Gothic literature would not be complete without the rich architecture it carries in its tales, although the author does not usually state that the story is placed in a gothic setting. One can easily classify the story by the details the author leaves for the reader to interpret. Castle Of Otranto and Romance of the Forest, are all works that are categorized under gothic literature. Castle of Otranto takes place in a mysterious dark castle where a horrendous tragedy has occurred. While Romance of the Forest is placed in an ancient house that is filled with mysterious chambers. Both of the stories share a common trait of mystery and supernatural activity, which are characteristics that contribute to the “Haunted House” theme gothic literature has created.
Many of the characteristics of gothic architecture all serve to fuel the dark image they portray. Gothic buildings were tall and grand, almost as it was attempting to intimidate the outside world. The buildings often were so large one can conclude it was difficult for light to reach every crevice. Darkness loomed over the corridors and brought a sense of horror, as darkness is often correlated with fear of the unknown. Electricity was not an existing utility during the dark ages. Therefore common people used candles or torches, in order to illuminate their surroundings. In Castle of Otranto, the author uses darkness for his imagery to write statements such as, “Through that long labyrinth of darkness. Every murmur struck her
Gothic literature is when the setting of a novel or passage is described as being gloomy or has a dark setting. In gothic literature the author might often write about a bleak setting, tortured characters or have a strange or violent plot. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a good example of Gothic Literature because in the story he expresses it as being dark and mysterious, also it incorporates gloomy moods, and a bleak setting in the story. For example, in Poe’s
The Castle of Otranto was written in 1764, by Horace Walpole. This novel is a Gothic novel, and I will be writing an essay about this novel to show, and explain how Gothic it is. I will be picking a specific character to explain and compare to another book to show how both are Gothic, but in their own way. This essay will seek and unfold the differences of Manfred in Otranto, and General Tilney in Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. When Northanger Abbey was written is
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a great example of Gothic Literature because of the way the story was
Gothic literature is a style characterized by multiple elements, such as fear, death, gloom, as well as romantic elements like nature, individuality, and high emotion. Magical realism, on the other hand, began as a painting style. It then evolved into the literary style associated with Latin America, which puts fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction. One of the most important elements of these genres is the setting of the stories. In The Fall of the House of Usher and House Taken Over, the setting creates atmosphere, reflects genre, and reflects characters.
One of the spookiest moments of my life, was exploring an abandoned warehouse and the door slammed shut, an entire flock of birds started to fly at me. This scenario is similar to the traits of Gothic Literature and Magical Realism because it is a description of the eerie setting and events. Gothic Literature and Magical Realism are similar because they both illustrate ideas of suspense and mystery throughout. Edgar Allen Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher”is an example of Gothic lit because they have the people of the story have physiological problems and are going crazy.While Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” is an example of Magical Realism because it takes place in a realistic setting that includes ordinary details of everyday life.
Gothic literature usually brings to mind Edgar Allen Poe and dark foggy London streets but that's not all gothic literature is. Gothic literature usually has themes of mystery and eerie settings or characters. Themes such as physical and mental decay and isolation, abandonment, and entrapment are very prominent in Prey by Richard Matheson, The Feather Pillow by Horacio Quiroga and The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe.
