James Hogg

According to the biography on pages 197-8, James Hogg is one of the unfortunate writers whose rise to prominence did not occur until after his death. Even his friends and contemporaries felt his work was substandard. Sir Walter Scott once stated in a letter: "Hogg's Tales are a great failure to be sure. With a very considerable portion of original genius he is sadly deficient not only in correct taste but in common tact" (197).I however found Hogg's works to be just as, if not more so, gripping than the other works we have read this week. Why is it that despite being looked down upon by his contemporaries Hogg has found himself in their company all these years later? My guess is it was not Hogg's work that was found lacking, but rather his background. It was a well known fact that Hogg worked as a shepherd and was illiterate in his early life. His fellow Romantic authors who spoke so boldly about the aristocracy seem to have some of their own preconceptions of class and worthiness.

The Thorn

Wordsworth's "The Thorn" tells the tragic story of Martha Ray and her troubling life. Represented by the thorn in the poem, she is plagued by heartbreak and the death of her child, which have led to the destruction of her life. Those events "all have joined in one endeavor/to bury this poor Thorn for ever" and as a result, she spends her time upon the hill, crying and lamenting her losses. Her life, once a promising one filled with love, is now one of tragedy and warning to the reader. Her story is mysterious; the narrator is unaware of the circumstances regarding her baby's death. Though she is alive, she has become a sort of ghostly, haunting figure, weeping on the hill for twenty years over the death of her child and the loss of her love. She is unable to escape the tragedy of her past, it is made clear that "the Thorn is bound/with heavy tufts of moss that strive/to drag it to the ground," and she is left to haunt the hill with her misery.

Gothic imagery in Address to the De'il

In Robert Burns' Address to the De'il, I found several instances where gothic images are present. For example, in lines 27, Burns mentions "ruined castles," the color "grey," and mentions a "nod to the moon." The use of light is also evident throughout the poem including the light of the moon as well as how the stars "shot down wi' sklentan (or slanting" light."(line 38)
Burns also mentions spectors and the sounds of "eldritch croon," or ghastly moans throughout the work. The effect of adding the multiple elements of gothic imagery throughout the poem solidifies that this work is gothic, but can it fit into any other genre? Does this imagery comment on the state of the church during this time period, or of political involvement in religious views?

Dreams

James Hogg is a fascinating character. I found his mixing of genres interesting, especially in “The Expedition to Hell” which begins seeming like a serious discussion on the nature of dreams, but ends with the curious case of George Dobson who in unable to escape his dreams. I’m not sure what to do with this inability to escape this nightmare. It’s as if the hell in his mind is real enough to make the real world irrelevant.

In the beginning of “The Expedition to Hell” Hogg talks about the lack of control people have in their dreams. Ideas you try to repress pop up, and those you try to dream about, you never seem to. Some of the poems we’ve read this week have the air of a nightmare that’s come true or rather a dream that turns into a nightmare. I’m thinking about “Ellenore” mostly. The return of William is a dream come true but it ends as a nightmare as she ends up dead. She has no control of her situation once she gets on the horse. She goes in search of the dream, but ends up with the nightmare instead. 

I’m probably overreaching now, but it does make me think about the French Revolution. People had a dream that they tried to create, but then they lost control and it became a nightmare.

The symbol of the thorn

That Wordsworth's poem is about more than a simple thorn on a simple hill is easily enough discerned in the text. The tale of Martha Ray and her woeful cries on the hill that may hold the body of her infant child is one of betrayal, anguish, and love lost. It is a tale of a thorn. The thorn becomes a symbol for her whole ordeal. It is the prick of her lovers betrayal.  It is the stab of finding herself alone and with child. The thorn, overgrown, is the child she may have killed. Just as the story of betrayal is an old tale, so is the thorn itself. This is not the thorn of a rose, balanced with the sweet smell of the flower.  This is the thorn of bitter anguish, without redeeming grace. The scarlet of Martha's cloak echoes the blood this thorn draws.  Just as the thorn is bound with moss to the hill, so is Martha bound to the hill. This is something that transcends the mortal realm. The hill itself has become a symbol, something wholly "other". The hill itself rebuffed the townspeople's intent to find the bones of the infant, it rebuffed mortal intrusion into its otherworldly realm. We can but look upon the hill, we can but mark this sad tale, unable to change it. We are observers, who may, if we are fortunate, glean some lesson from the hill, the moss, the thorn, the pond, and the woman. While Martha may have once been mortal, she is now wholly symbol, undying, unchanging, like the hill itself. And the thorn, which never lives, yet never really dies, like her pain, and the death of her child.

