YEAR 13 LESSON SIX/SEVEN [25th/27th Sept 13]: Homework.

The aim of these two sessions was to prepare students for the first extended written task of the academic year.
The first session involved a reading of Angela Carter's 'The Werewolf' and class discussion considered how this text could be considered to be an example of the gothic genre. This moved into a consideration of the opening section of Shelley's Frankenstein and to what extent the opening section of the novel could be considered 'gothic'. We
also had a lot of cake.

The whole of the Friday session considered potential content for the essay. The title of the first written task is:
HOW DOES SHELLEY ATTEMPT TO CREATE A SENSE OF DRAMATIC EXPECTATION IN THE OPENING SECTION OF FRANKENSTEIN?
A series of very structured teacher notes had been offered to the students in Lesson Four and this session considered the content of these notes and discussed the potential content that would allow students to construct an appropriate response when answering this essay question. Class discussion was superb.
The only further guidance that I would offer is that students must consider the views of other readers and how they have reacted to the text and also consider the text as a gothic text. Students must be aware of critical reaction such as the views expressed within The Westminster Quarterly in 1818 that stated that the novel 'is a tissue of horrible and disgusting absurdity...and is without manners or morality.' Similarly, students may wish to consider the view of the literary critic George Levine who stated in 1979 that the novel 'deals with the central dualities and tensions of our time by positing a world without God.' Despite the fact that we have only considered the opening five chapters of the novel, students should be able to build a critical argument around these quotes or weave these critical observations within the essay. If students ignore the opinions of other readers they will not access the requirements of AO3.
The conclusion should make some reference to Frankenstein as a gothic novel. Our class discussion has  offered the belief that it is very difficult to define the consistent elements of a gothic text but Frankenstein certainly contains some elements that can be associated with this genre. The conclusion to the essay needs to make use of the gothic quotes that I have provided. The comment offered by Angela Carter that 'Gothic tales are cruel tales' is always a decent comment to consider as is the comment by Mario Praz in 1968 that 'the gothic is a novel of terror and wonder.' Students must consider genre and historical context if they are to access AO4. DON'T IGNORE THE ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES FOLKS.

Homework: Complete the essay. I will be collecting essays before the next session on Wednesday. THIS IS A MASSIVE PIECE OF WORK. These essays will allow me to gauge the level of initial textual understanding and inform my lesson planning.
Good Luck Fiends.