Gothic genreLearning Session 1 – Hideous & Horrible Year 8

Gothic architecturedescribes a style of European architecture which flourished from the twelfth through the sixteenth centuries.

Tall towersThe Gothic period used intricate and strong structures on a massive scale. The super size turrets and strong stones suggest that the castles and cathedrals were difficult to break into.

Gothic heightsGothic architecture used pointed arches and vaults, flying buttresses, narrow spires, stained glass windows, intricate traceries, and varied details; its upward movement was meant to suggest heavenward aspiration.

GargoylesMany myths exist about these stoney faced creatures; initially they were used as part of the outside plumbing of grand buildings, in religious terms, they kept unwanted guests away!

Disney’s takeHugo, Victor and Laverne are all gargoyles in Disney’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’. They are quite mischievous, a character trait often connected to gargoyles.

Your first learning challenge

You are going to need to take a virtual tour of Notre Dame Cathedral, so that you can experience the gothic splendor of France’s finest cathedral. You are also going to need to view two Disney clips so that you can complete the tasks on the ‘Gargoyles’ sheet.In order to access our resources, you will definitely need to download the free apps, neu.annotate PDF, iBooks and Dropbox.

You will need to create your own Dropbox account and then accept my invitation to browse my shared Hideous and Horrible folder.

You have 35 minutes to complete LC1!

The Castle of Otranto Horace Walpole (1765)

The English Gothic novel

The genre takes its name from Otranto's medieval–or Gothic–setting; early Gothic novelists tended to set their novels in remote times like the Middle Ages and in remote places like Italy (Matthew Lewis's The Monk, 1796) or the Middle East (William Beckford's Vathek, 1786).

The Gothic genre creates feelings of gloom, mystery, and suspense and tends to the dramatic and the sensational.

What to look out for…

castle, ruined or intact, haunted or not,

ruined buildings which are sinister or which arouse a pleasing melancholy,

dungeons, underground passages, crypts, and catacombs which, in modern houses, become spooky basements or attics,

labyrinths, dark corridors, and winding stairs,

shadows, a beam of moonlight in the blackness, a flickering candle, or the only source of light failing (a candle blown out or an electric failure),

extreme landscapes, like rugged mountains, thick forests, or icy wastes, and extreme weather,

omens and ancestral curses,

magic, supernatural manifestations, or the suggestion of the supernatural,

a passion-driven, wilful villain-hero or villain,

a curious heroine with a tendency to faint and a need to be rescued–frequently,

a hero whose true identity is revealed by the end of the novel,

horrifying (or terrifying) events or the threat of such happenings.

Learning Challenge 2Go into iBooks Store and download a free copy of The Castle of Otranto. Skim read through, using the dictionary feature to compile a list of words that are unfamiliar to you and that you want to use in your writing. Try to find examples (quotations) of the gothic ingredients we discussed.

Learning Challenge 3Start planning your initial ideas for your own gothic original story. Independent Learning is to write an opening paragraph to your story.