The Gothic: A History
The Gothic: A History Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate! - Dante Just over two hundred years ago, literature was developing at a fantastic rate. Books and magazines had become economically viable for mass-production; a gamut of influences was creating 'reading for leisure'. One of the most popular forms among the public who were reading these books were tales of the macabre. Their sources were many -- collections of folk tales and medieval romances, translations of Eastern legends such as The Arabian Nights, and experiments by contemporary authors such as Ann Radcliffe and Horace Walpole began to create something distinct and new. Even... "novel", because the medium for this type of fiction just had not existed before. This something is still with us, and we even use the name the first critics used to identify it -- gothic. The structure of the gothic tale is simple. Nothing wrong with the formula -- just ask Doctor Jekyll. A character -- whose sensibilities will be sympathetically familiar and contemporary, no matter the actual setting -- is removed by circumstance from the familiar and 'normal' to another, darker realm. The castle; huge, decaying and surrounded by barriers that make escape near impossible, is the classic. An old house or a dark dungeon may replace it, but it is always unmistakable. Then let the terrors commence. This is another world, and it seeks to
Key features of the Gothic tradition.
Term Assignment This passage entails many key features of the Gothic tradition where Gothic conventions, with the usage of archetypal symbols, dominate much of the text. Other than effectively evoking horror, suspense and unease in the reader, the Gothic uses these conventions to challenge and destabilize certain concepts and perceptions of the world. Boundaries of binary oppositions are also blurred in the process. The Gothic conventions that prevalent in the passage are the setting and atmosphere, the role double, the supernatural visitation, extreme interior mental states of the narrator and the apparitions and the fragmented mental states of the narrator. The setting of the passage is dark and obscure, typical of the Gothic. The visitation by the apparitions occurs at an "untimely" hour, about "four or five o'clock", a time when most people are asleep and that anything that may happen would be left unnoticed. By taking into consideration the fact that most of the time people are unfamiliar with the surroundings and activities of the wee-hours of the morning, a foreign, strange, Unheimlich sensation is created. Although it is presumably in the comforts of the speaker's own room, the fact that it is "dark" lends to the sinister tone of the atmosphere evoking further unease. As seen in the other gothic narratives, most visitations by the otherworldly occur in such setting.
Comparing the presentation of Lucy and Mina in Dracula
Lucy and Mina are the only two female characters we meet in detail in Dracula, and are also the only two characters we see becoming vampires - indeed, they are the only vampiric characters, with the exception of the chief antagonist, that are described in detail within the novel. Both characters are also narrators. Therefore it is clear that these two play a very important role in the novel. Lucy's part in the novel may only be relatively short, yet her role is essential to our understanding of the novel, since she is the first victim of Dracula. Lucy is also the only character whose vampiric transformation Stoker describes in detail. It is during chapter five that Lucy's narrative voice is heard for the first time, through her two letters to Mina, and here that we first see the key difference between Lucy and Mina in this novel: Lucy is very open about sex and sexuality, whereas Mina rarely comments on the subject at all. In only the second letter written by Lucy, she laments 'Why can't they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble?'. Even though Lucy recognises that this is a somewhat heretical comment, she still makes this inner confession to her friend Mina, and whilst it appears that the two have an emotional link through their friendship, there is no point in the novel where Mina makes such a controversial comment; rather, Mina is
Review the film
Review the film "Dracula, Prince of Darkness" (Hammer 1965). Analyse the conventions of the horror genre as they appear in the film, and comment on how they create dramatic tension. Horror has been a popular genre over the last 200 years. People enjoy reading gothic novels and watching horror films because it injects excitement into their lives. This may be because generally life is safer and people may find it mundane; horror gives people a thrill and knowing you're in safe surroundings lets you know you're going to be ok after the short time you are being entertained. Writers like Sheridan Le Fanu, Bram Stoker and Edgar Allen Poe have all been popular horror authors, however, the first great gothic novel was 'Mysteries of Udolpho' written by Anne Radcliffe in 1794. Then, film was invented and 'Nosferatu' was the first horror film made by the Germans. This then encouraged more films to be made and they have become increasingly more popular. Recently in films technical advances have made films more realistic because people's expectations are becoming greater, we want to believe what we see is real. We watched Dracula, Prince of Darkness made by Hammer in 1965 and have studied the conventions and techniques as they appear in the film and in this essay it will be about the effect of them on the audience, how they generate pleasurable fear. Most horror films have a similar
Discuss the role of sexuality in Dracula. What does the novel suggest about sexual behavior in Victorian England?
