1. And the Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Gothic Literature
And the Works of
Edgar Allan Poe

2. The Gothic Tradition Began in Europe First Gothic Work:
1765 The Castle of Otranto – Horace Walpole
Two Early Works:
Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818)
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897)

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

6. Poe explored the dark and often irrational side of the human mind (Hawthorne explored the dark side of the human heart)
His stories often are filled with a sense of anxiety & have a dreamlike quality

7. Master of the Short Story
Along with Nathaniel Hawthorne, Poe perfected the modern short story
Poe stressed a single dominant effect in his short stories
The Premature Burial

8. Gothic Architecture
The Gothic tradition was also reflected in architecture: vaulted ceilings, arches, stained glass windows, gargoyles

9. Notre Dame

10. Gothic Conventions Murder Death Suicide Ghosts Demons Gloomy settings
Family secrets
Dungeons
Curses
Torture
Vampires
Spirits
Castles
Tombs
Terror

11. Characteristics of Gothic Fiction
Mystery
Horror
The Grotesque
Violence
The Supernatural

12. A few more gothic conventions
Damsel in distress (frequently faints in horror)
Secret corridors, passageways, or rooms
Ancestral curses
Ruined castles with graveyards nearby
Priests and monks
Sleep, dream, death-like states

13. Literary Connection to Gothic Architecture
"gothic" came to describe a certain type of novels, so named because all these novels seem to take place in Gothic-styled architecture -- mainly castles, mansions, and, of course, abbeys ("Gothic...").

14. Metonymy of gloom and terror
The metonymy of gloom and horror.
Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in which something (like rain) is used to stand for something else (like sorrow). For example, the film industry likes to use metonymy as a quick shorthand, so we often notice that it is raining in funeral scenes.

15. Note the following metonymies that suggest mystery, danger, or the supernatural
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

16. Conventions, Continued
Problem of evil presented as a psychological problem
Castle or house identified with its owner
Characters exhibit overwhelming guilt or pride.
Good characters are usually physically lovely; evil characters have twisted bodies and ugly faces.
The idyllic life in nature invaded and destroyed by a dark ambiguous force.
Animals respond to a supernatural presence.

17. Importance of Setting
The setting is greatly influential in Gothic novels. It not only evokes the atmosphere of horror and dread, but also portrays the deterioration of its world. The decaying, ruined scenery implies that at one time there was a thriving 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 dwelling.

18. The Gothic Novel
Gothic novel took shape mostly in England from 1790 to It falls within the category of Romantic literature.
But it is a reaction against the rigidity and formality of other forms of Romantic literature.
The Gothic is not limited to this time period - it takes its roots from former terrorizing writing that dates back to the Middle Ages, and can still be found written today by writers such as Stephen King.

19. Archetypal Characters
The Gothic hero becomes a sort of archetype as we find that there is a pattern to his characterization. There is always the protagonist, usually isolated either voluntarily or involuntarily. Then there is the villain, who is the epitome of evil, either by his (usually a man) own fall from grace, or by some implicit malevolence. The Wanderer, found in many Gothic tales, is the epitome of isolation as he wanders the earth in perpetual exile, usually a form of divine punishment.

20. Basic Plot Structure for a Gothic Novel
Action in the Gothic novel tends to take place at night, or at least in a claustrophobic, sunless environment.
ascent (up a mountain high staircase);
descent (into a dungeon, cave, underground chambers or labyrinth) or falling off a precipice; secret passage; hidden doors;
the pursued maiden and the threat or rape or abduction;
physical decay, skulls, cemeteries, and other images of death; ghosts; revenge; family curse; blood and gore; torture; the Doppelganger (evil twin or double); demonic possession; masking/shape-changing; black magic; madness; incest and other broken sexual taboos.

21. Realism: War Unit

22. What is Realistic Fiction?
Realistic fiction is simply stated as real people with real problems solved in a realistic manner in a real world setting.
Realistic Fiction is most often based in the present or recent past .
The events portrayed in realistic fiction raise questions that a reader might face in real life
Melissa Lape – Wilson Elementary

23. Why Realism?
After the Civil War, writers turned away from Romanticism.
The immense cost of life from war makes many authors portray life realistically.
Much of it focuses on discontent

24. Characters in realistic fiction usually have certain characteristics:
they resemble real people
live in a place that could be real
participate in a series of events that could probably happen
presented with a problem that is of interest of children and discover a realistic solution

25. A Realistic fiction selection may have one or more of these elements
The characters behave as people or animals do in real life.
The setting of the story is a real place or could be a real place.
The events of the story are based on a conflict or problem the could occur in real life.
Melissa Lape – Wilson Elementary