caesar’s adopted 1 son, and Marcus
Lepidus, a Roman politician. Antony left Rome and w ent to govern
the eastern p art of the Empire and while he was there he fell in love with
Cleopatra, th e Queen of Egypt. He w en t to live w ith her in her palace in
Alexandria, w here life was very pleasant. He adored Cleopatra and w anted to
spend all his tim e with her. He forgot about his duty to Rome and m ade no
plans to go back there.
One m orning a m essenger arrived at the palace. He brought news from
Caesar but Antony didn’t w ant to hear it.
‘I’m not interested in w h a t’s happening in Rome,’ he told Cleopatra. ‘My
only interest is you, my beautiful queen.’
‘But it might be im p ortant,’ Cleopatra said. ‘It could be a m essage from
your wife. P erh aps s h e ’s angry w ith you ab o u t som eth in g. Listen to th e
m essenger, Antony!’

1. a d o p te d : legally m a d e p a rt of yo u r family.

95
Love in Shakespeare

‘I don’t w ant to think about Rome,’ he replied. ‘Let’s go out for a walk!’
His soldiers were shocked by his behaviour. They w anted him to return to
Rome.
A little later a n o th e r m essen g e r arrived. This tim e A ntony decided to
listen to him.
‘Your wife and brother raised an arm y and rebelled against Caesar,’ the
m essenger said. ‘But they lost the battle.’
Then a third m essenger arrived with th e new s th a t A ntony’s wife was
dead.
Antony felt guilty. Rome needed him and w h at w as he doing? Enjoying
himself with Cleopatra! He knew th a t he had to go back. The danger was not
over yet. Letters from friends told him th a t Pompey, a rebel who lived on the
island of Sicily, was preparing to sta rt a w ar against Caesar. He w anted to
take control of the seas. He called his good friend Enobarbus.
‘Tell th e soldiers to get ready to leav e,’ he said. ‘W e’re going back to
Rome! I’ll go and tell Cleopatra.’
When he told her she was very angry.
‘You have broken your prom ises to m e!’ she said. ‘Like you broke the
prom ises you m ade to your wife!’
Antony tried to explain to her why he had to go.
‘My wife is dead ,’ he said, ‘And now som e other rebels are planning an
attack on Rome. Caesar needs me there. I have to go back, Cleopatra.’
‘If your wife is dead, why aren ’t you in m ourning for her?’ she dem anded
angrily. ‘Will you forget m e as quickly when I die?’
‘I’ll nev er fo rg et you, C leopatra. I love yo u,’ A ntony replied. ‘I’ll think
about you every day when I’m in Rome. But please try and understand why I
have to go back.’
Cleopatra’s anger suddenly changed to sham e. 2
‘I’m sorry, Antony. Forgive me! I’m only thinking about m yself,’ she said
and kissed him. ‘Go! The gods will look after you. Fight the rebels and win!’
Caesar was waiting for a reply from Antony. He was angry with him.
‘Rome is in danger, Lepidus!’ he said. ‘We need Antony. He’s our best

2. s h a m e : a guilty an d e m b a r ra s s e d feeling.

96
Love in Shakespeare

soldier. And w h a t’s he doing? Eating, drinking and enjoying him self w ith
Cleopatra in Alexandria! It’s his duty to be here!’
‘Let’s hope he comes soon, Caesar!’ Lepidus replied. ‘While w e’re waiting
for him, we m ust sta rt preparing our arm y for the battle with Pompey.’
In his house on the island of Sicily, Pompey was discussing the military
situation with his friends M enecrates and Menas. He was very confident.
‘I’ll win the battle,’ he said. ‘The Roman people love me, I control the seas
and their best soldier, Mark Antony, is in Egypt with Cleopatra.’
There was a knock on the door and a m essenger cam e in. He told them
th a t Antony was now in Rome. The news didn’t worry the rebels.
‘Perhaps Caesar and A ntony will s ta r t fighting each other!’ Menas said
and laughed. ‘They’ve never been good friends.’
‘And C aesar w o n ’t fo rg et th a t A n to n y ’s b ro th e r and his wife rebelled
against him,’ M enecrates added.
‘W e’ll see. You might be right,’ Pompey said.
W h en C aesar, A n to n y an d Lapidus m e t to decide w h a t to do a b o u t
Pom pey, it w as clear th a t th e re w as a bad feeling b e tw e e n C aesar and
Antony.
‘Before we talk about Pom pey,’ Maecenas, one of C aesar’s friends, said.
‘You tw o m ust forget your quarrels and become friends. If we aren ’t united
against Pompey, we w on’t defeat him!’
‘I have an idea,’ Agrippa, Caesar’s com m ander, said. ‘Why doesn’t Antony
m arry Octavia, your sister, Caesar? Then you will be brothers and friends for
life.’
‘W hat do you think, C aesar?’ Antony asked.
‘I agree if you do,’ Caesar replied. He knew th a t M aecenas was right.
So Antony m arried Octavia.

