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gothic literature

From: A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition.

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A type of fiction that employs mystery, terror or horror, suspense, and the supernatural for the simple purpose of scaring the wits out of its readers. The traditional setting, beginning with Hugh Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764), is a medieval (hence, "gothic") castle, replete with secret passages, torchlit dungeons, and an occasional bat. The traditional plot, as in Anne Radcliffe'sThe Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), involves a beautiful heroine beset by dark shadows, strange noises, and a candle that keeps blowing out. These early gothic novels aimed at instilling terror. Later examples of the form, such as Matthew Lewis's The Monk (1796), moved beyond terror to horror, invoking demons, ghosts, and other supernatural paraphernalia in gory and subliminally erotic detail.

The form maintained its popularity from the 1760s to the 1830s. During that time it was imitated throughout Europe, influencing and being influenced by the age of Romanticism. Satirized by Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey (1818), the form eventually fell out of favor, only to resurface in the 20th century as the horror fiction and horror film. One particularly memorable example of the form, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), is also regarded as an early progenitor of science fiction.

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https://a.gfx.ms/i_safe.gif Further Information

Brendan Hennessy's The Gothic Novel (1978) offers a useful survey of the genre; Manuel Aguirre's The Enclosed Space (1990) places it in the context of all horror literature.

Citation Information

Quinn, Edward. "gothic literature." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 6 Mar. 2016. .

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