Fri, 23rd Oct 2009 | Hi_ImJenny | 347 Views, 1 Nod.

Gothic literature? It'll remain the same... (2021)

For A2 Literature, I'm studying Gothic Literature and the conventions that authors encompass to build tension and suspense amongst their readers. Writers such as Emily Bronte use the 'sublime' in Wuthering Heights; her description of the Yorkshire moors and the weather do go on for paragraphs and paragraphs but it's the clever way in which she writes that can build the much desired suspense. That's something Gothic literature is all about; picking up on the little details, the finer details can have a much bigger effect than sub-human characters such as vampires and ghosts.

A fan of Wuthering Heights; Dracula, Frankenstein and Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber, I feel that whatever happens in the world of literature, if and when the Gothic has a revival - such concepts and conventions will remain.

'Action' and 'Adventure' books have changed but that's a sign of the times. Going from the 'Famous Five' to the 'Alex Rider' series does reflect how society has changed and highlight the stark difference in which children 'play' and socialise. Yet, since starting the A2 course I've realised that plots needn't be so far fetched and out of this world so to speak, all you need is a simple setting and characters that are true to life with flaws yet qualities that make them redeemable and likeable.

I'm not for a moment saying I could be the next Bronte far from it, but if an author was to sit down in front of their laptop like I am now (without Lemsip of course) and thought 'I'm going to revolutionise literature' they needn't to be honest. Looking back at the classics would be the best place to start and then taking those elements that really stand out and putting their own identity to it.

Gothic literature can be incorporated into a book and the readers not really know about it, but that's the 'beauty' of it. But I believe that as romance novels change to suit the times alongside adventure books, and even children's books, the gothic will stay firmly rooted in the nineteenth century where it belongs. Only then, in my mind, was it at its best.