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).
Go online and see if you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816...
ReplyDeleteIn the fateful summer of 1816 at Villa Diodati, “the brat-pack” which consisted of Lord Byron, John Polidori, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley, made history. Under Byron’s instruction, each of the four were given the challenge to write the scariest story they could. This challenge subsequently manifested the famous stories of ‘Frankenstein’ (1818) & ‘The Vampyre’ (1819).
There are several factors that led to the events at Villa Diodati. Firstly, 1816 was known as a year without summer due to the eruption of Mount Tamboro in Indonesia which occurred in April of 1815 (Buzwell, n.d.). It sent clouds of volcanic ash into the upper atmosphere and because the sun was hidden, levels of rainfall increased while temperatures decreased (Buzwell, n.d.). The effects of this were experienced throughout Europe, Asia and North America (Buzwell, n.d.). Therefore, this odd and perhaps superstitious weather event, set a dark precedence of what was to come.
The story of how the four came together, can only be seen as fate. Percy Shelley and Mary Shelley travelled to Geneva and 10 days after their arrival, Lord Byron also arrived with his physician, John Polidori (Jackson, 2016). Lord Byron and Percy Shelley then met the day after and decided to lease two nearby properties; one of which was Villa Diodati (Jackson, 2016). Lord Byron and his physician were to stay in Villa Diodati, while the Shelleys were to stay in the other property. Due to the brutal weather, the four mostly spent their time inside, discussing topics such as philosophy, medicine, fantasy and galvanism (Jackson, 2016).
The weather soon got particularly bad, and the group were forced to stay in the Villa together (Jackson, 2016). It is there that the history was made. As Mary Shelley recounts, “Some volumes of ghost stories, translated from the German into French, fell into our hands.” (Rieger, 1982) The collection of ghost stories she is referring to, is known as Fantasmagoriana (Buzwell, n.d.). Byron often read these stories aloud to the group and it became a source of inspiration for them. Shortly after, Byron challenged the group to each write their own horror story. “We will each write a ghost story, said Lord Byron; and his proposition was acceded to.” (Rieger, 1982) After horrific nightmares, lust, reflection on Eramus Darwin’s work, intellectual conversations and all else, Mary Shelley wrote ‘Frankenstein’ (1818), and after initial rejection, John Polidori eventually went on to take inspiration from Byron’s attempt, and write ‘The Vampyre’ (1819) (Jackson, 2016).
ReplyDeleteMary Shelley and her ‘Frankenstein’ (1818), gave birth to the science fiction genre and John Polidori and his ‘The Vampyre’ (1819), which was heavily influenced by Lord Byron, gave birth to the notion of vampire. Both science fiction and the vampire continue to dominate in all forms of entertainment. For instance, ‘The Twilight Saga’ films based on Stephanie Meyer’s vampire book series, managed to reap over US $3 billion in total (Twilight, n.d.). More recently, science fiction film ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (2015), bet records to become the third highest grossing film in history, earning US $2.066 billion at the box office (All Time Box Office, n.d.). It’s important to note that although Shelley, Polidori and Byron established science fiction and the vampire motif, these no longer exist in their original form. Genres and motifs are constantly changing and being merged to create hybrids, because as many academics have noted, at any given time, products of arts and entertainment will reflect the society in which they exist.
References
All Time Box Office (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2017, from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/
Buzwell, G. (n.d.) Mary Shelley, Frankenstein and the Villa Diodati. Retrieved from https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mary-shelley-frankenstein-and-the-villa-diodati
Jackson, K. (2016). The haunted summer of 1816. Retrieved from https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/arts-and-books/sumer-1816-frankenstein-shelley-byron-villa-diodati
Polidori, J. W. (1819). The Vampyre. The New Monthly Magazine and Universal Register: London.
Rieger, J. (1982). Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus (the 1818 text). University of Chicago Press: United States.
Shelley, M. (1818). Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones: United Kingdom.
Twilight. (n.d.) Retrieved May 10, 2017, from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?view=main&id=twilight.htm&sort=gross&order=DESC&p=.htm
A full account. The changing nature of genre and motifs is a good point. 'Language is never at rest' (Lyn Hejinian)
DeleteWhat really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer? Discuss the links between the Villa Diodati ‘brat-pack’ and the birth of Gothic as a modern genre.
ReplyDeleteThe Villa Diodati ‘brat-pack’ refers to Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, Claire Clairmont and John William Polidori.
