Starter quiz
- Which of the following are common Gothic themes?
- family and friendship
- good vs evil ✓
- love and relationships
- violence or the threat of violence ✓
- poverty and injustice
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- When was Gothic ficiton popularised?
- 17th century
- 18th century
- 19th century ✓
- 20th century
- 21st century
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- Gothic ______ are usually isolated or egotistical males.
- 'protagonists' ✓
- What is Gothic literature interested in exploring?
- the dangers of climate change
- the kind and empathetic side to people
- the threat of consuming ambition
- the darker side of humanity ✓
- the importance of human connection
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- What does 'to mystify' the reader mean?
- to make the reader very excited
- to make the reader feel very sad or angry
- to unsettle the reader
- to confuse the reader and make them feel unsure ✓
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- Match the language methods up to their definition.
- simile⇔comparing two or more things using 'like' or 'as' ✓
- metaphor⇔comparing two things by saying one 'is' the other ✓
- pathetic fallacy⇔when the weather reflects the mood ✓
- personification⇔giving human features to something that is not human ✓
- zoomorphism⇔giving animal attributes to something that is not an animal ✓
Exit quiz
- Why is black often considered a Gothic colour?
- It is reflective of night time, which is a dislikeable time of day.
- It is reminiscent of light, purity and good.
- It is reminiscent of death, decay and evil. ✓
- It is a dull and ordinary colour.
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- Why is white often considered a Gothic colour?
- It's a very distinct and memorable colour.
- It can represent purity that has been, or will be, corrupted. ✓
- It reminds us of human bones, which is a Gothic image.
- It can represent light or good in the battle between good and evil. ✓
- It's reminiscent of peace, which Gothic writers aim to achieve in their writing.
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- What does the word 'dingy' mean?
- unpleasant, disgusting and vile
- gloomy, dark and drab ✓
- mysterious, secretive and concealed
- unfortunate, unlucky and unjust
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- If something is ______ of something else, it reminds us of it.
- 'reminiscent' ✓
- Why are Gothic colours often contrasted with one another?
- to reflect the different events in the plot
- to reflect both night and day as time passes
- to reflect the conflict between good and evil ✓
- to reflect the different characters in the text
- to create a frightening atmosphere
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- Which of the following semantic fields would help you to characterise a setting as old?
- ancient, renewed, vintage, modern, sustainable
- ancient, antiquity, elderly, history, past ✓
- ancient, kindred, respectable, vast, impressive
- ancient, elderly, sparkling, lucid, gleaming, shiny
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Your Gothic writing should not simply be a horror story - you can create fear through atmosphere and mood.
- Gothic literature is characterised by a sense of threat, but this does not have to be violent threat.
- Semantic fields, pathetic fallacy and figurative language are methods that Gothic writers can use to create atmosphere.
- It can be useful to plan your use of methods before you begin writing, to make sure you are using them effectively.
Common misconception
Students think that if they write a horror story that is full of blood and gore, that this makes it Gothic.
Gothic literature is about unsettling and mystifying the reader - not traumatising them with gory descriptions and extreme violence. There can be more fear in what is not revealed, than what is revealed.
Keywords
Gothic literature - literature that evokes feelings of mystery, fear and terror
Reminiscent - when something reminds us of something else
To conceal - to hide or to disguise
Dingy - gloomy, dark and drab
To mystify - to utterly bewilder or shock someone - to make someone confused
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