Keats posts

Hello Romanticists,

Our poems for Thursday all focus on one of the great themes of Keats’ poetry: crossing between different states of being.  In “Ode on Indolence,” the speaker occupies some indeterminate space between dreaming and waking, a “drowsy hour” (15) in which he encounters what he variously describes as “shadows” or “visions” or “phantoms” (11, 57, 59).  Similarly, “To Autumn” examines that season as a threshold between life and death aptly symbolized by a drowsing reaper whose momentary pause dilates the space between the ripe life of summer and the inevitable death of winter. 

“The Eve of St. Agnes” features both of these in-between realms.  Characters shift continually between dreams (waking or sleeping) and full consciousness, and while young lovers and revelry are at the center of the narrative, death hovers close in various forms (elderly characters are nearing death, Porphyro will be killed if he is discovered).  In addition, “St. Agnes” toys with the line between the real or ordinary world and an ideal, otherworldly realm.  The tradition that on St. Agnes Eve one may dream of one’s future, as well as the lovers’ strange, almost magical flight, suggest the fantastical world of fairy tales.

For your posts, consider one scene of crossing borders: of dreaming or waking, passing between life and death, or of shifting from realistic to fantastic.  Be attentive, as always, to poetic form, word choice, and figurative language.

Happy reading,

Prof. M.

"The Eve of St. Agnes" generated intense interest among visual artists of the nineteenth century.  Enjoy three famous depictions of the poem below: 

The Flight of Madeline and Porphyro, William Holman Hunt

Madeline Undressing, John Everett Millais

Madeline After Prayer, Daniel Maclise

Frankenstein posts II

Hello Romanticists,

In today’s discussion we briefly examined the concept of family in Frankenstein, and specifically the relationships between children and parents.  The novel is filled with models of insufficient or inadequate parenting.  Nearly all of the characters lost at least one parent when young and many were left dangerously unprovided for (Caroline Beaufort, Elizabeth Lavenza, Justine Moritz).  Even when parents do live long enough to raise their children they often appear irresponsible (Caroline’s father lost the family fortune and retired from the world out of wounded pride), repressive (Clerval’s father resists sending him to university), or outright cruel (Justine’s mother, Safie’s father).  

However, while children are vulnerable to parental abuse and abandonment, parents are also damaged by the acts of their children.  Felix De Lacey’s pursuit of Safie puts his family in political danger.  Frankenstein’s ill-considered experiment leads to the deaths of several family members including the premature and painful death of his father, just as the creature’s murders lead to the premature and painful death of Frankenstein himself.

In your post for this week, examine a passage from Volume III that relates to families—to the responsibilities of those who create new lives, to the perils of creating an independent being, etc. 

You may choose to compare a familial scene in Volume II to earlier depictions of families. 

As you read, enjoy an array of images from the numerous films that have imaged the creature or Frankenstein engaging with children or even having offspring of their own.

Happy reading,

Prof. M.

Universal's 1931 Frankenstein 

Son of Frankenstein (1939) starring Boris Karloff

Mel Brooks' 1974 Young Frankenstein