Literature Lesson Plans - Sykalo Eugen 2024
Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold
Grade Level: This lesson plan is intended for High School English, ideally 11th or 12th grade.
Subject: Literature
Time Allotment: One class period (approximately 50 minutes)
Learning Objectives:
- Students will be able to analyze the poem's structure, imagery, and use of sound devices.
- Students will be able to identify the central themes of faith, doubt, and the challenges of living in a modern world.
- Students will be able to discuss the speaker's relationship with nature and his feelings of isolation.
- Students will be able to consider the historical context of the poem and Victorian anxieties.
Materials:
- Copies of "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold
- Whiteboard or projector
- Markers or pens
- Literary analysis worksheet focusing on imagery and sound devices (optional)
Lesson Procedure:
- Introduction (10 minutes):
- Briefly introduce Matthew Arnold and his place in Victorian literature.
- Mention the Victorian era's emphasis on reason, science, and a decline in religious faith.
- Discuss the title of the poem and its connection to the English Channel.
- Active Reading and Annotation (15 minutes):
- Distribute copies of "Dover Beach."
- Have students read the poem silently, annotating:
✵ Unfamiliar words or phrases.
✵ Vivid imagery (descriptive language that appeals to the senses).
✵ Examples of sound devices (e.g., rhyme scheme, repetition, alliteration).
- Imagery and Sound Analysis (20 minutes):
- Distribute a literary analysis worksheet focusing on imagery and sound devices (optional).
- Individually or in small groups, students analyze:
✵ How do the descriptions of the sea and the cliffs contribute to the poem's atmosphere?
✵ What is the effect of the recurring sound of the "eternal note of sadness"?
✵ How does the use of light and darkness imagery reflect the speaker's emotional state?
- Theme Discussion (15 minutes):
- Lead a class discussion based on the analysis of imagery and sound:
✵ What are the central themes of the poem? Consider faith, doubt, the decline of religious belief, and the challenges of the modern world.
✵ How does the speaker feel about the future? Does he find solace in nature or human connection?
✵ How does the poem capture a sense of isolation and loss of meaning?
Differentiation:
- Provide scaffolding for reading comprehension by offering a vocabulary list of unfamiliar words or paraphrasing complex lines.
- Offer different options for the analysis worksheet (e.g., creating a mood board depicting the imagery from the poem, tracing the use of light and dark imagery throughout the poem).
- Allow students to choose a specific image or sound device to focus on and analyze its symbolic meaning.
Extension Activities:
- Students can research the philosophical and religious anxieties of the Victorian era.
- Have students write a diary entry from the perspective of the speaker's partner, responding to the speaker's feelings of doubt and isolation.
- Compare and contrast "Dover Beach" with another poem that explores themes of faith and doubt in a changing world (e.g., T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land").
Assessment:
- Participation in class discussions and group activities.
- Completed literary analysis worksheet focusing on imagery and sound devices (if used).
- Short essay analyzing the poem's use of imagery and sound devices and their effectiveness in conveying themes of faith, doubt, and the challenges of living in a modern world.
- Optionally, a creative writing piece where students imagine a conversation between the speaker and a person who offers a different perspective on faith and meaning in life.