GOTHIC FICTION

Gothic Fiction

Axis • Fiction and realityWhat are the main features of Gothic fiction?

INDEX

Veronique Lecomte ac-nantes

index

Tim burton

vincent

picture

gothic genre

discuss

grammar

a scary story

trailers

book covers

final task

Edward Scissorhands, David Lozano, 2017

dishevelled /dɪˈʃɛvəld/ → messy (clothes or hair ) (adj.) gaunt /ˈgɔːnt/ / lanky / scrawny /ˈskrɔːnɪ/ (adj.) → excessively thin abandoned house (n.) mural / street art (n.)

Do you know Tim Burton's work? Do you recognize these characters?

Get ready! What makes a scary character, in your view? Fill in the grid with adjectives.

Face

Clothes / body

Personality

Watch the videoAnswer the following questions. 1) Who are the people being interviewed? 2) What do they think about Tim Burton? 3) What do they have to do? Why?

Write down the following questions on your notebook and answer them: a- What sort of boy is Vincent Malloy? Find adjectives, words to describe him. b- Who was Vincent Price? Do you recognize this voice? c- Who was Edgar Allan Poe? d- Did you enjoy the film or not? Write your opinion and explain it. e-Read this quote and relate it to the film : "Vincent Price was somebody I could identify with. When you're younger, things look bigger, you find your own mythology, you find what psychologically connects to you. Tim Burton f-Work in groups and explore these themes:

• The world of imagination vs reason.
• The role of adults.
• Gothic elements.

Les verbes à particules (phrasal verbs)

Les verbes à particules (phrasal verbs)

His mother sent Vincent off to his room He knew he'd been banished to the tower of doom Where he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life Alone with the portrait of his beautiful wife While alone and insane encased in his tomb Vincent's mother burst suddenly into the room She said: “If you want to, you can go out and play It's sunny outside, and a beautiful day” Vincent tried to talk, but he just couldn't speak The years of isolation had made him quite weak So he took out some paper and scrawled with a pen: “I am possessed by this house, and can never leave it again”

a. Relevez les verbes à particules. b. Cherchez dans un dictionnaire pour expliquer en quoi la particule modifie le sens du verbe.

Complétez les phrases avec la bonne particule : off, up ou after.

1) He tried to wash the stain ______________ his shirt.2) She asked her friend if she could put her light ______________ for the night. 3) The other children can't keep______________ with his pace. 4) His mother asked him to look______________ his sister. 5) No matter what, he will always back______________ his friend.

The Gothic novel was invented almost single-handedly by Horace Walpole. The Castle of Otranto (1764) contains essentially all the elements that constitute the genre. Today, gothic elements have been used so often in films that some have become predictable clichés. Gothic elements include the following: 1. Setting in a castle or old mansion. 2. Anatmosphere of mystery and suspense. A fear enhanced by the unknown. 3. An ancient prophecy is connected with the castle or its inhabitants (either former or present). 4. Omens, portents, visions. A character may have a disturbing dream vision, or some phenomenon may be seen as a portent of coming events. 5. Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events. 6. High, even overwrought emotion. The characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, fear, and especially, terror. Crying and emotional speeches are frequent. Breathlessness and panic are common. 7. Women in distress. The female characters often face events that leave them fainting, terrified, screaming, and / or sobbing. 8. Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male. One or more male characters has the power, as king, lord of the manor, father, or guardian, to demand that one or more of the female characters do something intolerable. 9. The metonymy of gloom and horror. A sort of metaphor, in which something (like rain) is used to stand for something else (like sorrow). 10. Gothic vocabulary. Using the right words maintains the dark-and-stimulated feeling that defines the Gothic; for example: mystery, fear, terror, sorrow, surprise, haste, anger... 11. The Onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeic words resemble the sound they name; as for instance: groan, shriek, howl, crash, hiss, moan... Adapted from “Elements of the Gothic Novel”, Robert Harris, VirtualSalt.com, 2018.

