gothic

gothic

What

are the characteristics of a gothic text?

Definitions – starting point:

Gothic fiction

(sometimes referred to as

Gothic horror

) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both

horror

and

romance

. As a genre, it is generally believed to have been invented by the English author

Horace Walpole

, with his 1764 novel

The Castle of Otranto

.

The effect of Gothic fiction feeds on a pleasing sort of

terror

an extension of

Romantic

literary pleasures that were relatively new at the time of Walpole's novel.

Melodrama

and parody (including self-parody) were other long-standing features of the Gothic initiated by Walpole

.

Gothic Fiction:

Sub-genre of the romantic movement in the eighteenth century

A reaction against the rationalism of the enlightenment

Also influenced by the French

R

evolution

The

gothic

novel:

Matthew Lewis – the Monk, Hugh Walpole – The Castle of Otranto

Parodied by Jane Austen in Northanger

Abbey

Frankenstein, Dracula

Gothic

literature is intimately associated with the

Gothic Revival architecture

of the same era.

Rejection of Neo-Classicism

– rejection of the

Enlightenment

&

Rationalism

.

Extreme

emotion,

thrill were considered to be vital ways of establishing atmosphere.

Ruins

were considered inspiring

.

The ruins of gothic buildings gave rise to multiple linked emotions by representing the inevitable decay and collapse of human creation. English Gothic writers often associated medieval buildings with what they saw as a dark and terrifying period, characterized by harsh laws enforced by torture, and with mysterious, fantastic, and

superstitious

rituals.

In literature such

Anti-Catholicism

had a European dimension featuring

Roman Catholic

excesses such as the

Inquisition

(in southern European countries such as Italy and Spain).

Gothic Themes ... Fred Botting

Excess

Transgression

Diffusion

Romance & The Novel

Ruins, Graveyards &

The Poetry Of The Past

Typical “gothic” ingredients in literary texts

Terror

Mystery

The Supernatural

Gothic Architecture

Darkness

Death

Physical & Moral Decay

Doubles

Madness

Secrets

Ancestral

Curses / Fall of Man

Settings and Atmosphere

Historical

Dark

Ruined

Stormy

Isolated

Romantic

Impressive

Wild

Hostile

Magical

Heroes and Monsters

Noble

Grotesque

Active

Supernatural

Ambitious

Violent

Tormented

Mysterious

Doomed

Absurd

Victims and Femmes Fatales

Passive

Active

Obedient

Rebellious

Emotional

Sexual

Conventional

Radical

Angelic

Demonic

Fantasy and Reality

Dreams

History

Visions

Society

Omens

Psychology

Legends

Culture

Magic

Science

Terror and Horror

Foreboding

Violence

Uncertainty

Torture

Suspense

Death

Anxiety

Grotesqueness

Dread

Disgust

Retrospective ...

Macbeth

(1605) was written considerably before Walpole’s novel which is considered to be a

literary watershed

defining and reviving “Gothic Fiction.”

Consequently, we are applying the label “Gothic”

retrospectively

to Macbeth as the term didn’t exist when Shakespeare originally wrote his famous play.

Applying “Gothic Readings” to the text is a literary perspective

we as modern readers

are applying to the text.

Macbeth as a gothic text - focus on:

EmotionsAtmosphereTime Setting WeatherCharacterIdeasStyle

Gothic features in Macbeth:

Emotions:Cruel passionsSupernatural terrorsAtmosphere:Gloomy, obsessive, violent, spine-chilling

Time: night, moon, the past (medieval)Weather: wind, storm, rain etcSetting: (often medieval) castles, ruins, wild deserted places, churches, secret passages, the exotic and foreign outside conventional society

Character:

vulnerable female, villains, heroic male, often stereotypes

Ideas: day/night, ghosts, fear, rational/irrational, sun/moon, vampyres, dreams, sleep, supernatural, death

Style: hyperbole, symbolism, disjointed storylines