BONFIR

E NIGHT
In 1605, thirteen young men planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Among them
was Guy Fawkes, Britain's most notorious traitor. 

After Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, English Catholics hoped that her successor, James I, would be
more tolerant of their religion, since his mother was Catholic. Unfortunately, James wasn’t more
tolerant than Elizabeth, so 13 young men decided that a violent action was the answer.

The leader of that small group was Robert Catesby. Catesby decided to blow up the Houses of
Parliament and kill the King and the Members of Parliament who were making life difficult for the
Catholics.

To carry out their plan, the conspirators got hold of 36 barrels of

gunpowder - and stored them in a cellar, just underneath the
House of Lords.

But as the group worked on the plot, it became clear that innocent
people would be hurt or killed in the attack. Some of the plotters
started having second thoughts. One of the group members even
sent an anonymous letter warning his friend, Lord Monteagle, to stay away from the Parliament
on November 5th. The warning letter reached the King, and the King's forces made plans to stop
the conspirators.

On November 5th, when the soldiers stormed into the cellar of the Parliament, they found Guy
Fawkes with 36 barrels of gunpowder. They arrested, tortured and executed him.

On the very night that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, people set alight
bonfires to celebrate the safety of their King. Since then, November 5th has
become known as Bonfire Night. The event is commemorated every year
with fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire.

The preparations for Bonfire Night celebrations include making a dummy of

Guy Fawkes, which is called "the Guy". Children walk in the streets, carrying
"the Guy" and beg passersby for "a penny for the Guy." The kids use the
money to buy fireworks for the evening festivities.

On the night itself, Guy is placed on top of the bonfire and burned; and fireworks displays fill the
sky.

The extent of the celebrations and the size of the bonfire varies from one community to the next.
Lewes, in the South East of England, is famous for its Bonfire Night festivities and consistently
attracts thousands of people each year to participate.
Exercise 1: choose if these sentences are true (T) or false (F) and correct the false ones.

T F
1. King James was more tolerant than Queen Elizabeth
2. The leader of the conspirators was Robert Catesby
3. The conspirators wanted to blow up Westminster Abbey
4. A member of the group sent a letter to Guy Fawkes warning him about the plot.
5. The King’s men found Guy Fawkes in the cellar with 30 barrels of gunpowder
6. November 5th has become known as Bonfire Night
7. People commemorate Bonfire Night with fireworks and bonfires.
8. “The Guy” is an effigy of Guy Fawkes.
9. The children use the money to buy effigies to burn on the bonfire
10. On November 5th the sky fills with firework displays

Exercise 2: find in the text the correct word for each definition.

___________________ someone who comes after another person

a person who is a person not loyal or stops being loyal to their own
___________________
country
___________________ a person in control of a group, country, or situation
___________________ people who conspire with others to do something
a secret plan made by several people to do something that is wrong,
___________________ harmful, or not legal, especially to do damage to a person or a
government
an explosive mixture of substances in the form of a powder, used for
___________________
making explosive devices and fireworks
___________________ people who are going past a particular place
models or other objects that represent someone, especially hated
___________________
people that are hanged or burned in a public place

Exercise 3: answer the following questions.

1. After Queen Elizabeth I died, who became king?

2. How many men decided for a violent answer?
3. What did Catesby decide to do?
4. Where did the conspirators stored the gunpowder?
5. When did the soldiers discover the barrels of gunpowder?
6. Why did people set alight bonfires on the night the plot was foiled?
7. What does the children do when they walk in the street?
8. What happens to Guy on Bonfire Night?
9. When do you see bonfires and firework displays in your country?
10. What’s your festival? Why? What do you do?