*WINNER* Curiosity and Fear as Elements of the Sublime in Poe and Hawthorne

Abstract

This won best graduate paper in English.

In Gothic literature, the sublime proves as an essential element in most if not all of the tales and stories that fall under this umbrella. Two of the authors that use elements of the sublime in their work are Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. These two authors consistently use elements described by Edmund Burke in his book specifically discussing the sublime. Burke discusses feelings and emotions in relation to the sublime and the beautiful.
This paper, written for a graduate seminar entitled 19th Century American Literature, takes a critical approach to three works in the Gothic genre, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Black Cat, and The Minister's Black Veil. In this paper, I explore the use of fear and curiosity to portray the sublime, and discuss symbols in each story that provide subliminal effects. I discuss the effects these emotions and symbols had on the characters and how they affect the reader.