AQA A2 English Literature B (LITB3): Elements of the Gothic 11th June 2015

As enlightening, as liberating, as in need to be made unhidden.

Which stories present it in this way? I'm not criticising, I'm genuinely curious. I would say the opposite; the bloody chamber itself is hidden from the narrator and the reader but the horror and terror associated with it and the feel of descending into hell as the narrator goes down presents it as something that we don't really want to know about. Plus, it is because the narrator finds the chamber that the Marquis tries to kill her. Although, I guess you could argue that the chamber is something that, while unpleasant, needs to be found to reveal the truth about the Marquis.

(I only study The Bloody Chamber, The Snow Child, The Werewolf, The Company of Wolves, The Erl-King and The Lady of the House of Love though so it may be in other stories that the hidden is presented as enlightening as you say.)

Hi does anyone have the questions for the june 2015 past paper, i have a mock on tuesday and have a feeling the paper is going to come up!

I study Frankenstein, Macbeth, Bloody Chamber and the section b question if anyone has it! Thanks

Hi I'm studying Macbeth, Frankenstein and Dr Faustus. Was just wondering if anyone has any good revision tools. I need help to get into mark band 5

Would anyone be able to look at this please and see what band they would give it or some advice. I have only done two out of the three texts for the section B as I didn't feel like I was going a long the right lines. Tips for section B in general will be very useful also. I find myself doing so many practice essays but not improving. Please help! Thank you.

"If a text is to be labelled as Gothic, it must convey a sense of fear and terror.” Discuss this view in relation to the texts you have been studying.

In order to address the question, the gothic tropes of fear and terror but first be defined. It could be considered that fear stems from terror where it is the unpleasant thought of danger or pain being inflicted upon a being. Terror is defined by gothic writer Radcliffe as the aesthetic quality of a certain object or being that permits a reaction of a more psychological sense, which is profound fear or dead and are contrived through our own cultural and social backgrounds. As a reader it could be viewed as blatant that if fear and terror are not included within a gothic novel, then essentially there is a loss of a popular and well worn gothic trope. However, it could be argued in order to be labelled as truly gothic, the texts should portray not only fear and terror but horror also. Horror is the physical reaction of something that is grotesque, e.g. cannibalism or necrophilia. It could be argued fear, terror and horror must be used simultaneously within gothic writing to omit a certain reaction from the reader's and to be classed as truly gothic. It may depend on other included gothic tropes however that would make a reader question the true label of the gothic.
In Marlowe's 16th century play 'Doctor Faustus' the fear and terror are created through the foreshadowing over Faustus' fatal and somewhat tragic demise of being dragged and trapped in "ugly hell" "eternally". Structurally Marlowe includes the prologue where in which the chorus pre-tell the inevitable fate of Faustus, where his "waxen wings did not mount above his reach". Although the inevitability of Faustus' death is apparent due to the foreshadowing, a heightened sense of fear and terror is created for an audience as to how Faustus will die. Anxieties and fears may have also been created from an audience viewpoint due to the fact that hell was viewed as a literal place beneath the earth, so the notion that there is a possibility of a character being physically dragged down there would have created heightened suspense and terror for a highly religious and orthodox Elizabethan audience at the time. One interpretation is that it may not be the foreshadowing of Faustus' death which is terrifying, but actually Faustus' desire to be "resolved of all ambiguities". Marlowe presents him as a promethean figure with arrogant characteristics, thus it is Faustus' hubris and potentially to want to become as powerful and knowledgeable as God in return for selling his soul for "four and twenty years" which may terrify the audience more.
Despite this, albeit terrifying for the audience, it could be argued that without the horrific details included that will happen to Lucifer, the fear factor and dramatised staging of the play could have made it less of a gothic text. The inclusion of horror emphasises Faustus' turmoil and shocks the audience. Marlowe uses foreshadowing structurally through comic sub plots with Robin and Rafe and Wagner which highlight Faustus' own foolishness but his also highly gruesome fate, " tear thy flesh into a piecemeal" and "oh my leg, my leg" being ripped off by the horse courser for doing a 'dodgy' deal encapsulates the typical sense of the gothic which foreshadows his own gruesome fate. The end line of "Ah! Mephistopheles!" could imply the physical pain in which Faustus is receiving from being tortured within hell, or actually the psychological tortures he will receive from not repenting. Yet, it could be argued that the terror and horror used within the play are inextricable as Marlowe stylistically uses terror to create tension in the lead up to the more horrific and grotesque events of Faustus' dismemberment, potentially where Marlowe uses both to convey a sense of the gothic within the play to excite and shock the audience. A more contemporary audience may be less effected by the use of fear and terror within the play as more secularisation of religious views has deemed that not everyone will go to hell if they sin. The ambivalent nature of the play, depending on the type of audience, also whether it applies to the A or B text need to be considered when addressing the issue of fear and terror and whether or not the writer sets out what they tend to do in creating drama and suspense for the audience.

