ENGLISH 2323 & ENGLISH IV
British Literature
GOTHIC LITERATURE
What is Gothic Literature?
Term used to describe literary works that make extensive
use of primitive, medieval, wild, mysterious, or unnatural
elements.
A gothic novel was a late-eighteenth century revival of
the tale of terror, which has its roots in antiquity .
GOTHIC CHARACTERISTICS
 Settings most often include large, drafty old houses that have been
in the family for years—castles or family estates.
 Mystery and Suspense (secrets)
 Death, murder, missing person or item
 Ghostly legend, unexplainable occurrence
 Tales including highly charged emotional state: terror, a feeling
that one is on the brink of insanity, anger agitation, an
exaggerated feeling of some impending doom, and obsessive love
 Supernatural, events: ghosts, doors that open themselves,
unexplained sounds, etc..
 Women in distress, frightened and confused, wandering around
lost, or dying due to a slow and unexplainable ailment
GOTHIC CHARACTERISTICS
CONT.
Uses words designed to evoke images of
gloom and doom: dark, foreboding,
forbidding, ghostly
 Romantic themes often involve the death of a
man or woman in the throes of some great
passion, the obsessive nature of a man or
woman in love, or excessive grief one feels
upon the loss of a loved one.
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VOCABULARY
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Gothic
Metaphors
Point of View
Setting
Parallelism
Protagonist
Conflict
Historical Context
Dramatic Plot Summary
Irony
Extended metaphors
Theme
Tone
Paradox
Antagonist
Internal/External
Influence
DRAMATIC PLOT SUMMARY
Climax
Rising Action
Exposition/Intro
Falling Action
Resolution/Conclusion
GOTHIC NOVELS
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole (577)
• The Mysteries of Udolpho by Anne Radcliff (594)
FRANKENSTEIN
 Romantic era novel
 Gothic characteristics: fear, eerie, making
ordinary/extraordinary
 First Published 1818 (3 volumes)
 Reprinted twice in 1823 & 1831
 Elements of: psychological complexity, influence, competitive
instincts, fear of success…
 Story of beauty, terror, ambition, disappointment, intellectual
reaching and fear of knowledge, love and hate.
 Novel began as a contest with other writers to write a ghost
story in 1816.
FRANKENSTEIN
BY MARY SHELLEY
 Denied love
 search for acceptance
 rejection-which turns
to hate
LITERARY CIRCLE REPORTS
 Work as a Team, but have separate jobs:
Director
Illuminator
Illustrator (Yes you get to draw)
Connector
Word Watcher
Summarizer
 Cannot do the same part/job twice—
must switch every report
 Literary Circle Report # 1 Covers pages
(letters – page 77)
DIRECTOR
 Responsible for Group discussion, writes these ideas down, helps members
with their roles.
 Records and reports on the group discussion
 Suggested sample questions to begin discussion on reverse side of handout
 Responsible for title page with each members name and selected job
 Decorate the title page, make sure it has the title: Literary Circle Report #
1, 2, or 3 and everyone’s name and job (see samples)
 Collects reports, staples, and turns-in to Mrs. Patterson
 If Team members will be absent the day the report is due make sure they
email it to you or Mrs. Patterson
ILLUMINATOR
 Find passages (minimum 3) and explain why they are so important to the
reading selection for this report.
 Select passages that are memorable, interesting, puzzling, funny, or
important.
 Notes should include Quotes, page numbers and an explanation (at least
two sentences) Should be like an Short answer response for each passage.
ILLUSTRATOR
 Draw what you see in the selected reading assignment for the Literary
Circle
 Include the page numbers from the novel where you got the idea for your
drawing(s)
 This job is the easy and fun job—but every time we do a different report
you cannot do the same job.
CONNECTOR
 Connect what you are studying/reading with the world outside of school
 Global meaning/connection
 Connect to own experiences—life, news events, political events, or popular
trends.
WORD WATCHER
 Everyone in the team needs to contribute
 Share your vocabulary words with the team and the Word Watcher
consolidates the words, defines them and discusses the contextual meaning
with the group (Need page numbers)
 If you do not have six members in the group the Director has each person
add two or more words to the bottom of their own report
SUMMARIZER
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Prepares a brief summary of the assigned reading (by chapter).
Use the sample questions on the handout to decide what to include
Use your team members to help you find information for the summaries
You can organize the information by chapter or a time-line of events
LITERARY CIRCLE REPORTS
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No one can do the same job twice
Positions/Roles will change every time we do a new Literary Circle Report
You may be asked to share your LCR findings with the class
Be prepared to present
THANK YOU!
You are the greatest students ever!
No Senioritis—do your Literary Circle Report.
Sammi’s tip of the day—
Work hard now—nap later.
Sammi or SamSam