In the preface of the second edition, Walpole claims the novel is "an attempt to blend the two kinds of
romance, the ancient and the modern." He defines the "ancient" romance by its fantastic nature ("its imagination and improbability") while defining the "modern" romance as more deeply rooted in
literary realism ("a strict adherence to common life," in his words). By combining fantastic situations (helmets falling from the sky, walking portraits, etc.) with supposedly real people acting in a "natural" manner, Walpole created a new and distinct style of
literary fiction, which has frequently been cited as a template for all subsequent gothic novels.
The Monthly Review stated that for "[t]hose who can digest the absurdities of Gothic fiction"
Otranto offered "considerable entertainment".
Gothic elements {{quote box The
Castle of Otranto is the first supernatural English novel and is a singularly influential work of Gothic fiction.
The Castle of Otranto and Shakespeare The first and most obvious connection to
William Shakespeare is presented by Horace Walpole himself, in the preface to the second edition of
Otranto, in which he "praises Shakespeare as a truly original genius and the exemplar of imaginative liberty, as a part of a defense of
Otrantos design". Elsewhere, Walpole's several allusions to works by Shakespeare further emphasize the connection he wishes to draw between his own work and Shakespeare's. For example, in
Hamlet, "Hamlet's encounter with the Ghost becomes for Walpole a template for terror". The
Catholic elements at play within both
Hamlet and
Otranto are invoked to represent a further sense of wonder and mystery to the Protestant audiences of both works. The Catholic element was a necessary facet of the "template of terror" that Walpole meant to invoke. The allusion to Hamlet's experience with the Ghost is meant not only as a "template of terror," but also to make readers feel as if they are watching the play itself, and Walpole does this on three occasions. First, he posits Manfred's encounter with the animated portrait of Ricardo as a connection to the Ghost's initial appearance to Hamlet. Second, when Friar Jerome informs Theodore of the dangers to be found in Otranto and calls for him to take revenge, this is a direct allusion to the Ghost's demand to Hamlet to remember him. Third, Frederic's encounter with the skeletal apparition parallels the final appearance of the Ghost in
Hamlet. which is also a major point of issue in
Hamlet since Hamlet's mother (Gertrude) and his uncle (Claudius) were, in a way, related before their marriage. Both
Hamlet and
Otranto are literary springboards for discussion of the questions of marriage, as the question of
Henry VIII's annulment of his marriage and later marriage to
Anne Boleyn were still heated topics of controversy. Henry VIII had married his brother's wife
Catherine of Aragon and later dissolved that marriage due to Catherine's inability to produce a male heir who lived to adulthood. Similarly,
Otranto revolves around "a larger sexual contest to secure lineage". The final connection between
Otranto and Shakespeare lies in the role that the servants play. Like Shakespeare, Walpole aims to create a "mixture of comedy and tragedy,"
The Castle of Otranto is seen as establishing a literary foundation in which sexual desire and transgression is a defining thematic undercurrent of the new genre of the Gothic. Max Fincher has written that Manfred is preoccupied with the threat of his identity being discovered in a way that parallels the fear of homoerotic desire being discovered. He argues that
misogyny in the novel is an attempt to project manliness, overcompensating for the author's or character's fears of queerness or weakness. Because of these fears, he argues, the book presents non-
heteronormative behavior as "unnatural and demonic." ==Impact and adaptations==