You can respond to this post by answering the following question: what are the "Gothic" elements of Clifton Hill?
Deadline: Monday (2/28), 1pm.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
For Credit: The Gothic
As I said in class on Friday, the reading for Monday is Ann Yearsley's Clifton Hill, which you will find in your poetry anthologies, and Tristram Shandy, Vol. VI, chapters 15 - 19 (pp. 391-399). You should bring both books to class with you.
You can respond to this post by answering the following question: what are the "Gothic" elements of Clifton Hill?
Deadline: Monday (2/28), 1pm.
You can respond to this post by answering the following question: what are the "Gothic" elements of Clifton Hill?
Deadline: Monday (2/28), 1pm.
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7 comments:
I am not entirely familiar with Gothic literature except that it can combine romance and horror. It could also mean the work intends to give the reader goosebumps, a thrill and a sense of mystery. I am have difficulty understanding the poem but I can detect elements of romance and horror. One of the lines I found most interesting is line 161 "Blooms beauteous in the gloomy-chequer'd crowd" because the author is saying beauty can still exist in a gloomy atmosphere. Several lines later, it reads "pois'nous reptiles here their mischiefs bring/And thro' the helpless sleeper dart the sting" (ll.166-7) is a bit more dark than the previous line I selected. It can be compared to the act of killing somebody (who is helpless) in their sleep by suffocating them with a pillow, etc that is frequently portrayed in modern day horror movies. Again, the poem takes an interesting turn for me when I read "The wave-drench'd sailor scorns all peril past;/ Now love and joy the noisy crew invite" (ll.189-190). It becomes apparent to me that romance is back in the mix. I'm assuming the sailors survived the horrors of nature so they can embrace romance now. I may not completely understand the poem, but I can identify some elements. However, I do have some questions (other than what the heck is going on!)...Why is horror and romance mixed? Is there a purpose behind this style of writing? Is it just a creative template for writers to play around with or to offer a different flavor the readers can choose from (kind of like the way how we choose a movie depending on what we have a taste for that day). Is horror and romance dependent on each other in gothic literature (one causes the other?).
Like 217, I had some difficulty with understanding the "Clifton Hill" poem, but the mood and other Gothic elements were easy to pick up on. I think 217's comment that Gothic literature, "can combine romance and horror. It could also mean the work intends to give the reader goosebumps, a thrill and sense of mystery" was a very accurate statement. Even though I had trouble picking up the translation of the lines, the emotion was very strong and I could sense the atmosphere of mystery and darkness. However, mixed in with the creepy and gloomy environment was also a romantic vibe where nature brought out many powerful elements.
Right off the bat, the first couple of lines really set the mood, tone, and emotion for the poem, "In this lone hour, when angry storms descend / And the chill'd soul deplores her distant friend; / When all her sprightly fires inactive lie, / And gloomy objects fill the mental eye" (Lines 1-4). These lines create an atmosphere of suspense by generating a heavy and dark feeling through the angry storms descending. The Romantic aspect of the poem creates a focus on nature and the power that it can create within this kind of poem, "Long have I shar'd with you this guiltless scene. / 'Tis mine to wander o'er the dewy lawn, / And mark the pallid streak of early dawn; / Lo! the grey dusk that fill'd the vacant space, / Now fleets, and infant light pursues the chace; / From the hill top it seeks the valley low" (Lines 109-114). The importance of nature in the poem adds to the imaginative qualities of Romantic and Gothic literature and really brings out the emotion and creativeness of its content.
It will be nice to (hopefully) get a better understanding of this poem in class tomorrow so that I can connect the Gothic elements with the events in the poem.
