Oscar Wilde

a cura di M.C. Piccinini e L. O'Connor
 The reader contains four well-known stories: The Happy Prince, The Selfish Giant, The Devoted Friend and The Remarkable Rocket.
 It is the first collection of tales which Oscar Wilde wrote for his children. They all have an educational aim and allude to the contradictions of Victorian morality.
 The stories deal with themes such as generosity, selfishness turning into altruism, naivety in contrast to false friendship, and arrogance doomed to failure. 
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Audioscripts - Key to Summing-up Activities.
 
 Il libro contiene celebri storie: The Happy Prince, The Selfish Giant, The Devoted Friend, The Remarkable Rocket. È la prima raccolta di racconti che l’autore scrisse per i figli. Tutti a sfondo educativo, alludono alle contraddizioni della morale vittoriana e trattano di tematiche come la generosità, l’egoismo e il riscatto, l’ingenuità in contrasto con l’amicizia interessata, la superbia destinata al fallimento.

Tale 1 – The Happy Prince

• Extension: Precious stones

Tale 2 – The Selfish Giant

• Extension: Legendary creatures

Tale 3 – The Devoted Friend

• Extension: Friendship

Tale 4 – The Remarkable Rocket

• Extension: Guy Fawkes

Summing-up activities

Glossary

E X T E N S I O N GUY FAWKES Guy Fawkes (or Bonfire1 Night) is an annual celebration on the 5th November. It celebrates the failure2 of the Gunpowder3 Plot4 in 1605. With this plot, some Catholics want to destroy the Houses of Parliament in London. They also want to kill King James I. Guy Fawkes is a leader in this plot. In the United Kingdom, there are private and public celebrations in towns and villages. The construction of bonfires is an important part of the celebration. There are also very beautiful firework displays5. People traditionally burn  Guys  on the bonfires. The  Guys  are dolls6 that represent Guy Fawkes. In the week before the celebration, English children sit in the streets and show the  Guy . They have a box next to it and they ask for  a penny for the Guy . In this way, they collect money and can buy fireworks for the celebration. 1. bonfire: large outdoor fire. 2. failure: not a success. 3. gunpowder: explosive powder used in bombs. 4. plot: secret plan. 5. displays: shows, exhibitions. 6. dolls: puppets, marionettes, small replicas of a human being. 56 

SUMMING-UP ACTIVITIES 1 Summary. Fill in the blanks. a. There is a golden 1) .................................. of the Happy Prince and a bird stops to sleep. He wants to fly to 2) .................................. . The Prince is crying because he sees the 3) .......................................... people in the city. He asks the bird to stay. The bird brings gold and precious 4) .................................. to the poor people. Now the Prince is an ugly statue and the bird is very cold. They die but they live forever in 5) .................................. . b. The giant has a beautiful 1) ....................................... and the children play in it every day. The giant is away but one day he comes back. He 2) .................................. selfish and doesn t want the children in his garden. He builds a high 3) .......................................... around his garden. Winter comes to the garden and never leaves. One morning the giant sees a 4) ........................................ in the wall and the children come in. Spring comes again and the giant helps a 5) ......................................... to climb a 6) ............................................. . Then he knocks down the wall. Now the garden is beautiful and the children can play there. The giant 7) ..................................... and goes to Paradise. c. A kind gardener has a rich but selfish friend, Hugh the Miller. The miller always 1) .............................. for help and never 2) .............................. . The gardener can t say 3) .................................. and he can t take care of his garden. One night the miller asks the gardener to go to the 4) .......................................... because his son is ill. It is very cold and dark and the gardener gets 5) ......................................... and dies on the way back home. The miller goes to his funeral and he 6) .................................. sorry just for himself. d. The marriage of the Prince is organized. At midnight the show of 1) .................................. starts. There are a lot of fireworks and they talk. There is a very arrogant 2) ....................................... . He thinks that he is special and superior. He doesn t follow the advice of his friends. They tell him to stay dry but he 3) .................................. . His gunpowder is wet and he can t start. He ends up in a ditch where he meets a frog and a 4).................................... . His arrogance does not change. Two 5) ................................. take him and put him in the fire. Then he goes up in the air and explodes. But no one sees him. 57 

Narrativa inglese, livello A1 principianti. Celebri racconti educativi di Wilde sulle contraddizioni morali e temi come generosità e riscatto.

The Happy Prince and other Tales - Collana RAINBOWS

Level A1 • Beginner - Collana RAINBOWS

The Happy Prince and other tales

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