"Gothic" fiction Flashcards
definition gothic fiction
First to use the term Giorgio Vasari defined gothic in relation to art as monsterous and barbarous because it didn’t comform to classical ideals of art. Gothic tied to cheap sensationalism and sometimes puzzling or embarrassing reminders of what ancestors found terrifying
important context or history gothic fiction
Comes from Latin root “gothi” or Greek “gothoi” both used to refer to a group of Germanic people, later used Late Latin “gothicus” and French “Gothique” to denote non-hellanistic architecture
related keywords or concepts gothic fiction
related to goth subculture
2-3 examples of how gothic fiction applies to readings
“The Fall of the House of Usher” has a gothic setting, unsettling old manor, dark and stormy, unexplained and puzzling dark events
The Turn of the Screw uses gothic tropes but also breaks them, giving the governess more agency
Benito Cereno has gothic sense of eeriness that follows the narrative, suspicion, paranoia, but too self-conscious to reveal inkling
