Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

Thank you so much for joining me.

It's great to see so many of you here.

My name is Ms. Holiday and I'll be your teacher for today.

I can't wait to get started with our learning, as we'll be diving even deeper into the fantastic novel by Charlotte Bronte, "Jane Eyre".

So let's get started.

So today's lesson is called gothic vocabulary in "Jane Eyre".

And by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to use new vocabulary accurately and creatively to create a desired effect.

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

We've got antiquity, insalubrious, dank, desolate, and enclosed.

Here are the definitions of these keywords.

So antiquity means relating to the past or age.

Insalubrious means run-down.

Dank means unpleasantly damp and cold.

Desolate means isolated or remote.

And enclosed means surrounded on all sides.

If you'd like to take a moment to pause the video and jot these definitions down, then please feel free to do just that.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to begin by identifying gothic vocabulary, so picking some gothic vocab out of some extracts from "Jane Eyre".

And then, we're going to move on to experimenting with our new gothic vocabulary that we have learned.

But let's start, first of all, by gathering and identifying some gothic vocabulary.

So I'd like you to discuss first and foremost, why does the vocabulary that you choose actually matter? And why does it matter? For example, if you were to choose the word abandoned instead of the word empty.

What difference would that make? 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.

Great discussions and a really positive and enthusiastic start to the lesson, so thank you.

And as Sam points out, well, every piece of vocabulary that you choose represents a choice.

Writing is a craft, and you build an impression of something up in stages using very, very carefully selected vocabulary.

So Sam states that with that in mind, if I chose to use the word empty instead of the word abandoned, I would be choosing to create a less negative or a less ominous atmosphere because abandoned has more negative connotations than empty.

So I really like Sam's kind of idea here that actually, there is nuance between, in the meanings between words.

And actually, when you choose to pick one word over another, you are choosing to create a very slightly different impression because you've made a different word choice.

So actually there's huge significance in our word choices and how we combine words together.

So as I said, we are going to be reading an extract from "Jane Eyre" and we are going to be using it to gather and I identify some really strong vocabulary choices from Bronte.

So the extract we're going to be reading is taken from chapter 37 of "Jane Eyre".

And it's at the part where "Jane has returned to Thornfield Hall to discover that it has been destroyed by Rochester's first wife, Bertha, who has set the house on fire out of spite.

Rochester now lives in a manor-house called Ferndean but the fire has left him blind and disabled." So the extract we're going to read is basically the description of Jane approaching Ferndean for the first time.

So it's a description of the manor-house.

And before we read it, I'd like you to make some predictions.

I'd like you to think, well, what kind of weather might Bronte have used in this extract and what might the manor-house be like? So pause the video and make those predictions either with the people around you or on your own if you're working independently.

Off you go.

Fantastic discussions and really well done to those of you that were saying you kind of expecting quite negative weather here because obviously, this might be quite an upsetting experience for Jane and she's probably approaching Ferndean with great caution, anxiety and concern at this point.

So Bronte might have used the weather to reflect that.

So let's have a look, shall we? We're going to read the extract.

I will read it and you need to be following along.

Make sure you are paying really close attention because we're going to be discussing some questions based on this extract in just a moment.

So here we go.

"The manor-house of Ferndean was a building of considerable antiquity, moderate size, and no architectural pretensions, deep varied in a wood.

I had heard of it before.

Mr. Rochester often spoke of it and sometimes went there.

His father had purchased the estate for the sake of the game covers.

He would've let the house but could find no tenant in consequence of its ineligible and insalubrious site.

Ferndean then remained uninhabited and unfurnished, with the exception of some two or three rooms fitted up for the accommodation of the squire when he went there in the season to shoot." So what I'd like you to discuss now is, well, which words show us that the manor-house is old and not well kept? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you identify some vocab that shows us that this idea that the house is not well kept and it's very, very old.

Off you go.

Fantastic work.

So you might have identified this word, antiquity, which is one of our key words of the lesson.

And that shows us that the building is old because we know antiquity means kind of relating to being of great age.

And also that word insalubrious, which is yet another key word for our lesson.

And that kind of shows us that the building is not well kept, it's quite run down.

And that's also kind of reflective of Rochester here because he's probably not feeling the most optimistic he's ever felt given that his house has been burnt to the ground and he has suffered life-changing injuries that he's probably adjusting to.

So as Sam states and advises, I would massively recommend that you write a note of key vocabulary so that you can use it later in the lesson when we come to experimenting with some of this new vocabulary.

