Discussion 1:

Last week you browsed some general information about Gothic (most of it applying to novels). Does anything you learned about Gothic apply to these poems, and if so what? And what do these poems have in common in terms of tone, mood, and theme?

Here are a few observations of my own. Take them or leave them; feel free to respond to them, respond to someone else, or add your own observations.

(Note: I'm withholding my rankings till after the due date so I don't unduly influence anyone.)

The Graveyard School
This was not an organized group but various individual poets who wrote about a common theme, namely death. Of course writing about death was not new, but they wrote about it in a new language—darker, gloomier; appealing to reason and morality, yet also creepy and appealing to emotion. The eighteenth century was not the age of puritans. Vice was rampant, crime was on the rise, sin was everywhere, and the world was a-changing. Traditional structures—nobles and peasants—gave way to new, strong economic forces, so that it was no longer the church and the crown (or the parliament) that wielded absolute power, but merchants, speculators, and men of means. These poets must therefore find new, stimulating ways to convey old ideas of following a moral path, living a virtuous life, and taking care of one’s soul.

"A Night-Piece on Death"
It is interesting that the speaker abandons books and authors to seek wisdom elsewhere, the wisdom of death. Death speaks in the poem and says what John Donne said of Death: death is nothing scary but merely a transition on the way to join God, who holds true wisdom. Notice the contrasting images: the weak blue candle by which the speaker reads versus the deep blue of the night sky and heaven.

"Night Thoughts"
It’s a difficult poem in terms of language, but the message is simple. In this section, the speaker warns of not being prepared for death. Everyone must die, but the mistake people often make is thinking they will never die. This is pure folly.

"The Grave"
Lines 14-16 are worth admission alone: “Dark as was chaos, ere the infant Sun/ Was roll’d together, or had tried his beams/ Athwart the gloom profound.” Now that’s dark! Also, a possible allusion to Hamlet (not the only one) in lines 68-71: the dead king also roams the night and must disappear with the first crowing of the cock. (Don’t forget the graveyard scene in Hamlet—that play is a rich vein of pre-Gothic Gothic!) But I think my favorite passage is the stanza about the widow clinging to her dead husband’s grave: sad and moving, yet weird and terrifying.

"Ode to Fear"
William Collins was friends with Thomson, another graveyard poet, who wrote The Seasons (worth checking out, though I didn’t include any since even the excerpts are quite long). Poor, mad William Collins! Another mention of Shakespeare as the poet inspired by fear (think Macbeth). The poem ends with a sort of worshipping of fear, not just a basic awe; this seems particularly Gothic.

"Ode on the Death of a Kitty-cat"
If you haven’t read "Elegy in a Country Churchyard," that definitely is a poem to read. Churchyards were also graveyards, and an elegy a poem about someone recently dead, so there’s much Gothic treasure in those verses, not to mention a few famous lines. But this poem is also interesting. Cats are traditionally associated with the Gothic. Consider Halloween or the stories of Poe. Note that the feline in this particular poem belonged to none other than Horace Walpole, author of the first Gothic novel, which we shall discuss shortly. The poem has that didactic flavor of the boneyardists, a warning to the reader yet also playful. Make no mistake, the topic is still death.

"The Castaway"
The Task is much too long a poem to tackle in this class, so I chose this one. Cowper is of a different caliber and time period than the previous boneyardists, but his work still fits the genre. A couple of quick notes: his name is pronounced “Cooper,” he was a favorite poet of Jane Austen, and, like Collins, he also went mad. Unlike many of the other boneyardists, Cowper was not a clergyman, but his father was. In the poem, the phrase “misery still delights” grabs my attention and reminds me of the idea common at the end of the century that one can find delight by entertaining gloomy thoughts. For one thing, they make one’s own situation seem a bit less gloomy. Then again, the closing stanza makes Cowper’s situation seem gloomier than the sailor’s; but perhaps the reader’s is less gloomy compared to both.

Discussion 2:

*Four chapters from Smollett's Count Fathom, not a Gothic novel but a precursor

*An earlier precursor, a scene from a Congreve play that possibly influenced Smollett

*Burke's work (well, a few excerpts anyway) about the sublime

*The Aikins' consideration of why scary things delight

Please remember not only to post but also to reply to peers. This is a discussion, so interaction is key.

I expect you to address at least a couple of the prompts below, but feel free to comment on other things related to the texts (or pose questions, always a good conservation starter). By the way, if you notice any of the prompts being neglected, please consider starting a discussion about it. This will be helpful for the midterm: better to discuss an idea now than wait for a test question!

