Hi All,
Here is a copy of some infographics on bullying and cyberbullying. Click on the images to enlarge.
Be cyber smart.
Mrs P
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Monday, 23 September 2013
Year 10 & 11 English - How to Conduct a Panel Discussion: 10 Steps (with Pictures)
Hi All,
Here is a copy of the 'How To' guide we saw in class.
How to Conduct a Panel Discussion: 10 Steps (with Pictures)
Have fun.
Mrs P.
Here is a copy of the 'How To' guide we saw in class.
How to Conduct a Panel Discussion: 10 Steps (with Pictures)
Have fun.
Mrs P.
Friday, 6 September 2013
Yr 11 Pop Culture symposium
Hi All,
Here is the YouTube video about why YouTube videos go viral:
Enjoy.
Mrs P
Here is the YouTube video about why YouTube videos go viral:
Enjoy.
Mrs P
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Media Video Editing
Hi All,
Here is the video I showed the Stage 3 students on how to use the Adobe Premier software we have at school.
Enjoy.
Mrs P
Here is the video I showed the Stage 3 students on how to use the Adobe Premier software we have at school.
Enjoy.
Mrs P
Friday, 23 August 2013
Year 11 English - Digital media - referencing
Hi All,
Here is a link teaching you how to do in text referencing using the Harvard system:
Here is a link teaching you how to do in text referencing using the Harvard system:
Happy writing.
Mrs P.
Thursday, 22 August 2013
Yr 11 English - Essay prep
Hi All,
Here are the notes from Monday's session:
Question:
Discuss how our online experiences are influencing and effecting real world interaction.
how we use tech
how much we use it
where we use it
who we use it with
'it' being social networks - Facebook, instagram, twitter
internet usage - research, gaming, photos, YouTube
devices - iPad, iPhone, smartphones, tablets, computers, Digital TV & Radio
interactions - how we interact with other people in relationships and communication
Thesis:
Therefore, our online experiences are starting to influence and effect our real world interaction.
Topics:
Remember your essays are due this Friday 23rd.
Happy writing
Mrs P
Here are the notes from Monday's session:
Question:
Discuss how our online experiences are influencing and effecting real world interaction.
how we use tech
how much we use it
where we use it
who we use it with
'it' being social networks - Facebook, instagram, twitter
internet usage - research, gaming, photos, YouTube
devices - iPad, iPhone, smartphones, tablets, computers, Digital TV & Radio
interactions - how we interact with other people in relationships and communication
Thesis:
Therefore, our online experiences are starting to influence and effect our real world interaction.
Topics:
- Cyber-bullying and suicide
- Effects on literacy and poor academic results resulting in limited future options
- Digital footprints and job prospects
- Addiction to tech effecting relationships with family and friends
- Changing of social etiquette
- abiltiy to download content (both legally and illegally) making us isolated
- online dating, how people can't find others in real world.
Remember your essays are due this Friday 23rd.
Happy writing
Mrs P
Thursday, 15 August 2013
Year 11 English - Infographic text based
Hi All,
Some of you have been asking how to create an infographic that uses text to deliver facts etc.
Here is an example based on the theme of Halloween.
Mrs P
Some of you have been asking how to create an infographic that uses text to deliver facts etc.
Here is an example based on the theme of Halloween.
Mrs P
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Year 11 English - Digital Citizenship - Infographics
Hi All,
Here are a copy of some of the infographic we looked at in class. They also contain content that may be beneficial in the creation of your own infographic.
Here are a copy of some of the infographic we looked at in class. They also contain content that may be beneficial in the creation of your own infographic.
These images are being used for educational purposes.
Mrs P.
Year 7 - Lion Witch - PowerPoint 1
Hi All,
Here is a copy of the PowerPoint shown in class on Monday which was taken from Slideshare.
Mrs P
Here is a copy of the PowerPoint shown in class on Monday which was taken from Slideshare.
Mrs P
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Yr 11 English - Digital Citizenship - Infographics
Hi All,
Here is my infographic I have created on infographics. This was made in Microsoft Publisher, using a banner template for the layout. Images and sources have been credited at the bottom, which is one of the conventions of the text type.
