'Jekyll and Hyde': urbanisation and social divisions
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can analyse how Stevenson uses his descriptions of Victorian London to explore the impact of the Industrial Revolution.
Key learning points
- Victorian London was noisy, overcrowded, and diverse, with people from various cultural backgrounds and social classes.
- The Industrial Revolution transformed London, causing pollution, a huge class divide and feelings of alienation.
- The novella explores human duality in Victorian society, reflecting conflict between progress and primal instincts.
- Stevenson's descriptions of setting create an ominous atmosphere, perhaps implying Hyde is an evil, immoral character.
- Descriptions of the fog suggest the progress of the Industrial Revolution obscured a darker side of Victorian society.
Keywords
Pathetic fallacy - the attribution of human emotion to inanimate objects, nature, or animals
Industrial Revolution - a period of major industrial and technological advancements, transforming economies and societies
Ominous - suggesting something bad or threatening is about to happen
Alienation - a feeling of disconnection or isolation from society, work, or one's environment
Foreshadows - hints at or predicts a future event in a story
Common misconception
There isn't much point analysing setting to learn about theh characters or themes of text; it just provides the scenery for the action to take place in.
Often writers use setting to subtly foreshadow events or symbolise important paralells to characters. Analysing settings is a useful way to learn more about characters and key themes.
Teacher tip
There are many other decriptions of setting in the novella. To challenge pupils, you could encourage them to find their own description of setting to annotate for Task B, instead of using the one provided in the additional materials.
Equipment
You will need access to specific extracts from 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' by Robert Louis Stevenson. You can find the extracts in the additional materials.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Language may offend
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is a slum?
Q2.Which of these happened as a result of the Industrial Revolution?
Q3.Which of the following words is an example of an adjective?
Q4.Which of the following adverbs does Stevenson use in Chapter 1 of 'Jekyll and Hyde' to emphasise how cruel and merciless Hyde was when he trampled over the young girl?
Q5.Which of these statements are true of the Victorian era?
Q6.In what way did poor Victorians face social stigma from the wealthier classes?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What caused the 'pea souper' fogs in Victorian London?
Q2.What was one major impact of the Industrial Revolution on London?
Q3.Which of these words would you use to describe Victorian London?
Q4.Complete the following sentence: 'The Industrial Revolution transformed the city, worsening pollution, widening the class divide and causing feelings of .'
Q5.Which method is being described here: 'hinting at or predicting a future event in a story'?
Q6.What is significant about Stevenson's descriptions of the fog in 'Jekyll and Hyde'?
To help you plan your 11 English lesson on: 'Jekyll and Hyde': urbanisation and social divisions, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 English lesson on: 'Jekyll and Hyde': urbanisation and social divisions, 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 4 English lessons from the 'Jekyll & Hyde': the dark side of the Industrial Revolution unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.