Tag: Anne Shirley

132 – “Lancelot and Elaine” in Anne of Green Gables

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Tennyson’s poem “Lancelot and Elaine” plays a huge part in the plot of Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Anne and her friends decide to act out the scene where the Lady of Shalott dies and floats downriver to Camelot, where the court of King Arthur mourn her. However, Anne learns the hard way that life is more hilariously imperfect than the romanticized fictional world she admires so much.

Find out more about this poem and why it was such a big deal in the 19th century, inspiring painters to revisit the subject of Elaine of Astolat over and over again. You’ll also learn that, although fads themselves change, teenagers really don’t. Anne and her friends would have had feelings about this poem that are very similar to how teens today feel about their own popular culture.

128 – Music in Anne of Green Gables

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Lucy Maud Montgomery carefully reconstructed the pop culture of the 1880’s when she wrote Anne of Green Gables including the music that teenagers were wild about. While singing is referenced dozens of times in the book, just three songs are actually named, and they were all real songs!

Activity: Learn one of Anne’s Favorite Songs

Three songs are named in Anne of Green Gables, and they were all popular sentimental ballads. You can find the sheet music for these songs online in the following archives:

“Nelly in the Hazel Dell” by George Root (using the pseudonym Wurzel)

“Far Above the Daisies” by George Cooper and Harrison Millard

“My Home on the Hill” by W.C. Baker

Learn one or more of these songs and have a performance! You could try to re-create the song as it is performed in Anne of Green Gables, or you could reinterpret it in your own style.