So making sure as we go through the extract and we're picking out words and saying, you know, this is really effective, that you are writing that vocabulary down so that you can use it.

So let's check for understanding.

Why could Rochester's father not rent Ferndean out? Is it A, because it was not large enough to rent out.

B, because it was too run down and undesirable to rent.

Is it C, that it was too isolated and remote to rent out.

Or is it D, because he didn't actually own the property, hence, so he couldn't rent it.

So I'm gonna invite you now to pause the video while you make your answer selection.

Off you go.

And well done if you selected B.

We're told that the site was insalubrious and ineligible, which shows us that it was too rundown and undesirable to rent out.

So well done if you got that.

So let's carry on reading.

"To this house I came just ere dark on an evening marked by the characteristics of sad sky, cold gale and continued small penetrating rain.

The last mile I performed on foot, having dismissed the chaise and driver with the double remuneration I had promised.

Even when within a very short distance of the manor-house, you could see nothing of it, so thick and dark, grew the timber of the gloomy wood about it.

Iron gates between granite pillars showed me where to enter and passing through them, I found myself at once in the twilight of close-ranked trees.

There was a grass-grown track descending the forest aisle between hoar and knotty shafts and under branched arches." So here, what I'd like you to do is make a list of phrases that show us that this setting is really dark and overgrown.

And I don't want to just discuss it.

I want to see a physical list written of phrases, because as I said, we are going to start using some of this vocabulary later in the lesson.

So the more of it you have written down, the better position you'll be in to succeed later in the lesson.

So I would like these written down.

Pause the video and undertake this activity now.

Fantastic work.

And here's some of the phrases you might have identified.

So we've got the sad sky, cold gale, penetrating rain, thick and dark, gloomy, twilight of close-ranked trees, hoar and knotty shafts, and under branched arches.

So in terms of how these show us that the setting is dark and gloomy, well, first of all, the twilight of close-ranked trees shows that not much light would be let through because the trees are growing really closely together.

So the setting is clearly very dark.

Now, this hoar and knotty shafts, this kind of means old and very tangled branches.

So again, the branches are kind of intertwined with one another and that in itself would block the light out quite considerably and would create a very dark forest floor.

And then finally, this phrase, branched arches.

That really gives us the feeling of enclosure.

So this idea that, you know, Jane is surrounded by trees and couldn't escape the forest if she wanted to.

So that also creates quite a foreboding and ominous atmosphere because we get this impression that Jane is almost trapped, and that she can't escape.

And again, perhaps this idea reflects this idea that Jane can't escape her past because she's finding herself yet again reunited with Rochester here.

So well done if you identified those phrases.

And as I said, I would definitely be making a note of all of this vocabulary and all of these phrases as we're discussing them.

So let's carry on reading again.

"I followed it, expecting soon to reach the dwelling, but it stretched on and on.

It wound far and farther.

No sign of habitation or grounds was visible.

I thought I'd taken a wrong direction and lost my way.

The darkness of natural as well as of sylvan dusk gathered over me.

I looked round in search of another road.

There was none.

All was interwoven stem, columnar trunk, dense summer foliage, no opening anywhere.

I proceeded, at last my way opened, the trees thinned a little.

Presently I beheld a railing, then the house scarce, by this dim light, distinguishable from the trees.

So dank and green were its decaying walls.

So I'd just like to clarify that word sylvan means wooded.

And what I'd like you to think now is, well, how does Bronte create build tension here or create tension? And which vocabulary choices characterise this setting as really kind of classically gothic? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video and I want you to actually take notes on these questions because as I said, you'll need them later in the lesson.

So pause the video and do just that now.

Fantastic discussions and some really good vocabulary picked out there.

So let's discuss some of that vocabulary now.

So Bronte builds tension by delaying Jane getting to see the manor-house.

And this is a technique that you in your writing to build tension before revealing your gothic setting.

Now, in terms of, you know, clever word choices, we've got these words, dense, darkness, dim, dusk, dank and decaying.

And I'd like to think now, well, what do you notice about all of those words? So I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you discuss that with the people around you.

What do all these words have in common? Fantastic work and massive well done because I heard that word, alliteration thrown around quite a bit and I'm really impressed by that because many of you noticed that actually all of these words begin with a letter D, and they're all used within really kind of close proximity of one another.

