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Gothic literature. language techniques in Gothic literature. Look closely at the words and phrases in red, and decide: Why were they chosen? What literary techniques can you identify in the words and phrases highlighted? What effects are created?
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language techniques in Gothicliterature Look closely at the words and phrases in red, and decide: • Why were they chosen? • What literary techniques can you identify in the words and phrases highlighted? • What effects are created? • Soon we were hemmed in with trees, which in places arched right over the roadway till we passed as through a tunnel. And again great frowning rocks guarded us boldly on either side. Dracula • Though we were in shelter, we could hear the rising wind, for it moaned and whistled through the rocks, and the branches of the trees crashed together as we swept along. It grew colder and colder still, and fine, powdery snow began to fall, so that soon we and all around us were covered with a white blanket. The keen wind still carried the howling of the dogs, though this grew fainter as we went on our way. The baying of the wolves sounded nearer and nearer, as though they were closing round on us from every side. Dracula • I grew dreadfully afraid, and the horses shared my fear. The driver, however, was not in the least disturbed. He kept turning his head to left and right, but I could not see anything through the darkness. Dracula
language techniques in Gothicliterature • ‘the branch of a fir tree thattouched my lattice as the blast wailed by, and rattled its dry cones against the panes!’ Wuthering Heights • An awful silence reigned through those subterraneous regions, except now and then some blasts of wind that shook the doors as she passed, and which grating on the rusty hinges were re-echoed through the labyrinth of darkness. The Castle of Otranto • A soft and cooling air breathed along the solitary aisles: the moonbeams darting into the church through painted windows tinged the fetted roof and massy pillars with a thousand various tints of light and colours. The Monk • The monks betook themselves to flight, shrieking fearfully. The lamps were extinguished, the altar sank down and in its place appeared an abyss vomiting forth clouds of flame. The Monk • As the appointed hour drew near, her spirits sunk, and she watched with melancholy foreboding, the sun retiring amidst stormy clouds, and his rays fading from the highest point of the mountains, till the gloom of twilight prevailed over the scene. The Italian
Metaphor and Simile When attempting to describe an image or event, an author often will find it useful to compare what she's describing to another image or event. This is called metaphor, and it gives the reader a fresh, sometimes startling way of imagining what's going on. Eg But at my back I always hear time's winged chariot hurrying near... By comparing death to a 'winged chariot,' the speaker is able to communicate the strength and horror with which he imagines his own demise instead of just trying to describe directly how thinking about death feels. Note that when an author uses a metaphor, but softens the comparison by saying that the image or event in her work is 'like' or 'as' something else, this is no longer called metaphor. Instead, it is called a simile.
Personification Personification is a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes. The non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings. Eg. “The sky weeps” The sky is given the ability to cry, which is a human quality. Thus, we can say that the sky has been personified in this sentence.
The Italian • What elements of Victorian Gothic literature can you identify from this extract?
What you can do to make a story more interesting • Use strong verbs to make it more vivid and to create atmosphere and tension. For example: crackled, rumbled, wailed, howled, snapped, cracked etc • Use a wide range of adjectives, not only the common ones: grim, gloomy, decrepit, deserted, unsettling, apprehensive, etc. • Use commas, colons, semi-colons and exclamation marks to change the dynamic of the story. • Describe characters and settings in detail to create a sense of atmosphere and to create terror • Try to make your readers care about your characters then the tension will be even greater.
ANIMALS IN GOTHIC LITERATURE Nature is always present, and so are animals. What kind of animals do you think would feature in Gothic literature and why? • black cats • crows • bats • frogs • owls What do these animals all have in common? Why do you think these might be found in Gothic literature?
Descriptive Writing – Using the senses • What do you see in the scene? • What COULD you hear if you were in the scene? • What COULD you smell if you were in this scene? • What COULD you touch if you were in this scene?
Varying sentence length & sentence structure Describe the mood and atmosphere of this scene as if you are the man standing in front of this house. You are to write six sentences with differing lengths. One sentence must begin with a verb; one sentence must begin with an adverb; one sentence must begin with an adjective, one sentence must begin with a preposition, one sentence must begin with a noun and one sentence must begin with a pronoun.
Examples • Gerund (nound):Breathing became difficult due to the shock of the sight of that ghostly, decrepit place which seemed to stare at me with a sinister smile through the mist. • Adverb: Slowly and stealthily the cold white fog began its awful creeping toward me until I could feel it sink down, down, down through my bones to chill my very soul. • Adjective: Desolate and doomed, I was a prisoner of that house from the moment I happened upon it as I stumbled confused and lost out of the thick, thorny brambles. • Preposition: Through the window I thought I saw in the corner of my eye the silhouette of a woman peering out from behind a curtain. • Noun: Crows cawed menacingly in the trees lining the garden like black omens warning me away from the house. • Pronoun:I swore I heard whispering in the leaves as the wind rattled the trees.
Phrase Review • On the playing field, Ralph was considered to be unstoppable. (prepositional) • 2. Alert and focused, Ralph anticipated the next play. (Adjective) • 3. Quickly and efficiently, Ralph sprang across the line of scrimmage. (Adverb) • 4. Springing into action, Ralph blocked his opponent. (“ing” phrases – Participial)
