Year 11 - English
'Jekyll and Hyde': urbanisation and social divisions
'Jekyll & Hyde': the dark side of the Industrial Revolution
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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 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' within the context of the Industrial Revolution. They first look at the importane of technology and industrialisation within the period and novella, before looking at the social consequences and implications of the Industrial Revolution.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to analyse how Stevenson uses his descriptions of Victorian London to explore the impact of the Industrial Revolution.
Key Notes
- Victorian London was noisy, overcrowded, and diverse, with people from various cultural backgrounds and social classes.
- The Industrial Revolution transformed London, causing pollution, a huge class divide and feelings of alienation.
- The novella explores human duality in Victorian society, reflecting conflict between progress and primal instincts.
- Stevenson's descriptions of setting create an ominous atmosphere, perhaps implying Hyde is an evil, immoral character.
- Descriptions of the fog suggest the progress of the Industrial Revolution obscured a darker side of Victorian society.
Vocabulary To Learn
- pathetic fallacy: the attribution of human emotion to inanimate objects, nature, or animals
- Industrial Revolution: a period of major industrial and technological advancements, transforming economies and societies
- ominous: suggesting something bad or threatening is about to happen
- alienation: a feeling of disconnection or isolation from society, work, or one's environment
- foreshadows: hints at or predicts a future event in a story
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- There isn't much point analysing setting to learn about theh characters or themes of text; it just provides the scenery for the action to take place in.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
Victorian London was noisy, overcrowded, and diverse, with people from various cultural backgrounds and social classes. The Industrial Revolution transformed London, causing pollution, a huge class divide and feelings of alienation.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'pathetic fallacy'
the attribution of human emotion to inanimate objects, nature, or animals.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: There isn't much point analysing setting to learn about theh characters or themes of text; it just provides the scenery for the action to take place in. Correction: Often writers use setting to subtly foreshadow events or symbolise important paralells to characters. Analysing settings is a useful way to learn more about characters and key themes.
More Lessons In This Unit
- 'Jekyll and Hyde': a critique of unchecked scientific ambition Study Guide
- 'Jekyll and Hyde': moral decay and respectability Study Guide
- 'Jekyll and Hyde': progress versus primal instincts Study Guide
- 'Jekyll and Hyde': repression and fragmented identities Study Guide
- 'Jekyll and Hyde': technology and dehumanisation Study Guide
- Writing an extended response about 'Jekyll and Hyde' Study Guide
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