Frankenstein (Chapters 9-10)

Chapter Eight:

• We learn that Victor's father is close to his sons, and is deeply traumatised by the death of William. 'No one could love child more than I loved your brother... (tears came to his eyes as he spoke)'. Importance of family or companionship?
• Victor yearns to use his kindness to help others, maybe to help with his own guilt about creating the 'monster'? 'thirsted for the moment when I should put them into practice, and make myself useful to my fellow beings'.
• Nature as a refuge is an idea associated with Romanticism. When Victor goes out on the lake to escape the life in the house. 'passed many hours upon the water...gave way to my own miserable reflections'. Idea of peace and tranquility again. Maybe this reflects how Mary Shelley dealt with grief- as her own life was touched by deaths.
• Victor's state of mind isn't healthy- even thinks briefly of suicide. 'I was tempted to plunge nito the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities for ever... I wept bitterly'.

Chapter Nine:

• Romantic, emblematic language used when describing nature- 'imperial', 'glorious', 'sublime'.
• 'elevated me from all littleness of feeling'. The romantic idea that nature acts as a remedy for unhealthy emotions is brought up here.
• The conflict between science and nature is a theme throughout the novel, but it is particularly prominent in the language used here. 'perpendicularity of the mountain... uniform clouds'.
• Sympathy felt for the creature?- shunned by everyone. Only experience of human beings have been negative- he was like a child.
• Use of hellish language when Victor refers to the creature 'Devil!' 'daemon'.
• Creature more intelligent then Victor? Taught himself the language, and points out the wrong doings in Victor.

Frankenstein (Chapters 1-8)

Chapter One:

• Victor seems to have come from a happy, wealthy family background... 'one of the most distinguished'. Seems to respect his father very highly and what he has acheived? Maybe Victor's ambition stems from wanting to be as successful as his father?
• Gothic nature introduced- Death. (Caroline's father).
• His family adopted Elizabeth and introduces the idea of making somebody to fit their surrondings as she was from a poor family. 'Noble Savage'?
• Possession as a theme? Describes Elizabeth as being like a 'favourite animal'.
• Victor's favourite books aren't founded on scientific evidence, so aren't respected in the scientific world. 'sad trash'. But sparks the start of his dream to create life. 'My dreams were therefore undisturbed by reality'.
• Introduced to Henry Clerval.

Chapter Two:

• Victor is sent to university- parents encouraged him.
• Victor's mother dies, yet another death so soon in the novel.
• 'we could not tear ourselves away from each other'- Victor shows how he desperately wanted to remain with his family and friends (companionship).

Chapter Three:

• Victor's fascination with human form (or any animal's structure). Seems a bit obsessive over his dream of creating life. 'I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit'.
• Grim tone, as Victor goes to 'charnel houses' and the thoughts of using dead matter to construct this creation. 'dissecting room... slaughter-house'.
• His enthusiasm and obsession in his creation made him 'like a hurricane'. Destructive element of his nature implied?
• Loss of morality? Tortures living animals to help his work progress. 'tortured the living animal to animate the lifeles clay'.
• Even Victor seems to understand how his creation is grim. 'filthy creation'. 'turn with loathing from my occupation'. He is controlled by his ambition and enthusiasm, despite appearing to dislike what his is doing.

Chapter Four:

• 'dreary night of November'. Weather foreshadowing how things are to turn out? Gothic element.
• 'anxiety that almost amounted to agony'. Victor has now taken a complete turn aound from his rational self earlier on in the novel. He now seems scared.
• Terrifying description of the creature. 'horror and disgust'. After all his work, is scared and disgusted by the outcome.
• Dream about Elizabeth and his dead mother suggests his mind is not settled? Insanity? Gothic element of nightmares and dreams.
• Pity for the creature, as he tries to smile at Victor, but in Victor's mental state, he completely misinterprets the smile.
• 'nervous fever'- Victor is now suffering for his work.

Chapter Five:

• Elizabeth writes letters to Victor, she clearly cares for him. Taking on a motherly role?
• Introduced to Justine- she was taken from her home as well, and it didn't end well!
• Mention of William makes his death even more tragic- he is portrayed as angellic.
• Ends chapter on a happy note- is this to last? 'unbridled joy and hilarity'.

Chapter Six:

• Shock for the reader in that William is dead! Terrible crime, as he was only a child. 'that sweet child, whose smiles delighted and warmed my heart'. Death again touches Victor.
• Elizabeth feels guilt- she feels she is responsible for his death.
• Victor find comfort in nature. '...the calm and heavenly scene restored me'. Romantic element, use of emblematic language.
• More emblematic language- 'noble war in the sky'. Symbolic language.
• References to hell (Gothic element). 'daemon'.
• 'I resolved to remain silent'. Fear of the consequences he should face if anybody found out about him being responsible for the creature.

