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Roald Dahl | The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - Full audiobook with text (AudioEbook)

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Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah - KS3 English - BBC Bitesize

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Explore Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah with BBC Bitesize KS3 English Literature. For students between the ages of 11 and 14.

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Hemingway Editor makes your writing bold and clear.

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Commas are used to separate words in a list and clauses in a sentence.

Her bag contained climbing shoes, rope, karabiners, chalk and a map.

He had walked through the mountains in Wales, Scotland, Norway, Turkey and Greece.

She loved dancing, paragliding, reading, yoga and singing.

Note that if you use a list of to describe something, the last one does not use a comma. For example:

He was a grumpy, old, small-minded man.

It was a blue-skied, beautiful, wide-open day.

In a complex sentence, use commas to separate the main and subordinate clauses.

For example:

Jones runs the bakery, which is on Main Street.

Sam Haskins, who broke his leg in a car accident, still managed to pass all his exams.

Sentence separation and comma splicing

A common mistake in writing is to place a where in fact a is needed. This misuse of the comma creates what is called a 'comma splice'. Aim to comma splices in your writing.

Proofread your work carefully and make sure you have put a full stop instead of a comma at the end of each sentence.

For example:
The room filled with smoke, I froze in panic.
This is an example of a comma splice. The comma in the middle should not be there because each half is a complete sentence in its own right.

So in fact the writer should have used two full sentences, each ending with a full stop. This would make for two short, lively sentences.
The room filled with smoke. I froze in panic.
Alternatively - a could connect these two sentences:
The room filled with smoke and I froze in panic.
- as these two sentences are closely linked, a semi-colon would also work:
The room filled with smoke; I froze in panic.

Identify the comma splices in the following piece of writing. As you find each comma, think about what would happen if it were replaced with a full stop. Remember that the two sentences each side of a full stop must be meaningful and complete.
I hadn't been to Mo's house before, he lived at the end of the street, next to the playing fields. His front door was a faded blue, the paint peeled from the windowsills. The door was unlocked, or rather, couldn't lock because where the lock should have been there was instead a hole. A piece of string hung limply from it and when we arrived Mo smiled shyly, he wasn't embarrassed, I don't think, this was, after all, his home.

Without comma splices:
I hadn't been to Mo's house before. He lived at the end of the street, next to the playing fields. His front door was a faded blue; the paint peeled from the windowsills. The door was unlocked, or rather, couldn't lock because where the lock should have been there was instead a hole. A piece of string hung limply from it and when we arrived Mo smiled shyly. He wasn't embarrassed, I don't think. This was, after all, his home.

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Commas - Punctuation - AQA - GCSE English Language Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize

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Commas are used to separate words in a list and clauses in a sentence. Her bag contained climbing shoes, rope, karabiners, chalk and a map. He had walked through the mountains in Wales, Scotland, Norway, Turkey and Greece. She loved dancing, paragliding, reading, yoga and singing.

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Bookclub - Michael Morpurgo - Michael Morpurgo - BBC Sounds

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Bookclub - Michael Morpurgo - Michael Morpurgo - BBC Sounds

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Catch up on your favourite BBC radio show from your favourite DJ right here, whenever you like. Listen without limits with BBC Sounds.

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Bookclub - Benjamin Zephaniah - Benjamin Zephaniah - BBC Sounds

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Bookclub - Benjamin Zephaniah - Benjamin Zephaniah - BBC Sounds

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Catch up on your favourite BBC radio show from your favourite DJ right here, whenever you like. Listen without limits with BBC Sounds.

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Sherlock Holmes Stories | Read by Benedict Cumberbatch

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Sherlock Holmes Stories | Read by Benedict Cumberbatch

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Using the second conditional to talk about imaginary situations

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Finn
Hello, from a fire escape. Why am I in a fire escape? Because I got a bit lost. Sorry about that.

But while we're here, let's talk about some grammar. And today we're looking at the third conditional. OK, but I know you're a busy person. You know I'm a busy person. We don't have time to remind ourselves that the third conditional is: if + past perfect + would + have + the past participle. We don't have time to do that!

Instead, I'm going to give you just one thing that you need to remember if you forget everything else. One crucial tip. And I'm going to do it in 30 seconds, actually, one minute and 30 seconds, give myself a bit more time. Here it is, one minute and 30 seconds, starting now. BEEP.

