Upper VI Literature students come to grips with Gothic

A group of Upper VI English Literature students recently visited Howarth as part of their study of the Gothic literature genre. The girls were treated to three educational workshops, including an introductory lecture explaining the literary and biographical background of the Bronte family, a guided walk around the Bronte village and a discussion of the critical readings of Wuthering Heights. They also explored the Bronte Parsonage Museum, where they saw original texts produced by the Brontes, including minute childhood story books, as well as the costumes from the recent TV drama of Wuthering Heights.

The visit certainly helped the girls appreciate how the Brontes lived the gothic experience growing up with death and tragedy as everyday events. The group didn’t venture to Top Withens, but standing on the edge of the moors with a cool wind blowing and after hearing spine-chilling tales of the horrors of life in industrial Howarth, they could understand the inspiration for the writings of the Bronte sisters