ThegthicstyleandsymbolisminARoseforEmily英语毕业论文.doc

The gothic style and symbolism in A Rose for Emily [Abstract] William Faulkner as a representative of American southern literature is widely considered to be one of the great American authors of the twentieth century .although his great works are characteristic of a particular region and time, the themes he explores are universal. his novels embodying a noticeable gothic style and symbolism have become the topic for many scholars. in the following passage, the author aims to analyze the gothic style and symbolism that are applied to William Faulkner’s popular masterpiece-“a rose for Emily”. [Key words] southern complex symbolism gothic style 1. the gothic style in a rose for Emily the gothic horror tale is a literary form dating back to 1764 with the first novel identified with the genre, Horace Walpole’s the castle of contralto. Gothicism features an atmosphere of terror and dread: gloomy castles or mansions, sinister characters, and unexplained phenomena. gothic novels and stories also often include unnatural combinations of sex and death.(short stories for students.detroit:gale,2002.from literature resource center) Faulkner himself claimed that “a rose for Emily” is a “ghost story.” in fact, Faulkner is considered by many to be the progenitor of a sub-genre, the southern gothic. the southern gothic style combines the elements of classic Gothicism with particular southern archetypes (the reclusive spinster, for example) and puts them in a southern milieu. faulkner’s novels and stories about the south include dark, taboo subjects such as murder, suicide, and incest. “a rose for Emily” has been read variously as a gothic horror tale, a study in abnormal psychology, an allegory of the relations between north and south, a meditation on the nature of time, and a tragedy with Emily as a sort of tragic heroine.” at the beginning of story, the author has already set the foundation of gothic style. the story begins with Emily’s death and her funeral, the next paragraph con