The Canterville Ghost

Teacher’s notes and key

Level: upper-intermediate/lower-advanced (B2/C1).

Aim: to use an excerpt from a literary text (‘The Canterville Ghost’ by Oscar
Wilde) to review grammar structures.

Lead-in

First of all, ask students questions such as:

 Do you know who Oscar Wilde was?

 What did he write?
 Where was he from?
 When did he live?
 Is he famous in your country?

Then give them the background information (Worksheet 1) on:

a. Oscar Wilde

b. the story.

Grammar practice

Several grammar structures could be reviewed using the excerpt:

 Past perfect vs. past simple (Worksheet 2)

Either tense may be possible in some gaps.

 Articles (Worksheet 3)
Again, there may be more than one possible answer for some gaps.

 Direct and indirect speech

1. Tell the students to imagine that they are going to use this short story for a
school play. They have to rewrite the paragraph as if it were a scene from
a play instead of an excerpt from a short story.

2. To help students use the correct punctuation, provide them with a scene
from a play so that they have a sample to look at.

3. At the end of the activity, get the students to act out the scene.

All the activities should be done in pairs or groups of three students.

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 The Canterville Ghost

Excerpt

About ten minutes later, the bell rang for tea, and, as Virginia did not come
down, Mrs. Otis sent up one of the footmen to tell her. After a little time he
returned and said that he could not find Miss Virginia anywhere. As she was in
the habit of going out to the garden every evening to get flowers for the dinner-
table, Mrs. Otis was not at all alarmed at first, but when six o'clock struck, and
Virginia did not appear, she became really agitated, and sent the boys out to look
for her, while she herself and Mr. Otis searched every room in the house. At half-
past six the boys came back and said that they could find no trace of their sister
anywhere. They were all now in the greatest state of excitement, and did not
know what to do, when Mr. Otis suddenly remembered that, some few days
before, he had given a band of gipsies permission to camp in the park. He
accordingly at once set off for Blackfell Hollow, where he knew they were,
accompanied by his eldest son and two of the farm-servants. The little Duke of
Cheshire, who was perfectly frantic with anxiety, begged hard to be allowed to go
too, but Mr. Otis would not allow him, as he was afraid there might be a scuffle.
On arriving at the spot, however, he found that the gipsies had gone, and it was
evident that their departure had been rather sudden, as the fire was still burning,
and some plates were lying on the grass. Having sent off Washington and the
two men to scour the district, he ran home, and despatched telegrams to all the
police inspectors in the county, telling them to look out for a little girl who had
been kidnapped by tramps or gipsies. He then ordered his horse to be brought
round, and, after insisting on his wife and the three boys sitting down to dinner,
rode off down the Ascot road with a groom. He had hardly, however, gone a
couple of miles, when he heard somebody galloping after him, and, looking
round, saw the little Duke coming up on his pony, with his face very flushed and
no hat. 'I'm awfully sorry, Mr. Otis,' gasped out the boy, 'but I can't eat any
dinner as long as Virginia is lost. Please, don't be angry with me; if you had let
us be engaged last year, there would never have been all this trouble. You won't
send me back, will you? I can't go! I won't go!'

‘The Canterville Ghost’ by Oscar Wilde, available as a Project Gutenberg eBook on

www.gutenberg.org.

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 The Canterville Ghost

Worksheet 1 – Background information

Oscar Wilde (Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, 16 October 1854 –

30 November 1900) was an Irish writer, poet and playwright. He
wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the plays Salomé, The
Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, and Lady
Windermere's Fan.

Wilde was an outstanding classical scholar, at Trinity College, Dublin,

then at Magdalen College, Oxford University. In London, he worked as
a journalist for four years. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant
clothes, and glittering conversation, Wilde was one of the best known
personalities of the day. It was his only novel, The Picture of Dorian
Gray, which brought him full recognition. Then he turned to writing
drama.

Wilde was bisexual. He was married, and had two children. His
downfall came as a result of his affair with a younger man, Lord Alfred
Douglas.

At the height of his fame and success Wilde sued his lover's father for
libel. After a series of trials, Wilde was convicted of gross indecency
and sentenced to two years of hard labour. In prison he wrote De
Profundis, a long letter which discusses his spiritual journey through
his trials, forming a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of
pleasure.

Upon his release he left immediately for France, never to return to the
British Isles. There he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol,
a long poem commemorating prison life. Living in a Paris hotel, he
was destitute, with little money and few friends. His last memorable
words were: ‘My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One
of us has got to go’. He died of cerebral meningitis at the age of forty-
six.

(abbreviated from the Wikipedia Simple English entry on Oscar Wilde:

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde)

The Canterville Ghost

The Otis family from America, Mr. and Mrs. Otis, their fifteen-year-old
daughter Virginia, their twin boys and their eldest son Washington,
move to Canterville Chase. They are warned that the house is
haunted, but they do not believe in ghosts.

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 The Canterville Ghost

Worksheet 2 – Past perfect vs. past simple

Read the first part of the paragraph in the box below, in order to
understand the context.

