Text: Building Skills in English 11–14 Unit 3: Gothic tales

Activity 3 1 Features of Gothic stories Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is one of the most famous Gothic Biography novels ever written. Read the extract below, where the narrator, Gothic stories became popular around two hundred years ago, and Dr Frankenstein, describes the moment when the monster he You are learning: have remained popular ever since. Gothic stories and films are usually has been creating finally comes to life. • to understand the main about ghosts and horror and they often include these features: features of Gothic stories. • wild and remote places • dark and gloomy settings How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how Mary Shelley is best known • graveyards, tombs and corpses delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I as the author of the novel • family curses and dark secrets had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I Frankenstein, which was • supernatural powers had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! – Great God! published in 1818. Her • mysterious and frightening creatures, people or ghosts His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries husband was the Romantic • old, ruined, isolated castles and mansions, often with secret beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. passages and mysterious towers of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more • nightmares, madness and mental torment horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the Explanations same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his • science used for evil or disastrous purposes catastrophe disaster • worrying and unusual natural events (storms, full moons, etc.). shrivelled complexion and straight black lips. delineate describe endeavoured tried The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings lustrous shiny of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the luxuriances riches Activity 1 sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I infusing putting had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour passion Look carefully at the list of Gothic features above and make a aspect appearance list of stories and films (for example, Dracula or Raven’s Gate) ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, traversing moving across that have some of those features in them. 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 Activity 2 traversing my bedchamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep. Read these four story openings: B Heath Manor finally rose into view A behind a line of dense, gloomy fir trees. Jane leaned on the railing of her 1 Look again at the list of Gothic features on page 58. Write down The closer we got, the more it looked apartment balcony, gazed across the the ones you find in the extract from Frankenstein above. like a brooding monster – battered and shiny, blue sea of the bay, and sighed bruised, but still menacing. A fierce wind 2 Explain how the narrator feels about the monster he has with happiness. This was going to be tugged at its broken shutters. the perfect holiday. And best of all, created. Use a table like the one below to explore his feelings. there would be no more Tom. Word or phrase What it might show about the narrator’s feelings catastrophe Catastrophe means disaster so the narrator feels that he has done a terrible thing. D C A sudden dark shadow swept across ‘Surrender!’ boomed the voice of the Stragor the bright moon, momentarily blocking commander. ‘Surrender, or we will destroy out its light. Sarah stumbled against a your ship and all on board.’ Martin Strang, Assess your progress Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 gravestone that was leaning towards the leader of Solar Expedition 29, was not easily This table shows you how Pick out and describe Explain how Gothic Consider how the way a path like a cracked and crooked tooth. scared. He readied the stun missile tubes. to get better at the key some basic features features are different from text is written affects its An owl gave a ghostly hoot. reading skills used on of Gothic texts those of other sorts of story meaning these two pages. How Comment on how the Understand a writer’s Explain the difference well are you doing? reader is supposed purpose – even when it is between an author’s and Which two of these are most Gothic? Briefly explain why. to feel not obvious a character’s viewpoints 58 59