Dramatic Irony and Foreshadowing

Transcription

1 Dramatic Irony and Concept: Figurative Language & Primary Subject Area: English Secondary Subject Areas: Common Core Standards Addressed: Common Core Standards Grades 9-10 Grades Key Ideas and Details Key Ideas and Details o Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. Craft and Structure o Analyze how an author s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.gg parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g. pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise. Vocabulary Acquisition and Use o Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. o Analyze the impact of the author s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g. where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed). Craft and Structure o Analyze how an author s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g. the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or traffic resolution) contribute to the overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact. Vocabulary Acquisition and Use o Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. Dramatic Irony & : Common Core Standards 1

2 Lesson Plan Dramatic Irony and Overview: The class will explore the author s decision to use dramatic irony and foreshadowing, as well as her unique decision to jump around in time throughout the novel. Objectives: Students will be able to: - Pinpoint moments in which the author uses dramatic irony and discuss its impact on the novel - Pinpoint moments in which the author uses foreshadowing and discuss its impact on the novel - Explain the difference between dramatic irony and foreshadowing - Discuss the impact of the decision to push what would be the climax (Steven s shooting) to the very beginning of the novel - Successfully use dramatic irony in a short story of their own - Formulate arguments both for and against the structure of Shreve s novel Materials: Copies of A Student of Living Things Kansas State Article Article Whiteboard/Chalkboard Notebook paper Other Resources: Key Vocabulary Terms General Discussion/Comprehens ion Questions Text References Warm-Up Activity: In order to get the students thinking about dramatic irony in a way that s familiar to them, ask the students to raise their hands if they ve seen Titanic. It s likely that many if not all of them have. The point of the warm-up activity is to lead the students to a simple understanding of the concept of dramatic irony. In order to do so, ask them the following questions (or some variation): How many of you knew the story of the Titanic before you saw the movie? When you went to see the movie did you already know the outcome (outcome being that the ship was going to sink)? Throughout the movie did any of the characters have any idea of their future fate? Did they feel secure on the ship? What did the viewer know that the characters didn t know? How did this affect your movie-watching experience? Once the students have answered these questions, they have, perhaps without knowing it, gained an understanding of dramatic irony. If there s time for a second example, refer to Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream. Briefly explain the Bottom s role (or, more succinctly, how he is turned into an ass and doesn t know it) and then read the following passage: Nothing, good mounsieur, but to help Cavalery Cobweb to scratch. I must to the barber s, monsieur; for methinks I am marvelous hairy about the face; and I am such a tender ass, if my hair do but tickle me, I must scratch (Act IV). Ask the students why this is so humorous, thus introducing the concept of dramatic irony. What effect was Shakespeare attempting to create with a speech like this? Can they name a similar tactic in A Student of Living Things? When do we know what is going to happen but the characters do not? Dramatic Irony & : Lesson Plan 2

3 Lesson Plan Dramatic Irony and Short Lecture & Partner Activities: Give the students a copy of the Dramatic Irony and handout. Have them read the definition of dramatic irony as provided by the Kansas State English Department. Once they have familiarized themselves with the idea: Split the students into groups of two. Give them ten or fifteen minutes to go through Part II of the novel (April 4). Can they pinpoint passages in which Shreve captures the dramatic irony of this section of the book? Once each pair has found a couple of passages, bring the class together. Have each pair read one of their passages out loud (though it might not be possible, try not to have any overlapping passages. Tell students to use different passages than their peers ). Write the speaker and page numbers on the board so that students can write them down and have access to them later. Next, have the students return to the handout and read the definition of foreshadowing provided by.org. Once they have familiarized themselves with the idea, send them back to the text. Repeat the process used with dramatic irony until the students run out of passages. Discussion Wrap-Up: Use this final discussion to make sure the students fully understand the difference between dramatic irony and foreshadowing. Because students will have been writing down passages in which Shreve uses dramatic irony and foreshadowing, ask them to pick one passage for each device and share why it s their favorite. Is the irony especially vivid? Is the foreshadowing subtle yet compelling? How does it set up the rest of the book? Once the students have each shared their favorite passages, lead them into a general discussion with questions they can ponder on their own once class has ended. How does dramatic irony affect the way the reader views Claire? Do we sympathize with her more or are we more frustrated? Is there any point in Part II in which you can predict the ending of the novel [keep in mind that questions like these require the students to have read beyond Part II] **If students have not gone beyond Part II ask them as either an in-class assignment or a homework assignment to write down their own predictions for the end of the novel using evidence/passages in Part II only.** Writing Activities/Evaluations: Analytical: In a 7-10 sentence paragraph, consider why the author chose to employ both dramatic irony and foreshadowing. Discuss the emotional impact on the reader of both devices using contextual evidence. Creative: Write your own short story using dramatic irony OR foreshadowing. It can be a comedy or a tragedy, but one of the two devices must be prevalent. If there s time, have the students read their stories aloud. Dramatic Irony & : Lesson Plan 3

