Gothic period of American Literature - 1800-1850
Gothic is a sub-genre of Romanticism
Content:
- sublime and overt use of the supernatural
- individual characters see themselves at the mercy of forces our of their control which
- they do not understand
- motif of the "double": an individual with both evil and good characteristics
- often involve the persecution of a young woman who is forced apart from her true love
Style:
- short stories and novels
- hold readers' attention through dread of a series of terrible possibilities
- feature landscapes of dark forests, extreme vegetation, concealed ruins with horrific
- rooms, depressed characters
Effect:
- today in literature we still see portrayals of alluring antagonists whose evil
- characteristics appeal to one's sense of awe
- today in literature we still see stories of the persecuted young girl forced apart from
- her true love
Historical Context:
- industrial revolution brings ideas that the "old ways" of doing things are now irrelevant
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