Name _______________________________________________ Per.______ Date _____________________
Introduction to Emily Bronte and Wuthering Heights
AP Literature- Notes
I. Emily Bronte (___________________________)
II. Victorian Literary Period ( __________ century)
III. Romanticism
1
A. Byronic Hero
B. Romantic elements in Wuthering Heights
C. The Gothic Novel
2
IV. Historical Context
A. Industrial Revolution and Social Class
B. Each of these classes is represented in the novel by various characters.
1. _____________________________ is a member of the respectable farming class
2. the _________________________ are members of the gentry
3. _______________________________ makes his fortune (somewhat mysteriously) as a
capitalist
C. Women’s Rights—
D. Yorkshire Moors
1. “Wuthering” means _______________________ or ____________________________________
2. The moor is an essentially ______________________ environment but also beautiful.
3. A ____________________________ and ______________________ part of England
4. The setting in Wuthering Heights reflects the area where Emily Bronte grew up
3
5. Characterized by rugged hills with scattered, hard, black stones with little vegetation
V. Point of View
A. Events in Wuthering Heights are told from several different points of view
B. The novel opens and closes from the point of view of ____________________________________
C. The next narrator of the story is _______________________________________; her point of view
is “closer” to the story itself than Lockwood’s
D. __________________________ within the narration of Lockwood and Nelly are points when
characters such as Isabella Linton and Cathy Linton _____________________________________.
E. The reader must ultimately decide what he/she thinks about each character because of the varying
points of view
F. Framework Story
1. Wuthering Heights is highly praised for the unique narrative technique Emily Bronte used to
execute the novel, often referred to as a “___________________________________________.”
2. The two main narrators are _________________________ and _________________________,
but other narrators arise throughout the novel when Nelly quotes what other characters have told
her.
3. The frame narrative form of the novel ______________________________________________
________________________. Lockwood is the ______________________________ and Nelly
the __________________________________.
4. Since the story passes through layers, the reader _____________________________________
_______________________________________ of all that he or she reads.
a. Example: Nelly glosses over events to minimize her own guilt.
b. Example: Lockwood is naïve and lacks good judgment.
VI. Setting- Yorkshire, England
A. Three locations: __________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
B. Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange
1. Bronte emphasizes the ______________________________ of each house to the __________
______________________________ around it.
2. Wuthering Heights is located __________________________________________ where it is
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. Thrushcross Grange is located _______________________________________ where it is
___________________________________________. The Grange is also luxuriously decorated.
4. The contrasting houses also directly _______________________________________________
5. Thrushcross- _________________________; Wuthering Heights- _______________________
VII. Characters
4
A. ______________________: brought to WH as a young boy by old Mr. Earnshaw; has a wild,
_____________________ nature; _______________________ by his love for Catherine Earnshaw
B. ____________________________________: a wild girl growing up at WH; befriends Heathcliff as
a child; attracted to the refined life at TG; recognizes that she loves Heathcliff but is married to
Edgar Linton
C. _______________________________: a pampered, somewhat spoiled boy living at TG; polite and
well educated; attempts to “civilize” Catherine but does not understand her passionate personality
D. _______________________________: son of Hindley and Frances Earnshaw; used as a
_____________ by Heathcliff to wreak revenge on Hindley; grows up to be big and strong with a
bad temper
E. ________________________________: daughter of Catherine Earnshaw and Edgar Linton;
__________________ upbringing at TG; eventually brings _____________ and happiness to WH
F. __________________________: despises Heathcliff for being favored by his father Mr. Earnshaw;
unkind and ______________________; mistreats and humiliates Heathcliff after Earnshaw’s death
G. ________________________________: the sickly son of Isabella Linton and Heathcliff; selfcentered and __________________________________________
H. ________________________________: sister of Edgar Linton; raised at TG; shallow and weak;
later becomes __________________ and ___________________ after marrying Heathcliff
I.
________________________: first narrator of the story; rents TG from Heathcliff; well-educated but
doesn’t like to be around people
J. Mrs. Ellen (__________________) Dean: second narrator of the story; once lived at WH then
became housekeeper at TG; __________________ and trusted by most characters in the story
K. ___________________: elderly servant at WH; prone to ____________________ ravings about
sin/religious fanatic; speaks with a thick Yorkshire accent (sounds Scottish)
VIII. Literary Elements and Techniques
IX. Novel Structure
5
X. Motifs & Symbols
A. Doubles
B. Moors
C. Ghosts
XI. Themes/Thematic Topics
6