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?
ReplyDeleteI can generally and clearly understand from reading to the context that the term “sublime” is explained by Oxford Dictionaries as something which could having the meaning of excellency and admiration, or to create a powerful feeling of wonderfulness.
I have noticed that the main focus of the author and specifically Williams Blake, it is apparent and clear that he applied the Romantic idea of the sublime which is demonstrated in his renowned poems. In the poem Joy, Blake has pencilled down a text in relation to a newly born infants, in a manner that depicts them very idealistically and also introducing the notion that new born babies are in the beginning stage of their life rallies and have also not been stained by the scourges and the calamities of this shaky globe. For instance,
“ I have no name
Iam but two days old
What shall I call thee?
I happy am”
Based on Woods (2012), Blake introduces four very grand or ‘sublime’ topics in his poem’s ‘joy’ those four subjects are contentedness, innocence, vulnerability, and lack of oneness.
Pertaining to the formation of the text, Blake make use of the final lines of the second stanza to make the voice of the innocence child being heard. Thou dost smile, I sing the while, Sweet joy befall thee!”
Blake produce a very idealistic notion of newly born infants. It deems that this his main goal. Woods proposes that the child is really innocent since he has not come to the age of maturity yet, and it becomes apparent that as the poem unfolds. Blakes conceives that we are all born innocent as an infant, and that our smeared nature comes afterwards when we grow and develop in our life.
with regard to the structure, crossref-it (2014) proposes that Blake’s ‘joy’ creates simplicity which can be related and attributed to the notion of the sublime. The evident to this can be seen from the repetition of the words ‘sweet’ and ‘joy’
“ I happy am,
Joy is my name”
The two stanzas could clearly provide the stanza a rocketing impact, which could make it function like a lullaby. The replication of the final line could have an additive effect to the quality of the poem.
It is easy to apprehend Williams Blake’s notion that we have been created and born innocent and however we might lose that innocence facets of things as we grow and this could obviously be understood if we go through Blake’s poem ‘The Chimney Sweeper’. This poem is a more of being darker than just being ‘joy’. The theme and the word which is being used in it is much more heart-breaking for instance,
“ Could scarcely cry weep weep weep.
So your chimney I sweep & in soot I sleep”
Health (2011, proposes that Williams Blake intendedly doesn’t resonate with he final lines of ‘The Chimney Sweeper’s as he does in his lighter poems, as it proposes a darkness and almost takes us away from the main and the essence of his exact Sublime theme.
“The Sudden lack of rhyme is an abrupt return to the harsh realities away from the innocent the innocent and youthful fantasy that chimney sweeper Tom hopes to be fulfilled”
This is contrasting with the joyful rhyming of the four last lines I ‘joy’ which may ultimately alter the temper of the poem for the intended reader and the recipient since we aim to combine rhyme with positive vibes.
References:
Blake, W. Infant Joy.
Blake, W. The Chumney Sweeper.
Crossref-it (2014) . Language, tone and structure. Retrieved from http: www. Crossref-it.info/textguide/Songs-of-innocent-and-Experience/13/1525
Heath,D.(2012). Analysis of “The Chimney Sweeper” By Williams Blake. Retrieved from http://www.socialsciencemedley.com/2011/03/analysis-of-chimney-sweeper-by-william.html
Oxford Dictionaries. (n.d.).Sublime. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries .com/definition/English/sublime.
Woods,J. (2012). Poetry analysis infant joy by William Blake. Retrieved from http://www.humanties360.com/index.php/poetry -analysis-infant-joy-by-william-blake-5328/
I have apparently noticed that Awadalla has tackled and discussed some of the essential and prominent point in her reflection and analysis as to Blake Williams. Awadalla has exactly deliberated the essence of Blake poem specifically the stanzas which are expressing and reflecting the core of Blake context. For instance “ I have no name
ReplyDeleteIam but two days old
What shall I call thee?
I happy am” and this besides the “ Could scarcely cry weep weep weep.
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.
