Year 11 - English
Exploring Mr Utterson's dream in Stevenson's 'Jekyll and Hyde'
Jekyll & Hyde: the divided city
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils explore the importance of settings in 'Jekyll and Hyde'. They first look at how Stevenson subverts our expectations of gothic settings, before looking at different settings and motifs in the novella. They finally do a detailed analysis of the 'Incident at the window' extract.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to analyse the dream settings in 'Jekyll and Hyde'.
Key Notes
- Mr. Utterson's dream is full of images of evil and violence.
- Stevenson writes the dream sequence in quick moving prose to mimic the shifting nature of dreams.
- In his dream, Mr. Utterson sees many children being crushed by Hyde, suggesting that evil is ubiquitous.
- Mr. Utterson's dream shows him Dr. Jekyll under the power of another person.
- Using a thesis statement, topic sentences, supporting details and conclusions help us to plan our writing.
Vocabulary To Learn
- nocturnal: Nocturnal means at night or happening at night.
- ubiquitous: If something is ubiquitous, it is everywhere.
- foreshadows: Foreshadows means giving a hint about an event that will happen later.
- analogy: A comparison between two things with similar qualities is called an analogy.
- tortuous: We can refer to a twisty and complex plot as tortuous.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- That the dream is only caused by Utterson being in a state of distress.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
Mr. Utterson's dream is full of images of evil and violence. Stevenson writes the dream sequence in quick moving prose to mimic the shifting nature of dreams.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'nocturnal'
Nocturnal means at night or happening at night.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: That the dream is only caused by Utterson being in a state of distress. Correction: Unpick the details of the dream to show the parallels with the plot.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Comparing atmospheric settings in Stevenson's 'Jekyll and Hyde' Study Guide
- Considering doors and windows as key motifs in Stevenson's 'Jekyll and Hyde' Study Guide
- Considering Stevenson's subversion of Gothic setting in 'Jekyll and Hyde' Study Guide
- Considering Stevenson's use of fog as a motif in 'Jekyll and Hyde' Study Guide
- Considering Stevenson's use of time and weather in 'Jekyll and Hyde' Study Guide
- Detailed analysis of an extract in 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' Study Guide
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