Elements of Gothic Literature Gothic Literature Gothic literature

Elements of Gothic Literature

Gothic Literature Ø Gothic literature is characterized by gloomy settings such as castles and old, dark houses, in which mysterious and sometimes violent or supernatural occurrences take place.

Gothic Literature Ø The Gothic creates feelings of gloom, mystery, and suspense and tends to the dramatic and the sensational, like incest, diabolism, and nameless terrors. Ø Most of us immediately recognize the Gothic (even if we don't know the name) when we encounter it in novels, poetry, plays, movies, and TV series.

Mood Ø Mood is the feeling an author deliberately creates through the use of language and images, particularly in the treatment of the setting (the place or location of the story). Ø You can think of the mood as an effect that the author tries to achieve through a consistent and repeated use of similar details in describing the place and time in which the story takes place.

Mystery Ø Mystery refers to a quality of writing that makes the reader uncertain about the outcome of events, and perhaps even uneasy. Ø When the emotional effect of mystery crosses over into a progressive build-up of uneasiness or tension, this effect is more commonly referred to as suspense. Ø Suspense frequently occurs as the reader tries to anticipate the resolution of a story's central conflict.

What makes a work Gothic? A combination of at least some of these elements: Ø a castle, ruined or intact, haunted or not Ø ruined buildings which are sinister or which arouse a pleasing melancholy Ø dungeons, underground passages, crypts, and catacombs which, in modern houses, become spooky basements or attics

Ø labyrinths, dark corridors, and winding stairs, Ø shadows, a beam of moonlight in the blackness, a flickering candle, or the only source of light failing (a candle blown out or an electric failure), Ø extreme landscapes, like rugged mountains, thick forests, or icy wastes, and extreme weather

Ø omens and ancestral curses Ø magic, supernatural manifestations, or the suggestion of the supernatural Ø a passion-driven, willful villain-hero or villain Ø a curious heroine with a tendency to faint and a need to be rescued–frequently Ø a hero whose true identity is revealed by the end of the novel Ø horrifying (or terrifying) events or the threat of such happenings