Weeks seven - eight
Weeks 7-9
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).
2. What really happened at the Villa Diodati in the summer of 1816?
ReplyDelete1861 was an interesting year for the world as it was dubbed “the year with no summer” due to a volcanic eruption in Indonesia, lowering the temperature in many countries all over the world. Therefore unlike the common picturesque views Mary Shelly had come to know of the Villa, the time spent there that year was torrential rain and storms not unlike that night provided in the scenes in her soon-to-be book; “Frankenstein”.
That year, Mary Shelly, Claire Shelly, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron and John Polidori all stayed at the inn reading German ghost stories; ”The Fantasmagoriana. In one of the stories, a group of travelers relate to one another supernatural experiences that they had experienced. This inspired Byron to challenge the group to write a ghost story.” (Monstrous.com, 2015)
During that time, uninspired Mary Shelly aimed to write something, as part of her writers’ sense of integrity but came much to nothing. While the poets deserted their works, Polidori managed to write “The Vampyre”, the first workings of the Vampire we have come to know.
Byron and Percy spent the night beforehand discussing Madame de Stael’s “De l’Allemagne,” particularly that concerning “whether the principle of life could be discovered and whether scientists could galvanize a corpse of manufactured humanoid.” (Peschel, 2009)
That night Mary woke from a nightmare where she saw: “the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life...His success would terrify the artist; he would rush away...hope that...this thing...would subside into dead matter...he opens his eyes; behold the horrid thing stands at his bedside, opening his curtains...” and from that point on she constructed the famous novel “Frankenstein” integrating the ideas of oncoming scientific and technological phase of life which could give the power of god to man, resulting the creation of Gothic science-fiction. (Peschel, 2009)The work was finished in 1817 and published in 1818.
Reference:
Peschel, B. (2009). Mary Shelley Dreams of Frankenstein. Retrieved April 30, 2015, from http://planetpeschel.com/2009/06/mary-shelley-dreams-of-frankenstein-1816/
Monstrous.com. (2015). The Summer of 1816 at Villa Diodoti. Retrieved April 30, 2015, from http://frankenstein.monstrous.com/the_summer_of_1816_at_villa_diodoti.htm
Another awesome entry. This was very well-explained. Thanks for taking the time to share!
Deletereally good explanation! Was going to look into this question myself but cant seem to find any gaps in what you have said, what you have said is really interesting! Your post is really well written Courtney.
DeleteYes, well described. I think it would have been some party!
ReplyDelete3. 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).
ReplyDeleteYoutube clips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nj3SVvsCEM
A crack video surrounding the events at the Villa that summer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCYi1Fx1oTc
The trailer for a new 2015 film “The Retreat” based on Mary Shelly’s “retreat” to the villa and the nightmares she had when she stayed there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7otv69xCchw
Titled after the text that Mary Shelly was reading the night of her nightmare, some scientists aim to explore the time of Mary Shelly and her time at the Villa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKNVkavv8Vs
BBC’s miniseries “The Secret life of books” looks at Frankenstein and Mary Shelly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM1D_xUjuOE
BBC Four investigates the conception of the Frankenstein book and the
circumstances in which it was conceived.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctqOXLSCjdI
Ken Russel’s 1986 movie Gothic which aimed to explain Mary Shelly’s conception of Frankenstein in a horror media format.
Novels:
Vampires : the un-history of the undead by Tony Thompson
"A stormy night on Lake Geneva almost 200 years ago. A scandalous gathering of A-list celebrities and a ghost story contest produced not only Frankenstein, but the first modern vampire. Meet the terrifying Count Orlock, the first film vampire who would inspire Bela Lugosi and so many others. Take the Transylvania express and find out about the novel that inspired the scariest TV show of all time, the vampire who nearly destroyed Spiderman, and Anne Rice's suave rock-star vampire. Bella may have fallen for one vamp, but there are many others out there. Warning: Do not read before bed!"--Publisher's description.” (Auckland Library, n.d.)
References
Auckland Library. (n.d.). PROD - ELGAR(New Zealand, consortium) /All. Retrieved May 6, 2015, from http://www.elgar.govt.nz/search~S1/?searchtype=Y&searcharg=villa+diodati&searchscope=1&sortdropdown=-&SORT=DZ&extended=0&SUBMIT=Search&searchlimits=&searchorigarg=Yvilla+diodati%26SORT%3DDZ
thorough piece of bibliography research. Excellent.
DeleteQuestion 3 drew my attention-
ReplyDeleteHow many fictional accounts (film and other narrative media) can you find about [Villa Diodati]?"
The number one fictional account that I came across on YouTube was one starring Hugh Grant as Byron. This video has also been mentioned by Courtney A in a previous comment, where she said it is a "crack video", which I absolutely agree with. It is listed as a "fan video", and covers the events surrounding those previously told from Villa Diodati. It puts the events into a modern perspective, and uses humour to express the supposedly untold side of the story.
