1. How is the Romantic notion of the Sublime reflected
in the ideological, conceptual and linguistic construction of the texts under
consideration in this Romanticism reader? Discuss one or two examples...
2. Go online and see if you can find out anything about what
really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816...
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).
4. 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).
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).
4. 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).
ReplyDeleteFirstly reading the Holly Thursday I felt that the author was in a way kind of sarcastically of a holly day. As in those times it was kind of going away from a religion perspective and into more of science reasoning. The first verse states
“Is this a holy thing to see,
In a rich and fruitful land,
Babe’s reduced to misery,
Fed with cold and usurous hand?”
Which then suggests in the first verse is this holly thing to see Blake posing a question which he is questioning and referring to the power that the faith had in those times. The second line then goes on to saying that what the author is seeing a great and amazing land with rewarding pastures. The second line then adds in a negative. The line “Babes reduced misery” I think refers to the power that England had as a very rich country, yet they have kids working in circumstances we can this in the Romanticism tale of The Chimney Sweeper where Tom was working in the chimneys. The next lines “Fed with cold usurious hand?” also strikes me I feel that Blake is commenting about the charity that these faith are “handing” out. Also noting that he speaks about a cold hand which could suggest he is talking about a fake charity that these faith a participating, instead of helping on a worthy. Blake then sums up that stanza as he is posing a question. This poem was more of an innocent poem but still had the romanticism sensation with the words qualifying in a more romantic way.
According to the critical reader “The spiritual state of such a country is eternal winter contrasted with the sunshine enjoyed by a more just society.” Also reinforces my idea of what I think the essence of this poem is.
The second poem I will analyse The Garden of Love a tale of a flower symbolising love. While reading this I thought about a garden and as we all know as life is flowers die and got me thinking that author is suggesting that love does not last forever either.
“And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tomb-stones where flowers should be:
And Priests in black gowns, were walking their
Rounds,
And binding with briars, my joys & desires”
I think this verse suggests the grave is full of love at the grave and then the second line kind of indicates that love accompanies with the tomb stone. Blake concluding that the familiar Priests walking in the same round as they usually does. Blake then refers briar which for like a vine like plant then feels like he is he is personifying the plant and combining the emotion of Joy and Desire.
These texts obviously share the same characteristic of using religion and faith. The Garden of love suggest that faith gives you love and with that Holly Thursday seems to be more a sarcastic looks of what faith can do and what is really being worshipped and really does question.
Reference
Blake, W. (1972; 1794). Songs of Innocence and Experience with an introduction and commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes, London: Oxford
Critical Reader (2013)
By the way this is question 1.
Deleteum just wondering? I don't think the first sentence makes any sense but i understood what you meant, that the author was being sarcastic etc. Interesting idea of the whole religion and science reasoning thing but i however feel that was all (btw: i haven't done any research to justify and back up my comments. there completely my opinion)that could be analysed from this poem. I get what you meant about being sarcastic with the "holy land" thing. The whole "in rich and fruitful land" thing i thought represented the idea of a "Grim age" (whatever the hell that means) perhaps because it sounds like to me a comment on how prosperous and fortunate it is to be living in such a world of opportunity and potential when behind the scenes they're living in a (forgive my language) vile shit hole.
Deletewhat does Userous mean? lol. I could look it up but....i'd rather not. I completely agree with the idea of the Babe's (the children of England at the time) were also considered as no longer precious or valuable to a parent or parents with too many mouths to feeds and out of work explaining why the Author would use the word "reduced" instead of "forced" which would have made the poem more simpler but would lose a certain emotional depth to the poem.
