Unit 2 the printed page Books, magazines, newspapers, Audio Zepis no mercetira.0:00
Listen to the texts and match them with the titles A to F. There is one title you don't have to use.0:09
Text 1 Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is one of the greatest pieces of imaginative literature in the world.0:15
It was written in medieval England before the invention of the printing press and first existed in 84 manuscript copies.0:23
Later, the Canterbury Tales became one of the first books William Caxton printed on his newly invented printing press.0:32
Chaucer's original plan was to tell about 120 stories told by different people during their journey from London to Canterbury.0:41
Actually, chaucer composed only 24 tales, but they remain some of the most enjoyable works of the world literature.0:50
Text 2 one of the greatest tragedies by William Shakespeare is Macbeth.0:58
The name of the play comes from the name of the main character.1:04
Macbeth is introduced to us as a powerful general who has covered himself with glory and shown great personal courage.1:07
He is also exceedingly ambitious.1:15
At the same time, this ambitious and courageous man of action has the imagination of a poet.1:18
His imagination is the best of him, which finally makes him understand the horror of his own crime.1:23
Text 3 the famous English poet William Blake was a talented artist.1:30
Blake composed his beautiful poems and illustrated them himself with an original process he developed.1:35
Blake wrote the poems in his own handwriting and reproduced each illustrated page by hand.1:42
As a result, his books looked like illustrated manuscripts of medieval times.1:48
After the age of 60, Blake gave up poetry in favor of painting.1:53
In his later years he illustrated works of such great poets as date and Chaucer.1:57
Text 4 George Noel Gordon, Lord Byron, hated despotism and tyranny in any form.2:03
In 1823 he joined the Greek War for independence from the Turks.2:10
He spent a lot of time and money supplying the Greeks with weapons and dreamed to take part in the military actions personally.2:15
But before he found himself on battlefield he got ill and died at the age of 36.2:22
He had always known that he would die Young.2:27
Text 5 Charles Lamb was a Londoner.2:31
London was the centre of his world.2:35
There he lived, worked and died.2:37
He felt unhappy only when his friends took him for visits to the country.2:39
People remember him as an easy going and a very kind man.2:44
His personal life was rather tragic.2:48
He wasn't able to get a university education due to a health problem and had to take a job as a clerk.2:51
Lamb began to find himself as a writer rather late in life.2:57
His first book appeared when he was 48 years old.3:01
He wrote both for grown ups and for children.3:05
One of his most popular books is probably Tales from Shakespeare, in which he retells Shakespearean plays for young children.3:08
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