Introduction to Frankenstein or How we got to

Introduction to Frankenstein or How we got to the Romantic Era

In order to fully understand this era and how to approach the novel, you need to understand that Shelley’s world has recently transitioned from a VERY different era known as…

Neoclassicism aka The Age of Reason The Enlightenment

Definition Neoclassicism is a literary movement of the 17 th and 18 th centuries that stressed the importance of using ancient Greek and Roman (the Classical period) literature as a guide for creation and criticism. Hence, there is the paradox of the term: “neo, ” meaning “new” and classicism, meaning “oldness. ” Come get the handout!

Neoclassical Dates 1660 -1798 Skip to the Who’s Who part and add these names: Jonathan Swift (who wrote Gulliver’s Travels, Daniel Defoe (who wrote Robinson Crusoe), Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson (and all our Founding Fathers), Alexander Pope, Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry

Romantic Era Characteristics v 1798 – 1832 v. Who’s Who: William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley, the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen, Edgar Allen Poe, Washington Irving (the guy who wrote Rip Van Winkle and the stories about The Headless Horseman & Ichabod Crane)

Neoclassical vs. Romantic Now, go to the chart on the bottom of the handout, and see if you can make some educated guesses about which are Neoclassical characteristics and which are Romantic. Use the dates and who’s who, as well as what you’ve read so far of Frankenstein, and “Kubla Khan” We will go over the answers to these after we’ve done some of the notes.

The Pendulum of Western Literature in the Western world can be thought of as swinging back and forth between two artistic ideals: classicism, which stresses following tradition and the rules derived thereof, and anti-classicism (or romanticism), which stresses originality and breaking tradition.

Aesthetics of Identity vs. Aesthetics of Opposition This pendulum swing can also be thought in terms of the aesthetics of identity versus the aesthetics of opposition. Aesthetics is the study of beauty; in this case, beauty in literature The aesthetics of identity says that we find beauty in the familiar; we like art that is like what we have seen before. Thus, classicism is an aesthetics of identity. The aesthetics of opposition says that we find beauty in that which is new and different. That is the creed of the romantic artist.

Types of Novels v Gothic novel : exploits the possibilities of mystery and terror in gloomy landscapes, decaying mansions with dark dungeons, secret passages, instruments of torture, ghostly visitations, ghostly music behind which lurks no one knows what as the central story, the persecution of a beautiful maiden by an obsessed and haggard villain. The real originator of English Gothic novel was Horace Walpole, with his famous Castle of Otranto (1764). v Mary Shelley had obviously read this; she came from a highly educated household and had 2 scholars as parents. These novels, which rebel against the increasing commercialism and rationalism of the era, opened up to later fiction the dark, irrational side of human

More Types of Novels Epistolary novel: a type of novel in which the narrative is carried on through a series of letters. Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740) and Clarissa Harlowe (1748) are among the best known epistolary novels. In the Romantic era, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is an epistolary novel, which begins with Jonathan Harker detailing the trip he’s about to take to Transylvania.

The Transition of an Era: the Pre. Romantics The pendulum begins its major swing to the other side…some of this began around 1750, when Britain was launched on a course of rapid industrialization w/the development of mills and factories belching filth into the sky…families start moving to the cities and toil at machines for 12 -14 hours a day… Writers and intellectuals began to lose faith in the ability of human reason to solve every problem. The thinkers in this Age had looked to science to make life better for humanity (see G. Travels, book 3), yet at what cost comes this “progress”? William Blake, Thomas Gray, and Robert Burns are the poets who exemplify the transition from the formal, classical poetic styles of the early 18 th century to the more emotional manner of the romantic era. Can you think of any other major western world events that are indicative of changing philosophies?

Neoclassical Traits (go back to handout) 1. Emphasis upon objective reason and forethought; 2. 3. 4. 5. logic; planning; strategy Love of classical lit (the Greeks) and literary forms Controlled, restrained writing dealing w/expected, typical, and familiar topics Objects arranged in a balanced and symmetrical pattern Love of city and industry; the elite and educated

Romantic Traits Emphasis on subjective emotion and spontaneity Love of one’s own national literature and literary forms Wild, exuberant writing dealing w/unexpected, exotic, and foreign topics Objects contrasted with each other and/or arranged asymmetrically Love of the country and nature; the peasant; the pastoral and rural life in an idealized country setting

Now, let’s check those charts …

Time to test your knowledge…

Neoclassical or Romantic?

Neoclassical or Romantic?

Neoclassical or Romantic?

Neoclassical or Romantic?

Neoclassical or Romantic?

Neoclassical or Romantic? Now listen…

Romanticism (17981832) A Movement Across the Arts

Romanticism (17981832) One way to remember the tenets of Romanticism is to think of the 5 I’s. Can you think of 5 words/concepts that begin with I that might be applied to Romanticism?

Definition v Romanticism refers to a movement in art, literature, and music during the 19 th century. v Romanticism is characterized by the 5 “I”s v Imagination v Intuition v Idealism v Inspiration v Individuality

Imagination v Imagination was emphasized over “reason. ” v This was a backlash against the rationalism characterized by the Neoclassical period or “Age of Reason. ” v Imagination was considered necessary for creating all art. v British writer Samuel Taylor Coleridge called it “intellectual intuition. ”

Intuition v Romantics placed value on “intuition, ” or feeling and instincts, over reason. v Emotions were important in Romantic art. v British Romantic William Wordsworth, in his preface to the Lyrical Ballads, described poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. ”

Idealism v Idealism is the concept that we can make the world a better place. v Idealism refers to any theory that emphasizes the spirit, the mind, or language over matter – thought has a crucial role in making the world the way it is. It is seeing the world as we would like it, rather than as it actually is. v Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, held that the mind forces the world we perceive to take the shape of space-andtime.

