Sunday, December 2, 2007

Gothic (architecture and literature)

Gothic Architecture: a type of architecture in Europe that was popular and widespread in the medieval period.

Gothic Literature: a type of literature written during the 1700s that had elements of both horror and comedy worked in it to create a romantic story and setting.


Both Gothic architecture and Gothic literature are associated with Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey. She does not write in the Gothic style however and in her novel mocks the idea of Gothic literature and shows how it creates an unreal view of life. She uses the architecture as a device in her book to show the flaw of Gothic literature and her main character Catherine who believes the books she reads and lets them convince her of a romantic world that does not exist.


These relate to 10B as a whole because they deal with the idea of realism verse romanticism. Jane Austen uses realism to reflect human nature and the way that people really are. Her novel demonstrates this while the Gothic elements she incorporates show the lack of this realism in this style.



Jill Sager

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