American Gothic
1. Inability to overcome perversity by rational
thought
2. Sucked in by rational ideals in irrational
situations
3. Fear the unknown or future
4. Existence is horrifying
destruction and loss
5. Almost synonymous with dark romanticism
•Gargoyles—carvings of
small deformed creatures
squatting at the corners and
crevices of Gothic
cathedrals—were supposed
to ward off evil spirits, but
they often look more like
demonic spirits themselves.
•Think of the gargoyle as a
mascot of Gothic, and you will
get an idea of the kind of
imaginative distortion of
reality that Gothic represents.
Gothic vs. Romanticism
Romantic writers celebrated the
beauties of nature.
 Romanticism developed as a reaction
against the rationalism of the
Age of Reason.
 The romantics freed the
imagination from the hold of
reason, so they could follow
their imagination wherever it
might lead.
 For some Romantics, when they
looked at the individual, they
saw hope (think “A Psalm of
Life”).
Gothic writers were peering into
the darkness at the supernatural.
For some Romantic writers, the
imagination led to the threshold of
the unknown—the shadowy region
where the fantastic, the demonic
and the insane reside.


When the Gothic's saw the
individual, they saw the potential of
evil.
Edgar Allan Poe
 His stories have:
 Settings that featuring
○ Dark, medieval castles
○ Decaying ancient estates
 Characters that are
○ Male—insane
○ Female—beautiful and dead (or dying)
 Plots that include
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○
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Murder
Live burials
Physical and mental torture
Retribution from beyond the grave
For Poe, it was only in these extreme situations that people
revealed their true nature.
The Gothic dimension of Poe’s
fictional world offered him a way
to explore the human mind in these
extreme situations and so arrive at
an essential truth
Edgar Allan Poe
1809-1849
Edgar Allan Poe
• 1809-1849
• Born in Boston
• The son of
traveling actors
• Tragic and
unhappy life
• Mother died, father deserted him at the age of
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two
New mother (Mrs. Allan) died
In 1836 married his 14 year old cousin,
Virginia
She died of tuberculosis at a young age
Last 12 years of life worked as a journalist,
editor, and creative writer
Died in Baltimore after he was found in a
drunken stupor
Even though John Allan had plenty of
money, he only gave Edgar about a third
of what he needed. Although Edgar had
done well in Latin and French, he started
to drink heavily and quickly became in
debt. He had to quit school less than a
year later.
Edgar Allan had no money, no job skills,
and had been shunned by John Allan.
Edgar went to Boston and joined the U.S.
Army in 1827. He was 18. He did
reasonably well in the Army and attained
the rank of sergeant major. In 1829, Mrs.
Allan died and John Allan tried to be
friendly towards Edgar and signed Edgar's
application to West Point.
In 1830, Edgar Allan entered West Point
as a cadet. He didn't stay long because
John Allan refused to send him any
money. It is thought that Edgar purposely
broke the rules and ignored his duties so
he would be dismissed.
In 1831, Edgar Allan Poe went to New
York City where he had some of his poetry
published. He submitted stories to a
number of magazines and they were all
rejected. Poe had no friends, no job, and
was in financial trouble. He sent a letter
to John Allan begging for help but none
came. John Allan died in 1834 and did not
mention Edgar in his will.
On October 3, 1849, Poe was found on the
streets of Baltimore delirious, "in great
distress, and... in need of immediate
assistance", according to the man who found
him, Joseph W. Walker. He was taken to the
Washington College Hospital, where he died
on Sunday, October 7, 1849, at 5:00 in the
morning
The actual cause of death remains a mystery.
The Raven
ONCE upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
ONCE upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
ONCE upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
ONCE upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
Assonance – the repetition of
vowel sound, usually within
words.