Hi! I’m Danielle of English Classroom Architect, and if you’ve landed here, you’ve probably just finished the latest collabisode of the Brave New Teaching podcast. In that episode, I discussed how Gothic literature helps us confront hidden traumas, societal fears, and the anxieties that haunt us. This companion page is your go-to for digging deeper into the themes, texts, and classroom activities I mentioned during the episode.

How Macbeth Dabbles in the Gothic  

While Macbeth is traditionally taught as a tragedy, its Gothic elements are just as compelling. Shakespeare was ahead of his time, weaving supernatural elements and psychological horror long before the genre was even defined. Consider these moments:  

  • The Witches’ Prophecy: A Gothic catalyst exploring fate vs. free will.  
  • Lady Macbeth’s Mental Breakdown: Her conscience “haunts” her, driving her to madness.  
  • Banquo’s Ghost: A literal manifestation of guilt and paranoia.  
  • Confinement and Madness: Lady Macbeth’s isolation amplifies her descent into madness.  

Pairing Macbeth with Gothic texts can unlock rich discussions about mental health, societal structures, and psychological tolls.

Modern Gothic through Mexican Gothic 

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia offers a modern lens on the Gothic genre, layering colonialism, identity, and cultural history into a haunting narrative. The protagonist, Noemí, travels to a remote mountain town to check on her cousin, who has married into an old English family. But the land—built on indigenous burial grounds—remembers, and the novel unfolds as a chilling confrontation between past and present.

Here are some of the key parallels to explore with your students:  

  • Mental Health and Entrapment: Lady Macbeth’s obsessive hand-washing mirrors Noemí’s psychological journey as she uncovers buried secrets.  
  • Hauntings and Confinement: Just as the ghost of Banquo haunts Macbeth, *Mexican Gothic* explores how colonialism haunts the present.  
  • Cultural Systems and Identity: Both texts delve into social systems—one through monarchy and ambition, the other through colonial history and race.  

This pairing is timely for October’s Mental Health Awareness Month or can fit anytime you’re exploring SEL themes. You could pair passages from each text to see how mental health and societal constraints are depicted across time, providing a relatable framework for students who experienced the mental toll of 2020 and beyond.

Classroom Activities  

  • Passage Pairing: Students analyze excerpts from Macbeth and Mexican Gothic to explore themes of guilt, mental health, and confinement.  
  • The 2020 Connection: Reflect on how quarantine and isolation impacted mental health, just as illness did during the plague of 1606, when Shakespeare wrote Macbeth.  
  • The Gothic Evolution: Create a comparative timeline of the Gothic genre, from Shakespeare to Silvia Moreno-Garcia.  

If Macbeth is a required text, this pairing can breathe new life into it, tapping into students’ love for horror and psychological thrillers.

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