Gothic Characters - Eckington School

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Gothic CharactersCAN I ANALYSE KEY FEATURES OF A GOTHICCHARACTER?OBJECTIVES: All will consider why thenight makes us fearfuland uneasy. Most will analyse the keyfeatures of a key Gothiccharacter that rules thenight – vampires. Some will consider howthe setting of night timecan help create asuccessful Gothic text.

First thoughts The image is of HenryFuseli’s painting, TheNightmare.Why might Fuseli havechosen this name for hispainting?Bullet point answers for each of the following questions: What is the woman is doing What are the creatures that sit by her bedside? Where would you normally see something like this?

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT When we analyse and explore Gothicliterature, there’s one setting that isfound and used throughout – thenight. Why does the night make peoplefeel so uneasy? What is it thatpeople are actually afraid of? How do we act differently if wehear a noise in the night, ratherthan the day? Why? Why is night time used as thesetting so often within Gothicliterature?Mind map your ideas using thestructure below:

THE KING OF THE NIGHTWhen considering Gothiccharacters that rule the night,we usually think of ghosts, orDracula.The list below includes some ofthe key features that writersfollow when creatingcharacters: Physical s and feelingsBehaviour & personalityList at least 5 key features that we expect vampires, such asDracula, to have?Ext: add a description of a vampire that matches your key feature

LE FANU - ‘CARMILLA’Although Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ isarguably the most famous vampirefiction ever written, it wasn’t the first.Le Fanu’s Gothic novella, ‘Carmilla’, isone of the earliest works of vampirefiction, written 26 years before‘Dracula’.The story is narrated by a youngwoman, Laura, who as a child, has anightmare about a female vampirebiting her. Years later, Laura’s fathertakes in a girl, Carmilla, who Laura iscertain she has met before. Shortlyafter, the terrifying visits in the dead ofthe night start again for Laura

WHEN NIGHTMARES BECOME REALITYThink of one nightmare that you had as ayounger child – one that really scared you.Turn your nightmare into a story!Think about the key features of charactersfrom earlier on in the lesson and includethem in your description of the scary thingWrite a fiction version of the events thathappened in your nightmare – exaggeratesome elements to build tension!

Final thoughts VampiresZombiesMonstersGhostsWhich of these four Gothic characters is the odd one out?Write a short paragraph for your chosen ‘odd’ character, explainingwhy you thought that they did not belong with the othersChallenge: Can you come up with more than one answer?

setting so often within Gothic literature? Mind map your ideas using the structure below: THE KING OF THE NIGHT When considering Gothic characters that rule the night, we usually think of ghosts, or Dracula. The list below includes some of the key features that writers follow when creating characters: Physical Features Clothes/appearance Movements/actions Thoughts and feelings .