Literary Styles (Gothic Literature, Magical Realism, Modern Gothic)

Tone: How the author feels (Ex: The tone is scary)

Mood: How the reader feels (Ex: I feel scared)

Gothic Literature: Explores humanity’s dark side, puts readers in the minds of psychopaths and killers

Magical Realism: Causes readers to question the stability of our conventional realities

Modern Gothic: Makes unusual events feel as if they could happen to us

Gothic Literature

Overview

• Originated in England in the late 1700s

• Gothic was originally used as an architectural term (Medieval buildings, castles, cathedrals, that were seen as dark and gloomy by later generations)

• Usually set in spooky places such as dank, mysterious castles or crumbling estates

• Takes readers into the dark, nightmare world of the supernatural

• Element of fear or horror

Characteristics

• Bleak/remote settings

• Characters in psychological and/or physical torment

• Plots that involve weird or violent incidents and supernatural or otherworldly occurrences

• Strongly dramatic and intensely descriptive language

• A gloomy, melancholy, or eerie mood

• Symbolism that evokes ideas and feelings through repeated images

• Remote, exotic settings

• Strange, eccentric people, often of high social standing

• Unusual occurrences involving violence or supernatural elements

• Dramatic endings that fully resolve the dark, scary events

Elements of Gothic Literature

• Bad weather

• Gloomy mood

• Tortured characters

• Strange/violent plot

• Dramatic description (language)

• Bleak setting

• Recurring symbolism

• Imagination, freedom, and intense emotion as opposed to reason and restraint

• Supernatural events that defy logic, including ghosts and monsters

• Multiple narrators, plot lines, symbols, and themes

• Dark, gloomy mood and tone and ornate, complex, dramatic language

• Cheerless, tormented characters, outsider narrators

• Mystery, fear, and terror as ways to provoke deepest emotions

Magical Realism

Overview

• Originated in South America, 20th century

• Incorporates fantastic elements into ordinary settings, treat fantastic elements as normal within a realistic context.

• Show that our conventional view of reality are not as solid and reasonable as they seem

• Combines reality and fantasy

Characteristics    

• Characters who seem ordinary in seemingly ordinary situations

• Something seems “off”

• Fantastic/strange events intrude upon the situation

• Characters seem unimpressed or undisturbed by fantastic events.

• Recognizable characters who feel, act, and react in customary ways

• Realistic settings that include ordinary details of everyday life

• Fantastic events that coexist with realistic characters and actions

• An accepting/unimpressed narrative tone, or attitude, that presents fantastic events as logical parts of life

Elements of Magical Realism

• Ordinary settings

• Rumblings of the extraordinary beneath the surface

• Magical, strange, unexplained events

• Characters who are not alarmed by strange events

• Recognizable characters

• Realistic setting and details

• Fantastic Events

• Unimpressed tone

Modern Gothic

Overview

• “Update” on the traditional Gothic literature style

• No stormy nights/drafty old castles

• Still has the sense of fear, mystery, and tension prominent in traditional Gothic works

Characteristics

• Every-day modern setting

• Seemingly ordinary characters

• A sense of unease and a sense that something is wrong

• Puzzling, possibly supernatural events

• No answers to some of the story’s mysteries

• Stories marked by fear and dread, with elements to suit modern tastes and ideas

Elements of Modern Gothic

• Ordinary settings

• Ordinary people whom readers can relate to

• Normal life is interrupted in disturbing ways

• Ambiguous endings that leave questions unanswered

• Modern setting and characters

• Plain writing style

• Unsettled atmosphere that may include supernatural events

• Ambiguous resolution