David Stevens (4)

When I teach something new I like to make sure I know the topic inside out before I stand in front of my class. Recently the A level curriculum changed and I found myself preparing to teach a unit about genre that focused on the gothic. Therefore, although this was a topic I felt I knew a fair amount about already, I did a little research and bought myself a couple of academic guides, including this one. I was attracted by the reputable publisher – Cambridge University Press – and the fact that it was part of a well established series of guides to teaching Literature in context. Furthermore, the blurb usefully outlined the approach the writer would take and this sounded like it would not only help me to develop my understanding of relevant subject matter but could also provide some useful assignments for my students to work on.

What does it include and how useful is it?

There are 6 sections of varying usefulness.

1. Approaching the gothic tradition

This is a kind of introduction to the genre which is further broken down into a range of elements which covers not just Literature but also gothic cinema, music and media. I found that this was very useful for establishing the history of the term and beginning to explore how it has been applied, historically and today. I read this from beginning to end but readers could easily dip in and out using the subheadings and well set out contents page to guide them.

The section ends with suggestions for assignments but there is also a range of suggested tasks scattered throughout this section. All of them are designed to give students a broader appreciation and understanding of certain aspects of the gothic. I felt this was a useful way of organising the assignments as they felt more relevant and accessible when the tasks were read after the relevant section.

I liked the way this section took a broad approach. It is very much a starting point; you are obviously not going to be able to say everything about gothic cinema (for example) in a page, and not everything is included, (there is nothing on gothic dress, for instance,) but I felt that this section would give a student a good grounding and then they could use the suggested resources (more on this later) to develop their interests further. Personally, I felt that the general tasks were interesting but would need to be extension tasks for dedicated students as many of them felt a little tangential to the study of Literature and there is obviously a requirement to spend much of the allocated time teaching the specific texts studied.

What I found more useful was the wide range of quotations referred to. These could be used effectively in the classroom to develop discussions about core issues relating to the study of the gothic. They are also, of course, of interest to the more general reader as there are some wildly divergent opinions referred to. I liked the plurality of approach and the sense that I was getting a sort of ‘digest’ of the relevant debates.

2. Approaching the texts

In this section Stevens goes into more detail about the key characteristics of the gothic. Unlike some of the other texts I have referred to, the style here remains one of discussion rather than listing features (castles, graveyards etc). I liked this approach because it gave the genre a sense of cohesion which often seems to be missing from the list like approach. I also felt that it would be helpful to students as this approach focuses on the style and concerns of the whole text rather than simply identifying gothic motifs.

This section (like the first one) begins by stating several key areas for exploration which the rest of the chapter focuses in on. I thought that this was a well structured and helpful approach as you can see at a glance what you will gain from reading this section and can then decide whether or not you actually want to / need to read it.

Once again there were some quotations and ideas that would help to start fruitful debates and some more specific tasks for students to complete. These tasks are more helpful in that they focus more closely on gothic Literature and I will be adapting some of these for use in the classroom. There are also a range of tasks meant to be used with the third section of the book. These are really specific and could be very useful practice for a student of the gothic.

I felt that this was probably the most useful section of the whole book and that it would probably have been worth buying for this section alone. I really felt that it would help students to develop a stronger understanding of how the genre developed and works.

3. Texts and extracts

The aim of this section is to provide a range of extracts for students to use. They range from key ‘founding’ novels of the genre (‘The Castle of Otranto’ and ‘The Monk’) to classic texts (‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Dracula’) through to more modern stories (‘The Woman in Black’). These are helpfully arranged in chronological order so the reader gets a sense of the genre’s development. They are all a few pages long so you are given sufficient space to adapt to the writers style and to complete set tasks on them. Each extract has a very short preceding paragraph which briefly sets the scene and explains what aspect of gothic literature the passage is designed to illuminate.

I liked that there was a mixture of poetry and prose, parody and ‘straight’ gothic, but I thought it was a shame that the extracts ended with a text from 1983. This book was originally published in 2000 so I felt that more modern gothic texts could have been included (something by Anne Rice, for instance). I feel that this would help to reinforce the sense that the genre is ongoing and relevant to contemporary students, rather than something which essentially died with ‘Dracula’ in 1897 (the penultimate extract).

These extracts are interesting enough read by themselves, but they could be used in a range of ways in the classroom or independently by an interested student. Many of the tasks mentioned earlier in the book could be applied to these extracts early in the course before students have had a chance to develop their wider reading in the genre.

4. Critical approaches

This section explores critical approaches to the gothic and focuses particularly on Marxist, feminist and Freudian approaches. I found this section interesting, particularly the suggested areas of focus and suggested tasks. I liked the focus on applying the theories rather than simply understanding them as this is more likely to help students genuinely understand both the theories and the texts themselves.

5. How to write about the gothic

This is a short section at only five pages. The advice given is brief but sound. Again, there are a range of suggested assignments. Some of these are general, others are linked to specific texts. I thought several of these would make excellent practice essay questions and were very pertinent to the examination the students have to complete. Others were simply interesting and all would help students to develop a suitable critical and genre focused response.

6. Resources

The final section includes a chronology, further reading list, glossary and index.

The chronology is simply a list of books published from the 1740s to 1991. I thought that it would have been more useful to include some significant developments in Literature and society, since the gothic is often felt to arise from uneasiness created by social change. At least there were a few more texts from the 1900’s, encouraging students to recognise the continuing appeal of the gothic novel. The list is sufficiently comprehensive to provide students with a good range of reading material.

The further reading is divided into primary texts, critical/contextual texts, video and audio resources and ICT resources. The division is sensible and there is a wide range of suggestions. However, I couldn’t help but wonder why writers who were mentioned in the further reading weren’t mentioned in the chronology. This would be a useful source for students wanting to read more about a particular aspect of the gothic. I think it is a good length as too many texts can often simply look and feel rather overwhelming.

On the other hand, the glossary of critical and literary terms is surprisingly short. In a way, this is good – it means that Stevens has used clear enough language throughout the book that all readers will understand. On the other hand, it does make me very aware of what has been left out of the book. At A level using relevant terminology is required and examined so students would need to ensure they used another resource at this point or to develop their own bank of relevant terminology.

The index is clearly set out and easy to use.

Final thoughts

I found this book very useful to remind myself of key issues surrounding the gothic genre. I found it a very useful source of quotations and discussion topics to help inform my teaching. (This is evident from the sheer number of post it notes stuck in the pages!) It does not have to be read from start to finish (although I did just that) but could be dipped into as and when required. I think it would be an excellent resource for general readers but it is designed with students in mind and it would definitely help them. As this was published before the new syllabus, and independently written, it does not refer to any specific examination criteria. I think this is a big advantage as too often students become obsessed with ‘what the examiner wants’ and they don’t enjoy the actual process of studying. The range of assignments and suggested further reading would hopefully encourage students to pursue individual interests within the genre which will then strengthen their understanding.

I could pick a couple of holes (see my comments on the glossary and chronology) but overall I think this would be an excellent resource for a student and an interesting introduction to a broad topic for a general reader. It is, ultimately, more suited to students because of the structured approach. At a mere 128 pages it is light and therefore won’t add too much weight to an already bulging school satchel. The RRP is £8.95 but it’s easy to find online for less and I’d say its worth that much anyway for the ease of reference it provides. Finally, the cover is suitably gothic whilst also looking fairly academic, so leave it lying around on your desk if you want to look clever!… (mais)