Mrs. Knodell
Adv. Eng. 11
Dark Romantics – American Gothic
The Dark Romantics Explored:
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The conflict between good vs. evil
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The psychological effects of guilt and sin
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Madness in the human psyche
Written by Authors Who Believed:
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That human nature was not necessarily good
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That humans were prone to sin and self-destruction
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That the world is dark, decaying, and mysterious
European Gothic Writing
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The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole (1767) made the Gothic novel popular
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Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818)
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Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897)
Characteristics
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Exotic setting –dark forests, dungeons, large, drafty, old houses, family estates
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Omens – foreshadowing and dreams
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Isolation – physical and/or psychological
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Magic/Supernatural – spirits, demons, spells
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Highly charged emotional states – terror, insanity, anger, obsessive love
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Illness/disease – mental and/or physical
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Physical suffering – torture, bodily decay
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A ghostly legend or unexplainable occurrence – a horrible death or murder that took place at the family estate
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Damsel in distress
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The interplay of darkness and light
American Authors
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Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, William Faulkner