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Teacher's Guide for The Song of the Lark
A story of an artist's struggle for identityIn May 2001, EXXONMOBIL MASTERPIECE THEATRE'S AMERICAN COLLECTION presented its second film, an adaptation of an autobiographical novel by one of
America's foremost 20th Century women authors, Willa Cather. The Song of the Lark, brings the singular artistic struggle of its protagonist, Thea Kronborg, into the changing perspective of
America at the turn of the last century. Cather's ability to create a character who rejects and transcends the social mores of the times is clearly expressed in Joseph Maurer's screen adaptation of the
novel. Produced by ALT Films and Dorothea Petrie for G. Petrie Productions for WGBH Boston, the film exposes the essence of Cather's spirit from the plains of Moonstone to the cliff dwellings of the West, to the
bustling streets of Chicago. Alison Elliott, Arliss Howard, Maximilian Schell, and Tony Goldwyn star in this production that follows Thea in her quest to find herself as an artist. The Song of the Lark
details the lifelong struggle of Thea Kronborg -- first as one of many children to Swedish immigrants; then as a young artistic woman stifled by the town's rigorous standards of propriety; and finally, as a rising operatic star. This is essentially a coming of age novel that is centered around the questions of identity, gender, and personal fulfillment. Thea's fight to find her way in the world and to achieve her destiny as an artist makes her stand as a larger than life representation of the power of the will. Willa Cather, a romantic writer, had a steadfast faith in the indomitable nature of the human spirit and strongly believed that "every artist makes himself born." The film, in keeping with Cather's own view, focuses on and celebrates the journey toward artistry, rather than the culmination of it.
Teachers all over the country have contributed materials to supplement your teaching of both the novel and the film. We've grouped them into categories for you below. Teacher Reviews
Teachers and students across the country have already previewed the film. Read the reviews below!
"As a life-long fan of Willa Cather, I was delighted with The Song of the Lark production. Raised on a farm in
Nebraska, Cather was simultaneously inspired and smothered by rural society. Like Thea Kronborg, Cather went east to fulfill her creative ambitions. Yet characters such as Thea draw upon the strengths of
their rural roots to get them through the difficulties they face when striving to fulfill their goals. The film does an excellent job of capturing the driving force of Thea's musical ambition and the
struggle she faces when having to choose a different direction for her musical abilities. The actress who plays Thea, Alison Elliott, is wonderfully expressive and is strongly supported by the remainder of
the cast."- Pat Diggins, Logan-Magnolia High School, Iowa. |
To read another teacher review on the film,
click here.Production Information
Our interviews with producers, directors, and screenwriter provide a wonderful way to introduce the film and novel. The question that arises whenever a lengthy saga must be condensed into a
two-hour film representation is, "What do you include/leave out and why?" The producers and screenwriter provide insightful comments to the difficult task of selecting what parts of the classic
novel to use while creating a 2-hour movie from over 400 pages. Posing this question to your students post-reading but pre-viewing, can be the opening to much discussion and debate when
they compare their answers to the production choices. Go to the Production section of our web site for these easily downloadable PDF files.
Author Background
No study guide on Cather's works would be complete without an in depth look into the artist herself. So much of her work is paralleled in her own life, and in the Introduction, Emerging Identity
and Thea Kronborg and Willa Cather's "Kingdom of Art" students can learn where Cather the artist leaves off
and the fictional characters begin. A concise biography of Willa Cather is also located at an external site, http://www.scribblingwomen.org/stories.html .Reading/Viewing Options
We've provided learning paths for virtually every combination of approaches for teaching the novel and film. Reading the Entire Novel- Viewing the Film: The complete e-text is available online on the web site ncteamericancollection.org. A comprehensive interdisciplinary approach can be found in Viewing Guide for The Song of the Lark. Pre and Post-viewing questions as well as quotes, 39 activities and more are all provided in this viewing guide.