98
 The text and beyond

PET Q Comprehension check

For each question, m ark the letter next to the correct an sw er — A, B, C or D.

1 Mark Antony lived in Alexandria, Egypt because

A [ ] he loved the city.
B Q Cleopatra’s palace was pleasant.
C Q he ruled the eastern part of the Roman Empire.
D Q he was in love with Cleopatra.

2 Antony’s wife
A fought a battle against Caesar in Italy.
B Q was angry with him because he was away too long.
C Q sent him a message telling him to come back to Rome.
D Q was jealous of Cleopatra.

3 Antony decided to return to Rome

A Q to mourn his wife.
B [ ] to speak to Caesar about the rebels.
C Q although he didn’t want to leave Cleopatra.
D [~| although his soldiers wanted him to stay in Egypt.

4 Caesar was angry because

A Antony didn’t want to help him.
B Q Antony didn’t reply to his letters.
C Q Cleopatra was keeping Antony in Alexandria.
D Q Antony was eating and drinking too much.

5 When Pompey heard that Antony was in Rome

A [ ] he was surprised.
B Q he had a meeting with Menas and Menecrates.
C □ he prepared for battle.
D Q he wasn’t worried.

6 Antony married Octavia

A Q because Caesar thought it was a good idea.
B □ to become part of Caesar’s family.
C Q because he wanted a new wife.
D Q to make Caesar happy.

99
 If w e a re n ’t united against Pom pey, w e w o n ’t defeat him.
This sentence refers to the future.
It has two clauses:
(we w on't defeat him .)
(If we aren 't united ag ainst Pom pey,)
Notice that we use a present tense with a future meaning, not a future form, after
the conjunction if
In ‘if+ present’ clauses we talk about uncertain events and situations, things which
may or may not happen, or may or may not be true.
We could also say.
W e w on't defeat Pom pey if we aren 't united ag ainst him.

O ‘if’ clau ses

Complete the sentences w ith the verbs in brackets in the correct form.

1 If Caesar and Antony.................... , Octavia........... .........in a difficult situation.

(quarrel, be)
2 Cleopatra.................... furious if Antony................ ....to Alexandria soon, (be, not
return)
3 Pompey.................... even more popular with the Romans if h e ......................the
battle, (become, win)
4 If Caesar ev er.................... Cleopatra, h e ................ .....why Antony loves her so
much, (meet, understand)

Listening
Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt.
PET

You will hear someone talking about the early life of Cleopatra.
For each question, fill in the missing information in the numbered spaces.

Official name (1)..............................................

Year of birth (2)............................................. BCE.
Family (3)............................................sisters a n d ...............................................brothers.
Became queen when she was (4).............................................years old.
Shared the throne with her (5).......................................................................................... ,
Ptolemy XIII.
He forced her to (6)............................................. in 48 BCE.
(7)............................................. helped her regain power.
In (8) she and her son, Cesarion, went to Rome.

100
B e fo re you read

Q R ead in g
Read the beginning of P a rt Two. Are the following sentences tru e (T) or false (F)
Correct the false ones.

T F

1 Cleopatra has forgotten Antony. □ □

2 The messenger is afraid to tell Cleopatra about Antony’s marriage. □ □
3 Cleopatra is sad when she hears Antony is married. □ □
4 Cleopatra is curious about Octavia. □ □
5 Caesar visits Pompey in Rome. □ □
6 The meeting between Pompey and Caesar is successful. □ □
7 Enobarbus and Menas are old friends. □ □
8 Enobarbus thinks that Antony still loves Cleopatra. □ □
Q V o ca b u la ry
M atch a w ord in A w ith a d efinition in B. Use your d iction ary if necessary.

