“The gothic genre in the nineteenth-century is distinguished by its supernatural

“The gothic genre in the nineteenth-century is distinguished by its supernaturalism, its fascination with social transgression, and its departure, in formal terms, from the emerging norm of novelistic realism.” Discuss in relation to either Frankenstein or Dracula. Your answer should make detailed reference to the novel (i.e. you must give thematic and narrative examples and provide their critical analysis) and use at least three (3) relevant secondary sources Suggestion: In thinking through and preparing your answer you may wish to consider two or three of the following points, although this is not strictly required: The conventions of the gothic genre Plot and character (in which stock features such as the virtuous, imperiled young heroine and stock events, like her imprisonment by and flight and from a demonic, yet compelling villain) Place and setting (the gloomy castle, labyrinthine underground spaces, Britain and Europe) Taboo topics (sexual violence, insanity etc) Style (hyperbolic language, elaborate attempts to create a brooding, suspenseful atmosphere) Narrative strategies (confusion of story through narrative frames and narrative disjunction; the use of densely packed, sensationalist, rather than ‘realistic’ plotting) Interpenetration or blurring of opposed conditions including those pertaining to gender, race, sexuality, class and species differences (e.g. life/death, male/female, natural/supernatural, ancient/modern, realistic/artificial, animal/human, civilised/primitive, conscious/unconscious, metaphysical/physical, coloniser/colonised, Christianity/paganism, abnormal/normal psychology) Affective relations to readership (whom it attempts to render anxious, fearful, or paranoid) Notes: Please answer on either Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Present a cogent, well-argued, and relevant answer to the question. Demonstrate ability to identify narrative methods (e.g., form, plot, style, characterisation, setting, language, imagery, motifs, figurative language, etc.) and central thematic preoccupations of the chosen text in relation to the question. Use specific textual analysis of the key literary arguments, and critical social and cultural discourses relevant to the study of Gothic fiction. The word count includes the main text, including all in-text references and quotations (short and long/block), but not the cover page and the list of works cited. The word count is taken from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. Place the relevant list of Works Cited on a separate page at the end of your essay. The essay should make detailed reference to the novel (i.e. you must give thematic and narrative examples and provide their critical analysis ) and must use at least three (3) relevant secondary sources

The post “The gothic genre in the nineteenth-century is distinguished by its supernatural appeared first on homework handlers.