Romantic Period Notes

The Romantic Era of Literature

Culture of the time:
· British Empire became the world's leading power, controlling one quarter of the world's population and one fifth of the total land area.
· The 19th century was an era of invention and discovery, with significant developments in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, electricity, and metallurgy that lay the groundwork for the technological advances of the 20th century.
· Advances in medicine and the understanding of human anatomy and disease prevention took place in the 19th century, and were partly responsible for rapidly accelerating population growth in the western world.
· The 19th century was remarkable in the widespread formation of new settlement foundations which were particularly prevalent across North America and Australasia, with a significant proportion of the two continents' largest cities being founded at some point in the century

Poetry:
· 1798: Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge was published
o Within the preface, Wordsworth defines his theory of poetry, stating that it should be about common people and events and should be written in the language of ordinary men and women
o This idea came from the French and American Revolutions and the writings of Rousseau and his “social contract”
· Poets then fell in the footsteps of these two men

Prose:

Though poetry was the major literary form in this period, two forms of prose also developed: the essay and the novel.

There were three major forms of romantic novel:

Novels of manners
· Took a satirical look at society
· Included Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters

Historical romance novels
· Set in the period before the life of the author
· Usually depicted historical events containing both fictional and non-fictional characters
· Topics were often medieval days with knights and maidens
· Included Sir Walter Scott

Gothic novels
· Inspired by an architectural movement
· The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole was the first of its kind (this was one of Poe’s inspirations later)
· Long stories containing elements of mystery, magic and the macabre with exotic settings
o These tied the reader to terror (suspense and dread) and horror (illustrating a sickening realization)

Conventions of Gothic novels included:

· Use of the supernatural
· Nocturnal activities
· Subterranean regions
· A “Gothic” atmosphere (cathedrals, untamed wilderness, haunted castles, graveyards, apparitions, ancestral curses, ruins, decay, etc.)
· Musty manuscripts and secret documents
· Often dealt with mortality and/or the seat of power being disrupted (like a foiled inheritance)
· Included doppelgangers (characters that mirror each other like unrelated twins (like the black cat)
· Story structure was often like a Chinese box (a story within a story)

The hero of Gothic literature (a Byronic hero) was:

· Has superior emotional and intellectual capacities
· Is lacking in “heroic virtue” which is replaced by dark traits
· Often moody/passionate about a specific issue or task
· Arrogant and confident to their own detriment
· Abnormally sensitive
· Extremely conscious of himself and his decisions
· Usually isolated from the rest of society due to a rejection of morals that he is unrepentant for initially
· Suffers from guilt over a poor decision or horrifying event

Themes in Gothic Literature:
· Cosmic struggle (God vs. Satan, good vs. evil, natural vs. supernatural)
· Sin of pride and delusions of grandeur (thinking one is better than they are)
· Guilt (which the hero suffers from a past deed)
· Gender stereotyping
· Violence against the innocent
· Death interwoven with love


Frankenstein:
· Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel written by Mary Shelley about a monster produced by an unorthodox scientific experiment.
· Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one.
· The storyline emerged from a dream. Mary, Percy, Lord Byron, and John Polidori decided to have a competition to see who could write the best horror story. After thinking for weeks about what her possible storyline could be, Shelley dreamt about a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he had made. She then wrote Frankenstein.
· The first edition was published anonymously in London in 1818 because it was seen as unfeminine.
· Shelley had travelled the region in which the story takes place, and the topics of galvanism and other similar occult ideas were themes of conversation among her companions, particularly her future husband, Percy.
· Frankenstein is considered to be one of the earliest examples of science fiction
· most reviewers thought it "a tissue of horrible and disgusting absurdity"

For Frankenstein

For this text, you will have to pay attention in class as no notes will be offered online regarding the novel. If you are absent, I would suggest that you get the class notes from a classmate that you missed, or make sure you take your own thorough notes while reading.

Frankenstein Test Part 1 Review

Characters:
Alphonse
Caroline
Creature
Elizabeth
Henry
Justine
M. Krempe
M. Waldman
Robert Walton
Victor
William


Terms:

Byronic Hero (Gothic hero)

Qualities of Gothic literature

Frame story

Epistolary novel
Foil
In medias res



Events:
Walton’s departure
Finding Frankenstein
Spark to start story
Frankenstein’s childhood (relevant events)
Frankenstein college
Frankenstein creating
Frankenstein’s illness and cure
William’s death
Justine’s death
Creature’s request



Concepts:
Impact of novel’s structure
Connections between Frankenstein and Walton
Inspirations to create the creature
Justine’s “guilt”
Role of illness as an escape
Creature as evil?
Frankenstein’s allocation of blame
Connections to Prometheus



Paragraph: It has been said that we learn how to parent by watching our own in action; however, Victor Frankenstein seems to not have learned from watching his. Contrast the parental qualities of Victor with those of his family. Here you will want to highlight specific qualities shown by Victor’s parents (3-ish) and examples of them showing them, then show the qualities of Victor as a parent and showing specifics of him going against those qualities mentioned about his parents.

Frankenstein Test Parts 2-3

Characters:
Alphonse
Creature
Elizabeth
Henry
Robert Walton
Victor
Agatha
Felix
Old Man Delacy
Safie
The Turk



Terms:
Ego Centrism (self absorption)
Dilemma


Events:
Creature’s first experiences
Creature and the cottagers
The books creature reads and what they give him
Cottagers’ history
Creature’s other involvements with humanity
Creature’s acts of vengeance against Victor (throughout)
Creature’s request/its results
Victor’s wedding night expectations/results
Victor finally going to magistrate
Victor’s trek of revenge
Victor’s death and the creature’s plan
Walton’s decision to turn back



Concepts:
“Like father, like son.”
Good intentions turning bad
Ignorance as bliss
Innate drive for community (and its changes)
Nature vs. Nurture debate


Paragraph: While Victor consistently refers to the creature as a demon, he is not the only one to blame for the horror that occurs within the novel. In a well written paragraph (of 10-12 sentences) explain and justify with textual proof who the real monster in the novel is. Here you will want to state your position in your opening sentence, then explain how one’s actions are worse than the others in order to thoroughly justify your claim. THOROUGH MEANS MORE THAN ONE EXAMPLE!!!