I'm not exactly sure make of the next stanza but i'll take a stab at it. maybe it reflects the payment in which the Children chimney sweeps were received payment met with cold hostility and unwelcomeness (if that's even a word) but i also thought i could have maybe have been a metaphor for Death because i can imagine the "cold and useruos hands" might mean the touch of the hand of the grim reaper, I got the idea from thinking about the condition these so young children working i harsh conditions. I completely understand take on the poem and to a degree agree with some of the points you made but i thought i better stop here before i write too much. let me know you think?
i was very tired when i wrote my other comment which would explain the missing words in my paragraphs. lol. deal with it or you could "Dean with it"
DeleteUsurious derived from usury is the act of loaning out money with unreasonably high interest rates (Oxford Dictionaries Online, 2013). With regards to the poem "fed by a cold and usurous hand" (Blake, 1972, 1794) it seeks to point out the unfair nature of the world, in regards to the rich, ugly and powerful people imposing themselves on the poor, innocent and defenceless. In regards to the sublime it attempts to evoke the feeling of outrage at this unfairness. I come to this conclusion on the grounds that Blake’s poems always have the themes of social commentary in some form. One example from another research project on the chimney sweeper stated that:
Delete“In addition to blaming religion for giving the sweeps false hope of a better life, Blake, as a part of his social commentary, also blames humanity in general for allowing and encouraging such a dangerous and inhumane practice.” (Mayhew, 2009)
In the context of this poem and its intended attack on the annual parade of charity children in St. Pauls Cathedral (Critical Reader, 2013) the usurious is most likely the donators and charity organisers, in particular the church itself. If you relate this to other songs of innocence and experience such as the chimney sweeper, the charity, in giving these children some of their wealth demands unreasonably dangerous labour from them. If this is taken further into a more religious context it is stating that the church is handing out ‘wealth’ which for them would be religious assurance into heaven and in return they demand the poor to work an eternity in unreasonable conditions for it. In this Blake is also stating the irony of the situation in that; they are already putting these children through hell so what is really being offered but empty promises:
“And their sun does never shine.
And their fields are bleak & bare.
And their ways are fill'd with thorns
It is eternal winter there.”
References
Auckland University of Technology (2013). Lit&Des Critical Reader 2013. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University of Technology.
Mayhew, J. (2009, December 2). The Chimney Sweeper. Retrieved from http://www.unc.edu/~jmmayhew/0page2.html
Oxford Dictionaries (2013, May 15). Definition of usury in Oxford Dictionaries (British & World English). Retrieved May 15, 2013, from http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/usury
I think it is interesting that you chose these two poems as they were my favourite two when I read through all of Blake's poems.
DeleteTo expand on the theme of religion that you have been discussing in this text, I will talk about the links to the bible in the poem- the garden of love. In line four it reads: "And Thou shalt not, writ over the door." As mentioned in a article by Nathan Cervo (Cervo, 2001), this has been compared to the ten commandments by many people.
It is also interesting to note that this 'garden' could be relating to the garden of Eden .
Reference:
Cervo, N. A. (2001). Blake's the garden of love. Literary Criticism; Poetry, 59(3), 121-122. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/216775486?accountid=8440
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteQuestion Two:
ReplyDeleteI have found one paper (Phillips, 2006), that claims: "the bad weather that kept Lord Byron, Mary Godwin, Percy Shelley, and John Polidori indoors at the Villa Diodati in June 1816, and which Mary herself points to as the origin of the novel, has greater significance than is generally believed." This article stresses that the time spent in 1816 in the Villa Diodati was in fact very significant. It suggests that the bad weather played an important role in what happened at this time. It also tells us that Mary believed that summer of 1816 to be the origin of her novel Frankenstein. Phillips believes that the idea of the novel was heavily influenced by the dramatic climate change in 1816-1818, when the friends were confined to the house because of this weather. This makes us wonder what really happened while they were in the Villa, that could inspire the novel Frankenstein.
An different article, that was published in the Sky and Telescope magazine, written by teachers and university students (Olson, Doescher, Pope &Schnarr, 2011) also looks into this mystery. This article, and the one I mentioned earlier, both include quotes from Mary Shelley's Introduction to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein. In these quotes she gives us some idea of what happened in the Villa Diodati in 1816. These quotes show that the friends spent time around the fire, telling ghost stories. Shelley than says that they all decided to come up with their own ghost story. This is when she came up with the idea of Frankenstein.
