Week 7-9
1. How is the Romantic notion of the Sublime reflected in the texts under consideration in this Romanticism reader? Discuss one or two examples from Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.
2. How do Blake and Rousseau's ideas align and differ (themes to consider are slavery, religion and education)?
2. How do Blake and Rousseau's ideas align and differ (themes to consider are slavery, religion and education)?
3. See what you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816...
4. How many fictional accounts (film and other narrative media) can you find about that? Provide some useful links, including Youtube clips (hint: for a start try Ken Russel Gothic on Youtube).
5. Discuss the links between the Villa Diodati "brat-pack" and the birth of Gothic as a modern genre with reference to specific texts by the authors who gathered there and subsequent texts (e.g. The Vampire >> Dracula, etc).
7. How does Frankenstein a) reference the Bible, b) foreshadow the Death of God and c) juggle genres as well as narrative points of view in its storytelling?
4. How many fictional accounts (film and other narrative media) can you find about that? Provide some useful links, including Youtube clips (hint: for a start try Ken Russel Gothic on Youtube).
5. Discuss the links between the Villa Diodati "brat-pack" and the birth of Gothic as a modern genre with reference to specific texts by the authors who gathered there and subsequent texts (e.g. The Vampire >> Dracula, etc).
7. How does Frankenstein a) reference the Bible, b) foreshadow the Death of God and c) juggle genres as well as narrative points of view in its storytelling?
QUESTION 3 ANSWER:
ReplyDeleteThe summer of 1816 at the Villa Diodati was a very important time period for Mary Shelley and those with her. "It is well known that the idea for the novel emerged at the Villa Diodati, on the shores of Lake Geneva, during the stormy month of June 1816." (Phillips, 2006, p.59). Shelley, along with her husband Percy and other travelers, went to visit Lord Byron, and Byron proposed that the group of travelers (including Shelley) would each write a ghost story. “Mary set herself to think of a story that would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature” (Sunstein, 1991, p.121) which introduced the supernatural to Shelley. Shelley that night had a nightmare and described it as seeing a “pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. He opens his eyes; behold the horrid thing stands at his bedside” (Sunstein, 1991, p. 122). This is the time in which Shelley began to compose the story of Frankenstein, and the dream that she had, formed the core plot of Frankenstein.
Among the travelers was John William Polidori, an English writer.
The Villa Diodati was significant in his writing of The Vampyre, and he began to write his tale in much the same way Shelley did. "The original Polidori tale was written as a result of a famous June evening at the Villa Diodati" (White, 1987. p. 23). Polidori's tale was based upon Lord Byron's own tale, using the relationship between the two as a basis for it. The story had significant characters such as "Aubrey, initially travelling companion to Ruthven" (White, 1987, p.24) and Ianthe whom falls victim to a vampire. The Villa and the situation of ghost writing greatly influenced the writing of The Vampyre, as the ideas of the supernatural world were introduced to both Polidori and Shelley.
It was at the Villa Diodati that the supernatural creatures of Frankenstein and The Vampyre were born, changing the face of supernatural romanticism texts forever.
References:
Phillips, B. (2006). Frankenstein and Mary Shelley's "Wet Ungenial Summer". Atlantis, 28(2), 59-68. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/41055247.
White, P. C. (1987). Two Vampires of 1828. The Opera Quarterly, 5(1), 22-57. doi:10.1093/oq/5.1.22
Sunstein, E. W. (1991). Mary Shelley: Romance and Reality. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Hi Nadia, I also found that interesting account of the events at Villa Diodati in John Polidori in his diary that was published in 1911. I learnt that he was very close to Mary Shelley whom we know was Percy's wife, and often spent time alone with her but she did not reciprocate the romantic feelings he had for her. If you're interested feel free to check out the link: https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-diary-of-dr-john-william-polidori
DeleteHow is the Romantic notion of the Sublime reflected in the texts under consideration in this Romanticism reader? Discuss one or two examples from Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.
ReplyDeleteI would consider The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake as a reflection of the ‘Sublime’ due to its dark tale of the sad life of its subjects. Pateman (1991) states; “We find pleasure in the encounter with imagined or fictional pain”. In The Chimney Sweeper we are drawn to the sad life of these boys and the text encourages us to live in their world briefly, seeing the world from the eyes of enslaved members of society whose wellbeing if usually overlooked. Blake does this by using a first person perspective; “My father sold me while yet my tongue” and drawing us in with dark imagery such as “lock’d up in coffins of black”. Certainly, as the reader we empathise with this character but there is little call to action to help these boys; “So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm”, Blake ends his poem by essentially deciding that although the life of these children is sad, they will go on to have a pleasant afterlife and should therefore not worry about their horrific life. I don’t believe it’s against the idea of the ‘sublime’ to have a call to action, but I do find the way Blake draws us in to empathise with these characters, only to say that they’ll be fine and neither we or the children should worry about such injustice, shows to me that the main draw of this text is to experience this ‘fictional pain’ that Pateman argues is a key feature of a sublime work.
Discuss the links between the Villa Diodati "brat-pack" and the birth of Gothic as a modern genre with reference to specific texts by the authors who gathered there and subsequent texts (e.g. The Vampire >> Dracula, etc).
ReplyDeleteVilla Diodati was an important collaboration space for many writers of the time, but it seems that the dark and gothic themes that arose in the works of the writers there, were inspired after a volcanic eruption that left behind an apocalyptic-like climate. Among many of the authors who gathered there was Mary Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein during this time. (Frost, 2018). A story that has been hugely influential across the horror, thriller, gothic and science fiction genres. The list of stories inspired by Frankenstein is long, with many films fixating on the manmade man storyline such as Rocky Horror Picture Show and Edward Scissorhands. As we get closer to a word where such things are possible, these stories have an increasing relevancy and interest. From the same gathering, came Polidori’s The Vampyre. This was considered to be the beginning of the romantic vampire genre (Jon, 2003, p.21), which went on to inspire works such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula. (Frost 2018).
How does Frankenstein a) reference the Bible, b) foreshadow the Death of God and c) juggle genres as well as narrative points of view in its storytelling?
ReplyDeleteMary Shelley’s Frankenstein references the Bible specifically throughout the novel, but also in a more general sense through being a story of the creation of life. To me, it feels like Frankenstein is set up as a God-type figure in the early pages of the story. This is seen in Captain Walton’s perception of Frankenstein. Saying “Sometime I have endeavoured to discover what quality it is which he possesses that elevates him so immeasurably above any other person I ever knew.” (Shelly, 1818, p.26). In this quote, Walton not only considers this stranger to be not only above himself, but above everyone he’s ever known, so very quickly we see Frankenstein as having a god-like status, atleast to Walton. Walton also describes Frankenstein as having a “never-failing power of judgement” (Shelley, 1818, p.26). I think this may refer to God’s judgement.
