1 2002 Secondary English LIG Q u a l i t y Q u a l i t y T e a c h e r T e a c h e r P r o g r a m P r o g r a m Victorian literature Stage 5, Year 9 Rationale The English novel has a relatively short history compared with the development of other written texts, with the first novels appearing around the early 18th century: Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740). The novel form proliferated during the nineteenth century, when rivalries emerged among its emerging Gothic, Romance, realist and naturalist genres. This unit aims at introducing students to describing, analysing and exploring the values and contexts of Victorian literature. The unit also provides the opportunity for teachers to use Victorian literature as entry to investigating other sub-genres, such as Gothic, Romance and social realism. The focus text for the unit is the play Jane Eyre, adapted by Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore. This is a very accessible text which is true to the main elements of the narrative and characters in Charlotte Bronte’s novel. Teachers could easily substitute the play Great Expectations (from the same series as Jane Eyre), which might be more interesting for boys. There is also a range of film versions of both texts.
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12002 Secondary English LIG
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Victorian literature
Stage 5, Year 9
Rationale
The English novel has a relatively short history compared with thedevelopment of other written texts, with the first novels appearingaround the early 18th century: Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719)and Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740). The novel form proliferatedduring the nineteenth century, when rivalries emerged among itsemerging Gothic, Romance, realist and naturalist genres. This unit aimsat introducing students to describing, analysing and exploring the valuesand contexts of Victorian literature. The unit also provides theopportunity for teachers to use Victorian literature as entry toinvestigating other sub-genres, such as Gothic, Romance and socialrealism. The focus text for the unit is the play Jane Eyre, adapted bySteve Barlow and Steve Skidmore. This is a very accessible text whichis true to the main elements of the narrative and characters in CharlotteBronte’s novel. Teachers could easily substitute the play GreatExpectations (from the same series as Jane Eyre), which might be moreinteresting for boys. There is also a range of film versions of both texts.
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Professional reading
Fuery, Patrick and Mansfield, Nick, 1997, Cultural Studies and the New Humanities, Oxford,Melbourne, (p. 102–109: has a brief introduction to realism).
Davenport-Hines, Richard, 1998, Gothic, Fourth Estate, London. The Prologue is very useful if youdon’t have time to read the whole book.
Stevens, David, (1995), The Gothic Tradition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/intgenre.html – introduction to genre theory.
Other useful resources
http://members.aol.com/franzpoet/intro.htmlWeb site on Gothic literature in England 1764–1840
http://www.engl.virginia.edu/~enec981/Group/title.htmlWeb site: The Gothic: Materials for study
http://members.aol.com/franzpoet/Gothicres.htmlNotes on features of Gothic literature
http://www.litGothic.com/Authors/authors.htmlList of resources; information on authors
Use the resources of the library to research the following questions.
1. When did Queen Victoria reign?
2. Describe how society was organised in the time of Queen Victoria.
3. How important was marriage for women at the time?
4. How was England ruled during Victorian times?
5. What were the major changes to Victorian society during this period?
6. How important was education ? Who was actually educated and why?
7. Outline a typical day in the life of the following :
(a) an upper-class woman or man
(b) a middle-class woman or man
(c) a working-class woman or man.
8. Identify the main political changes of the time.
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Appendix 2Guide to reading journal
You will read the play Jane Eyre around the class. As you finish reading each act, make notes, using thefollowing questions as a guide. These notes will help you with tasks later in the unit.
ACT 1
• What is Jane’s position in the Reed family?
• Why does Jane dislike the Red Room?
• Why do you think Mrs Reed is so eager to send Jane away?
• What is your opinion of Mr Brocklehurst? Give reasons and examples.
ACT 2
• How is mystery created in Scene 1?
• What was your reaction to Mr Rochester in Scenes 2 and 3? Give examples and reasons.
• Look at the last four exchanges between Mrs Fairfax and Jane on page 41, then re-read pages 46and 47. What do you think is going on in this house?
• Comment on the relationship between Jane and Mr Rochester. What do you think will happen tothem?
ACT 3
• What is your opinion of Mr Rochester disguising himself as a gypsy? Why does he do this?
• Explain in your own words how Bertha Mason came to live in the attic at Thornfield.
• What is your opinion of Mr Rochester at the end of this act? Explain.
ACT 4
• What do we learn about Jane’s character in this act? Give examples.
• Do you think Jane and Mr Rochester will be happy together? Why?
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Appendix 3Character study
When exploring your chosen character(s), consider the following:
• Create a profile of your character which includes physical characteristics, beliefs, attitudes,behaviour – give examples and quotes.
• To what social class do they belong and how does this affect their behaviour?
