Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Miss Haliday, and I will be your teacher for today.

I'm absolutely delighted to have so many of you join me for this lesson as we're going to begin looking at the Gothic genre, which is absolutely my favourite genre in literature.

So I can't wait to see what you make of it as well.

Let's get started.

So today's lesson is called Diving Deeper into the Gothic Genre.

And by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to identify features of the Gothic genre in the plot of "Frankenstein".

So here are some keywords that you'll need for today's lesson.

We've got Gothic literature, convention, supernatural, unsettled, and isolated.

Let's take a look at what these keywords mean.

If you need to take longer to pause the video and jot some of these keyword definitions down, then please feel free to do just that.

So first of all, Gothic literature is literature that evokes feelings of mystery, fear, and terror.

A convention is a recognised way of doing things, a standard expectation of something.

Supernatural is something that cannot be explained by the laws of science or nature.

Somebody that feels unsettled would feel unnerved, uneasy or anxious.

And finally, if you are isolated, you are alone and you are removed from other people.

Here's today's lesson outline.

We're gonna start by looking at Gothic conventions before moving on to identifying some of those Gothic conventions within the plot of "Frankenstein".

But let's start with Gothic conventions first.

So Gothic literature is a genre of text that evokes feelings of mystery, fear and terror.

So very exciting stuff.

Gothic fiction is characterised by a sense of threat.

So it's quite scary.

This could be any kind of threat, the threat of supernatural events, the threat of the past intruding on the present.

It doesn't need to be utterly terrifying, but there needs to be that sense of threat there.

Now, Gothic literature often contains murder, imprisonment, or torture, and this might be psychological as well as physical.

Now, Izzy raises a good point here and she says, "But why would anyone want to read this kind of text?" And I'd like you to discuss now with the people around you or independently, well, what do you think the Gothic genre offers its readers? And why would people want to read such horrifying stories? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you consider those two questions with the people around you.

Off you go.

Fantastic discussions and well done to those of you that identified that actually reading Gothic literature is a really thrilling experience because it's designed to evoke strong feelings from its readers.

And the entire goal and ambition of Gothic literature is to make its readers feel really unsettled and slightly uncomfortable.

So reading Gothic literature can give readers a real adrenaline rush, much like going to a fairground ride.

Now, the horrifying events narrated in Gothic texts are often metaphors for psychological struggles that the characters or society might be going through.

So Gothic texts can be very much representative of the societies in which they were produced, and that's really important to remember.

So Izzy asks this really insightful question here of, "But how do Gothic writers make us feel so unsettled and so fearful?" It's a great question that we're going to look at answering.

But first, let's check for understanding.

Both of these students have attempted to explain what the Gothic genre is.

I'd like you to read both their explanations and decide who you think gives the best explanation.

So pause the video and do just that.

Off you go.

Excellent effort and well done to those of you that selected that Aisha's response is better.

Aisha explains, "The Gothic genre is all about unsettling and thrilling the reader.

Gothic literature has a set of specific conventions, such as abandoned or dark settings and isolated protagonists.

Gothic fiction is an experience to read." Now, the reason that Jacob's response isn't as good is because Jacob states that actually, "The Gothic genre is all about terrifying the reader by showing them the most horrifying content possible." And that's not true.

Gothic literature all has to be characterised by this sense of threat, but that sense of threat between Gothic texts will vary and therefore it's not necessarily about frightening your reader as much as possible, but making them feel unsettled and uncomfortable.

And that's done differently in different Gothic texts.

So well done if you correctly identified that Aisha's explanation was the better of the two.

So here's our next discussion question.

I'd like you to think, well, what kinds of things generally tend to frighten people? So can you think of some common fears that people in society tend to have? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you consider that with the people around you.

Off you go.

Fantastic discussions, and some of you mentioning your own fears or just fears that you know people have.

So well done for those discussions.

Great work.

So we asked our Oak pupils the same question, and some of them were brave enough to volunteer to tell us their fears.

