1. Early and Southern Gothic Literature

2. Gothic Literature a genre that was popular in 18th century England.
-authors wanted to expose the problems they saw in society.
-supernatural and romantic elements.
-often stories of hauntings, death, darkness and madness.
-well-known examples of this genre are Frankenstein and Dracula.

3. While Gothic writing initially began in England, American Gothic literature began in the 19th century,
-short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe.
-Nathaniel Hawthorne also writes with a sense of mystery,
and his characters are very flawed.
some supernatural elements to his writings and many questions about the society that they represent.
-Poe's short stories usually focus on death, but he tells the tale of death with a dark humor and a desire to expose the complexity of his characters and society.

4. Southern Gothic literature
is a genre of Southern writing.
-focus on grotesque themes. includes supernatural elements, but mainly focuses on damaged, even delusional, characters.
(does not dwell on suspense and the supernatural.)
- dark humor in the stories.
-exposes the problems of society, but does so by developing complex characters.
- authors explored the behaviors of people (usually strange) and the social order of the South.
-authors hoped to show that the social order was fragile, and the realities behind it were actually disturbing.
-authors point out truths of Southern culture and its moral shortcomings.