I'm struck by how much poetry (especially Romantic poetry) is connected to some key Gothic texts. In Frankenstein there are lots of little excerpts of poetry, and some passages are intensely poetic, to the extent of being nearly in blank verse. What can poetry say that mere prose cannot? How does an excerpt of poetry elevate or change the mood of a piece of prose?
Speaking of Gothic poetry, have a look at Byron's Manfred. Here is the opening:
The Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life.
Philosophy and science, and the springs
Of wonder, and the wisdom of the world,
I have essay'd, and in my mind there is
A power to make these subject to itself--
But they avail not: I have done men good,
And I have met with good even among men--
But this avail'd not: I have had my foes,
And none have baffled, many fallen before me-- 20
But this avail'd not: Good, or evil, life,
Powers, passions, all I see in other beings,
Have been to me as rain unto the sands,
Since that all-nameless hour. I have no dread,
And feel the curse to have no natural fear
Nor fluttering throb, that beats with hopes or wishes
Or lurking love of something on the earth.
Now to my task.--
Mysterious Agency!
Ye spirits of the unbounded Universe,
Whom I have sought in darkness and in light! 30
Ye, who do compass earth about, and dwell
In subtler essence! ye, to whom the tops
Of mountains inaccessible are haunts,
And earth's and ocean's caves familiar things--
I call upon ye by the written charm
Which gives me power upon you-- Rise! appear! [A pause.
They come not yet.-- Now by the voice of him
Who is the first among you; by this sign,
Which makes you tremble; by the claims of him
Who is undying,-- Rise! appear!-- Appear! [A pause. 40
If it be so.-- Spirits of earth and air,
Ye shall not thus elude me: by a power,
Deeper than all yet urged, a tyrant-spell,
Which had its birthplace in a star condemn'd,
The burning wreck of a demolish'd world,
A wandering hell in the eternal space;
By the strong curse which is upon my soul,
The thought which is within me and around me,
I do compel ye to my will. Appear!
Doesn't this remind you of Frankenstein? It also makes me think of Macbeth, where Macbeth is trying to conjure the witches, and Faustus conjuring spirits, and of course the opening has a reference to Paradise Lost. What do you think of it?
I just read the 5th chapter of Frankenstein because I thought it would have detail of the bit where Frankenstein tries to bring the monster to life but it didn't.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't remind me of Frankenstein. It seemed like a mockery of Milton calling on the 'Heavenly Muse'. The repetition of 'Appear!' sounds like frustration coming from there being no spirit at his command, also with the pauses. I first thought he was alluding to Paradise Lost when he said 'Now to my task' followed by calling upon a 'Mysterious Agency'. Also, his arrogance seems akin to Milton's.
Ok, I just read the whole of the original section and saw what happens after it. It does not seem like Milton that much anymore as it seems more obvious now that he feels empty and is not fulfilled by the physical world that he belongs to. Byron's use for the spirits is different and the character comes across much more humanly.
Manfred's torment and self-reflection at the beginning resembles Heathcliff's at the end of Wuthering Heights. This idea seems to be quite typical of Gothic fiction, the man who does not feel alive because of inner torment and obsession but must go on living anyway. Heathcliff - 'I have to remind myself to breath - almost to remind my heart to beat!' 'by compulsion that I notice anything ... which is not associated with one universal idea'. Manfred - 'in my heart / There is a vigil and these eyes but close / To look within; and yet I live' 'they who know the most / Must mourn the knowledge o'er the fatal truth'.
The Gothic is so much more interesting the more you read and the more you look.
On a slightly irrelevant note..
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran_Castle
Picture dracula's castle a little like this? Ooh.
Then again, it's too pretty.
ReplyDelete