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The Birth of the Creature. Chapters 5 to 8. Objectives .
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The Birth of the Creature Chapters 5 to 8
Objectives By the end of the lesson you will have revisited the ‘Gothic’ style and analysed a passage from the novel where you believe Shelley has relied on this style; you will also have considered ‘alternative readings’ of the text based on filmic representations. AO2, AO3
Revisiting the Gothic Textual characteristics of the Gothic • a fascination for the past, particularly - but not exclusively - the medieval era • a liking for the strangely eccentric, the supernatural, the magical, and the ‘sublime’, sometimes subtly intermingled with the realistic • psychological insights, especially with sexuality, through (at best) fascinating and intricate characterisation, or (at worst) stereotypical caricatures • representation and simulation of fear, horror, the macabre and the sinister, within the context of a general focus on the emotional rather than the rational • frequently exotic settings and locations, although this tendency may be contrasted to a more ‘domestic’ gothic tradition, especially found amongst American texts • ‘plots within plots’, often with multiple narrators, and other stylistic characteristics such as the use of ‘tableaux’ and overt symbolism. (Stevens, D., (2000) The Gothic Tradition, Cambridge Uni. Press, Cambridge.) What literary devices might we expect to see in order to achieve these features?
Analysing a key passage 5 • Frankenstein brings his creation to life but far from being beautiful in Frankenstein’s eyes, the creature is seen as hideous and Frankenstein rushes out in horror and disgust. He has difficulty sleeping and dreams a nightmare about Elizabeth and his mother. He wakes to find the creature staring at him fondly and he rushes out and bumps into Clerval but doesn’t tell him what has happened. The monster leaves and Frankenstein falls violently ill, Clerval nurses him and a letter arrives from Elizabeth 7 • Frankenstein’s father writes to victor to tell him that William is dead. The child is found with a fingerprint on his neck. Victor journeys home and visits the spot William was killed and is caught in a storm and glimpses the monster. Convinced that his creation is the murderer he wanders around the night. In the morning he returns home to find that Justine has been accused of the crime but Elizabeth hopes Victor can hep her disprove Justine’s guilt 8 • Justine’s trial commences. Frankenstein considers speaking to save Justine but does not. Justine is sentence with death sentence even though Elizabeth tries to speak on her behalf. Frankenstein selfishly considers his own plight to e worse than what of Justine 9 • Full of remorse and guilt, Victor again begins to shun his family and friends; he is tempted by suicide but fears to leave those he loves to the malice of the fiend. He attempts to forget his sorrows by immersing himself in the magnificence of the nature and sets off for the valley of Chamounix • Read the opening of Ch5 to Victor’s dream of his mother • In pairs make notes about Shelley’s effective uses of language to create a Gothic atmosphere Keep a record of key quotations and features that are used AO2: demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meanings in literary texts
Considering ‘different interpretations’ James Whale’s 1931 film adaptation Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 film adaptation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qNeGSJaQ9Q http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOcJwt8XB4M As you are watching these cinema interpretations make notes on what you see and how an audience responds to the presentations. You can refer to film presentations for AO3.
Comparing presentations Identify key points about each of the presentations and identify similarities and differences between them. By completing this task you will be exploring different readings of the text, thus meeting AO3.
How does Shelley create a sense of horror in the way she presents the ‘birth’ of the creature? Using the notes made from exploring the different presentations of the ‘birth’ and notes on Shelley’s style – plan your response to this question