Clay Lane: the Blog

11 Sunday

The Virgin Mary was among the women who came to Christ’s tomb expecting to care for his dead body, only to find the grave empty and an angel waiting for them. This hymn, sung in the weeks after Easter, imagines how the angel told the news of Christ’s resurrection to his mother.

The Angel Cried

A hymn sung in the weeks after Easter, imagining how Gabriel brought the news of Christ’s resurrection to Mary.

12 Friday

She Was a Phantom of Delight

This poem is a look back over how William Wordsworth’s love for his wife Mary had developed over time. “The germ of this poem” he admitted “was four lines composed as a part of the verses on the Highland Girl. Though beginning in this way, it was written from my heart, as is sufficiently obvious.”

She was a Phantom of Delight

Mary Wordsworth wasn’t pretty or bookish, but she was kind and vital, and William loved her.

13 1 May

Hardly

Each of these statements is a little too strong. Tone them down by adding the words almost or hardly, and making any other changes you think necessary.

IHe never misses a chance. IINobody could hear him. IIIThere’s nowhere to park. IVThere’s nothing he wouldn’t do. VHe won without breaking a sweat. VIThe engine is completely silent.

The word ‘hardly’ is used to mean ‘true, but only to an insignificant degree’ e.g. ‘I can hardly [only just] believe my eyes’, ‘I’d hardly [only just] sat down to lunch when the doorbell rang’.

For Example

I cannot keep my hands warm.

I can hardly [only just] keep my hands warm.

Jane Austen

My fingers are numb with cold.

My fingers are so cold I can hardly [only just] feel them.

Developed from an exercise in Straightforward English (1949) by NL Clay.

14 1 May

The Death of Julius Caesar

On March 15th, 44 BC, Julius Caesar, the most powerful man in Rome, was due in the Senate to receive yet more honours from the Republic. But last night his wife Calpurnia had dreamt she held his murdered body in her arms, and her fears had frankly unsettled him. Brutus told him that he must not look weak, and steered him out of the door.

The Death of Julius Caesar

When Julius Caesar entered the Senate that day, a note warning him of treachery was clutched in his hand — unread.

15 29 Apr

Two Letters Home

The Christmas Truce of 1914 was one of the most poignant events in the Great War of 1914-18. The British had poured into Belgium to help drive the German invaders out, and in Flanders the two armies faced each other from trenches only a few hundred yards apart. In a letter to his mother on December 28th that year, Captain Hulse of the Scots Guards told how the spontaneous truce began.

Two Letters Home

A German soldier stopped the Great War so he could ask Captain Hulse to post a letter for him.

16 29 Apr

Smile

A ten-out-of-ten smile might be called dazzling or ravishing. But what would you call a smile that was more seven-out-of-ten? Bright, maybe, or fetching. How would you score roguish, disarming, kind or shy? See if you can think of others.

Suggest for each noun an adjective of praise, but moderate praise, and give it a score out of ten.

ISmile. IIDinner. IIIFace. IVExplanation.

Suggestions

Based on an exercise in School Certificate English Practice (1939) by NL Clay.

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