Language Arts: Story Analysis and Theme - …dallasopera.org/eduCurric/dongiovanni/DonGiovanniLanguageArts.pdfLanguage Arts: Story Analysis and Theme Students Will Read the "Synopsis"

2017-2018 Educational Programs page 1 of 15

Language Arts: Story Analysis and Theme

Students Will

Read the "Synopsis" and "The Librettist"

Read and discuss "Literary Elements Review"

Complete the Activity Worksheets and Plot Diagram

Copies for Students

"Synopsis"

"The Librettist"

"Literary Elements Review"

Activity Worksheets

Copies for the Teacher

"Synopsis"

"The Librettist"

"Literary Elements Review"

Activity Worksheets

ANSWER KEYS for Activity Worksheets

Getting Ready

Review the lesson. Gather pens, pencils, and additional writing paper as needed for your group.

Introduction

Read the "Synopsis" as a class. Continue reading through the Literary Elements Review, discussing concepts

as you go.

Guided Practice

You may want to use a story your students are familiar with to complete a practice linear plot diagram or

review conflict types as a class before moving on to the Activity Worksheets.

Independent Practice

Depending on your grade level, the ability of your students, and time constraints, you may choose to have

students work as a whole class, in small groups, with a partner, or individually. Read the directions on the

activity worksheets. Provide instruction and model the activity as needed. Have students complete the

activity worksheets with opportunity for questions.

Evaluation

Have students share their answers individually or in groups and explain the reasoning for their answers. The

teacher may want to guide the discussion with the sample answers provided.

Don Giovanni


TEKS

(5) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw

conclusions about the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support their

understanding. (A. B. C.)

Correlates: Music

Gardner’s Intelligences: Verbal-Linguistic, Musical, Interpersonal

Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis

Sources:

Don Giovanni Libretto

https://www.texasgateway.org/resource/how-read-and-analyze-short-story-english-iii-reading

https://www.texasgateway.org/resource/how-read-and-analyze-short-story-english-iii-reading

Don Giovanni


Synopsis

ACT ONE

Scene I

Leporello stands guard for his master’s latest amatory escapade while Don Giovanni is in Donna Anna’s

room. Suddenly Giovanni rushes out pursued by Anna, who calls for help to arrest her masked seducer. Her

father, the Commendatore, challenges Giovanni and is murdered by him. Giovanni and Leporello leave.

Anna returns with her fiancé, Don Ottavio, and sinks beside her father’s body. She vows to have vengeance

and compels Ottavio to share her vow.

Scene II

An unhappy lady appears, observed by Giovanni and Leporello It is Donna Elvira, whom Giovanni had

previously abandoned. He flees after referring her to Leporello, who recites the catalogue of Giovanni’s

conquests. Masetto and Zerlina, who are shortly to be married, celebrate with their friends. After joining the

happy couple, Giovanni orders Leporello to escort Masetto and the peasants to his villa for a party so that he

can be alone with Zerlina. Masetto reluctantly accedes to Giovanni’s wishes. Once Masetto is out of the way,

Giovanni woos Zerlina. They are discovered by Elvira, who warns the girl to avoid Giovanni. Anna and

Ottavio appear, requesting Giovanni’s help in punishing the Commendatore’s unknown assassin. Elvira

returns with renewed reproaches for Giovanni, which he dismisses as the ravings of a madwoman. She

leaves, followed by Giovanni. Anna suddenly realizes that he is, in fact, her father’s murderer. She renews

her demand for revenge before rushing away, leaving Ottavio to reflect on his love for her. Leporello relates

his adventures with Elvira to Giovanni, who orders him to prepare a feast that very night, so that by morning

he will have at least ten new names to add to the catalogue.

Scene III

Zerlina persuades Masetto to forgive her. At the sound of Giovanni’s voice, Masetto steps aside. Giovanni

appears, sees Zerlina, and resumes his seduction. Upon discovering Masetto, he persuades the young man to

join him as well, and the three enter the villa. Anna, Elvira, and Ottavio arrive, each wearing a mask and

intent on vengeance. Catching sight of them, Leporello invites them – on Giovanni’s behalf – to attend the

party. The three pause to ask for heaven’s assistance.

