->I'll tell a story, paint you a picture from my past
->I was so happy, but joy in this life seldom lasts
-->Nickel Creek, "The Lighthouse's Tale"

Angst, literally German for "fear" (and "anxiety", also Dutch for "fear"), has become a flexible literary term which can be used to mean any number of things. This is only appropriate for a word that's OlderThanSteam at least, going back to the eighth century, if not farther.

In {{literature}}, the angst usually referred to is existential angst, exemplified by questions such as "Who am I?" and "Why am I here?" Existentialism as a literary movement emphasizes the search for meaning as the most important source of tension in a person's life, and by extension, in a protagonist's life. This type of angst is best exemplified by writers such as Kierkegaard, Sartre, Kafka, Camus and many others.

In classical music, angst is strongly associated with Jewish European composers; Gustav Mahler is the UrExample. In modern music, angst is strongly associated with alternative music movements. Sometimes the word "emo" is used interchangeably, although just about every musical genre has examples of angst. Elements of the blues in classic rock have their own unique form of angst.

In FanFic, angst is often used as an umbrella term for any kind of DarkFic. Like all fanfic, it adheres very strongly to SturgeonsLaw. For every brilliant execution there are ninety six examples that fall flat on their face, and another three that are merely mediocre.

Compare {{Wangst}}, where the reader or viewer comes to hate the angsty character for being too "whiny" or "wanky", and AngstWhatAngst, where a situation that might be expected to leave a character grieving or upset leaves no impression on them whatsoever. See also DeusAngstMachina and TrueArtIsAngsty. For the feelings that angst is generally meant to invoke, see EmotionalTorque.
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