The question is: when do you use the third conditional? And the answer is: when you're talking about a past situation that didn't happen. OK? A past situation that didn't happen.

Right now I'm in a fire escape. Why? Because I'm lost. So in the past I didn't pay attention. So the past situation that didn't happen is me paying attention. So we can use a third conditional here, we can say: if I had paid attention, I wouldn't have got lost. OK? If I had paid attention, I wouldn't have got lost. Let's think of one more. But, if I hadn't got lost, I wouldn't have found this beautiful, very beautiful number three. So, this number three... third conditional... see the connection? Hopefully this will help us remember when to use it. If I hadn't got lost, I wouldn't have found this number three.

And that's it! I have nine seconds remaining. So just remember, the third conditional is for when we're talking about a past situation that didn't happen. Now all I need to do is find my way out of here. Erm, I'm going to go this way. See you.

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BBC Learning English - Course: Upper-intermediate / Unit 1 / Session 1 / Activity 1

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Finn Hello, from a fire escape. Why am I in a fire escape? Because I got a bit lost. Sorry about that. But while we're here, let's talk about some grammar. And today we're looking at the third conditional. OK, but I know you're a busy person. You know I'm a busy person.

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Look at these examples to see how zero, first and second conditionals are used.

If you freeze water, it becomes solid.
If it rains tomorrow, I'll take the car.
If I lived closer to the cinema, I would go more often.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

Conditionals describe the result of a certain condition. The if clause tells you the condition ( If you study hard) and the main clause tells you the result ( you will pass your exams). The order of the clauses does not change the meaning.

If you study hard, you will pass your exams.
You will pass your exams if you study hard.

Conditional sentences are often divided into different types.

Zero conditional

We use the zero conditional to talk about things that are generally true, especially for laws and rules.

If I drink too much coffee, I can't sleep at night.
Ice melts if you heat it.
When the sun goes down, it gets dark.

The structure is: if/w hen + present simple >> present simple.

First conditional

We use the first conditional when we talk about future situations we believe are real or possible.

If it doesn't rain tomorrow, we'll go to the beach.
Arsenal will be top of the league if they win.
When I finish work, I'll call you.

In first conditional sentences, the structure is usually: if/ when + present simple >> will + infinitive.

It is also common to use this structure with unless, as long as, as soon as or in case instead of if.

I'll leave as soon as the babysitter arrives.
I don't want to stay in London unless I get a well-paid job.
I'll give you a key in case I'm not at home.
You can go to the party, as long as you're back by midnight.

Second conditional

The second conditional is used to imagine present or future situations that are impossible or unlikely in reality.

If we had a garden, we could have a cat.
If I won a lot of money, I'd buy a big house in the country.
I wouldn't worry if I were you.

The structure is usually: if + past simple >> + would + infinitive.

When if is followed by the verb be, it is grammatically correct to say if I were, if he were, if she were and if it were. However, it is also common to hear these structures with was, especially in the he/ she form.

If I were you, I wouldn't mention it.
If she was prime minister, she would invest more money in schools.
He would travel more if he was younger.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Language level

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Do you know how to use the zero, first and second conditionals? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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Look at these examples to see how third and mixed conditionals are used.

We would have walked to the top of the mountain if the weather hadn't been so bad.
If we'd moved to Scotland when I was a child, I would have a Scottish accent now.
If she was really my friend, she wouldn't have lied to me.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

Do you know how to use third and mixed conditionals?

Third conditionals and mixed conditionals

Conditionals describe the result of a certain condition. The if clause tells you the condition ( If I hadn't been ill) and the main clause tells you the result ( I would have gone to the party). The order of the clauses does not change the meaning.

If I hadn't been ill, I would have gone to the party.
I would have gone to the party if I hadn't been ill.

Conditional sentences are often divided into different types.

Third conditional

The third conditional is used to imagine a different past. We imagine a change in a past situation and the different result of that change.

If I had understood the instructions properly, I would have passed the exam.
We wouldn't have got lost if my phone hadn't run out of battery.

In third conditional sentences, the structure is usually: If + past perfect >> would have + past participle.

Mixed conditionals

We can use mixed conditionals when we imagine a past change with a result in the present or a present change with a result in the past.

