Introductory Materials & Notes English 10 & 10-A Mrs. Humbertson Gothic Literature AKA Dark Romanticism: Collection 1 - Ourselves & Others Introductory Materials & Notes English 10 & 10-A Mrs. Humbertson

OURSELVES & OTHERS Part One: Gothic Literature “We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves.” This collection explores how we interact with people – family, enemies, neighbors, classmates – with whom we disagree & how we handle that tension.

A. STARTER: Choose one of the quotes, copy it in your notebook, & discuss how it applies to one of your greatest fears. B. C. Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp3VgMoKU-8

What are our class’s top 10 fears?

Other Sources: http://psychology.about.com/od/phobias/p/commonphobias.htm http://www.livescience.com/13434-phobias-fears-acrophobia-heights-agoraphobia-arachnophobia.html

What happens to us when we feel fear? Video: http://www.businessinsider.com/our-brain-chemistry-when-we-get-scared-2013-10

When did Dark Romanticism become popular? Later 18th Century Europe Started with a “Gothic Revival” -- mid-1700s Visible in gardens Seen in architecture (gargoyles) of the Middle Ages 1740s - Horace Walpole - Strawberry Hill estate near London Published The Castle of Otranto: a Gothic Story – 1764 Also included poetry & art

Application to Literature Any kind of romantic or human interest aspect Adds fear or terror Popular among female writers Became best sellers! http://www.greatscotland.be/evenementen.htm

A Famous Classic Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) Single most important product of this tradition Themes relate to science, poetry, psychology, alienation, politics, education, family relationships, etc. Tradition: 8-foot tall monster made of separate body pieces librarycommission.lib.wv.us/ WVLC%20BOOK/Frank...

Famous American Gothic Writers Edgar Allan Poe Steven King http://www.1001-votes.com/vote/fond.php?mcat=24&lg=fr http://www.3boysproductions.com/MIFF-2002-Fri-Nite-Program.htm

Characteristics Set in Medieval times Dark, mysterious, evil tone Dark castles, palaces, chambers, haunted mansions Isolated setting All come together to emphasize the sense of evil http://www.encounterspri.com/Articles.htm

More Characteristics Presence of ghosts, spirits, vampires, and other supernatural entities Mysterious disappearances and reappearances Supernatural or paranormal occurrences http://www.penelopesweb.com/gargoyles.html

Characteristics -- cont’d. Religion, usually Christianity or at least spirituality, is confronted. A gothic “double” is used in which a character who seems to be good is linked with another who is evil www.pagedepot.com/.../ GOTHIC%20CHAPBOOKSX.HTM

More Characteristics Blood, pain, death Cruelty Eroticism Characters with “aberrant psychological states” Events are “uncanny, macabre, or melodramatically violent bordering between reality and unreality http://www.pantip.com/cafe/chalermthai/newmovie/hauntedcastle/hc.html

Purpose To evoke “terror” versus “horror” in the reader because of situations bordering reality/unreality Often used to teach a message May lack a Medieval setting but will develop an atmosphere of gloom and terror

Differentiating between them Horror “An awful apprehension” Described distinctly Something grotesque So appalling, unrealistic Depends on physical characteristics – you see what happens as opposed to imagining it Terror “A sickening realization” Suggestive of what will happen Depends on reader’s imagination Sense of uncertainty Creates an “intangible atmosphere of spiritual psychic dread”

Examples of Horrors & Thrillers Horror Movies “Saw” “Nightmare on Elm Street” “The Cabin in the Woods” “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” “The Conjuring” Thrillers “Silence of the Lambs” “Seven” “The Dark Knight” “Shutter Island” “The Machinist” “The Shining” “Jacob’s Ladder”

STOP NOTES

Why do people like horror stories and psychological thrillers? http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/10/31/why-some-people-love-horror-movies-while-others-hate-them/ http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/why-do-some-brains-enjoy-fear/280938/ http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/why-we-love-scary-movies

Scary Stories http://www.blastr.com/2013-10-17/25-scary-stories-stephen-king-and-other-great-horror-writers-you-can-read-now

American Gothic Important from the mid-18th Century through modern times Related to “Romantic Period” Criticizes “national myth of new-world innocence by voicing the cultural contradictions that undermine the nation’s claim to purity and equality” - Teresa A. Goddu Tells of historical horrors that make national identity http://photos1.blogger.com/img/154/1420/1024/american%20gothic.jpg

Southern Gothic http://www.madelinecarolgallery.com/images/Southern%20Plantation.jpg Customary setting because it’s the source of values not necessarily welcome in the rest of the country Poe was the first Southern gothic writer Common themes: race, alienation, sense of “otherness”

Cyber gothic literature Situations seem unrealistic during this time period but possible in the future Dark setting Nothing natural; all man-made Characters’ bodies are often altered, making them less human-like Based on knowledge and a “technologically enhanced future” http://darklands.ivory-tower.net/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=17&meid=-1