Mrs P.
Here is my infographic I have created on infographics. This was made in Microsoft Publisher, using a banner template for the layout. Images and sources have been credited at the bottom, which is one of the conventions of the text type.
Mrs P.
Monday, 5 August 2013
Yr 7 - CS Lewis and Lion Witch
Hi All,
Here is the PowerPoint on CS Lewis and how the novel is a Christian allegory:
Mrs P.
Here is the PowerPoint on CS Lewis and how the novel is a Christian allegory:
C.S. Lewis from August8589
Mrs P.
Thursday, 1 August 2013
Yr 11 English - Digital Citizenship
Hi All,
Here is the link for Sherry Turkle's book Alone Together available to read on Google:
Alone Together
You should read and take notes from the chapter titled - Always On.
Mrs P.
Here is the link for Sherry Turkle's book Alone Together available to read on Google:
Alone Together
You should read and take notes from the chapter titled - Always On.
Mrs P.
Yr 11 - Digital Citizenship - TED talks
Hi All,
Here are the TED talks that will help you along.
Enjoy.
Mrs P
Here are the TED talks that will help you along.
Enjoy.
Mrs P
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
Year 11 English - Digital Citizenship - Focus Questions
Hi All,
here are the focus questions and activities from the past two sessions:
Cyberbullying:
Online representations:
Create 3 different avatars for the following contexts:
1. A school social network where teachers, students, and parents communicate
2. A social network where you connect mainly with friends and people you know
3. Second Life (www.secondlife.com), where you communicate mainly with people you don’t know in real life
Remember these are digital texts, so you may wish to create these digitally.
here are the focus questions and activities from the past two sessions:
Cyberbullying:
- Are actions in an online community (like the slurs on the website) different than actions taken offline (like the notes left on someone’s locker at the school)? Why, or why not?
- How are anonymous actions – like posting on a website or leaving a note – different from things done face-to-face?
- Imagine you were a bystander at this school, watching this situation unfold. What do you think you would have done? Do bystanders have a responsibility to do anything?
- What should you think about before you post anything about another person online, in an instant message, text, or any other kind of digital message?
- Someone posts a picture of your friend with some nasty comments, and other kids make fun of him or her. What would a bystander do in this situation? What would an upstander do? What would you do?
- Aside from a target, who else can be impacted by online cruelty? Who else could be involved, implicitly or explicitly?
Online representations:
Create 3 different avatars for the following contexts:
1. A school social network where teachers, students, and parents communicate
2. A social network where you connect mainly with friends and people you know
3. Second Life (www.secondlife.com), where you communicate mainly with people you don’t know in real life
Remember these are digital texts, so you may wish to create these digitally.
Monday, 29 July 2013
Year 11 English - Digital Citizenship - Cyberbully
Hi All,
Here is the link to where you can watch Cyberbully on YouTube.
Enjoy.
Mrs P
Here is the link to where you can watch Cyberbully on YouTube.
Enjoy.
Mrs P
Monday, 22 July 2013
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Year 11 Digital Citizenship and Online interactions
Hi All,
Here is a copy of the upcoming PowerPoints associated with our upcoming lessons and activities.
Digital Life
Feelings on Display
Cyberbullying
Who are you online
Many resources to create these PowerPoints were from Common Sense Media.
Reviews and Ratings for Family Movies, TV Shows, Websites, Video Games, Books and Music. 2013. Reviews and Ratings for Family Movies, TV Shows, Websites, Video Games, Books and Music. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.commonsensemedia.org/. [Accessed 21 July 2013].
Film resources are available from me or are accessible via my YouTube channel.
Mrs P
Here is a copy of the upcoming PowerPoints associated with our upcoming lessons and activities.
Digital Life
Feelings on Display
Cyberbullying
Who are you online
Many resources to create these PowerPoints were from Common Sense Media.
Reviews and Ratings for Family Movies, TV Shows, Websites, Video Games, Books and Music. 2013. Reviews and Ratings for Family Movies, TV Shows, Websites, Video Games, Books and Music. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.commonsensemedia.org/. [Accessed 21 July 2013].
