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A review by some_okie_dude27
Supernatural Horror in Literature by H.P. Lovecraft
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." H. P. Lovecraft
Lovecraft's a writer that keeps pulling me in despite the fact that my issues with his work have been frankly clear. Many of my fellow horror aficionados have recommended me this essay that was written by Lovecraft in 1927 and so, after some hesitation, I decided to pick it up. I found that while it was helpful in understanding the roots and history of gothic and supernatural horror, I didn't get much out of it asides from Lovecraft's mere opinions on the authors discussed in the essay, as well as a history lesson on the makings and breakings of modern horror as we know it.
Now that's not to say that one's opinions are bad, criticism is, in essence, opinions. Well researched and informed opinions, but still opinions nonetheless and I found that Lovecraft's opinions on other horror authors and the state of horror literature as a whole to be utterly fascinating and quite modest in that he doesn't try to say that he's right and that's the end of the story or that because he's written horror that he's an authority on it, he allows you to decide if he's right and wrong, and considering the acclaim that he would later get for this essay, it seems that he did something right.
As for the people I have not read that Lovecraft mentions such as Machen, Blackwood, Dunsany, James, etc, I won't comment on, but for the authors I have read, I will comment on. Lovecraft's general analysis of Hawthorne's work is an apt description of his sense of mood and atmosphere, but I found that he was far too forgiving of Hawthorne's flaws, though then again this may be because of Lovecraft's own affinity for verbose, overwrought passages. There's also his analysis of Poe, which I also find to be rather apt in its description, though Lovecraft slides over Poe's deeper sense of dread and horror as well as his emotional sensitivity and the horrors of grief and insanity that Poe very much liked to explore in his works rather than a fleeting thought that he expresses. But then again it also plays into Lovecraft's fundamental misunderstanding of Poe's stories and his general lack of skill with character or with human beings in general. There then comes respectable paragraphs about horror classics such as Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula, which are books that Lovecraft admired and for good reasons, as well as horror and gothic authors that I hadn't heard of or that I hadn't read.
But with all of his knowledge of horror and insights into authors that came before him and some of his contemporaries. There were also problems that I found in the piece, such as his somewhat dismissal of one of the more underrated horror authors of all time, one Ambrose Bierce as well as the fact that he's also dismissive and barely mentions Robert Louis Stevenson's classic horror novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, if not at all. He gives a Bierce a respectful send up, though he seems to think that Bierce's more lighter touch seems to be beneath his taste for the more verbose macabre that he seeks in his horror, but I'll happily admit that there may be some bias there concerning my fondness for Bierce.
With all of his faults, Lovecraft had an insight in horror that few could match, and this essay showcases Lovecraft's endless fascination with the macabre, and its one that I'm happy to endorse.
Lovecraft's a writer that keeps pulling me in despite the fact that my issues with his work have been frankly clear. Many of my fellow horror aficionados have recommended me this essay that was written by Lovecraft in 1927 and so, after some hesitation, I decided to pick it up. I found that while it was helpful in understanding the roots and history of gothic and supernatural horror, I didn't get much out of it asides from Lovecraft's mere opinions on the authors discussed in the essay, as well as a history lesson on the makings and breakings of modern horror as we know it.
Now that's not to say that one's opinions are bad, criticism is, in essence, opinions. Well researched and informed opinions, but still opinions nonetheless and I found that Lovecraft's opinions on other horror authors and the state of horror literature as a whole to be utterly fascinating and quite modest in that he doesn't try to say that he's right and that's the end of the story or that because he's written horror that he's an authority on it, he allows you to decide if he's right and wrong, and considering the acclaim that he would later get for this essay, it seems that he did something right.
As for the people I have not read that Lovecraft mentions such as Machen, Blackwood, Dunsany, James, etc, I won't comment on, but for the authors I have read, I will comment on. Lovecraft's general analysis of Hawthorne's work is an apt description of his sense of mood and atmosphere, but I found that he was far too forgiving of Hawthorne's flaws, though then again this may be because of Lovecraft's own affinity for verbose, overwrought passages. There's also his analysis of Poe, which I also find to be rather apt in its description, though Lovecraft slides over Poe's deeper sense of dread and horror as well as his emotional sensitivity and the horrors of grief and insanity that Poe very much liked to explore in his works rather than a fleeting thought that he expresses. But then again it also plays into Lovecraft's fundamental misunderstanding of Poe's stories and his general lack of skill with character or with human beings in general. There then comes respectable paragraphs about horror classics such as Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula, which are books that Lovecraft admired and for good reasons, as well as horror and gothic authors that I hadn't heard of or that I hadn't read.
But with all of his knowledge of horror and insights into authors that came before him and some of his contemporaries. There were also problems that I found in the piece, such as his somewhat dismissal of one of the more underrated horror authors of all time, one Ambrose Bierce as well as the fact that he's also dismissive and barely mentions Robert Louis Stevenson's classic horror novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, if not at all. He gives a Bierce a respectful send up, though he seems to think that Bierce's more lighter touch seems to be beneath his taste for the more verbose macabre that he seeks in his horror, but I'll happily admit that there may be some bias there concerning my fondness for Bierce.
With all of his faults, Lovecraft had an insight in horror that few could match, and this essay showcases Lovecraft's endless fascination with the macabre, and its one that I'm happy to endorse.