journal : what do you think of when you hear the term “gothic”? what does it make you imagine,...
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Journal : What do you think of when you hear
the term “Gothic”? What does it make you imagine, see, hear, etc. ?
Gothic: creation of literary works that
employed such late medieval backdrops to explore dark aspects of human nature and the supernatural.
Gothic:- emotional extremes
- Dark themes
-Dark side of human nature
-The things we fear and often don’t like to talk about.
1782 painting by Henry Fuseli, titled “The Nightmare”
History: - Gothic refers to a style of
architecture started in the middle ages.
- Ex: Notre Dame Cathedral
- Synonymous with the Middle Ages = uncivilized & dark.
- Enjoyed a revival in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France
Beginnings of Gothic Literature- First Gothic novel: The Castle of Otranto, by Horace Walpole, 1765.
- Suspenseful, medieval, remote setting, supernatural
- Based on Gothic architecture and draw from previous supernatural literature, such as Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Hamlet
Beginnings Continued…- Ann Radcliffe: The first great Gothic writer. - A Sicilian Romance (1790), Mysteries of
Udolpho (1794), and The Italian (1797).- Wrote The Italian as a response to Lewis’s
The Monk- Gave rise to division in Gothic literature:
“Terror Gothic” and “Horror Gothic”
Reasons- Industrial revolution
and political setting in the 18th and 19th Centuries made people afraid.
- Gives an opportunity to have an emotional outlet for fears
“Prse de la Bastille” (“Storming the Bastille”) by
Jean-Pierre Houël (1735-1813)
Gothic Fiction in the Nineteenth Century- The Contest: Byron, Percy Bysshe
Shelley, Mary Shelley and John William Polidori at the Villa Diodati on the banks of Lake Geneva in the summer of 1816.
- Birth of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) and Polidori's The Vampyre (1819).
Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus
- Written by Mary Shelly in 1818.
- Mary conceived an idea after she fell into a “waking dream” during which she saw "the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together."
- Theme of the dangers of science & playing God.
- Considered the first Sci-Fi novel, but written as a tale of terror.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula- Written in 1897
- Didn’t invent the vampire, but has been responsible for many interpretations of the vampire in the 20th and 21st centuries
Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker’s Dracula
American Gothic- Poe:
The connection between Gothic fiction and detective fiction.
- Transformed Gothic into a psychological process. Relying on tone, mood, and setting.
- Wrote: “The Raven,” “Tell-Tale Heart,” etc.
“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”
“The Raven” - Edgar Allen Poe
Gothic Today
- Everything from Vampires to Monsters- Point more toward horror- Authors: Ann Rice, Clive Barker, Stephen King, Dean
Koontz, and Stephenie Meyer, etc. - Types: Urban Legends, Ghost Stories, Horror Novels,
Suspense and Horror Movies
Characteristics of Gothic Lit. - A castle, ruined or intact, haunted
or not- Ruined buildings, which are sinister- Dungeons, underground passages,
crypts, labyrinths, dark corridors, etc.
- Shadows, a flickering candle, or light failing
- Omens and ancestral curses- Magic, supernatural beings, or
suggestion of supernatural- A passion-driven, willful villain-hero,
or villain- A curious heroine with a tendency
to need rescuing- A hero with a hidden identity,
revealed at the end- Horrifying events or threat of
horrifying events.
Terror vs. HorrorTerror
- Intense, sharp, overmastering fear.
- Psychological.
Horror- an overwhelming and
painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear .
- Physical, more animal in nature.
How do they do it?- Setting: Dark and sinister- Mood/Tone: melancholy- Literary devices: relies heavily on
Imagery to make you feel and see what’s going on.
- Also use similes, metaphors, characters, etc.
Plot Exposition: What we need to know to start the story. It inclues:
Characters: direct the action. Usually a protagonist and antagonist, as well as major and minor characters
Setting: Where, when, it takes place Conflict: The problem
Inciting Incident: What starts the action Rising Action: Events leading to the climax Climax: The point of no return, the turning point Falling Action: Events that lead to the resolution Resolution: How the conflict is resolved for good or bad Theme: The message/purpose of the book or story.
More Plot Elements Point of View: Who’s telling the story. (is it a
character, a narrator, the author, etc.) Protagonist: The hero or “good guy” in the story. Antagonist: The villain or “bad guy” in the story. Tone: Author’s attitude toward the subject of the
story Mood: How the author wants you to feel
Literary Elements: Used to create a picture and help you see and feel the story.
Metaphor: a direct comparison between two unlike things.
Example: He is a pig. Simile: a comparison using like or as
Example: He ate like a pig. Imagery: language used to invoke the senses Symbol: Something used to represent something else.
Ex: red light represents stop