Dark romanticism

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…

INTRODUCTION The aim of this essay is to give an explicit overview of the gothic elements in the short story “The Fall of the House of Usher”. The main point of interest concerns the haunted house which is a typical feature of gothic literature. At the beginning the readers is introduced to the story through a summary. This will be followed by a general explanation of the gothic genre and its typical features. Furthermore the outer appearance of the mansion and the thereby upcoming unpleasant…

The Gothic Genre and “The Raven” The word “Gothic” usually suggests adolescents in dark makeup and loud music. In literature though, “Gothic” means something much different. The Gothic genre sets itself apart from other literary genres in many ways. Gothic works usually take place in a strange, mysterious setting and have themes of extreme mental and/or physical isolation. The Gothic genre is also known for the sentiment of the frightening unfamiliar, that is also strangely familiar. The…

Suspense. Tension. These two words are often the main feature of gothic literature, both traditional and contemporary. ‘The Signalman’ written by Charles Dickens in the year of 1866 is an example of traditional gothic literature. In contrast to that is Roald Dahl’s ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’, which is written in the year of 1953, is an example of contemporary gothic literature. Both stories create suspense and tension in a different but a similar way. In ‘The Signalman’, imagery, which is symbols…

Gloomy, dreary, creepy, forbidding, dark, horror, and fear, are all words that describe gothic literature. Gothic literature is something that the writer Edgar Allan Poe has much knowledge about, for he has written many gothic short stories and poems. Such as the short stories like, “The Black Cat”, “Tell Tale Heart”, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, and “Masque of the Red Death”. Also displayed in his poems, “Alone”, “Annabel Lee”, “The Raven”, and somewhat of “The Bells”. To a great extent, Edgar…

of suspense and tension in mind, both stories are tied with a common theme of insanity. One of the ways that the two writers create suspense is by utilising the description of the setting and the themes. Dickens reiterates the words “gloomy” and “dark” as well as mentioning that “so little sunlight ever found its way to this spot,” These statements signify the calignosity of the post and that it is in absence of warmth, inducing fear in the reader as the lack of warmth and light is often…

This era found imagination much more important than reason and emotions more important than logic. The characteristics of romanticism is that it deals with individuality, personal freedom, celebration of of the simple life, interest of folk traditions, supernatural elements, and interest in past history. Other characteristics would include an interest in common man which meant…

The Ones We Love? Family; a blessing, or a curse? In the book Night, Elie Wiesel offers many significant themes, but the question, “is family a blessing or a curse,” is one of the most prevalent and begging themes in the novel. During the novel, Wiesel often questions if he should try and keep his father around, or if life would just be better without him in the picture. “‘Don’t let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all my strength to struggle for my…

Gothic literature perpetually creates suspense and tension in the form of both tradition and contemporaneity. Both forms of gothic literature share a theme insanity that helps the writers to create suspense. In the traditional gothic literature ‘The Signalman’ written in 1866, Charles Dickens successfully builds suspense by writing in first person with numerous imagery. In addition, suspense and tension are well-developed through various techniques, such as third person point of view and…

the highway (O’Connor 407). No matter how long the family drives, Red Sammy is always there, and his restaurant is always waiting. It is also the first ‘dark’ place the family comes across since the beginning of the trip. It resembles Hell, as a “long dark room” with red and black paint (O’Connor 407). It is meant to be a place of laughter, but dark topics are spoken of and it provokes an unnerving feeling. To the reader, it has the weight of a last…