Because his fiction has been labeled “ghastly…stilted, artificial, and affected,” H.P. Lovecraft’s work has always divided opinion among scholars. Despite writing in the twentieth century, his fiction seems to run opposite to Modernist works during the period: he expressed his problematic vision of Nativism in America and his immense affection for New England. He wrote with his back turned against the American century. However, can we re-examine this long-held perception of Lovecraft’s weird tale – especially since he wrote fiction based on the essential premise that in the vastness of the cosmos, no human law, interest, or emotion has any validity nor significance? In this paper, I tie the distinct features of his fiction and locate Modernist sensibilities by looking closely at how he views man, myth, and the supernatural. Thus, the goal of this paper is twofold: to place Lovecraft within the context of American gothic and genre writing, thereby recognizing his status and relevance beyond the currents of early twentieth-century American literature; and to interrogate the labeling of Lovecraft as an antimodernist writer, a term coined by Joyce Carol Oates. I do a close reading of his short stories, “The Horror at Red Hook,” “The Colour Out of Space,” and “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” focusing on his themes and writing style. I intend to look for the Modern by re-framing his short stories, reviewing his philosophy of horror, and recognizing the central feature of the Lovecraft Mythos: that of the insignificance of man in the universe.

Authors:
Karla Patricia Cristobal, Southville International School and Colleges, Philippines

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Karla Patricia Cristobal is a University Postdoctoral Fellow or Instructor at Southville International School and Colleges in Philippines

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