ipl-logo

The Woman In Black Gothic Analysis

690 Words3 Pages

Captivating gothic elements indulge the reader in “The Woman in Black” by Susan Hill. Gothic elements are supernatural effects that create a feeling of dread and mystery. In the novella, Hill uses precise details to add a gothic atmosphere with the London Fog, Crythin Gifford, and the scene at the park. The first chilling detail that gives the novella a gothic element is the London fog. Hill emotionally attaches the feeling of dread as she illustrates the thick, dark fog. She makes the reader sense dread as the people of London are going about their duties. In reference to the fog, Arthur expresses, “…and already glowing dark, not because of the lateness of the hour-it was barely three o’ clock-but because of the fog…” (Hill 20). His comment …show more content…

At first the scene is portrayed as festive and cheerful. The bands are playing and everyone is excited. Arthur’s wife spots an attraction that offers a horse and buggy ride. The wife and baby go on the buggy ride, but Arthur is very relieved when the buggy returns. He states, “At the same moment, to my intense relief, the pony cart came trotting back down the avenue…” (Hill 163). As the cart is coming into sight, the woman makes her appearance. When the woman does, she looks directly at Arthur as if intended for him. The woman steps out in front of the pony and cart and the horse is frightened. As always when the woman appears, a child has to die. Arthur despairingly discloses, “Our baby son had been thrown clear, clear against another tree. He lay there crumpled on the grass below it, dead” (Hill 164). The author made sure that the woman carried through with the curse instead of breaking it. This is the true definition of a gothic element. The London fog, the town of Crythin Gifford, and the park scene all gives the novella a very gothic atmosphere. The novella, especially gives a feeling of dread and mystery with the atmosphere. “The Woman in Black” by Susan Hill is a haunting story that leaves the reader searching for more answers, maybe even more than

Show More
Related
352 Words | 2 Pages

The ominous poem “The Raven”, written by Edgar Allen Poe, creates suspense throughout by using a combination of different literary devices, such as hyperbole, repetition and pathos. Although the use of literary devices helps create the mood, the way Poe incorporates a variety of structural elements, which include multiple stanzas, longer sentences and the similarities of structure between the poem and a story, help create a darker mood. The poem is set during the mid nineteenth century, at what is referred to as the witching hour, also known as midnight. The setting alone creates a very dark, suspenseful mood. “The Raven” crafts the idea of suspense by using a range of different types of literary features.

Read More
832 Words | 4 Pages

How does Hill create a powerfully dramatic sense of fear and tension in this extract? In Susan Hill 's book "I 'm the King of the Castle", some of the main themes are tension and fear. Hill uses many literary techniques to create a heinous and dramatic atmosphere (following the theme of gothic literature), while still keeping a sense of dark excitement. Kingshaw 's fears and feelings are conveyed using a selection of linguistic techniques, letting the reader see deep into his thoughts.

Read More
729 Words | 3 Pages

The novel “The Haunting of Hill House,” written by Shirley Jackson, closely follows the traditional tropes of an American Gothic. The main character of the novel, Eleanor, begins her journey to self growth after accepting an offer to live in a suspected haunted house for the summer. Moreover, Eleanor meets three other people that have an important effect on her development as a person. These characters slowly begin to question their own sanity due to the house’s destructive nature. Jackson appeals to fans of the American gothic through her particular description of the house and how the characters interact with it in order to show the environments foil of an absolute reality.

Read More
701 Words | 3 Pages

Susan Hill’s Woman in Black is about Arthur Kipps, a lawyer in London, who has been given the task of filing the papers of the dead Mrs. Drablow. While on his journey and at Eel Marsh House he experiences some interesting and eerie happenings. In Chapter 10; “Whistle and I’ll Come to You” Hill uses a variety of literary techniques to create an atmosphere of fear and foreboding. Hill uses sensory imagery to create fear and foreboding.

Read More
910 Words | 4 Pages

As characters are exposed to different situations, their feelings and opinions change and develop. 'The Woman in Black', written by Susan Hill, is a gothic novel set in Victorian England. Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is sent to an isolated town in the country to recover papers that belonged to newly deceased Alice Drablow. What he thought would be a relaxing time away from the noisy London turns into a nightmare as he is haunted by the Woman in Black. Being alone becomes a fear instead of a luxury.

