Jenni Heeks
English
The Innocents Lesson Four: The Insect and the Rose
Key Stage
3
Subject
English
Requirements
DVD of the Innocents
Copies of the Poem ‘The Sick Rose’ by William Blake
Lesson description
A deeper analysis of a single moment from the film ‘The Innocents’, which
captures the heart of the Gothic perfectly, the image of an insect falling out of
a rose is analysed, before being linked to Gothic literature through Blake’s
poem ‘The Sick Rose’
Key words
Corruption of Purity, Repulsion, Poetry, Insects, Nature
Curriculum Links
Reading: AF7 – Linking texts to their genre and context.
AF5 – Analysis of Language
Writing: Developing skills of using imagery and metaphor in use of language;
developing understanding of the poetic form.
Media literacy
opportunities
Focusing on a single image from the film and looking at how this can be
transferred in language. This lesson is also a great opportunity to look at the
use of metaphorical imagery both in media and language to encapsulate an
entire concept.
Lesson work summary
The lesson begins with activities aiming to encourage within students a deep
conceptual understanding of how the image of the beetle coming out of the
white rose in ‘The Innocents’ is both a potent image within itself, as well as
serving as a metaphor for the corruption of purity that occurs throughout the
film. This leads on to a wider discussion of these themes in Gothic literature,
focusing on the poem ‘The Sick Rose’. The students use this as inspiration for
creating their own Gothic poetry.
Lesson work value
Students develop deeper analytical skills, and skills of close analysis of a single
image.
This links to analysis of poetry studied by students at Key Stage Four. It also
develops creative writing skills.
This lesson can be adapted and taught as part of the Gothic synoptic unit at
Key Stage 5.
OBJECTIVE
To understand the theme of ‘Corruption of Purity’ within the Gothic genre,
through analysis of an image in ‘The Innocents’ and analysis of the poem ‘The
Sick Rose’ by William Blake.
TRAILER
Image Analysis
Divide your board in half – write ‘Rose’ on one side and ‘Bug’ on the other. Get
students to call out things that they think of when they look at a rose, and
things they think of when they look at a bug. Try to get them to see the
contrast between the rose (pretty, weddings, colourful, nice, gardens…) and the
bug (disgusting, dirty, lives underground…)
Rewatch the short scene with Miss Giddens in the garden looking at roses,
when a beetle crawls out of a white rose (30 minutes into the film). It is the
students’ job to analyse:
Jenni Heeks
English
1) Why this image is so powerful
2) How it links to the themes in the film
You could either get them to write a mini paragraph answering each question,
or use discussion and feedback to garner responses from the students.
By the end of the activity, students need to know:
-
-
MAIN ATTRACTION
That the beetle coming out of the rose represents ‘awfulness’ coming
out of what we think of as good. This also links to the idea of children
as evil – what we expect to be good and pure (think about the fact that
the rose is white, also…) is dirtied and made repulsive.
This links to the idea that not everything is as it seems: a powerful
theme running throughout the film (think of our picture of the house
at the beginning vs. what it becomes). It also links to the theme of
corruption of purity, seen in the children, and, arguably, in Miss
Giddens herself.
Poetry Analysis
O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
Read this poem as a class. Depending on the ability of your class, either read it
to them or get them to read it out. Again, depending on ability, discuss the
meaning of the poem, or certain words, with your class.
After that, in workbooks get students to link each phrase of the poem to the
film ‘The Innocents’, saying how they link. If appropriate, they could write this
as a table with a third column entitled ‘Which Gothic Theme does this fit into?’
‘O Rose thou art sick’ – Corruption of purity. Links to Miss Giddens ‘the rose’
becoming sick – or either of the children.
‘The invisible worm,/That flies in the night’ – Idea of something invisible that
only comes out at night; like the ghosts in “The Innocents”.
‘In the howling storm’ – Use of pathetic fallacy and storms to create
atmosphere.
‘Has found out thy bed/Of crimson joy’ – Crimson and the use of the colour
red within the gothic; in The Innocents there are lots of images around creepy
beds, billowing beds…
And his dark secret love/ Does thy life destroy.’ – Link to the dark secret love
between the children; the children and the ghosts; Miles and Miss Giddens…
Jenni Heeks
English
Any or all of these come together to destroy life literally when Miles dies.
END CREDITS
Become a Gothic Writer!
The final activity is to get students to write their own 8 line, 2 verse Gothic
poem using imagery to discuss the themes that have been discussed in today’s
lesson.
Students may want to use the Gothic words, themes and imagery Word Banks
to help them.
EXTRAS
Other Ideas
-
-
Read
This lesson would also be suitable for Key Stage 4 and 5 students,
particularly those studying the Gothic in A Level Literature. Some more
advanced discussion in a lesson tailored to these pupils might involve
discussion of the rose and worm being euphemisms for male and female
sexuality, and the concept of male corruption of the female in the Gothic
through the power of sex and the removal of women’s purity through their
sexual activity.
It may be pertinent to use the concepts in this lesson as a springboard for
an overarching lesson discussing the theme of corruption of purity in the
Gothic – depending on the Key Stage this is taught to, this might involve
looking purely at the corruption of purity within The Innocents, or for more
advanced students could form the basis for a comparative study of film and
literature through this theme.
William Blake, ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ (1794)
Sylvia Plath, ‘Ariel’ (1965)
Edgar Allen Poe, ‘The Raven’ (1845)
Erin Kelly, ‘The Sick Rose’ (2011)
Roald Dahl, ‘The Minpins’ (1991)
If you want to find out more about the film…
- Film review on ScreenOnline - http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/456108/
Jonathan Rigby, ‘English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema’ (2007)
For more on the idea of Miss Giddens as a paedophilic predator of Miles (perhaps
suitable only for older students) see Jack Clayton’s notes on the character.
Watch
A really creepy musical version of The Sick Rose by The Protagonist is
available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ16-MYIB2o
This would work really well as a lesson starter or as creative inspiration.
Little Shop of Horrors (dir. Frank Oz, 1986)
The Fly (dir. David Cronenberg, 1986)