Gothic Literature

  Order Description       Choose one of the questions below.   1. Andrew Smith argues that ‘one of the most significant issues about the Gothic […] [is] that it should not be read as a form which passively replicates contemporary cultural debates about politics, philosophy, or gender, but rather reworks, develops, and challenges them.’ With reference to any two primary texts from this course, write an essay agreeing or disagreeing with Smith’s statement. 2. Choose any two primary texts from this course and discuss the ways in which history and the past function as Gothic themes in these texts. 3. In what ways do True Blood OR The Shining use the Gothic tropes of earlier texts? Your analysis should refer to two or three of the earlier primary texts addressed in this course. 4. Compare and contrast any two female characters OR any two male characters from at least two primary texts in this course in terms of the ways in which they uphold or disrupt some of the gender stereotypes of Gothic literature.