3. what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816…
Lord Byron in 1816 suggested one evening at the Villa Diodati which he invited some people over, Mary Shelley ( the one who created Frankenstein in 1818), John Polidori ( creator of The vampyre and others like Percy Shelly to come and hang out with him for a night so they could all come up with a horror story ( Buzwell, 2014, para 1).
From reading this article, I have found out that in 1816, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted, which cause a lot of billowing in the atmosphere. Apparently, due to this issue, people's summer was ruined. Due to this situation, Lord Byron wrote a poem about the Darkness poem in July 1816. He got inspired by the current actives that were going on at the time. From my understanding, all poets and writers came together to discuss their new ideas of a new horror story which each author's talked about. That night was dark and looming and which Bryon suggested an idea of creating a horror story. There was also some sexual tension going on between Lord Byron and Claire at the time and between Polidori and Mary. They also shared past stories and reading Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem on "Christabel" - which made Byron screaming for the hills. Therefore, what I learnt from this story is the creation of Frankenstein had been born to the world has Mary had a dream of a monster which she designed in her primary and which will be her protagonist in her novel.
Buzwell, G. (2014, May 15). Mary Shelley, Frankenstein and the Villa Diodati. Retrieved from https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mary-shelley-frankenstein-and-the-villa-diodati
Hi! I had no idea about the Indonesian eruption - that would've been scary! Just wanted to input that something interesting you didn't mention was the creation of The Vampyre by Polidori and how he based the main character on, supposedly, Lord Byron. Polidori's work would then come to inspire Dracula by Bram Stoker, and as a result, every incarnation of the vampire since then. I love this specific fact because it means that Lord Byron is a sort of basis for every vampiric character to exist - which would probably tickle him. Great work!
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