ReplyDeleteThe 18th century saw the rise of Romanticism. Every subset of European culture saw a massive shift in its thematic dealings. Art, music, literature and general intellect moved more towards emotion and “romance” – “a quality or feeling of mystery, excitement, and remoteness from everyday life” (Romance, n.d.). Romantic literature saw a great emphasis on the Sublime; one of the most interesting purveyors of the Romantic sublime was, of course, William Blake.
What exactly is the sublime? Trevor Pateman (2004, 1991) gives his definition of the “true sublime” as the ability to “uplift our souls” and “fill us with proud exaltation and a sense of vaunting joy”. Its use identifies a piece of literature as inducing “amazement, wonder or awe in virtue of its ambition” (Pateman, 2004, 1991). In most examples, what makes the sublime powerful is its ability to portray emotion that can’t be felt or known in the average human experience. William Wordsworth, the famed Romantic poet, said that the reader’s “mind [tries] to grasp at something towards which it can make approaches but which it is incapable of attaining” (Brennan, 1987).
Whilst Wordsworth is hailed as the best user of the sublime, William Blake showed a powerful usage of the literary technique in much of his work. Blake’s texts often dealt with themes and imagery “not of this world”, in that he spoke much of the soul, of God, and of religion in general. In Songs of Innocence (Blake, 1972; 1794), The Divine Image presents Blake’s analysis of the four quintessential Christian virtues – Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love:
“For Mercy has a human heart
Pity, a human face
And Love, the human form divine.
And Peace, the human dress.”
- Blake, 1794
The usage of personification here takes a step towards the sublime. The idea of these virtues being portrayed as human entities, especially in the context of Romantic era England, is incredibly unique. In this stanza, Mercy, Pity, Love, and Peace, which are usually attributes of God (and hence his followers), are given an equivalent position to Man himself – a human heart, a human face, a human form, a human dress. By creating this connection to Man, Blake makes an argument that worshiping God and his best virtues is worshiping “the human form divine”, being the perfect or most godly person. The sublime in this instance is that Blake’s discussion of Christian virtues ascends the “mortal plane” and discusses whether the worshiping of God is truly worshiping God himself or worshiping the perfect man.
(Part 2)
DeleteSongs of Experience (Blake, 1794) features many works of Blake’s that come from parts of his life where he has begun to question God himself, and thus, his works reflected a much more methodical, mature tone. However, a very interesting usage of the sublime is not about Christianity but about love. The Sick Rose is incredibly complex. Described by Nathan Cervo (1990) as “one of the most baffling and enigmatic [poems] in the English language”, it possesses an incredible array of meanings derived from its surprisingly brief length. Detailing “an invisible worm / That flies in the night”, Blake discusses the decay of love through a worm eating through a wilting rose. The sublime in this instance is clear; the complexity of emotion analysed in such a short time is masterful. In clear use of the sublime, the emotion is so intensely portrayed that it’s difficult to even attain the true intended meaning.
The sublime is very hard to attain but once achieved, the poet can display a level of meaning behind each word that is unmatched in other traditional literatures. Blake, throughout his works, showed an understanding of the concept that displayed his mastery in literary technique and his deep philosophical roots. Romanticism’s literature was defined by the sublime, and so too was Blake’s works of masterful literature.
References
Blake, W. (1972; 1794). Songs of Innocence and Experience with an introduction and commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes. London: Oxford.
Cervo, N. (1990). Blake's the Sick Rose. The Explicator. 48 (4): 253–254. doi:10.1080/00144940.1990.9934016
Brennan, M. (1987) Wordsworth, Turner and Romantic Landscape. Columbia, USA: Camden House, p.52.
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.
Romance. (n.d.) In English Oxford living dictionaries. Retrieved from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/romance
I find the concept of the sublime really interesting, in terms of how subjective it is. Really anything can be the sublime if it has the ability to lift the soul as it were.
Delete3. See what you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816...
