Wait... just what is American Gothic Literature?
Gothic literature is sort of like Dark Romanticism, in which there is a lot of darkness and evil in it. Such things like death, werewolves, ghosts and Satan are frequently seen in Gothic literature, especially American Gothic Literature. Gothic-like literature reached a climatic point during the time period of 1800-1950 for example. Also, themes like the dark side of human beings are constantly brought up by many writers, such as Edgar Allan Poe, which will be mentioned later.
Elements in American Gothic Literature include;
Elements in American Gothic Literature include;
- Setting was in places like castles, sometimes was during winter and sometimes was in dark, mysterious forests.
- The mood is rather mysterious and suspenseful, sometimes sad
- Often contained supernatural events or occurrences
- Often mentions things like ancient prophecies to add to the mood/story
- Contained elements such as omens, visions, and evil forces like Satan
- Sometimes contained feelings of abandonment from God/a loved one.
- Sometimes showed the dark side of humans, as opposed to their good side
What made this era so unique, you might ask?
I think what made my era unique is the fact that the vast majority of the population started getting into American Gothic Literature, in which it shows themes like death and the dark side of humans that most stories that were told and shared before didn't have. The fact that people became interested in these dark matters in the form of literature is quite unique and interesting, especially compared to the rest of history where most stories were ending on a happy note, or had a good mood to it. Additionally, not only did the readers enjoy this dark form of literature that looks at life from a different perspective, but the writers as well were immersed into their dark literature, and created works of art that influences and is looked at a lot in today's society, especially in school and classes like English classes... (Erhm... Mr. Brennan's class). Such a time period in which Gothic-like forms of literature were made and popularly read makes my era quite unique indeed. Won't you agree?
Famous Formats of American Gothic Literature
The format of American Gothic Literature can be seen mostly in;
- Poems: Like "The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe.
- Short Stories: Like "Everything That Rises Must Converge" by Flannery O'Connor.
- Novels: Like "The House of the Seven Gables" by Nathaniel Hawtorne.
Popular writers that you might want to know/read about
Edgar Allan Poe
Born on: January 19th, 1809
Died on:October 7th, 1849
Wrote: famous poems like “The Raven”
Nathaniel Hawtorne
Born on: July 4th, 1804
Died on: May 19th, 1864
Wrote: famous novels, like “The Scarlet Letter”
John Hawkes
Born on: August 17th, 1925
Died on: May 15th, 1998
Wrote: famous novels like “The Beetle Leg”
Flannery O’Connor
Born on: March 25th, 1925
Died on: August 3rd, 1964
Wrote: interesting Southern Gothic short stories like “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”
Born on: January 19th, 1809
Died on:October 7th, 1849
Wrote: famous poems like “The Raven”
Nathaniel Hawtorne
Born on: July 4th, 1804
Died on: May 19th, 1864
Wrote: famous novels, like “The Scarlet Letter”
John Hawkes
Born on: August 17th, 1925
Died on: May 15th, 1998
Wrote: famous novels like “The Beetle Leg”
Flannery O’Connor
Born on: March 25th, 1925
Died on: August 3rd, 1964
Wrote: interesting Southern Gothic short stories like “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”
Historical events around my era (particularly focused on the south of the USA)
Historical events around my era really depends on which time period I'm talking about, in this case being 1800-1950. Surely, loads of historical events happened, however I've chosen a few events listed below that I think are the pretty relevant to American Gothic Literature;
- Civil War: Some poetry helped in the Civil War, sparking other people's courage to continue or giving a purpose to those who have none. Such dark and death-like stories/poems gave people less reason to feel fearful and scared.
- Spanish-American War: Quite a bloody war, despite only about 500 deaths from the American side and it only lasted for about 100 days, but it is still quite a conflict. Such Gothic poems gave people a different viewpoint of killing their enemies during the war and helped create a quick and swift war, not lingering on for a few years or more.
- End of Slavery: Many poets contributed to this cause, giving people a reason to stand up for themselves and not be afraid. Such poems of despair, abandonment, and loneliness gave people energy and purpose to break free from slavery.
Some Pictures / Video / Visual Aids to help you guys out
An Good Introductory and Explanatory Video (How American Gothic Literature came about, etc) *Worth the time to watch*
I hope this page was helpful in briefing you about American Gothic Literature, although I regret that I couldn't go into much depth of the poems/novels/short stories mentioned. But don't worry, I'm sure your English teacher will cover American Gothic Literature eventually, as it is a widely studied form of literature. At first, you may not like the darkness and depth in some of these works, just as I did early into my highschool years, but surely, you'll find meaning in all of the darkness and come to like and learn from it, to see the world from a different point of view and broaden your perspective of the world.
Cheers ;)
Cheers ;)