The Supernatural in 'A Christmas Carol': Context, Quotations, and Analysis
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- Опубліковано 27 лис 2020
- Welcome to the nineteenth video in my "'A Christmas Carol' GCSE English Literature Revision" series! In this video, I focus on the theme of the supernatural!
In order to focus on the theme of the supernatural in Dickens's classic Christmas tale, I first define what could be meant by 'supernatural', provide a tonne of essential contextual information, look at a variety of quotations, and analyse them too! You'll definitely want a pen and paper for this video, as there's loads of useful ideas that will help you with your revision.
Bibliography (read this for even more useful contextual information!):
- Bryan Kozlowski, 'Charles Dickens, the paranormal and ghost stories', HISTORIC-UK DOT COM: www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK...
- Emily Vincent quoted in David Barnett, 'Do you believe in ghosts? "I thought it was normal to see people that weren't there"', THE INDEPENDENT: www.independent.co.uk/indepen...
- International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, 'Why Did Dickens Write Ghost Stories for Christmas?': ilab.org/articles/why-did-cha...
- John Mullan, 'Ghosts in A CHRISTMAS CAROL', THE BRITISH LIBRARY: www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victo...
- Kira Cochrane, 'Ghost stories: why the Victorians were so spookily good at them', THE GUARDIAN: www.theguardian.com/books/201...
- Roger Luckhurst, 'The Victorian Supernatural', THE BRITISH LIBRARY: www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victo...
- Victorian Era dot org, 'Ghost Stories of the Victorian Era': victorian-era.org/ghost-storie...
- Victorian Era dot org, 'Supernatural Victorian Era': victorian-era.org/supernatural...
- Victorian Era dot org, 'Victorian Era Religion and Religious Beliefs': victorian-era.org/victorian-er...
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Let’s go guys, The English lit exam is tomorrow, good luck everyone
wishing you luck!
good luck
im doing eduqas so my Christmas carol exam is today 😭 hope it went well for u and good luck for the future exams
This video is so great because of its sensitive approach to all aspects of the theme. I must say that I will certainly be recommending you to my peers. Thanks a bunch mate.
how does this guy not have more subs this s brillliant thanks man
You're very welcome - I'm sure I'll get some more subs eventually!!
Thank you for this video,very helpful for tests I have coming up :)))
Happy to help! 😁
Thanks, I might pass my English gcse now
Did u pass
Did you pass
Your videos are great! Really appreciate this in depth work, has helped me a lot with my GCSEs!
thank u, u make revision so much easier
Thanks so much for this series, helped me get A+ in my test.
Thank you so much for this, it was very useful :)
Happy to be able to help! 😊
Really helpful! Thank you
this is going to save me tomorrow
For those doing last minute revision
Summary
The video script discusses the theme of the supernatural in Charles Dickens’s novella “A Christmas Carol” and provides contextual information, important quotations, and analysis. It explores how the supernatural is presented in the story and its significance in Victorian literature and popular culture.
Highlights
0:00 🎥 Introduction to the theme of the supernatural in “A Christmas Carol”
2:45 📚 Contextual information about the Victorians’ interest in the supernatural
9:37 🎭 The influence of scientific developments and seances on the Victorian fascination with the supernatural
12:15 ⚖ Dickens’s use of the supernatural to convey social messages and critique societal issues
18:03 🧙♂ Analysis of key quotations related to the supernatural in the novella
26:10 📝 Importance of understanding the context and themes in the study of “A Christmas Carol”
28:00 📚 Further exploration of the supernatural elements in the story and their relation to Victorian beliefs and anxieties
Key Insights
💡 The theme of the supernatural in “A Christmas Carol” is represented by various ghosts, their appearances, powers, and aims, as well as other unnatural elements in the novella.
💡 The Victorians’ interest in the supernatural can be attributed to changes in the publishing industry, scientific developments, religious responses, and societal changes during the era.
💡 Dickens uses the supernatural as a didactic and moralistic tool to convey his messages about social inequality, the consequences of a selfish lifestyle, and the importance of creating a fairer society.
