Assignments (2)

I. Review the material of Section 2 and do the following test. Check yourself by the key at the end of the book. Test 2

1. The Renaissance in England falls on the _____ century.

a. 14^th; b. 15^th; c. 16^th; d. 17^th

2. The Invincible Armada was defeated by ___

a. Francis Drake; b. Charles I; c. Admiral Nelson

3. The Fairy Queen was written by ___

a. W. Shakespeare; b. Ch. Marlowe; c. E. Spenser

4. W. Shakespeare was ____

a. an actor; b. a playwright; c. a literary critic

5. The Gunpowder plot was in ___

a. 1515; b. 1605; c. 1649

6. The Pilgrim Fathers were___

a. Catholics; b. Protestants; c. Puritans

7. The King who dismissed Parliament several times was___

a. Henry VIII; b. James I; c. Charles I

8. After the establishment of the Commonwealth, O. Cromwell was proclaimed

1. King; b. Lord Protector; c. Lord Chancellor

9. John Milton wrote ____

a. Paradise Lost; b. The Fairy Queen; c. Much Ado About Nothing

10. “The Father of the English Opera” was ____

a. William Byrd; b. Henry Purcell; c. John Bull

11. As a result of the Civil War, England became ____

a. a parliamentary monarchy; b. a republic; c. an absolute monarchy

12. The Great Fire of London was in _______ .

a. 1666; b. 1605; c. 1649

II. Get ready to speak on the following topics:

1. Reformation in England. Henry VIII. Mary Tudor (“Bloody Mary”).

2. The Elizabethan age. England’s relations with Spain. The geographical discoveries in 16^th century. The development of philosophy, literature and the theatre (Thomas More, Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare).

3. The reign of James I: the Gunpowder plot, the Pilgrim Fathers.

4. The Civil War and the Commonwealth, Oliver Cromwell. The Restoration.

5. The Great Fire of London. The development of literature (John Milton), arts (William Dobson, Christopher Wren, Henry Purcell) and science (Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, Edmund Halley) in the 17^th century.

3. Topics for presentations:

• The history of the English language.

• The Elizabethan age.

• Science in the 17^th century England.

SECTION 3

Britain in the New Age. Modern Britain.

In Europe the 18^th century was a turbulent age marked with revolutions, a tremendous upheaval in literature, philosophy and science all over the continent. It was the age when England gained the dominant place in the Channel and in the seas and became the world’s main market. It was the age of the Industrial Revolution which resulted in England’s economic growth. It was also the age of continental and colonial wars. The wars waged on the continent were the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713), the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). The wars for colonial expansion in India and North America went on without interruption. England’s rivals were Holland, France and Spain. The 18^th century was a period of transition which saw the transfer of political power in Britain from absolute to parliamentary monarchy.

But before we turn to the 18^th century we must speak about the event which laid the basis for England’s further development – the Glorious Revolution. For different reasons (mainly political and economic), many English historians consider the late 1680s as the beginning of the 18^th century in the history of England.