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A2 English Literature Welcome back and what lies ahead. Unit 3 LITB3 - Texts and Genres. Introduction
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Unit 3 LITB3 - Texts and Genres Introduction • The aim of this unit is to develop ideas on the significance of genre which have been established during the AS course. Texts will be grouped within two broad categories: Elements of the Gothic and Elements of the Pastoral. Individual texts will be explored and evaluated against some of the commonly accepted principles of the chosen genre, and three texts will be compared as representatives of that genre.
The GOTHIC Exam • Unit 3: The Gothic Exam. Taken in January . 60% of A2 marks. 2 hours, closed book (you cannot take books into the exam). Three texts: ‘The Bloody Chamber’ by Angela Carter, ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Bronte and ‘Macbeth’ by Shakespeare. Two sections: Section A and Section B. Candidates will be required to answer one question from Section A and one question from Section B. Each section will be marked out of 40, giving an overall maximum mark for the paper of 80 marks. • Section A will have one question on each of the set texts. Candidates will answer one question on one text. • Section B will have three questions. Each question will require candidates to compare aspects of the Gothic across the three texts that they have studied. Candidates will answer one question.
Half term reading The Bloody Chamber will be started this term by Miss Dunkey, along with back ground on the Gothic genre. Mrs Lock will work on the shorter coursework piece, based around the Critical Anthology. The other two texts will be studied between September and January, in preparation the Unit 3,Gothic exam in January.
Unit 4 LITB4 - Further and Independent Reading Introduction There are a number of aims to this unit. The first is to introduce candidates to the study of a wide range of texts, some of which may be of their own choosing. The second is to introduce candidates to different ways of reading texts for study, including independently. The third is to introduce candidates to some critical ideas, and for these ideas to be applied with discrimination to literary texts.
COURSEWORK • Unit 4: Further and Independent Reading. Two pieces of coursework (20% each)40% Deadlines. October and April. • 1. Based around the Critical Anthology. 1200-1500 words. Does not have to be substantial text, i.e. a whole novel or play, it can be two poems , a short story, close focus on a chapter or section of a novel e.g. The opening. Studied and practised this term with LK. Title and text decided by end of this term. Worked on during Autumn Term. Deadline Monday 8th October. Teacher: Mrs Lock • 2.The Comparative piece. 1500 -2000 words Must be two substantial texts. Any genre and time period .Can even be the same author. Studied from now and produced in the January term after Gothic exam. Deadline April 2013. Teacher: Miss Dunkey
The Comparative Essay You choose two texts (usually novels, but can be poetry or plays) You write an essay comparing an aspect of them Though you won’t be writing this until January, you need to be thinking about what texts you will compare and what your question might be. You write your own question (double checked by me)
The Comparative Essay Example Questions • Focusing on Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day and Pinter’s The Servant compare some of the ways authors use servants in their stories. 2. Focusing on Brideshead Revisited and Rebecca compare some of the ways in which authors create symbolic meanings out of houses. 3. How far do you agree with the view that the presentation of masculinity is central to Things Fall Apart and Translations? 4. To what extent can The Secret Agent and Waterlandbe categorised as detective novels?
The Bloody Chamber should be read over half term It is an expectation that the three Gothic texts will be read independently during the summer holidays along with personal wider reading in preparation for Unit 4.
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What does GOTHIC mean to you ‘The Gothic’ as a genre combines both horror and romance. ‘The Gothic’ as a genre does not belong to any specific timescale. Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764) is often regarded as the first true Gothic novel and examples have followed over time to the present day.
Gothic Literature • Gothic fiction is characterized by the elements of fear, the supernatural and darkness, as well as by characters such as vampires, demons, heroes and villains. It is the forerunner of the modern horror genre. • Originating in the late 18th century, Gothic fiction was a branch of the larger Romantic movement that sought to stimulate strong emotions in the reader — fear and apprehension, in this case. • The name of the Gothic genre comes from medieval architecture, because it often harks back to the medieval era in spirit and subject matter, and it sometimes uses Gothic buildings as a setting.
Common Subject Matter This style of fiction places heavy emphasis on atmosphere, using setting and diction to build suspense and a sense of unease in the reader. Common subject matter includes the supernatural, family curses, mystery and madness. Gothic fiction might also feature a romantic plot or subplot, particularly in later incarnations from the Victorian era and the 20th century.
Times and Places • Gothic fiction often deals with past eras, sometimes romanticizing them and other times using them as symbols of excessive darkness and oppression. In its early days, the Gothic genre took the medieval period as a major inspiration. Early Gothic novels were characterized as romances. These novels were often anti-Catholic and used a medieval setting to showcase what their authors believed to be abuses of Catholic power. • Modern Gothic fiction has continued this tendency to look to past eras, using such settings as colonial America or Victorian England. Like the medieval period to many writers of the 18th and 19th centuries, these eras offer fodder for romanticisation and moral criticism. Modern Gothic works set in the present day might take place in a 19th century mansion, much as early Gothic works commonly used medieval castles as their setting.
The Gothic The concept of ‘the Gothic’ has woven itself into our culture, past and present, in many ways and at many levels, and ours is an age in which gothic culture occupies a significant place. Some elements include: • A fondness for the symbols of darkness and light – literally and metaphorically • A significant use of the setting • The creation of fear as a narrative priority • A fascination with the influence of the past • A difference between male and female roles which themselves often follow particular conventions • A blurring of reality and fantasy, being awake and dreaming within the tales • A tendency for certain psychological traits to occur within the main character
Famous Gothic novels – read some! Horace Walpole: The Castle of Otranto (1764)William Beckford: Vathek (1786)Nathaniel Hawthorne: The House of the Seven Gables (1851)Charles Brockden Brown: Wieland (1798) Jane EyrebyCharlotte Bronte Wuthering Heightsby Emily Brontë Dracula by Bram Stoker Rebecca by Daphne du MaurierFrankenstein by Mary ShelleyDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydeby Robert Louis StevensonThe Thirteenth Taleby Diane SetterfieldInterview With the Vampire (Vampire Chronicles, #1) by Anne Rice Northanger Abbeyby Jane AustenThe Phantom Of The Operaby Gaston LerouxThe Woman in WhitebyWilkie CollinsThe Haunting of Hill Houseby Shirley JacksonThe Monkby Matthew Gregory LewisCarmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu We Have Always Lived in the Castleby Shirley JacksonThe Raven and Other Poemsby Edgar Allan Poe
Can ‘Twilight’ be defined as an example of Gothic Literature?
