Edgar Allan Poe is known as a gothic writer. However, one of his short stories stands out above the rest. That story is the one of ´Ẃilliam Wilson´. It displays many effects of gothic literature.
William Wilson inspired many films to follow its tropes that were included. The twist ending revealed that Wilson had imagined ´Wilson´ in his head the whole time and that he had just stabbed himself. You know this because "You have conquered, and I yield. Yet henceforward art thou also dead -- dead to the world and its hopes. In me didst thou exist -- and, in my death, see by this image, which is thine own, how utterly thou hast murdered thyself." This moment in the story influenced many modern ‘thrillers’ or horror movies. The 2010 movie Black Swan …show more content…
Gothic literature is also defined as having elements of the supernatural. ‘Wilson’ is revealed to be a figment of Wilson’s imagination. Knowing that it can be said that he is a supernatural being, as Wilson says that ¨The same name; the same contour of person; the same day of arrival at the academy! And then his dogged and meaningless imitation of my gait, my voice, my habits, and my manner! Was it, in truth, within the bounds of human possibility that what I now saw was the result of the habitual practice of this sarcastic imitation? Awe-stricken, and with a creeping shudder, I extinguished the lamp, passed silently from the chamber, and left, at once, the halls of that old academy, never to enter them again.” Wilson is frightened by this character, and then with the information that he suddenly appears to look exactly like Wilson, we can wonder if he is even real. It is also odd that he cannot speak above a whisper. Even then, the doppelganger talks like Wilson. The protagonist could likely have some form of mental illness, but it can be said that this doppelganger simply represents his ethical and intellectual dilemmas. It is also noted that although Wilson notices that Other is mocking him, none of his peers notice the small quarrels that occur between the two, and it is foreshadowing the ending of the story. For an even better effect, the word ´doppelganger´ means ´ghostly double´. There are lots of examples and foreshadowing that Other is not real, and that is an element often associated with gothic
William Wilson inspired many films to follow its tropes that were included. The twist ending revealed that Wilson had imagined ´Wilson´ in his head the whole time and that he had just stabbed himself. You know this because "You have conquered, and I yield. Yet henceforward art thou also dead -- dead to the world and its hopes. In me didst thou exist -- and, in my death, see by this image, which is thine own, how utterly thou hast murdered thyself." This moment in the story influenced many modern ‘thrillers’ or horror movies. The 2010 movie Black Swan …show more content…
Gothic literature is also defined as having elements of the supernatural. ‘Wilson’ is revealed to be a figment of Wilson’s imagination. Knowing that it can be said that he is a supernatural being, as Wilson says that ¨The same name; the same contour of person; the same day of arrival at the academy! And then his dogged and meaningless imitation of my gait, my voice, my habits, and my manner! Was it, in truth, within the bounds of human possibility that what I now saw was the result of the habitual practice of this sarcastic imitation? Awe-stricken, and with a creeping shudder, I extinguished the lamp, passed silently from the chamber, and left, at once, the halls of that old academy, never to enter them again.” Wilson is frightened by this character, and then with the information that he suddenly appears to look exactly like Wilson, we can wonder if he is even real. It is also odd that he cannot speak above a whisper. Even then, the doppelganger talks like Wilson. The protagonist could likely have some form of mental illness, but it can be said that this doppelganger simply represents his ethical and intellectual dilemmas. It is also noted that although Wilson notices that Other is mocking him, none of his peers notice the small quarrels that occur between the two, and it is foreshadowing the ending of the story. For an even better effect, the word ´doppelganger´ means ´ghostly double´. There are lots of examples and foreshadowing that Other is not real, and that is an element often associated with gothic