Following a distinction drawn by Ann Radcliffe in her essay "On the Supernatural in Poetry," many critics rely upon a sharp division between the literatures of terror and horror.
Works of terror create a sense of uncertain apprehension that leads to a
complex fear of obscure and dreadful elements [see the sublime]. The
essence of terror stimulates the imagination and often challenges intellectual
reasoning to arrive at a somewhat plausible explanation of this ambiguous fear
and anxiety. Resolution of the terror provides a means of escape.
Works of horror are constructed from a maze of alarmingly concrete imagery
designed to induce fear, shock, revulsion, and disgust. Horror appeals to
lower mental faculties, such as curiosity and voyeurism. Elements of
horror render the reader incapable of resolution and subject the reader's mind
to a state of inescapable confusion and chaos. The inability to
intellectualize horror inflicts a sense of obscure despair.
No comments:
Post a Comment