Within Shelley's 19th century Frankenstein, the use of fear and terror is frequently embedded but also depends on the product of reception of the audience as well as the time of readership. The thought of usurping the role of God in order to create another human life where a "new species would bless me as its creator" is ultimately shocking for a reader and what Shelley sets up in the first few chapters what the protagonist Frankenstein intends to do. The notion of fear and terror is created through the use of the embedded frame narrative of Walton in the epistolary from narrative. Shelley draws parallels between Walton and Frankenstein, as they are both over ambitious in the "acquirement of knowledge" as with the desire to learn more. Fear and terror are created as Frankenstein warns Walton the dangers of acquiring knowledge which is beyond human limitations through cautioning and melancholy language "hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been". With reference to the serpent, the reader can draw conclusions between Adam, Eve and Lucifer from 'Paradise Lost' where Frankenstein's own curiosity got the better of him, as did Adam and Eve's leading towards a terrible consequence. It is the forewarning of danger and consequence that creates tension from a reader's perspective as well as suspense in the mysterious but inevitable events likely to occur. Some have stated Shelley wrote the novel, to warn 'normal' human beings the dangers of science, creating tension and terror within society of how it can go disastrously wrong.
The creation of the monster, is not only fearful and terrifying for the reader, but something horrific, "too horrible for human eyes". Shelley includes horrific detail of the monster's "straight black lips" and "watery eyed" to shock the reader and remind them of the monstrosity society may face if you try to usurp the role of God and ambitions become too high. However, one interpretation is that it's not the monster's horrific and "gigantic" frame which deems the text to be labelled a gothic but the fear and terror Shelley encapsulates surrounding the Monster's threats and torments. Atypically, the monster becomes the tyrant and Frankenstein the victim towards the end of the novel. The threats of "I will be with you on your wedding night" and the threats of "destruction" render more suspense and tension towards the murder of Frankenstein's inadvertedly "unhallowed" victims. The psychological impact this has on the protagonist is immense causing his dreams to become disturbed with the "corpse of his dead mother" yet also "unable to compose my mind to sleep" causing distress and terror as to what is to foreshadow from a reader's perspective.
However, it could be argued, although typically gothic, the language used surrounding the threats and torments of fear and terror are melodramatic and thus verge on comical. It is ironic that the fear and terror of Frankenstein is the belief that he will kill him on his wedding night, when really he is blinded by his own hubris to distinguish this being the death of Elizabeth. Dramatic effect is used through this language to prevail terror, however, as a reader it may be deemed too dramatic to actually arise any fear or terror whatsoever. There is something ironic with the monster stating "You are my creator- but I am your master- Obey!" and "slave", where terror may be created but also humour as Shelley presents Frankenstein helpless and unable to control the situation he is in, even though it is his own creation.

Hi does anyone have any tips for analysis and evaluation? Would be much appreciated as I'm trying to reach band 5 and 6. Thanks!

Can anyone help me with religion presented in wuthering heights, bloody chamber and dr Faustus?
Also in terms of dr Faustus being a morality play, what is the significance and how does the play share similarities and differences with a morality play and why?
Thanksss

I don't study Wuthering Heights, but religion in TBC could maybe be linked to the patriarchal systems we see across the texts, as these can be traced back to religious doctrines and teachings. This is shown in the title story, where the Marquis calls his wife his 'little nun', and his books 'prayerbooks', thus strengthening the link between religion and the objectification of women. You could even discuss how Carter seems to reject religion in The Company of Wolves, as the grandma desperately throws her bible at the wolf, but is still not safe from him. For Dr Faustus, although Marlowe was rumoured to have been atheist, I think the moral message is very orthodox and religious, in terms of avoiding practising 'more than heavenly power permits'. You could talk about the absence of God across the text as potentially suggesting the cruelty of religion as Faustus is arguably alone, however it could also be used to show how we must have faith in God, despite whether we can directly see him, like the Old Man does at the end. In terms of being a morality play, Faustus could be seen as an Everyman character due to the inner turmoil he experiences, and which we can relate to as humans with our own weaknesses and errors. However, Marlowe subverts the typical morality play ending as Faustus does not repent, but instead is damned, meaning the reader/audience is not given the comfort of God rescuing Faustus' 'distressed soul'. This may function to make us even more likely to listen to the moral message about not transgressing earthly boundaries.

Hope that helps!

Just realised I spelt the 'Marquis' wrong for the whole exam ffs (put the Marquie).
Does anyone think I'd lose many marks for this?

Haha, I don't think so!! Maybe one if they're feeling very harsh, but I think they are only meant to deduct marks for SPaG if it inhibits what you are saying. They may not even notice or think your e's look like s's. Don't worry about it!

If that's your only worry, then I think you will be fine!