1. Past/Present

Here's a sentence imagining how a change in a past situation would have a result in the present.

If I hadn't got the job in Tokyo, I wouldn't be with my current partner.

So the structure is: If + past perfect >> would + infinitive.

2. Present/Past

Here's a sentence imagining how a different situation in the present would mean that the past was different as well.

It's really important. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have called you on your holiday.

And the structure is: If + past simple >> would have + past participle.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Language level

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Do you know how to use third conditionals and mixed conditionals? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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Safety and responsibility - KS3 Computing - BBC Bitesize

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KS3 Computing Safety and responsibility learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.

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In this programme, we'll hear about a new academic subject called Web Science, which studies the technology behind the internet. But from the human side, it's also interested in how people interact with each other online. So we'll be asking whether studying Web Science could make the internet better for humanity in the future. Neil and Sam talk about the subject and teach you vocabulary along the way.

This week's question

Who invented the World Wide Web?

a) Bill Gates

b) Tim Berners-Lee

c) Steve Jobs

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary

interdisciplinary
involving two or more academic subjects or areas of knowledge

social media network
website, app or computer programmes, like Facebook and Instagram, allowing people to communicate and share information on the internet using electronic devices

ecosystem
complex pattern of relationships and mutual influences between living things are their environment

public health
system of providing services to improve the standard of health of a country's general population

does what it says on the tin
does exactly what it is intended to do (informal)

trials
tests carried out over a limited time period, to discover how effective or suitable something is

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Neil
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

Sam
And I'm Sam. What's the matter, Neil? You sound upset.

Neil
Well, I am, Sam - I just spent an hour working on my computer when it suddenly froze. I lost everything and had to start all over again!

Sam
Agghh, that's so frustrating - like pop-up internet ads and buffering videos that never play!

Neil
Modern computers and the internet have revolutionised the way we live today, bringing us the world with a click of a button. But not everyone feels happy about these technological developments.

Sam
While potentially acting as a force for good and progress, the internet also provides a way of spreading hate and misinformation. And for some people, the World Wide Web remains a mysterious and confusing place.

Neil
In this programme, we'll hear about a new academic subject called Web Science. Web Science studies the technology behind the internet.

Sam
But from the human side, it's also interested in how people interact with each other online. So we'll be asking whether studying Web Science could make the internet better for humanity in the future.

But first it's time for our quiz question. I wonder what the pioneers of the internet would think about how it is used today. So the question is, who invented the World Wide Web? Was it:
a) Bill Gates,
b) Tim Berners-Lee, or
c) Steve Jobs

Neil
OK, Sam, we'll find out later. Now, because of coronavirus the annual Web Science conference was held online this year. Its theme was 'making the web human-centric'.

One of the conference's key speakers, and co-founder of the new discipline of Web Science, was Dame Wendy Hall. Here she is speaking to BBC World Service's Digital Planet:

Dame Wendy Hall
People think about the web as a technology but actually it's co-createdby society. We put the content on, we interact with the technology, with the platforms, with the social media networks to create it. What we study is how that works as an ecosystem,this coming together of people and technology, and it's very interdisciplinary, very socio-technical, and of course these days a lot of it is powered by AI.

Exchanges between humans and the internet can be seen in social media networks - websites, apps and computer programmes, like Facebook and Instagram, which allow people to use electronic devices to communicate and share information.

Sam
One ongoing and topical example of websites helpfully interacting with humans is the Covid contact tracing app.

Neil
You might think the mobile phone app, which tracks movements and contact between people to combat coronavirus, would be a useful practical application of internet technology.

But as Carly Kind, Director of the Ada Lovelace Institute in Cambridge, explained to BBC World Service's Digital Planet, things are never that straightforward:

Actually, there's a lot of more fundamental questions that haven't been answered yet such as: is Bluetooth even an adequate mechanism for doing what it says on the tin, which is detecting contact between two people? The trails so far show that it's not actually that great and so, do we know for sure that these apps work and they work in the way we want them to? Do we get the public health information that we need?

Sam
The kind of trials which were carried out during the invention of the internet in the first place, right, Neil?

Neil
Ah yes, the invention of the internet - or to be more accurate, the World Wide Web. In our quiz question I asked you who invented the World Wide Web? What did you say, Sam?

