Gothic Subcultures

To begin, “The term Gothic fiction refers to a style of writing that is characterized by elements of fear, horror, death and gloom, as well as romantic elements, such as nature, individuality, and very high emotion. These emotions can include fear and suspense.”. (Greaver, 1). This specific style of writing began in the late seventeen hundreds. Gothic fiction was created in order to keep a narrower set of viewers or readers more intrigued and interested. “The term Gothic actually originated as a term belittling the architecture and art of the period, which was dark, decaying, and dismal. The settings were often old, dilapidated buildings or houses in gloomy, lifeless, fear inducing landscapes.” (Greaver, 1). Gothic literature is often explained as an illusion that is unexplainable. “Gothic fiction hovers between the uncanny and the marvelous, offering little

Gothic literature is a literary genre that began in england in the late 1700’s that “Gothic” refers to medieval buildings, such as castles that were seen typically as dark, dreary, gloomy and mysterious which inspired a mood for many books. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a good of example of gothic literature because it had a gloomy tone commonly found in most gothic literature. This can be found in the first paragraph when the narrator says “ a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit”. This shows“The Fall of the House of Usher” is gothic literature because it sets up a gothic tone in the first paragraph.

Much of the architecture in the Romanesque era evolved into Gothic architecture. The Gothic era ran from the 12th century into the 16th century. There wasn’t necessarily a clean break from Romanesque to Gothic styles of architecture, but rather a gradual shift in design. The main characteristics of Gothic architecture are the pointed ribbed vaults and arches, flying buttresses and, in place of solid walls, a cluster of columns. Due to the vertical emphasis of the design, the archways could be redesigned and stretched or pointed. Four main Figure 5 – The depressed arch supported by fan vaulting at King’s College Chapel, England.

Gothic literature, which is sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre that links horror and romance into one tale of ‘transgressing the boundaries’. Gothicism was unheard of until the late 1700’s, this movement into a new genre of literature. This was pioneered by the English author Horace Walpole, in his famous fictional book ‘The Castle of Otranto’, or as Walpole alternatively titled it ‘a Gothic story’. Horace Walpole himself had transgressed the boundaries slightly; by introducing this new style of writing he had added a whole new genre into literature. Walpole’s style of writing was unique and captivated the readers mind and

In Bowen’s article, he discusses the different gothic motifs that make up gothic literature such as power and restraint, clashing time periods, strange places, terror versus horror, and a world of doubt. “Edward Scissorhands” has always been considered a strange film while We Have Always Lived in a Castle has always been considered a gothic novel. According to Bowen’s list of gothic motifs, “Edward Scissorhands” would be considered more gothic than the novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle because it fits more of the gothic conventions.

Through the use of common themes incorporated into gothic literature, Edgar Allen Poe and Anne Rice create universal appeal to their readers. Anne Rice’s Interview With A Vampire and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven and Dream Within A Dream all create paradoxes whether within the characters self or in society.

     The term Gothic refers to a genre that came about in the late eighteenth century. It can be a type of story, clothing, or music nowadays. In this paper it will refer to a style of literature. A very good example of this type of literature is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. There is a sense of foreboding throughout the whole novel, which is one of the basic necessities of the Gothic. This theme of the Gothic has different characteristics that all fit into the story of Victor Frankenstein and his monster and make this one of the first horror stories every told.

Gothic architecture a new style developing from an old style of architecture with similar characteristics and in a way different. Architects wanted to build bigger buildings with stronger walls something that could not be found elsewhere. The old buildings did not have windows they were dark places that in order to get light they needed many candles. Not even the candles could give the right amount of light the buildings needed. The middle ages architects wanted big windows on the buildings and this new style made their wish come true. Architecture during the Middle Ages became a new style with new problems to solve and a new kind of extraordinary buildings to build.

The Gothic style, dating between the 12th century and 16th century, began in France and eventually spread throughout the rest of Europe. An example of the first true Gothic church was St. Denis of Paris. Now, it is considered one of our finest artistic periods, but at the time, the term “gothic” did not exactly hold the same meaning it does today. The name came from the Goths and was used rather negatively when describing this style of architecture as they considered it to be similar to the works of the barbarians from which the name was derived.

With the economic decline and availability of jobs with upward movement, a culture of youths formed in Britain that challenged the ideals and cultural norms of the generations that came before them. A consistent movement from traditional society through youth subcultures brings light through the eyes of the musicians that describe their generation’s feelings of homelessness in an era filled with unemployment, low wages, and violence. The insurgence of the counterculture movement, poor economic conditions, and the commercialization of previous Rock and Roll music in Britain directly led to the punk subculture because it allowed youths to speak up about their conditions and frustrations through an easily understood and accessible medium while maintaining a different stance than their predecessors.

The Gothic style was an over exaggerated, awe-inspiring attempt to become closer to God. The worshipper was not only drawn to the altar, but experienced an ascent to heaven at the same time.1 These artistic gems are a grand testament to historical technology and the imaginative approach and vision of skilled craftsmen. The gothic style is one of the most

Gothic art flourished from the 12th century to the 16th century in Europe in response of the Byzantine and Romanesque tradition. Although Gothic is associated with arts, its most prominent use is in architecture, mainly for its pointed arch and flying buttress. To this day, the Gothic style is taken as a ‘label’ for visual arts such as concept art designs, yet the meaning stray from the original context, thus becoming rarely accurate.

The term gothic fiction implies a British literary genre from the late eighteenth, and early nineteenth century. The modernized term seems to have been generalized into anything that is dark, gloomy, or depressing. Gothic novels often time posses an emphasis on portraying the terror, a prominent use of supernatural circumstances, the presence of highly stereotyped characters, and the attempt to display techniques of literary suspense. There are also other parallels among this vastly popular genre. Gothic novels often time describe the city of London in corresponding ways. Also a common theme amongst gothic literary works is the duality of human nature, or the quality or characteristic of being twofold. These mutual themes are apparent in

The research paper, shall be concerned with discussion Gothic architecture in Europe-namely England, France, Germany, and Italy starting from 12th to the 16th Centuries. Architecture was the most original and lasting form of art during the Gothic Period, which lasted for four centuries starting from the mid 12th century. The impetus for this architecture was the Roman Catholic Church, which sought to portray their houses of worship as something which transcended the realm of mankind. It is interesting to note that many of the Northern European areas were predominately pagan, and only recently brought into the Church. The imagery provided by Gothic structural design was something these peoples could more readily understand, as they

As a brief introduction to Gothic, the label ‘Gothic’ was coined in Italy. It was during Renaissance, “as a derogatory reference to the art and architecture of these earlier centuries” (Introduction: