differentiated instruction: enrichment projects & activities...with characters, setting, plot,...

British TraditionGrade 12

Differentiated Instruction: Enrichment Projects & Activities

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Differentiated Instruction: Enrichment Projects & Activities, British Tradition

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iii© EMC Publishing, LLC Differentiated Instruction: Enrichment Projects & Activities

CONTENTS

Selection Projects & ActivitiesUnit 1: Anglo-Saxon Period

The Conversion of King Edwin, from Ecclesiastical History of the English People 1 Historical Context Project: The Early Middle Ages from Beowulf 2 Literary Form Activity: Epics The Head of Humbaba, from Gilgamesh 5 World Literature Study: Folk Epics of the World The Seafarer 7 Comparing Literature Activity: Find Points of Comparison and Contrast

Unit 2: Medieval Period

Bonny Barbara Allan 8 Literary Form Activity: Experiment with Poetic Form The Prologue, from The Canterbury Tales 9 Literary Connection Study: The Frame Tale from Everyman 10 Archetypal Character Study: Everystudent Federigo’s Falcon, from The Decameron 12 World Literature Project: Familiar Motifs

Unit 3: Renaissance

Whoso list to hunt / With how sad steps 13 Literary Form Study: The Sonnet Let me not to the marriage of true minds (Sonnet 116) 15 Literary Criticism Activity: An Author’s Life and Time The Passionate Shepherd to His Love / The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd 16 Comparing Literature Activity: A Fictional Dialogue Eve’s Apology in Defense of Women, from Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum 18 Literary Response Project: Responding as a Group

Unit 4: Renaissance Drama

The Tragedy of Macbeth 19 Historical Context Project: Witchcraft in Renaissance Britain from The Analects 21 World Literature Study: Studies in Leadership from The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus 22 Literary Connection Activity: Genesis and the Faustian Bargain Monologues and Soliloquies from Shakespeare’s Plays 23 Comparing Literature Activity: Monologues and SoliloquiesUnit 5: Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries How soon hath Time (Sonnet VII) 24 Primary Source Study: Literature as a Primary Source

iv © EMC Publishing, LLCDifferentiated Instruction: Enrichment Projects & Activities

from Oroonoko 25 Cultural Connection Study: Kingdoms of West Africa from The Diary of Samuel Pepys / from A Journal of the Plague Year 26 Literary Form Project: The Diary from The Diary of Fanny Burney 28 Informational Text Activity: Answering Questions Asked by a Text

Unit 6: Romantic Period

Kubla Khan 29 Historical Context Activity: Reinventing the Past She Walks in Beauty 30 Author’s Style Study: Analyzing Byron’s Style The Lorelei 31 World History Activity: History Tour of the Rhine from Introduction to Frankenstein 32 Literary Context Study: Gothic Fiction

Unit 7: Victorian Era

from Great Expectations 34 Literary Form Study: Characters in a Novel The Lagoon 35 Theme Study: Implied Themes The Lady of Shalott 37 Art Connection Project: Pre-Raphaelite Painting When I Was One-and-Twenty 39 Music Connection Activity: Music and Poetry

Unit 8: Modern Era

The Rising of the Moon 41 Primary Source Project: Theater Reviews from A Room of One’s Own 42 Literary Criticism Activity: A Woman’s Voice The Music of Poetry 44 Literary Connection Project: Sound, Sense, and Nonsense War Poet / Words 46 Comparing Literature Activity: War Poetry

Unit 9: Postmodern Era

Shooting an Elephant 47 Historical Context Activity: Britain’s Empire Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night 48 Literary Form Study: Reconstruct a Villanelle from Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress 49 World Literature Activity: Political Oppression Dead Men’s Path 50 Cultural Context Project: Indigenous Rights

v© EMC Publishing, LLC Differentiated Instruction: Enrichment Projects & Activities

Unit Projects & Activities

Unit 1 Harnessing the Power of Anglo-Saxon Language 52

Unit 2 Author Focus: Geoffrey Chaucer 54

Unit 3 Understanding Literary Criticism: Biographical-Historical Criticism 58

Unit 4 Literary Forms: Drama 61

Unit 5 Understanding Literary Criticism: Political Criticism 64

Unit 6 Understanding Literary Criticism: Reader-Response Criticism 66

Unit 7 Author Focus: Thomas Hardy 69

Unit 8 Understanding Literary Criticism: Feminist-Gender Criticism 71

Unit 9 Understanding Literary Criticism: Sociological Criticism 74

The Conversion of King Edwin from Ecclesiastical History of the English People, page 7

HISTORICAL CONTEXT PROJECT

The Early Middle Ages

Saint Bede the Venerable lived during the Early Middle Ages, a period that began in about 476 ce. The period was once called the Dark Ages because of the relative lack of written history. Literacy and security declined throughout Europe. From a historical point of view, things fell silent. In reality, though, life during the Early Middle Ages was far from quiet. Wars spread like bushfires as local and national leaders rose and fell. The Catholic Church maintained a vigorous spiritual and artistic life in its many monasteries. Of course, ordinary people did what people always do—working hard to improve their lot and enjoying life whenever possible. In this project, you will work with a group to cast a little light on the so-calledDark Ages.

Organize and Research

For this activity, think of the Early Middle Ages as if it consisted of concentric circles. In the central circle is the Venerable Bede—or another such monk—around the year 700 ce. Encircling him are the farms, villages, and castles of rural England. A larger circle still encompasses all of Britain, where warring nations fight for supremacy. The fourth and largest circle encompasses life in the European continent.Work with three other students to research the following topics, each representing a circle described above. Have each group member research one topic.• The Monasteries. What was the importance of the monasteries? What was life

like inside them?• Domestic Life in England. How did people live outside the sheltered

monasteries? How was society organized?• Britain as a Whole. What people had invaded and settled Britain? Where did

they live? Who held the power?• The Shape of Europe. What was happening on the continent? What great leaders

had emerged? What countries had formed or fallen apart? Research and take notes on your topic. Then share your findings with your group. Your group’s assignment will be to present to your class an overview of Britain and Europe during the Early Middle Ages. See Language Arts Handbook 7.3, Collaborative Learning and Communication, in your textbook, for guidelines on creating a group project.

Present

Choose a way to present your knowledge of the Early Middle Ages to your classmates. Instead of reading four reports, endeavor to entertain your audience. Consider using one of the following methods: a panel discussion; a PowerPoint presentation; a question-and-answer session; a scripted and filmed student documentary; or a series of interviews with “experts” from the period.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________

1© EMC Publishing, LLC Differentiated Instruction: Enrichment Projects & Activities

from Beowulf, page 18

LITERARY FORM ACTIVITY

Epics

Beowulf is widely acknowledged as one of the finest epics in recorded history. An epic is a long narrative poem that portrays the heroic acts of legendary figures and mythical gods. This type of poem follows the format of a narrative or story, with characters, setting, plot, and conflict, but its purpose is more than just entertainment. With its roots in the oral tradition of storytelling, an epic also reflects a period of history and therefore provides a portrait of an entire culture’s legends, beliefs, laws, arts, and ways of life.

Epic Hero

Central to the narrative of an epic is the main character, known as the epic hero. An epic hero is an archetype, or a type of character that has appeared in the literature of the world from ancient times until today. Historically, an epic hero was a male of royal lineage who possessed certain personal qualities that helped him, and sometimes hindered him, in his quest to conquer evil. More frequently in contemporary literature, the hero is a woman. Below is a list of these common epic hero qualities:• courage• integrity• arrogance or pride• altruism

• resourcefulness• intelligence• physical strength• faithfulness

• vulnerability• resilience• sacrifice• leadership

Although epic heroes embody these human characteristics, they appear larger- than-life because they also have extraordinary or supernatural abilities that allow them to conquer monsters and other villains. Contemporary literature is filled with heroes modeled after this archetype, including Harry Potter in the Harry Potter series and Frodo in Lord of the Rings. Some consider Joan of Arc to be an epic hero. Movies, such as Braveheart, Gladiator, Rob Roy, Spartacus, and Star Wars, also pay homage to the epic hero.

Epic Hero Cycle

In addition to the archetypal epic hero, the structure of an epic follows a distinctive pattern known as an epic hero cycle. In an epic hero cycle, the hero is charged with a quest that tests his or her worthiness. This quest typically involves a battle with an evil force. Along the journey, the hero is assisted by many mythical creatures and typically enters a supernatural world. Just when the hero feels defeated, the hero’s fortitude is resurrected, and the hero takes his or her place on the family throne.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________

2 © EMC Publishing, LLCDifferentiated Instruction: Enrichment Projects & Activities

Get Started

In this lesson, you are being charged with your own quest: to write and illustrate a children’s book that models an epic tale. Your target audience should be between the ages of seven and eleven. Remember to keep the words and actions of the story appropriate for the particular age or ages you choose. For inspiration, take a look at the following children’s books that have used a similar epic model: Saint George and the Dragon, by Margaret Hodges; The Hero Beowulf, by Eric Kimmel; Odysseus in the Serpent Maze, by Jane Yolen; Beowulf, by Gareth Hinds; and The Maiden of Northland, by Aaron Shepard. To get started, consider the following questions and write the answers in the spaces allowed:

Questions Answers

1. Who will be the hero of your tale? Do you want it to be a person (male or female), an animal, or some other type of creature? What will the hero look like? What personal qualities of the hero will be revealed at different places in your tale?

2. What will be the setting of your story? How will the setting reflect the culture?

3. What will be the hero’s quest? What mythical gods or goddesses will guide the journey?

4. What obstacles will the hero need to overcome in the journey? What mythical creatures will help the hero along the way?

5. What main battle will occur where good will triumph over evil?

6. What will happen to the hero at the end of your tale?

Outline the Story

An epic follows a certain format, as outlined in the graphic organizer beginning below. Briefly fill in details for your tale.

Format Details

Invocation: Introduce the epic hero and the quest or adventure that the hero has been charged withcompleting. The invocation also calls on a muse or god to inspire divine intervention in the narrator as he tells the tale.


Format Details

In Medias Res: Begin the tale in the midst of action or in medias res, with the epic hero well into his journey. Start with a heroic main action and introduce an evil force. Add helpful companions or creatures who will aid the epic hero.

Flashbacks: Fill in incidents that preceded the main action; add other helpers who will battle alongside the epic hero.

Point of Defeat/Resurrection: Have the epic hero feel defeated but put aside his feelings and forge ahead in his quest.

Journey’s End: Provide closure by revealing what happened to the epic hero at journey’s end: The hero either assumes his rightful place on his family’s throne or dies and is rewarded spiritually.

Connect and Create

Now you are ready to type your first draft. Use the information from your outline to guide you as you write. Also, keep your audience in mind as you choose your words and construct your sentences. As you are writing, consider adding figures of speech devices that are commonly seen in epics: similes, metaphors, kennings, and alliteration. Another literary device that is typically used in an epic is a boast, in which the epic hero brags about his noble lineage, his accomplished feats, or his personal strengths. Be sure to include a boast in your tale; this will provide the perfect place to incorporate hyperbole, or exaggeration. (To review the elements of an epic, refer to page 17 in your textbook.)

Check and Reflect

Now exchange your story with a classmate to get his or her reaction. Correct any errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar that your classmate marks on your paper. Then make a final draft of your story.

Publish and Present

Cut apart the typed story line and use a glue stick to paste the copy in a blank book. Allow room for colorful illustrations, and be creative in your approach by using borders, fabric, pop-up figures, craft materials, and so on that will make your book unique. Keep the age of your target audience in mind as you make these additions. When you have finished the book, present your book to a friend or family member as a gift, or donate your book to the library of your local elementary school.


The Head of Humbaba, from Gilamesh, page 51

WORLD LITERATURE STUDY

Folk Epics of the World

The term world literature is often used to describe epic stories, like Gilgamesh, that are at the heart of a nation’s history and culture. Although long since written down, these folk epics are based in oral traditions. Some, in fact, are still in the repertoire of professional storytellers. Strangely, apart from a handful of works that have become part of the European canon, most of these epics are still unknown to western readers. In this project, you will work with a partner to study a folk epic and present an oral overview of your selection for your classmates.

Research

Work with a partner to locate several long narrative poems that have their origins in the oral tradition. Using online or print sources, find a list of such epic works. Each partner should choose two titles that interest him or her—so that the pair of you study four different epics. Avoid works with which you are already familiar. Read your selected Epics on your own and record concise details about these works on the lines below. 1. Title: Origin and History: Description:

2. Title: Origin and History: Description:

Share your findings with your partner. Compare the merits of the works you investigated and choose one epic that you would like to research together for a joint oral presentation. Ask your teacher how much time you will have for your presentation, and take that into consideration as you plan and prepare.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Prepare

Read the epic you and your partner have chosen to present, taking notes to remind yourself of passages or details that you find striking or important. For your presentation, you will give an overview of your chosen work. This will include• a brief history of the work• a summary of the narrative• a closer look at an important or interesting episode • readings from the text to illustrate the episode you have chosen to describe Your main challenge in creating this overview will be keeping it concise. Folkepics are often long and complex. Your summary must stick to the story’s main thread and avoid the many digressions that often interrupt works of this sort. Your presentation will be a partnership, with each of you taking a speaking role. Divide the responsibilities, writing an outline of your contents and order of speaking. When you are satisfied with the form of your presentation, prepare notes for your individual contributions. See Language Arts Handbook 7.3, Collaborative Learning and Communication, in your textbook, for additional guidelines on efficient collaboration with a partner to create a presentation.

Practice and Present

Practice your presentation, working to achieve comfort and fluency. Use a stopwatch to help yourselves keep within the allotted time. Work from note cards, not a written script, so that you can address your audience more directly. Read any passages from the text slowly and expressively, keeping in mind that the language and style may be unfamiliar to your audience. See Language Arts Handbook 7.6, Public Speaking, and 7.7, Oral Interpretation, in your textbook, for additional guidelines on public speaking and oral interpretation. After presenting your folk epic, invite your listeners to ask questions about the work.

Reflect

When you have completed your presentation, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper:

1. What did you find most interesting or unusual about the work you studied?

2. Think about the presentations about different epics that you heard. What do the epics have in common? Are their themes alike? Do they have the same literary elements?


The Seafarer, page 56

COMPARING LITERATURE ACTIVITY

Find Points of Comparison and Contrast

Your textbook has paired “The Seafarer” with another Anglo-Saxon poem, “The Wife’s Lament.” Both poems are elegies, or laments for someone or something that is lost. In addition, both works share a mood of melancholy. There are differences, too. The speaker of “The Seafarer” is a travel-weary sailor. In “The Wife’s Lament,” a grieving woman tells the story. One speaker is the victim of a harsh physical world; the other suffers from the cruelty of society. Studying literary works in this manner encourages us to look at one work in the light of another. This type of comparison broadens our understanding of the literary works in question. In this project, you will compare and contrast two literary works of your own choice.

