"Accursed creator! Why?"
Continuing our series of classic author one-shot lessons, we've published a lesson based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
It was tough to choose a source snippet! Do we choose the body horror of the creature in the lab? The nightmarish vision as it leers at Frankenstein from a lightning-capped crag? Something about fresh air and glorious vistas while hiking in the Alps?
In the end we chose a moment where the Monster berates Frankenstein for creating him and laments his unjust fate:
This snippet gives us a chance to explore the romantic and melodramatic aspects of gothic fiction, the railing against the Great Forces of the Universe, which is a nice break from the usual decaying relatives stashed in the wine cellar.
The lesson begins by asking students to brainstorm a cosmic injustice to lament.
We then write a structure draft that expresses the grievance using same parallelism we see in Shelley:
Followed by a voice pass using gothic vocabulary and phrasing to maximise intensity:
Along the way we take some scenic digressions into Victorian mortality rates, galvanism, and the throughline between John Milton, Albrecht Durer, and Lil Nas X.
What's this lesson good for?
If you're reading Frankenstein, this lesson is a nice keyhole view into some of the themes and techniques of the text.
If you're studying Victorian lit, it's a fun way to unpack some of that more complex language and make it more accessible through play.
If you're studying gothic fiction, it's a good way to experiment with intensity of expression and channel a bit of cosmic despair.
You can preview the lesson here.
More creepy spooky gothic lessons:
The Gothic in the Deathly Hallows lessons are good close studies in creeping dread: particularly Creating a sense of decay, but also Isolating the heroes, and Guiding the reader's eye.
The horror genre lesson is good fun for more straight-up scare tactics.
And if you're really adventurous, the lesson about Dracula vs Twilight is a great insight into creating an actively threatening landscape.