"TRIFLES"
By Susan Glaspell
This document provides suggestions on how to teach the play "Trifles" in
the English classroom.
1. Why teaching a play?
2. Why teaching Trifles?
3. What to teach?
 The plot
 The characters
 The motives: conflicts between the sexes, the role of the bird in the
play, female feelings and male feelings…
 What makes it an American play
 The significance of the title
 Key words: apron, preserves, cheerful, a cage, lonesome, rope,
quilt and knot…
 Work on typical quotes
4. Some activities
Task 1
Fill in the following chart with information from the play.
Couple
1
Couple
2
Couple
3
Name
_
_
_
_
_
_
Occupation
_
_
_
_
_
_
Reaction to
the crime
_
_
_
_
_
_
Task 2
Name the items and explain their role in the play.
2.
1.
3.
7.
5.
4.
6.
8.
10.
9.
Item
Role in the play
1
_
_
2
_
_
3
_
_
4
_
_
5
_
_
6
_
_
7
_
_
8
_
_
9
_
_
10
_
_
Task 3
Analyze ONE of the following characters using the given scheme: Henry
Peters, or Mrs. Peters, or Mrs. Wright.
Write as much information about the character as you can in the frames
below: describe his/her external appearance, his/her feelings towards the
crime, his/her behavior.
Name of the character
External appearance
Feelings towards the
crime
Behavior