Objectives

• Analyse how Dickens uses the fog and the Court of Chancery in Chapter 1 as an extended metaphor for institutional corruption and moral obscurity.
• Analyse how the dual-narrator form — omniscient third person and Esther's first person — shapes the reader's access to truth and identity, with close reference to Chapters 1, 3 and 18.
• Evaluate how Dickens constructs Lady Dedlock and Tulkinghorn as opposing figures of concealment and surveillance, using evidence from Chapters 2, 16, 18 and 22.
• Analyse how Tom-All-Alone's and Krook's spontaneous combustion in Chapters 16 and 25 function as social and symbolic arguments about poverty and legal corruption.
• Write a sustained, evidenced analytical response that connects at least two of the themes of identity, justice and power across the novel's arc from Chapter 1 to Chapter 25.

The sequence

1. Lesson 1: Fog, Chancery and the Machinery of Injustice — Chapters 1 and 2

   60 min · ch. 1, 2

   Do now

   Read the opening paragraph of Chapter 1 ('London. Michaelmas Term lately over…') silently. List every noun Dickens uses in the first ten lines. What do these nouns share in common? Write your answer in a single sentence without discussing it with anyone.

   Teacher input

   Model a close reading of the fog passage in Chapter 1 ('Fog everywhere. Fog up the river…'). Explore how Dickens's repetition of 'Fog' builds a sense of institutional paralysis and examine how the transition from weather to the Lord Chancellor ('at the very heart of the fog') combines natural and legal corruption into one striking image. Teach students to incorporate a quotation and analyze syntax, not just individual words.

   Independent task

   Students will write an analytical paragraph (using the PEEL structure or a similar approach) that answers the question: 'How does Dickens use the fog in Chapter 1 to depict the Court of Chancery as morally corrupt?' They need to include at least two quotes from the fog passage, discuss one structural feature (such as anaphora, listing, or the transition to the Lord Chancellor), and relate the fog to the theme of justice. Paragraphs will be collected at the end of the lesson.

   Exit ticket

   In one sentence, identify the structural technique Dickens employs in the fog passage and describe what it implies about Chancery. Jot it down on a sticky note and place it on the desk.

2. Lesson 2: Two Voices, One Story — Esther's Narrative and the Problem of Identity (Chapters 3, 6 and 13)

   60 min · ch. 3, 6, 13

   Do now

   Open Chapter 3. Read Esther's first paragraph ('I have a great deal of difficulty in beginning to write my portion of these pages…'). Write two observations: one regarding Esther's self-perception and another about the implications of her language that she doesn't explicitly express. You have four minutes.

   Teacher input

   Model the contrast between the omniscient narrator’s confident, satirical present tense in Chapter 1 and Esther’s self-deprecating, retrospective first-person perspective in Chapter 3, particularly highlighting the phrase, "I know I am not clever." Explore how Dickens employs free indirect discourse to render Esther both unreliable and sympathetic—her tendency to edit herself serves as a hint toward her repressed identity. Illustrate how narrative voice can be analyzed as a deliberate formal choice rather than merely a stylistic quirk.

   Independent task

   Students annotate the section in Chapter 13 where Esther talks about Richard's decline ('I thought it best to be as cheerful as I could…'). After that, they write two paragraphs: the first focuses on what Esther directly states about Richard; the second explores what her cautious phrases ('I thought,' 'I could not help,' 'I fancied') suggest about her own feelings of anxiety and self-restraint. Both paragraphs should be submitted along with the annotations.

   Exit ticket

   Esther's tendency to self-deprecate in Chapter 3 reveals that she has been conditioned to view herself negatively, a mindset likely influenced by Miss Barbary's critical teachings.

3. Lesson 3: Secrets, Surveillance and Power — Lady Dedlock and Tulkinghorn (Chapters 2, 18 and 22)

   60 min · ch. 2, 18, 22

   Do now

   Read the paragraph in Chapter 2 that describes Lady Dedlock, starting with, "My Lady Dedlock has been down at what she calls, in familiar conversation, her place in Lincolnshire…". Identify three details the narrator reveals and three details the narrator chooses not to share. How does this impact the reader's understanding? Write your response before the register is called.

   Teacher input

   Model a close reading of the scene in Chapter 22 where Inspector Bucket visits the Dedlock household. Pay special attention to the line 'Mr. Bucket and the Dedlock family eye one another across a great gulf.' Explore how Dickens employs spatial metaphor and Bucket's deliberate ordinariness to illustrate surveillance as a form of class power. Guide students in analyzing a character's role (for example, Tulkinghorn as a tool of patriarchal legal authority) rather than merely focusing on their personality traits.

   Independent task

   Students will write a comparative paragraph addressing the question: "How do Tulkinghorn and Lady Dedlock represent contrasting relationships to power in Chapters 18 and 22?" They need to quote from both chapters, highlight at least one technique used in each quote, and link their analysis to the themes of deception or identity. All responses should be written quietly and submitted at the end.

   Exit ticket

   Is Tulkinghorn powerful because of what he knows, or because of what he chooses to keep hidden? In Chapter 22, for instance, his silence about the true nature of Lady Dedlock's past gives him significant leverage over her.

