THE WOMAN IN BLACK BY SUSAN HILL

WRITING A STORY What are the essential elements of: 1)a Gothic Horror story 2)a Detective Story? 3)a traditional ghost story? List them What about a modern horror story? List them.

The Original Woman in Black: Ghostly Beginnings The approach Susan Hill adopted when writing A Woman in Black

The Woman in Black Susan Hill The novel is set in the past but as Susan Hill explains “ It is not set in Victorian times but I suppose is turn of the century. I wanted to set it in some kind of vague, indeterminate past before the tale of horror took over and the ghost story fell out of favour. Does it matter if the audience is uncertain of precisely when the story is set? Do you think this kind of ghost story would work equally well in a modern setting? What elements would need to be different?

Having read a huge number of ghost stories while researching The Woman in Black, Susan Hill was convinced that the novel’s narrator should be: “someone of the most unimaginative and straightforward kind, a plain man not easily frightened, who, if you were to ask him, would say with a laugh that he most certainly did not believe in such things as ghosts”. In the novel, Susan Hill entrusts the narrative to the sober and reliable solicitor, Mr Kipps, who flees from the frivolous, Christmas Eve ghost stories of his stepchildren in order to write down, and finally exorcise, the horrific events in his past. Why does Susan Hill believe that the narrator of the ghost story should be someone who does not believe in ghosts? Does this affect how we respond to the story? Do we feel we can rely upon Mr Kipps account of events. If so, why?

STRUCTURING YOUR WORK

Essays about Literature When writing about poetry, plays or novels you will want to use quotations to support what you write. You do this in the following way: 1) Key sentence 2) Expand on the point made in the key sentence 3) Use a quotation or refer to part of the story to prove your point 4) Round off your point, linking it back to the key sentence. WHEN MAKING YOUR POINTS –Pee!

For example: In Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code the writer engages the reader’s attention right from the first page. He does this by writing dramatically and by making the reader want to find out why the man is putting works of art from the walls of The Louvre: “…he lunged for the nearest painting, a Caravaggio, and heaved the master-piece towards himself until it tore from the wall.” Words like ‘heaved’ and ‘tore’ create a sense of urgency and desperation, encouraging the reader to continue.

Here is another example: Another way that Susan Hill creates tension in The Woman in Black is by skilfully using the weather to create a sinister atmosphere. For example: “ The weather had been wretched. We had had rain, chilling rain and a mist that law low about the house and over the countryside. From the windows, the view stretched no further than a yard or two down the garden. The mist, combined with the moaning rise and fall of the wind created an atmosphere that was to chill my spine and jangle my nerves.” The author uses the mist to suggest the visibility is poor and that the movements of the main character are limited by the rain. The moaning wind is also used to create an unsettling atmosphere and this increases the tension already created. Remember all paragraph MUST be constructed in this way.

Now you try… Using the structure discussed (Key sentence + PEE) write a detailed paragraph on how different locations are used to create tension in the novel. Then youy need to write the essay… Good luck