Gothic Literature Characteristics Full Cookie Support

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Repeated Use of Motifs Many examples of gothic literature contain similar motifs, or devices that convey a thematic impact.

Though the first examples were fiction, poets also incorporated gothic elements, and the genre remained prevalent throughout the 19th century and into the 20th.

Fascination With the Past Gothic writers romanticized the past, particularly the medieval era.

Castles often feature prominently, as in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and Horace Walpoles The Castle of Otranto.

This gothic fascination with the past also manifested in historical settings, such as the early 18th century Scotland of Sir Walter Scotts Waverley novels.

The Supernatural Supernatural elements also feature prominently in gothic literature.

M.R. James gothic ghost stories, published in the early 20th century, can be seen as a reaction against the rise of technology and science.

Samuel Taylor Coleridges The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, with its ghostly ship, showcases the supernatural in gothic poetry.

Emphasis on Sexuality In the chaste Victorian era, Gothic literature provided an outlet for the exploration of sexuality.

This appears in the trope of the doomed romance, as in Edgar Allan Poes Annabel Lee, or in the appearance of a demonic lover figure, such as the bloodthirsty vampire in Bram Stokers Dracula.

Horror Many of gothic literatures most influential works make heavy use of horror elements.

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, with its graveyards, gloomy castle and iconic monster, became a bestseller upon its first single-volume publication.

Robert Louis Stevensons Dr.

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Ann Radcliffes The Mysteries of Udolpho also provide examples of gothic horror.

Psychological Portraits Themes of madness and emotional distress characterize the psychological emphasis of gothic literature.

As the genre matured into the 20th century, writers began to portray the internal horror of psychosis, as in Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper.

Poes The Telltale Heart, which examines the psychology of guilt, stands as an earlier example of this tendency.

Exotic Locales Exotic settings featured in some of the earliest gothic works, and remained a key element throughout the genres history.

William Bedfords Vathek, set in the Middle East, helped popularize Orientalism, a 19th century fascination with Arabic and Asian cultures.

Experimental Techniques The development of gothic literature paralleled that of the novel as art, and reached its apogee in the first half of the 20th century.

Gothic literature contains experimental techniques such as shifting narrators and literary tableaux.

Shifting narrators -- such as those in William Faulkners Southern gothic As I Lay Dying -- give different perspectives on the plot.

A literary tableaux -- a description of a static scene -- can establish mood or convey symbolism.

The Gothic Hero Gothic literature popularized the notion of the anti-hero, a flawed protagonist who incorporates dark or monstrous elements.

Lord Byron featured gothic heroes in many of his works, including Childe Harold and Manfred.

Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights contains a prominent gothic hero in Heathcliff.

Gothic Literature Characteristics Full Cookie Support