Identify Works for Comparison

Think of a literary work you have read that has some point of comparison with another work you know. This similarity may appear in any literary element—for instance, theme, mood, figurative language, or characterization. In other ways, the two works may be quite different. Locate copies of both works, and scan the selections. Copy the chart below, and identify the literary elements in each work.You may add elements to the chart. Use the completed chart to identify similarities and differences in the elements.

Work 1 Work 2

Title and author

Genre

Theme

Mood

Figurative language

Characterization

Write, Present, and Reflect

Write an essay comparing and contrasting the two works you have chosen. Make explicit the initial similarities you perceived, and then identify areas of contrast. See Language Arts Handbook 4.1, The Writing Process, in your textbook, for additional information on organizing and drafting an essay. Read your paper in a small group. When all the group members have read their papers, answer the following question on a separate sheet of paper: Do you think the authors of the two works you compared would have appreciated each other’s writing? Why or why not?

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Bonny Barbara Allan, page 87

LITERARY FORM ACTIVITY

Experiment with Poetic Form

There is no single “correct” way to write a poem. The thoughts so concisely expressed by Shakespeare in a sonnet could also be expressed by Walt Whitman in one of his extended and rambling free-verse excursions. The sound and sense of poetry can be squeezed into many different forms. In this activity, you will experiment with poetic forms, using “Bonny Barbara Allan” as your starting point.

Warm Up: Write a Haiku On an Idea in Barbara Allan

The haiku is a traditional Japanese form of poetry, consisting of only three lines. The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven, and the third has five again. There is no regular meter or rhyme. Your textbook has examples of traditional haikus on page 405. These illustrate the concision and imagery involved in the form, but as they are translated from the Japanese, they are not in strict haiku form. You will find many examples of haiku on the Internet. On your own paper, write a haiku based on an idea or image contained in “Bonny Barbara Allan.”

Rewrite Barbara Allan

Write an original poem based on the story of Barbara Allan. Use any poetic style you wish except the four-stanza ballad form in which the original is written. (See page 85 of your textbook for features of the traditional ballad.) You need not retell the story exactly but make clear references to events or themes in the original. In searching for a new form, consider the following or choose a format of your own:• Tell the story in blank verse, or unrhymed iambic pentameter. (See pages 195–

196 for a description of iambic pentameter.)• Rewrite the ballad in rhyming couplets.• Create a free-verse version of the ballad.• Compose a sonnet based on the story. (See pages 195–196 in your textbook for a

discussion of sonnet form.) Look up any terms unfamiliar to you in the Literary Terms Handbook on page H50 of your textbook. See pages 15–16 in your textbook for a general discussion of poetry.

Stage a Poetry Reading

Participate in a class poetry reading. Because poetic language is sometimes difficult to understand on first hearing, help your listeners by reading clearly and expressively. See Language Arts Handbook 7.7, Oral Interpretation, on page H43 of your textbook, for guidelines on how to present an oral interpretation of poetry. Afterward, explain how your version differs from the original.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


The Prologue, from The Canterbury Tales, page 97

LITERARY CONNECTION STUDY

The Frame Tale

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories known as a frame tale, a narrative that provides a vehicle for telling other stories. (That is, within the frame tale, a character or characters tell other stories.) Two other frame tales—familiar to many readers of European literature—are The Decameron by Boccaccio and One Thousand and One Nights (also known as Arabian Nights). In this activity, you will work in a group to tell stories from all three works.

Study and Select

Form a small group with two other students and investigate the frames that provide structure to The Canterbury Tales, The Decameron, and One Thousand and One Nights. Copy the following chart on your own paper. In the chart, briefly identify the nature of the frames for the stories.

Assign one of these frame tales to each member of your group. Read more about your designated work and the stories included within the frame. Then choose a story that interests you, read it closely, and take notes. This is the story that you will retell. (Check first that the stories chosen by your partners don’t too closely resemble your own selection.)

Practice and Present

Using your notes, practice telling your chosen story in your own words. Don’t attempt to use language from the translation you read, but keep to the spirit—solemn or lighthearted—of the original story. See Language Arts Handbook 7.8, Telling a Story, on page H43 of your textbook, for additional suggestions for effective and entertaining storytelling. You will also be responsible for introducing the frame tale from which your story came. Prepare a brief description of the frame. With your two partners, present the three works to the class and narrate the representative stories you have chosen. After your presentation, discuss with your listeners the similarities and differences between the frame tales.

Frame Tale Description of Frame

The Canterbury Tales

The Decameron

One Thousand and One Nights

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


from Everyman, page E22

ARCHETYPAL CHARACTER STUDY

Everystudent

Everyman is an archetypal character, an ordinary person who experiences the joys, tragedies, and drudgery that are common experiences for all of us. He or she is no hero, but surviving life with some dignity may be heroism enough. Because Everyman is someone with whom any reader can identify, he crops up in literature throughout the centuries. (See page E28 in Passport for a discussion of Everyman.) In this activity, you will work in a group to create an Everyman for your times. You will compose scenes for a play with this character as the protagonist to perform for your class.

Create a Character

Imagine Everyman is a student at your school. Let’s call him or her Everystudent. What would he or she be like? What problems would Everystudent encounter in a typical school day? How would he or she deal with these events? You will be composing scenes for the play Everystudent (or a title of your choice). Before you begin writing, think of appropriate experiences that your protagonist should have. What events of American high school life help to shape the adult of the future? What light do these events cast upon human behavior? How would Everystudent respond? Working in a small group, brainstorm a list of high or low points that Everystudent would typically experience at your (or any) high school. A dropped tray in the cafeteria? A pop quiz in calculus? The possibilities are endless.Describe the experiences in a chart. Then explain how you believe Everystudent might respond.

Experience Everystudent’s Response

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Develop and Write a Scene

Choose an event in the life of Everystudent that you wish to develop into a dramatic scene. Talk your selection over with your fellow group members and make a noteof ideas that might be useful to you. Then work on your own to sketch out the characters and action. Record your scenario and reflect on your choice below.

Setting: ��

Characters: ��

Summary of action: ��

Why I chose to develop this scene: ��

When you have thought through the outline of your sketch, begin writing dialogue for your scene. Include any stage directions the actors will need.Remember that Everystudent is at your school (or “everyschool”), so keep the speech natural and idiomatic. For more information on the elements of drama, see pages 253–255 in your textbook.

Rehearse and Perform

Print copies of your scene for the group and assign an actor for each role. As you rehearse, listen attentively and make changes where the dialogue seems unnatural or irrelevant. Encourage students without speaking roles to suggest improvements in substance or style. When your group has rehearsed all the scenes, arrange them in a logical sequence. You may wish to include a narrator to smooth the transitions between Everystudent’s experiences. Perform your scenes from Everystudent for the class. Afterwards, discuss with your audience Everystudent’s behavior and explain why you singled out these particular events.

Reflect

When you have completed your presentation, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Why might Everyman be such an enduring figure?

2. To what extent do you consider yourself an Everystudent? Explain your answer.


Federigo’s Falcon, from The Decameron, page 167

WORLD LITERATURE PROJECT

Familiar Motifs

Motifs are themes, images, or elements of plot that recur in one or more works of literature or art. For example, the trial or quest motif is central to many works in the oral tradition. Romantic fiction often features the love of two men for one woman, a motif so enduring that it is sometimes called the “eternal triangle.” “Federigo’s Falcon” includes several motifs that occur in various forms throughout world literature:• Unrequited Love. Monna Giovanna does not respond to Federigo’s continual

attentions.• Misspent Youth. Federigo wastes all his money in a vain attempt to attract

Monna Giovanna.• Tragic Irony. Federigo serves his falcon for Monna Giovanna to eat, not

knowing that she wants it alive to save her son’s life. She eats the bird unknowingly.

• Happily Ever After. The couple marry and are happy for the rest of their days. In this activity, you will find other examples of these motifs in world literature.

Identify Motifs

Search your memory of past reading or use the library or Internet to find other literary works that include the motifs listed above. Record their titles and a brief summary of the example motif you found there in the chart below. Work to make your list truly international, searching for literary works that were not originally written in English.

Motif Another Example from World Literature

Unrequited love

Misspent youth

Tragic irony

Happily ever after

Share and Discuss

Share your findings with a small group. Discuss how your examples compare and contrast. Present what you consider your best examples to your classmates. See Language Arts Handbook 7.3, Collaborative Learning and Communication, in your textbook, for additional guidelines for participating in group discussion.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Whoso list to hunt / With how sad steps, page 197

LITERARY FORM STUDY

The Sonnet

“Whoso list to hunt” and “With how sad steps” are both sonnets, poems of fourteen lines written in iambic pentameter. Sonnets appear in two principal forms determined by the patterns their rhyme schemes create. The English, or Shakespearean, sonnet consists of four parts: three groups of four lines (quatrains) followed by two concluding lines (a couplet). The rhyme scheme indicates thisgrouping: abab cdcd efef gg. The Italian, or Petrarchan, sonnet consists of two parts: a group of eight lines (an octave) and a concluding group of six lines (a sestet). Again, the rhyme scheme defines these groupings: an octave of abbaabba followed by a sestet of cdecde, cdcdcd, or cdedce. (For more on the sonnet, see pages 195–196 of your textbook.) In both English and Italian sonnets, the form often dictates the sense. In an English sonnet, the four quatrains generally develop an idea, and the couplet concludes the thought. In an Italian sonnet, the octave introduces an idea or ideas, and the sestet may reflect on or even reject the idea or ideas. Sonnets are almost always written in iambic pentameter, a rhythmic pattern consisting of five iambic feet, known as iambs. Each iamb consists of two syllables: an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, as in the word surprise. A perfect line of iambic pentameter verse will look like line 10 from “Whoso list to hunt”: ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / As well | as I, | may spend | his time | in vainHowever, perfect examples such as this are rare. Many poets include irregularities in their meter to stress important ideas or avoid a monotonous repetition in their rhythm. In this exercise, you will investigate the sonnet form and compose a sonnet of your own.

Analyze Meter

The first four lines of “Whoso list to hunt” are reproduced below. Read each line and indicate its rhyme scheme. Then record the number of syllables and mark where the stresses fall. Finally, underline Y or N to indicate whether you believe the line to be in perfect iambic pentameter. Line 1 has been done for you. Perfect Rhyme Syllables Iambic Pentameter / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ /Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind, Y NBut as for me, alas, I may no more. Y NThe vain travail hath wearied me so sore Y NI am of them that farthest cometh behind. Y N

a 11

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Study a Sonnet

Find a sonnet that interests you. Your choice may be from any author and any period of time. You will find sonnets in print anthologies and on Internet sites devoted to the form. Read your sonnet carefully, looking closely at how its form helps determine its pattern of thoughts. On the lines below, identify the sonnet and paraphrase the poet’s ideas. Then reflect on how the sonnet’s form and thought are interwoven.Sonnet studied: ��Form: ��Paraphrase of ideas: ��Explanation of how form and thought relate: ��

Write a Sonnet

Now write a sonnet of your own. See Language Arts Handbook 4.1, The Writing Process, in your textbook, for suggestions on how to gather ideas for your writing. Use either the English or the Italian form, shaping your ideas to the structure you have chosen. Compose the lines using iambic pentameter but feel free to vary the rhythm. Copy your final draft below.

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“Let me not to the marriage of true minds” (Sonnet 116), page 205

LITERARY CRITICISM ACTIVITY

An Author’s Life and Time

One way of learning more about a work of literature is to investigate how the author’s life and time may have influenced his or her creativity and perspectives. This approach, known as biographical-historical criticism, can lead to useful perceptions. Learning about a significant event or social condition in the author’s life can enrich a reader’s understanding of a literary work. For example, facing a terminal illness could profoundly influence an author’s works. Be careful in making too many assumptions, however. The creative imagination can often transcend an author’s experiences. Works of surprising optimism may emerge from the grimmest conditions, and vice versa. For more information on biographical- historical criticism, see pages 209–210 of your textbook. In this activity, you will investigate how biographical or historical events may have influenced a literary work.

Read and React

Turn to page E77 in Passport and cover the biographical note. Read “Easter Wings,” by George Herbert. On your own paper, write an explanation of its meaning and a description of its speaker, as you imagine him.

Investigate and Analyze

Uncover and read the biographical note on page E77. Then, using library or Internet sources, locate and read a more in-depth biographical essay on the poet and one or two encyclopedia entries about the time and place in which he lived. Then answer the following questions on your own paper:

1. What connections can you make between Herbert’s view of man’s “wealth and store” and choices the author made in his life? How do these connections affect your reading of the poem?

2. What is the subject of “Easter Wings”? What is the tone? What do the subject and tone of the poem suggest is Herbert’s chief concern in life? How does knowing about his life help you understand this concern?

3. Considering the class divisions in Elizabethan England, what implications did Herbert’s choice have? Is the theme of “Easter Wings” an appropriate statement for someone who made such a choice? Explain.

Compare and Contrast

Look at your written reaction to the poem before you did research. How has your understanding of the poem changed? What piece of information from your research gave you the most important or surprising insight into the poem?

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


The Passionate Shepherd to His Love / The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd, page 211


A Fictional Dialogue

Although written by different authors, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” are meant to be read together. In fact, they constitute a dialogue between two contrasting characters: the romantic, idealistic shepherd and the realistic, somewhat cynical nymph. Such pairings of literary works are unusual, but comparing characters that we encounter in fiction or poetry and imagining what they would have to say to each other can be fun and can help us better understand the characters and their traits. In this activity, you will imagine and perform a conversation between two contrasting characters from fiction.

Warm Up

Think of two characters, from two separate works of literature, who have very different personalities or exhibit different attitudes toward life. On a separate sheet of paper, record the names of the characters and the works of literature in which they appear, and write a brief description of each character. In the chart below, list three questions that you think would introduce alively debate between the two characters. Compose the characters’ replies, keeping each response in line with your brief description of the character. Do not list the characters’ names in the chart; instead, identify them as Character 1 and Character 2.

Question Character 1 Character 2

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Write and Perform a Script

Exchange charts with a partner. Read the questions and answers on your partner’s chart. Write a paragraph describing each character’s personality and attitudes toward life given what you know about them from the questions and answers. When you have both finished your reviews, compare your descriptions and discuss the challenges of representing a character’s personality and attitudes through dialogue. With your partner, choose one of your pairings and create a skit that reveals the personalities and attitudes of the two characters. Your skit may be completely fanciful and removed from the characters’ literary settings, but the way your characters respond to the situation and to each other should be true to their basic natures. When you have finished writing, decide which character each of you will play in a presentation of the script. Identify the characters and who will play them below:

Character 1: ��

Role-player: ��

Character 2: ��

Role-player: �� Rehearse your performance until you are comfortable with your character and confident in your delivery. See Language Arts Handbook 7.8, Telling a Story, in your textbook, for additional guidelines for writing and delivering an interesting and entertaining story. Perform your skit for the class without revealing your characters’ identities. If your skit involves a well-known literary character, ask your audience to guess who you were playing. If they have trouble guessing, ask someone to describe the personality and attitudes that were exhibited by the character, and then invite the audience to try again. If they still have trouble, try giving a hint about the literary work from which the character is drawn.


