Washington Irving is identified with the gothic with his “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, however the gothic mode can also be identified in his story, “Rip Van Winkle”. To begin, both will be compared with their use of the Gothic Mode. Edgar Allan Poe’s writing set the mold for most gothic literature to follow. From “The Raven” to “The Tell-Tale Heart” his writing sets the reader on edge and fills them with unease. “Its style tends to be ornate, unnatural” (Carter 134).
The settings presented are also dark and eeire, and Dracula himself lives in solitude with no other companion. The film adaptation of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ is just as reliant on the conventions of Gothic fiction (a genre that was extremely popular in the early nineteenth century when the book was written) as the novel, making it not only follow nicely in the novel’s footsteps but also proving to be a chilling delight for the viewing audience. Gothic fiction traditionally includes elements such as wild landscapes, eerie castles, darkness, and decay, isolation, security, the supernatural and innocent maidens threatened by unspeakable evil. Stoker has utilized all of the above and consequently, as does this film adaptation. An example of this would be in the theme of isolation as Dracula’s castle is hidden in the recesses of Transylvania, kept away from civilization of any description.
At the end, he unintentionally calls the Devil and is whisked away by The Devil ending the story. Another element of gothic literature that can be found in “The Devil and Tom Walker” is a gloomy and depressing setting. The setting in gothic literature is often cold, dark, and gloomy. The setting in this story is one of the best possible settings use as example of gothic literature because it has all of these elements. “The swamp was thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks, some of them ninety feet high; which made it dark at noonday,
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.
Gothic writers, such as Mary Shelley, influence Gothic music, as she uses diction, setting, and tone in her book Frankenstein. Though most of the diction in Frankenstein, it unsettles the audience and describes the characters' situation as grim. Reassuring Frankenstein that Dr. Frankenstein would be with him on his wedding night, the monster takes one of life's most cherished times and completely destroys it. Shelley uses diction to replace all joy with pain and fear. Gothic music fans find some change from happiness to horror in all things to which Gothic musicians sing about.
Her first work, of course, being Northanger Abbey. Austen’s Northanger Abbey, introduces two main contemporary struggles for young heroines; modern literature and the riots of the age. This modern literature for Catherine is in the form of Gothic fiction. Throughout Northanger Abbey, there are continuous references to Gothic fiction, specifically Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho. Though Catherine is introduced as consuming literature that “were all story and no reflection” (Austen 4), she is not affected by sensibility, instead, as
‘Some Houses are born Bad’ (Shirley Jackson, The Haunting). Discuss the Representation of the House or ‘Home’ in a Range of Writers Studied on the Course Throughout the history of both European and American gothic fiction, the setting has played an important role in ensuring the correct atmosphere is achieved; ‘that atmosphere of gloom and decay which adheres to the crumbling abbey and ruined castle in the gothic novel. In few other genres does the setting play such a significant role’ During the ascendancy of European Gothic, novels were typically set in remote structures such as Manfred’s castle in The Castle of Otranto, and, in The Monk the Castle Lindenberg and the Abbey. These settings were inspired by a fear of what lies beyond the borders of civilisation , remote catholic countries generally provided the location for these settings. By the gothic revival of 1850-1880, with the exception of Castle Dracula, the setting had moved from grand, mysterious structures of foreign lands to the urban dwellings and labyrinthine streets of Victorian cities such as Edinburgh and London, the setting for Hogg’s The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner and Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde respectively.
In her novel Frankenstein, she creates her own gothic novel by the classical elements of a dark setting, the use of a villainous character, and the mysterious tone. Initially, Mary Shelley uses a dark setting to portray Frankenstein as a gothic novel. The dark setting pushes the plot and creates the essence of many of the scenes in this sinister story. Once Dr. Frankenstein decides to sneak into an uncanny cemetery and steals a body, the setting allows the exposure of his ominous fascination. He looks down at the lifeless body and his instruments "on a dreary night of November" and "the rain pattered dismally against the panes."
This is clearly highlighted in the gothic poem “Lenore” and the short stories of “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Black Cat” both composed by Edgar Allen Poe. However in Daphne Du Maurier’s “Rebecca” the personality of Rebecca is seen to be the complete opposite of the stereotypical Gothic heroine. This darkness of human actions and emotions is shown by the constant imagery of death, the brutality of violence, the possession of the mind and the revenant. Death is widespread throughout all Gothic texts and usually reveals the true human emotions. In “Lenore” the death of Guy De Vere’s lover Lenore is revealed in the symbolism of the phrase in the opening line “broken is the golden bowl”.
The description of this London fog is an allusion to Charles Dickens, “A Christmas carol”, a particularly famous ghost story, and also other Victorian novels. Hill is deliberately trying to evoke the feeling of a Victorian ghost story. The fog is unnerving, sinister and malevolent, it makes the familiar things become disturbing and puts the reader in an unfamiliar world. In this chapter Susan Hill uses techniques of foreshadowing in her description of the fog as the sea frets that appear at Eel Marsh House whenever Arthur hears the phantom cries of the 'shabby pony and trap' and passengers screaming and drowning in the marshes. The word 'shabby' is used because the pony has been used for this particular job a lot.