References
Olson, D. W., Olson, M. S., Doescher, R. L., Pope, A. G., & schnarr, K. D. (2011). The Moon & the origin of Frankenstein. Sky & Telescope, 122(5), 69-74. doi:66468290
Phillips, B. (2006). Frankenstein and Mary Shelley's "Wet Ungenial Summer". Atlantis, 28(2), 59-68. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41055247
wow, interesting observation on the idea of the weathers influence on Mary Shelley's writing. The bad weather that kept Lord Byron, Mary Godwin (at the time) Percy Shelley, and John Polidori indoors at the Villa Diodati could have been used to inspire the Gothic and horrid atmosphere and environment to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
DeleteI like the to think the weather really lent itself to Mary Shelley's work. The bad weather could influenced the idea of the stormy night at Castle Frankenstein. It enhances the feeling of Ominous danger and blasphemous rage for example in the story of Victor Frankenstein is actually trying to defy the laws of nature and God by creating life that was not created with the womb of a women or without divine intervention just a being creating another being. With a raging storm blistering and raging outdoors it gives the idea the laws of nature or God is angry with Victor. The influence of the weather that occurred that summer when the gathering took place i think played an important roll in Mary's Work plus it brought to us some histories greatest monsters.
It's really interesting what you found out about the influence of the weather. Ghost stories and stormy weather often go hand in hand, so I guess it's not surprising that the bad conditions "played an important role" in the creation of the stories. Apparently weather has the ability to alter our moods. "Research suggests there is a strong link" (Grohol, 2008) between the climate and the way we act and feel. So perhaps the storm, and being cooped up in the villa, aroused negative emotions among the authors, which were therefore reflected in their writing.
DeleteGrohol, J. (2008). Weather Can Change Your Mood. Psych Central. Retireved 17/05 from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2008/11/09/weather-can-change-your-mood/
What seems to be the general consensus on what happened within the Villa on that night was that Byron issued a challenge to his guests to come up with ghost stories to share with each other. The book Byron in Geneva (Ellis, 2011) looks into the mind set and journey which Byron took through Geneva. What it details in the chapters involving Villa Diodati is that Byron was very habitual; pertaining to what times he wants to go outside for a row, to the times he wishes to eat, a contrast to his romantic nature. The fact that the weather took a sudden shift as Jess has mentioned leads me to believe that because Byron could not carry out his usual routines he had to pass the time in some way. It almost falls under the spooky night, the storm going; it’s now times for spooky stories (perhaps it was the innovator). However since he and his guests were quite educated they could go much further into depth with the stories they were going to create.
DeleteHowever there is one other interesting event detailed in the book and that was when Byron read one of his poems aloud with such vigour that it made Mary Shelley hysteric and she had to be taken out of the room and looked after separately.
References:
Ellis, D. (2011). Byron in Geneva: That Summer of 1816. Liverpool, United Kingdom: Liverpool University Press.
Geiger, B. (2011, October 5). Reinventing a Monster. Retrieved May 17, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/docview/905164571
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1:
ReplyDeleteThe Little Boy lost
Father, father, where are you going
O do not walk so fast.
Speak father, speak to your little boy
Or else I shall be lost,
The night was dark no father was there
The child was wet with dew.
The mire was deep, & the child did weep
And away the vapour flew.
The Little Boy found
The little boy lost in the lonely fen,
Led by the wand'ring light,
Began to cry, but God ever nigh,
Appeard like his father in white.
He kissed the child & by the hand led
And to his mother brought,
Who in sorrow pale, thro' the lonely dale
Her little boy weeping sought.
In this song of innocence the notion of the sublime is reflected in the child detailed in the poem. According to Pateman (2004, 1991) the sublime in the romanticism context is basically the manner in which an expression from the author has the ability to evoke a strong emotional response.
There are two emotions that the boy evokes within the narrative of these two poems.
