Victor Hugo Research Paper

The gothic period is remembered for its artistic conventions as the architecture and the literature. That period was one the longest and complex periods of the history of humanity, it was between the 12th and the 15th centuries, but it has a very huge influenced on romantic works of the 19th century. Many facts affected this time, the bubonic plague which reduces the population of the world nearly to it half, also the influence of the Roman Catholic Church which was the most important patron during those times. As result of it, the art of this period was most Hellenistic which means that it was more tragic, passionate and dramatic, which are the same conventions of the romantic period that were marked by the horror of the French Revolution
and the atrocities of slavery. However, most of the gothic literary artwork are still been used as a reference of its time. The most transcended literary works done during this periods are pieces of a treasure of the human history, as an example of those is the masterpiece of Victor Hugo “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” also the story of Dracula and Frankenstein, the poem titled “Raven” of the American writer Edgar Allan Poe.
In addition, one of the most transcendental writers of Romantic period was Victor Hugo. He born in France in 1802, He studies laws but he decided to quit his job and became a writer. (Editors)Among of his works we can find “ Les Misérables” where he describes the society behavior after the French Revolution, also he wrote about how the situation of the country made people less kindness and how it promote people to do bad thing instead of developing a society with good actions. He called those miserable people victims of the system, the true innocents people were guilty and the truly guilty was left. He describes the society as corrupt and responsible for creating the darkness among the population. (ADI31415). Another literary work done by Victor Hugo is “ The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”. The plot is set in the streets of Paris near to the cathedral of Notre-Dame. Quasimodo who is a hunchback life at the top of one of the towers
of the cathedral, he lives there hidden from the society who crown him as pope of the fools for his ugliest appearance. Victor Hugo in this work represent the historical and political situation of Paris during those times, he refers to the control of the Roman Catholic Church over the lives of the Parisians, how the security guard enforce the law by torture means. Esmeralda is a gypsy dancer who executes at the streets of Paris. Quasimodo fall in love with her, she describes a beautiful woman, able to conquer man with her movement. The love between that character is a great example of true love, her beauty, and his ugliness, mean that people should look at the beauty of the soul instead of the physical appearance. (SparkNotes) He said, “When a woman is talking to you, listen to what she says with her eyes.” That means that you have to see very deeply to listen to the true voice of the soul, the voice that describes you as a person, as a human. Hugo remains one of the giants of French literature. Although French audiences celebrate him primarily as a poet, he is better known as a novelist in English-speaking countries. Victor Hugo died in Paris on May 22, 1885. He received a hero's funeral. His body lay in state beneath the Arc de Triomphe before burial in the Panthéon. (Editors). His works are one of the best example of the influenced of gothic literature in romantic literature.
Also, the story of Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus is part of the gothic/ romantic literature.
It was written by an English author Mary Shelley. The story tells us about the ideas of a unordinary scantiest who believes that he could create live as god did it. Victor Frankenstein is a young inventor who created a grotesque creature after several years of researchers, the public opinion of his creature and also of him was very associated with Satanism and darkness. This story was influenced by the gothic and romantic movement, also is one of the first fiction novels and also the ancestor of modern terror works. This work primary describes the danger of science, as part of the war between religion (Frankenstein) . Nowadays, this story has been projected on the big screen several times, also associated with another terror story Dracula. It was written by Bram Stoker who was an English author. Dracula is the story of the legendary count who is a vampire, the story tells us the intent of Dracula to move from his castle in Transylvania to London to find new victims and to spread the curse. The battle between Dracula and Abraham Val Helsing takes place in England where the vampire was destroyed. (Dracula) The exceptional work done by Stoker have defined the of vampires that have been portrayed in many films and tv shows, always with some kind of association with Frankenstein, a good example of that fusion is the movie, Val Helsing. Both stories share some of the same
convections as drama, chaos, tragedy, fight against evil etc. However, the two stories are a good example of Gothic literature.
Furthermore, Edgar Allan Poe was an American poet who lived in the 19th century. He was one the most transcendental and influential writer of his times. Poe's notable verses range from the early masterpiece “To Helen” to the dark, mysterious “Ulalume.” From “The Raven,” which made him world-famous upon its publication in 1845, to “Annabel Lee,” the posthumously published eulogy for a maiden “in a kingdom by the sea.” Also, he wrote horror stories as “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”. Among of his works we can find some pieces of science fiction and the connection with science inventions. Poe is credited with the creation of modern detective story with “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” His perception of deductive reasoning, which he called "ratiocination" inspired innumerable authors, most famous among them Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes. (Who Was Edgar Allan Poe?) . Edgar Allan Poe is the best example of how gothic/romantic literature arrive in America. His works are full of drama which was common in this type of literature.