Can gothic literature have a happy ending?
I would think it would be possible, since the genre is a mix of Horror and Romance....but I when I think of a Gothic piece of literature, I don't generally think of happy endings.
Help Gothic literature?
First of all, Victorians had the same phobias most people would have today: spiders, the dark, drowning, falling, heights, etc- only, Victorian society was s constrained that it was difficult to express these fears "sociably", so it generally manifested as "hysteria"- a really "irrational" reaction to just about everything. To answer the second part of this question, Gothic literature of the period, and in its nature, reflected this mass hysteria in a way that was totally natural for the time. Because of the emphasis on "reason" during the enlightenment, the irrationality and ultimately 'unreasonable' (as defined in the context), of the Gothic emerged. The popularity of this genre has since been maintained because the values of the Enlightenment still dictate most of the western world today. Of course it has become more "postmodern", and we can see that in new "Gothic" literature. A good example would be the way in which the figure of the Vampire has changed over time.. In antiquity, they were simply "demons", in 18th century Europe- think, perhaps with the work of John W Polidori, and more famously, Bram Stoker, the vampire was already a reflection of the "dark" elements human nature. Early in our own century, they were often associated with homosexuality (this is a whole new can of worms if you want to look at it from the 19th century, with works like "Carmilla"), up to the present, where they are sparkly teens. All this, and despite the weakened elements of the actual "Gothic" element, the essential terror- an existential terror, if you like- remains central in modern "horror"art and literature [My thesis explores this idea]. Although the distinction between Horror and Terror (see Ann Radcliffe on the supernatural in poetry for more info) is so clear at this point, that two distinct genres have emerged out of the two, it is the "Gothic" nature of existence that keeps the two essentially inseparable.
Why are full moons always in gothic literature?
The rain and storminess occurs a lot in gothic literature because it's common in gothic fiction/poetry to use the weather to mirror the emotions or mood of the characters, or the events that are occurring. So, if something dramatic and scary happens, the weather will mirror the mood and the weather will be rainy and stormy. Secondly, a key facet of gothic literature is a sense of gloominess and doom, so again, rain works for that - if it took place on a tropical beach in bright sunshine, it wouldn't be gothic. The setting is a key contributor to what makes a story gothic, and weather is part of the setting. With regards to the full moon, again, it's all about mood. Think how things look in the full moon - they look particularly mysterious and spooky. It's all about setting up a particular atmosphere that's essential for gothic fiction. Also, gothic fiction is partly about high emotions, and often, insanity. The full moon has long been a literary symbol for insanity - things like werewolf legends all stem from the idea that people were driven mad by the full moon. And madness and mental disturbance or overwrought emotions are a really important theme in a lot of gothic literature, so the full moon fits with that. The full moon is also considered magical in a lot of cultures - lots of old spells and magical ceremonies specify that they have to take place in the full moon, so the full moon is associated with the supernatural - and the supernatural is another key aspect of gothic literature.
Why is “The Tell-Tale Heart” considered Gothic literature?
Because it contains many elements traditionally found in Gothic literature.Murder. A dead body.Madness and insanity.The imagery of the “Vulture eye”Grotesque imagerySuggestions of hallucinationsMystery. (The unreliable narrator)A dark take on themes such as guilt and madness.All of this elements are consistent with the genre of Gothic literature.One interesting fact about “The Tell-Tale Heart” though, is that everyone assumes the narrator to be a male. Yet there is no evidence for this in his narration. The narrator can with all possibility be also a woman.
What is the difference between Gothic fiction/literature and horror fiction/literature?
well to me horror literature falls more into H.P Lovecraft territory of macbre, and Gothic fiction more or less falls roams more into the Bram Stoker ��s Dracula kind of horror story.honestly you can clearly see the difference whenever the Cathulu mythos is brought up in Lovecraft’s works and He focuses more on the disturbing, the unknown and the strange.But Dracula goes a different route choosing to both titillate and scare you at the same time. Bram Stoker goes right for the jugular vein so to speak, and it gets kind of bloody and only builds just enough tension and discomfort to make you aware of how manipulative and evil Dracula is, whereas in Lovecraft’s Cathulu mythos is whole different animal entirely with a different Modus Operandi altogether.His tales are about the unknown being for more frightening and more imposing than a simply dark and sadistic creature with a lust for blood and attractive women that fall so easy under his deceitful yet charismatic spell.when you read or listen to audio books of Lovecraft,you get the sense that his characters are living in a nightmare within a nightmare, which is creepy to say the least. because just when his characters think their nightmare is over once they wake up, they find themselves terrified to find that the horror isn’t over its only the beginning and the characters in Lovecraft’s stories aren’t fighting some evil incarnate creature they can just beat down or kill with just a hail of bullets and shotgun blast or a stake to the proverbial heart,but they are fighting against something for more dire.the characters in Lovecraft’s books are fighting against the very threat of sheer madness itself and how their little trip through the looking glass into the unknown might lead more to madness than actual adventure or excitement.and the more disturbing things they see, hear ,taste, touch, and smell on their eerie disturbing journey, the more the threat of losing their sanity looms over them like a monolithic shadow they struggle to get away from before it consumes them, if you ask who has the most disturbing and dark imagination between the two horror authors its definitely H.P. Lovecraft for sure.i mean with his books the world he creates is a world that while you might be interested to read about, it’s a world you’d never want to visit firsthand, and its certainly a world you’d never ever in your life want to find yourself trapped in.his books make you glad that the real world is nothing like his books.
