Assess learners' ability to identify and interpret key symbols (ruins, darkness, doubles, thresholds, grotesques) and recurring motifs (decay, isolation, entrapment, the sublime) in Gothic literature and architecture; analyze how architectural features (gargoyles, spires, labyrinthine interiors, stained glass, ruined façades) function as symbolic devices; place readings in historical/cultural context; and apply close-reading and visual-analysis skills to short textual excerpts or images to explain thematic significance.