Year 11 - English
Understanding the Gothic in 'Jekyll and Hyde'
Jekyll & Hyde: society as the villain
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Study Guides
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 how the society the characters of 'Jekyll and Hyde' inhabit affects their interpretation of them. They first look at structure and the Gothic, before thinking carefully about how to use context. They then look at hypocrisy and write an essay about it in the novella.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to write about the gothic in 'Jekyll and Hyde'.
Key Notes
- Jekyll is a typical gothic protagonist: egotistical and isolated.
- The story dramatises Jekyll's inner struggle between good and evil and the same duality within society.
- Liminal and altered states are a gothic convention that is central to this story.
- Drawing on gothic conventions allows Stevenson to explore transgressive behaviour and illicit desires.
- Using multiple narrators is a gothic trope that plays with ideas of verisimilitude, linking to science vs. supernatural.
Vocabulary To Learn
- Verisimilitude: The appearance of being true or real.
- Liminality: At a boundary or transitional point between two contrasting elements.
- Illicit: Illegal or disapproved of by society.
- Trope: A commonly used literary device is known as a trope. A gothic trope would be isolated settings.
- Transgressive: Involving violation of moral or social boundaries.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Stevenson just replicates or reiterates common gothic conventions.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
Jekyll is a typical gothic protagonist: egotistical and isolated. The story dramatises Jekyll's inner struggle between good and evil and the same duality within society.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'Verisimilitude'
The appearance of being true or real.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: Stevenson just replicates or reiterates common gothic conventions. Correction: Many common gothic conventions are used but subverted too (the setting of Regent's Park subverts gothic settings).
More Lessons In This Unit
- Dr. Lanyon in 'Jekyll and Hyde': a curious character Study Guide
- Hypocrisy in 'Jekyll and Hyde': the role of Utterson Study Guide
- Stevenson's use of structure in 'Jekyll and Hyde' Study Guide
- Understanding Utterson and social class in 'Jekyll and Hyde' Study Guide
- Using context to inform an argument about 'Jekyll and Hyde' Study Guide
- Writing essays about hypocrisy in 'Jekyll and Hyde' Study Guide
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