The narrative changes point of view multiple times. It begins with Captain Walton's perspective, seen when he refers to himself and talks about the stranger who turns out to be Frankenstein; “The stranger said to me, ‘You may easily perceive, Captain Walton, that I have suffered great and unparalleled misfortunes’.” (Shelley, 1818, p.26) Captain Walton desires to hear ‘the strangers’ story, which is when the narrative point of view takes a switch to Frankenstein's story. Later when Frankenstein meets the monster again, the narrative switches to the monster's perspective. Shader (2002) argues that Shelley uses the non-linear structure of the changing narratives to force readers to go back and piece together the story like a puzzle. I also think this may be to encourage empathising with different characters, as seems to me a big element of the Frankenstein story when we ask ourselves who’s to blame for the monster's actions. Moving through perspectives gives us further insight into why each character makes the decisions they do.
References
ReplyDeleteBlake, W. (1972; 1794). Songs of Innocence and Experience with an introduction and commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes. London: Oxford.
Frost, Natasha. (January 23 2018). How Climate Change Inspires Monsters
Jøn, A. Asbjørn (2003). Vampire Evolution. p.21.
Pateman, T. (2004, 1991) ‘The Sublime’ in Key Concepts: A Guide to Aesthetics, Criticism and the Arts in Education. London: Falmer Press, pp 169 - 171.
Shelley, Mary. (1985; 1818). Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, London: Penguin. - Letter 4, pp. 24-26 - Chapter 5, pp.69-79 - Chapter 11, pp.145-57
Shader, Brian. (2002). Shifting perspectives in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
QUESTION 7:
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein alludes to the Bible in the way that it explores the notion of what it means to be human, and human creation. Because Frankenstein is made by man kind, there are many ideas regarding the creation of man, which is linked to God creating man in the Bible. Shelley's Frankenstein explores ideas of " the nonhuman, the inhuman, and the not-absolutely human” (Balfour, 2016, p.792) which refers back to the Bible in the sense of God creating man. There are themes throughout the Bible that can be seen in Frankenstein, and these themes are challenged in Frankenstein, through the idea of god creating life, but in Frankenstein, man creates monster in a lab. These themes establish the idea of ‘god replacing man’ which challenges the ’natural’ aspect of God creating man in the Bible. Frankenstein is artificially made by a man (Victor) which shows the powerful nature of science and that nature had somehow become replaced. “A new species would bless me as its creator and source” (Shelley, 1985, p. 101)
Foreshadowing the death of God is a very complex topic which is intertextually featured in Shelley's Frankenstein. The novel discusses topics and ideas surrounding the difference between 'god creating man' in the Bible, and 'man creating monster' in Frankenstein. These topics ultimately lead to the idea of God being replaced - being replaced by man and by science. Victor in Shelley's novel seeks to create life, thus taking over the role of God in a sense. Victor's main goal with creating this being was for "the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body" (Shelley, 1985, p.105). It is clear from this, that Victor wanted to simply create something; to create life. He was so fascinated with science that he took out the challenge to create something out of nothing. Peters suggests that "Victor Frankenstein's sin was to play god, to attempt to create life out of non-life" (Peters, 2018, p.145) which alludes to a differing perspective, that perhaps he was making a mistake with trying to create life. This challenges the idea that man is so powerful that in turn he can overturn God, and create life himself.
Frankenstein can be determined as being gothic, horror and science fiction. There is much discussion regarding the genre of Frankenstein, but many believe that she invented the genre, as Freedman suggests that “she may well have had no conscious notion that she was inventing a new genre. But that is precisely what she did.” (Freedman, 2002, p. 254). Additionally to this, the already established genre of horror was challenged, as Shelley reinvented the notion of the supernatural. Rather than keeping with the supernatural, she shifted the nature of horror into a science and technology based horror. From her dream that famous night in the Villa Diodati, she wanted to expose the horror of science, and due to the improvement in science and technology, she wanted to expose how dangerous science can become.
To be continued..
Q 7 CONTINUED:
ReplyDeleteThe main perspective in Frankenstein is from Victor Frankenstein, however there are a few moments of dialogue from Frankenstein himself. Throughout the novel, we see Victor's perspective on his life, his family, his friend Henry Clerval and his perspective on science. The reader can see Victor's interest and fascination with science, and thus we are made aware of his reasoning for creating such a monster. The second perspective is from Frankenstein himself, and from this the reader is able to get a sense of how Frankenstein feels about being created. ""Cursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God in pity made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid from its very resemblance." (Shelley, 1818, p.106). These two perspectives are pertinent to understanding the theme of man creating monster, and also expose the relationship between 'creator and the creation'. We can see from this, that Frankenstein's perspective is equally important as Victor's - Frankenstein regrets Victor's choice in creating him, which brings forward ideas about the consequences of science, and how out of hand it can get.
References:
Balfour, I. (2016). Allegories of Origins: Frankenstein after the Enlightenment. SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, 56(4), 777-798. doi:10.1353/sel.2016.0037
Shelley, M. (1985). Frankenstein. London, England: Penguin Books.
Peters, T. (2018). Playing God with Frankenstein. Theology and Science, 16(2), 145-150. doi:10.1080/14746700.2018.1455264
Freedman, C. (2002). Review: Hail Mary: On the Author of "Frankenstein" and the Origins of Science Fiction. Science Fiction Studies, 29(2), 253-264. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4241076
QUESTION 4 ANSWER:
ReplyDelete- Ken Russell's Gothic is a more dramatic account of the famous summer at the Villa Diodati. It centers around the original group of four - Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, Polidori, and Claire Clairmont and the challenge given to them to write a horror story.
Entertainment, S. (2016, December 23). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8qH_3qk_dY&ab_channel=SlashbackEntertainment
- A 2018 film titled Mary Shelley directed by Haifaa al-Mansour is a modern recall of the life of Mary Shelley, and also includes the night at the Villa Diodati. Once scene in particular is the one in which Mary Shelley has an awful dream about a figure at her bedside that was stitched together and created in a lab. The more modern cinematography and structure allow those in modern-day to easily be able to understand what happened that famous night, and how significant it was in Shelley's writing of Frankenstein.
Factory, S. (2018, August 16). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_nyZ8H2ySg&ab_channel=Shout!Factory
- Haunted Summer, a 1988 film directed by Ivan Passer centers around that fateful summer at the Villa. The film is a fictional re-telling of the summer. It tells of the events that occurred, and provides the deep and dark happenings leading up to the creation of the Frankenstein novel.
Films, C. (2011, February 14). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG-rJuyfvxM
William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience focus on the innocence of the child and the ways that this innocence is corrupted by organised religion. For example, innocence is conveyed in Infant Joy: “Pretty joy!/ Sweet joy but two days old./ Sweet joy I call thee:/ Thou dost smile./ I sing the while/ Sweet joy befall thee” (Blake, 1794). While disdain for religion comes through in Holy Thursday: “Is this a holy thing to see/ In a rich and fruitful land/ Babes reducd to misery/ Fed with cold and usurous hand?” (Blake, 1794). These themes run throughout all the poems in this collection with the use of symbolism and art.
