1. A recipe for gothic horror
Smart English: Gothic Horror
A recipe for gothic horror
(part two)
Aiming for Levels 5 to 7, Lesson 10

2. To explore and comment on how writers create tension (RAF5, RAF6)
Smart English: Gothic Horror – A recipe for gothic horror (part two)
Learning objective:
To explore and comment on how writers create tension (RAF5, RAF6)
Learning outcome:
To explore a range of techniques a writer uses to build tension, and use these to build tension in your own text
Success criteria: AF
Level 5 / All students can …
Level 6 / Most students can …
Level 7 / Some students can …
RAF5
Suggest possible effects on the reader of particular words and styles of sentences
Draw tentative conclusions about the effects on the reader of particular words and styles of sentences
Explore the effects on the reader of particular words and styles of sentences
RAF6
Give some explanation of the overall effect on the reader
Clearly identify the effect on the reader and explain how this effect is achieved
Show some appreciation of how a range of specific techniques and devices affect the reader
Aiming for Levels 5 to 7, Lesson 10

3. Ways in which the writer of Rebecca builds tension
Smart English: Gothic Horror – A recipe for gothic horror (part two)
Ways in which the writer of Rebecca builds tension
Vivid descriptions
‘twisted and turned as a serpent’
Long, ‘breathless’ sentences
First person narration
Making the reader wait
Description of feelings
‘began to nag at my nerves’
Dark or sinister comparisons
Aiming for Levels 5 to 7, Lesson 10

4. Smart English: Gothic Horror – A recipe for gothic horror (part two)
The vivid description of noise surprises the reader.
There is a sense of isolation as the main road disappears, but we have to wait for the house to appear.
The gates had shut to with a crash behind us, the dusty high-road was out of sight, and I became aware that this was not the drive I had imagined would be Manderley’s, this was not a broad and spacious thing of gravel, flanked with neat turf at either side, kept smooth with rake and brush.
The narrator is facing the unexpected which makes her and the reader anxious.
This is one long sentence which seems to reflect the narrator’s wondering, anxious thoughts.
Aiming for Levels 5 to 7, Lesson 10

5. Smart English: Gothic Horror – A recipe for gothic horror (part two)
Continuing the military imagery
Sinister word choice
They were more like advancing soldiers, grinning cruelly as they advanced on both sides. As the foliage thickened I felt trapped; my breathing quickened and I felt faint.
Direct expression of the narrator’s fear and confusion
Aiming for Levels 5 to 7, Lesson 10