Rip van Winkle

Setting, fluency, vocabulary, character, plot, mood, compare and contrast, inference, details, theme, research, explanatory writing 

This play, based on the classic story by Washington Irving, is about a man who falls asleep for 20 years and wakes to find that the world has changed dramatically. The changes in society illustrate how quickly America was growing and transforming in the 1700s.

The play is chronological and has six scenes as well as a prologue and an epilogue.

There is some challenging academic vocabulary, such as lured, craggy, trudge, and emerge. The play also includes similes.

Some background knowledge of the American Revolution will aid comprehension but is not required.

• This play takes place just before and just after the American Revolution. By juxtaposing these two settings, Washington Irving brilliantly shows the immense change that takes place during the 20 years that Rip Van Winkle sleeps. It’s a perfect connection for your American history lessons! Start by taking your students on a “virtual field trip” to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, in a video hosted by Lauren Tarshis.
• Annotations throughout the play provide background on the historical references to King George III, Dutch explorers, Henry Hudson, and George Washington. Preview them with students or pause and read them as they come up.
  
• Call on a volunteer to read the Up Close box on page 23. Point out the setting description beneath the Scene 1 label. On a map, have students find the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River.
  
• Project or distribute the vocabulary activity to preview challenging words. Highlighted words: colonies, craggy, grave (adj.), swig, bewildered, subject
  

Assign parts and read the play aloud as a class. After reading, discuss the close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (20 minutes)

• Reread the Prologue, the Scene 1 setting description, and the beginning of Scene 1. When does the first half of the play take place, and what is happening in the American colonies at the time? (setting) The play’s first half takes place in 1769. At this time, the colonies are controlled by England and King George III. But Americans are getting tired of their rule and the unfair taxes England requires them to pay.
• What do you learn about Rip Van Winkle in Scene 1? (character) You learn that Rip has a wife and two children. He likes to relax, talk with his friends, and hunt with his dog, but he doesn’t like to do hard work.
  
• What happens in Scene 2 that starts the main problem of the story? (plot) An Odd Fellow appears and leads Rip and Wolf up the mountain.
  
• What is the mood of Scenes 2 and 3, starting when Rip hears his name being called? Which details add to this mood? (mood) The mood is eerie and mysterious. Rip hears his name in the distance but doesn’t know where the sound is coming from. He sees an Odd Fellow who, for no apparent reason, looks like a Dutch explorer from 150 years ago. In Scene 3, Rip is led to a clearing where men are playing a strange game, and no one speaks. Rip has no idea why these unusual and unexpected events are happening or who the men are.
  
• How is the setting of Scene 5 different from the setting of Scene 1? (compare and contrast) The setting of Scene 5 is the same place as Scene 1, but the Village Inn’s name has been changed to the Union Hotel. Instead of a portrait of King George III, a painting of George Washington hangs above the door.
  
• Why does the crowd gasp when Rip says he’s “a loyal subject of the king”? (inference) They gasp because the king is no longer the ruler of the people in what had been the 13 colonies. Americans had fought the Revolutionary War to be free of the king. Rip’s announcement makes the crowd think he is an enemy or a traitor.
  
• What does Rip realize in Scene 6? (plot) He realizes that he has slept for 20 years. His son and daughter are now grown up, his wife has died, and most of his friends are gone.
  
• What do you find out about the Odd Fellows in Scene 6? (details) The Odd Fellows are the ghosts of Henry Hudson and his crew, who come back every 20 years to check on the region they explored.
  

Critical-Thinking Questions

• Why is the 20-year period of time between the beginning and the end important? (setting) The time period is important because a huge change happened during it: The Americans fought the Revolutionary War and became independent of England. America went from being a colony to an independent country, with George Washington as president.
• What point might Washington Irving have wanted to make by having a character sleep for 20 years? (theme) Answers will vary. He might have wanted readers to think about how dramatically life can change in a fairly short period of time. He might also have wanted to caution readers not to “fall asleep,” or not pay attention; otherwise, they’ll miss out on their lives, like Rip missed seeing his children grow up and his friends before they went to war.
  

• As a class, read the writing prompt on page 27. Have a discussion of what they think has changed since 1999. Optionally, you can assign them to do research about that year to compare it with 2019.
• Distribute the setting activity, which also has some facts about life in 1999. Have students complete the activity to prepare to respond to the writing prompt.