Here is the link to said video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nj3SVvsCEM
During my research, I also found a hilarious bonus article, as referenced below, wherein a woman named Lynn Shepherd delved into a fan-fiction of sorts entitled, "What if Byron and the Shelleys had live tweeted from the villa diodati?" This modernisation of the events in the plot make the story seem more alive to me, but also explored the inner workings of the story line. Definitely have a read of that!
References:
Shepherd, L. (September 2, 2013), What if Byron and the Shelleys had live tweeted from the Villa Diodati? Retrieved May 5, 2015, from http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/books/2013/09/what-if-byron-and-the-shelleys-had-live-tweeted-from-the-villa-diodati/
Hi Grace!
DeleteThank you for further defining the "crack video" comment, I should have done it myself. Also nice work on looking at the fan-fiction angle, I only looked at the published works but fan-fiction is more alive and a more modern version of story adaptation. Awesome work!
Yes, well spotted, Grace. Fan fic is really a whole new genre, allied to world building. this suggests that creativity is as much about combining existing elements as inventing new ones.
DeleteI found the same clip and article. To me it was a chappy version of the 1816 Summer. It was nice to see a more lighted idea instead of the doom and gloom of Gothic (1986).
DeleteI would really like to see a modern or new version of the 1816 Summer. It would make one scary movie if it had the horror components.
I absolutely agree with that last comment, Naomi! It would be frightening indeed!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1. 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...
ReplyDeleteThe literary term 'Sublime' is described by Pateman (2004) as a form of expression in literature or art where the creator applies a powerful and inspired sense of emotion on a persons’ readership by using a strong prsentation of an organic form of beauty. As the romantic ideology of the 'Sublime' exercises forms of expression which have the power to entrance us with a sense of amaze, as opposed to simply pleasing an audience.
Meanwhile Pateman (2004) describes ‘the sublime’ having the ability to generate a sense of “admiration, and respect” - it also creates a sense of terror as the subjective example of terror is “the fear of pain” while the objective fear is of “vastness” or “obscurity” and we are often terrified by “what is powerful” and “what is infinite”. He also notes that “infinity has a tendency to fill the mind with that sort of delightful horror, which is the most genuine effect and truest test of the sublime”.
William Blake evidently uses ‘The Sublime’ notion in his poetry, more specifically in the poem “The Sick Rose” as he places the Sublime organic beauty of the rose in a paradox with the state of sickness.
O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
This concept of a body of a beautiful rose that has been tainted with the horror of the sickness it carries inside it is a shining example of the paradox of ‘the Sublime’. With the “invisible worm” representing a great many things, the paradox of beauty and terror is made evident to the reader by this sense of unknown of what exactly what this worm could be. Obviously at face-value it could mean sickness; an STD, or small pox possibly, has found its way into this “bed of crimson joy” left in “the howling storm” rotting this life from the inside out. Such is the oxymoron of a beautiful death.
It might be a point to note that this itself glorifies the corpse of the rose, much apparent in the theme Gothic. (Vampyre, Frankenstein, zombie etc)
References:
Blake, W. (2009). Songs of innocence and of experience: Shewing the two contrary states of the human soul. Waiheke Island: Floating Press.
Pateman, T. (2004) ‘The Sublime’ in Key Concepts: A Guide to Aesthetics, Criticism and the Arts in Education. London: Falmer Press, pp 169 -171.
Thanks Courtney, I have been waiting for the word 'sublime' to be debased as the word awesome has been. I can't wait for the first sublime ice-cream. Sublimity has the feel of the divinity.
Delete'With the “invisible worm” representing a great many things...' Avoid this sort of generalization, best to mention a few, or the main ideas...
I agree with Mike. I've never thought about the word 'sublime' until we studied the word. It has a certain contemporary feel to it, and sophistication.
DeleteThe romantic sublime is much like the dark romance that we have, which I'm keen to mention. The sublime of respect and terror, of horrifyingly beautiful is strangely still strongly present. Kodoos to Frankenstein and the Vampyre/Dracula for the dark yet awesome presence.
3. How many fictional accounts (film and other narrative media) can you find about that? Provide some useful links, including youtube clips. eg. Ken Russel Gothic.
ReplyDeleteThere are many fictional accounts on what happened at Villa Diodati (1816). Below is a feature film trailer called The Retreat. It is fairly new and I was interested in finding the actual film, but it is uncertain whether it is completed.