Film resources are available from me or are accessible via my YouTube channel.
Mrs P
Monday, 15 April 2013
Year 11 Hero Investigation SWAT Codes
Hi All,
Here is a refresher on the SWAT codes we investigated last year:
Here is a refresher on the SWAT codes we investigated last year:
Viewing Codes and Conventions:
SYMBOLIC
Symbolic codes refer to the conventions that will develop some form of implicit or suggested meaning within a media text. Symbolic codes include: costume, props, setting, lighting, colour & character performance.
If we see a character wearing black clothing with silver spikes and chain accessories; heavy black boots and make-up which shows a white face with black lips and eyeliner or eye shadow; and black, spiky cut hair hanging partly over a face, we would probably guess that this character represents a Goth. When we see this Goth character we would expect him or her to have a brooding and mystical personality rather than a bright and bubbly one.
Although a Goth has a striking style of dress, we also recognise other, more 'normal', types of costume. A blue uniform may indicate police or a law officer of some sort. An all-white uniform may indicate a health worker and so on. The point is that we make assumptions about characters in film based on what they are wearing.
Elements of costume to look for are anything that a character wears to help show his or her personality and role in the film. We are encouraged to make interpretations about characters by simply looking at how they appear.
- Clothes: style - fashionable or not, colour, fitting well or not, clean or dirty-looking, era of clothes - today, from times past or futuristic
- Accessories: bags, scarves, jewellery, gloves, hats or headgear, socks and stockings
- Footwear: boots, shoes, sandals or bare feet
- Hairstyles: cut, colour and style
- Make-up: on the face with a natural or characterised look and/or on the body
- Overall appearance: well groomed, scruffy, fashionable, different from others or not.
We learn about the type of person a character represents not only by what is said and how dialogue is spoken, but also through the character's body language, facial expressions and movements. When we look at family members or close friends, the nonverbal clues we see usually indicate the mood they are in. We transfer our knowledge of emotions shown by facial expressions, body language and movement to the stories being told in films, usually without realising it. Some viewers think that acting is easy and that a person simply has to 'do' it. But taking on a role is an in-depth study for any actor. Analysing how to walk or smile or react has to be done very carefully, so that the character's role becomes believable; facial expression and body language have to look normal for that type of character.
For instance, if we see a person bent over a little (body language), walking slowly and carefully (movement), we assume that the person is old or sick. A close-up of the face (facial expression), with appropriate make-up (costume) will tell us which it is: old or sick.
WRITTEN
Written codes are associated with the printed word when it appears on screen. This can also include logos and icons. Elements that fall under written codes include:
Titles, captions, subtitles, credits, Font size and Typeface.
AUDIO
Audio codes are associated with any sound made in a media text.
In film and television, Audio codes deal with everything we hear while watching a feature film. Music, background noises, sound effects and spoken words are all elements included in this category of filmic codes. The element of spoken words is further split in the following way:
- What words are spoken
- Who is speaking - an actor, or a voice-over
- How the words are spoken - accents, slang, formal or foreign language
- The use of silence; we hear this too.
What a character says and how the dialogue is spoken adds to our understanding and acceptance (or not) of the character. If an actor speaks his or her lines well, then we will automatically replace the actor with the believable character that he or she represents.
Audio codes are either digetic or non-diegetic.
Diegetic:
sound that happens within the film. This includes actor dialogue, the music heard by the actors and sounds heard by the actors.
Non-diegetic:
sound that happens outside the film world. This includes voice over narration, film score, soundtrack, off-screen sound fx.
TECHNICAL
- Mise en scene:
- everything is placed in the frame with purpose
- Camera Angles:
- High camera angle:
- looks down on the subject
- viewer has power
- Eye level angle:
- both subject and viewer are equal in power
- Low camera angle:
- looks up at subject
- subject has power
- Birds eye view:
- shot directly above
- Worms eye view
- shot directly underneath
- Camera Shots:
- Establishing shot
- shows setting/location from a distance
- Long shot
- shows setting relating to subject
- Mid shot
- subject waist up and some background
- Close Up
- subjects shoulders and head
- Extreme close up
- detail of object or body part
- e.g. eyes
- Point of view shot (POV)
- usually handheld
- from the perspective of the subject
- Camera movement:
- Tracking shot
- follows action along horizontal plain
- Dolly shot
- follows action along vertical plain
- Panning shot
- camera stationary, but follows the action
- Zoom
- size of shot visibly changes in scale
- Crane shot
- camera moves from ground to aerial shot (or vice versa)
- Rule of thirds
- when the frame is divided, key areas are in ‘hot spots’ and along ‘third’ axis.
