Abstract
The object of this essay is to assess the origin, role and varying quality of the Gothic structures which proliferated in the English Garden during the eighteenth century. Obviously related to the evolution of Taste and the emergence of new aesthetic categories (the Sublime and the Picturesque), the rehabilitation of the Gothic took different forms, some obviously grotesque, others overwhelmingly majestic: whereas the mechanical reproduction of medieval models often resulted in unconvincing additions to the prospect, the use of the ha-ha as a means to incorporate genuine neighbouring relics of the past, "landscaped", as it were, "into the garden", occasionally resulted in spectacular scenic compositions. The Gothic novel developed in the same period as the imagination's response to these new aesthetic patterns, and can be regarded as the inverted, nocturnal picture of Gothic Arcadia.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