In the summer of 1816, Lord Byron and Polidori, his physician, had rented the Villa Diodati in Geneva. Byron had a reputation for debauchery, and had fled England amidst rumours of incest, homosexuality and a separation from his wife. Coincidentally, the Shelley’s had also vacationed in Geneva that year - which has often been referred to as ‘the year without a summer’, due to the dreadful weather that plagued Europe (largely attributed to the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia). The constant dark and dampness created the need to light candles at midday, lending itself to a ‘haunting atmosphere with a supernatural quality’ (Buzwell, n.d.).
The stormy weather kept the group inside for days at a time. During one of these spells, Lord Byron suggested the group commit themselves to writing ghost stories. Inspired by a collection of shot horror stories in Fantasmagoriana (1812), the group set to work against the backdrop of flickering candles and the crackle of lightning. What really went on the Villa is of course unknown. Yet, this has not stopped speculative accounts being portrayed, such as in Ken Russell’s film Gothic (1986).
From this event though, two iconic stories would emerge to usher in a new wave of Gothic fiction (Mullan, n.d.): ‘Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus’ (Shelley, 1818) and ‘The Vampyre’ (Polidori, 1819).
Previous works, such as The Castle of Otrano (Walpole, 1764) and, The Mysteries of Udolpho (Radcliffe, 1794), initially used ‘Gothic’ as a term to indicate ‘barbarous’ and ‘from the middle ages’ (Mullan, n.d.). But the recurring themes and elements of such stories – supernatural and mysterious settings, thoughts and anxieties of the characters, the description of gloomy antique castles, and sublime scenery, such as dark and looming mountains – would come to define and assert ‘Gothic’ as a genre of its own (Mullan, n.d.) Charlotte Bronte would come to incorporate these quintessential elements, such as a haunted castle setting and the mysterious and suspenseful atmosphere that permeated throughout Jane Eyre (1847) (Mullan, n.d.). Oscar Wilde would also later utilise such elements for his novel, The Picture of Dorian Grey (1890). These Gothic tropes would inevitably give rise to the horror genre and influence later writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and with Louis Stevenson with The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).
Shelley (1932) recounts listening to Byron and Percy engaging in philosophical discussions about the nature of life and death; such as whether a corpse could be reanimated, noting that ‘galvanism had given token of such things.’ These discussions, coupled with the burgeoning scientific developments of the time came to heavily influence Shelley’s tale. The monster made from an assortment of body parts, and brought to life by electricity, reflected the concerns of graves being robbed to experiment between the different states of life and death (Ruston, 2014). In this sense, the story warns of the consequences of man’s reach exceeding his grasp in pursuit of advancing technology and science:
Delete“On a dreary night…I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me…I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body…I had desired with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but…the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled me heart” (Shelley, pp. 69-70, 1985: 1818).
Arguably, these concerns continue to resonate in modern society as we become far more technologically advanced. These influences in Frankenstein would also go on to establish new conventions for the Gothic genre by giving a scientific form to the supernatural formula (Mullan, n.d.). It has even been considered by some to be one of the pioneering works of science fiction by focussing on the image of science as an instrument of human progress. This notion has in turn has come to influence works by Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick (Stableford, 1995).
In addition, Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819) shared several motifs with Frankenstein, such as the superhuman strength of the monster and the path of destruction leading to death of those who surround him (Mullan, n.d.). More importantly though, it established the 'vampire motif' commonly used today. The titular character, Lord Ruthven, was constructed around the image of Lord Byron’s aristocracy and reputation for charm and lust for women. This would become the basis of the commonly used vampire motif and was to later influence Bram Stoker’s immensely popular Gothic novel, Dracula (1897). Since then Vampire stories and motifs have continued be highly popular and their influence has spread across many different literary genres and pop cultural mediums. Common examples include Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot (1975) and Richard Matheson's I Am Legend (1954), along with more modern works, such as the Twilight Saga (2005-2008) by Stephanie Meyer. Across mediums, comics such as Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger could even be considered inspired from the Gothic genre. A wealthy aristocrat (Bruce Wayne) who lives a double life by spending his nights dressed as a bat, appearing out of shadows and striking psychological fear in criminals while exhibiting feats of brute strength, could be seen as inspired by the Gothic genre. Indeed, as the comic has evolved a spin-off series titled ‘Batman: Gothic’ (Morrison, Janson 1990) emerged with great popularity and critical reception. It throws the character back into the Victorian era and pits him against other Gothic characters, such as Van Helsing and Dracula.
