Seaside Gothic Literature

Classifying writing as a single genre is always difficult, as almost everything exists across several. Defining something as seaside gothic in a way acknowledges this. Quarterly I am highlighting three works of notable seaside gothic literature—fiction, poetry, and nonfiction—along with an example from another form of media, and for this instance I have selected the following crossover pieces.

Fiction: Herman Melville, Moby Dick

At its heart, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a tale of obsession and revenge as whaler Captain Ahab seeks the white whale who took his leg and drags his crew to their doom. The novel itself goes far beyond this, exploring class, philosophy, and musing on the existence of God and the status of humanity. It is a wonderful monster of a book existing both at sea and on land whilst at both times longing for the other.

Poetry: Charlotte Smith, Sonnet LXX

Charlotte Smith’s ‘On Being Cautioned Against Walking on an Headland Overlooking the Sea, Because it was Frequented by a Lunatic’—also known as Sonnet LXX—explores melancholy through madness derived from the sea. First published in 1797, it is an early Romantic sonnet, but its strength is in its imagery. The evocative phrasing rises and falls like a wave crashing into the titular headland which the lunatic frequents.

Nonfiction: Tiffany Lethabo King, The Black Shoals

Exploring Black and Native literary traditions through the allegory of offshore geological formations that are neither land or sea, Tiffany Lethabo King’s deeply considered philosophical discourse evaluates issues including slavery and genocide as well as racism and white supremacy. This is seaside gothic academia with a focus beyond the concept itself, and reframes the very narrative it addresses.

Television: Broadchurch

Created and written by Chris Chibnall, Broadchurch arrived as a whodunit to critical acclaim. The strength of the series, set on the British coast and filmed predominantly in Dorset, was the unsettling undertones of the town and its occupants, all of whom kept secrets which changed who they were from who they appeared to be. Running for three series, though its first was its strongest, Broadchurch is contemporary seaside gothic brought to life.