Category: Gothic Literature

The 19th century was a marking era in literature with many movements and genres gaining popularity. After examining the romantic and gothic genre, it is clear that Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley respects the ideals of romanticism and the gothic genre. It is thus because of the settings frightening and sublime elements, it t is…

High and Popular Gothic were classed as poisonous novels which were read in secret. Beattie criticises the reading of sensationalist gothic novels as a dangerous past time because Romances are a dangerous recreation& and tend to corrupt the heart and simulate the passions (Beattie, J, (1970), pp. 309-327). In this assignment, I will argue that…

Gothicism is defined as a style in fictional literature characterized by gloomy settings, violent or grotesque action, and a mood of decay, degeneration, and decadence. This style of writing can be found in numerous different pieces of literature. An example of literature that uses this is Edgar Allen Poes The Fall of the House of…

The Tell-Tale Heart is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1843. The piece talks about the life of an unnamed narrator who is suffering from psychosis and his continued attempt to prove his sanity. Operating from the first person point of view, Poe enables readers inside the head of the protagonist and…

Throughout Poe’s life, many challenges have been thrown at him, causing him to fall into a deep depression. He was born in 1809, and his mother sadly passed away 2 years later in 1811. Poe was adopted by the Allen family after her death, but his siblings stayed with different families. While he lived with…

The word Gothic comes from the Middle Ages. The Goths were East Germanic people. They were violent and brutal. They were not civilized. Goths played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire. When we think of the 18th century we can see two things; one is The Enlightenment and the other is…

Bram Stoker and WW Jacobs are both writers of Gothic Literature. Bram Stoker wrote ‘Draculas Guest’, sadly it was published in 1914 two years after his death. WW Jacobs wrote the story ‘Monkey’s Paw’, which was written in 1902. Both stories use a variety of techniques that create suspense and tension. ‘Monkey’s Paw’ is a…

Modern writing has changed time and time again throughout the centuries. Arguably, one of the biggest influences for modern writing was gothic literature. Gothic literature was such a dramatic change from many previous works due to its dark, mysterious, melancholy tone. This different approach to writing allowed authors to express themselves in a different way…

The fall of the House of Usher and House Taken Over are two stories we have read so far. These stories have similar stories with the whole house being taken over by a mysterious entity. Although both stories are technically different genres with The Fall of the House of Usher being gothic literature and House…

Edgar Allan Poe is a 19th century American writer, he mostly uses gothic elements in his literary works. One of his literary work which includes gothic elements is The Cask of Amontillado. The Cask of Amontillado is about a man, Montresor, who wants to take revenge from one of his friends, Fortunato, because Fortunato insults…