LITERATURE QUESTIONS
THE GOTHIC NOVEL
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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The placement of the action in the past and in a foreign country
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The grandiose threatening setting that requires ingenious stagecraft
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The focus on wrongdoing at the highest level of authority
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The use of real historical resources by Shelley for the foundation of his play
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Detailed explanation-1: -It is based on an incident in Renaissance Rome. The story centres on Count Francesco Cenci, who is notorious for his depravity. He gives a party at which, to the horror of his guests, he gleefully announces the deaths of two of his sons. Another victim of his cruelty is his daughter Beatrice, whom he has raped.
Detailed explanation-2: -In the first scene, a man called Cardinal Camillo interrogates Cenci about the rumors. He promises to make the rumors go away if Cenci gives the Church most of his possessions. Unsurprisingly, Cenci refuses to hand over anything and he declares his innocence.
Detailed explanation-3: -The melodramatic plot is taken from the true story of Beatrice Cenci, who was tried and executed for the murder of her father, count Francesco Cenci, at Rome in 1599. Shelley was attracted by the themes of incest and atheism: the play concentrates on the Iago‐like evil of the count and the inner sufferings of Beatrice.
Detailed explanation-4: -Percy Bysshe Shelley’s play The Cenci was written between May and August 1819. Mary Shelley states in her edition of Shelley’s works (1839) that Shelley received a manuscript of the story of the Cenci family.