Art of Darkness: A Poetics of Gothic

Art of Darkness: A Poetics of Gothic
by Anne Williams

Art of Darkness: A Poetics of Gothic
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Book Summary Information

Author: Anne Williams
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1995-04-15
ISBN: 0226899071
Number of pages: 319
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press

Book Reviews of Art of Darkness: A Poetics of Gothic

Book Review: A Text for Gothic, Gender Studies, or Literary Theory Class
Summary: 5 Stars

A great book for students looking to understand the Gothic or applications of literary criticism.

Williams argues that the Gothic is poetic, has two sets of conventions (Male and Female), and that the Gothic is part of the Romantic tradition. To prove her thesis Williams relies heavily on feminism and gender-based criticism with a sizeable amount of Freudian psychology and a dash of structuralism. This may sound intimidating, but her prose is clear and engrossing for anyone with an interest in the Gothic or gender studies.

The only prerequisite to comprehension is a basic class in literary theory. And, should a student in a literary theory class ask for a book that shows theory in action (always a problem with theory classes) this would make an accessible example.

Summary of Art of Darkness: A Poetics of Gothic

Art of Darkness is an ambitious attempt to describe the principles governing Gothic literature. Ranging across five centuries of fiction, drama, and verse-including tales as diverse as Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, Shelley's Frankenstein, Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and Freud's The Mysteries of Enlightenment-Anne Williams proposes three new premises: that Gothic is "poetic," not novelistic, in nature; that there are two parallel Gothic traditions, Male and Female; and that the Gothic and the Romantic represent a single literary tradition.

Building on the psychoanalytic and feminist theory of Julia Kristeva, Williams argues that Gothic conventions such as the haunted castle and the family curse signify the fall of the patriarchal family; Gothic is therefore "poetic" in Kristeva's sense because it reveals those "others" most often identified with the female. Williams identifies distinct Male and Female Gothic traditions: In the Male plot, the protagonist faces a cruel, violent, and supernatural world, without hope of salvation. The Female plot, by contrast, asserts the power of the mind to comprehend a world which, though mysterious, is ultimately sensible. By showing how Coleridge and Keats used both Male and Female Gothic, Williams challenges accepted notions about gender and authorship among the Romantics. Lucidly and gracefully written, Art of Darkness alters our understanding of the Gothic tradition, of Romanticism, and of the relations between gender and genre in literary history.

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