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. Halladay 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 Thornfield Hall atmosphere in "Jane Eyre." And by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to analyse Bronte's creation of atmosphere in an extract from the text "Jane Eyre." Here are some keywords that you will need for today's lesson.

We've got atmosphere, ominous, to conceal, malevolent and pallid.

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

So first of all, atmosphere is the mood or the feeling of a piece of writing.

Ominous means when something gives the impression that something bad is about to happen.

If you conceal something, you hide it from sight.

Malevolent means sinister or evil in some way.

And finally, pallid means extremely pale, usually because of poor health.

If you would like to pause the video and jot these definitions down, then please feel free to do that at your own pace.

Here's today's lesson outline.

We're going to begin by reading an extract from "Jane Eyre," and then we're going to move on to discussing how Bronte creates atmosphere.

But let's start with reading the extract first.

So let's begin with a quick discussion task.

And I'd like you to try and remember, well, once Jane has finished her education at Lowood, where does she go next? And who does she meet at her next home? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you try and remember those details from our plot summary with the people around you, or working independently if you'd prefer.

Off you go.

Fantastic work, and really well done to those of you that remembering Jane goes to Thornfield Hall next, where she meets Mr. Rochester, his housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax, his ward, Adele, and his mysterious servant Grace Poole.

So a massive well done if you were able to remember that.

Great start to the lesson.

So we are going to read an extract from chapter 11 of "Jane Eyre," where Jane has just arrived at Thornfield Hall and she's being shown around by Mrs. Fairfax, the housekeeper.

I'd like you to make sure that you're reading with a pen in your hand so that as we read, you can circle key vocabulary, you can underline important words and phrases.

You can use square brackets to draw attention to important paragraphs that you think you might want to come back to at some point.

You can star next to key ideas, and you can write notes in the margin, little annotations to help you remember your key inferences and ideas the first time you read this extract.

So it is really important in English to read with a pen in your hand, because we're reading for purpose.

We're reading to analyse, and therefore we should be making notes as we go through the extract.

So make sure that you've got your pen in your hand ready to read.

So I'm going to read this to you.

You can find this extract in your additional materials, so make sure you've got it in front of you and that your pen is ready in your hand.

I'll read and you follow along.

"When we left the dining room, she proposed to show me over the rest of the house; and I followed her upstairs and downstairs, admiring as I went; for all was well arranged and handsome.

The large front chambers I thought especially grand: and some of the third-story rooms, though dark and low, were interesting from their air of antiquity.

The furniture once appropriated to the lower apartments had from time to time been removed here, as fashions changed: and the imperfect light entering by their narrow casement showed bedsteads of 100 years old; chests in oak or walnut, looking, with their strange carvings of palm branches and cherub's heads." Now I've clarified a piece of vocab, which I'm not sure you might have encountered before, and that is antiquity and that means with great age.

So what I'd like you to consider now is, well, how is this setting already quite Gothic in nature? So I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you discuss that question with the people around you, or think about it independently if you're working alone.

Off you go.

Thank you very much.

Let's come back together, and some really great ideas there to share.

So here's the idea that I heard that I liked the best, and it's this idea that Bronte describes a very old, dark Gothic setting, and though the setting is very grand and impressive, it feels somewhat abandoned because nobody seems to inhabit these rooms. So well done if you've got those kind of themes of isolation and abandonment, and you are already picking up on some of those kind of classic Gothic conventions of a Gothic setting of it being a very old building.

So well done if you got that.

So let's carry on reading.

"Rows of venerable chairs, high-backed and narrow; stools still more antiquated, on whose cushion tops were yet apparent traces of half-effaced embroideries, wrought by fingers that for two generations had been coffin-dust.

All these relics gave to the third story of Thornfield Hall the aspect of a home of the past: a shrine of memory.

