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Questions About The Music Pavane Galliard

2013-06-16T19:47:00.005+01:00

1) What is a false relation? Identify the location of a false relation in bars 17-33 of the pavane.

A false relation is a type of dissonance that occurs in classical polyphonic renaissance music. There is a false relation in bar 13 between the top part and bottom part. The bottom part is playing a G natural where two beats later, the top part plays a G sharp.

2) Name the harmonic device used in bars 54-57 of the pavane.

There is a dominant pedal of A in the bottom part.

3) In bar 1 of the galliard, how does the music played by the fourth part down relate to the music played by the top part?

The fourth part in bar 1 creates syncopation by imitating the bar 1 of the top part one beat later. The fourth part also inverts the melody creating further syncopation.

4) How does the top part in bar 22 of the galliard relate to the same part in the previous bar?

It is a repeat of the previous bar with the only difference being that bar 22 is transposed one note higher than the previous bar 21.

5) What are the main similarities and differences between the pavane and galliard?

The main similarities are that: They were printed on the same piece of paper to save paper. They are both composed by Anthony Holbourne. They have the same structure of AA BB CC. Both have no dynamics or tempo markings. Both have five parts where it was universal to what instruments were sued.

The main differences are that:

Pavane is a sad sorrowful piece of music compared to Galliard which is happy and upbeat.
Galliard has even phrasing unlike Pavane.
Pavane is a slow piece compared to the more lively fast Galliard.

6) Which features of NAM 13 suggest that this was not music intended for actual dancing?

The music, being Pavane of NAM 13, was not intended for dancing to because of the uneven phrasing and slow tempo. This made it difficult to dance to. As well as this, the mood of the music is sorrowful making it difficult to dance to. This is made clearest through the tonic to dominant falling motif in bar 1-2 in the top part of Pavane. This falling motif represents grief in Elizabethan music.

7) Which features of NAM 13 indicate that it dates from the late Renaissance?

NAM 13 has elements which indicate its from the late Renaissance period due to the:

Falling tonic to dominant motif at the beginning of Pavane in the top part which represents grief in Elizabethan music.
Instruments used. Holbourne doesn't specify which instruments to be played because in the Renaissance period, music was composed for all instruments or instruments that were lying around the home at the time.
Two pieces being printed together. Printing music in the Elizabethan period was still a new concept. For this reason, to save paper when handwriting the music out, the two pieces of music would be on the same piece of paper.
Hemiola in Galliard at bar 14-16. The triple pulse changes to a duple pulse creating syncopation. This was a common characteristic of triple time dances written in the late Renaissance/early Baroque period.

Planet of the Apes (1968): The Hunt (opening) By Jerry Goldsmith Analysis

2013-06-16T19:40:00.000+01:00

Below is a complete analysis of the A2 Music work Planet of the Apes (1968): The Hunt (opening) looking at all the elements of music with some taster questions at the end. Feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you.

Be sure to check out the other A2 musical pieces and AS musical pieces I have analysed on Ask Will Online.

Introduction

Planet of the Apes was written by Jerry Goldsmith who wrote up to 200 film scores such as Alien and Star Trek.

Texture

There is a homophonic texture at bars 1 - 3 with the strings playing the accompaniment. The texture is then monophonic when the piano at bar 4 plays the main theme.

The Horns are in unison at bar 54 creating a sound like a bellowing Ram’s Horn.

The texture is thickest at bars 55 - 57 when Goldsmith uses the full orchestra.

Bars 55 - 58 uses the Bassoon, Double-Bassoon, First Trombone, Cello and Double Bass playing very low to make a droning noise.

The texture thickens at bar 89 - more instruments are being played with the added use of side rum rolls. This increases the tension which signifies the music moving to the next section. In this case, the score finished but, ‘The Hunt’ continues.

Harmony

The harmony throughout Planet of the Apes: The Hunt contains a lot of dissonance. This helps to create panic which is what the audience would be feeling as they see the humans being hunted by apes.

In the double bass part at bars 52 - 57, There is an E flat to E natural over a bar at a time. The dissonance comes from the sustained E flat in the Harp which clashes when the double bass plays the E natural.

The clashing E flat and E natural at bars 55 - 58 in the Bassoon, Double-Bassoon, First Trombone, Cello and Double Bass.

A minor second interval is sustained at bar 75 in the Violin I/II.

Tonality

The piece is not atonal but based around C - the C is used like an anchor.

The tonality switches more to G when the piano riff moves from being based around C to G.

C is used as an anchor note at the start in the Timpani and piano.

Instruments

The piece uses standard percussion instruments plus tamboo, timbales, bass resin drum, conga and vibra-slap.

There are an unusual instrument selection such as an electric harp, electric bass clarinet and piano: these are not common instruments in an orchestra.

The English Horns or ‘Cor Anglais’ will sound a fifth lower than scored.

The Bass Clarinet will sound an octave lower than recorded.

A ‘Ram’s Horn’ sound is used at bar 52 to create panic. This is a Jewish religious instrument. A ‘ Tibetan Horn’ is also used at bar 52 onwards during the climax. This is a ten foot long horn.

The Horns, Violins, Flutes and Piccolos are playing at the top of their range at bars 55 - 58.

FLutter tonguing (‘flutter’) is used by the Trombones along with a mute (‘a 2 plungers in’) at bars 55 - 58.

Melody

The piano plays the main theme which is first heard in bar 4. The piece begins and ends on C which provides a slight sense of a tonality.

The piano plays the main theme again at bars 8 - 9. This theme, again, begins and ends on C The tone row is from surrealism music which is where the motifs come from.

The piano melody uses notes from the chromatic scale. This supports the piece being a surrealism piece.

There is an ostinato of the main theme at bars 11 - 22. It has been transposed to G now instead of starting and stopping on C. Although dissonant, there is a tonality at heart.

There is an inverted pedal at bars 11 - 13 in the Violin I/II part. This inverted long-held note moves to a semi-tone dissonance at bar 13.

The piano motif transfers to the Electronic Harp and Woodwind at bar 23.

The Trombone has the ‘long-held note to dissonance’ motif at bar 23 which has been made one beat longer. There is also the first time use of a crescendo during this motif in the Trombone creating anticipation.

At bar 26, Strings are playing fragments of the Wind parts from the start of the piece, bars 30-13 and 35 - 37.

The double bass adopts the Congo rhythm from bar 16 at bar 27.

There is the reversal of the ‘long-held note to dissonance’ motif a bar 40 in Flutes 1/2. The motif starts with a dissonance first and then to a long-held note.

The main theme, first heard in the piano at bar 4, returns. The ostinato starts in the piano again from bars 45 - 51 moving back to C as the tonal center.

The Electronic Bass Clarinet which ‘squeaks’ and Electronic Harp with a ‘slow reverb * buzz’ at bars 52 - 54 is used to represent the chatter of apes.

There is a glissando is the Horns at bars 55 - 58.

The main theme/ostinato reappears at bars 59 - 73 based on G. The motif has changed though. At bars 11 - 21, the motif is in triple meter. Now, though, it is in quadruple time. As a result, two more quavers have been added to the motif’s riff being G sharp and D sharp. This creates a semitonal dissonance to the G natural and E natural in the right hand of the piano.

The Violins doubles the piano ostinato at bars 59 - 73.

The Cello and Double Bass now has three motif motif at bars 59 - 73.

The crescendo on the sustained not (long-held note to dissonance motif) has been transferred to the muted Trumpet at bars 63 - 65.

Dissonance occurs at bars 68 - 69 from the ‘long-held note to dissonance’ motif. However, the dissonance is not a semitone anymore but a tonal dissonance. The dissonance has been doubled by the Piccolo and Xylophone forming a three note figure.

There are ‘harmonics’ at bars 68 - 73.

There is a brief relaxation in tension during the minim movement at bars 76 - 80.

The 3rd ostinato of the final section is shadowed by the Bassoon playing crotchets.

There is the expansion of the third ostinato (descending semitones) at bars 90 - 91 in the strings, English Horns, Bassoon and Double Bassoon.

The Viola is shadowed by the English Horn at bar 89 with the Viola and Cello moving in contrary motion.

Rhythm and Metre

The piece starts in 3/4 (three crotchet beats to the bar).

The time signature changes to 5/4 (five crotchet beats to the bar) at bar 10. This is used to mark the end of the section.

The Conga Drum creates syncopation at bar 16 with it’s quaver riff with decoration notes.

There are cross-rhythms between the Wind and String instruments at bars 42 - 43 creating syncopation.

There is a diminution version of the ‘long-held note to dissonance’ motif at bar 75 which is at the start of a minim movement.

There are three ostinato-like motifs in the final section starting at bar 84:

Ostinato 1) The piano is playing like a syncopated percussion at bar 84 with clashing inverted major sevenths of B flat and A. It could also be seen to be playing repeated minor seconds.

Ostinato 2) There is a rhythmic variant of a semitone pattern in the Flute and Piccolo.

Ostinato 3) The repeated quaver based figure in the lower strings (Viola and Cello) that begins and ends on B flat and A and is falling in semitones.

These three ostinato motifs creates syncopation from each other.

Structure

The structure is dictated by visual images from the film.

The motifs of the main theme gives the piece a bit of structure.

The end of the first section is at bar 10 due to the change in time signature.

The next section lasts from bars 10 - 22 (where the time signature changes again.

The first climax of the piece is at bar 41.

The second climax is at bar 52.

The final section starts at bar 84 and is based on the three simultaneous ostinatos previous to the final section.

1. What is the relationship between the parts for bass clarinet, first bassoon and horns in the first three notes of bar 10? Remember to take account of the transposing instruments.

All the instruments have the same rhythmic feature of two minim followed by two quavers (one quaver for horns). The horns and first bassoon are playing in unison because the horns are in F. Therefore, if it is scored as a G, they are playing a C lower down which is what the first basson is playing. The bass clarinet is playing a tone higher being a D providing a minor 2nd clash creating dissonance.

2. What is the sounding pitch of the trumpet in bar 63?

The trumpet is playing in B flat. This means the trumpet will sound a major 2nd lower than scored. At bar 63, the trumpet is playing a sustained high A. This is transposed to the sounding pitch of G.

3. What term describes the relationship between all of the strings and horn notes in bar 75 beat 1?

At bar 75 beat 1, the strings are playing in unison with every part playing G.

4. What special effect do the trumpets use in bars 71-73?

The trumpets use a sudden forte followed by a piano in bars 71-73. The dynamics changed on the long held sustained note with a diminuendo and then crescendoing.

5. Compare the piano part in bars 11 and 59.

At bar 11, the piano part has an ostinato based on G (this is the main theme). At bar 59, the piano has the same ostinato on G. However, the meter has changed from triple to quadruple time. Therefore, as a result, two extra notes have been added to the ostinato being G sharp and D sharp. This creates a semitonal clash with the G natural and E in the right hand of the piano creating dissonance.

6. Explain the terms riff and cross-rhythms, giving examples of each from NAM 44.

A riff is a short repeated phrase, frequently played over changing chords or used as a background to a solo improvisation. There is a riff in the piano part at bars 11 and 59. A cross-rhythm is a is a form of polyrhythm in which the regular pattern of accents of the prevailing meter is contradicted by a conflicting pattern and not merely a momentary displacement that leaves the prevailing meter fundamentally unchallenged. This is present in the piano’s ostinato that moves throughout the piece from triple to quadruple time and so on..

7. What helps establish a sense of tonality is bars 1-22 of this work, and what helps to destabilise that sense of tonality?

The tonality is stabilized by the use of a pedal note on C at the start of the piece in the piano and timpani. This first time the main theme is heard in the piano at bar 4 also starts and finishes on C, suggesting the piece is in C. When the piano starts it’s riff at bar 11, it is transposed to G. Although dissonant, there is a tonality at it’s heart.

The tonality is destabilized from the dissonance of the piece due to semitonal clashes such as at bar 41 (at the climax) in the flute, clarinet and violin I and II. This piece does not have any cadences in it making it difficult to center the piece around any tonality. Instead, we have to see what pedal notes are used when to determine it’s link to a slight tonality.

On the Waterfront (1954): Symphonic Suite (opening) by Leonard Bernstein Analysis

2013-06-16T18:13:00.005+01:00

Below is a complete analysis of the A2 Music work On the Waterfront (1954): Symphonic Suite (opening) looking at all the elements of music with some taster questions at the end. Feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you.

Be sure to check out the other A2 musical pieces and AS musical pieces I have analysed on Ask Will Online.

Introduction

On the Waterfront is piece music which has been taken from a film and adapted to orchestral music to be played to an audience (film music to orchestral music).
On the Waterfront was is a dark film because it is about the story of a lonely individual. We can expect the music to be along the same theme.

Texture

The texture at the start (bars 1-5) is monophonic.

There is a two part canon from bars 7-12.

The texture moves to homophonic at bars 13-17. It then moves back to monophonic after that playing in octaves.

The dynamics and texture drops at bar 62.

There is a homorhythmic tutti (all in) at bar 78 with a forceful bitonality of G, C sharp and now D. It is homorhythmic for 10 bars.

The texture turns homophonic at bar 85.

Harmony

The harmony is dissonant which is clear from the blues scale used creating a non-functional harmony.

There is dissonance at bar 16 in Trumpet 1 and Harp of a semitone (F flat and F).

Tritones are present during bars 24 -31 of the G in the Piano and C sharp in the Timpani 2.

The Percussion, when entering at bar 32, is dissonant because the score does not state any pitches.

There is an augmented 5th interval in the Horn 1-4 part at bar 106.

There is a chordal tritone in the strings at bar 108. Violin II is playing a sustained chord of B major while Violin I is playing F major. F-B is an augmented 4th. The sustaining chords creates dissonance throughout the Coda.

The Horns at bar 108 features a tritone of G and C sharp.

Tonality

The tonality at the start follows the blues scale starting on F. This scale is F, A flat, B flat, C flat, C, E flat and F. It is the G flat in bar 5 in the Horns in F which makes a blue scale.

There is a very blues moment on the first beat of bar 11 where there is a C flat being played by the Flutes and a B flat being played by the Muted Trombones. This is a semitone difference providing a large clash and dissonance.

The tonality at 24 is hitting towards G major due to the reoccurring B natural.

At bars 42-53, the blue scale has changed from being on F to now on G.

There is an atonal tonality from bar 72.

Bars 110-111 is extremely dissonance. The build up of texture from the canon of parts creates unnerving tension and anticipation for a climax (which is the short demi-semi and semi chords).

The Coda feels like it is coming to an end. However, this is no finishing cadence.

The piece finishes on short staccato chords by every part but the strings which are playing sustained tritones extremely quiet. This creates a contrast in dynamics due to the chords being played ‘fff’ and string’s chords being played ‘ppp’.

Instruments

There is an emphasis on wind instruments used giving the piece similarities to jazz music.

There is a Clarinet and Alto Saxophone in E flat. This means the instrument is transposed a major 6th lower.

The instruments in B flat such as the Clarinet 1 and 2 and the Bass Clarinet (which is an octave lower than the normal Clarinet) will sound a major second lower than printed in the score.

The Horns in F sound a perfect 5th lower than printed in the score.

A ‘con sord.’ is present at bar 7. This is to tell the Trombonists to play with the mute.

At bar 20, it is just the Piano and Timpani playing.

The wind instrument’s tessitura is high at bar 54. This is where the climax of the piece is. The climax is based on the crotchet/minim idea which has been shortened. Therefore, the climax can be seen to be a diminution of bars 42-53 playing a 3rd higher.

Melody

There is a fugue-like canon in bar 1. This will be used throughout the piece.

The Horns in F at bar 1 features a minor third leap from C to E flat. The minor third interval as an important motif of this piece as it is the interval used in the fugal idea.

The melody is finished major at bar 6 from the E natural in the Horns and B natural in the Trumpets (signifying the melody finishes in C major).

The opening theme is played in canon between the Flutes and Muted Trombones at bars 7-12. This is a two part canon.

The minor third leap reappears at bar 13 in the Oboes and Trumpets.

There is a pedal note in the Clarinet and Harp at bars 13-16 providing minor syncopation.

The beginning of bar 20 is a contrast to that of previous bars. This is because it is representing the New York docks now.

At bar 17 in the Clarinet and Bass Clarinet parts, they are playing fragments of the theme in subtone (very quietly).

There is a perfect 4th interval at bar 26 in the Timpani 2. The F sharp of Timpani 2 and the B flat in the Piano also is an augmented 5th. Again, creating dissonance and a bitonality: the G and C sharp are at the tonal centres.

The Alto Sax solo starting at bar 42 is very ‘jazz-like’. This is because during the solo, the three percussions come together to form a riff (repeating phrase) and that is uses a blue scale on G. At bar 44, the melody has a falling 4th which is a motif of this piece.

The cadential Alto Sax motif first appears at bar 52.

The cadential Alto Sax returns at bar 64 and is developed by the Oboes, Clarinets and Violin I and II.

There is a falling 4th in the Bassoon part at bar 66. This is a variation from of the Alto Sax from bar 44.

Violin I and II are playing in unison at bar 88 a semitone apart (creating dissonance). The first Violin has the melody copying is from the Alto Sax at bar 42.

Bar 91 has most instruments playing a semitone up or down and then to unison.

At bar 98, Violin I and II start in unison and then clash. This is a reverse of bar 88 which builds tension from the progressing discordant feel.

At bar 105, the Clarinets are trilling, Trumpets are flutter tonguing, drum is rolling and Violins tremoloing - there are lots of different tremolos from different instruments. This helps to add tension.

The Coda (bar 106) starts with a repeating motif from bar 52 in Alto Sax which is playing over sustained pianissimo (very quiet) chords in the strings.

There are repeating chords during the Coda at bars 108 to 113 (the end).

Rhythm and Metre

The crotchet/minim rhythm at the very start of the piece will become to become a feature of this piece with it’s low level of syncopation.

The time signature changes at bar 3 to 3/4 (three crotchet beats to a bar) and then back to c (four crotchet beats a bar). This change can be described as going from quadruple to triple and then back to quadruple time.

‘Presto barbaro’ means to have a tempo of being ‘fast and barbaric’ at bar 20.

The time signature moves to (c/) 3/4 at bar 20. This is a two time signature which means the time signatures will rotate every bar (e.g. 2/2 then 3/4 then 2/2 and so on). This creates anticipation because it is a dramatic change to the time signature.

The crotchet/minim rhythm has returned at bar 42 in the Alto Sax but this time varied to a quaver and sustained note of the value of 5 beats.

The crotchet/minim idea is varied again at bar 52 in the Alto Sax. The first note has become shorter and into a pair of notes.

The meter at the start of the Coda at bar 106 is c (4/4).

Structure (snippets)

The piece starts with the main motif of the piece.

The Fugal starts at bar 20 - the counterpoint is extending to a fugal style.

The varied percussion section reflects the jazz style of the music.

The Alto Sax solo of bars 42-54 has the melodic structure of 12 bars blue. The only difference is that there are no blue chords.

The Coda starts at bar 106 and features an ‘Adagio’ (decreased tempo).

Structure

The structure of On the Waterfront has three main sections:

Andante (slow)

(a) Bars 1-6. This has the introduction of the minor 3rd and triplet rhythms with a solo Horn.

(b) Bars 7-12. Repeats the first theme from (a) with a two part canon.

(c) Bars 13-19. Two part Trumpets over F pedal.

Presto Barbaro (Bars 20-105)

(a) Bars 20-39. Percussion fugal section. Melodic idea of fugal theme comes from the minor 3rd interval in opening two notes of piece.

(b) Bars 40-53. Two bar riff in percussion. The woodwind plays loud version of Alto Sax solo here.

(c) Bars 67-77. New and quieter section. Based on the descending three note motif which builds to a climax.

(d) Bars 78-87. Fortissimo tutti based on fugal theme which is all in homorhythm.

(e) Bars 88-105. Suddenly quiet again. Riff continues on snare drum leading to the return of fugal theme.

Coda (Adagio). Bars 106-113 (end).

1. In which bars does Bernstein use each of the following textures?

(i) homophonic - Bars 13 - 17 and bar 85 onwards.
(ii) monophonic - Bars 1 -5.
(iii) two-part counterpoint - Bats 7 - 12.

2. What are the sounding pitches of the first two horn notes in bar 1?

The Horns are in F. This means they sound a perfect 5th lower than scored (if an F is being played, it is actually a C). The first scored note is a C which will sound like a G. The second scored note is a E flat which will sound like a B flat.

3. Explain the meaning of ‘con sord.’ in the trombone part of bar 7.

‘con sord.’ means to play the Trombone with the mute on.

4. What two features do bars 20 and 78 have in common?

Bars 20 and 78 are in the same time signature of two time signatures altering from bar to bar. Both bars are in ‘c/’ being two minim beats to the bar but then change at bars 21 and 79 to ‘3/4’ which is three crotchet beats to the bar. Bars 20 and 78 also both have the same rhythm of two quavers, followed by a quaver rest and then four quavers finally followed by a quaver rest.

5. Explain how the trumpet and alto saxophone parts are related in bars 52-53.

They are both playing the crotchet/minim idea but varied. The crotchet in the alto saxophone and trumpet have both been varied to a pair of semi-quaver notes. This is then followed on by a long held note which happens straight away in the alto saxophone and starts at beat 2 in the trumpet. Both instrument’s dynamics are in unison with there being a crescendo to a sforzato.

6. Describe the two different types of tremolo on page 385 of NAM.

There are lots of tremolos in the instruments on page 385 of NAM. The Clarinet is trilling by moving back and forth between two notes. The Trumpets and Flutes are flutter-tonguing to tremolo. The drums feature a drum roll with the Violins playing the same note extremely quickly back and forth the bow.

7. The film On The Waterfront sometimes depicts an atmosphere of bleak despair, but at other times a mood of anger. Show how Bernstein’s music reflects both of these moods.

Bernstein creates an atmosphere of bleak despair through a number of ways. The atonality and incoherence of a key makes the piece feel lost struggling to find a clear tonality. This is strengthened then by the strong dissonances such as at bars 110 -11 which is clearly a moment of anger. The anger is built up through the canonizing of parts at the end which lead onto a short loud staccato from all the parts in homo-rhythmic Ultimately, Bernstein uses the dissonances to create an atmosphere of despair. When the texture thickens to homo-rhythmic and dynamics increase ever louder, he then creates a mood of anger: especially from the sharp repeated chords at the very end which leads to a lack of a cadence but finished abruptly.