ReplyDeleteIt was in the summer of 1816 that four friends decided to go on a little holiday. Percy Shelley was a twenty three year old poet, he was accompanied by his eighteen year old mistress Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. They also had a four month old baby boy, William. Mary’s step-sister Claire Clairmont also joined them on their trip. They were staying in the Hotel d’Angleterre, north side of Lake Geneva. They all lived in London and needed a break from reality. Everyone was going through a tough time in their lives so they thought it would be fitting to go away for a small vacation. Shelley was going through some financial problems which led him to being very ill. Mary was suffering from the loss of her newborn children that was born in February 1815 and died shortly after. Claire was interested in Byron but he did not feel the same way, he found her annoying but still decided to have sex with her. Byron also left London because at any moment he would've been arrested so he decided to leave to Geneva. He was accompanied by his new personal physician John Polidori. Unfortunately for Byron Polidori was not only his physician, but he was also spying on him. Byron's publisher John Murray bribed Polidori £500 to tell him about Byron's adventures in Geneva. The Hotel d’Angleterre was known for having scandals which included many English people, sadly it was time for the English to find a new place. They were torn between two places Villa Diodati and small chalet a few minutes away. Unfortunately for them due to bad weather conditions they were forced to go to Villa Diodati. 15 years later Shelley herself came out and described their stay in the Villa as “it proved a wet, ungenial summer, and incessant rain often confined us for days to the house. Some volumes of ghost stories translated from the German into French, fell into our hands.” (Jackson, 2016). That is when Byron came up with the idea that each one should write a ghost story. Surprisingly the two writers did not have much to write about. Shelley wanted to write a story about his childhood but later on gave up. Byron wrote a vampire tale, very originally. Mary was struggling at first but then remembered the night she suffered with insomnia, luckily for her she wrote it down in her diary and proceed to read it out loud. After hearing the first passage everyone felt some type of way. Claire was pregnant with Byron's child. Polidori published his own novel called The Vampyre, which resulted in speculation whether or not Polidori was talking about Byron or not. Fortunately for him it became the bestseller, it also changed everyone's view of vampires rather them being smelly old and scary they were looked at as more suave aristocrat. 70 years later Bram Stoker published his own book Dracula.
References:
Jackson, K. (2016). The haunted summer of 1816. [online] Prospectmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved from https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/arts-and-books/sumer-1816-frankenstein-shelley-byron-villa-diodati
Wikipedia contributors. (2019, April 29). Villa Diodati. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Villa_Diodati&oldid=894761399
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Delete4. 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).
ReplyDeleteThe Bride of Frankenstein: it included a scene in Villa Diodati were Elsa Lanchester is portrayed as Mary Shelley and is accompanied by Percy and Byron. (James Whale, 1935). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYD3-pIF9jQ
Rowing with the wind: the most spot on film inspired by Villa Diodati. The movie clearly sympathises with Polidori and Mary Shelley next to spoilt Byron and Shelley. (Gonzalo Suárez, 1988). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgQwca6QNg0
Haunted Summer: this movie shows a softer and charming side of Byron. It follows a pattern of the Gothic Romance with his relationship to Mary. (Ivan Passer, 1988). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG-rJuyfvxM
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?
ReplyDelete"When I reflected on the work I completed, no lesser one than the creation of a sensitive and rational animal, I could not rank myself with the herd of more common projectors."
-Victor Frankenstein (Shelley, 1891).
A. In my opinion, the references to the bible throughout Mary Shelley's Frankenstein are more thematic than literal. Specifically, what I consider the books main message and theme, that humanity should not play god. This will tie in a little more with B as I continue. But suffice to say for now that Christian thought is of the general opinion that the creation of life beyond reproduction is the dominion only of od, and that for humanity to attempt to set foot on those grounds is wrong. While Frankenstein does not banish its protagonists to hell, it does subject them to hell on earth, both deserved and otherwise. Victor's crime of the creation of a human being through artificial means is the deaths of several of his family members, the loss of his one true passion, his one true love and eventually the loss of his own life. While Christian mythology would typically send him directly to hell for his transgressions against God and nature, Shelley instead takes the Greek approach of divine punishment for his actions. His life being destroyed around him in punishment. The difference, however between the punishments of Oedipus and Cain, is that of Victor Frankenstein is that it remains secular within the narrative itself. No god ever appears as a character.
