Listen&Learn: Dracula

Learn about the classic vampire novel

Pre-listening vocabulary

• horror: a genre of fiction that is scary and unsettling
• nobleman: a man of high rank or status in a country
• vampire: a monster that drinks human blood
• victim: someone who has been hurt or killed by someone else
• undead: mythical monsters that start as dead humans, such as vampires and zombies
• debate: discussion and disagreement
• preface: a piece of writing that introduces a story

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:43 — 1.6MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Dracula is an 1897 horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. It is about a Transylvanian nobleman named Count Dracula, who is also a vampire. The story is made up of and diary entries from Dracula’s victims and hunters. Many come from Romanian legends about the undead. There is a lot of debate about whether Count Dracula is based on a figure. Many people believe that a 15th-century Romanian ruler known as Vlad the Impaler was Stoker’s inspiration. Vlad the Impaler used the last name Drâculea, which comes from the Romanian word for “dragon”. In the original preface to Dracula, Stoker wrote that it was a true story, and that the were real people from his life. His publisher thought this preface made the story too scary, so Stoker it, along with 101 pages of the book. These pages have never been found.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. The novel Dracula is narrated by
   a. the nobleman Count Dracula himself
   b. a historian studying Romanian legends about the undead
   c. Dracula’s hunters and victims, through letters and diary entries
   
2. Vlad the Impaler’s last name Drâculea came from the Romanian word for
   a. dragon
   b. bat
   c. castle
   
3. In the original preface, Stoker wrote that
   a. Count Dracula was based on Vlad the Impaler
   b. the story was inspired by a local vampire legend
   c. the events of the story were true

Discussion/essay questions

1. Why do you think an author might pretend a fictional story is true?
2. Dracula has inspired many books, movies, and TV shows about vampires. Which ones have you seen? Do you like horror stories? Why or why not?

Transcript

Dracula is an 1897 horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. It is about a Transylvanian nobleman named Count Dracula, who is also a vampire. The story is made up of letters and diary entries from Dracula’s victims and hunters. Many details come from Romanian legends about the undead. There is a lot of debate about whether Count Dracula is based on a historical figure. Many people believe that a 15th-century Romanian ruler known as Vlad the Impaler was Stoker’s inspiration. Vlad the Impaler used the last name Drâculea, which comes from the Romanian word for “dragon”. In the original preface to Dracula, Stoker wrote that it was a true story, and that the characters were real people from his life. His publisher thought this preface made the story too scary, so Stoker removed it, along with 101 pages of the book. These pages have never been found.

Answers to comprehension questions

1c 2a 3c