The term, Gothic literature, was a movement in the 18th century that focused on ruin, terror, horror, death, and the darkness of human nature. This writing also combines elements of the supernatural and events that can’t be explained in the natural world. Gothic writing originated with British writers using science, religion, and industry combined with the question of the unknown by using the symbolism of a darker world in caves, castles, nightmares, and fear. With the movement to the new world, many writers began to incorporate these ideas into American literature. These Gothic elements influenced writers of fiction in many ways. Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne are best known for using this symbolism. The writers of American Gothic
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Also, in “The Fall of the House of Usher”, madness is at the heart of the story. Another of Poe’s Gothic qualities in his fiction is that there normally is a haunted house or a very remote place. In “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Poe blends in death, madness, and the location to present a very grim outlook on life. In this story, the house has a… ”physique of gray walls and turrets, and all of the dim torn into which they all looked down.” (Edgar Allan Poe “Fall of the House of Usher” p.177 Doubleday Publishing). This symbolizes the deteriorating condition of not only the house but of the people who inhabit the …show more content…
His work had gloomy settings, death, and demons in the world as he perceived it. Hawthorne often questioned religion, morality, sin, and guilt. His portrayal of the dark side of the human soul terrified many of the people of his time. He wrote “There is no good on earth… come, Devil; for to thee is this world given.” (Laurie Sterling p104-121) Hawthorne also wrote, “what other dungeon is so dark as one’s own heart.” (Ticknor and Fields, Chapter 11). Another of his famous quotes is, “Time flies over us, but leaves it’s shadow behind.” (Laurie Sterling p 315-335). He is considered as one of the greatest writers of his time and helped change the thought processes of people as they looked into areas that had never been explored
Also, in “The Fall of the House of Usher”, madness is at the heart of the story. Another of Poe’s Gothic qualities in his fiction is that there normally is a haunted house or a very remote place. In “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Poe blends in death, madness, and the location to present a very grim outlook on life. In this story, the house has a… ”physique of gray walls and turrets, and all of the dim torn into which they all looked down.” (Edgar Allan Poe “Fall of the House of Usher” p.177 Doubleday Publishing). This symbolizes the deteriorating condition of not only the house but of the people who inhabit the …show more content…
His work had gloomy settings, death, and demons in the world as he perceived it. Hawthorne often questioned religion, morality, sin, and guilt. His portrayal of the dark side of the human soul terrified many of the people of his time. He wrote “There is no good on earth… come, Devil; for to thee is this world given.” (Laurie Sterling p104-121) Hawthorne also wrote, “what other dungeon is so dark as one’s own heart.” (Ticknor and Fields, Chapter 11). Another of his famous quotes is, “Time flies over us, but leaves it’s shadow behind.” (Laurie Sterling p 315-335). He is considered as one of the greatest writers of his time and helped change the thought processes of people as they looked into areas that had never been explored