• In what scenes do they appear in the play? Look at when they first appear - what are your firstimpressions? Do these impressions change?
• What role do they play in the plot?
• What role do they play in relation to Mr Rochester and Jane Eyre? What aspects of the charatersof Jane and Mr Rochester are made clearer through their interaction with your character? giveexamples and quotes.
• What is your opinion of this character? Give reasons?
Compose a visual representation of this character which includes a collection of quotations. Yourrepresentation can be a collage, a mind map, a graphic, a drawing, or any combination of these.
Choose a moment in the play that interests you and which involves your character and either Jane or MrRochester or both. As your character, write a journal entry about that event. Make sure you use yourcharacter’s voice and express the opinions and feelings that belong to your character. You shouldincorporate some quotations into your piece of writing. Write about 300 words (one A4 page).
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Appendix 4Evaluating a web site
Log on to the Victorian Web: http://65.107.211.206/
Click on any icon that appears to relate to the topic you have chosen to research and view theinformation on the screen. Where does it lead you? How useful is the information you find? Are thereany further links you can pursue? How useful are these in helping you find information about VictorianEngland?
What graphics appear on this web page? Describe them in your notes. What purpose do the graphicsserve ? Do you like the inclusion of graphics? Explain.
How much time did you spend searching this web site for information relevant to your needs? Do youthink you could have found this information elsewhere? If so, where? Would it be quicker to get theinformation from other sources apart from the web?
How reliable is the information on this web site? How do you know whether it is accurate? Whocomposed the site? What are his or her credentials? Would you have thought to question its reliability ifyou had not been asked to? Why / why not? Would other sources of information be more or less accurate?Explain your opinion.
List the strengths and weaknesses of this site for the purposes of research on Victorian Literature.
Genre is a French term for a literary type or class. Whilst the novel itself constitutes a genre, as distinctfrom poetry or drama or the short story, novels can also be divided and classified into sub-genres. Thesemight include the fantasy novel, the realist novel, crime fiction, science fiction, the thriller, Gothicfiction etc, all of which employ specific generic devices. In other words, these sub-genres conform topatterns in content, style, structure, characterisation, atmosphere, and so on, which enable us tocategorise them into separate groups. Of course, this practice is somewhat false, since most texts wouldinclude features from a range of sub-genres. For example, Jane Eyre contains elements of Romantic,Gothic and Realist fiction.
These activities require you to research the elements of different genres – Romance, Gothic and Realism.These genres were popular during the nineteenth century (as they are today), and it was during this timethat the novel developed as a literary form. The activities below can be undertaken in groups orindividually. Each group or individual should research one genre then report the findings back to theclass.
A. What you already know
Spend about 20 minutes on this activity.
• As a class brainstorm all the different genres you can think of.
• Allocate a different genre to each group. Each group must create a visual representation, on a largesheet of paper, of as many elements of that genre as they can think of. For example, a westernmight contain drawings of horses, hand guns, cowboys, saloon bar doors, a cactus etc.
• Each group show their creations to the rest of the class and briefly explain what each itemrepresents and where they think their knowledge of the genre comes from.
• Pin the sheets to the classroom wall.
B. Researching features of genre
Find out what you can about the literary genres of Realism, Gothic or Romance. Here are some notes toget you started:
1. Realism
(see Fuery and Mansfield, 1997, pp. 102–109)
Realism is probably the most widely read and understood form of writing in English literature. Realismpurports to represent the world as it is and the daily life experiences of ordinary people. Realism rose toprominence in the nineteenth century and was often set in contrast to the extraordinary experiences ofextraordinary characters in romance fiction. Realism reflects the dominant intellectual beliefs andinfluences of the nineteenth century.
(a) Realist texts focused on the social. This is founded in the belief that we are defined by our socialgroup, which is determined by money, class, power, and often gender and ethnicity. The rise ofcapitalism in the nineteenth century saw a concurrent rise of a monied middle class whose accessto political and economic power gradually increased. Nineteenth century realist texts tended topresent a middle class view of the world – that is, the ordinary lives represented in texts werethose of the middle classes.
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(b) Realist narratives are often set against the background of broader historical events, such ascolonialism, the rise of certain classes and war.
(c) Realist texts are grounded in the idea that the world can be understood and analysed bysystematic, objective observation and description. Realist texts are seen to present a truthfulrecord of reality.
Find out what else you can about nineteenth century Realism.