So Bronte here is using alliteration to create kind of ominous and threatening atmosphere because that word D is quite aggressive, the dense, darkness, dim, dusk, dank, decaying.

It's almost we're firing those words out as we're reading, which is creating quite an unsettling and almost kind of violent or threatening atmosphere in some way.

So it's really clever word choices by Bronte there and well done if you identified that.

So let's carry on reading.

"Entering a portal, fastened only by a latch, I stood amidst a space of enclosed ground, from which the wood swept away in a semicircle.

There were no flowers, no garden-beds, only a broad gravel-walk girdling a grass-plat, and this set in the heavy frame of the forest.

The house presented two pointed gables in its front.

The windows were latticed and narrow.

The front door was narrow too, one step led up to it.

The whole looked, as the host of the Rochester Arms had said, 'Quite a desolate spot.

' It was as still as a church on a week-day.

The patterning rain on the forest leaves was the only sound audible in its vicinage.

'Can there be life here?' I asked." So again, another fantastic description here from Bronte.

And what I'd like you to do with it, is discuss, well, what is the effect of this list? No flowers, no garden-beds? So what does that tell us or what does that suggest about the house? And secondly, can you identify other vocabulary that characterises the setting as gothic? And again, making a note of that vocabulary.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you have a go at discussing those two questions using the extract to help you.

Off you go.

Fantastic discussions and really well done because I heard lots of people talking about the fact that in using this negative list, Bronte dismantles our expectations of what a home could look like.

And she thereby characterises the setting as the complete opposite of homely.

You know, if I said to many of you, imagine a house or a home, I think lots of you might imagine kind of a very positive scene, we've got like nice flowers and greenery around it potentially, or even little pots of flowers of some kind.

But here, Bronte makes the point of saying that there's none of that here.

And in saying that there isn't that, what she doesn't need to say is that this is a really kind of uncomfortable and kind of almost abandoned and neglected home that doesn't really look very homely.

So in using this negative list, she actually doesn't need to tell us that it's kind of an unpleasant place to be.

She just shows us that through telling us what it is not like, if that makes sense.

And secondly, some of the words that you might have chosen that characterise this setting as gothic are enclosed, which is one of our key words on the lesson.

And it obviously means kind of surrounded on all sides.

We've got heavy, narrow, desolate, which means kind of remote and isolated and patterning rain as well as a little phrase that characterises the setting as gothic because we see that classic gothic weather.

So again, making sure that you're taking a note of that vocabulary and let's move on.

So we have learned lots of new vocabulary in the very first learning cycle of our lesson today.

And I'd like to check your understanding of that vocabulary.

So I'd like you to match the vocabulary up to its definition, and I'd like to use the extract to help you if you are not sure of the meaning of it.

So here's our key vocabulary that we have learned in the first learning cycle.

We've got insalubrious, dank, desolate, dense, enclosed, and antiquity.

And I would like you to match it up to one of the following six definitions.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you have a go undertaking the activity, remembering that you can absolutely use the extract to help you work it out if you are not sure.

So pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic effort.

And we're going to check our answers now.

So make sure that you've got these in the right order and that you have matched the correct definition up to the correct piece of vocabulary because we will need these locked down for later in the lesson.

So we really need to make sure that we know them and understand them well.

So first of all, insalubrious means run down.

Dank means really unpleasantly damp and cold.

Desolate means isolated or remote.

If something is dense, it's very thick and closely compacted.

Enclosed means surrounded on all sides.

And finally, antiquity means relating to the past or age in some way.

So make sure you've got all of those answers correct.

Well done because I know many of you got them all right.

So that's fantastic work.

And if you didn't, don't worry, you'll have them written down now for the rest of the lesson so you can keep referring back to your definitions if you forget what they mean.

Let's move on.

So for the second part of the lesson, we are now going to get really creative, which I'm very excited for.

And we're going to start experimenting with some of this gothic vocabulary that we have just learned.

So I can't wait to see what you do with it and how you use it.

So in our creative writing, we really want all of our vocabulary choices working together to create an ominous atmosphere for the gothic writing that we're going to undertake.

So we're going to experiment with our new vocab, which I'm buzzing about.

I'm so excited.

So here's a description that our lovely oak pupil, June has written for us.

He's written, "The oppressive moon hung low in the ink-black sky, hovering ominously over the rounded peak of the only hill visible in the picturesque landscape." So thank you to June for that fantastic description because we're going to use it to have some discussions about vocabulary now.