• Write the summary of a gothic story that you have read or watched.
• You can also imagine your own story

GOTHIC STORIES

TextParis, July 7, 1840. In the early morning today the people in the western part of the city were awakened from their sleep by cries of terror, which came, it seemed, from a house in the street called the Rue Morgue. The only persons living in the house were an old woman, Mrs. L'Espanaye, and her daughter. Several neighbors and a police- man ran toward the house, but by the time they reached it the cries had stopped. When no one answered their calls, they forced the door open. As they rushed in they heard voices, two voices; they seemed to come from above. The group hurried from room to room, but they found nothing until they reached the fourth floor. There they found a door that was firmly closed, locked, with the key inside. Quickly they forced the door open, and they saw spread before them a bloody sickening scene—a scene of horror! The room was in the wildest possible order—broken chairs and tables were lying all around the room. There was only one bed, and from it everything had been taken and thrown into the middle of the floor. There was blood everywhere, on the floor, on the bed, on the walls. A sharp knife covered with blood was lying on the floor. In front of the fireplace there was some long gray hair, also bloody; it seemed to have been pulled from a human head. On the floor were four pieces of gold, an earring, several objects made of silver, and two bags containing a large amount of money in gold. Clothes had been thrown around the room. A box was found under the bed covers. It was open, and held only a few old letters and papers. There was no one there—or so it seemed. Above the fireplace they found the dead body of the daughter; it had been put up into the opening where the smoke escapes to the sky. The body was still warm. There was blood on the face, and on the neck there were dark, deep marks which seemed to have been made by strong fingers. Edgar Allan Poe The Murders In the Rue Morgue, 1841.

_______________________________________________Victor *** is a scientist who has spent his life studying bizarre scientific theories. He is consumed by the desire to discover the secret of life and, after several years of research, becomes convinced that he has found it. Victor spends months fashioning a creature out of old body parts. One night he brings his creation to life. When he looks at the monstrosity that he has created, however, the sight horrifies him. The monster soon lashes out but longs for acceptance despite his hideousness. Façonner : Se déchainer/ devenir violent : Avoir envie de : Laideur :

_______________________________________________*** is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. It introduced the character of Count ***, and established many conventions of subsequent vampire fantasy. The novel tells the story of ***’s attempt to move from Translyvania to England so that he may find blood and spread the undead curse, and of the battle between *** and a small group of men and a woman led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing. *** has been assigned to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic nove, and invasion literature. The novel has spawned numerous theatrical, film and television interpretations. Malédiction des morts vivants : a été classée dans : a suscité de nombreuses interprétations:

_______________________________________________*** *** is having his picture painted by Basil Hallward, who is charmed by his looks. But when Sir Henry Wotton visits and seduces ***into the worship of youthful beauty with an intoxicating speech, *** makes a wish he will live to regret: that all the marks of age will now be reflected in the portrait rather than on his own face. The stage is now set for a masterful tale about appearance, reality, art, life, truth, fiction and the burden of conscience. *** (name of the author)’s only full-length novel is a lasting gem of sophisticated wit and playfulness, which brings together all the best elements of his talent in a reinterpretation of the Faustian myth. Le culte de la jeunesse et de la beauté: Plutôt que : Le décor est désormais planté pour un récit magistral: Un bijou d’esprit sophistiqué et d’espièglerie :

_______________________________________________*** 4th Earl of Orford, also known as ***, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician. He has Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, south-west London, reviving the Gothic style some decades before his Victorian successors. First published pseudonymously in 1764, *** purported to be a translation of an Italian story of the time of the crusades. In it *** attempted, as he declared in the Preface to the Second Edition, “to blend the two kinds of romance: the ancient and the modern.” Crammed with invention, entertainment, terror and pathos, the novel was an immediate success and ***’s own favorite among his numerous works. The novel is reprinted here from a text of 1798, the last that *** himself prepared for the press. Un comte: A tenté de: Rempli de: divertissement :

Group 1

Observe the poster What are the gothic elements in it? a)Watch the trailers. b)What are the elements that make the film / series belong to the gothic genre? c)List elements the director uses to build suspense. d)Let's talk this out! What are the common points and differences between them? How have the film directors respected the Gothic genre? What new elements have they brought to the genre? Which one would you like to watch?

Mary Shelley, by Haifaa al Mansour, 2018.

Group 2

Observe the poster What are the gothic elements in it? a)Watch the trailers. b)What are the elements that make the film / series belong to the gothic genre? c)List elements the director uses to build suspense. d)Let's talk this out! What are the common points and differences between them? How have the film directors respected the Gothic genre? What new elements have they brought to the genre? Which one would you like to watch?

Penny Dreadful -Eva Green & Josh Hartnett

Final task : make a film/book review in the form of a podcast.

• Start by giving some basic information on this film.
• Then, explain how it is typical of the genre.
• Finish by giving your personal opinion about it.
• Say whether you recommend it or not.

• Practice reading
• Record your podcast

Text to speech