The unknown and the unfamiliar: Depictions of the monster in Lovecraft and Miéville

The present study compared selected works of H.P. Lovecraft and China Miéville in terms of the representations of monster figures by creating a theoretical framework using Lovecraft's "Five Definitive Elements of Weird Literature". A comparative foundation was first laid down by examining the etymology of the word monster throughout history, as well as touching upon Saussure's theories of language. Following this, an intrinsic analysis of Lovecraft's three selected works was made. The analysis highlighted the importance of factors such as cosmicism, and fear of the unknown, as well as the importance of human insignificance in the narration. Additionally, the uncanny in both Jentsch's and Freud's definition was included for a later comparison. The lack of context in details regarding the monsters was also highlighted in accordance with the established importance of fear of the unknown in Weird Literature. Then the same analysis was done on Miéville after a glimpse of his past with tabletop games such as "Dungeons and Dragons", and the importance worldbuilding has for him. Following an analysis of Bas-Lag, a comparison was made based on the five definitive elements by first interpreting them on what could they refer to, and how the two works handled them in this context. The results from examination through the monster representation, cosmicism, fear of the unknown and the five elements helped the study argue the point that; The monster representation functioned as the source of paranoia and uncanny in both the works. Yet, while Lovecraftian narrative's monsters achieved the feeling of uncanny by presenting a small piece of the whole; Miéville's Bas-Lag did the same with a mirrored approach of a key piece missing from the whole.