Write a critical appreciation of this extract from 'The Castle of Otranto', relating your discussion to your reading of the Gothic.

The idea of pursuit is explored through the plot in terms of narrative style as well as the progressing sentence structure. Walpole employs the use of an omniscient narrator in order to distance readers from the action and thus the inner emotions of Isabella. For example, “every murmur struck her with new terror”; taking the narrative away from Isabella’s own individual experience allows Walpole to describe sensational events in a more realistic style. Furthermore, the progression of the sentence structure builds tension and fear, which are both Gothic tropes, as it reflects a naturalistic style of thought. This is exemplified through the extract starting with long clauses embedded in complex sentences: “the lower part of the castle was hollowed into several intricate cloisters”. However, with the introduction of Isabella’s flight from Manfred, the structure changes to include short clauses such as “She shuddered, and recoiled a few paces.”. The repetitive nature of the short sentences build tension through introducing deliberate dramatic pauses that break up the natural rhythm of the sentences. For example, by breaking up the sentence “her blood curdled; she concluded it was Manfred.” with a semicolon, Walpole makes readers stop and reflect upon the action, which is reminiscent of Isabella’s “[stopping] and [listening]”. Thus, the Gothic trope of pursuit is explored in this extract through the use of an omniscient narrative style and pauses created through the syntax.