- Leading lines
- lines in the frame that draw the viewers focus
- usually created by the natural environment
- Editing
- manipulation of shot duration
- rapid editing
- builds tension and action
- long take
- no cutting and follows action for an extended period of time
- usually involves dolly or handheld
- Film stock
- how clear or grainy the image looks
- colour or black & white
- grainey
- harsh or gritty setting or theme
- high contrast
- happy or hyper-reality
- CGI
- computer generated imagery
- allows things outside the real world to become real or plausible
- Lighting
- how light is used to frame image or to highlight the subject
- can be different colour
- to suggest the time of day
- interior or exterior
- can be made to look from nature
- the sun
- made to look like they come from objects
- a lamp, streetlight, campfire***Happy WritingMrs P
Friday, 5 April 2013
Year 10 English Gothic fiction essay
Hi All,
Here is the example intro written in class today.
TRUE!... This is the opening line of Poe's The Tell tale Heart. Within this text a variety of language conventions are used to construct the narrator of the text. Poe manipulates these conventions to create a character that is interesting to the reader. The Tell Tale Heart recounts the events of a murder committed by the nameless narrator, and their inner debate of their sanity. Therefore, it is Poe's use of language devices that gives the reader insight into the mad and manic mind of the texts narrator.
Happy writing.
Mrs P.
Here is the example intro written in class today.
TRUE!... This is the opening line of Poe's The Tell tale Heart. Within this text a variety of language conventions are used to construct the narrator of the text. Poe manipulates these conventions to create a character that is interesting to the reader. The Tell Tale Heart recounts the events of a murder committed by the nameless narrator, and their inner debate of their sanity. Therefore, it is Poe's use of language devices that gives the reader insight into the mad and manic mind of the texts narrator.
Happy writing.
Mrs P.
Year 11 Speeches
Hi All,
Here is the speech line up for next week:
Monday -
Here is the speech line up for next week:
Monday -
- Rhys
- Aiden
- Dylan
- Michael L
- Meaghan
- Matt
Tuesday -
- Jake
- Warren
- Caitlin
- Sam
- Paige
- Mitch B
Thursday -
- Jade-leigh
- Shantelle
- Aleesha
- Bronwyn
- Bryce
- Louise
Friday -
- Mitch W
- Chantelle A
- Allanah
- Amelia
- Michael B
- Zarra
- Breanne
Happy writing :)
Mrs P
Thursday, 4 April 2013
Year 11 Speech Investigation
Hi All,
I'm currently in the middle of marking these assessments, and it has become quite evident that some of you don't understand the difference between content and context.
Content is the stuff that is in a text, such as the narrative, themes, dialogue, topics etc.
Whereas, context is the set of circumstances or facts that surround the construction and delivery of a text that influence its meaning or effect.
Let's look at the text below:
As a modern Australian audience, many people would interpret this as sexist, misogynistic, and out of touch with out current values and beliefs. However, when written, this was the point of view many people held within society. When we read it within the context of modern society, we take offence. However, when we read it within the context of the 1950s, we understand that this is the ideology of this society.
So if we were to be writing about the contextual elements that surround this text, we would be discussing the factors that occur socially, historically and culturally that influence the intended meaning and response. You may also discuss how our context resists the original meaning.
Happy writing.
Mrs P.
I'm currently in the middle of marking these assessments, and it has become quite evident that some of you don't understand the difference between content and context.
Content is the stuff that is in a text, such as the narrative, themes, dialogue, topics etc.
Whereas, context is the set of circumstances or facts that surround the construction and delivery of a text that influence its meaning or effect.
