“The Romance in lofty and elevated language, describes what has never happened nor is likely to.” -Clara Reeve, 1778.

The way Romance was described in the eighteenth century was something that was very interesting to me. Romance was viewed as something completely different then how we view today. Romance in the eighteenth century would generally include improbable events, imagination and knights, dragons etc. The events in these types of romances would be completely unbelievable and implausible. The quote posted above by Clara Reeve describes the mindset that many had in the eighteenth century; The events in these romances never happened and aren’t likely to happen either.

The central question that I would like to explore is, How did the definition of romance in the eighteenth century affect the way that authors portrayed it in their novels? This was evident in The Castle of Otranto, where seemingly every event in the story was highly improbable and unlikely, starting with the opening scene when Conrad is crushed by a gigantic helmet. All of these events followed the prototypical descriptions of Romance during this period: damsel in distress, imagination, improbable events, aristocracy, and immodesty. All of these romance generalizations were prevalent in The Castle of Otranto.

None of these eighteenth century generalizations of romance would be considered necessary in today’s romances. This part of the reason why I am interested in writing about this topic. The difference between romances in the eighteenth century and now are so vast. The definition of romance in the eighteenth century clearly impacted the way authors wrote during that time period and that is something I wish to explore further.

Tristram Shandy tells us not just the story of his life, but the story of his conception and the events leading up to his birth as well. He wants to make it very clear that the circumstances of his life were predetermined and out of his control, and the only way he could do that is by telling the readers of what took place prior to his birth. Tristram acknowledges this early in Volume I when he says “For which cause, right glad I am, that I have begun the history of myself in the way I have done; and that I am able to go on tracing every thing in it, as Horace says, ab Ovo.” ( Vol I, Chapter IV, pg.8). After following the footnote, ab ovo was explained as “from the birth of Helen, from Leda’s egg”. It was also explained by the footnote that Horace was against the idea of telling a story ab ovo so it seemed like Tristram was mocking Horace. This helped me further understand the passage. Tristram wanted to tell his story from the very beginning and it did not really matter to him if there were people that were against that type of story telling. He goes so in depth that at one point in this chapter he tells the readers that aren’t interested in the events prior to his birth to skip over the rest of the chapter. “To such, however, as do not choose to go so far back into these things, I can give no better advice, than that they skip over the remaining parts of this chapter.” ( Vol I, Chapter IV, pg.8). It almost seems like a joke that he would tell his readers to skip this passage but this just further shows how much he cares about telling the full story of his life, ab ovo. He doesn’t care if some of the readers skip through that passage as long as the story of his birth and conception are fully detailed.

In A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, Edmund Burke explains his theory of the sublime. One specific passage that stood out to me was when Burke discussed the idea that obscurity is necessary to depict the sublime. Burke points out how any sort of apprehension or tension vanishes when the reader is able to familiarize themselves with what is going to happen. “To make anything very terrible, obscurity seems in general to be necessary. When we know the full extent of any danger, when we can accustom our eyes to it, a great deal of apprehension vanishes.” (Burke). I agree with this idea that Burke presents because as a reader, when there is obscurity and elements that are unknown, it increases the level of interest and passion that a reader has for the story, which creates an appreciation for the sublime.

Obscurity is presented in many different ways in The Castle of Otranto. There are several moments throughout the story where there is little clarity as to what will happen next. There was increased tension and apprehension throughout these moments because of the unknown elements. For example, in the opening of the story, there is a great deal of confusion as to what happened to Conrad. No one can seem to find him. All of a sudden, the servant who was sent to find Conrad “came running back in a frantic manner, his eyes staring, and foaming at the mouth.” (The Castle of Otranto, pg. 28). This immediately creates tension and apprehension for both the characters and the readers. What could have possibly happened to Conrad that made the servant react the way that he did? The obscurity of this moment peaks the interest level of the reader, thus creating an appreciation for the sublimity of the story.