Gothic Themes + Features

Question 1

How would you analyse the significance of abbeys and monasteries in an unseen extract?

Answer 1

• Abbeys and monasteries are used to depict the clash between the sacred and the profane in gothic literature
• The corruption of the holy and good evokes classic Gothic terror as it demonstrates the strength of the evil taking place.

Question 2

What Gothic wider reading would you use if abbeys and monasteries came up in an unseen extract and how?

Answer 2

• The Monk by Matthew Lewis 1796

Question 3

How would you analyse the significance of absent mothers in an unseen extract?

Answer 3

• Absent mothers suggest the absence of nurturing, which can leave characters vulnerable to threat or lead to characters’ morality being underdeveloped.
• This absence can reflect societal anxieties about motherhood and family dynamics in various eras.

Question 4

What Gothic wider reading would you use if absent mothers came up in an unseen extract?

Answer 4

• Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu 1872

Question 5

How would you analyse the significance of ancestral curses in an unseen extract?

Question 6

What Gothic wider reading would you use if ancestral curses came up in an unseen extract?

Answer 6

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole 1764

The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne 1851

• Colonel Pyncheon steals home and land of Matthew Maule who in turn curses him and his descendents. On the day house is completed, Colonel found dead in his study, having choked on his own blood just like Maule cursed him to, w/ descendents dying of similarly mysterious deaths

Question 7

How would you analyse the significance of archaic language in an unseen extract?

Answer 7

archaisms

Question 8

What Gothic wider reading would you use if archaic language came up in an unseen extract?

Question 9

How would you analyse the significance of archaic beliefs in an unseen extract?

Question 10

What Gothic wider reading would you use if archaic beliefs came up in an unseen extract?

Question 11

How would you analyse the significance of blood in an unseen extract?

Question 12

What Gothic wider reading would you use if blood came up in an unseen extract?

Question 13

How would you analyse the significance of feudal society in an unseen extract?

Question 14

What Gothic wider reading would you use if feudal society came up in an unseen extract?

Question 15

How would you analyse the significance of concealment in an unseen extract?

Question 16

What Gothic wider reading would you use if concealment came up in an unseen extract?

Question 17

How would you analyse the significance of chests in an unseen extract?

Question 18

What Gothic wider reading would you use if chests came up in an unseen extract?

Question 19

How would you analyse the significance of corruption in an unseen extract?

Question 20

What Gothic wider reading would you use if corruption came up in an unseen extract?

Question 21

How would you analyse the significance of counts/lords in an unseen extract?

Question 22

What Gothic wider reading would you use if counts/lords came up in an unseen extract?

Question 23

How would you analyse the significance of crypts, cloisters and catacombs in an unseen extract?

Question 24

What Gothic wider reading would you use if crypts, cloisters and catacombs came up in an unseen extract?

Question 25

How would you analyse the significance of **death** in an unseen extract?

Question 26

What Gothic wider reading would you use if death came up in an unseen extract?

Question 27

How would you analyse the significance of **documents** in an unseen extract?

Question 28

What Gothic wider reading would you use if documents came up in an unseen extract?

Question 29

How would you analyse the significance of **doors** in an unseen extract?

Question 30

What Gothic wider reading would you use if doors came up in an unseen extract?

Question 31

How would you analyse the significance of **doppelgangers** in an unseen extract?

Question 32

What Gothic wider reading would you use if doppelgangers came up in an unseen extract?

Answer 32

* The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 1890

Question 33

How would you analyse the significance of **dreams** in an unseen extract?

Question 34

What Gothic wider reading would you use if dreams came up in an unseen extract?

Question 35

How would you analyse the significance of **dungeons** in an unseen extract?

Question 36

What Gothic wider reading would you use if dungeons came up in an unseen extract?

Question 37

How would you analyse the significance of **embedded narratives** in an unseen extract?

Question 38

What Gothic wider reading would you use if embedded narratives came up in an unseen extract?

Question 39

How would you analyse the significance of **escape/escape denied** in an unseen extract?

Question 40

What Gothic wider reading would you use if escape/escape denied came up in an unseen extract?

Question 41

How would you analyse the significance of **European settings** in an unseen extract?

Question 42

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **European settings** came up in an unseen extract?

Question 43

How would you analyse the significance of **flickering lights** in an unseen extract?

Question 44

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **flickering lights** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 45

How would you analyse the significance of forbidden knowledge in an unseen extract?

Question 46

What Gothic wider reading would you use if forbidden knowledge came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 47

How would you analyse the significance of forests in an unseen extract?

Question 48

What Gothic wider reading would you use if forests came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 49

How would you analyse the significance of ghosts and hauntings in an unseen extract?

Question 50

What Gothic wider reading would you use if ghosts and hauntings came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 51

How would you analyse the significance of housekeepers in an unseen extract?

Question 52

What Gothic wider reading would you use if housekeepers came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 53

How would you analyse the significance of hyperbolic language in an unseen extract?

Question 54

What Gothic wider reading would you use if hyperbolic language came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 55

How would you analyse the significance of imprisonment in an unseen extract?

Question 56

What Gothic wider reading would you use if imprisonment came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 57

How would you analyse the significance of incest in an unseen extract?

Question 58

What Gothic wider reading would you use if insanity came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 59

How would you analyse the significance of isolation in an unseen extract?