Questions Based on Haydn's ‘The Joke’ Music

2013-06-16T18:07:00.000+01:00

In harmony, what is a pedal? In which bars does a pedal occur (a) in the viola part, and (b) in the violin part? How do these differ?

A pedal is a long held note or note that is sustained while the chords change and music continues. There is a pedal in th viola part at bars 22-28 beat 1 being on the note B flat. There is also a pedal in the violin 1 part at bars 112-115 which features a repeating B flat quaver. The pedals differ in these two examples with one being an inverted pedal (violin 1) which also is a repeating quaver and not just a sustained dotted minim like it is in the viola part.

What is double-stopping? Where is it used on page 206 of NAM?

Double stopping is a technique used by string players to play two notes at once by bowing two strings. Double stopping is used at bars 148-150 in violin 1 and 2 parts.

What is meant by harmonic rhythm? In what way is the harmonic rhythm in bars 9-28 different from that in the first eight bars?

Harmonic rhythm is the rate at which the chords change. At bar 1, the chords change every half a bar. At bars 9-28, this increases to two bars per change (bars 9-12), one bar per change (bars 16-28) and half a bar per change (bars 13-16).

Which note in the first-violin part of bar 5 is chromatic?

At bar 5 in the violin 1 part, the B natural is a chromatic note. This is because it is part of an appoggiatura. The rising semitone is a feature of Haydn’s piece.

In a rondo, what is the difference between the refrain and an episode?

An episode in a rondo is a completely new section of music whereas a refrain is a repetition of a previous section, in the case of Haydn's ‘The Joke’, section A. However, the refrain will slightly alter to the original section A.

Explain the precise meaning of the letters G.P. and the figure 3 in bars 167-169.

‘G.P.’ stands for ‘general pause and is used at bars 155, 159, 163 and 169 as a tool to create a joke in the piece. The long phrases make it comical when the joke motif returns. The figure ‘3’ at bars 167-169 mean that instead of a one bar general pause, the pause will now be three bars long. This emphasises the last joke at bars 170-173.

What term describes the way in which Haydn’s use of harmony is similar to that of Corelli?

Just like Corelli, Haydn use chordal homo-rhythmic movements.

In NAM 15, Corelli depended on a continuo instrument to fill out the harmony. Why did Haydn not need to use a continuo instrument in this work?

Haydn did not need a continuo instrument to fill out the harmony because he had other instruments already doing that for him such as the viola and cello. What makes the harmony easy to distinguish though is the fact that it is a classical quartet. Therefore, it could be compared to a bach choral with a four part harmony.

New York Counterpoint: movement II By Steve Reich Analysis

2013-06-15T16:53:00.000+01:00

Below is a complete analysis of the A2 Music work New York Counterpoint: movement II looking at all the elements of music with some taster questions at the end. Feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you. This piece is a minimalist piece of music: Steve Reich led the surge in minimalist music with pieces such as this one and electric counterpoint.

Be sure to check out the other A2 musical pieces and AS musical pieces I have analysed on Ask Will Online.

Tonality

The key signature states the piece is in the key of B major. However, there is an extra sharp (being on the 4th). Therefore, the key is a lydian mode on E.
Bars 39-45 features a tonality of F sharp major with a G in the base.

Structure

Section 1 lasts from bars 1-26.
Section 2 lasts from bars 27-65.
The phrasing of the bars change from 6-8-6 and so on.
The counterpoint fades towards the en in dynamic and texture.

Harmony

There is a four part harmony chord at bar 26 in Clarinets 7-10 which uses a D sharp only for homo-rhythmic pulsations. The pulsations dynamically fade in and out.
At bars 33-38 the chords are based on 4ths.

Melody

The basis of the melody in this piece is on a six note scale.

Rhythm and Meter

At bar 14, the live Clarinet and Clarinet 1 are a whole beat out of phrase.
The piece is in triple meter - the pulse is not easy to detect.

Texture

A counterpoint is a type of polyphonic motif repeated and cannoned.
More parts are added at bar 9.

Instrumentation

This piece uses no other instruments other than the Clarinet. The soloist has pre-recorded eight Clarinets and two bass Clarinets and has then a final solo Clarinet playing over the top.

How do the clarinets parts in the first two bars relate to each other?

The two clarinet parts in the first two bars are playing with a homorhythmic texture in 11ths.

How do the parts played by clarinet 5 and the live clarinettist in bars 3-6 relate to the music heard in bars 1-2?

The music in bars 3-6 is exactly the same as that in bars 1-2. The only difference is that there is a bar pauses between each melodic bar.

In which bar does the live clarinettist start playing material unrelated to the pre-recorded tracks?

The live clarinettist starts playing unrelated material to the pre-recorded tracks at bar 5.

Define what is meant by phrasing, giving an example from bar 21 onwards in NAM 12.

Phrasing is when the music is divided into a specific way especially for performances. An example of this is at bars 9-10 where the phrasing of the melody lines is two bars long.

Twentieth-century music is often divided into tonal and atonal styles. Is NAM 12 tonal or atonal?

NAM 12 is neither tonal or atonal. Instead, it uses the lydian mode on E (B with five sharps plus an extra sharp on the 4th).

Most of the melodic material in NAM 12 derives from the motif heard in its first two bars. How does Reich create variety in this movement?

Reich managed to create variety in the movement by adapting the melody line between parts, playing a live clarinet with a constantly varying melody and by including a tonic pedal of C# in the bass.

To what extent do you feel that playing to a backing tape in New York Counterpoint compromises the spontaneity of live performance?

I think it comprises it significantly. There are nine clarinets pre-recorded which makes it difficult to hear the live clarinet. As well, the repeating melodies in the pre-recorded clarinets will make it difficult for the live clarinet to change his melody making it hard for the live clarinet to be spontaneous.

Miles Davis Biography

2013-06-15T15:52:00.002+01:00

Born: May 26th, 1926
Died: September 28th, 1991
Nationality: American
Style/Genre: Jazz

Being a virtuoso Trumpet player, Miles Davis is strongly considered one of, if not, the top musician of his era winning nine grammy awards and leading the changing concept of jazz. At the age of 18, he went to New York to pursue his life in music. He met musicians in New York at the Juilliard school who he played with to form a bebop - a fast, dissonant, improvised form of jazz.

With his father’s permission, Miles Davis dropped out of Juilliard school to move to a full time professional musician. This led him to record many pieces of Jazz music such as the album in 1949 The Birth Of Cool.

Unfortunately, in the early 1950s, Miles Davis became addicted to heroin. This did affect his playing. He was able to overcome his addiction in 1954 and went on to record several albums with, what can be considered, the most successful jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue, which sold over 2 million copies.

In the early 1970s, Miles Davis moved to a different image appearing on the front cover of the Rolling Stone’s magazine. This made him the most recognised jazz musician of his time. His fans did not welcome this change. However, it showed how Davis was always looking to push the boundaries of music and genre.

Davis became addicted to drugs again in 1975 with it being alcohol and cocaine this time making him to take a five year break from music. In 1986, Davis reinvented himself with his release of Tutu. This was followed by the release of Aura, which one another grammy award for it.

In 1990, Davis received a lifetime achievement grammy for his work in Jazz music. 1991 saw him perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival with Quincy Jones which saw him play some of his works that he had not played for 20 years.

At the age of 65 in 1991, Miles Davis died of pneumonia and respiratory failure. With the news of his death, he fittingly received his final grammy for his recording with Quincy Jones, awarded in 1993 to emphasise the long lasting legacy Miles Davis has left the world in the genre of jazz music.

Leonard Bernstein Biography

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Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 - October 14, 1990) started his musical career through studying at Harvard University in 1934 studying Music. At a very young age many people saw his musical talent which saw him to become a conducting assistance of the New York Philharmonic. Later on in 1943, the main conductor was not well and asked Bernstein to fill in. His music was heard worldwide gettin critically acclaimed. People everywhere was talking about his talent because he was able to fill in for the main conductor, Bruno Walter, 24 hours before the show without any preparation for a technically different program of music Bernstein had barely studied. It was the birth of a naturally-talented conductor.

From 1958-1969, Bernstein was the main conductor for the New York Philharmonic. He believed teaching young students music was an important thing to do. Bernstein conducted his orchestra at many prestigious shows on TV which made him a very famous conductor worldwide. Bernstein said that his best memories were when he was conducting his orchestra such as during the CBS television series, Young People’s Concert.

Bernstein didn’t just stop there. He went on to compose music for a symphony orchestra and musical theatre. His first large-scale work for symphony orchestra, Symphony No. 1: Jeremiah (1943), received the New York Music Critics Award. West Side Story, written for the Broadway stage, was later made into an Academy Award-Winning film. He composed the symphonic suite ‘On The Waterfront’ in 1955. Bernstein died five days after his retirement in the musical industry in 1990.

Jerry Goldsmith Biography

2013-06-15T15:41:00.001+01:00

Born: February 10th, 1929
Died: July 21st, 2004
Nationality: American
Style/Genre: Film music

Jerry Goldsmith grew up wanting to become a concert hall composer with him starting to learn the piano at the age of 6. At 14 years of age, he started to study the art of composition, theory and counterpoint with two other people: Jacob Gimpel and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. However, Goldsmith realised the infrequency of concert hall commission would not be able to satisfy his hunger for writing music. For this reason, Goldsmith looked into writing music for films.

Goldsmith’s first introduction to a musical career saw him as the clerk typist in 1950 for CBS, writing scores for numerous radio shows. His musical talent was noticed by Revue Studios who appointed Goldsmith to score the Thriller series. Goldsmith became more famous in the film music industry and saw him create the film score for large production films such as Star Trek, Rambo, Alien and Looney Tunes Back In Action which was the last film score he ever produced. Goldsmith was at the center of film music.

Goldsmith was influenced by movements from early 20th-century classical music such as Modernism, Americana, Impressionism and early film scores. His style consisted of a unique range of instruments chosen using a wide range of textures, recorded sounds along with the traditional orchestra that usually overlapped in duration.

Four By Miles Davis Jazz Music Analysis

2013-06-15T15:37:00.003+01:00

Below is a complete analysis of the A2 Music jazz piece, Four by Miles Davis. Feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you.

Be sure to check out the other A2 musical pieces and AS musical pieces I have analysed on Ask Will Online.

Introduction

Miles Davis was a leading figure of jazz musician the 1970s: at the time this piece was recorded. His improvisations in Four are virtuous and are based on chordal material from the head.

Texture

The texture of the piece is melody dominated homophony.
The Break starts with a monophonic texture from the Trumpet. It descends in gapped chromatic fashion and is based around the scalic idea from the head.

Harmony

Although the opening melody during the Head is diatonic, the harmony, to accompany this melody, is chromatic.
F#m7 --> B7 is an unexpected progression in E flat major. This occurs at bars H10. The progression occurs between Gm7 and Fm7.
The chords used at bar H10-H12 are of a chromatic descent - B7 adds typical colour of modern Jazz.
The bass goes off track at 1.4 of the First Chorus. The chord for that bar is A flat 7 which is not recognisable from the bass notes.
There are broken chords in the bass at 1.9. Before this though, the bass avoids the root and 3rd of D flat major adding a 9th and 13th instead.
The harmony moves in circle of 5ths at bar 1.26.
The chord at 2.25 should be iii7 (Gm7) but is instead E flat major (this also happens at 2.29). An extra chord is then added a bar later being C7.

Tonality

The piece is written in the key of E flat major.

Instruments

The piano is ‘comping’ - this is when every chord the piano plays is an extended chord (with there being a concentration on the upper extensions).
The piano is also non-melodic, staccato and syncopated often avoiding the first and second beat of the head bars. This is known as ‘pushed’ chords.
The Trumpet, double bass and bass has a high tessitura.
The bass features lots of passing notes 1-2 bars after 1.9.
There is a change in the tessitura of the bass a bar later at the point where the Trumpet’s pitch bends.
The Trumpet has low pitches at bar 2.24.
The Trumpet has a high tessitura at bar 3.2. This high tessitura motif is repeated 4 bars later.
A bar before 4.1, the Trumpet plays with a half valve - This is when only half the valve is pressed down.

Melody

The melody of the Trumpet during the head features short three note scalic phrases. This is inverted so the phrase is descending at bar H2.
There is a ghost note in the Trumpet at bar 2.1.
There is a quarter note at 2.31. This means it is a quarter note higher than A natural.
At bars 3.9-4.0, the notes clash with the underlying chord of E flat major. This rarely resolves onto chord notes.

Rhythm and Metre

The rhythm is surrounded by the continuous use of quavers.
The bass at H9-H12 is fast walking and pizzicato from the use of continuous crotchets.
There are a continuous group of quavers at bars 2.4-2.6 with there being triplets found occasionally too.

Structure

The head is a 16 bar repeated section.
The head features a diatonic melody with only two chromatic notes being D flat at the end of H2/start of H3 and G flat at the end of H6/start of H7.
The four bars of H13-H16 are condensed to just two bars two bars later.
The Break starts after the two bar condense.
The First Chorus starts after the break.
Wide leaps are a feature of the 3rd chorus such as at bars 3.21-3.22.
The repeating notes are a distinctive feature in overlap to the 4th chorus.

Edexcel A2 Music Compare and Contrast Rhythm and Structure Essay

2013-06-15T15:23:00.003+01:00

This essay is a 'compare and contrast' of the rhythm and structure of the following three musical works:

Haydn String Quartet - The 'Joke'
Brahms Piano Quintet in F Minor
Miles Davis Four

Be sure to check out the other A2 musical pieces and AS musical pieces I have analysed on Ask Will Online.

The use of structure in The Joke helps to bring about a comical atmosphere to the piece. Haydn uses the rondo form which consists of ABACA. The ending of the piece ends with the ‘Joke’ theme (first appeared at bars 1-2) which is repeated with general pauses in between making the audience not know if the piece has finished or not. For Haydn to use rondo form, this means the main ‘Joke’ theme will be reheard three times at the bare minimum. Therefore, by the time the piece has finished, the ‘Joke’ theme will be associated as comical for the amount of times it has been heard. This makes the ending in particularly comical.

Comparing this to Brahms’s Piano Quintet, he uses the ternary form of ABA to help progress the themes. Unlike Haydn, Brahms wants the two sections to be completely contrasting with section A being fast and lively and section B, starting at bar 194, to be the complete opposite being soft, delicate and slow. However, even though the two sections juxtapose, section B has some elements of the third main theme creating a slight link between sections. This makes clear the progression Brahms want - the piece is moving in a direction. Therefore, unlike Haydn who was trying to create a comical atmosphere, Brahms wants to progress the themes from the use of a ternary structure.

Miles Davis’s Four does not have any clear structure because it is blues: the majority of times, Miles Davis is improvising with his saxophone with a steady beat created from the drums and the piano which is comping. However, the score suggests there is a hint of a structure being the ‘Heat, ‘1st chorus’ and ‘2nd chorus’. However, to the untrained ear, the sections will not contrast like Brahms does or have any impact on the atmosphere of the music. The only reason for the structure in Four is to make clear, a bit easily, what is going on in this blues piece.

The rhythm in The Joke is based around the main theme of the piece which is heard first in Violin I at bar 1 onwards. The main ‘Joke’ theme has a dominant use of quavers making it extremely light-hearted and bouncy to hear. This is because there is the use of staccato on the quavers. However, the piece can be seen to be quaver-based (e.g. bara 128-132). Therefore, from first hearing quavers used in a way to produce a light-hearted mood, the listener will associate the rest of the quavers as the same. This puts of a mood over the whole piece of beng happy and bouncy which links into being comical.

On the other hand, Brahms’s Piano Quintet is solely dependent on the rhythms created. Each melody features a different rhythm. For example, the first melody at bars 1-12 has the use of syncopation between parts through imitating each other. Whereas, the second main theme or the ‘galloping’ theme at bars 13-21 has the use of semiquavers to quicken the tempo contrast the two melodies. This can then be supported by section B which has a smooth and calm melody (bar 194) from increasing the note values. However, there are some themes too which are ‘hybrids’ of other themes. For example, at bars 35-41, both the galloping and first theme can be heard through using quavers with a syncopated rise of metrical displacement.

In Miles Davis’s Four, the rhythm is much more random due to the improvisation of blues music. However, the piece starts of with a melody of quavers with Miles Davis plays on his sax. Therefore, in the ‘Head’ section, the rhythm is relatively straightforward. Once we get to the two choruses, the improvisation starts to happening creating huge amounts of syncopation such as at bars 2.25-3.9. The piano is the instrument which enables syncopation to happen from having a non-melodic line which is staccato and syncopated to the drum’s beat.

Ultimately, the structure and rhythm of the above pieces vary to create a different mood, atmosphere or progression in each respected piece. Brahms wants to create a structure which progresses the scattering of themes he has in the piece whereas Miles Davis’s Four has no direction: the structure and free rhythm makes it seem like the piece will go or, more like, can go in any direction the musicians want it to go. On the other hand, The Joke uses a strict structure and rhythm to entice the listener into the main theme which is centered around being comic.

Compare and Contrast Section A and B of Piano Quintet in F minor by Johannes Brahms

2013-06-15T15:14:00.000+01:00

Due to the piece being romantic, without looking at each section, we would expect the two sections to contrast with each other. Romantic music is expressively especially with emotions. Therefore, a new sections would adopt a different expression of emotion. In Piano Quintet in F minor (PQIF), the sections do contrast more than they concur when looking at the separate elements music is made up of.

Be sure to check out the other A2 musical pieces and AS musical pieces I have analysed on Ask Will Online.

Dynamics

The dynamics in romantic music is pretty extreme which is displayed in the first section of PQIF featuring pp at bar 3 and ff at bar 22. It is not just the extremity of the dynamics too. Brahms uses many of crescendoes to make sure that when the dynamics radically change (such as at bar 45 with a sudden fz), the transition is more smoother.

Section B starts with a moderate dynamic being mf at the start (bar 194) which moves to a forte of just f. Therefore, the range of dynamics used in section A is far greater. A well as this, there is use of crescendoes and diminuendos in section B has decreased possibly due to the range of dynamics decreasing.

Texture

The texture of section A ranges from homophonic, homorhythmic, in unison, chordal homophony, monophonic and to even a five part texture. Whereas, section B has a very limited texture with the majority of it sticking to being homophonic. This makes clear that the most expression is in section A and section B is only there to help bring the piece to a close.

Tempo/Rhythm

Section A can be seen to be based around its rhythmic features such as the 'galloping theme' (first seen at bar 13) which uses semi-quavers to create a fast pace to the section. The use of semi-quavers is made obvious at bar 158 where the syncopation and fragmented galloping theme builds on creating anticipation. There is also metrical displacement present at bar 178 in the piano part where the dotted rhythms suggest the piano is playing in 3/4.

Section B's rhythm is much more simpler with the use the string instruments playing homorhythmically the majority of the time. The main texture is homophonic due to the piano acting as the bass part playing descending arpeggios at bar 211 with Violin 1 playing the melody and the rest of the instruments filling in the harmony. Due to this, it makes clear that section B has been made more simpler and varying than section A providing a clear clue that the piece is coming to an end soon.

Melody

The melody of Section A introduces both the ‘galloping’ and ‘major’ theme to the piece. The ‘galloping’ theme has the much use of quavers, semi-quavers and rests to create an off beat syncopated rhythm that is more distinct for its rhythm than pitch. Whereas, the ‘major’ theme is the point at which the piece modulates major in chordal homophony. The opening melody of bars 1 - 21 can be seen to repeat as the use of a bridge in connecting the variations of the galloping and major theme. The ‘galloping’ is the main theme to this piece which is why it is varied the most.

Section B’s melody is similar to the third theme. However, this melodic phrasing is in C major. The melody is basic using dotted crochets and few quavers to make the melody relaxing to here contrasting to Section A. There is repetition in the melody such as at bars 197-199 where the phrase is moved down a tone.

Tonality

The tonality of Section A starts in C minor which can be made apparent from the key signature and the fact there are no other accidentals in the music. We would have expected the piece to have been in F minor seeing that the whole movement is in F minor. The key does modulate major at the ‘major’ theme of bar 22 to C major and the E major at bar 26.

Section B starts the piece in C major unlike Section A. This then modulates to G major (dominant of C) quickly at bar 203 and then B major at bar 206 (then back to C at bar 210).

Therefore, to sum up, Section A and B have:

Contrasting textures.
Contrasting dynamics.
Contrasting tonalities and modulations.
Similarities in melodies (third theme from Section A is hinted in Section B’s main melody).
Contrasting Rhythms.

Ultimately, the two sections are contrasting which goes with what Romantic period is about which is being expressive. Brahms piece pushes the instruments he has chosen to the limits of expression.

Baris Melampahan [Gamelan] Complete Musical Analysis

2013-06-15T15:02:00.002+01:00

Below is a complete analysis of the A2 Music African piece, Baris Melampahan looking at all the elements of music with some taster questions at the end. Baris Melampahan is a traditional Balinese piece of music. Feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you.

Be sure to check out the other A2 musical pieces and AS musical pieces I have analysed on Ask Will Online.

Baris Melampahan Analysis

Introduction

Baris Melampahan comes from Indonesia.

It is a standard dance in Bali which is usually danced solo.

Texture

The texture is heterophony. This is when the melody is simultaneously varied at the same time by different instruments.

Harmony

There is no harmony in the piece. There are no chords or cadences.

Tonality

There is no real sense of a western tonality in this piece.

The only tonal element to the piece is scale used being the Pelog scale. This consists of C# (1), D (2), E (3), G# (4) and A (5).

Dynamics

The dynamics are either loud or soft (terrace dynamics).

Instruments (Timbre)

Baris Melampahan uses metallophones only. A metallophone can be any instrumental device which consists of tuned metal bars that are struck to make a sound. In this gamelan, the metallophones are tuned in pairs to create an acoustic beating.