Eve’s Apology in Defense of Women, from Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum, page E79

LITERARY RESPONSE PROJECT

Responding as a Group

As students of literature, you are constantly being asked to respond to your reading. Generally you are asked to respond as an individual to specific questions or write critical essays. When the selection under consideration is challenging in language or content—like “Eve’s Apology in Defense of Women,” by Amelia Lanier—an individual response can be particularly limiting. One way to enhance your appreciation of literature is to pool your perceptions with a group of fellow readers. In this activity, you will work cooperatively with a group to study and explain a challenging piece of literature.

Select

Choose a short poem or passage of prose written during the period covered by Unit 3 of your textbook (the Renaissance, 1485–1625). There is a wealth of material to choose from. Consider selecting an essay by Francis Bacon; a lyric by John Donne; a sonnet by William Shakespeare; or another excerpt from Lanier’s Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum. Make three copies of your selection and bring them to class.

Respond

Form a group with two other students and give each student a copy of your selection. You will now have three unfamiliar pieces of literature in front of you. Agree on the same selection to read first. Read it silently twice. Then record your initial responses about the following items: your overall impression; a question that you would like answered; a passage that puzzled you (and what you think it means); and a passage that struck you (and why you chose it) Exchange observations about the selection with your partners. Help each other resolve your questions and appreciate aspects of the work that you may have overlooked. Repeat this procedure for the other two works.

Explicate

Still working with your partners, develop an oral explication (analysis) of the selection your group most successfully explored. Agree on aspects of the chosen work that you wish to cover, and divide the task of presenting these areas among the three of you. You might wish to imitate Anniina Jokinen’s step-by-step explication of John Donne’s “Death Be Not Proud,” on page 227 of your textbook. See Language Arts Handbook 7.6, Public Speaking, in your textbook, for additional guidelines about writing and delivering a speech. Distribute copies of the selection to your classmates and give them time to read it before presenting your explication. Encourage your listeners to ask questions after your presentation.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


The Tragedy of Macbeth, page 256

HISTORICAL CONTEXT PROJECT

Witchcraft in Renaissance Britain

King James VI of Scotland believed passionately in the existence of witchcraft and the persecution of its alleged practitioners. He even published a book on the subject, titled Daemonology, in 1597. Six years later he ascended the throne of a united England and Scotland as King James I, successor to Queen Elizabeth. It was likely King James whom Shakespeare had in mind when he made the Weïrd Sisters such a prominent presence in The Tragedy of Macbeth. The king would have been flattered to see his area of expertise featured by Britain’s greatest playwright, and Shakespeare’s acting company might have benefited from such royal approval. Approaching the subject from a modern, academic point of view, one must wonder: What was the reality of witchcraft in Renaissance England and Scotland? What led people to suspect and accuse their neighbors of practicing beliefs and actions that were punishable by death? In this project, you will research the history of witch trials in Renaissance Britain and write a fictitious first-person narrative set in sixteenth-century Scotland.

Get Started

Research historical attitudes, beliefs, and superstitions about witchcraft in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Britain. Search your library or reputable online sources, such as educational or government websites. Look for trends in the social, political, economic, and/or medical climates that typically surrounded accusations of witchcraft. Also note any gender, age, or economic similarities between the accused.

Create a Scenario

Use your research to create an account of a fictitious accusation of witchcraft, set in sixteenth- or seventeenth-century Britain, that you feel to be historically accurate. Record information about your scenario in the following chart.

Background

When and where is the action taking place?

Who is the narrator?

What has happened to arouse suspicion?

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Background

Who is making accusations?

Who is accused?

What do local people feel about the situation?

Reconstruct a Witchcraft Trial

Use your notes to create an account of a witch trial based on your fictitious scenario. Record notes for your outline in a chart like the one below.

Trial

Witnesses

Principal evidence

High point of proceedings

Verdict and consequences

Write

Write your account of the situation and the trial that you have outlined. Remember that you will be writing in the first person, telling the story of someone who witnessed a witch hunt and trial. While you won’t be able to re-create perfectly the language of the day, try to keep your narrator’s voice and attitude in keeping with the period. Make sure that the details of setting and incident are in accordance with your research.

Present

Read your narrative to the class. If you have included passages of direct speech, you might consider a dramatic reading of the action, with classmates playing the roles of characters in your account. See Language Arts Handbook 7.8, Telling a Story, on page H43 of your textbook, for guidelines for delivering a narrative in an entertaining way.

Reflect

When you have completed your presentation, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Why might belief in witchcraft have persisted well into the seventeenth century?

2. Can you think of situations today when the same spirit that inspired witch hunts might re-emerge?


from The Analects, page 352

WORLD LITERATURE STUDY

Studies in Leadership

In The Analects, Confucius wrote at length about the qualities of a great leader. Two thousand years later, during the Italian Renaissance, a European thinker wrote his own memorable ideas on leadership. Niccolò Machiavelli’s conclusions—expressed in The Prince—were very different from those of Confucius. In this lesson, you will examine and compare the political philosophies of Confucius and Machiavelli. You will work with a partner to stage a debate on the qualities of a great leader.

Study the Thinkers

Research the political beliefs of Confucius and Machiavelli as represented in The Analects and The Prince. The complete texts of both works are available online. You will also find analyses of these thinkers’ views on government in print or Internet sources. Copy the following chart on your own paper, adding rows as needed. In the chart, record what you consider the most noteworthy contrasts in their views.

Contrasting Views

Confucius Machiavelli

Stage a Panel Discussion

Get together with a partner and flip a coin to determine who will represent Confucius and who will represent Machiavelli. Then stage a discussion answering the question, What are the qualities of a great leader? Adopt the persona of the thinker you are portraying. Prepare note cards with the main arguments your thinker would make, and any supporting details. Try to anticipate any counterarguments your opponent may use. After your discussion, remain in character to take questions from your audience. See Language Arts Handbook 7.9, Participating in a Debate, in your textbook, for additional information about debate-style discussions.

Reflect

When you have completed your discussion, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper: How would you summarize the fundamental difference between the political philosophies of Confucius and Machiavelli? How would you assess the influence of these two political philosophers on modern world leaders?

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


from The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, page E86

LITERARY CONNECTION ACTIVITY

Genesis and the Faustian BargainAs noted on page E89, the Faustian bargain has long fascinated authors and musicians. The fate of Doctor Faustus—or Faust, as he is more commonly known—evokes both sympathy and horror. However, the theme of Faust’s downfall has its own origins deep in western cultural and religious history. In this activity, you will discuss the relationship of Faust to an account of the fall of humankind, as depicted in the King James Bible. You will work in a small group to compose a statement to share with the class.

Read and Consider

The sacred texts of the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) each tell the story of Adam and Eve, whom many followers of these faiths have traditionally considered to be the first people. The most prominent translation of one of these sacred texts is the King James Bible. Though this translation was completed about twenty years after Marlowe wrote The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, the language of the two texts will share a similar sound. Locate a copy of the King James Bible, either online or in print, and read the Book of Genesis, chapters 2 and 3.Then respond to the following questions on a separate sheet of paper:• Who are Adam and Eve, and what is their sin? What is Faust’s sin?• What are the parallels between Faust’s situation and that of Adam and Eve?• What are the differences in their situations?• Was Faust wrong to desire knowledge?• Why was the Tree of Knowledge forbidden?• Who acts as provider of knowledge in each selection? What is his or her

motivation behind providing access to knowledge?• To what extent is knowledge a dangerous thing?• How can one assess when knowledge is dangerous?

Discuss

Form small groups and discuss your thoughts about the questions listed above. Conclude your discussion by composing a statement about human knowledge with which you can all agree. Share your statement with the rest of the class.

ReflectIndicate whether you agree or disagree with the following statement. Rank the statement on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 representing “absolutely not” and 10 representing “very true.” The theme of Faust holds an important lesson for humanity today. Identify how

you ranked the statement and explain your reasons in at least one paragraph on a separate sheet of paper.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Monologues and Soliloquies from Shakespeare’s Plays, page E93


Monologues and SoliloquiesWilliam Shakespeare was a master of the monologue and soliloquy, but he was by no means the only writer of these dramatic speeches. Playwrights throughout the ages have found the extended speech an important means of character development, and actors revel in delivering a well-written passage of poetry or prose. In this activity, you will study a monologue or soliloquy written by a playwright other than Shakespeare and recite it for your class.

Select and Practice a Passage

With the help of your teacher or a librarian, select a well-known play from any age or country and by any author except Shakespeare. Read the play and find a monologue or soliloquy that strikes you as powerful or interesting. Make a copy of this passage, and practice reading it with expression. Identify your passage below.Play and author: ��Character speaking: ��Context of soliloquy or monologue chosen: ��

Recite

Without any introduction, recite your passage to your classmates. See the Language Arts Handbook 7.7, Oral Interpretation, on page H43 of your textbook, for additional tips on how to deliver a dramatic reading of a literary work. Invite your classmates to ask yes/no questions regarding the context of your passage. After taking ten questions, challenge your audience to guess the situation in which your soliloquy or monologue was delivered in the original play. Finally, identify the play and explain the exact circumstances in which your speech was delivered.

Reflect

When you have completed your presentation, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper: What was the significance of the passage you recited in the context of the play from which it came? How does your chosen monologue or soliloquy compare to those authored by Shakespeare? Of the Shakespearean monologues and soliloquies and those of your chosen play, which speech(es) did you find most emotionally resonant?

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


“How soon hath Time” (Sonnet VII), page 387

PRIMARY SOURCE STUDY

Literature as a Primary SourceIf you are studying history, you will get good information from primary sources. While a secondary source—like an encyclopedia article—will describe the period for you, a primary source provides an insider’s view of the era. The Declaration of Independence is a primary source, giving you a firsthand idea of what rebellious colonists thought about the British government. Poetry and fiction can serve as primary sources, but you must use discretion in determining their validity as such. When you use a work of literature as a primary source, you have to distinguish fictional elements from factual elements—andthat can be difficult to do. You will have to do research to gain knowledge of the fictional work’s context and the author’s background. You may find information in critical reviews and essays about the work. You may also find background information about the author or events that he or she witnessed or experienced. For example, “How soon hath Time,” by John Milton, could be a primary source for information about the poet. We might infer that at the age of twenty- three, Milton worried that he had accomplished very little and wrote this poem to express his concerns. It seems likely that the poet is the speaker of the poem, but to use the poem as a primary source, we would need to verify that fact. In this lesson, you will select a work of literature and suggest to what extent it could serve as a reliable primary source.

Select a Primary Source

Locate another poem by Milton, such as “Ad Patrem” or “Elegia Prima,” or Charles Dickens’s novel David Copperfield. Read or analyze the poem or several chapters from the novel. On your own paper, identify the work and author. List elementsof the selection that are likely to be primary source material about the author or conditions of the time period. Then identify aspects of the work that you consider questionable as primary source material.

Present

Present your ideas to your classmates in the form of an extemporaneous expository speech. See Language Arts Handbook 7.6, in your textbook, for guidelines on writing and delivering a speech. Identify and describe the work of literature you have studied. Explain how this work might serve as a primary source. What factual information could you confidently extract from it? Identify your reservations as well. Where might the author’s imagination hinder your pursuit of facts? To the best of your ability, answer questions your audience may have about your selection and its function as a primary source.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


from Oroonoko, page E116

CULTURAL CONNECTION STUDY

Kingdoms of West AfricaThe novel Oroonoko, by Aphra Behn, tells the tragic story of an African prince who has been enslaved on a plantation in Suriname, then an English colony in South America. Although the kingdom of the prince is not named in the story, it would likely have been located in West Africa. Most enslaved Africans in Suriname came from societies in that part of the continent. In this activity, you will research the history of a West African kingdom and deliver your findings in a multimedia presentation.

Get Started

Search your library or the Internet for brief histories of the following West African kingdoms: Ghana, Benin, Songhai, Mali, and Hausa. After completing this introductory search, choose the culture you find most interesting to explore in your multimedia presentation.

Research

Exploring every aspect of your selected society would result in an overwhelming, lengthy presentation. Instead of trying to include a little information on as many topics as possible, focus on communicating thorough, detailed information on just one topic. Research one of the topics below for the West African kingdom of your choice:• government and politics• notable leaders• economy• religious beliefs

• family structure• gender roles• location and lands• food and agriculture

• art, literature, and music• relationship(s)

to neighboring communities

Search history and reference selections in your library or reputable websites for your sources. As you explore your topic, look for visual, audio, and video images that will enhance the audience’s understanding. Copy or electronically save maps, drawings, photographs, or paintings that will bring the culture alive. If appropriate, gather recordings of your chosen kingdom’s music or spoken language, or video that offers a compelling view of your subject.

Write and Present

Present your findings using appropriate media. See Language Arts Handbook 7.10, in your textbook, for suggestions about effectively using media. Organize your research and visual/audio/video elements in a logical manner. On note cards, outline any text you will present and include cues for the accompanying media.Rather than writing complete sentences on your cards, use paraphrasing and key words to help yourself speak extemporaneously.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


from The Diary of Samuel Pepys, page 447 / from A Journal of the Plague Year, page 455

LITERARY FORM PROJECT

The DiaryThere is no one way of writing a diary, in part because diarists themselves are a diverse crowd. Presidents, painters, actors, musicians, scientists, prisoners—even authors—have all tried their hand at writing diaries. Their purposes differ; sodo their styles, experiences, and powers of observation. What diarists all have in common, however, is a desire to keep a record of their own lives on a daily, or at least regular, basis. In this activity, you will compare the works of two diarists and compose an entry imitating the style of one of them.

Choose Your Diarists

First select works by two diarists whose birth dates are at least fifty years apart and whose careers were different. (In other words, for example, do not choose diaries written by two politicians or by two people born in the first half of the twentieth century.) Asking your librarian for recommendations is a good way to start your search for diaries. Another is to hunt for diarists on the Internet and see what familiar or interesting names you discover. Many older works are freely available online. Read enough of each diary to become familiar with the writer’s style; expect to read around fifty pages of each work. Identify the diarists and the excerpts you read below. Then briefly summarize your impressions of the works.

1. Diarist: Brief background of author:

Excerpt read: Overall impression:

2. Diarist: Brief background of author:

Excerpt read: Overall impression:

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________



Identify your diarists in the chart below and answer the questions for each of them.

Question Diarist 1: Diarist 2:

What is the diarist’s purpose?

