The Gothic

This unit will see me studying the gothic, which is sometimes referred to as gothic horror. I have decided to research the origins of gothic horror so I am able to have a greater understanding of its true meaning and understand more of the complexities associated with it. Gothic horror is a genre of literature which is the combination of both romance and horror. Horace Walpol is believed to be the man which invented the genre in 1764, after he wrote his book 'The Castle Of Tranto'. Architecture is also associated with the gothic. The gothic revival began in the late 1840's which was a backlash against the modern, clean and simple style of buildings. The gothic was a style that evoked extreme emotion, it created awe and the idea of the sublime, it was also about the excesses. The Gothic has also been described as an imaginative way to deal with contemporary fears and to prevent the future by bringing back the past. People had no idea about the future of the human race and it became popular to rely on spiritualism and the unreal.

 Gothic literature evolved over time; it started off being based on space but eventually began to move onto fears about the body, which made the stories more terrifying. Gothic literature is usually based in distant lands and distant times, it also included spooky settings such as torch lit monasteries. One of the most famous Gothic horror novels is 'Frankenstein', written by Mary Shelley published in 1816. Mary Shelley was born in London in 1797 and went on to write Frankenstein, a book which sees Victor Frankenstein creating a monster through the use of body parts dug up from graves. Although Frankenstein is not the first gothic novel it was the combination of both the romance and horror which made it unique. Gothic novels usually are undertaken in gloomy buildings and settings, this book is celebrated as, written by cliff notes.com, ' Frankenstein is set in continental Europe, specifically Switzerland and Germany, where many of Shelley's readers had not been. Further, the incorporation of the chase scenes through the Arctic regions takes us even further from England into regions unexplored by most readers.' This makes the book more interesting and mysterious to the readers as it left more to the imagination meaning more dark thoughts could be conjured. The book is also seen celebrated as being one of the great gothic novels due to its horrifying elements to the story such as the digging up of body parts from the grave. Sparknotes.com also writes 'Just the thought of raising the dead is gruesome enough. Shelley takes full advantage of this literary device to enhance the strange feelings that Frankenstein generates in its reader. The thought of raising the dead would have made the average reader wince in disbelief in terror.' This is a clever element of the story as it was an unexplored territory which would make the read even more horrific.

Gothic horror eventually began to be made into films such as Dracula and Black Sunday. Overall gothic literature is divided into two categories, the first being supernatural where people want to believe mysterious goings on, and the second category where natural explanations are given for events that occurred during a story.

Sources: http://www.slideshare.net/apalmer28/gothic-horror
http://www.biography.com/people/mary-shelley-9481497
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/summary.html
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/f/frankenstein/critical-essays/frankenstein-as-a-gothic-novel