B. The other side of the coin, however, is the suffering of Frankenstein's creation and the fact he was even able to create it in the first place. At the time of Shelley's writing organized religion was beginning to lose control over society and a more materialistic view of the universe was becoming more and more common. Christian doctrine would likely have one believe that for creating something such as he did, Victor would be struck down where he stood in divine punishment. However he isn't, he doesn't die until the conclusion of the narrative. After this, his creation is allowed to live and does so only in emotional agony until his own suicide after he tastes vengeance against his own creator. Many of the Romantics would tell you that we are born in innocence and then the world tortures us until our deaths and that God dooms us to lives of abstract pain and suffering. Exactly as Victor Frankenstein does, and in his disgust at the site of his hands have wrought, Much like a god that creates flawed beings then damns them to eternal torment for flaws he gave them. At least in the views of many Romantics, and one could argue, Atheists.
C. Frankenstein dances gleefully on the line between horror and science fiction, to the point that the line no longer exists. The is creature born of Victor's careless and arrogant use of science to no real end beyond seeing if he was capable of creating human life by hand rather than sexual intercourse. Not, unlike Jurassic Park (Spielberg, 1993). Victor had been so preoccupied with whether or not he could, that he didn't stop to think if he should. However, this idea has, in some cases also been divorced from his horror elements entirely and become pure science fiction. A young man is enlisted into the army and chosen to become their best man, based not upon his brawn, nor his brain, but his heart. Young Steve Rogers then becomes Captain America a symbol of liberty, justice and unyielding principal in even the direst of situations (Johnston, 2011). The Gothic horror would go on to influence many of its contemporaries, such as Bram Stoker's Dracula. Another horror built upon necromancy, the dead, still living, now killing to feed, rather than to seek vengeance for the wrongdoing of days gone by. Seeking a bride not for the liberation from torturous solitude, but simply for greed and the desire to possess a woman (Stoker, 1897). However unlike the adventures of Captain America or the mad pointless science of Jurassic Park to say that any one character is correct and another correct incorrect in this tome is itself woefully inaccurate. Victor Frankenstein is himself respectfully honest of his hated enemy's grievances and while he does not believe the monster of his own hand to be right and sees it as an abomination, he does acknowledge its feelings. The monster itself does not kill out of hunger, lust or avarice as Dracula might, he instead kills as the result of a life of hatred and detest thrown his way by all those who look upon him. Including even his own creator and he seeks only to have a romantic companion with which to live out his days in peace. As one must with such viewpoints given equal weight despite their direct opposition to one another Shelley gives both characters their say by having Victor tell his creation's story on his behalf in shocking honesty. Letting both say their peace and leaving the reader to decide.
ReplyDeleteMy dear audience, I do believe Mary Shelley's tendency to wax poetic has rubbed off on me.
Shelley, M. W. (1891). Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus.
Stoker, B. (1897). Dracula.
Johnston, J. (Director). (2011). Captain America: The first avenger [Motion picture]. USA: Marvel Studios.
Spielberg, S. (Director). (1993). Jurassic park [Motion picture]. USA: Amblin Entertainment.
I really love your analysis of Frankenstein here, Sam. I especially loved the comparison between the different influences on the tale, coming from Christian and Greek religion. As you noted, its a real mix; its interesting to consider how the story may have changed without Shelley's consideration of the "divine punishment", as you called it. Real interesting read!
Delete7. 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?
ReplyDeleteI will be answering question 7.
First, I don’t like this ghost story topic because its all about punishing people. Bring dead to life this is ghoulish. Mary Shelly is an English author who writes Frankenstein and published her novel book in 1818, Frankenstein has two different genres: Gothic novel and science fiction
Mary Shelly’s was thinking about ghost then story came to her mind about a grotesque figure. Shecreates a fiction character called Frankenstein which is an unusual creature; she wants to frighten her reader that was her idea. They want story they wrote to create fear in their reader, the more fearful the better would be. When that monster in her mind came to life means through scientific experiment man could be created. It wasscience who created a man and people in those days forget about God. Science try to replace God, but the bible says: And God said, let us make man in our image (Genesis,1.10) “Male and female created he them“(Genesis, 1.26). Because God was perfect, he created a perfect man not a monster like ‘Frankenstein’. In other words, science could not create a perfect man.People feared Frankenstein because he was so ugly. Although he was a monster,but he tried to be fit in human society, but he was rejected, he was terribly unhappy about the way he looked he frighten everyone. Also, he was so lonely, so he seeks revenge against Victor who defines as a god and creator who died in Captain Walton’s ship while he running from monster and at the end he cry at Victor’s body because he felt he lost his father (god) who made him but didn’t like him. Victor Frankenstein created him in the laboratory using the latest science, but then left him alone in the world surrounded by people who did not understand him and hated him, which made the monster very angry. When he finds Victor Frankenstein, he asked him to create a woman for him because he was looking for love and acceptance, but Victor didn’t want to create a monster race. Frankenstein mirrors the Bible creation story of Adam and Eve, and can be compared to Satan, as the fallen angel. He also wants miss monster and live with her in wilderness exactly like God created Eve for Adam because he does not want humans to be lonely. Certainly, Mary Shelly was not a Christian but a Pantheists (do not believe in a distinct personal or anthropomorphic God) as she starts imagining human becomes God. She believes human through technology can create life.
References:
Shelley, M. (1797). Frankenstein. Hong Kong, Oxford University Press.
Shelley, M. (2019). The Bible. Retrieved from https://www.shmoop.com/frankenstein/bible-symbol.html
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?
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein incorporates countless references to the Bible that range from casual remarks to symbolic interpretations to direct allusions. The off-hand references can be found in Captain Walton’s passages where he periodically highlights his own religious beliefs. Examples of this include Walton stating he “lived in a Paradise,” his exclamation of “Good God!” and his repeated mention of “Heaven” at the conclusion of his letters. These epistles, addressed to his sister, are set in the 18th century; a period notable for both the First Great Awakening, a prominent Christian revival, and the dawn of Enlightenment. These statements by Walton depict the normalcy and prevalence of Christianity within the society of Shelley’s novel - however, it’s important to note that Shelley herself was difficult to religiously place and also a prominent figure of Romanticism, a movement that largely opposed the principles of Enlightenment.
In addition to these remarks, are Shelley’s symbolic representations of the Bible found in the characters of Victor Frankenstein and his monster. Through these characters, Shelley sets a particular focus on the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, which contains the biblical creation myth and is adapted through Victor’s creation of the monster. It is only with biblical knowledge that Victor’s symbolic representation as God or Creator can be seen when he resolves to “create life” as God did. Victor persistently acknowledges this symbolism and makes reference to it in Chapter Four of the novel but specifically in the lines, “a new species would bless me as its creator and source” and “it was with these feelings that I began the creation of a human being.” During his attempt at creating life, Victor finds and uses parts of deceased people to produce the monster. This act shows a similarity to God creating man, as in the Bible it states, “Then God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” and within Frankenstein, we witness Victor literally using pieces of humanity’s own “likeness” to create life. Moreover, later on in the novel, the monster continuously refers to Victor as his “creator.” These mentions of a “creator”, as well as the monster’s own references to the Bible, are where the direct allusions lie.