About ten minutes later, the bell rang for tea, and, as Virginia did not
come down, Mrs. Otis sent up one of the footmen to tell her. After a
little time he returned and said that he could not find Miss Virginia
anywhere. As she was in the habit of going out to the garden every
evening to get flowers for the dinner-table, Mrs. Otis was not at all
alarmed at first, but when six o'clock struck, and Virginia did not
appear, she became really agitated, and sent the boys out to look for
her, while she herself and Mr. Otis searched every room in the house.
At half past six the boys came back and said that they could find no
trace of their sister anywhere.

Now complete the gapped excerpt with the correct forms of the verbs in
brackets.

They __________ (be) all now in the greatest state of excitement, and

__________ (not know) what to do, when Mr. Otis suddenly __________

(remember) that, some few days before, he __________ (give) a band of gipsies

permission to camp in the park. He accordingly at once __________ (set) off for

Blackfell Hollow, where he __________ (know) they __________ (be),

accompanied by his eldest son and two of the farm-servants. The little Duke of

Cheshire, who __________ (be) perfectly frantic with anxiety, _________ (be)

hard to be allowed to go too, but Mr. Otis would not allow him, as he __________

(be) afraid there might be a scuffle. On arriving at the spot, however, he

___________ (find) that the gipsies __________ (go), and it _________ (be)

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 The Canterville Ghost

evident that their departure __________ (be) rather sudden, as the fire was still

burning, and some plates were lying on the grass. Having sent off Washington

and the two men to scour the district, he __________ (run) home, and

__________ (despatch) telegrams to all the police inspectors in the county,

telling them to look out for a little girl who __________ (be) kidnapped by

tramps or gipsies. He then _________ (order) his horse to be brought round,

and, after insisting on his wife and the three boys sitting down to dinner,

__________ (ride) off down the Ascot road with a groom. He _____ hardly,

however, _____ (go) a couple of miles, when he ___________ (hear) somebody

galloping after him, and, looking round, __________ (see) the little Duke coming

up on his pony, with his face very flushed and no hat. 'I'm awfully sorry, Mr.

Otis,' __________ (gasp) out the boy, 'but I can't eat any dinner as long as

Virginia is lost. Please, don't be angry with me; if you __________ (let) us be

engaged last year, there would never have been all this trouble. You won't send

me back, will you? I can't go! I won't go!'

‘The Canterville Ghost’ by Oscar Wilde, available as a Project Gutenberg eBook on

www.gutenberg.org.

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 The Canterville Ghost

Worksheet 3 – Articles

Complete the excerpt with the correct articles: definite (the), indefinite
(a/an) or the zero article.

About ten minutes later, _____ bell rang for _____ tea, and, as Virginia did not

come down, Mrs. Otis sent up one of _____ footmen to tell her. After _____ little

time he returned and said that he could not find Miss Virginia anywhere. As she

was in the habit of going out to _____ garden every evening to get _____ flowers

for _____ dinner-table, Mrs. Otis was not at all alarmed at first, but when six

o'clock struck, and Virginia did not appear, she became really agitated, and sent

_____ boys out to look for her, while she herself and Mr. Otis searched every

room in _____ house. At half past six _____ boys came back and said that they

could find no trace of their sister anywhere. They were all now in _____ greatest

state of excitement, and did not know what to do, when Mr. Otis suddenly

remembered that, some few days before, he had given _____ band of gipsies

_____ permission to camp in _____ park. He accordingly at once set off for

_____ Blackfell Hollow, where he knew they were, accompanied by his eldest son

and two of _____ farm-servants. _____ little Duke of Cheshire, who was

perfectly frantic with anxiety, begged hard to be allowed to go too, but Mr. Otis

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 The Canterville Ghost

would not allow him, as he was afraid there might be _____ scuffle. On arriving

at _____ spot, however, he found that _____ gipsies had gone, and it was

evident that their departure had been rather sudden, as _____ fire was still

burning, and some plates were lying on _____ grass. Having sent off Washington

and _____ two men to scour _____ district, he ran home, and despatched

telegrams to all _____ police inspectors in the county, telling them to look out for

_____ little girl who had been kidnapped by _____ tramps or _____ gipsies. He

then ordered his horse to be brought round, and, after insisting on his wife and

____ three boys sitting down to dinner, rode off down _____ Ascot road with

_____ groom. He had hardly, however, gone _____ couple of miles, when he

heard somebody galloping after him, and, looking round, saw _____ little Duke

coming up on his pony, with his face very flushed and no hat. 'I'm awfully sorry,

Mr. Otis,' gasped out _____ boy, 'but I can't eat any dinner as long as Virginia is

lost. Please, don't be angry with me; if you had let us be engaged last year,

there would never have been all this trouble. You won't send me back, will you?

I can't go! I won't go!'

‘The Canterville Ghost’ by Oscar Wilde, available as a Project Gutenberg eBook on

www.gutenberg.org.

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