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Year 11
Edexcel

Understanding the Gothic in 'Jekyll and Hyde'

I can write about the gothic in ‘Jekyll and Hyde’.

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Year 11
Edexcel

Understanding the Gothic in 'Jekyll and Hyde'

I can write about the gothic in ‘Jekyll and Hyde’.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Jekyll is a typical gothic protagonist: egotistical and isolated.
  2. The story dramatises Jekyll's inner struggle between good and evil and the same duality within society.
  3. Liminal and altered states are a gothic convention that is central to this story.
  4. Drawing on gothic conventions allows Stevenson to explore transgressive behaviour and illicit desires.
  5. Using multiple narrators is a gothic trope that plays with ideas of verisimilitude, linking to science vs. supernatural.

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.

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).


To help you plan your year 11 english lesson on: Understanding the Gothic in 'Jekyll and Hyde', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Consider discussing similarities between the gothic conventions of 'Jekyll and Hyde' and other texts the students may have studied.
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Teacher tip
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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.

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
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Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), 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

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6 Questions

Q1.
What appears at the top of a Freytag's pyramid?
Correct answer: climax
denouement
falling action
rising action
Q2.
Which word beginning with 'e' can describe 'Jekyll and Hyde'? This word refers to a novella made up of letters and other documents as part of its narrative structure.
Correct Answer: epistolary, Epistolary, epistolary novella, Epistolary Novella
Q3.
In 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde', the motif of the mask best relates to which theme?
Correct answer: false appearances
repression
religion vs. science
human curiosity
Q4.
The narratives of which two characters end 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'?
Correct answer: Lanyon's and Jekyll's
Utterson's and Jekyll's
Lanyon's and Utterson's
Enfield's and Lanyon's
Q5.
What is the correct definition of 'illicit'? Here it is used in a sentence: 'The secret warehouse held an illicit stash of stolen goods.'
Correct answer: Illegal or disapproved of by society
Disliked and unpopular with society
Encouraged and supported by society
Tolerated and overlooked by society
Q6.
What is the correct definition of transgressive? Here it is used in a sentence: 'Her art was lauded for its transgressive themes.'
Correct answer: Involving violation of moral or social boundaries
Involving vindication of moral or social boundaries
Involving creation of moral or social boundaries
Involving destruction of moral or social boundaries

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
The novella 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' contains:
a single narrative.
Correct answer: multiple narratives.
a chronological narrative.
a historical narrative.
Q2.
In 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde', Jekyll is a typical gothic protagonist: egotistical and .
Correct answer: isolated
insane
inadequate
inhuman
Q3.
In 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde', Jekyll's experiments violate social or moral boundaries. As such they are ...
Correct answer: transgressive
transactional
liminal
gothic
Q4.
Complete the following quote which seems to suggest Jekyll relishes his dual nature in ch10 of 'Jekyll and Hyde': 'it delighted me like .'
Correct Answer: wine, Wine
Q5.
Complete this quote, which highlights Jekyll's realisation of the true nature of man in 'Jekyll and Hyde', ‘I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly '.
Correct Answer: two, Two, 2, two.
Q6.
In 'Jekyll and Hyde', the use of documents as part of the narrative structure, arguably, give the story a sense of verisimilitude. Why?
Correct answer: The use of official documents, from reputed characters, makes it seem realistic.
The different accounts add mystery, leaving the audience in the dark.
They tell the story gradually, which raises tension.
We know all narrators are likely to be biased, which makes us question them.