The monster himself believes he is in alignment with Adam and Satan - both God’s own creations. After happening upon a copy of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, he gains a kind of biblical knowledge that he then applies to himself. He states, “like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence,” as well as “I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition” and also, “I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but rather I am the fallen angel.” These drawn conclusions are sensical - if Victor is God, then what else could the monster be but one of God’s children? The similarities between the monster and Adam are obvious: they are both male and the first of their kind. The comparisons to Satan are more subtle in that both are male but also evil in nature. Though Victor frequently refers to the monster as a “devil,” it is only his deeds that confirm this - and they range from murder to entrapment. In Milton’s work, Satan quests for the corruption of God’s earth while the monster of Shelley’s novel vows to seek “demoniacal” vengeance upon Victor. In this way, Frankenstein is both the first man and the fallen angel - a created being who descended.
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DeleteA) (contd.) It is my belief that there is some validity to the argument that Victor also represents Adam. Though he is not the first man, he is - by biblical standards - God’s creation. In Genesis it is stated, “of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” and also that to eat of the tree will make you “be like God.” This is known to Adam, who despite this, eats of the tree and is subsequently cast out from heaven and dies a spiritual death; a separation of man from God. These quotations, when applied to Victor, foreshadow his own demise in that, by utilising scientific ‘knowledge’ and becoming ‘like God,’ he brings about his own physical and spiritual death.
DeleteB) Following on from the pivotal moments of the 18th century, the emergence of the aforementioned Enlightenment lies at the core of how Shelley’s work foreshadows the Death of God. Often labelled the Age of Reason, the 18th century saw the introduction of natural sciences and logic (Enlightenment) to humanity and thus spurned a shift toward science and away from Christianity. By the 19th century, Europe moved from religious obedience and beliefs and came to embrace secularism while science only continued to blossom. It is in this period, affected by the century before it, that we saw the release of both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1818 and Nietzche’s The Gay Science in 1882. In the latter, Nietzche posited the Death of God concept over sixty years after the established end of the Age Reason. The Death of God is a notion often attributed to Nietzche - though the idea has origins in the 17th century - who intended the phrase “God is dead” to remark on the deteriorating effect Enlightenment had on monotheistic belief. He believed that through the abandonment of religion, humanity would descend into dark nihilism. However, it could be argued that Frankenstein - released sixty-four years prior - also subtly alludes to aspects of the concept within its narrative. A cursory - yet accurate - interpretation of the concept in Frankenstein would be to view Victor as an allegory of humanity, who then employs scientific means of Reason and thus prompts his own dark downfall. This reasoning is the simplest to conclude, however, another arises with a deeper analysis. It could be gleaned that Victor as God (or belief in God) and the monster as Man may foreshadow the ‘effects’ Nietzche proposed due to the Death of God. I postulate this largely on the basis of the last chapter of Shelley’s work, where Victor’s death sends the monster into a suicidal spiral that embodies Nietzche’s idea of nihilism or meaninglessness. After Victor’s death, the creature is enthralled with self-hatred, but most importantly, a lack of purpose and articulates, “your abhorrence cannot equal that which I regard myself,” and “I shall collect my funeral pile, and consume to ashes this miserable frame...I shall die.” The monster’s hollow outlook towards Victor’s death parallels the resulting nihilism of religious disbelief. This theory is further supported by the daemon stating “he is dead who called me into being” and Walton remarking that the monster was, in conclusion, “lost in darkness and distance.”
