Decay

Throughout the course, we have read several poems, short stories, and even some prose that discusses decay, decaying, and withering away. Although in some of them, it is talking about physical decay, there is a lot of emotional decaying, psychological decaying, and, in some instances, even the atmosphere is decaying. Death is a normal part of life, but decay is as well. It needs to be discussed more in depth, and addressed, rather than just “accepted”. From the moment we are born, we begin to decay, ever so slowly; we decay even after life has ended.

            First, “The Thorn” by William Wordsworth is a prime example of more than one kind of decay. In the first couple of stanzas, it discusses the thorn being beaten down and entombed, growing old and decrepit, slowly decaying with age. It discusses how difficult it is to imagine the thorn young and alive and growing, looking at it now- grey and old, entombed in a rocky grave.

            The thorn, however, is just a metaphor. It describes the life of the woman in the poem, later identified as Martha Ray. She was once very young, very “green”, and with age comes the “greying”. Challenges and milestones in life represent the rocks closing in around her, sending her closer to decay.

            Physical decay is most commonly portrayed, as death is a normal subject of poetry. Another poem that discusses physical decay, or, more importantly, the fear of it, is “When I have fears…” by John Keats.

            John Keats discusses his fear of death and dying in this poem, and his regrets of the chances he never took when he had the opportunity. Fear of the death is normal, especially if they are on death’s doorstep, but regret is another concept.

            Regretting not taking a chance could haunt you forevermore, and it plants itself in the mind of the fearful, slowly decaying their every thought. Soon, it’s as though the thought of death has decayed the brain from any sort of happier thoughts. Even more slowly, the fear of death begins to consume and decay the fearful, dragging them into their graves much soon than needed; maybe this is because they begin to decay so much mentally that it projects itself physically.

            Fear is a form of decay, in most instances. It is a decay of the emotional (or the mental- it can drive a man insane), which will, in turn, decay the person physically, just as “When I have fears…” represents. Another poem that accurately describes the decay into madness is “Macbeth”, from William Shakespeare, when compared to “Romance of the Forest” by Ann Radcliffe.

            Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo, which starts the decay of his mind. Then, Lady Macbeth starts to question her husband’s sanity as he slips farther and farther into madness. His decay of the mind presents several other decays in Macbeth’s life- his physical well-being, and his relationships with his friends and his wife, Lady Macbeth; his insane babblings and outburst during the banquet really reflect the madness within.

            Almost a mirror image, in “Romance of the Forest”, La Motte begins to decay into madness, leaving Adeline and Madame La Motte to worry for his well-being. His is, though not as clearly insane as Macbeth’s behavior, far more mysterious and distrusting of others, especially the Marquis. Just as Lady Macbeth feels guilt, so does Madame La Motte- she feels “a pang of self-accusation”. However, more interestingly, Adeline suffers anxiety attacks about La Motte’s mental decay, and the toll it is taking on him- physically as well as mentally.

            Some characters are destined to destroy themselves, to rot within their own minds, and they bring the decay and destruction down upon themselves. Manfred in “Castle Otranto” is a prime example of self-decay and destruction.

            A prophecy is foretold, and that thought consumes his every action. He begins to decay mentally, trying his hardest to disprove this prophecy and, ultimately, it destroys his mental health and kills his only remaining family. This is, in a literary sense, a very drastic and sharp level of decay within the mind, mixed in with loss of his consciousness, and his own pride.

            The thoughts of immortality can cause decay- maybe not into madness, but decay into obsession. In “An Ode to a Nightingale”, Keats discusses his intense desire to become immortal through song and poetry, maybe a thought turned perverse through obsession and decaying him slowly into a mad obsession. The barrier between fantasy and reality is slowly erased, and the two may leak together, in a sort of giant mind bubble that decays their very soul.

            The effects of drugs, specifically opium, mirror this; it can cause a sane man to question everything he knows is reality, or could make him desire his deepest fantasies. It could cause him to decay physically by not taking care of himself. It could make him lose himself in his own mind, trapped within his own head, unable or unwilling to admit his thoughts to others.

            “The Brownie of the Black Haggs” and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” are two very prime examples of thoughts within, and a physical desire turned into something of an obsession, or intense fantasy, which they stop at nothing to make become a reality.

            It could become a hopeless situation, and desires may bleed into their everyday life. There is some constant that keeps the main characters of these poems somewhat sane, whatever those things may be. It keeps them from completely decaying and losing their mind, or withering away into nothingness. It keeps them from an unhealthy level of obsession, or snaps them out of their obsession with a swift kick of reality. Desires and fantasies are part of a normal mind, just like obsession can be quite normal- so long as it is under a lot of control. Just like the sun and the moon, there is two sides to every person, and not every thought they have is spoken to someone or spoken out loud.

