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Dire Offence
"What dire offence from amorous causes springs, / What might contests rise from trivial things?"
Dire Offence - Alexander Pope &"The Rape of the Lock" A Vertext Discussion (with alternate Group Work): As with Swift's "A Modest Proposal", for the longest time I did Pope's "A Rape of the Lock" as a Group Work. I suspect it had a lot to do with the timing of this unit - sometimes it would come much earlier, when the students were doing their Macbeth scenes and it just made sense to have them work in the groups they would be in for that project. However, unlike "A Modest Proposal" - in this case, I believe a class discussion works much better (with Swift, it's a toss up) with Pope's epic satire. Besides going over the text itself - and expanding the students mastery of reading and understanding satire - when handled as a discussion (using a Vertext), it also gives the class an opportunity to see just how relevant Pope's work and his disdain of the frailties of the very rich and fashionable - is today. Nonetheless, I have also included the Group Work on this page as well.
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
Though I've included the Group Work below as well - I am convinced the Vertext (centering on quotes) Discussion is the best way to go with this lesson.
Quiz
Quiz
As usual, there is a quiz here. If you do end up doing the group work - make sure you give the quiz beforehand, and as always, remove students from groups (by this time of the year they should not be getting into groups on their own) if they did not do the reading.
The Vertext
The Vertext
Because there is so much in this Vertext (Power Point) and I believe that is so important - I've taken the time to write notes for the slides as I've done a few other times with some of my lessons. I've included those notes (with the Vertext) in either Power Point or PDF format below. To give you an idea of what's on the Vertext, I've included some of areas of what we'll go over - directly below.
Pope Biographical Material
Pope Biographical Material
We go a little more into Pope's background here - the Vertext, in fact, gives the entire biography from the students' textbook. In this case, I believe Pope's biography can be used with connections to not only "The Rape of the Lock" but to other works that we have read as well. The biographical material in its entirety can be read aloud in class. At the end of text book material - given Pope's very hard life - I include the quote from Grendel's epigraph about how adversity can lead to great Art.
I next include an excerpt from Lauren Riddell's "Grievous Disability and Inspired Writing - which should also be read aloud. There is SO MUCH here that students can identify with - it is invaluable to not only understanding Pope's work - but to getting the students to see its worth.
Because we've just covered Swift - the next two slides hearken back to Swift and what he said about satire - and how it relates to Pope's life and works. Finally there is a reference to a modern work: "A Confederations of Dunces".
"The Rape of the Lock"
"The Rape of the Lock"
See the Power Point or its PDF counterpart below for detailed explanations of the quotes included from Pope's "The Rape of the Lock." There is a lot we cover - from linking the worship of celebrity to our own age -to the idea that the very beautiful are always in the right and should be held in greater esteem (again - see Pope's biographical material).
A Link to Sonnet 18
A Link to Sonnet 18
A slide compares how Pope immortalizes the subject of this poem to what Shakespeare does in Sonnet 18, forever "giving life to thee".
A Modern Comparison
A Modern Comparison
The Lesson ends with a comparison between Pope's ostracism because of his writing about his rich and socially powerful friends - to what happened to Truman Capote in our own era when he did the same thing.
PowerPoint - Modest Proposal Discussion
PowerPoint - Modest Proposal Discussion
See above for a detailed explanation of the presentation. Begin this after the students take the quiz. Essentially these are the parts to the PowerPoint:
Jonathan Swift background
What is Satire
Examples of Satire
Directions for Class as they Look for Satire in "A Modest Proposal"
The Examples that I found
The Problems inherent with Satire
Directions (really directing them to their chart - see below) for listening to Malcolm Gladwell's podcast - "The Satire Paradox"
Handout - What is Satire & Podcast Chart
Handout - What is Satire & Podcast Chart
we listen to Malcolm Gladwell's incredible podcast on The Satire Paradox. It is part of his revisionist history series. The students are given a chart (found below) that they should fill out as they listen. Make sure you screen the podcast before you play it for your students. I censored one word from it (a racial slur) and you may want to do the same. I have a link to "The Satire Paradox" below.
Here are the instructions at the top of the chart - and the chart can be seen in a figure to the right:
You will listen to a podcast by author Malcolm Gladwell; as you do, fill out the chart below. The teacher will give you a few minutes to look them over and to get ready before you begin. Have out your copies of today’s handout on satire, “A Modest Proposal”, and your notes from our discussion on that work.
"In the political turmoil of mid-1990s Britain, a brilliant young comic named Harry Enfield set out to satirize the ideology and politics of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. His parodies became famous. He wrote and performed a vicious sendup of the typical Thatcherite nouveau riche buffoon. People loved it. And what happened? Exactly the opposite of what Enfield hoped would happen. In an age dominated by political comedy, “The Satire Paradox”asks whether laughter and social protest are friends or foes." (taken directly from the WebSite).
Intro to Swift & "A Modest Proposal"
Intro to Swift & "A Modest Proposal"
My reading was from the Holt Rinehart Winston textbook - Elements of Literature (course 6). Any textbook (or other sourced) introduction to the Swift and a copy of "A Modest Proposal" will work - though you will have to modify the questions accordingly - but in this case, most of the questions come from "A Modest Proposal" which can easily be found copyright free, online.
ModestProposal_Swift_disc_20180205.mp3Class Audio Recording
Class Audio Recording
We begin by talking about Jonathan's Swift's life and how it may have effected his writing, and then jump right into "A Modest Proposal". We discuss what makes something satire - how it does or doesn't "work", and then the piece itself, trying to find what exactly Swift was targeting.
Remote Enhancements
Remote Enhancements
This can all be done remotely of course - In fact, I did do this remotely. I used a chart I had made of the class with their pictures to divide them into the groups for finding satire in the text.
Really, I never did both the discussion and the Group Work - but I'm still putting that next because I think it's that good and deserves to be seen (also why I wanted it to have its own page). So here is the Group Work version of the Swift, Satire, and "A Modest Proposal" lesson. I usually include Group Works on the same page as the discussion - but in this case, I really believe it deserves a page of its own. For one thing, I certainly used this approach (Group Work) much more than the previous lesson's Discussion technique. Perhaps students changed - perhaps I did - but in any case I believe this is an excellent way to teach Satire, Swift, and "A Modest Proposal".
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
Thoughts on the Lesson
As I finished my teaching career - more and more I found myself changing what was a group work into a discussion. I still felt that Group Works had their place - and were - in fact - invaluable. I also longed for exciting and informed discussions built around a great piece of literature. Perhaps that was a bit selfish of me, knowing that it would soon end - I wanted to get to hear more of what the students had to say and how they reacted to these texts.
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