I liked the hush, the gloom, the quaintness of these retreats in the day; but I by no means coveted a night's repose on one of those wide and heavy beds: shut in, some of them, with doors of oak; shaded, others, with wrought old English hangings crusted with thick work, portraying effigies of strange flowers, and stranger birds, and the strangest human beings, all which would've looked strange, indeed, by the pallid gleam of moonlight." Ooh, we're starting to see a much more kind of Gothic and ominous atmosphere there.

So again, just to clarify some key vocabulary here.

Well, relic is an ancient object of historical interest.

So Jane says that she sees all of these relics in Thornfield Hall, and that it kind of gives her the impression that Thornfield Hall has lived, you know, a very long and kind of exciting life, shall we say.

So what I'd like you to consider now is, well, how does Jane feel about Thornfield Hall? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you discuss that question with the people around you, or as always, independently if you think you'd rather work on your own.

Off you go.

Fantastic discussions, and some really, really well justified opinions.

It's great to see so many of you referring to the text when you're explaining what you think.

So, in terms of how Jane feels about Thornfield Hall, well, she actually really likes how quiet it is, and the unique nature of the rooms that she's viewing.

However, she does very explicitly state that she would absolutely not wish to try and relax in these rooms at night because she would find it very disturbing.

So it's really interesting here that Jane's quite comfortable being in them in the day, but she doesn't feel comfortable in them at night.

And that kind of might suggest that there's something very mysterious or something kind of supernatural or somewhat creepy about these rooms, because Jane doesn't want to stay the night in them.

So well done if you got that.

Great reading.

Let's carry on.

"Do the servants sleep in these rooms?" I asked.

"No, they occupy a range of smaller apartments to the back.

No one ever sleeps here.

One would almost say that if there were a ghost at Thornfield Hall, this would be its haunt." "So I think; you have no ghosts, then?" "None that I ever heard of," return Mrs. Fairfax, smiling.

"Nor any traditions of one? No legends or ghost stories?" "I believe not.

And yet it is said the Rochesters have been rather a violent than a quiet race in their time.

Perhaps though that is the reason they rest tranquilly in their graves now." I'd like you to discuss now with the people around you, how does Bronte create a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere here? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you discuss that with the people around you.

Fantastic work.

And it was great to see so many of you using that keyword atmosphere, and really understanding that it means this idea of the kind of mood of the piece of writing, so how we respond to it, how it makes us feel as a reader.

So here, Bronte plays on the reader's fear of the supernatural by making a very, very subtle suggestion that Thornfield could harbour a supernatural threat.

Even though Mrs. Fairfax denies this, we still kind of get the distinct sense that actually this could be a real possibility at Thornfield, and that creates quite an unsettling and unnerving atmosphere that many, especially Victorian readers at the time would have found very, very frightening to consider.

So well done if you've got those ideas.

Fantastic work.

Let's check for understanding before we move on and finish reading the extract.

Which of these students' summaries best describes what you have read thus far, is it Laura's or is it Jun's? I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you take a few moments to read both students' summaries and decide which you think is the most accurate.

So pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic if you selected that Laura's summary is more accurate.

"Mrs. Fairfax begins showing Jane around Thornfield Hall.

Mrs. Fairfax takes Jane to the third floor, where the rooms are dark but very grand and ornate.

Jane likes the quiet and feels that she would enjoy spending time on the third floor during the day, but feels uncomfortable about being there at night.

Mrs. Fairfax assures Jane that there are no ghosts at Thornfield Hall, despite its gloomy appearance." So well done if you selected that that summary was the more accurate one.

Great work.

So onto our first task of the lesson where you're gonna finish reading the extract independently.

Once you have finished reading, I'd like you to answer the following six questions in full sentences.

So we've got, what kind of birds does Jane see as she leans over the battlements? And why might these be considered Gothic creatures? We've got, how does Bronte's description of nature contrast with her description of Thornfield? What does Jane hear? How does the noise make her feel? What does Mrs. Fairfax say the sound is? And finally, how do you feel at the end of the extract? So I would like you to read the rest of the extract, answer these questions, and make sure that as you are reading, you are reading with a pen in your hand, using those interactive reading strategies to make answering the questions much quicker and much easier later on.