Now, because this is a bit of moment of vulnerability for our Oak pupils, I'm hoping that we're gonna show them the respect that they deserve for being vulnerable in this moment with us and being honest and brave with their fears.

So let's show them the respect they deserve now.

Andeep states, "I'm terrified of the dark.

Anytime all the lights are out, I imagine horrible things into the darkness." Now Jacob's fear is that he's terrified of old, creepy, abandoned buildings and he says, "I'd hate to be left alone in one." Sam says, "If I was left alone in a building like that, I'd be frightened it was full of ghosts." So here we're picking up this idea that Sam might be frightened of ghosts.

And finally, Sophia states, "Well, I'm claustrophobic.

I have a real fear of being trapped or feeling trapped." So there's our Oak pupils fears, and thank you so much to our Oak pupils for sharing their fears and being vulnerable in this moment.

And in response to our oak people's fears, Izzy states, "Well, you would all find the Gothic genre utterly terrifying then.

All of your fears are typical Gothic conventions that we would expect to find in Gothic literature." And Izzy is absolutely right because some conventions that we would expect to see in Gothic literature, multiple narrators, so lots of people telling the story, an isolated or arrogant protagonist who is usually male, an atmosphere of mystery, secrecy or suspense, violence and excessive emotional states, and a battle between good and evil.

So let's check for understanding, which of the following is not a Gothic convention? Is it A, dark and isolated settings, B, natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis, or is it C supernatural occurrences or creatures? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you decide which of the following is not a Gothic convention.

Off you go.

And well done if you correctly identified it is in fact B, natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis do not feature in Gothic texts.

They're not a Gothic convention, but supernatural occurrences and dark and isolated settings certainly are.

So onto our first task of the lesson.

And I'd like you to look at the two pictures and think, well, which of these two settings would you most expect to see in a Gothic text and why? And what I'm really interested in here is not just your answer, but your justification.

So your reason as to why you think what you think.

So I'm not just interested in seeing a one letter answer, I want to see a written response which explains exactly why or what about the setting you think is more Gothic.

So I've given you a sentence starter to help you get going, and it is this, I would expect to see setting, and then you're gonna put A or B, more in a Gothic text because it adheres to the Gothic conventions of what? So you're going to look at the images and pick out the Gothic conventions that you can identify within those images and explain why one setting is more Gothic than the other.

So what I'm gonna do now is invite you to pause the video while you take a few moments to write your justification for which setting you think will be more likely to feature in a Gothic text and why.

Off you go.

Fantastic work and here's what you might have written.

So I would expect to see setting A in a Gothic text because it's adheres to many of the classic Gothic conventions.

Firstly, it is an old and seemingly abandoned building.

This and the fact it is dark would make the perfect backdrop for supernatural or horrifying events to occur.

And actually, if we look at the picture, I can so imagine there being many ghosts in that house or horrifying creatures lurking in the shadows.

So that house made the perfect home for some very supernatural creatures that are typical of the Gothic genre.

Furthermore, the setting looks to be very isolated.

It seems to be at the edge of a dark and spooky forest, and that forest does not look like the kind of forest that you'd might want to walk through on your own, does it? So very, very spooky forest, classic Gothic convention there.

Again, this kind of setting is typical of Gothic literature.

And finally, though both houses seem to be very old and Gothic in style, the first house seems to be in a state of decay and ruin, which again is very typical of Gothic settings.

And this was something I was hoping you'd pick out because actually the other house could very much be Gothic as well, except that obviously the weather looks really nice, it looks very well kept and tidy, and that is not really what we'd expect of a Gothic setting.

If we had that same house but it was a lot more rundown, decaying, and abandoned, then again that would be a great ideal Gothic setting.

But setting A looks much, much more Gothic in nature than setting B did.

So well done if you chose setting A and you managed to justify your decision using Gothic conventions, great work.

