Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

It's great to see you again on another lesson in this "Twisted Tree" sequence.

So I'm super excited for today's learning where we are going to be looking at how the "Twisted Tree" could be described as a Gothic text.

So as always, you will need a copy of the "Twisted Tree" for this lesson, and we will be using the 2019 Hot Key Books Edition.

So let's get started.

So today's lesson will have a very clear learning outcome.

So should we take a look at what it is? So by the end of today's lesson, everybody should be able to describe how the "Twisted Tree" follows the conventions of a Gothic text.

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

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

Let's take a look at what they are.

Firstly, the Gothic, a style of writing that involves dark, mysterious, and supernatural themes.

So we would say that the "Twisted Tree" itself is a Gothic novel, for example.

Desolate, empty and bleak, often feeling lonely and abandoned.

So we often see settings that are desolate.

Macabre, related to death and things that are creepy or horrifying, something we see time and time again in the Gothic genre.

A motif, a recurring theme, idea, or symbol in a story.

And finally, conventions.

These are the accepted rules or practises in a particular type of writing or genre.

So do keep your eyes peeled for these lessons as we move throughout today's lesson.

So we have two very clear learning cycles in today's lesson.

I'm super excited for both of them.

So our first one is going to be exploring something I find really interesting, which is the Gothic, this fantastic genre of writing, which has heavily influenced "The Twisted Tree".

And in learning cycle two, we are going to be looking at exactly what makes "The Twisted Tree" such an effective, such a fascinating, such an interesting Gothic text.

So let's get started with learning cycle one.

So I have some quick thoughts for you, a quick thoughts discussion question.

So we have this picture on the right-hand side.

So when looking at this picture, what words come to mind? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion or jot down some ideas if you're working independently, and then do push play when you'd like to proceed.

Okay, fantastic effort on that task and well done for such a fantastic start to this lesson.

So I'm really enjoying all those kind of conversations that are really focusing on the kind of spooky, creepy nature of this setting.

We would typically associate this with some kind of haunted story, wouldn't we? And we can link this certainly to the Gothic.

So this picture could be seen as the setting of a Gothic story.

So in today's lesson, we are going to explore the Gothic genre in a bit more detail.

So my second discussion question for you then is, do you know anything about the Gothic already? So once again, hit that pause button, have a quick discussion, jot down some ideas, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, once again, some fantastic discussions taking place there.

And I'm really enjoying all those discussions of people kind of drawing on their existing knowledge, saying, "Well, maybe a book I read, I think that might be Gothic, or maybe a movie I've seen could be described as Gothic." And it's really interesting to hear you bring in your own personal experiences.

So let's take a look at what exactly the Gothic is.

So the Gothic can be considered a genre, and this means it is a particular style of category of literature.

So the Gothic has a rich and interesting history, and it first appeared in the 18th century, so the 1700s, during a time when there was a fascination with the mysterious and the unknown.

The Gothic is a style of writing that involved dark, mysterious, and supernatural themes.

So quick discussion then now we know a little bit more about the Gothic.

Are you familiar with any other stories that could be considered Gothic? So once again, hit that pause button, have a quick discussion, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Again, some really fantastic discussions taking place across the classroom, and I'm really enjoying some actual specific examples.

I'm hearing people are talking about "Dracula" or "Frankenstein", these kind of famous Gothic texts that were published in the 18th century, 18th and 19th centuries.

So Izzy made the following comment about the Gothic in "The Twisted Tree".

And Izzy said, "After learning a bit more about the Gothic, I can definitely start to see how the "Twisted Tree" could fit into this genre." So understanding the Gothic and how the "Twisted Tree" relates to the Gothic is a key skill we are going to focus on today.

So you may already be sharing Izzy's idea that you can start to see how those kind of dark and supernatural elements are shown in "The Twisted Tree".

So in particular, we are going to focus on how "The Twisted Tree" demonstrates many of the conventions of the Gothic, so those kind of specific rules that underpin any genre.

So after hearing about the development of the Gothic, Izzy had the following comments, so Izzy continued her argument.

She 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?" That's a really, really interesting comment there from Izzy.

So Gothic stories will contain Gothic conventions, and these are the features of a literary text that are very typical of that genre.

So different genres will have different conventions.

If you're reading a romance, it will have very different conventions than if you're reading a comedy, for example.

And it's exactly the same with Gothic stories.

They have their very own unique conventions.

So let's take a look at what some of these conventions could be.

