The Blending of Horror and Romance

The two most prominent elements within a Gothic novel are commonly those of horror and romanticism. The combination of these two elements in literature would seem at odds with each other yet when Gothic fiction was introduced they blended effortlessly. The blend of these two elements was also prominent in art as well as in literature as seen in John Martins piece (The Great Day of His Wrath) and Thomas Jones' (The Bard).

You can clearly see the beauty of Martin's piece in the detail put into the sky and mountains battle though at the same time there is horrific destruction taking place. In Jones' piece, the skyline and sea are calming and almost nurturing  due to their soft lighting and vibrant color yet the piece has a darker tone as the Bard walks towards his impending doom. These two pieces of art would also adhere to the ideals of sublimity, which "in the words of Edmund Burke, is pleasurable terror" (Patricia Krecklow, Sublime PowerPoint) . The inclusion of romantic ideals and sublimity included within the Gothic fiction and its subplots makes the genre feel like a branch of romanticism.  I believe the reason behind the unusual combination between the two at the time is due in part to the emotional honesty fear or horror brings from human nature. Gothic writers of the time period used this honesty along with the atmosphere they created to craft unbelievable stories of supernatural events that strike all too familiar feelings within their readers, almost to the point of being uncomfortable. These elements can be seen through many if not all of the texts we have read this semester. Within the next paragraphs I will introduce the stories I feel most adequately represent these elements and detail specific examples from each that correlate with both horror and romantic ideals as well as what it is that sets them apart from other texts in the genre. To display the evolution of the genre through history, the stories will be in the same order as they were read in class.

The first text I want to discuss is William Wordsworth's The Thorn. As I had stated in my initial post about the text, Wordsworth's poem is not one of clarity. Elements of horror within this text can all be interpreted by the mystery surrounding Martha Ray and her child. The poem begins in typical Wordsworth fashion by focusing on the beauty of nature and then surprisingly leads to its less than beautiful aspects. Wordsworth uses the repetition of lines such "oh misery! oh misery!" to create a haunting cry from Martha Rays character. The romantic ideals of natures beauty and the empowerment from the landscape and even that of the love between Martha Ray and her baby come to a halt as the mystery simultaneously unravels and denses. We discussed in detail both on the blog and in class why Wordsworth would incorporate such a haunting mystery in a work that would typically stay as strictly a romantic piece. I will note however, that following link does give some insight that Wordsworth's does have work that "deals with the imagination, the fancy, and the sublime by means of supernatural imagery or atmosphere."

William Wordsworth

Returning to the previous question, one of the most arresting answers we concluded was that the superstition wrapped between the author and the society he lives with is the backbone behind the supernatural horror this piece brings. That's what sets this text apart form other Gothic poems. It's because of the superstition we see come from the community that changes both the author and readers perspective on Martha Ray that makes this poem so different.

The next piece I would like to touch upon is Ann Radcliffe's Romance of the Forest. The novel uses the atmosphere created to evoke it's supernatural and dark themes while also using the subplot of a love between Adeline and Theodore. As mentioned in the blog, the world of Romance of the Forest is one of decay with a sense of eeriness and sublime strangeness. One of the most supernatural aspects of this novel is the way that it ends. While the book could arguably be more realistic than supernatural, the way the conclusion all falls into place leaves the reader at a crossroad. Everything ends up almost too perfect. This creates the idea of powerful, supernatural, forces coming into play. Another romantic, and also medieval element within this novel is the use of Adeline's character as the "damsel in distress". Women were often portrayed as such in Gothic novels however Radcliffe differentiates her novel from that of a typical Gothic by transforming Adeline from damsel in distress to heroine within the last chapter. To that end, Radcliffe succeeds in combining realistic and relatable characters with the dark, supernatural atmosphere that is often seen in Gothic novels while still staying unique.

The next work I want to discuss was my favorite from the entire semester, Matthew Arnold's The Buried Life. While it's not immediately distinct as a Gothic text, the underlying message in this poem can be very haunting. The question is simple, where does the meaning of life exist? Arnold takes the fear and anxiety from " the same heart" that "beats in every human breast" and crafts it into one of the most introspective pieces of poetry I've ever read. It's a question that reaches to every person at one point in time and its answer is one of if not the most frightful truths we could ever receive. I mentioned in my earlier post about this piece that it seems every person in our generation wants to be an individual now yet if anyone were a true individual, it would be the most frightening thing. This poem embodies the two elements I stated compose Gothic literature. The horrors and fright we face from an unknown, supernatural question bring forth an emotional honesty and beauty we couldn't see otherwise, unless we came face to face with these fears. Arnold's thoughts move through the stanzas and eventually answer his own question in a very romantic way. The conclusion I believe he reached, and described in my blog post, was that it is the people around us who love us that make us feel as if we are individuals. Arnold's analysis of the human psychology in The Buried Life is a romantic ideal shared by the likes of such writers as Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The final piece I wanted to discuss is Alfred Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott. As stated earlier during Radcliffe's paragraph, it was typical for a Gothic novel to have a female character play the damsel of distress, and this is apparent in Tennyson's work. Medieval influences are present but what makes this piece stand as Gothic literature is the curse and the repercussions it places on the Lady of Shalott. Her death is very horrific as "her blood was frozen slowly/and her eyes were darken'd wholly." As mentioned on the blog, the tone of the poem shifts from vocabulary that emphasizes romanticism to very stiff, metallic last stanzas. It signifies the shift between a romantic view and another darker supernatural view. A key point to note in the poem is that the Lady of Shalott decides to leave her tower only after she has seen Lancelot. Even though she has seen other men through the mirror in her tower, it is the one that she believes signifies love that makes her decide to abandon her curse and test fate. In class and on the blog we viewed different paintings of the Lady of Shalott. The following link describes one of these paintings in detail and the Gothic elements that are present in the painting as well as the poem.

The Lady of Shalott in Art

The altered direction Tennyson took in Lady of Shalott and her death as compared to the typical medieval romantic poem is what makes it stand apart from other poems in its genre.

As you can see, horror and romance are some of the most prominent elements within Gothic literature. The combination of the two also created types of art such as sublime and picturesque. Each of the stories we read this semester takes both these elements and more and adds its own unique take on Gothic fiction. Stories such as Horace Walpole's Castle Otranto and Ann Radcliffe's Romance of the Forest introduced not only the genre but also unique characteristics to Gothic literature that would carry on to such works as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Starting in 1764 through the Victorian era and still present in today's modern literature, Gothic literature and fiction uses these two elements to connect and evoke emotions from it's readers to this day. It's because of authors like Horace Walpole and Ann Radcliffe that we have influenced other great artists and their works such as Edgar Allan Poe, Anne Rice and Stephen King and can look forward to the next generation of great Gothic writers.