A type of romance very popular from the 1760s onwards until the 1820s. It has had considerable influence on fiction(still apparent today), and is of much importance in the evolution of the ghost story and the horror story. In the 1700s there was a renewed romantic interest in the medieval. The content of gothic novels are associated with the Middle Ages and with things wild, bloody and barbarous of long ago. Most are tales of mystery and horror, intended to chill the spine and curdle the blood. A strong element of the supernatural Wild and desolate landscapes Monstrous apparitions and curses An atmosphere of doom and gloom Heroes and heroines in dire straits Wicked tyrants And a generous helping of spooky effects Charles Dickens was a master of creating an atmospheric setting. Contributing greatly to the genres of horror and science fiction, Poe is now considered the father of the modern detective story and highly praised as a poet. The poem tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness. The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. In classic ballads ghosts visit the earth for many reasons: Accuse their murderer Help the living Excessive grief of the bereaved Fulfil a vow Break a spell Dark forests Ruined abbeys Feudal halls Medieval castles Dungeons Secret passages Winding staircases The stock characters of Gothic fiction include tyrants, villains, bandits, maniacs, Byronic heroes, persecuted maidens, femmes fatales, madwomen, magicians, vampires, werewolves, monsters, demons, angels, fallen angels, the beauty and the beast, revenants, ghosts, perambulating skeletons and the Devil himself. What features do you think a hero should possess? In Gothic Fiction heroes Challenge the tyrant and save the virginal maid without expectations. They are virtuous, courageous and self-sacrificial. The Byronic hero is an idealized but flawed character exemplified in the life and writings of English Romantic poet Lord Byron. Lady Caroline Lamb, a lover of Byron's, describe him as being "mad, bad, and dangerous to know”. -Mysterious, magnetic and charismatic -An exile(maybe a sad/criminal past) -Arrogant -Intelligent Captain Jack Sparrow James Bond Wesley/Dread Pirate Roberts Sirius Black Shrek Explain how one of these characters is a flawed hero? Virginal Maiden – young, beautiful, pure, innocent, kind, virtuous. Shows these virtues by fainting and crying whenever her delicate sensibilities are challenged… Usually starts out with a mysterious past and it is later revealed that she is the daughter of an aristocratic or noble family. Damsel in Distress A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman, whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. Her ability to entrance and hypnotize her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as being literally supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, vampire, witch, or demon. A femme fatale tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm, and sexual allure. In some situations, she uses lying or coercion rather than charm. Although typically villainous, if not morally ambiguous, femmes fatales have also appeared as antiheroines in some stories, and some even repent and become true heroines by the end of the tale Can you distinguish between ‘the girl next door’ and the more mysterious femme fatale in any film or book? Malevolent witches Demonic powers Clanking spectres (think Muppets Christmas Carol) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc3S3ewsPZw Muppets Version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsiKOJOXMJU Doomed, Scrooge! You're doomed for all time. Your future is a horror story, written by your crime. Your chains are forged, by what you say and do. So, have your fun when life is done, a nightmare waits for you. Why is society so intrigued by the supernatural?? Explain your reasons. We want to know if they are real/fake. It is like our curiosity about alien life. What is really out there. Some things science cannot explain-can we find answers in the supernatural. Reassures us about life after death. Contact with lost loved ones. Thrill of being scared is fun It is a form of making money as well as entertaining. We can see and identify many gothic elements in current cinema, television and writing. Please try to think of examples(10??) and list them in your copy. Batman Edward Scissorhands Beetlejuice Buffy Twilight Harry Potter Interview with a Vampire The Woman in Black http://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=eq2PPFUhfpo Since Gothic fiction is so prevalent in our culture.... What does this tell us about the society we live in today? What is the purpose of Gothic fiction for us today? Of necessity, the earliest horror films were Gothic in style - meaning that they were usually set in spooky old mansions, castles, or fogshrouded, dark and shadowy locales. Their main characters have included "unknown," human, supernatural or grotesque creatures, ranging from vampires, demented madmen, devils, unfriendly ghosts, monsters, mad scientists, "Frankensteins," "Jekyll/Hyde" dualities (good against evil), demons, zombies, evil spirits, arch fiends, Satanic villains, the "possessed," werewolves and freaks to even the unseen, diabolical presence of evil. Give me an example of gothic fiction and explain why it