Within the frames of the Whole School Project NORMS VS ANOMALIES we design an open class aimed at displaying most common sins and vices in World Literature. The Seven Deadly sins also known as Capital Vices have always been recurring themes in Literature, serving as a source of conflict, character development and moral exploration.
Pride is often considered the most serious of the Seven Deadly Sins and it is worth discussing in class. The students of grade 11/1 explore the character of King Lear, who exhibits a strong sense of pride and vanity which play a significant role in the tragedy. The teachers bring their attention to some aspects of his pride and vanity. They are on full display at the beginning of the play when he decides to divide his kingdom among his daughters, based on their professions of love for him. It is the way to confirm his power and self-importance.
He seeks flattery from his daughters as a way to confirm his self-importance and power. The students describe his character by analyzing his deeds. King Lear rejects his youngest daughter Cordelia who refuses to engage in flattery and gives an honest modest declaration of her love. Lear misinterprets her words as a sign of disrespect; he disinherits, disowns and banishes her from the kingdom. The students explain his further failures, loss of power and sanity as a result of his refusal to acknowledge his shortcomings and pride.
The students discuss other deadly sins from Armenian literature taking The Killed Dove by Nar-Dos as an example.
Teachers; K.Aleksanyan, O. Gharibyan
Grade 11/1
8.11.2023