The first emotion is found in ‘The Little Boy Lost’ that emotion being fear. In terms of linguistics fear is reflected in certain words and phrases such as ‘lost’, ‘weep’ and ‘where are you going’. This then compounds in the conceptual stage where these words of fear are stacked with metaphors and associations with fear such as ‘night’ and ‘mire’ having an association with ‘darkness’. To further this emotion of fear on an ideological level we look at other emotional responses such as abandonment found in the line ‘and away the vapour flew’. When this concept of abandonment is tied to a parental figure, in this case a father then it heightens this emotional response. Since a child is led to believe the parental figure is the protector and when the safety net is removed the child suddenly realises how vulnerable he is. This realisation vulnerability is suggested to be instinctual since the boy breaks down with no mention of cognitive consideration. Fear according to Riezler (1944) derives itself from ignorance and that ignorance is derived from first experience. In the context of this poem the boy embodies these two aspects, the first of ignorance since the boy has now realised that he is vulnerable and the second that since it is a boy he is learning his first experiences. Within the themes of Innocence versus Experience this poem accounts to possibly the first accounts of experience for the innocent boy. This poem is then suggesting that experience is always negatively impacting, like in this case the illusion of safety being taken away thus invoking fear.
In the second emotion is found in ‘The Little boy Found’ that emotion being relief. In terms of linguistics relief is again reflected in certain words and phrases such as ‘Appeard’, ‘to his mother brought’ and ‘sought’. On a conceptual level this emotion is represented in the narrative between these two poems. It is suggested that the emotion of relief can only be found after fear as evidenced by these two poems revolving around a lost boy. In the lost aspect what is lost induces fear and what is found brings relief. On an ideological level this poem is suggesting that God is a reliable saviour figure whom can be trusted. However since Byron did not whole heartedly believe this it stands to reason that is why this is a song of innocence. Knowing this he is then suggesting that only children can be so trusting and only they are somewhat 'ignorant' to blindly follow something to relief or salvation.
On a whole there is something distinct about these poems being linked and this is through disparity. These two poems in combination show us disparity in fear turning to relief. Following the theme of the sublime he is suggesting that the sublime can be created through disparity.
References:
DeletePateman, T. (2004, 1991) ‘The Sublime’ in Key Concepts: A Guide to Aesthetics, Criticism and the Arts in Education.London: Falmer Press, pp 169 - 171.
Riezler, K. (1944). The Social Psychology of Fear. The American Journal of Psychology, 49(6), 1-2. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2771546
Critical Reader
Class Slides
By Byron I meant Blake Typo/error
Delete4. 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.
ReplyDeleteAs we are aware, one stormy night in 1816, the Villa Diodati housed the literary minds that brought us “Frankenstein” and “The Vampyre”. Two timeless characters that have taken on a number of other identities, as authors have adopted and re-created them countless times.
The creation of these characters coincided with the birth of Gothic as a modern genre because they appealed to a wider audience, and eventually led to global recognition.The stories introduced characters that were horrific and terrifying, therefore reaching out and speaking to "the mysterious fears of our nature” (Shelley, 1831). It seems that we are drawn to stories that provoke terror, the darkness draws us in and we find pleasure in fictional pain.
This human trait is still relevant in literature today. Polidori’s “Vampyre” provided the foundations for huge amounts of fictional stories in years to come. The idea of nocturnal, blood-sucking beings is something that all generations are now accustomed to. “Vampires can be found in the folklore of virtually every culture in the world” (Meslow, 2012).The concept is forever present in the minds of authors and readers alike. The first similar text to emerge was Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” in 1897. From there it only escalated. The 21st century saw an influx of vampire-themed works that were and still are popular with worldwide audiences and demographics. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003) was one of the first examples of the modern popularity associated with fantasy horror. It revolutionised horror and received praise in the form of cult followers. Other texts including supernatural drama “Vampire Diaries” have become increasingly popular as well. The most obvious example, of course, is Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight Saga”, which became a global phenomenon in the form of the book series and the movies.
Although the traits of the creatures in question have changed somewhat, becoming desirable rather than fearsome, the stories still contain elements of gloom. Like the original Gothic horror stories, the characters and events in these adaptations appeal to the natural human attraction towards the dark and sinister. It appears that the authors of Villa Diodati awakened this desire, therefore giving the Gothic genre the freedom and opportunity it continues to maintain.
References:
Daly, N (2004) Modernism, Romance and the Fin de Siècle. Cambridge University Press.
Meslow, S (2012) After Twilight: Where Do Vampires in Pop Culture Go From Here?
