Unit 1: The Literary Style of Edgar Allen Poe

WHAT COMES TO YOUR MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD

“GOTHIC”?> Do you think of the

subculture?> Like punks or

hippies, goths are countercultural or anti-mainstream

> Which is the goth in the picture to the

right?

MORE GOTHS

MORE GOTHS

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

Or did you think of Gothic architecture?

Gothic architecture is the architecture of the

Middle Ages, or Medieval period (from about the

400s to the 1500s)

It is most familiar to us as the architecture of

many of the great cathedrals, abbeys and

parish churches of Europe

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

GOTHIC CASTLE

It is also the style of many

castles, palaces, town

halls, universities,

and even homes.

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN ART

Gothic architecture is known to have characteristics

that appeal strongly to the emotions and imagination.

Therefore, it is commonly featured in

paintings and other works of

art.

MORE GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN ART

MORE GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN ART

THE ORIGINAL GOTHS

-Eastern Germanic tribe

-Played an important role in

the fall of the western Roman

Empire-Probably

originated in or near modern-day Sweden

Gothic architecture named “Gothic” after new “classical” style of architecture began to replace it (people during the Middle Ages did not call it Gothic)

During the Renaissance, people began to call Medieval architecture “Gothic” as an insult

They used the term “Gothic” to mean barbaric or unsophisticated, because that’s how they saw the Gothic people

SO WHY USE THE WORD “GOTHIC” FOR THE

ARCHITECTURE?

-By the late 1700s, however, people began to become nostalgic for the Middle Ages (they “missed” it, even though

they weren’t alive for it).

-They became fascinated with medieval Gothic ruins.

This fascination was often combined with an interest in the supernatural.

THE GOTHIC REVIVAL

-The gothic novel of the late eighteenth century began with the 1764 publication of The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole-Other famous early gothic novels were

Frankenstein and Dracula-These novels featured the Medieval or

Gothic architecture and supernatural events that people had become fascinated with

THE GOTHIC REVIVAL

The gothic novel established the common images of modern horror literature and film, such as graveyards, ruined castles or churches, ghosts, vampires, nightmares, cursed families, and being buried alive.

Henceforth, the term “Gothic” became associated with a mood of horror, morbidity, darkness and the supernatural.

THE GOTHIC NOVEL’S LEGACY

About writing his short stories and poems, Poe said, “I prefer commencing with the

consideration of an effect” (“Philosophy of Composition”).

This means that his goal in writing was to produce a certain effect in the reader,

rather than to get a certain meaning across.

POE’S USE OF GOTHIC ELEMENTS

Part of the effect he wanted to get across was in the mood of his work

The Mood of a work of literature is the emotional atmosphere that the writer wants the reader to feel

In other words, it is the general feeling or emotion throughout a selection of literature, or throughout a work as a whole

MOOD

Poe wrote in the Gothic genre in order to create the effect he wanted to make in the reader

He wrote in the Gothic genre in order to create certain moods

He wrote in the Gothic genre because it included images such as graveyards that help create a certain mood.

GOTHIC ELEMENTS TO CREATE MOOD

While reading Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” on page

25, take notes on the elements that make it a Gothic story and on the images and words

that help create the mood of the story.

ASSIGNMENT