English Literature Lesson Plan: Tragedy and the Tragic Flaw in Literature

Lesson Plan Objectives

1. Having begun an English Literature Unit on tragedy, students will analyze their conceptions about tragic flaws and will be able to reconcile preconceptions with the literary devices and methods discussed through journaling and a brief paper.

2. After the lesson students will be able to relate the literary texts and terms to their daily lives through discussions, journaling and a brief paper.

3. After reading a tragic text, the students will be able to apply the definitions of tragedy, tragic hero, and tragic flaw to the text, create meaning within the text, and make judgments about the text. 

Lesson Plan Materials Needed

Writing assignment (below)
Overhead (or Power Point) with definitions
Timer

Lesson Plan Procedure

1. The teacher will begin class by asking all students to take out a piece of paper and a pencil and writing the phrase “tragic flaw” on the board.

2. The teacher will then say, “Based upon what you have already learned about tragedy and tragic heroes, free write for the next 5 minutes about what you think this word might possibly mean.

3. The teacher will then hold a brief discussion asking students what they think the definition might be and how they think it might relate to the study of tragedy; during this discussion the teacher will write key or reoccurring phrases on the board for the students to see.

4. The teacher will then show the overhead reviewing Aristotle’s definitions of tragedy and tragic hero and Bradley’s definitions of tragedy and tragic hero and remind the students of those previously studied definitions.

5. The teacher will then briefly explain to students the literary concept of tragic flaw.

6. After explaining the tragic flaw and relating the actual definition to the ones created by the students, the teacher will ask the students to get in groups of 4 and, in 5 minutes, come up with 1 example of a tragic hero from literature and 1 example from real life. The teacher will ask the students also to identify the possible tragic flaws of that character using specific and detailed examples.