The Precedent Of Gothic Horror

In his Philosophy of Composition, Edgar Allan Poe informs us that he begins writing with “the consideration of an effect” (430). Most of Poe’s poetry and fiction exemplifies his assertion that a preconceived effect upon a reader is undoubtedly fundamental to his creative work. Poe’s tales of terror in particular epitomize the supremacy of his craft in that each component of his narrative strategy functions to achieve the final effect of generating unmitigated terror in his readers. Focusing primarily on The Fall of the House of Usher, I argue that Poe employs a preconceived narrative

Gothic horror, what does it symbolize, does it connect to our modern lives, what exactly is it? Gothic horror is the genre of literature that has elements of both romance and horror. Gothic horror is very dark, stormy full of eerie winds and is usually set in an old mansion or in castles on high cliffs. Usually gothic horror is a combination of fiction, horror, and romance. This genre was famous throughout England and had and still does have a big influence on British culture and how they live their lives today. “Some get the gothic horror mixed up with paranormal romance but the difference between the two is in the results The Gothic builds up the protagonist until he achieves what he’s after, and then details the terrible consequences of achieving it” (Dittmer 1). The theme in Dracula is that classic Gothic theme of the epic battle of good versus evil. “In this novel this is expressed in a very direct way, there is never any question as to who is right and who is wrong. According to Duran “it can be clearly seen the protagonists on the side of good have many endearing qualities while the antagonists on the side of evil have a pact with Lucifer and are of the purest evil” (mikeduran.com). Bram Stokers Dracula demonstrates how religion can influence the mind of others and how they react and encounter to different situations of their lives.

It is a well known fact that Edgar Allan Poe‘s stories are famous for producing horror or terror in his readers beyond description. However, it is one of this essay’s attempts to precisely describe these two characteristics present in The pit and the pendulum and The black cat. Horror may be defined as “the feeling of revulsion that usually occurs after something frightening is seen, heard, or otherwise experienced. It is the feeling one gets after coming to an awful realization or experiencing a deeply unpleasant occurrence.” On the contrary terror is described as “the feeling of dread and anticipation that precedes the horrifying experience” These two concepts are thought to be crucial when analyzing Poe’s writings. It is going to be

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a goosebump-evoking tale that follows one man’s twisted plot for revenge. Although carnival season is in full-swing above ground, Fortunato finds himself being lead to his death underground in the catacombs. His “past insults” will ensure that he will never again participate in such feasts and merriment; Montresor, his “frenemy”, will make sure of that. As if the story isn’t creepy enough, Poe uses dialogue and sensory details to produce a mood that is both suspenseful and dark.

On January 19th, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts, one of the most influential writers of all time was born. This person was Edgar Allen Poe and his works of literature would change the world of writing forever. Edgar Allen Poe was a master of creating a mood of suspense and exhibited this through two of his stories, “The Raven” and “Cask of Amontillado”, where there was much suspense built through many different methods. Poe creates suspense by using word choice, plot structure, and literary elements.

Wes Craven’s horror movie “Scream”, inspired the gruesome murder of Gina Castillo. Castillo’s sixteen year old son and his fifteen year old cousin killed Gina Castillo. Why would anyone wish to watch the petrifying film, “Scream”? What would trigger a person to take inspiration from the horror movie, “Scream”. Stephen King describes horror as a piece of the human condition. Author of several horror novels, Stephen King wrote an essay titled “Why We Crave Horror.” In this paper he thoroughly explains why the human species craves horror and how it makes humans feel. In this essay, Stephen King precisely claims that humans desire, horror because horror pushes them to face their fears, renew their feelings of normality, and to expose

In modern society, people tend to enjoy terrifying and horrific films and novels because of the anticipation and thrill of the character’s fear, in which they are not aware of. One of these common and popular genres is known as Gothic Horror. Although this entertainment is common in our society today, in past time periods, it was written during a mass transition. The age’s in which there are religious, cultural, and technological advances and changes, is a particular time when novels in this genre come to light. People are typically not comfortable with change, which is why these transitional times can cause anxiety, in which causes novels in this genre to be written. The short story, The Judges House, written by Bram Stoker is properly categorized