I want to start a gothic short story, what are some things I should know?
Set a mood. You can get down and dirty, like Shirley Jackson in We Have Always Lived in the Castle, who opens the novella with this paragraph:"My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live withmy sister Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenent, and Amanita phalloides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in my family is dead."Or you can weave a web gradually, like Daphne du Maurier in the first line of her masterpiece Rebecca:"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . ."Since it's going to be a short story, make sure that within the first page or so, your reader knows s/he's wandered into a very unsettling situation, with lurking undefined menace -- voices in other rooms, unseen.
How do you write a gothic horror story?
Wiki has a great article about it. @How to Write Gothic Fiction1. Choose a time when your story will take place. Decide if your story will take place in the past or present. Many gothic fiction stories take place a century or even further in the past.2. Choose a setting. Choose a setting. Settings are important because they help create a creepy atmosphere for your characters. Crumbling buildings, haunted houses, and old castles make great settings for gothic fiction. Your setting should be a place that was once thriving, but has since fallen into decay.3. Create your characters. Your characters are just as important as your setting, so spend plenty of time developing them. Gothic fictions often feature certain types of characters that may help you to develop your own characters.4. Develop a plot. Once you have worked out a setting and characters for your gothic fiction story, you will need to figure out what is going to happen to these characters. Like the setting, the plot should show a decline in the hero’s world, relationships, and/or sanity. Gothic fictions usually resolve when the hero redeems him or herself with the help of a loved oneYou can also try finding a sample here - http://goo.gl/wWUQ4B It can turn into your inspiration and first steps.
What good gothic-steampunk stories exist?
A friend of mine, science fiction writer K.W. Jeter, invented the term “steampunk” back in 1987, so it seems only fair that we start the ball rolling with a couple of novels of his.K.W. Jeter, Infernal DevicesK.W. Jeter, Morlock NightK.W.'s friends Tim Powers and James Blaylock both wrote science fiction with Victorian themes and elements. You can't go wrong with any of their books. Powers' book The Stress of Her Regard is very compelling. The title is taken from a poem by early 20th Century poet Clark Ashton Smith, whose latter day publisher was Roy Squires, also a friend of mine from the old days. I recommend Smith, even to those who are not poetry enthusiasts.Tim Powers, The Stress of Her RegardClark Ashton Smith, The Complete Poetry and TranslationsAnd then you can delve into the original material. Nonfiction like Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor, originally published in 1851 and still a compelling read.If you want to read something more philosophical, try Walter Houghton’s great study The Victorian Frame of Mind.And if you want to go all the way back to the roots, try Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone, considered by many to be the first detective novel.
I need to write a gothic story.. any ideas?
For English we have to write a gothic story. Y'know like gothic literature. Some examples of gothic literature are: The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe. http://www.literature.org/authors/poe-edgar-allan/tell-tale-heart.html The Raven - Edgar Allan Poe http://www.heise.de/ix/raven/Literature/Lore/TheRaven.html The Red Room - H.G Wells http://www.twilightharbor.com/moonmistress/stories/RedRoom.html And I need some ideas of what to write about? My mind is a total blank.
Why is Edgar Allan Poe important to literature?
Edgar Allan Poe was a master of using many methods that have been picked up by modern writers. The Romantic Period was a booming styling of writing, and its Gothic movement within it was a brilliant addition to exploring darker thoughts and themes.He created the modern mystery. We may not have a massive television channel entirely devoted to solving crimes without Poe’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue.”His poetry and his short stories built up narrators that were either struggling with mental issues, or frightfully unreliable. These ideas are used religiously today. In many ways, they’re the inspiration for some of the most impressive genres of all time, mystery, starting a pattern of creating what has become a type of movie with a twist ending today.He’s a brilliant author who learned from others in the Romantic Period, but had such a provocative life, he delved into darker writing. Sometimes it takes a perspective that nobody even realized existed to see true genius.The world may never see an author so committed to his choice of word, studiously hammering out the finest diction possible in all of literature. He had an unbelievable love for quality work and a visceral reaction. He is a perfect introduction to what the Gothic Period is all about.You may think that someone came along and did it better, perhaps Agatha Christie, but, when talking about writing so many revolutionary stories in one life, I think his feat will be replicated, well, “nevermore.”