American Gothic

American Gothic - presentation script

Definition of American Gothic

* literary subgenre, also known as dark romanticism
* reaction to transcendental philosophical movement, which was popular in 19th century America
* transcendentalism originated in New England and gained its popularity up to late 1840s
* popular writers were: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller
* however, some other writers, like Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Emily Dickinson found transcendental beliefs too optimistic and egoistic and modified them in their prose or poetry
* which are now labeled as American Gothic or Dark Romanticism works

Typical elements

* setting: large, drafty old houses present in the families for years ? instead of castles which were not present in the American landscape
atmosphere of mystery and suspense ? the plot aims at discovering the secrets lying within supernatural environment
* ghostly legend, unexplainable events or horrifying death which took place in the family estate are common themes
* significance of omens, foreshadowing, dreams
* tales involving highly emotional states, such as terror, anger, anxiety, feeling of some impending doom, obsessive love
* often supernatural events: ghosts, unexplained sounds, doors that open themselves
* young ladies who are frightened and confused, which are kind of destined to a slow and unavoidable * illness which often lead to their death
* using words to create the atmosphere of doom, gloom, such as: dark, foreboding, ghostly, forbidding etc.
* romantic elements: passion and obsessive nature of man and woman in love, or excessive grief after death of beloved

To sum up, the world depicted in American Gothic literature is a dark, gloomy place, often (but not always) full of supernatural powers. The people are tormented with strong emotions, obsessive love and deep grief. The taboos are broken Although the supernatural elements seem to be present everywhere, they are not essential ? since a whaling ship (Moby Dick) can be as suitable setting as a castle or desolate house. As Poe puts it ?The terror is not of Germany, but of the soul?.

Why so?

* transcendentalists were convinced that perfection is inborn quality of mankind
* Dark Romantics thought completely different:
* individual is prone to sin, self-destruction
* not so enriched with divinity and wisdom
* they adopted images of human-like evil in the form of Satan, ghosts, vampires and so on
* great emphasis on mystery, tragic dimension of life
* belief in the reality of evil

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

* American gothic writer most closely connected to transcendentalism
* associated with community in New England, even lived at transcendentalist commune in Brooke Farm
* he joined it in 1841 because he wanted to marry Sophia Peabody, who he was engaged with
* and it helped him to save money for that
* he did it in 1842
* since he started to be troubled with the movement, he left the commune
* his movement became later involved in Salem Witch trials
* his literature became anti-transcendental in nature
* his works:
* The Blithedale Romance ? inspired by his Brooke Farm adventure
* Blithedale is an arcadia-like communal farm founded around some anti-capitalist ideas
* later it is destroyed by egoistic behavior of some of its members
* The Minister's Black Veil ? short story published in 1836's The Token and Atlantic Souvenir
* The minister from the title is Reverend Hooper
* suddenly he starts to wear a black veil covering his eyes and nose
* Puritan community around him lose trust to him, even they are afraid of him
* his veil symbolises sin
* he dies in it, no one is allowed to remove it

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

* popular American poet, short story writer, editor, literary critic
* most famous for his tales of mystery and macabre
* also he contributed to the genres such as detective fiction and crime fiction, and even science fiction to some excent
* his works include numerous tales, poetry and essays
* was interested in cryptography
* What Polish politician and publicist Stefan Kisielewski says about him:
?My parents went to the cinema * in the evening, leaving me home alone. I went to bed with Poe's tales. Do you imagine what happened? ?The Pit and the Pendulum? made my heart cramp, which was similar to the feeling you experience when riding a rollercoaster. ?William Wilson? provoked me to think I'll go crazy. ?The Black cat? frightened me so much that I started to shake and my teeth were chattering, whereas ?The Cask of Amontillado? and ?The Tell-tale heart? caused that I covered my head with the quilt and lied so for about ten minutes, trying to forget about what I read a moment ago. Finally the curiosity won and I started reading again. This time I came across the tale which made me throw the book away and be afraid of looking at the dark door of the room nearby, dying of terror when thinking about sticking my leg or hand out of the quilt. And I lied like a mummy for about two hours staring at the clock.
* That's how Poe's tales were received by one of the bravest Polish publicists.
today his works often appear throughout modern culture, some homes and museums are named after him

Herman Melville (1819-1891)

* best known for his travel books
* wrote about man's blind ambition, cruelty and disregard of God
* madness, mystery and triumph of evil over good were his common themes
* his significant works were:
* Moby Dick
* novel about adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael
* when published, it was considered a complete failure, but in 20th century it was revived
* Bartleby the Scrivener -short story, appeared anonymously in Putnam's Magazine
* the full title is ?Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street?

American Gothic today

* the theme often appears in popular culture
* painting by Grant Wood ? pitchfork-holding farmer with his daughter
* parodied by the photo by Gordon Parks ? a man holding a mop and a broom in his hands at the background * of the American flag
* title of horror film from 1988
* the title of David Ackles' album from 1972
* and some other minor pieces of music and art