Transcript Gothic Unit - Rock Hill High School

Gothic Unit
Elements, Vocabulary,
& Author Information
Elements of Gothic Literature
 Setting: castle or large
house/mansion
 Atmosphere: mysterious, gloomy
and suspenseful
 Ancient prophecy
 Omens, portents (unpleasant
events), and visions
 Supernatural or unexplainable
events
 Characters: Distressful,
threatened women
Romance Elements of Gothic Lit
 Powerful love
 Unreturned love
 Tension between true love
and father’s control
 Parted lovers
 Rival lovers or multiple
suitors
Gothic Colors

Red: blood, passion, emotion,
danger, or daring; fire

Black: death, ignorance, or evil

White: purity, innocence or
enlightment

Purple: royalty or
bruising/pain
Gothic Seasons

Spring: birth, new beginning

Summer: maturity, knowledge

Autumn: decline, nearing death,
growing old

Winter: death, sleep, hibernation, or
stagnation
Gothic Weather

Fog/Mist: isolation and unclear thinking

Storms: violent emotions

Lightning: spark of life

Morning: uncorrupted times

Snow: hidden features

Thunder: anger

Rain: sadness/despair
Edgar Allen Poe
 1809-1849, Boston, Massachusetts
 Addicted to gambling & alcohol
 Married his cousin, Virginia Clemm (13)
 Wrote dark, twisted tales
 Death is unknown – possibly alcohol,
drug, or illness-related
 Buried in Old Westminster Burying
Ground of Baltimore in an unmarked
grave (later moved to the Poe Memorial
Grave)
 The “Poe Toaster” visits Poe’s grave on
birthdays and leaves a ½ filled bottle of
cognac and 3 roses
Doppelgänger
A ghostly counterpart of a
living person (a.k.a. a double or
alter-ego).
Masochist
A person that enjoys having pain
inflicted on them.
Necromancy
The black art of communicating
with the dead.
Revenant
The return of the dead to
terrorize or to settle some
score with the living.
Sadist
A person that gains gratification
by inflicting physical or mental
pain on others.
Somnambulism
Sleepwalking.
Activity
Respond to the following in a
creative way:
 who is your famous/celebrity doppleganger?
 who is a well-known masochist from a movie, book, or tv
show?
 Give an example of Necromancy from a tv show or movie.
 Provide an example of a revenant from a film, show or
book.
 who is a well-known sadist from a movie, book, or tv show?
 give an example of somnambulism from tv/movies/books.