The Gothic genre often reproduces a conservative paranoid structure when it comes to homophobia and other moral panics over sex (Hanson, Pg. 176). Eve Sedgwick depicts this in her work, ‘Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosexual Desire’ as she discusses how these ideas (paranoia) are represented within the Gothic, in what she describes as the ‘homosocial’ in reference to male bonds (Sedgwick, Pg. 86). She also discusses how bonds between men exist as the backbone of social form and forms (Sedgwick, Pg. 86). Thus, a consequence of said structure is the ability to define, control, and manipulate male bonds, which in turn becomes an inexplicably powerful instrument of social control (Sedgwick, Pg. 86). Thus, homosexuality is represented as the ‘unspeakable’ within the Gothic, as it has been defined, controlled, and manipulated to be such though social control. Therefore, this paper will discuss how ‘homosocial’ bonds between men, are used as a tool in social control and used as a way to produce paranoia and moral panic, thus in reference to the Gothic, these forms epitomize homosexuality as the ‘unspeakable,’ especially through homosexual representations within the contexts of ghosts and haunted houses.

You’re having a serene conversation with one of your so called “friends” when you spontaneously insult them as a joke, but you don't realize that you infuriate your friend in the process and cause them to vow revenge on you with the only justice being death because they were mentally unstable. This is exactly what happened in Edgar Allen Poes’ short story called “The cask of Amontillado,” it is a story about Two men, Montresor and Fortunado, Montresor is a man who vows to get retribution on Fortunado, a man who merely Insulted his family name. As you can see Montresor is clearly insane and two other traits you could describe him with would be him being astute and extremely determined. In conclusion, there are three main traits that

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a frightening and entertaining short story about the severe consequences that result from persistent mockery and an unforgiving heart. Poe’s excellent use of Gothicism within the story sets the perfect tone for a dark and sinister plot of murder to unfold. “The Cask of Amontillado” simply overflows with various themes and other literary elements that result from Poe’s Gothic style of writing. Of these various themes, one that tends to dominant the story as a whole is the theme of revenge, which Poe supports with his sophisticated use of direct and indirect factors, irony, and symbolism.

Gothic horror uses “the supernatural” to create a sense of fear – both real and imagined – in a reader. The protagonists in Stephen King’s The Shining and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” endure psychological turmoil as a result of the inanimate coming to life. For instance, the Overlook Hotel and catacombs drive both protagonists to self-destruction from the sense of confinement they produce. Similarly, alcohol is a driving force behind acts of murder. Finally, objects like the boiler in The Shining and the coat of arms in “The Cask of Amontillado” represent the character’s psychological undoing. As such, the inanimate foreshadows the main character’s eventual demise by facilitating their

Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his writing, specifically how morbid the writings are. Two of his greatest works were “The Raven” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” Even though they are not the same type of work; one being a poem, the other short story they both have similarities in literary devices; Edgar Allen Poe includes irony, imagery, and symbolism when creating this sense of surprise. By using these devices, he develops the ghastly mood of these tales of horror. The reader can feel the mood and suspense through the thorough detail Poe provides.

In his short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe tells the story of a man, Montresor, who is ridiculed and belittled by what initially appears to be the villain of the story, Fortunato. Poe is not often taken seriously as a writer because of his tendency to include his personal characteristics, experiences and feelings into his works. Thus, the expression of the man who “vowed revenge” REF appears to mirror vulnerability of that of an orphaned Poe. He uses this raw vulnerability to

This will be a new challenge, to critique couple of movies, and research the true meaning of the story, and how it can be viewed differently by society if one take the time to look into the moral standards and the ethical implications that prevalent in almost all movies made by Hollywood and others. To start in this exciting world of movie ethics we should first know and understand that most movies are fictions embracing, what could be real life situations and issues, next, and more importantly, understanding the moral and ethical standards, and their dilemmas. The research here is to demonstrate how Allan Edgar Poe, has had a great impact on modern American horror, how he has influence the many writers, and directors making these film and show the Allan Poe’s symbolic element in a selected

Edgar Allan Poe was a famous American author who specialised in short story and gothic fiction. One of Poe’s most famous works was The Tell-Tale Heart which explores murder, mental illness, cruelty and horror. The viewer becomes aware of the unprovoked mental challenges between characters which heightens the tension and fear, as darkness envelops the reader and the strong beating of a heart gradually grows louder. In order to create a more dramatic storyline, Poe has applied a range of narrative techniques including characters, point of view, setting, and theme, to amplify the intensity of the text and to elicit fear within the reader.