Sam
I said b) Tim Berners-Lee.

Neil
Well, you're a first class web scientist, Sam, because that's the correct answer!

Great! In this programme, we've been hearing about Web Science, a new interdisciplinary subject, combining several areas of study, which investigates the ecosystem of the internet - the complex pattern of interconnections between humans and their environment.

Social media networks -websites and apps, like Facebook, which let people use electronic devices to communicate on the internet - show how humans and technology can successfully interact.

A new Covid contact tracing app is currently undergoing trials - tests to see if it works effectively. This will discover if it does what it says on the tin - works as it's supposed to.

Sam
And that's all from us for now.

Sam
Bye bye!

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / How can we make the web a better place?

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In this programme, we'll hear about a new academic subject called Web Science, which studies the technology behind the internet. But from the human side, it's also interested in how people interact with each other online. So we'll be asking whether studying Web Science could make the internet better for humanity in the future.

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Online fraud involves using the internet to trick someone into giving away their money or data and takes many forms. It is regarded by some as a highly profitable and relatively low-risk crime. Neil and Georgina talk about online fraud and how it is becoming more common as well as teaching you some useful vocabulary along the way.

This week's question

In July 2020, nine British men were arrested for defrauding the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme - a government fund for workers who've lost their job to Covid-19. They set up fake companies and applied, fraudulently, for money. But how much money has been claimed in total through the coronavirus job scheme in the UK? Is it:

a) 17 billion pounds

b) 27 billion pounds

c) 37 billion pounds

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary

mindset
someone's way of thinking and the general attitudes and opinions they have about something; mentality

intelligence
secret information about a person, government or country

cover story
false story someone tells in order to hide the truth

data breach
occasion when private information can be seen by people who should not be able to see it

malware
computer software and viruses that are designed to damage the way a computer works

infiltrate
secretly enter a group or organisation in order to spy on it or influence it

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Neil
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

Georgina
And I'm Georgina.

Neil
Are you good at remembering your computer passwords, Georgina?

Georgina
Um, not really, Neil - I mostly use something easy to remember, like my mother's maiden name or the street where I was born.

Neil
Or the name of your first pet! Yes, me too - but we should be more careful about online security, Georgina, because of a worrying trend, and the topic of this programme - online fraud.

Georgina
Online fraud involves using the internet to trick someone into giving away their money or data. It takes many forms, from deceptive emails which trick us into paying money to the wrong bank account, to the theft of credit card details.

Neil
It's regarded by some as a highly profitable and relatively low-risk crime, so in this programme we'll be finding out why it's so easy for criminals, or fraudsters, to steal our money.

Georgina
And of course, we'll be learning some related vocabulary along the way.

Neil
But first, it's time for our quiz question. In July 2020, nine British men were arrested for defrauding the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme - a government fund for workers who've lost their job to Covid-19. They set up fake companies and applied, fraudulently, for money. But how much money has been claimed in total through the coronavirus job scheme in the UK? Is it:

a) 17 billion pounds,
b) 27 billion pounds, or
c) 37 billion pounds?

Georgina
Hmm, it must be a lot, so I'll say a) 17 billion pounds.

Neil
OK, Georgina, we'll find out later. Now, Rachel Tobac, CEO of Social Proof Security, is an expert in cyber crime. She describes herself as an 'ethical fraudster'. Businesses wanting to combat fraud employ her to hack into their computer systems to find their weak spots.

Georgina
Here, Rachel explains to BBC World Service programme, The Inquiry, how getting people's information is the key to online fraud:

Rachel Tobac
The reason why we're able to do that, from an attacker mindset, is because we use what's called OSINT - open source intelligence. We look up everything about you. We can figure out who your assistant is, who your accountant is on LinkedIn. We know what emails you use from screen shots that you've put on your Instagram...

Georgina
And as BBC World Service The Inquiry presenter, Charmaine Cozier, explains, there are many ways of doing this:

Charmaine Cozier
Fraudsters have thousands of cover stories but the end goal is always the same - to trick people out of cash or possessions. Rachel says they have options for how to do that. Login details stolen during a data breach from one company, often using software or viruses called malware, are used to infiltrate customer accounts at another.

Georgina
If people believe these cover stories and share personal data, this can result in a data breach - an occasion when private information can be seen by people who should not be able to see it.