Scene IV

Giovanni welcomes the trio of masquers. He tells Leporello to distract Masetto, then dances with Zerlina and

leads her to another room. Suddenly her screams are heard, alarming the party guests. Giovanni re-enters and

blames Leporello for attacking Zerlina. Anna, Elvira, and Ottavio unmask and denounce Giovanni as the

murderer of Anna’s father.

Don Giovanni


ACT TWO

Scene I

Leporello wishes to leave Giovanni’s service, but the offer of money induces him to stay. Giovanni

exchanges clothes with Leporello in order to woo Elvira’s maid in disguise. Elvira appears at a window of

her hotel room, lamenting Giovanni’s cruelty. Giovanni asks her to come to him, but it is with Leporello –

also in disguise – that Elvira leaves. Alone in front of the hotel, Giovanni serenades Elvira’s maid. Masetto,

armed, arrives with a group of armed villagers. Giovanni sends the men off but detains Masetto, whom he

beats soundly. Masetto’s cries of pain bring Zerlina, who is able to comfort him.

Scene II

Still disguised as Giovanni, Leporello eludes Elvira but falls into the hands of Anna, Ottavio, Masetto, and

Zerlina. Leporello reveals his true identity, begs for mercy and escapes. Ottavio asks his companions to

comfort Anna until he can return as the messenger of her vengeance. Left alone, Elvira admits that although

Giovanni has betrayed her, she still pities him.

Scene III

Giovanni reaches the cemetery where the Commendatore has been buried. Leporello joins him and hears of

his latest adventures. Much to their amazement, the two hear the voice of the Commendatore emanating from

a statue. Giovanni orders Leporello to invite the statue to dinner.

Scene IV

Anna begs Ottavio to wait to marry her until her grief for her father has subsided. When he berates her for

treating him cruelly, she assures him of her love and hopes that one day heaven will pity her suffering.

Scene V

A table is set for dinner. Giovanni gobbles his food and gulps his wine, while Leporello looks on hungrily

and steals some pheasant. Elvira bursts in, imploring Giovanni to repent. When he refuses, she rushes away

in misery. The statue of the Commendatore enters and invites Giovanni to dine with him. The invitation is

accepted, but when the statue orders him to repent, Giovanni refuses and is dragged to hell. Anna, Ottavio,

Elvira, Zerlina, and Masetto arrive, ready to confront Giovanni. Leporello informs them of what happened,

and all proclaim the end of an evildoer.

Don Giovanni


The Librettist

Born Emmanuele Conegliano, Da Ponte adopted the name of the Bishop of Ceneda, Lorenzo da

Ponte, when his father, a Jewish tanner, converted to Christianity in 1763. Da Ponte’s early training in

Ceneda and Portogruaro prepared him for the priesthood (he was ordained in 1773) and for teaching (at

seminaries in Portogruaro, 1770-73, and Treviso, 1774-6). However, his penchant for liberal politics and

married women led to a ban on his teaching in the Veneto and, on 17 December 1779, a 15 year exile from

Venice. He went first to Gorizia and then to Dresden, believing that his friend, the poet and librettist Caterino

Mazzolà, would secure him a court post: in Dresden he worked with Mazzolà, translating and arranging

plays and librettos. Mazzolà then provided Da Ponte with a recommendation to Salieri in Vienna: he arrived

there in late 1781, meeting Matastasio just before his death. Da Ponte attracted the favor of Joseph II and,

when Joseph abandoned his pursuit of German opera and revived the Italian company (in 1783), Da Ponte

was appointed poet to the court theatre.

Da Ponte’s facility for versifying, his ready wit, and sound knowledge of languages made him an

ideal theatre poet. His work included translating texts from French to Italian, reworking old librettos for

revivals, and providing new works (themselves often adaptations) for Viennese composers. His first new

libretto for Salieri as musical director of the company, Il ricco d’un giorno, was a failure (Da Ponte blamed

the music). But in 1786 his position was assured by the success of his Il burbero di buon cuore for Martín y

Soler. That year saw a remarkable output of six librettos, including Le Nozze di Figaro for Mozart and the

hugely popular Una cosa rara (again set by Martín y Soler).

