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Gothic Movement - 8301571 - 2022 - 08 - 22 - 11 - 20
Gothic Movement - 8301571 - 2022 - 08 - 22 - 11 - 20
Gothic Movement - 8301571 - 2022 - 08 - 22 - 11 - 20
Gothic literature was a literary movement that focused on death, decay and both physical and
psychological terror. Gothic style also suggests a belief in the supernatural and thus many gothic
texts contain an air of mystery and intrigue. The genre was originally thought to be a response to
the Age of Reason, which was a radical notion held by Thomas Paine that criticised religion and
challenged the legitimacy of the bible. Another key aspect in any gothic text is 'evil'. Such
inclusion of these evil figures consequently helped to make visible the political view of the text.
During the emergence of the gothic literary movement, it is perhaps unsurprising that the period
was characterised by widespread terror; namely from the French Revolution. Subsequently, the
genre became very popular amongst writers as it enabled them to express their sympathy and
concern over such political movements.The presence of the quintessential elements of gothic
horror consequently helped to make the genre so alluring to both readers and authors.
The term “Gothic” originates from the ornate architecture created by the Germanic tribes called
the Goths. This ornate and intricate style of architecture proved to be the ideal backdrop for both
the physical and the psychological settings in a new literary style.
As opposed to the Enlightenment that emphasized reason and science over superstition and blind
faith, the Gothic writers intended to thrill feelings and emotions among the readers. They mainly
focused on human fallibility, the psychological effects of guilt and sin, self-destruction,
punishment, and judgement.
Atmosphere
• Mystery
• Horror
• Dread
Edgar Allan Poe from America skillfully got hold of the Gothic genre. In his hands, Gothic
fiction flourished to its extreme. All the works of Edgar Allan Poe are, indeed, well-known for
their Gothicism. His famous story ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (1839), for instance, unfolds
all the terrors of the human soul. Furthermore, he also wrote many detective, horror, romantic
and comic stories. All these stories successfully explore Gothic themes and motifs of aristocratic
decay, death and instability.
Thus, it was Edgar Allan Poe who, with his masterful grip on the stories of ‘terror’, raised the
Gothic genre to the peak of fame. He is best known today as the master of gothic horror tales and
also the father of American Gothic literature.
Some famous Gothic novels and their writers are listed below: