ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

LITERATURE QUESTIONS

THE GOTHIC NOVEL

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
According to Radcliffe, what is the difference between terror and horror?
A
Horror is only a sense of the sublime.
B
Terror contracts the soul.
C
Terror involves uncertainty and obscurity.
D
Horror fails to awaken and expand the soul.
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -The distinction between terror and horror was first characterized by the Gothic writer Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823), horror being more related to being shocked or scared (being horrified) at an awful realization or a deeply unpleasant occurrence, while terror is more related to being anxious or fearful.

Detailed explanation-2: -“Terror is the feeling of dread and apprehension at the possibility of something frightening, while horror is the shock and repulsion of seeing the frightening thing.

Detailed explanation-3: -Horror tends to be more overt in its depiction of events and story elements. In a haunted house setting, we see our greatest fears realized in the form of supernatural monsters and murders. In a Gothic haunted house, we hear things that go bump in the night but that are revealed to have natural causes.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Terror This is where the induction of fear is solely caused by imagination; this is perfectly crafted for literary use, as the images being created lie entirely in the reader’s mind. All an author has to do is simply suggest the unknown, and the reader will fill in the blanks with something truly terrifying.

Detailed explanation-5: -With terror, there’s a sense of mystery and wonder, an anxiety and fear from suspense–the emotion is psychological and comes from within. With gothic horror, the reader is confronted with mutilated bodies, rape, and other appalling subjects that cause a more physical reaction of revulsion and disgust.

There is 1 question to complete.