Da Ponte had an uneasy relationship with Count Rosenburg, director of the theatre, and his rivalry

with the poet Giambattista Casti found expression in satirical poems (notably the Epistola nell’Abate Casti,

Vienna, 1786) and even on the stage. Da Ponte’s arrogance did not help matters. He managed to regain

Salieri’s favour, providing Axur, re d’Ormus (based, like Figaro, on Beaumarchais) at the same time as

writing L’arbore di Diana for Martín y Soler and Don Giovanni for Mozart; he later produced three other

librettos for Salieri. He also published a volume of Saggi Poetici (Vienna, 1788). In 1789, Da Ponte was

involved in the revival of Figaro, probably providing the new texts for arias to be sung by his mistress,

Adriana Ferrarese (the new Susanna), and wrote Cosí fan tutte in that same year (Ferrarese was Fiordiligi). In

addition, he claims to have saved the Italian opera in Vienna from threatened closure. However, the death of

his patron Joseph II (1790), and court intrigue on the succession of Leopold II led to his dismissal (for which

he blamed Salieri, among others) in 1791.

The poet was denied permission to return to Venice, and although a reported meeting (in Trieste)

with the short-lived Leopold II, and the support of Leopold’s successor, Francis II, went some way towards

healing the rift, he never re-established himself in Vienna. Instead, having ‘married’ and Englishwoman,

Ann (Nancy) Grahl, (1792), he set off for Paris and then, discouraged by the unstable political situation

there, he headed for London. Doubtless he hoped to join forces with his former colleagues in Vienna, the

singer Michael Kelly and the composer Stephen Storace. After a futile year attempting to establish Italian

opera in Brussels, Rotterdam, and The Hague, he was appointed to the King’s Theatre, Haymarket, by the

new manager, William Taylor. While there, Da Ponte arranged operas by Cimarosa and others, collaborated

again with Martín y Soler on two operas during the composer’s stay in London in 1795, and also provided

librettos for Francesco Bianchi. A trip to Italy in 1798 to recruit singers for the theatre reunited him with his

family and his beloved Venice, although his old enemies forced a quick departure. His return to

Don Giovanni


The Librettist Continued

London saw his position blocked by intrigue – he was dismissed in 1799 – and the King’s Theatre in

financial disarray: his unwise involvement in Taylor’s dubious dealings led to Da Ponte declaring himself

bankrupt in 1800. He was reinstated at the theatre in 1801 and collaborated with Peter Winter on three new

operas, but pursued by creditors; he followed Nancy to America in 1805.

Da Ponte became a grocer and general merchant in New York, the Sunbury (Pennsylvania), and

Philadelphia, supplementing his income with private teaching and dealing in Italian books (an activity begun

in London). Returning to New York in 1819, he determined to bring Italian culture to his newly adopted

country (he took American citizenship) through teaching and book dealing; he also occupied the post of

Professor of Italian at Columbia College in 1825 and from 1827 until his death.

Notwithstanding his grief at Nancy’s death (he issued a volume of commemorative verse in 1832),

Da Ponte became financially involved in the ill-fated tour of the Montresor company in 1832-1833 (he

published an account in 1833) and acted briefly as manager of the newly built Italian Opera house. The

initiative brought financial loss, and also a sense that his life’s work had been for nothing – a projected final

volume of the Memorie was never completed – although by all accounts his elaborate funeral offered

significant recognition of his achievement.

Don Giovanni


Literary Elements Review

Plot Analysis

A Linear Plot is a way to organize the plot of a story. The story moves continuously forward from point A to

point B and contains some specific elements:

Opening/Exposition: introduces the characters and sets the tone of the story

Inciting Incident: what happens to kick off the action of the story – the main conflict is introduced and

reveals the protagonist (good guy) and the antagonist (bad guy)

Rising Action: everything that happens in the story that adds conflict and builds suspense

Climax: the turning point of the story – the rising action builds to this most intense moment in the conflict

Falling Action: what happens after the climax to let us know how the resolution could be achieved

Resolution: how the conflict is resolved and all the loose ends of the story are tied up to finish the story

Conflict is always what keeps the story moving forward and keeps the reader interested. Events and actions

build to increase the conflict until it is resolved and the story ends.

