Literary Criticism Day 1 (Full Honors) - Old School & its Flaws
"The struggle against imperfection is doomed, but to label the heroes as "flawed" is to conclude that the attempt is not worth making, and such a judgment falsifies the balances and paradoxes of Shakespearean tragedy.."
Russ McDonald
In order for students to have an appreciation (not to mention, understanding) for modern Literary Criticism, it's necessary to catch at least a glimpse of what has come before. Perhaps the most influential early literary critic of Shakespeare was A.C. Bradley - which, in turn, was a distilling of Aristotle and that Greek Philosopher's take on drama and tragedy. This Lesson's readings begin with a handout on some of A.C. Bradley's primary pronouncements on Macbeth. That handout can be found on the back of the Introductory Literary Criticism Handout (the last lesson) or below. The next reading (found below) is a short article by Bradley about the witches in Macbeth. Finally, the students will have read (for today) a modern critic's (Russ McDonald's) analysis of some of Bradley's ideas (the full handout can be found in Volume 1 of Shakespeare Set Free, a portion is also given below) - wherein he points out some of the problems that exist with that particular critical take.
And that's what the students come in having read for today. They will take a quiz on the reading, do the Group Work, and get started on their Solo Work. Everything we do in each day of this Unit, builds on what has come before - the students use each other's knowledge and one lesson is a scaffold for what is to come. In that way, they are able to learn, discuss, and digest much more than they ever could otherwise.
Lesson Overview - Literary Criticism Day 1 - Old School and its flaws
The Readings for today (students have read these FOR today on their own time)
The readings for today are three-fold and may be found (mostly) below. The order that the students read them actually makes a huge difference. As with everything in this unit (I hope) one part builds upon what has done previously - and that is especially true in the readings. The first reading is has Nine Important Ideas from A.C. Bradley's writing on Macbeth. This single page summary prepares them for the second of their readings - "The Witch Scenes in Macbeth" written by the aforementioned, A.C. Bradley. Finally, the students have read for today what turns out to be the easiest of their extended Literary Criticism articles - "The Flaw in the Flaw" by the incredible Russ McDonald. In that article McDonald points out the problems with Bradley's influential criticism and gives a the students a much more nuanced view of what tragedy is. This kind of reassessment fits in well with the Modern Literary Criticism that the students will next be looking at.
What's Done in Class
The Quiz
As soon as the students arrive I hand them a quiz so that they can get started on it right away - and then get into their groups. After the first day students start arriving very early to get the quiz done - to maximize the time they have in class to work on the lesson. These quizzes are particularly hard to write (especially when we get to Deconstructionism). See my page on quizzes. Because I don't want to ask "understanding" questions - and because Literary Criticism is so intellectually challenging - it presents a special difficulty in asking questions that thread the needle between having done the reading - and understanding what it means. As soon as students turn in the quiz - you'll want to start grading.
Students who did NOT do the reading should not get into a group - but should instead do the reading now - during class - and do the Group Work part of the project for homework (without penalty for that part). Starting with Day 2 - the teacher will also come around to the Groups and quickly glance through the students' Literary Criticism Binders to make sure they are complete up to that day's work. If they aren't - it is the same as not having done the reading: They can use classtime to get caught up and do today's work for homework (in addition to what else is due for the next day).
Group Work (see the actual Group Work for those questions)
Students who have done the reading (and they should know who they are - by this time of year it is rare to have to pull a student out of the group after seeing a failing quiz) are then allowed to get into a group. Because this unit is so intense - I have seen students change out of their normal group and find one (especially after the first few days) that is intense and focused. They want to get the Group Work done - done well - and have time to start on their Solo Work. Unlike my usual Group Work - this time everyone writes. They will be putting all of this in a binder which the teacher will check and give a grade to (with Group Work being one part of that grade). The silver-lining in this is that for once (Group Work wise) the students do not have to agree to their answers for the Group Work - they can discuss the question then put down whatever they believe to correct - and completely in their own words.
What's Done at Home
If they have any time left after the Group Work, they may get started on the homework segment of this lesson (beginning with the Solo Work).
Solo Work (see the actual Solo Work for those questions)
After finishing the Group Work - or at home, they need to do the Solo Work. Far fewer questions (and less in depth) - these questions are designed to build upon what they did as a group - only by themselves - giving the students confidence and a deeper (and different understanding) of this school of Literary Criticism.
Questions for Today
(labelled as Questions for Tomorrow in their binders as it is the very first entry in the next day's Literary Criticism Entry). See the actual Questions for Today for that content.
Two or three very short questions, that should be done BEFORE the next day's reading - to give them some ideas to be perculating in their brain - based on what we've already done in class this year - that will pertain to their reading for the next day.
