YEAR 13 Wednesday 11th May 2016

Today's session considered possible content for the essay title:
'GOTHIC TEXTS STILL HAVE THE POWER TO SHOCK.'
To what extent do you agree with this view?

The discussion began with a consideration of the why the three texts need to shock the audience or the reader. Macbeth and Faustus may have been written to terrify the audience and warn them against transgressing the accepted boundary between Humanity and God so have these texts lost their philosophical power if the audience fails to feel a sense of fear? Are these three texts less successful if they fail to shock?

Class discussion considered possible content and the notes below will assist construction of the essay.
STRUCTURE:

• Introduction that allows the examiner to comprehend how you will approach the question.

• The first section could examine the final soliloquy in Marlowe's Faustus. Obviously this would be a terrifying and shocking conclusion to the play for an audience who believe in the idea of heaven and hell. Faustus having sex with a devil may have also been perceived as quite shocking!! Also..the murder of The Old Man! A sixteenth-century Christian audience would certainly 'regard' the 'hellish fall' of Faustus but is this final scene less shocking for a twenty-first century audience? Check your notes. Class discussion was excellent. The fractured use of language that moves from melancholy to defiance, from begging for forgiveness to panic and terror, is a powerful dramatic spectacle. Is Marlowe's aim still apparent? Is this still a powerful didactic fable? Does the play have any power at all? If the final section is not shocking....what is it? What is the value of the play if the final section fails to shock? This is still a play about a man begging for his life having been punished for his ruthless ambition and transgression of the accepted moral code. 

• The essay could move into a consideration of Lady Macbeth's final speech. Is this still shocking? If it is..why is it? How should the audience react? Author's aim? There were some excellent comments today about the rapid decline of Lady M from position of defiant strength to fragile vulnerability being both shocking and disturbing. What is Shakespeare's aim here? Reference could be made to Faustus' language in this paragraph and compared with the language used by Lady Macbeth. Both scenes contain hallucinations and fractured language. Discussion considered why Shakespeare is suggesting that Lady M's guilt and conscience have caused this psychological carnage. Remember, this is a play concerned with reassurance and discouraging any form of rebellion. What is the purpose of this scene? How does it allow Shakespeare to explore the theme of crime and punishment? Check your notes.

• The final paragraph could consider the creature's suicide at the end of Shelley's novel. Why is the creature's decision so SHOCKING??? Is this moment still shocking for a contemporary audience? This moment could compare similarities/differences with Macbeth's 'Tomorrow' soliloquy. Both moments explore the futility of life. Students should have enough content if they want to concentrate on the creature. Language focus needs to be precise.

• CONCLUSION needs to use a gothic quote to weave the argument together.

HOMEWORK: Complete the essay. See you Friday.

I expect a three paragraph and conclusion response.