About This Playlist
The first time I read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, I was a rising high school junior. I was assigned the book as a part of a summer reading list for the upcoming IB English course I was taking. I’d already struggled my way through Kafka’s Metamorphesis and Camus’ The Stranger, and to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t looking forward to reading yet another really old book. Little did I know, this book would become my favorite book of all time. Since being assigned the reading in high school, I’ve continued to reread Pride and Prejudice about once a year, each time finding new enjoyment in the book.
Though originally published in 1813, the story of Pride and Prejudice is timeless. Elizabeth Bennett is the second oldest daughter of a wealthy English family. In true patriarchal fashion, Elizabeth’s family's fortune will be passed on to the closest male relative once her father dies. Since Mr. Bennett has no sons, the family fortune is set to go to their cousin, Mr. Collins. This leaves the girls in quite the predicament. Their choices in life are to marry, and marry well, or to die poor spinsters. Naturally, the Bennett sisters hope to chose the former. Unfortunately, the girls’ prospects in the English countryside are slim, and are further hampered by their small dowries and their tactless, if not well-meaning, mother.
It is no surprise, then, that the Bennett sisters think they have won the lottery when eligible bachelor Mr. Bingley (with a large fortune of four or five thousand a year) moves into the country mansion next door. Mr. Bingley is accompanied by his two sisters, his brother-in-law, and his best friend, Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy is at first, the more appealing of the two bachelors since he is very handsome and has a much larger fortune than Mr. Bingley. However, he is conceited and pompous and is not well-liked. Mr. Bingley, on the other hand, is very amiable and has all of the girls swooning over him. Mr. Bingley, however, only has eyes for Elizabeth’s oldest sister, Jane. Unfortunately, with Mr. Bingley, comes Mr. Darcy, and Elizabeth can not stand to be around Mr. Darcy. Imagine her confusion, then, when Mr. Darcy proposes marriage to her! She absolutely refuses, despite this being a much better marriage proposal (in terms of money) than she could ever have hoped for. Elizabeth decides that her desire in life is to be happy, even if that means being alone. However, as the story continues, she realizes her prejudices against him may have been misjudged. The person she originally belives she can’t stand, is now the one person she feels she can’t live without. But, it may be too late. After spurning Mr. Darcy’s offer of marriage, can she really hope to win his affection again? Fortunately for Elizabeth Bennett, she can, and the story has a happy ending. However, it is not without its drama.
So, why all the groans (my own included) when students are assigned to read Pride and Prejudice? Well, for one, it’s generally considered a classic and it’s a part of the high school reading cannon. Since it was written before the genre of young adult literature was even created, it is rarely considered as such. However, one look at the plotlines and the characters, and it's easy to see that this book fits squarely into the YAL category. The drama that Elizabeth and her sister, Jane, face are things that any high school student (and even middle school student) can relate to. Consider the above summary, but with these small tweaks. Let’s say that instead of Mr. Darcy being the wealthiest man in the countryside, he’s the most popular guy in high school. Elizabeth isn’t quite as popular as him, so it should be an honor when he asks her out, but she thinks he’s a jerk, so she says no. Then, as she starts to get to know him, she realizes he’s not such a jerk, but now she’s afraid tha he is already into someone else and that it’s too late. Switch out money for popularity, and the English countryside for the hallways of a high school and you’ve got yourself a contemporary teen drama!
This brings me to the soundtrack. For this project, I’ve chosen to set Jane Austen’s 1813 novel, Pride and Prejudice, to a contemporary soundtrack. There are a few reasons for this. First, as I’ve said above, the story is timeless and much of today’s music addresses those very things that Elizabeth experiences in the novel. Second, I want my students to see that this story does relate to them today. The formal (by today’s standards) language can be a turn-off to kids not willing to stick with the story. However, music has a way of conveying emotions that may be harder to see in the written words (especially when reading an older text). By using the music as a guide through certain parts of the story, I hope to be able to help my students better understand major plot points, and to also see the timelessness of this story and how it relates to their lives. This project also serves as a model for something similar that I will have my own students do near the end of the school year.
In this playlist, I am focusing mostly on the development of Elizabeth Bennett throughout the novel. I picked Elizabeth because she is both the main character in Pride and Prejudice, and I also identify with her. To me, Elizabeth is the original feminist working within the confines of her society to bring about change. Elizabeth doesn’t just accept her lot in life with complacency. Instead, she’s feisty. She speaks her mind. She turns down marriage proposals even knowing that her future is uncertain because she wants something better for herself in her life. She stands up to wealthy heiresses that don’t know how to mind their own business and she sees people for who they are. She doesn’t take guff from anyone, not even the wealthiest man she’s ever met. However, she knows when she’s made a mistake and she takes responsibility for the mistakes she makes. In a word, she’s awesome and a role model for girls both now and in the 1800s.
In looking at this playlist, you will find a lot of strong female artists such as Gwen Stefani, Pat Benatar, Beyonce Knowles, Taylor Swift, and Katy Perry. These artists capture the essence of Elizabeth Bennett, a woman who’s not afraid to speak her mind. She is what she is and she makes no apologies for it.
You will also see some romantic songs included on the playlist. About halfway through the novel, Elizabeth realizes that she’s made a mistake and misjudged Mr. Darcy’s character. She starts to fall for him and realizes her own pride has caused her some to have some unfair prejudices against him. While the songs on the playlist primarily follow Elizabeth’s character development, some are “sung” from Mr. Darcy’s point of view. He’s integral in her development as a character, and it would be unfair to ignore this influence. With that, I’ll leave you to listen to, and (hopefully) enjoy this Pride and Prejudice playlist. Happy listening!