How can you distinguish fact from opinion in the excerpt you read?

How would you describe the diarist’s tone?

Copy a typical observation written by this diarist.

Imitate a Diarist

Choose one of the diarists you studied, and attempt to write a diary entry as though you were that person. Look at the world around you through the diarist’s eyes.Describe some event of personal or political interest, as if your diarist were doing the writing and you were simply the hand that held the pen—or typed on the keyboard. Try to emulate the diarist’s tone, style, and concerns. Write your entry on a separate sheet of paper. Read your simulated passage to the class along with an entry from the original diarist’s work. See Language Arts Handbook 7.1, in your textbook, for tips on how to deliver your passage with verbal and nonverbal expression.

Extend Your Understanding

After presenting your diary entry, answer the following questions:

1. How would you define the difference between an Internet blog and a diary?

2. Would either of the diarists you studied have been successful bloggers? Explain your answer.


from The Diary of Fanny Burney, page 464

INFORMATIONAL TEXT ACTIVITY

Answering Questions Asked by a Text

Like most diarists, Fanny Burney made no effort to annotate her private writings. After all, she was writing largely for her own amusement. It is no wonder that she casually refers to people, customs, and events without any explanation. Today’s high school students are far removed from the life of an eighteenth-century Englishwoman, however, and will need some assistance in understanding it. Fortunately, many informational articles and websites provide this background material. In this activity, you will research some of the references in Fanny Burney’s diary that might puzzle a modern reader. Then you will work in small groups to write a collection of informative articles on these topics.

Research

Form a group with two or three other students and distribute the following topics among yourselves. Search for articles from Internet sites, periodicals, and journals that help answer the questions posed. Be sure to look for reliable websites. Your librarian can refer you to indexes and databases for periodicals and journals. Take notes on your research, and document the sources of the information. Copy or print relevant images (such as paintings, drawings, or diagrams) to include with the articles you will produce.• Dr. Johnson. Who was this man who was the center of attention at gatherings?• Ladies’ Clothing. Dr. Johnson seemed obsessed with what women were wearing.

What did English women wear in the late eighteenth century?• Fanny Burney’s Book. What does Fanny mean when she refers to “my honoured

book”? What book would that have been and why was it so special?• Marriage. Fanny was twenty-six years old. Why were people so interested in finding

her a husband? What if a woman in her society didn’t marry? What if she did?• Sir Joshua Reynolds. Lady Montagu proposed that Fanny marry Sir Joshua

Reynolds. Fanny was amazed. Who was this man?• Reading Habits. Why was Fanny generally embarrassed to be seen with a book?

What was the status of reading in her day? What sort of books did women read?• Mrs. Thrale. How did Mrs. Thale become a hostess of great reputation?

Write Articles

Use your notes to write an expository article on each topic you researched. Each article should be at least one half-page in length. Using a computer program if possible, combine the articles written by your group and lay them out as they would appear in a scholarly magazine or journal. Include relevant visual images and write a caption for each. Also include a bibliography for each article. (See Language Arts Handbook 5.6, in your textbook, for information on how to correctly document your sources.) Hand in your notes and articles to the teacher.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Kubla Khan, page 515

HISTORICAL CONTEXT ACTIVITY

Reinventing the Past

Watching an old western movie, you might observe that the cowboys look just like Hollywood actors straight out of the 1950s or 1960s. Decades from now when we watch period films being made today, they’ll probably reflect the twenty-first century more clearly than the era they attempt to recreate. Reconstructing the past in a work of art is notoriously difficult. The present keeps getting in the way! This phenomenon was especially evident during the Romantic Age. Writers were fascinated by history but invariably put a Romantic spin on everything they wrote. Samuel Taylor Coleridge drowsed off over a history book one day and woke up with a complete poem in his head. He never completed that poem, but in the 54 lines he composed, Coleridge created a case study in Romanticism. “Kubla Khan” sheds little light on ancient China but a great deal on the English Romantic movement. In this activity, you will explore how Coleridge reinvented ancient China and made it a world of his own creation.

Get Started

Reread “Kubla Khan” on pages 515–516 of your textbook. Then explain how Coleridge includes the following elements of Romanticism in “Kubla Khan.” Include a quotation to illustrate your observation.A fascination with nature: ��

The triumph of emotion over reason: ��

The power of the creative imagination: ��

The individual as hero: ��

Write and Share an Essay

Write an essay in which you use Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan” to explain the principal elements of Romanticism. Use your notes from above as a starting point. Support and illustrate your ideas with evidence and quotations from the poem. Refer to Language Arts Handbook 4.1, The Writing Process, on page H21 of your textbook, for guidelines on prewriting, drafting, and revising your essay. When you have completed a final version, share your paper by reading it to a small group or your class. Then discuss your responses to the poem as a group.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


She Walks in Beauty, page 542

AUTHOR’S STYLE STUDY

Analyzing Byron’s Style“She Walks in Beauty” is a lyric poem that has never gone out-of-date. It has remained a standard selection in anthologies of great poetry since Byron’s day. What makes it a timeless work? Not the subject matter. Many poets have written about beautiful women with less success. Clearly, there is something in Byron’s writing that elevates his sentiments. In this lesson, you will analyze Byron’s poetic style and find another poet whose writing has similarities to that of Byron.

Get Started

Reread “She Walks in Beauty” on page 542 of your textbook. In the chart below, record details and examples about the poetic elements that characterize Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty.” To review the form of lyric poetry, see page 493 in

your textbook.

On the lines below, describe Byron’s use of rhyme and rhythm:

Use of rhyme: ��

Use of rhythm: ��

Compare and Present

Find a lyric poem by another author whose poem you feel shares some of Byron’s stylistic qualities. Make a copy of the poem and jot down your observations about its style compared with Byron’s style. Read your selection to the class and point out the ways in which the poets’ styles are similar. Refer to Language Arts Handbook 7.7 for suggestions on giving an oral interpretation of a literary work.

Element Examples

Figurative language

Imagery

Sound devices

Parallelism

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


The Lorelei, page 566

WORLD HISTORY ACTIVITY

History Tour of the RhineIt is along the Rhine River that the Lorelei of the legend “The Lorelei” supposedly lures sailors to their deaths. The river has long been important to the economies and societies of European nations. It flows over eight hundred miles from Switzerland to Holland, a course rich in associations with human history. In this activity, you will role-play a Rhine River tour guide describing historic sites on a cruise boat full of American tourists.

Get Started

Research the history of the Rhine River using online or print resources. In the chart below, identify points of historical interest along the river and briefly describe their importance.

Research and Present

Choose one of the points of interest you identified in the chart. Research it in depth and develop an informative oral presentation for the site as if you were the official guide aboard a Rhine River cruise. Assume that your listeners know nothing of the history of the site. See Language Arts Handbook 7.6, Public Speaking, in your textbook for guidelines on creating an effective oral presentation. Find engaging ways to present your information. For example, you might catch listeners’ interest with your enthusiastic delivery, dramatic pauses, and fascinating facts.

Point of Interest on the Rhine Description

A city

A castle

An area of importance in military history

A bridge

A geographical feature (e.g., mountains, fertile plains)

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


from Introduction to Frankenstein, page E188

LITERARY CONTEXT STUDY

Gothic FictionWhen Mary Shelley and her friends amused themselves by writing scary stories in the rainy summer of 1816, they weren’t breaking new ground. Gothic fiction had been frightening readers for decades in England. In this assignment, you will learn more about this enduring genre and try your hand at a traditional Gothic story yourself. You will then present your story to your classmates.

Get Started

Although Gothic novels generally take place in the Middle Ages, many of their components are familiar to the reader of old-fashioned ghost stories. The settings are often grand and mysterious:• crumbling castles • forbidding mansions • crypts or graveyards

The characters typically include a frightening array of humans and nonhumans:• tyrants • maniacs • distressed maidens• ghosts • mysterious, silent heroes • demons or monsters• wicked aristocrats • magicians • femmes fatales

The atmosphere is established by a mixture of disturbing elements:• darkness • decay • madness• imprisonment • cruelty • isolation• secrets • curses • terror

Get Acquainted with the Genre

Familiarize yourself with a Gothic novel that Mary Shelley might have read. Choose a work published before 1816 (the summer Frankenstein was written). You may choose one of the following Gothic classics, all of which are available online:• The Castle of Otranto, Horace Walpole, 1764• The Mysteries of Udolpho, Ann Radcliffe, 1794• Caleb Williams, William Godwin, 1794 (The author was Mary Shelley’s father.)• The Monk, Matthew Gregory Lewis, 1796 Start at Chapter 1 or plunge into the middle and read consecutively for one hour—more if you are hooked. Then identify the book you read, quote a typical passage, and describe its typically Gothic elements.

Book selected: ��

Passage: ��

��

Gothic elements: ��

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Prepare an Outline

Pretend that you were part of Mary Shelley’s party in the summer of 1816. Use the chart to outline a Gothic story you might have composed in response to Lord Byron’s challenge.

Write and Present a Story

Now write the story you outlined above. If you wish, you may work with a coauthor whose ideas and style of horror harmonize with yours. You might assign episodes or write alternately, handing sections to your partner as you finish them. Whether writing solo or as a team, do your best to imitate the style of the period. When you have finished writing your story, read it aloud to your classmates. For suggestions on reading a narrative aloud, see Language Arts Handbook 7.7, Oral Interpretation, on page H43 of your textbook.

Reflect

After your reading, evaluate your presentation by answering the following questions.

1. What elements of your story held your listeners’ interest? Explain why.

2. Would your story have frightened Mary Shelley or Lord Byron? Explain why.

Protagonist: typically a young, innocent victim

Setting: a place that is eerie, old, haunted, or decaying; a strange or foreign part of the world; a distant era

Danger: often involving persecution, haunting, a curse, a secret, or insanity

Mounting tension: how things get worse instead of better for the protagonist

Climax: the point at which the reader screams

Resolution: what happens to your protagonist—escape or tragedy


from Great Expectations, page 592

LITERARY FORM STUDY

Characters in a NovelA novel, such as Great Expectations, is a long work of fiction. A novel often has many characters and an involved plot. The chapter from Great Expectations in your textbook introduces two memorable characters: the proud Estella and the bitter Miss Havisham. Dickens brought these characters to life by using both direct and indirect characterization. Direct characterization describes characters’ physical features, dress, and personality. Indirect characterization reports what characters say, do, or think or what others say or think about them. In this activity, you will identify examples of characterization in Chapter 8 of Great Expectations in your textbook. Then you will select a character and traits at random and write a chapter entry introducing the characters for a novel.

Get Started

Read the chapter from Great Expectations in your textbook. Identify examples of characterization in the chapter. Write the examples on your paper. Then, working in a small group, brainstorm a list of traits that a character in a contemporary novel might have. Your list might include characteristics such asirritability, conceit, good nature, and formality. Write each characteristic on a card. Then list people who might appear in a contemporary novel. Some possibilities include a teacher, a friend’s sister, and a scientist. Also make a card for each person. Place the two sets of cards facedown on a table, and select one person card and three trait cards. The character and trait cards you draw will frame the character you will create. Your assignment is to write a short chapter entry for a novel in which the character is introduced.

Write, Publish, and Present a Scene

Think of a situation that would effectively introduce your fictional character. What details and techniques can you use to reveal his or her personality? Make notes about your ideas. Now write a draft of your chapter entry for a novel, making sure to include both direct and indirect characterization. You can use Dickens’s chapter as a model for introducing characters. Share your draft with your group members and ask for feedback. Implement suggestions that you feel improve the entry. See Language Arts Handbook 4.1, The Writing Process, in your textbook, for suggestions on prewriting, drafting, and revising a written work. When you have completed a final draft, read your chapter entry to your classmates. Invite them to identify the character traits illustrated in your scene.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


The Lagoon, page E212

THEME STUDY

Implied Themes

In most works of fiction, the themes, or central messages, are implied rather than stated directly. This means that the reader must infer perceptions about life from the unraveling of a plot, a character’s behavior, or even descriptions of the natural world. In Joseph Conrad’s “The Lagoon,” for example, the dense and mysterious forest surrounding Arsat’s frail house suggests the isolation of human existence. “We live in a mysterious, threatening world, where death is the only certainty,” the setting seems to say to us. Other themes in “The Lagoon” relate more closely to the story of Arsat’s flight into exile with his beloved Diamelen. Here Conrad implies a number of ideas that become clear upon careful observation and thought. In this activity, you will investigate implied themes in “The Lagoon” and outline a story of your own based on one of them.

Get Started

The following statements represent themes that can be inferred from “The Lagoon.” Working with a partner, find evidence from the story to support each theme. Remember that themes are always open to personal interpretation. Feel free to alter the wording of any of the statements below to make them conform to your own reading of the story. 1. We must live with the consequences of the decisions we make.

Evidence:

2. There is no escaping the conflict and suffering of the human condition.

Evidence:

3. Romantic love can blind one to reality.

Evidence:

4. In not doing our duty, we pay a terrible price.

Evidence:

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Choose a Theme and Outline a Story

Still working with your partner, choose one of the themes that you explored on the previous page or another theme that you have discerned in “The Lagoon.” Think about how it applies to your own experiences or observations about life. Let your imagination play with your theme to suggest an original story. Use the chart below to collect notes for this story implying the theme. Keep in mind that you will not be stating the theme directly, and that readers will need to be able to discover the theme from the elements that you develop in the story. Be careful not to name your theme in this chart.

Discuss and Write

Share your story plan with a partner. Ask for feedback about the plan. Does your partner have any suggestions for improving the plan? Use the feedback you receive to revise your plan, and then write your story. Ask your partner to assess the story. Does the story follow the story plan? Is your partner able to infer a theme? Is the theme he or she infers a theme that you intended for the story? Does your partner have suggestions for improving the story? Revise and proofread your story, and submit it with your chart to your teacher.

Extend Your Understanding

Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1. In your opinion, what was the principal theme of “The Lagoon”? Explain.

2. Works of art can mean different things to different people. Is there any single “correct” interpretation? Does it make a difference whether the work of art is a musical composition, a visual creation, or a piece of writing? Explain.

Setting

Characters

Developing Conflict

Climax

Resolution


The Lady of Shalott, page 637

ART CONNECTION PROJECT

Pre-Raphaelite PaintingThe painting of the Lady of Shalott reproduced on page 638 of your textbook belongs to a unique school of art that was in its time both forward- and backward- looking. In the mid-nineteenth century, a group of young artists and critics rocked the conservative English art establishment when they formed the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Led by painters Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Everett Millais, these rebellious artists insisted that painting had gone astray in the Renaissance. The purest art, they believed, was to be found in the days before the Italian master Raphael (1483–1520). Although the Brotherhood did not remain together for long, its influence in England continued throughout the century. Besides the three painters listed above, others influenced by the movement included Ford Madox Brown, Edward Burne-Jones, and John William Waterhouse. In this activity, you will investigate paintings belonging to the Pre-Raphaelite movement of the nineteenth century.

