Literary Analysis

ELEMENTS OF GOTHIC LITERATURE

ELEMENTS OF GOTHIC LITERATURE SETTING & ATMOSPHERE

• Old, rundown structures: especially

castles or great country manors.

• Hidden passages

• Trap doors

• Dungeons or secret rooms

• Decline from its former greatness.

•Bleak foreboding environments

• Dark forests

• Imposing mountains

• Stormy weather

• Areas far away from civilization.

•Atmosphere

• Mystery

• Horror

• Dread

ELEMENTS OF GOTHIC LITERATURE PROTAGONIST

• The protagonists of Gothic literature are isolated or alone.

• Physical (trapped in a house far from civilization)

• Emotional (cut off from the people around her)

• Self-imposed or a result of circumstances beyond her control.

• Plot involves hidden secrets which threaten the protagonist.

ELEMENTS OF GOTHIC LITERATURE EMOTIONS

• Emotions run high in Gothic literature.

• Characters are often passionate and strong-willed, defying others or even their own

common sense in pursuit of their goals.

• Women are often curious and have a tendency to swoon, while men storm and rage in

reflection of unseen inner torments.

• The events in Gothic literature emphasize high emotion and often reflect a heightened

sense of drama.

• Examples include murders, kidnappings, people going mad and tragic illnesses

ELEMENTS OF GOTHIC LITERATURE DAMSELS IN DISTRESS

• The "damsel in distress" motif appears quite often in Gothic literature, with women

threatened by tyrannical men or just the circumstances in which they find themselves.

• They often appear frightened and may suffer from some kind of ailment.

ELEMENTS OF GOTHIC LITERATURE FOREBODING

• Ominous implications precede dark events in Gothic literature.

• Unlucky omens appear, ancient curses linger in the air, and dark forces beyond the

protagonist’s control thwart his ambitions.

ELEMENTS OF GOTHIC LITERATURE DECAY

• The overall impression of a Gothic world is one of decay: a formerly great family,

community, country or individual who has peaked and now begins a slow process of

decline.

• This appears both in the landscape (crumbling buildings) and in the characters

themselves.

ELEMENTS OF GOTHIC LITERATURE THE SUPERNATURAL

• The supernatural often appears in Gothic literature, particularly ghosts and unexplained

manifestations.

• In some Gothic novels, these elements ultimately have a rational explanation, but the

implication always suggest something not of this world.