Showing posts with label gothic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gothic. Show all posts

Friday, 27 July 2012

Gothic Narrative-English Literature Transitions

During my transitions last month, we were looking at the aspects of Gothic texts. My lecturer set us to do our own piece of Gothic, well he did say "poem" but also said "narrative" so I tried doing a poem...but it didn't turn out so good...I then turned to the narrative. I found I was a lot more successful with my creative juices flowing...Well I'll leave it up to you guys; here it is.

"I can’t believe I concocted the idea to get home at this hour. I should have just stayed. However, I wanted to escape the unbearable atmosphere created by secrets passing from ear to ear. Scandals. In this winter darkness it’s hard to tell where I am...Which way am I going? It can’t be too late already. Surely? Hmmm...As I walk down this turning pathway, I must’ve made a wrong turn by foot...As i don’t remember passing these moors earlier. I can hear the cooing of night owls, and the flapping of birds fighting, rustling from the surrounding trees. I think about heading back the way I’ve come, but I don’t want to, it feels like some unnatural force guiding me through the oncoming mist crawling across the landscape. When I look around at the trees, bare to the branches, I could see the moonlight reflecting off on watching birds, glaring at me through the black shadows. My heart started slowly pounding, faster and faster it went, my breathing becoming sharp and jagged. I can see my breath escaping from my breath, as the air is getting colder, a chill in the air making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I stop moving. I turn my head very carefully and slowly to look behind me. I could feel some one watching me, this time it’s not the birds. I can just tell that it’s not them, it’s a different feeling. It’s so dark I can’t barely make out the trees some metres behind me...I squint my eyes to try and make out human shapes. But I fail miserably as no one’s eyes would be able to pass the challenge. Suddenly I try to make my senses step up a notch, my ears are pricked ready to hear human movements, my eyes open wide to take in my surroundings, and this sixth sense we’re supposed to have to pick up strange feelings, as this is a strange place. Between the feeling of being followed and the eyes of the birds, I can’t help but feel like being rounded up, being seeked out. I quicken my pace, but to where? Where am I going to go? I definitely can’t go back for fear of running into my possible follower. I’ll just keep heading forward, maybe I’ll find a house and people...but how do I know, there could be everlasting landscape for miles. It’s worth a shot, I think. The only light that’s guiding me is the moonlight, I can barely see my feet beneath me, but I am putting my all into moving as fast as I could, in the hope of getting somewhere safe for the night. I can hear the high pitched wind howling through the trees and over the hilly moors and blowing my hair around my face. With the noisy wind it’s hard to pick out any other noises, it’s blocking my hearing and taking much more effort to move. The wind is pushing against me, like a hand moving me backwards, with my hair blowing about I can’t see where I’m going, I try to wrestle with the wind but I get pushed into something, a tree? It’s hard and it feels like it’s grabbing me...or is it branches pulling on my clothing? I can’t decide whether to keep moving or give up. I get pushed further and further back, I still can’t see, it’s too dark! But there should be the moon light...where is it? I’ve been knocked to the ground, by what? I reach my hands out to grab something or whatever pushed me over, I can’t feel anything in my reach or my closed fists. It’s so dark, it wasn’t this dark before. I try to use my feet but it’s like I can’t feel them anymore. I think. I think really hard to try and regain control of my limbs. I don’t know if it’s working. I suddenly feel really sleepy, drowsy even, I can feel myself slipping away...I hear a screaming, is it me? Am I screaming? I can’t tell anymore, I can’t feel anything, I can only think, only just about..."