Let's look at the text below:
As a modern Australian audience, many people would interpret this as sexist, misogynistic, and out of touch with out current values and beliefs. However, when written, this was the point of view many people held within society. When we read it within the context of modern society, we take offence. However, when we read it within the context of the 1950s, we understand that this is the ideology of this society.
So if we were to be writing about the contextual elements that surround this text, we would be discussing the factors that occur socially, historically and culturally that influence the intended meaning and response. You may also discuss how our context resists the original meaning.
Happy writing.
Mrs P.
Yr 10 Gothic Fiction essay
Hi All,
here is a copy of the notes from today's class:
Essay question - Discuss the use of language in Poe's The Tell Tale Heart, and its impact on audience response.
use of language = how it is written
= the language conventions used
eg. 1st person narration, vocabulary, sentence structure, characterization, description of setting, imagery
impact on audience = how the reader responds
= what the reader interprets
= why we have a particular understanding
= how meaning is created
= why we react to character actions the way we do
= what the meaning of the text is
Thesis statements:
Possible topic sentences for Thesis 1.
here is a copy of the notes from today's class:
Essay question - Discuss the use of language in Poe's The Tell Tale Heart, and its impact on audience response.
use of language = how it is written
= the language conventions used
eg. 1st person narration, vocabulary, sentence structure, characterization, description of setting, imagery
impact on audience = how the reader responds
= what the reader interprets
= why we have a particular understanding
= how meaning is created
= why we react to character actions the way we do
= what the meaning of the text is
Thesis statements:
- It is through Poe's use of various language devices that creates the manic mind of the text's narrator.
- Poe uses a series of language devices that allows the text to conform to gothic conventions.
- It is through the descriptive language that the reader in emerged into a tense and menacing atmosphere.
Possible topic sentences for Thesis 1.
- Poe writes The Tell Tale Heart in first person perspective which allows the reader direct insight into the narrators mind.
- Furthermore, Poe's erratic use of sentence structure implies the erratic thought process of the narrator.
- Similarly, it is through the unusual and descriptive vocabulary that gives the impression that the narrator is unusual.
Happy Planning. :)
Mrs P
Media 1C Non-traditional cinema
Hi All,
Here are some resources for those students who have joined the class late this term.
Indi films
Shorts
World Cinema
Happy filming.
Mrs P :)
Here are some resources for those students who have joined the class late this term.
Indi films
Shorts
World Cinema
Happy filming.
Mrs P :)
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Year 10 English Investigation
Hi All,
Here is a copy of the portfolio requirements.
Here is a copy of the portfolio requirements.
Gothic Fiction investigation:
Section
1:
You are to choose a minimum of two activities from Column A and two from Column B to complete for marking.
The activities in Column A have a writing focus and
the tasks in Column B are more visual and/or creative in focus.
Column
A
All
activities a minimum of 500 words
|
Column
B
|
Book review
on either The Tell Tale Heart or
The
Red Room
|
New book cover for any text extract.
|
Extended response – To what extent are the
conventions of Gothic literature present in modern fiction texts like Twilight.
|
Story board/comic version of the extract from Dracula
or Frankenstein
|
A diary entry or letter from Rick’s point of view explaining his thoughts and
feelings during the extract of The Walking Dead.
|
Design a comic book version of the Dracula
extract.
|
Feature article on Vampires “Coming out the
coffin” as spoken about in Dead Until Dark
|
Create a movie poster for the film version of A
Tell Tale Heart.
|
A story OR
journal entries written from Robert Neville’s perspective in I
Am Legend.
|
Create/Design an infographic/poster on Dracula
and/or vampires
|
Detailed description of a vampire, vampire lore,
and their strengths and weaknesses.
|
Create a pamphlet on zombies and how to protect
yourself from attack
|
Rewrite the ending to give another conclusion to
the story of A Tell Tale Heart.
|
Create a board game based on The Red Room.
|
Write an interview with the character in The
Tell Tale Heart OR an
interview that asks people their opinion on gothic texts.
|
Create a collage on the themes and major ideas in
A
Tell Tale Heart.
|
Rewrite a section of Frankenstein imaging it
was happening today, not last century.
|
Make a short film based on the novel or a section
of it.
|
Section 2:
Complete
the following activities relating to The
Tell Tale Heart and The Red Room.
