You are viewing a free preview of this lesson.
Subscribe to unlock all 10 lessons in this course and every other course on LearningBro.
Analysing Stevenson's use of language is essential for achieving top marks — AO2 (analysing language, form, and structure) is the most heavily weighted Assessment Objective. This lesson examines the key language techniques and imagery patterns in Jekyll and Hyde.
One of the most important imagery patterns in the novella is the animalistic language used to describe Hyde.
| Quote | Chapter | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| "with ape-like fury" (4) | 4 | Directly links Hyde to primates — Darwinian regression |
| "like a monkey" (8) | 8 | Hyde's movements are animalistic, subhuman |
| "it cried out like a rat" (8) | 8 | Hyde reduced to vermin — the lowest form of animal |
| "hissing" (8) | 8 | Serpent imagery — connects to Satan and the Fall |
| "troglodytic" (2) | 2 | Literally "cave-dwelling" — a primitive, pre-civilised being |
| "hardly human ... something troglodytic" (2) | 2 | Hyde exists on the boundary between human and animal |
The animal imagery serves several functions:
Subscribe to continue reading
Get full access to this lesson and all 10 lessons in this course.