4 Discussion & Comprehension Questions Dramatic Irony and Why do you think Shreve chose to employ dramatic irony in her story (more specifically in the section leading up to Steven s death)? What emotion does Part II of the novel generate in you? Do you think this is what Shreve intended? What does Part II leave you with? Do you know what s going to happen? Write a prediction and explain why you believe it. Would you say Steven s death is the climax of the story? If not, does the dramatic irony have anything to do with your decision? How would the novel be different if it were told completely chronologically? How well does the reader get to know Steven before he dies? Do you like his character? Why do you think Steven dies? Is it because he speaks up for what he believes in? Think about what Shreve tells the reader and what she doesn t. The reader knows Steven dies but does not know why. What does this accomplish? Does it set the tone for the rest of the story? What characters does Shreve introduce in Part I of the novel? How does she introduce them? Are they trustworthy? Significant? Powerful? Make a list of the characters and how they are portrayed in Part I. Dramatic Irony & : Discussion & Comprehension Questions 4

5 Key Vocabulary Dramatic Irony and Word: Definition: Disposition One s usual mood; temperament; a habitual inclination; tendency; a physical property or tendency. Attenuated Reduced or weakened, as in force, strength, value, or virulence. Circumspect Heedful of circumstances and potential consequences; prudent. Centripetal Moving or directed toward a center or axis. Fastidious Possessing or displaying careful, meticulous attention to detail. Disembodied Lacking a body or freed from the body; incorporeal; lacking in substance, solidity, or any firm relation to reality. Civil disobedience Refusal to obey civil laws in an effort to induce change in governmental policy or legislation, characterized by the use of passive resistance or other nonviolent means. Dramatic Irony & : Key Vocabulary 5

6 Text References Dramatic Irony and (Pages 1-2): My mother would prefer to recognize the day of my brother s murder. It s in her character, just as it s in my father s to celebrate the day of Steven s birth, to slip over the evening of April 4, when my only brother was shot on the steps of the George Washington University Gelman Library, where he was studying for his law exams. (Page 6): Perhaps he was more upset than he knew that I was having a baby out of wedlock, because we re an old-fashioned family, although not religious, holding to the daily rituals of an orderly life, and for good reason. (Page 9): Victory Duarte the name he gave me when I met him a month after Steven s death is short and stocky, swarthy with tiny black bean eyes. I used to think he was handsome, with an earthy sexuality, a rough tenderness about him. But what did I know then? (Page 55): If I die this afternoon, Milo was saying with good cheer, I want you to remember me as a musician and a cook, drink a toast to me at family dinners. (Page 61): I turned in his direction, and as I did, he seemed to fall slow-motion into open space and stunned as if to death, I watched him pitch backward like a duffel bag the way he rolled toward me, falling and falling down the library steps, his body gathering speed, until finally, time like an accordion folded in on itself, he landed facedown next to where I was standing his arms splayed in a T on the cement at the bottom of the stairs. (Page 230): At 4 a.m., August 12, the FBI arrested Victor Duarte for the murder of GWU law student Steven Frayn. (Page 234): Because I needed to find out if he was related to Dr. David Frayn, who was going to be my father when I was ten years old and then he backed out. Dramatic Irony & : Text References 6

7 Title Field: Class Handout Name: "#$#%&'(&")*+,(( -Dramatic irony is a relationship of contrast between a character's limited understanding of his or her situation in some particular moment of the unfolding action and what the audience, at the same instant, understands the character's situation actually to be. It is thus the result of a special sort of discrepancy in perspective, and hence is "moment-bound." There is on the one hand how things appear from a point of view that emerges within the action at a given moment, and which is constrained by the limitations of an individual's history up to that moment. (In fiction, this will be the picture held by some character -- say, the protagonist of a drama.) There is on the other hand a synoptic point of view that takes in the whole of an interpersonal history, part of which is unknown to that individual at the particular moment in question. For dramatic irony to emerge, some consciousness (in fiction, this will be the audience's) must be simultaneously aware of both perspectives. (Kent State).)"/01#)2&*3,(( "The technique of arranging events and information in a narrative in such a way that later events are prepared for or shadowed forth beforehand." This literary device is used to build suspense and prepare the reader's subconscious for the conflict. It also helps the reader believe extraordinary events when they happen. It can be subtle, such as rain in the beginning of a story to suggest something bad is going to happen, or more obvious, such as in the prologue of Romeo and Juliet: "A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life." (A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory) In the space provided below, list the page numbers and speakers from passages in A Student of Living Things in which Shreve employs dramatic irony and foreshadowing FORESHADOWING (Speaker, Page #) DRAMATIC IRONY (Speaker, Page #) Dramatic Irony & : Class Handout

8 Title Field: Supplementary Materials Chart Category of Resource University Website Website University Website Description of Resource Brief overview of the concept of dramatic irony Brief overview of the concept of foreshadowing Online copy of A Midsummer Night s Dream provided by MIT Potential Educational Uses of Resource Students can use this description to familiarize themselves with the concept of dramatic irony and to discover other texts that use this literary device Students can use this description to familiarize themselves with the concept of foreshadowing and to discover other texts that use this literary device Many students will not have their own copy of A Midsummer Night s Dream. Because it is used in the warm-up activity, this resource is provided so that students who are interested have access to the full play. Link to Resource