So we could talk about desolate or remote settings.

And remember if something is desolate, it is kind of really, really bleak.

Mystery and suspense, strange characters, lonely heroes, good versus evil, dreams and nightmares, curses and prophecies, macabre or violent events, in-between states, and big emotions.

So it's critical to remember that not all of these things will be always in a Gothic story.

Some of these can be in any story.

Good versus evil, for example, is something we see quite a lot, isn't it? But these are the conventions that you will typically see time and time again in a Gothic story.

So Izzy says, "There are definitely some examples of these in 'The Twisted Tree'.

The book is all about the battle between good and evil." So Izzy is already starting to draw out some of the examples specifically from "The Twisted Tree" that we could see here.

And maybe you're doing the same thing now.

So quick check for understanding for me then please.

So which of the below can be considered Gothic conventions? Is it A, desolate or remote settings? Is it B, a battle between good and evil? Is it C, happy endings? Or is it D, common everyday settings? So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see which are correct.

Okay, fantastic work to everybody who identified A and B as the correct answers here.

So we would say desolate or remote settings and a battle between good and evil are very clear Gothic settings that we see time and time again.

We see them in stories like "Frankenstein", "Dracula", and we see them in "The Twisted Tree" as well, don't we? So in addition to conventions, Gothic texts will usually contain motifs as well, and motifs are recurring symbols or ideas in a text.

And we see these again and again and again in all sorts of texts really, but Gothic texts will usually have very particular motifs.

So for example, can you think of any recurring symbols in "The Twisted Tree" that could be considered motifs? Is there anything that we see time and time again? And I'll give you a clue, is there anything we see particularly when the Draugr approaches? So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, excellent work to everybody who identified the idea of the fog.

Whenever the Draugr appears, there is this kind of fog that seems to accompany it.

So we could say there is a motif of fog running throughout the entire story.

This adds a sense of mystery and concealment to the story.

Really well done if you were able to pick up on that.

There are some other examples as well, but that is certainly one of the main ones.

Okay then, check for understanding time for me then please.

So broadly speaking, motifs and conventions are the same thing.

Is that true or is that false? Hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Okay, excellent work to everybody who identified that as false, that is a false statement.

They are not the same thing.

But how could we justify that statement? What why could we provide to provide some justification for why they are not the same thing? So once again, hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to proceed.

Okay, once again, excellent work on justifying that statement.

And we could really say the following, couldn't we? We could say that conventions are the accepted rules or practises of a genre, while a motif is a recurring idea or symbol within a specific story.

So a very, very clear difference between the two, isn't it? Okay then, we have reached our first practise task of today's lesson, so let's make this one count.

So I'm really looking forward to seeing how you can apply your knowledge of the Gothic here to pick out all of those fantastic things you've learned about this wonderful genre.

So your task is as follows.

I would like you to write a summary of the Gothic in 75 words or less.

In particular, I would like you to include contextual information about the movement itself, so the movement of the Gothic, its influences, and finally, conventions of the Gothic.

What are those specific conventions that make the Gothic the Gothic? And then you have a checklist there for you.

So I would like you to make sure you're including what it is, when it occurred, why it occurred, and what it is made up of.

So what are those conventions that it is made up of? So super excited to see where you go with this one.

So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to proceed.

Okay, well done on such a fantastic approach to that task.

It is personally lovely to see you linking all of these wonderful things that you've learned into a really first rate piece of writing that you have in front of you now.

So really, really well done for that.

So here's how you could have summarised the Gothic.

We could have summarised it in the following ways.

We could say, "The Gothic genre is a style of writing that emerged in the 18th century, featuring dark, mysterious, and supernatural themes.

Common conventions include desolate or remote settings, an atmosphere of mystery and suspense, strange characters, and battles between good and evil.

Other elements often found in Gothic texts are dreams and nightmares, macabre or violent events, in-between states, and big emotions.

These features create a sense of fear and intrigue, making Gothic stories captivating and eerie." So a really nice summary there that really captures some of the key, key parts of the Gothic genre.

So my question for you is as follows.

Does your summary include any of the above or is there anything you have missed out? So have a look at this model summary.

Is there anything you think you could add to your summary? Then please pause the video and do that.

So pause the video, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to move into learning cycle two.

Okay, we have reached learning cycle two, so we've done some fantastic work so far, haven't we? On understanding just what the Gothic is as a genre.

