The class’s first major artifact was to examine a short passage from The Secret History and analyze its details in an essay. Students were to pay close attention to the meaning behind each word. What was the purpose of the setting? The tone? The structure? Each essay attempts to answer these questions and more using the limited amount of evidence provided by the short passage. The students then connected these answers to the broader context of Dark Academia. The Secret History is widely accepted as the quintessential piece of literature representing Dark Academia. Why? Through the following essays, the class reveals the obsession with beauty, death, and the picturesque; the romanticization of misery and despair from isolation and rejection; the infatuation of the intellectual and the long-forgotten past; and all that makes The Secret History Dark Academia.
Read them all Below
- A Desolate WinterElijah Rabinovich Winters in literature are often harsh, typically full of a nauseating abundance of snow and hardship, and Richard’s winter at Hampden in The Secret History is no exception. Donna Tartt’s The Secret History is full of incredible imagery, gothic diction, clever symbolism, rich metaphors, and Dark Academia themes. Throughout the novel there are… Read more: A Desolate Winter
- Accepted versus IncludedJeffrey Malcolm How can one experience social exclusion from the ones they call their friends? In The Secret History by Donna Tartt, our narrator, Richard, leaves behind his ordinary college life at Hampden College to experience the exclusive lifestyle of learning Greek under Professor Julian. For a year, five students have only learned under Professor… Read more: Accepted versus Included
- Beauty and TerrorTrent Harris “It was like a painting too vivid to be real- every pebble, every blade of grass sharply defined, the sky so blue it hurt me to look at it. Camilla was limp in Henry’s arms, her head thrown back like a dead girl’s, and the curve of her throat beautiful and lifeless.” At… Read more: Beauty and Terror
- Beauty is Terror: In the Eyes of Richard PapenSaachi Bhatia During a class discussion at Hampden College, Professor Julian Morrow puts forward the idea that “Beauty is Terror,” and proceeds to give the class his interpretation of that notion (Tartt, 39). Richard, after being engrossed in the sublime of Hampden, is inspired to give his own analysis of the same idea in his… Read more: Beauty is Terror: In the Eyes of Richard Papen
- Characterization Behind DialogueLuke Chen Partaking in a meal together is usually accompanied by the strengthening of a bond; however, the dialogue between Richard and Henry after an unpleasant lunch with Bunny contradicts that idea. Although what was spoken lacks any vividly significant language that cements a remarkable scene, the speakers’ deliverance reveals much about the characters. Through… Read more: Characterization Behind Dialogue
- Dark Impending DoomPhillip Phanhthourath Donna Tartt’s The Secret History explores the themes of ambition and obsessionthrough the character of Richard, who becomes fixated on joining the elite group of JulianMorrow’s Greek students. The novel’s language and structure contribute to a morbid tone thatreflects on the motivations and personalities of the characters and adds to the grimatmosphere of… Read more: Dark Impending Doom
- Death and RomanticismKeerthi Konuganti Tragedy is a dense cloud of smog—discoloring the pale blue sky, overpowering the scent of fresh air—enveloping one’s senses and perception entirely. In her novel, The Secret History, Donna Tartt explores tragedy, revealing its impacts on a small group of college students. In this passage, Richard Pappen, the main character, recollects his days… Read more: Death and Romanticism
- Did you forget? We are Animals.Analysse Humaran Have you ever run wild, naked, and free in the woods? Ever wanted to? To unleash your inner animal self, throwing civil restraints to the wind? You and the characters of The Secret History may have something in common then. Richard’s first day in his Greek class of five featured an eloquent lesson,… Read more: Did you forget? We are Animals.