4. Lesson 4: The Body of Society — Tom-All-Alone's, Jo and Spontaneous Combustion (Chapters 11, 16 and 25)

   60 min · ch. 11, 16, 25

   Do now

   Read the opening of Chapter 16 ('Tom-all-Alone's is in Chancery, of course…'). Underline every verb Dickens uses to depict the buildings and the people. What stands out to you regarding who or what has agency in this passage? Write one observation.

   Teacher input

   Model a reading of Krook's spontaneous combustion in Chapter 25, specifically the moment when Guppy and Jobling find the oily residue ('Is it a fire? … Call the engines!'). Explore how Dickens portrays Krook — a man who has hoarded legal documents he cannot read — as an allegorical counterpart to the Lord Chancellor. This incident of spontaneous combustion serves to illustrate the novel's claim that Chancery self-destructs. Guide students on how to analyze symbolism as a form of argument rather than mere decoration.

   Independent task

   Students are tasked with writing a structured response consisting of three paragraphs addressing the question: 'How does Dickens use the settings of Tom-All-Alone's (Chapter 16) and Krook's shop (Chapter 25) to make a social and moral argument?'

   • Paragraph One: Discuss Tom-All-Alone's in relation to poverty as a byproduct of Chancery.
   • Paragraph Two: Analyze Krook as an allegorical representation of the Lord Chancellor.
   • Paragraph Three: Examine what both settings reveal about institutional guilt.

   Each response must include a quotation from the respective chapter, which should be collected at the end.

   Exit ticket

   Dickens chooses to have Krook die from spontaneous combustion instead of murder or illness to highlight the absurdity of his character and the corrupting influence of unchecked greed, suggesting that such moral decay can lead to a self-destructive fate.

5. Lesson 5: Endings and What They Cost — Richard, Esther and the Verdict on Chancery (Chapters 24 and 25)

   60 min · ch. 24, 25

   Do now

   Read the passage in Chapter 24 where Richard tells Esther he cannot give up the suit ('It's all I have, Esther…'). In your response, explain what Richard believes Jarndyce and Jarndyce will provide him. Also, consider what it has already cost him. You have four minutes — write continuously without pausing.

   Teacher input

   Model a close reading of the moment in Chapter 25 when Jarndyce and Jarndyce is dismissed — the entire estate consumed by costs — and Richard collapses in court. Focus on the irony that the case concludes not with a verdict but with emptiness: there is nothing left to distribute. Show how to write about structural irony and narrative closure, illustrating how Dickens withholds catharsis to highlight a political point about the law's indifference to human life.

   Independent task

   Students will create a detailed essay plan that includes an introduction, three body paragraphs featuring topic sentences and embedded quotations, and a conclusion. The plan should respond to the question: "How does Dickens use the fates of Richard Carstone and Esther Summerson to present contrasting verdicts on the possibility of justice in Bleak House?" Students are required to reference at least four chapters from the novel, specifically Chapters 3, 13, 24, and 25. Once completed, the plans will be submitted and serve as the foundation for the final essay.

   Exit ticket

   In two sentences: does Bleak House conclude with a sense of hope or a feeling of despair? Refer to one moment from Chapter 25 and another from Esther's story to back up your perspective.

Activities

Assessment

• Exit ticket after Lesson 1: student can name anaphora and connect it to Chancery's paralysis — marker looks for the word 'accumulation' or equivalent and a link to institutional critique, not just weather description.
• Annotated passage from Lesson 2 (Chapter 13): marker looks for identification of Esther's hedging verbs ('I thought,' 'I fancied') as evidence of self-suppression, not merely as politeness.
• Comparative paragraph from Lesson 3: marker checks that students write about Tulkinghorn's function as an instrument of patriarchal legal power, not just that he is 'sinister' or 'mysterious.'
• Three-paragraph response from Lesson 4: marker checks that Krook's death is read allegorically — as an argument about Chancery — rather than as a plot event or Gothic set-piece only.
• Essay plan from Lesson 5: marker checks that the plan draws on at least four chapters and that the conclusion takes a position on whether the novel ends with hope or despair, with textual grounding.

Standards covered

Common Core 11 12

• RL.11-12.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• RL.11-12.3 — Analyse the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g. where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
• RL.11-12.5 — Analyse how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
• RL.11-12.6 — Analyse a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g. satire, irony, understatement).

AP Literature

• Literary Argumentation (LAN-1) — Develop a thesis that interprets a literary text and requires defence with evidence.
• Figurative Language (FIG-1) — Explain the function of figurative language in a literary text, including extended metaphor and allegory.
• Narration (NAR-1) — Explain the function of point of view and narrative perspective, including the effect of an unreliable or self-deprecating first-person narrator.
• Structure (STR-1) — Explain how an author's structural choices (dual narration, serialised form, parallel plots) contribute to the meaning of a literary text.

AQA

• AO1 — Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression.
• AO2 — Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts, including Dickens's use of anaphora, allegorical doubling and dual-narrator form.
• AO3 — Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received, including the Court of Chancery reform debates of the 1850s and the sanitary reform movement.
• AO5 — Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations, including contemporary reviews of Bleak House that contested the double-narrator approach.

Edexcel

• AO1 — Articulate informed responses to literary texts using relevant concepts and terminology.
• AO2 — Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in Bleak House, focusing on Dickens's use of setting, narrative voice and symbolic death.
• AO3 — Demonstrate understanding of Victorian social and legal contexts and their shaping of the novel's satirical targets.
• AO4 — Explore connections across literary texts, including the relationship between Bleak House and the Victorian social novel tradition.