Contents introduction chapter I. Horace Walpole is one of the influential writers

CHAPTER II. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole.
2.1. Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto is the original gothic novel.
The novel had a profound effect on the readership throughout Europe, as the poet Thomas Gray told Walpole, "some of us have cried a little, and are usually afraid to sleep at night."
The front cover of this copy has the initials of Horace Walpole.
In the summer of 1764, Horace Walpole, who had woken up from a dream, took a pen and wrote for two months. The end result was the castle of Otranto, the first Gothic novel published that year on Christmas Eve.
The story revolves around a complex medieval Italian castle and its owner, Manfred. It is a tale of misidentification, of supernatural events and violent explorations, and of Walpole’s deliberate attempt to challenge the fantasy fiction of his time. Otranto goes back to the fun and impossibility of medieval romances, and with subtitles of “Gothic Story,” Walpole invented the genre of the same name that still exists today.
This is a personal copy of Walpole’s second edition of Otranto. It was published four months after a successful first edition and marks Walpole as the first author. Deciding where to place his novel, Walpole turned to a map of Italy and randomly chose the city of Otranto. In 1786 he was warned of the existence of a real castle in Otranto, which was presented with a watercolor drawing by Willie Reveley, now included in this copy. Walpole was so pleased with the random resemblance between a real castle and his imaginary castle that he engraved a picture for use in later editions of the novel.
If there is one thing you need to know about me, it is that I have not committed any of the crimes I have been charged with. If there are two things you need to know about me, I love gothic fantasy.
In fact, anything that includes the word “Gothic” in the title. Gothic architecture, fashion, cinema, literature and more. I’ve always loved it, although I’ve recently been able to explain why I like it.
If you don’t know what gothic literature is, the quickest and simplest description I’ve heard was “enhanced melodrama”. This is very convenient. Everything in a Gothic work heats up to eleven, whether it’s emotions, crimes, dramatic twists and turns, and hell, and even more often the weather. Once upon a time, gothic novels were a particularly flourishing genre (less so now), but I think if we better remember gothic fiction, it’s gothic horror, which is actually the basis of my personality. Many (including me) know Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein as her first science fiction novel, but you can also call it a gothic horror. Similarly, some of Edgar Allan Poe’s works (“The Fall of Usher’s House,” for one; “Fairytale Heart,” for another).⁶
In addition to the qualities of soap opera of Gothic fiction, much of this was a reaction to the growing role of science and logic in the world in the 1700s and 1800s, as well as the era of discoveries that drew and left much of the world. very few secrets behind it. In return, the mystery had to be sought elsewhere, in fascinating ghost stories, and in paranormal clashes with dangerous other world (or spiritual) forces in distant castles, swamps, or elsewhere. There are so many places for a girl to have trouble, you know?
As a wonderful, bright, simple example of Gothic horror, I invite you to watch Crimson Peak, the best work of Guillermo del Toro. Filled with the influence of Gothic literature and its own unique masterpiece, you can get a lot out of this film. Plus, it’s the inside of my head, so who doesn’t want that?
Yesterday I thought it would be fun to start studying goth literature because I have enough goth to justify a written project I am working on. So, at first, I decided to go back to Otranto Castle, published in 1764 by Horace Walpole.
I read it with complete pleasure. Because, my friends, this book is crazy.
So a little background, because I thought it was fun. Horace Walpole was born into a wealthy family who was the son of Sir Robert Walpole. He was given very meaningless titles like treasurer and pipe inspector and so on, all of which gave him extra money to basically cheat. He traveled throughout Europe, became a count in place of his father, wrote The Castle of Otranto, and owned a printing press that openly published boring books (one of which was an anecdote of painting in England).
Oh, and according to Wikipedia, he invented the word “serendipity”. So that's good.⁷
To the madness of the book! Now I will try to repeat a part of the plot for you here. How did I understand this:
So there is a young man named Conrad who wants to marry a girl named Isabella (whose father was on a crusade and is dead or dead) and everyone suddenly wonders where Conrad is when disaster strikes and similar servants. Oh, and that’s why Prince Manfred, the master of Otranto Castle, ran into the courtyard, where we see ... a huge helmet fall off and crush Conrad.
Isabella isn't interested in that.
She escapes into the catacombs, spontaneously remembering that there’s a tunnel from this castle to a nearby church (helluva memory, since she’s just visiting this castle). Down there, she meets the young peasant, who helps her escape, but he fails to escape, and then he and Manfred argue. Manfred hauls his ass to the courtyard to be put to death. Then Friar Jerome arrives from the nearby church and is pleading for the boy’s life, and Isabella’s life I think, when he spots a birthmark on the side of the boy and realizes that the boy is his long lost son for Friar Jerome is actually also a Prince too honest it’s true
Friends, I barely scratched the surface. Then someone comes with his officers carrying a huge sword found buried, and if this huge sword is next to a huge helmet, there is a prophecy that this newcomer will get a lock. There’s a duel where the knight dies, pray for him, he dies now and then he really had wounds on his body and he’s fine. Etc.…
This is very interesting.