So onto our second part of the lesson now where we're going to read the plot of "Frankenstein" and see if you can identify Gothic conventions within the plot.

So as a quick recap and to see whether you've been listening, I would like you to see how many Gothic conventions you can name with the people around you.

You can make it into a little bit of a competition if you like.

See who can get the most.

So pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic work, and I could see some very, very long lists and some people getting very, very competitive, which we love to see.

So here are your answers.

And as I said, if you are competing, you've got to make sure that your answers are correct, otherwise it doesn't count.

So the first Gothic convention is abandoned and dark things.

We've also got being trapped or feeling trapped, supernatural occurrences or creatures, multiple narrators, an isolated or arrogant protagonist who is usually male, an atmosphere of mystery, secrecy or suspense, violence and excessive emotional states and finally, a battle between good and evil.

So how many Gothic conventions is that? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

So if you've got eight, massive, well done, fantastic work.

An eight out of eight.

Now, one of the most famous Gothic novels of all time is a novel called "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley.

And I'm gonna let you into a little secret.

I know teachers always say that whatever text you're studying is their favourite, but I hand on heart can tell you that "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley is my all time favourite novel.

I am obsessed with this novel.

I think it is the best novel in the whole wide world, and it teaches the most important moral lesson of all time.

So I know we always do that thing where we say, "Yep, this is my favourite." And we say about everything.

But I am not lying when I say to you that this is my favourite novel and I can't wait to see what you think of it because I'm such a "Frankenstein" fanatic.

So Andeep says, "I've heard about 'Frankenstein' somewhere I'm sure.

To be honest, it's probably from me going on about how good it is to him.

And he says, "I've seen some costumes of the monster too." And I'd like you to discuss, well, what do you already know about the story of "Frankenstein"? I'm sure you know something because "Frankenstein" is everywhere.

So I'd like you to pause the video and discuss with the people around you what you might already know about the story.

Off you go.

Fantastic discussions and I can see that many of you do already know a lot about "Frankenstein".

However, I am hearing something that I'm gonna have to correct now, and that is I'm hearing many of you talking about the the creature and saying that Frankenstein is a monster, okay? That is made up of different body parts.

And unfortunately you are slightly mistaken because actually Frankenstein is the name of the scientist who created the creature.

So that creature that you've all seen in the shops, you've seen Halloween costumes of, you know, you've seen cartoons of that is not Frankenstein, that is actually Frankenstein's creature.

So when you're talking about Frankenstein, you need to make sure that you, you're either saying the scientist Frankenstein or Frankenstein's creature because Frankenstein himself is a person and not that green stitched together monster that you might have seen in the supermarket Halloween costumes.

So make sure you try and remember that moving forward 'cause that is a really common mistake that people who haven't read the novel tend to make.

So here is the plot summary of my favourite novel in the whole world, "Frankenstein".

I'm going to read it to you and as I read, you should be following along.

Make sure you're paying close attention because I'll be asking you questions about the plot in just a moment.

So I'll read you follow along, starting now.

"In a series of letters, Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole, recounts to his sister back in England, the progress of its dangerous mission.

Successful early on, the mission is soon interrupted by seas full of impassible ice.

Trapped, Walton encounters Victor Frankenstein, who has been travelling by dog drawn sledge across the ice and is weakened by the cold.

Walton takes him aboard ship, tries to nurse him back to health, and here's the fantastic tale of the monster that Frankenstein created." Such a great story.

Okay, what I'd like you to do now is think, well, we've already heard two people's stories here.

So which Gothic convention does this adhere to? So which Gothic convention are we already starting to see here? I'm gonna to invite you now to pause a video while you answer that question with the people around you.

Off you go.

Fantastic and well done if you are able to identify that the Gothic convention we see already is this idea of multiple narrators because we hear the stories in the letters from Robert Walton, but we also hear Victor Frankenstein telling Robert Walton of his story.

So well done if you manage to get that, excellent work.

