The Gothic Novel: A Study of Atmosphere, Supernatural, and Psychological Tension, Appunti di Inglese

Scarica The Gothic Novel: A Study of Atmosphere, Supernatural, and Psychological Tension e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! The Gothic Novel The Gothic novel is characterized by mystery, supernatural and macabre themes and has left an indelible mark on literature, film, and popular culture, still today, becoming an extension of the Romantic movement. Those novels were common to all social classes, especially thanks to libraries that allowed all the people to read. The adjective gothic was first applied to architecture, long before it connoted literature. The writer Horace Walpole was the first to establish a link between the two; in 1764 he wrote a novel, The Castle of Otranto a tale of supernatural events set in a medieval castle and the book’s subtitle -A Gothic Story- marks the first time that the term was used in a literary context. The Gothic novels wanted to scare the reader, to explore the UNKNOWN beyond the reason; Walpole’s novel, the first of this kind, was followed by the Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, The Monk by Matthew Lewis and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The key features of Gothic novels were: 1) Atmosphere and Setting: The Gothic novel is known for its vivid and often disturbing settings, like decaying or haunted castles, dark forests.. The NIGHT is the most important setting, because Darkness is a powerful element that helps to create an atmosphere of mystery 2) The Supernatural: Supernatural elements like ghosts, vampires, monsters are prevalent in Gothic fiction. These elements add an element of fear and wonder, generating tension in the reader 3) Complex Characters and plots: Protagonists in Gothic novels are often morally ambiguous, with their inner demons. Stereotyped characters as young HEROINES, and sensitive HEROES saving them from terrifying male characters. 4) Then we find COMPLEX PLOTS. 5) Psychological Tension: The Gothic novel explores the psychological aspects of fear, the darker aspects of human nature, as intense emotions, paranoia, and madness. Great importance was also given to TERROR and HORROR, two different feelings: the first characterized by obscurity and uncertainty, the second by evil and atrocity Frankenstein (1818) Mary Shelley wrote "Frankenstein; between 1816 and 1817. Is an iconic work, often regarded as the first science fiction novel. its composition was influenced by several factors: during a day of aesthete, she, her husband and other writers decided to tell each other stories of ghosts to pass the time: from this story was born the idea of frankestain; to develop the novel was very important the help of her husband who ra espoerto of chemistry and the most modern scientific experiments; Mary Shelley, her future husband