The Period
Reading Comprehension Activity
Author: Charles Dickens
Book the First, Chapter I Passage: Charles Dickens wrote “A Tale of Two Cities” which was published in 1859. The novel takes place in Paris and London before and during the French Revolution. Students will read the opening paragraphs of the book and answer questions on the theme and word choices.
Topic(s): Adventure / Thriller, Historical Fiction. Skill(s): Theme, Context Clues, Figurative Language. Genre(s): Prose
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Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities, which was published in 1859. The novel takes place in Paris and London before and during the French Revolution. Through the actions of the characters, Dickens compares the social and political situations of the two cities. Below are the opening paragraphs of the book. He describes the opening time period of the book which is 1775.
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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way-in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
There was a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever.
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