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Gothic

Literature

“Gothic” refers to medieval buildings where the stories take place. It features hidden passages, trap doors, dungeons, secret rooms,

towers, castles, graves, tunnels, great country manors. Screams, magic, bloody hands, skeletons, deep dark secrets, reflection in mirrors, popping eye balls, shadows were used to create deliberate spookiness.

Literature that has genres of horror and romance. Weather- Dark, dull, gloomy, thunder, pouring rain, cloudy, windy. Combines Realism and Supernatural. Plot is psychological. Deals more with power of desires and passions often denied by religion and societal norms. High on Drama - murders, kidnappings, people going mad and tragic illnesses.

Episodes of suspense, murders, mysterious deaths hence creates atmosphere of mystery, horror and dread.

Characters- Passionate, strong-willed, envious, ambitious, vengeful, defying others or even their own common sense in pursuit of their goals. Characters have desires for forbidden pleasures. The protagonists are isolated or alone. Isolation could be physical, emotional, self-imposed or a result of circumstances beyond control.

Began in the Enlightenment Period - 18th century to escape religious constrictions. 19th century – Attention shifts from the physical to the psyche. Scholars aimed to lift Victorian hypocrisy.

What is Gothic Literature?

“My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being. So don't talk of our separation again: it is impracticable.”

Write a dialogue that could be spoken by one of the characters of your Gothic story.

Dialogue must be intense.A dialogue may carry only one of the

following emotions such as love / grief / anger /pain / revenge / mystery / suspense

Time: 5 minutes

Exercise 1

Write a short story of 250-300 words that exemplifies the uncanny character who must be somewhere human deep inside.

Gothic elements- Atmosphere, locale, forbidden pleasure or obsession.

Emotions and Dialogues must be intense.It must evoke images, smells, tastes, textures

and sounds thereby making the reader squirm.You may also create a new creature never

created beforeNarrative Technique: Freedom of choice Time: 30 minutes

Exercise 2

Famous Gothic Literary Works

•The Castle of Otranto- Horace Walpole•Dracula- Bram Stoker•Frankenstein-Mary Shelley•Wuthering Heights-Emily Brontë•Jane Eyre-Charlotte Brontë•Interview with a Vampire- Anne Rice•The Boys in the Trees- Mary Swan•The Turn of the Screw- Henry James•The Mysteries of Udolpho- Emily Montoni•Strange case of Dr.Jekyll and Hyde-RL Stevenson

And some more! :D

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Contemporary writers who use Gothic elements-Stephen King , JK Rowling

In the entertainment world-Michael Jackson, Alfred Hitchcock, Ram Gopal Verma

Thank You!