For Friday: Coleridge, Cristabel (handout--take one from my office door if you missed class)

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Cristabel, though unfinished, seems to explore the idea of “innocence” through the unformed, child-like character of Cristabel.  How might we read her character metaphorically, as a journey of childhood inexperience into the “dark woods” of adult sexuality?  (and yes, any knowledge of Freud is welcome here!) 

 

Q2: In Richard Holmes’ book, Coleridge: Early Visions (1989), he writes that Cristabel is “chant-like, trance-like.  Its power derives from a haunting suggestiveness of atmosphere, an incantation of psychological symbols and spells, which defy any normal narrative development” (287).  How does the poem achieve these “trance-like” effects?  What sounds, images, metaphors, or other features make it seem more like a spell or a dream than an actual story or poem? 

Q3: What is the difference between Part I and Part II of the poem?  Literally, Part I occurs during midnight, while Part II occurs the following morning.  Does this basic distinction change the general tone/focus of each part?  Why do you think Coleridge separated the poem into two parts when the entire poem was left incomplete?  Does something tangible change from one part to the next? 

 

Q4: Why might Geraldine the earliest form of a character that has since become extremely popular in fantasy and horror fiction?  What kind of character is she, and what about her description, actions, or motives might suggest other, more modern characters/types?  Consider lines such as, “Deep from within she seems half-way/To lift some weight with sick assay,/And eyes the maid and seeks delay;/Then suddenly, as one defied,/Collects herself in scorn and pride,/And lay down by the Maiden’s side!--/And in her arms the maid she took” (30).  

For Monday: Le Fanu, “Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess” (pp.201-234)

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: In many ways, “Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess” is like a Gothic Jane Austen story (esp. Mansfield Park). Perhaps the biggest similarity is that both authors focus upon the realities of 19th century marriage. According to the story, what hidden dangers lie in wait for a prospective bride in the 1830’s? What does marriage allow men to gain—and to hide—by law?

Q2: The story mentions that a letter offering evidence of the uncle’s guilt was published in Faulkner’s newspaper (The Dublin Journal—see note on page 273), which was another magazine which published news side-by-side with Gothic stories like this one. How might this story be consciously trying to adopt a non-fictional tone in the manner of its storytelling? In other words, how does it read even more realistically (like journalism) than our last two stories?

Q3: When the narrator’s uncle intercepts her letter for help, he threatens her by saying, “Men will universally believe you mad, if I choose to call for an inquiry. I can make you appear so” (225). Though a Gothic story, why might this be one of the great fears of 19th century women? Have you read another story (or seen a film) that uses madness to check a woman’s freedom or choice?

Q4: In many of the stories in this book, women are frail, naive creatures who submissively meet their fate. How is Le Fanu’s narrator markedly different from these women (while still being very much a 19th century woman)? Why do you think he made it a point to show a different kind of woman—and have her tell the story herself, rather than use a third-person narrator?

For Friday: Gore, "The Red Man" and Landon, "The Bride of Lindorf"

For Friday, no questions, but be sure to read these two stories by women who were quite prolific and popular at the time: both were active in the 1820-40's, writing "silver fork" novels (novels of the upper classes) as well as drama and poetry. However, to have a career they had to dabble in the popular Gothic magazines, and these two stories represent their attempts to corner that market as well. On Friday I'll give you an in-class writing question to respond to, which will consider how women used the conventions of the Gothic story while also adding a social message (early feminism?) that men of the time would be less interested in--or aware of.

 

See you on Friday!

For Wednesday: "Monos and Daimonos," "The Victim," "Life in Death," or "The Curse"

A 2010 comedy based on the Burke and Hare murders--commemorated in the story, "The Victim"

For Wednesday: From Polidori’s The Vampire and Other Tales of the Macabre: Bulwer, “Monos and Daimonos” (53-61), Anonymous, “The Victim” (87-98), “Life in Death” (130-137). Note—you can read “The Curse” instead of “Life in Death” if you wish, or if you already read it.

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: In “The Victim,” the doctor examines the young woman’s corpse and claims the sight “afforded me a pleasure, so mixed up with all that was horrid, that I sincerely hope it will never fall to my lot to have a second experience of that same feeling” (92). Nevertheless, he feels impelled to kiss the corpse as well. Why do so many of these stories linger of the vision of a female corpse (we saw this in The Vampyre, too)? Why show this to the reader?

Q2: How does one or more of these stories create the Gothic device of “based upon a true story” in its narrative? What elements strike a reader (esp. of this time) as too specific to be made up? Also, how might the author exploit sensibility (strong emotion) to confuse the fictional nature of the story?

Q3: The story, “Monos and Daimonos” is a classic story of a doppleganger, or double. The word “monos” means “single” and “daimonos” means demon/spirit, though both words are curiously similar (“Daimonos” contains “monos”). How might the two characters in the story be linked, and how does the author suggest that there is only one person throughout?

Q4: Two of these stories are by anonymous writers, which is curious, since authorship wasn’t especially taboo and many writers made their fame through publishing in fashionable Gothic journals such as Blackwood’s or New Monthly Magazine. Why might an author have decided to suppress his or her identity with these particular stories? What might they have been hiding…and why might there have been more anonymous stories in the 19^th century than in the 20^th?

For Monday: Polidori, “The Vampyre” from The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre

Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare (1787)

Answer TWO of the following questions in a short response—at least a few sentences, and try to use specific detail drawn from the story. Don’t worry about getting the answers “right,” but be honest and respond based on your reading of the story. Quote whenever possible and discuss what a specific passage or idea might mean.

Q1: Why is Aubrey so taken with Lord Ruthven? What about Aubrey—or Ruthven himself—allows this to happen? How does the narrator let us know this is an unnatural (and unhealthy) attraction?

Q2: How does The Vampyre contrast Enlightenment civilization with the Romantic sublime? In other words, how is Polidori trying to make the reader (and his or her beliefs) “shrink into the minuteness of our own nature, and…in a manner, [become] annihilated before him” (Burke)?

Q3: How does The Vampyre follow the traditional vampire story that we’ve seen in dozens of books and films? Where does it depart from the narrative? Considering that this is the first in a long line of vampire narratives, what did he create that stuck…and what didn’t?

Q4: How are women depicted in this story? Why do you think this is important, especially considering that Lord Ruthven targets young women, including Aubrey’s sister? 

Welcome to the Course!

Welcome to the official blog of British Lit from 1800, focusing on The Gothic movement in English Literature! Wonder what kind of class this will be? Well...

"Literature continues to be haunted by the ghosts of the 19th century, and in particular, the writers and artists who came to life in the Romantic era. These writers envisioned the darkness that slumbered beneath the “sleep of reason,” and which could easily be awakened by our own lusts and desires. So much of the 19th century can be told through the lens of Gothic art, a movement which started in the late 18th century and continued to flourish with tales of vampires, corpses, murderers, and time machines. This class will use several iconic novels from throughout the century to examine the cultural ideas and conflicts which shaped the British nation. We’ll also ask the question, why these books, and why these authors, when so many books and their writers have faded into oblivion like a bad dream. Yet these books return night after night to inhabit our dreams, so that even 200 years later everyone knows the dreaded name “Frankenstein” or “Dracula.” Should they be returned to the grave...or do they still have more to teach us?"

Be sure to buy the following books for class, all of which we will read over the course of the semester: Polidori, The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre; Shelley, Frankenstein; Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray; Wells, The Time Machine; Stoker, Dracula

Be sure to e-mail me with any questions or concerns: jgrasso@ecok.edu.  See you in class!