Here are various activities that I created and/or adapted to be used in conjunction with reading “Twelfth Night” and studying the critical lenses.
Shakespearian Text Message
If Maria had Olivia’s cellphone to send the deceptive letter to Malvolio, what would it look like?
Example: To Malvolio: U R HOTTT! Esp. with yellow sox! LUV U
To Olivia: ;}….LUV M
DATING PROFILE
Using the psychoanalytic critical lens, pick one of the characters of Twelfth Night and create a dating profile for that character. Think about that character’s personality, motivations, desires, interests, occupation, etc. when filling it out. The goal is to get your character a date, so be true to who they are (use the text evidence), but be persuasive! Include an illustration (magazine cut-out or hand-drawn) and in your description, make sure you answer the question “What is your definition of love?” Use text evidence when you’re filling it out, as usual.
Example: Miss Lottie Lauriere
“Blah blah blah blah blah I think love is being thoughtful, giving gifts (like “diamond pendants”), and doing special things together like going shopping at high end stores.”
Act IV scenes i and ii
You are a professional acting company, and you have spent the last 6 months preparing your debut performance, Twelfth Night. You have worked out every facial expression, every movement, every pause in your character’s lines—you are an expert on your character! And now, you are finishing out the show with your final performance.
Obviously, we are pretending here. So we’re going to have a lot of grace for each other and just have fun with it! If you don’t know a word, guess and move on. If you mess up, just move on. Pretend everything is going perfectly!
Remember, we’re performing—make it entertaining!
- When you were making your acting choices, what did you take into account?
- How did you interact with your fellow performers?
- How did you consider the plot’s progression?
So what critical lenses would today’s activities lend themselves to?
Critical Lenses: Doing Research
- Effectively analyzing a text through a critical lens often requires research. For example:
- Biographical—research author
- Historical—research culture
- Class Studies—research society
- Gender Studies—research gender (then & now)
You have to do a lot of information hunting & gathering in order to interpret with authority!
“Information Gathering”
You have to know where to go hunting and where to go gathering. You don’t go gather berries in a forest where there are no berries.
- Some possible resources:
- Library! (Or other literature-related places)
- First-hand Human Source (interview)
- Internet
Gathering on the Internet
In this vast “forest” you have to know which berries are good and which ones are bad.
When approaching a source, think about:
- Subject!!
- Author/Creator
- Publisher
- Relevance (year of publication)
- Audience/Purpose
- And then ask yourself “How much stock should I put in this source’s credibility?”
Evaluate Sources!
After gathering information, pick through it to select the best support(s) for your argument.
Evaluate sources not only for reliability, but also for appropriateness to your argument.
If you’re writing a persuasive paper about gun control, you probably want an article that is persuasive rather than informative.
“What type of supporting information will strengthen my argument?”
Gathering Information for Twelfth Night
Choose one of the following issues/topics from Twelfth Night to research today. By the end of the pd. you should have at least 1 credible, appropriate source for a (hypothetical) argument through the related lens.
- Mental Illness/Asylums (Historical)
- Gender (Historical & Gender)
- Love, Courtship, & Marriage (Historical, Formalistic)
- Current Cultural Ideas on any major themes (Reader Response)
Looking at Twelfth Night through Critical Lenses
Visual One Pager
Using your “Critical Approaches to Literature” handout, choose three (3) lenses which apply to Twelfth Night.
Lens 1: What does Illyria look like to you? You will most likely use the Reader- Response Lens to answer this question.
For Lenses 2 and 3:
Browse your writer’s notebook and the text for characters and scenes that inspire the variety of lenses you’ve used while interpreting the play (For example, you might apply Class Studies for one character and Psychoanalytic for a scene where two characters interact).
Your finished product will include:
- a graphic representation* and written justification of YOUR Illyria (including one quote)
- Illustration* AND written justification of your interpretations of two characters/scenes (including quotes)
- Must be on standard sized unlined paper up to 1/2 poster size maximum
- Must fill the entire page – no white space
- Must include title, author, and 3 or more quotes from the play (these may be embedded in your justifications).
*computer, other media, or hand- drawn graphics are options here
Grading Guide
This assignment is graded holistically, based on how the identified characteristics work together to create an artifact that is relevant, sensible, and appropriate for the lesson and the unit of study.
- Representation is original, interesting, well-developed, and clearly representative of the unit goals.
- Evidence of understandings of the text are visible
- Justifications are relevant and support the overall message of the project.
- Writing is well-organized, focused, and essentially error-free.
| A100 – 90 | B89-80 | C79-70 | F69-0 |
| Highlysuccessful and effective. Shows deep understanding of concepts, knowledge, and skills.
Time and thoughtfulness is evident |
Successful and effective. Shows understanding of concepts, knowledge, and skills.
Time and thoughtfulness is somewhat evident |
Partially successful and/or effective. Shows limited understanding of concepts, knowledge, and skills.
Project appears hurried or careless |
Unsuccessful. |
3 lenses, 3 illustrations, 3 justifications, 3 quotes, title, playwright
heathermiltimoregraham 