New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

'A Christmas Carol': the ghosts and Dickens' use of allusion

I can understand the significance of Dickens’ use of allusion in the ghosts’ appearances.

New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

'A Christmas Carol': the ghosts and Dickens' use of allusion

I can understand the significance of Dickens’ use of allusion in the ghosts’ appearances.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Dickens uses the ghosts’ appearances to allude to other figures in popular Victorian culture.
  2. Dickens alludes to the German 'Christkindl' through the Ghost of Christmas Past’s appearance.
  3. Dickens alludes to the Grim Reaper through the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come to symbolise Scrooge’s spiritual death.
  4. The Ghost of Christmas Present carries a bountiful torch, which symbolises abundance and generosity.
  5. The Ghost of Christmas Past carries a sprig of holly to symbolise hope, new life and resilience.

Common misconception

Students often think that the Ghost of Christmas Present is actually holding Plenty's horn.

Dickens carefully clarifies that the torch is "in a shape not unlike Plenty's horn", showing that the torch is not actually Plenty's horn.

Keywords

  • Allusion - An allusion is a passing or indirect reference to something else.

  • Cornucopia - A large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, typically symbolic of abundance or plenty.

  • To depict - To represent or show something in a certain way.

  • Draw parallels - To draw parallels means to make links between two things based on their similarities.

After learning cycle 1, get the students to consider why the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come doesn't hold anything. Also, get them to consider the significance of what Marley's Ghost carries after learning cycle 2 - this is prompted in the feedback.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' for this lesson.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

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).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the ghosts in 'A Christmas Carol' resembles the Victorian depiction of Father Christmas?
Marley's ghost
The Ghost of Christmas Past
Correct answer: The Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Q2.
Which of the ghosts in 'A Christmas Carol' wears a white tunic and has a clear, bright jet of light emanating from its head?
Marley's ghost
Correct answer: The Ghost of Christmas Past
The Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Q3.
Which of the four ghosts in 'A Christmas Carol' tells Scrooge that they "wear the chains [they] forged in life"?
Correct answer: Marley's Ghost
The Ghost of Christmas Past
The Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Q4.
Here is a sentence that uses the word 'depict'. Father Christmas is commonly depicted wearing a plush red tunic with fur trimming and a black belt. What might 'to depict' mean?
created/made
rumoured/alleged
Correct answer: shown/represented
directed/instructed
told/informed
Q5.
When Scrooge sees The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come approaching in Stave 4 of 'A Christmas Carol', it is described as moving 'like a mist along the ground'. What is the effect of Dickens' simile ?
it reflects Scrooge's newfound joy and merriment.
Correct answer: It suggests that the ghost is inescapable - it is everywhere.
It shows that the ghost moves slowly to reflect the way time moves in the text.
Correct answer: It characterises the ghost as mysterious and frightening.
The ghost reflects Scrooge's mood: dark and cruel.
Q6.
Match the quotation up to the ghost whose speech or action it is in 'A Christmas Carol'.
Correct Answer:Marley's Ghost,"I cannot stay, I cannot linger anywhere."

"I cannot stay, I cannot linger anywhere."

Correct Answer:The Ghost of Christmas Past,"Would you so soon put out... the light I give?"

"Would you so soon put out... the light I give?"

Correct Answer:The Ghost of Christmas Present,"You are more worthless and less fit to live than millions."

"You are more worthless and less fit to live than millions."

Correct Answer:Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come,"The Spirit answered not, but pointed onward with its hand."

"The Spirit answered not, but pointed onward with its hand."

6 Questions

Q1.
Who is the German Christkindl?
Correct answer: a child who delivers gifts to children on Christmas Eve
an old woman who grants children wishes on Christmas Eve
Father Christmas' daughter who helps him
a baby who was born on the same day as Jesus Christ
Q2.
Which of Dickens' ghosts in 'A Christmas Carol' might be an allusion to the German Christkindl?
Marley's Ghost
Correct answer: The Ghost of Christmas Past
The Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Q3.
What features in common do the Ghost of Christmas Past and the German Christkindl share in 'A Christmas Carol'?
Correct answer: white tunic
long, muscular arms
Correct answer: light on their heads
Correct answer: holding a branch of holly
sparkling belt
Q4.
Complete the sentence: In 'A Christmas Carol', The Ghost of Christmas Present's cornucopia-shaped torch is an allusion to horn.
Correct Answer: Plenty's, plentys
Q5.
What is an allusion?
giving something non-human, human characteristics
a comparison of two things that are not the same
a vision of something that isn't really there
Correct answer: a passing or indirect reference to something
Q6.
What could the Ghost of Christmas Past carrying a sprig of holly symbolise in 'A Christmas Carol'?
Correct answer: the hope of a redeemed life for Scrooge
Christmas joy and festivity
Correct answer: resilience and perseverance, even in bleak times
Scrooge's frosty and prickly nature in Stave 1
all the pain that Scrooge has caused others