Gothic fiction is often set in a castle as a dark and mysterious setting. Mystery, suspense, horror, the supernatural are also commonly found in gothic literature. This genre often features female characters in distress due to the horror or mystery of the situation, or at the hands of a powerful, abusive male figure.…
Epicardium: external layer; smooth slippery texture to outermost surface; includes adipose and coronary blood vessels…
Gothic lit and magical realism are similar because they both take place in spooky large houses. Edgar Allan Poe's “The Fall of the House of Usher” is an example because it starts with a crazy man inside of this big spacious house…
Death, murder, and depression are a few of Edgar Allan Poe’s favorite areas to write about. This is a vital reason his pieces are considered Gothic Literature. Gothic Literature, also referred to as “brooding romantics,” explored the capacity for evil. These writers arranged their works with emphasis on emotion, nature, and the individual. However, they did not center their matters on positivity as the other romantics did. Instead, they often included elements of fantasy and the supernatural. Poe’s short story, Fall of the House of Usher, contains all of the assets essential to a Gothic Literature piece, including grotesque characters, bizarre situations, and violent events.…
Gothic literature has a specific tone and vibe that sets it apart from other genres of literature. In many gothic literature stories and novels, it seems that there is usually a presence of monsters, one or more characters suffers from psychological issues, or one of the characters is stuck on a memory from the past. These elements play a key role in portraying the characters accurately, and giving a deeper understanding to the story.…
Relating to Gothic literature, Gothic films appropriate the subversive shudders of the eighteenth and nineteenth century gothic literature, it has for a century infiltrated popular culture increasingly taking centre stage. Some of the early gothic rock artists adopted traditional horror film images and drew on horror film soundtracks for inspiration. The common characteristics include vampires, ghosts, werewolves, bats, cobwebs, monsters, old dark houses, sublime castles, dungeons, graveyards and secret passages. The vampire embodies both life and death taking the life of others to sustain itself and in so doing living immortally, has been adopted by part of the Goth subculture as a cultural icon. Horror film fans would say that the Goth genre…
Changes are not easily made in life. To be able to change, one must be able to handle and accept the consequences that going to happen because it not only affects the person that is willing to change, but it also affects the people that surround them. Common themes that are seen to advance Southern Gothic Literature short stories are the usage of “tradition” and “interiority” as a means of getting the readers to feel sympathy for the characters that have no control of changing their fate. From gender roles to society rules, people have an appetite for control and traditions are one aspect of life that people can and will control. Traditions are beliefs/procedures that are made from one point in time and then continued and done routinely. When traditions are being challenge to change or are in the process of being changed, the ones that are accustomed the most to certain traditions being to fear of losing control of what is theirs. In the short stories by Alice Munro and Shirley Jackson, both authors show that some traditions are found to be helpful and advantageous while others are poor and…
The genres are different because the houses and setting are not similar. Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of the house of Usher” an old friend of the Ushers’ come to visit them in their mansion. But when he does visit, something strange happens. For instance, “And now, some days of bitter grief having elapsed, an observable change come over the features of the mental disorder of my friend.” (24) This is different than Julio Cortazar's “House taken over” because the characters do not go crazy. This is proven when the house is getting taken over the sister says,”In that case,” she said, picking up her needles again, “we’ll have to live on this side.”(40)…
Comparative Essay: The Fall of the House of Usher by: Edgar Allan Poe and The Yellow Wall-Paper by Mary Gilman) Coming to terms with ones fears is a constant and ongoing struggle which people face all throughout their lives. This is something Roderick Usher and the wife in "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Yellow Wall Paper" could not do. Roderick Usher was afraid the fall of the house of Usher was about to occur because he was the last remaining male descendant, and the wife was afraid her husband who treated her like a child. Roderick and the wife where two characters who were not able to deal with their fears in life, and this lead them down a path of unhappiness and struggles. Through the experiences of these characters the reader learns that the inability for people to recognize their innermost fears, initiates their descent from depression, to self-torture then ultimately, madness.…
Authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and William Faulkner have presented gothic literature throughout their writing during the 18th and 19th centuries. Gothic literature is defined as a "distinct modern development in which the characteristic theme is the stranglehold of the past upon the present"(294 Drabble and Stringer).Therefore, to deliver this theme to their readers they used gothic elements to create a "dark" sensation especially in the area of setting. All three authors in their literature portray accursed or decaying settings that are associated to violence, poverty, and human behavior. It appears authors like Poe, Hawthorne, and Faulkner were drawn to this elements of Gothicism for what it revealed about human psychology…
Bipolar disorder affects many people today as well as in the time of Edgar Allen Poe when it was then called melancholia. Poe was diagnosed with this disorder and it plays an integral role in his story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839). This story is heavily influenced by this disorder or its presently associated symptoms and also describes one way that bipolar disorder can genetically affect an entire family.…
In both stories the author portrays a sense of horror to the reader. “The Fall of the House of Usher”, presents a creepier mood and is in the Gothic Literature genre. Gothic Literature is a genre that is represented by dark and gloomy mood. It is characterized by elements such as tortured characters, dramatic language, remote settings, and violence. “House Taken Over”, on the other hand presents a calmer mood through the actions of the characters and is in the genre of Magical Realism. Magical Realism is a genre that has more to do with fantasy than it does with fear. The differences between the two genres can explain the different attempts from the authors to portray fear to the reader.…
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” (Mark Twain) Both As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner and “Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe can be considered gothic literature. Gothic literature is work that strives to get a reaction out of the audience such as fear, anxiety, and suspense. It is the darker side of literature. In As I Lay Dying and “Fall of the House of Usher”, the gothic conventions used are coffins, death, and torture.…
For many stories, introducing background information is essential. We, as readers, want it, and sometimes we need it to understand where the story is picking up and what relationships already exist. In the case of THE FALL HOUSE OF USHER by Edgar Allen Poe, key background information is deliberately omitted. Poe’s signature gothic style and genius are all about the elements of imagery and suspense. Immediately the reader is on its toes waiting and wondering about information that is never revealed, while at the same time, the author unravels a story that makes them forget they ever wanted or needed background.…
Gothic literature and magical realism are genres that both work to create strong emotions from the reader by using the type of elements they have in their stories. Magical realism is when the author uses recognizable characters who feel, act, and react in customary ways and introduces them to supernatural or unreal elements. Elements that pertain to magical realism that are found in the short story “House Taken Over” would be the realistic characters and the presence of a supernatural being. Gothic literature involves weird or violent incidents and supernatural or otherworldly occurrences to torment the characters in a psychological and/or physical way. Some of the elements of gothic literature that are…