Gothic
Literature
And the Works of
Edgar Allan Poe
The Gothic Tradition
• Began in Europe
• First Gothic Work:
– 1765 The Castle of Otranto –
Horace Walpole
• Two Early Works:
– Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, or
The Modern Prometheus (1818)
– Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897)
Poe
Poe can be considered
the father of the
modern horror story,
influencing writers
such as Stephen King
and Anne Rice
• Poe explored the dark
and often irrational side
of the human mind
(Hawthorne explored
the dark side of the
human heart)
• His stories often are
filled with a sense of
anxiety & have a
dreamlike quality
Master of the Short Story
• Along with Nathaniel Hawthorne, Poe
perfected the modern short story
• Poe stressed a single dominant effect in his
short stories
The Premature Burial
Gothic
Architecture
The Gothic tradition
was also reflected in
architecture: vaulted
ceilings, arches,
stained glass
windows, gargoyles
Notre Dame
Gothic Conventions
Murder
Death
Gloomy Family
settings
secrets
Vampires Spirits
Suicide
Ghosts
Demons
Dungeons Curses
Torture
Castles
Terror
Tombs
Characteristics of Gothic Fiction
Mystery
Horror
The Grotesque
Violence
The
Supernatural
A few more gothic conventions
• Damsel in distress (frequently faints in
horror)
• Secret corridors, passageways, or rooms
• Ancestral curses
• Ruined castles with graveyards nearby
• Priests and monks
• Sleep, dream, death-like states
Literary Connection to Gothic
Architecture
• "gothic" came to describe a certain type of
novels, so named because all these novels
seem to take place in Gothic-styled
architecture -- mainly castles, mansions, and,
of course, abbeys ("Gothic...").
Metonymy of gloom and terror
• The metonymy of gloom and horror.
• Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in which
something (like rain) is used to stand for something
else (like sorrow). For example, the film industry
likes to use metonymy as a quick shorthand, so we
often notice that it is raining in funeral scenes.
Note the following metonymies that suggest
mystery, danger, or the supernatural
wind, especially howling
sighs, moans, howls, eerie sounds
rain, especially blowing
clanking chains
doors grating on rusty hinges
gusts of wind blowing out lights
footsteps approaching
doors suddenly slamming shut
lights in abandoned rooms
crazed laughter
characters trapped in a room
baying of distant dogs (or wolves?)
ruins of buildings
thunder and lightning
Conventions, Continued
8. Problem of evil presented as a psychological problem
9. Castle or house identified with its owner
10. Characters exhibit overwhelming guilt or pride.
11. Good characters are usually physically lovely; evil
characters have twisted bodies and ugly faces.
12. The idyllic life in nature invaded and destroyed by a dark
ambiguous force.
13. Animals respond to a supernatural presence.
Importance of Setting
• The setting is greatly influential in Gothic novels. It
not only evokes the atmosphere of horror and dread,
but also portrays the deterioration of its world. The
decaying, ruined scenery implies that at one time
there was a thriving world. At one time the abbey,
castle, or landscape was something treasured and
appreciated. Now, all that lasts is the decaying shell
of a once thriving dwelling.
The Gothic Novel
• Gothic novel took shape mostly in England from 1790 to
1830. It falls within the category of Romantic literature.
• But it is a reaction against the rigidity and formality of
other forms of Romantic literature.
• The Gothic is not limited to this time period - it takes its
roots from former terrorizing writing that dates back to
the Middle Ages, and can still be found written today by
writers such as Stephen King.
Archetypal Characters
• The Gothic hero becomes a sort of archetype as we
find that there is a pattern to his characterization.
There is always the protagonist, usually isolated
either voluntarily or involuntarily. Then there is the
villain, who is the epitome of evil, either by his
(usually a man) own fall from grace, or by some
implicit malevolence. The Wanderer, found in many
Gothic tales, is the epitome of isolation as he
wanders the earth in perpetual exile, usually a form
of divine punishment.
Basic Plot Structure for a Gothic Novel
• Action in the Gothic novel tends to take place at night, or
at least in a claustrophobic, sunless environment.
• ascent (up a mountain high staircase);
• descent (into a dungeon, cave, underground chambers
or labyrinth) or falling off a precipice; secret passage;
hidden doors;
• the pursued maiden and the threat or rape or abduction;
• physical decay, skulls, cemeteries, and other images of
death; ghosts; revenge; family curse; blood and gore;
torture; the Doppelganger (evil twin or double); demonic
possession; masking/shape-changing; black magic;
madness; incest and other broken sexual taboos.
Realism: War Unit
What is Realistic Fiction?
• Realistic fiction is simply stated as real
people with real problems solved in a
realistic manner in a real world setting.
• Realistic Fiction is most often based in the
present or recent past .
• The events portrayed in realistic fiction
raise questions that a reader might face in
real life
Melissa Lape – Wilson Elementary
Why
Realism?
• After the Civil War, writers turned away from
Romanticism.
• The immense cost of life from war makes
many authors portray life realistically.
• Much of it focuses on discontent
Characters in realistic fiction usually
have certain characteristics:
• they resemble real people
• live in a place that could be real
• participate in a series of events that
could probably happen
• presented with a problem that is of
interest of children and discover a
realistic solution
A Realistic fiction selection may have one
or more of these elements
• The characters behave as people or animals do in
real life.
• The setting of the story is a real place or could be
a real place.
• The events of the story are based on a conflict or
problem the could occur in real life.
Melissa Lape – Wilson Elementary