Here are a list of instruments used in Baris Melampahan:

Gong

Kempur

Kemong

Kempli

Jegogan

Calung

Ugal

Gangsa (Pemade and Kantilan)

Reyong

Kendhang

Ceng-ceng

Suling

Melody

Although it can be seen there is a lack of a melody too, there has to be a melody for the texture to be heterophony. For this reason, the clearest melody is in the Reyong which has the used of the Pegog scale the most.

Rhythm and Metre

The rhythm features syncopation especially from the Jegogan which plays a semiquaver before the beat. Even with this syncopation, it is the most dominant beat of the piece.

Structure

There is no real sense of structure. A common feature of the piece is that it varies from loud/soft/loud/soft. Therefore, there is a dynamic structure.

Questions on Baris Melampahan

What is a metallophone?

A metallophone can be any instrumental device which consists of tuned metal bars that are struck to make a sound. In this gamelan, the metallophones are tuned in pairs to create an acoustic beating.

Explain the term heterophony. Where do you first hear a heterophonic texture in NAM 59?

A heterophonic texture is a texture where the melody is simultaneously varied by different instruments at the same time. The first appearance of this happening in NAM 59 is at the ‘angel’ loud section.

Explain how the function of the gongs differ from the fuction of panususan instruments such as the small metallophones.

The gong plays once every two bars being a D and then A. This creates a sense of beat which is difficult to hear without the gongs (even if they are not playing exactly on the beat but a semiquaver before). Compare this to the small metallophones, their functions are to fill in the texture and vary the melody creating a heterophonic texture. For this reason, the metallophones play much more notes with a wide use of notes and rhythms.

What two features are heard at the end of every gongan in Baris Melampahan?

A change in dynamics either from loud to soft or soft to loud. A change in texture from thin to thick or thick to thin. The Jegogan is played at the end of every gongan being a note of A.

Physics G495 Advance Notice Article June 2013 Help

2013-06-12T13:36:00.002+01:00

Anyone who takes Physics A2 OCR will know that although the topics you learn about are a big contribution to the final mark of the G495 exam (where you can find the revision notes here), they only account for 60% of all the marks. The last 40% comes from something you can prepare for. You are giving a green paper entitled 'A2 GCE PHYSICS B (ADVANCING PHYSICS) G495/01 Field and Particle Pictures ADVANCE NOTICE'. Within this booklet is an article which will come up in the Section C of your exam. You can prepare for 40% of your exam this easily. For this reason, here are some revision notes for the year June/May 2013 for the article called 'Fiddles of the Future'. Feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you.

If you haven't got the article, you can find it here.

When analysing this article, I will quote using line numbers and will try to go into as much detail as possible. At the bottom of this article are pictures of my annotations too if that helps.

Fiddles of the Future

Line 2 talks about 'pick up devices'. These pick up the vibrations on electric violins.
Line 5-6 notes that electric violins have the advantage of producing notes that can be 'electronically amplified'. This means the note's amplitude can be made to be larger (the peaks and troughs of the voltage will be greater: greater p.d.). This also provides enough fuel for an argument of analogue vs digital.The electronic violin will amplify the noise (but it can remove the noise). When analogue sounds are amplified, it also amplifies the noise which is not good because it cannot be removed making the noise sound distorted.

The third paragraph (line 12 - 17) seems to have an emphasis on the wave equation: v = f λ:

Line 14-15 mentions how the 'frequency of the note depends upon the length of a string'. The frequency depends on length and density of the string (density = mass / volume). The frequency is the number of waves per second. The amplitude is also effected by these factors but more importantly by the tension (force the string is pulled at).

The fourth paragraph (lines 18 - 22) talks about 'standing wave theory':

Line 22 mentions the 'fundamental standing wave for that length (of string)'. The fundamental standing wave is the lowest frequency standing wave you can produce given the length of the string.
The diagram below this paragraph shows a standing wave on a bowed string. At the bridge and the nut or player's finger are nodes. The anti-node is in the middle of the standing wave. If the length of the standing wave shown is L. Then L = λ / 2. The wavelength of the fundamental frequency is 2 x L.

Sound Production

Line 27 features the sentence, 'vibrating strings themselves disturb the air surrounding them only very little'. This makes clear that the sound from violins do not come from the air vibrating but the body of the violin vibrating from the vibrations being carried to the body of the violin via the bridge and sound post.
Line 29-30 states, 'The vibrating violin body can also cause the air to resonate'. Resonance occurs when the driving frequency = natural frequency. When this happens, the amplitude of the vibrating sound waves increase because the energy going into the system is more than the energy going out from resistive forces. The max amplitude of the sound waves is when the energy going in is the same as the energy going out.
The next diagram simply shows how the bridge is internally connected to the body of the violin to transfer the vibrations to the body.
'Chladni Patterns' are mentioned on line 36. The next diagram shows the types of Chladni Patterns produced on violins. The image to the left shows a surface vibrating with white sand on it. The areas where there is white sand is where there are nodes. The area without white sand are the anti-nodes.The image to the left is a metal plate.
The image to the right of the back of a violin shows a similar picture. This time, the black sand is where the nodes are and the anti-nodes is where there isn't any black sand. This could make clear that there may be a picture in the exam such as one like these where you are asked to label the nodes.

Click here for the article where the original image from the Advance Notice came from (I know! I managed to find the article that took the picture from. For this reason, it is definitely worth reading).

Line 41 mentions 'employing lasers and holography'. Although the article is not about holography, it relies on two beams of light. This could be to do with interference (E = hf too) where Young's double slit experiment might be useful to know about.

Amplifying the Sound

The section of the article describes that sound waves are produced from detecting and converting electrical signals from a magnetic pickup. This part of the articleis quite important:

The image (Fig 6: magnetic (induction) pickup for one steel string) tells us lots about how an electronic violin works. Below the string is a permanent magnet that is wrapped in a coil of wire. The wire is then fed to an amplifier to amplify the sound.
When the violin's steel string is no vibrating, the rate of change in flux is 0 because nothing is happening.
However, when the steel string starts vibrating due to a note being played by the violinist, the steel string oscillates towards and further away from the permanent magnet. Steel has a higher permeability than air. Therefore, from the steel string moving closer and further away from the magnet, the whole permeance of the magnetic circuit is changing. If the permeance of the circuit is changing, the amount of flux flowing is also changing (higher the permeance, the more flux).Therefore, we have ourselves a rate of change of flux! This induces an EMF in the coil of wire which the amplifier picks up and converts to a specific frequency - the same frequency originally being played.
If the above point was confusing, think that when the steel string is vibrating and is closest to the magnet, some of the flux from the magnetic circuit goes through the steel string and not the air (like it was doing). This means the permeance of the circuit has increased as air has a low permeability compared to steel. The flux increases int he circuit from this which increases the flux linkage. Therefore, because the string is oscillating back and forth, there is a rate of change of flux which induces an EMF in the coil.

It might be helpful to know the equations for everything to do with Electromagnetism:

Flux (Φ) = Permeance (Λ) x Number of turns in a coil (N) x Current (I) - The factor that has caused the flux to increase and decrease is the steel vibrating changing the permeance of the circuit.
Permeance (Λ) = ( Permeability (µ) x Area (m²) ) / Length (L) - Permeance of the circuit is changing because of the permeability changing (increasing when steel string is closest to magnet and decreasing when steel string is furthest from magnet (where air's permeability which is replacing the steel string is low).
Flux Linkage (Φ) = Flux (Φ) x Number or turns in a coil (N) - The Flux linkage is changing due to the flux changing.
EMF = -N x dΦ/dt - The rate of change in flux of the circuit creates different EMF (different vibrations from the steel string create different rates of flux change inducing different EMFs to the amplifier).

Looking at the paragraph below Figure 6:

Line 53 - 'The permanent magnet produces a flux linkage in the coil'. With flux linkage = flux x number of turns in the coil, we know that the flux linkage changes from a changing flux caused by a changing permeance.
Lines 54 - 55 - 'the steel string contributes to the permeance too, slightly changing the strength of the magnet'. If the air in the magnetic circuit is replaced with steel from the steel string vibrating closer to the magnet, the permeance increases.
Lines 56 - 57 - 'the steel string vibrated and moves to the relative pickup, the total permeance of the magnetic circuit changes'. The air gap has reduced/increased changing the permeance.
Line 57 - 'This emf produces a current'. An EMF in the coil is created from the rate of change of flux (EMF = -N x dΦ/dt). As the coil is connected to the amplifier and is a complete electrical circuit, the EMF produces a current through the coil. The current will be alternating at the same frequency as the string is oscillating at.

Piezoelectric Pickup

The piezoelectric effect is when (Lines 60 - 62) 'brother Pierre and Jacques...showed that voltages can be generated across some materials when they are squeezed'. This is definitely worth looking up. Here is an answer to how piezoelectric pickups work which is quite useful.

A benefit of using a piezoelectric pickup is that an acoustic violin can be amplified without any noise. The pickup picks up the vibrations from the violin and turns it into electricity to go to an amplifier. If you wanted to amplify an acoustic violin with a microphone for example, the microphone would pick up noise too. It has a natural sound production.
Line 64 - 'sensors from strain gauges to accelerometers'. This is crying out for a question on sensitivity and resolution. Sensitivity is the change in output / change in input. Therefore, if there is a 5 degrees temperature input change that causes a 10V output change, the sensitivity would be 10/5 = 2 V/degrees. The resolution is the smallest possible value the instrument can measure accurately.

Here are some other equations that might also prove useful:

Range - highest value - lowest value.
Spread - range / 2.
Mean - sum of all values / number of values there are.
Outliers - Mean plus or minus 2 X spread. If it falls within the values, it is not an outlier.
Uncertainty - spread / mean.

The last paragraph of the whole article has a link to the frequency spectra:

To remember what order comes which frequency, think of 'Reading Music Is Very Unsatisfactory for Xylophones and Glockenspiels'. Radio Microwaves Infra-red Visible Ultraviolet X-Ray Gamma.
Lines 73 - 74 - 'the timbre of sound, depends on the presence of higher frequencies above the dominant frequency'. The dominant frequency of highest amplitude.

Below are pictures of my annotations from the article:

G495 'Fields and Particle Pictures' Revision Notes - Everything YOU Need To Know

2013-06-10T13:25:00.000+01:00

In this article, I will cover every topic from G495 including the (in chronological order) Rutherford Scattering, electron and deep inelastic scattering, quark combinations, energy levels of electrons, evidence for the size of a hydrogen atom, nuclear radioactivity (fission and fusion), alpha, beta and gamma radiation, curve of stability analysis, design of a pressurized water reactor, shielding and half thickness, radiation dose, how risk is calculated, eddy currents, transformers: how they work and design of them, the catapult field, motor design, electromagnetic equations, flux linkage, Faraday's and Lenz' laws, moving charged particles and relativity, the electric field, the linear accelerator, particle physics, particle identification, the forces, and, finally, electromagnetic field equations with graphs. Please feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you - I do not expect you to read it all in one go!

Rutherford Scattering

Target - atom (Gold)
Particle fired in - alpha particle (also known as the nucleus of a helium atom)
Conclusion -Mass and charge are concentrated in a tiny nucleus and that atoms are mainly made up of empty space.

Distance of Closest Approach

For an electric field:

F (force between two charged particles) = kQq / r2. k is a constant which is around 9x109 (or 8.85x109 for more accuracy).
E (electric field strength when the charge is at a point) = kq / r2 . The charge 'q' is whatever charge is causing the electric field you are entering.
V (electric potential) = kq / r.
PE (electrical potential energy) = kQq / r.

At d, the kinetic energy of the alpha particle is 0. Therefore, initial kinetic energy = potential energy at d. From rearranging the formulas, we can come up with the following formula for distant at closest approach:

d (distance at closest approach) = Ze^2 / (2πE x KE)

Where k = 1/4πE = 8.85x10^-9

Electron Scattering

Target - Nucleus
Projectile - Electron (at high energy)
Conclusion - Scattering electrons can be used to determine the size of the nucleus.

What evidence is there that the nucleus contains more than one type of particle?

The charge of the nucleus can stay the same but the mass can change as a neutron has a zero charge and a mass. Therefore, adding/removing neutrons will change the mass but not the charge. If there was just one particle in a nucleus, being the proton, as you take or add protons, the mass will change along with the charge.

What is an isotope, include an example

An isotope is when there is a difference in the number of neutrons in the nucleus which makes the atom unstable and radioactive. Examples include carbon-14 and oxygen-15 (which is detected during positron emission tomography).

Why do different isotopes of the same element have the same chemical properties?

The only thing that is changing is the mass and not the lepton number, charge etc.

Electron Scattering Measures the Nucleus

Why can't alpha particles be used to probe inside a nucleus?

The electromagnetic charge of alpha particles stops them from getting close to the nucleus.

What can be used instead and why?

Electrons can be used instead of alpha particles because they are not affected by the force that holds the nuclei together.

Sketch a diagram to show what path an electron scattered by the nucleus might take.

Why do electrons scattering off a nucleus create a diffraction pattern?

Just like alpha particles, they are scattered off. However, instead of repelling away from the nucleus, the electron and nucleus are attracted to each other.

What can this diffraction pattern tell us?

The size of a nucleus. sinθ = 1.22λ / d where λ = the wavelength of the electrons, d = diameter of the nucleus and angle θ = angle of first minimum. We can then use E = pc and λ = h / p to work out the momentum and energy of the electrons.

Why do electrons need to be accelerated to such high energies for this to work?
So that the wavelength is about the same dimensions as of a nucleus.

With electron scattering, you should get a graph such as the one below:

The shape of the graph comes from:

Rutherford scattering which is an exponential graph.
Diffraction curve.

Deep Inelastic Scattering

Target - Proton (quarks inside proton/neutron)
Projectile - Electron (at high energy).
Conclusion - there is the existence of three particles inside a proton and neutron being quarks.

Combinations of Quarks

The following combination of quarks are baryons. Baryons are always three quarks. Mesons are always two quarks consisting of a quark/anti-quark pairing. A U (up quark) = 2/3 e charge. A D (down quark) is work -1/3 e charge. There are anti-quarks too which have the opposite charges. U = up quark.

A proton is made up of UUD = +1.
An anti-proton is made from anti-quarks of UUD = -1.
A neutron is made from UDD = 0.
An anti-neutron is made from anti-quarks of UDD = 0.

Energy Levels of Electrons

This is a potential well for an atom of positive charged. It falls using 1/r because the equation for electric potential is kq / r. This can be approximated to a box because it has straight sides and a box is 1D (where atoms are 3D):

As with the waves on a string, d = nλ / 2. But, we know that λ = h/p and, p = mv and KE = 1/2 x mv². So, KE = p² / 2m and p² = h² / λ². Therefore...

KE = h² / 2mλ²

If we substitute in λ = 2d/n (which came from d = nλ/2...

KE = n²h² / 2m(2d)²

En = n²E

However, this is only an approximation.

Evidence for the Size of a Hydrogen Atom

We know that the potential energy of a charged particle is kQq/r when the charged particles are distance 'r' apart from each other.

For a hydrogen atom, it has one proton and one electron. Therefore, PE = - ke² / r. It is negative as one of the charged is positive and the other is negative.

We know that KE = h² / 2mλ². If we take the ground state of the electron. λ/2 = 2r. Therefore, λ = 4r:

From this, we know that the Kinetic energy of an electron in a hydrogen atom, to escape, = h² / 2m(4r)². This is a graph of KE against r.

If we combine the two graphs together, we can find the point when the PE of the electron = it's KE. At this point, this is the minimum r length a hydrogen atom can be.

Conclusion

There is a minimum size to a hydrogen atom. Below this size, the electron's KE will be more than it's PE. Therefore, the electron has enough KE to escape the atom's 'potential well' and the hydrogen atom will no longer exist.

For a hydrogen atom, the energy levels are calculated using:

En = -13.6eV/n²

Small Summary

To find evidence for:

An atom containing a tiny nucleus, we can use Rutherford's scattering which fires alpha particles at an atom and notes the deflection caused by the positively charged nucleus. Only a few out of thousands of fire alpha particles are deflected 180 degrees making clear the nucleus is extremely small.
The atoms in the nucleus are positively charged, we can fire a positively charged alpha particle which will be repelled by the nucleus proving that it is positive (or fire an electron at it which will become attracted to it).
Radius of the nucleus, we can use an electron scattering which creates a graph combining the Rutherford scattering and direction curve. The 'first dip' is the size of the nucleus and is of the order of 10^-15m.
Protons and neutrons contain smaller particles called quarks, we can use deep inelastic scattering which fired electrons at high energies at protons and neutrons.

Nuclear Radioactivity

Nuclear Fission - What is it?

It is when an unstable atom splits into two smaller and more stable atoms releasing energy. An example of an atom that would undergo fission is Uranium.

A neutron hits the nucleus of e.g. Uranium.this makes the nucleus become very unstable (gets into an excited state). This is because the binding energy of Uranium is not very negative- the added neutron brings it closer to 0. The nucleus breaks in two with two of three neutrons set free at high velocities.

Why does Nucleus Fission happen?

It happens due to atoms have too many electrons or protons making them become unstable. The atom wants to get into a more stable state by making the binding energy per nucleon 'more negative'. This means it will require more energy for the nucleon to escape the atom making it more stable.

Nuclear Fusion - What is it?

This is when two atoms 'fuse' together to make a more stable atom. An example of this is what happens in the sun. two hydrogen atoms form to make a helium.

Comparing Nuclear Radiation

Beta Radiation

Structure - Beta + is a positron / Beta - is an electron.
Charge - Beta + has a charge of +e / Beta - has a charge of -e.
Penetrating power - Medium: it is stopped by 3mm of aluminium or 10-20cm of air.
Ionizing power (how easily does it lose or gain an electron) - Medium.
Deflected by electric and magnetic fields? - Yes, out of all the radiation, it has the highest charge:mass ratio.

Alpha Radiation

Structure - two protons and two neutrons (nucleus of a helium).
Charge - +2e.
Penetrating power - Low: it is stopped by 1cm of air or skin or a sheet of paper.
Ionizing power (how easily does it lose or gain an electron) - High because it has a large charge.
Deflected by electric and magnetic fields? - Yes, second most because the charge to mass ratio of alpha particle is less than that of a beta.

Gamma Radiation

Structure - high energy and frequency gamma ray.
Charge - No charge.
Penetrating power - High: need lead to stop it (but it can never completely stop it but reduce it exponentially.
Ionizing power (how easily does it lose or gain an electron) - Low because it cannot attract atoms with charges.
Deflected by electric and magnetic fields? - No as the gamma ray has no charge.

The Curve of Stability

The curve of stability can show us a number of things:

What is meant by 'stable'?

Stable nuclei will not undergo spontaneous nuclear activities. It will not decay.

Why does N = Z for small stable nuclei but N > Z for large ones?

At N = Z, the strong interaction force of a nucleus is greater than the electrostatic force between protons. As the proton number increases, the electrostatic force repelling the protons from each other will increase. Therefore, more neutrons are needed to decrease the electromagnetic force (by increasing the gap between the protons).

What is special about Z = 82?

This is the highest proton number that naturally occurs stable.

When the nuclei have too many neutrons to be stable, they emit electrons (beta - decay). The decay equation would look like n --> e- + p + anti-electron-neutrino + energy (such as gamma radiation). The neutron changes to a proton. When the nuclei do not have enough neutrons, it undergoes beta + decay where it emits a positron: p --> e+ + n + electron-neutrino + energy (such as gamma radiation). When the nuclei has too many neutrons and protons, it emits alpha particles (helium nucleus which consists of two protons and neutrons).

Design of a Pressurized Water Reactor

What is the role of the moderator?

The moderator slows down neutrons to keep the reaction going at a steady rate. The moderator is usually water or graphite.

What is the role of the control rods?

The control rods (made from carbon) absorb neutrons so that the fission reaction is maintained at a steady rate at a critical mass. You want there to be a chain reaction that for every fission decay, there is only one neutron that can go on to cause another fission decay. If there is more than one neutron that goes on to cause another decay. The reaction can quickly expand in decay causing a meltdown to happen. The control rods stop this from happening.

Shielding

Half thickness - Thickness needed to reduce the number of photons to half.

We will be applying mostly to X-ray and gamma-ray photons that have enough energy to ionize.

By using logarithms and exponential equations, we can come to the final equation of:

I = I(0) / 2

Radiation Dose

Absorbed Dose = Energy deposited per kilogram (measured in grays)

Dose Equivalent = Absorbed Dose x Quality Factor (measured in Sievert)

The quality factor depends on the type of radiation and the type of tissue being ionized:

Gamma radiation has a factor of 20.
Beta radiation, gamma and X-ray have a factor of 1.
Neutron radiation has a factor of 10.

How is Risk Calculated?

The risk of something happening (e.g. cancer) is often expressed as a percentage per Sievert per person per year.

Example
There are 62.6 million people in the UK and the average level of background radiation is 2000uSv per year. The risk of cancer from this is 5% per Sievert per person per year. Calculate how many people are likely to get cancer from background radiation over a 70 year lifespan.

We can break this question down into three steps:
1) Calculate the percentage risk for a 2000uSv dose - what does this tell you?
Percentage risk from 2000uSv = 2000x10^-6 x 0.05 = 0.0001% (it is very small).

2) Multiply by the number of people - what does this tell you?

0.0001 x 62.6x106 = 6260 (people will get cancer from background radiation each year).

3) Calculate how many people are likely to get cancer over a lifetime.

6260 x 70 = 438,200 people.

How Do Smoke Detectors Work?

Smoke detectors work by having a substance that emits alpha particles. When smoke is present, it blocks the alpha particles from reacting with the receiver causing the alarm to go off.

Eddy Currents

Eddy currents are more generally associated with turbulence in an electromagnetic field. In electromagnetism, eddy currents are caused when a conducting media interacts with a magnetic field. For example, in a transformer, an alternating current is in the primary coil. This creates alternating flux lines through the core which creates a magnetic field in the core. The secondary coil therefore has alternating flux running in the middle of the secondary coil. This creates an alternating voltage in the secondary coil which, if there is a complete electrical circuit, creates a current in the secondary coil.

The problem is that through creating alternating flux in the core, an EMF is also produced in the core too because the core is a complete electrical circuit too. The EMF produced is perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic flux lines. As there is a complete electrical circuit, currents (being the eddy currents) are induced in the core which have their own magnetic flux lines. These flux lines are opposing the direction of the original flux lines. Therefore, the change in flux in the core will reduce causing the EMF in the secondary coil to decrease. Eddy currents are a resistance to the transformer.

