Gothic Lit Notes

Gothic Literature is characterized by grotesque character, bizarre situations, and violent events. Originated in Europe. 19th Century. Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne and Steven King.
*Puritans, Age of Reason, Fear of God*
Romanticism (Romantic Writers)
-saw limitations of reason
-celebrate individual spirit
-emotions
-imagination
*Basic Elements of Human Nature*
-splendors of human nature
-fascination of supernatural
-Washington Irving= 1st American writer to achieve the International Fame.
-romantic preoccupation with atmosphere, sentiment, and optimism
-transcendentalism
-transcendent forms of truth exist beyond reason and experience
-every individual is capable of discovering this higher truth on his or her own, through intuition
*Dark Side of Individualism (American Gothic)*
-gothic architecture of the Middle Ages
-gothic cathedrals with their irregular placed tower and their high stained glass windows were intended to inspire awe and fear
-gargoyles=carvings of small deformed creatures (supposed to ward off evil spirits)
-imaginative distortion of reality
-threshold of the unknown=the shadowy region where the fantastic, the demonic and the insane reside
-gothic tradition can be called the dark side of individualism
*Romantics see 'Hope'
Gothic writers see 'Potential for Evil'*
*Edgar Allan Poe*
-dark mid-evil castles or decaying ancient estates
-male narrator=insane
-female narrator=beautiful and dying (dead)
-involve extreme situations--ex: live burrials, physical and mental torture, and retribution from beyond the grave
-people revealed their true natures
-Hawthorne: fear, greed, vanity, mistrust, and betrayal.