Gothic Literature &

Romanticism

What is GOTHIC?What is GOTHIC?

• What associations do you have with the word gothicgothic? If you could make gothic something concrete, what would it:– Sound like?– Look like?– Feel like?

What makes literature GOTHIC?

• Gothic fiction is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance, hence why it is categorized in the Romantic Period.

Gothic Elements• Not all are necessary for a piece to be

gothic, just a good combination of a few.– a castle, ruined or intact, haunted or not– ruined buildings which are sinister or which

arouse a pleasing melancholy– dungeons, underground passages, crypts,

and catacombs which, in modern houses, become spooky basements or attics

– labyrinths, dark corridors, and winding stairs– shadows, a beam of moonlight in the

blackness, a flickering candle, or the only source of light failing (a candle blown out or an electric failure)

– extreme landscapes, like rugged mountains, thick forests, or icy wastes, and extreme weather

– omens and ancestral curses– magic, supernatural manifestations, or the

suggestion of the supernatural– a passion-driven, willful villain-hero or villain – a curious heroine with a tendency to faint

and a need to be rescued–frequently– a hero whose true identity is revealed by

the end of the novel– horrifying (or terrifying) events or the threat

of such happenings

Examples of Gothic Examples of Gothic WorksWorks

• Horace Walople—The Castle of Otranto– regarded as the first true gothic

romance

• Nathaniel Hawthorne—The House of Seven Gables

• Herman Melville—Moby-Dick• Edith Wharton—Ethan Frome

Gothic ArchitectureGothic Architecture

What is ROMANTICISM?

• What associations do you have with the word romantic? If you could make romantic something concrete, what would it:– Sound like?– Look like?– Feel like?

What makes literature ROMANTIC?

• This literature stresses strong emotion such as trepidation, horror, and awe.

Romanticism ValuesRomanticism Values

• Literature reflects the values of society at that time.– Emotion over reason– Belief in the supernatural– Supremacy of nature over man– Individualism– Nationalism: Customs and Folklore – High regard for imagination

What is Romanticism?

• Romanticism is a mid 17th Century movement that began in Europe as a response to the revolutions of the time. The Romantic period lasted until the early 19th Century influencing hundreds of artists, writers and philosophers.

• Romantics sought freedom in individual thought and feeling as opposed to the waves of reason that were characteristic of the Period of Enlightenment.

Examples of Romantic Examples of Romantic WorksWorks

• William Wordsworth– Lyrical Ballads (with Coleridge)

• Samuel Taylor Coleridge • Mary Shelley

– Frankenstein• John Keats

– “Ode to a Nightingale”• Washington Irvin

– Rip Van Winkle

Romanticism: In Art

• Some of the characteristics found in Romantic art include:– The power of nature– Depiction of women

and children– Critique of the past

Romanticism: Famous Artists

J.M.W. Turner 1775-1851

The Fighting Temeraire… (right)

John William Waterhouse1849-1917

The Lady of Shallot (left)