Supernatural Horror in Literature

Mary Shelley’s imaginative novel known as Frankenstein; or Modern Prometheus was published in 1818. This was an era were political influence, romantic thinking and the feminist movement were an evolving issue in society. These were controversial symbols which characterized a very male dominant society, to which Marry did not want to be accustomed to. This is due to the influence of such illustrious parents. Being daughter of a philosopher and radical thinker known as William Godwin and an active…

Stanley uses smooth transition of shots, extreme long-shot with the use of light and shadow to exaggerate macabre atmosphere. The filmmaker uses contrasting color to heighten the atmosphere, enhanced realism. As a horror novel based on changes in the film "The Shining", it is not like other horror films in the past, as the screen dark, cold and wet, but is rather distinct colours, elegant style. Human four most fear factors are death, darkness, loneliness, and helplessness. Stanley use rich…

Biography Bram Stoker, the man who would one day create one of the most recognized figures in literature, did not have a normal childhood. Stoker had been sick since his birth in 1847. His mysterious illness prevented him from walking and his mother Charlotte would have to carry him when he wanted to move. Most of the time Stoker lied in bed alone with his thoughts and all the sounds and sensations that came from the window in his room. Stoker’s only playmates were his siblings Thornley and…

from the sense of Gothic as medieval (Gale par. 1). The movement is seen as a reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment. Gothic literature also shares some characteristics with Romanticism (par. 1). For example, Gothic works embraced imagination, as did Romantic literature, but was very different from other genres mainly in its focus on supernatural events. Also, the focus on the dark side of human nature showed how dark and gloomy the writer’s sight for the future was (Gale par. 1).…

William Faulkner, “The Black Cat” by: Edgar Allan Poe, “Prey” by: Richard Matheson, and “The Raven” by: Edgar Allan Poe. Specifically, are significant because they utilize ambiguity and entrapment – both primary elements commonly used in this type of literature. Authors use core gothic elements, especially the ones listed above, because the feeling the author is attempting to strike into the reader, is one that he has either experienced himself…

Todorov Tells All: Categorization of Gothic Literature In gothic literature, there are different ways to categorize stories and tales. There is a concept known as “The Fantastic”, based off of Tzvetan (Yzetyen) Todorov’s ideas of the gothic criteria for gothic literature. The stories “The Lonesome Place”, “The Reencounter” and “The Black Cat” each fall under a category in Todorov’s gothic criteria: The Uncanny, The Marvelous and The Fantastic. In Todorov’s gothic criteria, there are three…

Often in Poe’s writings is the presence of animals that act in a manner almost supernatural. While it is easy to dismiss them as characters merely created with the intention to scare the audience, they actually have much deeper meaning in that they are used to speak more about the protagonist psychologically. In some such stories, like Metzengerstein, the tale is written with a detached narrator who witnesses the fall of the protagonist to darkness. In other stories, like in The Raven or The…

Before Becoming Dante In The Divine Comedy, written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and 1321, he describes his journey through three realms starting in Inferno leading up to Purgatory and finally arriving in Paradise. Inferno is one of the three parts in which Dante uses more description, including allusions from his background and from his religious point of view, including the Bible, old text, and Greek stories; creating a mixture of sources that he used. Not only that, but he also uses the…

Fly Away: Dark Romanticism in “The Raven” “The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” Edgar Allan Poe (BrainyQuote). This relates to “The Raven” because the man is unsure where his lover Lenore has gone but he shouldn 't let a bird tell him she is gone forever. “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe tells of a man (protagonist) who is mourning over the loss of his Lenore; the man tries to forget by reading…

Alexander Pope and Anti-Feminism One of several English authors we read during the semester was Alexander Pope. He was born in London in 1688 and was very ill as a child. He practiced Roman Catholicism. Pope wrote during the English Augustin Era. He is best known for his heroic couplets which are bountiful in The Rape of the Lock. Alexander Pope’s works such as The Rape of the Lock are often debated on whether or not Pope was supportive of or against feminism. Although feminism would have…