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DeleteA solid answer. A great quote from the book.Discussion of Gothic particularly good.
DeleteI really liked how you discussed the speculative recount of what happened in the 1986 film 'Gothic' and therefore decided to research more. The most interesting fictional recount of the summer that I found was 'Haunted Summer' (1988) directed by Ivan Passer. After watching only a fifteen minute excerpt, the depiction is very obvious; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQwwVThTuZM&t=789s. The film sexualises what happened that fateful summer, making it raunchy and lustful. In particular, Lord Byron is presented in a very promiscuous manner. Although their depiction may have some truth to it, by focusing on the scandalous and promiscuous nature of that summer, they have undervalued the process of actually writing 'Frankenstein' (1818) and 'The Vampyre' (1819). Nevertheless, it is interesting to see a fictional recount of such a significant moment in literary history.
DeleteReferences:
Poll, M. (Producer), & Passer, I. (Director). (1988). Haunted Summer. United States: Canon Films.
Video Detective. (2014). Haunted Summer 1988 Movie [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQwwVThTuZM&t=789s
As Clive Bloom has stated, "Since the 1980's, Batman comics and films have invented a neo- or 'retro-Gothic' amongst the art deco of New York’s skyscrapers, making these the equivalent of the crumbling castles and monastic ruins of old" (2007).
ReplyDeleteTurning to films, modern filmmakers such as Tim Burton have been heavily influenced by the Gothic genre. Burton has always been fascinated by the dark and light aspects of life, consistently arguing that one cannot exist without the other (MOMA, 2010). His early short films, such as Vincent (1982) and Frankenweenie (1984), drew heavily on the elements and style of the Gothic genre expounded by Shelley's Frankenstein. Frankenweenie (1984) draws directly from Shelley’s tale, but it re-imagines the tale with a boy genius (in place of victor Frankenstein) attempting to spark the life back into his deceased dog (the monster). It in considered a sequel to Burton's initial Vincent (1982), about a boy who attempts to play god by doing experiments on his dog to create a Zombie. These works would pave the way for Burton to produce his Gothic fantasy 'A Nightmare Before Christmas' (1993). But perhaps the most commercially successful of his Gothic-inspired works could be seen in Batman (1898) and Batman Returns (1991). Although considered action films, Burton draws on the idyllic Gothic imagery and architecture to depict a very Victorian-style, dark and gloomy Gotham City with a Wayne Manor exhibiting a mysteriously antique castle. His characterisation of Batman/ Bruce Wayne utilises the Gothic archetype of the dual personality, such as in Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And of course, Burton remains faithful to the Gothic genre in his retelling of both Sleepy Hollow (1999) and Sweeney Todd (2007) based on their original works.
In conclusion, as evidenced, both Shelley’s Frankenstein and Polidori’s The Vampyre have come to be revered as iconic works of the Gothic genre which have gone on to influence many other writers, genres and indeed artists across different mediums. Though perhaps it’s place in modern literature has evolved to spread itself across genres such as horror and science fiction, it has solidified its popularity by appealing to the intellect, imagination and emotions of its readers. As Robert Heilman has stated: "it was the function of Gothic to open horizons beyond social patterns, rational decision making and institutionally approved emotions...to enlarge the sense of reality and its impact on human beings...it acknowledged the non-rational...in the realm of transcendental [and] became a great liberator of feeling" (p. 3, 1986).
References:
ReplyDeleteBloom, C. (2007). Gothic Horror: A Guide for Students and Readers. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Buzwell, G. (n.d.) Mary Shelley, Frankenstein and the Villa Diodati. Retrieved May 3 2017 from https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mary-shelley-frankenstein-and-the-villa-diodati
Heilman, R. (1986). The Coherence of Gothic Conventions. Methuen, MA: Methuen Publishing.
Mullan, J. (n.d.) The origins of gothic. Retrieved May 3 2017 from https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-origins-of-the-gothic
Polidori, J. W. (1819). The Vampyre. London, UK: The New Monthly Magazine and Universal Register.
Museum of Modern Art (2010). The Gothic Imagination of Tim Burton [Exhibition catalogue]. New York, NY: Museum of Modern Art New York.
