Gothic Literature

TONE: Tone is the author’s attitude toward the writing (his characters, the situation) and the readers. Example tone words: Horror Light Sad Clear Serious Formal Suspicious Gloomy Amused Humorous Angry Informal Playful Cheerful Ironic Witty

MOOD: Mood is the general atmosphere created by the author’s words MOOD: Mood is the general atmosphere created by the author’s words. It is the feeling the reader gets from reading those words Example mood words: Fanciful Melancholy Frightening Mysterious Frustrating Romantic Gloomy Sentimental Happy Sorrowful Joyful Suspenseful

Elements of Gothic Fiction Mystery Horror The Grotesque Violence The Supernatural

Gothic Conventions Murder Death Suicide Ghosts Demons Gloomy settings Family secrets Dungeons Curses Torture Vampires Spirits Castles Tombs Terror Damsel in distress (faints in horror) Secret corridors, passageways, or rooms Ancestral curses Ruined castles with graveyards nearby Priests and monks Sleep, dream, death-like states

The Importance of Setting Evokes the atmosphere of horror and dread Also portrays the decaying world At one time the abbey, castle, or landscape was something treasured and appreciated Now, all that lasts is the decaying shell of a once thriving setting May serve as a “character” itself within the story

Example of a transformed setting

Gothic Architecture Castles Archways Gargoyles Vaulted ceilings Stained Glass

Notre Dame

Hints that you have a gothic… wind, especially howling sighs, moans, howls, eerie sounds rain, especially blowing clanking chains doors grating on rusty hinges gusts of wind blowing out lights footsteps approaching doors suddenly slamming shut lights in abandoned rooms crazed laughter characters trapped in a room baying of distant dogs (or wolves?) ruins of buildings thunder and lightning

Popular Gothic Authors and Their Literature Gaston Leroux- The Phantom of the Opera Oscar Wilde- The Picture of Dorian Gray

Edgar Allen Poe Poe can be considered the father of the modern horror story, influencing writers such as Stephen King and Anne Rice

20th century Gothic FILM LITERATURE MUSIC Examples: Tim Burton: Psycho Rosemary’s Baby The Exorcist The Shining The Addams Family Twilight Series Underworld Tim Burton: Sleepy Hallow Edward Scissorhands The Nightmare Before Christmas Sweeny Todd Corpse Bride Anne Rice Includes: Interview with the Vampire and The Queen of the Damned Stephen King Joyce Carol Oats MUSIC Gothic Rock The Cure Joy Division Heavy Metal Black, Thrash, Death, Gothic metal (Metallica’s The Call of Ktulu)

“Vincent” by Tim Burton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASHP-vgnjAw