Sanity & Madness in A Streetcar Named Desire & Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Lesson 4
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ELA

Unit 10

10th Grade

Lesson 4 of 23

Objective


Analyze how the speaker in K.P Page’s poem portrays the landlady as a complex character. 

Readings and Materials


  • Poem: “Landlady” by P.K. Page 

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

How does the speaker in P.K. Page’s poem portray the landlady as a complex character?

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Annotation Focus

What lines, words, or phrases does the speaker use to describe the landlady’s actions and appearance?

Scaffolding Questions

Who is the speaker of the poem? How do you know?

What words and phrases does the speaker use to describe the boarders? How does this description impact your first impressions of the boarders?

How does the speaker describe the landlord’s impact on the boarders? How does the speaker’s description of the landlord’s impact on the borders influence your first impressions of the landlord? 

In stanza 6, there is a shift in the speaker’s portrayal of the landlady and tone. What word is indicative of this shift? How and why does the speaker’s portrayal of the landlady and tone shift?

Discourse Questions

What is complex about the speaker’s portrayal of the landlord? 

  • If students need scaffolding, ask the following discourse question after students complete the target task: Is the landlady a curious stalker, obsessive-compulsive madwoman, or something else?

To what extent does the landlady’s character align with the archetype of the madwoman?

Homework


  • Prepare for tomorrow’s Socratic seminar by gathering ideas and multiple pieces of evidence per seminar question. 
  • Read and annotate A Streetcar Named Desire, Scenes 1–3 by Lesson 7. 
    • Scene 1: What are your first impressions of Blanche’s character? 
    • Scene 2: What are your first impressions of Blanche and Stanley’s relationship? 
    • Scene 3: What are your impressions of Stanley’s actions in this scene?

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Standards


  • LO 1.3A — Analyze how literary elements interact to develop the central ideas of a work of literature.
  • RI.9-10.3 — Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.

Supporting Standards

LO 1.3B
LO 5.1A
LO 5.1B
RL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.1

Next

Formulate and share unique arguments about madness and sanity.

Support arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence in a Socratic seminar.

Lesson 5
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