N.

Huyghebaert Special English

12th Grade

The Gothic

Aproaching prose1

Analysing prose is not so different from analysing poetry. In both

you have to look at literary techniques, at choice of language,
imagery, structure and so on, but these may be used in different
ways to achieve different effects in prose. You may have to read
even more carefully when studying prose passages as the techniques
used may not be so readily detected.
Analysing prose means that you have to pay attention to what the
writer is saying as well as to how he/she writes. This means
examining the particular combination of literary devices, structures,
and vocabulary which a writer uses and which go together to form
that writer’s individual “style”. When analysing prose, you have to
keep in mind the following aspects :

“Style” can also be viewed as the expression of a writer’s personality and preoccupations. The ways
in which writers experience the world and the things which are most important to them are bound to
affect how and what they write. Most writing involves thinking but it is not just a cerebral activity.
Although all good writers “craft” their work carefully, even when they wish to convey emotional or
sensual experiences, there can be unconscious influences, especially for writers who use more
intuitive or free-ranging techniques, allowing their words to flow without controlling them too
carefully.

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From English A1 – Course Companion – IB Diplomma Programme – Oxford

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About the Novel

A novel is “a form of story or prose narrative containing characters, action and incident, and
perhaps a plot2”. The word “novel” is derived from the Italian “novella” meaning a “tale or piece of
news” and the word was applied to the novel when it was a new form of writing. The earliest novels
were written in Japan in the 9 th century but it was not before the 16 th century that works which could
be securely identified as novels were written in Europe. The first novel written in English is
Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe.

There are several aspects that can be found in most novels :

Story and plot : both are narrative events but the plot is based on causality. For example : “The
King died and the Queen died” is a story as “The King died and the Queen died of grief” is a plot.
Point of view : who tells the story? Is it the writer, a persona outside the story or one of the
characters? Is it told from a first – or third – person perspective? Why does the writer choose to
write from that viewpoint? Sometimes a novel can be written in the third person but remained
centred on one character. What advantages do you think this could have?
Characters : does the writer concentrate on a few characters or is there a cast of hundreds? Are the
characters presented in great detail so that you know more about them than you would about almost
anyone you know in real life? Or are they caricatures who always appear the same? Do the
characters change throughout the novel, and if so what factors make them change? How are they
presented? Negatively, positively or objectively? Do you empathize with them, and if so why? Does
the author openly tell you what they are like or do you have to work that out by interpreting their
speech and actions?
Theme : what is the author trying to tell us about people or life? What messages are conveyed
through the characters and the events? Themes often concern relationships between characters and
the societies they live in.
Setting : where is the novel set? Is the setting a vital element, or would it not matter where the work
was set?
Language : a book can be written in a formal or informal style. The language can be poetic,
complex or very basic. It can be designed to make you laugh or weep or make you angry or
sentimental. You need to consider the effects caused by the choice of one writing style instead of
another.

Romanticism

2
From the Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms.

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What is Gothic Literature ?

Let us watch a short video about Gothic

Literature. Take some notes.

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Characteristics of Gothic Literature

Famous Gothic novels

Late 18th century and early 19th century England

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)

About Mary Shelley (1797-1851)

Let us watch a BBC documentary about Mary

Shelley (Frankenstein and the Modern Vampyre -
2014)

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Themes

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Extract – Chapter 5

Read the extract and discuss the following questions in pairs. Then write your analysis.3

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GCSE Sample Exam Questions (www.bbc.co.uk)

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It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With
an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me,
that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was
already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle
was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull
yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its
limbs.

How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom
with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion,
and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!--Great God! His yellow skin scarcely
covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and
flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid
contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white
sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.

The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I
had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an
inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an
ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the
dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the
aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room, and continued a long time
traversing my bedchamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep. At length lassitude
succeeded to the tumult I had before endured; and I threw myself on the bed in my
clothes, endeavouring to seek a few moments of forgetfulness. But it was in vain: I slept,
indeed, but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom
of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her;
but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her
features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in
my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds
of the flannel. I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my
teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed: when, by the dim and yellow light of
the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch -- the
miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if
eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some
inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not
hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped, and rushed
down stairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited;
where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest
agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce
the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life. (...)

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Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)

About Bram Stoker (from www.britannica.com)

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Summary

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Movie and themes

Let us watch the adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel
Dracula (1992) (Francis F. Coppola).
Take notes :
 setting
 main characters
 themes

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Victorian Writer Project

Step 1 : Form your group (4 or 5 students).

Step 2 : Choose a novel (one per group) by a Victorian writer among the following :

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Stange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Tess of the d'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
Adam Bede by George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans)

Step 3 : Prepare a short speech introducing the author and summarizing the plot
(you can show a video if you prefer). Each person has to talk!

Step 4 : Choose a scene to act in class. Write dialogues. If you prefer, you can adapt
the story to modern day life.

Step 5 : Think about costumes, objects, things you might need.

Step 6 : Rehearse!

Step 7 : Hold you speech in class and act your scene!

GOOD LUCK! :-)

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