The Connection Between Gothic & Romantic Literature

The Gothic and Romantic movements share a striking resemblance in the creative works they have produced. The elements, themes, and motivations derived from the Romantic period provide the very foundations of Gothic’s darker sensibilities. Much like love for a lost beloved or a deep spiritual yearning, the writers and works of these two periods explore a sense of longing and mourn the loss of life and the past. The feeling of a dark power, of being haunted, and of a debilitating melancholia remains a major cornerstone of both. As such, the relationship between the Gothic and Romantic movements is an intriguing one, with their connections and mutual influence long having been the subject of scholarly discussion for centuries. The works of this period recognize the complexities of the human experience, and how it is intertwined with fear and pain. The poets, writers and artists of the Romanticism period were the first to express a longing for things that could not be accessed or attained, as well as an openness to nature’s marvels and terrors alike. This emotionality, combined with the cultural and political changes going on in society, deeply influenced the focus and style of Gothic. With its themes of death and the supernatural, the Gothic was able to explore the darker elements and emotions of a human experience. In this way, the Gothic can be seen as a reaction to the emotionality…