Retrieved from:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/11/after-twilight-where-do-vampires-in-pop-culture-go-from-here/265393/
Shelly, M (1831) Extract: Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. London.Penguin.
Critical Reader pg. 172-176
Nice Blog entry, we both wrote some points that were in common (great minds think a like) however i probably have to disagree with point you made about "the creation of these characters coincided with the birth of Gothic as a modern genre because they appealed to a wider audience" only because i don't really think at the time that the Gothic Genre as a whole Rarely got any traction in those days. It definitely rose to the occasion but not before being ridiculed from all the priests and the rest of the god worshiping society but unless you were referring to the Audience of today then most of this entire comment was pretty much all for nothing (i really couldn't care less). That line about " we are drawn to stories that provoke terror, the darkness draws us in and we find pleasure in fictional pain" i liked. kind like a forbidden thing we should do but we do anyway because it fills us with a sort of devious tentilzing feeling (not sure if i spelled "tentilizing right, again don't really care). As for your second to last paragraph you stated the growth of "The Vampyr" lade by the foundation made at the Villa Diodati has evolved since then is really true. I am sick of all these vampire themed shows, most of them are just following a trend (gee how original)I heard that their was new TV series coming about Dracula (yay can't wait. I'm being sarcastic btw).
DeleteThanks for your insight Kendall. I wasn't necessarily suggesting that these stories exploded into phenomenal popularity. I'm aware that Byron and his companions were hardly considered literary heroes in the beginning. It was only over time that the genre evolved and ganied its recognition. I was merely implying that the creation of the original characters planted the seed, and the appeal of Gothic horror grew from there.
Delete4. 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).
ReplyDeleteIn dark and stormy night in the year 1816, Romantic poet Lord Byron proposed an infamous wager for Fellow poet Percy Shelley, his wife Mary Shelley and John Polidori. The guests in his summer home at Villa Diodati unknowingly gave birth of the gritty horror romanticism modern genre known as Gothic. While within the confines of the villa the group of friends and colleagues wrote some of the most iconic monsters ever created: Frankenstein and The Vampyre.
Mary Shelley that night went away into her own little room and returned to the group the having created one of greatest monster/ gothic tales ever: Frankenstein. The story is about a mad doctor, Victor Frankenstein who creates a grotesque creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. By writing the story Mary Shelly not only help give birth to the gothic genre but the science fiction genre as well. along side Mary Shelleys Frankenstien stand John Polidori's The Vampyr. Rumour has it that the story of the Vampyre was originally created by Lord Byron and that Lord Byron cared so little about his own vampire story that he readily “lent” it to Polidori, who eventually published the successful The Vampyre under his own name.
As a fan of the old Bala Logosi (dracula) and Boris Carloff (frankenstien's moster) films, what i found Interesting was how from humble beginings the Gothic and Horror romancism genre has changed and evolved. The Vampyr lead way for Bram strokers Dracula a creature with his gruteque sucking of the blood and sexual seductive tenencies and Frankenstien's monster a grim film lased with necrofelic tendeness. These films started off the begining of the new modern age of Gothic horror and that lead to such films as Frankenstiens Bride, Interview with a vampire, Blade, Hellboy, the Incredible Hulk, Buffy the Vampire slayer, being humen, Vampire diries and the Twilight saga. The point i'm trying to get across is the how from a certain age or era of the genre has taken a complete twist on the genre. This shift in the Genre Monsters were turned into heroes, Demons are angels, these massive worldly known characters Mary Shelleys Frankenstien and John Pologari's The Vampyr that were layed out for us since eighteenth century has been reinvented into this self realisation of no longer fearing these creature but a wanting to emulate them.
Side note: while reserching the question I discovered that their was the some what irony in the idea of these people gathering together and writing Gothhic horror. These literary figures or so called "brat-pack" are known for creating some histories greatest gothic horror stories when the whole premise of their event at the Villa Diodati is sort of reminecint of a traditional modern day horror film cleche. I know for a fact that this idea was exsplored upon in Ken Russells 1986 horror film: Gothic. A group of youths travel out into the country for an excursion when a horrible catastriphe befalls them, i'm not exactly sure how this is connected but i feel it deserves looking into perhaps the idea of this meeting inspired writers to make teen horror films such as Cabin in the woods, I know what you did last summer and Texas chainsaw massicre. food for thought.
