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Gothic literature

Gothic literature. The History. Traced to early folklore 17 th century works—like Macbeth —served as precursors to the 18 th and 19 th century Gothic novel and drama Edmund Burke’s A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (1757)

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Gothic literature

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  1. Gothic literature

  2. The History • Traced to early folklore • 17th century works—like Macbeth—served as precursors to the 18th and 19th century Gothic novel and drama • Edmund Burke’s A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (1757) • Gothic literature reflects the social and political climate of the time

  3. It’s called “Gothic” because gothic-style settings—like castles, mansions, and monasteries—served well as backdrops for such dark literature.

  4. Genre deals with emotional extremes and very dark themes; it examines our deepest, darkest fears—both real and imaginary. Gothic lit often incorporates supernatural elements, demons, and apparitions. Meant to terrorize the reader—but also draw them in The run-down…

  5. Common characteristics • Victim is helpless against his torturer • Torturer has immense power, sometimes supernatural • Victim is often trapped by impenetrable walls—physical or psychological • Atmosphere of mystery, darkness, oppressiveness • Mysterious disappearances and reappearances • Melodramatically violent and psychologically abnormal

  6. Famous (to some)Authors • Horace Walpole's novel The Castle of Otranto (1764) is considered to be the first gothic novel • Perce Bysshe Shelley • Mary Shelley—Frankenstein • Edgar Allen Poe • Bram Stoker—Dracula

  7. Tyrants Maniacs Persecuted Maidens Vampires Werewolves Monsters Ghosts Femmes Fatale Magicians Gothic Character Archetypes

  8. So…To Kill a Mockingbird?

  9. Southern Gothic • Developed out of the 19th Century Gothic novel • Gothic lit examines a world different than our own + the South held values and attributes not necessarily welcome in the rest of the country = Southern Gothic • It uses supernatural and unusual events not to terrorize, but to address social and class issues

  10. Characteristics • Issues of race, alienation, and otherness are central to Southern Gothic • Freakishness: character is set aside by disability or viewpoint of the world • Uses a spin on gothic archetypes • Archetypes become American Southerners • Monster becomes an uneducated drunk • Use of the grotesque • Character’s negative qualities allows author to examine unsavory aspects of society • Something in the town, house, or farm is bizarre and often falling apart

  11. Violence • often the result of racial or social tension • Sense of place • Southern Gothic settings feel “Southern” • Old, run-down towns; porches with rocking chairs, etc. • Broken bodies and broken souls • Problems created by social norm • Questions establishment’s ethics and justification • Morality is in question; what is the innocent’s place in the world? • Often asked to be the redeemer • Purity of heart rarely overpowers desperation

  12. Famous Authors • William Faulkner • Tennessee Williams • Flannery O’Connor • Eudora Welty • Carson McCullers • Truman Capote • Harper Lee

  13. Sources • http://www.enotes.com/gothic-literature/gothic-literature-an-overview • http://www.scepticthomas.com/gothic/gothic.htm • http://www.sfu.ca/english/Gillies/Engl20701/mockingbird1.htm

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