Neil
Modern fraudsters are so devious at collecting online information that many victims only realise what's happened after their bank accounts have been emptied.

Neil
Ah yes, the nine men who tried to defraud the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme. Remember for my quiz question I asked you how much the scheme has paid out in total so far in the UK.

Georgina
I said, a) 17 billion pounds.

Neil
Well, in fact it's even more - the correct answer is b) 27 billion pounds. Luckily, the 495 thousand pounds which these fraudsters tried to steal was recovered.

Georgina
Even so, Neil, I think I'm going to change my passwords soon! Better safe than sorry!

Georgina
These criminals' mindset - or mentality, is to surreptitiously find information by creating a cover story - a false story someone tells in order to hide the truth.

Georgina
Another way fraudsters infiltrate - or gain access secretly, without permission - is with the use of malware - computer software and viruses designed to damage the way a computer works.

Neil
If you want to find out more about keeping yourself safe from online fraud, search the BBC website using the term, 'cyber security'. And if you like topical discussion and want to learn how to use the vocabulary found in headlines, why not check out our News Review podcast? We also have a free app you can download for Android and iOS.

Georgina
And for more trending topics and real-life vocabulary, look no further than 6 Minute English, from BBC Learning English. See you next time. Bye!

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / Could you be a victim of online fraud?

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Hear about online fraud and how it is becoming more common

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Describe Your Character and Personality in English

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Cultural differences and body language - 6 Minute English

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What does reading on screens do to our brains? | BBC Ideas

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Are you addicted to your smartphone? 6 Minute English

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These English grammar exercises are part of a series of free quizzes. To start an exercise, simply click on the button below a subject and select the answers that you find the most appropriate. Please share this page if you like it. Thank you.

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Present perfect and past simple -  6 Minute Grammar

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The Present Perfect Simple and Continuous: The Grammar Gameshow Episode 4

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Present Perfect and Past Simple: The Grammar Gameshow Episode 29

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Fake News: Fact & Fiction - Episode 3: Information or disinformation?

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The definite article - BBC English Class

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Fill in the blanks with an appropriate passive verb form. Answers 1. English is spoken all over the world. 2. The show is being watched

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Act 2 Scene 2 | Romeo and Juliet | 2018 | Royal Shakespeare Company

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write and improve

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Developed by the University of Cambridge, Write & Improve is a FREE tool that helps every learner to improve their English writing.

Choose from hundreds of tasks at all levels and start writing, or create your own tasks

Submit your writing and get a result linked to the international standard, the CEFR

Get automatic feedback on where your writing may need improvement

Make changes and check again to improve your writing

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Write & Improve is a free service for learners of English to practise their written English. Submit your written work and receive feedback in seconds, covering spelling, vocabulary, grammar and general style.

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Reported Speech: The Grammar Gameshow Episode 25

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From Othello

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Wear my heart upon my sleeve - English vocabulary & idioms

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From the  Merchant of Venice

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All that glisters is not gold - English vocabulary & idioms

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BBC Masterclass: Subject Verb Agreement 3

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BBC Masterclass: Subject Verb Agreement 2

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BBC Masterclass: Subject-Verb Agreement 1

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Relative Clauses: The Grammar Gameshow Episode 11

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A review of conditionals: BBC English Class

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Grammar: Mixing conditionals - BBC English Masterclass

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Linking words of contrast_ BBC Masterclass

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Linking words of contrast_ BBC Masterclass (2)

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Linking words of contrast_ BBC Masterclass (1)

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Planning a structure - Planning - GCSE English Language Revision - Other - BBC Bitesize

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Learn how to plan a successful piece of writing with BBC Bitesize GCSE English Language.

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Learn English with our free online listening, grammar, vocabulary and reading activities. Practise your English and get ready for your Cambridge English exam.

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Unit 4, Writing, Part 2

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Shakespeare's plays can be very heavy going sometimes. Some of the themes they deal with are heavy and complex, so they almost always contain a lighter subplot with characters who aren't closely linked to the characters in the main plot.

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READING COMPREHENSIONS

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Are you an intermediate (CEFR level B1) learner of English? Practise and improve your reading skills with these texts and exercises.