Transformers

A transformer is a device that changes the voltage (and current output) with little lost of power. This is important especially to the national grid. Current produces heat which is inefficient in sending electricity around the UK. Therefore, the national grid uses transformers to make the voltage extremely high and current as low as possible (step up transformer). As the electricity approaches houses, a step down transformer reduces the voltage increasing the current (as P = IV) so that the electricity can be used in homes.

For a transformer, the following equation can be used:

N (secondary) / N (primary) = V (secondary) / V (primary)

The ratio of the number of turns on the secondary coil to that on the primary coil is the same as the ratio of the voltage on the secondary coil to that on the primary.

How Does a Transformer Work?

The A.C current flowing in the primary coil produces an alternating magnetic field which magnetizes and demagnetizes the core. The core's changing magnetic field is directed through the secondary coil linking the flux with it. The changing flux in the secondary coil induces an alternating voltage in it which, if connected to a circuit, produces an alternating current.

EMF = - N x dΦ/dt

The above equation is Lenz's law. The negative sign means that the EMF induced always opposed the field that is causing it.

The sinusoidal variation in EMF is π/2 radians behind the sinusoidal variation in flux (Φ).

Transformer Design of the Core

In an un-laminated (solid iron) core, eddy currents are induced by the primary coils changing magnetic field. These eddy currents reduce the overall flux in the core. This makes the core less efficient.

Lamination in the core reduces the size of the eddy currents and also provide a loop path for the flux. This is because a thin layers of insulation are placed in between layers of iron so that the flux can still move around the core but, the currents cannot move perpendicular to the flux direction because the insulating layers prevents this from happening. In essence, lamination stops the possibility of large eddy currents. The magnetic field circuit is still complete. But, the electrical circuit perpendicularly is not. However, even though large eddy currents cannot be formed, small ones that are individual to each thin layer of iron still form. However, the resistance of these eddy current's flux lines are much less than before lamination.

Move the magnet further away from the induction coil reduces the max value of Φ. Therefore, dΦ/dt decreases.

dΦ/dt increases as frequency, f, increases (dt falls). therefore, the peak EMF increases.

The Catapult Field

The combined (aggregated) field above the conductor produced a strong field with a force downwards. It's deformation looks like a catapult elastic being stretched, hence the name - catapult field.

Lenz's law states that any magnetic effect caused by electromagnetic induction opposes the change that is causing it. For a generator, this means that as the conductor is moved through the magnetic field, the current produced causes its own magnetic field. This field interacts with the original field and opposes the change that is causing it.

As a result, Fleming's left-hand (motor) and right-hand (generator) rules are mirror images of each other. Lenz's law is required as it is a direct consequence of the law of conservation of energy.

Additional work is done against the force resulting in the transfer of electrical energy during electromagnetic induction.

What Factors Affect the Power of a Motor?

Power is the rate of transfer of energy which is the rate of doing work.

P = dW/dt

But, W = F x d (where d is the distance moved in the same direction of the force).

Mom (turning effect: torque) = F x d (where d is the distance moved perpendicular to the direction of the force).

W = F x d indicated that greater power goes into the motor if the coil (rotor) is turning faster. But, a fast turning coil has large eddy currents so these oppose the motion of the coil so it reaches an upper limit where torque is zero. This is because all the energy is going into moving the rotor. At lower speeds, the rotor will produce a more useful power output.

Motor Design

A good design of a motor includes the following elements:

Using an electromagnet for the stater as well as a coil for the motor.
Good magnetic circuit. This requires the use of materials of relatively high permeability and few and small air gaps (so the magnetic circuit has a high permeance).
Use more than one pair of poles (N+S) to make torque smoother and more consistent. If there is more than one poles, a multi-part commutator is needed.

Problems

There will be sparking at the commutator/brushes. The brushes are made from carbon which are a good conductor. Metals produce an oxide layer which is not a good conductor. When carbon oxides, it turns to carbon dioxide. Therefore, the oxidation turns some of the carbon atoms to gas maintain the conductance of the carbon brushes.
Noise and vibrations which could lead to resonance.

Electromagnetic Equations

Flux density is the flux per unit cross-sectional area. Flux density = Magnetic field strength.

Flux density (B) = Flux (Φ) / Area (A)

This can be re-arranged as:

Flux (Φ) = Flux density (B) x Area (A)

Flux is measured in Weber (Wb), Area in m² and flux density in Wbm^-2. 1 Tesla = 1 Wbm^-2. Another equation for the flux is:

Flux (Φ) = Permeance (Λ) x Number of turns in a coil (N) x Current (I)

The equation for Permeance is:

Permeance (Λ) = ( Permittivity (µ) x Area (m²) ) / Length (L)

The units for permeance is WbA^-1turn^-1. An increase in the current increases the field around the wire/conductor. Increasing the number of turns of the coil adds the field lines from each turn of the wire to produce a larger field. The definition of permeance is how much flux that can pass through the magnetizable medium. It is like the conductance for electrical flow but for magnetism.

Example

Calcuate the flux density of a magnetic field where 1700mWb passes through a rectangular area of dimensions 70cm x 1.2m.

Φ = BA
B = Φ / A
A = 0.7 x 1.2 = 0.84m²
B = 1700x10^-3 / 0.84 = 2.02T

Calculate the permeance of a magnetizable core if a 1500 turn coil which as a 3.2A current flowing through it produces flux of 27Wb.

Φ = ΛNI
27 = 3.2 x 1500 x Λ
Λ = 27/4800
Λ = 5.6x10^-3 WbA^-1turn^-1

Flux Linkage

Lines of flux are analogous to the path followed by an electric current in an

electric circuit. In electromagnetic machines, the loops formed by flux are 'linked'

with the loops formed by an electric current.

All electric circuits that carry currents induce magnetic circuits that carry flux (these circuits are perpendicular).

Flux Linkage (Φ) = Flux (Φ) x Number of turns (N)

Faraday's Law

A change in flux linkage in a magnetic circuit will induce an EMF in a linked electric circuit.

EMF = -N x dΦ/dt

Lenz's Law

The induced EMF opposes the change of flux causing it (hence the minus sign). It is often useful to link the flux density and flux linkage equations to get the following:

Flux Linkage Φ = NAB

Faraday's Law

Faraday's law states that a change to a magnetic field and coil will cause an EMF. This can be understand with the following diagram which shows the EMF induced into a coil through a magnet falling through it.

The point D will always have a greater EMF than B is the magnet is falling (it's speed will be faster than that at B. Therefore, rate of change of flux will increase as dt decreases). Notice how the coil always oppose the motion which is inducing a voltage, current and magnetic field in it. If the magnet is moving down, the coil's magnetic field wants to move the coil up and vice versa.

Moving Charged Particles and Relativity

We can represent all the movement information of a particle by knowing its momentum
and its initial position - Classical physics (Newton's law)

We all know that momentum = mass x velocity and that
Kinetic Energy = 1/2 x mass x velocity squared.

At speeds near to the speed of light, the momentum of a particle changes:

momentum = γ x mass x velocity

At the speeds near to the speed of light, the total energy of a particles changes too:

Total Energy = γmc²

This makes clear that to work out γ, it is:

γ = Total Energy / Rest energy

Where the rest energy can be worked out from E = mc² and the total energy = Rest Energy + Kinetic Energy.

The Electric Field

An electric field is a type of force field (not in the sci-fi sense!). Consequently, it exerts a force on an object with property that the field influences. For electric fields, this property is charge.

For a uniform electric field, E = F / Q = V / D. Electrical field strength can be measured in V/m or N/C. For a uniform field, the value of E is constant.

The equipotential lines on the above diagram will also have the same distance between them (and perpendicular to the field lines) because the Electrical field is uniform.

Quick Calculation

An electron is stationary in an uniform electric field of strength 10N/C. If the charge of the electron is 1.6x10^-19, calculate the force on the electron and it's acceleration.

E = F/Q
F = E x Q
F = 10 x 1.6x10^-19 = 1.6x10^-18 N
F = ma
a = F/m
a = 1.6x10^-18 / 9.1x10^-31 = 1.8x10^12 m/s²

An alternative expression for the electric field strength is V / d where V = potential difference and d = distance potential differences apart.

The Linear Accelerator

The electrons spend the same time period in each cylinder. An A.C. supply is used to alternate the voltage on the cylinder from positive to negative as the electron passes through (so the cylinders accelerate the electron).

Particle Physics

What quantities must be conserved according to the law of physics?

Charge, total energy, linear and angular momentum, lepton, boson and nucleon number.

What is the is the significance of the conservation of momentum in particle-antiparticle annihilation?

The momentum before = momentum after. Therefore, all collisions must have a momentum of 0 if the particles collide at the same speed against each other head on.

Bubble and Cloud Chambers

How are tracks made in a bubble chamber?

Charged particles create an ionization track which liquid vaporizes forming bubbles.

How are tracks made in a cloud chamber?

Instead of water, the chamber has vapor that condenses the air into mist (like a cloud).

What is the significance of the direction of curvature of the track?

If it is an electron or positron, the magnetic field across the chamber attracts/repels the particle causing it to change which why the particle is deflected.

What is the significance of the radius of curvature of the track?

The larger the radius, the faster the particles are moving.

What type of particles do not make any tracks and why?

Photons, neutrons and neutrinos because they don't ionize and create any bubbles. They are have zero charges.

Fermions and Bosons

What is a fermion? Give examples.

A fermion is any particle with an odd half integer spin (1/2, 3/2 etc.). Protons, neutrons and electrons are all fermions.

What is a boson? Give examples.

A boson is any particle with a whole integer spin. All the forces carries such as photons, gluons etc. are all bosons.

How do they behave differently?

Bosons want and like to be together (which is a reason why we have lasers).
Fermions don't like to be together and prefer to be split up from each other.

The Neutrino

What is a neutrino?

A neutrino is a subatomic particle produced by radioactive decay. It belongs to the fermion family and is a lepton. There are six neutrinos: electron, muon and tau neutrinos with each having an antiparticle pair.

Where do neutrinos come from?

Neutrinos were 'born' around 15 billion years ago where they were produced at the big bang. They can also be formed at nuclear power plants or anywhere where radioactive decay is (like the sun which features nuclear fusion).

How was the neutrino discovered?

During experimentation with beta + and - decay, scientists found that the conservationist equations were unbalanced.
Therefore, to make the equations balanced and conserved, another particle must have been created.
This particle's properties, to balance the equation, must have 0 mass, 0 charge, and a lepton number of 1.

Particle Identification Diagram

The Forces

Gravity

The weak force, but responsible for the force between astronomical objects. The graviton has not yet been observed. Gravity is felt by all particles with a mass.

Boson - Graviton.
Source - Mass.
Relative Strength - 10^-39.
Range - Infinite.

Weak Interaction

Responsible for radioactive Beta decay. The force carriers (W+, W- and Z bosons) have mass and were discovered at CERN in 1983-4. Felt by all particles.

Boson - W+, W- and Z.
Source - Weak Charge.
Relative Strength - 10^-5.
Range - 10^-18 m.

Electromagnetism

Holds atoms together and plays a major role in everyday life. The force carrier is the familiar photon. Electricity and magnetism are simply different manifestations of this force. Felt by all particles except neutrinos, which are uncharged.

Boson - Photon.
Source - Charge.
Relative Strength - 10^-2.
Range - Infinite.

Strong Interaction

Felt by quarks only, this force also holds the nuclei together. There are eight different types of gluon carrying different combinations of colour.

Boson - Gluons.
Source - Colour.
Relative Strength - 1.
Range - 10^-15 m.

Electromagnetic Field Equations and Graphs

Below is a complete look at the electromagnetic equations with graphs to go with the equations. This is only looking at a point charge as I have already looked at the uniform electric field.

This is a diagram of what a point charge's electric field lines with equipotential lines would look like (with a charge of +Q). Remember that field lines are always positive to negative. When you are drawing field lines, think of what direction a positive charge would move if placed in the field. This is the direction of the field lines. Notice in the below diagram that the equipotential lines distance increases the further away from the charge. This makes clear that the field density decreases the further away from the charge.

The electrical field strength at a distance of r from Q is:

E = kQ / r²

The area under this graph is the electric potential.

The electric potential at a distance of r from Q is:

V = kQ / r

The gradient of this graph represents the electric field strength at distance r.

The force on a particle of charge q placed at distance r from particle Q is:

F = kQq / r²

The area under this graph is the potential energy of the particle with charge q at a distance of r from Q.

The potential energy of a particle with charge q placed at a distance r from particle with charge Q is:

PE = kQq / r

The gradient of this graph is the force on particle with charge q from being distance r from particle with charge Q.

I hope this article has proved useful to you...it took me literally a week to write it and do all the diagrams!

A Positron Emission Tomography

2013-06-07T12:04:00.001+01:00

Brain activity causes an increase blood flow to certain areas of the brain. The oxygen carried by the flood to the brain is labelled with a small amount of radioactive isotope oxygen-15. This has a short half life decaying by emitting antimatter called a positron.
The positron emitted then annihilates with a nearby electron. Due to E = mc², the mass vanishes and is destroyed but the energy is still there in the form of a pair of gamma-ray photons travelling in opposite directions.
The detectors around the brain pick up these photons and generate a computer generated map of the activity of the brain
The detectors detect the gamma-ray photons almost simultaneously (as they are a pair). The change in time will help work out the location of the source of gamma rays.

A Complete Analysis Of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

2013-06-05T12:46:00.003+01:00

Below is a complete analysis of Marry Shelley's first novel Frankenstein which is one of the Gothic texts being studied at English A2. I will be going through the book in chronological order looking at the most important quotes and their meanings (with page numbers. If the quote has no page number, take the page number of the previous quote(s) and it will be on the same page as that). Feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you.

Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus

By Shelley naming Frankenstein as 'The Modern Prometheus' makes clear it is a novel about trying to gain Godly-like powers and getting punished for transgressing for such powers.
Prometheus was a demi-God (half Greek man / half God) that stole fire from heaven and gave it to human beings as a gift. He was punished by the Gods for doing this and was chained to a rock so that an Eagle could peck out his liver. He was immortal so every time the Eagle pecked out his liver, it would grow back and he would have to go through the pain of it being pecked out. Prometheus is linked with fire. Frankenstein is linked with lightning as that is what ultimately gives life to the monster.
Under 'The Modern Prometheus', there is 'Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay To mould me mass? Did I solicit thee From darkness to promote me? - Paradise Lost'. Paradise Lost is another novel where Adam questions God to why he made him if he was to be so lonely without anyone else to interact with. This relates to the monster who hates his creator (Frankenstein) for making him.

The structure of the novel is like a Chinese box. It is a framed narrative in epistolary form:

The narration starts with letters from Walton to his sister about an exploration trip to the North Pole.
When Walton meets Frankenstein who is helped onto Walton's ship, he takes over the narrative from Walton and tells his story.
When the monster meets Frankenstein in Frankenstein story, the monster takes over as the narrator.
After the monster finishes his story, the narration goes back to Frankenstein.
The narration then goes back to Walton.

Volume One

Letter I

The start of the novel has the setting of the North Pole. This novel was created in the early 1800s. Therefore, the North Pole would have been viewed as an unknown area that is strange, weird and possibly even where God might be.
Walton is pursing a scientific truth just like Frankenstein is.
The vocabulary uses is wide. This makes clear that Walton is well educated. For example, read the first sentence of the novel and it's vocabulary P15 'You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings'.
P15 'I am already far north of London'. The setting is going to be as far away from normal life as possible (isolation - Gothic).
'the sun is for ever visible'. This is the symbol for light, electricity and fire. Walton is on the quest for the six month daylight (as that is what happens at the North Pole).
'attracts the needle' - Walton is in pursuit of the magnetic pole.
P16 'may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man' - He wants to go nowhere no man has gone which is what Frankenstein also does.
'the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on all mankind to the last generation' - Walton believes his journey will bring great benefit to the human race (which, of course, links in with Frankenstein).

Letter II

P19 'I have no friend, Margaret' - The theme of loneliness is explored early on. This is because the North Pole is an isolated and desolate setting.
P20 'He is an Englishman, and in the midst of national and professional prejudices, unsoftened by cultivation, retains some of the noblest endowments of humanity' - There is tension between the English and the continent (French). This can bring the point forward that Frankenstein is a foreigner as he is Swiss. The reader will have fear of foreigners as Frankenstein causes evil things.
P21 'I am going to unexplored regions to 'the land of mist and snow'; but I shall kill no albatross' - This is a reference to Coleridge's Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. Shelley is connecting her story with the story of a man who goes wrong and gets punished and regrets it.

Letter III

P24 'What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?' - Shelly uses this in an ironic way. The same thing can be said to Frankenstein: he is determined where nothing can stop him (but, he is doing the wrong thing). You can also compare this to Doctor Faustus too.

Letter IV

P25 There are lots of quotes that describe the isolated Gothic theme, 'surrounded by ice which closes in the ship on all sides', 'thick fog', 'the mist', 'vast and irregular plains of ice', 'he was lost among the distant inequalities of the ice' and 'many hundred miles from any land'.
'the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature'. This is the first sight of the monster.
P27 'I never saw a more interesting creature, his eyes have generally an expression of wildness, and even madness' - This is the first description of Victor Frankenstein. Sometimes, madness is a punishment for evil (which could be why Frankenstein is described as mad).
'But he is generally melancholy and despairing' - Frankenstein is depressed which builds tension, drama and is foreshadowing: why is he depressed?
'Have you drunk also of your intoxicating draught?' - Frankenstein is drunk and mad. This brings a risk and danger to his scientific progress.
P29 is an important part to the novel's structure because it is the part where the reader realises Frankenstein is going to take over Walton's narration, 'let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cups from your lips!'. Frankenstein starts his narration at the start of Chapter I.
P31 'I imagine that you may deduce an apt moral from my tale' - Frankenstein is saying that you can learn something from his mistake.
P32 'Strange and harrowing must be his story, frightful the storm which embraced the gallant vessel on its course and wrecked it - thus!' - This is Frankenstein foreshadowing the story he is about to tell. The shipwreck he describes is a metaphor to describe Frankenstein's life.

Chapter I

We get a first glimpse of Frankenstein's upbringing in Chapter I. His family consists of Elizabeth, his sister who is adopted and beautiful and Caroline who is his mother that is caring and loyal to their dying father and is beautiful in character.
P34 'His daughter attended him with the the greatest tenderness' - Elizabeth is caring in nature.
P35 'He strove to shelter her, as a fair exotic is sheltered by the gardener, from every rougher wind' - This botanical imagery. Exotic plants need to be cared for more than normal plants. This is also used in a structural way in the sense that women are vulnerable in the novel.
P36 'a being heaven-sent, and bearing a celestial stamp in all her features' - Elizabeth is described like an angel. This links in with with Prometheus and the fire from heaven: Elizabeth is good.
'fairer than a garden rose among dark-leaved brambles' - Foreshadowing the character of Elizabeth.
P37 'Elizabeth Lavenza became the inmate of my parent's house - my more than sister - the beautiful and adored companion of all my occupations and my pleasures' - There is a strong bond between Elizabeth and Victor. It is no surprise that they marry.

Chapter II

P38 'Harmony was the soul of our companionship, and the diversity and contrasts that subsisted in our characters drew us nearer together' - This is an example of binary opposition. Victor and Elizabeth are opposites which, because they are opposites, made them attracted to each other.
'I was capable of more intense application, and was more deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge' - Victor elaborated the contrast / too passionate (obsession might be a future problem for him).
'The world was to me a secret which I desired to divine' - He wants to know how things work.
Henry Clerval is a contrast to Victor.
P39 'No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself'.
'My temper was sometimes violent, and my passions vehement' - Victor is a bit too obsessive.
'The saintly soul of Elizabeth shone like a shrine dedicated lamp in our peaceful home' - Elizabeth is like a light in darkness.
P42 'the thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heavens' - Lightning is how Frankenstein created the monster. This experience he had with lightning might be what gave him the idea of life from lightning.
P43 'Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction' - This has a strong Gothic theme.

Chapter III

P47 'He was an uncouth man' - It seems like M. Krempe has become evil and ugly because of science. Is this why Frankenstein first appeared weak and mad when met by Walton?

Chapter IV

P51 'I read with ardour those works, so full of genius and discrimination' - His passion makes science seem obsessive and unrestrained (and possibly dangerous).
'Two years passed in this manner, during which I paid no visit to Geneva, but was engaged, heart and soul, in the pursuit of some discoveries which I hoped to make' -Victor is in a pursuit for knowledge: transgression.
P52 'To examine the causes of life, we must first have recourse to death' - Dissection was 'big' back in the early 1800s because no-one didn't really know the anatomy of the human body. However, from Victor meddling with the death, the reader will view it as ugly and wrong with a moral suspect.
P53 'I beheld the corruption of death succeed to the blooming cheek of life' - We all die.
'light broke in upon me - a light so brilliant and wondrous, yet so simple' - Victor is having the stereotypical light-bulb idea on how to overcome death.
'I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter' - He now knows how to bring the dead back to life.
'painful labour' - This is birth imagery.
At the top of P54, Victor is talking to Walton making clear it is a narrative aside. This reminds us that this is a story within a story, 'Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow' - Frankenstein is making clear this is a cautionary tale and is warning Walton about his journey to not follow in the same steps as Frankenstein.
P55 'A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve this' - This quote has many references. One is to Aeschylus who was an ancient Greek tragedian. Another is of Adam and Eve. Frankenstein is playing God (which is his hubris: his tragic flaw). He is trying to put himself in the position of God.
'Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay? - Victor knows what he is doing is cruel and holy. This quote is a good example of macabre as it seems Victor has an obsession of death.
'In a solitary chamber, or rather cell, at the top of the house, and separated from all the other apartments by a gallery and staircase, I kept my workshop of filthy creation' - There is a Gothic setting for where the monster is created.
P56 'The summer months passed while I was thud engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit. It was a most beautiful seasons' - Juxtaposition is used hear of a great summer versus the loneliness of Frankenstein: he has nocturnal habits.
P57 'I shunned my fellow-creatures as if I had been guilty of a crime' - Victor's perception is that he has done evil things.

