THE GOTHIC NOVEL: ORIGINS AND INFLUENCE ON ENGLISH LITERATURE
Keywords:
Gothic novel, Gothic fiction, Romanticism, supernatural, terror, mystery, Ann Radcliffe, Mary Shelley, Horace Walpole, Victorian Gothic, horror literature.Abstract
This article examines the origins, development, and lasting influence of the Gothic novel in English literature. Emerging in the late eighteenth century, the Gothic genre combined elements of medievalism, mystery, terror, and the supernatural. The study explores key works and authors, including Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis, Mary Shelley, and Bram Stoker, and analyzes how Gothic themes evolved from early romanticism to Victorian sensationalism and modern horror fiction. The article argues that the Gothic novel not only shaped literary movements but also influenced cultural perceptions of fear, identity, and the unknown.
References
1. Botting, Fred. Gothic. Routledge, 1996.
2. Hogle, Jerrold E. (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
3. Punter, David. The Literature of Terror: A History of Gothic Fictions from 1765 to the Present Day. Pearson, 1996.
4. Walpole, Horace. The Castle of Otranto. 1764.
5. Radcliffe, Ann. The Mysteries of Udolpho. 1794.
6. Lewis, Matthew. The Monk. 1796.
7. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818.
8. Stoker, Bram. Dracula. 1897.
9. Smith, Andrew. Gothic Literature. Edinburgh University Press, 2007.