As interesting? All because of the DRAMA TO THE MAX and plot, some series seem calm and realistic because of their twists and turns.
You have to go and read. It’s in the Gutenberg project and it won’t take you long. And perhaps, to convince you further, I’ll leave a snippet from the book to show you what a wonderful cheese this book is, which has created a huge and wide genre.
"Paradise!" Cried Isabella, awakening from her thoughts. "What do I hear? You! My king! You! My stepfather! Conrad's father! The husband of a good and kind Hippolita ! "
I tell you, 'said Manfred in a dignified tone,' Hippolita is no longer my wife; I will divorce her from now on. For a long time he cursed me with his infertility. My destiny depends on whether I have sons or not, and I believe tonight will give my hopes a new date.
Hearing these words, he grabbed the half-dead Isabella's cold hand in fear and terror. He screamed and walked away from her, Manfred getting up to follow him, the moon already rising in the opposite window and the glowing moon rising to the height of the windows in his gaze, showing the feathers of a swaying helmet back and forth with violence and a dull rustling sound. Isabella, finding courage in her position, exclaimed, fearing nothing more than Manfred wanting his own declaration:
Look to the Lord! Look, heaven itself is protesting your evil intentions!
Hello web traveler! I come from the Crossroads of Time and I am here in 1764.
Today I travel back in time to unravel the mystery of the darkness that inhabits Lumirose Castle Park. It is the image of a woman, and when she cries, the sky darkens.
You know, many writers have told stories about ghosts and supernatural beings, curses and signs, horrors and nameless fears. I hope they help me understand why this strange and scary creature roams our beautiful garden.
This road leads to London in 1764, where we meet Horace Walpole. He is very important in our research because he wrote the first Gothic novel in 1764 - the castle of Otranto.⁸
Along the way, I talk about Gothic novels.
Name
The term Gothic novels refers to a group of novels written between the 1760s and 1820s.
The gothic qualities of this period represented the Middle Ages and were in contrast to the classics. Classic was clear, simple and balanced, modern harmonious, elegant and cultured, while Gothic was extravagant, wild, wild and primitive, rude and dark.
In architecture, this refers to the style of the period between the 12th and 16th centuries, in which the buildings are distinguished by edged arches and windows, as well as tall columns. Thus, the name “Gothic Romance” comes from the Gothic architecture where many events took place and the dark theme that explores by depicting emotions in their most dramatic expression.
18th century
The Gothic novel was an attitude to enlightenment and rationality. People developed a new sensitivity and taste to strange and mysterious things, a desire to be free and to escape the ugly truth. It was also a way of expressing the fear that evil would triumph over good and that disorder would prevail over order.
Gothic novels are the product of a world that understands social injustice. The bourgeoisie began to understand its real conditions: the migration to industrialized cities and the exploitation of industry eliminated the importance of the individual as a slave to forces beyond his control. Thus, Gothic literature can be seen as a reaction to industrialization, while Gothic elements and characters can be seen as a symbol of condemnation of social problems.
We arrived in London!
Horace Walpole, son of Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, is a Whig politician and Member of Parliament. Probably working now, let’s go to Strawberry Hill’s house, his house. Maybe we’ll find something there.
Did you know that Horace Walpole built his house in the Gothic style before it became fashionable in Victorian times?
See! It was given to us by his housewife. This is a fragment from Otranto Castle.
The movement takes place in a medieval castle during the Crusades. Conrad, the son of Prince Manfred of Otranto, wants to marry Isabella, but on his wedding day he is killed by a giant helmet. Manfred is upset by this incident, but soon decides to divorce his wife, the pious Hippolita, and marry the young and beautiful noblewoman Isabella against his will. After that, a series of dramatic and supernatural events take place and Otranto’s true heir is revealed.
There was a terrible silence in these underground areas, only doors were occasionally shaken by the gusts of wind, and in this long labyrinth of darkness, the rustling of rusty hooks echoed. Every noise would take him to a new horror
This passage of Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto is only one example that shows how the construction of the setting in this novel strongly contributes to the atmosphere of the tale. Also in other passages it becomes obvious that the description of space and landscape conveys a specific meaning within the story, and even prefigures the development throughout the plot. Nünning and Nünning mention: „Räume [fungieren] nicht nur als Schauplätze, sondern [erfüllen] eine ‚Erzählfunktion’, ‚räumliche Oppositionen [werden] zum Modell für semantische Oppositionen’“ (cf. 132). Thus, several places and the landscape depicted in the setting may function as semantic carriers (cf. ibid. 133). In this essay it will be examined in how far space is semantically charged in Walpole’s work, and how this influences the plot, the atmosphere within the story, and the reader’s perception of it. In addition, it will be shown that the semantic charging of the settings in The Castle of Otranto is also influenced by its being a Gothic novel. Therefore, a definition of the latter term will be given as well.⁹