Elements of a Gothic Literature:

A protagonist is usually isolated either voluntarily or involuntarily Element One: A protagonist is usually isolated either voluntarily or involuntarily

Example from the Raven The subject of the Raven is involuntarily isolated because he lost his love Lenore

Element Two: A Gothic novel usually contains a villain, who is the epitome of evil, either by his own fall from grace, or by some implicit malevolence

The Raven represents the villain Example from the Raven The Raven represents the villain

Element Three: The plot mirrors the ruined world in its dealings with a protagonist's fall from grace as the protagonist succumbs to the temptation from the villain

Example from the Raven The protagonist (the subject) gives into the tauntings of the Raven. This reflects the tension between the fallen hero (the subject), and the villian (the Raven).

Element Four: The setting of the Gothic novel is the outward manifestion of the protagonist's internal emotional world

Example from the Raven The protagonist is emotionally alienated and isolated after the loss of his love, Lenore. The setting in the poem reflects this alienation–large chamber with vaulted ceilings, and expansive bookshelves

Element Five: Protagonist struggles with a terrible, surreal person or force that becomes a metaphor for the protagonist's struggle with repressed emotions or thoughts

Example from the Raven The Raven becomes the protagonist's inner-voice and expresses what the protagonist is unable to reconcile–the permanent loss of his love, Lenore. Lenore's apparition becomes the protagonists internal and external salvation

Element Six: Repressed emotions, which are personified in the Gothic novel, are horrible not only because of what they are, but also because of how they enslave a person

Example from the Raven The protagonist becomes emotionally enslaved to Lenore's ghost (or memory)‏

The protagonist is consistently weaker than the antagonist Element Seven: The protagonist is consistently weaker than the antagonist

Example from the Raven The protagonist is haunted and tormented by the Raven (as is so eloquently depicted in the Simpson's interpretation)‏