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The Gothic Genre

The Gothic Genre. The Gothic. Thematic Elements Characters Settings. Gothic Context. The gothic was first used as a Medieval architectural term. It described a style of building that included gargoyles, scenes of Hell, and souls in torment. THEMATIC ELEMENTS.

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The Gothic Genre

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  1. The Gothic Genre

  2. The Gothic • Thematic Elements • Characters • Settings

  3. Gothic Context • The gothic was first used as a Medieval architectural term. • It described a style of building that included gargoyles, scenes of Hell, and souls in torment.

  4. THEMATIC ELEMENTS • The THEME of a story is the MAIN IDEA • We will be looking at how Gothic elements are portrayed in the themes of various short stories.

  5. Theme: Ancestral Curse • The current generation suffers from the evil deeds of ancestors. • In Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” to young children are cursed because of the evils that their family committed in the past. The two young children die – and turn into creatures of the night (Vampires)

  6. Theme: Body Snatching • Grave-Robbing • Stealing Corpses from graves, tombs, or morgues. • Illegal trade in cadavers. • Violation of graves and religious spaces.

  7. Dreaming / Nightmares • Strong emotional dreams that invoke powerful emotions: Ecstasy, Terror, and Joy • These dreams reveal urges, impulses, desires, and even truths about oneself that he/she try to hide. • Reveal the future / premonitions.

  8. Theme: Entrapment / Imprisonment • Being confined or trapped, shackled to the floor, stuck in a prison, or hidden away in a dungeon. • Has a psychological effect – makes the character (and reader) feel that there is no way out. • Think Saw series.

  9. Theme: The Grotesque • Mutations, monsters, and creatures with deformities • Hunchback of Notre Dame • The authors will describe, with great detail, the horrific tragedies that led characters to become so grotesque. • The Phantom of the Opera

  10. Theme: Mystery • An event or situation that appears to overwhelm understanding. • Edgar Allan Poe wrote the first mystery novel – The Purloined Letter • Sherlock Holmes is another famous character from this.

  11. Theme: Revenge • The act of repaying someone for a harm that was caused. • Revenge can be enacted upon a loved one, a family member, a friend, an object, or an area. • Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado”

  12. Theme: Supernatural • Events or phenomena that defy the rules of natural law • More often, uncanny events that could not be explained by the laws of every day reality • Creatures or beings that rise from the dead • Mysterious illnesses that take over the mind.

  13. Theme: Transformation / Metamorphosis • A striking change in appearance; a change in the form of function of an organism by natural or unnatural process. • Alive to Dead // Dead to alive • Turning into a monster • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

  14. Characters: Devil • A spirit of evil • Ranges from: • Tragic villain-hero • Punisher of sinners • Tempter and deceiver • Pure evil

  15. Characters: Doppelgangere • Ghostly counterpart of another person • A body double, alter-ego, identical other person • Looks exactly the same, but is EVIL

  16. Characters: Ghosts, Werewolves, Vampires • Assorted supernatural beings, bogies, and baddies. • These are often the major antagonist. • Many movies have been made… • Can you name some?

  17. Settings: Cemetary • A place for burial of the dead. • Caves, temples, catacombs, churchyards, crypts. • Crosses cultures and ages.

  18. Setting: Haunted House, Castle, or Estate • A dwelling inhabited or regularly visited by a ghost or supposedly supernatural being. • This houses are often haunted by spirits or monsters.

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