A B
1 □ wheat a to admit you have been beaten
2 □ a monument b upper part of the chest
3 □ a breast c a grain used for making bread
4 □ to surrender d to plan to do something secretly
5 □ to plot e large structure in stone

Q R ead in g p ictu res

Look at the picture on page 107. A n sw er the questions.

1 What is Cleopatra holding?

2 How would you describe the expression on her face?
3 What do you think she’s thinking?
4 What do you think she’s going to do next?

Q P red ictio n
W h a t do you th in k w ill happen in P a rt T w o ? Discuss your ideas w ith a partner.

1 Will Antony and Caesar be friends for life?

2 Will the three rulers of Rome fight Pompey and win?
 P A R T TWO

www.blackcat-cideb.com

c leopatra was feeling a little bored w ithout Antony. Her maids tried
j to entertain her with gam es and music but she couldn’t forget him.
One day a m essenger from Italy arrived.
‘Finally! Some new s from Antony!’ Cleopatra cried. ‘Come! Tell
me everything!’
‘Madam, m adam — ’ The m essen g er hesitated . He didn’t know how to
begin to tell the Queen about A ntony’s m arriage.
W hen she saw his hesitation, Cleopatra suddenly felt afraid.
‘Antony’s dead!’
‘No, m adam . He’s alive and well. He’s friends with Caesar to o.’
‘T hat’s good news!’ Cleopatra replied happily. ‘Here’s some gold for you!’
‘But - ’
‘But w h a t? ’
‘He is m arried to Octavia, Caesar’s sister, m adam .’
W hen she h e a rd this, C le o p atra w as furiou s. She hit th e m e s s e n g e r
several tim es and he fell on the floor.
‘Tell me it isn’t true!’ she shouted. ‘I’ll give you all the gold you w ant. And
land. Just tell me it isn’t true!’
‘He’s m arried, m adam .’

102
 Antony and Cleopatra

Then Cleopatra took out a knife.

‘You villain!’3 she shouted. ‘I’m going to kill you!’
The m essenger was very afraid.
‘It isn’t my fault, m adam ,’ he said and ran away quickly.
An hour later she was calmer. She called her maid and told her to send the
m essenger back to Rome. She had a job for him to do there.
‘I w an t to know exactly w h at Octavia looks like,’ she said. ‘Tell him to
hurry back here with a description of her. I w an t to know everything.’
Caesar, A ntony and Lepidus w en t to m e e t Pom pey at M isenum in the
south of Italy. They w anted to offer him a tru c e .4
‘You can have Sicily and Sardinia in return for protecting our ships from
the attacks of pirates,’ Caesar said. ‘And you m ust send w heat to Rome. Do
you agree?’
Pompey decided to accept their offer and the truce was signed.
‘We m ust celebrate, gentlem en,’ he said. ‘I invite all of you to dinner on
my ship!’
Enobarbus was getting ready to go when Menas came up to him.
‘W e’ve m et before, haven’t w e?’ he said.
‘Yes, we have,’ Enobarbus replied. ‘W e’ve fought m any times. At sea and
on land.’
‘I’m surprised to see Mark Antony here,’ Menas said. ‘Isn’t he m arried to
the Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra?’
‘No, he isn’t. Antony is m arried to Octavia, C aesar’s sister.’
‘So he and Caesar are friends now, are th ey ?’
‘For the m o m en t,’ Enobarbus replied. ‘I d o n ’t think their friendship will
last long. Antony will soon go back to Cleopatra. Then th e r e ’ll be trouble
again betw een him and Caesar.’
T he m e s s e n g e r r e t u r n e d to A le x a n d ria a n d w e n t im m e d ia te ly to
C leopatra’s palace. He was shaking as he entered the room w here the Queen
was waiting for him. He rem em bered her anger.
‘Did you see Octavia!’ Cleopatra asked.

3. villain : a bad p erso n or a crim inal.

4. tru ce : an a g re e m e n t b e tw e e n people in a w ar.

