"Last Man"

—Millennialism 

—Often apocalypses take place after a new millennium occurs

—Belief that the world runs on a 1000 year cycle

—Major transformations for society in 1000 year intervals

—Considered a factor in many religions

—Christian millennialism is seen in the belief of the Second Coming

—Prophecies predict the “Revelation of John” to last 1000 years prior to the Second Coming

Environmental Apocalypse

—Environmental

—adjective

—1.relating to the natural world and the impact of human activity on its condition: acid rain may have caused major environmental damage

— aiming or designed to promote the protection of the natural world: environmental tourism

—Apocalypse

—2.an event involving destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale: a stock market apocalypsean era of ecological apocalypse

"Darkness"

—“I had a dream, that was not at all a dream”

—dream theory

—Many biblical references

—Adds to the apocalyptic setting

—Strengthens ethos

—Over reaction in panic due to loss of passion

—Momentary period of equality

—Byron’s fondness of animals and nature

—Humans have progressed too far

—“She was the universe”- Hindu god Kali (seen on blog)

—Mt. Tambora

—Iambic pentameter, but not rhymed

"The Last Man"

—Shows extinction of one man, versus the entire race

—More explicitly Christian viewed

—Shows hope in afterlife despite death

—More lyrical/ballad feelings, similar to “Rhyme of Ancient Mariner” when spoken out loud

—Interest contrast to “Darkness”-

—Focuses the sun’s death, still showing light

Connection

—Campbell discusses that the two poems are similar because he and Byron had a discussion about the topic of environmental ruin.

—This casual discussion was said to have influenced both writers dramatically

—Feels as though “Darkness” sets the scene while “Last Man” adds a human narrative

—Byron shows extinction of a race

—Campbell shows extinction of the last individual

Cycle:

—Step 1: Man has become far too advanced

—Step 2: Man creates some “new advancement”

—Step 3: The “new advancement” back fires

—Step 4: Apocalypse occurs

—Step 5: Human sacrifice of “Last Man” to recreate human world

Motif in Film

—9

—Tim Burton film showing an apocalyptic world where there is no human life. A scientist who saw the evil created 9 dolls to harbor the 9 aspects of his soul who ultimately bring life back.

—http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnoJecu9e7c

—WALL-E

—The environment is destroyed, no inhabitants on Earth, little robot running around looking for  sign of life. 

Motif in Literature

—Adam and No Eve

—Short Story by Alfred Bester about a man who creates a shuttle like invention and realizes from space that his launch created a catalyst that destroyed life on earth. The story ends with him committing suicide so the bacteria in his body can recreate evolution and eventually human life. 

Gothic Drama Presentation

Grand Guignol

• The most common type of Gothic Drama, usually containing over the top gore.

Began in France at the Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol, or, the Theater of the Big Puppet 

Examples of Grand Guignol 

ÒUn Crime dans une Maison de Fous, by André de Lorde: Two hags in an insane asylum use scissors to blind a young, pretty fellow inmate out of jealousy.

ÒLe Baiser dans la nuit by Maurice Level: A young woman visits the man whose face she horribly disfigured with acid, where he obtains his revenge.

ÒA modern example of Grand Guignol would 

be Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Pantomime

ÒStarted in ancient Greece.

ÒBecame popular in the Mideaval Era. (In Hamlet, they mention a “Dumb Show”, which is a pantomime of the play they are about to see).

ÒEnglish pantomime was influenced by the  commedia dell'arte.

ÒBy the 1800’s, pantomimes were mostly adaptations of fairy tales.

Hippodrama

ÒA type of theater in which horses played a major role.

ÒSome productions include Don Quixote de la Mancha, The Blood Red Knight, and Shakespeare adaptations.

ÒA modern example of Hippodrama would be the show at Mideval Times.

ÒIn 2009, an  equestrian verison  of Ben Hur was preformed at the O2 in London.

Censorship

ÒNo plays publicly performed until permission granted by Lord Chamberlain

Ò“does not in its general tendency contain anything immoral or otherwise improper for the stage”

ÒExaminer of Plays read for Lord Chamberlain – “the most powerful man in England or America”

ÒExaminer could “alter expressions against his rules” to make plays more appropriate and performable

ÒPenalty of fifty pounds for defying the Censor

The cenci

ÒPrivate performance for the Shelley Society in 1886 after permission for a public performance was refused by Lord Chamberlain

ÒMomentarily a “defeat of the Censor,” but the man who lent the theater to Shelley was punished by Chamberlain and there is “now a clause in the lease of that theatre stipulating that no performances of unlicensed plays shall be given in it”

ÒNot publicly performed in England until 1922

Sources

ÒCameron, Kenneth M., and Horst Frenz. “The Stage History of   Shelley’s The Cenci.” PMLA 60.4 (1945): 1080-105.   JSTOR. Web. 21 April 2013.   http://jstor.org/stable/459292.

ÒShaw, George B. “The Censorship of the Stage in England.” The   North American Review 169.513 (1899): 251-62. JSTOR.   Web. 21 April 2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25104865.

