Lovecraft_Research_Paper

The Literature of Lovecraft: A Research of Critical Analyses Howard Phillips Lovecraft was a writer of horror/science-fiction in the early twentieth century, whose literature has inspired a near cult like following (Werlook 797, Kumbier 508). His body of literature range from personal letters, essays and pamphlets, fiction novels, to poetry. His works are primarily inspired by the scientific movement at the beginning of the twentieth and the writings of authors such as Hemmingway, Virgil, and Grimm (Joshi 2-5). Having much personal turmoil throughout his short life, he has an inimitable connection with the characters he portrays in his writing, and a very raw, emotional style (Joshi 2, Anderson 2). This can even explain his choice of genre in which to write it; horror goes down to the most primitive emotions, and Lovecraft loved to push his mental capacities to the brink (Joshi 2). The choice of genre, though, has put its limits on Lovecraft. He is more widely known to be the predecessor of Poe and the ancestor of King to mainstream readers, rather than monolithic (Werlook 797). Despite this, H. P. Lovecraft stands as a symbol of modern horror that is praised for his plethora of personal correlation to his fictitious creations, his unique style, and the genre he chose to write in. Lovecraft is one of the most well documented fiction writers of the twentieth century, predominately due to his extensive archive of personal letters. Because his personal life is so well preserved, his connection to his fiction writing becomes visible (Joshi 1). This gives them the desirable roundness that, while many authors try to achieve, few have attained the summit that Lovecraft has peaked. Lovecraft’s parents had a major influence on his writing; his father was declared insane and institutionalized when Lovecraft was just 3 years old. His mother was hospitalized for her bouts of hysteria and depression, and died in 1921. He was raised by his grandfather for most of his childhood due to his parent’s illness, until his death in 1904, when Lovecraft was only fourteen. He spent the remainder of his adolescence reading and writing, although he dropped out of school when he was 17 due to his vehemently nervous nature. Due to this childhood, Lovecraft’s literature is plagued with its own obsession with disease and death (Werlook 797). The Dream Quest of Kadath is considered his most autobiographical, which is a story of a man named Randolf Carter who goes in search of a fictitious continent called Kadath in order to find God. He realizes along the way that he is foolish, and that he holds a symbolic bond with his home in Rhode Island (Werlook 797). The discussion of theology and science, mingled with heated emotional dialogue brings his characters to life and lifts them off the pages (Joshi 7). Lovecraft’s dialect and style is extraordinary. Despite his failure to procure a formal education, he was considered a protégée as a child an extremely intellectual thinker (Joshi 1-9). He liked to incorporate history into his science-fiction, and claimed that it was much easier to rationalize; there is a prevalent theme in Lovecraft’s writing of the protagonist coming to terms with reality. Lovecraft as well had a deep love for science and logical thinking, and admired thinkers such as Einstein and Planck Joshi 8). Of course, he also loved the weird and unexplainable, which is what drew him towards to genre of horror and science-fiction. Lovecraft said himself: I should describe mine own nature as tripartite, my interest consisting of three parallel and distinct groups – (a) Love of the strange and fantastic. (b) Love of the abstract truth and scientific logick. (c) Love of the ancient and the permanent. Sundry combinations of these strains will probably account for all my odd taste and eccentricities. (Joshi 7) His interests are visible in his writing, and much praise is given to him for his unique ability to combine the three attributes (Joshi 8). Lovecraft’s style also consists of his personal lexicon. He would invent, contort, and manipulate words to his preference, nearly creating a new language. There are entire volumes of words completely attributed to Lovecraft’s glossary, of which is a needed companion when reading his works (Gale). Lovecraft is one of the most well known writers of science-fiction, and wrote in this genre at a time when it was a very unpopular genre. Despite this fact, he was very successful, and published pamphlets, poetry, short stories, novels, and letters. His literary works have been extremely influential, and contemporary writers such as Clive Barker, Fred Chappell, and Emberto Eco all claim to be heavily influenced by his writing (Werlook 797). Lovecraft’s own inspirations came from scholarly endeavors, displaying his love for factual and scientific. He is one of the most successful writers to be able to combine fantasy with logic (Joshi 7). The Cthulu mythos was ground breaking literature in his genre, and created a cult like following (Werlook 797). Lovecraft’s brilliant writing brought him to goliath proportions in literature, but because of his strange choice of genre, Lovecraft at times goes unnoticed. He is still a landmark writer and a favorite of many. His unique style and bravery in script pushes him daringly into the front among sci-fi writers. His life had a huge influence on his writing, and brought forth the style that he is most well noted for. His contributions carry a legacy today that is appreciated by macabre lovers of all ages (Kumbier 508). Work Cited "H.P. Lovecraft." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 28 Apr. 2009 . Kumbier, William A. "H. P. Lovecraft." World Book Encyclopedia. 2008. 508 Bloom, Harold. Modern Horror Writers. New York: Chelsea House Publisher, 1995. 138-150. Glassman, Peter. Scary Stories. San Fransisco: Chronicle Books, 2006. 5-8. Introduction. Modern Horror Writers. By Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publisher, 1995. xi Werlook, Abby H. P. "Lovecraft, H. P." Companion to the American Novel. Vol. 2. New York: Facts on File, 2006. 3 vols. 796-97. Sallis, James. "H. P. Lovecraft: Tales." The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction 109.1 (July 2005): 40(6). General Reference Center Gold. Gale. Tennessee Electronic Library - TEL. 23 Apr. 2009 .