C) It’s difficult to personally categorise Frankenstein on the spectrum of genres, yet I would say it fuses together probably a combination of science fiction and gothic fiction. It is heralded as the birth of sci-fi and I’m inclined to agree. The novel’s cynosure concerns pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery into the unknown and impossible terrain of creating life - or a monster. Additionally, the novel birthed the Mad Scientist archetype with Victor Frankenstein. With science and a scientist at the forefront of this novel’s narrative, science fiction is definitely a genre that it commits to. However, I’d also concede that it includes elements of gothic fiction - a genre known for its combination of horror and romance. Frankenstein certainly displays horror - at Victor’s hubris in creating ‘life’ or even at the creature’s deeds - and romance can be found in Victor and Elizabeth’s relationship. However, I found myself struggling to determine - with depth - how Shelley’s novel specifically aligned with the gothic. Harris (2019) puts forth twelve elements of gothic fiction - of which Frankenstein meets ten of - that finally settled this dispute for me. I’ll summarise briefly some of the gothic components he conveys. He writes that an atmosphere of mystery and suspense must be contained within the writing and this can be found, specifically, in the segment of the novel where Victor is awaiting his own murder by the hands of the monster. Omens or visions are another element he suggests and can be found in Victor’s dream of Elizabeth dying in his arms. Women in distress or threatened by a powerful male are another two motifs frequently detected in gothic fiction and are exemplified in the framing of Justine as well as the murder of Elizabeth, foretold in Victor’s dreams. And lastly, Harris observes a number of stylistic choices that often push a narrative into the gothic genre such as: gothic vocabulary, hyperbolic phrasing and gothic onomatopoeia. It’s important to be mindful that Harris gave Frankenstein as an example of hyperbolic phrasing but instances of gothic vocabulary include the use of the words “spirit” and “rage” while examples of gothic onomatopoeia can be seen in the employment of the words “scream” and “groan.”
DeleteIt’s immensely impressive to me that Shelley had the ability to intermix these genres - and with incredible penmanship, but even more-so that she did it while implementing a frame story. Frame story’s or narratives are a literary technique that are composed of a “story within a story.” It can be seen in that we begin with Captain Walton’s perspective then journey into Victor Frankenstein’s, who dominates the majority of the novel and spins the bulk of Frankenstein. From this viewpoint, we transition into the monster’s outlook - which probably makes this a story within a story within a story - and then back to Victor and conclude with Walton. Walton’s passages appear as similar to that of a peripheral narrator, as he is not the main protagonist or antagonist of the story and is merely a vessel for the narrative. However, it is through Walton’s perspective that I think Frankenstein takes on another genre - the parable. Though not strictly a genre, it’s other half, the fable, is considered a literary genre and the two are very comparable. Frankenstein depicts the parable through Victor’s recount of his determined tale to Walton which warns him against arrogant ambition. In summary, Shelley juggles the genres of gothic and science fiction through the given examples and imposes both the technique of a parable and a frame narrative within its pages.
References:
DeleteHarris, R. (2019). Elements of the Gothic Novel. Retrieved May 19, 2019, from https://www.virtualsalt.com/gothic.htm
Nietzsche, F. W., & Kaufmann, W. A. (1974). The gay science: With a prelude in rhymes and an appendix of songs. New York: Vintage Books.
Milton, J., & Leonard, J. (2011). Paradise Lost. London, England: Penguin Classics.
Shelley, M. W., & Hindle, M. (2003). Frankenstein; or, The modern Prometheus (Rev. ed.). London, England: Penguin Books.
I agree with you in terms of categorizing Frankenstein under more than one genre, The story line of Frankenstein is a mixture of science fiction with the later remakes of the movie including romance. Very descriptive piece.
Delete1According to Forward (2014), today, the word "romance" arouse images of love and always melancholy and moody, but the word "Romanism" has a broader implication. It contains series developments in art, literature, music and philosophy, containing the late 18th and early 19th centuries. "Romantics" don't use the word themselves: tags have been used trace back to since the mid period-19th century.
ReplyDeleteDuring the Romanism period, important changes occurred to in society, as unsatisfactory intellectuals and artists challenged the institution. Romantic poets are at the heart of this movement in England. Inspired by their desire for freedom, they condemned the exploitation of the poor. Emphasize the importance of the individual; firmly believe that people should follow ideals rather than imposed conventions and rules. Romantics abandoned idealism and order related to the prior age of Enlightenment, emphasizing the importance of expressing real personal feelings. They have a real sense of duty for their fellow citizens: they think they use their own poems.
According to Forward (2014), as for the rebirth of the world, Romantics say it oblige to restart from a children perspective. They think that children are special because they are innocent, uncorrupted and have a precious affinity with nature. Romantic poetry is full of esteem for nature. Romantics are inspired by the environment and encourage people to venture into frontier - typeface or metaphorical. In their work, they make the world look like a place with infinite potential.