Question 60

What Gothic wider reading would you use if isolation came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 61

How would you analyse the significance of justice/failure or abuse of justice in an unseen extract?

Question 62

What Gothic wider reading would you use if justice/failure or abuse of justice came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 63

How would you analyse the significance of labyrinths in an unseen extract?

Question 64

What Gothic wider reading would you use if labyrinths came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 65

How would you analyse the significance of **Masks and helmets** in an unseen extract?

Question 66

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Masks and helmets** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 67

How would you analyse the significance of **Mirrors** in an unseen extract?

Question 68

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Mirrors** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 69

How would you analyse the significance of **Monks/religious figures** in an unseen extract?

Question 70

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Monks/religious figures** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 71

How would you analyse the significance of **Monsters** in an unseen extract?

Question 72

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Monsters** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 73

How would you analyse the significance of **Moonlight** in an unseen extract?

Question 74

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Moonlight** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 75

How would you analyse the significance of **Mountains** in an unseen extract?

Question 76

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Mountains** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 77

How would you analyse the significance of **Multiple narrative voices** in an unseen extract?

Question 78

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Multiple narrative voices** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 79

How would you analyse the significance of **Mutilations** in an unseen extract?

Question 80

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Mutilations** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 81

How would you analyse the significance of **Mystery** in an unseen extract?

Question 82

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Mystery** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 83

How would you analyse the significance of **Obscurity/things hinted at** in an unseen extract?

Question 84

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Obscurity/things hinted at** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 85

How would you analyse the significance of **Omens** in an unseen extract?

Question 86

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Omens** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 87

How would you analyse the significance of **Oppression** in an unseen extract?

Question 88

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Oppression** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 89

How would you analyse the significance of **Orphans** in an unseen extract?

Question 90

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Orphans** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 91

How would you analyse the significance of **Persecution** in an unseen extract?

Question 92

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Persecution** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 93

How would you analyse the significance of **Poisonings** in an unseen extract?

Question 94

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Poisonings** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 95

How would you analyse the significance of **Portraits** in an unseen extract?

Question 96

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Portraits** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 97

How would you analyse the significance of **Pursued maidens** in an unseen extract?

Question 98

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Pursued maidens** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 99

How would you analyse the significance of **Pursuit/chase** in an unseen extract?

Question 100

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Pursuit/chase** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 101

How would you analyse the significance of **Religion** in an unseen extract?

Question 102

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Religion** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 103

How would you analyse the significance of **Revenge** in an unseen extract?

Question 104

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Revenge** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 105

How would you analyse the significance of **Ruins** in an unseen extract?

Question 106

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Ruins** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 107

How would you analyse the significance of **Secrets** in an unseen extract?

Question 108

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Secrets** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 109

How would you analyse the significance of **Secret panels** in an unseen extract?

Question 110

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Secret panels** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 111

How would you analyse the significance of **Sensational or shocking events** in an unseen extract?

Question 112

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Sensational or shocking events** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 113

How would you analyse the significance of **Sex** in an unseen extract?

Question 114

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Sex** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 115

How would you analyse the significance of **Silence** in an unseen extract?

Question 116

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Silence** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 117

How would you analyse the significance of **Storms** in an unseen extract?

Question 118

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Storms** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 119

How would you analyse the significance of **Threat (anticipated, perceived or real)** in an unseen extract?

Question 120

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Threat (anticipated, perceived or real)** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 121

How would you analyse the significance of **Torture** in an unseen extract?

Question 122

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Torture** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 123

How would you analyse the significance of **Trespass** in an unseen extract?

Question 124

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Trespass** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 125

How would you analyse the significance of **Underground passages** in an unseen extract?

Question 126

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Underground passages** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 127

How would you analyse the significance of **Vampires** in an unseen extract?

Question 128

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Vampires** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 129

How would you analyse the significance of **Villains** in an unseen extract?

Question 130

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Villains** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 131

How would you analyse the significance of **Violation** in an unseen extract?

Question 132

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Violation** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 133

How would you analyse the significance of **Violence** in an unseen extract?

Question 134

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Violence** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 135

How would you analyse the significance of **Wild/remote landscapes** in an unseen extract?

Question 136

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Wild/remote landscapes** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 137

How would you analyse the significance of **Wills** in an unseen extract?

Question 138

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Wills** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 139

How would you analyse the significance of **Wind** in an unseen extract?

Question 140

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Wind** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 141

How would you analyse the significance of **Women � young, vulnerable, alone** in an unseen extract?

Question 142

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Women � young, vulnerable, alone** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 143

How would you analyse the significance of **Women � young, curious, independent** in an unseen extract?

Question 144

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Women � young, curious, independent** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 145

How would you analyse the significance of **Women � seductresses and corrupters** in an unseen extract?

Question 146

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Women � seductresses and corrupters** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 147

How would you analyse the significance of **First-person narrative** in an unseen extract?

Question 148

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **First-person narrative** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 149

How would you analyse the significance of **First-person embedded narrative** in an unseen extract?

Question 150

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **First-person embedded narrative** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 151

How would you analyse the significance of **Third-person limited narrative** in an unseen extract?

Question 152

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Third-person limited narrative** came up in an unseen extract and how?

Question 153

How would you analyse the significance of **Third-person omniscient narrative** in an unseen extract?

Question 154

What Gothic wider reading would you use if **Third-person omniscient narrative** came up in an unseen extract and how?