EDGAR ALLAN POE

American Gothic Literature

OFFSHOOT OF ROMANTICISM

Edgar Allan Poe is considered a “Dark Romantic”

He follows some aspects of Romanticism, only with a darker twist

• Supernatural• Emotion and Feeling

POE WAS A PROLIFIC WRITER

WHAT MAKES POE UNIQUE?

While Poe’s stories are “creepy” that is not his defining characteristic…..many stories are “creepy”

Poe is emblematic of Gothic Literature in U.S.• Combines horror and Romanticism

Also developing in Europe• Frankenstein- Mary Shelley• Dracula- Bram Stoker

TYPICAL GOTHIC EL EMEN TS (PL ACES)

Ruined buildings• Castles• Haunted houses

Dungeons, crypts, catacombs

Secret passageways, winding staircases, mazes

Darkness, shadows, flickering light

TYPICAL GOTHIC ELEMENTS (PEOPLE AND

PLOT)

Ancestral curses and omens

Madness

Live Burial

Death

Torture and Murder

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH