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Romantic and Gothic Literature

Romantic and Gothic Literature. Thao N guyen Ashley N guyen. Romantic Literature. Romantic Literature. German group in 1790s were the first self-declared. Interest in ballads and medieval romances and inspiring philosophy of Kant and Fichte. Creative power of the mind

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Romantic and Gothic Literature

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  1. Romantic and GothicLiterature Thao Nguyen Ashley Nguyen

  2. Romantic Literature

  3. Romantic Literature • German group in 1790s were the first self-declared. • Interest in ballads and medieval romances and inspiring philosophy of Kant and Fichte. • Creative power of the mind • Allowed nature to be seen as a responsive mirror of the soul

  4. Features • Explore the honest emotions of personal experience • View of human nature valued individual strong feeling over combined and formal behaviour • Central to Romantic views of art was the creative imagination, nature growth and free development

  5. Frankenstein • Walton, Frankenstein and creature are all characterised by Romantic egotism in desiring to create the world according to their own dreams • They remake the facts of their lives into stories which highlights the power of the individuals desire in their dreams and ambitions of control over their world • Frankenstein escapes from home to the Alphine valley of Chamounix to seek ‘the magnificent, the eternity of such scenes, to forget myself’ (p.94) – appreciation of the power of his surroundings

  6. Frankenstein • The protagonist is so completely engrossed in his own ego, so painfully self-conscious, that he must create a being to reassure himself of his own existence. – Alienates him from life and family. • To accomplish the impossible by overstepping human boundaries has significant consequences – Nature seeks revenge on Victor.

  7. Gothic Literature

  8. Gothic Literature • Gothic Literature is believed to have originated from Romantic Literature. • By the 18th Century Gothic literature came to its own established literacy form. • Gothic literature is distinctive for its fascination in the horrible, the repellent, the grotesque and the supernatural. • Gothic novels tend to take place at night, in claustrophobic, sunless environments. • The oral telling or horror stories have been a prime art form that initiated Gothic Literature.

  9. Horace Walpole • The first major Gothic novel was The Castle of Otranto. • The novel was published in 1764 • The novel was inspired by a nightmare

  10. Gothic Literature Motifs and Characteristics • Haunted Castles • Climbing or falling from cliffs • Secret passages • Physical decay • Skulls and Skeletons • Ruined castles • Cemeteries and other images relating to death • Ghosts • Revenge • Ancestral curses • The supernatural • Vampires • Blood and gore • Torture and torment • Doppelganger • Demonic possession • Shape shifting • Black or dark magic • Madness • Incest • Solitary confinement • Damsel in distress • Dreams • Mystery • Violence

  11. Gothic Architecture • Gothic architecture uses pointed arches and vaults, flying buttresses, narrow spires, stained glass windows • Theupward movement was meant to suggest heavenward aspiration.

  12. Frankenstein • The novel presents a lonely and frightening setting, emphasizing the solitude and isolation of the Walton, Victor and the creature. • The setting throughout the novel is based in dark, wretched and solitary places such as; Victor’s apartment and the hovel the creature stays at. • The creature turns vengeful and evil. • Victor has a gruesome nightmare of the creature and his Elizabeth turning into a corpse which looked like his dead mother.

  13. Frankenstein Gothic Themes • Isolation and solitude of Frankenstein, Walton and the creature, life after death, Victor’s chaotic ambition and the consequences of playing god (horrors of a dark humanity)

  14. Frankenstein • Nature is used regularly to create atmosphere. • An example of this is the bleak, glacial fields of the Alps and the mists of the Arctic serve to indicate the isolation of the Victor and his creature.

  15. Romantic and Gothic Literature Thank you for listening :) Hope you enjoyed it!

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