Gothic Elements In The Film Black Swan

Hugh Blair labels the artistic gothic architecture – the setting, as a source of the sublime “A gothic cathedral raises ideas of grandeur in our mind, by its size, its height, its awful obscurity, its strength, its antiquity, and its durability”.14 Another key feature of the gothic genre is transgression. Transgression is simply the violation of social, cultural and moral norms. Gothic tries to get over conventional boundaries and break the rules of law and nature by transgressing to supernaturalism: The figurative texture of the gothic novel is a projection of the romantic minds sense of entrapment in an antiqued culture, its struggle to break from it and its guilty consciousness of both its participation in obsolete attitude and its transgression

Setting is the key element in Gothic Literature. It displays the different places and architectures that are essentials to visualize Gothic. The setting is highly significant in a Gothic novel because it helps to add horror and fear to its mood and dreadful weakness to its characters. As said by Snodgrass, the settings of Gothic literary works present an extensional symbolic psychological case to its human characters (158).Gothic fictions are usually set in isolated landscapes or highly secured prisons, secret passages or corridors, old castles or ghostly houses, and graveyards. According to Hogle, Gothic areas might be "a castle, a foreign place, an abbey, a vast prison, a subterranean crypt, a graveyard, a primeval frontier, or island, a large old house or theatre.

Through the many works, of gothic writer Edgar Allan Poe, vast amounts of Gothic elements can be found; including Cemetery, devil, and grotesque. These elements are hidden in these stories , that Edgar Allan Poe wrote, and are still read and studied today. These elements were chosen because of the way they are whittled into the story, and indirectly expressed. For example the Gothic element cemetery can be described in two different ways, but is the same gothic element. One way cemetery can be described is in a non traditional way it can give the reader claustrophobia.

The persona Dracula is also different than commonly considered: She has a hairy, moustached man with a wolfish demeanour who is constantly known as childish and unholy by Van Helsing; a considerably retreat from a dashing[a]: jaunty; smart; chic; romantic; gallant, ancient sensuality of modern vampires. The story, will, however have a variety things for someone to think about such as sexuality, gender roles, capitalism, immigration and homophobia all of that can be found and developed through close reading of the written text message. Dracula by Bram Stoker is considered to be the very embodiment of gothic novels. It is a classic story of mythical creatures, supernatural and mysterious events, omens and visions, apocalypticism, threatening creatures, romance, darkness, emotion and all the elements a gothic novel ought to include. A single of the things medieval novels concentrate on are supernatural and mysterious events.

As the literary elements are not just some coincidence that is shown between the writings of these stories and poem. This bridges the relationship between the writers and their works of art but, even with all the similarities it always comes with differences. This is shown in each book with the way they show the gothic element. As The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is very upfront about its elements while in Frankenstein has the deeper meaning. Also in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, you had to read between the lines to understand the meanings.

We will analyse these works within the category of Gothic literature, highlighting the mains characteristics evidenced into the text. Gothic literature was created as a way to satisfy the concerns of the people who were dissatisfied with the ruling order, wanting to experience forbidden sensations and escape the daily routine. Soon a significant part of society assimilates this new genre and uses it as an escape valve. The term Gothic as an adjective is used because many of the stories were framed in medieval times, or the action took place in a castle or mansion abbey of this architectural style. The intricacies

In The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart, Poe showcases a unique style of writing, rendering exceptional pieces of literature. Both stories are within the genres of horror and romanticism, however, Poe does not conform to these genres, as they were in the 19th century. Poe branches out of romanticism, and with horror, he developed gothic romanticism and pioneered psychological horror. Poe believed that art and literature were the most realistic and accurate depiction of individual human nature. Deviating from romanticism, which would have focused on external depictions of horror, he concentrated on internal depictions of the human mind which reveal a character’s internal struggle and therefore make his depictions more realistic and stylishly accurate.

In their writings, many authors present the explained and the unexplained supernatural, but by reversing their proper order (Miles, 2002: 53). The supernatural disappeared from most of today 's detective stories. Sometimes it occurs but is soon given a logical explanation (Harris 2008: 1). In detective fiction works, the events are ultimately given a natural explanation, while in the former, the events may be truly unnatural. However, there are some famous examples where supernatural, so present in the very genesis of the Gothic, is also manifest in detective fiction: Sheridan Le Fanu’s Dr. Hesselius, whose purpose is to discover the vampire nature of Carmilla (homonymous Carmilla); John Silence, Algernon Blackwood’s psychic researcher; occultist Dion Fortune’s Dr. Rhodes, a skilled reasoner who appeals to magic as well; Aleister Crowley’s Simon Iff, both a detective and a necromancer; Seabury Quinn’s Jules de Grandin, researcher and lycanthrope hunter; Manly

Not only does it fit the criteria of Horror Gothic and Female Gothic on and off screen, it also exhibits the typical dark atmosphere and fascination with repressed anxieties and desires as well as extreme emotional states like unstable personality and hallucinations. Most important are the Gothic themes of transformation, the double and multifaceted identity. How these themes are brought about in the film allows for a range of interpretations, be it Nina 's stress and perfectionism and the consequent insanity, Nina 's growing into a sexual being or even her losing grip on her identity through the means of an objectifying society. Not only does Nina physically morph into the black swan, she also transforms sexually and mentally. The double motif is omnipresent in the film and closely entwined with the idea of multifaceted and unstable identity.

Each genre has distinct features that differentiate it from others, helping the reader better understand the author’s message. Occasionally, authors write novels that are classified as part of one genre, but conform to the conventions of other genres for varying purposes. For instance, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is classified as a romance, however it has conventions pertaining to the gothic genre. Such conventions include, the use of a gloomy atmosphere, the presence of supernatural occurrences and negative emotions being the main motivation for actions, all which The Scarlet Letter incorporates (The Gothic 2005). In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne effectively conforms to the conventions of the gothic genre for the purpose of characterizing the Puritan society as oppressive, portraying the hypocrisy found within the society and highlighting the consequences for not confessing