Many people were taken in by this nineteenth-century writer’s harsh outlook on life in his work. One is capable of only imagining the things that Edgar Allan Poe has, throughout his deeply saddening and depressing time here on earth, brought to life in his writing by simply printing in words different sections and scenarios of his ambiguous life. Edgar A. Poe lived a very somber orphan life which later became the foundation to the origin of his gothic nature and writing. Poe is recognized as a genius who reinvented the gothic tale of mystery and horror for his time (Introduction 1). Poe placed the reader inside the tortured minds and lives of people confronting the supernatural.
The presentation of such creatures however, has morphed over time. Stoker relies heavily on the conventions of Gothic fiction, a genre that was extremely popular in the early nineteenth century. Gothic fiction traditionally includes elements such as gloomy castles, sublime landscapes, ‘Of bell or knocker there was no sign. Through these frowning walls and dark window openings it was not likely my voice could penetrate’. ‘Dracula’ contains all of the criteria of for a Gothic novel.
From my general understanding of the novel and just by making a quick look at its title-page, I can see that Frankenstein is a text which evidently caries out in its internal structure a synthesis of mythological and literary hints. In composing the book Mary Shelley most probably had two of the central creation myths of the Western tradition in mind. The subtitle 'The Modern Prometheus', points to the myth of the Greek Titan. At the same time the epigraph from Milton's Paradise Lost suggests that the story refers the creation allegory too. Since its debut in 1818, Shelley's novel has elicited many comments from reviewers and critics rising the following often discussed question: 'Did Mary Shelley initially titled her work solely because of the glaring similarities between their stories?'
A great example of a book being somewhere on the border of fiction and autobiography is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontё. As it was first published under the name of Currer Bell, the readers had a harder time to make the connection with the author when it was published, as they thought it was written by a man, but some regarding places (where the story took place) were made. Today, knowing Brontё’s life story, we can draw many parallels between the author herself and her heroine. First, it may seem, that it was not Brontё’s intention to write real life into her greatest work, but to use it merely as an inspiration. Her friend Elizabeth Gaskell (2001:262) has said: “We were talking about the description of Lowood school, and she was saying that she was not sure whether she should have written it, if she had been aware how instantaneously it would have been identified with Cowan Bridge.” I think it is only understandable that using real life experience gives a more believable description and due to that it is more enjoyable to readers.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, are both excellent examples of Gothic literature and the elements which set this genre apart from others. Each author employs such Gothic elements as metonymy, mystery and suspense, and overwrought emotion to create pieces of writing that have affected the way we tell stories even to the present day. Metonymy is an element that affects the way the reader interprets the scene without knowing it. In Gothic literature, metonymy usually makes for much “doom and gloom.” Blowing winds, howls, moans, sighs, and eerie sounds are all entwined within Frankenstein, illustrating Shelley’s use of metonymy. All of these are used to subtly reference the overall air of darkness and horror apparent in the novel.
Most critics have received the novel as an amalgamation of the gothic novel with elements of the Romantic Movement. A lot has also been written on the subject of Frankenstein from a Freudian psychoanalytic perspective because of the complexity of the characters and the thought processes that drive their actions. This essay attempts to analyze the Freudian element present in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and draws a parallel between the Freudian psychoanalytic approach and motives in the novel. Sigmund Freud was one of the most renowned psychologists of all time and introduced the concept of psychoanalysis to the world. There has always been a lot of debate regarding his theories and their validity.
Her siblings were also talented writers; Branwell published works throughout his life, and Charlotte, Anne, and Emily Brontë published poetry and novels under the pseudonyms of Currer, Acton, and Ellis Bell, respectively. They chose to hide their true identities because they knew their work would be taken more seriously if readers assumed they were men. In fact, after Brontë's death, readers were convinced her brother Branwell had actually penned Wuthering Heights. At the age of thirty, Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis, the illness that claimed the lives of most of the members of the Brontë family. Emily Brontë used characteristics of her own personality to help create the characters of her novel.
The Picture of Dorian Gray came at a time when the golden age of Gothic Fiction was already well passed. However the novel is seen as a revival of the gothic genre. It also redefined the elements of a gothic novel. It lacked the lovelorn heroine/hero that novels like The Mysteries of Udolpho (Anne Radcliffe) and Dracula (Bram Stoker) thrived on. The only love that is epitomized in the novel is that of the self, which proved to be perhaps its most gothic aspect.
Edgar Poe is known as one of the most influential writers in history. His stories are the dark, gloomy, mystical enchantments poetry lovers dig into. Poe’s writing has influenced countless other authors across the world in many ways. However, Poe’s influences came from his personal life experiences beginning at a very young age until his tragic death. Writings such as “The Raven” incorporate Poe’s feelings and life throughout the spilled words on the pages.
Readers feel uneasy and in terror after reading the novel. That type of book is for people who like gothic reading. Gothic novels focus on mysterious and supernatural and that’s what Victor wanted to create, a human out of parts of dead bodies for scientific experimentation. To show he can create a human. Victor lived in a gothic area, Europe – Switzerland and Germany with old buildings, dungeons, towers, dark laboratories.