Ref:
D. Rogers (2012) Gothicka; Vampyr heroes, Humen gods and the new supernatural. Retrieved 5 may 2013 from http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/419647.article
Trailing on from your train of thought...
DeleteThe whole stormy villa, ghost stories, gothic horror thing got me thinking about the Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors where a similar sort of thing happens. Across the many generations of the Halloween special they have managed to cover every sort of gothic horror imaginable within the world of the Simpsons. What is interesting is that along with adapting classic horror tales they have also invented new ones, those including the aliens Kang and Kodos who reflect the many fears and facets of what people believe Aliens will do to humans. The first Treehouse of Horror in particular was quite interesting because it posed three different time periods of horror styles. The past being reflected in “The Raven”, where the kids find no horror in it but Homer is absolutely terrified afterwards, the present reflected in “bad dream House”, playing on the modern (at the time) haunted house and the future is reflected in the “Hungry are the Dammed”. Where these tie in with the Villa Diodati “Brat-Pack” is that they along the course have used their gothic monsters such as Frankenstein, the Vampire and even emulated Manfred in some aspects, channelling spells to do extraordinary things. However beyond this they have also developed their own gothic monsters, Kang and Kodos. So I see the Treehouse of Horrors as carrying on the traditions of the Villa Diodati “brat-back” in telling ghost stories and creating new monsters.
References:
Archer, W., Moore, R., & Silverman, D. (Directors). (1990). Treehouse of Horror I [DVD]. America.
Wikipedia (2013, May 17). Treehouse of Horror - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved May 17, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror
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).
ReplyDeletehttp://www.veoh.com/watch/v108406469Nyn67bQ (working link of the film Gothic but site is a tiny bit dodgy, legal however, make sure you have good antivirus and stuff)
http://www.doctorwhoreviews.co.uk/Mary%27s%20Story%201.htm (Appears in Doctor Who [Never seen it])
http://www.nymf.org/Show-933.html (Opera of Mary Shelly and her conception of Frankenstein at Villa Diodati)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unwritten (A graphic novel where the character traverses into the Villa Diodati finding secrets, a sort of legacy if you will)
Yeah, what's up with that? why can't i find a link to this movie online that isn't on a dodgy website or is a small clip like the opening scene of the movie on YouTube. As for that Doctor Who episode I can't believe i forgot about that. The episode was called: The Brain of Morbius. Pretty much at the time the writers of Doctor who at the time wanted basically all the classic monster sci-fi stories but told within a Doctor who twist. The plot-line was pretty much the same, the Doctor has to stop a crazed mad scientist who is using the limb from alien corpses.(it was pretty good)I believe Joss Whedon produced something similar in his Buffy series about a Government Scientist who was trying to create a super soldier by combining the limbs of demons and monsters corpses (how original lol)but i guess you can't these adaptions or parodies or whatever you wanna call them, Mary Shelley s Frankenstein i believe is such a classic that it will continue to be reinvented. That and because Hollywood has run out of original ideas. I'm pretty sure their a new movie coming out called "i Frankenstein"( gee i wonder what its about)
Deleteif this comment doesn't make any sense it's because i couldn't bother to double check YOLO!!!)
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYFGjVKAaSM This is the clip we got shown in class that other day. It relates to the fateful summer at the villa diodati in 1816
DeleteReference:
ghoulhorrorcinema. (2010, March 11)Gothic (1986) Part 1.mp4 [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYFGjVKAaSM
Another movie I found was Rowing with the Wind it stars Hugh Grant (yeah I know) as Byron. This tale is about the voyage and how he goes to the villa and makes the other authors write horror movies I haven't found the full movie but I have found some bits and pieces of the movie on you tube that you can have a look at. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m1Y1Hwc2EA
Delete3. 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).