Click tracks to preview a list of songs on the playlist. Use the dropdown menu in tracks to view music video, annotations, and lyrics for each song.
Though originally published in 1813, the story of Pride and Prejudice is timeless. Elizabeth Bennett is the second oldest daughter of a wealthy English family. In true patriarchal fashion, Elizabeth’s family's fortune will be passed on to the closest male relative once her father dies. Since Mr. Bennett has no sons, the family fortune is set to go to their cousin, Mr. Collins. This leaves the girls in quite the predicament. Their choices in life are to marry, and marry well, or to die poor spinsters. Naturally, the Bennett sisters hope to chose the former. Unfortunately, the girls’ prospects in the English countryside are slim, and are further hampered by their small dowries and their tactless, if not well-meaning, mother.
It is no surprise, then, that the Bennett sisters think they have won the lottery when eligible bachelor Mr. Bingley (with a large fortune of four or five thousand a year) moves into the country mansion next door. Mr. Bingley is accompanied by his two sisters, his brother-in-law, and his best friend, Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy is at first, the more appealing of the two bachelors since he is very handsome and has a much larger fortune than Mr. Bingley. However, he is conceited and pompous and is not well-liked. Mr. Bingley, on the other hand, is very amiable and has all of the girls swooning over him. Mr. Bingley, however, only has eyes for Elizabeth’s oldest sister, Jane. Unfortunately, with Mr. Bingley, comes Mr. Darcy, and Elizabeth can not stand to be around Mr. Darcy. Imagine her confusion, then, when Mr. Darcy proposes marriage to her! She absolutely refuses, despite this being a much better marriage proposal (in terms of money) than she could ever have hoped for. Elizabeth decides that her desire in life is to be happy, even if that means being alone. However, as the story continues, she realizes her prejudices against him may have been misjudged. The person she originally belives she can’t stand, is now the one person she feels she can’t live without. But, it may be too late. After spurning Mr. Darcy’s offer of marriage, can she really hope to win his affection again? Fortunately for Elizabeth Bennett, she can, and the story has a happy ending. However, it is not without its drama.
So, why all the groans (my own included) when students are assigned to read Pride and Prejudice? Well, for one, it’s generally considered a classic and it’s a part of the high school reading cannon. Since it was written before the genre of young adult literature was even created, it is rarely considered as such. However, one look at the plotlines and the characters, and it's easy to see that this book fits squarely into the YAL category. The drama that Elizabeth and her sister, Jane, face are things that any high school student (and even middle school student) can relate to. Consider the above summary, but with these small tweaks. Let’s say that instead of Mr. Darcy being the wealthiest man in the countryside, he’s the most popular guy in high school. Elizabeth isn’t quite as popular as him, so it should be an honor when he asks her out, but she thinks he’s a jerk, so she says no. Then, as she starts to get to know him, she realizes he’s not such a jerk, but now she’s afraid tha he is already into someone else and that it’s too late. Switch out money for popularity, and the English countryside for the hallways of a high school and you’ve got yourself a contemporary teen drama!
This brings me to the soundtrack. For this project, I’ve chosen to set Jane Austen’s 1813 novel, Pride and Prejudice, to a contemporary soundtrack. There are a few reasons for this. First, as I’ve said above, the story is timeless and much of today’s music addresses those very things that Elizabeth experiences in the novel. Second, I want my students to see that this story does relate to them today. The formal (by today’s standards) language can be a turn-off to kids not willing to stick with the story. However, music has a way of conveying emotions that may be harder to see in the written words (especially when reading an older text). By using the music as a guide through certain parts of the story, I hope to be able to help my students better understand major plot points, and to also see the timelessness of this story and how it relates to their lives. This project also serves as a model for something similar that I will have my own students do near the end of the school year.
In this playlist, I am focusing mostly on the development of Elizabeth Bennett throughout the novel. I picked Elizabeth because she is both the main character in Pride and Prejudice, and I also identify with her. To me, Elizabeth is the original feminist working within the confines of her society to bring about change. Elizabeth doesn’t just accept her lot in life with complacency. Instead, she’s feisty. She speaks her mind. She turns down marriage proposals even knowing that her future is uncertain because she wants something better for herself in her life. She stands up to wealthy heiresses that don’t know how to mind their own business and she sees people for who they are. She doesn’t take guff from anyone, not even the wealthiest man she’s ever met. However, she knows when she’s made a mistake and she takes responsibility for the mistakes she makes. In a word, she’s awesome and a role model for girls both now and in the 1800s.
In looking at this playlist, you will find a lot of strong female artists such as Gwen Stefani, Pat Benatar, Beyonce Knowles, Taylor Swift, and Katy Perry. These artists capture the essence of Elizabeth Bennett, a woman who’s not afraid to speak her mind. She is what she is and she makes no apologies for it.
You will also see some romantic songs included on the playlist. About halfway through the novel, Elizabeth realizes that she’s made a mistake and misjudged Mr. Darcy’s character. She starts to fall for him and realizes her own pride has caused her some to have some unfair prejudices against him. While the songs on the playlist primarily follow Elizabeth’s character development, some are “sung” from Mr. Darcy’s point of view. He’s integral in her development as a character, and it would be unfair to ignore this influence. With that, I’ll leave you to listen to, and (hopefully) enjoy this Pride and Prejudice playlist. Happy listening!
Click tracks to preview a list of songs on the playlist. Use the dropdown menu in tracks to view music video, annotations, and lyrics for each song.