An element that appears in the first line of the poem and continues throughout is the element of solitude. It seems that the poem is so twinged with this aspect that it must be a pretty Gothic element. The poem highlights being alone in an angry storm, mourning in a silent grove, having a frozen soul incapable of loving, and "lone cloysters". While Romantics would take up Gothic themes to reflect on the independent spirit, alone in the wilderness, the later 18th century had much less fondness for that. Instead of producing excitement and liberation, the Gothic solitude produce fear. Perhaps this indicates that the society of the period is entirely more concerned with social aspects, like being involved, known, and respected within your community. Since this era (or at least the generation directly before theirs) attempted to revert back to a Classical society, its not surprising that they wanted to function as a social unit. But as the era moves along, more of a fascination for the Gothic may indicate a greater desire for individual independence, rather than being a small portion of a whole nation.
I haven't read much Gothic literature, but in the opening lines of "Clifton Hill" there are some clear Gothic themes. The poem begins by describing the environment. "When angry storms descend and the chill'd soul deplores her distant friend;" This description echoes Gothic sentiment. The gloomy mood continues throughout the poem. The idea of the rapture is repeated throughout the poem as well and further defines the Gothic elements of the poem.
One of the poem's themes is this idea of fear of being unable to love and deal with loss. This possibility of not loving is placed amidst these Gothic elements."She welcomes the lov'd image; busy thought portrays the past, with guiltless pleasures fraught; tis momentary bliss, 'tis rapture high, the heart o'erflows, and all is extacy" The language indicates this idea of loss, but also how fragile these feelings are. The pleasure they bring can be neutralized by how temporary they can be.
The gothic elements that I noticed first were the references to the speaker being alone. This goes along with the gothic element of entrapment or isolation. Immediately it gives the reader a sense that the speaker must fend for herself and that she is somehow isolated from the saftey of others. What adds to this gothic feel is the desrciption of the weather. Usually in Gothic literature there is some sort of inclement weather going on furthering the difficulties of the hero or heroine. However what really drove home the gothic feel of this piece for me was the Church yard scene where the speaker, Lactilla, comes across the grave of her mother. She is standing in the shadow of the curch, possibly of gothic architecture, alone, and is being spoken to by her deceased mother. Both the location of the scene in the churchyard and the "haunting" by her mother scream gothic.
I agree however with my classmates that there are also quite a few romantic elements here maybe froshadowing a bit the romantice era. The speaker seems to be quite in tune with nature and it seems to provide her with a sort of reprieve from the gothic terror.
I wonder how much of these elements have to do with the fact that Yearsley was working class. The poem seems to have a lot of emotion and they seem to be expressed in very basic terms. Was this something that was more common with the poorer poets and writers of the time?
i agree with what the other posts said about gothic descriptions adding to horror or romance literature. When I think of gothic literature I think of Poe and his eerie sensations that are apparent through his writing. Clifton Hills has a lot of elements of dark, bleak imagery, but also says some interesting comments about romance being darker. There is a lot of imagery of lightening and darkness in the sky and a monotonous tone in atmosphere. The poem begins by saying, "when angry storms descend, and the chill'd soul deplores her distant friend; when all her sprightly fires inactive lie, and gloomy objects fill the mental eye." This ghostly, morbid, intense feeling is continued throughout the poem and creates and aura of chilling and captivating sensation for the reader. But, there are also some lines that depict a romantic feeling. "All Nature's sweets in joyous circle move, and wke the frozen soul again to love" elicits a sentimental aspect of emotion and romance (484). Another line that encompasses the overall tone of the poem is, "Here the fair Maniac bore three Winter's snows. Here long she shiver'd, stiffening in the blast, the lightnings round their livid horrors cast; the thunders roar, while rushing torrents pour, and add new woes to bleak affliction's hour; the heavens lour dismal while the storm descends, no mother's bosom the soft maid befriends" (388). This collection of imagery and emotion is heightened throughout the poem and I think it is the most accurate portrayal of gothic writing in this time period.
As others above have already touched upon, the overwhelming element of Gothic literature that I can distinguish in Clifton Hill is the dark, brooding emotions that the speaker discusses. I do not understand the poem that well, but I do know that she often discusses death and some of the emotions that death evokes. Like other poets we've read from the 18C, she personifies death, comparing it to winter (line 5). Also, I think her rhythm has a Gothic element to it because it matches the solemn content of the poem.
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