Sample Student Research Project 2018: Essay
LITR
4328 American Renaissance / Model Assignments
Sample Student Research Project 2018:
Essay
Alexis Gomez
November 28, 2018
Exploring the Sweet and Sour in Literature while in the Depths of Hell
The gothic is a term that most people can
identify in regard to scary movies and stories. The gothic was first identified
through art in the seventeenth century (“The Gothic”) and has since flourished
from everything to movies, shows, books, poetry and some of the stories we have
read in class. As defined in class, the term gothic is a genre or style of
literature that appears throughout Western literary history (“The Gothic”); it
is often associated with the terms "horror” and "terror." While the term gothic
is widely known even by people who are not well versed in literature, the term
sublime is not. Before taking this class, I understood a general idea of the
word “gothic,” but the word sublime was not something understood well enough to
identify within texts. The usage of the word “sublime” is normally incorporated
by authors who are producing a text which is gothic. The sublime can be
identified in texts when something beautiful is mixed with either terror or
danger; typically, it is on a magnificent scale (“The Sublime”). The sublime
often takes a gothic story and transcends it to something more terrifying and
thrilling for the reader to enjoy. The gothic and the sublime are complementary
devices that make a text stronger and more enjoyable to read when they are used
in conjunction together. Using the mixture of sublime and gothic imagery allows
for readers’ imaginations to flourish. This research will focus on the
combination of sublime and gothic in “Ligeia” by Edgar Allan Poe, “Rip Van
Winkle” by Washington Irving, The Fall of the House of Usher,” by Edgar Allan
Poe and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
to showcase the effectiveness of this literary tactic.
It is well known that Edgar Allan Poe heavily
incorporates the world of gothic within his texts; however, it was not until
further looking into his text “Ligeia” that I was able to notice his grand use
of sublimity throughout the story. In paragraph four, Poe incorporates both the
use of gothic and sublimity in his text when he describes Ligeia as having “skin
rivalling the purest ivory, the commanding extent and repose, the gentle
prominence of the regions above the temples; and then the raven-black, the
glossy, the luxuriant and naturally-curling tresses, setting forth the full
force of the Homeric epithet, "hyacinthine!"(“Ligeia”) At first glance, I only
noticed the gothic symbols of the color coding, which would be the comparison
between the colors “ivory” (light) and the “raven-black” (dark). It was not
until I did some researching that I noticed that the word “hyacinthine” is a
plant that “sprang up from the blood of the slain Hyacinthus”
(“thefreedictionary:hyacinthine”). Therefore, not only was Poe using the color
coding of light and dark, but also the imagery of blood with the incorporation
of hyacinthine. While the use of gothic is evident, the sublime is also present
in the way in which he is describing Ligeia. Poe goes from describing her as
beautiful with the reference to the ivory and then turns her hair into something
terrifying, simultaneously raising her up above everything else when Poe writes,
“the gentle prominence of the regions above the temples” (“Ligeia” [4]). By
putting Ligeia on a pedestal, he glorifies the image of Ligeia, thus making her
grander and sublime. Poe’s usage of the sublime in his text allows for the
reader to get a better grasp on the terrifying gothic nature that is Ligeia.
Poe uses the gothic in combination with the sublime
not only to describe the interesting admiration the narrator has for Ligeia, but
also to describe some of the settings that surround the characters in his tales.
For example, Poe writes, “the chamber stood on end a gigantic sarcophagus of
black granite, from the tombs of the kings over against Luxor, with their aged
lids full of immemorial sculpture...phantasy of all. The lofty walls, gigantic
in height—even unproportionably so” (“Ligeia” [16]). Poe outlines the funeral
casket filled room in a creepy way by describing it as a “phantasy,” which can
be deciphered as phantom-like or fantasy-like, establishing a majestical,
beautiful connotation within the room. Similar to that of the description of
Ligeia, he elevates the room by saying it was “lofty” and giant but still in a
gothic “unproportionable” way. In his article, Hans-Ulrich Mohr argues that the
sublime is often used in regard to one’s surroundings because it allows the text
to become an “aesthetic experience and thus links history to nature, which is
conceived as landscape with a ‘sublime and picturesque’ dimension” (391). The
use of the sublime and the gothic is what gives the piece its unique flair; Poe
is not only able to use the sublime in regard to his character’s attributes, but
also their settings, which add another element of complexity to his usage of the
sublime.
