Lesson Plan- Masque

Department: English                                                   Course: Contemporary Literature

Unit: Short Stories      Concept: “The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe

RATIONALE: This is important because this unit shows the different important elements of short stories.

OBJECTIVE:

·         To be able to fully understand and recite orally two important elements in each, the characters, plot, setting, conflict and theme in The Masque of the Red Death.

·         To understand what a fable is and why it is used

·         To be able to give two reasons to compare and two reasons that contrast the Masque of the Red Death and The Tale of the Three Brothers.

CONTENT:

A.    The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe (text)

B.     The Tale of the Three Brothers by JK Rowling (video clip)

STATE STANDARDS:

·         State goal 2.A.5a (We will be able to compare and evaluate orally various eras and traditions and analyze literary devices)

·         State goal 2.A.5b (Evaluate relationships among character, plot, setting, theme, conflict, and resolution)

·         State goal 2.A.4d (Influence of author)

·         State goal 2.B.5b (Apply knowledge gained from literature as means of understanding)

Content Outline:

1.         Give background information on Poe including biographical information and lead into the book “The Masque of the Red Death”.  (He was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. In 1831, he went to New York City where he had some of his poetry published. He submitted stories to a number of magazines and they were all rejected. He died a mysterious death on October 7, 1849. The Masque of the Red Death was published in 1842…and Poe seems to be the father of the short story even though in the beginning of his career- they were rejected)

2. characters (Prince Prospero, Knights and Ladies, Entertainers, Musicians, Dancers, 
Uninvited Masquerader (death)), plot (prince locks himself in a castle to keep out death at his masquerade ball, death gets in), setting (castle in possibly Italy), theme (it is impossible to escape death), and conflict (the prince tries to keep death out and it gets in):

3          fables- short moral stories

4.         the use of the fable in “The Masque of the Read Death”. (He tried to keep out death and it got to him- if he was not so insistant on keeping it out, he might have lived longer. It also showed that if something is inevitable it is going to happen no matter how hard one tries to prevent it)

5.         Tell about The Tales of Beetle the Bard” and the short story “The Tale of the Three Brothers”. Talk about them and show video clip of the story. (It is a story told in Harry Potter, the seventh book. It is a fable just like the masque of the red death) (This seems like a modern adaptation to the Masque and shows a better outcome about what might have happened if the prince was not so greedy)

6.         discuss the allegory in the story and compare it to “The Masque of the Red Death” What could the prince have done differently? Compare and contrast the prince to the brothers. How is the language different? Where is it used more effectively? (ask for different opinions)

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES

1.      Go around the room and check that the students highlighted, underlined, took notes, and defined unfamiliar words in the story

2.      Introduce the lesson by introducing the author, Edgar Allan Poe and asking students what they have read by him in the past. Give background information on Poe including biographical information and lead into the book “The Masque of the Red Death”. I think that it is important to know about him before we dive into this piece especially since many scholars would argue that he is the (or one of) the fathers of contemporary short stories.(He was born in Boston on January 19, 1809.  When he was young his father abandoned him and then a year later his mother died. He was taken in by another family but they never officially adopted him. His life growing up was relatively unstable which is arguably why his work is so deranged. In 1831, he went to New York City where he had some of his poetry published. He submitted stories to a number of magazines and they were all rejected. He died a mysterious death on October 7, 1849. The Masque of the Red Death was published in 1842…and Poe seems to be the father of the short story even though in the beginning of his career- they were rejected) (5 minutes)

3.      By the end of this lesson you should know:

(To be able to fully understand and recite orally two important elements in each, the characters, plot, setting, conflict and theme in The Masque of the Red Death.

To understand what an allegory is and why it is used

To be able to give two reasons to compare and two reasons that contrast the Masque of the Red Death and The Tale of the Three Brothers.) (5 minutes)

4.      Activity: Students will pair off and get a section of the text to break down and put into their own words to better understand the story so that after word we can have a better discussion about the story. I want you to pair off and write a “rewrite” of what is being said. This should not be too difficult if you successfully completed the vocabulary guide and annotated fully. After this is completed each group will present what they came up with and the class will go deeper into each section as we go along.(10-15)

5.      Discussion questions: (along with what is annotated)

How is life different inside and outside of the palace? The outside is plagued with the “red death” the inside is supposedly different but we come to see that it is not.

What does the color “red” represent? Support your answer with examples from the text. Death (see text)

How long does the disease take to kill and what does it do? 30 minutes (first paragraph)

What is the theme of this story? Support your answer with examples from the text. It shows maybe we shouldn’t run from our problems. Or maybe that we shouldn’t be so cocky because it will backfire

What is the author's tone in the story? Dark, mysterious.

Why was Prince Prospero angry with the masked figure? Because he crashed the party. I feel that he was misplacing his fear for anger because it was his biggest fear

Why did Prince Prospero decide to confront the masked figure? Because he claimed to not know who it was. Also I think he was trying to be tough in front of his guests

Is fear Poe's intended effect in "The Masque of the Red Death"? Or does he have another one? For an early short story yes, I think fear is an apparent undertone however seeing how much literature has progressed, we rarely get those “scary stories” and honestly something like hiroshima is scarier to me than something like this.

6.      Talk about fables. Talk about the example that we discussed in class. Aesop’s fables/ The boy who cried wolf. What did we say the points of them are? Are they effective? Talk about the use of the fable in “The Masque of the Read Death”. What is it? He tried to escape something that was inescapable and it ended badly. It shows maybe we shouldn’t run from our problems. Or maybe that we shouldn’t be so cocky because it will backfire. Did anyone notice anything else? (5 minutes)

7.      Ask about the book “The Tales of Beetle the Bard” and the short story “The Tale of the Three Brothers”. Talk about them and show video clip of the story. (10 minutes)

8.      After the clip discuss the allegory in the story and compare it to “The Masque of the Red Death”…Now I do not know Jk Rowling but I am willing to bet that she was inspired by Poe to write this part. What similarities do you notice? What differences? What could the prince have done differently? Compare and contrast the prince to the brothers. How is the language different? Where is it used more effectively? (10 minutes)\

9.      Evaluation- (paper at the end of unit)

*homework is to read A Perfect Day for Bananafish

 (50-55 MINUTES):