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Telling stories is common in any language. Think of all the situations in which you might tell a story in everyday life:

Talking about last weekend to a friend
Giving details about something that happened during a job interview
Relating information about your family to your children
Telling colleagues about what happened on a business trip
In each of these situations—and many others—you provide information about something that happened in the past.

To help your audience understand, link these ideas together. One of the most important ways to link ideas is to sequence them, as the sample passage and examples show. Following the examples, test your skills with the quiz, and check your understanding with the answers below the brief self-test.

A Conference in Chicago

Last week, I visited Chicago to attend a business conference. While I was there, I decided to visit the Art Institute of Chicago. To start off, my flight was delayed. Next, the airline lost my luggage, so I had to wait for two hours at the airport while they tracked it down. Unexpectedly, the luggage had been set aside and forgotten.

As soon as they found my luggage, I found a taxi and rode into town. During the ride into town, the driver told me about his last visit to the Art Institute. After I had arrived safely, everything began to go smoothly. The business conference was very interesting, and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the institute.

Finally, I caught my flight back to Seattle.

Luckily, everything went smoothly. I arrived home just in time to kiss my daughter good night.

Sequencing Steps
Sequencing refers to the order in which events happened. Following are some of the most common ways to sequence when writing or speaking.

Beginning your story: Create the beginning of your story with these expressions.

Use a comma after the introductory phrase.

First of all,
To start off with,
Initially,
To begin with,

Examples of using these beginning phrases include:

To begin with, I began my education in London.
First of all, I opened the cupboard.
To start off with, we decided our destination was New York.
Initially, I thought it was a bad idea.

Continuing the story: You can continue the story with the following expressions, or use a time clause beginning with "as soon as" or "after." When using a time clause, use the past simple after the time expression, such as:

Then,
After that,
Next,
As soon as / When + full clause,
...but then
Immediately,

Examples of using these continuing phrases in a story include:

Then, I started to get worried.
After that, we knew that there would be no problem!
Next, we decided on our strategy.
As soon as we arrived, we unpacked our bags.
We were sure everything was ready, but then we discovered some unexpected problems.
Immediately, I telephoned my friend Tom.

I nterruptions and Adding New Elements to the Story
You can use the following expressions to add suspense to your story:

Suddenly,
Unexpectedly,

Examples of using these interrupting phrases or turning to a new element include:

Suddenly, a child burst into the room with a note for Ms. Smith.
Unexpectedly, the people in the room didn't agree with the mayor.

E vents Occurring at the Same Time
The use of "while" and "as" introduce a dependent clause and require an independent clause to complete your sentence. "During" is used with a noun, noun phrase, or noun clause and does not require a subject and object. The construction for this kind of sentence is:

While / As + subject + verb + dependent clause or independent clause + while / as + subject + verb
An example of using "while" in a sentence is:

While I was giving the presentation, a member of the audience asked an interesting question.
Jennifer told her story as I prepared dinner.
The construction for using "during" in a sentence is:

During + noun (noun clause)
Examples of using "during" in a sentence include:

During the meeting, Jack came over and asked me a few questions.
We explored a number of approaches during the presentation.

Ending the Story
Mark the end of your story with these introductory phrases:

Finally,
In the end,
Eventually,
Examples of using these ending words in a story include:

Finally, I flew to London for my meeting with Jack.
In the end, he decided to postpone the project.
Eventually, we became tired and returned home.

When you tell stories, you will also need to give reasons for actions. Review tips on linking your ideas and providing reasons for your actions to help you understand how to do so.

Sequencing Quiz

Provide an appropriate sequencing word to fill in the blanks. The answers follow the quiz.

My friend and I visited Rome last summer. (1) ________, we flew from New York to Rome in first class. It was fantastic! (2) _________ we arrived in Rome, we (3) ______ went to the hotel and took a long nap. (4) ________, we went out to find a great restaurant for dinner. (5) ________, a scooter appeared out of nowhere and almost hit me! The rest of the trip had no surprises. (6) __________, we began to explore Rome. (7) ________ the afternoons, we visited ruins and museums. At night, we hit the clubs and wandered the streets. One night, (8) ________ I was getting some ice cream, I saw an old friend from high school. Imagine that! (9) _________, we caught our flight back to New York. We were happy and ready to begin work again.