In the story “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington
Irving, there are some elements of sublime within its text. The text does not
have as many elements of the gothic like “Ligeia” or
Frankenstein, but overall the gothic
is present in this story throughout most of the settings which take place in
nature. One example of the sublime occurs right after Rip and his companion come
across a strange figure carrying a keg of liquor up the “wild mountain” (“Rip
Van Winkle” [17]). Irving writes, “yet there was something strange and
incomprehensible about the unknown, that inspired awe and checked familiarity”
(“Rip Van Winkle” [17]). This line exhibits the sublime in that the strange and
unknown (which is often associated with fear) is turned into something that is
inspiring and essentially beautiful at the same time.
For the reader, hints of the sublime intermixed
with gothic elements of nature elevate the emotions of the reader by allowing
them to picture something they fear (the unknown) with something they are
inspired by, which further showcases the impact using both gothic and sublime
elements has.
The short story “The Fall of the House of
Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe again incorporates the use of gothic elements in
conjunction with hints of the sublime. One example is when Poe writes, “It was,
indeed, a tempestuous yet sternly beautiful night, and one wildly singular in
its terror and its beauty” (“The Fall of the House of Usher” [30]). It is here
that the mixture of the beautiful and terrifying is highlighted. Poe uses
contradictions to convey the sublime. The way in which he contrasts the
turbulent weather to that of a beautiful night encompasses the definition of the
sublime.
Another example of the use of the gothic and the
sublime is when the narrator says, “A cadaverousness of complexion; an eye
large, liquid, and luminous beyond comparison; lips somewhat thin and very
pallid, but of a surpassingly beautiful curve; a nose of a delicate Hebrew
model, but with a breadth of nostril unusual in similar formations; a finely
molded chin” (“The Fall of the House of Usher” [10]).
This quote allows for the reader to vividly picture
his friend Roderick Usher’s terrifying yet beautifully molded appearance. Poe
combines grotesque and magnificent aesthetics when he describes Usher as having
a corpse-like complexion and pale lips and then suggesting his eyes and lips are
beautiful because of their luminous shine and their curvature, respectively.
Timmerman argues, “In the majority of Poe’s Gothic tales the narrative point of
view is first person, and, significantly, the reader is also placed into the
mind of this leading character-narrator who is only a step away from insanity”
(228); thus, the contrast that is produced by using gothic and the sublime
together is enhanced because the reader has a stronger emotional tie to the
narrator. Since the readers are placed in the narrator’s shoes, the narrator’s
perspective feels more real, making the story more dramatic.
While all of these texts seem to showcase some
sort of use of sublime in the gothic stories, Mary Shelley was the only author
from the books I have read to actually give the definition of “sublime” in her
novel Frankenstein. When the character Walton is writing letters to his sister
and describing his feelings about his trip, he says, “It is impossible to
communicate to you a conception of the trembling sensation, half pleasurable and
half fearful” (Shelley 12). It is interesting that Mary Shelley described what
sublime is supposed to mean through the characters she created in her gothic
tale. Mary Shelley incorporates the sublime further as Victor is describing his
feelings in regard to the monster that he had just created when he says,
“Delighted with surprise, I embraced her; but as I imprinted the first kiss on
her lips, they became livid with the hue of death…I held the corpse of my
mother” (36). Here, something beautiful (Elizabeth’s lips), turned into
something horrific (Victor’s dead mother), which truly encompasses the idea of
the sublime.
This combination of beautiful and horrific
imagery gives the reader a different sensation than if Shelley had only used one
or the other. Had Shelley not used sublime in conjunction with the gothic, the
piece would not have been perceived as dark or impactful to the reader.
In her essay titled “The Sublime: A Study in Emotional Contrast,” Kimberly
Hall says that, “it [sublime] was asking me to move out of any comfort zones and
take in the most pleasurable and terrifying scopes of human emotion at the same
time” (“2016 Midterm Assignment”). The sublime that Mary Shelley places in the
mind of her readers when she says that Victor was going to kiss the love of his
life, then takes a turn by revealing that it is instead his dead mother, which
takes the story to a darker and more sinister level that it had not previously
been.
Another instance in which Mary Shelley incorporated
elements of the sublime is when Victor says, “but now that I had finished the
beauty of the dream had vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my
heart” (36). Mary Shelley uses sublime to contrast the grand, beautiful idea of
Victor’s creation to the disappointing, horrific reality of the creature he
produced. This is important for the reader as the use of sublime reveals
Victor’s true emotions towards his creation. Contrasting something beautiful
with something terrible puts the reader on an emotional ride because one is
going from something that is usually perceived as pretty, good, or safe to
something that is the opposite of these traits. Woodward says, “The
sublime…translates the scission between the self and the world hood of the
world….it illuminates the self and renders the self within the between and
scissions of self and nature” (80). Using the sublime connects the character’s
internal emotions and perceptions to their external settings in their story, and
thus, the contrast is highlighted more.
