Grapes Guide.pdf - Minnesota Opera

Working with the Libretto using Literary Lenses Worksheet
Lesson 8
name
activity #1
Divide into three groups, one for each lens, (or, e.g., nine groups, one for each lens for each act of the libretto) to
explore how each of the above lenses could be applied to the text. Criteria for the assignment could include the
following (adapted according to group size and the number of pages each group is assigned):
(1) Examine your part of the text according to the lens with which you are working.
(2) Find 2–3 themes or observations the opera is exploring which relate to your lens.
(3) Find 6 specific quotations which express the text’s views on these themes/observations.
(4) Prepare an oral presentation in which your group shares its findings with the class including:
A. An explanation of how your lens relates to the text.
B. An explanation of the themes highlighted in your section of the text.
C. Your six quotations, which have been put on a transparency, which you will incorporate into your presentation.
examples
Students assigned the Archetypal lens may focus on the Joads as examples of the Biblical journey from bondage to
the Promised Land, on Casy or Tom as a Promethean rebel-hero, the death-rebirth theme on a social scale, etc.
Students who are assigned the Marxist lens might decide, for example, that there are two main themes that are
illustrated by their section of the text:
(1) poverty v. wealth/greed
(2) The necessity of social unity for survival
They might cite the struggle between the growers and the migrant workers, the development of the theme of
community through the experience at the government camp, etc.
Students assigned the Historical lens would of course focus on how the Joad journey becomes a microcosm for the
entire migrant experience during the Depression.
activity #2
Activity #1 would lend itself well to a student essay based on the lens work. The educator could have the student
deal either with their part of the libretto (if it has been divided) or with the entire opera (an incentive to take good
notes on their classmates’ presentations). Educators who are also focusing on the music could incorporate into the
assignment how the melodies themselves amplify the meaning of the text.
opera box lesson plans
34