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...