CommonLit
Common Lit: "On Tragedy" by Aristotle
In this chapter from "Poetics", Aristotle seeks to define "tragedy" as it relates to literature and human emotion. A specific purpose for reading and vocabulary notes are provided. This site offers links to paired texts, questions and...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: What Is the Tragedy of the Commons?
In 1968, Garrett Hardin sat down to write an essay about overpopulation. Within it, he discovered a pattern of human behavior that explains some of history's biggest problems. Nicholas Amendolare describes the tragedy of the commons.
Other
The Literary Link: Apollo and Dionysus: Some Views on Tragedy
Basic definitions of two terms and the descriptive words associated with each.
Louisiana Department of Education
Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: English Language Arts, Grade 9: Hope, Despair, and Memory
This unit teaches students about the importance of hope and remembrance during times of tragedy. Students explore the different ways characters and historical figures have embraced humanity and created civility as a response to...
Yale University
Yale National Initiative:take a Stab at It: Exploring Character in Julius Caesar
This curriculum unit guides students in a deep investigation of the characters in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, and in developing an appreciation of Shakespeare's talent for language and his insightful understanding of human...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Social Realism: Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser is featured as a realistic author who draws upon the social conditions and humanity in America in his writings. Click on "Theodore Dreiser Activities" for related materials.
Louisiana Department of Education
Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: English Language Arts, Grade 10: Macbeth
Students explore the ideas of ambition and failure. They learn that conflicts serve as the basis of a text's meaning and that identifying the internal and external conflicts of a story reveals the motivations of complex characters. They...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Live From Antiquity!
Intended to accompany a reading of Sophocles' _Antigone_, "Live From Antiquity!" provides framework for teaching the "cultural and historical context of Greek drama and its role in Greek society."
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Lyndon Johnson as President
Lyndon Baines Johnson became president on the heels of a national tragedy. Review his domestic and foreign policy using the following summary, questions for critical thinking, references for further study, and a question/answer section...
Authors Calendar
Author's Calendar: Thomas Hardy
This site on Thomas Hardy (1840-1928 CE), the English poet and regional novelist, describes how his work reflected his stoical pessimism and sense of tragedy in human life.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: "Hamlet" and the Elizabethan Revenge Ethic
The theme of revenge was very popular in Elizabethan drama. This lesson plan helps students understand how Shakespeare used that convention in "Hamlet."
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Dramatizing History in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible"
Critical analysis of both the historical documents and the literary texts connected with the Salem trials is key to this lesson, which includes a number of activities and some wonderful resources.