Listen&Learn: Pride and Prejudice

Posted by: Jaksyn Peacock
A classic, romantic novel written by a female author in the nineteenth century.

Pre-listening vocabulary

  • anonymously: without naming or identifying the author
  • wealthy: having a lot of money
  • protagonist: the main character of a story
  • proposal: an offer of marriage
  • arrogant: conceited; overly proud
  • refuse: to make it clear that you will not do something

Listening activity

Gapfill exercise

Pride and Prejudice is a romantic novel written by English author Jane Austen. The novel was originally published anonymously in 1813. At the time, women were often expected to into wealthy families. The story’s protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, is a young who feels pressured by her family to marry for money. When her sisters and friends are all starting to find , Elizabeth meets a wealthy man named Mr. Darcy. Darcy is in Elizabeth, and asks her to marry him. At first, Elizabeth has no interest in his proposal. She believes Darcy is arrogant and selfish, and she refuses to marry someone she doesn’t love. Throughout the book, however, Darcy grows into a person that Elizabeth can , and Elizabeth realizes that she judged him too harshly when they first met. The story ends with the two of them happily married.

Comprehension questions

1. Elizabeth's family pressures her to

Correct! Wrong!

Elizabeth's family pressures her to marry for money.

2. Elizabeth rejects Darcy's proposal because

Correct! Wrong!

Elizabeth rejects Darcy's proposal because she thinks he's arrogant.

3. When the story ends, Elizabeth is

Correct! Wrong!

When the story ends, Elizabeth is married to Darcy.

Discussion/essay questions

  1. Although Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813, the story contains themes that are still important today. Some people see the novel as one of the earliest examples of feminism in literature. What makes Elizabeth Bennet an empowering character for women?
  2. Why do you think Jane Austen decided to publish this novel anonymously?

Transcript

Pride and Prejudice is a romantic novel written by English author Jane Austen. The novel was originally published anonymously in 1813. At the time, women were often expected to marry into wealthy families. The story’s protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, is a young woman who feels pressured by her family to marry for money. When her sisters and friends are all starting to find husbands, Elizabeth meets a wealthy man named Mr. Darcy. Darcy is interested in Elizabeth, and asks her to marry him. At first, Elizabeth has no interest in his proposal. She believes Darcy is arrogant and selfish, and she refuses to marry someone she doesn’t love. Throughout the book, however, Darcy grows into a person that Elizabeth can respect, and Elizabeth realizes that she judged him too harshly when they first met. The story ends with the two of them happily married. 

Written and recorded by Jaksyn Peacock for EnglishClub
© EnglishClub.com

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