1. Gothic Literature E.A. Poe Washington Irving

2. American Romanticism A Reaction Against Rationalism To the Romantics, the imagination could discover truths that the rational mind could not reach. such truths were accompanied by powerful emotions and were associated with natural beauty. individual feelings and wild nature were more important than reason, logic, and sophistication.

3. Affirmation of feeling and intuition over reason Faith in imagination, inner experience, and youthful innocence, rather than educated sophistication Belief in the unspoiled natural world, as opposed to the artificiality of civilization Regard for individual freedom and the worth of the individual Characteristics of American Romanticism

4. The Dark Romantics shared some of the ideas of the Transcendentalists: They took an interest in the spiritual world. They valued intuition and imagination over rationalism. They wanted to explore the mysteries of human existence.

5. Gothic Fiction The Dark Side of Romanticism However, the Dark Romantics disagreed with the Transcendentalist notions that the divine is implicit in nature and that people are essentially good. They felt that literature should take into account: the darker side of human nature the presence of suffering in the world the ongoing conflict between good and evil

6. Gothic Fiction The Dark Side of Romanticism Dark Romantic writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving incorporated Gothic elements into the developing short story genre.

7. Setting- created a haunting atmosphere Bleak or remote setting A castle, ruined or intact, haunted or not Ruined buildings- sinister or arouse a pleasing melancholy Dungeons, underground passages, crypts, catacombs, labyrinths, dark corridors, winding stairs. Shadows, a beam of moonlight, a flickering candle Extreme weather, extreme landscapes

8. Gruesome or violent plot incidents which affects feeling and mood Gloom Mystery Suspense Terror/fear Insanity Agitation impending doom Obsessive love

9. Characterization Tormented or disturbed characters Passion-driven characters A curious heroine with a tendency to faint and need to be rescued Excessive grief one feels upon the loss of a loved one Exploration of evil and the irrational depths of the human mind

10. The Supernatural Omens and ancestral curses Magic, supernatural manifestations- including haunted houses and ghosts

11. Gothic short stories often show the madness and violence under the seemingly tranquil surface of civilization.