Planning a Gothic description inspired by 'A monster within'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can generate ideas for my Gothic description.
Key learning points
- Your Gothic writing should not simply be a horror story - you can create fear through atmosphere and mood.
- Gothic literature is characterised by a sense of threat, but this does not have to be violent threat.
- Semantic fields, pathetic fallacy and figurative language are methods that Gothic writers can use to create atmosphere.
- It can be useful to plan your use of methods before you begin writing, to make sure you are using them effectively.
Keywords
Gothic literature - literature that evokes feelings of mystery, fear and terror
Reminiscent - when something reminds us of something else
To conceal - to hide or to disguise
Dingy - gloomy, dark and drab
To mystify - to utterly bewilder or shock someone - to make someone confused
Common misconception
Students think that if they write a horror story that is full of blood and gore, that this makes it Gothic.
Gothic literature is about unsettling and mystifying the reader - not traumatising them with gory descriptions and extreme violence. There can be more fear in what is not revealed, than what is revealed.
Teacher tip
For the feedback activity in learning cycle 1, take answers from students as to why these description foci would not be appropriate for a Gothic text. Guide them to understand that whilst some of these suggestions are horrifying, they are not Gothic in the conventional sense.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following are common Gothic themes?
Q2.When was Gothic ficiton popularised?
Q3.Gothic are usually isolated or egotistical males.
Q4.What is Gothic literature interested in exploring?
Q5.What does 'to mystify' the reader mean?
Q6.Match the language methods up to their definition.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Why is black often considered a Gothic colour?
Q2.Why is white often considered a Gothic colour?
Q3.What does the word 'dingy' mean?
Q4.If something is of something else, it reminds us of it.
Q5.Why are Gothic colours often contrasted with one another?
Q6.Which of the following semantic fields would help you to characterise a setting as old?
To help you plan your 8 English lesson on: Planning a Gothic description inspired by 'A monster within', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 English lesson on: Planning a Gothic description inspired by 'A monster within', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 English lessons from the A monster within: reading and writing Gothic fiction unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.