![]() Most of Poe’s famous poems and short stories, even though not displaying a recognizable South setting, contain all the elements that characterize Southern Gothic. He grew up there and even called the city his ‘home’. Despite his Baltimore birthplace, he had a liking for the Southern United States, especially Richmond, Virginia. Famous Southern Gothic WritersĮdgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was the one who created Gothic tradition in America. Southern Gothic aesthetics (image from Pinterest) 4. So, the theme of isolation and marginalization is another characteristic of the American literature of the South. Southern Gothic grew out of the ‘Post War Reconstruction of the South’ which stripped the land of its resources and left the people isolated and marginalized. In the Gothic literature of the South, the characters are often trapped or imprisoned by their own fears, society, or even stereotypes that leave them unable to grow. Furthermore, the decaying home symbolizes the physical and moral decay of the people. Rather, it represents the South’s fixation with history. The abandoned plantation house isn’t merely there just to horrify. The South American Gothicism literature also abounds in imagery and symbolism. As a result, the political turmoil, class struggles, and deep-seated racial tensions and oppression are among the favored topics covered by southern authors. The South was a society built on slavery and racial oppression. 3.7 Destitution, Death and DecayĪ sense of moral and physical decay, especially decaying buildings and plantation homes, as well as the acknowledgement of death as another character is always there. The writers deal with a period in the South’s history where violence and crime were particularly prevalent. Violence and crime have been a big part of Southern society for a long time. Here, the reader crosses paths with the ghosts of slaves that reveal the dark past or hidden secrets of the region. However, the writers use the supernatural elements to highlight the social and cultural issues. The presence of supernatural elements in the writings of the South is not merely to create the atmosphere of fear and terror. Some of their stories also take place in the broken-down small towns in Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana or Georgia. The writers mostly set their stories either on a plantation or some old slave quarters. ![]() The setting of most of the Southern Gothic novels is the South. Moreover, they find gratification in these transgressions. The characters, sometimes, transgress their conventionally passive role and forbidden boundaries to test the potentials of their identity and sexuality outside the law. Southern Gothic novels contains stories that combine both the humorous and the horrific elements to explain and expose the deep-seated social turmoil of South America. The grotesque and macabre is embodied in writings through the human characters who are spiritually and physically monstrous. The characters in Southern Gothic literature are mostly freakish, disabled, complex and even delusional. The following are the most significant characteristics or main elements of Southern Gothic literature. Significant Characteristics of Southern Gothic Women going to home in rural South (Image from Pinterest)ģ. ![]() Their main purpose was to expose the prevailing social issues and explore the question of moral integrity. The writers of this genre highlighted the South’s history of slavery, racism, violence, and the fear of the outside world. That’s why Gothic literature of the South is replete with elements of that grotesqueness. ![]() It remained in their memories for a very long time. The Civil War was a grotesque experience for the people of the South. It was the historical backdrop of the post-Civil War South that made it a perfect landscape for the writers to explore dark and brooding Gothic themes. Southern Gothic literature became widely popular American literary genre during the 20th century. Rather, it uses them to dissect social issues and highlight the cultural climate of the American South. Like Gothic literature, Southern Gothic also depends upon subjects like grotesque and macabre however, in contrast, it doesn’t use them to create suspense or fear. In addition, the genre also employs the stereotypical southern elements with the gruesome, supernatural Gothic elements. The Southern Gothic writers borrowed the emotionally rich style of the Romantics and the gloomy, decaying themes of Gothicism and put them in the American South setting thus developing a unique literary style. While relating to both the English and American Gothic tradition, Southern Gothic actually deals with the South’s grim and dark past, tensions and deviations. Southern Gothic is a literary style that became popular in the 19th century as a subgenre of Gothicism. ![]()
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