Get Started

The Pre-Raphaelite style of painting cannot easily be defined, but the artists associated with the movement focused on the following themes:• the spiritual power of nature• medieval history• biblical scenes• realistic detail• idealized physical beauty Read more on the topic of Pre-Raphaelite artists on pages 335 and 640 of your textbook.

Study a Painting

One famous Pre-Raphaelite work is Ophelia, painted by John Everett Millais in 1851–1852. Find a copy of this painting online or in a published collection of fine art prints. Study the work carefully and answer the following questions:

1. What do you find most striking about Ophelia?

2. How would you describe the mood of this painting, and how does Millais create this mood?

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


3. If you know the story this painting tells, briefly describe it. If not, guess what has happened.

4. What qualities might classify Ophelia as a Pre-Raphaelite work?

Survey Pre-Raphaelite Works

Find Pre-Raphaelite paintings in a book or online. Choose a painting that interests you by each of the artists listed in the chart below. Use the chart to record the title of each painting and a brief description of what struck you or interested you about the work. Along with the title, include information that will help you find the painting again later.

Write, Publish, and Present

Choose the work from your chart that you find most interesting and either photocopy it from a book or print it from an electronic file. Write a paragraph or two about the painting you chose. Describe the work and explain what causes you to admire it. See Language Arts Handbook 4.1, The Writing Process, in your textbook, for guidance in prewriting, drafting, and revising your writing. When you have finalized your description, print it out and attach it to the copy of the artwork. Include your contribution in a classroom collection of Pre- Raphaelite paintings. Be prepared to describe the qualities of your chosen painting and explain your choice.

Artist Painting Impression

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

William Holman Hunt

John Everett Millais

Ford Madox Brown

Edward Burne-Jones

John William Waterhouse


When I Was One-and-Twenty, page 650

MUSIC CONNECTION ACTIVITY

Music and PoetryEngland experienced a musical renaissance in the early twentieth century. After two hundred years of largely uninspired achievement, a new generation of English composers discovered a unique, fresh voice. The young English composers who began emerging in the late nineteenth century wrote in many styles, but they were particularly drawn to the “art song” for solo voice and piano. In many of these songs, they set to music the poems of great English poets of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They were especially drawn to the simple, moving lyrics ofA. E. Housman (author of “When I Was One-and-Twenty”), which seemed intended for musical settings. Among the composers of art songs, the following are still widely performed and recorded:• George Butterworth • Ralph Vaughn Williams • Ivor Gurney• Gerald Finzi • John Ireland • Benjamin Britten• Peter Warlock • Herbert Howells • Roger Quilter

In this activity, you will listen to art songs from the English musical renaissance and study how music can enhance poetry.

Get Started

Look up the lives and works of the composers above or others of your choice from the same period. Investigate their musical settings of poetry, and choose songs that are critically acclaimed or that sound interesting to you. Using CDs or downloads, listen to several of these art songs. Use the chart to identify five songs you liked and to record your initial reactions to them.

Composer Song and Poet Impression

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Analyze an Art Song

Of the songs you listed above, choose the one that you find most satisfying or interesting. Find the lyrics to this song in a book or online, and make a copy for yourself. Listen to the song you chose several times, both with your eyes shut and while following the words. See Language Arts Handbook 7.2, Listening Skills,in your textbook, for suggestions to sharpen your capacity for critical listening. Then reflect on your growing familiarity with the composition by answering the following questions:

1. How important are the words to your appreciation of this song? Explain.

2. How does the musical setting reflect or enhance the text?

3. How would you describe this song to someone who hasn’t heard it?

4. How has listening to the song several times affected your thoughts about it?

5. What do you like most about the song?

Share a Song

Distribute copies of the words of your song to your classmates and give them time to read the lyrics. Then play a recording of the song. Encourage initial responses from your listeners before playing the song a second time and explaining your own impressions. Point out aspects of the composition that you find striking or moving. You might want to play excerpts to illustrate your points. Compare the art song with other mediums of expression, and describe its strengths and weaknesses. See Language Arts Handbook 7.1, Verbal and Nonverbal Communication, and 7.6, Public Speaking, for help in communicating your ideas and feelings effectively.

Reflect

Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper: 1. How important to you are the lyrics to a song? Explain. 2. How would you compare the experience of listening to art songs with the

experience of listening to the popular vocal music of today?


The Rising of the Moon, page 677

PRIMARY SOURCE PROJECT

Theater ReviewsThe Rising of the Moon was first produced at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1907. In the Primary Source Connection on page 686 of your textbook, the author Lady Augusta Gregory coauthored with William Butler Yeats a solicitation letter to raise funds for the first Irish national theater. Now supported in part by the Irish government, the Abbey and its smaller cousin the Peacock are still going strong.Productions of plays at these two venues are regularly reviewed by the major Irish and English newspapers. These reviews constitute important primary sources for theater historians of the future. A play review is considered a primary source if the writer was an eyewitness to the performance and is critiquing the play as performed. The person watching the play (experiencing the performance) is the primary source of information. In this project, you will survey reviews of a recent production at the Abbey or Peacock theatres and present a summary of these critical opinions to your classmates.

Get Started

Reviews of dramatic productions of the Abbey Theatre and Peacock Theatre in Dublin remain available online for up to a year. Locate listed reviews for recent productions of these famous Irish theaters by entering key phrases Abbey Theatre or Peacock Theatre and dramatic reviews into a search engine. When you have located a list of reviews (sorted by title) for productions at the theaters, select one production and read at least three reviews of it. Fill out information in a chart like the one below.

Play Reviewed:Author:

Paper and Reviewer Summary of Reviewer’s Opinion

Present

Give a brief oral presentation summarizing your findings for the class. Refer to Language Arts Handbook 7.6, “Public Speaking,” in your textbook, for suggestions on delivering a presentation effectively. Begin with a synopsis of the plot of the play. (In most cases this information will be provided by the reviewer.) Then sum up the reviewers’ critical opinions, making sure to identify both the newspapers and the reviewers. Conclude with an evaluation of the production, based on the primary sources that you consulted. Would you have enjoyed this evening at the theater?

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


from A Room of One’s Own, page 723

LITERARY CRITICISM ACTIVITY

A Woman’s VoiceIt is only in the last century that women have achieved recognition as equal contributors to the field of literature. During previous centuries, social prejudice, lack of education, and the heavy burden of domestic work had limited literary opportunities for most women. Those female voices that were heard received little encouragement from the male-dominated literary establishment. In fact, a woman writer was often seen more as a novelty than a worthy contributor to literature. Yet remarkable women did make themselves heard. Several of them are represented in your textbook. In this lesson, you will review some of these selections by women writers and interpret the voices of their authors by analyzing how gender affected their writing. You will participate in a group discussion and write a constructed response on this topic.

Analyze a Woman’s Voice

Reread the selections from your textbook listed below. Then write brief observations or questions on how gender shapes the author’s viewpoint and tone and how a repressive society may have affected the character of the narrator or protagonist. For more information on these elements, see Understanding Literary Criticism: Feminist-Gender Criticism, on pages 726–727 of your textbook.

1. from The Book of Margery Kempe, page E19

Author’s viewpoint and tone:

Character and repression:

2. Eve’s Apology in Defense of Women, page E79



3. To All Writing Ladies, page E113 Author’s viewpoint and tone:


Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


4. from Oroonoko, page E116



5. from The Diary of Fanny Burney, page 464



6. from Introduction to Frankenstein, page E188



7. from Jane Eyre, page 603



8. Promises Like Pie-Crust, page E251



Compare, Discuss, and Reflect

Share your thoughts about these selections in a small group. Discuss with the class the variety of feminist voices that you detected and the changing status of women that you discovered in your examination of their writing. Refer to Language Arts Handbook 7.3, Collaborative Learning and Communication, in your textbook for guidelines on how to conduct a successful group discussion. After your discussion, answer the following question on a separate sheet of paper: Do you believe that there are distinctive female and male voices in literature? Explain your thoughts on the subject.


The Music of Poetry, page 736

LITERARY CONNECTION PROJECT

Sound, Sense, and NonsenseT. S. Eliot wrote some of the most challenging poetry of the twentieth century. As “The Music of Poetry” makes clear, however, he also had a sense of fun and took joy in the pure sound of words. In this assignment, you will analyze and interpret the meaning of some of the judgments Eliot makes in his essay. You will read two poems Eliot refers to in the essay and perform a dramatization one of these poems with a small group.

Edward Lear

In his essay, Eliot refers to the poem “The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo,” by Edward Lear. Find a copy of this poem in the library or online, and read it. (Note that Eliot spelled the title incorrectly in his essay.) Then read the following remarks that Eliot made about Edward Lear and respond to the related questions. 1. “His non-sense is not vacuity of sense: it is a parody of sense, and that is the

sense of it.” What does Eliot mean when he says that Lear’s nonsense is a parody of sense?

Support your answer with evidence from the poem.

2. “The Yongy-Bongy Bo” and “The Dong with a Luminous Nose” are poems of unrequited passion—‘blues’ in fact.”

In what sense is “The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo” a poem of unrequited passion? Would you agree that it resembles blues music?

3. “We enjoy the music, which is of a high order” What might Eliot be referring to as music “of a high order” in this poem? Give

examples.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


William Morris

In “The Music of Poetry,” Eliot also refers to William Morris’s poem “The Blue Closet.” This work is part of a collection entitled The Defense of Guenevere and is available in print or online. Read the poem and respond to the following remarks by Eliot.

4. “It is a delightful poem, though I cannot explain what it means…” What might have puzzled Eliot about this poem?

5. “It has an effect somewhat like that of a rune or charm.” What is there about “The Blue Closet” that resembles a rune or a charm?

6. “But its obvious intention (and I think the author succeeds) is to produce the effect of a dream. It is not necessary, in order to enjoy the poem, to know what the dream means.”

Do you agree with this statement? Explain your response with reference to the poem.

Perform

Both “The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo” and “The Blue Closet” include several distinct voices. Working with a small group, assign speaking parts for one of these poems. Rehearse your reading, giving due emphasis to the musicality ofthe rhythms and sound devices that dominate both works. Present your dramatized reading for your classmates. See Language Arts Handbook 7.7, Oral Interpretation, on page H43 of your textbook, for additional guidelines on reading a literary work aloud for a group. As an alternate assignment, work alone or with a partner to set one of these poems to original music. You may use a shorter excerpt of either poem, but strive to preserve the musical essence of the words that so struck Eliot. Perform your song for the class.


War Poet / Words, page 759


War Poetry

Sidney Keyes and Keith Douglas both fought and died in World War II. In their poems, they described the war as it was and not the way politicians or patriots wished them to see it. This tradition of realistic British war poetry had begun twenty-five years earlier in the trenches of France and Belgium during World WarOne of the best known of these earlier war poets was Wilfred Owen, an officer who died a week before the war ended in 1918. (For more on Owen, see page 689 of your textbook.) In this activity, you will compare one of Owen’s poems with the works of Keyes and Douglas in your textbook. You will participate in a group discussion about the similarities and differences among the three poems.

Get Started

Locate and make a copy of the poem “Anthem for Doomed Youth,” by Owens. Read the poem with a partner. Look up words and phrases that are unfamiliar to you, and discuss questions you have about the poem’s meaning.

Explore and ShareWork independently to answer the questions below on a separate sheet of paper.

1. In a sentence or two summarize Owen’s main idea in “Anthem for Doomed Youth.”

2. In “Words,” Douglas compares words to butterflies trapped in a net. Which words or phrases in Owen’s poem might have that special quality that Douglas is suggesting?

3. What attitude does the speaker in Keyes’s “War Poet” share with the speaker of Wilfred Owen’s “Anthem for Doomed Youth”?

4. What attitude about war do Keyes, Douglas, and Owen share? How do they make their opinions known?

Share your answers to the questions with classmates in a small group. Discuss the similarities and differences among the three poems.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Shooting an Elephant, page 785

HISTORICAL CONTEXT ACTIVITY

Britain’s Empire

In the 1920s, when George Orwell was serving as a police officer in Burma, Great Britain oversaw a sprawling collection of colonies, protectorates, and dominions. In this activity, you will place Orwell’s essay “Shooting an Elephant” in its larger historical context by creating and presenting posters.

Get Started

Working on your own, read two or three articles that provide historical overviews of the British Empire. Acquaint yourself generally with the empire’s growth, wars, administration, achievements, and decline.

Research the British Empire

Form six groups, and assign one of the following topics to each group. Each group will design and present a poster on its topic. As you research your group’s assigned topic, take notes and record references to useful visual material.• Reasons for the Empire’s Rise. Learn about the economic and political causes

for Britain’s territorial expansion.• Extent of the Empire in 1919. Acquaint yourself with the sprawling empire as it

existed at its most expansive moment in history.• Governance of the Empire. Which territories were under direct rule in 1919?

Which were largely self-governing? Learn how Britain administered this empire.• Strengths and Achievements of the Empire. Many Britons believed imperialism

to be a noble cause. Assess to what extent the empire worked to the benefit of the people it ruled.

• Injustices Arising Out of Imperial Rule. Study the human and cultural costs of Britain’s intervention in so many distant parts of the world.

• Decline and Fall of the Empire. Research the causes for the empire’s precipitous end. Learn what remains of its influence today.

Present and Reflect

Working with your group, create a poster that presents visual material on your topic. Include captions or brief passages of text to provide essential explanations. Also prepare a presentation on your topic, with each group member playing a role and the poster serving as a visual reference. Refer to Language Arts Handbook 7.10, Preparing a Multimedia Presentation, in your textbook, for guidelines on effective use of a visual for communication. When all the groups have completed their presentations, answer the following question on a separate sheet of paper: On balance, would you assess Britain’s influence on the world as benevolent or harmful?

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, page 797

LITERARY FORM STUDY

Reconstruct a Villanelle“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” by Dylan Thomas, is a famous example of a villanelle, which is a complex nineteen-line verse form. The rhyme scheme is aba aba aba aba aba abaa. The first line is repeated as lines 6, 12, and 18. The third line is repeated as lines 9, 15, and 19. The first and third lines appear as a rhymed couplet at the end of the poem. In this lesson, you will reconstruct a villanelle by another famous poet.

Reconstruct the Poem

The complete text of a villanelle by an American author is provided below. The lines are arranged in alphabetical order. Your job is to rearrange them, using logic and the villanelle’s formal rhyme scheme (described above), to reconstruct the original poem. The first and third lines (which are repeated throughout the poem) are as follows:

There is nothing more to say They are all gone away

Here are the remaining eleven lines:

And our poor fancy-play The winds blow bleak and shrill

Around the sunken sill There is ruin and decay

For them is wasted skill Through broken walls and gray

In the House on the Hill To speak them good or ill Nor is there one today Why is it then we stray The House is shut and still

Working with a partner, rearrange the lines into the correct order and write them on a separate sheet of paper, adding appropriate punctuation.


