H.P. Lovecraft is a polarizing figure. There are those who love his brand of horror and there are those who find it tiresome or overly inflated. Add to this that he was an eccentric and a racist and you have a figure that would seemingly not stand the test of time. Yet, it seems that everywhere you look you find an anthology of his works, art inspired by his writing or sections of magazines/fanzines/gothic websites titled after him. What makes this rather odd figure such a draw? Positing two possibilities, this article looks at the open world that Lovecraft created as well as his lesser known but masterful long essay on the history of gothic literature. Lovecraft’s world was one of the first to be picked up by other authors and expanded. The
Arranged Marriages are traditional in a group of other countries, but one thing you may not know is that The Aztecs also thought arranged marriages were traditional. Usually the men got married at the ages 20-25, and the women got married at the age of 16-18. The aztec parents chose their children's future loved ones.
Although Moers’ essay is not entirely focused on the formalist approach, there is a good deal that holds the same values. Moers talks about Gothic fiction as a genre and how the time period influenced Mary Shelley’s alteration of
Playing God is a role that no man should ever take upon themselves. Many conflicts may arise and we may never know where to draw the line between the human world and scientific discoveries. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the main character decides to act as God and creates a being that serves as tragic figure and functions as an instrument of unintentional suffering to others. The novel is about a man's quest for acceptance and shows the potential destruction people may cause while trying to find their place in the world.
King Leopold’s Ghost, by Adam Hochschild , shows that the violence in Africa has gone rampant and the civil discourse is an effect to the cause of colonialism. Although he does not have a life devoted expertise to the Congo, his research and background was thorough and descriptive. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness served as a primary influence to many people who seeked to further their knowledge on the predicaments surrounding the Congo. On the contrary, rather than displaying literary occurrences, he portrayed creativity in a hypothetical scenario to draw readers attention.
For a very long time, women were not allowed to vote because they were just women, they were not “capable” for the things men could do.
All too often the gothic literature genre is reduced in its interpretation to gloomy weather and archaic haunted houses. These patterns do exist, but they do not define the genre. Gothic literature found its niche in the 18th and 19th centuries, and during the Victorian era it served a more nuanced purpose than simply to scare readers. Many gothic authors used a monster as a vessel to symbolize topics that the Victorian era sensibilities would label as “monstrous.” They are the incarnation of the taboo subjects society is trying to repress. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Edgar Allan Poe’s “A Tell-Tale Heart”, the authors use Freudian symbolism along with literary symbolism to demonstrate the repercussions of repressing “id” desires.
The most memorable gothic novels of the Victorian era are impressive due to their appealing characters and eerie plotlines. The memorable Gothic story of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, greatly emphasizes the incredible creation of Victor Frankenstein’s monster, which greatly distinguishes her publication from others of its generation due to the monster’s unique characteristics and expressions of personality. The monster is known to cause destruction within the lives of Victor and his family, but these actions seem to have a justified cause. Within Shelly’s exceptional novel, the horrific monster is intentionally displayed as the victim with a troubled past in order for readers to sympathize with the circumstances of the monster’s creation,
The third and final element of gothic literature that can be found in “The Tell-Tale Heart” is that of the presence of madness and the thin boundary line that
Gothic Literature is a style of literature popularized during the late 18th century and the early 19th century with the publication of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This style usually portrays fantastic tales dealing with the horror, despair, the grotesque and other “dark” subjects. Characteristics of gothic literature includes the presence of victims and their victimizers who usually hold immense powers along with their evil purpose. The setting of this kind of literature generally takes place within impenetrable walls, whether physical or mental. This setting creates a sense of hopeless isolation within the victim. The summarization of the characters and situation creates an atmosphere pervaded by a sense of mystery, darkness, oppressiveness, fear, and doom.
Both Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft were known for their tales of horror, shocking discoveries and mysterious characters. Lovecraft was known to have mimicked Poe’s style in his popular horror stories of the early 20th century. Poe, one of the most famous writers of short stories and poems in the 19th century, amazed readers with his rich descriptions and chilling plots. Neither disappoint in two of their stories: Poe’s “Tale of the Ragged Mountains” and Lovecraft’s “The Outsider.” Although these are not the most famous of each authors’ works, scholars often debate over the meaning and themes of each story. One common theme in both the
Gothic literature is a style of writing that contains elements of both horror and romance. This genre allows readers to experience a mix of horror and romance intertwined. Within the gothic genre there are elements of supernatural events, beings, and gloomy day settings. This style of writing became popular in the late 18th century and early 19 century. Many give credit to it’s uprising to author Horace Walpole, who wrote The Castle of Otranto (1764). His book contains all the elements that constitute the gothic genre. Frankenstein fits perfectly into the gothic category because the gloomy and mysterious setting is placed where most readers think of it as
The following piece of writing will explore factors of a gothic novel. It will exclusively do so in regards of the two novels Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein. These very famous novels will be looked at in a very in depth piece of writing. Each novels main themes and their background will be presented. The morality and the gothic novel with specific reference to Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights will be assessed. The second aspect will be the social and cultural of the genre, the genre being the gothic novel. Thirdly, the monster as punishment and the punishment of the monster in both novels. The final aspect that will be analysed is the constructed nature of boundaries in both texts.
Gothic literature has a different way of captivating the reader. Page by Page, gothic themes are present that create mystery and evoke suspense. The Night Circus, a novel by Eric Morgenstern, “The Devil and Tom Walker”, by Washington Irving, and “The Oval Portrait”, by Edgar Allan Poe share two important themes: eerie setting and isolation. All the stories connect through a lesson that passion can become harmful.
Novel in particular and literature in general is more than just a work of fiction but in fact the hidden reflection of a specific historical era. Although, Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights and Dracula were written in different times and each leaves its readers with different emotion and contemplation stages, they all share an affinity: the presence of Gothic elements. Indeed, these novels are designed to lead their reader into thrilling journeys through spooky dark setting, suspense horrifying plot, and claustrophobic atmosphere. These elements, though appear in various forms throughout these three novels, still excellently accomplish their mission of enticing the readers to be caught up in the narrative.
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