Supernatural Horror in Literature

Edgar Allan Poe, an American writer, poet, and critic became most famous for his short poems and tales of horror, filled with mystery, supernatural events and death. In 1836, Poe married his 13 year old cousin Virginia Clemm who later became the center point of many of his poems and his love interest for years to come. After struggling with poverty for a long time, Poe landed a job in 1835 at The Southern Literary Messenger after one of his short poems caught recognition when it won the…

What is the importance of genre within poetry? I think through working with genre and some of its symbols, interpreting a piece of literature has a deeper meaning. Comparing and contrasting a piece to each other also brings up similar ideas and reoccurring themes that lead to drawing conclusions about human nature. While working with the poems Beowulf, Lanval, and Sir Gawain within their genres, I find that conditions within societies form a need of a hero figure but that hero varies with values…

Jekyll and Hyde story is considered as a Gothic novel because of its strange and mysterious theme that evidently presented by the sign of supernatural along the story. The definition of gothic is pertaining to a style of literature characterized by a gloomy setting, grotesque, mysterious, or violent events, and an atmosphere of degeneration and decay (Oxford Dictionary, 2009). In this story, it discusses about the oddities investigation of Hyde’s strange incident since the first chapter. It…

Stoker is an example of Gothic fiction. What characteristic features of Gothic fiction can you see in the novel? Does Stoker depart from any principles of Gothic fiction? How? Why? Discuss. Understood as a genre in literature and film, Gothic fiction combines elements of fiction, horror, death and romance to paint a bright picture of the quirks of the era. The everlasting popularity of Gothic fiction feeds on our desire to indulge in innocent but hearty chunks of terror. Bram Stoker’s…

The book Jane Eyre was written by Charlotte Brontë in the 1800s. In literature this time was known as the Gothic Romance period. Many books written in this time included many elements that were related to the supernatural world. In the story Jane had many occurrences with unexplained events; Like the time Mrs. Reed locked her in the very mysterious Red Room as a child (Brontë 9). Jane had a quote in the chapter explaining, “I can now conjecture readily that this streak of light was, in all…

Literature is impacted by history. History, in turn, is impacted by people who are influenced by the conformities of society. Writers are affected by the environment around them. As a result, 3 totally different periods are formed: The Puritan Era, The Age of Reason, and The Romantic Period. The Puritan Era caused a psychological wave of oddness over the people. They believed that they should blame those unwilling to fit society’s requirements. It was created as a result of the Salem Witch…

Gothic literature is a type of literature that was at its peak during the fifth to fifteenth century. It is described as a dark literature most famous for its swamps, forests, castles, and the presence of the supernatural involving horror. Female gothic is simply gothic literature written by females that express female independence and the fear of male dominance, marriage, and the traditional role of being a submissive woman. The stories written by female gothic authors include frightful…

threat”. Edgar Allen Poe was an American writer, poet and critic Edgar Allan Poe is famous for his tales and poems of horror and mystery. Edgar Allen Poe wrote the poem “The Raven” was an narrative, musicality poem. In all of Poe’s stories somehow all was connected to real life events in his life. Inside the poem “The Raven” were found three unique themes; Theme of Love & Supernatural and Man vs. Nature. In “The Raven” there were signs of craziness and sadness. “ – vainly I had sought…

These gothic elements, whether in the form of settings, actions, or characters, influenced American literature and are still present in many stories today. Some of these gothic elements include those of terror, the supernatural, and the dark outdoors. Both the Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving and Somnambulism by Charles Brockden Brown contain gothic elements in the form of terror, horror, fear of unknown, madness, and setting of the story. In the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the school…

There are many influential authors in history, but only one who is the “father” of the detective genre, perfected horror, and created the style called mad men writing. Edgar Allan Poe did all of that throughout his short lived life. Edgar Allan Poe wrote during the romantic period, but was best known for his dark and mysterious writings. Poe stated, “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before”. He…