When you have finished putting the lines of the poem in their correct order, enter a line or phrase into an Internet search engine to find the original poem and its author on the Internet, or ask your teacher for a copy of the original poem. Identify the poem by title and author. Then on your own paper, tell how your version compares and contrasts with the poet’s original poem. In your comparison, explain any difficulties that you encountered in reconstructing the poem.

Title and author of original poem: ��

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


from Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, page 824

WORLD LITERATURE ACTIVITY

Political Oppression

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie, takes place during China’s oppressive Cultural Revolution in the 1900s. Sadly, such periods of oppression have occurred throughout history, and writers have been there to chronicle the events. In this activity, you will report on a novel or memoir set during a period of political oppression. You will also identify the political climate in which the plot takes place and the present-day situation of the country or region.

Get StartedRead a novel or memoir set in a time of political oppression. The following is a list of some well-known titles. Your teacher or librarian may be able to recommend other suitable books.• Ireland: The Informer, by Liam O’Flaherty• Russia/Soviet Union: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovic,

by Alexander Solzhenitsyn• South Africa: Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton• Germany: Night, by Elie Wiesel• The United States: Black Boy, by Richard Wright• Afghanistan: The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini• China: Empire of the Sun, by J. G. Ballard Record details about the book and its political background in a chart like the one below.

Book and author

Country

Time of setting

Political situation during this period

Resolution of situation

Research and Present

After reading your book, research information about the political climate in which the story takes place. Also find out about present-day conditions of the country or region, especially those related to the main theme in the story. Prepare and givean oral report on your book, with emphasis on political conditions influencing the characters and the plot. Begin by introducing the book and giving historical background about the setting. Briefly summarize the action and explain how the political environment affects it. Conclude by describing how the situation in thatcountry or region has changed (or not changed) since the era in which the book is set.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Dead Men’s Path, page E342

CULTURAL CONTEXT PROJECT

Indigenous Rights“Dead Men’s Path,” by Chinua Achebe, describes a conflict that takes place wherever indigenous people resist the forces of modernization. The term indigenous people has been defined in many ways, but it generally refers to a population that has lived in a region since the earliest times. The ways and beliefs of indigenous people tend to be deeply connected to the land and its resources.These spiritual and emotional associations are often lost on the invasive immigrant groups, who may be fleeing from danger or simply seeking to enrich themselves. In this assignment, you will investigate instances of cultural conflict in the world today and construct a fictional scenario based on one of those issues.

Get Started

With the Industrial Revolution and the colonial expansion of Europe, conflicts between western immigrants and indigenous people flared up all over the world. Discord has continued to the present day and often involves the following issues:• rights to land and natural resources• political autonomy• social discrimination• spiritual, linguistic, and cultural preservation• environmental degradation Using Internet or library sources, investigate four current disputes between indigenous people and those in favor of change or modernization.

Record Information

Record information for each conflict in the chart below.

Country or Region Parties Involved Issue

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


Create a Fictional Scenario

Choose one of the issues that you described in the chart on the previous page. Conduct further research on this topic to discover more about the physical and social environment, the beliefs of the indigenous people, and the arguments of those who advocate modernization. Look for quotations from the parties involved and for visual images of the locale and participants to familiarize yourself thoroughly with the conflict. When you feel you understand the situation, use your imagination to construct a fictional scenario that illustrates a conflict based on the issue. You may wish to imitate the style of “Dead Men’s Path.” Keep the following guidelines in mind:• Feel free to invent fictional people and places but base your story on facts.• Create believable characters who feel passionately about the issue involved.• Represent both sides of the dispute.• Develop a plot involving conflict, rising action, climax, and resolution. Write a

synopsis of your plot in the chart below.

Reflect

When you have completed your scenario, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1. How do you feel the dispute you outlined in fictional form will play out in reality?

2. How would you resolve the conflict between the rights of indigenous people and the march of social and industrial progress?

Setting

Characters

Conflict

Rising action

Climax

Resolution


Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________

UNIT 152 © EMC Publishing, LLCDifferentiated Instruction: Enrichment Projects & Activities

UNIT 1

Harnessing the Power of Anglo-Saxon Language

Build Background

The English language reflects a clash of cultures. You can see this especially in differences between Old English and Middle English. Old English was strongly affected by the Germanic Anglo-Saxons who invaded England in the fifth century. Middle English was heavily influenced by the French, who had in turn been influenced by the Latin and who dominated England after the Norman Invasion of 1066. Despite an explosion of newly coined words needed to describe new technology or trends in contemporary English (nuclear, computer, Internet, speed-date), the words we use most in the English lexicon have Anglo-Saxon origins or Latinate origins.

Get Started

One challenge for a good writer is finding just the right word to express a particular idea. Dictionaries and thesauruses often list dozens of options. How do writers choose the one perfect word? Looking at its etymology might help. Like an Anglo-Saxon warrior, Old English is often more direct and concrete, and packs more of a punch. Its words are usually one or two syllables and reflect the lives of everyday people. By contrast, the Latinate words of Middle English are often more abstract, precise, and sophisticated, and are frequently three syllables or more. They often reflect the world of education and aristocracy. Richer in subtlety and layered meaning, Latinate words are best used sparingly. The following chart gives you some examples of related words for comparison.

Word Origins Examples

Anglo-Saxon Words Latinate Words

think ruminate, cogitate, reflect

build construct

say opine, express, articulate

fight assail, attack, assault

love (noun) affection, devotion, passion, predilection

UNIT 1 53© EMC Publishing, LLC Differentiated Instruction: Enrichment Projects & Activities

Exercise 1: Analyze a Speech for Word Origins

Winston Churchill’s “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech, which he gave to rally his nation when England was close to losing World War II, offers a chance to compare and contrast the effect of Anglo-Saxon and Latinate words. Here is a brief excerpt:

[W]e shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…

—Winston Churchill

Using a print or online dictionary, look up each word in Churchill’s speech and note its etymology, or history. Underline the word if it comes from Old English (OE), Old German, or Old Norse (all Anglo-Saxon entries), or circle it if it originates with Middle English (ME), Latin (L), or Norman/Middle French (MF). If you are unsure of an abbreviation, consult the abbreviation key in the dictionary.

Which words are Latinates, and where does Churchill use them in his speech?

What effect does Churchill achieve by using Anglo-Saxon and Latinate words this way?

Exercise 2: Analyze Grendel for Word Origins

John Gardner’s story of Grendel, in Unit 1 of your textbook, retells the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf from the perspective of the monster Grendel. Although Gardner wrote his tale in the twentieth century, he used many literary techniques found in Anglo-Saxon poetry. To what extent did Gardner also use Anglo-Saxon words to tell Grendel’s story? Using just the first two paragraphs of Grendel, on page 46 of your textbook, analyze Gardner’s use of Anglo-Saxon and Latinate words. Use an online or print dictionary to check the etymology of words you are unsure of. Then fill out the chart below.

Word Origins in Grendel, Paragraphs 1 and 2

Anglo-Saxon Words Latinate Words

Describe how Gardner’s word choices affect the emotional quality of the selection. Do they seem appropriate for the voice of Grendel? Why, or why not?

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


UNIT 2

Author Focus: Geoffrey Chaucer

Build Background

In The Canterbury Tales, author Geoffrey Chaucer presents a variety of characters, introduced roughly in order of social rank, from various sectors of medieval life. Through detailed descriptions of the characters’ physical appearances, mannerisms, backgrounds, and beliefs, Chaucer brings the pilgrims to life for the reader. The realism in the portrayals of the characters should not be mistaken for objectivity. The narrator focuses on particular aspects of the characters as he reveals their foibles, weaknesses, and contradictions. A fundamental element of his characterizations is irony—both irony of situation (in which the author describes an event that violates the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience) and verbal irony (in which the writer or a character says one thing but means another). In The Canterbury Tales, reality is almost never as presented, and people’s words can often be interpreted beyond their literal meanings. Read a description of one of the characters from “The Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales, such as the description of the Knight that begins on page 99 of your textbook. Do you think the character has an extreme and unique personality, or do you see the character as a representation of normal, everyday people? Explain your answer on your own piece of paper.

Get Started

The Canterbury Tales has been described as a snapshot of the English medieval world. What can the reader learn about medieval English life and people by reading The Canterbury Tales? What beliefs and powers dominated that period? To answer these questions, study the characters Geoffrey Chaucer included in his work. In this lesson, you will analyze the main characters of The Canterbury Tales. Then you will think about modern social types that correspond to the pilgrims. You will cast these modern-day characters in a reality show inspired by Chaucer’s work. Finally, you will write a script for a television promo introducing the show, its purpose, and its characters.


Analyze Chaucer’s Characters

Read “The Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales, on pages 97–115 of your textbook. Then choose ten characters from The Canterbury Tales that you believe are representative of English medieval society. Include characters who display a variety of social origins, ages, religious beliefs, and personality traits. On a separate sheet of paper, create a Character Chart like the one below to describe and analyze the characters you have chosen. Include a column for each character—a total of ten character columns. Reread the portions of “The Prologue” that introduce the ten characters you have listed in the chart. As you read, record information about the characters in the appropriate columns. Leave the last row blank. You will later add corresponding modern characters for a reality show inspired by The Canterbury Tales. As you fill in the chart, make sure that you add the textbook page and line that supports your statements. This will help ensure that your interpretation of the characters is reasonable and justified.

Character Chart

The Knight

Social Status man-at-arms, crusader (page 99; lines 47–50)

Physical Appearance wears a coarse tunic covered in rust stains from the armor because he just came back from service (page 100, lines 75–80)

Qualities and Weaknesses brave, noble, gentle, generous, and tireless (page 98, lines 45–46) No weaknesses are presented.

Ironic Descriptions No ironic descriptions are presented.

Narrator’s Opinion very much admired by the narrator, who sees him as an ideal of Christian virtue and knightly courage (page 100, lines 70–74)

Modern Equivalent


Find Today’s Pilgrims

Imagine that you have the opportunity to create a reality show inspired by The Canterbury Tales. The purpose of your show is to provide a snapshot of modern times. On this show, ten contestants travel together and tell stories. To recreate the spirit of The Canterbury Tales, the contestants must be both modern versions of the original characters of Chaucer’s tale and representative of today’s society. To find the best possible contestants, review the Character Chart in the previous exercise. Then answer the following questions on your own piece of paper, providing evidence for each response:• Which character traits are mostly celebrated in The Canterbury Tales, and which

weaknesses are mostly condemned?• Given what you have learned from The Canterbury Tales, do you think religion

has the same role in society today as it had in Great Britain in the Middle Ages? Explain your answer.

• Consider the different social classes in medieval Britain during Chaucer’s time. How do you think today’s social structure compares with the one presented in The Canterbury Tales?

• If Geoffrey Chaucer were alive today, what do you think his opinion of modern society would be? What aspects would he like and what would he dislike?

Keeping in mind your answers to the questions above, find or create modern characters who correspond to the ten pilgrims you analyzed. You may imagine fictional characters who fit the descriptions of Chaucer’s characters, or choose modern personalities and celebrities who fit the profiles. For example, for the character of the Knight, you might describe a fictional veteran of the war in Afghanistan, or identify a real military person who served in the war. As you choose the characters for your reality show, add their names and descriptions of their social status, beliefs, and personalities to your Character Chart.


Write a Promo

Now that you have found the contestants for your reality show, write a two-minute promotional announcement to introduce the show to viewers. Use the graphic organizer below to help you plan and write a five-hundred-word promo.

Promo Draft

Write a catchy introduction: Think about a title for your show and write a short introduction explaining the show’s rules and purpose.

Explain the show in detail: Write a more detailed explanation of the show. Highlight the show’s similarities to its source of inspiration, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Make sure to explain similarities in the characters, and also in the structure. Don’t forget to devise a destination for the modern pilgrims.

Introduce the characters: Introduce the characters. Some characters will require a cursory introduction; others might require more explanation. Make sure to explain how each character corresponds to one of the original pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales.

Write a conclusion that will raise viewers’ interest: Add a few sentences in which you mention some exciting events that will happen on the show that viewers should not miss. Finally, restate the show’s purpose.

When your draft is ready, revise it for consistency and clarity. After you’ve completed your promo, read it aloud to the class, or record it with a musical score and present it to the class as a radio announcement.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


UNIT 3

Understanding Literary Criticism: Biographical-Historical Criticism

Build Background

The Renaissance was a time of great discoveries, scientific advancements, and radical changes in the perception of the role that art and artists played in society. The poets of the Renaissance were often larger-than-life figures. Some, such as Edmund Spenser, Sir Philip Sidney, and Sir Walter Raleigh, held positions of high responsibility in the political sphere. Others, like Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe, had strong personalities and led eventful and dangerous lives that fascinated their contemporaries. Examining the beliefs and values of the Renaissance period and the personal experiences of Renaissance poets can help us understand and appreciate the poetry produced during this period. When you study the biography of an author and the major events that shaped the period in which he or she lived, you apply a critical approach called biographical-historical criticism (see pages 209–210 in your textbook). The fundamental assumption of biographical-historical criticism is that a literary work is strongly tied to the writer’s life and the historical period and culture in which it was created. By analyzing the biographical and historical context of a literary work, you will gain insight into its themes and the author’s point of view. In your opinion, what are the strengths and limitations of biographical-historical criticism?

Get Started

In this lesson, you will apply the biographical-historical theory of literary criticism to a Renaissance poem in Unit 3 of your textbook. First, you will research biographical information about the poet’s life and historical information about the time in which the poet lived. Then you will connect your research to the poem. Finally, you will write a brief analysis of the poem.


Choose a Poem

Work with a group of three or four students to choose a Renaissance poet and poem to research. You will research the poem and poet on your own, but will work with your group members later to create a documentary. Choose from the following poets and poems. Each group should choose a different poem. • Sir Thomas Wyatt, “Whoso list to hunt” (page 198) • Sir Philip Sidney, “With how sad steps” (page 199) • Edmund Spencer, “One day I wrote her name upon the strand”

(pages E51–E52) • Christopher Marlowe, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” (page 212) • Sir Walter Raleigh, “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” (page 213) • Ben Jonson, “On My First Son” (page E59) • John Donne, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (pages 225–226)

Research the Poet’s Life

On your own, research the life of the person who wrote the Renaissance poem chosen by your group. You can use the introduction to the poet in your textbook as a starting point. Then use reliable online and print resources to find interesting information about the poet. Consult resources such as biographies in encyclopedias, textbooks, and reliable websites. On a separate sheet of paper, create a biographical time line that displays the major events of the poet’s life. As you research, you may find interesting facts about the poet’s beliefs, personality traits, or influences that do not logically fit on the time line. Record any interesting details that you find in a separate list below the time line. Below that document all the sources that provided biographical information. Consult Language Arts Handbook 5.6, at the back of your textbook, to find the proper format for reporting the information about your sources.

