H. P. Lovecraft and the Literature of the Fantastic: Explorations in a Literary Genre
H. P. Lovecraft and the Literature of the Fantastic: Explorations in a Literary Genre

Author: Bernd Steiner

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2007-11

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 3638844625

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Examination Thesis from the year 2005 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, Catholic University Eichst tt-Ingolstadt, 57 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: As the title suggests, this paper aims at pointing out the major characteristics of the literature of the fantastic and combining this theoretical approach with a study of the work of one of the most significant representatives of said genre, the American writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937). Consequently, the first major part of this paper is dedicated to a brief study of the genre of fantastic literature in general, particularly the very problematic task of defining its distinctive characteristics. By looking at the fantastic tradition in America (particularly that of New England), including the prevalent features and themes marking the American variety of the fantastic, and highlighting the contribution some eminent American authors have made to the genre, the second part then focuses on the fantastic in American literature. Finally, the third major section of this paper provides a detailed study of the life and work of one of the chief American writers of fantastic prose fiction, H. P. Lovecraft. After an account of Lovecraft's life and personality (including some of the countless misconceptions circulating since his death), a critical evaluation of his literary achievement and influences, and a short discussion of his impact on modern popular culture, a large part of this section is dedicated to a thorough analysis of his unique concept of fantastic fiction: while certain aspects of his work inevitably link him to his literary precursors, there are others clearly setting him apart from any writer of the fantastic that came before him. The paper is concluded by brief case studies of three of Lovecraft's most popular short stories.

The Weird
The Weird

Author: Jeff VanderMeer

Publisher: Tor Books

Published: 2012-01-24

Total Pages: 2482

ISBN-13: 1466803193

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From Lovecraft to Borges to Gaiman, a century of intrepid literary experimentation has created a corpus of dark and strange stories that transcend all known genre boundaries. Together these stories form The Weird, and its practitioners include some of the greatest names in twentieth and twenty-first century literature. Exotic and esoteric, The Weird plunges you into dark domains and brings you face to face with surreal monstrosities. You won't find any elves or wizards here...but you will find the biggest, boldest, and downright most peculiar stories from the last hundred years bound together in the biggest Weird collection ever assembled. The Weird features 110 stories by an all-star cast, from literary legends to international bestsellers to Booker Prize winners: including William Gibson, George R. R. Martin, Stephen King, Angela Carter, Kelly Link, Franz Kafka, China Miéville, Clive Barker, Haruki Murakami, M. R. James, Neil Gaiman, Mervyn Peake, and Michael Chabon. The Weird is the winner of the 2012 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Lovecraft, a Study in the Fantastic
Lovecraft, a Study in the Fantastic

Author: Maurice Lévy

Publisher: Wayne State University Press

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 9780814319567

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Maurice L'vy's book is a penetrating analysis of the themes running through the works of H. P. Lovecraft, the writer of horror and supernatural fiction. Broader than a thematic study, however, L'vy's analysis is unique in his use of Lovecraft's work as a model for fantastic writing in general and in his provocative theory as to why Lovecraft wrote the sort of works he did. At an early age, Lovecraft sloughed off all religious belief and came to adopt a bleak and nihilistic philosophy where humans have no importance in the cosmos but to serve as the playthings of incomprehensible and uncaring forces. L'vy sees Lovecraft's works as an attempt to purge himself of these feelings and to give himself a reason to love in a universe that cares nothing for him or for other human beings in general. It is this view of Lovecraft the writer, the thinker, and the man that sets L'vy's work apart from any Lovecraft criticism.

Waking Up Screaming
Waking Up Screaming

Author: H. P. Lovecraft

Publisher: Del Rey

Published: 2008-12-24

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0307548872

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“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” –H. P. LOVECRAFT Welcome to the world of H. P. Lovecraft, the undisputed master of terror. His work has inspired countless nightmares, and this collection of some of his most chilling stories is likely to inspire even more. Cool Air–An icy apartment hides secrets no man dares unlock. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward–Ward delves into the black arts and resurrects the darkest evil from beyond the grave. The Terrible Old Man–The intruders seek a fortune but find only death. Herbert West–Reanimator–Mad experiments yield hideous results in this bloodcurdling tale, the inspiration for the cult film Re-Animator. The Shadow Over Innsmouth–A small fishing town’s population is obscenely corrupted by a race of fiendish undersea creatures. The Lurking Fear–An upstate New York clan degenerates into thunder-crazed mole like creatures with a taste for human flesh. PLUS TEN OTHER SPINE-TINGLING TALES

