1.

Classic – Late 18th/ early 19th Century

 ‘Barbarous’, ‘medieval’, ‘supernatural ‘
 Gothic = derogatory term
 Revolutionary – aesthetically and politically, questioned 18 th century
aesthetics, systems of authority, social order, and social problems.
 Flourished during periods of political and religious crisis.
 Gothic signified lack of reason, morality and beauty of feudal beliefs,
customs and works.
 Novels like Castle of Otranto and Melmoth, The Wanderer were
published during this era/time frame
 This era focused on mystery and its elucidation
 The setting was usually castles, convents or monasteries
2. Mid-19th – early 20th Century
 There was a need for new categories to continue the Gothic legacy, so
it naturally progressed, implementing the tropes of (mystery,
supernatural, madness, doubling, hereditary curses, physiological and
physical terror, uncanny), which were influenced by Victorians’ ideas
about death, scientific progress, to many it seem more realistic and
disturbing
 Unlike the eighteenth century, nineteenth century Gothic was more
focused on the psyche and its depth of the protagonist.
 Incorporated satanic ideas
3. 20 /21st Century
th

 The gothic genre is still popular and relevant in today’s time due to the
socioeconomic and political situation and consequently to the anxieties
related to it.
 Introduces notions if a certain sliding of locations or a series of
transfers from one place to another (setting).