Multiple answers are possible for some of the blanks:

First of all / To start off with / Initially / To begin with
As soon as / When
immediately
Then / After that / Next
Suddenly / Unexpectedly
Then / After that / Next
During
While / As
Finally / In the end / Eventually

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Short version

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The Tempest, drama in five acts by William Shakespeare, first written and performed about 1611 and published in the First Folio of 1623 from an edited transcript, by Ralph Crane (scrivener of the King's Men), of the author's papers after they had been annotated for production.

The play opens with a storm raised by Prospero, who years earlier, as the rightful duke of Milan, had been set adrift in a boat with his three-year-old daughter, Miranda, by his usurping brother, Antonio. Prospero, more interested in his books and his magic than in the pragmatics of ruling Milan, had left himself vulnerable to this overthrow. Arriving at an island, Prospero proceeded to make good use of his magic by freeing the sprite Ariel from the torment of imprisonment to which Ariel had been subjected for refusing to carry out the wicked behests of the sorceress Sycorax. Prospero and Miranda found no living person on the island other than Sycorax's son Caliban. They took Caliban into their little family and lived in harmony until Caliban attempted to rape Miranda. Prospero then confined Caliban to a rock and to the status of slave, requiring him to attend to their needs by performing such tasks as gathering firewood. As the play begins, Prospero raises the tempest in order to cast onto the shores of his island a party of Neapolitans returning to Naples from a wedding in Tunis: King Alonso of Naples, his son Ferdinand, his brother Sebastian, and Prospero's brother, Antonio.

With the arrival of the outsiders, the process of testing and eventual reconciliation begins. The party is brought to shore by Ariel, but Ferdinand is separated from the others and is believed drowned. Ariel helps foil plots against Prospero by Caliban and against Alonso by Antonio. Ariel then appears to Alonso and Antonio as a harpy and reproaches them for their treatment of Prospero. Alonso, believing Ferdinand dead, is certain that his death was punishment for Alonso's crime and has a change of heart. Prospero, convinced that Antonio and company are repentant (or at least chastened), reconciles all and prepares to return to Milan to reclaim his throne.

Young Ferdinand meantime has encountered Miranda, and the two have fallen instantly in love. Their courtship is watched carefully by Prospero, who, though insistent that they proceed carefully and preserve their virginity until they are actually married, welcomes this love relationship as a way of making Miranda happy and at the same time of reconciling Milan and Naples; their marriage will unite the two contending kingdoms.

For a discussion of this play within the context of Shakespeare's entire corpus, see William Shakespeare: Shakespeare's plays and poems.

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The Tempest | Play by Shakespeare, Analysis & Summary

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The Tempest, drama in five acts by William Shakespeare, first written and performed about 1611 and published in the First Folio of 1623 from an edited transcript, by Ralph Crane (scrivener of the King's Men), of the author's papers after they had been annotated for production.

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Who tells the story?

One of the most important aspects of your analysis of literary texts is to explore the question of who the narrator is and what overall effect this has. You may think this is all about one character telling the story of the novel or short story, but it doesn’t apply only to prose works. Poets as far apart as, for example, Chaucer (Middle Ages), Browning (Victorian) and Duffy (contemporary) also create voices in the first person to express ideas, tell stories and create characterisations. Regarding drama, most plays are written in the form of dramatic dialogue and action without a story–teller, but even here we occasionally find narrators who speak directly to the audience and tell the story. An example of this is Michael who is a boy when he comments on the action of Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel; or Tom in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. These tellers of the tale have been created by the writer to do the job – they are not the writer him or herself. It is very important to remember too that Shakespeare never says anything in his plays: he has made different characters who do that. Students sometimes write: ‘Shakespeare says “Neither a borrower nor a lender be”, but of course it’s Polonius who says this when he is giving advice to his son in the play Hamlet. For all we know, Shakespeare the man may have had no problem with borrowing and lending money to his friends!