Chapter V

This is the Chapter where the monster born and becomes alive.
P58 'It was on a dreary night of November' - Pathetic fallacy is used to set a Gothic setting.
'infuse a spark of being' - Lightning is used to give life to the monster.
'my candle was nearly burnt out' - Life represents life and the candle is about to burn out. This adds to the Gothic setting.
'I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, ad a convulsive motion agitated its limbs' - This makes it sound as if being brought to life was painful for the monster.
'How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe' - Victor sees this creation as a failure.
'Beautiful - Great God!' - Victor makes clear that this has turned out not in the slightest way he wanted.
'the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart' - Victor doesn't know what to do now since what he wanted to happen will never happen.
P59 'dead mother in my arms'. Frankenstein has a dream from sleeping that the girl he kisses turns into his mother (Oedipal response). The Oedipus complex was 100 years before Sigmund Freud.The dream is very Gothic and dark and is a prophetic dream. There is a focus on death, macabre, the gruesome and horrifying in the dream.
'every limb become convulsed' - Frankenstein and the monster are tied together. He is waking up from his sleep like the monster did when born.
'wretch - the miserable monster whom I had created' - Victor wished he didn't create the monster.
'while a grin wrinkled his cheeks' - This makes clear the monster does not start evil but becomes evil. The monster is trying to communicate but can't. It also links in with the 19th century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau who stated that when first born everyone starts on a metaphorical blank sheet of paper. It is our experiences with nature that shapes us into the people we are today.
'the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life' - The monster is described as devil-like.
'A mummy again endued with animation' - This links to Egyptian mummies that were just being discovered in the 19th century.
'it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived' - Dante was an Italian writer that wrote The Inferno which is a description of what hell is like.
P60 'Morning, dismal and wet' - Pathetic fallacy is used on the morning after the birth.
'aching eyes the church of Ingolstadt' - Religion (God) is watching him do wrong.
'black and comfortless sky' - Pathetic is used again here.
'Like one, on a lonesome road who...Doth close behind him tread' - This comes from the Ancient Mariner where he can't get out of this situation. He has played God and now can't go back on what he's done. The monster is following him. Therefore, guilt is metaphorically following him too.
Victor cannot call any place home now just like the Ancient Mariner.
P 61 - 'how very ill you appear; so thin and pale; and look as you had been watching for several nights' - The monster has taken the life from Victor.
P62 'I was lifeless' - Like the monster.
P63 'I perceived that the fallen leaves had disappeared and that the young buds were shooting forth from the trees' - Victor is seeing beauty and getting better.
Clerval brings moral perspective and the ordinary world to Victor. Victor being lonely is a punishment and Clerval stops this from happening.

Chapter VI

The Chapter starts with a letter (epistle). A letter is used as a narrative device. It enables the narrator to catch up on events elsewhere.
P66 'her mother could not endure her, and after the death of M. Moritz, treated her very ill' - Mistreated in the past foreshadows the future.
'Justine, thus received in our family, learned the duties of a servant' - Justine is loyal.
'for the same reason that Ariosto gives concerning the beauty of Angelica' - This points out that women are the height of beauty.
Women are domesticated and therefore trapped without freedom in domesticity.
P67 'Justine was the most grateful little creature in the world' - By describing her as a 'little creature' makes women seem vulnerable.
'poor Justine', 'anxious affection. Poor Justine' and 'poor girl' - Women are sympathetic.
'I assure you I love her tenderly' - Elizabeth is trying to protect Justine through insuring Victor.

Chapter VII

Chapter VII starts with a epistle too. However, the happiness of the previous Chapter is shattered with a letter that the brother, William, has died.
P73 'William is dead! - that sweet child' - What makes it worst is that William is the epitome of innocence.
P74 'Oh, God! I have murdered my darling child!' - There is someone to blame for the death. Maybe not the monster, but Victor's fault.
P76 'black sides of Jura, and the bright summit of Mont Blanc. I wept like a child. 'Dear mountains! My own beautiful lake! How do you welcome your wanderer? Your summits are clear; the sky and lake are blue and placid. Is this to prognosticate peace, or to mock at my unhappiness?' - There is a contract between Victor and the landscape. The scenery cannot link with Victor and his negative emotions. It is sublime as it is making Victor feel insignificant.
'I foresaw obscurely that I was destined to become the most wretched of human beings' - Hamartia.
P77 'I saw the lightning playing on the summit of Mont Blanc in the most beautiful figures. The story appeared to approach rapidly' - Electricity creates the spark for life. This links in with Prometheus. The mountains are a place of torture as Prometheus got tortured there. Is the storm the monster approaching?
'William, dear angel! this is thy funeral, this thy dirge!' As I said these words, I perceived in the gloom a figure which stole from behind a clump of trees near me' - Juxtaposition is created from talking about William and innocence to the monster appearing. Evil destroys goodness. This is a symbolic moment of good vs. evil.
'it was the wretch, the filthy daemon to whom I had given life' - The monster is described in the worst was as he has done an evil deed (killed William)
P78 'was this his first crime?' - Foreshadows the monster's future crimes.
'had he not murdered my brother?' - Victor realises he killed William from his fatal flaw of wanting to be God.
'own vampire' - A vampire is a evil side to someone. This is Victor's evil side.
P79 'poor Elizabeth to cease her vain and tormenting self-accusations. - Poor William! he was our darling and our pride' - William is portray of absolute innocence which makes his death worst.
P80 'she accused herself of having caused the death of my brother' - She blames herself for the death of William.
P81 'You are all mistaken; I know the murderer. Justine, poor, good Justine, is innocent' - Victor is about to come clean about the monster.
'My tale was not one to announce publicly; its astounding horror would be looked upon as madness by the vulgar' - This is Victor's excuse to not reveal the monster as the murderer. Shelley is being ironic as Victor could have done something to stop Justine being executed.

Chapter VIII

P83 'A thousand times rather would I have confessed myself guilty of the crime ascribed to Justine' - This is ironic as he wishes that he confesses but never actually does: hypocritical.
'she appeared confident in innocence and did not tremble, although gazed on and execrated by thousands' - Justine is the presentation of innocence, beauty and passiveness.
P84 'When shown the body, she feel into violent hysterics and kept her bed for several days' - 'hysterics' is Greek for the womb. This is a stereotypical reaction for a women to a dead body: she faints.
P86 'The tortures of the accused did not equal mine; she was sustained by innocence, but the fangs of remorse tore my bosom and would not forego their hold'. Guilty is worse than innocent and dying which is part of the Christian mind set. the 'fangs' represent the snake from the garden of Eden which makes clear the devil us tearing into Victor.
P87 'all judges had rather that ten innocent should suffer than that one guilty should escape' - This is the court's reasoning.
P88 'He threatened excommunication and hell fire in my last moments if I continued obdurate' - Justine confesses that she goes to heaven in the Catholic way.
P89 'Learn from me, dear lady, to submit in patience to the will of heaven' - Do what God has planned for you. This contrasts with Victor as he plays God and thinks he is as powerful as God. Justine is the structural opposition to Victor.
'Anguish and despair had penetrated into the core of my heart; I bore a hell within me which nothing could extinguish' - The imagery of fire is a twist from Prometheus. The fire he got (from transgressing) from heaven is burning him.
P90 'Thus spoke my prophetic soul, as, torn by remorse, horror and despair , I beheld those I loved spend vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts' - This quote foretells the future as it makes clear the monster is going to kill again. It sets a funeral scene and sets the reader up for Volume 2.

Volume Two

Chapter I

Frankenstein continues the narration.
P93 'Sleep fled from my eyes; I wandered like an evil spirit, for I had committed deeds of mischief beyond description horrible, and more, much more (I persuaded myself) was yet behind' - Guilt leads to sleeplessness.
P94 'I was tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities forever' - Victor is wishing he could end this whole situation.
P97 'these rugged roads. The weather was fine' - Describing the setting.
'The immense mountains and precipices that overhung me on every side - the sound of the river raging among the rocks, and the dashing of the waterfalls around , spoke of a power mighty as Omnipotence' - 'Omnipotence' is a word to describe God which means all powerful. This is also a great description of the setting.
'the valley assumed a more magnificent and astonishing character. Ruined castles hanging on the precipices of piny mountains; the impetuous Arve, and cottages every here and there peeping forth from among the trees, formed a scene of singular beauty. But it was augmented and rendered sublime by the mighty Alps, whose white and shining pyramids and domes towered above all, as belonging to another earth, the habitations of another race of beings' - Nature will overpower man and a sublime setting
P98 'This valley is more wonderful and sublime' - Good setting quote.
The sublime happens to Frankenstein because it is like a watchful eye of God looking down on him.

Chapter II

P99 'this glorious presence-chamber of imperial Nature' - In God's throne.
P11 'The effect of solemnising my mind and causing me to forget the passing cares of life' - Frankenstein has gone to the monster to try and cleanse his guilt. It is ironic as he meets the monster in the mountains of whom he wants to run away from.
P101 'We rest; a dream has power to poison sleep...Nought may endure but mutability!' - This is by Percy Shelley (Marry Shelley's husband) and is called Mutability. It is treated like a soliloquy as it is a hamartia where Victor is starting to release his mistake.
'superhuman speed' - The monster has powers greater than man.
'and then close with him in mortal combat' - Victor wants to kill him as he killed William and Justine.
P102 'and do not fear the fierce vengeance of my arm wreaked on your miserable head?' - This is Victor's hubris. He is arrogant and full of pride and has not got the power to kill the monster.
'that I may trample you to dust!' - This has reference to the Bible as Adam was created from dust.
'whom you have so diabolically murdered!' - 'Diabolically' is an adverb for devilish.
'Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me' - Frankenstein and the monster are a doppelgänger.
P103 'Remember, that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed' - The monster brings forward a religious view that he should be like Adam, but Victor has punished him for no reason.
'I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity' - In the beginning the monster was good and then turned evil.
'Shall I not then hate them who abhor me?' - This is the monster's justification for his evil deeds. He did it because people hated him. However, Justine is forgiving to people who hate her. This makes clear the monster is not educated on religious principles.
P104 'I felt what the duties of a creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness' - Victor owes the monster happiness.

Chapter III

This is the start of the monster's narrative.
Shelley has chosen monster's narrative voice so the reader will feel sympathy towards the monster.
The monster speaks in the same way as the other characters in a highly educated fashion. This is a convention of the 1800s, P105 'It is with considerable difficult that I remembered the original era of my being...'.
P106 'I started up and beheld a radiant form rise from among the trees. I gazed with a kind of wonder' - The monster is having a sublime moment.
P107 'I found a fire' - This has reference to Prometheus.
The monster's first experience with people is negative.
P110 'was a small and almost imperceptible chink' - This is a plot device so the monster can see humans unseen so he can learn from them.

Chapter IV

P113 'What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people; and I longed to join them, but dared not' - This sets out the structure of the chapter.
The monster begins to admire the De Lacey family who are presented as good people (therefore a positive image of humanity).
P114 'I found that the youth spent a great part of each day in collecting wood for the family fire; and, during the night I often took his tools, the use of which I quickly discovered, and brought home firing sufficient for the consumption of several days' - This has a fairy tale quality to it.
P115 'I perceived that the words they spoke sometime produced pleasure or pain, smiles or sadness, in the minds of countenances of the hearers. This was indeed a godlike science, and I was ardently baffled to become acquainted with it' - The monster is talking about the wonders of communication.
'I distinguished several other words without being able as yet to understand or apply them; such as "good", "dearest", "unhappy" ' - The reader will feel sympathy for the monster. He doesn't yet understand anything complex like love or any of the emotions.
P116-117 'filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification' - He is depressed and embarrassed when he realises he is ugly.

Chapter V

This chapter features the story of Safie.
P122 'I heard of the discovery of the American hemisphere and wept with Safie over the hapless fate of its original inhabitants' - This is binary opposition of science versus nature.
'These wonderful narrations inspired me with strange feelings. Was man, indeed, at once so powerful, so virtuous, and magnificent, yet so vicious and base?' - Progress is not always good.
'I heard of the divisions of the property, of immense wealth and squalid poverty; of rank, descent, and noble blood' - Social inequality.

Chapter VI

Chapter VI of Volume Two in Frankenstein is a pretty irrelevant Chapter which is kind of a story of the main plot that leads nowhere inparticularly. There are no useful quotes to be used in this chapter either. Therefore, I will skip this chapter altogether.

Chapter VII

P130 'I found on the ground a leathern portmanteau, containing several articles of dress and some books. I eagerly seized the prize, and returned with it to my hovel. Fortunately the books were written in the language, the elements of which I had acquired at the cottage; they consisted of Paradise Lost, a volume of Plutarch's Lives, and the Sorrows of Werter' - This is a unbelievably unreal plot device. The monster has come across books to help with his education. The books are chosen because Paradise Lost is about morality, of good versus evil, Lives is about the Roman history and past with Sorrows of Werter about what you can learn when reflecting.
P132 'I often referred the several situations, as their similarity struck me, to my own' - The monster draws parallels between his life and the life of Adam in Paradise Lost.
'but I was wretched, helpless, and alone. Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition' - The monster's life story makes him view himself more like the Devil and less like Adam. He is evil and not good.
P133 'Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?' - This is an important quote. The monster is questioning his creator, Frankenstein, like when Adam complains to God on a similar matter.
P134 'I remembered Adam's supplication to his Creator. But where was mine? He had abandoned me, and in the bitterness of my heart I cursed him' - The monster wanted and needed a fatherly figure being his creator.
P137 'Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me? Agatha fainted, and Safie unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage' - This is the moment the monster tries to introduce himself to the family. However, Agatha faints and Safie runs out of the cottage providing a helpless image of women in general. The family cannot see past the monster's appearance despite being lovely. This makes clear that the best of human nature is not enough to overcome primitive thoughts.

Chapter VIII

P139 'Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live?' - This is an exact quote of what Adam says in Paradise Lost.
'my feelings were those of rage and revenge' - The monster is becoming vengeful after being rejected by humanity.
'I, like the archfiend, bore a hell within me, and finding myself unsympathised with, wished to tear up the trees, spread havoc and destruction around me, and then to have sat down and enjoyed the ruin' - He has turned to the devil from his experience. The monster is on a bildungsroman.
P140 'a fierce wind arose from the woods' - The use of pathetic fallacy.
P141 'The wind fanned the fire, and the cottage was quickly enveloped by the flames, which clung to it and licked it with their forked and destroying tongues' - The monster uses fire for bad things (just like Prometheus).
'my father, my creator' - The monster seeks to destroy his father, Victor, after everything he has done. This is what Sigmund Freud says happens in these situations.
P143 'This was the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from description and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone' - The monster was caring which makes clear the injustice of the situation. He is an allegorical character that is driven by morals.
P144 'an idea seized me that this little creature was unprejudiced' - This is the monster's cure for his loneliness. A child is at their most absolute innocence. Therefore, he will be too young to adopt prejudice views.
'Hideous monster!' - Then the reader and the monster realises that he is not innocent.
'I grasped his throat to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at my feet' - William's death is not as graphical as it good have been. This is Shelley's way of making us sympathise with the monster a bit.
The monster cannot be loved due to his ugly appearance. This is Victor's fault. Therefore the monster destroys the people that love Victor so that Victor feels the same feelings as the monster. In a way, is this justice or not?
P146 'I am alone, and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species, and have the same defects. This being you must create' - Monster finishes his narration with the monster wanting Victor to create him a partner. The monster wants Frankenstein to create 'Eve'.

Chapter IX

P147 'Shall I create another like yourself, whose joint wickedness might desolate the world? Begone! I have answered you; you may torture me, but I will never consent' - Two monsters is much worst than one: especially if they can breed.
P148 'I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear' - The monster threatens Victor.
'did I not as his maker, owe him all the portion of happiness that it was in my power to bestow?' - Victor remembers he owes the monster some sense of happiness.
'I will go to the vast wilds of South America' - The monster will isolate himself from humanity with his partner.
P149 'My evil passions will have fled, for I shall meet with sympathy! my life will flow quietly away, and in my dying moments I shall not curse my maker' - Monster is trying to provide reasons for Victor to create another monster.
P150 'After a long pause of reflection, I concluded that the justice due both to him and my fellow creatures demanded of me that I should comply with his request' - Victor is going to make another monster.
'by the sun, and by the blue sky of Heaven, and by the fire of love that burns my heart, that if you grant my prayer, while they exist you shall never behold me again' - There is the imagery of light and fire which represents good things.
The monster is influential. He is remarkably persuasive (from the De Lacey's?) which is a reversal of power - Adam and Eve had no power to God.

Volume Three

Chapter I

There are no quotes to point out from Chapter I Volume One.

Chapter II

P168 'With resolution I traversed the northern highlands, and fixed on one of the remotest of the Orkneys as the scene of my labours. It was a place fitted for such a work, being hardly more than a rock, whose high sides were continually beaten upon the waves' - This creates a Gothic setting. It could also make the point that Victor is ashamed by what he is doing. He is not doing it for the science: he's creating the life for the monster.
P169 'Thus situated, employed in the most detestable occupation, immersed in a solitude where nothing could for an instant call my attention from the actual scene in which I was engaged, my spirits became unequal; I grew restless and nervous' - Victor is uncomfortable about what he is doing.

Chapter III

P170 'I sat one evening in my laboratory; the sun had set, and the moon was rising from the sea' - Parallel construction is made between making this monster and the previous one.
'She might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate' - The new creation might be even more evil than the previous one. Victor is creating Eve and is still playing God.
P171 'trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged. The wretch saw me destroy the creature on whose future existence he depended for happiness, and, with a howl of devilish despair and revenge withdrew' - Victor did not create the Eve monster and destroyed it instead. This leaves the monster very vengeful.
'P172 'You are my creator, but I am your master - obey!' - There are a reversal of roles here.
'bolt will fall' - It was lightning that made the monster. Lightning can also kill.
P173 'I may die, but first you, my tyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gases on your misery. Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful. I will watch with the wiliness of a snake'. This quote has reference to religion with the snake from the Garden of Eden.
'but remember, I shall be with you on your wedding-night' - This is a threat from the monster for Victor's wife, which Victor doesn't realise but thinks it is about himself, 'Before you sign my death-warrant'.
P177 'As I was occupied in fixing the boat and arranging the sails, several people crowded towards the spot' - Victor is getting a similar reception that the monster would have got.

Chapter IV

This Chapter is a re-run (echo) of a Justine-like trial. This time, it is with Frankenstein who is the accused. He isn't hung as men have higher social statuses than women.
P179 'old benevolent an, with calm and mild manners' - The man was positive and kind to Victor.
P181 'passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and throwing myself on the body, I exclaimed, 'Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry, of life? To I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor' - Frankenstein faints which is Victor being feminised. Would should faint at this like Justine did. This means that Frankenstein is not very masculine. The monster is masculine and Victor is the opposite being feminist.
P183 'Who could be interested in the fate of a murderer, but the hangman who would gain his fee?' - This is parallel to Justine and the monster. Victor is feeling what it is like to be evil.
P184-185 ' 'I should have thought, young man, that the presence of your father would have welcome instead of inspiring such violent repugnance.' 'My father!' cried I' - Victor is acting childish to his father's arrival.

Chapter V

P189 'I abhorred the face of man' - This is similar to what the monster says, 'Shall I not then hate them who abhor me?'. He is experience emotions similar to the monster.
P190 'A thousand times would I have shed my own blood, drop by drop, to have saved their lives' - This is rubbish. He said something similar before,A thousand times rather would I have confessed myself guilty of the crime ascribed to Justine'. He could have saved their lives but chose to keep the monster's identity hidden.
P193 'the apples was already eaten, and the angel's arm bared to drive me from all hope' - This has reference to the apple Eve ate from the Garden of Eden.
P195 'I had prepared only my own death' - Victor does not realise that the monster will kill Victor's family so that he experiences the same loneliness as the monster. The monster will not kill Victor as that is an easy way out.