So I really hope you enjoy reading the rest of the extract, because it gets very, very exciting towards the end, and I can't wait to see what you come up with in response to these comprehension questions.

So pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic work.

And it was great to see so many of you making those really quick annotations as you were reading the extract.

It's great to see your interactive reading done really effectively, so great work there.

So we're going to go through the answers to the comprehension questions now, and as we do, I'd like you to mark your answers.

If you've got anything wrong, don't worry.

Just correct it perhaps in a different colour pen.

So the first question, well, what kind of birds does Jane see? And why might they be considered Gothic? Well, Jane sees crows as she leans over the battlements of Thornfield Hall, and crows could be considered Gothic because of their black feathers.

Often crows are symbolic of death and/or mystery, and both of those are very Gothic themes, aren't they? So the second question, how does Bronte's description of nature contrast with her description of Thornfield? Well, Bronte through the eyes of Jane describes nature as really pleasing, with its "tranquil hills all reposing in the autumn day sun," and "the horizon bounded by a propitious sky, azure, marbled with pearly whites." And in contrast, Thornfield is described as "black as a vault," which could suggest that darkness or danger lives within Thornfield.

So we see Bronte really contrasting kind of nature with Thornfield to suggest maybe that Thornfield might be quite a dark and sinister or malevolent place of some kind.

Now, in terms of the third question, what does Jane hear? Well, Jane actually hears a strange laugh coming from one of the rooms on the third floor of Thornfield.

And how does the noise make her feel? Well, she's disturbed by the strange noise, which is understandable really.

The laugh stops Jane in her tracks as she listens out carefully for it.

And she tells us that it was a curious laugh, formal and mirthless, and this laugh makes Jane very uncomfortable and quite disturbed.

Now, in terms of what Mrs. Fairfax says the sound is, well, she says that the laugh must have been some of the servants and most likely Grace Poole.

So Mrs. Fairfax explains the laugh away and Jane accepts her kind of response.

So finally, how do you feel at the end of the extract? Well, I personally feel somewhat unsettled by the end of the extract.

Although Mrs. Fairfax blames the laugh on a servant, Grace Poole, for me, I don't necessarily believe her because I can't help but get the impression that the laugh is something much more sinister.

Now we know from the plot summary that Mr. Rochester is containing his first wife, Bertha, in the attic of Thornfield, so the strange laugh must be coming from her.

And although the laugh isn't supernatural, it feels somewhat supernatural in some way, as it feels like an unknown malevolent entity inhabit Thornfield Hall.

Now what you've got to remember is that obviously we've seen a plot summary, so we already know what happens at the end of this novel.

However, if we were reading it having not seen the plot summary, I think this laugh would really disturb us, and we probably would feel exactly as Jane does, very kind of nervous and disturbed by it.

Okay, and I think we would definitely assume that it was some kind of supernatural entity, if we didn't know that it was obviously Bertha Mason, Rochester's first wife.

So I think that the key thing here is that even though this isn't a supernatural occurrence, it would feel that way definitely to the reader and also probably to Jane.

So well done if you've got those ideas.

Great work.

So we're onto the second part of the lesson now where we're gonna look at Bronte's creation of atmosphere.

So I'd like you to discuss, well, actually, what is atmosphere? And what kind of atmosphere would we expect to find in Gothic literature? So I'd like you now to pause the video while you undertake that discussion with the people around you, or thinking about those questions on your own if you are working independently.

Off you go.

Fantastic work.

And as you were discussing, our Oak pupils were also having the same conversations and here's what they came up with.

So Aisha says, "Atmosphere is the mood or the feeling of a piece of writing.

We would expect to find an ominous or tense atmosphere in Gothic literature, as this really unsettles the reader." So thank you to Aisha for that clarification.

It's a really, really concise explanation of what atmosphere is and what kind of atmosphere we would expect to find in Gothic literature.