The Cenci and Apathy of Compassion

Throughout the play I realized the apathy that the characters seemed to posses towards the victims of Beatrice and everyone her father has tyrannized. The Pope who is suppoused to be the most compassionate character by definition of a follower of God shows the least compassion to any of the character's and says simply "They must die" for the crimes they committed. The lack of compassion is the catalyst for the entire play in that it's Francesco's lack of empathy that allows such evil acts to exist and ultimately brings about his death. Beatrice's unwilligness to actually kill her father and commands others to kill him was an interesting development because as the main person that he has tormented and killed her brothers I naturally assumed that she would "want" to be the one kill her father herself and her unwillingness to actually do the deed shows she still has some compassion left. This shows to us the the reader that not all characters are morally bankrupt and gives us a more sympathetic nature to Beatrice. The fact that at the end Beatrice and everyone is killed do to the need for "justice" for Francesco even though he was a absolutely horrible person shows the morally dark nature of this play and that no one is capable of truly protecting themselves. The inability of compassion in this play shows the nature of that people in this world who can't protect themselves aren't going to live very long, or that there going to pay for being weak with there lives.

Shelly's legacy

Frankenstein influence in modern culture is very relevant in all forms of media entertainment and advertisements. One of the things in which I find very interesting is that the idea of man’s creation having its free will is retold many times in different stories and genres. An example, is the movie I robot. The movie centers how robots, whose purpose was to serve mankind is suddenly turned against their creators. The robots begin to wreak havoc and thus begin a story of survival. However, during the movie one of the robots begins to act like the monster in Frankenstein as well thus the themes remain similar. Shelly’s legacy is seen throughout all forms of storytelling media and her presence will remain with us so as long her story remains told.  

We are the Monster

What is the legacy of Frankenstein? In both graphic novels posted, we themes presented that endure to this day. Mary Shelley was more than a writer. In many ways she was a prophet of the 20th and 21st century. Electricity, biotechnology, limb replacements, "designer" genetics, gene therapy, all these innovations in many ways go beyond what Mary Shelley envisioned, and yet are becoming more and more commonplace today. In a way, we are all Mary Shelley's children. Our culture also bears the mark of Victor Frankenstein.  Those researching  stem cells, splicing human and animal DNA and other areas are accused by their detractors of "playing God." The question of "how far is too far" is perhaps even more relevant today than during the time the novel was written. We are also Victor Frankenstein's children. And what of the monster? Our culture is becoming more and more heterogeneous. Immigration, gay rights, multiculturalism, and other issues have stratified this country more than at almost anytime in history. At a fundamental level, groups in this nation speak a "different language" and lack an understanding of the thoughts and motivations of others. Such a culture reacts with fear and violence when confronted by that which is does not understand. We are the children of the mob and the monster. Which leaves us with a question. Will we be the children of Prometheus? And what does that mean? Does it mean reaching to lofty heights and falling miserably, or does it mean daring to reach beyond what is known into the unknown, and carry the "fire" of knowledge and science as far as possible, no matter the cost.

Lord Byron's "Darkness"

"Darkness" has an overarching sense of hopelessness.  It was impossible for me to read it for symbolic meaning on my first couple of readings; I was too involved in the images themselves.  The cannibalism left a knot in my stomach, and I think it's genius how Byron moves from grandiose language on the global scale to such small details as a specific dog guarding the corpse of a specific master.  It is vague and very specific at the same time.

Byron's "Darkness" seems too dreamlike to be real yet too real to be just a dream.  The reader can't help but feel that Byron has received a glimpse into the future.  The last few words "She was the Universe", also remind me of Kali, a Hindu goddess sometimes associated with darkness and destruction.  Reading those few lines I could have sworn I was reading an Eastern text.

The Cenci and Violence: Victims and Despair

One nature I thought was very interesting about the play that we're reading was that this is the first time we've been in the viewpoint of a woman who "is" truly a victim, many female characters of the works we've read are victims of circumstance or by the actions of another party, but not nearly to the physical or emotional degree of Beatrice Cenci. Count Francesco Cenci, her father who is the most sociopathic character i've ever seen, and absolutely relishes, violence and milks the misery of those lives he destroys in the most twisted and brutal ways possible for all it's worth.  The violence he enacts on people is simply astonishing to see and truly makes me wonder whether he is a human incarnation of evil itself. Francesco's physical and emotional violence enacted on his entire family in nothing short of disgusting, and the fact that nobody tries to offer any assistance to the family for fear of Francesco makes this entire play a lesson in that you have noone to protect you but yourself. The fact that Beatrice and her mother are nothing short of slaves to Francesco's whims and are treated little better than servants fills the reader with a tender sympathy, but also  a frustrated  sense of anger, or atleast to me, because Beatrice nor her mother seem to fight Francesco or they waited until something truly horrible happened, but that just shows the beaten down personalities of both woman and the staff because they are so afraid they can't even voice an true opinion. This entire play filled me with a absolute and pure disgust for Francesco and personally I was glad he died, but yet I can't help but feel terrified for Beatrice and her mother, because this world certaintly doesn't feel like a kind place towards woman.

Lord Byron the Pessimist

From the stories and poems we have read over the course, though they have been dark, typically most of them seem to have a brighter outlook. Either grasping onto the idea of hope or bringing out reforms and awareness, yet in Byron's poem I didn't really get that vibe. More than anything it is definitely bleak and I found it very interesting that Lord Byron's poem, "Darkness" was partly influenced by the weather and the mass hysteria that came out of it. In the poem, Byron points out that much of what we take for granted (sunlight, produce) can easily disappear and there really is nothing in human nature that can guarantee it. He's reminding people that though a lot of things go right, just as many things can go wrong and there is no true security in life.