ReplyDeleteIn a similar vein, Jean Jacques Rousseau believed that people were born good and society corrupted them. In The Social Contract Rousseau claims “Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains” (Cole, 1913). By ‘in chains’ Rousseau means that society demands conformity thereby denying liberty and freedom. Thus, both Blake and Rousseau were against the oppressions that exist in society and advocated for a more just society.
One of the ways they believed the situation could be improved is through education although they had different ideas as to what kind of education was needed. According to Welch (2011), Blake believed literacy and books would help develop children’s imagination and incite joy. Whereas Rousseau claimed that children should be prepared for their life’s work and as such, boys and girls should be socialised in different ways. For example, Rousseau (1962) states in Emile, “Girls should be attentive and industrious, but this is not enough by itself; they should be early accustomed to restraint”.
References
Blake, W. (1972; 1794). Songs of Innocence and Experience with an introduction and commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes. London: Oxford.
Cole, G. (1913). Translation of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s the social contract, 1762.
Rousseau, J. (1792). Emile.
Welch, D. M. (2011). Blake and Rousseau on children’s reading, pleasure, and imagination. The Lion and the Unicorn 35(3), 199-226. doi: 10.1353/uni.2011.0022
1. How is the Romantic notion of the Sublime reflected in the texts under consideration in this Romanticism reader? Discuss one or two examples from Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Longinus the romantic notion of sublime has the power to move us beyond what we were expecting (Pateman, 2004). Beyond ‘persuading’ or ‘pleasing’ the reader, Longinus suggests that the sublime has the ability to produce euphoria. Burke, on the other hand, suggests that what moves us the most is terror – specifically fear of pain – and that it is different for all of us (Pateman, 2004). Thus Pateman (2004) goes on to describe the sublime as a paradox in which we find pleasure in pain.
The texts in the romanticism reader that were created in response to Byron’s dare were intended to tap into this idea of terror. For example Shelley (1818) describes her intent for what became Frankenstein: “which would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror to make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart”.
Blake, on the other hand, seems to capture the idea of the paradox by incorporating joy and misery into his texts. For example in the Chimney Sweeper: “And because I am happy, & dance & sing/ They think they have done me no injury:/ And are gone to praise God & his Priest & King/ Who make up a heaven of our misery” (Blake, 1794). Further to this he is provoking the reader of the time to shock and horror over his questioning of the legitimacy of the church.
References
Blake, W. (1972; 1794). Songs of Innocence and Experience with an introduction and commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes. London: Oxford.
Pateman, T. (2004, 1991). ‘The sublime’ in key concepts: A guide to aesthetics, criticism and the arts in education. London: Falmer Press.
Shelley, M. (1985; 1818). Frankenstein or the modern Prometheus. London: Penguin.
Hi Melita, I found that I could apply Longinus' literary critic of the sublime to the Gothic texts too. Romanticism and Gothic share the notion of evoking reactions and emotions within us, take for instance the story of Frankenstein where Mary Shelley explores the morbidity and curiosity of reanimating the dead.
Delete3. See what you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful
ReplyDeletesummer in 1816...
Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” was heavily influenced by her visit to the Villa Diodati in the summer of 1816. 1816 was known as “the year without a summer”, as in April of 1815 Mount Tamboro in Indonesia erupted, sending volcanic ash into the upper atmosphere and obscurring the sun. There was a lot of rain fall and the temperatures dropped, the following summer was awful. The “Morning Post” reported that “We continue to receive most melancholy news from Germany on the extraordinary weather which afflicts nearly the whole of Europe. The excessive abundance of rain has caused disasters almost everywhere.” (1) This year without summer would have provided the perfect conditions for the writing of a dark, horror story like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Shelley spent the trip in the company of Lord Byron, John William Polidori, Claire Clairemont, and her future husband Percy Shelley. With a summer so bleak and wet, the five were forced to remain indoors a lot. This meant that there was a lot of time for conversation and creativity. (Mary) Shelley recalls in the preface to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein: ‘Many and long were the conversations between Lord Byron and (Percy) Shelley to which I was a devout but nearly silent listener. During one of these, various philosophical doctrines were discussed, and among others the nature of the principle of life, and whether there was any probability of its ever being discovered communicated’ (2). One night, Lord Byron suggested writing ghost stories. With the mood set by the weather, the intelligent conversation around life, anatomy and philosophy, it is little surprise that Mary Shelley found inspiration from her visit to Villa Diodati. Shelley produced what would become “Frankenstein”. Polidori was inspired by Byrons work to create “The Vampyre”, which would pave the way for the Romantic vampire genre.
(1) https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mary-shelley-frankenstein-and-the-villa-diodati Newspaper article from July 20, 1816
(2) https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mary-shelley-frankenstein-and-the-villa-diodati M. Shelley, “Frankenstein” 1831
5. Discuss the links between the Villa Diodati "brat-pack" and the birth of Gothic as a modern genre with reference to specific texts by the authors who gathered there and subsequent texts (e.g. The Vampire >> Dracula, etc).
ReplyDeleteThe traditional Gothic is typically absurd and excessive, making it a brilliant genre for satire. Jane Austen’s “Northangey Abbey”(1818) a famous example of this (1). The “brat pack” of Villa Diodati would serve to breathe new life into the Gothic genre, even developing genre’s of their own through the influence of their work.
The two most famous works produced as a result of the visit to Villa Diodati were also firsts in their own ways. Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is often considered the first Science Fiction novel. Brian Aldiss has argued that it should be considered the first Science Fiction novel because “Frankenstein rejects alchemy and magic and turns to scientific research. Only then does he get results.” (2) John Polidori’s “Vampyre” spawned a lasting fascination for vampire fiction of all kinds that is still massively popular today. “The Vampyre” inspired the production of all kinds of adaptations, plays, opera’s and later films. Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” was influenced by Polidori’s work also, and together with “The Vampyre” provide the staple canon for the early vampire genre. Both of these novels pushed the Gothic genre forward, in both popularity and content, paving the way for the modern horror genre.
(1) http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Gothic_fiction#The_Romantics
(2) https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=N1WWSRVeOC8C&pg=PA78&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
B. Aldiss “The Detached Retina: Aspects of SF and Fantasy” 1995 page 78
7. How does Frankenstein a) reference the Bible, b) foreshadow the Death of God and c) juggle genres as well as narrative points of view in its storytelling?
ReplyDeleteAt the time of “Frankenstein’s” creation, scientists and doctors were very interested in the possibility of reanimating corpses using electricity. “Frankenstein” revolves around Victor Frankenstein, who manages to do what no scientist has managed in reality and creates the Frankenstein Monster from a corpse. This puts Victor in the position of God. He has given life. He is a creator. Which raises the question: Does he owe anything more to his creation than life itself? The monster could be compared to Adam, the first man in the bible. Just like the first man, the first monster wants a woman, otherwise he is doomed to be hideous, miserable and alone forever. The Monster is quoted in Chapter 15 - “Sometimes I allowed my thoughts, unchecked by reason, to ramble in the fields of Paradise, and dared to fancy amiable and lovely creatures sympathizing with my feelings and cheering my gloom; their angelic countenances breathed smiles of consolation. But it was all a dream; no Eve soothed my sorrows nor shared my thoughts; I was alone. I remembered Adam's supplication to his Creator. But where was mine? He had abandoned me, and in the bitterness of my heart I cursed him.” (1) Victor decides that he doesn’t owe his creation a thing, and decides not to create a monster woman for the monster man, mostly out of fear that the two of them would bring carnage to humanity, rather than live together in harmony.
