Dark Romanticism, Gothic Fiction & Cosmic Horror - Definitions and Key Concepts
- Reads 1,084
- Votes 45
- Parts 7
This is not a scolarly article but rather, something I started writing for myself, to define the different genres better and to see where I was going with my own writing. The point was to gather my favourite literary genres that were related to each other, to define them and to see what were their key concepts and tropes, and to compare them to each other. It also helped me understand what my sources of inspiration were, where I was treading, and to find new sources of inspiration.
In this "book", I'll try to define these genres, list some of their tropes and concepts, give some cultural and historical background, list some authors who have contributed to these genres worldwide, and then draw parallels with the other arts (for instance, one can't talk about Romanticism in literature without mentioning it in music and visual arts).
Here are the genres I'll be discussing:
* Dark Romanticism
* Gothic Fiction
* Fantastique
* Cosmic Horror
Let me know if there's another similar genre you'd like me to discuss here.
All Rights Reserved
#677
gothic
Join the largest storytelling communityGet personalized story recommendations, save your favourites to your library, and comment and vote to grow your community.
You may also like
The Suggestion Box, Vol. 4: A to Z Challenge
Back in June, I decided to take the "A to Z Challenge", which usually involves writing something centered around one word corresponding to each letter of the alphabet. It being a short story challenge, occurring weekly, I decided to "up the ante" to incorporate the rules of a Suggestion Box list (Name, Place, Time, and Object) and turn it into the next iteration of this series! Forthwith, I went through every letter of the alphabet and tried to look back over any previous story that I'd written (except the fanfiction) to find characters whose names began with each letter. Most of the time, I could find a character from a previous Suggestion Box installment (so be sure and check out the referred "original stories", always noted at the beginning of the tale!) but I also took the opportunity to use characters from other unfinished novels, and even a few opportunities for tie-in stories to my published novella, "Princess of Undersea."Complete
Life Or Story ?
This story kind of explains why I have problems finishing stories, u have ideas then it like how do I make them not so cliché or cringe worthy. A short story with a semi finished ending, it leaves me a bit of wriggle room to add to, if I decide to. Any similarities or references are purely for fiction and I did not base this story on anything except if the third world war started. It is fiction people. All credit to the original owners or creator's for the borrowed characters and media. I own the story and the original characters. There is some references to dark topics and subjects, pleae be warned. They do only skim it though.Complete
The Book of Voltaire: Descent To Madness
I'm an emotional dependent vampire. I do not need to feed on mortal blood, all I need is people's energy. I give them a good laugh, and I absorb that positive energy. If I were to absorb negative energy, I would feel worse than they do. Not only that, I am also a delusional psychic. Being a delusional psychic gives me pros and cons of my daily life. 50/50 of my premonitions are either delusion or any actual foreshadowing of the future like a seer and the way I could read people's minds so easily. I have this profound power of knowing things instantly that is impossible for me to even know, to the point that I shouldn't even know them. It is a creative and intuitive talent that helps me write books as I could use clairvoyance around the surrounding area and beyond, in order for me to write as much as information as I can. Such as "auto-writing" while astral projecting.Complete
Hermitcraft Oneshots
Hi. This is a Hermitcraft book! I do some pretty terrible writing, and If you like it, I thank you. Occasionally I will post some AU ideas and that stuff Some general stuff: -There Will. Not. Be. Smut. These are real people. They're might be gore, however. -I do take requests -I can do relationships, but I will only ship their fictional personas -I don't care if you don't like my writing, I do take critisizm, however, and I'm always open to feedback. There will be some heavy topics, but i will make sure to put trigger warnings. Anyway, hope you enjoy.Complete
Valuable Assests