So thank you.

So here is part of the extract that we read in learning cycle one together, and I've just put part of it on screen for you, because we're going to use that extract to consider this question of, well, how does Bronte create an atmosphere of mystery and secrecy? So I'm not going to read this part of the extract to you again as we've already read it, but what I am going to ask you to do is consider the three questions on screen.

So first of all, I would like you to say the word hush out loud, and I would like you to think about the silencing effect that it would have on a room if it was used perhaps by a teacher or by you.

I'd also like you to think, well, in her narrative, Jane mentions the doors of oak, and I'd like you to think, well, why is this an important detail for her to mention? Why does she tell us that the doors were made of oak? And finally, how does the fact that the doors were made of oak contribute to the atmosphere of secrecy that we get in this part of the extract? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you discuss those three questions or three ideas with the people around you.

I can't wait to share ideas, so off you go.

Fantastic discussions there, and some really insightful ideas being raised there, so a massive well done.

And I heard some people discussing the idea that Bronte mentions the oak doors to illustrate their weight.

And I really liked this idea, because Jane feels that these oak doors could very easily trap her in these rooms and stop her from getting out.

So there's a real sense that these rooms conceal very dark secrets that, you know, Thornfield Hall almost doesn't want to let out of these rooms. And this is actually also implied in Jane's suggestion that they might come alive in the gleam of moonlight.

So again, we kind of get the idea that the rooms are hiding something, and that there might be some kind of malevolent or sinister presence that inhabits these rooms at nighttime.

So well done if you've got those ideas.

Fantastic work.

And that's also reinforced by this word hush, which is obviously onomatopoeic, and it kind of gives the impression that things are kept quiet or secrets are hidden.

So again, here we see this real sense of secrecy and an atmosphere of mystery that surrounds these rooms in Thornfield Hall.

So well done if you've got those ideas.

Fantastic discussions.

So what I wanted to do was pull out one specific quote from this extract and really kind of closely analyse it, because I think close text analysis is a really exciting thing to do, especially when looking at how atmosphere is created.

So I've chosen this quotation, "The pallid gleam of moonlight," and what I'd like you to consider is, well first of all, we know that pallid means really pale and weak.

So why does the moon being pale in the dark night sky create a very ominous atmosphere? I'd also like you to consider, well, what's the effect of the word gleam here? And finally, well, what do we associate with the moon? And therefore, how does this create this atmosphere of mystery and secrecy? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you jot your ideas down in response to the questions on screen now.

And again, I absolutely can't wait to see what you come up with, because closed text analysis, I'm not gonna lie, is probably my favourite thing to do in English lessons.

So I'm really excited to see what you've come up with.

So pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic discussions, and some really perceptive suggestions there.

I've really enjoyed hearing that actually in using this word pallid, Bronte is suggesting that the moon's light is being diminished in some way by the darkness, and there's a real suggestion that the darkness is consuming here.

Now this word gleam also suggests kind of mischief or magic, okay? If something gleams, it kind of shimmers in a bit of an ominous way.

And this could imply that the moon knows the secrets of Thornfield, and perhaps is kind of privy to them.

And also we associate the moon with supernatural occurrences.

You know, if we think about werewolves, we tend to think that they come out at full moon, and therefore mysterious occurrences often do happen at night as well.

So there is a suggestion through the use of this word moonlight that Thornfield perhaps becomes a different place at night, okay? Or that it kind of comes alive in a very malevolent and sinister way.

So Bronte's use of language here is so, so clever in creating this mysterious and secretive atmosphere, because we really get this kind of uncomfortable feeling that Thornfield is perhaps not what it seems, and that there's a different side of Thornfield that could potentially be very, very dangerous here.

So well done if you've got those ideas.

Fantastic close analysis work.

So let's check for understanding.

What do we tend to associate the moon with? Is it, A, purity and light, B, mystery and the supernatural, C, guidance and hope, or is it, D, evil and depravity? I'm gonna to invite you now to pause the video while you make your answer selection.

