Gotik och komik -En diskussion om genre

This bachelor thesis discusses the concept of genre and the comic Gothic. It is an attempt to demonstrate the conflicts rooted in "genre" by discussing several scholars, such as Alistair Fowler and Mattias Fyhr with their works Kinds of Literature and De mörka labyrinterna respectively, and then problematise the "Gothic" as a genre and as a concept. Thus Avril Horner’s and Sue Zlosnik’s work Gothic and the Comic Turn is consulted through the discussion. The questions I ask are the following: What is a literary genre? How is the comic Gothic described by the researchers, and how does comic Gothic work in A. Lee Martinez’ novel Gil’s All Fright Diner (2005)? How can one use these questions in the classroom? The used methods in the thesis are genre analysis and close reading. I conclude that genre is a way to understand the relationship between a literary work and various conventions, such as environment and its contemporaries. Genre is also a tool for the reader to understand the traditions, history and other works the read text is related to. The comic inside the Gothic may appear and is as natural to the genre as horror and terror, since the Gothic is always close to self-parody. This can even be observed in the first Gothic novel, Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto (1764). Furthermore, Gil’s All Fright Diner uses both the repertoire of classic Gothic and Horner’s and Zlosnik’s findings of the comic turn in the Gothic. Finally, the question regarding the definition of literary genre can be used in the classroom to widen students’ views on both genre itself and the prose they read. The comic Gothic can be used as an example on how genre can appear in different modes. Gil’s All Fright Diner is a thankful text for classroom readings due to its comic and gothic nature, and its contemporary language, themes and styles can make it relatable to students. There is therefore a potential in the concept of genre and the comic Gothic as subjects of discussion in the classroom