Essay for Gothic Genre

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“How do your texts relate to the characteristics of the Gothic Genre?”

The Gothic literature movement began in the late 19th century and was a derivative of the Romantic Movement. Writers of the Gothic Genre were focused on drawing on the emotions of the reader and creating an atmosphere of suspense, mystery, terror and dread. The writers also emphasized the supernatural, and how horror can be present in many everyday situations. Gothic texts also place emphasis on emotions such as agitation, hysteria, mystery, venerability, suspense and panic. Many Gothic texts are based in places that are decaying, deserted, abandoned, isolated or that have a have a history of death, war and family feuds. The short story The Adventure of the Speckled Band written by Arthur Conan Doyle and the short film Alma written and directed by Rodrigo Blaas relate to and explore the characteristics of the Gothic Genre through the use of techniques such as perspective, personification and similes for the short story and for the short film uses of the use of camera angles, shots, non diegetic sound and mise en scene.

The Adventure of The Speckled band written in 1986 by world acclaimed author Arthur Conan Doyle is a Sherlock Holmes short story, which is based on mystery a key feature of the Gothic Genre. This short story tells the tale of a young woman Miss Helen Stoner who fears for her life after hearing suspicious noises in her bedroom as these sounds also occurred before the death of her eldest sister, having a suspicion that it is her stepfather, Miss Stoner then goes to Sherlock Holmes for help. This short story is set in a crumbling, secluded manor house in the country a setting that fits in perfectly with the Gothic Genre. This mansion is described using negative adjectives as a “family ruin” (page 267), “a picture of ruin” with “the roof partly caved in” (page 276) this exhibits the house to be one of decay leaving the reader with a sense that it has the possibility of...
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