Understanding the Gothic in 'Jekyll and Hyde'
I can write about the gothic in ‘Jekyll and Hyde’.
Understanding the Gothic in 'Jekyll and Hyde'
I can write about the gothic in ‘Jekyll and Hyde’.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Jekyll is a typical gothic protagonist: egotistical and isolated.
- The story dramatises Jekyll's inner struggle between good and evil and the same duality within society.
- Liminal and altered states are a gothic convention that is central to this story.
- Drawing on gothic conventions allows Stevenson to explore transgressive behaviour and illicit desires.
- Using multiple narrators is a gothic trope that plays with ideas of verisimilitude, linking to science vs. supernatural.
Common misconception
Stevenson just replicates or reiterates common gothic conventions.
Many common gothic conventions are used but subverted too (the setting of Regent's Park subverts gothic settings).
Keywords
Verisimilitude - The appearance of being true or real.
Liminality - At a boundary or transitional point between two contrasting elements.
Illicit - Illegal or disapproved of by society.
Trope - A commonly used literary device is known as a trope. A gothic trope would be isolated settings.
Transgressive - Involving violation of moral or social boundaries.
Equipment
You will need access to a copy of 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' by Robert Louis Stevenson for this lesson.
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).
Video
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