Do you like creepy and somewhat scary stories? Well in the short story “Grey Matter” by Stephen King could actually be classified as a gothic lit. piece. The story would be a gothic lit piece because of the gloomy decaying setting, supernatural beings, heroes and intense emotions. The story has an example of gothic lit elements. One would be gloomy decaying setting. In the short story Grey Matter the setting would be Richie's apartment because of the way it is described in the story. An example from the text would be “Two windows were pitch black. Like somebody put blankets over the window” It would be described as old and abandoned like nobody lives there. This would contribute to being a gothic lit because how the setting is pictured in the reader’s mind. More so as Gloomy and creepy odd looking. …show more content…
element. Another example would be supernatural beings. In the story there is one example of a supernatural being. The supernatural being is the gray blob Richie. An example from the text would be- “It took him a minute to get his eyes adjusted to the gloom. An’ then he seen a great big gray lump, not like a man at all. Slithering over the floor.” This contributes to the whole gothic lit thing because a supernatural being would be in the category of maybe creepy or dark. Grey Matter may have a gloomy decaying setting and supernatural beings but it also has a hero. Grey Matter also has another example of gothic lit Elements. Another would be heroes. There would only be one hero and that would be Henry. Henry is considered a hero because he helped out Timmy when he didn’t have to and help save his friends. An example from the story that show his heroic actions would be when he defended off the others while the gray thing was attacking. This would be considered a gothic lit part because Henry defended others while being attacked by a
The Hound of the Baskervilles, a novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, gives off the feeling of eeriness and spookiness. These characteristics fit into many different types of writing. But, Gothic literature is a prime genre for this novel because of the atmosphere of decay; the mysterious, sin, crime, guilt, and secrets of the novel; and, lastly, the woman with a threatening atmosphere. All of these points refer to The Hound of the Baskervilles as one example of Gothic literature.
Gothic texts are typically characterized by a horrifying and haunting mood, in a world of isolation and despair. Most stories also include some type of supernatural events and/or superstitious aspects. Specifically, vampires, villains, heroes and heroines, and mysterious architecture are standard in a gothic text. Depending upon the author, a gothic text can also take on violent and grotesque attributes. As an overall outlook, “gothic literature is an outlet for the ancient fears of humanity in an age of reason” (Sacred-Texts). Following closely to this type of literature, Edgar Allan Poe uses a gloomy setting, isolation, and supernatural occurrences throughout “The Fall of the House of Usher”.
I offer by way of introduction to the Gothic literary world an extract taken from Ann. B Tracy’s book The Gothic Novel 1790-1830: Plot Summaries and Index Motifs:
Key Elements of Gothic Literature Jasmine Giles People enjoy reading gothic literature due to its heart rate exciting nature. Without having to engage with any real danger, it is common for the reader to feel anxiety and impaitence when reading gothic fiction. In order for the reader to feel these emotions, the author uses certain elements, such as a gloomy setting and old-fashioned dialoge. In the stories “The Black Cat” and “The Tell Tale Heart”, by elgar allen poe, and “The Landlady”, by Roland Dahl, there are many similarites that remanticize the idea of horror and mystery. Some elements, however, bring out the disbolical horror of gothic literature: the setting, characterization, and the motif of suspense.
Gothic Literature was a natural progression from romanticism, which had existed in the 18th Century. Initially, such a ‘unique’ style of literature was met with a somewhat mixed response; although it was greeted with enthusiasm from members of the public, literary critics were much more dubious and sceptical.
Gothic Elements are vital to the foundation and development of Gothic Literature. These element provide a sense of realness and depth to a story. These Elements include death, entrapment, and fascination with the past.
popular at the time. The elements of a Gothic novel are, it is set at
Gothic elements are used to show suspense, symbolism, and drama, while also setting dark and twisted tones about the story and its characters. In the passage "The Fall of the House of Usher" the author uses Gothic elements to entice the reader with details of ominous character persona and setting.
C. Frankenstein serves as a model of Gothic literature by employing various themes that are prevalent in most Gothic literature.
Gothic literature was developed during the eighteenth and nineteenth century of the Gothic era when war and controversy was too common. It received its name after the Gothic architecture that was becoming a popular trend in the construction of buildings. As the buildings of daunting castles and labyrinths began, so did the beginning foundation of Gothic literature. The construction of these buildings will later become an obsession with Gothic authors. For about 300 years before the Renaissance period, the construction of these castles and labyrinths continued, not only in England, but also in Gothic stories (Landau 2014). Many wars and controversies, such as the Industrial Revolution and Revolutionary War, were happening at this time, causing the Gothic literature to thrive (“Gothic Literature” 2011). People were looking for an escape from the real world and the thrill that Gothic literature offered was exactly what they needed. Gothic literature focuses on the horrors and the dark sides to the human brain, such as in Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein. Gothic literature today, as well as in the past, has been able to separate itself apart from other types of literature with its unique literary devices used to create fear and terror within the reader.
This novel in some ways can be described as a Gothic Novel. because it has characteristics of one. For example, it has a gloomy setting, strange events, violence, mystery, supernatural and horror. The gloomy setting is Baskerville Hall and the Moor. A strange event would be the missing boot.
Older Gothic literature was in castles and deserted buildings. Modern Gothic novels were written in more populated areas. Another text that can be classed as ‘Gothic’ is the novel ‘Frankenstein’. The reason for it being a ‘Gothic’ novel is the way it has a mutant character. Frankenstein is a mutant and is made by a crazy scientist ‘I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of.
... a vampire and daemon on many occasions and thus an aspect of the supernatural does surround this character. Clery ( 2000 ) sees the supernatural as “..an opportunity for asserting poetic vision beyond the mundane for the writer, and achieving a sublime experience of terror for the audienceâ€( p8 ) which is how it can be seen as functioning in Frankenstein. ( Byron, 1998 : p71)
Gothic Literature highlights the contrast of power and it is always
Gothic writing was usually written in mysterious and ominous tine. Most Gothic novels were filled with death and terror. The authors of Gothic novels most commonly filled their books with omens and foreshadows, showing the dark side of mankind.