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Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 12: The Age of Johnson-The Decline of Neoclassicism (Gothic Novel)

Unit 12: The Age of Johnson-The Decline of Notes

Neoclassicism (Gothic Novel)

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
12.1 Early Gothic Romances - Castle of Otranto
12.2 History of the Goths
12.3 Elements of Gothic Novel
12.4 Criticism of Gothic Novel
12.5 Parodic Efforts
12.6 Devotional Verse
12.7 Summary
12.8 Keywords
12.9 Review Questions
12.10 Further Readings

Objectives
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
Define history of the goths.
Explain elements of gothic novel.
Define criticism of gothic novel.
Describe parodic efforts and devotional verse.

Introduction
“Gothic” has come to mean quite a number of things by this day and age. It could mean a particular
style of art, be it in the form of novels, paintings, or architecture; it could mean “medieval” or
“uncouth.” It could even refer to a certain type of music and its fans. What it originally meant, of
course, is “of, relating to or resembling the Goths, their civilization, or their language” (“gothic”).
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that
combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism’s origin is attributed to English author
Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled “A Gothic Story”. The effect
of Gothic fiction feeds on a pleasing sort of terror, an extension of Romantic literary pleasures that
were relatively new at the time of Walpole’s novel. Melodrama and parody (including self-
parody) were other long-standing features of the Gothic initiated by Walpole.

12.1 Early Gothic Romances - Castle of Otranto

Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764) is often regarded as the first true Gothic romance.
Walpole was obsessed with medieval Gothic architecture, and built his own house, Strawberry
Hill, in that form, sparking a fashion for Gothic revival.
His declared aim was to combine elements of the medieval romance, which he deemed too
fanciful, and the modern novel, which he considered to be too confined to strict realism. The basic
plot created many other Gothic staples, including a threatening mystery and an ancestral curse, as
well as countless trappings such as hidden passages and oft-fainting heroines. The first edition was
published disguised as an actual medieval romance from Italy discovered and republished by a
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