“Frankenstein” foreshadows the death of God by elevating Science to a power comparable to that of God himself, essentially replacing God. Frankenstein’s Monster is created by a man, meaning that man now has the power of God – to give life. Of course, man’s creation is imperfect, as is stated in the book itself - “‘Hateful day when I received life!’ I exclaimed in agony. ‘Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred.’” (2) The Monster is, in this case, expressing a feeling that we have all at some point had. He is essentially lamenting “Why me, God?” Except his God is a man, and man only has the power of God thanks to science.
7 cont.
ReplyDelete“Frankenstein” has three main genres, and four narrators. The genres are Gothic Fiction, Tragedy and Science fiction. Shelley’s “Frankenstein is considered the first Science Fiction Novel by many, which makes sense as a lot of the story is about exploring science and how far we can push it. It is definitely a tragedy. It’s a classic “Everyone dies, the end.” tale. Plus Frankenstein is portrayed as being a pretty decent guy to start off, who is forced down a dark path by the circumstances surrounding him. Gothic, because of the dark, macabre setting, big scary monster and attempts to convey the sublime. I can’t think of many other novels that manage to incorporate these genres into one story half as well as Shelley does in “Frankenstein”. I think that Shelley decided to give the perspective of so many different characters because she wanted us to mistrust the narrators and figure out the true story ourselves, kind of like scientists have to do. Collecting evidence from different sources, and then deducing the truth based on what you know. It comes down to what we, as readers, believe is the truth. Do we believe The Monster? That he was innocent, and pushed to do evil through rejection and oppression? Or do we believe Victor, that The Monster was destined to do evil from the start? Each of the narrators except for Felix are written in First Person, meaning that they are biased by the opinion and thoughts of that character. Having these different points of view enables the reader to form a rounded opinion of the characters. The story would be very different, and likely a lot less interesting, if the only perspective we got to read was Victor’s.
(1) https://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks/frankenstein.pdf M. Shelley “Frankenstein” Chapter 15 page 156
(2) https://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks/frankenstein.pdf M. Shelley “Frankenstein” Chapter 15 page 155
1.How is the Romantic notion of the Sublime reflected in the texts under consideration in this Romanticism reader? Discuss one or two examples from Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.
ReplyDeletePateman (2004, 1991) discuses Burke’s question of what terrifies us, as it is this that inspires the sublime. They came to the conclusion that it was anything vast, obscure, powerful and that which is infinite. They quote Burke directly “Infinity has a tendency to fill the mind with that sort of delightful horror, which is the most genuine effect, and truest test of the sublime” (Pateman 2004, 1991) this ‘delightful horror’ surely encompasses all four of the concepts in their conclusion. I would have to agree with both sentiments, I feel drawn to the idea of the sublime when presented with something that throws the human element into the horrifying/terrifying aspects of the natural world.
Within the poem “The Sick Rose” we are confuted by this concept of the human in terrifying nature, the rose of course being the human element in metaphor perhaps referencing the English Rose, a name for a woman in England. The worm being the personification of unholy love, and the ‘howling storm’, the social, political and cultural upheaval Blake was living through. “And his dark secret love/Does thy life destroy.” (Blake 1972, 1794). Surely the manifestation of sinful love which infects and kills the rose. I would argue that these things add together, identify not only the ominous, obscure, powerful and vast within the storm and the worm, but also the infinite in terms of death and how that ends the human element of the rose.
Pateman, T. (2004, 1991) ‘The Sublime’ in Key Concepts: A Guide to Aesthetics, Criticism and the Arts in Education. Retrieved from, https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/bbcswebdav/pid-4703463-dt-content-rid-6652318_4/institution/Papers/ENGL600/Publish/Desire_Critical%20Reader_2019.pdf
Blake, W. (1972; 1794). Songs of Innocence and Experience with an introduction and commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes, Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/bbcswebdav/pid-4703463-dt-content-rid-6652318_4/institution/Papers/ENGL600/Publish/Desire_Critical%20Reader_2019.pdf
3. See what you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816...
ReplyDelete1816 was “The Year Without a Summer” (D’Arcy Wood, n.d.). Claire Clairmont managed to convince the Shelley’s to go to Lake Geneva rather than Italy, because she wanted to have an affair with Lord Byron, who was staying at Villa Diodati. They spent a while there, writing and discussing poetry and doing other things. One night there was a terrible storm, it was part of the odd weather experienced that year. (D’Arcy Wood, n.d.). At some point Byron demanded the production of a ghost story from each of those in attendance, Shelley, Shelley, Clairmont, Polidori and himself. As a result works of literature where created which would shape popular culture forever. (Poetry Foundation, n.d.)
Poetry Foundation. (n.d.). Percy Bysshe Shelley. Retrieved from, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/percy-bysshe-shelley
D’Arcy Wood. G. (n.d.) Frankenstein, the Baroness, and the Climate Refugees of 1816. Retrieved from, https://publicdomainreview.org/2016/06/15/frankenstein-the-baroness-and-the-climate-refugees-of-1816/
4. How many fictional accounts (film and other narrative media) can you find about that? Provide some useful links, including YouTube clips (hint: for a start try Ken Russel Gothic on YouTube).
ReplyDeleteGothic (1986), Ken Russel, was the first place my mind went when reading of the night, a few years ago my friends and I had gone on a Julian Sands marathon when this film popped up. Although very dramatic and extreme in its representation of the events as they’re noted in rumor, it is very good. The details we get from fact however are depicted for the most part quite well though at 24:09 it is suggested by Clairmont in the film, to have a writing competition, but it was actually thought to be Byron. (Slashback Entertainment, 2016) The book, El año del verano que nunca llegó by William Ospina was also inspired by this event, as well as a few other films like Rowing with the wind (1988) directed by Gonzalo Suárez, Hunted Summer (1988) directed by Ivan Passer. The most recent of these however is, Mary Shelley (2017) directed by Haifaa Al-Mansour.
Slashback Entertainment. (2016, 23 Dec) Gothic (1986). [Video file]. Retrieved from, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8qH_3qk_dY&list=PLBBZy7qByUqf76itPKNFIKn-BgxdqRFQ-&index=104&has_verified=1
(24:09) https://youtu.be/N8qH_3qk_dY?list=PLBBZy7qByUqf76itPKNFIKn-BgxdqRFQ-&t=1449
5. Discuss the links between the Villa Diodati "brat-pack" and the birth of Gothic as a modern genre with reference to specific texts by the authors who gathered there and subsequent texts (e.g. The Vampire >> Dracula, etc).
