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Pirates of Penzance, or the Slave of Duty - a new Parody?

High SchoolSecondary

LiteracyAustralian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

 

 

Back in the late 1870s, when Gilbert and Sullivan wrote the Pirates of Penzance, the word "Pilot" refered to someone whose career was in Seafaring. Today, it mainly means an aviation pilot!

1. Look at the following words from Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance: When Frederic was a little Lad by Ruth.

Pirates of PenzanceWhen Frederic was a little lad
He proved so brave and daring,
His father thought he'd 'prentice him
To some career seafaring.
I was, alas! his nurserymaid,
And so it fell to my lot
To take and bind the promising boy
Apprentice to a pilot

A life not bad for a hardy lad,
Though surely not a high lot,
Though I’m a nurse, you might do worse
Than make your boy a pilot.

I was a stupid nurserymaid,
On breakers always steering,
And I did not catch the word aright,
Through being hard of hearing;
Mistaking my instructions,
Which within my brain did gyrate,
I took and bound this promising boy
Apprentice to a pirate.

A sad mistake it was to make
And doom him to a vile lot.
I bound him to a pirate – you –
Instead of to a pilot.

I soon found out, beyond all doubt,
The scope of this disaster,
But I hadn’t the face to return to my place,
And break it to my master.
A nurserymaid is not afraid
Of what you people call work,
So I made up my mind to go as a kind
Of piratical maid-of-all-work.

And that is how you find me now,
A member of your shy lot,
Which you wouldn’t have found, had he been bound
Apprentice to a pilot.

(Source: Gilbert & Sullivan Archive)

2. See the Australian singer, Toni Lamond, perform When Frederic was a little lad.... (YouTube Video of the Australian Production of the "Pirates of Penzance" by Gilbert and Sullivan)

https://youtu.be/xoQ2yt8VJzs

 

Toni Lamond and Simon Gallagher

Simon Gallagher and Toni Lamond in the Australian production of "The Pirates of Penzance".

3. Gilbert and Sullivan songs are reknown for the number of parodies (usually political). Look at the following song ....My Career in Science based on "When Frederic was a little lad" ...

"When I was just a little girl, I proved so very clever
My father thought I'd flourish in scientific endeavour
I did quite well in my exams and so in my compliance
I went to study my degree - in biological science
I loved the arts but was far too smart, and was also far too prudent
And so in pride I did decide to be science student

I was a clumsy scientist, but still I reached employment
I took a job within a lab when time came for deployment
My mind did skip, and often I, when vital things forgetting
Spent the day to my dismay, on remedial pipetting
A big mistake I was apt to make and curse my dim reliance
On that strange quirk, that I got work, in genetic science

And things I'd break, and in my wake was often a disaster
My fingers slipped, my pipettes dripped, I could not work much faster
My prep was dire, set things on fire, my record was pathetic
I called my boss, and asked him was my clumsiness genetic?
And my life, this dreadful strife is hardly a great feature
But then I knew, I could not do, so I'd become a teacher"
(Source: Sweet Indigo)

4. Using "When Frederic was a little Lad", make up a parody on your career choice! Submit it to this website!!!

 

 

 

Online

 

What is it like to be a fighter pilot?

PrimaryPrimary

CriticalAustralian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking

LiteracyAustralian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

Cooperative LearningCooperative Learning Activity

 

1. You are to discover what it is like to be a fighter pilot by reading the following article from The Conversation 27 July 2018 Reading

the Conversation

2. List all the clothing that needs to be worn and the reasons for this clothing.

3. Write down the speeds [convert to kilometres/hour] that fighter pilots travel at.

4. Write a group story.

In a group, you are to all write an Introduction to a story about a fighter pilot. Fold up what you have written and pass to the next student who cannot read what you have written. The second person is to write a paragraph of the Body of the story. Again, they are to fold up what was written and pass it to the next person. The next student is to write more of the Body of the story without knowing what has been previously written. Lastly, the fourth student is to create the Conclusion.

Once the fourth student has written their paragraph, they can read out the whole story.

 

 

Websites, Games & Apps

App:  Pilot!

Pilot!
Price: Free
Developer: Quantum Design Group

Screenshots

 

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