Blake's general refusal to provide a moral solution to the situation in the Song of Innocence and Experience suggests that he has abandoned the light moral lessons of children's literature, which might be disturbing to many of his readers.
ReplyDeleteWhen morality is offered, it is so obsolete in innocence as to be stale, like a chimney sweeper:
Therefore, if proprietary do their duty, they need not be afraid of harm.
Sitting in a poem, a father sells his child into a chimney-sweeping transaction, which poses a challenge for the reader, who is further addressing the problem - "I swept your chimney" - and thus becomes a conspire of the abuser.
Using ambiguity, irony and anger in the context of seemingly children's poetry likely shock Blake's readers. But although he claims that children can "articulate their vision" like adults, he has never said that songs are for children (Walker, 2014).
Tom Dacre's dream is to show how terrible life is for boys by contrast with what boys should do in this gentle stage of life: jump and risus under the sun. The final morality of this poem is the young people’s narrative, which he narrates. Obviously this is groundless: clambers are "discharge their duty" but still suffer a lot. However, the wipe out simply naively repeats the code of ethics that he has been taught by society. Therefore, this poem is a mirror for the reader: it is you who deceive the child with such false morality, just as "your funnel" (Section 1, Line 4) is responsible for the sweeping of the boy first (TATE,n.d.).
References
Forward, S. (2014). The Romantics [Articles]. Retrieved from https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-romantics
TATE (n.d.) William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience. Retrieved from https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/william-blake-39/blakes-songs-innocence-experience
Walker,J. (2014). William Blake and 18th-century children’s literature [Articles]. Retrieved from https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/william-blake-and-18th-century-childrens-literature
Q,3. See what you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816...
ReplyDeleteIn the preface of the 1831 edition of the novel Einstein, Shelley wrote that the idea first came to her in the summer of 1816, where she stayed in a manor on Lake Geneva with her future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and the writers Lord Byron and John Polidori. After they read Sarah Brown Utterson's Tales of the Dead, Byron suggested that each of them to write a ghost story. Days passed and Shelley produced nothing but "that blank incapability of invention which is the greatest misery of authorship”. Then late one night, after a conversation about the possibility of using electricity to reanimate cadavers, the story came to her in a waking dream in which she saw a "hideous phantasm of a man" being animated by "the working of some powerful engine." When Shelley opened her eyes, she saw moonlight entering her room through the shutters, and a story was born. Records of Polidari’s journal stated he was the last to begin Byrons Ghost story challenge and there for produced his writing at a later date, titled “The Vampyre”, now recognized as the first ever vampire story in the English language.
References
Darvay, D. (2016). Haunting Modernity and the Gothic Presence in British Modernist Literature. Basingstoke, England: Springer.
Mary Shelley's Introduction to the 1831 Edition of Frankenstein. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://romantic-circles.org/editions/frankenstein/1831v1/intro.html
Wein, T. (2002). British Identities, Heroic Nationalisms, and the Gothic Novel, 1764-1824.
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).
1. Gothic 1986 trailer: In this English film, the 1816 gathering of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Natasha Richardson), her fiancé, Percy Shelley (Julian Sands), Lord Byron (Gabriel Byrne), Claire Clairmont (Myriam Cyr), and Dr. John Polidori (Timothy Spall) at a Swiss resort spawned the gothic classics, Frankenstein and The Vampyre.
https://youtu.be/haS7s4MI0mI
2. Rowing with the Wind trailer: A take on the origin of Villa Diodati that includes the main character Percy Shelley (Valentine Pelka), his mistress Mary (Lizzy McInnerny), and her stepsister Claire (Elizabeth Hurley, Austin Powers) visit Lord Byron (Hugh Grant, Notting Hill) at his castle in the hauntingly stunning Lake Geneva.
https://youtu.be/zgQwca6QNg0
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer: A scene in the movie share a similar connection with Shelley’s idea of Frankenstein and the idea of men obsessed with the use of technology to create something new.
https://youtu.be/JAUoeqvedMo