Read More
391 Words | 2 Pages

The term gothic novel refers to stories that combine romanticism and horror. Common elements include supernatural events, mysterious places, and strange happenings. The Veldt also touched on overdependence of technology. Some famous novels include Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Dracula.

Read More
1603 Words | 7 Pages

The Gothic Influence Although the word “Gothic” is often associated with supernatural creatures or haunted, abandoned places, the word actually originates from an elaborate style of architecture. The reason that the word “Gothic” has become associated with these ideas of horror and death is because the architecture was thought of the ideal place for mysterious, suspenseful, and dark stories to occur. These types of stories became known as the Gothic genre. The Gothic literary genre often includes elements of fear, death, and strong emotions, and is set in set in a dark or mysterious place.

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

In the first chapter the narrator states ‘My spirits have for many years now been excessively affected by the ways of the weather’ (2). The Woman in Black is a 1983 horror novella by Susan Hill, written in the style of a traditional Gothic novel. The plot is about a mysterious spectre that haunts a small English town, Crythin Gifford, heralding the death of children. In The Woman in Black weather is an important aspect which influences the narrator’s actions and the atmosphere of the story. In both negative and positive connotation, Arthur Kipps is mainly affected by the change of weather.

Read More
459 Words | 2 Pages

Gothic literature is a style of literature that takes place in the past, most of the time it has someone who dies and it has a creepy vibe/tone behind it . Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” is a good example of Gothic literature because it shows how a man goes to visit an old friend and see how his friend and his friends twin sister die. “The whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day. ”(13)

Read More
1029 Words | 5 Pages

Gothic Literature is a genre that was popular between 18th to 19th centuries in North Germany. It is always being associated with Dark Romanticism which the emphasize was more on nature, terror and death, horror and many more. It involves dark and gloomy setting and also unexplainable things that are beyond human senses and reason such as ghosts and monsters. The main characters, on the other hand, are always ineffectual which they do not give much effect on the story plot. This can be seen through Washington Irving’s “Rip van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” which can be considered as American gothic work in terms of its description of setting, the involvement of supernatural element in the story and also the characteristics of the main character.

Read More
1056 Words | 5 Pages

A classic element of gothic fiction typically involves a threatening atmosphere and it is very important that this is not just part of the background, but forms a crucial part

Read More
990 Words | 4 Pages

The main type of discourse in the text is description which relies on Tom’s senses. Tom uses many verbs of perception and link-verbs such as “Susan Lowenstein was already in her seat“, “I could hear”, “I had never seen”, “we listened”, “all colors seem”, “her skin was eggshell-lustered”. First of all the reader meets Susan’s description and gets immediately involved in the romantic atmosphere of the scene. This effect is achieved with the help of the repetition of the word “black”, with this colour making a contrast with “white shoulders” and other shadows of white (“eggshell”, “pale chinoiserie”). The contrast places emphasis on Susan’s outlook.

Read More
440 Words | 2 Pages

Gothic is set as the mood and tone of this story. The gothic elements are the haunted house, the dull landscape, and the mysterious illness. The mood and the tone have some difference in this story. The mood that a reader can see it as is mysterious. The tone is how the writer feels towards what he is writing, in the story we see the changes in the tone.

Read More
942 Words | 4 Pages

The theme in this narrative is supported by various gothic elements, such as the dim and derry setting and the supernatural aspect of this piece of literature. The gothic allusions’ a dark and gloomy setting and supernatural

Read More
1087 Words | 5 Pages

In the early 18th century a new genre of fiction prose, named "Gothic Novel" was introduced. The term ”Gothic” used to refer to the German tribe of the Goths. The Gothic novel spread over the 19th century and had the popular theme of haunted places such as castles, crypts, gloomy monasteries; supernatural elements having the role to intensify the atmosphere. The characteristic motifs of the gothic genre were the strange places, the supernatural, magic objects, monsters, demons, science used for bad purposes. And many of them appear also in "The Picture of Dorian Gray".

Read More

More about The Woman In Black Gothic Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document