New
New
Year 8

Lowood Institution: Gothic settings in 'Jane Eyre'

I can explain how Brontë uses a semantic field and pathetic fallacy to create a Gothic setting.

New
New
Year 8

Lowood Institution: Gothic settings in 'Jane Eyre'

I can explain how Brontë uses a semantic field and pathetic fallacy to create a Gothic setting.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A successful Gothic setting makes the reader feel uneasy and unsettled, but not necessarily frightened.
  2. A Gothic setting can be created through the use of semantic fields and pathetic fallacy.
  3. A semantic field is a group of words that all share similar meaning.
  4. Pathetic fallacy is when the weather reflects the mood (often of the main character).
  5. Brontë uses these methods in ‘Jane Eyre’ to characterise Lowood as a miserable and oppressive institute.

Keywords

  • To adhere to - to abide by/ to obey a set of rules or conventions

  • Oppressive - if something is oppressive, it makes people feel uncomfortable or it is cruel and unfair

  • Regimented - very strictly organised or controlled

  • Semantic field - a group of words that all share similar meaning

  • Pathetic fallacy - when the weather reflects the mood (usually of the main character)

Common misconception

Pupils think that Gothic settings have to be utterly terrifying to count as Gothic.

Gothic settings are not about frightening the reader as much as possible. They are about making the reader feel unsettled and creating an atmosphere of mystery and dark intrigue.

Before getting students to complete learning cycle 2, if you have less-confident students, you could use one of the feedback slides as a model to show pupils how to annotate the quotations with the two questions in mind.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of an extract from 'Jane Eyre' (Charlotte Brontë). This can be downloaded from the Additional Materials section of the lesson.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of upsetting content
  • Depiction or discussion of sexual violence

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Who wrote 'Jane Eyre'?
Mary Brontë
Emily Brontë
Correct answer: Charlotte Brontë
Anne Brontë
Lucinda Brontë
Q2.
What is the key aim of Gothic literature?
Correct answer: to unsettle readers
to make readers feel angry
Correct answer: to mystify readers
to make readers feel indifferent
to excite readers
Q3.
The novel 'Jane Eyre' was set in the era.
Correct Answer: Victorian
Q4.
What is Jane childhood relationship like with her Aunt Reed in 'Jane Eyre'?
close - they share a very loving relationship
distant - they do not see much of one another
Correct answer: tense - Aunt Reed was cruel to Jane as a child
expected - there was nothing special about Jane and Aunt Reed's relationship
Q5.
What was the boarding school that Jane was sent to as a child called in 'Jane Eyre'?
Hightop Institute
Gateshead Institute
Thornfield Institute
Correct answer: Lowood Institute
Q6.
Match the terminology up to its definition.
Correct Answer:semantic field,a group of words which all have similar connotations

a group of words which all have similar connotations

Correct Answer:pathetic fallacy,when the weather reflects the mood

when the weather reflects the mood

Correct Answer:alliteration,when two or more words begin with the same letter

when two or more words begin with the same letter

Correct Answer:simile,comparing two things that are not the same using 'like' or 'as'

comparing two things that are not the same using 'like' or 'as'

Correct Answer:connotation,the associations we make with a given word

the associations we make with a given word

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following can be used as a synonym for 'oppressive'?
Correct answer: cruel
kind
Correct answer: controlling
generous
uncertain
Q2.
How are the gardens in 'Jane Eyre' described?
lawless and wild
sprawling and spacious
Correct answer: regimented and controlled
well-kept and tidy
pleasant and calming
Q3.
is when the weather reflects the mood - usually the mood of the main character.
Correct Answer: Pathetic fallacy
Q4.
A is a group of words that are related in meaning.
Correct Answer: semantic field
Q5.
Which word would not belong in a semantic field of luxury?
extravagant
lavish
Correct answer: miniscule
expensive
sprawling
Q6.
Which weather could you use if you were using pathetic fallacy to suggest that your main character is heartbroken?
snow
sunshine
Correct answer: rain
frost
thunder

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