These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the novel.

Pre-Reading “Icebreaker”

Take a little time to explore Marquette University's article on fin de siècle, which talks about literature that responded to the anxieties and desires of turn-of-the-century Britain. Read the various informative entries compiled in "Dracula & Vampirism: A History" from Portland Center Stage. What are some of the key points that the authors on this site make about the time period? How does the literature of this time reflect the hopes and fears characteristic of the turn-of-the-century? What has changed about Western society and its literature since then, and what seems to have stayed the same? How might this impact your own reading of Dracula?

Teaching Suggestion: If you ask students to respond in writing, it might be useful to allow them to talk about their findings afterward in small groups or as a class, so that each student gains a broader picture of the time period in which Dracula was written. After students have learned more about the time period, you might introduce some biographical and background information specific to Stoker himself: the Biographics video

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