And now we are gonna apply it to the here and now of the text that we are actually reading that fantastic text, "The Twisted Tree" by Rachel Burge, and working out just how that could be seen as a Gothic text, so let's get started.

So thinking specifically about "The Twisted Tree", which Gothic conventions can you identify relating to character? So just relating to those conventions of character, what do we see in the novel? So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, fantastic job on that, and I absolutely agree, there are quite a few different conventions here we could apply to "The Twisted Tree", aren't there? So let's take a look at what we could do.

We could say lonely heroes, we could talk about lonely heroes.

It's a really key graphic convention of "The Twisted Tree".

So Martha that is certainly presented as an isolated figure, particularly at the start, particularly at the start of the novel when she travels to Norway.

She's presented as a really, really lonely character.

And her kind of portrayal as a hero certainly improves, doesn't it, as the text proceeds, particularly as she takes on the Draugr.

Again, we could also talk about strange characters.

So throughout the novel, we are introduced to strange characters like Hel and even Stig.

And even the characters beyond that, the Norn for example, or even the Draugr is quite strange as well.

So well done for picking up on that.

And finally, we've also got supernatural enemies.

So I spoke about this a little bit in the strange characters, but we've also got the idea that Martha encounters a vengeful spirit, the Draugr, haunting the twisted tree near her grandmother's cabin.

So we could definitely say that that is some kind of supernatural enemy that we would find typically in a Gothic text.

So in the novel, Stig could be seen as an example of? A, lonely hero, supernatural enemy, or a strange character? Which could we say for that one? So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Okay, really well done if you identified C, a strange character.

We would say Stig is a strange character.

He seems to have a kind of very strange backstory.

We're not quite sure where he's come from or why he's there.

And I think he certainly hits the brief of a strange character.

We wouldn't say he's a supernatural enemy because he does not seem to have any supernatural powers of any kind.

And certainly, the lonely hero, we would say that applies more to Martha as the story's protagonist, so really well done if you picked up on that.

Okay, so we have reached our final practise task of today's lesson.

So we are going to help Izzy to complete the table below, outlining Gothic conventions in the text relating to plot and setting.

So we've looked at character and now we're going to look at plot and setting.

So the Gothic conventions are as follows.

We've got remote settings, we've got in-between states, we've got the macabre, we've got good versus evil, and we've got mystery and suspense.

So your job is to find where these things have been shown by Rachel Burge in "The Twisted Tree".

So super excited to see how you get on with this one.

So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to proceed to the feedback.

Okay, excellent work on that task.

It is really fantastic to see you completing that to such a high level.

And it's really good fun, isn't it, just to go back over that text and really apply our new knowledge of the Gothic to the things that we've read previously.

So it's really, really great to see you picking on those specific examples of where these Gothic conventions are shown.

So here's how we could have approached this task.

So let's take a look.

So we could have spoke about remote settings, we could say, "Well, the story is set in a secluded cabin in the Norwegian woods, far from civilization." So that certainly hits the brief, doesn't it, of the remote settings.

Again, we've got this idea of in-between states.

So the novel presents the world of the living, but also an underworld filled with the dead.

So the Draugr kind of goes between these two worlds, it seems. So we could definitely see that this is a clear example of an in-between state.

We've also got the macabre.

So Martha discovers the dead bodies of Olav and Yrsa, for example.

And we've also got this kind of description of the Draugr as being a kind of death-like creature.

All these kind of words associated with death that kind of always accompany the Draugr as well.

Then we've got good versus evil.

So Martha must confront the malevolent spirits to protect her family and restore peace.

And finally, mystery and suspense.

So there's lots of mystery and suspense in story, isn't there? And we see the mystery of Martha's newfound abilities and the secrets of her grandmother's past keep the reader on edge.

So excellent work if you're able to pick up on any of those things in your own work.

Okay, we have reached the end of today's lesson and it's been an absolute pleasure to teach you today.

So let's just recap those fantastic things that we have focused on in today's lesson.

So the Gothic genre is characterised by the use of desolate or remote settings, and macabre, mysterious, or violent incidents.

The setting is Gothic because the cabin is isolated and lots of the action happens in the dark.

There is a motif of fog, which adds a sense of mystery and concealment.

The plot follows Gothic conventions because there is a supernatural enemy who must be defeated.

And finally, the Gothic genre often includes curses or prophecies, which are found in the novel.

It's been a great pleasure to teach you today, and I really look forward to teaching you on another lesson in this sequence.

So thank you very much and goodbye.