Gothic Literature I : The European Tradition

Course Code: CL 141 NE (online-English)

Course Dates: Commences January 17th 2011

Instructor: Daryl Morazzini

Description:

What is meant by the term “Gothic?” Why has this literary form thrived and expanded, drawn in a host of new readers for nearly the last two-hundred years with its tales of horror, awe, the sublime, frightening monsters, unstable characters, haunted ruins, abbeys, and mansions? In this, part one class, we will examine the origins of Gothic Literature, the European traditions it arose from, and the literary devices it utilizes to achieve its powerful effect. Besides looking at the contemporary literary criticism on the subject, we will read many of the great founders of this tradition: Horace Walpole, William Beckford, Matthew Lewis, Clara Reeve, Anne Radcliffe, John Polidori, and Mary Shelley.

• We will begin with a week of theory and brainstorming, getting out what we bring to the idea of, “The Gothic,” and beginning to set the foundations for academic study and reflection.

• In the second week we will begin the first reading of Gothic Literature, the first Gothic novel,  and students begin to see how the genre is created.

• Week Three is where the Gothic begins to get its “legs,” with Reeve picking up Walpole’s formula, and setting the stage for a real departure from Romanticism, into the birth of this new genre.

• In week four, students enter a rich and complex world, filled with folklore and stories from another time and culture, andthe stage is also set for the deeply personal aspects of the Gothic, which enter into the author’s thought-world.

• By Week Five, the genre of “The Gothic,” if not already established, becomes fully established in, The Monk. Students by this point will be able to see the foundational elements all culminating in this great, horrifying, work.

• Week Six gives students two new challenges. First, Radcliffe’s contribution here to, “The Gothic,” adds a distinctly, early, feminist voice. Students will be challenged by this new criticism. Also, Radcliffe is following a “formula” (as were many writers at the time) on “the Gothic.” The second question now becomes: “Has the Gothic already died, now that it is so clearly defined and repeatable?”

• Although we won’t go too deeply into Vampires in this class, Week Seven will show how late-Romantic and early-Victorian sensibilities and literary conventions, gave rise to something more than a dead body crawling from out of a grave.

• Finally, in Week Eight, as students are handing in their term paper, they will also be reading what is often considered the “Masterpiece of Gothic Literature,” a book that asks more questions and creates more areas of investigation and inquiry, which widens the study and literary of canon of, “the Gothic,” than any book before it. In many ways, the class ends on a beginning, not on a conclusion.

Prerequisites: None . This course is a prerequisite for several of our other courses in more specialized areas exploring the manifestations of occult and esoteric motifs in the literary genre.

Note: While not mandatory where students are able to demonstrate a basic working familiarity with the Gothic genre, it is strongly recommended that this course be followed by its twin course:  CL 142 NE Gothic Literature II: American Gothic.

Suggested Complementary Courses:

CL 142 Gothic Literature II: American Gothic
CL 233 Yeats and the Occult
CL 201 Lovecraft: Writings and Mythos
WE 271/334 The Celts in the Esoteric Imagination
CC 176 Occultism in Popular Culture

Languages: English only. Our English language requirements do apply to this course.

Delivery: Online only. A substantial amount of reading material will be made available to students through our online learning centre.

Students may also choose to audit this course.
Scholarships apply for this course.

Week 1	Topic: Introduction to The Gothic Reading: Fred Botting: The Gothic. Jerrold Hogle: The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction (selections from).
Week 2	Topic: The First Gothic Novel Reading: Horace Walpole: The Castle of Otranto
Week 3	Topic: Gothic Manners and Mannerisms Reading: Clara Reeve: The Old English Baron. Selections from Hogle and Botting.
Week 4 Response Paper due	Topic: “Eastern” Influences Reading: William Beckford: Vathek
Week 5	Topic: The Gothic Defined Reading: Matthew Lewis: The Monk. Selections from Hogle and Botting.
Week 6	Topic: Women’s Literary Response to the Gothic Reading: Anne Radcliffe: The Italian. Selections from Hogle and Botting.
Week 7	Topic: The Vampire is Born. Reading: John Polidori: The Vampyre
Week 8	Topic: Science, Mysticism, Memoir, the Gothic Masterpiece Reading: Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
Week 9	-Research Paper Due -Oral presentation of Research Paper -Learning Journal Due