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How Did Edgar Allan Poe Influence Gothic Literature

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Imani Vaughan Professor Richard Barefield English 251 5 October 2016 Influence of Elements Together with horror and literature there comes about the gothic work. The term ‘Gothic’ originated in literature in Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, of 1765. Gothic in its most popular influential years of the late eighth-teen and early ninth-teen centuries inveigled such authors like Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Together, these two gentlemen have characterized gothic literature as what we know today. Their work has appealed to the dark romantic manner. Although they’ve worked towards a similar concept, it was effectuated in a completely different style. Edgar Allan Poe mainly fixates on human psyche, where the working of the mind is displayed through a realization of horror in humans’ capabilities. On the other hand Nathaniel Hawthorne presented conscientiousness, a high principle of moralistic conviction and Puritan inspiration. Both authors accomplished this …show more content…

With the help of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne to help define and inveterate the gothic elements, they’ve became two of the most significant writers known to gothic literature. Their sense of dark romance and horrendous stories has categorized the different types of gothic elements used today. Poe used the more unbalanced thoughts of the human mind to elaborate his stories. He showed readers the subconscious, psyche part of the brain that is more unfavorable to compromise. As for Nathaniel Hawthorne, his style individualized his morals and religious beliefs from self-conscious aspect. However both had similar concepts to entice gothic elements, with the tone, characters, and setting of their stories. Gothic literature, the terrifying blend of horror and romance, would not have been as influential and still becoming had not the proper use of elements been

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In the 19th century, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe were known for their use of gothic elements in their types of writing. The plot of gothic literature novels typically involves people who become involved in complex and oftentimes evil paranormal schemes, usually against an innocent and helpless heroine. Poe used gothic dimensions to explore the human mind in extreme situations. Hawthorne examined the human heart under conditions of fear, vanity, mistrust, and betrayal. Even though Hawthorne and Poe used the gothic elements, they still used different types of darkness to portray their writing to the reader.

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Hawthorne and Poe they both have worked and used the symbolism in different ways. They both have identified their character through the creative use of symbolism. Hawthorne uses the deeper meaning of his symbol. The Hawthorne’s best story “The Minister's Black Veil”, and “The Birthmark” was considered to be one of his great works. Hawthorne is a writer who focuses on both the good and bad in life.

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Poe, however, writes books with gothic, dark elements to them, reflecting his difficult past life. Both Bradbury and Poe are prodigious authors who write books that capture their reader’s attention and

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Poe crafted stories by mirroring what different struggles a person could wage within them. Hawthorne would shape his stories similarly, but more having to do with human nature. He too could write about a man’s dark side, just like Poe. In his story “Wakefield,” his main character deserts his wife and watches her from a couple blocks over for two decades before revealing himself. The story ends ambiguously as he finally confronts his wife.

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Gothic Lit Essay The mysterious magical and majestic Gothic Literature leads you on a page turning journey you never would expect. The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern all use the Gothic Elements of revenge, violence and mystery. Gothic Literature can provide a heart thumping scare just by adding a Gothic Element like revenge. In The Devil and Tom Walker and The Night Circus both authors depend on the element of revenge.

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Unlike Poe’s Gothic nature came about with Henry David Thoreau, an American philosopher, Thoreau was more of a Poetical man of thought when came to his novels or speeches. He filled his listeners with wonder or mystique to open their eyes. Thoreau was an excellent naturalist and historian, a unique background for his thoughts. Thoreau

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Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe is an all-around well known American writer, editor, and literary critic. Poe was most known for his poetry, short stories, and tales of horror and mystery. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809 and started writing at the age of 18. In 1836 he married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm.

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In gothic literature, the elements used by the author depicts how the piece of work is going to unfold. Authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving depict the themes of psychological issues and entrapment through the short stories: “Black Cat”by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”by Edgar Allan Poe, and “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving. The gothic theme of entrapment is commonly used across various pieces of literature. Entrapment is the idea of being contained by something either physically, mentally, or emotionally.

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Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne both use a similar narrative where their main characters are often isolated and/or engaged in a search for something. But for Poe, I thought he dove deeper into the human psyche than Hawthorne did. He focused more so on the derangement, like in “The Tell-Tale Heart” in which the speaker ends up giving himself away through his own guilt and reveals the dead body of his neighbor whom he murdered to the police. The ending of it involves the narrator describing a “low, dull, quick sound” and shows the madness within. I think Poe sense of human personality is that it is rather complex.

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