Far from the Madding Crowd Lesson Plan

Visualizing Country Life

Kind of Activity:

Mixed Media

Objective:

Students will examine early photographs of rural Victorian England, gaining more insight into the book's setting and analyzing Hardy's representation of rural life.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.5, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.7

Structure:

A key theme of Far from the Madding Crowd is the nature of life in rural Victorian England. There are many lyrical passages, describing the vegetation, animal life, and hardworking people, that seem to fit into the paradigm of country as a lovely, easy place. As one passage states, "God was palpably present in the...