The sublime and The uncanny

Question 1

What is the sublime in Gothic literature, and who defined it?

Answer 1

The sublime is an overwhelming mixture of awe and terror, often inspired by vast or powerful natural forces.
Defined by Edmund Burke in A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (1757).

Question 2

How does the sublime link to setting in Gothic literature?

Answer 2

Sublime settings (e.g., mountains, storms, castles) convey nature’s power and human vulnerability.

Question 3

Give a critic quote on the sublime in the Gothic.

Answer 3

Robert Doran (2015): “The sublime in the Gothic it unsettles characters and readers alike.”

Question 4

How does Radcliffe’s idea of terror relate to the sublime?

Answer 4

Terror aligns with the sublime, invoking awe and vastness through the unknown or unseen.

Question 5

What is the uncanny and who defined it?

Answer 5

The uncanny is the familiar made strange; it evokes discomfort by revealing repressed fears or distorted normality.
Defined by Sigmund Freud in The Uncanny (1919).

Question 6

Give a critic quote on the uncanny.

Answer 6

Freud: “The uncanny is that class of frightening which leads back to what is known of old and long familiar.”
(The Uncanny, 1919)