Year 7 · English · Modern novel study · Lesson 3

Setting and atmosphere

Setting and atmosphere in a novel: how writers use the senses, similes, personification, hyperbole and pathetic fallacy, analysed in the original ‘The Night Library’.

17-minute video lesson

Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.

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What your child will learn

Define setting and atmosphere
Identify techniques that create atmosphere
Explain the effect of imagery
Write about setting using PEE

The method

Name the mood.
Quotation.
Technique.
Effect.

Key words: setting, atmosphere, pathetic fallacy, simile, personification, hyperbole, senses.

Worked examples

The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.

Question 1

What is setting?

Step 1: Where + when

Answer: where and when a story takes place

Question 2

What is atmosphere?

Step 1: Mood

Answer: the mood or feeling a setting creates

Question 3

Name three words to describe an atmosphere.

Step 1: Feelings

Answer: e.g. eerie, peaceful, tense