And really well done if you selected B.

As we just said, we often associate the moon with kind of mystery and the supernatural, because lots of supernatural creatures are rumoured to kind of come alive or reveal themselves at full moon.

So the moon can be considered a symbol of kind of supernatural and mystery, so well done if you got that.

So let's carry on reading.

Again, another part of the extract I've put on screen for you.

I'm not going to read it to you, but I would like you to use it to consider the following question.

How does this interaction create an atmosphere of mystery and secrecy? And what does Mrs. Fairfax's smile suggest? And how does it make you feel here? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you discuss those two questions with the people around you.

Off you go.

Fantastic discussions.

Now, first of all, this interaction, I don't know about you, but it makes me feel really kind of uncomfortable, because I very much get the sense that Mrs. Fairfax knows a lot more than she's letting on.

And the fact that ghosts and the supernatural are even brought up suggests that Thornfield Hall would be exactly the kind of place that we would expect supernatural occurrences to happen.

And that makes me feel very uncomfortable and quite frightened, if I'm honest.

Now, the fact that Mrs. Fairfax then smiles adds to the sense of mystery and secrecy, because as I said earlier, it could suggest that she knows something that Jane doesn't, or that she's in on the secret of Thornfield, and she's kind of trying to hide it from Jane.

So well done if you've got those ideas there.

Great work.

And again, another part of the extract.

I'm not going to read it to you, but I would definitely like you to read it yourselves and then discuss the question, well, why is the laugh so disturbing? And how does Mrs. Fairfax's response of "perhaps Grace Poole" add to the mystery and secrecy of the atmosphere? So again, I can't wait to see what you come up with.

I'd like you to pause the video and discuss that with the people around you.

And I would think it's really important here actually, when you're reading this part of the extract, to read it out loud to one another, because I think a lot of the mystery and secrecy here is created through Mrs. Fairfax's tone, and tone is kind of best interpreted when it's read out loud.

So I would massively encourage you, if you're in pairs, to read this extract out loud, one of you being Jane and one of you being Mrs. Fairfax, just to see what the tone of voice here.

So as I said, read the extracts and then answer the questions.

Pause the video and off you go.

Again, fantastic work.

And I think many of you were saying that actually the laugh is disturbing, because I don't know about you, but I find it utterly horrifying when something that we'd normally associate with positivity or happiness happens in kind of a scary way.

So for example, the masks on Halloween that frighten me the most are the kind of Mickey Mouse masks, or the smiling masks, because it feels more sinister when the action or the appearance of something seems positive, but it's found in a very sinister and malevolent context.

So the fact that there's this kind of laugh and that's what we'd kind of expect of a positive situation is done in this really sinister and malevolent way to me is just utterly horrifying and disturbing.

Now in terms of the second question, well, Mrs. Fairfax is unable to give Jane a concrete answer or explanation for the laugh.

She says, "Perhaps it's Grace Poole." She doesn't answer with any certainty.

And the fact that this is combined with the previous smile that she gave when she was trying to reassure Jane that there are no ghosts, again, it just makes us feel like she knows something that Jane doesn't.

And also, as I mentioned, the tone of voice here.

So I'm just going to read this to you and kind of show you what the tone of voice is like here.

"'Mrs. Fairfax,' I called out: for now I heard her descending the great stairs.

'Did you hear that loud laugh? Who is it?' 'Some of the servants, very likely,' she answered.

'Perhaps Grace Poole.

'" So here we see that kind of really, she almost trails off as she says it, and I think that there's this kind of suggestion that it's not Grace Poole.

And the fact that she says perhaps shows us that she doesn't want to give Jane a concrete answer, perhaps because she's lying to her, 'cause she knows fully well that it's Rochester's first wife, but she doesn't want to say that to Jane and kind of disturb her further.

So here we see that Thornfield's really evidently home to some really dark secrets.

So well done if you got those ideas, and fantastic reading to one another.

