Introduction
The growing importance of the middle classes, both in the political and social field, had a strong influence on literature, encouraging the rise of prose. Belief in the power of reason and the individual's trust in their own abilities found expression in the novel and in journalism.
Task
The aim of this WebQuest is to investigate, analyse, and educate on the various types of Novel, its characteristic features, the authors who made it a popular genre to these days, the works created, and their links to their historical background.
The class will investigate:
- The realistic novel, as in Daniel Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe'
- The utopian novel, as represented by Jonathan Swift's 'Gulliver's travels'
- The epistolary novel, represented here by Samuel Richardson's 'Pamela'
- The picaresque novel, as in Henry Fielding's 'Tom Jones'
- The anti-novel, as in Laurence Sterne's 'Tristram Shandy'
Process
- You will be divided into 5 groups of my choice, each responsible for one type of novel
- You will research the type of novel, life of the author assigned together with the genesis of work that made him famous, the plot, the characters, and the themes, with special regard to the theme's link to the historical background
- You will produce a 15-min presentation to be discussed in class, and all of you will be responsible for a section: everybody will be speaking. You will receive marks as a group and as single students.
- Your presentation MUST BE UPLOADED in the class shared folder so that everybody can have access and study.
GOOD JOB
Evaluation
| Criteria | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Accuracy |
Four or more facts are included in the presentation. |
Three or more facts are included in the presentation. |
Two or more facts are included in the presentation. |
One fact is included in the presentation. |
No facts are included in the presentation. |
| Organization |
The presentation is well organized and written in a logical order |
The presentation is well organized with one minor content error. |
The presentation is well organized with two errors |
The presentation is poorly organized with more than two errors. |
The presentation is disorganized and difficult to follow. There are more than three content errors. |
| Laguage accuracy | The presentation is free from grammar and spelling errors | The presentation has 1-2 grammar or spelling errors | The presentation has 3-4 gramar or spelling errors | The presentation has five or more grammar or spelling errors | All sentences in the article contain grammar and spelling errors. |
| Presentation | The authors presented the article in a clear voice. They made consistent eye contact with the audience and did not read. |
The authors presented the article in a clear voice. Some eye contact was made with the audience but they did not read from notes. | The author presented the article in a clear voice. Little eye contact was made with the audience because of peaking from the notes. | The author did not communicate clearly. Repeated reading from the notes | The author did not communicate clearly. Reading only |
Credits
M. Spiazzi, M. Tavella, M. Layton – Performer Heritage 1, Zanichelli ed
https://www.bl.uk/restoration-18th-century-literature/articles/the-rise-of-the-novel