Journal:
Create a very short story
(5 – 7 sentences) that
explains the character
depicted. Think: Why is
she sitting like this?
What is the tone of the
picture? Make sure you
use the same tone in
your short story!
DARK
ROMANTICISM
This is where it gets weird…
As the second piece to the
Romantic movement, Dark
Romanticism explores the
potential evil in the
individual.
CHARACTERS
Characters are fueled by
anxiety and guilt.
Characters are in
psychological or physical
torment.
SETTINGS
Bleak or remote places
Ominous
(something bad is coming…)
Large, drafty old houses
that have "been in the family
for years."
PLOT
Morbid or violent incidents
A supernatural or
otherworldly element is often
present. (Think: ghosts, doors
that open themselves,
unexplained sounds, etc.)
GOTHIC ELEMENTS
 Grotesque, mysterious, desolate
 Atmosphere of mystery and suspense
 Omens, foreshadowing, and dreams
 Highly charged emotional states like: terror, a feeling that
one is on the brink of insanity, anger, agitation, an
exaggerated feeling of some impending doom, and obsessive
love.
 Words designed to evoke images of gloom and doom: dark,
foreboding, forbidding, ghostly, etc.
MAIN IDEAS
Triumph of evil over good
Inevitability of sin and guilt in
humanity
Perverse and self-destructive nature of
mankind
Extremes of individualism
What about this image makes it
Dark Romantic?
What about this image makes it
Dark Romantic?
What about this image makes it
Dark Romantic?
EDGAR ALLAN POE
(1809 – 1849)
“A BIBLE OF FEAR”
 Born in Boston, Massachusetts
 Mother dies, father leaves
 Lives with Allan family, but never adopted
 Marries Virginia, his 13 year-old cousin (not as weird as it is
today).
 Travel, job instability, alcoholism
 Virginia dies at 25…Poe goes downhill
 Dies at age 40 in Baltimore (The cause of his death is
unknown and has been attributed to alcohol, brain congestion,
cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and
other agents.)
CAREERS
 Joined the U.S. military; eventually,
attended West Point for a short time
until he found a way to be dismissed.
 He was the first well-known American
writer to try to earn a living through
writing alone, resulting in a financially
difficult life and career.
POE’S WRITING
A truthful, often vicious, editor
Worked hard at horror elements to affect
reader
Created detective story at age 32 (“Murders
in the Rue Morgue”)
Very influential (worldwide) and very
debated
Wrote about extreme situations & settings to
expose true human nature
POE’S WORKS
“The Raven”
“Annabel Lee”
“The Black Cat”
“The Cask of Amontillado”
“The Tell-Tale Heart”
“The Fall of the House of Usher”
NATHANIEL
HAWTHORNE
(1804 – 1864)
A BIOGRAPHY
 Born in Salem, Massachusetts (related to Judge Hathorne)
 Father dies early, mother becomes recluse
 12 years of intense reading & writing
 Added a “w” to his last name
 Married in his 30s
 Scarlet Letter cements his popularity
 Friend to Franklin Pierce, Herman Melville, Emerson,
Longfellow
HAWTHORNE’S
WRITING
Cautionary tales
Suggest that sin, guilt, and evil
are the most natural human
qualities
Inspired by Puritans
HAWTHORNE’S
WORKS
 “Young Goodman Brown”
 “Dr. Heidigger’s Experiment”
 “The Minister’s Black Veil”
 “The Birth-mark”
 The Scarlet Letter
 The House of the Seven Gables
VIEW…
 View “The Life of Vincent Malloy” by Tim Burton
 Reflection: How is “Vincent” an example of Dark Romanticism?