The Visit by Friedrich Durrenmatt
This unit on The Visit is designed to develop…
- close reading skills.
- appreciation for dramatists’ choices and the ways in which they develop mood and affect the audience.
- an understanding of how Durrenmatt uses surrealistic elements to explore both universal and contemporary ideas in a post World War 2 society.
Teaching Resources
A Note about the Resources
The page numbers and quotes used in the Activity Portfolio reference the Joel Agee 2010 translation of the play.
Assessment
A summative assessment is not included in the Activity Portfolio (there are several formative assessments). In its original conception, this work was studied in a concept based unit entitled “Strange and Surreal”, culminating in a comparative essay where students compared two works studied in the unit. Suitable assessments could include:
- a literary essay
- a commentary on an extract from the play
- a comparative commentary on an extract from Acts 1 and Acts 3 of the play
- a presentation on an aspect of the play (a literary elements or an idea/issue developed in the work)
- re-writing a scene for a contemporary, 21st century audience.
Photo by Daniel Curran on Unsplash