Ruston, S. (2014) The science of life and death in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Retrieved from https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-science-of-life-and-death-in-mary-shelleys-frankenstein
Shelley, M. (1985: 1818). Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. London, UK: Penguin.
Stableford, B. (1995). Frankenstein and the Origins of Science Fiction. In D. Seed (Eds.), Anticipations: Essays on early science fiction and its precursors (pp. 46-57). Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.
Very good points made here. I like the tie in with Jekyll and Hyde. Great to see the Research paying off!
DeleteA very well-thought out discussion, touching on many different topics. However, there is one significant aspect of Mary Shelley's ‘Frankenstein’ (1818) that I think you missed; The fact that it pioneered the science fiction genre. Although you are correct in saying that 'Frankenstein' and ‘The Vampyre’ (1819) were pivotal points in the development of the gothic genre, ‘Frankenstein’ played a much more significant part in the science fiction genre (Stableford, 1995). Mary Shelley is known to be the first to begin “the exploration of imaginative territory.” (Stableford, 1995, p.47). She took science and technology and created a reality in which they both overtake humanity itself, which is at the core of the science fiction genre. Without ‘Frankenstein’, many believe that the science fiction genre would not exist and function as it does today (Stableford, 1995).
DeleteReferences:
Polidori, J. W. (1819). The Vampyre. The New Monthly Magazine and Universal Register: London.
Shelley, M. (1818). Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones: United Kingdom.
Stableford, B. (1995). Frankenstein and the origins of science fiction. In D. Seed, Anticipations: Essays on Early Science Fiction and its Precursors (pp. 46-57). Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
Thank you for your comment, Thorne.
DeleteI believe I did refer to Shelley’s Frankenstein influencing science fiction above: “It has even been considered by some to be one of the pioneering works of science fiction by focussing on the image of science as an instrument of human progress. This notion has in turn has come to influence works by Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick (Stableford, 1995).”
But perhaps I probably could have focussed on it a bit more. As you assert, it did play “a much more significant part in the science fiction genre” - and I whole-heartedly agree with both you and Stableford (1995). In the end, there was a lot of avenues to go down, and I was drawn to those which I presented. However, on a side note: I would submit that Star Wars belongs to the fantasy genre, rather than science fiction. True, it does incorporate some elements of scientific elements beyond our advancement, and it is set in space. But it does not in any way speculate on what mankind would be like with any plausible or realistically foreseeable technology. As Arthur C. Clarke has said: “Science Fiction is something that could happen – but usually you wouldn’t want it to. Fantasy is something that couldn’t happen, though often you only wish that it could” (2001). It is often seen as a genre with stories about people dealing with contemporary science or technology, speculating on the the notion of what would/ could happen if such technology existed (Schmidt, Lee, & Strock, 1993).
Additionally, Le Guin (2005) likens science fiction to realistic fiction. Claiming it is reliant on elements incorporated from reality to convince us of plausibility. It therefore bases itself on events that seek to mirror so closely our knowledge of the factual world we live in. This is certainly where Shelley drew inspiration from when creating Frankenstein. As we have both spoken of, the practise of galvanism certainly gave rise to speculation as to whether one could be reanimated from the dead or not. At the time, the ideas presented in Frankenstein would not have been too far a stretch from scientific theory, given the context in which it was written. For these reasons I believe Star Wars would be a fantasy and not science fiction.
I was particularly fascinated by your comment about the sexualisation of the Villa Diodati recounts. I have not yet seen Passer’s Haunted Summer (1988), but if it is akin to Russell’s Gothic (1986), then I imagine it would have been a moving image of excessive drug-use, sex and horror involving séances and occult-like experimentation.
Of course, Russell’s depiction may have some truth, albeit with some liberties taken. It has been well documented that Byron and Percy Shelly were frequent laudanum users - that was the drug of choice then (Diniejko, 2002). It is argued that the sexualisation is largely based on the journals of Byron, Mary, Percy or Claire, and their views of free love at this time and there were supposed attempts at séances from time to time (Albright, 2002).
References:
Albright, R. (2002). Review of Ken Russell’s Gothic. Retrieved from https://www.rc.umd.edu/reference/misc/ficrep/gothicalbright.html
Clarke, A. C. (2001). The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. London, UK: Gollancz Publishing Ltd.