I heard some great tones of voices there as you were discussing, so well done.

So onto our second and last task of the lesson.

And Laura says, "The Gothic settings we see in 'Jane Eyre' do not look frightening.

What is frightening about them is that they themselves seem to conceal secrets and mysteries from Jane." I love that idea from Laura.

And what I'd like you to do with it is, well, I'd like you to consider that statement, and then I'd like you to put yourself on the spectrum of opinion below, and I'd like you to use evidence from the extract to justify your position.

So here's an example, here's our spectrum.

It runs from agree all the way to disagree.

So if you were to put yourself at the very far left of that spectrum, you would be saying, "Yeah, I completely agree with Laura's statement." And equally, if you were to put yourself at the far right hand side, you'd be saying, "I totally disagree with Laura.

I couldn't disagree anymore." Now, Aisha has put herself kind of in the middle, but probably more towards the disagree side.

And she says, "Well, I think that the settings do look scary because Jane describes the corridor as narrow, low and dim, with only one little window at the far end." So Aisha saying, "Well, that's what I find scary about these settings, so I'm going to disagree partly with Laura." So what I'm gonna do now is invite you to pause the video while you pop yourself on that scale and use evidence from the text justify your position.

I'm really excited to see where you put yourselves, and I'm hoping that we'll have a really diverse range of opinions.

So let's see.

Pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic discussions.

Now, as you were discussing this, our Oak pupils were having their own discussions, and here's what Sophia had to say.

She said, "I somewhat disagree.

I agree that the setting seems to be hiding secrets, but I still think that their appearances are scary." And I'd like you to discuss now, well, what feedback would you give to Sophia about her response? Why is her response not that convincing? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you discuss that with the people around you, and perhaps give Sophia some advice as to how she can improve her response and make it more convincing.

So pause the video and off you go.

And well done to those of you that correctly identified that actually Sophia really hasn't used a quotation to support her opinion, and she was asked to do that in the task.

And actually in the practise of English, that's really important to do.

We always have to justify our opinions with quotations from whatever text it is that we are using to analyse.

And therefore, because she's not used a quotation, she can't actually explain why she thinks the setting looks scary.

And she also could have used a more specific word than scary because scary is quite a simplistic word, and it doesn't really kind of explain in what way she finds the setting frightening.

So having heard our feedback to Sophia, she then went and improved her response and she said, "Well, I somewhat disagree.

I think that the setting seems to be hiding secrets, but I still think their appearances are unnerving." So there Sophia has swapped the word scary for unnerving.

"For example, Jane describes the 'black as a vault' attic, which to me is frightening because of the connotations of black: death." So here Sophia has given us a quotation and then she's actually unpicked it and explained what it is about the quotation that she thinks creates this kind of frightening impression of the setting.

So a massive well done to Sophia there for improving her response so effectively.

And I'm going to invite you now to take the time to consider, well, have you used a quotation? Is your response that convincing? And if it isn't, I'm going to give you time now to pause the video and make changes to your response to make it better.

So pause the video and reflect on the quality of your own response and evidence.

Off you go.

Fantastic reflections.

Great work.

So to summarise the learning from today, well, Thornfield Hall is described as a very old, dark and classically Gothic setting.

Though it is grand and impressive, the third floor feels abandoned because nobody inhabits these rooms. Atmosphere is the mood or the feeling of a piece of writing, and we would expect to find an ominous or a tense atmosphere in Gothic literature because this would unsettle the reader.

Finally, Bronte creates an unnerving atmosphere in chapter 11 of "Jane Eyre" because we get the impression that Mrs. Fairfax definitely knows more than she's letting on to Jane.

Thank you for coming to today's lesson, and thank you for all your fantastic contributions in response to our reading of this extract from "Jane Eyre." It's been fascinating to hear your opinions, and it's been great to see your confidence with this text grow as the lesson progressed.

I look forward to seeing you next time.

Thank you and have a lovely rest of your day.