Final Project - Fifth Entry MRojo

Lovecraft Secondary Sources: Read the following articles and write an expository essay discussing them. The Classic Horror Stories by Jess Nevins & Read chapters 1 and 2 only.

H.P. Lovecraft was an elitist and racist writer, who is recognized as the creator of “cosmic horror”. However he wasn’t the creator of it, there were other authors in the nineteenth century who developed this particular feature. So what he actually did was to recreate it in the twentieth century with a different approach, where he stated that there is no spiritual meaning to any actions and that the human existence is not significant in any way. This was the most important legacy he left through within his works.

He is not only remembered today because of this legacy, but also because of his particular style. The style of an author refers to the way in which language is used in a given context, by a given person, for a given purpose; and Lovecraft’s purpose was to create fear to the reader. He used to think that fear is the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind and he wanted to transmit that particular emotion to his readers.

So in order to achieve this purpose he used several resources such as, first person narrators, lots of adjectives, the use catachresis, the use of words related to senses, among others.

The first person narrator is a very often resource used in horror stories, because this makes the reader to identify easier with the narrator, and gives him a more direct part in all the events. Also the adjectives help the reader to identify themselves with story and most of them appeal to senses. So the reader not only knows the same as the protagonist, but he also feels the same as the protagonist. Also Lovecraft used vague adjectives such as hideous, so that the reader could be able to use his imagination to interpret the story. So these resources make the text more pleasant for the reader and they also manage to maintain the reader’s attention.

Part of the success of Lovecraft is his unique style, but also his close relation to his fans. He is known as an extraordinary correspondent, who wrote and estimated hundred thousand letters in his lifetime. These letters were addressed to fans and other writers, so Lovecraft created a presence for himself in other people’s consciousness after his death.