ReplyDeleteThe “brat-pack” produced one of the biggest influences upon popular culture to date, Mary Shelleys, Frankenstein. The mother of horror she was inspired by the electrical experiments of Luigi Galvani in the 1770s, he had noted the use of electric currents to convulse the limbs of dead creatures. (National Geographic, 2017). Shelley had a nightmare while at the Villa Diodati, it was this that spurred her creation, and cemented her as one of the founding figures of Gothic Horror and Si-fi.
“a vividness far beyond the usual bounds of reverie.” She described it: “I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy half-vital motion.” (National Geographic, 2017)
She would go on to flesh out the sort story under the encouragement of Bysshe Shelley, she published anonymously two years later due to social constraints, but in 1823 she named herself.
Dr John Polidori wrote, The Vampyre, which was inspired by one of Byron’s previous works, the resulting work was then taken up by Bram Stoker, and Dracula was born. one of the most iconic villains of all time. (National Geographic, 2017)
Lord Byron wrote, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage: Canto III and Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote, Mont Blanc: Lines Written in the Vale of Chamouni (Shaw, 2014)
National Geographic. (2017). How A Teenage Girl Became the Mother of Horror. Retrieved from, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/07-08/birth_of_Frankenstein_Mary_Shelley/
Shaw. P. (2014) Landscape and the Sublime. Retrieved from, https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/landscape-and-the-sublime
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ReplyDelete1. How is the Romantic notion of the Sublime reflected in the texts under consideration in this Romanticism reader? Discuss one or two examples from Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.
ReplyDeleteIn songs of experience I would say the poem that spoke out to me that most reflects the sublime is the poem ‘holy Thursday’. The romantic notion of the sublime states that sublime is connected to motions of terror and excitement (Edmund burke 1579). In the poem ‘holy Thursday’ I felt that certain lines and lyrics brought out excitement in me, the audience at the time of reading. “Is this a holy thing to see, In a rich and fruitful land, Babes reduced to misery, Fed with cold and usurous hand?” (Blake, W. (1972; 1794). For some reason this paragraph spoke out to me and invoked some excitement to continue reading the whole poem. The language used here is dark and rich in emotion, making the audience want to continue reading to understand why the babes are miserable and to find out what happens next in the poem.
3. See what you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816...
1816 was known as the year without a summer because of several climate changes that caused the temperature to go down several counts. This summer heavily influence Mary Shellie’s ‘Frankenstein’ because she visited the Villa Diodati with Lord Byron, John William Polidori, Claire Clairemont, and her future husband Percy Shelley. With the weather being awful the group were forced to spend a lot of time indoors and together, this resulted in a lot of creative time and ideas being shared. One night they shared ideas about horror stories and because of the dark stormy weather this was apparently very easy and resulted in philosophical debates and the ideas Mary shelly would use to write ‘Frankenstein’.
7. How does Frankenstein a) reference the Bible, b) foreshadow the Death of God and c) juggle genres as well as narrative points of view in its storytelling?
Frankenstein juggles the genres of science-fiction, gothic fiction and tragedy. I believe it does these extremely well as this text did invent if not just popularise gothic fiction. The book follows a scientist by the name of victor Frankenstein who creates life from nothing with brand new scientific discoveries and explores how far science could go. And as far as tragedy goes the main characters die therefore it fits the category of tragedy.
In the text ‘Frankenstein’ the main character victor Frankenstein resembles god, he is the creator of “man” he animates his monster through the use of electricity. And his monster resembles Adam, the first man in the bible, he is created from nothing for no other reason than to be created, in the bible Adams wife (eve) is made from one of Adams ribs just as the nameless monster is created from other human beings body parts. I feel these are just two of many references to the bible. This theory of victor being god could foreshadow the death of god as he dies in fear of his own creation and then his creation dies shortly after almost as a revenge for being created. This could foreshadow how humans have overrun god if he were to ever have existed and would run in fear of our species.
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ReplyDeleteQuestion One.
ReplyDeleteHow is the Romantic notion of the Sublime reflected in the texts under consideration in this Romanticism reader? Discuss one or two examples from Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.
Blade describes fear, more specifically the fear of pain, as the true emotion behind the romantic notion of the sublime. Almost contradictory, the romantic notion of the sublime, according to Pateman, has the ability to emotionally effect the reader beyond simple results like being persuaded or pleased and is more accurately described as being euphoric (Pateman 2004). An example of Blake's notion of the sublime can be seen in how Shelley (1818) describes the inspiration for Frankenstein as being something “which would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror to make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart”. Then again in Blake's the Chimney Sweeper, the line “And because I am happy, & dance & sing/ They think they have done me no injury:/ And are gone to praise God & his Priest & King/ Who make up a heaven of our misery” (Blake, 1794) is used to shock the reader (of the time it was written) because he is questioning the validity of the Church and attacking it's integrity. Blake uses this in correspondence with his idea of the sublime to evoke a "terror" that the church might be in the wrong and that their beliefs in it are unjustified.
*Blake
DeleteQuestion Two.
ReplyDeleteSee what you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816...
All which can be stated with confidence about the summer of 1816, is that five friends (Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, John Polidori, Mary Shelly and her step-sister Claire Clairmont) met at the Villa Diodati, spent a lot of time in-doors due to the terrible weather and were encouraged by Lord Byron to write a horror story. The rest is mostly speculation, exaggeration and rumour. We understand that the dark, stormy weather outside probably influenced their creativity and inspired them to discuss and write about horror-themed topics. Mary Shelley recalls in her published copy of Frankenstein (1831) “‘We will each write a ghost story,’ said Lord Byron; and his proposition was acceded to.” (p.8).
Question Three.
ReplyDeleteHow many fictional accounts (film and other narrative media) can you find about that?
Wayyy too many, but I'll just reference four.
Rowing with the Wind (1988)
The film directed in 1988, starring Hugh Grant as Lord Byron, retells the story of what happened at the Villa Diodata.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgQwca6QNg0
The Vampyre (1819) by John William Polidori
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A87RedNOtjg
Gothic (1986) directed by Ken Russel
The film is an over-the-top reimagining of Shelleys' visit to the Villa Diodati.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095280/
Frankenstein (1910) & Frankenstein (1931)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcLxsOJK9bs
Question Four.
ReplyDeleteHow does Frankenstein;
a) reference the Bible?
The first reference to the bible seen in Frankenstein is the creation of the monster. Dr Victor Frankenstein's creature is stitched together in the image of a man (white teeth, black hair & proportional limbs). Him giving life to the creature replicates God's creation of man, as he is said to create man in his own image; “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis, 1.10).
b) foreshadow the Death of God?
The Death of God is brought about, or foreshadowed to, within the story as God's divine ability to create life has been gifted to mankind through terrifying science.
c) juggle genres as well as narrative points of view in its storytelling?