And let's carry on reading.

Victor first describes his early life in Geneva.

"At the end of a blissful childhood spent in the company of Elizabeth Lavenza, his adopted sister, and friend Henry Clerval.

We learned that Victor studied natural philosophy and chemistry at university, becoming consumed by the desire to discover the secret of life.

Once he discovers the knowledge he has long been seeking, Victor spends months creating a creature out of old body parts.

One fateful night in the secrecy of his apartment, he brings his creation to life.

When he looks at the monstrosity that he has created, however, the sight horrifies him, the creature escapes and runs off." So I'd like you to answer the following question, how does Victor's pursuit of knowledge link to the enlightenment? So I'm gonna invite you now to pause a video while you answer that either independently or with the people around you.

Pause the video and off you go.

And really fantastic work if you remembered that the Enlightenment was a shift in thinking, whereby reason and rationale was celebrated.

There was an emphasis on learning the truth about things.

And here we can see Victor thirsting for knowledge.

You know, kind of studies at university and his obsession with wanting to be able to create human life, show us his thirst for knowledge.

So here we see the impact of the Enlightenment on one individual in science.

So well done if you got that, great work.

Let's carry on reading.

"Sickened by his horrific deed, Victor prepares to return to Geneva, to his family and to health.

Just before departing, however, he receives a letter stating that his youngest brother William, has been murdered.

Grief-stricken, Victor hurries home.

While passing through the woods where William was strangled, he catches sight of the monster and is convinced that the monster is his brother's murderer.

Unfortunately, a kind gentle girl who had been adopted by the Frankenstein household has been accused and is wrongly convicted and executed." And this girl's called Justine.

"Victor struggles with the knowledge that the monster that he has created is responsible for the death of two innocent loved ones." So now that we've read that part of the plot, let's answer the following questions.

Who does Victor blame for the death of his youngest brother? And how does he reach this conclusion? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause a video while you answer those questions again, either independently or with the people around you.

Off you go.

And congratulations if you were able to identify that Victor blames the monster for his brother's death because he sees him in the same woods that William was murdered in and he makes the assumption that it must have been the monster.

So well done if he got that, great reading.

Let's continue, "Hoping to ease his grief.

Victor takes a vacation to the mountains.

While he is alone one day, crossing an enormous glacier, the monster approaches him.

The monster admits to the murder of William, but begs for understanding.

Lonely, shunned, and forlorn he says that he struck out at William in a desperate attempt to injure Victor, his cruel creator.

The monster begs Victor to create a mate for him." And as we can see on the slide, a mate is a romantic partner to reproduce with.

"And he wants a monster equally grotesque to serve as his sole companion.

Victor refuses at first, but the monster eventually convinces him." Now what I'd like you to do now is answer this question well, why do you think that Victor refuses to create a monster mate for his creation? So I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you consider that question with the people around you.

Off you go.

Some really great discussions there and many of you're able to understand that actually Victor's concerns are about the monster reproducing.

He can see the harm that one monster has caused.

So he's very reluctant to create another monster in case the two mate and create an entire race of creatures.

So well done if you got that.

Again, let's carry on, "Victor isolates himself on a desolate island and begins making the second creature.

One night, struck by doubts about the morality of his actions, Victor glances out of the window to see the monster glaring in at him with a frightening grin.

Horrified by the possible consequences of his work, Victor destroys his new creation.

The monster, enraged, vows revenge, swearing that he will be with Victor on Victor's wedding night.

The next morning, Victor is arrested for the murder of his friend Henry Clerval.

He is shown the body and is devastated to see the mark of the monster's fingers on his neck.

Victor falls ill and is kept in prison until he is acquitted." So the novel just keeps getting darker really.

It's a very, very Gothic novel, but it's just fantastic.

So what I'd like you to do now is answer these two questions of why do you think the monster wanted a female companion? And how do you think he might have felt watching Victor destroy his mate? So I'm gonna invite you now to pause the video while you consider those two questions with the people around you.