If you read the description, it will give you an idea about the feature film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCYi1Fx1oTc
Someone has already pointed these two out, but I think they're worth meaning them again. A fan made clip depicting the 1816 Summer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nj3SVvsCEM
They have captured the typical American Summer and fitted it with the supposedly scary days the Villa Diodati Summer, despite the fact that it was really a thundering and Summer-less Summer. Shepherd (2013) stated; "the weather was terrible that year – so bad they called it ‘the ‘year without a summer.’" Shepherd provided a tweeted version of the 'party' at Villa Diodati.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/books/2013/09/what-if-byron-and-the-shelleys-had-live-tweeted-from-the-villa-diodati/
This webpage provide links to three different version of the fateful summer of 1816, as well as three versions of Frankenstein. The links on the webpage will take you to the IMDb website with the film information.
http://www.ualberta.ca/~dmiall/Shelleys/films.htm
I've also provided links to youtube, for the actual trailer.
The links on Villa Diodati (1816) includes: Gothic (1986) directed by Ken Russel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haS7s4MI0mI
Haunted Summer (1988) directed by Ivan Passer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG-rJuyfvxM
This one is funny. I'm assuming Percy is the one with the soft voice.
Rowing with the Wind (1999) directed by Gonzalo Suárez.
I couldn't find a trailer in English, so it's an excerpt from the movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgQwca6QNg0
Reference:
Shepherd, L. (2013, September 2). What if Byron and the Shelleys had live tweeted from the Villa Diodati? - Spectator Blogs. Retrieved from http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/books/2013/09/what-if-byron-and-the-shelleys-had-live-tweeted-from-the-villa-diodati/
Excellent job of research, Niomi
DeleteReally good post Naomi, I think we had quite similar ideas
DeleteI was also looking into answering this question and found Haunted Summer (1988) directed by Ivan Passer an interesting quite humorous representation of events.
You have done really good research it was interesting watching the attached clips
2. Go online and see if you can find anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816...
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to know what really happened. Most works center around the Gothic Genre that had been produced by Shelly's Frankenstein and Polidori's, The Vampyre.
The circumstances around Villa Diodati begin with the weather. It was described as a Summer-less Summer, and so with bad weather they were stuck in the Villa for a few days. Buzwell (2014) explains that it "was Lord Byron’s suggestion one evening at the Villa Diodati, as candlelight flickered within the house and lightning flashed across the surface of the lake outside, that those present should turn their hands to the writing of ghost stories." (See http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mary-shelley-frankenstein-and-the-villa-diodati)
But I would argue it was the atmosphere of the weather that perpetrated the grand stories of Frankenstein and The Vampyre. It was not the suggestion of ghost stories but the situation they where in and the boomeranging ideas that produced such popular and innovating stories of Gothic literature.
Perrottet (n.d) suggests Lord Byron, Percy, Mary, and Claire were one of the most scandalous groups to descend on the Villa. Although Polidori was Lord Byron's traveling companion, he produced The Vampyre, and Mary created Frankenstein. Perrottet (n.d) believes that the group were Romantically driven and brought together by the rain. Through these circumstances they read German horror stories, which would have been perceived as extremely scary considering the gloomy atmosphere.
In addition, the romance between each of the people gathered at the Villa Diodati would have influenced the romance within their stories, as seen by Frankenstein and The Vampyre. In some ways, not only the German stories helped their creative minds, but the people they're with may make small appearances in their writing. Especially when Mary was just an adult when they congregated.
Reference:
Biblion. (n.d.). Biblion: FRANKENSTEIN | ESSAY_Perrottet. Retrieved from http://exhibitions.nypl.org/biblion/outsiders/frankenstein/essay/essayperrottet
Buzwell, G. (2014). Mary Shelley, Frankenstein and the Villa Diodati. Retrieved from www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mary-shelley-frankenstein-and-the-villa-diodati
*Basically they wrote stories, admired the scenery which helped them with their stories, and Lord Byron had an affair with Claire for the sake of sex. Which contributed to her pregnancy.
DeleteYes, Byron had quite a reputation, and women seemed to be attracted to him. However, to claim he had affair with Claire just for the sake of sex is to make a claim you cannot back up. How do you know what he was feeling?
DeleteIt would be my assumption based on what people claimed Byron had reacted/behaved. I guess the term 'scandalous group' infers wild things or deviant behaviour was suggested to have happened there. Although this is based on rumour and speculation.
DeleteThe fact that Byron suggested writing stories in a gloomy atmosphere indicates the 'vacation' scene, where people would suggest things and do carefree activities.
The Romantic sublime was one of the most interesting topic this semester, so I'm keen to do this one.
ReplyDelete1. 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...
Pateman (2004) describes the word 'sublime' to mean 'divine,' but when it is used in relation to a text, it induces more than simple amazement. To call something sublime infers it to make someone admire with passion and be in awe (Pateman, 2004), like it is a being above themselves that must have respect.
Within texts romantic aspects are seen as having the "sense of the personal within nature" (Smith, 1982, p.174), and the notion of the romantic sublime is literary transcendence. Pateman (2004) concurs by stating the expression of the sublime "transports us with wonder" (p.169).
