Understanding authorial intent and how to use this to develop analysis

Understanding authorial intent and how to use this to develop analysis

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In this lesson, we will look at the famous novelist Charles Dickens and the concept of authorial intent and apply this. We will do this by looking at the Gothic across his work, but particularly focusing on an extract from 'A Chrismtas Carol'. We will consider, in particular, why he may have chosen to incorporate elements of the Gothic in his writing for an intended purpose. Then, we will end on a quiz exploring what you have learned.

Licence

This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak’s terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated.

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5 Questions

Q1.
What does resurrection mean?
Correct answer: the concept of coming back to life after death
the concept that life starts over again in a new form after death
the idea of new life
Q2.
What month does Victor finally see his creation?
June
March
Correct answer: November
Q3.
What was the weather like on the evening the monster came to life?
dry
foggy
Correct answer: raining
Q4.
What colour was the monster's skin?
green
grey
Correct answer: yellow
Q5.
How many years had Victor worked on his creation?
1
Correct answer: 2
3

5 Questions

Q1.
What does apprehension mean?
a feeling of absolute terror
Correct answer: a feeling of fear or anxiety about something that may happen
a feeling of intense sadness
Q2.
What happened to Dickens's father?
he abandoned the family
he died
Correct answer: he was imprisoned
Q3.
What did Dickens have to do as a child?
get a paper round
go to school
Correct answer: work in a factory
Q4.
What does Dickens use his literary work to do?
show his approval for the contemporary political decisions
Correct answer: show how critical he was of social ills
show how much he supported changes the industrial revolution induced in society
Q5.
Why does Dickens use the Gothic genre?
to evoke sympathy in his reader for those in his stories who are haunted by the supernatural
Correct answer: to express the deep divide between the suffering poor and wealthy class in the Victorian era
to terrify his reader

Lesson appears in

UnitEnglish / Gothic Literature

English