First person narrative

Students are often so engaged by the ideas in a text that they don’t pay enough attention to the methods used by the writer, one of the most important of which is the point of view or range of points of view created to present these ideas. You will be familiar with looking to see whether it is a first person narrative or a third person narrative – I and we, or he, she and they. (It is possible to write a whole narrative in the second person – you - but it’s uncommon and usually combined with the first person.) The writer can create a first person who may be limited in some way, perhaps by being a child who can’t see all the implications of events, like Leo in The Go-Between by L P Hartley, or a person who is emotionally repressed like Stevens in The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. The student has to pay careful attention to other evidence within the text to take in all the implications of these narrators’ accounts of events. Such a narrator may be called ‘unreliable’ and an example of this is Nick Carraway, the first person narrator of The Great Gatsby, whose view of Gatsby is a biased one. Sometimes a writer will use more than one first person narrator in separate sections of a novel so as to give different angles on events, for example The Collector by John Fowles which begins with the story of girl who is abducted and then switches to her kidnapper some way through the novel, then back to her. This gives unique insight into the mind of the character who is telling the story at that point, and may alter our sympathies and understanding somewhat. A recent novel How to be both by Ali Smith is made up of two discrete first person narratives from different eras that can be read in either order and, in fact, are published that way — half the printed books begin with one story, and half with the other. How they relate to each other depends on which you read first – a fascinating and innovative idea!

First person voices in poetry

Looking at poetry, more than 600 years ago Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales are all told by characters created by Chaucer to give insight into human nature and a wide range of themes. The Knight’s Tale is just the sort of story of chivalry, courtly love and fighting that suits the Knight ‘s character, but he’s not the most sensitive commentator and if we read carefully we can see that Chaucer reveals this to us through his choice of words. The Wife of Bath gives the robust and feisty views of a dominant and lively woman, through which we see much about the relationships between the genders in the Middle Ages. The Victorian poet Robert Browning’s well-known poem 'On My Last Duchess' uses a first person – the Duke - whom we find repulsive in his attitudes but the poet’s artistry allows us to see through this to what his poor wife, the last Duchess, was like and how she suffered, even though she is not the first person voice of the poem. We can say that Browning creates the persona of the Duke. Tennyson, another Victorian poet, works similarly with his well-known poem Ulysses, creating the persona of the old adventurer who doesn’t want to go quietly into old age. An ironic effect is created when we see both the personality of the character and the implications of his words.

Complex narrative structure – an example

Let’s take a well-known example of a complex narrative structure. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. If you ask a student what it’s about, she will say it’s the love story of Catherine and Heathcliff and Heathcliff’s revenge, covering a couple of generations. It is told in the first person (‘I’) but the ‘I’ isn’t basically Catherine or her daughter or Heathcliff. So who has Bronte chosen to present this? Mr Lockwood, an outsider to the district, is the framing first person narrator who observes the family and their interactions, then he is told much of the back story by another first person narrator, Nelly Dean, the housekeeper. But Nelly often draws on first person accounts by other characters which she then tells Mr Lockwood. He too receives these accounts. They include letters, recounts of events and long soliloquy-like outpourings of thoughts and feelings in the present time of the novel and in the past. Neither Nelly nor Lockwood is a passionate person, both are quite conventional and conservative in their behaviour and outlook and it is these characters whom Bronte has chosen to tell her tale of passion and revenge and the constraints on women’s lives. The effect of this is to focus and highlight the story of Catherine and Heathcliff and the following generation to make it accessible to the reader and to give a range of points of view which can be biased as well as objective. Multiple possibilities and ambiguities are created. There are moments when Nelly intervenes in the action, too, so she is not just an objective observer. Your analysis of the effects created by the use of multiple narrators is vital here.

The omniscient narrator

Third person narrators are sometimes known as ‘omniscient ‘narrators – because they know everything and have created the world of the story (a little like a god, as they have the power over the life and death of the characters and their lives). However, it is possible for a story to be written in the third person (she, he, they) and still be focused upon one character showing their thoughts and feelings very closely. This is known as ‘focalization’ and it can be extremely effective – used, for example, by J M Coetzee in his novel Disgrace and by Jane Austen in Persuasion. It can allow the writer a measure of distance at the same time as a close involvement with her/his creation. He or she may use what is known as ‘free indirect discourse’ where although writing in the third person, the writer can move seamlessly into the thoughts and feelings of the character being explored. A very famous example of this can be found at the end of the last story in James Joyce’s short story collection Dubliners. The end of this story, called 'The Dead', is worth reading for the beauty of its prose anyway.

Your close reading and analysis can reveal the writer’s artistry and your written work will be enhanced as a result.