Going Gothic.

Hello and welcome to today's "Jekyll and Hyde" lesson.

My name is Mr. Young and it is lovely to be teaching you on this lesson, which is all about one of my favourite parts of the text, which is its Gothic background and its Gothic features.

So let's get started.

So today's lesson is all about the Gothic tradition and how "Jekyll and Hyde" fits into that.

So our learning outcome very much feeds into that.

So hopefully by the end of today's lesson, everybody should be able to do the following, which is, I can understand how Stevenson conforms to and subverts Gothic conventions.

And just as in any lesson, we have some very important words, our keywords.

And I do encourage you just to pause the video, jot these down and their definitions, particularly if they are new to you, because we are going to be using them quite a bit.

So let's take a look at what they are.

Conform to comply, with certain rules, standards, or laws.

Subvert to corrupt or undermine something.

In literature, if you subvert something, you undermine what is expected.

Convention, the defining characteristics of a particular genre.

So in today's lesson, we're gonna be looking in detail at Gothic conventions, for example, genre, a particular style or category of literature.

And finally Gothic, a genre of writing that is characterised by the inclusion of dark and supernatural elements.

So I'm super excited to be teaching you in today's lesson because it is all about the Gothic a genre I love.

I love to read Gothic stories, and in particular, I love to analyse how certain stories can be considered Gothic.

And that is exactly what we're gonna do today with "Jekyll and Hyde".

So our learning cycles very much reflect that.

So in learning cycle one, we are going to be looking at "Jekyll and Hyde" and how it kind of meets the conventions of a typical Gothic story.

And in learning cycle two, we're gonna add to that complexity just a little bit and look at how Stevenson actually subverts some of these Gothic conventions too.

So by the end of today's lesson, you should have a really good understanding of how "Jekyll and Hyde" fits into the Gothic genre.

So let's get started.

So Izzy made the following comment about the Gothic in "Jekyll and Hyde", and Izzy said, "I've heard it said many times that "Jekyll and Hyde" is a Gothic text.

However, I'm not really sure what that means or how I can apply it to my analysis of the story." So a really nice comment there from Izzy, and I think I hear this a lot from students.

It's kind of, they may have heard that the story is Gothic, but they're not quite sure what this means or how they can use that in their analysis, which is a perfectly valid thing to ask.

So hopefully this learning cycle is going to fix that.

We're gonna look at the Gothic genre generally, and we're gonna think about how "Jekyll and Hyde" conforms to that.

So understanding the Gothic and how "Jekyll and Hyde" relates to the Gothic, is a key skill, that we are gonna look at today.

And in particular, we are gonna focus on how "Jekyll and Hyde" conformed to that Gothic genre, but also subverts it to also kind of challenges it to.

So let's start right at the beginning by looking at what the Gothic actually is.

So the Gothic can be considered a genre and remember that is a style or type of literature.

So this means it is a particular style or category of literature.

So the Gothic has a rich and interesting history.

And in particular, it first appeared in the 18th century during a time when there was a fascination with the mysterious and the unknown.

It was a reaction to the rational and orderly ideas of the enlightenment.

So it was a kind of direct challenge to the kind of over rationality of the enlightenment.

It was also heavily influenced by the earlier romanticism movement, which with features of emotion, individualism, and the sublime continuing into Gothic literature.

So it kind of borrowed a lot from the romantic movement that came before.

So it discussed quick question for me then.

So it discussed this with your classmates or do drop down some ideas if you're working independently, but are you familiar with any other stories that could be considered Gothic? So based on this description above, are you familiar with anything that could be described as Gothic? So pause the video, have a go, and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, fantastic work, what a lovely start to this lesson.

I'm hearing people sharing ideas about books, films, even TV shows that they think could be drawn from the Gothic tradition.

And that is absolutely correct.

There are lots of different ways the Gothic has been interpreted.

You know, some of the most famous stories are ones like "Frankenstein" or "Dracula" that can certainly be within the Gothic tradition.

And I'm hearing some people say, that's really well done for picking up on that.

Okay, so quick check for understanding for me then please.

What was Gothic literature considered a reaction against? Was it the enlightenment? Was it romanticism, was it emotions? Or was it the 18th century? Have a go at this one.

