Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for English for Secondary education

Shakespeare's Sonnet 130: A Realistic Perspective

Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare is written in iambic pentameter. There isn’t any kind of title in Shakespearean sonnets; instead, we refer to them by their number. The order is very important because the sonnets can be separated into groups based on their subject matter.

Genre and Tone

The genre of this poem is a sonnet. The addressee is the beloved, and as for the tone, the speaker is sarcastic. He makes fun of the traditional idea of love poems.

Subject and Structure

The subject is realistic and complicates the notion of love. The speaker in this sonnet compares idealized love (Petrarchan) with his love for the Dark Lady. The Dark Lady is completely different from Petrarch’s Laura.

English

The Return of Isabelle to Beaufort

The story takes place in a small French town called Beaufort. This town, as usual, was a quiet place until it was altered by the return of a young lady named Isabelle. Everyone is surprised to see her again, especially five years after her sudden flight. Like all small towns, there are gossiping grandmothers. Beaufort was scandalized by the flight of Isabelle and her beloved Philippe; as the village women said, it was outrageous that an orphan girl like Isabelle would pursue the son of an important Marquis.

A Scandalous Past and the Grisard Mansion

Isabelle bought the Grisard mansion, something that everyone finds strange, since no one knew where she could have obtained such a fortune—let alone why she would...

A Return to Basics in the Nun's Priest's Tale

This tale is in many ways a return to the ground, a return to basics. We start with a poor widow and a dusty yard—a setting far removed from the high-culture classical tragedies of the Monk. Moreover, the tale keeps emphasizing anality and bottoms; in Chaunticleer’s two examples of dreams coming true, a dung cart and a breaking ship’s “bottom” are the hinge of the story, and Pertelote’s advice to Chaunticleer is to take some “laxatyf” to clear out his humours.

There is a good-natured sense of groundedness about this tale, a return—after the dark run of the Monk, the punishing Melibee (and interrupted Sir Thopas), and the bitter Prioress—to the humour and warmth of the early tales....

There is no doubt in the fact that in today’s times, technology has made our lives quite easy. People have been using it for benefiting themselves in numerous ways. For example, with the use of smartphones to even the use of cars, we can achieve so much and get things done in a very short period of time. Owing to this, we can say that life has become quite simple and comfortable for us in ways which we couldn’t imagine.

The Evolution of Modern Living Through Technology

Now we can scour the internet and get all the important information which we want for our use in a very fast way. Nowadays, almost everyone is having some kind of electronic devices with them. Not just that, the use of airplanes, cars, and lifts has made our lives more comfortable....

Types of Speech Acts

1. Assertive: Its purpose is to represent a real state of affairs. They are expressed with verbs such as ser, estar, do, describe, believe, and so on. Example: "I am in Santiago."
2. Commissives: Their purpose is to commit the speaker to a future course of action. They use verbs like promise, swear, assure, and so on. Example: "I promise that I will never..."
3. Directives (Leadership): The purpose is to engage the listener in a future course of action. They use verbs such as invite or order. Examples: "I invite you to leave." "I order you..."
4. Declaratives (Declared): Their purpose is to create a new situation. Verbs used include declare, pronounce (e.g., baptisms, official acts). Example: "I pronounce you husband and wife."
5. Expressive:

The story unfolds on a cold April day in 1984 in Oceania, the totalitarian superpower in post World War II Europe. Winston Smith, employed as a records editor at the Ministry of Truth, drags himself home to Victory Mansions (nothing victorious about them) for lunch.

Starting the Rebellion

Depressed and oppressed, Winston starts a journal of his rebellious thoughts against the Party. If discovered, this journal will result in his execution. For added precautions, Winston only writes when safe from the view of the surveying telescreens, and when that shot of industrial grade "Victory Gin" kicks in.

Modal Verb Practice

3. The baby is crying now. We shouldn’t have made / should have made / should make so much noise.

4. The book isn’t in my bag. I could leave / must leave / must have left it at your house.

5. You could try / are able to try / would have tried wearing glasses. Your vision isn’t great.

6. Look at the sky! It might rain / might have rained / could have rained.

Textos: Verb Tense Application

Passage 1: Health and Diet

For years, doctors (1) have told (tell) young people to stop eating fast food. Scientists (2) discovered (discover) a long time ago that fast food contains too much fat and salt. Because of that, schools everywhere (3) have recently changed (recently change) their lunch menus to make them healthier. But for UK teenager...

One of the main themes in this novel is marriage and its close relation with money. The novel opens with a famous sentence that sums up views on marriage in Austen’s time: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” By saying “it is universally acknowledged,” we get the impression that marriage is something desired by all; however, there are many people who refuse or are afraid to commit.

In a conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, we begin to understand how their minds work, and we see how anxious Mrs. Bennet is to see her five daughters married well.

- What is his name?

- Bingley

- Is he married or single?

- Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of a...

The Mystery Begins

It all begins with the suicide of James Clos, a school teacher of Greek mythology, and the theft of lead from Alcoy, a very important piece from an Iberian museum. A few days later, the death of James Henry, a colleague of his, receives a letter explaining why his death occurred: he was elected to close Pandora's box and must speak with the guardian of old words.

He seemed a little strange, but in a few days, curiosity won, and he tried to decipher who was being referred to when the letter mentioned the 'words of the old guard'. He thought perhaps it referred to an old bookseller specializing in mythology books, so he went to talk to him.

The Search for Pandora's Box

The bookseller explained the history of search engines—men...