been written by a uni student? Gothic literature (or Romances) was the predominant genre during 18th and 19th century; it was the definition of extreme as it explored areas that other genres feared to touch. Though Gothic literature at the time was very popular, the genre offended many critics as it brought about immorality and an overwhelming amount of excess. Wordsworth described it as: "deluges of idle and extravagant stories in verse;" this was ironic, as his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge was amongst the notable gothic writers.'