Chapter Seven:

• Victors shows he knows he is responsible. 'the result of my curiosity and lawless devices would cause the death of two of my fellow-beings'.
• Use of emotive language shows the extent of the guilt Victor is feeling. 'the fangs of remose tore at my bosom'
• Foreshadowing. 'these are not your last tears! Again you shall raise the funeral wail!' More misery to come!

Frankenstein- Preface to Letter IV

Preface:

• Gothic theme already shown- 'cold and rainy' and the theme of ghost stories.
• Why does it say that the novel is Percy Shelley's?
• Sets the tone.

Letter I:

• Gothic theme of dreams/nightmares. 'day dreams became more fervent and vivid'.
• Creates a tense atmosphere- 'danger of death'. Foreshadowing of danger/peril?
• A possible use of the gothic theme of heaven and hell, as there is alot of heavenly imagery used. e.g. 'perpetual splendour'.
• What is Walton doing there? Reader starts to question his part in the novel? But the letters add a more personal touch, drawing them into the story.

Letter II:

• Walton is lonely, and he tells Margeret that he has no friends- reader feels sympathy for him (maybe showing similarites to the monster later on?)
• 'the lieutenant...is madly desirous of glory'. Ambition seems to be a strong theme in the letters.

Letter III:

• Another use of ambition in the Gothic Nature: 'What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?'

Letter IV:

• Again, use of weather is a gothic theme. 'a  very thick fog'.
• Mystery surrounding the 'old man'. Who is he? What is he doing there?
• 'Oh unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draft?'. Walton notices similarities with Victor. Sharing the thirst for knowledge?

Witches in Macbeth

What do the witches bring to Macbeth?
Act One:

• Shakespeare uses the witches here as the introduction to Macbeth. Along with the setting, they help to set the tone for the rest of the play. 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair'. It foretells the way Macbeth gets the crown- his terrible betrayals of trust. Further on in the act, Macbeth repeats what the witches have said, 'So foul and fair a day', possibly portraying the narrow line between him and them? How similar their moralities are. The witches could even be used metaphorically to reflect the evil traits and wrongdoings in Macbeth's nature.
• There is the argument that the witches are a figment of Macbeth's imagination. Although Banquo also sees them too, even he mentions the doubt he has in himself that what he is seeing is real- 'have we eaten the insane root//That takes the reason prisoner?'. Further on in the act and the rest of the play, the idea that Macbeth could be imagining the witches seems more likely, with the apparitions he sees such as the dagger and Banquo's ghost.
• The first moment that the audience is made aware of a prophecy that Macbeth will be king, is when the witches speak of it. 'All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!' This could be said to have planted the initial thoughts in Macbeth's head, and could be said to be the cause of all his murderous acts.
• The witches certainly induce fear within the play, which could mean that they are there simply as entertainment value, and to keep the audience involved. At the time, with King James, the idea of witches was terrifying- many innocent women were accused of witchcraft and killed.
• Lady Macbeth appears in several points throughout the play, to bare striking similarities to the witches- in her language. In scene 5 of act one, she calls to spirits to help her. This seems much like a supernatural element, just like the witches. This point further emphasises the idea that the witches are there to show the thin line between the supernatural evil and natural evil. (Even Lady Macbeth appears as ruthless as them). 'Come, you spirits... all-hail hereafter!'

Act Two

• Despite the witches not being physically on stage in this act, their presence is still felt. In the first scene, Banquo has clearly been disturbed by the sight of the witches, 'I dreamt last night of the three Weird sisters'. It confirms to the audience that there is a reason to be fearful of them, and that they are behind all the bad things happening.
• In Macbeth's soliloquy, the goddess of witches is mentioned 'Pale Hecat's offerings'. It appears here that Hecat is one of the entities responsible for the turning point in Macbeth's speech. He decides here that murder is the way he fulfills his desire for kingship.
• The idea of nature being turned on it's head is most prominent in the fourth scene of act two. When the old man describes the natural order going wrong- when Duncan's horses eat each other. The witches being the supernatural evil could be behind the strange events.

Act Four

• In the first scene of this act, the witches are again used to start the act. They are gathered around the cauldron, using various revolting and horrible things to use for their chanting. Although they are seen here to apparently be using magic, there is no evidence to suggest that they are definately powerful in that way. It could be argued that by Macbeth's willingness to accept and believe all they do, his is in fact giving them their supernatural status. 'What is't you do?' Macbeth is keen to see and understand the acts of the Witches.
• Macbeth, like his wife, uses the language and rhythm of the witches at some points. This further provides evidence for the argument that the witches are very close to LM and Macbeth. It could even be suggested that the witches are just reflections of the natures of both of their characters.