            Sometimes the decay can be one of friendship or relationships. Significant others do not last forever, love does not last forever, and friendships are somewhat strained to the point of breaking. It can emotionally decay a person to be in a poisonous relationship or friendship, until they have nothing left to lose or give. Adeline is a prime example of this, as she sits in the forest, singing and reflecting on her falling out with Madame. Those troublesome thoughts can nit-pick in her brain, and decay her emotionally, so she has spent all of her tears and can scream no more, for she has no voice.

            Decay is a natural process, that can slowly become unnatural, and can turn the best people into empty shells, or worse, a monster of little remorse or control. A monster that can no longer decay, and it sits, waiting to die, or waiting for someone else it can drag into its hell,  so long as they no longer have to suffer alone.

The Nightingale

In "Ode to a Nightingale", the nightingale represents Keats' mortality. He loves it, because although it is mortality, it's song is immortal, which is exactly what he wants to become through song and story. But at the same time, he hates the nightingale, as it means that he will surely die, and there is no way of telling when or how, and if he will become immortal through song and poetry or not.

Known and Unknown Monsters

When we are introduced to Lamia she is described as a serpentine monster with some redeeming human features. Only after receiving aid from Hermes does Lamia become a beautiful woman. Geraldine seems to be normal throughout “Christabel,” aside from several hints: needing help over the threshold in line 131, the growling dog in line 148, and the mark on her chest in line 252. Yet even though Lamia is the more physically monstrous, Geraldine strikes me as more evil. Lamia is motivated by her desire to be with Lycius. Geraldine is never given any motivation but the reader is still led to believe she has some ill intention. The mystery surrounding Geraldine makes her appear sinister. In reality there is not much to indicate that Geraldine is evil but Coleridge sets the reader up to believe that she is. Keats describes a monster but gives her motivation that is somewhat innocent. Geraldine, to me, is more frightening than Lamia because she is entirely mysterious.

Fears and Regrets

In John Keats' poem "When I have fears...", he discusses two things that make him stick out in our hearts, and connect on a different level with him; he discusses fear and regret. We all have some fear or fears, and he isn't too afraid to admit that he is afraid: he is afraid of death, of dying at such a young age, and he is afraid of missing opportunities. The opportunities he has already missed make him regret that he never pursued them. How many people can say "I have no regret?", and truly, madly, mean it? There are next to none who can. I personally cannot say that. But what was Keats really trying to tell us, underneath all of this fear and anguish and regret from this poem? Maybe he was telling us exactly what could happen, if you just stop being afraid, and take the leap of faith. Or maybe he's trying to warn us NOT to take that leap, because it could lead to regret and remorse.

Opium the key to the subconsciousness

In the confessions of opium eater on of the interesting aspects of the story which it crosses is the boundary between reality and fantasy. The main character in the story explores what is created for him in his subconscious from his desires to the fears he has. One thing to note is that drugs of any sort that enters the body affect the brain and sometimes changes the whole functionality of the brain. With this in mind, the drugs seem to unlock a further truth inside himself in which he didn't realize without the drug. Therefore, his desire to seek the higher truth makes him want it more and eventually becomes the addiction. The opium in the story could be represented as a key to the subconscious mind the main character ignored. Often times the story goes in to the perceptive of what most drug uses in our time face, not the law, but themselves. 

To the Lilly

On pg. 75 we get the “Sonnet to the Lilly” which Adeline sings while she is sitting in the forest. She has been feeling sad because she has lost Madame’s affection and she doesn’t know why. However, this morning nature calls to her and she finds herself in a picturesque scene. The paragraph leading into the poem describes how the scene make Adeline feel better. 

Radcliffe actually wrote this poem for the novel, so unlike the epigraphs at the start of each chapter that set the scene, the poem is consistent with the character and expresses Adeline’s emotions. The poem expresses a very Romantic idea of finding comfort in nature. A few paragraphs before Adeline lamented the state of her relationship with Madame LaMotte saying, “I have lost that affection which was my only comfort.” However, in this beautiful environment she is able find comfort and hope. 

