The supernatural is one aspect, perhaps the most important one, of the genre of Gothic fiction or poetry. Although supernatural themes can be identified in all pieces of Gothic literature the presentations differs vastly, especially when it comes to the Romantic period in which the Gothic genre gained attention and popularity. Said popularity and its simplicity are the reasons for its vilification by well known poets at the time. Contrary to the fact that Gothic literature has been demeaned and criticised as worthless by Romantic authors like William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and their contemporaries by cause of its conformity to the people's taste, some features of Gothic fiction can be found in Romantic poems. One could argue, that this is owed to the fact that the poets mentioned above attempted to increase their degree of popularity amongst the readers of Gothic fiction, but I hold the opinion that this would be a false accusation. They undeniably used certain features of the Gothic genre in some of their Romantic poems, but in ways which can be considered to be of great elegance and use for the Romantic period as a whole.
In the following essay I am going to compare the treatment of the supernatural in the traditional Scottish ballade 'The Daemon Lover' to Coleridge's 'Christabel', John Keat's 'The Eve of St Agnes' and Mary Robinson's 'The Haunted Beach'. Subsequent to the juxtaposition of these different approaches to the supernatural I will examine how the Romantic poets implemented Gothic features into their works. I argue that the Gothic features in these poems serve as symptomatic representations of human emotions.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Supernatural embedment in Romantic Poetry
3. The 'Psychologisation' of Gothic Elements
Objectives & Core Topics
The primary objective of this work is to examine how Romantic poets integrate features of the Gothic mode into their literary works and to demonstrate that these elements serve as psychological representations of human emotions rather than mere stylistic imitation.
- The treatment of the supernatural in Romantic poetry.
- Comparison of traditional ballades and Romantic literary works.
- The function of Gothic imagery in conveying human emotion.
- The transition from traditional Gothic horror to psychological "psychologisation."
- Juxtaposition of natural vs. supernatural elements in Romantic texts.
Excerpt from the Book
The 'Psychologisation' of Gothic Elements
During the late 18th century many Romantic poets made use of Gothic feature in their texts. As I already mentioned they did not intend, or at least not primarily, to gain a bigger readership by doing so, but to create highly emotional poems. In a close examination of the poems I will reveal the function of the Gothic components and present how these features have been psychologised.
In 'The Haunted Beach' Robinson is mostly concerned with what is seen and the description of the visual features of the beach. This is a great contrast to solely Romantic poems in which the poet often plays a crucial role or reflects upon what he sees. Despite the poet's absence in the poem as a character the text is not exclusively descriptive. The landscape and the surroundings play a great role for the emotional backdrop of the poem. The first stanzas are full of adjectives or images that set the mood of the poem, but more important than that, the depiction of the landscape conveys emotion without referring to any human being: 'And all around the crags were bound/ With weeds, forever waving' ('The Haunted Beach' ll. 12-13) The beach and the surrounding cliff trap the reader with its dark and enclosing imagery. Moreover, the repetition of the last line in every stanza helps to make the impression the ever waving weeds began, namely that no living soul will ever leave this beach.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This section presents the research interest regarding the integration of Gothic features into Romantic poetry, arguing against the contemporary vilification of the Gothic genre.
The Supernatural embedment in Romantic Poetry: This chapter analyzes how specific poems like 'The Daemon Lover', 'Christabel', 'The Haunted Beach', and 'The Eve of St. Agnes' utilize supernatural elements to reflect human psychology and morality.
The 'Psychologisation' of Gothic Elements: This chapter concludes the investigation by demonstrating how Romantic poets shifted from using the Gothic for mere atmospheric horror towards using it as a vehicle for expressing internal emotions and psychological states.
Keywords
Romanticism, Gothic Mode, Supernatural, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary Robinson, John Keats, Psychologisation, Human Emotion, Gothic Imagery, Literature Analysis, Ballade, Christabel, The Haunted Beach, The Eve of St. Agnes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this academic paper?
The paper examines the integration of Gothic stylistic features within Romantic era poetry and how these elements are repurposed by poets to represent psychological depths.
Which specific works are being analyzed?
The analysis focuses on 'The Daemon Lover', Coleridge’s 'Christabel', Mary Robinson’s 'The Haunted Beach', and John Keats’s 'The Eve of St. Agnes'.
What is the author's primary thesis?
The author argues that Romantic poets did not use Gothic elements simply to conform to popular taste, but rather to use them as symptomatic representations of complex human emotions.
What methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a comparative literary analysis, juxtaposing different approaches to the supernatural across the selected poems to identify functional shifts in the Gothic mode.
What does the main body of the text cover?
It covers the thematic embedding of the supernatural, the role of nature versus the supernatural, and how these elements function as tools for character development and mood creation.
Which keywords define the scope of the study?
The study is defined by terms such as Romanticism, Gothic mode, psychological representation, literary analysis, and specific works like 'Christabel' and 'The Eve of St. Agnes'.
How does the author interpret the dog in 'Christabel'?
The author suggests the dog represents the natural world and that its negative reaction to the supernatural entity, Geraldine, acts as a critique of the Gothic genre.
In what way does the author distinguish Keats’s usage of the Gothic?
Unlike the other authors, Keats is described as utilizing Gothic elements primarily as an aesthetic setting to heighten the romantic and warm atmosphere of the relationship between his protagonists.
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- M. A., M. Ed. Felix Krenke (Autor:in), 2014, "The Daemon Lover", Coleridge’s "Christabel", Robinson’s "The Haunted Beach" and Keats’s "The Eve of St. Agnes", München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1007985
