Planning a Gothic description inspired by 'A monster within'
I can generate ideas for my Gothic description.
Planning a Gothic description inspired by 'A monster within'
I can generate ideas for my Gothic description.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Your Gothic writing should not simply be a horror story - you can create fear through atmosphere and mood.
- Gothic literature is characterised by a sense of threat, but this does not have to be violent threat.
- Semantic fields, pathetic fallacy and figurative language are methods that Gothic writers can use to create atmosphere.
- It can be useful to plan your use of methods before you begin writing, to make sure you are using them effectively.
Keywords
Gothic literature - literature that evokes feelings of mystery, fear and terror
Reminiscent - when something reminds us of something else
To conceal - to hide or to disguise
Dingy - gloomy, dark and drab
To mystify - to utterly bewilder or shock someone - to make someone confused
Common misconception
Students think that if they write a horror story that is full of blood and gore, that this makes it Gothic.
Gothic literature is about unsettling and mystifying the reader - not traumatising them with gory descriptions and extreme violence. There can be more fear in what is not revealed, than what is revealed.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
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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Starter quiz
6 Questions
comparing two or more things using 'like' or 'as'
comparing two things by saying one 'is' the other
when the weather reflects the mood
giving human features to something that is not human
giving animal attributes to something that is not an animal