Don Giovanni


Setting

The setting is when and where a story takes place. It can also convey the mood and tone. Every story needs a

location – a time and a place. If you were to take the plot of any story and change the setting, it could change

the entire story, and in some cases, even the theme of the work. To help analyze the setting, ask the

following questions:

What does it look like, sound like, feel like?

How long does it take for the action to occur? What clues does the author give to indicate how much

time is passing?

What is the social environment portrayed in the work – the manners, customs, codes of conduct of a

society? What does the author seem to think about them?

Characters

Literary characters can be simple or complex. Complex characters undergo a change sometime during the

story, so they are also dynamic. Simple characters are often static – they do not change or grow in any way.

Complex characters tend to not always take heroic action during the plot. In any story there are always

characters defined as the protagonist and the antagonist. The protagonist is the character whose interests the

reader is most concerned with, and sympathetic toward. The antagonist is the character who opposes what

readers want for the protagonist. Out of this opposition comes the conflict in the story.

We learn about characters through what they do or say directly, the way the narrator or another character

describes them, through their thoughts and interactions with other characters, and through the author’s

descriptions. They can be developed directly (by telling the reader what they are like) or indirectly (showing

the reader what they are like).

Conflict

Conflict is the key to every good story. It’s what keeps us interested, leaves us wondering what’s going to

happen to the characters so we’ll finish the story to see how everything works out. Will the superhero defeat

the villain at last? Will the dog find his way back home? Will everything be ok again? When you ask these

kinds of questions during a story, it’s a signal you’re in the middle of a conflict.

There are two main types of conflict: external and internal. External conflict exists when there is a problem

between the character and an outside source, like another character, society as a whole, or nature. These are

usually labeled as character vs. character, character vs. society, or character vs. nature. Internal conflict is the

opposite. It describes a conflict within a character, usually centered around values or feelings about an event.

Don Giovanni


Point of View

The point of view is the perspective from which events in a story are told. See the chart below for a few

commonly used points of view.

Theme

The theme of a work is an abstract idea or observation that addresses human motivation, the human

condition, or human ambition, and it rises from every element of the story. Choices make about the setting,

characters, conflict, plot, and point of view all influence the theme.

When discussing the theme of a story, make sure your observation:

is not too terse to express the complexity of the human experience

avoids moralizing words such as should and ought

avoids specific reference to plot and characters (difference between theme and plot summary)

avoids absolute words such as anyone, all, none, everything, and everyone

avoids clichés such as “love is blind”

Don Giovanni


Name__________________________________________________Date_____________________________

Activity Worksheet 1: Literary Elements & Theme

Answer the questions below after you are familiar with the story of Don Giovanni. Your answers will help

guide your theme analysis in Activity Worksheet 2.

1. By way of exposition, we are told that

a. Don Giovanni has killed Donna Anna’s father

b. Don Giovanni is attempting to seduce Donna Anna

c. Don Giovanni has seduced thousands of women

2. The rising action in the story is made up of

a. Don Giovanni’s attempts to seduce Zerlina, the plight of those affected by his actions, and

Donna Anna’s plan for revenge

b. Masetto’s attempt to bring Giovanni to justice

3. The point of view in the story is that of

a. Third-person limited

b. Third-person omniscient

c. First person

4. The character of Don Giovanni is largely developed through

a. What another character says about him

b. Direct statements by the author describing his actions and thoughts

c. His own words and actions

d. a & c

5. Which character is the protagonist?

a. Don Giovanni

b. Donna Elvira

c. Donna Anna

6. The main conflict in the story can best be described as:

a. Internal, character vs. self

b. External, taking the form of character vs. character or character vs. society

c. External, taking the form of character vs. nature or the supernatural

7. Which event could be considered part of the rising action?

a. Don Giovanni orders Leporello to escort Masetto out of the way so he can be alone with