Chapter VI

The end of the novel takes on a revenge tragedy theme.
P198 'It was eight o'clock when we landed; we walked for a short time on the shore, enjoying the transitory light, and then retired to the inn, and contemplated the lovely scene of waters, woods and mountains, obscured in darkness, yet still displaying their black outlines' - The Chapter starts off with a happy positive mood.
P199 'I heard a shrill and dreadful scream' - The reader knows the monster is here...for Elizabeth.
'Great God!' - Parallel construction is created from Chapter V Volume One. The death of Elizabeth links in with the creation of the monster.
'bridal bier' - As well as having alliteration, it is an oxymoron. Bier is a movable frame which a coffin is placed on. This has the opposite mood to a bride who has just got married.
P200 'A grin was on the face of the monster; he seemed to jer, as with his fiendish finger he pointed towards the corpse of my wife' - The monster has raped and killed Elizabeth and by pointing at her, he is proud by what he has done.
P202 'he was unable to rise from his bed, and in a few days he died in my arms' - Victor's father dies due to not coping with the shocks going on around him

Chapter VII

Frankenstein is moving further north and away from humanity which is sublime and alienating.
P205 'My present situation was one in which all voluntary thought was swallowed up and lost. I was hurried away by fury; revenge alone endowed me with strength and composure it moulded my feelings, and allowed me to be calculating and calm, at periods when otherwise delirium or death would have been my portion' - Victor is kept alive by vengeance for Elizabeth's death.
Here are some good quotes to know, P206 'hell surrounded me with mockery and laughter' and P207 'Cold, want and fatigue, were the least pains which I was destined to endure'.
P208 ' 'My reign is not over' - these words were legible in one of these inscriptions - 'you live, and my power is complete. Follow me; I seek the everlasting ices of the north, where you will feel the misery of cold and frost, to which I am impassive' - The monster is luring Frankenstein north. This quote also makes clear that the monster can write. Therefore, he has acquired the last language.
P212 'His soul is as hellish as his form, full of treachery and fiendlike malice. Hear him not; call on the manes of William, Justine, Clerval, Elizabeth, and of the wretched Victor, and thrust your sword into his heart. I will hover near, and direct the steel aright' - Frankenstein is calling for revenge. Walton conitnues the narration after this.
P214 ' 'When younger,' said he, 'I believed myself destined for some great enterprise'. Victor had high hopes for his life.
P218 'The die is cast...It requires more than philosophy than I possess, to bear this injustice with patience' - Walton is talking very depressively.
'It is past; I am returning to England. I have lost my hopes of utility and glory; - I have lost my friend. But I will endeavour to detail these bitter circumstances to you, my dear sister' - Walton is more positive here and is also filling in the events.
P220 'Farewell, Walton! Seek happiness in tranquillity and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries. Yet why do I say this? I have myself been blasted in these hopes, yet another may succeed' - Frankenstein is preparing to die.
'His voice became faint as he spoke; and at length, exhausted by his effort, he sunk into silence. About half an hour afterwards he attested again to speak, but was unable; he pressed my hand feebly, and his eyes closed forever, while the irradiation of a gentle smile passed away from his lips' - Ultimately, Frankenstein's punishment for transgressing and acquiring powers God should only have is death. The death is a pathetic one with feminine-like traits.
P221 'Great God!' Parallel construction between the birth of the monster, the death of Elizabeth and the appearance of the monster to Walton.
' 'That is also my victim"' he exclaimed: 'in his murder my crimes are consummated; the miserable series of my being is wound to its close! Oh, Frankenstein! generous and self-devoted being! what does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? I, who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst. Alas! he is cold, cannot answer me' -The monster is now remorseful. 'generous and self-devoted' is ironic. Victor is generous to create the monster but selfish.
P222 'it did not endure the violence of the change, without torture such as you cannot imagine' - The monster is saying that he didn't like committing the murders, 'Think you that the groans of Clerval were music to my ears?'.
'I abhorred myself' - The monster hates himself. From everyone hating him, it has led to him hating himself.
'Yet when she died! - nay, then I was not miserable. I had cast off all feeling, subdued all anguish, to riot in the excess of my despair. Evil thenceforth became my good' - This is a moral reversal for the monster.
P224 'Fear not that I shall be the instrument of future mischief' - The monster is not going to be evil any more as he is not revengeful.
'I shall quit your vessel on the ice-raft which brought me thither, and shall seek the most northern extremity of the globe; I shall collect my funeral pile, and consume to ashes this miserable frame' - The monster is utterly negative here. He is going to destroy himself in as remote and northern place as possible through burning himself to death with fire (links with Prometheus). The monster's first crime was by burning the cottage. His last sin is suicide through burning himself.

Frankenstien's Reference To Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost is an epic poem by John Milton.
Eve is made from Adam's rib whereas the monster is made from corpses.
Adam and Eve sinned by eating the apple. God turns them away like Victor does to the monster.
Monster ate a metaphorical apple and turned evil.
Monster is born naked like Adam and Eve.
Monster is rejected before he sins unlike Adam and Eve.
Monster in shed watching the De Lacey family is like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The monster gets thrown out of 'heaven'.

Frankenstein Reference To Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote a novel called Emile.
He is a philosopher writer and composer.
He is also a romanticist.
Frankenstein is an anti-romantic novel. Frankenstein has emotions but he is anti-romantic as he achieves something bad.
Jean-Jacques believed in Noble Savage- when humans are first born, they are at their most raw and innocent state. It is the nurture and nature that shapes us into the people we are today. Everyone is born as a metaphorical blank page.
This brings the point forward that if you educate a person, you will make them into a good being who will benefit society from good citizenship.
The monster is disregarded when he is first born. Therefore, the reader can understand why he kills. He is grown up well with the De Lacey's but the experiences of rejection causes him to become evil, 'I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity'.
If Frankenstein didn't abandon the monster at birth, the monster may not have killed at all.

My Review Of Frankenstein

Shelley's first novel is a prime example of a Gothic text from the early 1800s. The whole story plot, although will be perceived to be impossible to the modern reader, would have been believable to the 19 century reader. The creation of the monster from the transgression of Frankenstein, I felt, inparticularly pointed out the importance of parental guidance for children. One who creates life has a role to guide that life as does every parent out there to their child. However, it is the fact that this is a distortion of the common way of giving life that adds a sense of confusion to Frankenstein of what he should do. The monster was not created naturally. He was created artificially with powers only God should hold. This can bring the point forward whether it is the monster's fault for the deaths of Frankenstein's loved ones or Frankenstein's fault. Ultimately, Frankenstein did make the monster and reject the monster upon birth. It was the rejection of the monster from humanity that caused him to become vengeful and what caused this rejection? His ugly looks which stem down to Frankenstein creating him. I think this novel produces much more similarities between Paradise Lost than any other text out there. Frankenstein is an extreme version of Paradise Lost. The monster has been born into their world through no fault of his own and has been rejected by everyone to live a horrible life of isolation, 'Cursed, cursed Creator! Why did I live?' This is a direct quote from Paradise Lost which the monster uses (most probably from reading Paradise Lost during his time at the De Laceys). The only difference is that the monster then gains more power than his creator. It is reversal of power which does not happen in Paradise Lost. God should be able to bring happiness with life and take it away when he wants because he was the one who brought life. Should the same apply to Frankenstein? The monster's attitudes to Frankenstein are strongly affected by him reading Paradise Lost. If, instead, he had found the book of the bible, would he have more love and respect for his creator?

Frankenstein makes clear of the role of the women in 1800s. They are domesticated and entrapped at home. This is because women in Frankenstein are the most vulnerable of all the characters, 'fairer than a rose among dark-leaved brambles', to describe Elizabeth and 'as a fair exotic is sheltered by the gardener' to describes Caroline. These botanical imagery suggests that women are defenceless. A fair exotic plant is a plant that can only fully grow in the right climates. This makes clear it needs to be cared for much more than any ordinary plant, highlighting the vulnerability of women.

What makes the story of Frankenstein much more horrifying is by the fact the child William is killed by the monster. As we have already spoke about, Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed in the Noble Savage where everyone is born on a metaphorically blank sheet of paper and it is the nature and nurture experiences that form people into the beings they are today. With William being a young child, he is still a blank sheet of paper. He is the epitome of innocence. This makes his death worst: there is no excuse for killing William as he has done absolutely nothing wrong with his life yet. By Shelley making the first victim a child could also be Shelley's way of making us hate the monster.

Ultimately, this story will make the reader question transgression. What is it worth? For someone like Doctor Faustus, he wanted power. For Frankenstein, he wanted to gain new scientific knowledge. What the story of Frankenstein speaks out in volumes above anything is that you should not try to obtain powers that only God should have. If you do so, and succeed in getting it, like Prometheus, you will be punished.

The Erl-King By Angela Carter Analysis and Summary

2013-06-02T12:18:00.000+01:00

Here is an analysis and summary of the short story that is in the book The Bloody Chamber. Feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you.

Summary

A teenage girl walking through a deserted, isolated forest is seduced by a wild man who lives there - The Erl King (personification of the woods). She falls in love with this man and becomes vulnerable under his power as she is taken in by him. As he teaches her the ways of his woods, she realises that he is weaving her a cage to keep her in, along with the other birds which he keeps. The climax of the story is her actions following her realisation as she strangles him with her own hair and sets the birds free.

Gothic Features

Weather and Setting

The wood is personified and isolated, 'the woods swallows you up'.
Initially more than fairy-tale than Gothic.
Erl-king can 'tie up the winds in his handkerchief'.

Dominant Males

Childlike.
Less predatory.
Romantic hero - she falls in love.

Passive Females

She is mature and purposeful (anti-Gothic?).

Supernatural

'magic lasses of inhuman music'.
He has a 'bird call'.

Religion

He says the Devil spits on them as Michaelmas'.

Critical Terms

The denouement (climax of the story) is the killing of the Erl King.
Epilogue: the story after the main story - 'then she will open...'

Key Themes

Gender representations.
Power.
Gothic setting (isolated woods).
Aggression - murder, sadomasochism.
Nature.
Sublime.
Transgression.
The liminal experience - half human, half woods.
Mirrors.
Roses.
Innocence and guilt.

Form and Structure

First person narrative until the epilogue where it changes to third person. This creates empathy but tension cannot be built as first person narrative shows that she survives. Switches between tenses and points of view in order to disorientate the reader, creating a Gothic sense of uncertainty and reflecting the feelings of the protagonist.
Description of the forest paints it as a prison, tricking and trapping those who enter like a series of Chinese boxes, one opening up after the other as you travel further inside - just like the narrative of Frankenstein.

Language and Effect

'To skin the rabbit' - he undresses her and she loses her dignity (pornographic).
'the vertigo with which he seizes me' - losing sense of who she is. He throws he off balance, off the moral path.
'I knew from the first moment I saw him, how Erl-King would do me grievous harm' - foreboding and terror, the reader fears for her. However, she still continues to see him, part of her own endangerment?
'Vertical bars of a brass coloured distillation of light coming down' - shows her desire to be caught, light is a positive image yet it is creating cage-like patterns. Link to Gothic idea of confinement.
'Mother, mother, you have murdered me!' - 'mother' confirms her new roe and control of her own destiny.
'old fiddle' - the fiddle with broken strings symbolises neglect and abuse (broken) yet shows possibility of harmony (music). It presence next to caged birds represents the trapped female spirit but offers hope.
'the tender butcher' - oxymoron, both loving and destructive. Highlights the narrators conflict.
'eyes as green as apples. Green as dead sea fruit' - green is the colour of life. However, in this sense, it is 'dead'. This shows that the Erl-King controls death as he controls the greenery in the forest.
'your green eye is a reducing chamber' - idea of a chamber, isolation, entrapment and links to 'The Bloody Chamber'. It suggests her life is 'reducing' as she becomes more involved with the Erl-King.
'the candle flutters and goes out' - conventional Gothic them, lack of hope and transgression.
'I should like to grown enormously small, so that you could swallow me ... Then I could lodge inside your body and you would bear me' - she wants to be all consumed by him. 'bear me' has links to the womb. This could show she perhaps enjoys being dominated by him.
'sulphur-yellow interstices in a sky hunkered with grey clouds' - sulphur is traditionally an element associated with hell and damnation. This links in with Doctor Faustus.
'there are some eyes can eat you' - feminist 'male gaze' critique, she feels she is being consumed by him, objectified.
'he is an excellent housewife' - shows gender representations being contradicted and broken down.
'falling as a bird would fall' - foreshadows her finding out about the birds he has trapped.
'his dress of water that drenches me' - metaphor is used to link sex to drowning.

Connection to Others

Whilst other heroine in Carter's stories find happiness in relationships with men, the Erl-King narrator rejects men entirely.
'What big eyes you have' - Red Riding Hood, links to 'Werewolf' and 'Company of Wolves'.
Notion of stripping skin - links to 'Tiger's Bride' and 'Wolf Alice'.
Mirrors - There are actual mirrors in 'The Bloody Chamber', magical mirrors in 'Tiger's Bride', the mirror changes Alice into a human in 'Wolf Alice'.
'long hair' is also used in 'The Bloody Chamber' to symbolise beauty. However, in 'The Erl-King', she uses it for strangulation and death.
Aggressive male language - 'The Erl-King' - 'he could thrust me into the seed-bed'. 'The Bloody Chamber' - 'pistons thrusting'.

Other Interpretations

'easy to lose yourself in these woods' - get physically lose OR lose who you are?
Narrative shifts between first, second and third person throughout, intention to confuse the reader. Makes the reader feel lost by the forest just like the narrator is.
'in his innocence, he never knew he might be the death of me' - Erl King is both malicious and innocent or perhaps he is unknowingly malicious'.
The wood could be seen as a metaphor for the womb, it is all encompassing and nurtures and changes the narrator (links in with 'The Bloody Chamber').

Historical Context

The Erl King is a character depicted in a number of German poems and ballards as a malevolent creature whom haunts forests and carries travellers to their deaths.
The 'Erl King' was most famous s the antagonist in Goethe's poem Der Erlkonig.
In original Scandinavian folklore, the character was originally a female spirit who was responsible for ensnaring human beings to satisfy her desire for jealously and lust for revenge.
'I would have to wait until he whistled me up from my darkness before I could come back again' - Links to Greek mythology about daughter of Zeus, Persephone who was forced to marry Pluto and to spend six months every year in his domain. Her return to the surface of the earth is signalled by the start of spring. Persephone is the personification of vegetation which grows in spring.

The Courtship Of Mr Lyon By Angela Carter Analysis and Summary

2013-06-02T11:23:00.002+01:00

Here is a complete analysis of the short story 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon' which is one of ten short stories (with 'The Bloody Chamber' being a novella) in Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber. Feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you.

Summary

There is a young girl called Beauty. He father is on the way home from a trip to see lawyers because his fortune has gone. However, his car brakes down and he is now upset that he cannot get Beauty the one gift she requested: a white rose.

The father finds an enchanting house and sees a white rose in it's garden. He takes it and hears and tremendous roar come from within the house. A Beast comes out of the house and is angry at Beauty's father for taking the rose in his garden. Beauty's father tells the Beast that it was for his daughter and shows the Beast a picture of Beauty. Beast likes Beauty and creates a deal where he will let Beauty's father have the rose if he and Beauty comes to dinner at the Beast's house.

At dinner, the Beast tells Beauty's father to go to London to sort out his 'fortune' he lost leaving Beauty by herself with the Beast. At midnight, the Beast throws himself onto Beauty and kisses her hand and then runs out of the room like a Lion on four legs.

Beauty enjoys her time roaming the house waiting for her father's return. Her father calls one day saying that his fortune has been restored so Beauty makes way to London to see her father. Beast is upset at this so Beauty promises to see him in the future again.

The Beast's spaniel found Beauty and looked starve. Beaut knew the Beast was dying so Beauty travels up to the Beast's house where she sees he has become weak because he hasn't been able to kill and eat anything because he hasn't the heart to kill. Beauty kisses the Beast's hand and cries on him. From this, the Beast turns into a man where the story leaves us with Mr and Mrs Lyon go to eat some breakfast.

Critical Terms

This short story is a pastiche. It is based on the classic fairy tale, 'Beauty and the Beast'.
The denouement (climax of the story) is when Beauty is at Beast's bedside when he is dying or when the father is met by the angry Beast for the first time.

Key Themes

The Bloody Chamber - The Bloody Chamber is the Beast's room. The Beast does not want to hurt anyone. Therefore, the room represents the violent and bloody reputation of a Lion. It is also a place of transformation for both the hero and heroism (where Beauty realises her love for the Beast where he is transforming back to a human).
Objectification of Women - Beauty's father uses Beauty as a payment for his debt to the Beast for taking the white rose. Although she is treated very well with luxury like the heroine in 'The Bloody Chamber', she is seen as property.
Mirrors - The reader will see the transformation of Beauty from an unspoiled child to a pampered women from the amount of times she looks at herself in the mirror. She is becoming obsessed with her physical image although she prefers the Beast's image of her as someone to have conversation with.
Roses - The white (white represents purity) rose represents Beauty in that it continually grows un-naturally in winter and is still perfect: like Beauty who is unspoiled, gentle and a virgin. Beauty and her father both want the rose, concurring to an idealized idea who she is. When the father steals the rose, it represents his desire to keep beauty perfect and maintain her virginity. Beauty sends the Beast roses of which he cherishes as the rose is Beauty's representative identity of a perfect women.
Love - Between Beauty and her father /Beauty and the Beast.
Beauty - Of the rose, spaniel, Beauty and the animalistic beauty of the Beast.
Vanity - Of Beauty.
Alienation - Of the Beast. He cannot interact with the outside world as he feels he will be mocked by other humans (which is why he doesn't have any servants).

Form and Structure

This is a pastiche of the fairy tale 'Beauty and the Beast'.
The narrative form is third person, 'He drew his head back and gazed at her'. However, there are snippets of 1st person 'all he is doing is kissing my hands'.
This gives the impression that this story cannot be subjective. However, due to the snippets of first person narration, it could be seen that it is partly subjective in areas making the reader feel pity for the Beast.
This is a short story.

Language and Effect

P47 Mid - 'Take her the rose, then, but bring her to dinner', he growled'. The Beast is bargaining with Miss Lamb's father. Fairy tales often feature a bargain of some sort strengthening the point that this story is a pastiche.
'When the sky darkened towards evening'. Carter foreshadows the transitions of the girl and the as-yet-to-know Mr Lyon.
'Indescribable shock...on all fours'. This shows the naivety of Beauty as, to the reader, it is obvious that as a Lion, the Beast will behave in an animalistic manner.
'that pearly skin of hers was plumping out', 'a certain inwardness was beginning to transform the lines around her mouth'. The apparent physical change mirrors that of the Beast, showing that they are at one, foreshadowing the ending.
Gothic - In 'The Courtship Of Mr Lyon', Carter creates the idea of claustrophobia around the Beast's castle, 'it might have been the reflection of a star, if any stars could have penetrated the snow that whirled more thickly' - The idea of shielding the castle from the Beast from outside world.

For more language and effect analysis, have a look at 'The Courtship Of Mr Lyon Key Quotes To Remember'.

Connection to Others

Tiger's Bride - 'Has an air of self-imposed restraint, as if fighting a battle with himself to remain upright when he would far rather drop down on all fours'. The Tiger's fight to remain human-like contrasts to the Mr Lyon's resignation to the Beast as he is 'on all fours'.

Interpretations

It could be seen that it is a pastiche of 'Sleeping Beauty' at the end.
The setting of being snowy could suggest a pastiche of 'Snow White' too.
It could be seen that Beauty sees the human in the Beast before he transforms when she feels 'indescribable shock' when he goes down on all fours. The indistinguishable line between man and beast provides the idea that there is a beast in all of us.

Literary Context

The first published version of Beauty and the Beast was a rendition Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villneuve, published in La jeune americaine, et les contes marins in 1740.

The Bloody Chamber By Angela Carter Analysis and Summary

2013-06-01T10:46:00.000+01:00

Here is a complete analysis of the first story in The Bloody Chamber entitled 'The Bloody Chamber' looking at key themes, quotes and so on. Feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you.

Summary

A teenage girl marries an older, wealthy French Marquis whom she does not love. When he takes her to his castle, she learns that he enjoys sadistic pornography and takes pleasure in her embarrassment. She is a talented pianist, and a young man, a blind piano tuner, hears her music and falls in love with her.

The women's husband tells her that he must leave on a business trip and forbids her to enter one particular room while he is away. She enters the women in his absence and realizes the full extent of his perverse and murderous tendencies when she discovers the bodies of his previous wives.

When the Marquis returns home he discovers that she has entered the room and proceeds to try to add her to his collection of corpses through beheading. The brave piano tuner is willing to stay with her even though he knows he will not be able to save her. She is saved at the last moment at the end of the story by her mother, who arrives and shoots the Marquis just as he is about to murder the girl.

The girl, her mother and the piano turner go on to live together, and the girl uses her now considerable fortune to convert the castle into a school for blind children.

Here are some points we can make about the summary of the story:

This is a simple melodrama with a piano tuner twist. This is a 'good vs evil' story where good is captured by evil and then rescued.
It is a expected story with an unexpected outcome. This makes the reader question their assumptions. The bilnd piano turner should have been the hero. However, it turns out that the mother is the hero.
'Sadistic pornography' is when people cause pain for pleasure. The male character is called the 'Marquis' after a man from the French revolution called the Marquis de Sade. He wrote a book '120 days in Sodom' which is basically a perverted pornographic book.

Some Critical Terms

The denouement (climax of the story) is when the Marquis is shot by the mother.
There is an Epilogue which is the story after the main story, P41 'We led a quiet life...'.
There are lots of Freudian symbols scattered through the story. These are symbols with obvious sexual connotations.
There is intertextuality where there is deliberate referencing of other texts that the reader is likely to know. The Bloody Chamber was wrote 100 years after the Marquis de Sade wrote 120 Days in Sodom.
There is menstrual taboo which is the cultural uneasiness and reluctance to speak about the menstrual cycle.
There is olfactory imagery. This is imagery that appeals to the readers sense of smell and taste.
This is a pastiche. This is the self-consciously retelling and altering a well know tale, possibly for witty effect. In the case of 'The Bloody Chamber', the Carter is retelling is Bluebeard's castle.
There is lots of pornography in the story - sexual explicit representation in art, literature or other media.
Sadomasochism - sexual gratification by the giving or receiving of pain (word comes from the Marquis de Sade).
Simile - deliberate comparison using the word 'like' or 'as' in the phrase.
Symbolism - using the familiar qualities of an object to represent an abstract notion (e.g. dove = peace).

Key Themes

Gothic setting of being remote, imprisoning and strange.
Gender representations.
Passivity and sexual aggression - sadomasochism.
Fairy tale referencing - an "aware" non-realistic text: 'I really do believe that fiction absolutely self-conscious of itself as a different form of human experience than reality (that is, not a logbook of events) can help to transform reality itself". (Carter letter to a friend).
Transgression - She opens the door to find out what is inside. This could be seen like the Bloody Chamber is the womb where she opens herself up to knowledge, like Eve did in the Garden of Eden.

Form and Structure

'The Bloody Chamber' is a pastiche of Bluebeard's Castle.
It is a Novella - between a short story and a novel.
The narrative form is 1st person subjective, past tense, 'I remember how, that night.." (opening).
Creates empathy with the young bride.
Allows tension to develop since the narrator only foreshadows the danger rather than the ultimate happy ending.
Historic setting gives scope for many cultural reference points in music, literature and art.

Chronological Analysis

Here, I will go through the novella looking at key quotations along with page numbers. If the quote does not have a page number, take that it is on the same page as the above quotation that has a page number with it.