103
Love in Shakespeare

‘Yes, m a d a m / he replied. ‘In Rome with Antony and her b ro th er/

‘Well? W h at’s she like? Is she as tall as m e?’
‘No, m adam . She’s sho rt.’
‘W hat kind of voice has she got? High or low?’
‘Low, m adam . But she doesn’t speak m uch.’
‘W hat about her face? Is it long or round?’
‘It’s round.’
‘Her hair?’
‘Brown.’
Cleopatra was happier when she knew th a t Octavia w asn ’t as pretty or as
fascinating as she was. She apologized to the m essenger for hitting him.
‘Here are som e gold coins,’ she said. ‘You’re a good m an. You m ay go
now!’
After their m arriage, Antony took Octavia to his house in Athens. While
they were travelling there, Caesar and Lepidus broke the truce with Pompey
and s ta r te d a w ar ag a in st him. They w on and Pom pey w as killed. Then
Caesar put Lepidus in prison. Antony heard this from a m essenger soon after
he and Octavia arrived. The news m ade him very angry. He sent his wife back
to Rome and told his m en to prepare the ships for war.
‘W e’re going to fight Caesar!’ he said.
Then he returned to Egypt and Cleopatra.
C a e sa r w as a n g ry w ith A n to n y fo r tr e a ti n g his s is te r so badly. He
im m ediately set sail for Egypt with his army.
Antony decided to fight Caesar at sea.
Canidius, A ntony’s general, and Enobarbus didn’t think it was a good idea.
‘Your ships a re n ’t good enough and your m en a re n ’t good sailors,’ they
told him. ‘You m ust fight on land.’
‘I’ll help you win the battle,’ Cleopatra said. ‘I have sixty good ships. They
are much stronger than C aesar’s.’
A few days later their ships set sail and the battle began. Everything was
going well for A ntony’s m en when, suddenly, C leopatra’s ships turned around
and sailed away. Antony gave the order to follow them and the victory was
Caesar’s.

104
 Antony and Cleopatra

Antony’s m en were filled with sham e and a lot of them , including Canidius
and Enobarbus, left him and joined Caesar’s side.
Antony w as also asham ed.
‘Once I was a brave m an,’ he said to Cleopatra. ‘1 fought and won difficult
battles. Now I am a coward! W hat have you done to m e?’
Cleopatra started to cry.
‘I’m so sorry, my lord. Forgive me!’ she said. ‘When I ordered my ships to
sail back to the port, I didn’t expect you to follow me. Please forgive me!’
A n to ny’s love for her w as g re a te r th a n his sh am e and he forgave her
immediately.
‘Don’t cry!’ he said. ‘Kiss me! One kiss from you will m ake everything right
again.’
Later Antony sent a m essenger to Caesar. He asked him to allow him to
stay in Egypt. Caesar refused his request.
‘But tell Cleopatra th a t I’ll be generous with her if she sends Antony away,
or kills him,’ he said.
W hen A ntony heard this, he challenged C aesar to a n o th e r battle. This
tim e th ey fought on land and th e victory w as A ntony’s. He celeb rated by
taking Cleopatra and his soldiers on a triu m p han t m arch around Alexandria.
Caesar was now determined to destroy Antony’s army. He prepared his ships
for a third battle. It was again at sea and, like the first, it was a disaster for
Antony, who was watching it from a hill. During the battle, Cleopatra’s sailors
surrendered and joined Caesar’s fleet. Antony’s men had no chance of winning
after th at so he ordered them to turn around and sail back to Alexandria.
He was like a m ad man.
‘Cleopatra has betrayed me!’ he shouted. ‘She has plotted 5 with Caesar
against me! The witch! I’ll kill her for this!’
Cleopatra was frightened. She called her maid.
‘You m ust help me, Charm ian,’ she said. ‘W hat can I do?’
‘Go to the m o n u m e n t6 and lock yourself inside/ the maid said. ‘There’s only
one way to win back his love. Send a m essenger to say th at you are dead.’

5. p lo tte d : m a d e a s e c r e t plan w ith o th e r people to do s o m e th in g bad.

6. m o n u m e n t : building, p e rh a p s w h e re C le o p atra w a n te d h e r bod y to be p u t a f te r she
died.

105
Love in Shakespeare

‘Yes, yes!’ Cleopatra said. ‘Go and tell Antony I have killed myself. Tell him
th a t the last word I said was his nam e. Then come and tell me w hat he says.’
But the plan w ent wrong. When Antony heard th a t Cleopatra was dead, he
forgave her for betraying him. He w anted to die too so th a t he could be with
her again. He asked his se rv an t to kill him but th e serv an t killed him self
instead. He couldn’t ask anyone else so he took his sword and fell on it. He
w as still alive w hen the guards took his body to the m onum ent, w here he
died in Cleopatra’s arms.