Placing a poem in the middle of prose also changes the pace of the chapter. Up till this point, Adeline hasn’t said much. The narrator tells us what she is feeling, but in the poem we get to see her emotions fully expressed, even if it is through song. It reveals a certain amount of innocence to Adeline. I remember in Catholic school being told that lilies represent virtue and purity and I think the lily represents the purity and innocence of Adeline. I think you have to have quite a bit of innocence in you to be able to be moved to hope by nature when everyone you care about seems to be turning away from you. She does not harden her heart; she opens it to other things.

Mystery & Sanity

"Hence, horrible shadow!

Unreal mockery, hence!" 

These lines are spoken by Macbeth upon seeing Banquo's ghost, an event that symbolizes Macbeth's descent into madness. Lady Macbeth begins to lose trust in her husband and his sanity at this point. Similar, this quote begins a chapter in which many of the characters continue to lose trust in La Motte. His wife still believes that he is having an affair with Adeline, and his private meetings with the Marquis leave the rest of the inhabitants of the abbey uneasy. La Motte's behavior becomes increasingly mysterious throughout the chapter, specifically in his encounters with the Marquis, leaving both Adeline and Madame La Motte worried for his well being. Adeline suffers from "anxiety for the welfare of La Motte" in the same way that Lady Macbeth does during her husband's insane outburst at the banquet. Madame La Motte views "the mysterious conduct of La Motte" with "a pang of self-accusation," and feels guilt similar to Lady Macbeth's guilt over planning the murder of the king. Quoting this specific act from Macbeth makes the reader skeptical of La Motte's sanity and intents as well, and adds to the mystery of the novel. The quote also lends a gothic tone to the chapter by referencing such a well known scene with supernatural elements.

Hope

A recent theme in some of the stories being read is hope. Now, what's the difference between "The Brownie of Black Haggs" and the hope portrayed in that story, as compared to "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"? In "The Brownie of Black Haggs", hope is portrayed in three different ways. One is the colley that will never hunt again, for fear of the gun; that is completely against it's nature, and so maybe there is some hope for humanity. On the mirror side, the hound that chases the fox almost to the point of death, til it cannot physically chase it's enemy anymore; chasing the enemy is natural, but it is supernatural to chase the fox to the point of near death, and so maybe humanity will follow this route. But some of humanity is expressed through Mrs. Wheelhope, who, literally, has no hope of survival. Her supernatural obession destroyed her relationships with everyone she knew, and, in the end, it took her life.
Compare "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". In that story, it is, at points in the Mariner's story, hopeless. And yet...something happens, and hope is restored. Maybe it is an act of God. Maybe it's the fact that when things go wrong, such as the death of the Albatross, the Mariner is shamed and guilty, and is either punished or punishes himself, laying down his pride and anger and grief. Or maybe it's sheer dumb luck. But if you mirror the actions of the Mariner to humanity, we may destroy something unintentionally, but if we lay down our pride, and apologize and do what we can to fix the mistake(s) we made, perhaps salvation and hope will again rise up with us.

The Poetry of Nature

I thought it was interesting that Coleridge says in the “Origin of ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’” that he uses the combination of moonlight and sunlight to portray “the poetry of nature”. The supernatural is viewed in both darkness and light in this poem. He speaks of this woman referred to as “Life-In-Death” who kills all of his shipmates and takes him for herself. Right when he fears there is no hope for him, Heaven’s angels come and recuse him and help steer the ship back to his land. Coleridge uses the moonlight to show the Mariner praying for help and then watching the angels by moonlight come to rescue him. This is the most obvious use of light and dark. However, I think Coleridge was using light and dark to portray “nature” in many different ways. Besides the obvious use of darkness and moonlight, and light and dark supernatural events, I believe Coleridge was also describing human nature in “the poetry of nature”. The Mariner made a great mistake and suffered, but once he was given redemption, he decided to devote his life to love and reverence. It starts off dark and ends with a light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. I believe Coleridge used many forms of nature by using light and dark to show actual nature, supernatural nature, and human nature. The combination is the true poetry of nature to Coleridge.

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.

Prophecies and Destruction

I found it interesting that the central force behind this story was a prophecy. Prophecies seem to always be the subject’s self-destruction. This story is a perfect example of self-destruction based on a character’s fear of prophecy fulfillment.  The prophecy states, “the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it". In the beginning, Manfred fears his people’s whispers of the prophecy. It seems to loom over him. After the death of his only son, Manfred goes to extreme lengths to try and secure his lineage. He still has Matilda, but due to the perceived necessity of a male heir, he ends up killing his daughter and only other heir. This fulfills the prophecy he tried so incredibly hard to disprove. He made it true by trying too hard to disprove it and ended up losing his family over it.