Gothic Literature is Just Terrible Essay examples - 766 Words

Well, I suppose we should get right to it. Gothic Literature (or more specifically, the gothic romance) was first introduced to the world in the year 1764. At that time a man by the name of Horace Walpole wrote a little ditty he titled The Castle of Otranto which most literary experts seem to agree is the Gothic pioneer. At the time, there were mixed reactions, to say the least. To quote one pundit: ...it presented, at first, a topic for argument and inflammatory rhetoric (Alfred Potter, from Gothic Horror p128 - Clive Bloom). Despite (or maybe because of) its imperfect beginnings, however, Gothic literature came to be a venerable, albeit controversial genre with a mysterious appeal. Following in†¦show more content†¦You name it, theyve done it. Anything to add a wink of excitement. 2) The psychology of horror and or terror. This is a big one and its a distinction you might want to note. In the literary sense, terror creates a sense of uncertain apprehension that leads to a complex fear of obscure and dreadful things. If you remember Romanticism, this is right over the plate for those sublime authors. Horror, on the other hand, is a series of images or concrete thoughts that induce fear, shock, revulsion and disgusts (straight out of the dictionary). As a professor (Buj) once put it in his class which I later paraphrased and am now correcting, Terror is for the philosopher, horror appeals to lower mental faculties. 3) The poetics of the sublime. Okay...to properly define the sublime requires a lifetime of study. I only have a few weeks so, in short, sublime values or images are those that overwhelm you with your own insignificance or your own potential. The bottom line, youre overwhelmed by thoughts and images. Romanticists are big on this. Check out Blake or Kant as prime examples. 4) A sense of mystery and dread. I think this is obvious. 5) The appealing hero/villain. If you associate or want to associate with someone, you enjoy or fear the story more. 6) The distressed hero(ine). The hero(ine) is usually a virtuous, poetically- inclined soul lusted after/chased/hunted by an evil aristocrat. 7)Show MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Romanticism In Jane Austens Northanger Abbey1500 Words   |  6 Pagesones during the Romantic era was gothic literature. In Jane Austen’s novel, Northanger Abbey, it is clear that she is commenting on the impact of gothic literature during this era. Austen creates this commentary based on the continual exaggeration and use of the word ‘horrid’ by characters, Catherine Morland’s tendencies to get caught up in terrifying or dramatic fantasies, and the incessant mockery of the manners of speech and expressions used within the gothic genre. It is common for young peopleRead MoreA Rose for Emily731 Words   |  3 Pagesthe Gothic elements of â€Å"A Rose for Emily† Gothic can be defined as â€Å"literature dealing with the strange, mysterious, and supernatural designed to invoke suspense and terror in the reader.† (Pickering, 2004, p. 1425) Gothic literature generally presents the same themes and motifs: love lost, hidden secrets, love and death hand in hand, beauty, youth, grotesque characters, macabre eroticism, etc. Gothic literature also explores taboo subjects such as murder, suicide and incest. â€Å"A Rose forRead MoreThe King Of Gothic Literature1321 Words   |  6 Pages28 April 2015 The King of Gothic Gothic literature is an new, and young concept to many. It barely popped it’s head out in the mere eighteen hundreds. One of those who well mastered the concept of this was Stephen King. Stephen King was able to wrap his mind around the topic, and bend it to his will. By today’s date, Stephen King has already based some of his best works of art, of horror literature, with the fusion of gothic elements and today’s horror. Gothic literature can be defined as writingRead MoreElements Of Irony In Stown1300 Words   |  6 Pages Stown is a story of trust, hate, and love, but is it a southern gothic lit piece? Maybe it is due to the fact that it is filled with elements that everyone can relate to. Some of these elements include irony, decay, and social issues. These three elements are capable of defining who a person was, and who they have become because of them. Stown is a contemporary Southern Gothic Lit piece because of the irony, decay, and social issues represe nted throughout the story. Irony, a huge factor inRead MoreMary Shelleys Frankenstein: A Gothic Novel1595 Words   |  7 PagesFrankenstein is one of the greatest Gothic novels to come out during the Romantic Period. Frankenstein is a prime example of what a Gothic novel should present to its reader through the genre’s twisted themes. Even though it was written in the Romantic period, Mary Shelley still wrote Frankenstein to be a Gothic work of literature. Many characteristics of Gothic novel can be seen within this novel. Mary Shelley’s outstanding novel Frankenstein is a prime example of a Gothic novel because of the many characteristicsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Frankenstein And The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner 1131 Words   |  5 PagesLinares Mr. Maust English IV AP 11 September 2015 The Burden of Knowledge, An Analysis of Gothic Elements in Frankenstein and The Rime of The Ancient Mariner Henry Wadsworth once said: â€Å"Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.† Such untold sorrows are what plague two very distinct characters in two very distinct works of literature. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tells of Victor Frankenstein’s torment as he is plagued by hisRead MoreElements And Gothic Elements In Mary Shelleys Frankenstein904 Words   |  4 PagesFrankenstein: Gothic Elements In the Gothic novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley begins with the narrative of Captain Walton and transitions into Victor Frankensteins story. In both narratives, Mary Shelley is able to incorporate many themes such as intense emotions, the supernatural, nature, horror, and death to create one of the finest Gothic novels. With the use of Gothic elements, Mary Shelley also incorporates her own message into the novel that serves as a precautionary to those that read itRead More`` Beloved `` By Toni Morrison906 Words   |  4 PagesGothic Literature normally, if not always, has a haunting. In â€Å"Beloved† by Toni Morrison there is a haunting of 124. 124 is being haunted by Sethe’s daughter who is the character Beloved. The haunts in Gothic Literature can also be a non-physical haunting, a haunting in the head. Sethe has not been haunted by Beloved physically, but mentally. The bond that a mother has for a child is so tight and loving. There is no real way to understand t his bond unless someone has personally been a mother. TheRead MoreAnalysis of Charlotte Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper969 Words   |  4 PagesYellow Wallpaper Annotated Bibliography Frye, C.B. Using Literature in Health Care: Reflections on The Yellow Wallpaper. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy. (32: 7). 1998. 829.33. Print. Most people who wrote about The Yellow Wallpaper do so from the perspective of a literary scholar. This however is written by someone in the health care field. C.B. Frye says that fiction can impact the larger world; in this case it impacted mental health and the work of Gillmans doctor, S Weir Mitchell. AlthoughRead More Horror Versus Terror in Gothic Literature Essay example1421 Words   |  6 PagesHorror Versus Terror in Gothic Literature  Ã‚   Gothic literature can be described as literature that is used to terrify people by portraying situations that border between reality and unreality. The purpose of Gothic literature is to terrify people, not to horrify them. The definition of horror and terror is often misunderstood, many people think they have the same meaning. Devendra Varma, in the Gothic Flame described the difference between these words as an awful apprehension and sickening