Edgar Allan Poe's Contribution to American Gothic

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Chapter One
• Chapter Two
• Chapter Three

Objectives and Key Themes

This paper will analyze the Gothic origins of the horror genre and investigate the impact of Edgar Allan Poe's contributions to this literary tradition. It will explore the psychological and aesthetic aspects of the uncanny, tracing its influence on Poe's writings.

• The evolution and characteristics of the Gothic genre
• Edgar Allan Poe's relationship with the Gothic tradition
• The psychological underpinnings of the uncanny
• The aesthetic exploration of fear and anxiety in literature
• Freud's theory of the uncanny and its application to Poe's works

Chapter Summaries

• Introduction: This chapter provides a general overview of the horror genre and its association with the Gothic tradition. It discusses the complex and multifaceted nature of horror literature, exploring its ability to evoke specific emotional responses in readers. The chapter also briefly outlines the historical development of the Gothic genre, emphasizing its roots in Romanticism.
• Chapter One: This chapter delves into the psychological underpinnings of the uncanny, focusing on Freud's groundbreaking essay, "Das Unheimliche." Freud's analysis of the uncanny, as a form of negative aesthetics, provides a theoretical framework for understanding the emotional impact of horror literature. This chapter will examine how Freud's theory can be applied to Poe's works, highlighting the author's mastery of creating unsettling and uncanny experiences for the reader.

Keywords

This work explores the Gothic genre, horror literature, the uncanny, Edgar Allan Poe, Sigmund Freud, and the psychological and aesthetic aspects of fear and anxiety in literature.