P1 'I remember how, that night'. This makes clear that this novella is a retrospective narrative.
'I lay awake in the wagon-lit in a tender, delicious ecstasy of excitement'. The novella beings on a note of expectation - there is fear and excitement in becoming a wife and a women.
'great pistons ceaselessly thrusting'. This is a Freudian symbol with the pistons being a phallic symbol.
'My eagle-featured indomitable mother'. There are gender expectations for the mother of being quite feisty.
P2 ' "Are you sure you love him?" / "I'm sure I want to marry him" '. There is a distinction between love and marriage.
'gladly, scandalously, defiantly beggared herself for love'. Here, she is talking about poetry and love.
'antique service revolver'. This is a narrative technique which will somehow resolve the plot.
Good Quote 'sea-girt, pinnacled domain that lay, still, beyond the grasp of my imagination...that magic place, the fairy castle whose walls were made of foam'. Here is a fairy tale reference - she sees her life as a fairy tale. This links in with the Gothic theme of entrapment.
P3 'Whiff of the opulent male scent of leather and spices' - Olfactory imagery.
'his footfall turned the carpet into snow'. This has reference to 'The Snow Child'.
'He was older than I. He was much older than I'. This brings the point forward that the older you get, the more power and experience you gain.
'A lily. Possessed that strange, ominous calm of sentient vegetables like one of those cobra-headed, funeral lilies' - Complex multi-layered symbolism: of being phallic, a snake and to represent death.
P6 'I caught sight of myself in the mirror. And I saw myself, suddenly, as he saw me'. There is a sexual violence threat because she is now conscious about how she looks to others.
P8 'I swear to you, I had never been vain until I met him'. This makes clear that she has changed since being with the Marquis (possibly for the worse).
Good Quote P18 'Not the key to my heart. Rather, the key to my enfer'. 'Enfer' is French for hell. This makes clear that this room is not a pleasant room but has evil behind it.
Good Quote P19 'And he disgusted me'. She is in the complete power of the Marquis.
P20 'He was blind, of course; but young, with a gentle mouth and grey eyes that fixed upon me although they could not see me'. This is the first description of the piano tune. Since he is blind, he is the opposite of the male gaze.
'I asserted myself'. She has a strong side to her.
P21 'I telephoned my mother'. This is a plot device. It is because the young girl telephoned her mother that caused the mother to come to the castle and, in the end, rescue her.
Good Quote 'this lovely prison'. This is a great quote for Gothic entrapment.
'that bunch of keys no longer intimidated me'. The keys are a symbol for trying to understand a husband (as well as being a sexual Freudian symbol too). It is a symbol for women wanting to understand men.
'jinn's treasury'. This provides the reference of being 'genie-Aladdin' fairy tale like.
P23 'at last! - a file marked: Personal'. The young girl is starting to discover secrets.
There is reference to Dracula and the other vampire story Camilla on P24.
The Bloody Chamber is symbolic of the Marquis sole inner man. Therefore, the novella is a story for people finding out about each other.
P25 features a lot of setting, 'and the castle was adrift, as far as it could go from the land, in the middle of the silent ocean where, at my orders, it floated, like a garland of light'.
'For some reason, it grew very warm; the sweat sprang out in beads on my brow. I could no longer hear the sound of the sea'. As she approaches the forbidden room, the setting is slowly changing to that of hell which creates tension.
P26 'My mother's spirit drove me on, into that dreadful place, in a cold ecstasy to know the very worst'. This makes clear that female characters are not victims (gender role reversal).
The actual Bloody Chamber is an anti-church by what it possesses.
P27 'The worst thing was, the dead lips smile'. This can have reference to Frankenstein in the sense that the monster is made from dead human parts and 'a grin wrinkled its cheeks' when it was first alive. However, it could also make the point that the female dead body is content being in this room which is terrifying for the girl and the reader.
P28 'I dropped the key'. The key is now a symbol for her guilt.
'as if to tell me the eye of God - his eye - was upon me'. The Marquis is watching over her.
P29 'Assistance. My mother.' Her mother is the source of rescue.
'Every lamp in my room burned, to keep the dark outside'. Since the room is candle lit, a Gothic setting is created.
P30 'Mechanically, I began to play but my fingers were stiff and shaking'. She is using music to wash away the guilt of going into the Marquis' forbidden room.
Carter uses minor sentences to create suspense, 'Crash of a dropped stick'.
P32 'tumbled the fatal key out of my handkerchief'. The key also now represents the Marquis' evil deeds.
'gouging tunnels'. This is a phallic symbol.
Good Quote P33 'the more I scrubbed the key, the more vivid grew the stain'. The blood stain on the key represents her guilt for going into the room.
Good Quote P34 'I knew I had behaved exactly according to his desires'. The Marquis knew she was going to go into the room - it was all a trap.
Good Quote 'The secret of Pandora's box; but he had given me the box, himself, knowing I must learn the secret'.
P35 'If he had come to me in bed, I would have strangled him then'. She is not a complete victim as has some fight in her.

Language and Effect

Here are some more quotations that are worth pointing out.

'And did he give it to his other wives and have it back from them?' - Melodramatic (i.e. obvious) foreshadowing.
'Like an extraordinarily previous slit throat' - necklace.
'I sensed in myself a potential for corruption that took my breath away' - This is not a simple presentation of gender stereotypes (repeated in other stories in the anthology).
'He was awake and gazing at me' - This is the "male gaze": the feminist critique of patriarchy (Jean Yves' blindness).
'A remembered fragrance that made me think of my father' - Freudian imagery, Oedipus/Electra complex.
Good Quote 'bare as a lamb chop' - This is the most pornographic of all confrontations.
'My little nun has found the prayer books, has she?' - Gothic connection of religion and sexuality, e.g. Lewis' The Monk.
'I clung to him as though only the one who had inflicted the pain could comfort me' - She is the complete control of the Marquis / sadomasochism.
'To think he might have chosen me because, in my innocence, he sensed a rare talent for corruption' - The Marquis knew that she would look into his chamber of dead wives.
'A long winding corridor, as if it were the viscera of the castle' - setting human mind or body metaphor.
'The key slid into the lock as easily as a hot knife into butter' - Freudian imagery.
A quote from Charles Baudelaie - Les Fleurs du Mal, 'There is a striking resemblance between the act of love and the ministrations of a torturer'.
'The dreadful revelation of that bloody chamber' - The bloody chamber has a double meaning: it could also mean the womb.
'But the key was still caked with wet blood' - Menstrual taboo.
'The secret of Pandora's box: but he had given me the box, himself knowing I must learn the secret' - This has the connection to the Garden of Eden that it is the women that cause the problems because they are the ones that transgress.
'The atrocious loneliness of that monster' - Empathy.
'That tell tale stain had resolved itself into a ark the shape and brilliance of the heart on a playing card'. This has connections to Macbeth but is also not realistic. It is instead symbolic to remind the reader of having blood on hands.
'I only did what he knew I would' / ' "Like Eve", he said' - This is anti-religious and blames women for doing bad things.
'A crazy magnificent horsewomen in widow's weeds' - Questions gender stereotype and gender expectations (Jean Yves is useless).
'No paint nor powder, no mark how thick or white, can mask that red mark on my forehead: I am glad he cannot see it...because it spares my shame'. She is marked by experience from transgressing. It is also the mark of discovery about herself and therefore the mark of shame.

Connections to Others

Courtship Of Mr Lyon - Loving the monster, 'leonine shape of his head' pitiful nature of the male protagonist.
Tiger's Bride - Marriage is a contract or bargain, fearful male protagonist, discovering the beast within.
Puss In Boots - Fairy tale pastiche, but melodrama versus comedy makes them very different.
The Erl-King - Loving the monster, male is powerful yet empty.
The Snow Child - Sexual violence and colour imagery.
The Lady Of The House Of Love - Mirror image with opposite gender roles.
The Werewolf - Unexpected role for an older women.
Company Of Wolves - Loving the monster, the beast inside.
Wolf Alice - Exploration of female sexual development and awakening (psychoanalytic subtext).

Interpretations

Freudian Psychoanalysis - Oedipus complex and phallic imagery.
Jungian Patriarchal analysis - complex symbols.
Sadomasochistic interpretation - deliberate ambiguity in destination.
Deconstruction - Intertextuality, attempt to reinterpret fairy stories.
Feminist and gender reading: patriarchy, male gaze, stereotyping, questioning gender roles

Literary Context

Charles Perrault (1628-1703) Histoires ou Contes due temps passe - translated by Carter in 1977 (TBC 1979).
"Bluebeard" French: (La Barbe bleue) is a French Literary Folktale, the most famous version remaining that written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes due temps passe'. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the attempts of one wife to avoid the fate of her predecessors. Gilles de Rais, a 15th-century aristocrat and prolific serial killer, has been suggested as the source for the character of Bluebeard, as he has Conomor the Accursed, an early Breton king.
The Sadian Women - Carter 1979 about Marquis de Sade (1740-1814) "120 Days in Sodom" etc.

A Complete Analysis Of Doctor Faustus

2013-05-30T13:54:00.002+01:00

Below is a complete analysis of Doctor Faustus which is one of the Gothic texts being studied at English A2. I will be going through the book in chronological order looking at the most important quotes and their meanings (with page numbers. If the quote has no page number, take the page number of the previous quote(s) and it will be on the same page as that). Feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you.

To sum up, this article has the following:

A complete chronological analysis of Doctor Faustus with quotes, page numbers, and analytical explanations.
My review of the Gothic play.
Is Faustus the sole architect of his own demise?
Comparing Faustus to the traditional morality play.
The top 5 magic/supernatural moments in Doctor Faustus.
The historical context to Doctor Faustus.
Who is the victim in the play (potentially seven victims).
Is Faustus a victim or a martyr?
Is Mephistopheles a villain or victim?
Faustus as a tragic and romantic hero.
Why this play is a Gothic text.
The interpretations of Doctor Faustus from the production by Greenwich Theatre Production 2010.

Before we start the play's analysis, it is a good idea to quickly state what Doctor Faustus is about. Basically, Dr Faustus transgresses (oversteps the boundary) and is punished (where immortals punish mortals). Transgression is a key theme in Doctor Faustus.

Prologue

This a introduction to the play. It has the Chorus speaking giving the audience a bit of background about Dr Faustus (P3). The Chorus is a convention of Greek tragedy which doesn't get involved in the action of the story. Instead, the Chorus is a spectator that simply provides moral judgement for the audience.

'Not marching now in fields of Trasimene' makes clear this is not a story about war.
'Nor sporting in the dalliance of love' makes clear this is not a story about love.
'Nor in the pomp of proud audacious deeds' makes clear it is not about bravery too.
The Chorus tells the audience to have, 'patient judgements'. The audience needs to watch this play and judge Faustus. This makes the audience an active audience because the Chorus is trying to evoke an action from them.
Dr Faustus' background is of being common and poor with a low status as his parents are of 'base of stock'.
Faustus was 'shortly he was graced with doctor's name'. Faustus excels in his field as he is a doctor.
'swoll'n with cunning of self-conceit'. Faustus is full of himself (arrogant).
There is a reference to Icarus, 'His waxen wings did mount above his reach'. From this, it is clear Faustus is a Icarus-type character who tried to push boundaries and fell like the devil due to his transgression.
The Chorus makes clear that his downfall was planned from the start by Lucifer, 'And melting heavens conspired his overthrow'.
'necromancy' are dark arts which consists of conjuring the dead.
Good Quote 'Nothing so sweet as magic is to him'.

Act 1

Scene 1 (P5)

Faustus starts the play off with a soliloquy. This is so that he can let the audience know of his thoughts.

P5 'Settle thy studies, Faustus'. Here, Faustus is talking to himself which makes clear he is arrogant. However, there is also a possibility of a split personality here to.
Latin is used throughout the play. 'On kai me on' translates as 'to be or not to be' which is a important quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Good Quote 'Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man'. Faustus wants to be more than a man.
P7 'The reward of sin is death...Why then belike we must sin, And so consequently die'. If we have all sinned, we will all die. Therefore, this is Faustus' argument for transgression (because he is going to die in hell anyway as everyone sins throughout their life).
'These metaphysics of magicians / And necromantic books are heavenly'. Necromantic books bring spirits back to life. This is a transgression of death. At the time this play was wrote, people believed in witchcraft and hell.
Faustus goes through what he thinks he will gain from transgressing, 'power, of honour, of omnipotence'. Omnipotence (all knowing) is a work used to describe God. Therefore, he wants the same stature as God.
'All things that move between the quiet poles / Shall be at my command'. Faustus wants to rule the world with his new power. However, as we find out, this is nothing to what he really gains from transgression.
P9 The Good Angel appears on P9 with, 'O Faustus, lay that damne'd book aside'. The split personality is supported by the fact there is a Good and Evil angel trying to stop/encourage transgression. The Good Angel puts an accent on the 'e' of 'damned' to make an extra syllable so that the line is 10 syllables long.
The Good Angel basically states that temptation leads to damnation (hell). Faustus is risking damnation.
However, the Evil Angel then states after the Good Angel, 'Be thou earth as Jove is in the sky'. From this, she is wanting Faustus to transgress.
Faustus wants the spirits to 'Resolve me of all ambiguities'. He wants the spirits to answer all his questions which cannot be answered such as the meaning of life.

On P9, Faustus goes through all the things he wants to gain from transgressing. All in all, it is a very long list which contrasts greatly to what he actually achieves (not much). Faustus wants:

Gold and treasures - 'fly to India for Gold'.
Pearls - 'Ransack the ocean for orient pearl'.
Exploration (first to discover things) - 'search all corners of the new-found world'.
'pleasant fruits and princely delicates'.
To become a teacher - 'read me strange philosophy'.
Fortify Germany - 'I'll have them wall all Germany with brass'.
'make swift Rhine circle fair Wittenberg'.
Fill schools with silk - 'fill the public schools with silk'.
Enlist soldiers using the money he will gain - 'I'll levy soldiers'.
Rule the world.
Chase away Princes.
Become a King.
Gain forbidden knowledge.

This then begs the question if all of the above is worth eternal damnation? From the play of Doctor Faustus and from learning from it, never.

P11 Good Quote 'Tis magic, magic that hath ravished me'. Faustus is seduced by the dark arts which is a deadly sin by itself (lust).
'Will be as cunning as Agrippa was'. Agrippa summoned the dead.

Valdes then states what will happen from gaining forbidden knowledge on P11:

They will become idolised and obeyed.
They will have power over the elements: wind, fire, earth and rain.

Valdes goes on like Faustus about all the amazing things that will happen. There is a link to the ram's fleece Greek mythology, 'And from America the golden fleece'. The golden fleece is seen as the ultimate prize to obtain.

'If learne'd Faustus will be resolute'. Again, there is an accent on the 'e' of learned to make the line 10 syllables long.
P13 'Then tell me, Faustus, what shall we three want?'. This has reference to the start of Macbeth where there were three witches. There is a echo of evil here. As well as this, it is also a rhetorical question. There is evidence of desire. What will they want after having everything>
Good Quote 'O, this cheers my soul!' Faustus is in a state of mind about the dark arts where he is ready to sell his soul to the devil.
'This night I'll conjure, though I die therefore'. Faustus knows exactly what he is doing and the consequences of his potential actions. Therefore, this can be seen that it is no-one but Faustus' own fault.

Scene 2 (P13)

Scene 2 starts with a conversation between two scholars.

The first point is to make clear that we have gone from 10 syllables per line to now prose. This is possibly due to Wagner being involved in the scene (who is of low class).
P13 'I wonder what's become of Faustus, that was / wont to make our schools ring with 'sic probo'. Faustus' absence has been noticed at the place he studies: Wittenberg.
P17 'O, but I fear me nothing can reclaim him'. The scholar is scared that Faustus is already lost to the dark arts.

Scene 3 (P17)

This Scene is the start of Faustus' transgression where he succeeds in conjuring Mephistopheles up from hell.

P17 'gloomy shadow of earth'. Gothic pathetic fallacy is used to create a Gothic setting - evil deeds are about to happen.
'Orion's drizzling look'. Orion's belt is a set of stars in the sky. Stars are associated with heaven. Therefore, if they have gone out, the heavens have gone and are not present during these evil deeds. This creates an extremely dark and Gothic setting.
'Faustus, begin thine incantations'. An incantation is a magical chant.
Faustus is basically praying to the devil which is blasphemous to heaven and God, 'And try if devils will obey they hest'.
'Within this circle is Jehovah's name'. Faustus is being very blasphemous here as he is writing God's name for the use of dark arts, 'Forward and backward anagrammatised'.
Faustus believes his incantations will make the, 'spirits enforced to rise'. However, this is not true. Mephistopheles comes at his own accord: not because Faustus made him come.
When Faustus starts his incantation, he does it in Latin which is the language of the church. This makes clear that he is being blasphemous - he has misused holy symbols and has used devilish imagery.

For this reason, a Gothic setting has been created at the moment Faustus tried to summon up Mephistopheles because:

There is an element of supernatural with the symbols on the floor.
Faustus' actions are one of evil and blasphemous.
The setting is dark with the lack of any stars (heaven) being present.
He enchants to bring up the devil to obey him.

To the audience's amazement, a devil (Mephistopheles) enters:

P19 'Go, and return an old Franciscan friar'. This is a Catholic monk. To make the devil return as a Catholic monk was accepted as OK at the time of this play because of the reformation. It also suggests that there is evil at work in the Catholic church.
P21 'The word 'damnation' terrifies not him / For he confounds hell in Elysium'. Faustus thinks he is higher than God. Elysium is a Greek heaven pagan.
'vain trifles of men's souls'. Faustus believe in hell and is therefore not scared.
'O, by aspiring pride and insolence, / For which God threw him from the face of heaven'. Mephistopheles states that God punished Lucifer for his pride (which is one of the seven deadly sins).
'Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it'. Mephistopheles makes clear that hell is a state of mind and not a physical place. Since Mephistopheles was a fallen angel too, he has experienced the 'everlasting bliss' of heaven. Therefore, the abundance of heaven is hell. However, he could be luring Faustus into transgressing too since that the description is very vague and doesn't sound too bad at all.
Good Quote 'O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands'. Instead of luring Faustus into transgressing Mephistopheles is now telling Faustus that his demands are not worth eternal damnation If this is the case, what type of 'demands' are worth eternal damnation from the perspective of Mephistopheles? it could also be seen that the reason these 'frivolous demands' 'strike a terror into my fainting soul' is because Faustus has a chance to go to heaven unlike Mephistopheles and he is throwing it away. He can see Faustus' fate and wants him to go to heaven as Mephistopheles knows what hell is like and doesn't want him to go there (he's being quite nice!).
P23 Faustus wants Mephistopheles to spare him 'four-and-twenty years'. The reason it is this many years could represent the play being acted out in one day where each hour represents one year.
'Letting him live in all voluptuousness'. Voluptuousness is the lust for necromancy.
Faustus wants Mephistopheles to be his servant 'To give me..To tell me..To slay mine...'
There could be a pause because Mephistopheles says 'I will, Faustus'. If there is a pause, it means Mephistopheles is reluctant to become Faustus' servant.

Faustus should have learned to not transgress. He appears arrogant as it is evident he feels he is greater than hell. He thinks his is an exception and special making clear he is also ignorant. Scene 3 has a Gothic atmosphere due to the first scene which has the devil in it.

Scene 4 (P23)

Scene 4 holds a sub plot. This is a plot which mirrors the main themes of the main plot. It involves some of the lower class characters such as Robin and Wagner.

P25 Robin uses blasphemous words, 'Swounds'. The language, in general, is also very colloquial.
'a shoulder of mutton' is a parody of Faustus's demands making his demands seem trivial.
In the on-screen modern version of the play, Wagner has a cockney accent with Robin having a south-welsh accent. These are regional colloquial languages.
P27 'No, no, here, take your gridirons again. (He attempts to return the money). Even Robin is an idiot, he does try to repent in his sub plot something Faustus tries to do numerous times but never ends up doing.
'devils has horns'. The 'horns' is a phallic symbol.
The sub plot mocks the main plot making it comical.
The sub plot emphasises the 'frivolous demands' of Faustus.
The lack of intelligence could mirror and emphasise Faustus' foolishness to sell his soul to become cleverer.
The sub plot also is illustrating how Faustus' transgression is spreading through the play like a disease.

Act 2

Scene 1 (P33)

P33 Faustus is contemplating what to do. This creates opposites such as 'damned' and 'saved' and 'heaven?' and 'despair'. Faustus is talking like he has a dual personality: like he has an evil and good angel talking to him in his head.
'To God? He loves thee not'. This is a shorter line than the previous lines which disrupts the verse.
P35 There is the use blood imagery (macabre) when Faustus cuts his own so that he can write the contract with his own blood, 'Then stab thine arm courageously'.
There is the repetition of 'Great Lucifer' by Mephistopheles and Faustus to signify who Faustus now sees as great.
P37 Faustus' blood congeals in a last ditch attempt to stop himself from transgressing. Mephistopheles 'fetch thee fire to dissolve it straight'.
There is the use of supernatural behaviour when Faustus discovers the inscription of 'Homo, fuge!' on his arm. This is Latin for 'Fly, O man!' which comes from the Bible: 1 Timothy 6:11. This is another attempt to stop Faustus transgressing as it is telling him to fly away from this evil.

The best description of hell from Mephistopheles appears on P41:

Within the bowels of these elements,

Where we are tortured and remain for ever.

Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed

In one self place, for where we are is hell,

And where hell is must we ever be.

And, to conclude, when all the world dissolves,

And every creature shall be purified,

All places shall be hell that is not heaven.

It's interesting that the best description of hell comes after Faustus has signed the contract with Lucifer for his soul. If Mephistopheles mentioned this description of hell before the signing of the contract, he could have risked scaring Faustus away from damnation. However, there is nothing Faustus can do now after hearing what hell is like in more detail - he has signed the contract already.

There are some similarities between Act 2 Scene 1 and Act 1 Scene 1: There is thoughts on repentance.

Faustus is thinking about God and heaven.
There are evil distractions.
There are temptations (such as the Good and Evil Angels).
There is the importance for Faustus' soul. Lucifer wants Faustus' soul.
There is the punishment for focusing on Christianity (the wife which is a symbol of marriage).

Scene 2 (P45)

Scene 2 features the sub plot again with Robin and Rafe.

P45 'Here I ha' stol'n one of Doctor Faustus' conjuring books'. There is lechery amongst the lower class characters (which is one of the deadly sins).
P47 'Nan Spit'. Here, Robin is being rude and continuing the lechery. The transgression is filtering down to the lower characters making clear that the sins are spreading.

Scene 3 (P47)

Scene 3 starts with 'Enter FAUSTUS in his study and MEPHISTOPHELES.'

P47 Faustus starts by looking up at the stars, 'When I behold the heavens, then I repent / And curse thee'. Faustus wants to be close to the person that made stars being God as the stars are a metaphor for heaven in Doctor Faustus.

