A Study of Gothic Novels Based on The Castle of Otranto and Frankenstein【开题报告】.doc

1、1 本科毕业论文开题报告 英语 A Study of Gothic Novels Based on The Castle of Otranto and Frankenstein 课题研究意义及国内外研究现状 “Goth” is the Gothic national tribal name of Dayton， and later was used to refer to a kind of medieval architectural style. The Gothic novel first appeared in the United Kingdom in the latter half

2、 of the 18th century. The publishing of Horace Walpole The Castle of Otranto marked the appearance of Gothic novel. Gothic novel contains obvious features: acts of terror, mystery, magic and suspense. It usually uses castles, monsters or wilderness as its background and describes homicide, violence,

3、 vengeful ghosts or paranormal phenomena to create a gloomy atmosphere. Gothic novel was short-lived of not more than a century from its appearance to disillusionment. However, there are still some classical works left for readers. The Castle of Otranto was the first Gothic novel, which contained Go

4、thic factors that refuted realism and rationalism in British literary culture. Frankenstein led Gothic novel to be magical, and later affecting todays popular science fiction themes. A series of research on Gothic novels has been made so far. The western literary critics define it as “Dark Romantici

5、sm”, because Gothic novel takes a lot of words describing violence and terror in its plot, and its theme reveals the darkness of society and government. American scholar Mark Edmundson in his Nightmare on Main Street (1997) said that “One of the common functions of the Gothic is to turn anxiety, the

6、 vague but insistent fear of what will happen in the future into suspense.” (P.12). Melville (1857) said that Horace Walpoles The Castle of Otranto discovered a new mine in English literature. Many researchers have studies on the history of Gothic novels. One focus is the fading of Gothic novels. Ac

7、cording to English scholar Franz Potter, he makes a conclusion in his The History of Gothic Publishing 1800-1835 that Gothic Novel gradually quit the stage of history from 1800 to 1835. Western researchers established the International Gothic Association in 1991 for 2 the research of Gothic novel. I

8、t has been regarded as a literary phenomenon. Compared with the west, China has not so much research of Gothic novel. Chinese scholars research on Gothic novel mainly follows the step of westerners. The author of this thesis is trying to make a detailed analysis of Gothic novels through the comparis

9、on of The Castle of Otranto and Frankenstein and sum up the development and artistic features of Gothic novel. It is hoped that this study can be helpful for English learners to have a better understanding of Gothic novels. 课题研究的主要内容、预期目标和研究方案 This thesis will generally consist of five parts. The be

10、ginning part is the introduction. The second part mainly focuses on the definition and features of Gothic novel. The third part intends to give an introduction to The Castle of Otranto and Frankenstein, as well as comparative analysis of two works. The fourth part will be mainly about the significan

11、ce of Gothic novels appearance and its influence on latter works. The last part will draw a natural conclusion, in which a general review of the above analysis will be made and suggestions on further research efforts will be also put forward. The author hopes that this thesis will enable readers to

12、learn Gothic novels better through a detailed analysis of Gothic novels. The author will make a comparative analysis between The Castle of Otranto and Frankenstein to sum up the common features of Gothic novel and its influence on later works. The content of this paper is constructed as follows: 1.

13、Introduction 2. Definition and Features of Gothic Novel 2.1 Definition of Goth 2.2 Features of Gothic Novel 3. Introduction and Analysis of Frankenstein and The Castle of Otranto 3.1 Introduction to Frankenstein 3 3.1.1 Brief Introduction to Plot 3.1.2 Analysis of Characters 3.1.3 Analysis of Theme

14、3.2 Introduction to The Castle of Otranto 3.2.1 Brief Introduction to Plot 3.2.2 Analysis of Characters 3.2.3 Analysis of Theme 3.3 Comparative Analysis of Frankenstein and The Castle of Otranto 3.3.1 The Common Features of the Two Works 3.3.2 Frankensteins Inheritance and Innovation from The Castle

15、 of Otranto 4. Significance and Influence of the Gothic Novels 4.1 Significance of Gothic Novels 4.2 Influences of Gothic Novels on Later Works 5. Conclusion 课题进度计划 1准备阶段（第六学期第 9-13 周） 1）召开毕业论文工作动员大会，向学生介绍毕业论文的要求与相关规定。 2）学生确定并上报研究方向，各系根据老师研究方向指定指导教师，并公布指导教师名单。 写作阶段 ）第六学期第 14-17 周：选题、任务书 ）第六学期第 18-20

16、 周：开题报告、文献综述 ）第三学年暑假至第七学期第 2 周：初稿写作并上交 ）第七学期第 3-8 周：一稿修改、提交二稿 ）第七学期第 9-15 周：二稿修改、提交三稿 ）第七学期第 16-20 周：三 稿修改、提交初定稿 答辩阶段 ）第八学期第 1-4 周：论文评阅与答辩 ）第八学期第 5-6 周：论文定稿、文档归整 4 参考文献 1 Edmundson, Mark. Nightmare on Main Street: angels, sadomasochism, and the culture of Gothic M. New York: Harvard University Press

17、, 1999. 2 Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein M. New York: Bantam Classics, 1984. 3 Varma, Devendra P. The Gothic Flame M. New York: The Scarecrow Press, 1987. 4 Walpole, Horace. The Castle of Otranto M. London: Penguin Classics, 2010. 5 韩加明 (Han, Jiaming). 简论哥特小说的产生和发展 J. 国外文学 , 2000(1) :36-41. 6 李伟昉 (Li, Weifang). 黑色经典 : 英国哥特体小说论 M. 北京 :中国社会科学出版社 , 2005. 7肖 明翰 (Xiao, Minghan). 英 美文学 中的 哥特传 统 J. 外国文 学评 论 , 2001(2) :90-100. 8 张爱民 (Zhang, Aimin). 浅谈哥特式小说的发展及影响 J. 济宁师专学报 , 2000, 21(4) :36-38. 指导教师审核意见 指导教师签名： 年 月 日