1.
Comparison chart of the main
aspects of each story
2.
The Factors of Fear
3.
Language and Atmosphere
4.
Identifying gothic
conventions in The Red Room
5.
Extended response Tell Tale
Heart narrator.
We will be reading The Tell Tale Heart and The Red Room, early next week. But you are more than welcome to read them now to complete your selections.
Happy writing.
Miss F
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Monday, 18 March 2013
Media 1CD Lego animations
Hi All,
Here is a little reminder of the steps you need to follow when completing your lego animations:
Step 1: Select scene - this will be a scene or trailer of a well known Hollywood film
Step 2: Annotate & get screen caps - this will help you determine shot duration as well as camera angles and shot sizes, as well as camera movements. See eg. below.
Step 3: Equipment request - this will include cameras, lego, lights etc. Everything you will need to "hire" from school resources"
Step 4: Character design: create a costume design for your minifigs. This may mean creating custom decals to stick on your minifigs. You can find a variety of custom decals by googling "Lego decals" or find tutorials by searching "how to create Lego minifigure decals."
Step 5: Production schedule: this is so your team knows exactly when deadlines are for both shooting the scene and editing the final product
Step 6: Shoot - remember you will be taking approximately 15 shots per second of screen time. A minimum of 6 shots per second will be permitted, but this will make the animation look 'choppy'.
Step 7: Edit - organize which group members are editing which sequences, and bring together to form final submission.
Step 8: Reflection - complete the written reflection of the pre, during and post production process and evidence of contribution.
Step 9: Submit - place final film on to DVD or USB and submit your written components to Student services.
Happy shooting :)
Miss F
Here is a little reminder of the steps you need to follow when completing your lego animations:
Step 1: Select scene - this will be a scene or trailer of a well known Hollywood film
Step 2: Annotate & get screen caps - this will help you determine shot duration as well as camera angles and shot sizes, as well as camera movements. See eg. below.
Step 3: Equipment request - this will include cameras, lego, lights etc. Everything you will need to "hire" from school resources"
Step 4: Character design: create a costume design for your minifigs. This may mean creating custom decals to stick on your minifigs. You can find a variety of custom decals by googling "Lego decals" or find tutorials by searching "how to create Lego minifigure decals."
Step 5: Production schedule: this is so your team knows exactly when deadlines are for both shooting the scene and editing the final product
Step 6: Shoot - remember you will be taking approximately 15 shots per second of screen time. A minimum of 6 shots per second will be permitted, but this will make the animation look 'choppy'.
Step 7: Edit - organize which group members are editing which sequences, and bring together to form final submission.
Step 8: Reflection - complete the written reflection of the pre, during and post production process and evidence of contribution.
Step 9: Submit - place final film on to DVD or USB and submit your written components to Student services.
Happy shooting :)
Miss F
Thursday, 14 March 2013
Year 10 English Gothic Fiction
Hi All,
Here are some important links and content for Gothic Fiction.
Links to the text extracts:
Dracula: Dracula Chapter 1
Frankenstein: Frankenstein Chapter 5
Twilight: Twilight extracts
Dead Until Dark: Southern vampires
I am Legend: I am legend
Interview with the Vampire: Vampire Chronicles
The Walking Dead: Walking Dead
The Red Room & The Tell Tale Heart: Wells & Poe
These text extracts are intended for educational use only.
Happy reading
Miss F
Here are some important links and content for Gothic Fiction.
Conventions
of the Gothic
Gothic
elements include the following:
1.
Setting in a castle. The action takes place
in and around an old castle, sometimes seemingly abandoned, sometimes occupied.
The castle often contains secret passages, trap doors, secret rooms, dark or
hidden staircases, and possibly ruined sections. The castle may be near or
connected to caves, which lend their own haunting flavour with their
claustrophobia, and mystery.
2. An atmosphere of mystery and suspense.
The work is pervaded by a threatening feeling, a fear enhanced by the unknown.