Push pause and then do push play when you'd like to see the correct answer.

Okay, fantastic work to everybody who identified it as A, the enlightenment.

It had a an over fascination with rationalism, which the Gothic was a movement against.

It wasn't B romanticism and what I heard some people pick up on this because it kind of borrowed some ideas from romanticism, of romanticism.

So it wasn't necessarily a reaction against that.

What on if you picked up on that in your own work? Okay, so after hearing about the development of the Gothic, Izzy had the following comments.

So Izzy said, "Okay, so I understand the origins of the Gothic, but what makes a text Gothic? Is there anything I should be looking out for?" So I think this is a fantastic question from Izzy, isn't it? So we know what the Gothic is, but how do we spot it? How do we know if a text is Gothic or if a text isn't Gothic? Well, there are a couple of things that we will see time and time again in Gothic stories, and these are Gothic conventions.

So these are features of a literary text, typical of that genre.

So let's take a look at what some of the conventions of the Gothic are.

So we've got quite a lot here, haven't we? Let's, not read all of them, but let's read some of them.

So we've got multiple narrators and a rational protagonist.

We've got duality or alter egos.

We've got a battle between good and evil.

We've got irrational or illicit desires, and we've got a dark, mysterious, and strange setting amongst many others.

So if you are looking for, whether a text is Gothic or not, you will be able to spot these within it.

If it is in fact a Gothic text.

So Izzy said the following, "I think I'm already starting to see some of these conventions within the story of "Jekyll and Hyde"." And I'm hoping you too are, you are as well being able to spot some of these things and where they kind of appear throughout the novella.

So quick check for understanding for me then please.

Which of the below can be considered Gothic conventions? Is it A, duality? Is it B, a battle between good and evil? Is it C happy endings, or is it D common everyday settings? And I'll give you a clue, there are more than one answer for this one.

Okay, pause the video, have a go, and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, excellent work to everybody who identified A and B.

What on to those of you as well who are starting to kind of tag some textual detail to that.

I'm hearing some people say, well, duality and we can see that straight away with the kind of alter ego of Dr.

Jekyll in "Jekyll and Hyde".

So well done for starting to apply your fantastic knowledge of the text to your knowledge of the Gothic.

Well done.

Okay, so Izzy wanted to explore some of the more complex Gothic conventions in "Jekyll and Hyde" in more detail.

So Izzy said, "It's really clear to see some of these conventions in "Jekyll and Hyde", but some are much harder.

Where do the uncanny and irrational desires appear?" So really nice question there from Izzy trying to really develop an understanding of how this novel, this novella can be considered Gothic.

So let's take a look at those in a bit more detail.

So in Gothic literature, the convention of illicit or irrational desires refers to the exploration of forbidden or irrational passions, often leading to dark and dramatic consequences.

So a really, really important Gothic convention here.

So where do we see that in the novella? Well, in "Jekyll and Hyde", this is embodied in Dr.

Jekyll's experiment to separate his good and evil selves.

Driven by a forbidden curiosity about the darker aspects of human nature, Jekyll unleashes the irrational desire for unrestrained pleasure and power through his alter ego, Mr. Hyde.

The novella then deals with the consequences of these desires.

So we can see a really kind of almost exact manifestation of that Gothic convention in the text.

Let's look at another one.

The uncanny in Gothic literature refers to moments that are strangely familiar yet unsettling.

I'll say that again 'cause it's really important, strangely familiar, yet also unsettling.

It involves eerie occurrences or situations that provoke a sense of unease or discomfort.

And you may already be starting to think about where that is shown in the novella.

So in "Jekyll and Hyde", the familiar character of Jekyll becomes unsettling and strange as he succumbs to his darker desires.

This duality creates an eerie feeling as the characters and readers grapple with the uncanny nature of the blurred boundaries between good and evil.

So once again, a really almost perfect manifestation of that convention within the plot of the novella.

Okay, so over to you then.

I want you to put all this into practise now.

Show me how much you've learned in practise Task A.

So you are going to be helping Izzy out with her understanding.

So your task is as follows.

So help Izzy to complete the table below outlining where these common graphic conventions are shown within the text.

And those conventions are as follows, a villain, the supernatural, elicit, or irrational desires, the uncanny and duality.

