The Portrayal Of Death In Gothic Literature

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Recommended: Emily Dickinson’s view on death

Death is both an interesting and appealing concept to readers and writers alike. It is a powerful tool which can derive many emotions out of their readers and sometimes the writers themselves. Many writers use this tool to evoke emotional responses to their work by either removing a character from existence, portray a character going through the loss of a loved one or simply writing about the subject in general. There are many ways to portray death, but the outcome is usually the same, but what is it that affects of reading and writing about such a topic and why do people gravitate to this subject? The causes that lead to writing about death are not a choice but the path that was walked.
In Emily Dickinson's poem “Because I could not stop for …show more content…

Poe? These writers would be categorized under the genre of Gothic literature. Gothic literature holds both the components of horror and romance genre, but most don't know the history about their favorite Gothic writers, they enjoy the depiction of romance and mystery which these writers create. Dying for someone you love, dying peacefully and watching everyone pass you by fills people with a sense of foreboding. Andrew Tylor writes about how Gothic is not just about death and romance but the relationship intellect and nerves in a story. He mentions that Mr. Poe wrote some of the world's most influential Gothic pieces due to his continuous melancholy.
Even in today's world, the need to write about the subject, death, is fresh in many people's minds. May they be about one's misery or the wanting of misery for another. Andrew Taylor mentions that a distinguished Gothic writer is Susan Hill, she identifies with ghost stories. Her best known work, you may recognize, is The Woman in Black. This piece presents the malignant effect of frustrated maternal love. Julian Flanagan writes how Miss Hill's work was impacted by her surroundings, not her life. It was the thought of how crime and tragedy affected families and the community that got her writing in this

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