Characteristics

of
Gothic Literature

Subgenre of Romanticism
1800-1860
The Beginnings
Gothic Literary tradition
came to be in part from
Gothic Literature
the Gothic architecture of
the Middle Ages.
Gothic cathedrals with
irregularly placed towers,
and high stained-glass
windows were intended
to inspire awe and fear in
religious worshipers.
Gargoylescarvings of
small deformed creatures
squatting at the corners
and crevices of Gothic
cathedralswere
Think of the
supposed togargoyle
ward offas a
evil
spirits,
mascot ofbut they often
Gothic, look
and you
more like demonic spirits
will get an idea of the kind
themselves.
of imaginative distortion of
reality that Gothic
represents.
Gothic Literature
It was an offshoot of Romantic Literature.
Gothic Literature was the predecessor of modern horror
movies in both theme and style.
Gothic Literature put a spin on the Romantic idea of nature
worship and nature imagery. Along with nature having the
power of healing, Gothic writers gave nature the power of
destruction. Frankenstein is full of the harsh reality of
nature. Many storms arise in the novel, including storms
the night the Creature comes to life.
The most common feature of Gothic Literature is the
indication of mood through the weather.
Gothic vs. Romanticism
Romantic writers celebrated the
beauties of nature.
Romanticism developed as
a reaction against the
rationalism of the Age of
Reason.
The romantics freed the
imagination from the hold of
reason, so they could follow
their imagination wherever it
might lead.
For some Romantics, when
they looked at the individual,
they saw hope (think A
Psalm of Life).
Gothic writers were peering into
the darkness at the supernatural.
For some Romantic writers,
the imagination led to the
threshold of the unknown
the shadowy region where
the fantastic, the demonic
and the insane reside.
When the Gothic's saw the
individual, they saw the
potential of evil.
Gothic Movement in America

The Gothic Tradition was firmly established in

Europe before American writers had made
names for themselves.
By the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathanial
Hawthorne, and to a lesser extent Washington
Irving and Herman Melville were using the Gothic
elements in their writing.
Edgar Allan Poe was the master of the Gothic
form in the United States.
Characteristics
Set in Medieval times
Dark, mysterious, evil
tone
Dark castles, palaces,
chambers, haunted
mansions
Isolated setting
All come together to
emphasize the sense of
evil
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m
More characteristics
Presence of ghosts,
spirits, vampires, and
other supernatural
entities
Mysterious
disappearances and
reappearances
Supernatural or
paranormal
occurrences http://www.penelopesweb.com/gargoyles.html
Characteristics -- contd.
Religion, usually
Christianity or at
least spirituality, is
confronted.
A gothic double is
used in which a
character who
seems to be good is
linked with another
who is evil www.pagedepot.com/.../ GOTHIC%20CHAPBOOKSX.HTM
More characteristics
Blood, pain, death
Cruelty
Characters with
aberrant psychological
states
Events are uncanny or
melodramatically violent
bordering between
reality and unreality
http://www.pantip.com/cafe/chalermthai/newmovi
e/hauntedcastle/hc.html
Purpose
To evoke terror versus horror in the reader
because of situations bordering reality/unreality
Often used to teach a message
May lack a Medieval setting but will develop an
atmosphere of gloom and terror
Differentiating between the two
Horror Terror
An awful A sickening realization
apprehension Suggestive of what will
Described distinctly happen
Depends on readers
Something grotesque imagination
So appalling, Sense of uncertainty
unrealistic Creates an intangible
Depends on physical atmosphere of spiritual
characteristics psychic dread
 Gothic Conventions

Murder Death Suicide Ghosts Demons

Gloomy Family Dungeons Curses Torture

settings secrets
Vampires Spirits Castles Tombs Terror
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
 Metonymy of gloom and terror

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

 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.
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;
Physical decay, skulls, cemeteries, and other images of death;
ghosts; revenge; family curse; blood and gore; torture; the
Doppelganger (evil twin or double), etc.
 Gothic Writers

Anne Rice
Edgar Allan Poe
Joyce Carol Oates
Stephen King
Stephenie Meyer