Svolgi i seguenti 24 esercizi sul romanzo gotico inglese. Lavora in inglese, motiva le tue scelte quando richiesto e fai attenzione al lessico specifico del genere. Quando un esercizio chiede una risposta scritta più lunga, organizza il pensiero in frasi complete e ordinate.
- Which novel is traditionally considered the first Gothic novel?
- A) The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
- B) The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
- C) The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis
- D) Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- In which year was the foundational Gothic novel published?
- A) 1714
- B) 1764
- C) 1798
- D) 1818
- In Ann Radcliffe's novels, supernatural events are usually given a rational explanation by the end of the story.
- Vero / Falso
- The Gothic novel was born in France during the Napoleonic wars and only arrived in Britain much later.
- Vero / Falso
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The aesthetic category of the ___, theorised by Edmund Burke, describes the mixture of awe and fear inspired by grand or terrifying natural landscapes and is essential to Gothic atmosphere.
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In Mary Shelley's novel, the scientist Victor ___ creates a living creature out of dead body parts and is destroyed by his own ambition.
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The literary device known as ___ fallacy, in which nature mirrors the emotions of the characters, is very common in Gothic descriptions of storms and gloomy landscapes.
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Match each Gothic author with the correct work. | Colonna A | Colonna B | |---|---| | Horace Walpole | The Mysteries of Udolpho | | Ann Radcliffe | The Monk | | Matthew G. Lewis | Frankenstein | | Mary Shelley | Dracula | | Bram Stoker | Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde | | Robert L. Stevenson | The Castle of Otranto |
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Match each typical element of the Gothic novel with the correct definition. | Colonna A | Colonna B | |---|---| | Setting | Tyrannical figure driven by ambition, lust or revenge | | Villain | Young, sensitive woman, often persecuted and innocent | | Heroine | Letters, diaries or 'found' manuscripts that introduce the story | | Framing device | A double or hidden second self of a character | | Doppelgänger | Isolated castle, abbey or ruin in a wild landscape |
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Which of the following is NOT a typical Gothic theme?
- A) The tyranny of the past and ancestral curses
- B) The conflict between reason and the irrational
- C) The celebration of industrial progress and urban life
- D) Forbidden desire and moral transgression
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen can best be described as:
- A) A late Romantic horror story
- B) A parody of the Gothic novel
- C) A historical novel about the Middle Ages
- D) A scientific Gothic novel
- Frankenstein uses a framing structure of letters written by the explorer Walton to his sister.
- Vero / Falso
- In the Gothic of horror, supernatural events are always revealed to be tricks or misunderstandings.
- Vero / Falso
- Which pair of authors best represents, respectively, the Gothic of suspense and the Gothic of horror?
- A) Walpole and Austen
- B) Radcliffe and Lewis
- C) Stoker and Stevenson
- D) Poe and Shelley
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Bram Stoker's 1897 novel ___ uses diaries, letters and newspaper articles to tell the story of a Transylvanian vampire who travels to England.
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Briefly explain the difference between 'Gothic of suspense' and 'Gothic of horror', naming at least one representative author for each.
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Describe three typical features of a Gothic setting and explain why each one contributes to the atmosphere of the genre.
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Discuss how Frankenstein can be read as a critical reflection on the limits of scientific knowledge in the early 19th century. Refer to plot, characters and historical context.
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Analyse the figure of the persecuted heroine in the Gothic novel and explain why feminist criticism has found this character particularly interesting.
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In your opinion, which contemporary cultural product (a film, a series, a video game, a song) is the most direct heir of the Gothic novel? Justify your answer with at least three concrete references to Gothic conventions.
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Read this short invented passage and identify FIVE Gothic elements, explaining each in one sentence: 'A pale moon hung over the ruined abbey of Saint Wulfric. Eleanor pulled her cloak tighter as the great oak door creaked behind her. A portrait of a long-dead abbot seemed to follow her with its eyes, while distant chanting rose from a chapel that everyone in the village swore had been empty for two hundred years. On the cold stone floor she found a yellowed letter, sealed with black wax, that began: My dear child, the curse of our family is not yet over.'
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Build a short Gothic scene of about 8-10 lines that uses the following ingredients: a thunderstorm, a candle that goes out, a hidden door, a young female protagonist, and a mysterious voice. Then list, under your text, which conventional Gothic element each detail represents.
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List three modern genres or media (literature, cinema, games, music) that descend directly from the Gothic novel and, for each, indicate one specific Gothic convention they reuse.
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Explain in your own words why the Gothic novel appeared in the second half of the 18th century, despite the apparent triumph of Enlightenment rationalism.