Arsenic and Old Lace

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What has arsenic been used for? Why was arsenic historically used in favor of other poisons? What was Tofana’s poison used for? How was arsenic used in beauty treatments? 

Teaching Suggestion: Arsenic and Old Lace features two elderly women who murder their victims with a concoction of poison in elderberry wine. Depending on the ages and experience levels of your students, they may need some time to investigate these questions with online resources or to share their common knowledge in small groups.  

• The National Library of Medicine mentions some historical, literary, and folkloric connections to arsenic in this short article.

2. Consider what you know about institutionalization in the early 1900s. What images and stereotypes come to mind? What methods were used to cure patients in hospitals established to treat mental health conditions? 

Teaching Suggestion: Teddy, the elderly sisters, and Jonathan are all suspected of having mental health conditions based on their actions. It may be beneficial to discuss the bias against mental health conditions and the insensitivity toward these conditions evident in the play.

• This 12-minute video describes the conditions of mental institutions in the 1900s. (Content Warning: The factual discussion and statistics might help to inform discussion, but topics, tone, and images may not be appropriate for all groups.)
• This article offers a brief look mental health treatments and terms over the last few centuries.

Short Activity

Arsenic and Old Lace was written in 1939 and first released on Broadway in 1941. Using reputable resources, investigate the answers to these discovery questions about the era before starting the play.

• What role did the PCA play in film production in the early 1940s?
• When did attitudes about film censorship begin to change? 
• Why did dramatic theater suffer in the 1940s?
• Who was the president at the beginning of World War II?
• What were American attitudes toward World War II prior to joining the war? 
• When did the United States join World War II and why?
• Why was World War II a pressing concern for the characters in the play?

Teaching Suggestion: Arsenic and Old Lace was written shortly before the United States joined World War II. Through discussion, guide students in understanding the changes that took place in the film industry after America entered the war compared to American attitudes toward World War II prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

• This article addresses shifts and changes in the film industry in 1940s America.
• This 4-minute video describes World War II and American attitudes toward the war.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the play.

Describe a time when you felt as though your family did not fit the social norm of your community. What caused you to think your family was unusual? How did your differences make you feel? Generally, what traditions, mannerisms, or behaviors are unique to your family? How do other people respond to your family’s differences? 

Teaching Suggestion: Initially, Mortimer feels his aunts are noticeably eccentric; then he discovers they have a history of committing murders in (what they believe is) the interest of mercy. Mortimer is struck by the realization that he cannot marry Elaine due to his faulty genetics. Consider discussing unusual family dynamics and differences in general terms, so that students do not feel obligated to expose details they might find discomfiting.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who require an additional challenge, consider permitting students to research nature versus nurture and whether violent crime is a hereditary trait, as indicated in the play, or an acquired trait.