A level plain of a vast extent on land, is certainly no mean idea the prospect of such a plain may be as extensive as a prospect of the ocean but can it ever fill the mind with anything so great as the ocean itself? This is owing to several causes but it is owing to none more than this, that the ocean is an object of no small terror. And to things of great dimensions, if we annex an adventitious idea of terror, they become without comparison greater. As serpents and poisonous animals of almost all kinds. There are many animals, who, though far from being large, are yet capable of raising ideas of the sublime, because they are considered as objects of terror. Whatever therefore is terrible, with regard to sight, is sublime too, whether this cause of terror be endued with greatness of dimensions or not for it is impossible to look on anything as trifling, or contemptible, that may be dangerous. For fear being an apprehension of pain or death, it operates in a manner that resembles actual pain. No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear. The cause of this I shall endeavor to investigate hereafter. When danger or pain press too nearly, they are incapable of giving any delight, and are simply terrible but at certain distances, and with certain modifications, they may be, and they are, delightful, as we every day experience. But as pain is stronger in its operation than pleasure, so death is in general a much more affecting idea than pain because there are very few pains, however exquisite, which are not preferred to death: nay, what generally makes pain itself, if I may say so, more painful, is, that it is considered as an emissary of this king of terrors. Nay, I am in great doubt whether any man could be found, who would earn a life of the most perfect satisfaction at the price of ending it in the torments, which justice inflicted in a few hours on the late unfortunate regicide in France. Without all doubt, the torments which we may be made to suffer are much greater in their effect on the body and mind, than any pleasures which the most learned voluptuary could suggest, or than the liveliest imagination, and the most sound and exquisitely sensible body, could enjoy. I say the strongest emotion, because I am satisfied the ideas of pain are much more powerful than those which enter on the part of pleasure. Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain and danger, that is to say, whatever is in any sort terrible, or is conversant about terrible objects, or operates in a manner analogous to terror, is a source of the sublime that is, it is productive of the strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling. The use of terror illuminates how the marginalized, once given a voice, cope with their harrowing predicaments, and reading about these struggles helps foster comprehension and empathy.\) It is important to look at the sublime in the lens of both the characters’ experiences and the real world contexts that influence them.īeyond identifying the sublime, a crucial part of looking at this technique is seeing how the fears present in Gothic literature factor into real life concerns, such as the enforced roles and restrictions faced by women. In fact, this concept deals with how authors capture their characters’ trauma and fear. In Gothic novels, no matter the setting or villain, the sublime exists as a different experience than appreciating natural beauty. Examples of Gothic literature range from dark romances to supernatural mysteries. This use of terror is called the sublime, which is an important tool in these narratives. Romantic literature elicits personal pleasure from natural beauty, and Gothic fiction takes this aesthetic reaction and subverts it by creating delight and confusion from terror. Essentially, Romanticism is a reaction against the Enlightenment, a time that revolutionized scientific thought, and emphasizes emotional response and intuition over clinical knowledge. Gothic literature is a combination of horror fiction and Romantic thought Romantic thought encompasses awe toward nature. With ghosts, spacious castles, and fainting heroes, Gothic fiction conveys both thrill and intrigue.
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