Inspiration v The Romantic artist, musician, or writer, is an “inspired creator” rather than a “technical master. ” v What this means is “going with the moment” or being spontaneous, rather than “getting it precise. ”

Individuality v Romantics celebrated the individual. v During this time period, Women’s Rights and Abolitionism were taking root as major movements.

Origins v Romanticism began to take root as a movement following the French Revolution. v The publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798 is considered the beginning of literary Romanticism. v “Emotions recollected in tranquility” is another big quote from that book’s preface.

The Arts v Romanticism was a movement across all the arts: visual art, music, and literature. v All of the arts embraced themes prevalent in the Middle Ages: chivalry, courtly love. Literature and art from this time depicted these themes. Music (ballets and operas) illustrated these themes. v Shakespeare came back into vogue.

Visual Arts: Examples Romantic Art Neoclassical Art

Music v “Classical” musicians included composers like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Josef Haydn. v Romantic musicians included composers like Frederic Chopin, Franz Lizst, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, and Ludwig von Beethoven

Music: Components v 1730 -1820. v 1800 -1910. v Classical music emphasized internal order and balance. v Romantic music emphasized expression of feelings.

QW: Quote Response At the end of chapter 4, Frankenstein says, “If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your affections and to destroy your taste for those simple pleasure in which no alloy can possibly mix, then that study is certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human mind. ” Translate what he means Agree or disagree with him, and provide reasons why you feel this way. What does this quote shows us about Victor, his character/the lessons he may or may not have learned…

Frankenstein: The backstory Mary Shelley (1797 to 1851) was the daughter of Mary Wollenstonecraft (great feminist writer) and William Godwin (political philosopher) who were a bit radical in that they were opposed to the principles of marriage, and kept separate residences, but married for the sake of her upcoming birth Unfortunately, the mom died 11 days after Mary’s birth, so Godwin later takes another wife, who has kids already, and so there’s this combined household (including her mom’s child w/another man) and, well, it’s complicated.

Brief Bio for Mary Shelley She was free-thinking, revolutionary, highly educated, and from a very literate household. Family has guests like Coleridge (from whom she drew inspiration— “Rime”), Charles Lamb, and soon Percy Bysshe Shelley. She was “singularly bold, somewhat imperious, and active of mind. Her desire of knowledge is great and her perseverance in everything she undertakes almost invincible. ” These qualities plus her beauty

Ø Mary was almost 17 when Shelley and his young wife Harriet were frequent visitors to her family home. He and Mary fell passionately in love and eloped, which according to the principles of free love they all except Harriet believed in, was sanctified by a higher law…Shelley thought this was okay since he no longer loved his wife whom he found far less interesting that this beautiful child of two famous radicals. Ø “Love should have absolute authority in matters of conduct. ” Yet still dad wasn’t too happy with this, which is why they eloped. Ø Shelley seems to have forgotten that Harriet herself was 16 when he married her three years ago. They had a daughter and Harriet was currently pregnant. Ø She drowns herself a few years later.

Mary Shelley Ø By the age of 25, she has been pregnant 4 times: two died in infancy, one miscarried, one had survived to adulthood. These events plus her half-sister’s suicide and Harriet’s death may account for the preoccupation with the solemn terrors of giving birth which form a central motif of Frankenstein. Ø Shelley himself dies at sea with two companions in 1822 (in a storm; and his body washed up on shore 11 days later) Ø It was burned on the beach, but the heart didn’t burn; there were stories of its being calcified. Shelley’s friend, Trelawny, snatched it from the flames and later gave it to Mary.

How the story was born Frankenstein was written when she, her husband, some other friend, and Lord Byron are hanging out at the Shelley home on Lake Geneva in 1816. They were looking for a diversion and so came up with the idea of each trying his/her hand at writing a ghost story. Her idea was encouraged by her husband to turn it into a full-length work.

The Romantic Hero • Who is he? What do you think of when you hear this term? Make a list (in your notes) of v. WHO pops into your mind when you hear “Romantic Hero? ” Think of actors/roles/characters Who’s the romantic lead? v. WHAT traits does he have that make his “Romantic”? What does he look like? His clothes/car/hair/ favorite activities?

The Romantic Hero • Is a character of extremes – often at odds with society b/c not interested in authority or conformity. Scorns and defies it. – Can be obsessive, brooding, dark, self-centered – But is also bold, intuitive, idealistic; becomes consumed with the desire for the “unattainable” & longs for something MORE. – Values emotion over rational thought – Often lives excluded from society and is uneasy w/those who represent the trappings of civilization

The Romantic Hero • Is represented in the mythological character Prometheus. Think about why this novel is subtitled, “The Modern Prometheus. ” • Heaven-storming hero who is defiant against Zeus’ rules regarding man, so represents the ideas that: – The Individual defies established order – Each person must create a system by which to live; individualism over absolutes.

Revisit your list. Can you think of any other Romantic Heroes in literature, movies, or tv?