So I would like you to pick those conventions and show me exactly where it is shown in "Jekyll and Hyde".

Is there a particular character, a particular moment, a particular theme that really shows these things? So super excited to see how you approach this.

One pulls the video and then do push play when you'd like to see a little bit of feedback.

Okay, fantastic job on that one.

I'm hearing some fantastic things and I'm seeing some fantastic things.

It is lovely to see you drawing on your fantastic knowledge of the novella, kind of saying, well, this happens at the beginning, this happens in the middle, this happens at the end.

And these can all be linked to, various different Gothic conventions.

So some of the examples I've got here, and these are not by any means, the be all and the end all correct answers.

There may be other ones as well, but ones that I think really work nicely are as follows.

So if we're looking at a villain, which is a key and very important Gothic convention, we could say Mr. Hyde serves as the villain in the story representing the darker malevolent side of Dr.

Jekyll's personality.

We can also say about the supernatural, that is evident in the unexplained and seemingly unnatural transformation of Dr.

Jekyll into Mr. Hyde and his supernatural strength.

So some really kind of key examples of the supernatural there.

We've also got illicit desires.

So Dr.

Jekyll's experiment to separate his good and evil sides is driven by illicit desires for exploring the forbidden aspects of human nature.

So Hyde very much becomes the kind of manifestation of Dr.

Jekyll's illicit desires.

We've also got the uncanny, remember the uncanny is the kind of strange, yet eerily familiar.

So we could say the uncanny is present in the mysterious transformation of Dr.

Jekyll into Mr. Hyde blurring the lines between the familiar and the unsettling.

We know Dr.

Jekyll, he is a kind of common everyday middle class gentleman, but he transforms into this Hyde character.

We would say that definitely fits the bill for the uncanny.

And finally, we've got this concept of duality.

So the theme of duality is central to the story depicting the internal struggle between Dr.

Jekyll's contrasting personalities of virtue and vice.

So fantastic work if you picked up anything similar in your own work.

Okay, we have reached learning cycle two then.

So I'm going to add to the challenge just a little bit by talking about subversion and subversion of the Gothic.

So let's get started.

So after completing learning cycle one, Aisha had the following comment, Aisha said, "But I've also heard it said that Stevenson subverts Gothic conventions in "Jekyll and Hyde".

How can that be if it contains so many Gothic conventions?" I think this is a really intelligent question from Aisha here, because she's absolutely correct.

It is a Gothic novella, but at the same time there are certain parts of it that subvert the Gothic tradition that means kind of challenge or undermine.

So let's take a look at that in a bit more detail.

So Aisha is absolutely right, although Stevenson does include lots of Gothic conventions in his story, he also subverts them too.

He does this to explore moral duality and enhance his critique of Victorian society.

So we've got that writer's intention there.

So he's doing it to explore moral duality and to critique Victorian society.

So let's unpick that just a little bit more.

So what is the Gothic convention? Let's look at some examples of how they have been subverted.

So Gothic stories are usually set in strange and remote locations.

So we may think about "Dracula" being set in a kind of castle in a forest, or "Frankenstein" being set in a kind of, you know, dungeon underground laboratory.

However, that isn't necessarily the case here in "Jekyll and Hyde".

So how is it subverted? Well, Stevenson sets his story in Victorian London using popular and well-known places.

For example, he sets one of his scenes, one of the transformation scenes in Regent's Park, which is a really popular park in London.

So this gives his story a realism that emphasises his message of internal moral struggle.

So effectively by setting it in such a familiar location, kind of exploring this duality that might be present in everybody.

Let's look at another one.

Graphic stories usually have a convention of a clear hero and villain.

So you may have already thought about that in learning cycle one with some of your examples stories that have a clear hero and a clear villain.

But how is this subverted in "Jekyll and Hyde"? Well, in "Jekyll and Hyde", it is not as simple as just having a hero and a villain.

The protagonist is also the antagonist blurring the lines of rights and wrong.

So Dr.

Jekyll is this kind of respected middle class gentleman.

He's the focus of the story, but he is also the manifestation of the antagonist as well.

He's also this Mr. Hyde persona.

So we have that much more blurred line between hero and villain.

