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Renascence, v. 1, issue 1, August 1950
Page 8
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THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE GOTHIC TALE —CONTINUED FROM RECEDING PAGE passages; supernatural manifestations of all sorts; a sinister cleric; the old servant; a Byronic villian, smooth, evil, a partner of the devil, and associated with great natural forces; and, oddly enough, a touch of incest. The Castle of Otranto, however, was more than the first Gothic romance; it was the ancestor of all historical romances or historical novels, as they are called today. In itself The Castle of Otranto is not an impressive novel, but its influence upon English literature was tremendous. Neither was Walpole one of the greats of English literature. His importance lies in the fact that he wrote the right thing at the right time. He collected and combined all of the Gothic and romantic elements of his day and synthesized them with the structural framework of a novel. The success of the novel, and its descendents as well is ample demonstration that the Gothic romance was a literary form for which the reading public had been psychologically ready and waiting, whether it knew it or not. Between 1764 and the turn of the century a number of other writers climbed aboard the literary gravy train of the Gothic romance. Outstanding among these were Ann Radcliffe and Mathew "Monk" Lewis. Their two best novels, Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho and Lewis' Ambrosio, the Monk, together with the Castle of Otranto form the holy trinity of the 19th century Gothic tale. Ann Radcliffe represents the restrained, or polite school of Gothic literature, whcih was only fitting, since she was a restrained and conservative woman who wrote to occupy her time while her husband was away on business. She excelled in developing terror and intrigue against a landscape of romantic and picturesque beauty, a highly effective technique in that it achieves terror through contrast. Unfortunatel, she always poiled the effect by providing a mundane explanation for the supernatural occurances in the story. Although her style and skill probably reduced many a loung lady of the 18th and 19th centuries to a deliciously quivering mass of goose-flesh, it was said of her that she "never violated gentility or sensibility." Mathew Lewis, on the other hand, was an expert at violating sensibility. He preferred crude horror and phsical terror. His monsters were satisfyingly monstrous. It is in Ambrosio, the Monk that the sinister churchman of the earlier tales becomes a depraved character. The hints of incest found in earlier Gothic romances are brought completely out into the open. Lewis was also a specialist in descriptions of sexual ecstacy. When Ambrosio appeared in 1796 it sent England into a flutter. When the second edition appeared it was well expurgated. Another element introduced by Lewis, which applies to literature in general, was the type of writing that stops at nothing to achieve a desired effect. Unfortunately, this technique has been developed to a higher degree of perfection, especially by many writers of the modern school. However, it can be, and often is used effectively, whether the author is attempting to create an effect or whether he is merely trying to sell his book. Ambrosio the Monk was a best seller in its day, and despite its dated style is still a worthwhile and enjoyable example of the classic Gothic romance. From the beginning of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th the Gothic tale ahas been a well established and popular form of literature. Almost every writer, either by intent orby accident, hos at one time or another tried his hand at a Gothic tale, or has at least introduced the Gothic element into a story. The Gothic element, of course, does not necessarily refer to merely the supernatural. The most effective Gothic tales, both past and present, are those in which the author has dealt with the unnatural rather than the supernatural aspects of horror. There seem to be something infinitely more shocking about the horror story that takes place within the realm of probability. Such stories as Ambrose Bierce's Horseman in the Sky or H.G. Wells' The Cone demonstrate how effectively the inhuman elements, as opposed to the unhuman or non-human elements, can be used. For a haunting and lasting impression of nightmare terror it might be well to read a few non-fantasy horror tales. Try William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily or Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms. Neither of them contains the vaguest suggestion of anything supernatural, but they create a sensation of horror that goes far beyong anything to be found in the clossic Gothic tale, especially for the more sophisticated and somewhate jaded readers of fantasy fiction. What's more, they're good literature. LORE OF CAPTAIN FUTURE: No. 1, THE STAR STREAK MYSTERY By WILLIAM D. KNAPHEIDE The Star Streak episode began many years before the time of Captain Future, but it was Captain Future and the Futuresmen who finally solved the mystery. Doctor Webster Kelso, physicist and engineer of great ability, blasted from Earth to establish a colony on Pluto. Dr. Kelso possesed a number of scientific secrets which he took with him—some at least were intended to aid the colony in its establishment. The Star Streak, Dr. Kelso's colonizing ship, left crowded New York spaceport to found the colony. The ship was a sizeable craft. In his speech at the spaceport just before leaving he indicated that he was taking fifty men and women colonists and two hundred robots to assist in the construction. The construction of these machine robots consisted of both legs and arms being of girders, their boxlike bodies contained the essential internal organs and the brain reposed in the cube shaped head. These robots were apparently to build a city for their human masters on Pluto and then the humans were to occupy the city. The frigid condition of Pluto and other circumstances would have made it extremely difficult, of not impossible, for the colonists themselves to build the city. The Star Streak blasted off on its fateful mission, however, for a while regular televisor calls kept the Star Streak in touch with Earth. The last call came when the Star Streak was near the orbit of Saturn. This call was weak and broken and indicated that a mutiny of some sort had taken place. Since no further message was received, the people of the Solar System assumed that the robots had mutinied and caused the ship to be wrecked. Saturn and all of its moons were searched at the time but not trace of the ship could be found. The only other body in the vicinity at the time was Kansu's Comet, which at that time was believed to have a non-solid core. When Captain Future and the Futuremen solved this mystery, they found that the ship had crashed on Kansu's Comet, which had been shown by that time to have a solid core, and that the men, not the robots, had mutinied. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL FOOTNOTE Edmond Hamilton,"Star Trail to Glory," Captain Future Man of Tomorrow, 2:52 - 55, Spring, 1941.