At it's core, Frankenstein is part - and the origin of - the horror genre. Like many other works, parts of the text fit into other genres also. Primarily featuring horror as Shelley intended, she speaks of wanting to create a story that would “speak to the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror- one to make the reader look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart” (Shelley, 1831, p. 8). In addition to horror, the novel also features aspects of romanticism (specifically in it's setting) because of the notion of the sublime found in the nature described in the novel. Also found in the literature's nature, the Gothic genre is displayed – most simply through the inclusion of ruins and graveyards.
References:
Shaw. P. (2014) Landscape and the Sublime. Retrieved from, https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/landscape-and-the-sublime
Poetry Foundation. (n.d.). Percy Bysshe Shelley. Retrieved from, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/percy-bysshe-shelley
D’Arcy Wood. G. (n.d.) Frankenstein, the Baroness, and the Climate Refugees of 1816. Retrieved from, https://publicdomainreview.org/2016/06/15/frankenstein-the-baroness-and-the-climate-refugees-of-1816/
https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mary-shelley-frankenstein-and-the-villa-diodati M. Shelley, “Frankenstein” 1831
Question 1
ReplyDeleteThe word sublime has many definitions in the dictionary. This can be described not only great beauty, but also an overwhelming feeling as fear and danger. Often the sublime has been expressed in the painting as a giant beauty of nature and its enormous scale. In the Romantic Age, nature was considered the most noble object, and this notion influenced generations of artists. (Patman, 2004)
Sublime is a widespread theme in romantic literature or art. William Blake also explored the concept of sublime. William Blake interpreted nature as a reflection of the spirit world. In his work, The Songs of Innocence and Songs Experience, sublime is probably closely related to purity and morality, the falsities of church and society. Also, this sublime would have given people awe and inspiration.
The words, Innocence and experience, are two inevitable axes of life, conflicting and confrontational. At that time, William Blake looked at the world by dichotomy between innocence and experience. William Brake's work, The Song of Innocence, express the state of purity before the human soul was corrupted, and Song of Experience shows the depraved human by the falsities of society or church. Like this, he shows the conflicting state of the spirit by contrasting innocence and experience, and depicts the reality of 18th British society through direct expression and criticism.
William Blake expressed innocence as purity, a state of ecstasy and joy in childhood. The purity of infancy is reflected in his poem 'Song of Joy'. In this poem, Blake expressed happiness as age, curiosity about unknowns, ignorance of the world (lack of experience). “I have no name / I am but two days old. / What shall I call thee? / I happy am” (p. 140). In addition, Blake used the words, ‘joy’ and ‘sweet’, many times throughout the poem to evoke positive feelings of innocence. “Sweet joy befall thee! / Pretty joy! / Sweet joy but two days old. / Sweet joy I call thee: / Thou dost smile. / I sing the while / Sweet joy befall thee.” (p. 140).
Through ‘The Chimney Sweeper’, Blake calmly describes the child labor problem in which children who need to grow up bright and pure are used as a tool for labor. In this poem, the tragic situation in which children are too young to even pronounce ‘sweep’ properly was ironically expressed. In the last paragraph of the poem, there is a phrase reminiscent of a scene in which a young Tom climbs up a cloud with his friends and plays in the wind, but it is a story in a dream that cannot be made in reality. In this paragraph, therefore, the pure hope that the gap between dream and reality is hard to find union point, but that if they being with God, there will always be plenty of joy is well expressed.
On the other hand, The Chimney Sweeps in The Songs of Experienced, a child ironically degrades himself by describing as 'A little black thing’, which meaning he does not see reality as a positive hope. “A little black thing among the snow: / Crying weep, weep, in notes of woe!” (p. 145). In addition, the child understands himself as an object of the exploitation of the labor in society and talks about his dismal feelings directly.
In ‘The Garden of Love’, as the priests’ power grew stronger, they oppressed the common people, and Blake satirizes this closed, coercive church.
In the ‘Song of Experience’, therefore, William Blake showed the purity destroyed from the corrupt experience. Further to this, Blake probably have given readers great fear, shock by showing how corrupt 18th British society and religion have destroyed human purity and instinct.
References:
Blake, W. (1972; 1794). Songs of Innocence and Experience with an introduction and commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes. London: Oxford.
Pateman, T. (2004, 1991) ‘The Sublime’ in Key Concepts: A Guide to Aesthetics, Criticism
and the Arts in Education.London: Falmer Press
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ReplyDeleteQ3. See what you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816...
DeleteQ4. How many fictional accounts (film and other narrative media) can you find about that? Provide some useful links, including Youtube clips (hint: for a start try Ken Russel Gothic on Youtube).
In 1816, the scandalous Romantic poet Lord Byron and his ‘travelling doctor’ John Polidori travelled to Geneva where they met the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, his wife Mary Shelley (Mary Godwin at the time) and Mary’s half-sister, Claire Clairmont (Budavonic, 2018). Byron rented the Villa Diodati a mansion by Lake Geneva, while the Shelleys also stayed nearby in a small chalet with their travel companion. The group were forced to spend much of their time indoors at the Villa Diodati due to the unusually wet and cold weather conditions of that summer in June. Unbeknown to the group, the abnormal climate conditions were brought on by the volcanic eruption of Mt Tambora in Indonesia, on the other side of the world, and would be known as the ‘year without summer’ (Buzz, 2014). Many discussions were had long into the night amongst the men about different philosophies, galvanism, and the science of life -all to which Mary recalls in the preface of her 1831 edition of Frankenstein that she sat silently taking in (Shelley, 1985). The haunting and dark atmospheres, sexual tensions, morbid discussions, and reading of German ghost stories, not only evoked terror and nightmares in some, but inspired. Byron seized the opportunity to challenge himself and his guests to writing a ghost story. It was from these nights where the classic gothic tales of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, and The Vampyre, by John Polidori, were produced (Budavonic, 2018).
Aside from Mary Shelley’s accounts, Byron (1819) shares in letters to his publisher John Murray his version of what took place that important summer at the Villa Diodati. He made contrast of an experiences with Percey Shelley where he they nearly suffered a near-fatal rowing accident on lake Geneva, where Shelley did not even panic despite his inability to swim; to a time where Shelley ran from the room in a fit of terror during a reading of the poem ‘Christabel’ when he envisioned a woman with eyes on her breasts (Byron, 1819). Byron (1819) also wrote about the ghost-story challenge which he set where Mary Shelley began her work on Frankenstein, while also attaching a fragment of a vampire story to these letters to which John Polidori had taken up and developed into The Vampyre. Lord Byron also goes out of his way to deny the scandalous claims of any loose sexual activity at Villa Diodati, made by poet Robert Southey. What is interesting about Byron’s denial, however, are that most depictions I have come across paint it to be a very eccentric time at villa Diodati. These include:
• The romantic 2017 drama film, Mary Shelley by directed by Haifaa al-Mansour - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgeX8GCxUi4
• 1986 film, Gothic, by Ken Russell - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTDpdp2xQCI&t=473s
• 1988 film, The Haunted Summer, directed by Ivan Passer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQwwVThTuZM&t=782s
• 1988 Spanish film, Remando Al viento (Rowing With the Wind), directed by Gonzales Suarez
• The prologue to 1935 film the Bride of Frankenstein, directed by James Whale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l09L3w0slt8
What is commonly captured across all takes of the events of that summer in Villa Diodati, is just how eclectic the group was and especially the ‘bad boy’ image of Lord Byron, as scandal always seemed to surround him. In the 1935 film, Bride of Frankenstein and the earliest and briefest depiction of events at Villa Diodati is so respectable it does not even hint at the eerie atmosphere described by Shelley.
