Ninguno

JOHN BULL


World War I recruiting poster

John Bull, a stereotype personifying the typical Englishman, the English people, their government and certain English virtues. The name was in use for some time before John Arbuthnot wrote The History of John Bull (1712), a satire in which he portrayed John Bull as "an honest plain-dealing fellow, choleric, bold, and of a very inconstant temper."He features in hundreds of nineteenth century cartoons. In cartoons, stocky John Bull is usually depicted wearing a squat top hat, neckcloth, a Union Jack waistcoat, tailcoat, tight breeches, and boots (echoing the fashions of the Regency period). He is often accompanied by a bulldog and his appearance is typical of an eighteenth century country gentleman, evoking an idyllic rural past. John Bullis a national personification of the Kingdom of Great Britain. He is sometimes used to refer to the whole of the United Kingdom, but has not been widely accepted in Scotland or Wales as he is viewed there as English rather than British. Although embraced by Unionists, Bull is rejected by most nationalists in Northern Ireland as well. As a literary figure, John Bull is well-intentioned, frustrated,full of common sense, and entirely of native country stock. Unlike Uncle Sam later, he is not a figure of authority but rather a yeoman who prefers his small beer and domestic peace, possessed of neither patriarchal power nor heroic defiance.
Comment: I chose this item because John Bull is a vivid personification of the ideal Englishman and also a national symbol to which most of English peoplefeel proud of.


STONEHENGE



Stonehenge, prehistoric ritual monument, situated on Salisbury Plain, north of Salisbury, England, and dating from the late Stone and early Bronze ages (circa 3000-1000BC). It is the most celebrated of the megalithic monuments of England. Stonehenge is surrounded by a circular ditch, 104 m (340 ft) in diameter and 1.5 m (5 ft) deep, within which is a bank anda ring of 56 pits known as Aubrey holes (after their discoverer, the British antiquarian John Aubrey). At the northeast end a break in the ditch affords access to a ditch-bordered avenue that extends in a generally northeastward direction to the East Avon River. The avenue is 23 m (75 ft) wide and nearly 3 km (2 mi) long. Stonehenge, the circular arrangement of large stones near Salisbury,England, was probably built in three stages between about 3000 and 1000 BC. The function of the monument remains unknown: once believed to be a temple for Druids or Romans, Stonehenge is now often thought to have been either a temple for sun worshippers or a type of astronomical clock or calendar. As the only natural building stones within 21 km, Stonehenge has been decimated through the centuries bybuilders and by normal climatic forces.
Comment: I chose this item because the Stonehenge is one of the astonishing monumental architecture relics of the prehistoric Celtic culture. This mysterious Celtic culture is present in all the Britain people’s minds and they fell it is part of their past and also their own culture.

ROBIN HOOD


Robin Hood memorial statue in Nottingham

Robin Hoodis the archetypal English folk hero and hero of a group of English ballads of the late 14th or early 15th century. Robin Hood was portrayed as an outlaw who lived and poached in the royal forests of Sherwood, in Nottinghamshire, and Barnsdale, in Yorkshire. He robbed and killed those who represented the power of the government and the church and he championed the cause of the needy and oppressed.He is described as a courteous, pious and swashbuckling outlaw of the medieval era who is famous for robbing the rich to feed the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny. His band of comrades included Little John, Will Scarlet, and Friar Tuck. Although scholars disagree as to whether Robin Hood is a historical figure, the original ballads contain valuable information on the ideas and...