- Emotion and Rationale: A Deep Dive into RichardNadira Lea Francis Abernathy, a character shrouded in mystery, appears in detail for the first time towards the end of the first chapter when Richard spots him walking through a meadow. Enamored by the student’s aesthetic, he takes notice when he sees Francis, and fearing that he will be seen by the boy, he attempts… Read more: Emotion and Rationale: A Deep Dive into Richard
- Hidden Darkness Connor Sempf The Secret History is certainly a tale of mystery cast upon the readers through an unsolved murder. But the events themselves of the story do not stand atop the pedestal of creepiness. Several passages throughout the book lift the dark academia theme of the story to new heights. With the help of an… Read more: Hidden Darkness
- One Note Away from a SymphonyDragos Lup Richard’s passage describing Charles playing the piano first stuck out to me because it feels almost alien in the context of the passage. It begins with an incredibly descriptive section of chapter two in which Richard became enamored by his environment. The passage itself struggles to maintain its ideas, and it quickly jumps… Read more: One Note Away from a Symphony
- Shadows Behind the LimelightVallerie Tran Can you ever outrun your past completely? Or has it already ingrained itself intrinsically into who you are? The Secret History by Donna Tartt is known as the first work of literature to explicitly embody the dark academia aesthetic: a subculture obsessed with the pursuit of higher education, the classics, and a gruesome… Read more: Shadows Behind the Limelight
- Tense FriendshipsCarson Leahy Isolation can be hidden in a crowd of people dancing, within enticing discussions with colleagues, and even in the presence of people we call friends. In chapter two of The Secret History, this understanding of isolation is explored when Richard is invited out to lunch by Bunny. At the end of their meal,… Read more: Tense Friendships
- Terror is in the Eye of the BeholderSeth Shoneman To lose complete control of oneself for an instant, to forget the mortality of the human condition and let animalistic impulse take over, then to return to composure with intense relief: this is what, in part, Donna Tartt’s The Secret History explores. This exploration begins with the novel’s professor, Julian, lecturing his pupils… Read more: Terror is in the Eye of the Beholder
- The Art of Living ForeverRaine Simon Imagine chills that shoot down the spine and slowly creep up the span of the skin as the instant cold, frozen air and biting wind becomes tangible through the intricate sounds of the violin solo. Imagine the rising panic that parallels the ominous and increasing crescendo that is met with a gripping, beautifully… Read more: The Art of Living Forever
- The Country House’s Hidden PurposeFatmah Alyammahi Through his depiction of Francis’ country house and the landscape, Richard highlights one essential attitude in this section: his keen observational attitude. Unfortunately, Richard may overlook crucial realities due to his obsession with minute details, which finally causes him to fail to recognize that he is involved in a murder. Richard describes the… Read more: The Country House’s Hidden Purpose
- The Ghostly Echo of the PianoSarah Mulqueen In the middle of the second chapter in Donna Tartt’s, The Secret History, the characters take a break from their schooling and take a brief trip to the countryside. It is here where the audience first sees these characters outside of an academic setting. Both through the physical description of the house and… Read more: The Ghostly Echo of the Piano
- The Great ChangeEvan Sittauer Change isn’t something that happens in one night, it is only when you are at your lowest point where change will have its greatest impact. Change plays a crucial part of Richard’s story in The Secret History. Change is the main theme of Richards’ progression as a character, starting with his first moments… Read more: The Great Change
- The Hampden RollercoasterStone Bonner Donna Tartt’s language at the end of the prologue portrays the up and down nature of Richard’s life and the lives of the group of students, with the hopes being so high, and the results being so low. Tartt uses language in this passage such as, “piling in the car gratefully”, “like a… Read more: The Hampden Rollercoaster
- The Loneliness of the PicturesqueSam Sukendro During the COVID-19 pandemic, people were stuck in their homes out of fear of the virus. People began romanticizing a life that could have been, and thus, more people discovered a subculture of the internet called dark academia. Donna Tartt’s The Secret History is the cornerstone of dark academia. It tells the story of Richard… Read more: The Loneliness of the Picturesque
- The Pitfall of the PicturesqueAmelia Barnard Some startling or even violent events can cause life to drift into a trance–like the experience of the surreal. This illusory state is precisely the feeling Donna Tartt creates in this striking passage. Following the group of friends’ trip to the pond at Francis’s countryhouse, Camila steps on a piece of glass and… Read more: The Pitfall of the Picturesque
- The Seduction of BeautyKirti Gourisankar To Richard, beauty is not the autumnal colors of the trees, but rather their rage and vengeance as they succumb to the changing of seasons. As he exclaims over the stunning “schizophrenia” of the landscape, Richard embarks on a reflection of his lessons with Julian. He ponders over the idea of beauty and… Read more: The Seduction of Beauty
- Unavoidable DownfallSpencer Yahn What causes a friend group to be so destructive that it leads to the death of one of its members? In the first paragraph of chapter 1, Richard’s downfall due to the intense isolation and highbrow nature of Julian’s group is foreshadowed through the vivid imagery and description of his fatal flaw in… Read more: Unavoidable Downfall