Diniejko, A (2002). Victorian Drug Use. Retrieved from http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/science/addiction/addiction2.html
Le Guin, U. K. (2005). Plausability Revisted. Retrieved from http://www.ursulakleguin.com/PlausibilityRevisited.html
Schmidt, S., Lee, T., & Strock, R. (1993). On Writing Speculative Fiction. In S. Schmidt, T. Lee, & R. Strock, Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy. Virginia: St Martins Press.
Thank you for your reply David. I read up about what you were saying about Star Wars, and perhaps I was a little naive to only class it as science fiction. After reading some academic articles and having a look at some websites, it appears that Star Wars is actually a hybrid between science fiction and fantasy, what some call 'science fantasy' (Hill, 2017). This is because it brings together elements from both genres, such as the fantasy of 'The Force', and the science fiction feel of its interplanetary setting. On that basis, I would say that Star Wars definitely does have a connection to science fiction and furthermore, Mary Shelley and her 'Frankenstein'. In reply to your discussion surrounding the sexual and explicit nature of what happened and Villa Diodati, it is interesting to consider whether or not that accounted towards the stories they wrote. For instance, Phillip K. Dick, a renowned Science Fiction author, actually wrote the majority of his stories under the influence of speed because it apparently gave him visions and delusions which inspired his work (Purser-Hallard, 2006).
DeleteReferences:
Hill, A. (2017). Is Star Wars Sci-Fi or Fantasy?. Retrieved June 12, 2017, from https://www.thoughtco.com/star-wars-sci-fi-or-fantasy-2958030
Purser-Hallard, P. (2006). The drugs did work. Retrieved June 12, 2017 from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/aug/12/sciencefictionfantasyandhorror.philipkdick
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ReplyDelete2. Go online and see if you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816…
ReplyDeleteIt’s about Lord Byron, Percy, Dr. John Polidori, Mary Shelley and Mary’s stepsister Claire Clairmont met at Villa Diodati in Lake Geneva in the summer of 1816. When Lord Byron proposed that they each write a ghost story, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein story influenced two notorious tales: John Polidori’s ‘The Vampyre’ and Bram Stoker’s novel ‘Dracula’ which is an important gothic literature (Tichelaar, 2013).
The conditions that brought forth Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein (1818) read like something from a Gothic story in themselves. Mary's unpredictable life up to the late spring of 1816 (age 18), along with the company in which on that day she found herself in June of that year and even the unusual weather conditions at the time which was known as "wet, uncongenial summer" - all contributed to the book’s birth. The vital spark that gave the novel life however was Lord Byron’s suggestion one evening at the Villa Diodati. Byron suggested writing ghost stories that inspiration was taken from a collection of German horror stories, Sarah Elizabeth Utterson’s ghost story known as Fantasmagoriana in English translation is known as Tales of the Dead. Also they were reading the French edition.
Interesting thing about Utterson was that she left out three of the stories from Fantasmagoriana because they “did not appear equally interesting to her.” She also “considerably curtailed” her translation of the story “L’Amour Muet” (“The Spectre-Barber”) because the love story aspect didn’t suit the story collection in her opinion. To the collection, she added a new story, “The Storm,” which she said she had heard from a friend. She published the book in 1813, three years prior to the famous Lake Geneva meeting of Shelley and friends.
It was said that the family ghost haunting and destroying people seems to me central to one origin of gothic and ghost stories: the pathology of family life which when death intervenes and no one can make up for the wrongs done.
The discovery by scientists of large dark spots on the sun in the same year added to the growing sense of unease and impending doom, as reflected in Lord Byron’s apocalyptic poem Darkness, written in Geneva in July 1816.
‘The year without a summer’, as 1816 became known, provided the perfect backdrop to the telling of bleak, macabre and doom-laden Gothic tales (Buzzwell, 2014).
I am amazed to what I found online. I never knew the origin story of how Frankenstein or The Vampyre was made not to mention the influence was from a German ghost story known as Fantasmagoriana. It made me thought about Van Helsing (2004) movie that had Frankenstein and Vampires together in the same film.
Reference:
Buzwell, G. (2014), Mary Shelley, Frankenstein and the Villa Diodati. Retrieved from:
https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mary-shelley-frankenstein-and-the-villa-diodati
Tichelaar, T. R. (2013), “Tales of the Dead”: A Source for “Frankenstein” and “The Vampyre”. Retrieved from: https://thegothicwanderer.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/tales-of-the-dead-a-source-for-frankenstein-and-the-vampyre/