SNL: With Host Jane Austen

Overview:  The characters of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice find themselves transported through the space-time continuum, landing in the 21^st century.  Your task is to help guide these characters through the world now that 206 years have passed them by… Choose one of the following scenarios and compose a script to be performed in class.  Please use the rubric below as a guide in your exploration. Be bold.  Be brilliant!

1.  The Bennets, Bingleys, Darcys and others of your choosing have been invited to a Super Bowl LI party in January of 2017:  The New England Patriots vs. The Atlanta Falcons.  Lady Gaga halftime show.  What happens when someone asks for a dance?  How is the dinner different?  Explore the possibilities!

2.  Elizabeth, Jane, and Charlotte go to college.  They take a women’s studies class.  Bingley, Darcy, and Mr. Collins are there, too.  Who rooms with who? Explore the possibilities!

3.  There is a new show on E!  Keeping up with the Bennets.  Their neighbors are the Collins.  Lydia marries Wickham! Kanye and Kim move next door.  Explore the possibilities!

4. There is a new TGC show where Mr. Collins hosts a real estate home show called Condescension with Collins.  The newly married Darcy’s look for a home.  The Wickhams.  Explore the possibilities!

5.  H-Block. A younger Darcy, Elizabeth, Jane, Collins, Charlotte, and others are sent through the space-time continuum to Andover High School 2017 and are juniors in an H-block class.  What colleges are they looking at? How do they interact with staff? Explore the possibilities!

6.  Show Choir of Andover High School makes it to the finals and is up against Longborn High School.  What kind of routine do Jane, Bingley, Caroline, Elizabeth, Darcy, Collins, Lydia, Wickham, and others.  Is there any drama going on behind the scenes?  Who likes whom?  Explore the possibilities!

Criteria & Rubric

A range has the following qualities:

Ø  Well written script – everyone contributes in a fair and balanced manner

Ø  Script has a logical beginning middle and end with smooth transitions

Ø  References to specific characters using specific examples of their dialogue and characterization

Ø  References to specific storylines from the book are cleverly incorporated into the script

Ø  References to themes from the novel are incorporated into the script

Ø  Letters are incorporated to comedic effect

Ø  Students rehearse in a focused manner, utilizing class time wisely

Ø  Performance is smooth and the audience is in awe!

Ø  Mr. Darcy says, “You must allow me to tell you how much I admire and love you!”

B range has the following qualities:

Ø  Written script – everyone contributes

Ø  Script has a logical beginning middle and end

Ø  References to characters using some examples of their dialogue and characterization

Ø  References to general storylines from the book

Ø  References to themes from the novel

Ø  Letters are incorporated

Ø  Students rehearse but fall off task from time to time.

Ø  Performance is effective

Ø  Charlotte Lucas says, “I am quite content, Lizzy.”

C range has the following qualities:

Ø  Script is complete

Ø  Script does not have a logical progression

Ø  General references to characters

Ø  General references to general storylines from the book

Ø  General references to themes from the novel

Ø  Letters are referenced

Ø  Students rehearse but spend a lot of time sitting on the floor

Ø  Performance is fine

Ø  Mrs. Bennet says, “You have no respect for my poor nerves!”

D and F range has the following qualities:

Ø  Script is incomplete

Ø  Script consists of a series of moments

Ø  Few references to characters

Ø  Few references to general storylines from the book

Ø  Few references to themes from the novel

Ø  No letters are referenced

Ø  Students spend a lot of time sitting on the floor, and/or are disruptive

Ø  Performance is marred by a lack of focus and/or rehearsal

Ø  Lady Catherine DeBourg says, “I am quite put out!”

Jane Austen Personal Research Explication

Overview:  Rather than compose a throw away piece of writing to be posted and forgotten, I would like you to do some genuine research about the lasting impact of Jane Austen and her novel on today’s audience.  Please choose one of the following prompts and compose an essay using at least five different sources of material.  Please use MLA format and include a works cited page. YOU MUST CRAFT YOUR OWN QUERY FROM THE IDEAS BELOW.

Marriage

Compare how ninteenth-century society viewed marriage with how marriage is viewed today. What might account for the differences?  How have society’s views of marriage and divorce changed since your grandparents were young?  Research two cultures from around the world and compare it in the context of Austen’s work (avoid generalizations, please).

Cultural

Why do you think Jane Austen’s novels continue to be read almost 200 years after they were written?  Have you seen any of the movies or TV miniseries made in the 1990s that are based on Austen’s novels? Research two cultures from around the world and compare it in the context of Austen’s work (avoid generalizations, please).

Socio-economic

After completing the novel, have the students investigate social/cultural institutions and attitudes. Look back in the novel to identify passages in which Austen addresses the English class system. What is Austen’s attitude toward the English class system? Look at the Bennets’ parenting styles and the family life in the Bennet household. What do these descriptions suggest about Austen’s attitudes about family life? Research two cultures from around the world and compare it in the context of Austen’s work (avoid generalizations, please).

Women’s Rights

Jane Austen: Social Critic? In a scene earlier in the novel, Elizabeth implores Mr. Collins to treat her as “a rational creature speaking the truth from her heart.” Her statement seems to echo Mary Wollstonecraft, an author whose writings marked the beginning of the women’s rights movement. The well-read Austen would have been familiar with Wollstonecraft’s landmark work, Vindication of the Rights of Woman, published in 1792. This popular book challenged the prevailing idea that a woman’s purpose in life was to please men. Wollstonecraft claimed that, as mental equals, women should have the same opportunities in education, work, and politics as men. None of Austen’s female characters “rocks the boat” the way Wollstonecraft did. Elizabeth Bennet, however, like other Austen heroines, is an intelligent woman of depth and substance. As you finish reading the novel, think about Elizabeth in relation to her society. Does she seem to accept society’s limits on her as a woman? How do you think Austen views the restrictions on her heroine? Do you think her purpose in writing the novel was merely to entertain, or did her work contain a deeper message of social criticism?  Research two cultures from around the world and compare it in the context of Austen’s work (avoid generalizations, please).

Fandom

Jane Austen has had a fan club for over 100 years. In the late 1800s, the first publication of an Austen biography and collected edition of her novels led to a boom of interest in Jane Austen. Many of these early admirers were interested in her characters and in Austen herself. Austen acquired more scholarly admirers in the twentieth century, when many critics highlighted her mastery of language, plot, and irony. Today, a Jane Austen Society exists in both Great Britain and North America. Austen’s modern-day fans appreciate her novels as literature, but they are also fascinated by the era that shaped Jane Austen’s life and writings. The Jane Austen Society of North America was founded in 1979. Its members’ interests range from publishing scholarly papers on Austen’s works to re-creating dinner parties and balls like those attended by her characters.  Research the fan bases around the world.  What is it that unifies us?  Research two cultures from around the world and compare it in the context of Austen’s work (avoid generalizations, please).

Some Resources (To help you get started on your journey):

The Jane Austen Centre

https://www.janeausten.co.uk/

The Jane Austen Society of North America

http://www.jasna.org/

Jane Austen’s World

https://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/

Janeites: The curious American cult of Jane Austen

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21036818

Harvard University Press:  Includes all the major works, articles, etc.

http://www.hup.harvard.edu/features/austen/austen-resources.html

From Goodreads:  The Best Jane Austen Fan Fiction

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/405.Best_Jane_Austen_FanFiction