Prompt 1: COUNT FATHOM
Consider Smollett’s chapters. I realize without reading all of Ferdinand Count Fathom you won’t know the details, who’s who, etc. But focus on the events in the middle of each pair of chapters: Fathom and the spooky house, and Melvil and the tomb. What is Gothic about these passages? That might seem like an obvious question, so let me rephrase it. Concentrate on specifics: Is there a phrase, a description, a particular action or statement that strikes you as interesting, Gothically speaking? What do you think? Keep in mind this was first published over a decade before the first “Gothic” novel.

Prompt 2: THE SUBLIME
Consider the evolution of this idea, from Dennis and Shaftesbury, to Addison, Burke, and the Aikins, not to forget the poets: Thomson, Akenside, and Young. Does anyone make a point that particularly speaks to you about how readers respond to the sublime, or how you in particular do? What do you think of the idea of delight derived from terror?

Prompt 3: BIRTH OF GOTHIC
Given what you have read and discussed the past two weeks, do you have any new thoughts about the origins of Gothic literature? Why did it pop up when and where and how it did? What was going on in society that made the horror of the sublime so appealing?

Discussion 3:

WALPOLE
Rather than give any specific prompts this time, I want to leave the discussion wide open. Post your own thoughts, observations, insights, or prompts regarding the first Gothic novel. Be sure to interact with others. I will post some of my thoughts later and look forward to reading yours.

This is the novel that kicked off a trend, so you likely approached it with certain expectations. I'm curious whether or not they were met, or even exceeded. I'm also curious how this story fits your preconceptions of what Gothic is, or if it redefined Gothic for you at all.

Discussion 4:

My prompt for the first week is simple. As you start reading, how does this novel differ from the last? Obviously, the story is different, the characters are different, yes, yes ... But what about the style, tone, themes, approach? Keep in mind this novel appears three decades (a full generation plus) after Otranto. So how has the Gothic novel developed? (Consider how this novel is similar to its predecessor as well.)

Discussion 5:

1. How does Radcliffe develop her Gothic technique? Did she surprise you? We discussed Walpole's fast, chaotic pace as a technique to create confusion and agitation in the reader. But what about Radcliffe's pace? How does she keep us interested as the story unfolds, and what stands out to you as particularly “Radcliffean”? (Perhaps something you hadn't noticed as much earlier on.)

2. As the novel unfolds, in what ways does it become even more unlike Otranto? Or ... In what ways does it seem more like Otranto? At least one of these must be the case, and possibly both. So discuss.

Feel free to add to these considerations.

Discussion 6:

Discussion 7:

Second, and just as important: Has your concept of Gothic literature changed, and in what way?

As we get into The Monk, I expect more comparisons between it and The Italian than we had between Radcliffe and Walpole. For one thing, only one year separates their publication (as opposed to thirty). Second, although some claim Radcliffe was responding to Lewis, it is probably more accurate to say that Lewis was responding to Radcliffe's earlier Gothic novels. Both are about a dark, sinister monk. But other than that they are very different, and critics regard them as prime examples of two divergent strains of Gothic—terror and horror.

Discussion 8:

Discussion 9:

1. TERROR AND HORROR
How do Radcliffe and Lewis differ in this regard? Do you have a preference and why? Which is more "Gothic" (if one is more Gothic than the other)? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?

2. SENSIBILITY
What is it and what role does it play in both novels?

3. MORAL/IMMORAL
Read the "Vindication" of the book (again from last week). Do you agree or not and why? Do you think the novel corrupted or endangered morals, promoted them, or ... what?

4. THE SUPERNATURAL
What is the role of the supernatural in Gothic and how important is it?

Discussion 10:

Feel free to riff away on anything related to the reading. But here's just one possibility:

How does the horror/terror of the mob compare to the other horrors, the tombs, the Inquisition, etc.? And is there anything to compare to the mob in Radcliffe?

Discussion 11:

These are Romantic writers. Romanticism has a specific literary meaning. It is different from Gothic, but influenced perhaps by it. For a good explanation of this era of Romanticism, read the "begin with" link and visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism

Discussion 12:

A helpful link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satire

And now back to our regularly scheduled prompts.

1. Is Gothic satirical by definition? Has anything we've read so far been satire? Flipping the question around, are these pieces by Austen, Peacock, Browning, and Ingoldsby Gothic as well as satire?

2. What is your favorite of these pieces and why?

Discussion 13:

Second, how does Poe change Gothic. Or does he?

Discussion 14:

But in the last half of the 19th century, we have a kind of gap between Gothic and neo-Gothic, coupled with Poe's mighty influence. Perhaps this is a dormant period or maybe a time of experimentation. But the stories and poems for this discussion show that Gothic was still alive and kicking. So the question is: in what form? How do these works compare to earlier (or later) ones?