Research Historical Information

Also on your own, research the time in which the poet lived and the Renaissance period in general. Use the events in the poet’s life to find information about the major events that took place at the time he or she wrote the poem selected by your group. On a separate sheet of paper, create a historical time line that includes dates and descriptions of major events during this period. If you find interesting facts about the period, such as values and beliefs that characterized the Renaissance, record them in a separate list. Document all the sources that provided information for your historical time line and notes.

Connect the Research to the Poem

Now that you have learned about the biographical and historical context of your selected poem, read the poem to find evidence of what you learned in your research. As you read, fill in the left-hand column of the chart on the following page with biographical and historical information. In the right-hand column, add the evidence you found in the poem. Continue the chart on your own paper with additional rows of information.


Biographical-Historical Information Evidence in the Poem

Write a Biographical-Historical Analysis

Once you have completed your chart, think about how events from the poet’s own life and from the historical period influenced the poem. On the lines below, write a one- to two-paragraph biographical-historical analysis of the poem. You may need a separate sheet of paper to complete your writing.

Create a Documentary

For this assignment, you will work with the others in your group to create a three-page script for a documentary based on your selected poem. The script should present a biographical-historical analysis of the poem. Begin by comparing and discussing your research, charts, and written responses. Then work together to decide the kind of information you want to include in the documentary. Make sure to use only documented information. Finally, work together to write the script for the documentary. Make sure the documentary starts with a reading of the poem and refers back to it during the presentation. Your script should be three pages long and include • historical information • philosophical and religious beliefs of the time • the author’s biography • the results of your biographical-historical analysis • bibliographical information about your sources

Once you have finished your script, read it to the class or film it for a class screening. After your presentation, invite your classmates to ask questions and give feedback on your work.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


UNIT 4

Literary Forms: Drama

Build Background

When you analyze short stories and novels, you focus on elements like plot, characterization, and language. You will find the same elements in a drama—a narrative told through characters played by actors. However, you will also notice significant differences between dramas and works of fiction. The author of a novel, for instance, may present detailed descriptions of characters, while a playwright uses dialogue and behavior to reveal character traits. The audience of a drama, has to make inferences about characters’ motivations and personalities. For example, the dialogue in the excerpt from Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, on page E86–E90 in Passport, reveals that Faustus is humble and self-reflective. Marlowe does not state this directly, but the reader can infer it from the remorse and repentance Faustus shows about his fateful decision. Another major difference between a drama and a work of fiction is that a drama is meant to be performed. As you read a play, you must study the stage directions to find out how lighting and scenery will be used, how the actors will move and speak, and what kinds of stage properties (props) will be used. For example, in The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Marlow uses thunder and lightning and ticking watches to create a foreboding and ominous mood. Read and think about the excerpt from Marlowe’s The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus in Unit 4 of your textbook, and answer this question: How does Marlowe use the elements of drama to develop the character of Faustus? Explain your answer on your own piece of paper.

Get Started

In this lesson, you will analyze literary elements that develop Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth. Your analysis will focus on the scenes in which Lady Macbeth is present. You will analyze the character’s language and actions, and the stage directions that tell about her movements and appearance on stage. Studying these elements will help you understand how the character changes during the play. After completing your character study, you will be asked to visualize Lady Macbeth and describe how you would cast this character if you were directing the play. Finally, you will work in a small group to choose a scene that features Lady Macbeth, adapt the scene to present a powerful image of the character, and perform your script for the class.


Study Lady Macbeth

Skim The Tragedy of Macbeth, on pages 256–355 of your textbook, and find the scenes that feature the character of Lady Macbeth. Read those scenes, and fill in a Lady Macbeth Analysis Chart like the one on the next page. In the first column, record the acts and scenes in which Lady Macbeth appears. In the Actions column, summarize her actions in each scene. In the Personality column, use at least three adjectives to describe Lady Macbeth’s personality and state of mind as revealed in each scene. In the Symbolic Language column, briefly describe Lady Macbeth’s tone and use of symbolic and figurative language in each scene. In the last column, quote or summarize the stage directions in each scene.

Lady Macbeth Analysis Chart

Act, Scene Actions Personality Symbolic Language Stage Directions

Add Visual Elements to Your Analysis

Imagine you are directing a theatrical version of The Tragedy of Macbeth, and you are casting the actress who will play the role of Lady Macbeth. What do you think the actress should look like? Write your detailed requirements on your own piece of paper, supporting them with evidence from the text. Choose one scene from your chart. Reread the scene and visualize it as you read. Then fill in the chart below with your instructions on how the scene should be performed. Add information about costumes, the actor’s movements, lighting, props, music, and sound effects. In the last row, add other information about your version of the play. You might answer these questions: • What motifs do you wish to focus on in your performance? (A motif is a

recurring element or pattern. Shakespeare, for example, uses the motif of lightness and darkness to contrast innocence and depravity.)

• What mood do you want to convey in this scene?

Act , Scene .

Summary:

Costumes:

Actor’s Movements:

_______________________________________________________________________________

Lighting:

_______________________________________________________________________________


Props:

_______________________________________________________________________________

Music:

_______________________________________________________________________________

Sound Effects:

_______________________________________________________________________________

Other Information:

_______________________________________________________________________________

Adapt and Stage a Scene

In this exercise, you will work in a group of four to adapt and stage a scene from The Tragedy of Macbeth. You might choose to set the scene in a different time period, add, delete, or change characters, themes, and motifs, or turn the scene into a musical, an opera, or a puppet show. Your adaptation will focus on the character of Lady Macbeth. Ensure that your audience clearly sees your understanding of her role in the scene. Prepare your adaptation by following these steps: • Decide together which scene from the tragedy you will focus on. Choose one of

the scenes from your Lady Macbeth Analysis Chart. • As a group, identify the characteristics of Lady Macbeth that will be the focus

of your script. Define her appearance, mannerisms, attitude, and relationships with others in the scene. Brainstorm ways to develop the characteristics that you want your audience to understand.

• Work together to analyze the mood and motifs in the scene. Discuss elements that impressed you and provide an interpretation of those elements.

• Discuss the setting in which the scene will take place. For example, will the scene be set during contemporary times? Will the scene be written using up-to-date language and slang?

• Rewrite the scene together. Remember to format your script as a real play. Consult the script in your textbook to see the proper formatting for a script.

• After writing your scene, discuss how you will stage it. Talk about costumes, movements on stage, delivery of lines, props, music, and sound effects.

• Rehearse the scene together. Discuss its outcome and make adjustments to the script or stage directions if necessary.

Finally, perform the scene in front of the class, or film your group’s performance of the scene, and use movie-editing software to edit the scene and add sound and visual effects before showing it to the class. After the performance, invite the audience to give feedback or ask questions about the scene.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


UNIT 5

Understanding Literary Criticism: Political Criticism

Build Background

Critics use many different approaches to understand and analyze literature. A good reader is capable of identifying the right tools to apply to a particular text. In this lesson, you will learn to apply the tool of political criticism by identifying the subtext in a literary work that intends to further a political agenda. Political criticism is a theory of literary criticism that suggests a work cannot be viewed clearly unless it is placed in cultural context. Political critics analyze the relationship of the text to social and economic class. Political criticism is especially useful when analyzing literary works that try to bring political and social change. Examples include Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal (excerpted on pages 414–420 in your textbook) or Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock (excerpted on pages 432–443), whose ultimate goal was criticizing the selfishness of the English aristocratic classes. However, political criticism can also be used to analyze the motivations of less-overtly political literature. John Milton’s Paradise Lost (excerpted on pages 390–398) is not a political piece, but it has been analyzed in light of the author’s republican ideas and the events of the English Civil War. Think about a book you have read or a movie you have seen that has an overtly political tone. You might be familiar with a biography of a political leader, or a fictional story that discusses poverty, social struggle, or corruption. What situation does the book or movie describe? What do you think is the writer’s or filmmaker’s point of view? Use your own paper to record your responses. Include the title of the work and the name of the author or director if possible.

Get Started

In this lesson, you will apply political criticism to analyze an excerpt from Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko. To begin your analysis, you will research the slave-trade practice in eighteenth-century England. You will also research the political ideas and viewpoints of Aphra Behn. Then you will analyze the excerpt from Oroonoko. Finally, you will write an op-ed feature charging that the text is a political tool.

Identify Political Context

To analyze a text through a political lens, you must first understand the social and economic class of the time in which the literary work was created. You must know the author’s own political beliefs and the political causes that the author supported.


Create a three-column Political Context Chart on your own sheet of paper. The columns should be labeled as Political Categories, Facts, and Sources. Your chart should include rows for Social Class, Economic Class, Race Relations, and Aphra Behn’s Political Ideas and Viewpoints. Use print and online resources such as encyclopedias, textbooks, history books, and reliable websites to find facts for each of the categories in column 1 of the Political Context Chart. List the facts in column 2, and record the sources you used in column 3. Consult Language Arts Handbook 5.6, at the back of your textbook, to find the proper format for reporting the information about your sources.

Analyze the Text

Read “Understanding Literary Criticism: Political Criticism,” on pages 423–424 of your textbook, to review the application of political criticism to a literary text. Then, read the excerpt from Oroonoko, on pages E116–E120, and fill in the Literary Analysis Chart below with your analysis of the selection. The first column includes a list of guiding questions for your analysis. In the second column, add your analysis. In the third column, reference the selection by summarizing the events or quoting the text. An example is given for you.

Analysis Evidence in the Text

Setting and MoodWhat is the setting of the story? What issue is presented? What is the mood of the story?

The story is about the slave trade in eighteenth-century England.The narrator describes how slaves are captured, separated from their families and friends, and sold.

page E117: The captain captures the guests and locks them in the ship.page E120: The captain “ordered his men to bring up those noble slaves in fetters. . .”The slaves are separated from their families and friends to prevent rebellions.

Author’s Viewpoint and ToneWhat do you think is the author’s point of view? What is the tone?

Text and SubtextWhat is the underlying message of the story?

Language SubversionHow is irony used in the selection? Is the author always ironic or are there parts in which she is sincere?

Write an Op-Ed Feature

Review your charts thoughtfully. With a partner, discuss how your analysis of the text relates to the research you completed. Then, explain how the text functions as a political tool. After you have finished discussing with your partner, work alone to write an op-ed feature telling today’s citizens that the excerpt from Oroonoko contains political subtext. Use your editorial to answer the following question: How does the selection’s historical context determine how Aphra Behn depicts the experiences of the characters in Oroonoko? Make sure that you combine textual evidence with your research. At the end of your editorial, add bibliographical information that highlights the resources you used.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


UNIT 6

Understanding Literary Criticism: Reader-Response Criticism

Build Background

In the 1970s, a school of literary critics brought forth the idea that a literary work does not exist in isolation. Instead, these critics argued, the reader’s personal interpretation brings the literary work to life. This critical approach is called reader-response criticism. Reader-response criticism is a theory of literary criticism that suggests the reader creates the meaning of a text by reading and responding to it. As the reader delves into a literary work, he or she is engaged in a creative process that takes in the text and extends its significance into countless directions. The premise of reader-response criticism is that there is not a single, correct interpretation of a literary work. This theory of criticism suggests that there can be sever al different interpretations, depending on the readers’ various reactions. A reader’s age, ethnicity, gender, or social status may color his or her interpretation of a literary work. See pages 564–565 of your textbook for a more detailed discuss of reader-response criticism. The genre of poetry lends itself perfectly to reader-response criticism. The imagery and figurative language used in poetry can raise different associations and interpretations in the audience. Read and think about the poem “To a Mouse,” by Robert Burns, on pages 494–496 of your textbook. The poem is essentially the sympathetic speaker’s apology to a mouse whose home he has inadvertently destroyed with his plow. Readers can interpret the poem’s last stanza in many different ways. For example, one reader may agree with the speaker’s idea that the mouse’s ignorance of the past and future is a blessing because of the worry it saves the mouse, while another reader might believe that the mouse’s ignorance is a curse because it keeps the mouse from experiencing the pleasure and pain that is uniquely human. Both interpretations are appropriate. As long as you have evidence to support your interpretations, your response to a literary work is valid. Think about the speaker’s reaction to the plight of the mouse in “To a Mouse.” Do you think the speaker’s reaction is warranted, or is it too dramatic? Write and explain your response on your own piece of paper.

Get Started

In this assignment, you will use the principles of reader-response criticism to analyze a poem. To activate your response without interference from prior knowledge, you will not be given the name of the author or the time in which the poem was written. This means you will have to come up with your own interpretation of the poem. Remember, though, this does not mean that any interpretation is valid. You will have to support your ideas with evidence from the text.


Read a Poem

Read the poem below once to familiarize yourself with the vocabulary. Then read it a few more times. If possible, read the poem aloud and pause after each line to make sure that the content makes sense. By reading the poem aloud, you will become more aware of its rhythm and sound patterns. As you read, look up difficult words in the dictionary and take note of imagery that you think is key to interpreting the poem.

The Human Abstract

Pity would be no moreIf we did not make somebody poor,And Mercy no more could beIf all were as happy as we.

5 And mutual fear brings Peace,Till the selfish loves increase;Then Cruelty knits a snare,And spreads his baits with care.

He sits down with his holy fears,10 And waters the ground with tears;

Then Humility takes its rootUnderneath his foot.

Soon spreads the dismal shadeOf Mystery over his head,

15 And the caterpillar and flyFeed on the Mystery.

And it bears the fruit of Deceit,Ruddy and sweet to eat,And the raven his nest has made

20 In its thickest shade.

The gods of the earth and seaSought through nature to find this tree,But their search was all in vain:There grows one in the human Brain.

Activate Your Response to the Poem

On a sheet of paper, write five to ten questions that you would like to ask the poet about “The Human Abstract.” Your questions can be about peculiar words, unusual imagery, tone, or a line’s meaning. Asking questions will help you relate to the poem and identify ideas and lines that you might want to analyze further.


Create Word Webs to Analyze Imagery and Symbolic Language

On a sheet of paper, jot down instances of imagery and symbolic language that captured your attention as you read the poem. After you have listed all the elements that interest you, choose the element that most intrigues you. Write that element in the center oval of a Word Web. In the connecting ovals, record images and feelings that you associate with that element. For example, if you were intrigued by the description of Cruelty in lines 7–8, you might add words like frightening, disturbing, horrific, sneaky, upsetting, and powerful in the outer ovals of the web.

Discuss Elements of the Poem

Work with a classmate for the last part of the activity. Exchange your Word Webs and the questions you wrote during the first exercise, and discuss possible interpretations of the poem. Discuss and then answer the questions below on your own piece of paper. Be sure to provide evidence from the poem to support your answers.

