54 pages • 1 hour read
Arsenic and Old Lace
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1941
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Introduction
Arsenic and Old Lace
- Genre: Drama; farcical dark comedy
- Originally Published: 1941
- Reading Level/Interest: Adult/College
- Structure/Length: 3 acts; approx. 96; approx. 2 hours, 44 minutes on audio
- Protagonist and Central Conflict: When the murderous misdeeds of two spinster sisters, Abby and Martha Brewster, are discovered by their nephew Mortimer, laughable misunderstandings and chaos ensue.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Outdated and insensitive portrayals of mental health conditions
Joseph Kesselring, Author
- Bio: 1902-1967; American playwright; taught voice and directed productions at Bethel College in Kansas before working in amateur theater in Niagara, New York and beginning a freelance career in playwriting; honored by the National Arts Club with the establishment of an award in his name (the Joseph Kesselring Prize; 1980) to support rising playwrights
- Other Works: There's Wisdom in Women (1935); “Cross-Town” (1937); Four Twelves are 48 (1951)
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
- Family Loyalty Versus Independence
- The Absurd Comedy of Contradictions
- The Endurance and Risks of Love
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:
- Develop an understanding of the cultural and historical contexts that incite Mortimer’s conflict.
- Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Family Loyalty Versus Independence and The Absurd Comedy of Contradictions.
- Plan and construct a script that conveys dark comedy based on text details.
