Gothic Literature
A darkened room and a secret passage, a beautiful heroine in a flowing nightgown, candles that go out and doors that mysteriously open are all trademarks of the gothic literature tradition. Dark and stormy nights where a young woman is trapped in an unfamiliar place with individuals who have nefarious purposes are the norm and unfortunately for a heroine in a gothic novel, it is unlikely that she will make it out of the story unscathed. So ingrained are the icons and stereotypes of the gothic tradition that they are still found in horror or suspense to this day, as well as those which parody the style. In works of gothic literature, there are characteristics which clearly classify the novels into the genre and without these trademark criterion, the novel cannot be claimed to be part of the gothic branch of literary works. Both Ann Radcliffe's The Italian and Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey are stories which utilize the trademarks to tell a specific story, one of great suspense and intrigue in the former and one which serves to mock the characteristics of the gothic tradition in the latter.
Literature is a reflection of humanity, of human beings and the culture in which they live. Each period has a unique culture and this is indicated historically by the works of fiction which originated in that same historical era. There are certain themes in literature which is always present, the fear of death being one of the most common. Through the lens of an historical period, the understanding and perception of death can also be understood. Death appears frequently in gothic literature. Characters die from natural causes or are murdered or die mysteriously. Some stories have only a few deaths and some have bodies piled up quite high. Horror and the gothic were very popular during their time period and have maintained popularity since their publishing and this is because the fear of death is a universal one that spans time and place. People read stories about death and murder because they can live vicariously through the hero, or the heroine more commonly in the gothic tradition. Yet, when the story is over, no matter what has happened to the book's protagonist, the reader still sits in their chair. They have fought death alongside the heroine but have lived through the experience even if she was not so fortunate. Author Edmund Burke in the book A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful explains:
Most of the ideas which are capable of making a powerful impression on the mind, whether simply of pain or pleasure, or of the modifications of those, may be reduced very nearly to these two heads, self-preservation, and society; to the ends of one or the other of which all our passions are calculated to answer. The passions which concern self-preservation, turn mostly on pain or danger. The ideas of pain, sickness, and death, fill the mind with strong emotions of horror; but life and health, though they put us in a capacity of being affected with pleasure, make no such impression by the simple enjoyment. The passions therefore which are conversant about the preservation of the individual turn chiefly on pain and danger, and they are the most powerful of all the passions (I.Vi).
The sublime, the things in this world that we cannot understand like death and the afterlife are all intangible things which cannot be truly explained. Gothic fiction allows the reader to explore these mysteries without endangering the self. Burke makes the point that self-preservation is one of the most important aspects of human existence. People will go to any means in order to protect themselves and stay alive. Through gothic fiction, the reader can face the potential of death and either survive or die without actually putting themselves into the slightest bit of danger.
The Italian by author Ann Radcliff is an early example of a work in the gothic literary tradition. Written in the year 1797, the story shows all of the attributes which would become hallmarks of the gothic novel, including concealment of truths, hiding in darkened passageways, and heightened fearful emotions of the
However, there is also a more prosaic explanation of the contrasting styles manifest in Gothic cathedrals: because they took so long to complete, the construction of the cathedrals was often interrupted by warfare, and thus they were constructed during different social periods and exhibited the influence of different builders, rulers, and forms of construction ("Medieval gothic principles," Medieval Spell, 2009). Furthermore, even when there is symmetry and surface order
. from passion to insanity" ('the Eighteenth Century," Internet). These "sublime" qualities are best expressed in Horace Walpole's magnificent Strawberry Hill residence in Twickenham, built between 1749 and 1777. As compared to Blenheim Palace, this structure is pure "Gothick" with its turrets, towers, battlements, galleries and corridors. In fact, Horace Walpole is credited with creating the Gothic style in English literature with his novel the Castle of Otranto, published in 1764. Of
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Romanesque and Gothic Architecture There were a number of changes that happened to Romanesque architecture to make it uniquely Gothic. Romanesque architecture was principally that for churches, whereas Gothic architecture manifested itself in cathedrals. The difference between these two is not mere diction; Romanesque churches had thicker walls and were darker and on the whole smaller than Gothic cathedrals, which encompassed a number of structural innovations to make them extremely vertical,
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This type of fluidization announces the Renaissance and is probably an expression of the new opening that the society goes through as it comes out of the Middle Ages. A greater creative expression in literature or painting, for example, had to be matched by a similar trend in architecture. Another interesting comparison with the previous Gothic styles is the fact that, in the past, the Gothic style was used almost
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