ReplyDeleteFor question 3 I wasn’t sure what the question was referring to so I’m just going to assume the question is talking about how many other fictional accounts of the event that took place the Villa Diodati. According to the question, we should check out
Ken Russell’s film “Gothic” first but I was unable to find proper websites that would allow us to stream it but no such luck. I could have gotten a copy from my local dvd store but to be honest I’m pretty lazy. I was able to find a series of clips on Youtube on the movie but they were either a trailer, a small clip from the movie or in a different language (yay) but then I could just ask Paul for it (but probably won’t).
I did find a Documentary called the “prophets of science fiction” (it’s pretty much a series based around famous sci-fi writers whose vision came true) and in a particular episode it tells the story of Mary Shelley and what supposedly happened at the Villa Diodati and the origins of Frankenstein (more or less).
Another fictional account i was able to find was a small sized Graphic Novel Called "Frankenstein's womb" written by famous comic book writer Warren Ellis. Pretty much in the small contained story is about Mary Shelley and how she wrote Frankenstein's monster. According to what we know she wrote the Gothic tale in the villa Diodati on the lake Geneva, Switzerland. while in this story, it takes place just before Percy Shelley and stepsister Clair Clairmont
actually arrive at the villa they actually stop for a moment to at the real Castle Frankenstein and from this Mary Shelley becomes inspired to write Frankenstein's monsters. you can find a copy of the book at the local Auckland city library.
2.
ReplyDeleteThere is much speculation about what happened at the Villa Diodati in 1816, including rumours of incest, orgies and unsuccessful romantic pursuits. Polidori was apparently something of an outcast among the aristocrats, he was mocked by Byron and Percy Shelley, whom he allegedly detested. (Gothic Labyrinth 2013).
However, one thing we can be sure about is that weather-wise, the summer was rather miserable. “It rained on 130 out of the 183 days from April to September”. (Phillips, 2006) .Mary Shelley’s own recollection states that the weather kept them indoors “crowded around a blazing wood fire”, which was likely what led them towards the notion of ghost stories.
“We will each write a ghost story, said Lord Byron; and his proposition was acceded to” (Shelley, 1831)
Interestingly, Mary Shelley supposedly struggled to come up with an idea, losing sleep and giving herself nightmares. Until a conversation between Lord Byron and Percy Shelley sparked the idea that “perhaps a corpse could be reanimated” (Shelley,1831).Then the story that she produced became the timeless and widely-recognised “Frankenstein” we know of today.
References:
Phillips, B. (2006). Frankenstein and Mary Shelley's "Wet Ungenial Summer". Atlantis. 59-68.
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/41055247?uid=3738776&uid=2134&uid=372030431&uid=2&uid=70&uid=3&uid=372030421&uid=60&sid=21102287524601
Shelly, M (1831) Extract: Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. London.Penguin. Critical Reader pg. 172-176
Gothic Labyrinth. John Polidori
Retrieved 06/06/2013 from http://omni.sytes.net/polidori.htm#top
Question 1: How is the Romantic notion of the Sublime reflected in the ideological, conceptual and linguistic construction of the texts under consideration in this Romanticism reader.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of the sublime, as articulated by Burke, contains a lurking paradox. It is that we are drawn to things which cause us pain, indeed, terror, says Burke. Yet our whole psychology is built on the notion that we seek pleasure and shun pain. This paradox can be dissolved by saying that we find pleasure in the encounter with imagined or fictional pain, or that the aesthetically painful is prophylactic of real pain, or that the `pain' of the sublime is metaphorical that there is a pleasure in the sublime which we characterize as painful. The paradox is rather more obstinate than these summary resolutions suggest. (Pateman, T. 2004, 1991, p.192)
A Romantic notion of the Sublime is reflected through the text of “Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus” by Mary Shelley, where there is a contrast of beauty and deformity. In this text notice how things we would consider as foul like how his skin is stitched up are described as beautiful. For example a part of the Frankenstein text:
"His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but those luxuriance’s only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips."
This reminds me of when people watch horror movies. It is certainly unpleasant, and even though we know that it is full of horror and terror, we still watch the genre. I think it may be because of the feeling of adrenaline and thrill that makes us watch the genre of horror.
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.