The Next Day's Reading
Their final homework is to do the reading for the next day. By now (this time in the school year) they should be proficient note-takers. This is especially important with something as challenging as Literary Criticism where note taking is, for most students (and myself for that matter) the only possible path to having understanding of the reading.
Reading for Day 2: "Feminist Approaches to Literary Texts", Rex Gibson's "Feminism" (a short summary), "The Post Feminist Mystique" by Jennifer Clement (that talks about "She's the Man" and Twelfth Night).
Today's Reading - Literary Criticism Day 1 - Old School and its Flaws
REMEMBER - THE ORDER THAT THESE READINGS ARE DONE IN - IS VERY IMPORTANT
The third reading appears originally in The Folger Shakespeare Library's Shakespeare Set Free Volume 1 (Macbeth). It is an amazing essay and if you don't have it - you should definitely purchase Shakespeare Set Free. The Google Books link has a few of the pages from it - but is incomplete.
Literary Criticism Day 1 Handout: Bradley & the "old school"
See the description above - this is a two-sided handout with the Group Work, Solo Work, and that are related to today's school of Literary Criticism and the Questions for Today that are related to the next day's school of Literary Criticism. There are also informational boxes insterspersed on the handout to give them help and clarification when needed.
The Most Recent Quiz
See above for more on the how and why (and difficulty of writing quizzes related to Literary Criticism). IMPORTANT: I skim through the quizzes to spot students who didn't pass - so they don't get into (or stay) in a group. HOWEVER, if they didn't pass BUT can show me the copious notes they took while reading - I'll let them stay in a group.
Though the readings are long - the quizzes only count for 100 points - for two reasons. One - if they don't pass the quiz they aren't allowed to get into a group - that is incentive enough to read. More points is given to their notes on the reading and all the writing that they are doing about what they've read than the quizzes - and I continually stress to the students that getting a bad quiz grade will not sink their Literary Criticism grade.
Remote Teaching
I did not do Literary Criticism the year we were remote - but really there is no reason not to - with the greatest challenge being that the students are doing the work on their own and are coming to an understanding of the concepts.
Bradley_FlawinflawDisc_20190227.m4aA Bonus Class Recording
Audio - a class discussion of Bradley & "The Flaw in the Flaw"
One week before the Pandemic sent us all home - we did something we never do - we had discussion of the readings for Day One - rather than the Group/Solo Work that normally happens in class. It was a one time deal - coming out of necessity - and I don't recommend doing this Lesson as a discussion. It is best for the students to talk and discover on their own.
Here is the description from Amazon: "This volume of the Shakespeare Set Free series is written by institute faculty and participants, and includes the latest developments in recent scholarship. It bristles with the energy created by teaching and learning Shakespeare from the text and through active performance, and reflects the experience, wisdom, and wit of real classroom teachers in schools and colleges throughout the United States. "
Students are instructed to put this rubric on the first page of their Literary Criticism Binders. There are two check-ins - two grades for this unit - both of them unannounced - so students should be up to date at all times. In addition to being a rubric - it breaks down in great detail - exactly what is expected of them - including how many questions (or readings) there are for each part of each day's entries: Readings for that Day (notes are graded), Questions for Today, Group Work Questions, and Solo Work.
Because you don't want to deprive students of their Journals during this unit - I usually do the first check-in (Grading) while they are watching the first part of Exit Through the Gift Shop - I will only collect as many as I can get graded during that time - and will grade the rest the next day - during the class period - asking them to take out the work and readings that they need for that class. The second check-in is not so rushed and I usually collect the binders after the Final Exam to grade them.
NOTE: I always gave students a chance to revise their binders (journals) if they did it BEFORE the final. I told them that I would change the grade they got for Check-In #1 (the only checkin that I offered this) to an average of their original grade with what they would have gotten with the revised journal. In other words, if they got a 50 on the first check-in - and then they revised it, gave it to me (before the final on Literary Criticism) - and the new assessment of their Journal lands them what would have been a 90 - I will change the recorded grade for that check-in to a 70.
Day 2 - Literary Criticism - Feminism & She's the Man: Starting today - the articles will center on Twelfth Night - a topic they also know (and that most of them quite enjoyed). The excerpt that they read for today (after the introductory articles) talks about Feminist Literary Criticism and Twelfth Night and uses that play's modern retelling - She's the Man to illustrate the huge gap between the play and film in terms of portraying feminist ideals. The students respond to - and "get" the article because so many (when I taught over 75%) of them were familiar with the movie, She's the Man. Clement's article, however, asks them to take a close look at the movie (and Twelfth Night) through a feminist critic's lens.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
I must admit it is exciting to start Literary Criticism. There are some students who have felt "marginalized" all year by all that fiction and poetry and they will revel in the analytical nature of this unit. It pushes the students - it gets them to see things in a new way - one that I must admit, I don't often agree with - but that's definitely not the point. The point is the seeing and the stretching - how they land on it - well, that's up to them.