To what Extent has Gothic Literature Continued or Changed from the 18th Century to Present Day?

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Recommended: The evolution of the horror genre

Before assessing whether or not Gothic Literature is losing its popularity, the responses gathered from the questionnaire is that some people decided that Gothic Literature is not losing its popularity because they believe that it may be in its prime or is becoming even bigger than beforehand in the 18th/19th century. However, an adequate percentage of people feel that Gothic Literature is losing its popularity maybe because people feel that it is not as popular as other genres which they feel are an enjoyable read.

Is Gothic Literature losing its popularity or is it still popular in the 21st century? Gothic Literature’s popular moments throughout history have been around some time since the 13th century towards the 19th century being the most popular because of its sub-genres like the supernatural, spirituality and horror. Originally, the gothic genre is a blend of the sublime and the romantic where most classical novels like Wuthering Heights or Picture of Dorian Grey etc. have become household names. However, such popular texts like Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, and Castle of Otranto etc. Are either religiously taught in schools, whether GCSE level or Alevel, which aspire to some students the complex and fascinating gothic genre, or for some others the gothic genre is always a fascination for avid fans. However, such popular books appeal more to people than others because one of the popular books have been turned into a popular film and this may engage them more than books.

Alongside this, it is arguable that gothic literature is still popular in society because many people are enthusiastic about the sub-genre horror (which the gothic genre has created). Although, there is a clear distinction between the two, there is a strong ...

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...ifferent genres branching off the horror genre – it is not as popular as it used or as it should be. For instance:

Fig 1.6
This source suggests that in 2011 the book genres that were read by some people was the fantasy genre as it scores the highest with a possible 43-44 % of people taking an interest in that genre. Alongside this, it is also interesting to see how other genres that are typical elements to the gothic genre in them. However, what is interesting is that both horror and Sci-Fi are below 10% which demonstrates that some people are not as interested with the horror or Sci-Fi genres. Although these are interlinking genres, there are always going to be different people who like different things, but by judging by this source, horror/Sci-Fi are not as popular beforehand when the genre Sci-Fi was created and the horror genre was at its most popular.

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