How W.W. Jacobs, H.G. Wells and Charles Dickens Create Suspense in their Gothic Horror Stories
In these gothic horror stories the authors create suspense two main
ways. The first is that they use element of gothic horror in their
stories and the second is how they use words and phrases to create
tension. The first of these would include features such as darkness or
isolation to unnerve the reader and create suspense.
The use of darkness shows through all three stories but in different
forms. In The Monkey's Paw W.W. Jacobs uses darkness to create unease
by making Herbert return at night. This alone dose not create suspense
but it makes the characters become frantic as Mrs. White tries to open
the door but cannot as she cannot see and Mr. White is also
frantically looking for The Monkey's Paw but cannot find it due to the
darkness. In The Red Room H.G. Wells takes a different approach to the
use of darkness by, not using darkness to make an event, such as the
return of Herbert, seem more terrifying but instead uses darkness in
such a way that it becomes the source of the horror itself. Charles
Dickens also uses darkness in his story. When the Signal Man is
telling the narrator of what is troubling him the reader is made more
fearful as the explanation takes place at night when the hut is
surrounded by darkness. All three authors use darkness in their
stories but they use it in different ways but all give the same effect
of creating suspense.
Candles, or some kind of flame, are also used in the three stories.
Firstly in The Red Room candles give the narrator a false sense of
security as when the room is lit up the narrator feels saf...
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...racking on their door.
In addition H.G. Wells also creates suspense by his use of words and
phrases through out The Red Room.
This includes the way in which the old lady says '"this night of all
nights."' This is repeated and the reader never finds out why she says
this. This contributes to the tension created by this repetition and
mystery.
The male inhabitant of the castle is always referred to as 'the man
with the withered arm.' This puts emphasis upon his deformity and
creates anxiety each time this phrase is used.
In conclusion there are many element of gothic horror which all of the
writers use but some use in different ways. They also use the sounds
of words repetition of words and words which can have an alternate
meaning but all of these methods give the same effect which is to
create suspense.
Everyone at one point has been captivated and intrigued by the plot of a movie or a book. This captivation is generated by the one tool that authors and directors love the most, suspense. Authors want their audience and readers of their writing to be enthralled by creating tension and thrill in their plot. The usage of style, characterization, point of view, and foreshadowing allows authors and directors to create suspense in their work. Suspense is a very difficult approach to master but with the correct tools it can be as simple as a walk through the park.
Gothic texts are typically characterized by a horrifying and haunting mood, in a world of isolation and despair. Most stories also include some type of supernatural events and/or superstitious aspects. Specifically, vampires, villains, heroes and heroines, and mysterious architecture are standard in a gothic text. Depending upon the author, a gothic text can also take on violent and grotesque attributes. As an overall outlook, “gothic literature is an outlet for the ancient fears of humanity in an age of reason” (Sacred-Texts). Following closely to this type of literature, Edgar Allan Poe uses a gloomy setting, isolation, and supernatural occurrences throughout “The Fall of the House of Usher”.
Written in 1818, the latter stages of the Gothic literature movement, at face value this novel embodies all the key characteristics of the Gothic genre. It features the supernatural, ghosts and an atmosphere of horror and mystery. However a closer reading of the novel presents a multifaceted tale that explores
Gothic literature contains many elements that make it dark, ominous, and dramatic. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” is about a woman who suffers from nervous depression, and her husband, John, belittles her and treats her poorly. In an attempt to help her, John takes the narrator out to a vacation home, where her mental state only becomes worse. In “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, a student named Giovanni falls in love with Beatrice, the daughter of Rappaccini. Beatrice, however, has been poisoned from her father’s scientific affairs. Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Masque of the Red Death,” is about Prince Prospero and his efforts to avoid the plague, which is quickly spreading through
Stevenson used the contemporary setting of Victorian London to write his gothic horror novel. The streets with the gas lamps were the perfect setting following the true horrific stories of Jack the Ripper. He refers to Mr Hyde well as he wanders the streets of London not knowing who he’s going to meet. The elements in gothic horror include irony, movement, time, senses, horrific language and zoom lens. This shows how suspense is built up. I will show how these devices are used in separate paragraphs.
Punter David, ‘The Literature of Terror’, in A History of Gothic Fictions from 1765 to the Present Day, The Modern Gothic. Harlow, eds. (UK: Pearson Education, 1996)
The Fulfillment of the Definition of Gothic Horror by Chapters 5 and 4 of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
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.
Each author sets a gothic tone first and foremost by the techniques used to describe setting and characters. Irving and Hawthorne set their stories in ghostly mysterious forests. Each author uses phenomenal to truly connect the reader with the stories. Hawthorne’s use of similes to tie in what the forest was like gives a sense of letting the readers feel like they are there with young goodman Brown, “ . . . surrounded by four blazing pines, their tops aflame, their stems
The definition of the Horror genre differs completely to the Gothic genre. This idea of how the Gothic novel transformed from various architectures based around impending castles and morality tales, to the idea of monsters, fear, and repugnance. Therefore, it is interesting to notice the change from how the genre has developed from arguably the 17th century to the 20th century, where vampires, werewolf’s, and other monsters are very popular with teen audiences especially.
The gothic often presents dangling characters and plot lines, which contribute to the main point of the gothic: suspense. Brown’s works depend on the use of suspense as a literary technique and is evident in Wieland within Clara’s first person point of view narrative. Her constant reflections on how difficult it is for her to continue on with the series of events. Such actions, although they may seem trivial, persuade the reader to continue on to find out what happens
The Ways in Which Wilkie Collins Builds Up a Sense of Mystery and Suspense in His Short Stories
In the examination of Northanger Abbey and Frankenstein one comes to very different conclusions as to why their authors used gothic elements. The two authors had very different purposes for their stories. Powerful emotions are often an element of gothic literature as it was a genre that took Romanticism to excessive extents. While Austen used this gothic element to satirize the gothic novel, Shelley used it to display a deeper point about the evils of ambition. Both authors exhibited characters severe emotions to show the importance of rationality instead of extremes, but ultimately had a different purpose in presenting this view.
Edgar Allan Poe, renowned as the foremost master of the short-story form of writing, chiefly tales of the mysterious and macabre, has established his short stories as leading proponents of “Gothic” literature. Although the term “Gothic” originally referred only to literature set in the Gothic (or medieval) period, its meaning has since been extended to include a particular style of writing. In order for literature to be “Gothic,” it must fulfill some specific requirements. Firstly, it must set a tone that is dark, somber, and foreboding. Next, throughout the development of the story, the events that occur must be strange, melodramatic, or often sinister. Poe’s short stories are considered Gothic literature because of their eerie atmosphere and atypical plot developments. Consequently, in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe is distinguished as an author of unique, albeit grotesque ingenuity in addition to superb plot construction via his frequent use of the ominous setting to enhance the plot’s progression and his thematic exploration of science versus superstition.
The term ‘Gothic’ is highly amorphous and open to diverse interpretations; it is suggestive of an uncanny atmosphere of wilderness gloom and horror based on the supernatural. The weird and eerie atmosphere of the Gothic fiction was derived from the Gothic architecture: castles, cathedrals, forts and monasteries with labyrinths of dark corridors, cellars and tunnels which evoked the feelings of horror, wildness, suspense and gloom.