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Description
'Great Expectations' is considered and the autobiographical elements within it are traced. The central theme is isolated and discussed.
'Great Expectations' is considered and the autobiographical elements within it are traced. The central theme is isolated and discussed.
| Module code and title: | A302, The nineteenth century novel and its legacy |
|---|---|
| Item code: | A302; 03 |
| First transmission date: | 07-03-1973 |
| Published: | 1973 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:24:30 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Paul Kafno |
| Contributors: | Graham Martin; Gabriel Woolf |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Gadshill Place; Gray's Inn; Wemmick |
| Footage description: | Graham Martin in Cooling graveyard describes the genesis of Dickens' novel 'Great Expectations' and the basic outline of the story. Short quotations from the beginning of the novel are read over shots of the area around Cooling. Graham Martin continues his description of the development of Dickens' novel linking it with the areas around Cooling and with places in Dickens' own life and experience. Quotations from 'Great Expectations' are read out. Shots of Restoration House in Rochester, the supposed model for house. Graham Martin traces those elements in the character and life of Pip which can be traced to real events in the life of Dickens. Shots of Dickens' home in Chatham, and of contemporary prints of old London. Graham Martin considers the effect of London upon the young Dickens and assesses Dickens' debt to London as a source of inspiration. He then links Dickens' experience of London with his imaginative recreation in 'Great Expectations'. Shots of those areas of London used in the novel. Shots of Gray's Inn; Pip's introduction to Barnard's Inn is described by quotation from the novel. Graham Martin discusses Dickens' own reaction to Gray's Inn and Wemmick, a character of 'Great Expectations'. Pip's subsequent social life and his disillusion are recounted in quotation and discussed by Graham Martin. The plot of the novel is briefly outlined by Graham Martin over shots of prints of Regent society and of London of the 1820s. Graham Martin returns to the theme of the importance of London to Dickens' imagination. Dickens is quoted. Shots of Dickens' house 'Gadshill Place'. Graham Martin describes Dickens' love of the house and its perhaps symbolic value for him; he then speculates on its possibly being the inspiration for 'Great Expectations'. Graham Martin isolates the theme of 'Great Expectations' and closes the programme with a short quotation from the beginning of 'Great Expectations'. |
| Master spool number: | 6HT/70961 |
| Production number: | 00525_3003 |
| Videofinder number: | 2579 |
| Available to public: | no |