Discuss the role of sexuality in Dracula. What does the novel suggest about sexual behavior in Victorian England? Bram Stoker's focus on sexuality (particularly female sexuality) is evident throughout the different stages of the novel. Scenes in which this is most apparent include the scene portraying the attempted seduction of Harker by the 'voluptuous' woman vampires, Lucy being bitten by Dracula on the bench and the demolition of Lucy by Arthur Holmwood. In all of the mentioned scenes, Stoker combines the two themes of sexuality and violence in a manner which is sometimes very reserved and consequently well hidden from the modern day reader. Nevertheless, for the average Victorian reader, such hints and ambiguity would be significantly clearer and it would be far easier to understand Stoker's intentions. This is as a result of how sexuality and more specifically intercourse which Victorian Society considered taboo. This is the primary reason for Stoker's ambiguity in such scenes as it would have been considered against the basic social values if Stoker were to explicitly base a scene around strong themes of sexuality and therefore hid his forbidden meanings amongst a more obvious meaning so that one would have to look and study the text carefully to get to grips with such obscure substances. Of course not all sexuality in Dracula was based plainly around intercourse,
Discuss Austen's use of the gothic in Northanger Abbey
Discuss Austen's use of the gothic in Northanger Abbey There is a division between the two sections of this novel; the part in Bath and the part involving the abbey. The first part, being the Bath section is contains an element of the gothic because Catherine and her companion Isabella read (novels very popular at the time). There is a link with the second section which is to do with the gothic element which is Catherine and her companion's reading of gothic novels. The beginning section is romantic but is eclipsed by the strong gothic component in the Northanger section. There is a ostensibly peculiar change in Catherine's character from literal and mundane to over imaginative in the respective sections; "a fundamental incongruity devolves around the uneasy coexistence of the novel's two sections: self-contained Gothic burlesque is grafted unceremoniously upon sentimental comedy of manners"1. This whole issue makes the novel less easy to comprehend. In Bath and at Northanger Abbey, Catherine with her romantic fantasies influenced by Gothic novels, especially The Mysteries of Udolpho, experiences a painful procedure of disillusionment and becomes more mature. She learns to tell who is her true friend, the meaning of true love, and how to distinguish reality from fantasy. A perhaps over simplified way of explaining and helping with the understanding of the novel is done by
Why is 'Dracula' such a great horror story?