Aline, a 23-year-old in a historically ambiguous- though 1690-resembling- France has worked in her family business her whole life. Her family helped found the largest criminal organization in the area so she grew up with a hardened personality. While on one of her jobs she is trapped and forced to sign a contract that forces her to work for a year under an enemy corporation. While away from home she discovers that the world outside is much different than her home. Making more mistakes than she thought possible, she attempts to try the waters of living apart from her family for the first time and leaves a series of disasters in her wake. Featuring some fluffy romance, bad humor, and an illegal gay wedding, this book has a lot of lighter themes. However, some darker themes are included. I advise proceeding with caution for those triggered by the following: Violence, gore, rape (not graphic), some slurs (no n-words or the like), prolonged sexual abuse, mental/emotional abuse, physical abuse, prostitution, symptoms of PTSD and themes of depression as well as brief periods of suicidal thoughts and/or actions. If any of these bother you I am more than willing to send you rewrites of any triggering chapters that avoid triggering subjects without messing with the plot so that you may still read the piece. Simply message me which of the above triggers you have and I'll send edited chapters accordingly. *THIS IS NOT GRAMMATICALLY EDITED AND THERE IS NO SET POSTING SCHEDULE. PLEASE DO NOT COPY, REPOST, ETC.*Complete
How NOT to write Fandom Stories
Stop writing like that.... Just some things and stuff about fanfiction I've seen a couple of these with certain fandoms and I love those stories and have my own things to say because it's so hard finding many good stories for something. ~general tips ~Teen Wolf ~The 100 ~The Walking Dead ~13 Reasons Why ~etc. *I know people write these stories for certain fandoms so this is a lot of fandoms and regular tips*Complete
Incommensurable Kindness
A geneticist looking for the perfect solution, a biologist searching for the ultimate cure, a scholar pursuing the path of happiness. Three young lives with noble intentions who chose to follow the way of kindness for different reasons. Yet, kindness can take many forms. For some, kindness is found in the small, fleeting acts of goodness, a reminder of the pure, social nature of every precious human. For others, kindness is found in ensuring the best possible future for the incoming generations, even if it means crushing the present between the hands of progress. For the rarest of minds, however, kindness implies destruction, the sacrifice of everything for the sake of a brand new better world. Will they encounter change their mind? Will they accomplish their mission? Will they regret the choices they have made so far? Some believe that even the tiniest pebble thrown in the river of life can irreversibly shape the flow of existence in unpredictable ways, but can a ripple truly change the world? [TW: blood, violence, suicide, abuse, self-harm, ...] [Complete but in revision! :) ] Additional information: -This story is written in so many various contexts and rarely read again with the necessary attention. Hence, we humbly ask for forgiveness for all the eventual grammar aberrations and incoherences you may find. :( -Needless to say, everything you are going to read is pure fiction and the characters are all born from our minds. :) -This book also touches topics related to trauma and mental health. We tried to be as respectful as possible, but please feel free to reach out to us if you find anything inappropriate! Also... thank you for choosing our story. It means a lot to us! We really hope you will appreciate our story as much as we have enjoyed writing it. :) Well then, dear reader, welcome to this little world of ours! Enjoy!!Complete
sʜᴏʀᴛ sᴛᴏʀɪᴇs
This is just for me to get the short ideas out of my head when I have motivation. lol. Idk if anyone's gonna read these but here they are. Also I don't know when I'm gonna update this, it's just kind of when I want to. Each chapter is a different story and I'll post these between posting chapters of my main stories. And a TW for anyone who is sensitive to violence or anything scary. Not all of the stories are like this, but a lot of them are probably gonna be pretty messed up. (lol) A lot of these stories is just to get ideas out of my head and it will probably never be completed. Each story is different and there is no real pattern or anything, its just all random. Enjoy, 😃👍Complete
Back in June, I decided to take the "A to Z Challenge", which usually involves writing something centered around one word corresponding to each letter of the alphabet. It being a short story challenge, occurring weekly, I decided to "up the ante" to incorporate the rules of a Suggestion Box list (Name, Place, Time, and Object) and turn it into the next iteration of this series! Forthwith, I went through every letter of the alphabet and tried to look back over any previous story that I'd written (except the fanfiction) to find characters whose names began with each letter. Most of the time, I could find a character from a previous Suggestion Box installment (so be sure and check out the referred "original stories", always noted at the beginning of the tale!) but I also took the opportunity to use characters from other unfinished novels, and even a few opportunities for tie-in stories to my published novella, "Princess of Undersea."
More detailsContent Guidelines