ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Gothic fiction as a genre was first established with the publication of Horace Walpole’s dark, foreboding The Castle of Otranto in 1764. In the centuries since, gothic fiction has not only flourished, but also branched off into many popular subgenres.

Detailed explanation-2: -Some of you also found the blog post interesting because you mainly thought of the Gothic as being restricted to nineteenth century literature. Well let me tell you, it is still very much alive and kicking!

Detailed explanation-3: -The genre has an almost unique ability to integrate into some of the most unexpected places, once again ensuring its indomitability. It has also provided a vehicle for writers to explore considerations of sexuality, repression, politics, race and a myriad of other anxieties of their society.

Detailed explanation-4: -But where did Gothic literature originate? Throughout the 18th century, the phenomenon of the Gothic emerged and flourished across Britain. With its emphasis on suspense and the supernatural, terror and the macabre, the Gothic was heralded as a “medieval revival” that stood against the Enlightenment’s focus on reason.