It's definitely a subverted convention.

And finally, Gothic stories are usually supernatural.

With the supernatural being responsible for any elements that can't be explained.

Once again, we might be thinking about things like vampires or other supernatural creatures that seem to crop up quite a lot in the Gothic, things that can't be explained by science.

However, this is again subverted in "Jekyll and Hyde".

And how so? Well, although the novella contains supernatural elements, the transformation is explained by science, allowing Stevenson to better explore Jekyll's internal struggle, not explaining it by any dark outside forces.

So once again, he kind of refers back to that theme of moral struggle.

Stevenson isn't just saying this can be explained by some strange supernatural phenomenon.

He's saying it is explained by science, which better kind of focuses on the inherent duality of of everybody really.

And our last one, Gothic stories contain violence and violent emotional states.

And how is this subverted? Well, the novella does contain violence.

However, Stevenson doesn't just use it to develop the plot.

He uses it to make a social critique, exploring power differences between the classes.

So it's a much more nuanced exploration of violence.

There isn't just a straight following of that convention.

Quick check for understanding for me then please.

So Stevenson doesn't conform to Gothic conventions, he subverts them.

Is that true or false? Okay, great job to everybody who identified that as false, it is in fact false.

But tell me why, let's justify that.

Let's justify that with a statement.

Is it A, although Stevenson conforms to some Gothic conventions, he subverts others, or is it B, Stevenson's story isn't really a Gothic story, but it does contain some Gothic conventions.

Once again, hit that pause button, have a go, and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, once again, fantastic work to everybody who identified it as A, it is absolutely A.

Stevenson does conform to certain Gothic conventions, but he also subverts them too.

Really critical point to remember in our analysis.

Okay, we have reached our final practise task for two days less than then.

So fantastic work on all of your hard work so far.

So now is a really nice opportunity to show off what you have learned about Stevenson's use of the Gothic throughout "Jekyll and Hyde".

So I would like you to do the following.

I would like you to complete the sentence starters below, showing your understanding of how Stevenson subverts the Gothic genre.

And those sentence starters are as follows, Stevenson subverts Gothic conventions because? Stevenson subverts Gothic conventions but.

And finally, Stevenson subverts Gothic conventions so.

So this is a really good opportunity for you to put into practise what you have learned and to produce some really fantastic pieces of writing.

So really excited to see how you approach this one.

Do pause the video and then push play when you'd like to see a little bit of feedback.

Okay, my goodness, you have learned an awful lot in today's lesson and that is really coming across in the fantastic work that you are producing in this task.

So let's have a little look at how you could have approached that task.

And please do remember your answer doesn't have to be identical to this.

This is just a way that you could have approached the task.

So firstly, Stevenson's subverts Gothic conventions because he challenges the traditional dichotomy of hero and villain opting for a narrative where the protagonist is also the antagonist blurring the lines of moral certainty.

We could have also put, Stevenson subverts Gothic conventions, but does so by grounding his story in the everyday realism of Victorian London, diverging from the traditional Gothic settings of eerie castles and supernatural landscapes.

And finally, Stevenson subverts Gothic conventions so as to explore the psychological and moral complexities of human nature.

Replacing the reliance on supernatural elements with a more nuanced examination of the internal struggles that led to the creation of Mr. Hyde.

So a really good way there for you to show all of your kind of deep knowledge about the Gothic.

Remember, we're trying to show that Stevenson certainly conforms to certain Gothic conventions, but it also subverts them too.

So hopefully your work was able to achieve that.

Okay, we have reached the end of the lesson already.

My goodness, time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? So let's think about all the fantastic things that we have learnt.

So firstly, Gothic fiction is fascinated by strange places yet Stevenson sets his story in London.

The figure of Hyde allows Stevenson to explore violent differences in power.

Gothic writing often focuses on irrational or illicit desires.

Stevenson conforms to this.

The uncanny is a key idea within the Gothic and links to duality, but also the human inhuman appearance of Hyde.

And finally, Hyde seems to have supernatural powers and strength conforming to the conventions of the Gothic villain.

Thank you very much for your hard work and your focus throughout today's lesson it's been a great pleasure to teach you and I really look forward to teaching you on another lesson in this unit.

Thank you very much.