Journal : What do you think of when you hear

the term “Gothic”? What does it make you imagine, see, hear, etc. ?

Gothic Literature

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.

The Plot Outline

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