Caesar arrived in Alexandria and w ent to see Cleopatra. He prom ised not
to hu rt her or her children if she surren dered to him but Cleopatra didn’t
believe him and told him to go away.
‘Bring me my best clothes, Charm ian’ she said. ‘And my crown. I’m going
to m eet Mark Antony.’
A little later a serv ant arrived at the m on um ent with a basket of fruit.
Cleopatra told the guard to let him in.
‘He’s bringing me my freedom ,’ she said.
A m ong th e fru it in th e b a sk e t th e re w ere several po iso nou s sn ak es.
Cleopatra took one out and put it on her breast. She took another and held it
to her arm. The poison from their bites killed her instantly.
W hen Caesar heard about her death, he told the guards to bury her next
to Antony.
‘No to m b on e a r th will be m o re f a m o u s th a n t h a t of A n to n y a n d
Cleopatra!’ he said.

106
The text and beyond

Q Comprehension check
A n sw er the questions.

1 Why was Cleopatra happier after the messenger’s description of Octavia?

2 What did Pompey get in return for protecting the Roman ships from pirates?
3 Why was Antony angry with Caesar?
4 Why did Antony’s men feel ashamed after the first battle?
5 What happened to Antony’s men after the third battle?
6 Why did Cleopatra send Antony a message to say she was dead?
7 Why did Antony decide to kill himself?
8 Where did Caesar tell his guards to bury Cleopatra?

0 Characters
Read the extracts from the story. W h o is speaking? W h a t are the circum stances?
Discuss your ideas w ith a partner. Look back at the sto ry and check your answers.

1 ‘You villain!’ ....................

2 ‘Do you agree?’ ....................
3 ‘It’s round.’ ....................
4 ‘Please forgive me!’ ....................
5 ‘The witch! I’ll kill her for this!’
6 ‘He’s bringing me my freedom.’ ...

Q Acrostic
Use the clues to com plete the puzzle. The answ ers are all names.

1 One of the rebels

2 A Roman politician 10

3 He broke a truce i □□□[

4 A disappointed man
3[
5 The Roman people liked him 4
6 She didn’t marry for love 5
7 He put pleasure before duty 6
8 An Egyptian maid
9 The place where 7 and 10 died 8
9 L □ □ □
10 The last ruling pharaoh of Egypt
PET Q Alexandria
Read the text below about the c ity of Alexandria. Choose the correct w ord for each
space (1-8). There is an example at the beginning (0).

Alexandria was founded by Alexander the

Great in 331 BCE and in ancient times it was
one of the (0) ..CUGSt famous cities in
the world. It was known because of its
lighthouse (Pharos), one of the Seven
W onders o f the A ncient W orld, and its
library, which was the largest library in the
ancient world.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria was built in
the third century BC on the island of Pharos
to (1)......................sailors into the harbour at
night. It was between 115 and 150 meters
high, (2)......................it was among the
highest structures in the world, second only
to the Great Pyramids. The tower was
(3) .................... up of three stages: a lower
square section, a middle octagonal section,
and, at the top, a circular section The Lighthouse of Alexandria,
(4) .................... the fire for the light burned. by Harold Oakley (1800-1900).
According to reports, a large curved mirror
was used to project the fire’s light into a beam. The structure stood for 1,500 years
(5) .................... it finally collapsed in 1326, the victim of too many earthquakes.
The Library of Alexandria was founded by Ptolomy II, in 283 BC. It was a place of
study which included lecture areas, gardens and a zoo. Historians estimate that at
(6) .................... time it had 400,000 to 700,000 documents from Assyria, Greece,
Persia, Egypt, India and many other nations. Over 100 scholars lived there full time
They (7)......................research, wrote, lectured or translated and copied documents.
When the Library was destroyed, (8)......................of ancient history, literature and
learning was lost forever.
0 A very (B)most C more D plus
1 A guide B sail C carry D point
2 A but B although C so D because
3 A done B built C put D made
4 A where B which C inside D there
5 A when B before C while D as
6 A a B one C their D some
7 A had B were C made D did
8 A lot B many C much D quantity

109
 A F T E R R E A D I N G

Q P ic tu re s u m m ary
Look at the pictures from the book Love in Sh a k esp eare: Five Stories. Decide w hich
p ictures belong to w h ich story. There are th ree for each story. Pu t them in the
order in w hich th ey occur in the stories.

