Theatre by W.S. Maugham

Chapters 1-2

I. Explain in English or give definitions of and find contextual synonyms for the following words and phrases:

Complacency - a feeling of satisfaction, especially extreme self-satisfaction (smugness)

three times running - taking place three times

filthy - very dirty (muddy)

supercilious – displaying arrogant pride, scorn, or indifference (contemptuous)

military bearing - the high level of military professionalism (carriage)

natural flamboyance - natural brightness

stupendous – amazingly large or great (immense)

staggered - to astound or overwhelm, as with shock (embarrass)

natural homage – special honor or respect shown or expressed publicly and accepted as one's due (natural respect)

entanglement – state of confusion (involvement)

concubinage - cohabitation of a man and woman without legal or formal marriage (cohabitation)

languorous – lacking spirit or liveliness (impassive)

flippant rejoinder – frivolous answer (frivolous answer)

to risk smth –  to expose to a chance of loss (run the venture)

a quick study - to learn smth by heart very quickly

II. Search for the allusions in the text. Define their type (literary, artistic, historical and others) and functions; explain their meaning.

Literary allusions:

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Artistic allusions:

Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was a leading English portrait painter and president of the Royal Academy. The most outstanding work: Satan summoning his legions. Here he illustrated lines from John Milton's Paradise Lost. The portraitist was mentioned to emphasize the lightness, tenderness, and feminity of the main character.

Sarah Siddons (5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character, Lady Macbeth, a character she made her own, and for famously fainting at the sight of the Elgin Marbles in London. The Sarah Siddons Society continues to present the Sarah Siddons Award in Chicago every year to a prominent actress.

John Philip Kemble (1 February 1757 – 26 February 1823) was an English actor. He was born into a theatrical family as the eldest son of Roger Kemble, actor-manager of a touring troupe. His elder sister Sarah Siddons achieved fame with him on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. His other siblings Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton and Elizabeth Whitlock also enjoyed success on the stage.

Benoît-Constant Coquelin (23 January 1841 – 27 January 1909), known as Coquelin aîné ("Coquelin the Eldest"), was a French actor, "one of the greatest theatrical figures of the age."

Sarah Bernhardt (23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage and early film actress, and was referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known."Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, at the beginning of the Belle Epoque period, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas. She developed a reputation as a serious dramatic actress, earning the nickname "The Divine Sarah."

Mounet-Sully (February 28, 1841 – 1916), a French actor, was born at Bergerac. His birth name was Jean-Sully Mounet: "Mounet-Sully" (without the "Jean") was a stage name.

Jean-Marc Nattier (March 17, 1685 – November 7, 1766), French painter, was born in Paris, He is noted for his portraits of the ladies of King Louis XV's court in classical mythological attire.

Charles John Kean (18 January 1811 - 22 January 1868), was born at Waterford, Ireland, the son of the actor Edmund Kean. Charles Kean had early opportunities to play Shakespearian leads in London: Romeo (1829), Richard III (1830), Iago (1833) to his father's Othello, Othello and Hamlet (both 1838).

Historical allusions:

Sir Francis Robert Benson (4 November 1858 – 31 December 1939), commonly known as Frank Benson or F. R. Benson, was a British actor-manager. He founded his own company in 1883 and produced all but two of Shakespeare's plays.

To my mind their main function is to make the reader to be closer to the theatre and art.

III. Using direct and indirect evidence from the text give character sketches of Julia Lambert and Michael Gosselyn.

Julia Lambert was the best actress of her time in England. She was 46 years old. Julia had big brown eyes, her smile was warm and ready. She was a woman with a lovely figure. She was tall, she had long legs. “Her nose was slightly thick, but he had managed by his lighting to make it look very delicate, not a wrinkle marred the smoothness of her skin, and there was a melting look in her fine eyes.” “Her voice, her rather low rich voice, with that effective hoarseness, which wrung your heart in an emotional passage or gave so much humour to a comedy line, seemed to sound all wrong when she spoke it. And then her articulation; it was so distinct that, without raising her voice, she could make you hear her every word in the last row of the gallery; they said it made verse sound like prose.” Julia loved beautiful dresses and she had a lot of them. She had her clothes made in Paris. Julia earned enough to be an independent woman. This woman was hard-working. She wanted to be a good actress very much.  

Michael Gosselyn had at fifty‑two a very good figure. “As a young man, with a great mass of curling chestnut hair, with a wonderful skin and large deep blue eyes, a straight nose and small ears, he had been the best‑looking actor on the English stage. The only thing that slightly spoiled him was the thinness of his mouth. He was just six foot tall and he had a gallant bearing. It was his obvious beauty that had engaged him to go on the stage rather than to become a soldier like his father. Now his chestnut hair was very grey, and he wore it much shorter; his face had broadened and was a good deal lined; his skin no longer had the soft bloom of a peach and his colour was high. But with his splendid eyes and his fine figure he was still a very handsome man. Since his five years at the war he had adopted a military bearing.” “He boasted that his weight had not changed since he was twenty, and for years, wet or fine, he had got up every morning at eight to put on shorts and a sweater and have a run round Regent's Park.”

IV. Give a summary of the first two chapters.

One day young handsome man came to famous couple. Michael invited him to work as an accountant. Julia paid attention on him. He was very shy and it only amused Julia. This woman gave him a photo of her own. Looking through the photos she remembered her springtime. When Julia was 16 she entered the Royal academy of the dramatics, but only met Jimmie Langton she became a real actress.