2. Gothic
The first Gothic novel in English was probably The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole (1764), whichwas characterised by sensationalism, melodrama and the use of the supernatural. It was most popularbetween 1764 and the mid-nineteenth century. Gothic novels usually include:
• creepy landscapes, for example dark, misty moors, windswept hillsides with craggy trees, darknessand storms, isolation
• ruined castles or old, stately homes with spires or turrets, winding staircases, dark passageways,attics, locked sections of the house
• a sense of unrestricted space juxtaposed with claustrophobic confinement• extreme and often sensational situations and characters - obsessions, heightened awareness,
unnatural fears• a hero with a dark, mysterious past which seems to haunt him• a heroine who is often passive and persecuted• links between love and death• a plot which often involves melodramatic aspects of romance where the heroine is forced apart
from her true love in extreme circumstances• something supernatural, mysterious or inexplicable which is happening in the background and
impacts directly on the situation of the heroine and her true love.
Find out what else you can about the Gothic genre. The following web sites might be useful:
http://members.aol.com/franzpoet/intro.htmlWeb site on Gothic Literature in England, 1764–1840
http://www.engl.virginia.edu/~enec981/Group/title.htmlWeb site on the Gothic: Materials for Study web site
http://members.aol.com/franzpoet/Gothicres.htmlNotes on features of Gothic literature
3. Romance
Romance fiction usually involves two people meeting, falling in love then something forcing them apart.Eventually they reunite and live happily ever after. Of course, romantic novels are more complex thanthis; for example, the main characters are usually extraordinary in some way (very beautiful, rich, famous,engaged in unusual careers etc.) and settings are often exotic.
Find out what else you can about Romance fiction. These web sites might be useful:http://www.brocku.ca/english/courses/2F55/romance.html
(a) You will have worked out by now that Jane Eyre contains elements of all three literary genres.The next step is for you to provide evidence from the play or novel for as many of the features ofeach genre as you can. Create a grid or mind map to record your evidence for each feature.
(b) In groups or as a class, discuss the following questions.
• In what ways does the text represent reality?
• Whose reality does it reflect?
• What purposes do the different generic components serve? For example, what is the purpose ofthe Gothic and Romance elements?
• What cultural assumptions and values are imbedded in the text? How do the genericconventions help reinforce these assumptions?
• Did the text fulfil your expectations of the genres it includes?
• Did you find you resisted or criticised any aspects of the text? Why?
• Which parts of the text seemed obvious because of your knowledge of the genres at play?
• What predictions were you able to make as you were reading the text? Were your predictionsaccurate? If you had been told the text was a Gothic romance, would your predictions havebeen more accurate? What sort of reader does the text assume you are (class, gender, ethnicity,age)?
• What language features did you notice? For example, what vocabulary do you associate withRomance, Gothic or Realism?
• What knowledge does the text take for granted?
• Of what other texts does it remind you?
(c) There are lots of theories about the purpose and effect of genre. Many suggest that ourunderstanding of genre, our familiarity with the various conventions of the different genres, are ashortcut form of communication. We know how to read a text, what to expect from it, how torespond to it, as soon as we recognise the genres within it. Genre analysis, like that which youhave been doing in this section of the unit, can help us to recognise and understand the ways inwhich events in the world are reduced, by the mass media, to rigid formats of news, itself a genre,so that we fill in the gaps or make links between cause and effect that might not necessarily bethere.
Select a news story from a daily newspaper or TV news report.
• Create a list of features of the news story genre.
• Analyse the news story by asking the questions listed in activity (b).
• Rewrite the news story as a Gothic or Romance story. Keep all the “facts”.
• Each group now pass their story on to another group for generic analysis (using the questionsin activity (b) again.
• As a class talk about how your knowledge of genres influences the way you read and themeanings you gain from your reading. Write your thoughts about the purposes of genre inyour learning log.
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Appendix 6Victorian literature: Wide reading
Choose a novel from the book box (or select your own from the library and check with your teacher).After you have read the novel, choose one of the following ways of responding to it.
1. Monologue
Choose a protagonist from your selected novel and compose a monologue outlining the dilemma facingyou at the climax of the novel. Present your monologue to the class.
2. Writing
Write another chapter, to be included in your chosen novel, that may or may not change the plot. Yourchapter can be added at any point in the novel. Make sure you keep the writing style consistent with therest of the text and do not introduce any new characters.
3. Review
Write an review of your novel for a specific publication (e.g. Spectrum section of the weekend SydneyMorning Herald, a book of reviews for teenage readers, Who magazine etc. )
4. Design
Design a cover for a new edition of the novel. Your design (including the blurb, author information andvisuals) is aimed at teenage readers.
5. Interview
Construct either a radio or television interview involving two minor characters from your novel. Havethem talk about some of the issues or the behaviour of the main characters.
6 . Letter
As the author of your novel, write a letter to your publisher outlining the value of your work and why itdeserves to be published.
7. Comic strip
Construct a comic strip of a chapter of the novel you have chosen.