Welcome to the first blog post of A2 English.
Our A2 unit will be done on Gothic Literature; To increase our understanding of the genre of Gothic and it's literature we began the lesson by writing down words or phrases that we thought described the gothic genre. All the phrases had a sense of negativity and darkness to them showing that when people thought of the gothic genre they thought of "Darkness", "gloomy settings" and "feelings of a depressing nature"
After we had a vague idea of the genre Sir showed us a picture of what appeared to be small man sitting on a woman dressed in white that seemed to be dead. There was also a black horse head in the picture; these combined elements gave the picture a very bizarre feel.We were asked to note down what we first noticed about the picture, the feeling we felt looking at it and any questions we had about the picture.
After this out discussion led us into identifying horror and terror as themes within the Gothicgenre; we went on to deferientiate the diffrence between the two. We decided that:
Horror - This is the physical fear we feel, possibly when we are threatened or attacked. This is said to be more masculine.
Terror - This is the psychological fear that we feel; this could be from a stimulant that only we find scary or prehaps the inner thoughts that we may have such as in our dreams. This is said to be more feminine
The mention of terror and psychological fear lead us to the idea of the woman dreaming and as such could reinforce the way in which women or the societies during the Victorian Era were oppressed and lived out their strange desires and fetishes through novels that were written in the Gothic genre.
We were given a sheet which contained quotes from critics and other sources and were asked to pick one or two that first related to the picture itself and then that related to the genre as a whole.
Finally, we were give an extract from what is considered the first Gothic writing the Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. We read the extract and discussed the points within it that made it part of the Gothic genre. We finished the lesson by carrying on the extract and writing a couple of paragraphs in a Gothic style and another couple in a style that would not be found in the Gothic genre.
Homework:
- Comment on this blog post.
- Comment on Mr Sadgrove's blog post.
Roman A.
The picture named "The nightmare" drawn by Henry Fuseli
ReplyDeletewhich portrays a "lifeless" woman in white on which an incubus is mounted upon and staring at the view. Whilst there is an watchful horse with expressionless eyes.
Is in fact inspired by folk-tales. and is based on the belief of women being visited by a horse = having sex with the devil.
Thus can be considered as Gothic due to the obscene nature of it/ nothing can really be clear about what it really means.
The picture could be depicted as quite sexual. The class pointed out that the lower part of her dress seemed tainted with dark colours. "The Nightmare" could be the woman involved in dark sexual behaviour by or being watched by the horse (it`s a bit messed up).
ReplyDeleteTamsin
Gothics could create uncertainty especially with the painting of "The Nightmare", By looking at the picture we dont what has happened to the women,why is the small incubus on her and why there is a horse in the background. There could be many stories behind the painting.
ReplyDeleteRosie
As I wasn't present during this lesson, i get the feel of real contrasts within that picture alone. Real male verses females attitudes are conveyed, aswell as the contrast of dark and bright colours. The Gothic genre seems to present inner emotions which can only be expressed during immense situations.
ReplyDeleteChris W
personnally i would argue that the picture depicted women as sexually promiscuous, it seems that all evil thoughts are reserved for the female in the image, the creatures watching her represent her evil inner thoughts which she subcontiously hides..
ReplyDeleteyahaya
The gothic genre seems to rely heavily on description, as seen in the small extract we read.
ReplyDeleteEsmeralda ;)
I think that the Gothic genre is really interesting because everything is open to so many different interpretations. Mainly I believe that most of the things that are presented are metaphorical and deal with inner, subconscious thoughts.
ReplyDeleteWriting the continuation of the original gothic passage was also cool because it gave me a real feel for what to expect from the text we are going to study.
The task of writing the next paragraph from the small extract we read of the "Castle of Otranto" was extremely difficult for me. I think this next unit is going to be very challenging but also at the same time more enjoyable than the last two..
ReplyDelete'SONNy.
I think the genre is supposed to represent surrealism, yet challenging reader to actually imagine the chances of strange events occurring. Therefore uses "excess" to make it clear is fiction yet has bits that make it realistic. Ultimately presenting reality v appearance.
ReplyDeleteAisha