Off you go And well done, if you were able to empathise with the monster and understand that he wanted a companion so he wouldn't be lonely, and that he must have felt really heartbroken watching her be destroyed in front of his very eyes.

That must be so upsetting for the monster.

Imagine just really wanting a companion, being given one and then having it snatched away because somebody decides that you are not allowed to reproduce and you're not allowed to create your own family.

That is really heartbreaking for the creature in this moment.

And my heart really goes out to him in this part of the novel.

It's very, very sad.

Continuing on, so "Shortly after returning to Geneva with his father, Victor marries Elizabeth.

He fears the monster's warning and suspects that he will be murdered on his wedding night.

He sends Elizabeth away to wait for him.

But while he awaits the monster, he hears Elizabeth's scream, the monster has killed her.

Victor returns home to his father, who dies of grief a short time later.

Victor vows to devote the rest of his life to finding the monster and exacting his revenge.

And he soon departs to begin his quest.

Victor tracks the monster ever northward into the ice, but loses him." And again, a question, whose fault do you think all these deaths are? Are they Victor's fault or are they the monster's fault and why? So pause the video and consider that question.

There is no right or wrong here, I'm just really interested to hear your opinion.

Interesting, thank you.

Some very, very fascinating opinions.

Some of you saying you think it's Victor's fault for creating a creature.

And some of you're equally saying that you think it's the monster's fault because he's responsible for his own actions.

And just to summarise, whilst the monster is the one who actually murders Victor's family and friends, arguably Victor has created him.

So he is also responsible for the deaths.

So I guess both characters are responsible in their own way and well done if you got that.

So let's check for understanding who does the monster not killing the novel? Is it A, Elizabeth Lavenza or Victor's wife, B, Henry Clerval, C, Victor's Father or D, Victor's brother? So pause the video while you make your answer selection.

And congratulations if you correctly identified that the monster does not kill Victor's father directly, but he does die as a result of the monster's actions because he dies from grief at the death of Elizabeth Lavenza and Victor's younger brother, William.

So well done if you got that.

So let's read the last part of the plot summary on a really heartbreaking part of the novel.

"At this point, Walton encounters Victor and the narrative catches up to the beginning.

Walton tells the rest of the story in other letters to his sister.

Victor, already ill, worsens and dies shortly thereafter.

When Walton returns ,several days later, to the room in which Victor's body lies, he's startled to see the monster weeping over him.

The monster tells Walton of his immense loneliness, suffering, hatred, and regret.

He tells him that now his creator has died, he too can end his suffering.

The monster then departs to die." So what I'd like you to do now is think, well what emotions do you feel for Victor? And what emotions do you feel for the monster? So pause the video and discuss that question with the people around you.

Fantastic discussions, and I'm really impressed with how mature you're being in these discussions because there's some really sensitive topics being discussed here.

So both characters are objects of sympathy, but also objects of our disapproval and disdain.

So our dislike.

So we actually feel sorry for both of them, but we also kind of dislike them both at the same time.

Because they're both act immorally and wickedly, but they also both really regret their actions.

Now, personally, and I am biassed 'cause we know that this is my favourite novel.

I've said it once and I'll say it a million times more, but I feel so sorry for the creature at the end of the novel.

And actually my heart breaks for him because what he does is he tells Walton about the way that he he's felt throughout his life and why he's done the things that he's done.

And it's all because Victor rejected him in the beginning of his life.

And it's actually heartbreaking to read.

Some of the statements that he makes make me cry every single time I read them.

They are utterly heart wrenching and my heartaches for the creature because I cannot imagine how painful it must be to be treated that way by somebody who is supposed to care for you.

So although I do feel somewhat sorry for Victor, my sympathy for the creature far outweighs any sympathy that I can feel for Victor in this moment because the creature's testimony is just heartbreaking.

So that's how I feel.

