The discord between religious ideals and sin are paralleled through these texts, and attest to Christianity's influence in the literary Gothic. ... It is therefore unsurprising that the Coleridge poems, Dracula and The Bloody Chamber all display this theme, a breach of the character's moral and pious integrity in their desperation to satisfy their curiosity. ... This runs parallel with Sarah Peter's critique of Dracula, who states that 'the most significant reason for the omission of the religious and superstitious elements of the gothic novel... is the theme of imminent an...

• Word Count: 4055
• Approx Pages: 16
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The theme of sexuality is one of the primary areas where there is evidence of the distinction between the new' and old' styles of vampirism. ... Stoker's Dracula pervades strong sexual themes, blending the violent and bloody attacks of the vampires with a passionate yearning for sensual experience in mysterious night-time settings. ... The Vampire Lestat closely explores the related themes of secularisation, a cultural loss of faith' and the existential despair that can result. ... Indeed, in The Vampire Lestat, Rice rejects Christian ideals that are projected through...

• Word Count: 2816
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Although these oddities are typically found in human imagination, the use of their myth and lore has been spun into many great literary works over the centuries. ... For example, some supernatural beings can represent simple themes of temptation or vice. When boiled down to its most common form, the supernatural primarily exists in the literary device that is known as "Good vs. ... " Good and Evil and are such relative terms, but, they represent the most popular theme when it comes to the supernatural. ...

• Word Count: 2649
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The Origin of Vampire Stories There is no doubt that stories of occult as a literary theme have enjoyed large success and popularity and that they are still generally popular. ... The vampire began to appear in English literature after 1800 and it achieved its first real literary importance with the publication of Sheridan Le Fanu's novelette, Carmilla, in 1872. ... Nevertheless, the following chapters will show that this perception is not universally accurate by supporting the arguments with quotations from "The most famous of all vampire stories" as it is described on the bac...

• Word Count: 3602
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography

This is hardly surprising considering Gothic fiction's entrance onto the literary stage in mid eighteenth century England, which was dominated by the Reformation and poised to embrace the Romantic movement. ... William Freedman, in "The Literary Motif: A Definition and Evaluation," in Essentials of the Theory of Fiction, elaborates on this definition "[A motif] is generally -that is, it can be seen to carry a meaning beyond the  one immediately apparent; it represents on the verbal level something characteristic of the structure of the work, the events, the characters, ...

• Word Count: 2655
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School