"What is the Uncanny?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

What does the word uncanny mean? How does the uncanny appear in literature? Professor Ray Malewitz answers these questions using examples from Sigmund Freud, Edgar Allan Poe, and common horror films.

The short video is designed to help high school and college English students to not only identify examples of the uncanny in literature but also to analyze how this feeling is brought about. The video is sponsored by the School of Writing, Literature, and Film at Oregon State University. For more discussions of literary topics and essay writing tips, please subscribe to the free SWLF YouTube Channel or visit http://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf

Below are a few more videos in the series. Please drop us a comment letting us know what literary terms you would like us to explore in future videos!

"What is a prologue?": https://youtu.be/PEeMmskARMc
"What is a stanza?": https://youtu.be/qaXfCSCHBt0
"What is stream of consciousness?": https://youtu.be/WaSFwO3O2SI
"What is figurative language?": https://youtu.be/c2CRxHOgxBM
"What is irony?': https://youtu.be/q6e0oNVx8Uk
"What is a metaphor?": https://youtu.be/5mPSFQ1eFUU
"What is a simile?": https://youtu.be/YqJrZ6OoqjU
"What is hyperbole?": https://youtu.be/IzfyNwNpUmA
"What is a imagery?": https://youtu.be/uX413tALG7Q
"What is a sonnet?": https://youtu.be/QmrKmL06J9g
"What is metonymy?": https://youtu.be/jydjhvOzMGQ
"What is synecdoche?": https://youtu.be/V3G51sJcvzg
"What is enjambment?": https://youtu.be/yBn2ZOwv144
"What is satire?": https://youtu.be/io58hl1Z0TY
"What is juxtaposition?": https://youtu.be/4KXVPS3FYkQ
"What is foreshadowing?": https://youtu.be/nc-2Jg6b0Dw
"What is understatement?": https://youtu.be/tW3MZ6z8KNA
"What is rhyme?": https://youtu.be/_9oHeL2qI6g
"What is an unreliable narrator?": https://youtu.be/A-lDvHT2QyQ
"What is a genre?": https://youtu.be/Go0Mto2fOXY
"What is a narrative arc?": https://youtu.be/ngpHeQZtS-w
"What is a flashback?": https://youtu.be/tjTauD53Ru4
"What is personification?": https://youtu.be/5GOfjV6u0Co
"What is a narrator?": https://youtu.be/bCNNBxlnkjQ
"What is a flat character vs a round character?": https://youtu.be/IPIBTgPlK5c
"What is symbolism?": https://youtu.be/GR9VbSXxouM
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part I)": https://youtu.be/SPES7Z2fjIY
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part II)": https://youtu.be/KEqQIB5ytcI
"What is epistrophe?": https://youtu.be/6rdlklOZs4o
"What is poetic meter?": https://youtu.be/S13Tg3RAUW4
"What is a portmanteau?": https://youtu.be/P5TdpQXTkB0
"What is anaphora?": https://youtu.be/dr970RgZu8w
"What is an oxymoron?": https://youtu.be/oXMht0mi0xc
"What is a zeugma?": https://youtu.be/qGtjLGFPmXE
"What is free indirect discourse?": https://youtu.be/Vw5XclD9IlQ
"What is a vehicle and a tenor?": https://youtu.be/dBjtFyktXhQ
"What is the uncanny?": https://youtu.be/4IHvGHGVAM0