Gothic Literature is a writing style that has dark setting, it has an overall atmosphere of mystery, exoticism, death. A Gothic story will revolve around a large, ancient house or an obscure setting that conceals a terrible secret or that serves as the refuge of an especially frightening and threatening character
In the book The Castle of Otranto the people of the castle are surrounded by unexplainable events. These events are in most cases damaging to one’s own mind. Those who are seen as great and loving are turn in to violent and unpredictable individuals. Those who were affected include the highest level of nobility, down as far as to the simple servant. While denial is shown by them there is no doubt that they have changed, and only in disastrous ways. Weather the person has good intentions or not they are changed and their intention becomes what they do. A corrupt power which cannot be stopped. People may try to help and form the person to their former self but in The Castle of Otranto this is not the case. When people react to unexplained
One of the spookiest experiences in Harley’s life was on a cold, dark Halloween night when Harley and her friends, Lauryn and Heidi, got chased by a clown for 3 blocks on a gloomy narrow road. This scenario relates to traits of Gothic Literature and Magical Realism because, that experience was in a dark setting and contained weird incidents and a disturbing plot. Those two genres are similar because they both usually have unrealistic characters and scary plots. However, in Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher” is an example of Gothic Literature because, the story’s setting is in an isolated, creepy, and large house with odd characters and a frightening plot line, while Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” is an example of Magical Realism because the realistic characters are accepting the unimpressed narrative tone in an ordinary way of life. Gothic Literature is a style of writing that is characterized by elements of fear, horror, death, and gloom. Settings are usually in a isolated and haunted location in a big house or castle with trap doors, dark rooms, and secret passages. Characters are usually supernatural beings or monsters.
"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe has a gothic horror story setting. Gothic means that the author emphasizes the mysterious, the horrible, the ghostly and the fear that can be aroused in the reader. Everyone knows that a gothic story or a ghost story will often have a setting that will be in an old, decaying mansion far out in a desolate countryside. The mansion will be filled with cobwebs, strange noises, bats, and an abundance of secret panels and corridors, in which people might be running and screaming in terror. The author uses every literary trick to give us an eerie sensation or to scare us if we hear an unexpected noise. The
Dark, gloomy castles, noble peasants and virginal maidens are all staples of typical gothic literature. Without Horace Walpole’s, The Castle of Otranto, gothic literature would not be what it is today. While there is a plethora of recurring elements in gothic literature, the damsel in distress has been a founding staple of the genre and has persisted through time.
Gothic fiction is a genre of literature that is comprised of numerous particular elements. It is a subgenre of romanticism and can be conflated with dark romanticism. This flavor of writing was most popular from the late eighteenth through the early nineteenth centuries. The name gothic fiction relates to gothic European architecture built during the middle ages. Massive cathedrals and castles were erected with pointed, stained-glass windows,
The gothic element of man-made structures are commonly featured in gothic literature, they usually display a gloomy decaying setting with secret passages, trap doors, long hallways and other mysterious features and are usually the centre for most novels. For this essay I will be comparing the representation of 'man-made structures' in three texts I have studied. The texts I will be comparing are The Castle Rackrent, The castle of Otranto and The Italian. In The Castle Rackrent the man made structure is a big house in comparison to the castle in The Castle of Otranto and the religious buildings such as the churches and the convents in The Italian. The anglo- Irish big house in The Castle Rackrent was only big in comparison to the small cottages around it, unlike the castle in The Castle of Otranto and the
The central theme of all Gothic novels is the presence and symbolism of the Gothic castle. Depiction of ruinous abbeys, monasteries, subterranean passages, vaults, secret panels, and the trapdoors is a standard method of achieving the atmosphere. Howells sees the Gothic castle as being ‘a shadowy world of ruins and twilight scenery lit up from time to time by lurid flashes of passion and violence ’(6). Therefore, the gloominess of the exterior and interior environment is illuminated by intense emotional and passionate moments of the characters that inhabit the castle. As Sage claims, the castle is ‘the lair of the villain’(166), and it is an accurate reflection of his dark and frightening character. Gloomy, dark, and dangerous, the castle reflects the emotions and psychological experience of many of the novel’s characters.
Gothic literature originated and was very strong at the time of the Romantic Writers Movement. They were very popular and had authors such as Horace Walpole who wrote “The Castle of Oranto”, and novels such as “Frankenstein” and “Dracula“. Gothic novels all had a similarity between each other. They always had typical Gothic features which alleviated the novel in one way or another. For example, most Gothic novels involved settings which generally added fear and suspense. They were always quite dark, scary and isolated. Also the characters of the Gothic novels never seemed to fit in the community and the society. They usually were handicapped, disabled or deformed