So first of all, I'd like you to think, well what atmosphere has June tried to create in his writing? And I'd also like you to think, well, there's one word in that description that's really not working with the others to help create this really ominous and gothic atmosphere.

So it's almost an odd word out in this description.

I'd like you to identify which word that is and tell me why it doesn't work here.

So I'm going to invite you now to work preferably with other people, but on your own if you're, you know, if you're on your own to think about these two questions and really kind of try and identify the odd word out in June's description.

So pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic discussions and a massive well done if you identified that the odd word out here is this word picturesque because June has really tried to create a very kind of foreboding and kind of dark and mysterious atmosphere here.

But that word picturesque has far too pleasant connotations to be honest, okay? Because it's not an unnerving enough word to be used in a gothic description.

So I'd like you to think now, well, all right, so we can't use the word picturesque because it's not negative enough.

So what word could we use? So I'd like you to discuss with the people around you which word you could use to replace the word picturesque, that means isolated and remote 'cause that's what June was trying to convey here.

So pause the video and see if you can come up with an alternative word that June could use in his description.

Off you go.

Fantastic discussions and well done because many of you said that you wanted to use this word desolate.

And it's brilliant to see many of you using the key word and using it accurately because we've got to use vocabulary accurately.

It is no use using a word that's really fancy or sounds sophisticated if you don't use it right, because that's not gonna make you look very clever, is it? If you use it incorrectly, you know, people are not gonna be convinced by your descriptive writing.

So we've got to be using our vocabulary accurately.

So well done to those of you that suggested desolate because this is absolutely the appropriate context to use that word in.

So let's read the description in full again with that word desolate in place.

"The oppressive moon hung low in the ink-black sky hovering ominously over the rounded peak of the only hill visible in the desolate landscape." Ooh, that is much better, isn't it? It's much more mysterious and ominous now that we've swapped that word out.

So massive well done there, great vocabulary choice from you guys there.

So let's check for understanding.

Here's a little snippet of a description.

The moon's something made her shiver as she crept silently round the corner, hoping her footsteps wouldn't alert them to her presence.

And I'd like you to think, well, what would be the most appropriate word here for Andeep to complete the sentence? Would it be A, antiquity.

B, luminescence or C, dank? I'm going to invite you to pause the video, why you choose one word that you think would be most appropriate used in the blank in Andeep's description.

So off you go.

Fantastic work.

If you selected B, you're absolutely right.

Now, if you've decided to put A in the gap, antiquity, you're not quite right because antiquity, if you remember, means kind of relating to old age.

And here, we're not trying to say that the moon's old, we're trying to say that the moon's kind of bright or disturbing in some way.

And same with dank, okay? Dank means cold and unpleasant, and we wouldn't really use that word to describe the moon.

A word that we would use to describe the moon's light is luminescence, and it kind of means this like really bright light that's given off by the moon.

So here, the moon's luminescence made her shiver would work much better.

That would fit kind of with the atmosphere that Andeep is trying to create.

So well done if you chose B, you're absolutely right.

So now we're going to test what you've learned this lesson by getting you to experiment even further with the new vocabulary that you have learned.

So Laura wrote the following descriptive scene, and it's set in a grand castle.

So here's Laura's description.

"It was so cold that moisture seemed to dance in the light air.

I could almost imagine the tiny droplets of water, huddling together, shuddering under the warm exposing glow of the flickering bulb, which swung rhythmically despite the lack of wind.

Each step I took into the soft darkness made my throat tighten just that little bit more.

I knew how it felt to be the ruins in that moment, smothered by thriving ivy, protected by the vast walls, which frowned upon their scruffy prisoner.

I felt trapped, I felt claustrophobic.

And yet, I had the distinct feeling that someone or something was watching me." Ooh, some really interesting vocabulary choices from Laura there.

However, not all of them are appropriate.

So what I would like you to do is just like we've just done with June's example.

I would like you to identify which words do not belong in this gothic description.

And I would like you to explain to each other why they don't quite belong there.

So read back through the description and pick out the words that you feel don't actually contribute to this kind of ominous and foreboding atmosphere that Laura was trying to create in her gothic description and explain why they don't belong.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you undertake the first part of your last task.

Off you go.

Fantastic work.

And many of you really clearly identifying the words like dance, light, warm, glow, rhythmically, soft, thriving, protected and scruffy don't really fit here because they don't really contribute to that kind of ominous and foreboding atmosphere.

Because actually many of these words have distinctly positive connotations and associations.

So now that we've identified which words need to go, you're going to rewrite Laura's description by changing the green words that we've highlighted as inappropriate to words that are much more appropriate for use in a gothic description.

So for example, you will need to swap out the word dance for another verb that has slightly more sinister and malevolent connotations to reflect what the moisture is doing in the air, okay? Now, to give you a little bit of help, because this is a very difficult task, I'm just going to remind you of some of the vocabulary that we have picked up along this lesson.

So we've got dank, desolate, insalubrious, antiquity, enclosed and dense.

Now, what I'd like you to remember is that actually, you know, we're only using sophisticated vocabulary accurately.

So not all of these words might be appropriate.

And you need to decide which you think are appropriate and which you think, you know, you can't really use in this context.

So make sure that you are thinking carefully about the vocabulary choices that you're making and choosing the most specific word that's really going to contribute to that kind of ominous and foreboding atmosphere that you're trying to create here.

So again, I'll invite you to pause the video while you substitute Laura's inappropriate words for your own much more gothic, much more frightening and tense appropriate vocabulary.

I can't wait to see what you come up with.

So pause the video and off you go.

Thank you so much.

And this was absolutely fascinating for me to watch because actually, so many of you had such different ideas for each of the bits of vocabulary that you were swapping.

And it was great to see all of the creativity and the experimentation that you were undertaking.

Now, there is no actual right or wrong answer here.

I'm gonna show you some suggestions of vocabulary that you might have chosen.

However, if you got something different, that doesn't necessarily mean yours is wrong, it just means that you've been creative in a slightly different way, and that's absolutely fine.

That's what writing's about, you know? Words are subjective and people write and describe things differently.

So it's really exciting, and if you get the opportunity to read somebody else's description, please, please do, because I guarantee they'll have used very different words from you and still written an absolutely fantastic description.

So here's just one suggested way of how you could have swapped these words out.

"It was so cold that moisture seemed to hang in the dank air." So we already see that word dance being swapped with that word hang, which has kind of much more lifeless and almost dead connotations.

"I could almost imagine the tiny droplets of water, huddling together, shuddering under the harsh, exposing light of the flickering bulb, which swung eerily, despite the lack of wind.

Each step I took into the black darkness made my throat tighten just that little bit more.

I knew how it felt to be the ruins in that moment, smothered by dense ivy, enclosed by the vast walls which frowned down upon their insalubrious prisoner.

I felt trapped, I felt claustrophobic.

And yet, I had the distinct feeling that someone or something was watching me." Just got shivers, it was so scary.

So as you can see, just swapping those few words out for more appropriate and gothic ones really kind of, you know, levels up our atmosphere here and creates quite a frightening description.

As I said, I'm actually quaking in my boots from this 'cause it is very, you know, it's very foreboding, it's really good description now.

So that's just one suggestion of some of the words you might have swapped out.

Now, you might have noticed that actually, we didn't use that word, antiquity, which was one of our key words of the lesson.

Now, as Laura points out, antiquity wasn't appropriate to use in this context, and that's absolutely okay because we only vocabulary really accurately and appropriately.

And you know what, sometimes it's fine to say, "I know this really fancy word, but it doesn't fit here so I can't use it." And that's absolutely fine.

That is what writing is.

It's making choices and sometimes very difficult choices about which vocabulary to choose.

So well done to those of you who had a really good go at swapping out those words and have created that really foreboding, ominous atmosphere.

I'm really impressed.

So to summarise the learning from today, it can be really useful to take vocabulary from text that you have read to use in your own work.

Sharing is caring.

It's absolutely fine to be inspired by somebody else's writing, and that's exactly what we're looking to do in English.

We're looking to take other people's ideas and regenerate them in an innovative way.

Secondly, selecting the right vocabulary when trying to create atmosphere is so important because every single word counts and every word matters.

When using new vocabulary, make sure that you are using it because it's the most specific word and not just because you think it sounds fancy.

As I said, if you use it incorrectly, you're not going to sound very clever or very fancy, are you? So make sure you are using it appropriately.

And finally, all of the words in the description must fit with the atmosphere or the impression that you are trying to create.

Thank you very much for coming to today's lesson.

It's been an absolute pleasure to teach you and I massively look forward to seeing how all of this new vocabulary that you have learned appears in your writing from now on.

So massive well done and thank you for your contributions.

See you later.