The following passage explains how the Great Plague of 1665 changed the face of London and the lives of the people living there. The plague of 1665 began in London in the February of that year and, within 7 months, 100,000 Londoners had died; one fifth of the population lost their lives. Each London parish had to add up the number of dead, they were printed on a list called the ‘Mortality Bills’. At one point in September it was registered that 7,165 people had died in just one week before the spread of the disease slowed down. An already grim scenario had been made even worse by the hot summer of 1665 that escalated the spread of the disease to uncontrollable levels. It wasn’t until the Great Fire of London in 1666 that the threat of the disease ended. The causes of the plague were much debated and different people believed different things. Some believed that stray roaming cats and dogs were responsible and so ‘dog killers’ were appointed; 40,000 dogs and 200,000 cats were slaughtered on the diseased streets of London. However, more likely was the scenario that disease-ridden fleas were carried around the city on the bodies of oblivious rats and in full view of unconcerned crowds. Rats were very prevalent in London at a time when waste, both domestic and human, was left on the streets. The putrid stench of human waste attracted the curious and hungry rats. Their sinewy bodies frantically scurried through the mounds of rancid waste. Upon their oily bodies they carried a miniscule enemy, unable to be seen by the naked eye. Silent yet bold, these deadly fleas jumped enthusiastically from the bodies of their couriers on to those of the unsuspecting people living near by and released their deadly cargo. These invisible assassins were responsible for wiping out a fifth of the whole population as if implementing a horrific master plan. Once the infection was unleashed there was no stopping it. It was the city’s poor who suffered the most; those who could afford to leave London did and perhaps saved their lives in doing so. The poor however, were trapped, waiting for the inevitable. In the poorest areas of London, families lived in one room and so when one person fell ill, the rest soon followed. Any family that had one member infected by the plague was locked in their house for 40 days and 40 nights with a red cross painted on their front door accompanied by the words, “Lord, have mercy upon us”. Those who had not caught the disease could do nothing but try and find strength in the interminable wait. 19 Those who remained alive would watch their loved ones deteriorate, powerless to act against a disease that killed with ruthless efficiency. Their bodies would be enveloped by angry red, circular blotches found on the skin. Large pus-filled sacs would be found lurking under the armpit and near the groin. The victim’s breath would putrify as the disease intensified causing everyone in close proximity to feel repulsed. The victim was robbed of peaceful sleep as the pain started to infiltrate their veins. The cruel disease even stole speech as its victim became less and less intelligible. Towards the end, as the disease made its final assault, the victim was left in the throes of a mindless delirium, lurching about as if in a drunken stupor, staggering and stumbling with no control over their own bodies. The plague stripped its victims of both dignity and self-constraint. Alienated from the outside world, they could do nothing but meekly await their inevitable demise. London itself had to change too; theatres and public entertainment was banned to prevent the spread of disease. The once bustling and lively streets became desolate and empty as a Sunday morning. The grass started to grow in the streets, a vivid picture of the lack of footfall. Communities turned on one another in a race for survival; Samuel Pepys commented in his diary that, “the plague [is] making us as cruel as dogs to each other”.
Re-read the descriptions of: (a) The rats and fleas in paragraph 3 beginning, “Rats were very prevalent in London”. (b) The symptoms of the plague in paragraph 5 beginning, “Those who remained alive”. Select four powerful words or phrases from each paragraph. Your choices should include imagery. Explain how each word or phrase selected is used effectively in the context. Write about 200 – 300 words.
Answers
Explanation:
made its final assault, the victim was left in the throes of a mindless delirium, lurching about as if in a drunken stupor, staggering and stumbling with no control over their own bodies. The plague stripped its victims of both dignity and self-constraint. Alienated from the outside world, they could do nothing but meekly await their inevitable demise. London itself had to change too; theatres and public entertainment was banned to prevent the spread of disease. The once bustling and lively streets became desolate and empty as a Sunday morning. The grass started to grow in the streets, a vivid picture of the lack of footfall. Communities turned on one another in a race for survival; Samuel Pepys commented in his diary that, “the plague [is] making us as cruel as dogs to each other”.
Re-read the descriptions of: (a) The rats and fleas in paragraph 3 beginning, “Rats were very prevalent in London”. (b) The symptoms of the plague in paragraph 5 beginning, “Those who remained alive”. Select four powerful words or phrases from each paragraph. Your choices should include imagery. Explain how each word or phrase selected is used effectively