Act III as the 'Gothic Centre' of Macbeth?

How the gothic nature of the play has been used to heighten the tragedy of Macbeth by the end of Act III.

• Morality. At the time of Shakespeare, King James I (England) was obsessed by the idea of witches and witchcraft. Extensive hunts and burnings of witches occured all over the country, and thousands of women were killed after being accused. It has been said that it was these 'Burning Times' that inspired Shakespeare to use the 'weird sisters'. Even if you do not follow the chirstian religion, you will more than likely adhere to the ten commandments. It was these Christian morals that sparked the witch hunts, as they were closely associated with the Devil.
• In Act III of Macbeth, the murder of Banquo is shocking, as initially we are introduced to him as being a friend of Macbeth. It highlights the downward spiral of Macbeth and his sanity, as he is clearly becoming paranoid and insecure.
• In previous scenes, it is clear that Macbeth is aware of the wrong in murdering. He is reluctant to kill Duncan, and is seen to be feeling the guilt of his crime. It is in act III, however, that his morality can be said to have decreased alot.
• Supernatural (and Witchcraft). The theme of witchcraft becomes prominent in the fifth scene of Act III. The three witches are meeting with Hecat, the goddess of witches. Hecat is angry at them for going above their station in seeking Macbeth, and would have been frightening for audiences in the time already obsessed with the idea of witches.
• The ghost of Banquo also appears to Macbeth, again drawing attention to the hallucinations he has (the dagger in Act II). This could further give evidences for Macbeth's unhealthy mental state, and possibly the idea that he has a moral conscience. Despite the fact he appears bloodthirsty and willing to kill again, the apparition of Banquo's ghost could hint at the remaining morals within Macbeth.

Macbeth- Act IV (in progress)

Scene One:

• Immediately we are introduced to alot of gothic elements in this scene. The thunder is a typical gothic setting- bad weather.
• The three witches appear to be reciting an incantation, creating potions and spells. This would have been shocking to audiences when this play was written (early seventeenth century) because witchcraft was feared and many women accused were burnt. To actually hear the chants would have made a big impact. 'hell-broth...Fire burn... Finger of birth-strangled babe'. The image of the murdered child is yet another example of the death of a child. (When Lady Macbeth describes how she would kill her own child, and the murder of Macduff's son later on in the act). The witches use alot of language relating to evil or language that conjures up unpleasant imageries. It shows further how nasty the company is that Macbeth is meeting with (willingly, now).
• 'Something wicked this way comes'. When the second witch exclaims that Macbeth is arriving, it could be reflecting how his morality is pretty much non-existent now.
• Another gothic element present in this scence are the the apparitions arrive. One of which is a 'Bloody Child', which could foreshadow the coming murder of Macduff's son. This apparitions says how nobody will harm Macbeth, except one who is not human- 'none of woman born'.
• After the third apparition, one of Macbeth's sections of speech (Lines 93-100), he begins to speak in rhyme. The same rhythm of the witches suggest how similarly evil Macbeth is to the witches. It almost sounds like one of their chants.

My View on Lady Macbeth

• Originally, I found Lady Macbeth unrelenting in her ambition. I thought that she was an unpleasant person who used her manipulative ways to persuade Macbeth into murdering the king. She was cruel in her criticism towards her husband, calling him a coward.
• She also seemed to be a violent character, with her horrible description of how she would kill her baby. Despite this speech of how she would keep her word, she still refused to murder Duncan herself because he resembled her father. In my eyes, this makes her character quite hypocritical.
• She also shows no remorse for the part she played in the murder, as although she admits she is equally as guilty as Macbeth, she brushes it off, revealing that she feels it is easy to forget what they had done, and easy to ignore the guilt. Her cold attitude made me dislike her, as she was unsympathetic and nasty towards her husband. (Even though it is suggested they have a loving relationship by the way Macbeth writes to her).
• Lady Macbeth is a good actress, who uses her status as a woman to her advantage, to create the image of innocence at the scene of the murder. She swoons at the idea of murder. Although previously she had become the dominating, almost masculine, figure in the plot to kill the king.
• Despite her initial enthusiasm, when she sees Macbeth beginning to think of killing more, she appears to shrink back. She allows her husband to take more control than he had previously, almost as if she regrets planting the first seed of thought into her Macbeth's head. She even asks him what is to be done, whereas before she had been giving the instructions.