Romantic and Gothic Literature

1. Romantic and GothicLiterature Thao Nguyen Ashley Nguyen

2. Romantic Literature

3. Romantic Literature • German group in 1790s were the first self-declared. • Interest in ballads and medieval romances and inspiring philosophy of Kant and Fichte. • Creative power of the mind • Allowed nature to be seen as a responsive mirror of the soul

4. Features • Explore the honest emotions of personal experience • View of human nature valued individual strong feeling over combined and formal behaviour • Central to Romantic views of art was the creative imagination, nature growth and free development

5. Frankenstein • Walton, Frankenstein and creature are all characterised by Romantic egotism in desiring to create the world according to their own dreams • They remake the facts of their lives into stories which highlights the power of the individuals desire in their dreams and ambitions of control over their world • Frankenstein escapes from home to the Alphine valley of Chamounix to seek ‘the magnificent, the eternity of such scenes, to forget myself’ (p.94) – appreciation of the power of his surroundings

6. Frankenstein • The protagonist is so completely engrossed in his own ego, so painfully self-conscious, that he must create a being to reassure himself of his own existence. – Alienates him from life and family. • To accomplish the impossible by overstepping human boundaries has significant consequences – Nature seeks revenge on Victor.

7. Gothic Literature

8. Gothic Literature • Gothic Literature is believed to have originated from Romantic Literature. • By the 18th Century Gothic literature came to its own established literacy form. • Gothic literature is distinctive for its fascination in the horrible, the repellent, the grotesque and the supernatural. • Gothic novels tend to take place at night, in claustrophobic, sunless environments. • The oral telling or horror stories have been a prime art form that initiated Gothic Literature.

9. Horace Walpole • The first major Gothic novel was The Castle of Otranto. • The novel was published in 1764 • The novel was inspired by a nightmare

10. Gothic Literature Motifs and Characteristics • Haunted Castles • Climbing or falling from cliffs • Secret passages • Physical decay • Skulls and Skeletons • Ruined castles • Cemeteries and other images relating to death • Ghosts • Revenge • Ancestral curses • The supernatural • Vampires • Blood and gore • Torture and torment • Doppelganger • Demonic possession • Shape shifting • Black or dark magic • Madness • Incest • Solitary confinement • Damsel in distress • Dreams • Mystery • Violence

11. Gothic Architecture • Gothic architecture uses pointed arches and vaults, flying buttresses, narrow spires, stained glass windows • Theupward movement was meant to suggest heavenward aspiration.

12. Frankenstein • The novel presents a lonely and frightening setting, emphasizing the solitude and isolation of the Walton, Victor and the creature. • The setting throughout the novel is based in dark, wretched and solitary places such as; Victor’s apartment and the hovel the creature stays at. • The creature turns vengeful and evil. • Victor has a gruesome nightmare of the creature and his Elizabeth turning into a corpse which looked like his dead mother.

13. Frankenstein Gothic Themes • Isolation and solitude of Frankenstein, Walton and the creature, life after death, Victor’s chaotic ambition and the consequences of playing god (horrors of a dark humanity)

14. Frankenstein • Nature is used regularly to create atmosphere. • An example of this is the bleak, glacial fields of the Alps and the mists of the Arctic serve to indicate the isolation of the Victor and his creature.

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