What Is In a Name?

The name Eleanor is of Greek origin meaning "sun ray" or "shining light."Discovering this after reading the ballad conveyed the irony of her name. When thinking of the sun or of shining light, positivity and hope come to mind - in terms of a sense of self or a perspective on life. Eleanor is the complete opposite of this. The way she speaks in the poem portrays here deep sense of hopelessness; that life itself is dark, meaningless, and that there is no longer a reason to live it. As another student mentioned in their blog, Walpole contradicted his character's personalities with their Greek names as well. It is not clear whether this was intended or not be either author, but the contradictions and twists revealed by this irony of name has a great affect on Gothic literature. The characters are not portrayed as they "should" be.

A Twist in my Story

I've always paid attention to imagery, and I love the twist of love that was seen in "Ellenore." Love is always seen as something that brings people closer to life and even light itself. Love is usually as a warm glow through depictions of art and literature, pushing towards a positive point in their life where they truly start living. I thought the correlation that this had with the Christianity belief of love was very interesting as well. In Christianity, that remains the same as well. Love is equal to God (or rather God is love), and to be without God was the same as being without love, ultimately leading to death of oneself or life in the end. What really brought this to my attention was the contrast between Ellenore’s mother and Ellenore in their beliefs in God at the beginning of the poem. The contrast between the two really drew out the similarities of the Biblical views of love. I feel almost as if Ellenore's stance against God because of her dead William was the twist of love in her own destiny in life. It was through William that she found love, but now that he was taken away, she was resistant against God, the one who gave her love according to the Biblical beliefs of which her mother held onto so tightly. It was because she didn't want anything to do with God that she followed her own death as she accepted William’s hand and traveled further and further away from living with him, similar to the Devil dragging the sinners who do not believe into the demise of death with him.

"Ellenore's" Impact As a Ballad

"Ellenore" by William Taylor originally by Gottfried August Burger had an immense effect and strong influence on the English ballad writing revival. It was so popular that it has been translated into many different languages including russian, italian, norwegian and french since its original publishing in german in 1774. Its gothic imagery such "And hollow howling hung in air, And shrikes from vaults arose, then knew the mayd she might no more, Her living eyes unclose", has influenced many other authors like Edgar Allen Poe. Its influence on Romantic literature can still be seen in todays gothic and horror genres like Sleepy Hollow.

Portraying Women: Otranto vs Glenfinlas

In the tale of Glenfinlas by Sir Walter Scott, two men are seduced by a women in green who bears a striking resemblance to the mythological seductress archetype of the "otherworldly" women. This is in clear contrast to the women of The Castle of Otranto who are forced to manipulating events or quietly accepting their fate. The fact that The Lady of the Wood is in charge of her femininity, in that she is complete control of who she loves and is accountable to no one but herself for her actions. Contrasting this is Hippolita who gives up everything of herself for her husband who leaves for a younger woman. These women portray to opposite but important sides of how women were thought of by society, where as Hippolita portrays self sacrifice for the so-called good of her family the Lady of the Wood is purely unchecked desire with no thought or caring beyond what she wants.

It could have been worse

I feel sorry for the Lady rather than the Barron.  I think the ending, having the Lady become a nun and the Barron a monk is the moral of the story.  She had an affair, he killed her lover without knowing it.  The lady is rather bold in her invitation to the Knight.  I think it's great that considering the time, the only thing that happened to her was being branded and becoming a nun.  The Barron could have very easily, and in that time semi-legitimately, killed her.  Despite the fact she became a nun and he never spoke again, they both got off easily.