💡 The supernatural entities in the story, such as Jacob Marley’s ghost and the Ghost of Christmas Present, serve as teachers and guides to Scrooge, urging him to change his ways and avoid their fate.
💡 Descriptions of the supernatural elements, like the transformation of the door knocker into Marley’s face and the strange appearance of the Ghost of Christmas Past, create an air of mystery and convey the incomprehensibility of the supernatural.
💡 The supernatural in the story reflects the Victorian fascination with communication with the dead, seances, and the use of mediums, providing a sense of comfort and making sense of the increasingly complex and changing world.
💡 The silent and menacing appearance of Ignorance and Want, represented as dread monsters, highlights the horrifying consequences of social inequality and serves as a critique of Victorian society.
Good summary! Did you make these notes yourself, or did you use an AI tool? Genuinely curious!
@@DystopiaJunkie Used ai for the time stamps otherwise the rest was my notes
@ChelmsfordPhotographer that's cool! Great effort 👌
very helpful
Glad to hear it!
hey! I was thinking about the importance of the narrator and their almost supernatural role in the novella. I was wondering your opinion on this- specifically in Stave 4 when they describe the graveyard as a ‘worthy place’ for Scrooge- which is an opinion that Dickens most likely shared? Love your channel btw- you are so helpful!
I think that the graveyard being described as a worthy place for scrooge could be a representation of his life before the ghosts visited: when he lived his life alone and unloved. It could be that he was already dead inside without the warmth from people, Like when he went to the extent of dimming the clerk's own light, but still didn't care. Not only did his darkness affect himself, but spread to others as well. He wouldn't think twice to "grasp" things from others in the name of business. So, wouldn't it be beneficial to his poor maids and helpers if he died? there is no use of him even alive though. Dickens wanted to compare the rich majority in Victorian London to death due to selfishness of personal gains.
Hiii, Would you be able to do a Video on how to write a grade 9 GCSE English essay anytime soon? I’ve tried watching other videos but I like your way of explaining things the best.also,if you made one could you do it so that it can be used for all GCSE boards?
That's a big ask! The exam boards all have slightly different requirements, and so it would be quite tricky for me to do something that would cover them all - especially because the strategy can change from question to question even within the same exam board!
I've got a video about verb choices out already, and although it isn't exactly what you've mentioned there, I still recommend watching it, as I think the techniques I discuss in that video are pretty essential to getting a grade 9!
@@DystopiaJunkie if you do do it can you tell me pls becuase i dont do notis
thx for the vid 👍👍
@@DystopiaJunkie ahh ok,thank you :) I’ll go check it out today
Seems more like science fiction? time
space dimension travel----the ghost was
Dr. Who in disguise ?
Good stuff I'm so nerdy.🤔
Agreed
i noticed something in a christmas carol and i was wondering if you could help me analyse it (it might be a dead end but worth a shot)
im more of a science nerd, and i noticed that theres a sort of motif of science in ACC. i have a couple quotations to back it up
'another idol has displaced me' (displacement reactions)
'heavier particles descended into a shower of sooty atoms'
'diffuse in vain'
'surveying one small atom of a bone upon the dish'
idk if this means anything but ACC was written just after alot of discoveries were made around the atom. maybe this could be a contextual thing? do you have any ideas?
Ooh this is interesting - well done for spotting a linguistic pattern in Dickens's writing! That eye for detail is a great quality to possess (whether that's in analysing literature or conducting a science experiment).
So I've had a quick think and a Google, and it turns out that Dickens did in fact have some scientific interests (www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/13/charles-dickens-science-museum-medical-knowledge), and you are totally spot on when you say that the Victorian age was an age of great discovery (in science and various other fields). It's also worth remembering that certain spiritualist beliefs were considered to be a science (or pseudoscience) in Dickens's day - I think I cover that towards the beginning of my video about the supernatual.
Although I would be hesitant to say that Dickens is using scientific language to make any particular statement, the fact that scientific language is evident in his writing could definitely be considered a characteristic that makes it markedly Victorian in nature.
What do you think? Do you think it does more? Less? Something different entirely?