The Gothic Movement: Exploring the Dark and Mysterious

🧛‍♂️Gothic writers kept their attention on death and the irrational, contrasting with the focus on natural beauty in the Romantic movement.

🌑Darkness in Gothic works can be both literal, with eerie settings, and symbolic, representing ideas of sin and crime.

🕊️Gothic works often blur the lines of perspective, leaving gaps in information and encouraging readers to piece the narrative together.

🏰Victorian morality was filled with contradictions, with strict codes of sexual morality for women but acceptance of the poor living in terrible conditions.

🔬Charles Darwin's ideas in 'The Descent of Man' influenced society and literature, introducing the concept of humans carrying animalistic traits.

What is the Gothic movement?

—The Gothic movement is a literary and artistic movement that focuses on death, darkness, and the irrational. It contrasts with the Romantic movement, which focuses on natural beauty.

What does darkness symbolize in Gothic works?

—In Gothic works, darkness can symbolize ideas of sin and crime, creating a mysterious and eerie atmosphere.

How do Gothic works blur lines of perspective?

—Gothic works often use narratives that provide limited information, such as letters and documents, leaving gaps for readers to fill in and interpret the story.

What were the contradictions of Victorian morality?

—Victorian morality had strict codes of sexual morality for women but accepted the poor living in terrible conditions. It was a time of both strict moral standards and contradictions.

What impact did Charles Darwin have on society and literature?

—Charles Darwin's ideas, particularly in 'The Descent of Man,' introduced the concept that humans carry animalistic traits. This influenced society and emerged in literature.

00:00The Gothic movement with the flipside of the Romantic movement, focusing on death and the irrational.

00:14Gothic writers kept their attention on death and the irrational, contrasting with the focus on natural beauty in the Romantic movement.

00:23Darkness in Gothic works can be both literal, with eerie settings, and symbolic, representing ideas of sin and crime.

00:37Gothic works often blur the lines of perspective, leaving gaps in information and encouraging readers to piece the narrative together.

00:51Victorian morality was filled with contradictions, with strict codes of sexual morality for women but acceptance of the poor living in terrible conditions.

01:34Charles Darwin's ideas in 'The Descent of Man' influenced society and literature, introducing the concept of humans carrying animalistic traits.

01:57Stevenson's masterpiece, 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,' alludes to perceptions of homosexuality in 1800s England.

02:26Edinburgh, Scotland, where Stevenson was raised, shaped the setting and themes of his masterpiece.