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Critical Insights: The Supernatural
The supernatural as a category of literature can be difficult to define, and it can be especially difficult to distinguish supernatural literature from such closely related forms of writing as fantasy, horror, science fiction, and so on.
However, as the term itself implies, supernatural literature often involves a close if strange relationship between reality as we normally experience it and something above or beyond (and often threatening to) our everyday lives and expectations. Often, supernatural literature involves a sense of mystery and danger (as in ghost stories) or even dangerous seduction (as in vampire narratives). Emerging from and closely related to Gothic literature, supernatural writing often emphasizes both mystery and the adrenalin-fueled excitement that mystery frequently provokes.
In the introductory essay, volume editor Robert C. Evans discusses the organization of the essays within the text, providing brief summaries. The introduction also suggests valuable ways to approach the study of the supernatural within literature.
The introduction is followed by the Critical Context section of the book which contains the following essays:
- The Wonders of the Invisible World: Cotton Mather’s Supernatural Classic, Kevin J. Hayes
- “Stay, illusion”: Shakespeare’s Supernatural Dimension, Christopher Baker
- Magic, Mutants, and Men of Steel: Science Fiction and the Supernatural in Superhero Comics, Darren Harris-Fain
- Supernatural Probability Distributions in Comedy and Tragedy: More Lysistratas and Fewer Lears, Edwin Wong
Following the Critical Context section is the Critical Readings section of this book, which contains the following essays:
- The BBC’s “Supernatural” Recreation of Dante’s Divine Comedy as an Effective Radio Drama, Daniel Brown
- “That Faustus may be a spirit in form and substance”: Body, Spirit, and the Supernatural in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, Matthew M. Thiele
- Fairies, Witches, Spirits, and Elves: The Supernatural at the Crossroads in Jane Eyre, Melissa Anderson
- Functions of the Supernatural in Dickens’s Short Fiction, Laurence W. Mazzeno
- Educating Miles: Thinking the Evil in The Turn of the Screw, Hazel Hutchison
- Eight Ways of Viewing Oscar Wilde’s Supernatural Picture of Dorian Gray, Jamil M. Mustafa
- Daphne du Maurier’s Fiction of the Gothic and Supernatural, Thomas Whissen
- Techniques, Symbols, and Varied Contexts in Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, Jamil M. Mustafa
- Stephen King, S. T. Joshi, and the Supernatural Style of King’s The Shining, Robert C. Evans
Essays in this volume examine supernatural literature from historical, philosophical, sociological, and other perspectives while also paying close attention to the artistic effectiveness of supernatural writings, the ways such writings have influenced other media (especially films); the reception accorded, over the centuries, to supernatural fictions; and many other topics.
End Matter includes Resources, a select bibliography of additional works that are pertinent to the theme is provided. Each essay in Critical Insights: The Supernatural includes a list of Works Cited and detailed endnotes. Also included in this volume is a Bibliography, biographies of the Editor and Contributors, and an alphabetical Index.
The Critical Insights series distills the best of both classic and current literary criticism of the world’s most studied literature. Edited and written by some of academia’s most distinguished literary scholars, Critical Insights: The Supernatural provides authoritative, in-depth scholarship that students and researchers will rely on for years. This volume is destined to become a valuable purchase for all.
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