The Influence and Meaning of Gothic Literature - 1385 Words

The Influence and Meaning of Gothic Literature Gothic is termed in the dictionary with crude and barbaric, this definition coincides with gothic literature. Gothic literature was said to be born in 1764 when Horace Walpole published The Castle of Otranto, which is considered to be the first gothic novel ever written. Gothic literature explores the aggression between what we fear and what we lust. The setting of these gothic stories were usually in some kind of castle or old building that showed human decay and created an atmosphere of mystery and suspense. The words chosen in these novels and short stories were very descriptive they tended to blend the idea of the exotic and the familiar (The Balkans, 75).Supernatural and†¦show more content†¦In Dracula, Jonathan Harker notes with a similar attitude I read that every known superstition in the world is gathered into the horseshoe of the Carpathians, as if it were the centre of some sort of imaginative whirlpool. These quotations both bring about the fear of the unknown an d the idea of the fear of the other, creating an ideal setting for a gothic novel. Gerards article also provided Stoker with some of the folklore surrounding Dracula and his castle: St. Georges Day, the eve of which is still frequently kept by occult meetings taking place at night in lonely caverns or within ruined walls; hidden treasures and the light they give forth, described as a bluish flame; and the wolf that continues to haunt the Transylvanian forests (Transylvanian superstitions). Gerard was not the only influence on Stoker choosing Transylvania as his setting some other influences were a collection of tales by Alexandre Dumas (pà ¨re), Les Mille et un Fantomes (1849), includes a story about a vampire who haunts the Carpathians; in The Mysterious Stranger (anonymous, 1860), a vampire Count terrorizes a family in this area. Best-known may be Jules Vernes romantic adventure, The Castle of the Carpathians (1892), in which the narrator cites the prevalence of beliefs in a host of supernatural creatures, including vampires that quench their thirst on human blood. Dracula depicts Transylvania as a backward region inhabited by wild animals and superstitious peasants, appropriateShow MoreRelatedPoetry Is Not Just The Vision Of The Writer1036 Words   |  5 Pages poetry can grip the heart—the mind can be an awfully dark place. Within gothic poetry the horror and fears of the poet lie just beyond the words of the poem itself. The words are emotional viscera given form. Poetry is aesthetic and inspiring and its brevity extends it to forms beyond itself. The works of romantic poets have been recycled and reimagined as a result of our continued love affair with the ideas of the gothic and supernatural. The works of various authors, directors, artists, and musiciansRead MoreAnalysis Of The House Of Leaves 1227 Words   |  5 Pagesis not easily detectable. This is what triggers Gothic plots to have a positive development as they mainly focus on revealin g the why and what of the occurrence of an event. It is evident that wider experiences, techniques, psychological knowledge as well as craftsmanship have tremendously advanced such that the earlier Gothic work seems artificial and naà ¯ve (Lovecraft, 2013). As Crawford (2014) reveals, the theme of madness runs through most Gothic narratives and is usually enunciated by the charactersRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe Biography. By. 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Both gothic writers set a different mood for the reader in their writings. Symbolism is present in stories to provide depth and insight into the plot. It’s the surroundings that make a character look a certain way to the reader. Both Poe and Hawthorne make