With this research in mind, Mary Shelley was
indeed playing with the sublime by saying that Victor’s beautiful dream, which
were internal, were made into his reality but were not as he thought; therefore,
they turned something beautiful into something terrifying at the same time.
While it seems as though all of the authors
mentioned above have a good grasp on how to incorporate the sublime throughout
their pieces to elevate their texts so that it becomes more horrific for the
reader, not all authors utilize this technique as effectively. For example, “The
Minister’s Black Veil: A Parable” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a gothic tale about
a minister who may be keeping sinister secrets behind his veil; in this story,
the author essentially only uses the sublime once in his text. The story has
some gothic elements; however, the piece does not reach its full potential until
Hawthorne incorporates the sublime as he writes,
“A subtle power was breathed into his words.
Each member of the congregation, the most
innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast,
felt as if the preacher had crept upon them,
behind his awful veil, and discovered their
hoarded iniquity of deed or thought…An unsought pathos came hand in hand with
awe” (“The Minister’s Black Veil: A Parable*) [14]).
It is with these lines that the sublime is
brought to the forefront. The “power” that was given to the words seems to
elevate everything the minister was saying, while the contrast of the innocent
girl to the harden man shows two opposites. The preacher’s creeping behind his
awful veil adds to the gothic nature of the story, while at the same time the
people are still in “awe” of what the minister is saying. It is precisely at
this moment that the reader and the congregation in the story are having the
same reaction to the minister’s sermon. It seems as through the story only grabs
the reader’s attention after the usage of sublime is presented to the reader.
Had Hawthorne incorporated the usage of the sublime earlier or more consistently
throughout his text, the readers attention would have been captured more
effectively.
This class has allowed me to read works of
literature in a different light; had I not taken this class, I am not sure I
would have ever identified or understood how the usage of sublime can transform
a text into something more terrifying and grand. Reading gothic texts can seem
spooky or scary, but it is not until sublimity is added that it allows for a
chill to go up a person’s spine. Overall, through my research and analysis of
the concepts of gothic and sublime in “Ligeia” by Edgar Allan Poe, “Rip Van
Winkle” by Washington Irving, “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan
Poe, and Frankenstein by Mary
Shelley, I have attempted to showcase the effectiveness this this literary
tactic. Poe, Irving, and Shelley each utilize the combination of gothic and
sublime elements in a way that provokes the readers emotions and attention.
Through analysis of the texts it was interesting to see how different
Hawthorne’s short story was to read compared to others due to his lack of
sublime elements. Thus, it is clear to see that the impact of using gothic and
sublime together has a significant role in how the reader perceives, reacts, and
relates to the characters, settings, and overall tone of the literature.
Works Cited
“The
Fall of the House of Usher.” Dr. White’s Course site.
[http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/texts/AmClassics/RomFiction/Poe/PoeUsher.ht]
“The Gothic.” Dr. White’s Course site.
[http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/terms/G/gothic.htm]
Heritage, American. “Hyacinthine.” The Free
Dictionary, Farlex, 2016,
www.thefreedictionary.com/hyacinthine.
“Ligeia.” Dr. White’s Course site.
[http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/texts/AmClassics/RomFiction/Poe/PoeLigeia.ht
m]
“The Minister’s Black Veil: A Parable.” Dr. White’s Course site.
[http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/texts/AmClassics/RomFiction/Hawthorne/MinsB
lkVeil.htm]
Mohr, Hans-Ulrich. "Sublimity, History, and
Revolution: Barlow, Dwight, and Irving."
Amerikastudien/American Studies, vol. 43, no.
3, 1998, pp. 391-404.
“Rip Van Winkle.” Dr. White’s Course site.
[http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/texts/AmClassics/RomFiction/Irving/RipVanWin
kle.htm]
“Sample Student Midterm Answers 2016: Kimberly Hall
“The Sublime: A Study in Emotional Contrast.” Dr. White’s Course site.
[http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/4232/models4/midterms/4328mt16/2ShEs/
2bHall.htm]
Shelley,
Mary Wollstonecraft, 1797-1851.
Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus : the 1818
Text. Oxford ; New York :Oxford University
Press, 1998. Print.
“The
Sublime.” Dr. White’s Course site.
[http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/terms/S/sublime.htm]
Timmerman, John H. "House of Mirrors: Edgar Allan
Poe's 'the Fall of the House of Usher':
Document View." Papers on Language &
Literature: A Quarterly Journal for Scholars
and Critics of Language and Literature
(Southern Illinois Univ., Edwardsville), vol. 39, no. 3, 2003, pp. 227.
Woodward, Guy. "American Sublime." American Journal of
Theology and Philosophy, vol. 37,
no. 1, 2016, pp. 79-84.
"Great Star" flag of pre-Civil War USA