But I'd be interested to see how you feel when you read that part of the text.

So here's your last task of the lesson.

Here is a table, and you'll notice that on the left hand side it is populated with our Gothic conventions.

What I'd like you to do is complete the table by explaining where we see these various Gothic conventions in the plot of "Frankenstein".

And I've actually been really kind to you here and I've given you some questions to help you complete this activity.

So questions like which character isolated in the novel and why? Give examples of extreme violence and who's good and who's evil? So I've given you questions to help you out, help you out.

So what I'm going to ask you to do now is pause the video while you identify the Gothic conventions in the plot of "Frankenstein", using the prompt questions on the right hand side of the table.

So pause the video and complete the activity now.

Fantastic work and some very full grids.

And it was great to see how much of the plot you were able to remember even without looking.

So massive well done, great work.

So in terms of isolated characters and where we see them, well, Frankenstein isolates himself because of his work and also the monster he creates is also isolated because of his appearance and the way that he looks.

You know, society is repulsed by the way the creature looks, and therefore he is without friends and family, which is very, very sad, but it makes him a very isolated character.

Now in terms of supernatural creatures and occurrences, well the monster that Frankenstein creates is extra human.

So it's more than human because it's made from different body parts.

It's huge, it's actually eight foot tall and it's brought to life through galvanization.

So it is in a sense, a supernatural creature.

So in terms of multiple narrators, well we've touched on this already, but we actually hear the voices of both Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein in the novel.

And we hear the voice of the creature via Robert Walton at the end of the novel as well.

It's also worth mentioning that the narrative is not told chronologically, and that really contributes to the sense of mystery and intrigue of the novel.

Now, in terms of violence and excessive emotional states, well we can see the creature as being extremely violent because his extreme rage drives him to murder.

Victor's extreme grief and regret also drives him to vengeance because he threatens violence to the creature.

And he's also really kind of aggressive and confrontational with the creature at several points in the novel.

So there's lots and lots of violence and threats of violence.

And in terms of the battle between good and evil, well it's quite difficult one this because actually the line between good and evil is really not clear cut in this novel.

As we discussed previously, both Victor and the creature exhibit both good traits and also bad traits.

They do really wicked things, but they also sometimes make the right decision as well.

Victor, first, does a wicked thing by bringing the creature to life, and he then spends the rest of the novel trying to put this mistake right and failing.

So again, we see that real battle between good and evil.

And at some points in the novel, we are left to question who is good and who is evil out of it Victor and the creature.

So there is that real kind of theme of good and evil that runs all the way throughout this novel.

And that is really typical of Gothic fiction.

A massive well done if you managed to populate every single space on your table.

And if you didn't, that's absolutely fine.

Just pause the video and make sure you filled in any blank spaces, well done.

So to summarise the learning from today, so Gothic literature is literature that evokes feelings of mystery, fear and terror, and it'll characterised by a sense of threat.

Gothic literature is designed to evoke strong feelings from readers and the horrifying events narrated in this fiction are often metaphors for psychological struggles that the characters or the society that it was produced in might be going through at the time.

The popular Gothic novel "Frankenstein", my favourite novel, tells the story of a scientist who pushes his knowledge to its limit by creating a creature out of human parts.

He brings the creature to life only to watch it embark on a journey of destruction and vengeance, and that's very unfortunate for him.

The novel "Frankenstein" contains many Gothic conventions such as isolated characters, dark and derelict settings, extreme violence, and the battle between good and evil.

I would like to thank you wholeheartedly for coming to today's lesson.

It has been an absolute pleasure to teach you all about Gothic conventions and to run through the plot of "Frankenstein", my favourite novel.

I'm gonna say it one last time.

I absolutely love this text and I can't wait to see you next time where we're going to dive in really deeply and start thinking about some of those Gothic themes that we touched on today in the text.

So thank you very much for your contributions.

Have a lovely rest of your day, and I will see you later.