Comparing Gothic Poems 'Erlkönig And Lucy Gray'

For ages now, the gothic genre has been grossly misunderstood and often confused with similar but different genres. Goth is a genre that combines gore, horror, death and romance. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe’s “Erlkönig” and William Wordsworth’s “Lucy Gray” are two poems which are Goth but are described and narrated refreshingly different from one another. Both poems were written during the late 1700’s a time when Goth was just starting to gain popularity. Though both poems are gothic, they are narrated completely differently. On one hand the German poet Goethe uses the setting and atmosphere to create a sense of uneasiness and curiosity and on the other hand Wordsworth uses gothic legend and imagery to express himself amongst many other literary devices used by these poets to appropriate the gothic genre and make it their own. Uniquely Goethe uses literary devices like setting the mood by mentioning night and wind. This might seem subtle but invokes feelings of uncertainty and doubt in the mind of the reader that can also be considered scary. In line 8 of the poem the word ‘mist’ is used this also creates a sense of fear in the mind of the reader. These artistic but important atmosphere settings paints a vivid imagination in the readers head and
There is a right balance that Wordsworth maintains so to that the main idea of the poem is not disturbed. ‘You yet may spy the fawn at play, the hare upon the green;’ with this line Wordsworth creates a visual in the brain of every reader. Also the fact that Lucy lived on a moor gives a general idea to anyone that the location he is trying to describe is isolated and in the wild. This also recreates picturesque graphics in one’s