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DeleteReferences
DeleteBudavonic, N. (2018). The Original Vampire: Before Count Dracula there was Lord Ruthven. Retrieved May 28, 2019, from https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/02/lord-ruthven/
Buzwell, G. (2014). Mary Shelley, Frankenstein and the Villa Diodati. Retrieved from May 1, 2019, from https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mary-shelley-frankenstein-and-the-villa-diodati
Byron, G. G. (1819) Letter from Lord Byron to John Murray. Retrieved from https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/letter-from-lord-byron-to-john-murray-about-incidents-at-villa-diodati-1819
Shelley, M. (1985). Frankenstein or the modern Prometheus (1819 ed.). London: Penguin Books
Tim Burton: The Exhibition [PDF]. (2010). Retrieved from https://2015.acmi.net.au/media/102407/the-gothic-imagination-of-tim-burton.pdf
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteQ5. Discuss the links between the Villa Diodati "brat-pack" and the birth of Gothic as a modern genre with reference to specific texts by the authors who gathered there and subsequent texts (e.g. The Vampire >> Dracula, etc).
ReplyDeleteConsidering the events of Villa Diodati, the “brat-pack” helped birth Gothic as a modern genre with the production of Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Polidori’s The Vampyre. Gothic horror apparently shares many characteristics with literary Romanticism as the two genres particularly share the features of the sublime (Matus, 2017). Pateman (2004) defines the sublime as work which encourages a sense of wonder, awe, amazement, or work that is driven by passion. Ancient Greek critic Longinus had called it ‘on the sublime’ (as cited by Pateman, 2004) when we are transformed by wonder rather than just being pleased and persuaded. Characters like The Monster, Dr Victor Frankenstein and Polidori’s Lord Ruthven all evoke the sense of shock and terror in exploring traditionally taboo themes, but yet readers invite the fear of it all for the sensation of it. The workings of the “brat-pack” at Villa Diodara happened in an era where scientific ways of thinking were beginning to challenge the less rational and Christian teachings of thinking about the world. This was the Age of Enlightenment. Gothic literature dared to explore the ‘dark’ side of human nature and life, the chaos, wild and uncivilised, extravagance, and test social norms (Tim Burton: The Exhibition, 2010). Frankenstein saw the science student Victor Frankenstein playing around with the reanimation of life by creating a monster made of dead body parts and giving it life -only to run away in fear from the monster he created. The monster wreaks havoc out of abandonment issues. Often noted as the first science fiction novel as well, Frankenstein looks at the tensions between reason and science and supernatural. This probably influenced a similar theme in the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 1886 recognized in Dr Jekyll who experimented on himself in curiosity of the the duality of man with the help of both mystical and scientific methods; that curiosity or experimenting with the unknown can bring deadly consequences.
The gothic tales of villa diodati also pioneered the visual features of gothic tales with haunted castles and graveyards included in backdrops, and elements of supernatural or macabre (Jon, 2003).
Polidori’s, The Vampyre, was the first complete narrative about vampires and created a framework for the usual clichés in the gothic tales regarding them, with some variations. This was something along the lines of a 19th century playboy who seduces and preys on innocent and attractive young women from high society to kill and drink their blood (Buudavonic, 2018). The idea of an aristocrat vampire first came to the mind of Lord Byron during the ghost-story challenge, where he had written just a fragment of a what could have been a novel. John Polidori took this and produced his own cohesive novel that was published in 1819 and found success under the false credit of Byron, but was later republished under Polidori’s name. The Vampyre is believed to have inspired the 1897 horror novel of Dracula by Bram Stoker (Jon, 2003).
Kennedy (2018) believes that the gothic literature has been replaced today with the likes of ghost stories, detective fiction, suspense and thriller novels, and any other forms which have mystery, suspense and sensation. We definitely see variations of Polidori’s Lord Ruthven vampire in the Vampire Slayer, the Blade series, Interview with the Vampire, amongst many others in popular culture.
References
DeleteBudavonic, N. (2018). The Original Vampire: Before Count Dracula there was Lord Ruthven. Retrieved May 28, 2019, from https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/02/lord-ruthven/
Jon, A. A. (2003). Vampire Evolution [PDF]. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283318599_Vampire_Evolution
Kennedy, P. (2018) Gothic Literature. Retrieved May 28, 2019, from https://www.thoughtco.com/gothic-literature-2207825
Matus, D. (2017). How Gothic Horror Related to Romanticism in England. Retrieved May 29, 2019, from https://penandthepad.com/gothic-horror-related-romanticism-england-20914.html
Pateman, T. (2004). The Sublime in Key Concepts: A guide to Aesthetics, Criticism and the Arts in Education (1991 ed.). London: Farmer Press
1. How is the Romantic notion of the Sublime reflected in the texts under consideration in this Romanticism reader? Discuss one or two examples from Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.
ReplyDeleteAfter further research on the literary concept “the sublime”, to vastly describe it, it is the use of language and description that stimulates the thoughts and emotions of the reader outside the ordinary experience (Wikipedia, 2019). However, the term has a specific meaning to art and poetry. In the 18th century, when the literary concept became significant, Edmund Burke wrote a philosophical treatise in 1759 on the aesthetics, giving attention to paintings and visual arts, he was able to conclude and describe two categories that could be used to appreciate a painting; the beautiful and the sublime (Alliterative, 2016). For example, beautiful was aesthetically pleasing for its symmetry and its state of being regular, whereas the sublime displayed a creative impulse, awe, as well as terror due to its immensity and power – “like a majestic mountain range or medieval abbey.” (Alliterative, 2016). According to Pateman (2004, p. 16-17) “The concept of the sublime, as articulated by Burke, contains a lurking paradox. It is that we are drawn to things that cause us pain, indeed terror, says Burke.”
Looking at the sublime in the context of romantic poetry, William Blake expresses the ideas of terror, pain, and danger in the text ‘Songs of Innocence’. Blakes literary work is extraordinary, extremely dense, and often pervades complicated writing with awe inspiring illustrations that produces the strongest emotion in which the audience mind and body is capable of feeling. Blakes approach on the sublime crosses the line of fiction into the realm of reality, ultimately creating a terror in all of us through the fundamental themes of poverty, religion, and labour-forced children.
