Allie Niehaus Lesson Plan 2 Gothic Literature Introduction to Gothic Literature Allie Niehaus Lesson Plan 2 Allie Niehaus Lesson Plan 2

Objective May, 5 Students will demonstrate their knowledge of characteristics of Gothic Literature in order to write a short story.

Opener Think about the last time you saw a scary movie. What happens to your body physically when you get scared? What do you see, hear or feel that makes you scared?

Why a turn to Gothic Literature? Competing artistic principles emerge Beauty VS based in classical reason, proportion and order. Sublime strange beauty, felt, not rational.

Why the terror? *French Revolution, 1798: monarchy & all art and buildings. connected to the Church destroyed. *The terror that followed shaped the imagination of the Romantic Period writers greatly many Romantics spent time in Europe and sympathized with political agitators but chaotic violence and anarchy troubled them.

Examples of Gothic Literature The writings of Edgar Allan Poe Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Elements of the Gothic… Settings Castles Far off exotic places Dark woods Laboratories Basements Caves Catacombs Extreme weather Attics Mazes Windings stair cases

Characters Villain/Vice Hero Damsel in Distress -has a sickness in the body or mind -Dominating and violent -may pose as a hero in the beginning but experiences a crucial fall from grace -has heroic qualities but uses them to manipulate and force his power upon other. Mr. Hyde, Professor Moriarty, Lord Voldemort, Cat woman Hero -whose true identity might not be revealed until the end An idealized but flawed character May be self destructive, self critical and jaded. Romeo, Othello, Jake Sully, Van Helsing, Heracles Damsel in Distress -Beautiful, young and dramatic -helpless and in need of rescue Rapunzel, Lois Lane, Princess Peach

Plot dominant figure trying to impose power plot-driven by violence Being chased or captured plot-driven by violence Murder, battles or war Being lost in dark, unfamiliar, possibly evil place characters are completely isolated known taboos, incest, sexual threat

Atmosphere: The emotional feelings inspired by a work Touch- Introduce touch by describing textures and surfaces. Hearing - Hearing creates atmosphere as well as painting a picture by describing the sounds of the scene. Smell- Your sense of smell is directly linked to your memory. This can be a powerful tool in eliciting emotions. Sight- It is important to create a mental image for your reader. Describing what your characters see can be a very useful tool. Taste- If relevant, be sure to include the sense of taste as well.

Themes dark side of human nature search for identity social alienation Duality – Dr.Jekle and Mr. Hyde search for identity social alienation search for truth Frankenstein

Assignment Now we are going to use what we just learned about the conventions of Gothic Literature to write short stories in small groups. Be sure to choose an appropriate Gothic setting, characters and plot from the examples we discussed today. Remember to create a sense of atmosphere by using your senses. Before we get started I will read you my short story as an example.

Review / Closer Keeping our objective in mind, we are now going to watch the following video clip in order to locate at least 5 gothic conventions. This could be characters, setting, plot, atmosphere… Today’s objective: Students will demonstrate their knowledge of characteristics of Gothic Literature in order to write a short story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA *On the back of your paper write if we achieved today’s objective or not. Also write down one question or one thing you did not understand about today’s lesson