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Great British Icons: Cultural Treasures

The document summarizes changes in rankings of three cultural icons on the Sunday Times List of Great British Icons over the past 5 years and 30 years: 1) Eric Morecambe's commemorative statue moved up from 78th to 52nd position, possibly due to recent public attention after it was vandalized and repaired. 2) Elton John's song "Candle in the Wind" about Princess Diana fell dramatically from 3rd position a year after her funeral to 147th position now, as the British public seems to have forgotten the song. 3) Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "If" remains highly popular, regularly appearing on lists of most loved poems in English, due

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Maria Fernandez
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295 views1 page

Great British Icons: Cultural Treasures

The document summarizes changes in rankings of three cultural icons on the Sunday Times List of Great British Icons over the past 5 years and 30 years: 1) Eric Morecambe's commemorative statue moved up from 78th to 52nd position, possibly due to recent public attention after it was vandalized and repaired. 2) Elton John's song "Candle in the Wind" about Princess Diana fell dramatically from 3rd position a year after her funeral to 147th position now, as the British public seems to have forgotten the song. 3) Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "If" remains highly popular, regularly appearing on lists of most loved poems in English, due

Uploaded by

Maria Fernandez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

READING EXAM

A This week sees the publication of yet another list of national treasures: The Sunday Times List
of Great British Icons. The list contains 150 poems, books, pictures, statues and pieces of music
that the great British public hold dear to their hearts. Produced every 5 years, the list provides
an interesting look at the way the value of cultural icons rise and fall. The following three entries
on the list were also on it the last time, but in wildly different positions.

B Eric Morecombe’s commemorative statue stands by the edge of the sea in Morecambe Bay in
the North of England, the place that gave the TV comedian his stage name. Made of bronze, it
shows Eric dancing to one of his favourite songs. There are other – perhaps even better - statues
of Morecambe around the country, but only this one has ever been on the list, and this time it
is nearer the top, moving from 78th position to 52. One possible reason for this might be the
fact that in 2014, someone tried to steal the statue and sawed off the leg. There was an outcry
in the national press, and a campaign was started to save the sculpture. Luckily, the sculptor was
able to repair it, and now Eric is back by the edge of the sea singing and dancing to “Bring me
Sunshine”. This brings home how a national treasure’s position on the list is effected by how
recently it has been the focus of public attention.

C “Candle in the wind” was written by the British rock star Elton John in 1974. It was originally
about the American film star Marilyn Monroe, who died at the age of 36 at the height of her
career, blown out like a candle in the wind, as the words of the song say. In 1997, after the
sudden and tragic death of Princess Diana, also at the age of 36, Elton changed the words and
the dedication, so that the song became about Diana. The new words were: “Goodbye England’s
Rose”, which for many people brings to mind Diana’s special beauty. Performed at her funeral
to an audience of millions around the world, the song become a number one hit in the UK. In
the Sunday Times list published one year after the funeral, this song was in position 3 on the
whole list. In last week’s latest edition of the list, nearly thirty years after the British public was
overcome with emotion at her funeral, they seem to have forgotten the song and now it only
holds position number 147 – under its original name.

D Kipling was the author of many famous books, stories and poetry, none perhaps more so than
his poem from 1910, which begins with the words “If you can keep your head when all about
you are losing theirs…”. The poem has 32 lines, most of them beginning with the word ‘if’. In the
poem the speaker is giving some advice to his young son. ‘If you can do this’, he says, ‘you will
be a man and everything in the world will be yours’. It’s basically an encouragement to try your
best in life. The poem featured in the movie about Kipling’s son, who was killed in the First World
War, and who was played by Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame. It’s often recited at
graduation events, where it always goes down well, and the poem is printed on wall posters, t-
shirts and cards. It’s simple and easily expressed message means that it regularly appears on
lists of the most loved poems in English.

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