2. American Gothic “The Dark Romantics” The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. -H.P. Lovecraft

3. Definition  A literary style that explores the dark side of human nature. Human imagination leads to the threshold of the unknown.

4. Characteristics of American Gothic  Use of irony and foreshadowing  Detailed and descriptive characters and settings  Examines the destruction of the individual, often revealing innermost secrets  Extreme situations

5. Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)  Life experiences inspired his dark works  Developing single effect in short stories  Insane characters and bizarre plots  “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “The Raven”

6. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)  Examined the human heart under various conditions: fear, greed, vanity, and betrayal  Fascinated by the concept of immortality  “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” and The Scarlet Letter

7. William Faulkner (1897-1962) “Southern” Gothic  Saw the pressures of modern life making grotesques of everyone  Fictional families set in the American south  “A Rose for Emily” And The Sound and the Fury

8. Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964)  “…reveal as much of the mystery as possible…”  Uses violent means to make a point  Examines good and evil  “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”