by melaniewp | Oct 21, 2013 | AQA GCSE English Literature, Controlled Assessment, Susan Hill, The Woman in Black
How does Hill create a sense of the inevitable?The sense of the inevitable increases our sympathy for Kipps as he is sucked into a tragedy where illogical, irrational hatred and evil falls upon him almost by chance. He is in no way responsible for what he suffers. As...
by melaniewp | Oct 7, 2013 | AQA, Controlled Assessment, English Literature, GCSE, Jennet Humfrye, Literature Analysis, Susan Hill, The Woman in Black
Most of the information about Jennet is revealed in the packet of letters that Arthur Kipps sorts through in the penultimate chapter (second to last), called ‘A Packet of Letters’.Of course, we meet her as ‘the woman in black’ throughout. But...
by melaniewp | Sep 30, 2013 | Analysis, AQA, English Literature, Exam Essays, GCSE, Susan Hill, The Woman in Black
‘The Funeral of Mrs Drablow’ starts on a positive note. Samuel Daily’s vehicle is as ‘capacious’ and ‘plush’ as anything Kipps has seen ‘in all my life’. In Kipps’ description of the inn, the word ‘capacious’ appears again. Though remote, Crythin Gifford is shown to...
by melaniewp | Sep 23, 2013 | Analysis, GCSE, Setting, Susan Hill, The Woman in Black
Is Crythin Gifford a real place? No. Susan Hill says she imagined the place being anywhere on the East Coast of England between Whitby/Scarborough and the Essex marshes. She does mention ‘Crewe’ but says in an interview that she just put this in...
by melaniewp | Sep 16, 2013 | AQA, Controlled Assessment, English Literature Exam, GCSE, Susan Hill, The Gothic, The Woman in Black
At the end of Chapter 1, Kipps is looking forward to Christmas day. The semantic field of joy: ‘delight’, ‘eagerly’ and ‘gladness’ contrast strangely with the foreboding mood as the narrator gets ready to tell his story. Words...
by melaniewp | Sep 10, 2013 | AQA, Controlled Assessment, English Literature Exam, GCSE, Susan Hill, The Woman in Black
How does Hill use Gothic conventions to build tension and atmosphere at the start of The Woman in Black?The title of the chapter ‘Christmas Eve’ suggests a time of celebration, family and joy, of anticipation. The mood at the start is ‘festive’, ‘happy’ and the main...
