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

discuss

a scary story

films

final task

grammar

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 could be Vincent Price? (check the Internet) Do you recognize this voice? c- What’s the English for “folie”? Find two words. d- Who was Edgar Allan Poe? (check the Internet) e- What’s the English for “cercueil” (1 word) and “tombe” (2 words)? f- Find the preterit of the following verbs: dig (creuser) bury (enterrer) fall (tomber) creep (ramper) know (savoir) sweep (balayer) g- According to Vincent, the room can “swell, shiver and creak”. What does it mean? h- Did you enjoy the film or not? Write your opinion and explain it.

b- Who could be Vincent Price? (check the Internet) Do you recognize this voice? Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector, and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures and one for television.[1] d- Who was Edgar Allan Poe? (check the Internet) Edgar Allan Poe (né Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States, and of American literature. He was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story, and is considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre, as well as a significant contributor to the emerging genre of science fiction.[1]

idiom of the week

give someone the creep

Also used with “the willies”. It alludes to a sensation of something crawling on one's skin. Charles Dickens used it in David Copperfield (1849) to describe a physical ailment: “She was constantly complaining of the cold, and of its occasioning a visitation in her back, which she called ‘the creeps'”. But soon after it was used to describe fear and loathing.

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.

Brainstorming questions 1 Do you like scary stories? 2 Do you agree with the common belief that “films are scarier than books”?

GOTHIC STORIES

Les verbes à particules (phrasal verbs)

Observez cet pour expliquer les règles d'emploi des verbes à particules. a. Relevez les verbes à particules. b. Cherchez dans un dictionnaire pour expliquer en quoi la particule modifie le sens du verbe.

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”

Les verbes à particules (phrasal verbs)

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.

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.

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

_______________________________________________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 now a classic of English literature, contemporaneous reviews were deeply polarised; it was controversial because of its unusually stark depiction of mental and physical cruelty, and it challenged strict Victorian ideals regarding religious hypocrisy, morality, social classes and gener inequality. The novel also explores the effects of envy, nostalgia, pessimism and resentment. The English poet and painter Sante Gabril Rossetti, although an admirer of the book, referred to it as “A fiend of a book –an incredible monster […] The action is laid in hell, -only it seems places and people have English names there.” *** contains elements of gothic fiction, and the moorland setting is a significant aspect of the drama. The novel has inspired many adaptations, including film, radio and television dramatisations; a musical; a ballet; operas, and a song by Kate Bush. les critiques de l'époque: remettre en question : un livre diabolique: la lande :

_______________________________________________*** 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 :