1 2 3
1 The Tam ing o f the Shrew □□ □
2 Romeo and Ju lie t □ □
3 Twelfth Night; or, W h at You W ill □□ □
4 The Tragedy o f Othello, M oor o f Venice □□ □
5 A ntony and Cleopatra □□ □

110
 A F T E R R E A D I N G

Q P ic tu re s in to w o rd s
W h a t might the characters be saying or thinking in each p ictu re? Inven t phrases
or sentences to put in speech and/or thought balloons, and w rite captions under
the pictures to narrate w h a t is happening.

Q A p o s te r
M ake a p oster to ad vertise one of the stories. Use copies of p ictures from this
book, short extracts from the story, w o rd s and p ictures of y o u r ow n and from
other sources.

111
This reader uses the EXPANSIVE READING approach, where the text becomes a
springboard to improve language skills and to explore historical background, cultural
connections and other topics suggested by the text.
The new structures introduced in this step of our R E A D IN G & T R A IN IN G series are listed
below. Naturally, structures from lower steps are included too. For a complete list of
structures used over all the six steps, see The Black Cat Guide to Graded Readers, which is
also downloadable at no cost from our website, www.blackcat-cideb.com.
The vocabulary used at each step is carefully checked against vocabulary lists used for
internationally recognised examinations.

Step Three B 1 .2
All the structures used in the previous levels, plus the following:
Verb tenses
Present Perfect Simple: unfinished past with for or since (duration form)
Past Perfect Simple: narrative
Verb forms and patterns
Regular verbs and all irregular verbs in current English
Causative: have / get + object + past participle
Reported questions and orders with ask and tell

Modal verbs
Would: hypothesis
Would rather: preference
Should (present and future reference): moral obligation
Ought to (present and future reference): moral obligation
Used to: past habits and states

Types of clause
2nd Conditional: if+ past, would(n’t)
Zero, 1st and 2nd conditionals with unless
Non-defining relative clauses with who and where
Clauses of result: so; so ... that; such ... that
Clauses of concession: although, though
Other
Comparison: (not) as / so ... as; (not) ... enough to; too ... to
Love in Shakespeare
V a ry in g asp ects o f lo ve fe a tu r e in th e s e fiv e s to rie s b ased on p la y s b y
Sh akesp eare — love and m arriage, young love, ro m an tic love, jealo us love
an d p a s s io n a te lo ve. So m e o f th e c h a ra c te r s fin d h a p p in e ss w h ile fo r
others love brings o n ly m isery and pain.

T h is re a d e r u ses th e EXPANSIVE READING a p p ro a c h , w h e r e th e te x t

b e c o m e s a s p r in g b o a r d t o im p r o v e la n g u a g e s k ills a n d to e x p lo re
h is to ric a l backgroun d, c u ltu ra l c o n n ectio n s and o th e r to p ics suggested
by th e text. As w e ll as th e sto ry, th is re a d e r co n tains:
• A n in tro d u c tio n ab ou t Sh a k e s p e a re and his life
• A w id e range o f a c tiv itie s p ra ctisin g th e fo u r skills
• D ossiers: C ourtship an d M a rria g e in E liz a b e th a n Tim es and o th e rs
• PET - style a c tiv itie s and T rin ity - s tyle a c tiv itie s (G rad e 5)
• A fu ll re co rd in g o f th e te x t
• E x it test, keys, sum m ary-based a c tiv itie s and W e b A c t i v i t i e s
a t w w w .b la ck ca t- cid eb .co m

w w w . b la c k c a t r e a d e r s . c o m :
a BLOG f o r a n e w r e a d in g e x p e r ie n c e .

B la c k C at R ea d e rs are n o w also fo r Sm artphone and Tablet,

eBook a v a iia ble fro m th e o ffic ia l d ig ital sto res fo r
b oth A n d ro id and iO S devices. F o r fu r th e r in fo rm a tio n
on th e title s ava ilab le : w w w .b la ck ca t- cid eb .co m

»>
Step One ■ CEFR A2 Exam Level KET
Step TWO H CEFR B1.1 Exam Preparation PET
Step Three ■ CEFRB1.2 Exam Level PET
Step Four ■ CEFR B2.1 Exam Preparation FCE
Step Five ■ CEFR B2.2 Exam Level FCE
Step Six ■ CEFRC1 Exam Preparation CAE