Reading Parts of the Novel- Viewing the Film: Because of the length of the novel, some middle school teachers may opt to teach only a few sections of the novel. In the essay, Teaching an Abridged Version of The Song of the Lark
, teachers can read synopses on the different sections of the novel along with thematic foci for each section. One of the logical choices for
middle school teachers to select for student reading is the "Friends of Childhood" section, part one of the novel. Willa Cather's poetic descriptions of the land and her characters shine through in this section,
allowing students to experience the richness of her prose. The Friends of Childhood lesson plan is
an introductory lesson to get student "into" the content by becoming familiar with characters and situations, and provides for writing opportunities.Viewing the Film:
For teachers who may want to show the movie in their classes without having the students read the book, the essay What the Movie Didn't Tell You helps to fill in the gaps. This
essay comes with great extension activities. Lesson Paths
Character Study
Many provocative lesson plans on characterization are just a click away. A great way to study the novel is with Characterization Studies which is designed to take your students through the novel by closely examining five sections of the novel to explore the author's unique style of characterization. The
Gallery Lesson Plan provides a group activity with students reacting to the photographs of major characters in the novel and preparing a wall display. Humanities
This rich novel lends itself to an interdisciplinary approach. The most obvious literary element to study is the character of Thea, a classic picture of a complex human being who refuses to let others
define her or tell her who she should be. She is also a reflection of her times – and, in her refusal to play a passive "woman's role " – an exception to them. The book is also rich in its pictures of
Thea's time, the worlds in which she lives, and the demands that are made on someone who wants to be an artist. The Song of the Lark also paints a poignant picture of relations between classes and
ethnic groups in the early days of the century and, of course, in its depiction of a young woman who steps outside the bonds of convention to live the life she needs to live. The Music Connection
Here is a student's reflection on the theme of the film:
"As in many other works by Willa Cather, the main character, Thea is looking for freedom and independence. That is frequently the
main theme in Cather's books. An individual or group of people try to break away and make life better. Many characters in her stories are looking for personal purpose and freedom. That is why her stories are
so popular.I think it is very appropriate that in the story Thea is a musician who is struggling to succeed and break away from an unsatisfying environment. She finds her freedom through music. As a
musician, I can tell you that music is freedom. Music is an escape; it is a journey for the mind and spirit that takes the musician to new horizons. The "tune" tells a story like no other. There is
a popular saying that "A picture is worth a thousand words." I believe that a song is worth a thousand pictures and I think Willa Cather believed this also. Thea had such a gift for music. She had
the ability to feel the music and put herself in it. She was honest and used genuine emotion when singing or playing. She was a true musician. I have been a musician most of my life and have earned ten
superiors in a row at piano solo contests. There was not one year when I played my songs mechanically perfect. But what technical mistakes take away, emotion and feeling bring back tenfold. Being able to
perform from the heart is a true gift that only few musicians have. That was definitely a gift that set Thea apart from the rest. Through Thea's hard struggle to achieve musical success she earned
true freedom and her spirit soared." – Bryan Leonard, Age 17
– Junior, Logan-Magnolia High School, Logan, Iowa. |
For many students like the one above, music is a central focus in their lives. The same was true for
Cather's heroine, Thea, only her focus changes from being a concert pianist to becoming an opera diva. The web site offers an in depth look at Der Ring Des Nibelungen, the Wagner opera symbolizing the pinnacle of Thea's journey, and the parallels between Thea and real life opera diva,
Olive Fremstad. You can engage your students in a wonderful discussion of the purpose of music, finding the commonalities between Thea's need for musical expression and your students' need for music in their lives today.
The Art Connection
With the current nationwide movement toward including art history as part of the core curriculum, a great way to introduce students to the history of art is through What is Art? What is an Artist? Web site. This site goes well with The Shapes of Art: A Lesson in Aesthetic Awareness lesson plan. The Kingdom of Art lesson involves students searching for evidence of Willa Cather's opinions on art and the artist through early reviews and critical essays. The Art Institute of Chicago site offers students a look inside the museum where Thea first sees The Song of the Lark painting by Breton, also shown on our resources page for the section.The History Connection
The history teacher can easily connect this novel to the study of the frontier: its hardships, beautiful landscapes, and enduring characters. The essay "The Passion and Culture of the Southwest" and
Southwest Internet Sources are rich resources of local interests. Northern Great Plains, 1880-1920 is a bountiful source of photographs depicting the harsh realities of life for the western settler. The Oregon Trail has all the expected information regarding the trail plus the benefit of a virtual field trip of some of the prominent sites on the trail. The Peoples of the American Southwest provides great information about the Indians, tribes, gunslingers, and other colorful characters of the southwest. It
has useful and informative links to biographical information to people of the southwest that might difficult to locate otherwise. Two great sources that can be used as primary source documents are Letters of a Woman Homesteader and
Making It Their Own: Women in the West sites. The letters
site has links to a number of essays and articles including that of Mrs. Stewart, who is mentioned in the description. The Women site has similar essays and articles by subject, but also has biographies
of some prominent western women, notably Calamity Jane and Annie Oakley.Links to Core Literature
The Woman Artist: Cather's Thea and Chopin's Edna lesson will lead students in a comparison of
how various aspects of becoming an artist is played out for women characters in two novels, The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather and The Awakening by Kate Chopin. This lesson plan involves
"into, through and beyond" activities. Another strong female protagonist with which to compare Thea is Cora, the protagonist in Langston Hughes' short story, "Cora Unashamed". For resources
on this story and Hughes go to the Cora Unashamed
section of our web site. Web sites on these and other authors can be found through our American Writing Gateway. Student Contributions
Willa Cather is still one of the most widely taught women writers in classrooms today because of the richness of the themes expressed throughout her work. Picking up on the theme of Thea's
Independence, students who viewed the film from all over the country have contributed to The Song of the Lark issue of Between the Lines
, student online literary magazine. Through art, poetry, drama, short stories, journal entries, essays, high school students, like Cather, have contributed to making
the artist within, born. This student written, student run, and student programmed magazine should not be missed. We continually accept new student work, so share the site with your own students
and have them contact us through the "Join Us" form. |
