In a well-developed paragraph analyze Poe’s theme in “The Premature Burial.” Be sure you use specifics from the text that you noted in your reading journal in writing your response.
In a well-developed paragraph compare Poe’s theme in “The Premature Burial,” to something you’ve experienced, observed, or read about.
Complete the you answered about “The Premature Burial” for your reading journal.
The Fascination with Fear
The suspense. mystery. and terror that some stones induce have attracted readers for hundreds of years. Select the different dates to learn about the development of this genre.
Select the year below to read a book descriptive timeline. 1765 – 1897
1765 – Horace Walpole writes The Castle of Otranto, the first and extremely popular Gothic novel. Gothic fiction’s goal was to inspire terror and explore the supernatural; it contains elements of horror and romance.
As you can see from the timeline. the 1800s saw the development of many plot elements that continue today- vampires. monsters. ghosts. and crazed men and women. The expansion of this fear-lotting literary genre was due in part to the society at the time. which feared and. yet. was fascinated by death. the supernatural. and humanity’s dark side.
Authors began to explore rational fears in society through the irrational fears portrayed in horror fiction. A rational fear is a fear of something that actually poses some danger. such as disease. major life changes. and accidents. An irrational fear on the other hand. is a fear of something that cannot actually do any harm such as mice. monsters. or the number 13.
Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are prime examples of the common rational fear of scientific advances and experiments: both works of fiction show an experiment going wrong. with the creation of a monster that torments society.
Why do we read scary stories today?
What is the fascination with stories that raise the hair on our necks make our hearts race. and cause us to hold our breath?
That rational fears do we have today that are explored in modem literature and entertainment?
Do we read merely for the thrills and chills? Or. is there meaning to be found in these stones?