Often the plot itself is built around a mystery, such as unknown parentage, a
disappearance, or some other inexplicable event. Elements 3, 4, and 5 below
contribute to this atmosphere.
3. An ancient prophecy
is connected with the castle or its inhabitants (either former or present). The
prophecy is usually obscure, partial, or confusing. "What could it
mean?" In more watered down modern examples, this may amount to merely a
legend: "It's said that the ghost of old man Krebs still wanders these
halls."
4. Omens, portents, visions.
A character may have a disturbing dream vision, or some phenomenon may be seen
as a portent of coming events. For example, if the statue of the lord of the
manor falls over, it may portend his death.
5. Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable
events. Dramatic, amazing events occur, such as
ghosts or giants walking, or inanimate objects (such as a suit of armour or
painting) coming to life. In some works, the events are ultimately given a
natural explana tion, while in others
the events are truly supernatural.
6. High, even overwrought emotion.
The narration may be highly sentimental, and the characters are often overcome
by anger, sorrow, surprise, and especially, terror. Characters suffer from raw
nerves and a feeling of impending doom. Crying and emotional speeches are
frequent. Breathlessness and panic are common.
7. Women in distress.
As an appeal to the pathos and sympathy of the reader, the female characters
often face events that leave them fainting, terrified, screaming, and/or
sobbing. A lonely, pensive, and oppressed heroine is often the central figure
of the novel, so her sufferings are even more pronounced and the focus of
attention.
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. The
woman may be commanded to marry someone she does not love (it may even be the
powerful male himself), or commit a crime.
9. The metonymy of gloom and horror.
Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in which something (like rain) is used to stand
for something else (like sorrow). For example, the film industry likes to use
metonymy as a quick shorthand, so we often notice that it is raining in funeral
scenes. Note that the following metonymies for "doom and gloom" all
suggest some element of mystery, danger, or the supernatural.
wind, especially howling
|
rain, especially blowing
|
doors grating on rusty hinges
|
sighs, moans, howls, eerie sounds
|
footsteps approaching
|
clanking chains
|
lights in abandoned rooms
|
gusts of wind blowing out lights
|
characters trapped in a room
|
doors suddenly slamming shut
|
ruins of buildings
|
baying of distant dogs (or wolves?)
|
thunder and lightning
|
crazed laughter
|
10. The vocabulary of the Gothic.
Here are some of the words (in several categories) that help make up the
vocabulary of the Gothic
Mystery
|
diabolical, enchantment, ghost, goblins,
haunted, infernal, magic, magician, miracle, necromancer, omens, ominous,
portent, preternatural, prodigy, prophecy, secret, sorcerer, spectre,
spirits, strangeness, talisman, vision
|
Fear, Terror, or Sorrow
|
afflicted, affliction, agony, anguish,
apprehensions, apprehensive, commiseration, concern, despair, dismal, dismay,
dread, dreaded, dreading, fearing, frantic, fright, frightened, grief,
hopeless, horrid, horror, lamentable, melancholy, miserable, mournfully,
panic, sadly, scared, shrieks, sorrow, sympathy, tears, terrible, terrified,
terror, unhappy, wretched
|
Surprise
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alarm, amazement, astonished,
astonishment, shocking, staring, surprise, surprised, thunderstruck, wonder
|
Haste
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anxious, breathless, flight, frantic,
hastened, hastily, impatience, impatient, impatiently, impetuosity,
precipitately, running, sudden, suddenly
|
Anger
|
anger, angrily, choler, enraged, furious,
fury, incense, incensed, provoked, rage, raving, resentment, temper, wrath,
wrathful, wrathfully
|
Largeness
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enormous, gigantic, giant, large,
tremendous, vast
|
Links to the text extracts:
Dracula: Dracula Chapter 1
Frankenstein: Frankenstein Chapter 5
Twilight: Twilight extracts
Dead Until Dark: Southern vampires
I am Legend: I am legend
Interview with the Vampire: Vampire Chronicles
The Walking Dead: Walking Dead
The Red Room & The Tell Tale Heart: Wells & Poe
These text extracts are intended for educational use only.
Happy reading
Miss F
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