ly, this lesson will come in the middle of a unit on Romanticism, so students will be familiar with that particular literary era’s political, socio-cultural, economic, and literary backdrop: Student will also have working knowledge of literary devices such as irregular rhyme, symbol, theme, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, tone, theme, imagery’, and plot mapping, although a review of these may be called for. They also will be familiar with surfing the web for credible sources.
- From the overhead (or the board), read the following prompt to students, asking them to respond in wnting while the music plays:
Describe one of your most vivid dreams or nightmares, especially one that truly upset or perplexed you. Be sure to go into detail, using details to not only recreate this nocturnal vision, but also to explain your reaction to it.
- Play “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics while students are writing. I usually ask students to write for the duration of the song only, quickly putting their thoughts on paper.
- Invite students to share their writings with the class.
- After students discuss their dreams and reactions, ask them to add to their prompts their own personal interpretations of what their dreams might mean. (For example, I would share my own dreams that reoccur every August since I was in high school. These usually involve my need to get an important piece of paper out of my locker but being unable to remember the combination, or about being handed a final exit exam for graduation and being unable to read any of the words on the paper. I would also offer my own interpretation of these dreams, focusing on the enormous anxiety that accompanies the anticipation of a new school year. I would share that I still have these dreams, even though I am in my forties and arn now in my fourth &ear of teaching! I interpret these dreams as being symbolic of the feelings of powerlessness and helplessness that come with starting anything new, as well as the uncertainty of its fliture.)
- Play Marilyn Manson’s version of “Sweet Dreams” while students respond to the prompt.
- Encourage students to share their dream interpretations with the class.
- Ask students to ponder which of the following issues or circumstances might have influenced their interpretations:
historical/experiential--students may have heard about other dream interpretationsfrom the past, or may have figured out their interpretations due to their prior knowledge of the situations that sparked such dreams. These may also be influenced by culture;
psychological--students have some background in dream interpretation through research or because they have taken Psychology classes;
Literary--students have prior knowledge of literary symbols, therefore applying those to their dreams;
spiritual/religious-students have certain principles that have influenced their exegesis.
- Explain how certain issues and experiences act as screens that influence our interpretations. For example, ask students to work with a partner for two minutes to offer interpretations of what the use of a river in a literary work might mean using all four screens.
- Invite volunteer pairs to share their responses. These should hopeftilly include the following:
historica1/experiential--travel, discovery, escape, personal experiences (these may vary widely);
psychological-exploration of the subconscious (as in repression or buried feeling)
spirituaI/religious-baptism, holiness (these may vary depending on the particular religious or spiritual persuasion)
- Explain how our interpretations of many things have been screened or filtered through these influences. We may indeed view the world, as well as literature and other media, through one or all of these screens, as well as others such as gender, race, socio-econontic conditions, etc.
- Ask students how the two versions of “Sweet Dreams” might have influenced their two prompt responses, especially noting the tone of the songs as the students’ prior knowledge and opinions of both musical groups (Eurhythrnics and Marilyn Manson).
- Following discussion, 