Untamed Qualities of Nature and the Gothic Labyrinth in Gothic Drama

ČOUPKOVÁ, Eva. Untamed Qualities of Nature and the Gothic Labyrinth in Gothic Drama. In Haunted Europe. Continental Connections in English-language Gothic Writing, film and New Media. 2016.

Basic information

• Original name: Untamed Qualities of Nature and the Gothic Labyrinth in Gothic Drama
• Authors: ČOUPKOVÁ, Eva (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: Haunted Europe. Continental Connections in English-language Gothic Writing, film and New Media, 2016.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Field of Study: 60200 6.2 Languages and Literature
• Country of publisher: Netherlands
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: URL
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14640/16:00090179
• Organization unit: Language Centre
• Keywords in English: Gothic; Drama; scenery; machinery; Piranesi; Rosa

Abstract

The role of the scenery and labyrinths of Gothic castles and convents in the early Gothic novels has received a wide critical attention. Reviewers have recognized the marked influence of the continental European artists on the landscapes and interiors of Gothic structures depicted in the novels. J.B. Piranesi in his Carceri provided a model for the complicated layout of Gothic castles and their dungeons. The canvases of painters as Salvatore Rosa or Claude Lorrain set the ideal of the picturesque in the descriptions of natural phenomena. Gothic Drama, even if closely related to Gothic novel, has so far enjoyed less critical interest. Original Gothic plays as well as adaptations of Gothic novels build on the concept of continental natural scenery and intricate structures but adjust them to suit the needs of the stage. Snow-topped alpine mountains and arid Mediterranean lands, as well as labyrinthine dungeons with its long-time prisoners, reflect the troubled minds of Gothic heroes, sometimes even trying to achieve comic effects. Representations of scenery and interiors also follow the development of the stage machinery of the period.