Literature teacher’s notes
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Before reading
1 Tell students they are going to read an excerpt from a
novel called Wuthering Heights. Ask if they have heard of
this novel and write anything they know about it on the
board. Students read exercise 1 and answer the questions,
using their imaginations.
Answer
Students’ own answers.
2 Ask students to read About the story and About the
author. Elicit what ‘pen name’ means (a name used by
a writer instead of their real name). Ask them to think
about the reasons Brontë might have had to publish
under the pen name Ellis Bell.
Suggested answers
In the era in which she was writing female authors were
not as credible as male authors so, as a man, she had a
greater chance of getting her novel published, and for her
writing to be taken seriously. Another reason could also
be that she wanted to remain anonymous because she
lived a quiet life.
3 Remind students who Lockwood is (the narrator and
Heathcliff’s tenant). Tell them that the excerpt is about
a dream that Lockwood has. Explain that he has been
reading the diary of Catherine Earnshaw and the unhappy
story of her life. Ask students to look at the prompts and to
think about what might happen in Lockwood’s dream.
Answer
Students’ own answers.
CULTURAL INFORMATION
Wuthering Heights was published in 1847. It had a mixed
reception, with some critics finding it shocking and
disturbing. The novel contains elements of gothic literature
– a genre which was popular in the late 18th century – such
as a wild, mysterious location; hauntings and ghosts;
violence and passion. However, Brontë was writing when
the popularity of the gothic genre was in decline, and her
characters are more detailed and nuanced than those in
a gothic novel. The novel also covers complex themes of
social class and morality, and provides a realistic portrayal of
rural life during the early Victorian era. It is agreed to be one
of the most important Victorian novels.
While reading
1 Ask students to read the excerpt, then read the
sentences and decide if they are true or false. Ask them
to correct the false sentences.
Answers
1 F (Lockwood hurts the child’s hand.)  2 T   3 Tell students that they are going to write a short
3 F (She’s been outside the window for 20 years.)  4 T
5 F (He says, ‘Who let you sleep in this room?’)  6 T
2 Students read the excerpt again and answer the questions.
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B2 Units
Suggested answers
1 a branch: symbolises the wildness of the moors;
emphasises the novel’s natural setting.
2 a window: represents the barrier between the worlds
of the living and the dead that is between Catherine
and Heathcliff; represents Lockwood’s isolation and
entrapment at Wuthering Heights.
3 He is shocked that Lockwood is sleeping in that room.
4 He calls to it, crying, and begs it to appear to him.
5 He sees a different side to Heathcliff: in place of the
angry, shouting landlord, he sees a glimpse of the love
Heathcliff feels for Catherine. Lockwood might think it’s
strange that Heathcliff seems to want to be haunted by
the ghost.
3 Ask students if they know any gothic novels (e.g.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dracula by Bram Stoker),
and elicit elements of the gothic genre (see ‘Cultural
information’). Students look more closely at the
language in the excerpt and think about what kind of
atmosphere the author creates. Ask students to work in
pairs, think about the excerpt and answer the questions.
Possible answers
1 atmosphere: unsettling, chilling; mood: claustrophobic
and tense.
2 aspects of the supernatural: ‘… sleep in a haunted
room’; feelings of insecurity: ‘I was terrified and the child
would not let go…’; mystery and suspicion: ‘Who let you
sleep in this room?’; exaggerated emotions: ‘He was
white with fear … trembling.’
After reading
1 In pairs, students think about where the listed main
themes are evident in the excerpt.
Possible answers
a Lockwood’s cruel side when he hurts the ghost’s hand;
a child is innocent, but a ghost is evil and frightening.
b Normality of Lockwood’s life compared with the
haunting of Wuthering Heights.
c Heathcliff is obsessed with Catherine, despite her
being dead for 20 years.
2 Explain the narrative structure of the novel (Lockwood
recounts the events through his diary, and Nelly recounts
orally), and the use of the framing device. Students work
in pairs to discuss if the narrators are unreliable and
whether we can trust their version of events.
Answers
Students’ own ideas.
passage developing the story. Ask them to work in pairs
and brainstorm ideas about how the story continues.
Direct them to the questions to help them make notes
before writing their passage on their own.
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