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THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE GOTHIC TALE —CONTINUED FROM RECEDING PAGE passages; supernatural manifestations of all sorts; a sinister cleric; the old servant; a Byronic villian, smooth, evil, a partner of the devil, and associated with great natural forces; and, oddly enough, a touch of incest. The Castle of Otranto, however, was more than the first Gothic romance; it was the ancestor of all historical romances or historical novels, as they are called today. In itself The Castle of Otranto is not an impressive novel, but its influence upon English literature was tremendous. Neither was Walpole one of the greats of English literature. His importance lies in the fact that he wrote the right thing at the right time. He collected and combined all of the Gothic and romantic elements of his day and synthesized them with the structural framework of a novel. The success of the novel, and its descendents as well is ample demonstration that the Gothic romance was a literary form for which the reading public had been psychologically ready and waiting, whether it knew it or not. Between 1764 and the turn of the century a number of other writers climbed aboard the literary gravy train of the Gothic romance. Outstanding among these were Ann Radcliffe and Mathew "Monk" Lewis. Their two best novels, Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho and Lewis' Ambrosio, the Monk, together with the Castle of Otranto form the holy trinity of the 19th century Gothic tale. Ann Radcliffe represents the restrained, or polite school of Gothic literature, whcih was only fitting, since she was a restrained and conservative woman who wrote to occupy her time while her husband was away on business. She excelled in developing terror and intrigue against a landscape of romantic and picturesque beauty, a highly effective technique in that it achieves terror through contrast. Unfortunatel, she always poiled the effect by providing a mundane explanation for the supernatural occurances in the story. Although her style and skill probably reduced many a loung lady of the 18th and 19th centuries to a deliciously quivering mass of goose-flesh, it was said of her that she "never violated gentility or sensibility." Mathew Lewis, on the other hand, was an expert at violating sensibility. He preferred crude horror and phsical terror. His monsters were satisfyingly monstrous. It is in Ambrosio, the Monk that the sinister churchman of the earlier tales becomes a depraved character. The hints of incest found in earlier Gothic romances are brought completely out into the open. Lewis was also a specialist in descriptions of sexual ecstacy. When Ambrosio appeared in 1796 it sent England into a flutter. When the second edition appeared it was well expurgated. Another element introduced by Lewis, which applies to literature in general, was the type of writing that stops at nothing to achieve a desired effect. Unfortunately, this technique has been developed to a higher degree of perfection, especially by many writers of the modern school. However, it can be, and often is used effectively, whether the author is attempting to create an effect or whether he is merely trying to sell his book. Ambrosio the Monk was a best seller in its day, and despite its dated style is still a worthwhile and enjoyable example of the classic Gothic romance. From the beginning of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th the Gothic tale ahas been a well established and popular form of literature. Almost every writer, either by intent orby accident, hos at one time or another tried his hand at a Gothic tale, or has at least introduced the Gothic element into a story. The Gothic element, of course, does not necessarily refer to merely the supernatural. The most effective Gothic tales, both past and present, are those in which the author has dealt with the unnatural rather than the supernatural aspects of horror. There seem to be something infinitely more shocking about the horror story that takes place within the realm of probability. Such stories as Ambrose Bierce's Horseman in the Sky or H.G. Wells' The Cone demonstrate how effectively the inhuman elements, as opposed to the unhuman or non-human elements, can be used. For a haunting and lasting impression of nightmare terror it might be well to read a few non-fantasy horror tales. Try William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily or Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms. Neither of them contains the vaguest suggestion of anything supernatural, but they create a sensation of horror that goes far beyong anything to be found in the clossic Gothic tale, especially for the more sophisticated and somewhate jaded readers of fantasy fiction. What's more, they're good literature. LORE OF CAPTAIN FUTURE: No. 1, THE STAR STREAK MYSTERY By WILLIAM D. KNAPHEIDE The Star Streak episode began many years before the time of Captain Future, but it was Captain Future and the Futuresmen who finally solved the mystery. Doctor Webster Kelso, physicist and engineer of great ability, blasted from Earth to establish a colony on Pluto. Dr. Kelso possesed a number of scientific secrets which he took with him—some at least were intended to aid the colony in its establishment. The Star Streak, Dr. Kelso's colonizing ship, left crowded New York spaceport to found the colony. The ship was a sizeable craft. In his speech at the spaceport just before leaving he indicated that he was taking fifty men and women colonists and two hundred robots to assist in the construction. The construction of these machine robots consisted of both legs and arms being of girders, their boxlike bodies contained the essential internal organs and the brain reposed in the cube shaped head. These robots were apparently to build a city for their human masters on Pluto and then the humans were to occupy the city. The frigid condition of Pluto and other circumstances would have made it extremely difficult, of not impossible, for the colonists themselves to build the city. The Star Streak blasted off on its fateful mission, however, for a while regular televisor calls kept the Star Streak in touch with Earth. The last call came when the Star Streak was near the orbit of Saturn. This call was weak and broken and indicated that a mutiny of some sort had taken place. Since no further message was received, the people of the Solar System assumed that the robots had mutinied and caused the ship to be wrecked. Saturn and all of its moons were searched at the time but not trace of the ship could be found. The only other body in the vicinity at the time was Kansu's Comet, which at that time was believed to have a non-solid core. When Captain Future and the Futuremen solved this mystery, they found that the ship had crashed on Kansu's Comet, which had been shown by that time to have a solid core, and that the men, not the robots, had mutinied. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL FOOTNOTE Edmond Hamilton,"Star Trail to Glory," Captain Future Man of Tomorrow, 2:52 - 55, Spring, 1941.
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