Cultural Developments
Door: Martijn
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Martijn
19 November 2014 | Verenigd Koninkrijk, Bath
Even though I enjoy travelling and visiting new and exciting places, it doesn't really go together with studying. Hence, for the past few weeks I spent my time finishing the various assignments for my subjects.
Culture in particular had some very interesting assignments such as the one about 'Everyman' by an unknown English writer. It taught me a great deal about life during the 15th century. Everyman is basically a play where the main character has an encounter with Death who was, in time, send by God. The main purpose of the play is to teach people about religion and how they should live their life according to the Bible and the Church. Plays such as Everyman were told by a priest in Church, after which it continued on the streets for everyone was able to witness it there. It was an effective way to teach people about the rules of religion and to keep them from committing a sin.
Everyman was written during the Middle Ages, and it's those years when people, mostly priests, first started to write stories, religious or political ones, and teach the people about life and life's rules. However, different genres were touched too. Stories such as King Arthur, or Gawain and the Green Knight which evolve around the adventures of a heroic figure. These stories were not meant to teach people about religion or politics, but to entertain people with bravery en heroism. To me this shows a clear image of how people got together to listen to these stories and to pass them on to the next generation, mainly because not everyone could read yet and they had to remember the tales by heart.
Nevertheless, this more simplistic way of living made way for the Renaissance and the individual became the most important thing in life. I've watched the 1971 movie adaptation of MacBeth and read a great deal of the story, and I must conclude that I absolutely love it. Shakespeare was of course one of the greater writers during the Renaissance era and his plays have inspired many people. All those plays are still very often shown by local theatres. In Bath, for example, they're currently showing Henry IV parts I & II at the Theatre Royal Bath by the Royal Shakespeare Company until the 8th of November, unfortunately it is completely sold out already.
My English has also come a very long way after I arrived in Oban in Scotland. The hostel there didn't provide me with too many opportunities to practice my speaking as most of the staff members there were from either Spain or France. Nonetheless, thanks to friends from the English Teacher course back home I met with a couple of guys who were actually from Scotland. Although one of them was born in Yorkshire, he has been living in Scotland for a great part of his life.
My language skills improved exponentially however after arriving in Bath. It was there that I picked up a couple of books that I had or wanted to read and I began writing notes from experiences down in a notebook that I bought at the Waitrose just down the street from the hostel.
There were also many more native English speakers working at the hostel, such as Emma who's from Australia, and Doug, our receptionist, who's from around Bath. Their presence guaranteed a steady flow of native English sounds and I picked up a lot from their pronunciation of words and cultural meanings of phrases they uttered every now and then. Many of which I wrote down in my notebook for future reference and research I will perform on English during this course.
Culture in particular had some very interesting assignments such as the one about 'Everyman' by an unknown English writer. It taught me a great deal about life during the 15th century. Everyman is basically a play where the main character has an encounter with Death who was, in time, send by God. The main purpose of the play is to teach people about religion and how they should live their life according to the Bible and the Church. Plays such as Everyman were told by a priest in Church, after which it continued on the streets for everyone was able to witness it there. It was an effective way to teach people about the rules of religion and to keep them from committing a sin.
Everyman was written during the Middle Ages, and it's those years when people, mostly priests, first started to write stories, religious or political ones, and teach the people about life and life's rules. However, different genres were touched too. Stories such as King Arthur, or Gawain and the Green Knight which evolve around the adventures of a heroic figure. These stories were not meant to teach people about religion or politics, but to entertain people with bravery en heroism. To me this shows a clear image of how people got together to listen to these stories and to pass them on to the next generation, mainly because not everyone could read yet and they had to remember the tales by heart.
Nevertheless, this more simplistic way of living made way for the Renaissance and the individual became the most important thing in life. I've watched the 1971 movie adaptation of MacBeth and read a great deal of the story, and I must conclude that I absolutely love it. Shakespeare was of course one of the greater writers during the Renaissance era and his plays have inspired many people. All those plays are still very often shown by local theatres. In Bath, for example, they're currently showing Henry IV parts I & II at the Theatre Royal Bath by the Royal Shakespeare Company until the 8th of November, unfortunately it is completely sold out already.
My English has also come a very long way after I arrived in Oban in Scotland. The hostel there didn't provide me with too many opportunities to practice my speaking as most of the staff members there were from either Spain or France. Nonetheless, thanks to friends from the English Teacher course back home I met with a couple of guys who were actually from Scotland. Although one of them was born in Yorkshire, he has been living in Scotland for a great part of his life.
My language skills improved exponentially however after arriving in Bath. It was there that I picked up a couple of books that I had or wanted to read and I began writing notes from experiences down in a notebook that I bought at the Waitrose just down the street from the hostel.
There were also many more native English speakers working at the hostel, such as Emma who's from Australia, and Doug, our receptionist, who's from around Bath. Their presence guaranteed a steady flow of native English sounds and I picked up a lot from their pronunciation of words and cultural meanings of phrases they uttered every now and then. Many of which I wrote down in my notebook for future reference and research I will perform on English during this course.
Reageer op dit reisverslag
Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
