Key Elements of Gothic Literature Jasmine Giles People enjoy reading gothic literature due to its heart rate exciting nature. Without having to engage with any real danger, it is common for the reader to feel anxiety and impaitence when reading gothic fiction. In order for the reader to feel these emotions, the author uses certain elements, such as a gloomy setting and old-fashioned dialoge. In the stories “The Black Cat” and “The Tell Tale Heart”, by elgar allen poe, and “The Landlady”, by Roland Dahl, there are many similarites that remanticize the idea of horror and mystery. Some elements, however, bring out the disbolical horror of gothic literature: the setting, characterization, and the motif of suspense. The setting is gothic litereature is commonly located in a Victorian-styled environment, with dull shades of black and white pointed architecture. Some of the place described in the Gothic writing are old, abdondoned house, castles, or …show more content…
Suddenly there is something unknown in the plot and the ending of the story becomes less apparent. In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the reader is not sure wheter or not the narrator will actually kill the man, or if he happens to be caught murdering. The narrator claims not to be mad, yet he still commits acts of terror towards others. This is an example of how mystery in gothic literature can make the feeler feel anxious. “The hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every instant.” (Poe) The dialogue is also very important for adding suspense to a gothic story: “But, my dear boy, he never left. He is still here.” (Dalh) This quote refers to the women in “The Landlady” talking about guests she had three years ago. Of course, this is very odd and makes the reader panic for the sake of the main characters safety. The use of uncertainity through-out the story is what makes the reader continue to turn the
Gothic Literature was a natural progression from romanticism, which had existed in the 18th Century. Initially, such a ‘unique’ style of literature was met with a somewhat mixed response; although it was greeted with enthusiasm from members of the public, literary critics were much more dubious and sceptical.
Gothic Literature is a literary genre that combines the elements of fiction and the ideas that is related to horror, death, or supernatural. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a good example of Gothic literature because it contains the elements of this literary genre, and one of them is the bleak setting of the story. An example of this in
In today’s literature there are many types of genres that people find fascinating, all the way from fantasy to non-fiction. A very interesting genre is Gothic Fiction, where many elements are used to such as violence, ghosts, monsters and many other dark and mystical elements that make up Gothic Fiction. There are many great authors who are well known for their dark gothic style such as Edgar Poe, who has written the short story “Fall of the House of Usher” and the “Black Cat,” or Horacio Quiroga who has written “Feather Pillow” and a more recent author, Ransom Riggs who has written Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. These three author’s stories all have gothic elements, such as psychological issues, death and fear that parallel one other which shows a common trend between gothic literatures.
To set the tone in the story the author had to describe the surroundings of the characters. For example the author states, "with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit." when giving a detailed response of how he feels about the house. This helps show that the author himself feels depressed when in sight of the building and gives the reader a thought of how the house looks. Other textual evidence in the passage also shows a feeling of suspense like the quote, "There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart - an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. " which is how the author feels when he thinks about the house. The author cannot bear to imagine the house because he has a dark and negative imagination with different fears he thinks can come to life because of how unsettling the house makes him feel. While suspense is a direct indication of a depressed and dark tone, some other Gothic elements can be used indirectly to describe negative values in the story.
Gloomy, decaying setting: Haunted houses or castles with Trick bookshelves, flickering candles, dusty curtains and locked windows contribute to the mood of gothic novels because they are emotionally charged with a sense of fear and creepiness. Supernatural beings: Gothic novels play on the fear of the unknown by incorporating characters and creatures such as vampires, zombies and ghosts. Curses or prophecies: Vague prophecies are used in Gothic works in order to create mystery and to develop the plot gradually.
The oval portrait by edgar Allan Poe has a few elements of gothic literature. The three element I chose were, setting in a castle which is the action takes place in and around an old castle, sometimes seemingly abandoned, sometimes occupied, next an atmosphere of mystery and suspense, which means Gloomy, decaying setting (haunted houses or castles with secret passages, trapdoors, and other mysterious architecture), and lastly the vocabulary of the gothic, meaning the constant use of the appropriate vocabulary set creates and sustains the atmosphere of the gothic.
It is clear that the author, Roald Dahl, utilizes a variety of literary devices in order to create an element of suspense in the text, “The Landlady.” An example of this would be Dahl’s use of foreshadowing in the text. The Landlady states in the text, “But my dear boy, he never left. He’s still here. Mr. Temple is also here. They’re on the fourth floor, both of them together” (Dahl 5). It is evident how this would contribute to the component of suspense for the reader. The use of foreshadowing throughout “The Landlady” is meant to hint towards Billy’s impending doom, and thus would compel readers to anticipate Billy’s fate, creating suspense. Foreshadowing contributes a great deal to the dark humor/mysterious aspect of Dahl’s style of writing.
Poe writes “The Tell Tale Heart” from the perspective of the murderer of the old man. When an author creates a situation where the central character tells his own account, the overall impact of the story is heightened. The narrator, in this story, adds to the overall effect of horror by continually stressing to the reader that he or she is not mad, and tries to convince us of that fact by how carefully this brutal crime was planned and executed. The point of view helps communicate that the theme is madness to the audience because from the beginning the narrator uses repetition, onomatopoeias, similes, hyperboles, metaphors and irony.
The authors in all stories utilize the gothic elements: psychological issues, supernatural, and violence to give a reader an understanding of their unstable state, to create suspense and mystery, and to show a character’s true motives.
the elements of a gothic novel as it is not set in a remote place or a
Any author that is adept at writing in the genre of horror knows that the most proficient way to keep a reader intrigued when reading a story is to use suspense. Likewise, any avid reader will hold an author in the highest regard when suspense is used effectively. The Tell-Tale Heart is a short story about a man who insists that he is not mad. He feels the need to kill an old man because of his disturbing eye. After several tries, he finally commits the crime successfully. The police show up at his door and at first he remains calm, but eventually he grows restless. The narrator believes that he is hearing the beating of the old man’s heart, his guilt finally gets the best of him and he confesses to the police. In this story, Edgar Allan
Word by word, gothic literature is bound to be an immaculate read. Examining this genre for what it is could be essential to understanding it. “Gothic” is relating to the extinct East Germanic language, people of which known as the Goths. “Literature” is defined as a written work, usually with lasting “artistic merit.” Together, gothic literature combines the use of horror, death, and sometimes romance. Edgar Allan Poe, often honored with being called the king of horror and gothic poetry, published “The Fall of House Usher” in September of 1839. This story, along with many other works produced by Poe, is a classic in gothic literature. In paragraph nine in this story, one of our main characters by the name of Roderick Usher,
Southern Gothic literature is a group of words bonded together to set a mood, message, plot, etc. Overall Southern Gothic Literature can be interesting and creepy at the same time, its style has been practiced for many years by southern writers which are located in the American South. Its popular writings have grew from generation to generation and is now a world wide genre. Works Cited Alice, Petry. A Rose for Emily.’
Horror provides the unsettling truth that is difficult to express. In “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator is a madman, but he continues to deny it. This adds uncertainty to the story because the reader is doubtful of upcoming events. “He had the eye of a vulture – a pale
in Horace Walpole’s novel The Castle of Otranto and Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. Through the contrast between diction, setting, characterization, and tone, it is made clear what the traditional gothic tropes are and how they represent themselves in Walpole’s novel, while the gothic parody is illustrating how reality and the fictitious world of the gothic should be two separate entities for readers of this genre to Austen. All in all both illustrate something significant about the gothic genre and how it is crafted and viewed.