Something Gothic This Way Comes
Dear Fine Readers,
For a long time now it has annoyed and frustrated me how people have certain misconceptions on the use of the word 'Gothic'. If I used the word to you, you'd think 'Goths', flailing emo kids dressed in all-black clothing, with white makeup and black eyeliner. Now, although Goth Chicks are hot, this image does not represent the word 'Gothic'.
'Gothic' is a nice word, and can be used in a variety of ways to describe many a thing. I read now from 'The Dead Can Sing' an introduction into 'Damage Land' by Alan Bissett:
"If there is a literary genre, meanwhile, as difficult to place the finger on, it is Gothic. The Concise edition of the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as:
"Adj.
1 of the Goths or their langauge.
2. In the style of architecture prevalent in W. Europe in the 12th-16th Century, characterised by pointed arches.
3. (of a novel, etc) in a style popular in the 18th-19th Century with supernatural or horrifying events.
4. Barbarous, uncouth.
5. Printing (of type) old-fashioned German, black letter, or sans sherif."
While Martin Gray, in A Dictionary of Literary Terms, adds:
"Any word concentrating on the bizarre, the macabre or aberrant psychological states may be called Gothic. In this sense, Gothic elements are common in much nineteenth - and twentieth - century fiction."
Herein lies my point. 'Goths' have stolen this fantastic definition for prose and reconstructed it to meet their own emotionally scarred way of life, destroying the true fabric of the word 'Gothic'. Do not let these people steal such a vibrant and useful word. By bringing this word into your daily language, you too can help educate the world, removing all previous overtones the 'Goths' have laid upon it. Give the word 'Gothic' back it's dread, dark, psychologically bizarre and macabre definition, instead of this make-up wearing band of misfits that have chosen to use it for themselves.
In conclusion, I want this word to be given the respect that it deserves. For it to be understood for what it is, and not what a pack of kids claim it to mean. Use it, to excess!
Sincerely,
L.J.M
P.S. Goth chicks are hot.
Dear Fine Readers,
For a long time now it has annoyed and frustrated me how people have certain misconceptions on the use of the word 'Gothic'. If I used the word to you, you'd think 'Goths', flailing emo kids dressed in all-black clothing, with white makeup and black eyeliner. Now, although Goth Chicks are hot, this image does not represent the word 'Gothic'.
'Gothic' is a nice word, and can be used in a variety of ways to describe many a thing. I read now from 'The Dead Can Sing' an introduction into 'Damage Land' by Alan Bissett:
"If there is a literary genre, meanwhile, as difficult to place the finger on, it is Gothic. The Concise edition of the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as:
"Adj.
1 of the Goths or their langauge.
2. In the style of architecture prevalent in W. Europe in the 12th-16th Century, characterised by pointed arches.
3. (of a novel, etc) in a style popular in the 18th-19th Century with supernatural or horrifying events.
4. Barbarous, uncouth.
5. Printing (of type) old-fashioned German, black letter, or sans sherif."
While Martin Gray, in A Dictionary of Literary Terms, adds:
"Any word concentrating on the bizarre, the macabre or aberrant psychological states may be called Gothic. In this sense, Gothic elements are common in much nineteenth - and twentieth - century fiction."
Herein lies my point. 'Goths' have stolen this fantastic definition for prose and reconstructed it to meet their own emotionally scarred way of life, destroying the true fabric of the word 'Gothic'. Do not let these people steal such a vibrant and useful word. By bringing this word into your daily language, you too can help educate the world, removing all previous overtones the 'Goths' have laid upon it. Give the word 'Gothic' back it's dread, dark, psychologically bizarre and macabre definition, instead of this make-up wearing band of misfits that have chosen to use it for themselves.
In conclusion, I want this word to be given the respect that it deserves. For it to be understood for what it is, and not what a pack of kids claim it to mean. Use it, to excess!
Sincerely,
L.J.M
P.S. Goth chicks are hot.
Welcome to SG! That certainly is a well written introduction.
You're in SGScotland now, get over there and make some noise.