The Signalman, An Arrest and Napoleon and The Spectre. In this essay

Fictional literature can be categorized into many different genres: drama, romance, science fiction, tragedy, comedy, horror, and gothic. Gothic fiction borrows from horror by sampling mystery, dire setting, and chilling architecture. Romance is sampled in gothic fiction by the use of characters, firm emotions, and misguided love. Greenblatt writes, " Gothic became a label for the macabre, mysterious, supernatural, and terrifying, especially the pleasurably terrifying, in literature generally; the link that Romantic-period writers had forged between the Gothic and antiquated spaces was eventually loosened" (584). Horace Walpole wrote The Castle of Otranto in 1764.

This mode of literature appears to have sprung out from Gothic architecture... ... middle of paper ... ...th possess conventions commonly demonstrated in gothic fiction surrounding setting, atmosphere and theme. Although there are significant differences between the two, it is the execution of collectively recognized themes of gothic literature that enhances their effects on the readers, the most important being the element of the supernatural as well as madness. In both stories, the characters are haunted by paranormal activity that begins to slowly consume them. Throughout the stories they then begin to deteriorate mentally which leads to their demise. The journey in which the reader is taken by observing the slow paced unraveling of their mental state is significantly defining in the overall effect of the gothic fictions.

Authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Bronte and Bram Stoker have different styles of writing to accomplish each story they compose. Each novel uses similar gothic elements to create a tale that generates a love and horror story combined.

Gothic novels were a type of fiction that became popular in England during the 1700’s and early 1800’s (Dunn 279). Gothic novels were mysteries that often involved the supernatural and heavily filled with horror (?). Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein was one of the most prominent Gothic novels in the time of the Romantics (?). According to Frank J. Dunn, “In the 1800’s, elements of the Gothic novel appeared in other forms of fiction that shared its interest in the terrible and the exotic (279).” Gothic novels follow a set of many characteristics and aspects that help define what it truly is. Gothic novels have many different characteristics: they evoke terror both physical and psychological, they have character that keep themselves isolated in time or space from contemporary l... ... middle of paper ... ... Shelley’s Frankenstein truly displays the true essence of what a Gothic novel should represent through the many different characteristics of a Gothic novel.

It will examine in deeper detail two aspects of the novels: the writing style and setting in order to show how the Gothic genre has developed and evolved and how it has affected the works mentioned previously. The aim of this paper is to explore the ways in which Stoker has used traditional Gothic elements and what he has contributed to this genre. The writing style is a tool to create fear and horror but there are some differences in how it is used in Early and in Victorian Gothic. Authors like Ann Radcliffe used suggestion, sensibility and suspense to provoke terror. She did not descr... ... middle of paper ... ...characteristics of both genres and others that make that Dracula diverges from typical Early Gothic novels.

Along with omens, supernatural events also appear in a Gothic novel to add mystery and include: "ghosts, giants, or inanimate objects coming to life" (Harris). The supernatural events continue to add the atmosphere of suspense and even horror to the Gothic novel. In a Gothic novel, a "tyrannical male" usually threatens a weak female, adding an elemen... ... middle of paper ... ...n and fulfills the last criteria in presenting the House of Seven Gables as a Gothic novel. The use of the elements of mystery, suspense, and horror in the House of Seven Gables creates the atmosphere common to a Gothic novel. The use of the supernatural and other mysterious events, in the House of Seven Gables, also compose the elements present in Gothic Literature.

It encompasses all aspects that are vital to Gothicism and executes all perfectly. Stoker adds the element of darkness which clearly intensifies the foreboding ambience and he reflects it on every aspect of the book. The theme of superstition and the supernatural that centres on the villain creates an air of ambiguity and uncertainty concerning Dracula. This uncertainty causes a fear in the reader which enhances the gothic genre of the novel. Finally, the same uncertainty that clouds the supernatural elements of the novel drift into the characters understanding of what is real and what is not.

There is one known very influential writing style called Gothic Literature. It is not only considered to involve the horror or gothic element but is combined with romance, superstition, women in distress, omens, portents, vision and supernatural events to name a few (Beesly). The history and beginning of this era is not well known. From a few writers came this writing style that has impacted the world. A famous artists known for this type of writing is a man named Edgar Allan Poe.

The two authors create characters exhibiting powerful emotions and moralize through the usage of these emotions. Romanticism played a large role in the creation of gothic literature, and it was considered to be “a lunatic fringe version of romanticism” (Tiffin). Gothic novels often had a powerful unleashing of emotions to very extreme levels “beyond social constraining” (Tiffin). The genre’s character often had an excess of a specific type (Tiffin), and in an analysis of Frankenstein and Northanger Abbey, this excess can be seen in Frankenstein’s ambition and Catherine’s curiosity. Several times in Northanger Abbey Austen’s main character, Catherine, gets caught up in her emotions.

The term gothic was originally used to describe both type of Art and Architecture. Gothic novels were given a genre of their own primarily because of their emotional extremes and their dark themes. Gothic Literature ================= The gothic novel is a literary genre which is said to have been created in 1764 when Horace Walpole wrote his novel ‘The Castle of Otranto’. The main features of gothic novels included terror, mystery, the supernatural, doom, death, curses and madness. The term ‘gothic’ was originally used to describe both type of Art and Architecture.