Gothic Literature

Allie Niehaus

Lesson Plan 2

Introduction to Gothic Gothic LiteratureLiterature Allie Niehaus

Lesson Plan 2

Objective May, 5

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of characteristics of Gothic Literature in order to write a short story.

Opener

Think about the last time you saw a scary movie. What happens to your

body physically when you get scared? What do you see, hear or feel that

makes you scared?

Why a turn to Gothic Literature?

Competing artistic principles emerge

Beauty VS

based in classical reason, proportion and order.

Sublime strange beauty, felt, not rational.

Why the terror?

*French Revolution, 1798: monarchy & all art and buildings. connected to the Church destroyed.

*The terror that followed shaped the imagination of the Romantic Period writers greatly

many Romantics spent time in Europe and sympathized with political agitators but chaotic violence and anarchy troubled them.

Examples of Gothic Literature

The writings of Edgar Allan Poe

- Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto

- Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

- Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Elements of the Gothic…Settings

Castles

Far off exotic places

Dark woods

Laboratories

Basements

Caves

Catacombs

Extreme

weather

Attics

Mazes

Windings stair cases

CharactersVillain/Vice-has a sickness in the body or mind

-Dominating and violent

-may pose as a hero in the beginning but experiences a crucial fall from grace

-has heroic qualities but uses them to manipulate and force his power upon other.

Mr. Hyde, Professor Moriarty, Lord Voldemort, Cat

woman

Hero-whose true identity might not be revealed until the end-An idealized but flawed character-May be self destructive, self critical and jaded.

Romeo, Othello, Jake Sully, Van

Helsing, Heracles

Damsel in Distress-Beautiful, young and dramatic

-helpless and in need of rescue

Rapunzel, Lois Lane, Princess Peach

Plot

dominant figure trying to impose powerBeing chased or captured

plot-driven by violence Murder, battles or war

Being lost in dark, unfamiliar, possibly evil place

characters are completely isolated

known taboos, incest, sexual threat

Atmosphere: The emotional feelings inspired by

a work Touch- Introduce touch by describing textures and surfaces.

Hearing - Hearing creates atmosphere as well as painting a picture by describing the sounds of the scene.

Smell- Your sense of smell is directly linked to your memory. This can be a powerful tool in eliciting emotions.

Sight- It is important to create a mental image for your reader. Describing what your characters see can be a very useful tool.

Taste- If relevant, be sure to include the sense of taste as well.

Themes

dark side of human natureDuality – Dr.Jekle and Mr. Hyde

search for identity

social alienation

search for truthFrankenstein

Assignment

Now we are going to use what we just learned about the conventions of Gothic Literature to write short stories in small groups. Be sure to choose an appropriate Gothic setting, characters and plot from the examples we discussed today. Remember to create a sense of atmosphere by using your senses.

Before we get started I will read you my short story as an example.

Review / Closer Keeping our objective in mind, we are now going to watch the following video clip in order to locate at least 5 gothic conventions.

This could be characters, setting, plot, atmosphere…

Today’s objective: Students will demonstrate their knowledge of characteristics of Gothic Literature in order to write a short story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA

*On the back of your paper write if we achieved today’s objective or not. Also write down one question or one thing you did not understand about today’s lesson