What is the tone of the poem? How do you know?

In the first stanza, the speaker suggests that the virtues of pity and misery presuppose a world of suffering. Do you agree with the speaker’s implications in this stanza? Why or why not?

How does the speaker depict Cruelty? How does this description make you feel?

What conclusion does the speaker draw in the final stanza? What message is the speaker giving in the final stanza?

What feelings are expressed in the poem? Do the remind you of any experience you have had in your life?

Write a Reader-Response Criticism Essay

Imagine that a literary magazine has asked you to write an essay analyzing “The Human Abstract.” In this assignment, you will apply the information you have gathered in the previous exercises to write a reader-response essay. In “The Human Abstract,” the speaker seems to be giving the reader a glimpse into the workings of the human mind. Write an essay that answers the following question: Do you agree with the speaker’s assessment of the human mind? Why or why not? In your essay, be sure to include evidence from the poem to support your stance. Refer to the Writing Workshop on pages 660–661 of your textbook for help writing an argumentative essay.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


UNIT 7

Author Study: Thomas Hardy

Build Background

In the Victorian era, two literary movements—Realism and Naturalism—focused on describing real characters in real-life situations. Realism, a literary movement that developed during the eighteenth century, is the philosophy that works of art should accurately portray reality. Realist writers often called attention to the hypocrisy of middle-class values and the injustices suffered by the lower class. Naturalism, a literary movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is similar to Realism in that it seeks to describe authentic characters in authentic situations. However, Naturalists believe that actions and events result inevitably from biological or natural forces. These forces are deemed beyond the comprehension or control of the characters. The works of Thomas Hardy often focus on the interaction between characters and their environment. The characters tend to be victims of fate. An example is Michael Henchard, the protagonist of Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge. Henchard is a poor hay-trusser who sells his wife and daughter. Henchard manages to become a rich and powerful man. However, fate eventually brings Henchard full circle. He dies alone, full of guilt To show the relationship between characters and their environment, Hardy created settings that mirrored the characters’ personalities and state of mind and even foreshadowed the characters’ destiny. Analyzing Hardy’s descriptions of setting in relation to the characters’ actions, feelings, and motivations is a great way to gain insight into the author’s philosophical beliefs. Read Hardy’s poem “Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?” on page 633 of your text. Describe the poem’s Naturalistic elements on your own piece of paper.

Get Started

In this assignment, you will analyze the relationship between character and setting in an excerpt from Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge. Then you will write a brief analysis of the selection. Finally, you will apply what you learned in an in-depth analysis of one of Hardy’s short stories.

Analyze the Selection

Read the excerpt from The Mayor of Casterbridge on pages 621–627 of your textbook, focusing on the descriptions of characters and settings. As you read, fill in a Setting and Character Analysis Chart like the one below. In the first column, record the different settings in the selection. In the second column, briefly summarize the major events that take place in each setting and name the characters who are involved. In the third column, note the author’s use of descriptive details. In the fourth column, explain how the setting reflects the characters’ feelings, motivations, or personality traits.


Setting and Character Analysis Chart

SettingMajor Events and

Characters Descriptive DetailsRelationship Between Setting and Character

Page 622: The road to Weydon-Priors

Susan Henchard and her daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, walk to the village.

Setting: The road is dusty and the trees are “dingy green.” Voices are heard from the village. Nothing has changed from the past.

Characters: Susan has aged (“life’s middle summer had set its hardening mark on the mother’s face”) and is dressed in mourning clothes. Elizabeth-Jane is also dressed in black and looks like her mother, only young and beautiful.

The dusty, colorless road corresponds to the tired and mournful look of Susan. The setting and characters are both somber and gloomy.

Write a Response

Once you have finished your chart, write three paragraphs explaining your conclusions about the relationship between setting and character in Hardy’s poem. In the first paragraph, summarize the overall relationship between setting and characters. In the second paragraph, describe the poem’s mood. Use at least two examples from the text to support your ideas. In the third paragraph, explain what Hardy’s depiction of the setting and characters reveals about his beliefs.

Read and Analyze a Short Story by Thomas Hardy

Read a short story by Thomas Hardy and analyze the interaction between the characters and their environment. Choose one short story from any of the following collections by Hardy:

• Wessex Tales (1888) • Life’s Little Ironies (1894) • A Group of Noble Dames (1891) • A Changed Man (1913)

Tip: You can find and download the full text of each of these short story collections from the Project Gutenberg website at http://lit.emcp.net/projectgutenberg. After the site loads, enter the search phrase “Thomas Hardy” in the author field.

Read the story and fill out a Setting and Character Analysis Chart for it. Be sure to focus on settings of main events. Analyze the relationship of the characters with the physical place in which they live and move, and also with the characters’ origins, personality traits, and social and economic situations. Record your thoughts about each character on a separate sheet of paper. Use your notes to write an essay analyzing the short story’s setting and characters. Include a clear thesis statement that explains how the environment shapes the characters’ feelings, motivations, and destiny. Your essay should have specific evidence from the short story to demonstrate the relationship between the characters and the environment. End the essay with your conclusions about the author’s Naturalistic ideas.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


UNIT 8

Understanding Literary Criticism: Feminist-Gender Criticism

Build Background

In the excerpt from A Room of One’s Own on pages 723–727 of your textbook, Virginia Woolf discusses the need for women to express themselves creatively and independently. A Room of One’s Own was published in 1929, some ten years after British women were granted the right to vote. The beginning of the twentieth century was a pivotal time in the history of women and feminism. As gender equality was pursued in the political and social spheres, women thinkers such as Woolf reflected on the role of women in society and in the family, and explored women’s psychology and their struggle in a male-dominated world. In time, gender awareness prompted literary critics to study literature with a perspective called feminist-gender criticism. Feminist-gender criticism is a theory of literary criticism that examines a literary text as both the product and mirror of gender politics. Critics using this approach challenge stereotypical representations of women, and they analyze how women writers perceive and describe their own gender. Feminist-gender criticism also studies the challenges and viewpoints of women writers. For example, at the beginning of the twentieth century, literature and the arts generally expressed the creative ideas of men. To apply feminist-gender criticism to women writers of the early twentieth century means to investigate the internal and external obstacles these writers faced to find their own voice. Think about a book you read or a movie you have seen that has a strong female protagonist. Do you think that character is representative of women today? What do you think that character says about the role of women in society?

Get Started

In this assignment, you will apply feminist-gender criticism to Elizabeth Bowen’s “The Demon Lover.” Your goal is to analyze the character of Mrs. Drover, the author’s use of rhetorical devices, and the author’s viewpoint. Start by reading “Understanding Literary Criticism: Feminist-Gender Criticism,” on pages 726–727 of your textbook. In this workshop you will find an analysis of the excerpt from A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf. Pay attention to the kinds of questions that are asked in the Analyze sections of the workshop. You will need to ask yourself these same questions when you analyze “The Demon Lover” from a feminist-gender point of view.


Analyze Character in “The Demon Lover”

Read “The Demon Lover,” on pages 762–766 of your textbook. As you read, use the Character Analysis Chart below to record details about Mrs. Drover’s story, her personality, and her state of mind. Also include important character details revealed in the flashbacks. Examples for each of these four categories are provided in the chart. As you read, you will likely come across other details that you think are relevant for a feminist-gender analysis of the selection. Record those details in the blank row at the end of the chart. If you need more room, expand the chart on your own paper.

Character Analysis Chart

Mrs. Drover

Story Mrs. Drover is 44 years old. She became engaged to a man who went to war. After the man is presumed dead, she loses hope of getting married. At the age of 32, she marries Mr. Drover and later has three little boys.

Personality Mrs. Drover is a “prosaic woman,” calm and controlled.

State of Mind She is reluctant to open the letter, because she feels “intruded upon” and judged.

Details in Flashback

She feels the engagement promise was “unnatural.” After the promise, she feels “apart, lost, and foresworn.”


Connect the Character to a Feminist-Gender Perspective

The graphic organizer you completed in the previous exercise reveals important aspects of Mrs. Drover’s personality. For example, you have likely noticed that Mrs. Drover is a tense, melancholic woman who never makes important decisions by herself. Review your completed chart and relate the character of Mrs. Drover to a feminist-gender perspective. Answer the following questions, supporting each response with evidence from the text:Is Mrs. Drover a realistic portrait of a woman or is she a stereotype?

What image of a woman does the character of Mrs. Drover convey?

How would you describe the tone and mood of the selection?

What do you think is the author’s viewpoint on the condition of women?

Compare Responses and Write an Analysis

Work with another classmate to compare your charts and your responses to the questions, discussing discrepancies and similarities. Then, on your own, write an analysis of “The Demon Lover” from a feminist-gender perspective. For example, you might explore the statement that Bowen seems to make about women in her story. Write your analysis on a separate sheet of paper.

Decide the Program for a Summer Camp for Girls

One of the first complaints of feminist thinkers was the lack of proper education for women. In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (excerpted on pages E156–E157 in Passport), Mary Wollstonecraft laments that women were required to learn only frivolous tasks, which did not equip them to become valuable members of society. In this assignment, work in mixed-gender groups of four to five students to decide the program for a summer camp for girls of the early twentieth century. The summer camp should focus on empowering young women and teach them about gender equality. First, brainstorm what you know about the condition of women in the early twentieth century. Then do some research to verify what you know and find additional information. Next, discuss the camp’s mission statement and four to five classes and activities that girls should take at the summer camp. Think about activities in which women were traditionally less present or less powerful than men. Record your mission statement and class ideas on a separate sheet of paper. Finally, create an electronic version of a camp brochure that includes the name of the summer camp, its mission statement, and a brief description of the classes offered. As a group, present your camp brochure to the rest of the class. Invite classmates to ask questions about your camp after the presentation.

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________


UNIT 9Understanding Literary Criticism:

Sociological Criticism

Build Background

Sociology is the scientific study of human society, including its origins, development, organization, and behavioral patterns. The term society can refer either to the individual members of a community or to the collective group of individuals. Because people continue to evolve and grow, society is in a constant state of change. The same can be said of the literature in which a society is reflected. Theorists who believe this to be true often examine the sociological context of a literary work. Sociological criticism is a theory of literary criticism that suggests a literary text cannot be separated from the values and rules that govern the society at large. However, just as the social structure keeps changing and evolving, so do the expectations and attitudes of the authors and readers. Sociological critics analyze the way in which literature describes and challenges a social issue. They also investigate how a literary work influences the readers’ values and beliefs. When applying sociological criticism, you should ask yourself the following questions: What does the work say about society? What is the author’s point of view? Who is the intended audience? Sociological criticism can be applied to any literary work. However, this critical approach can be especially useful when analyzing literature that openly challenges the traditional values of society. For example, English novelist and journalist George Orwell often wrote to sensitize his readers against the dangers of totalitarian regimes such as fascism and communism. In “Shooting an Elephant,” on pages 785–791 of your textbook, he also criticizes the practice of Imperialism. Read and think about “The Moment,” a poem by Margaret Atwood, on page E330 in Passport. What message does the poem send? What do you think is the author’s agenda for writing this poem? Write your answers on the lines below.

Get Started

In this assignment, you will apply sociological criticism to Doris Lessing’s short story “No Witchcraft for Sale,” on pages 865–870 of your textbook. Begin by reading “Understanding Literary Criticism: Sociological Criticism,” on pages 862–863. In this workshop you will find an analysis of “The Train from Rhodesia,” by Nadine Gordimer. Pay attention to the kinds of questions that are asked in the Analyze sections of the workshop. You will need to ask yourself these same questions when you will analyze “No Witchcraft for Sale” from a sociological point of view.


Research Doris Lessing’s Life

To analyze a literary work through a sociological lens, you should first examine the social issues that characterized the time in which the author lived. Understanding the social status of the author and the values and beliefs that shaped his or her existence will shed light on the themes of the author’s work. Read the introduction to Doris Lessing on page 864 of your textbook and the interview with Lessing on pages 873–874, and use these pages as a starting point for a brief research of the author’s life. Find online and print resources that tell about Lessing’s life and the time in which she wrote. Be sure to use reliable sources. Scan your sources to find the answers to the questions below. On a separate sheet of paper, record your responses to the questions, supporting each response with evidence from the sources you used. Maintain a list of the sources you used. Consult Language Arts Handbook 5.6, at the back of your textbook, to find the proper format for reporting the information about your sources. • Where and when was Doris Lessing born? Where did she grow up? • What values did her family have? • What beliefs seem to have shaped her literary experience? • What was life like in Rhodesia when Doris Lessing was a child? when she was an

adult?

Analyze “No Witchcraft for Sale”

Now that you are acquainted with Doris Lessing’s life and the social issues during the time in which she lived and wrote, read “No Witchcraft for Sale,” filling in the Sociological Analysis Chart below as you read. The first column lists story elements that you will examine while reading. In the second column, write a brief description of each story element as it relates to “No Witchcraft for Sale.” In the third column, write two to three sentences to explain how each story element relates to the story’s theme of social conflict. In the fourth column, support your statements with evidence from your research or from the story.

Sociological Analysis Chart

Literary Element

Description

Relationship to the Theme of Social Conflict

Story Evidence

Setting and Mood

Tone

Symbol 1

Symbol 2

Symbol 3

Conflict


Activate Your Response

Now that you have analyzed the sociological elements of Doris Lessing’s “No Witchcraft for Sale,” write one or two paragraphs describing how you think American readers today might respond to the story. How might their personal values and beliefs affect their interpretation of the article? Do you think Americans would agree or disagree with Lessing’s point of view? To reflect on today’s values on matters of social conflict, you can think about the accomplishments of the Civil Rights movement, or the struggle of immigrants in modern American history.

Create a Class Book

In this assignment, you will work write an article for a class book on the theme of social conflict in the twentieth century and the authors who explored the century’s social conflicts in their writing. To begin, choose one of the following authors to study. Clear your choice with your teacher to ensure that the class book focuses on a variety of twentieth-century authors. • George Orwell • Graham Greene • V. S. Naipaul • Chinua Achebe • Anita Desai

Research your author’s life and the time in which he or she lived and wrote. Record your notes and source information on a separate sheet of paper. Each author in the above list is represented by a short story or essay in Unit 9 of your textbook. Find and read your author’s selection. As you read, complete a Sociological Analysis Chart for the story. Now that you have finished your research and analyzed the selection, you can begin writing your article. The article should be two or three pages long and include biographical information about the author, a sociological analysis of the short story or excerpt, and at least one visual such as a photograph, drawing, or map. Make sure you include bibliographical information at the end of the article. Once you have written and proofread your article, work as a class to compile the articles to form a book that analyzes the theme of social conflict in the works of five twentieth-century authors.

differentiated instruction: enrichment projects & activities...with characters, setting, plot,...

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