- Discuss how film versions have altered perceptions the creation scene. Watch the 1994 version (Kenneth Branagh).
- Watch the extract from the 1931 version (James Whale).
- Produce a grid comparing the film versions to the sparse details in the opening to Chapter 5.
- Look closely at the opening of the chapter down to Victor’s dream of his dead mother. Make detailed notes in pairs on how Shelley uses language to create an atmosphere of gothic horror: features could include imagery, diction, allusion, symbolism, pathetic fallacy, onomatopoeia, fractured syntax, rhetorical questions. It is recommended that you copy the text from Gutenberg (Google it) so you can annotate it in Word, Google Docs or print it out for writing on.
- The National Theatre production opened with the creation scene. Why might the writer/director have wanted to start there? What would the novel lose/gain by doing the same?
- A key moment of textual ambiguity is Victor’s description of the Creature’s ‘hand…stretched out, seemingly to detain me.’ are there any other possible interpretations of this moment? Explore the concept of the unreliable narrator.
- Make individual notes on Victor’s immediate reaction to the creation of the creature.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12565544 (useful summary of reviews of the national theatre production)
NB Correct use of the term ambiguity in essays is a useful way of showing the examiner that you are aware texts have more than one possible meaning.
No comments:
Post a Comment