"The Thorn" and Moss

"The Thorn" is about the energy that resists change, and how that energy can be found both in nature and in society.  The first natural example Wordsworth uses is that of the moss pulling down the thorn: "With plain and manifest intent/To drag it to the ground."  Here the moss acts on behalf of nature; there is almost a natural drive for the thorn to be with ground yet again.  Wordsworth then extends this metaphor to the baby by having the moss cover it in a similar way.  The baby offered change for the woman by bringing "Her senses back again".  The woman's reputation in society was momentarily lifted, but the moss, red with the baby's blood, has laid claim to something again, and has returned that thing with the earth.  Wordsworth may be arguing that, at least at the time, equality for woman was 'out of tune' with the society he lived in, but at the very least he is stating that the same energy, the energy that resists change, can be found in nature as well as in society.

Ghost irony

"The Eve of St. John" by Sir Walter Scott was an ironic poem to say the least.  In popular tradition, bonfires are made to symbolize the warding off of evil and giving thanks for bountiful harvests.  Thus introducing the paranormal spirits into the gothic genre of the tale.
The poem begins with the Baron of Smaylho'me returning home, there he converses with his foot-page of his fair lady's actions.  The foot-page describes to his Lord of a knight who met with the lady the last two nights speaking of a lover's meeting.  Unaware of the true existence of the knight and claiming the union as a fated meeting between lovers, the Lady calls upon the knight into her bower upon midnight.  The Baron's foot-page describes the colors and crest of the knight and the Baron remembers the identity of Sir Richard of Coldinghame, the knight he'd slain nights before.  The Baron is pale and shocked thus he meets his Lady and tells her of the knight's slaying.  Later during the night, Sir Richard appears before the Lady in her bower as she insisted earlier in their meetings but instead of returning for the love of the Lady, he comes to leave a mark of infidelity. "Who spilleth life, shall forfeit life; / So bid thy Lord believe; / That lawless love is guilt above, / This awful sign receive."  It is next revealed that the lady became a nun who avoided the day and her husband, the Baron, a mute monk who spoke none of the ghostly sprite.
There is some good use of blending para-normalcy with character in developing Sir Richard as well as the finale of irony when in fact the lady loves the spirit of the slain knight that her Baron struck down.  Hope this makes some sense.

Prophecies & Morality

Throughout Walpole the prophecy  is displayed as being a symbol for chaos and change for the characters in The Castle of Otranto. Manfred views the prophecy as a symbol of evil in that his name and family will be brought to ruin, leaving him to slowly become insane throughout the course of the book, as he manipulates family and friends to hopefully thwart the will of the prophecy, which only ends in the end of his household. The prophecy itself is chaotic in that it wants the rightful person on the throne and has no qualms about driving people into insanity, committing murder, and manipulating people to achieve it's goals. In many ways the prophecy is a doppelganger to Manfred in that morality and compassion aren't as important as fulfilling the his goals , Manfred to continue his household and the prophecy to put the rightful Lord of Otranto in-charge. This willingness to exempt oneself from morals and compassion is shown by Manfred in his willingness to commit atrocious acts of murder and unwillingness to accept responsibility for his actions.The prophecy itself commits murders and drives people to insanity, setting  up the fall of everyone except Theodore and Isabella so the prophecy can be fulfilled.

Women and Power

As SMJ points out, in “The Castle of Otranto” women have a subservient role. Isabella, Matilda, and Hippolita endeavor at all times to do what is right by God and their male authorities. A key component of the plot is that Isabella acts in a manner that seems rebellious to Manfred by running from him. She, though, is serving a higher authority, which is Providence, and protecting her innocence.

All three women find themselves at one point torn between what the male authorities ask of them and what is right. Manfred and Frederic both have moments where their priority is to obtain a young woman, and they use their power to try to do so. It is fitting then that Theodore keeps his passion in check, and although seemingly of lowly status he treats the female characters with the most respect.

Walpole seems to be making a political statement and commenting on those in power following their misguided whims as opposed to what is right. Manfred and Frederic both act on their passions without regard for those involved. Theodore, however, can’t act on his love for Matilda and is not in the place to force her into marriage as Manfred and Frederic have the power to do with whomever they desire. Perhaps Walpole is using the female characters as a vehicle to portray the corruption caused by excessive use of power?