They are full of strange and often supernatural characters like ghosts, vampires and werewolves. Gothic literature often contrasts different types of characters: victims and predators, good and evil. These themes and impending bad fortune are often hinted at in the gothic novels through ominous warnings or symbolic omens, such as a full moon or a raven. Typical gothic themes are the supernatural, science, revenge, religion, breaking societal norms and the battle between good and evil. This all adds to the sense of mystery and danger. But where there are also plenty of secrets with underground passages and hidden doors. Writers typically set their stories in abandoned or isolated locations like crumbling castles, windswept moors, places of decay and death. Night time settings appeal to reader’s instinctive fear of the dark - and under the cover of darkness things often aren’t quite as they seem. Expect wind, rain and thunderstorms and things that go bump in the night. There aren’t many tropical beaches in gothic fiction. So could you survive the dark world of a gothic novel?įirst up, you’ll need to wrap up warm. But there were stories with Gothic elements before and there have been plenty since. The gothic genre was really popular during the 1800s with Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights and Dracula. Texts may vary each year but are likely to include: Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto (1764), Edmund Burke, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (1757) Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751) Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) Jane Austen Northanger Abbey (1817) Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (1818).Gothic literature evokes an atmosphere of mystery, fear or terror. Teaching patternġ hour lecture and 1 hour seminar weekly Suggested reading list Acquire knowledge of the major critical approaches that have been used to discuss these texts and concepts, including a basic understanding of how the literary critical history of the genre informs its interpretation (for instance, through feminist or queer readings.) Develop skills in close readings of literary texts, and linking them with key concepts from theoretical readings. Gain an understanding of 'the Gothic' through the context of its literary, cultural and political history. Learning outcomesĭevelop an understanding of some of the key ways Gothic has been constructed - and contested - as a genre, especially within the contexts of gender, class, race and sexuality. Students will also acquire some understanding of how and why Gothic is a genre which exceeds a long eighteenth-century timeframe. The module will also further the literary critical skills of students by the practice of close reading, the expression of their ideas in discussion and in writing, and the development of foundational skills in interpreting images and material forms through studying them in relation to Gothic. The course will enable students to understand a range of theories about the genre, develop appropriately a selection of theoretical tools for understanding Gothic texts, and engage with critical literature about them. To introduce students to the original and key texts of Gothic literature, established as a genre in the long eighteenth century, with appropriate understanding of their historical context, their place and significance in the history of ideas, and some of the visual and material contexts relevant to their interpretation. Assessment detailsģ000 word essay Educational aims & objectives Texts may vary each year but are likely to include: Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto (1764), Edmund Burke, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (1757) Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751) Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) Jane Austen Northanger Abbey (1817) Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (1818). Danger, romance, mystery, violence, fearful spectres, castles, banditti – it's all here. Does it? Why did Gothic begin in the eighteenth century? How does it work as a powerful, disturbing, dangerous genre? How did it challenge philosophers and aesthetic thinkers? What can we learn from parodies and satires of Gothic? What questions does it stage and why do they continue to compel and fascinate? Could there be a 'Female Gothic'? This module explores a selection of Gothic texts – poems and novels - to investigate the genre's variety of forms and its appeal to readers. Terror expands the soul, said Ann Radcliffe.
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