‘Little Boy Lost’ by William Blake is an illustration of the sublime romantic poem that develops awe and horror in the topic dealt with. Blake communicates an intense, uncomfortable, terrifying atmosphere using the simplicity of language and imagery, along with paintings to portray a helpless child wandering the forest during the darkness of the night, calling out for a “God.” In the first lines, ‘Father, Father’ is repeated to emphasise the desperation within the human soul to find refuge and answers in God throughout our lifetime. It could also be illustrated as evoking the stammering and fearful words of help that a child may feel upon being left alone in a dangerous environment, weak and cold. Blake continues to communicate the sublime in ‘Little Boy Lost’ with the powerful brightness of the light (“bright Will-o-the-Wisp, stars, angelic figures”) confined within a naturally dark environment, thus being the forest (Blake, W. 1972; 1794) Burke mentions “a quick transition from light to darkness, or from darkness to light, has yet a greater effect.” (Mcevoy, B. 2016). By changing back and forth between light and dark, Blake is achieving the affect of the sublime. According to McEvoy’s research (2016), the forest is a subject of the sublime in the context of romantic poetry. Blake unites the ideas of oblivion and power together as what lies in the forest is unknown, creating a terrifying environment and uneasiness within the audience.
Reference:
Alliterative. (2016). Sublime: The Aesthetics & Origins of Romanticism. [video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au-z2jVaTNk
Blake, W. (1972; 1794). Songs of Innocence and Experience with an introduction and commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes, London: Oxford.
Mcevoy, B. (2016) What Is Sublime? A Super Quick Introduction in the Context of Romantic Poetry. Retrieved from https://benjaminmcevoy.com/sublime-super-quick-introduction-context-romantic-poetry/
Pateman. (2004) The Paradox of the Sublime. CR, p.16-17.
4. 3. How many fictional accounts (film and other narrative media) can you find about that? Provide some useful links, including Youtube clips (hint: for a start try Ken Russel Gothic on Youtube).
ReplyDeleteKen Russel’s ‘Gothic’ (1986), Ivan Passer’s ‘Haunted Summer’ (1988) and Gonzalo Suarez’s ‘Rowing with the Wind’ (1998) are all film in the located in the time when Mary Shelley wrote her famous novel, ‘Frankenstein’ in the summer of 1816. The films express the events that took place between Mary and her circle in Lord Byron’s residence, Villa Diodati, by Lake Geneva.
Slashback Entertainment. (2016). Gothic (1986). [video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8qH_3qk_dY
Video Detective. (2014) Haunted Summer 1988 Movie. [Video] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQwwVThTuZM
DrLecter67. (2007). Remando al Viento (trailer). [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92U3orszabY
Q3: See what you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816..
ReplyDeleteSummer 1816, also known as ‘The year without summer’ provided “the perfect backdrop to the telling of bleak, macabre, and doom-laden gothic tales “(Buzwell, 2014). Upon Lord Byron’s proposal of the ‘Ghost Story Challenge’ at the Villa Diodati, emerged the incredible, iconic literary works: Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ and John Polidori’s ‘The Vampyre’, at which inspired Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula.
The introduction of Frankenstein communicates the circumstances that bought life to the gothic tale. Mary Shelley, and her soon to be husband, Percy Shelley travelled to Geneva, along with Mary’s stepsister Claire Clairmont, an ex-lover of Lord Byron. (Buzwell, 2014). With the sun no where to be seen, dramatic downpour of rain, thunder and falling temperatures made the summer of 1816 unforgettable for all the opposite reasons. Lord Byron and his physician Dr Polidori, whom lived in Villa Diodati by Percy Shelley and Mary Shelley became close companions. Confined in the Villa for days upon end, they shared stories and discussed subjects on galvanism and anatomy (Buzwell, 2014). Mary quotes “Many and long were the conversations between Lord Byron and Shelley to which I was a devout but nearly silent listener. During one of these, various philosophical doctrines were discussed, and among others the nature of the principle of life, and whether there was any probability of its ever being discovered communicated." (Shelley, Mary. 1985;1818. Pg. 13)
Lord Byron suggested the idea of writing a ghost story after an arise of inspiration that came to the people of the Villa. With further readings of German horror stories, they, especially Mary Shelley was motivated by this new approach of horror tales she’s never seen before. She was excited to write a better story – “one which would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror. One to make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood and quicken the beatings o the heart.” (Shelley, Mary. 1985;1818. Pg. 13)
The late-night discussions continued at the Villa, and still, Mary had not thought of an idea, until one important conversation on the experiments of Dr Darwin, and a frightening nightmare, gave rise to the central idea of ‘Frankenstein.’
Reference:
Extract: Shelley, Mary. (1985; 1818). Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, London: Penguin.
Buzwell, G. (2014) Mary Shelley, Frankenstein and the Villa Diodati. Retrieved from https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mary-shelley-frankenstein-and-the-villa-diodati
3. See what you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816...
ReplyDelete1816 is often called the year without a summer, or the year of the Beggar, and this is because the Mount Tombora erupted on April 10, 1815 in Indonesia. The volcanic eruption, considered extremely powerful, overshadowed the sun for nearly three years from 1816 to 1818. Because of its influence, the summer sky in Europe was gloomy and cloudy in 1816, without any blue colour. In this weather, an unprecedented story was made at Villa Diodati, a villa located on a hill overlooking Lake Geneva, Switzerland, based on the imagination of five young men and women.
In Villa Diodati, a luxury villa owned by the British Romantic poet Lord Byron, there were Percy Shelly who was considered one of the top three poets of 18th-century British Romanticism, his lover Mary Shelly, her stepsister Claire Clairmont and Byron’s doctor, John William Polidori. Mary Shelley, 18, was pregnant with Percy's child, and Mary's stepsister Claire Clairmont, who led them there, was also pregnant with Byron's. Byron and his party could not enjoy sailing on lake due to the rain falling day after day, but stayed in a villa to read the work and relieve the boredom with literary dialogue. Living through such a dull routine, one day Byron suggested, "Let’s each make a scary story", and starting with that proposal, they create their own horror stories in turn. At this time, Polidori came up with the legend of a medieval European vampire, and Mary recalled the inspiration of her dream and told the story of a corpse revived by the power of science And each promises to write a novel based on his or her own story As a result, "Frankenstein," one of the most popular classics of science fiction to this day, was published in 1818, and a year later, in 1819, " The Vampyre ", the origin of numerous vampire-based novels, was published.
One dark and gloomy night more than 200 years ago also spawned two of the greatest monsters, "Frankenstein" and "Vampire," but also led to the "birth" of the Gothic genre. According to David (2011), the word Gothic is described as a fictional word that deals with supernatural or terrible events and is connected to the atmosphere in a spiritual aspect, and Mary began the Chapter VI of Frankenstein as "It was on a dreary night in November". In this regard, I think the heavy weather plays a major role in creating the overall atmosphere of the story since the setting of a scary story is usually considered as cold, dark, rainy night weather and such a sombre sky often comes as creepy for us as the existence of death.
Reference
David, E. (2011).Byron in Geneva that Summer of 1816. Liverpool : Liverpool University Press
The summer of 1816 at Villa Diodoti, (2014). Retrieved from: http://frankenstein.monstrous.com/the_summer_of_1816_at_villa_diodoti.htm