Why is 'Dracula' such a great horror story? In my opinion 'Dracula' is a great horror story because it is highly entertaining in its idea of vampirism, its atmospheric descriptions, powerful characterisation and the horrific death of Lucy. The novel is also interesting because of the religious perspectives, such as the use of garlic, holy water and the crucifix as weapons against evil. Jonathan Harker's journey to Count Dracula's home is described in great detail. The atmosphere not only adds to the dangerous ride to Dracula's Castle, but also comes alive as we're reading it. The atmosphere surrounding Harker is incredibly frightening but the detail and descriptions used are so astounding that we can feel the 'strange chills'. I felt like I was sitting beside Jonathan Harker. I 'shared' his 'fear'. Harker is travelling in a Caleche, a small, open, horse drawn carriage which is obviously dangerous. It adds suspense to the story, which makes the reader automatically think something terrible is going to occur. The 'long, agonized wailing' of the dogs seem to go on forever. As the journey takes longer it becomes more fearsome. Harker feels 'lonely'. Harker's driver is a strange, mysterious character, with his 'gleaming smile' as he steers the Caleche without revealing his face to Harker, or talking much. At this point the reader is thrilled and excited, feeling like
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Bram Stoker's Dracula is a classic example of Gothic writing. Gothic writing was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the early centuries, Gothic writing would frighten the audience and it was also used as a style of architecture. Dracula, which was first published in 1897, would definitely cause a shock as there was a supernatural being, roaming around sucking people's blood by the neck. Gothic literature usually includes vampires, monsters or some type of ancient mystical creature. It is also set in medieval castles with secret passages, dungeons and ghost places. There are various types of Gothic literature such as romance and horror. There is just usually horror used but mixing both has also become very popular. Romance on its own was very well-liked in the 19th century. The word Gothic actually comes from the Goths language. A Goth was considered one of a German tribe who invaded Eastern and Western Europe. Gothic was a type of architecture prevalent in Western Europe in the 12th - 16th centuries, it was barbarous, rude and uncouth. Dracula contains a lot Gothic conventions which incite the reader. A convention is the main point of a specific type of writing, for example in Dracula there is the use of journeys/quests, diaries, letters, journals, weird places and strange creatures. These conventions are essential in the story of Dracula and it is
Chapter 7 of Brams Stoker's Dracula seems to be a pivotal chapter in the overall novel due to the arrival of Dracula on to Whitby. The chapter is split up into three different sections each from a different viewpoint and
"What is the function of chapter 7? Explain how the techniques that Stoker uses are typical of his style elsewhere in the novel" Chapter 7 of Brams Stoker's Dracula seems to be a pivotal chapter in the overall novel due to the arrival of Dracula on to Whitby. The chapter is split up into three different sections each from a different viewpoint and in a different format. Firstly there is the newspaper cutting which goes into detail on the events that occurred leading up to the ships arrival on the shore. Following that came the Log of the Demeter written by the captain himslef as he saw the events take place on board. Finally the chapter ends with another entry into Mina's journal. It is important to note that while all three are very unique in their own ways, there is one common link between them all and that is the fact that all three are written in a format which strictly follows Stoker's techniques in previous chapters of the novel in which he adds authenticity to the oevrall story by writing it in different viewpoints of people who were actually there in amongst the surroundings and the plot. The story is never told from any sort of a narrative and this is seen clearly in the three examples in chapter 7. In the newspaper cut out, as soon as we read the first paragraph it is evident that Stoker is using his techniques which were used in previous chapters such as the
Leaders in Medieval Times - Vlad III-The Real Dracula.
Leaders in Medieval Times: Vlad III-The Real Dracula Vlad III-known also as Vlad Tepes, "The Impaler", and Vlad Dracula, "Son of the Devil/Dragon"-was widely known for his governmental policies, harsh punishments, and cruel acts, as his various monikers suggest. This rather interesting historical figure caught the eye of author Bram Stoker and served as the basic model for his infamous fictional horror character "Dracula" in 1897, although there are few concrete similarities between the two. Vlad III was born in Sigisoara, Transylvania in 1431. His father was a member of The Order of the Dragon, a military and religious order of knights who fought for Catholicism and to crusade against the Turks. Vlad III came to be prince of Wallachia (a Romanian province) when he was young and was brought up to follow in his father's footsteps. In 1442, Vlad and his brother were taken hostage by Sultan Murad II. Vlad was set free after he was told his father had been assassinated under the order of a rival for Wallachia control, Vladaslav II. He also learned that a different brother of his died and a son of his father's was tortured and buried alive. The way he came to be when he was older-known for his cruel nature and a thirst for blood, as well as vengeance-most likely originated from this childhood experience. Later on, Vlad III avenged the death of his father and regained control of