qualifies as belonging to this genre. Nationality: British; English Birth Date: August 30, 1797 Death Date: February 1, 1851 When she was 16, Mary married Percy Shelley, one of the greatest Romantic poets of all time. (They eloped.) Percy Shelley was a freethinker and a radical. The idea for Frankenstein came to Mary Shelley as the result of a ghost story contest between Mary, her husband, the poet Lord Byron, and Dr. John Polidori. It came to her in a dream. Shelly wrote it at an amazingly young age (19!), and it is one of the most influential novels of the last two centuries. However, two things are even more impressive than Shelley's age when she wrote it: that the creature she created has become like a modern myth, and that her work could speak to so many people. First Published: 1818 Type of Work: Novel Type of Plot: Horror Time of Work: The late 1700’s Setting: Principally Geneva, Switzerland; also the Arctic Ocean, the Hebrides, and elsewhere in Western Europe and Britain Characters: Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, The monster, Elizabeth The use of the nightmarish murders, the demonlike monster, the terror of the unknown, and the destruction of the idyllic life in nature by a dark, ambiguous force places Frankenstein in the tradition of the Gothic novel. Like other Gothic authors, Shelley situates good and evil as a psychological battle within human nature. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmYEfF3 We8M&feature=endscreen&NR=1 1. In this clip the ‘bride’ examines Frankenstein and then herself. In your opinion what is she thinking and feeling? 2. She tries to speak. What might she have said? 3. What might the remaining characters feel after her suicide? Why was it ethically wrong for Frankenstein to create a monster ? or How can you defend Dr.Frankenstein’s experiments? Vampire myths go back thousands of years and occur in almost every culture around the world. They appear in many forms. The vampire myths of Europe originated in the far East, and were transported from places like China, Tibet and India. East Europeans from Russia to Bulgaria, Serbia to Poland, have the richest vampire folklore and legends in the world. What is behind this seeming obsession with vampires, in our western culture? What does the vampire have, or do, that makes him/her so attractive and compelling? When did the transformation occur, from foul miscreant to suave tragic hero? Who is the vampire – really? Twilight Vampire Diaries 30 days of Night True Blood Buffy Underworld Fright Night Let the Right One In Interview with a Vampire 1. Attractive, charismatic beings 2. Superpowers(including mind control) and intelligence 3. Immortal, don’t age 4. Double lives (can come out in daylight) 5. They often have tragic pasts (misunderstood?) Can you think of any more? 1. Symbol of evil 2. Fearsome reputations-dangerous 3. Superpowers- transforming into bats, being manipulative/arrogant 4. They can pass on their conditionbiting bullies! Can you think of any more? The vampires of folk history were totally horrid creatures. They were depicted as crude, foul smelling, reanimated corpses, with a single motivation for blood. The only cure for the wretched, eternally damned vampire was to find the grave of the suspected vampire, dig it up, cut-off its head and drive a wooden stake through its heart. In 1897, with the publishing of his novel "Dracula," Bram Stoker successfully transforms the image and the ideas surrounding the Vampire from lowly sub-human parasite, to that of an intelligent, but somewhat evil superhero. Count Dracula resides in a castle, has superhuman powers and unlimited material wealth. He is mysterious and intelligent and is (almost) immortal. In terms of setting-how might your location effect your writing? Explain your answer using two authors on the map. e.g.Dickens’s Oliver vs Bronte’s Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte-born 1816. Endured a tough childhood, writing was an outlet for her and her sisters. Charlotte’s Jane Eyre was published in 1847, followed by Anne’s Agnes Gray, and Emily’s Wuthering Heights. In 1855, pregnant with her first child, Charlotte caught a chill while walking on the moors, and died on March 31, at the age of thirty-nine The Haunted Castle Thornfield is neither haunted nor a castle, but this huge, imposing house has a mysterious and threatening atmosphere. Jane grows to love the house as she loves its master, but parts of it are dark, chilly and gloomy Madness, Secrets and Lies Thornfield is also the home of mad Bertha, Rochester’s secret wife. She is kept locked in the attic, and both Jane and the reader are unaware of her presence there for some time though we hear her ghostly laugh. The Hero The moody Mr Rochester is a Byronic hero, a figure that has become familiar to fans of Gothic. He is charismatic, well-travelled, badtempered, and has a huge secret lurking in his past Aspects of the Supernatural Jane Eyre is full of unexplained or partially explained occurrences: the red room, the storm, the prophetic dreams, reunion with family, hearing Rochester call out. Femme Fatale Bertha Mason lured Rochester in with her looks and charm but was discovered to be suffering from a mental illness. As much as we are frightened by her dangerous and violent nature, we can also sympathise.
