Nikolai church Hamburg, Germany, by User SKopp on de.The Gothic Novel genre is a unique one, dictated as much by the feeling it invokes as any particular subject. 1 T13:40:08-08:00 Gothic Elements 79 Researcher and Author: Sarah Swansen Page Designers: Carissa Rodenbiker & Krystal Jamison plain T09:26:45-07:00.Technical Designers: Carissa Rodenbiker & Krystal Jamison

'Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan.' Encyclopedia of Gothic Literature. 'Gothic Literature.' Encyclopedia of Gothic Literature. “The Gothic.” The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature. Widespread awareness that overreliance on reason could rob human experience of its essential flavour was increasingly characteristic of the age” “.for the general trend towards an aesthetic more fully in touch with feeling and emotion was profound and real.

The Gothic is more than just a scary story with ghosts or demons it forces readers to abandon reason, discover the secrets of human nature, question the unknown, and experience heightened emotions. The Gothic has taken root in almost ever literary movement since the Age of Enlightenment, staying true to its foundations while exploring new ways to convey a Gothic atmosphere. This expansion includes Gothic poetry, plays, art, magazines, movies, etc. The Gothic TodayAfter Walpole introduced his novel to the world, the Gothic genre continued into the eras following the eighteenth century and quickly developed by incorporating new characteristics, forms, and other modes of media. His use of Irish myth and grotesque actions advanced many Gothic themes that became prevalent in the Gothic genre during the Victorian era (“Le Fanu”). Known as the creator of the female vampire, Le Fanu also wrote many ghost stories. The novel was a catalyst for Gothic literature, founding the literary elements that we now know to be characteristics of the Gothic. Another author who had a great amount of influence on those following him was Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. The Origins of Gothic Literature The Castle of Otranto written by Horace Walpole in 1764, is widely regarded as the first Gothic novel. It allows readers to revel in emotions, fantasies, fear, and thrill, without requiring reason. The Gothic genre values tradition, feelings, sensibility. The Gothic quickly became an expression of a larger aesthetic revaluation in response to the Age of Enlightenment (Miles 443). This definition of Gothic evolved and became synonymous with the Middle Ages, 'a period which was in disfavor because it was perceived as chaotic, unenlightened, and superstitious' ('The Gothic'). Early Definitions of GothicThe origin of Gothicism traces back to the Gothic Revival, which stemmed from the fascination people had in the first half of the eighteenth century with the barbarism of the Germanic Goths.

Gothic literature definition