"Is this a holy thing to see,
In a rich and fruitful land,
Babes reducd to misery,
Fed with cold and usurous hand ?
Is that trembling cry a song ?"
-Blakes' Holy Thursday, p.147
In this text one can see the clear beauty in a 'rich and fruitful land,' but contrasting this image of a bountiful land is miserable people and poverty. Having wealth is generally associated with health, yet it seems natures beauty does not cross over to the well-being of the people.
The line of the crying song involves wonderful creation, but a telling of misery. Songs are typically created and is an art for of human nature, but in 'Holy Thursday' unhappiness is told through a naturally beautiful form, song.
The next line; "Can it be a song of joy?" makes the poem aware of the contrasting sides of beautiful nature accompanied with the horror of life. The context of the Romantic Sublime in texts, shows there is darkness in every light, and shadows grow with the rising sun.
Reference:
Blake, W. (1972; 1794). Songs of Innocence and Experience with an introduction and
commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes, London: Oxford
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.
References
Smith, L. H. (1982). Beyond the Romantic Sublime: Gerard Manley Hopkins. Renascence, 34(3), 173-184. Retrieved from http://yu7rz9hn8y.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Beyond+the+romantic+sublime%3A+Gerard+Manley+Hopkins&rft.jtitle=Renascence&rft.au=Smith%2C+Lyle+H.%2C+Jr&rft.date=1982&rft.issn=0034-4346&rft.eissn=2329-8626&rft.volume=34&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=173&rft.externalDocID=R01551902¶mdict=en-US
Ironically 1816 was known as A year without summer which the conditions of the weather was a memorable feature of the time. The reason for this title was because of the volcanic eruption of Mount Tamboro in Indonesia in April of 1815. Due to this, the summer of the following year saw continuous rain, and dampness which brought about crop failures and was considered to be one of the most coldest times in history within Europe and Asia to name a few. Interestingly, this also affected other parts of the world to which scientists of the time discovered dark spots in the sun which caused darkness to come before noon and households would find the need for a candlelight throughout the duration of a day. This brought about fear of ending times upon people as it almost seemed as if there was no differentiation between day and night. And from this sprung Byron's ironically dark poem called Darkness.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of the weather also contributed to Mary Shelley's creation of her novel Frankenstein.
At the same time, Lord Byron had contribution in giving Shelley inspiration for the book. It appears that one night in the Villa Diodati, Byron noticed that inside the house a candlelight that flickered on and off and outside an aggressive lightning flashing in the distance upon the surface of the lake. From this imagery, usually one would be frightened or result to curling up in bed. But for Byron this wasn't the case, he found this as a chance to write ghost stories. And from this night came the creation of the iconic tales Frankenstein and Polidori's The Vampyre. In addition to this, Shelley emphasizes the landscape in her travel volume History of a Six Weeks' Tour through a part of France, Switzerland, Germany and Holland (1817),
‘Never was a scene more awefully desolate. The trees in these regions are incredibly large, and stand in scattered clumps over the white wilderness; the vast expanse of snow was chequered only by these gigantic pines, and the poles that marked our road: no river or rock-encircled lawn relieved the eye, by adding the picturesque to the sublime’
(British Library Board, n.d.).
But even in this year there were many unfortunate events that occurred. Firstly was the death of Fanny Imlay (Mary Shelley's half sister) who was a troubled girl took an overdose of laudunum. And secondly was the death of Harriet Shelley (Percy's first wife). Harriet being Percy's first wife had an unhappy life when Percy eloped with Mary and got married. In the late summer of 1816, the 21 year old committed suicide by drowning herself in the Serpentine river.
References:
British Library Board. (n.d.). Mary Shelley, frankenstein and the villa diodati. Retrieved June 10, 2015, from http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mary-shelley-frankenstein-and-the-villa-diodati
http://knarf.english.upenn.edu/People/fimlay.html
The late 18th and 19th centuries were undoubtedly where much of the "Gothic literature" we have today was created. Little would have been distributed until later years, obviously due to increases in opportunity to mass-produce and share. The reason that many people today are still mildly interested right through to being fixated with this culture and its produce is because it is darker than the topics we might usually discuss openly. Think, for example, of the story of Dracula. Imagine the breakthrough in literature and story-telling that must have been! Something dark and appealing, probably for reasons people then didn't understand or know. I think that links up nicely with the idea of people being afraid of what they don't understand... A draw to unusual, gory, or psychologically thrilling subject matter doesn't make you a bad person, or a witch, or someone to be shunned. It just means you have interests different to other people's! (Obviously there is a line that is crossed, eg. murderous instances or fixating on death and blood and violence beyond 3rd person interest!)
ReplyDelete