A Report on the Gothic Horror Themes in Literature and Film

This report analyzes the themes of Gothic horror in literature and film, focusing on Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The report examines the novel's exploration of split personality and the duality of good and evil, with the character of Mr. Hyde representing the evil side of Dr. Jekyll. The analysis highlights the use of horror imagery and how it contributes to the Gothic atmosphere. The report also validates the sources, providing credentials for the author, publisher, and website references. The author concludes that the novel is fascinating and can be used to showcase other matters related to gothic horror. The report also references the works of Lovecraft, Punter, and Summers to provide a comprehensive understanding of the genre. The report ends with the suicide of Dr. Jekyll.

Running head: GOTHIC/ HORROR IN LITERATURE AND FILM
Gothic/ Horror in Literature and Film
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1GOTHIC/HORROR IN LITERATURE AND FILM
1. Summary section
In the book, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as the author of the book Robert Louis Stevenson
presents it to be a piece of horror (Stevenson, Robert Louis). The fact turns out to be the split
personality of Dr. Jekyll. He is a physician who had been preparing certain potions and he wrote
a letter in which he had confessed he had taken some potions that transformed into the evil
monster named Mr. Hyde. The chief characters in this piece of literature are Mr. Utterson, his
friend Enfield and Dr. Lanyon. The story tells that Dr. Jekyll had been sociable at times but on
the parallel plot, certain mischievous deaths were taking place that could be attributed to the
name of Mr. Hyde. This Mr. Hyde had been very much sinister of a character who used to be
someone who could appear and vanish as he could wish. A strange death had taken place of Sir
Danvers Carew and this had raised the worries in the minds of Mr. Utterson and Dr. Lanyon. His
letters disclosed that the evil monster had transformed him to Dr. Hyde from where he could not
return after trying several times (Stevenson, Robert Louis). Finally this tale had to end by the
suicide of Dr. Jekyll. This suicide was committed as he could not find the chief element to
produce the potion that could transform him to Dr. Jekyll again.
2. Response section
I found this book to be very much exciting to the sens4ees and very much fascinating as
well. The major themes of this story are extremely fantastic like the split personality of a person.
In this manner, Dr. Jekyll was unable to decide on which persona he wanted to live. The horror
theme in the Gothic literature has been reflected in a well designed manner. The evil side of Dr.
Jekyll presents the dilemma within the man to decide whether he wants to be the good person or
the bad one. This is very much similar to the fact that the man has two natures, one good and the

2GOTHIC/HORROR IN LITERATURE AND FILM
other evil. This is one aspect of literature where it transcends all the human imaginations. The
horror images were portrayed through Mr. Hyde. The body of Mr. Hyde presented the evil
personality that had already existed in the mind of Dr. Jekyll. I think we could be able to use this
story to showcase in the other matters related to gothic horror.
Source validation section
a. Author’s credentials
Robert Louis Stevenson was one of the greatest novelists for children in the nineteenth
century. He has also written poems, essays and travel writings. He lived in the Victorian era and
he composed many interesting novels. This novel is considered to be one of his masterpieces.
b) Publishers’ credentials
The publishers of this book is Bantam Books. The parent company of them is Random
House. They have published several adventure books for children including this one. The bantam
Classics Series is also one of the major book series for Bantam Books.
c) Website credentials

3GOTHIC/HORROR IN LITERATURE AND FILM
References
Lovecraft, Howard Phillips. Supernatural horror in literature. The Palingenesis Project
(Wermod and Wermod Publishing Group), 2013.
Punter, David. The Literature of Terror: Volume 2: The Modern Gothic. Routledge, 2014.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde. New York, Bantam Books, 1981,.
Summers, Montague. The Gothic Quest-A History of the Gothic Novel. Read Books Ltd, 2013.