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Medieval world
Late 18th Century England
Popular into 19th Century in Europe and America
Can refer to architecture as well as literature
Gothic architecture – ornate, intricate, flying buttresses, narrow spires, stained glass; sometimes adorned with grotesques – gargoyles, monsters, etc.
Source: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms, 2nd ed. Murfin and Ray
Gothic Overview
Figure 1: Gothic Architectural examples
Horror narrative – doom and gloom
Chivalry and magic Dark, mysterious Secret passages and
supernatural events Atmosphere of terror Story line and setting
is emphasized over characterization
Exaggerated and emotional language
“characterized by a general mood of decay, action that is dramatic and generally violent or otherwise disturbing, loves that are destructively passionate, and settings that are grandiose, if gloomy or bleak.”
Romantics viewed Gothic writing as having a “freedom of spirit, variety, mystery, and instinctual authenticity.” Source: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and
Literary Terms, 2nd ed. Murfin and Ray
Gothic Literature Resource
Dark history Secrets Hero: Power and
charisma over goodness
Heroine: win hero’s love without losing her soul or “being destroyed in the process”
Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester
Coleridge The Bronte sisters
Henry James Mary Shelley Edgar Allan Poe Stephen King Anne Rice What other past and
modern examples can you think of?