Zerlina

b. Leporello wishes to leave Don Giovanni’s service, but is convinced to stay

c. Don Giovanni kills the Commendatore

Don Giovanni


8. The climax is the story’s high point which may take the shape of a decision, an action, an affirmation

or denial, or an illumination or realization. Given this definition, identify the climax of Don

Giovanni.

a. Don Giovanni and Leporello hear the Commendatore’s voice coming from his graveyard

statue

b. Donna Anna, Elivira, and Ottavio unmask and denounce Don Giovanni as the

Commendatore’s murderer, after he attempts to seduce Zerlina

c. Don Giovanni is taken to hell

9. Summarize the resolution of the story:

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Linear Plot Diagram

Complete a linear plot diagram of Don Giovanni in the space below:

Don Giovanni


ANSWER KEY 1

Activity Worksheet 1: Literary Elements & Theme

Answer the questions below after you are familiar with the story of Don Giovanni. Your answers will help

guide your theme analysis in Activity Worksheet 2.

1. By way of exposition, we are told that

a. Don Giovanni has killed Donna Anna’s father

b. Don Giovanni is attempting to seduce Donna Anna

c. Don Giovanni has seduced thousands of women

2. The rising action in the story is made up of

a. Don Giovanni’s attempts to seduce Zerlina, the plight of those affected by his actions,

and Donna Anna’s plan for revenge

b. Masetto’s attempt to bring Don Giovanni to justice

3. The point of view in the story is that of

a. Third-person limited

b. Third-person omniscient

c. First person

4. The character of Don Giovanni is largely developed by

a. What another character says about him

b. Direct statements by the author describing his actions and thoughts

c. His own words and actions

d. a & c

5. Which character is the protagonist?

a. Don Giovanni

b. Donna Elvira

c. Donna Anna

6. The main conflict in the story can best be described as:

a. Internal, character vs. self

b. External, taking the form of character vs. character or character vs. society

c. External, taking the form of character vs. nature or the supernatural

7. Which event could be considered part of the rising action?

a. Don Giovanni orders Leporello to escort Masetto out of the way so he can be alone with

Zerlina

b. Leporello wishes to leave Don Giovanni’s service, but is convinced to stay

c. Don Giovanni kills the Commendatore

Don Giovanni


8. The climax is the story’s high point, which may take the shape of a decision, an action, an affirmation

or denial, or an illumination or realization. Given this definition, identify the climax of Don

Giovanni.

a. Don Giovanni and Leporello hear the Commendatore’s voice coming from his graveyard

statue

b. Donna Anna, Elivira, and Ottavio unmask and denounce Don Giovanni as the

Commendatore’s murderer, after he attempts to seduce Zerlina

c. Don Giovanni is taken to hell

9. Summarize the resolution of the story:

Answers will vary, should contain a description of Don Giovanni being taken to hell and the

conclusions of the other characters.

Linear Plot Diagram

Complete a linear plot diagram of Don Giovanni in the space below:

Don Giovanni


Name__________________________________________________Date_____________________________

Activity Worksheet 2: Theme Analysis

In the space below state the theme of Don Giovanni. Then, write a three paragraph summary supporting your

theme with evidence from the story. Remember to include all the literary elements which support the theme:

plot, characters, point of view, etc.

THEME:___________________________________________________________________

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Don Giovanni


ANSWER KEY 2

Activity Worksheet 2: Theme Analysis

In the space below state the theme of Don Giovanni. Then, write a three paragraph summary supporting your

theme with evidence from the story. Remember to include all the literary elements which support the theme:

plot, characters, point of view, etc.

* Answers will vary. It is left to the teacher to determine whether the student has a clearly stated

theme that is supported by literary evidence.

Language Arts: Story Analysis and Theme - …dallasopera.org/eduCurric/dongiovanni/DonGiovanniLanguageArts.pdfLanguage Arts: Story Analysis and Theme Students Will Read the "Synopsis"

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