Romantic Themes in Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein
Key Romantic Themes in Wuthering Heights
Nature & the Sublime: The untamed Yorkshire moors reflect the characters’ turbulent emotions, particularly Heathcliff’s.
Emotion & Passion: Characters are driven by intense, destructive emotions, especially the passionate love between Catherine & Heathcliff.
Individualism & Isolation: Heathcliff’s outsider status and isolation drive the plot and atmosphere.
Supernatural Elements: Gothic elements like ghosts and eerie occurrences contribute to
Read MoreShakespeare and Elizabethan Era: Life, Plays, Language
Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Era
Queen Elizabeth I reigned during Shakespeare’s lifetime. She enjoyed plays, dances, and other forms of entertainment. She was particularly fond of Shakespeare’s plays. In some of his plays, Shakespeare cleverly included passages referencing the Queen and events that occurred during their time.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Summary
- In Athens, Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius, who is her parents’ choice, and elopes to the woods with Lysander.
- Helena, aware of the plan
Lope de Vega & Calderón: Masters of Spanish Golden Age Theatre
Lope de Vega (1562-1635)
Born in Madrid of humble origin, Lope de Vega was self-taught and had a very lively love life. In 1579, he was banished.
Poetry and Narrative
He wrote traditional lyric poetry, sonnets, and epic poetry. In his love and religious poetry, his autobiographical background lends intense emotion. He achieved remarkable quality in the novel Dorotea. His rich lyric poetry included traditional forms and sonnets; he also wrote epic poetry. As a narrator, he cultivated the novella, the
Read More19th Century Aesthetics: Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism
Romanticism:
- Characteristics: Individualism is revealed against all objects, expressing the artist’s intimacy and a subjective view of reality.
- Denial of Reality: The world imposes limits, producing romantic frustration. The reaction to reality is evasion or rebellion.
- Defense of Freedom: Freedom of thought is the basis of Romanticism, considered essential, rejecting neoclassical rules.
- Nature: The natural world acquires importance in art. Landscapes are intricate, harsh, or desolate, reflecting the
Types of Narrative Worlds in Fiction
Everyday World Narratives
When the reality depicted in a narrative closely resembles our own, representing facts and daily life as accurately as possible, it creates a familiar and realistic effect on the reader.
Key features include: detailed descriptions of landscapes, people, events, and characters, along with objectivity.
Caution: Narratives set in an everyday world adapt to the specific time period they depict. Therefore, just because the events in a work don’t align with our current reality doesn’
Read MorePoetics in Antiquity: Key Concepts and Thinkers
Poetics: Creation and Imitation
Poiesis is akin to creation. Poets exist because they are creators. The idea persists that God created the world through words, leading to the belief that words possess creative power.
The Power of Words in Creation
Some believe words hold magical power over reality, citing examples like:
- Mantra: A series of syllables with religious meaning, believed to cause effects in reality if pronounced correctly.
- Wen: A rhythmic pattern found both in poetry and potentially in the