At the Mountains of Madness
At the Mountains of Madness

Author: H.P. Lovecraft

Publisher: Modern Library

Published: 2005-06-14

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 1588364755

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Introduction by China Miéville Long acknowledged as a master of nightmarish visions, H. P. Lovecraft established the genuineness and dignity of his own pioneering fiction in 1931 with his quintessential work of supernatural horror, At the Mountains of Madness. The deliberately told and increasingly chilling recollection of an Antarctic expedition’s uncanny discoveries–and their encounter with untold menace in the ruins of a lost civilization–is a milestone of macabre literature. This exclusive new edition, presents Lovecraft’s masterpiece in fully restored form, and includes his acclaimed scholarly essay “Supernatural Horror in Literature.” This is essential reading for every devotee of classic terror.

The Metal Monster
The Metal Monster

Author: Abraham Grace Merritt

Publisher: Read Books Ltd

Published: 2016-01-18

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 1473378281

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This early work by Abraham Grace Merritt was originally published in 1920 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Metal Monster' is a fantasy novel about Dr. Goodwin's travels in the Himalayas and the mysterious metal beings he encounters there. It tells the tale of adventurous explorers who discover an unknown world. Abraham Grace Merritt - also known by his byline, A. Merritt - was born on the 20th January, 1884 in New Jersey, America. Merritt's stories typically revolved around conventional pulp magazine themes. His heroes are gallant Irishmen or Scandinavians, his villains treacherous Germans or Russians and his heroines often virginal, mysterious and scantily clad. Merritt married twice, once in the 1910s to Eleanore Ratcliffe, with whom he raised an adopted daughter, and again in the thirties to Eleanor H. Johnson.

Spaces and Fictions of the Weird and the Fantastic
Spaces and Fictions of the Weird and the Fantastic

Author: Julius Greve

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2019-11-18

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 3030281167

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This collection of essays discusses genre fiction and film within the discursive framework of the environmental humanities and analyses the convergent themes of spatiality, climate change, and related anxieties concerning the future of human affairs, as crucial for any understanding of current forms of “weird” and “fantastic” literature and culture. Given their focus on the culturally marginal, unknown, and “other,” these genres figure as diagnostic modes of storytelling, outlining the latent anxieties and social dynamics that define a culture’s “structure of feeling” at a given historical moment. The contributions in this volume map the long and continuous tradition of weird and fantastic fiction as a seismograph for eco-geographical turmoil from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, offering innovative and insightful ecocritical readings of H. P. Lovecraft, Harriet Prescott Spofford, China Miéville, N. K. Jemisin, Thomas Ligotti, and Jeff VanderMeer, among others.

More Annotated H.P. Lovecraft
More Annotated H.P. Lovecraft

Author: Howard Phillips Lovecraft

Publisher: Dell

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780440508755

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Explore the marvelous complexity of Lovecraft's writing—including his use of literary allusions, biographical details, and obscure references in this rich, in-depth exploration of great horror fiction from the acknowledged master of the weird, including the stories "Herbert West—Reanimator", "Pickman's Model", "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Thing on the Doorstep", "The Horror at Red Hook" and more. Did Lovecraft believe in ghosts or paranormal phenomena? In what story does the narrator fear riding the Boston T? A pathfinder in the literary territory of the macabre, H.P. Lovecraft is one of America's giants of the horror genre. Now, in this second volume of annotated tales, Lovecraft scholars S. T. Joshi and Peter Cannon provide another rare opportunity to look into the mind of a genius. Their extensive notes lift the veil between real events in the writer's life—such as the death of his father—and the words that spill out onto the page in magnificent grotesquerie. Mansions, universities, laboratories, and dank New England boneyards appear also as the haunts where Lovecraft's characters confront the fabulous and fantastic, or—like the narrator in "Herbert West—Reanimator"—dig up fresh corpses. Richly illustrated and scrupulously researched, this extraordinary work adds exciting levels of meaning to Lovecraft's chilling tales . . . and increases our wonder at the magic that transforms life into a great writer's art.

Basic Categories of Fantastic Literature Revisited
Basic Categories of Fantastic Literature Revisited

Author: Joanna Matyjaszczyk

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2014-11-19

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 1443871435

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A unique collection of essays on selected aspects of science-fiction, fantasy and broadly understood fantastic literature, unified by a highly theoretical focus, this volume offers an overview of the most important theories pertaining to the field of the fantastic, such as Tzvetan Todorov's definition of the term itself, J.R.R. Tolkien's essay 'On Fairy Stories,' and the concept of 'Gothic space'. The composition and order of the chapters provide the reader with a systematic overview of major...