The Simpsons in Education

Having trouble getting your students to relate to classic literature? Try the Simpsons approach!! The animated TV series "The Simpsons" has created parodies and satires of many pieces of canonized literature. So, the next time your students need a humorous connection to what they're reading, find the episode that works best...

William Shakespeare:

Macbeth- “Four Great Women and a Manicure”, Season 20 Episode 20

Hamlet- “Do the Bard Man”, Season 13 Episode 14

Katherine Patterson:

Bridge to Terabithia- “Lisa the Drama Queen”, Season 20 Episode 9

Edgar Allan Poe:

“The Raven”- “Treehouse of Horror I”, Season 2 Episode 3

The Tell-Tale Heart – “Lisa’s Rival”, Season 6 Episode 2

William Golding:

The Lord of the Flies- “Das Bus”, Season 9 Episode 14

Charles Dickens:

A Christmas Carol- “Tis the Fifteenth Season”, Season 15 Episode 7

Walt Whitman:

“Leaves of Grass”- “The Squirt and the Whale”, Season 21 Episode 19

John Steinbeck:

The Grapes of Wrath- “The Crepes of Wrath”, Season 1 Episode 11

Mark Twain:

Tom Saywer- “Simpsons Tall Tales”, Season 12 Episode 21

Grimms Brothers:

Hanzel and Gretel- “Treehouse of Horror XI”, Season 12 Episode 1

Homer:

The Iliad- “D’oh Brother Where Art Thou”, Season 13 Episode 14

Literary Elements for Analysis

• Character
• Protagonist/Antagonist
• Archetype
• Setting
• Plot
• Plot Line (Introduction, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution)
• Theme
• Moral
• Conflict (Person vs.---self, person, society, fate, nature)

Literary Devices for Analysis:

• Parody/Satire
• Sarcasm
• Pun
• Idiom
• Irony
• Allusion
• Metaphor/Simile
• Personification/Anthropomorphism

Cross-Content Material & Discussion Topics:

• Current Events
• National & Regional References
• Cultural References
• Historical References
• Mythological References
• Religious References
• Equal Rights
• Feminism
• Sports References
• Musical References
• Political References
• Environmental Issues