Uncertainty And Aristotle's Use Of Suspense In Gothic Literature
Uncertainty and the Gothic Aristotle was convinced that in any drama, the critical element was suspense. In his definition, in order for it to have any chance of being a successful method, there had to be distinct components of real danger but also a glimmer of hope. Once the character in the narrative is consumed by the danger, the audience feels fear, despair, empathy. Once the hope prevails, the audience is driven to joy, with the contrast between the two emotions heightening the experience. This cycle can and has been repeated since the dawn of narratives, but first started taking root in literature in the Gothic. Those involved in pioneering the Gothic genre had a distinct goal for their literature: to make the reader feel emotions with the highest intensity.
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They learned to play off natural human intuition to produce their intended results, to take advantage of the reader’s natural instinctual reaction. They took their characters and put them in situations that would evoke the feelings closest to the core of human emotions, forcing the reader to empathize. They put great detail into the development and description of the physical world that their characters inhabited, as it was well-known the effect that physical beauty of nature had. But in order to truly capture their reader, they had to bring these concepts to front in delicate, artful ways. And therein lies the use of suspense within the Gothic.
Gothic fiction is briefly defined by the Hutchinson Encyclopedia by:
“Making its debut in the late 18th century, Gothic Fiction was a branch of the larger Romantic movement that sought to stimulate strong emotions in the reader - fear and apprehension in this case. Gothic Fiction takes its name from medieval architecture, as it often hearkens back to the medieval era in spirit and subject matter and often uses Gothic buildings as a setting.”
They learned to play off natural human intuition to produce their intended results, to take advantage of the reader’s natural instinctual reaction. They took their characters and put them in situations that would evoke the feelings closest to the core of human emotions, forcing the reader to empathize. They put great detail into the development and description of the physical world that their characters inhabited, as it was well-known the effect that physical beauty of nature had. But in order to truly capture their reader, they had to bring these concepts to front in delicate, artful ways. And therein lies the use of suspense within the Gothic.
Gothic fiction is briefly defined by the Hutchinson Encyclopedia by:
“Making its debut in the late 18th century, Gothic Fiction was a branch of the larger Romantic movement that sought to stimulate strong emotions in the reader - fear and apprehension in this case. Gothic Fiction takes its name from medieval architecture, as it often hearkens back to the medieval era in spirit and subject matter and often uses Gothic buildings as a setting.”