From Gothic Novel to Gothic Drama
Both indication of and effect of the popularity of gothic
novels, dramatic productions in the gothic style proliferated
during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century in
Britain. Critics disagree on the extent to which these
productions constitute a dramatic tradition; a critic might
refer to a "gothic" play as a tragedy, a melodrama, or a
Romantic drama without in any way contradicting another critic
for whom the same play is clearly and only gothic. Those
critics who do recognize a singular tradition of gothic drama,
however, certainly agree that its conventions were first
established by gothic literature, but opinion again differs on
the extent to which gothic novels were successfully translated
to the stage. Such gothic horrors as ghosts, dark-robed figures
in shadow, and grandiosely threatening settings could be
effectively rendered with ingenious stagecraft, yet the danger
always remained that the physical representation of these
horrors would lessen the terrible (wonderful) effect that
textual description could have upon the imagination of a
palpitating reader.
The following plays represent a fair sampling of the most
important plays in the gothic style, but they also represent an
interesting study, for those familiar with the gothic tradition
in literature, of the differences between the gothic novel and
the gothic drama. Two of the plays excerpted here are
adaptations of popular Gothic novels: The Count of
Narbonne is based on Horace Walpole's The Castle of
Otranto, and The Italian Monk is based on Ann
Radcliffe's The Italian. Two others are plays written by
well-known authors of classic gothic novels: The Castle
Spectre was written by Matthew G. Lewis, author of The
Monk, and Bertram was written by Charles Robert
Maturin, author of Melmoth the Wanderer. The remaining
play, De Monfort, differs interestingly from the other
works of its author, Joanna Baillie: While many of her works
were "closet plays," meant to be read rather than performed,
De Monfort was produced and performed with marked
success. Following each excerpt are passages from some of the
major criticism of these works and authors. The excerpts from
the plays have been chosen so as to provide examples that
relate to the critical discussion.
The Count of Narbonne (1781), by Robert Jephson
The Italian Monk (1796), by Robert Boaden
The Castle Spectre (1796), by Matthew G.
Lewis
De Monfort (1800), by Joanna Baillie