There are lots of quotes about repenting in Scene 3 which are listed below:

P49 Faustus - 'I will renounce this magic and repent'.
Good Angel - 'Faustus, repent yet, God will pity thee'.
Faustus - 'Be I a devil, yet God may pity me / Ay, God will pity me if I repent'.
Evil Angel - 'Ay, but Faustus never shall repent'.
Faustus - 'Scare can I name salvation, faith or heaven'.
Faustus - 'Faustus, thou art dammed!'.
Faustus - 'Had not sweet pleasure conquered deep despair'.
Faustus - 'I am resolved Faustus shall ne'er repent'.

It could be seen that Faustus has an affectionate relationship with Mephistopheles. During his soliloquy on P49, he describes Mephistopheles as 'my Mephistopheles' as if he is Faustus' possession.

P49 Faustus is a clever man which is why he wants to have an intellectual dispute because he loves disputing, 'let us dispute again / And argue of divine astrology'.
P51 Faustus shows off his intellectual knowledge from lines 50-58.
When Mephistopheles is asked, 'who made the world', by Faustus, he responds with, 'I will not'. This blunt answer could suggest Mephistopheles is angered by such a question being asked to him (wrath). However, the contract Faustus signed would dismiss all acknowledgements of heaven and God. Now that Faustus has signed the contract, he should be completely devoted to Mephistopheles and hell.
P53 After angering Mephistopheles, Faustus thinks about repenting again whether, 'Is't not too late?'.
Faustus is extremely close to repenting when he says, 'Ah, Christ, my Saviour, / Seek to save distresse'd Faustus' soul!' At this moment, we get a first glimpse at Lucifer who has come to try and stop Faustus repenting.
P55 Lucifer introduces Faustus to the 'Seven Deadly Sins' where he states Faustus should 'mark this show'. This makes clear that the appearance of the Seven Deadly Sins are meant to seem pleasurable and entertaining to Faustus so that it encourages him not to repent.

Here are the Seven Deadly Sins with quotes:

P55 Pride - 'I am like Ovid's flea'. It could be seen that Pride was first in this performance because 1) it is what caused Lucifer to damnation and 2) it is Faustus' greatest sin.
Covetousness - 'O my sweet gold!'.
Wrath - 'I leaped out of a lion's mouth'.
P56 Envy - 'I cannot read, and therefore wish all books burnt'.
Gluttony - 'My parents are all dead' - He has taken everything from them. 'thirty meals a day' - He eats a lot. 'thou hast heard all my progeny, wilt thou bid me to supper?'. Since Gluttony has told Faustus his story, he now wants food as a payment.
Sloth - 'I'll not speak another word for a king's ransom'.
Lechery - 'I am one that loves an inch of raw mutton'. Faustus calls lechery, 'Minstress Minx'. This makes clear that women are the depiction of lechery.

Lucifer then sends the Seven Deadly Sins back to hell.

P59 Good Quote 'O, this feeds my soul!'. This show has been pleasurable enough for Faustus to not repent. This makes clear that the show was entertaining to him. As well as this, there is an echo from Act 1 Scene 1 of, 'O, this cheers my soul!'.
Act 2 Scene 3 makes clear that Faustus is a passion-drive wilful protagonist.

Below are the five most important aspects to Act 2 Scene 5:

Faustus is close to repentance.
Faustus speaks a lot of God and heaven (which Lucifer sees as a big mistake).
Lucifer's appearance. This illustrates that Faustus was, in fact, very close to repentance.
Seven Deadly Sins which showed Faustus how much fun you can have in hell (temptation).
Lucifer's distraction to Faustus.
It's a 'rubbish' deal that Faustus has signed.
Lucifer reaffirms Faustus' religious aspect.

Remember that this is also a very Gothic scene too. It has the basis of good vs evil and the presence of all sins is very Gothic in general too.

Act 3

Chorus (P63)

Act 3 Scene 1 starts with the Chorus (which only turns up at key turning points) giving the audience a bit of information about what Faustus has done over the years with his newly gained power. This does mean that time has gone by. The Chorus, in this case, has been used as Wagner which makes clear that the chorus, in this case, might be unreliable and biased.

P63 The Chorus describes that Faustus has, 'mount himself to scale Olympus' top'. This is a mountain in Greece where God lived. Therefore, this makes clear that Faustus is heading for a fall like Prometheus.
'Peter's feast' is based by the Catholic church.

Scene 1 (P63)

Faustus starts Scene 1 off, like chorus, describing all the things he has done over the years. Faustus has been:

On 'airy mountain-tops'.
To 'Paris next, coasting the realm of France'.
On the 'river Maine fall into Rhine'.
To 'Naples, rich Campania'.
To 'learne'd Maro's golden tomb'.
'thence to Venic, Padua, and the rest'.
'Conducted me within the walls of Rome'.

Therefore, we gain that, after travelling the world, Faustus and Mephistopheles have ended up at Rome.

P65 Lines 27-43 has Mephistopheles giving a grand introduction to Rome making the city sound opulent.
Faustus talks about hell, 'of infernal rule / Of Styx, Acheron, and the fiery lake / Of ever-burning Phlegethon'.
Mephistopheles gives a stereotypical view of friars of being bald and fat and full of gluttony, 'Where thou shalt see a troupe of bald-pate friars / Who summum bonum (greatest good) in in belly cheer'.
'And by their folly makes us merriment'. Faustus thinks the friars are being foolish.
P67 Faustus is invisible but present at Peter's Feast which has the Pope talking. This part of the play has comedy and visual humour (especially from the fact the reformation of the audience would have meant they would have enjoyed the disruption of the Catholic church too).
'Fall to, and the devil choke you an you spare'. Faustus is being blasphemous and thinks the Pope is sinning and wants the Pope to have damnation. Faustus feels that there is corruption in the Catholic church as the the Pope and priests have loads of food while the poor don't.
Visual humour is created 'I thank you sir. (Snatch it)'...'(Snatching the dish) You say true, I'll ha't'...'(Snatching the cup) I'll pledge your Grace'.
Faustus continues to sin because he hits the Pope, 'The POPE crosses himself again and FAUSTUS hits him a box of the ear, and they all run away'.
P69 The sins Faustus commits are not too bad from what the Friar says on lines 89-100.
Mephistopheles uses fireworks to scare the friars away. Fireworks are the representation of hell.

A summary of Act 3 Scene 1:

Any doubt before of repent has gone: Faustus is with the devil.
It is trivial. Faustus is not using his powers to their full potential - he is just having fun.
The audience is told of the places he has visited and the powers he has used.
The audience gains an idea of the sins of the Catholic church such as gluttony and greed.
Faustus was invisible during Peter's Feast. These are powers only God should have.
There are lots of anti-catholic messages because the reformation was 'on trend' at the time this play was performed. It was OK to go against the Catholic church at this time because the audience was Protestant based.

Scene 2

The sub plot continues between Robin and Rafe. Here is a summary of Act 3 Scene 2:

Mephistopheles turns Robin and Rafe into animals as a punishment for requesting his presence.
Mephistopheles has to enter every time he is called which is comical.
Robin and Rafe are gullible, naive, and given strong accents.
There are lots of stage directions (such as when they give the goblet to each other).
Vinter is a girl in the play and will be subject to jokes.
Triviality - the curses are every trivial with there being lust and lechery from the characters.

Act 4

Chorus (P77)

The Chorus is a dramatic device for setting time and place (production point).

P77 The Chorus makes clear that Faustus is well liked, 'Faustus had with pleasure ta'en the view'. This creates a positive mood.
'Which Faustus answered with such learne'd skill'. Faustus is passing his transgressed knowledge onwards to others.
'As they admired and wondered at his wit'. Faustus now has a famous and well-know background.
'Now is his fame spread forth in every land'. Faustus is also famous everywhere now too.
'I leave untold, your eyes shall see performed'. The audience will see Faustus' story acted out as the chorus cannot explain it.

Scene 1 (P77)

This scene starts with , 'Enter EMPEROR, FAUSTUS, MEPHISTOPHELES and a KNIGHT, with ATTENDANTS'.

Faustus is now speaking in prose in this scene unlike before. This suggests that he is a lower class character compared to the likes of the Emperor.
P79 'If, therefore, thou by cunning of thine art / Canst raise this man from hollow vaults below'. The Emperor wants one of this ancestors, Alexander the Great, to be summoned from the dead (necromancy) so the Emperor can learn from him. This makes clear that Faustus has not become great, he is summoning the great. This is not what Faustus initially wanted.
There is nothing harmful in Faustus' magic - he is still having fun.
P83 'gives thee horns'. The horns could be a reference to the devil. However, it could also suggest the knight, from having horns on his head, is cuckhold. He is unable to control his wife.
The Knight describes Faustus as a 'damne'd wretch'. Faustus is going to hell anyway, so this insult is not too bad.
There could be a deeper meaning when the Knight says, 'Villain, I say, undo what thou hast done'. The Knight, in a deeper meaning, might be telling Faustus to repent. It makes the point that Faustus could be seen as a villain in the play.
'That time doth run with calm and silent foot'. Time is personified here which makes it out that time is always there by Faustus.
P85 'Short'ning my days and thread of vital life'. Faustus is in a hurry because time is running out. The thread is a metaphor for life where, for Faustus, the thread is running out.
'Calls for payment for latest years' Faustus' payment is his soul.
Faustus is not accepting that time is running out. The mood has changed to sombre (it's sad but necessary).
'To Wittenberg'. The play starts an finishes in Wittenberg providing a cyclical form to the play.
When the Horse-Courser enters, the audience wants Faustus to cheat him as usually it is the other way around.
P87 Good Quote 'What art thou, Faustus, but a man condemned to die?' This is Faustus' punishment.
'Christ did call the thief upon the cross'. Faustus wants there to be hope for forgiveness and redemption.
'had some rare quality'. The Horse-Courser thinks that the horse Faustus sold him was special. Therefore, he was driven by greed.
P89 Faustus uses trickery on the Horse-Courser, 'O my leg, my leg! Help, Mephistopheles!'.

Scene 2 (P91)

Act 4 Scene 2 starts by having Faustus, Mephistopheles, the Duke of Vanholt and the pregnant Duchess enter.

P91 'Alas madam, that's nothing (Aside to Mephistopheles) Mephistopheles, begone! It is clear Mephistopheles is doing the magic still as he is the one that goes away and returns with the grapes the pregnant Duchess requested.
The magic Faustus is doing is nothing compared to what he initially wanted. He is now pleasing others where originally, he just wanted to please himself.
All in all, the Emperor, Horse-Courser trickery and Duke rewards Faustus for his magic.

Act 5

Scene 1 (P97)

Again, the character of Wagner is used as the Chorus. This makes it possible for him to set the scene for the start of Act 5 Scene 1.
P97 'he hath given to me all his goods'. The audience will be preparing for Faustus' death as Faustus has already giving his possession to Wagner.
'if that death were near / He would not banquet and carouse and swill'. Faustus is drinking lots and trying to have a good time while it lasts.
'Who are at supper with such belly-cheer'. As well as drinking lots, Faustus is eating lots (gluttony). A point to make about this is that 'belly-cheer' was used to describe the stereotypical friar from Mephistopheles. Therefore, can there be comparisons between the friar and Faustus?
'the feast is ended'. As well as making clear Faustus is still sinning with gluttony, the feast can be a metaphor for Faustus. The feast has ended and so will Faustus' life too soon.
Act 5 Scene 1 is allegorical: every character represents something. An allegorical life is a journey (Christian journey).
P99 The Old Man represents wisdom and possibly death as he does die, 'Ah, Doctor Faustus, that I might prevail / To guide thy steps unto the way of life'.
'thy Saviour sweet, Whose blood alone must wash away thy guilt'. The blood of Christ represents salvation.
P101 There is lots of blood imagery from lines 67-78. Faustus tries to repent but is then threatened by Mephistopheles, 'I'll in piecemeal tear thy flesh'. This makes Faustus reconfirm his contract by signing the contract again with his own blood.
The Old Man's faith is strong which means Mephistopheles can only hurt him physically, 'I cannot touch his soul / But what I may afflict to his body with / I will attempt'.
P103 'Here will I swell, for heaven be in these lips'. Faustus knows exactly what he is doing when he goes to kiss Helen. He isn't thinking about the consequences at all of kissing Helen. Instead, he is focusing on the moment and not eternal damnation. Faustus knows that Helen is the devil so he is consequently damming himself.
P105 'Hence, hell! For hence I fly unto my God'. The Old Man goes to heaven after being tortured by Mephistopheles because he always keeps his faith with God.

Scene 2 (P105)

This scene is when Faustus, for the first time, tells other people about the contract he has signed with the devil (being the scholars from his university).

P105 'Comes he not?' Faustus is worried now when that the devil is going to come and take him to hell. The devil is coming near.
'God's mercies are infinite'. This provides the view point whether Faustus can still repent or not. If this is the case, he can still save himself.
Faustus, during this scene to the end, is not talking in structured iambic pentameter like he has been throughout the whole play. This could suggest that, because he is now talking in prose, he is losing his composure as he is about to die and go to hell. He is scared, terrified and panicking.
P107 'I would lift up my hands, but see, they hold them, they hold them'. Faustus is now being physically tormented by the devil. He is trying to lift his hands up to repent to God but his arms are kept physically down my Lucifer and Mephistopheles.
'Lucifer and Mephistopheles. Ah, gentlemen! I gave them my soul for my cunning'. Faustus has finally admitted to someone what he has done.
'vain pleasure'. Faustus sold his soul for empty pleasure. This makes clear that how 'frivolous' his demands were that after living 24 years with extra power, he has gained nothing but 'vain pleasure'.
'The date is expired, the time will come, and he will fetch me'. Parallel construction is created from Faustus using a rule-of-three list.
'the devil threatened to tear me in pieces if I named God'. It is difficult for Faustus to repent as he knows he would be tortured to death by Lucifer if he tries. However, maybe this is what needs to happen for him to become fully forgiven by God. For example, the Old Man was tortured to death by Mephistopheles and he went to heaven. Would the same happen to Faustus?
Act 5 Scene 2 is full of apocryphal stories. These are stories that are not in the bible but are taken as true.
Faustus is still close to the scholars after telling them what he has done. This makes clear that Faustus is still a likeable person.

The play ends with a long soliloquy by Faustus where he is extremely scared and panicking for his life.

P109 'Ah, Faustus'. The fact that Faustus starts by saying his name echoes the first line of the play, 'Settle thy studies, Faustus'. This potentially brings the point forward that Faustus still has a bit of pride and, in fact, hasn't changed.
The soliloquy is not in prose/verse any more but back to iambic pentameter (ten syllables per line). This could suggest Faustus has regained some composure.
'thou must be damned perpetually' and 'Perpetual day'. This is an oxymoron because Faustus' day is not going to be perpetual (never ending/changing).
'you ever-moving spheres of heaven / That time may cease and midnight never come!'. Faustus is looking up to the stars here and sees that the movement of the stars is a metaphor for time. He wants them to stop moving so that time can stand still so he has longer to live. The exclamation marks shows his confusion and despair.
Faustus speaks about a resurrection, 'rise, rise again'.
'O lente, lente currite noctis equi'. The rhythm of this line is fast pace which contrasts against the slowness of the soliloquy in general (as he wants to prolong time). The Latin comes from 'Amores' by Ovid. He wants night to pass slowly with a lover providing a sexual/sensual desire from Faustus.
'I'll leap up to God! Who pulls me down?'. Faustus is still having a physical battle with Lucifer. It also makes clear that Faustus still feels some connection to God.
'Christ's blood streams in the firmament'. Christ's blood is the emblematic symbol for eternal life.
'One drop would save my soul, half a op. Ah, my Christ!'. Throughout the play, Faustus has called Mephistopheles 'my Mephistopheles . He is now making it seem like Christ is his obsession too because that is now who he desires most.
'Ah, rend not my heart for naming of my Christ'. Here, Faustus is talking to the devil asking him not to torture or hurt him for speaking about Christ.
'Stretcheth out his arm and bends is ireful brows! / Mountains and hills, come, come and fall on me / And hide me from the heavy wrath of God!'. Faustus is using apocalyptic language where he has reference to an Earthquake during the resurrection. He is also stating God has wrath which cannot be true as wrath is a sin. Faustus is not thinking straight.
P111 'You stars that reigned at my nativity'. Faustus is talking about the stars that were over Christ when he was born and how he wants them to 'draw up Faustus like a foggy mist' so that he can go to heaven'. He has a lot of negative language now.
When, 'The watch strikes', Faustus is panicked by the lack of time he has left. This causes him to go back into prose losing his composure.
'Yet for Christ's sake, whose blood hath ransomed me'. Here, there is reference to the crucifiction (where to save souls, there is a sacrifice) as well as the last supper where the blood is Jesus' wine and the bread is Jesus' body.
'Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years, / A hundred thousand, and at last be saved'. Faustus is more scared that once he is in hell, he will be there for eternity.
'This soul should fly from me and I be changed / Unto some brutish beast'. Pythagoras had the idea that when humans die, they reincarnate into animals. Faustus wants to be a beast where there are no debates and merely just instinctual behaviour.
'mine must live still to be plagued in hell. / Curst be the parents that engendered me!'. Faustus is not cursing at the fact that he has a soul.
Good Quote 'No, Faustus, curse thyself. Curse Lucifer'. Is this a realisation that it was Faustus' fault for damnation? It could suggest that Faustus has learnt from his mistakes (even if it is too late).
'Thunder and lightning'. This could link in with Frankenstein were lightning is used to create life. However, now, lightning is the symbol in Doctor Faustus for destroying life.
'My God, my God, look not so fierce on me!'. This makes it sound like God is vengeful and therefore sinning with wrath. Of course, that is only interpretation whether God would actually sin or not.
P113 'Adders and serpetnts, let me breathe a while!'. From the bible, it was a snake which lured Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge. Therefore, adders and serpents are looked upon as evil animals.
Good Quote 'Ugly hell, gape not'. This is one of the best descriptions of hell because it has come from a character who hasn't been to hell yet. Faustus makes hell sound extremely physical and horrible.
'Ah Mephistopheles!'. Faustus' last cry for hope sees him shouting out Mephistopheles name. This makes clear that Faustus and Mephistopheles, from spending 24 years together, have become quite close if that is who Faustus thinks can save him from hell.

Epilogue

The play finishes with the Chorus talking.

P115 'Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight'. This is violent language. Faustus could have grown to become a great intellectual Doctor. However, his intelligent nature cut him short.
'grew within this learne'd man'. Faustus was a mature man and should have understood his potential.
'Regard his hellish fall'. This quote invites the audience to learn from Faustus' example: the dangers of transgression.
'To practice more than heavenly powers permits'. This last line of the play makes clear that transgression for 'heavenly powers' will have consequences as Faustus has found out. It is a warning to the audience.

My Review Of Doctor Faustus

Doctor Faustus, out of three texts I am studying (The Bloody Chamber and Frankenstein) gripped me the most with what the dangers of transgression are. Faustus was an intelligent but stupid man. It burns me to think that the idea of transgression should occur to those less fortunate than Faustus. Faustus is intellectually clever enough to achieve or what he wanted (on P9) without having to transgress.

The ending of the play is utterly shocking to the audience. An audience of the modern day would be shocked by the ending. An audience at the time of the play being written (who would have been far more religious would have been scared witless by the events of Faustus. The ending makes clear that there is nothing that is worth eternal damnation. Nothing. However, I do believe there were many key moments when Faustus could repent. It seems at the end that even if he wanted to repent, he physically wasn't allowed to by Lucifer. However, the moments when he wants to repent but is distracted (such as the Seven Deadly Sins and the kissing of Helen), he was thinking more about the moment than anything. That is one of Faustus' greatest weakness. He thinks a moment in time is more important than the future.

What I think will make the audience so upset after seeing Faustus becoming damned to hell is the fact that we still liked him at the end. Faustus entertained us at the holy Peter's Feast. He did tricks to people such as the Horse-Courser who no-one really likes. He was also nice to people with the powers such as the Emperor and the pregnant Duchess. He did not do any significant evil deeds with his power. At the same time, he did not do anything amazing with his powers which is what he originally wanted to do with them.

I think it is also important to make clear that I believe Faustus never really had power at any moment in the play. He relied on Mephistopheles' power to get him and do him the things he wants. Faustus thought he had power when in actual fact, he was simply using Mephistopheles for his power. For example, when Faustus wanted to conjure up some grapes for the pregnant Duchess, Mephistopheles goes off-stage retrieves the grapes, and then hands them over to Faustus.

Ultimately, Doctor Faustus is a great play. Not many Gothic texts can create such a vivid message at the end to not transgress as Doctor Faustus does.

Is Faustus the Sole Architect of his Own Demise?

Yes

Faustus illustrates a strong passion for the dark arts without being provoked by anyone, 'O, this cheers my soul'.
It can be seen that Mephistopheles tries to warn Faustus to 'leave these frivolous demands'. He is saying that the demands Faustus wants are not worth eternal damnation. Faustus ignores this making him the sole architect of his own demise.
'God's mercies are infinite'. Faustus had several good opportunities to repent but choose not to even if he could have been forgiven by God.
Faustus, in his last soliloquy, makes clear that it is his own fault for his damnation, 'curse thyself'.

No

Mephistopheles gives a very vague description of hell which, to Faustus, makes it sound not too bad, 'Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it. When Faustus sees hell for the first time he makes clear how horrible it actually is, 'Ugly hell, gape not'. Therefore, Mephistopheles lured Faustus into signing the contract as he made the consequences of the contract sound not too bad.
The Evil Angel continuously affects Faustus' decision-making, 'Faustus shall ne'er repent'.
Lucifer physically threatens Faustus if he repents, 'the devil threatened to tear me in pieces if I named God'.

With this question, you need to look at two important factors: before and after signing the contract. Who's fault was it that Faustus signed the contract and who's fault is it for preventing Faustus from repenting?

Comparing Faustus to the Traditional Morality Play

Faustus can be compared to a traditional morality play. Therefore, I will take the traditional elements from a morality play, apply it to Doctor Faustus and back it up with quotes.

Traditional Morality Play / Faustus / Quote

Mankind figure 'tempted' / Tempted by knowledge (transgression) / P7 'necromantic books are heavenly' and 'those that Faustus most desires'.
Mankind degenerates and lives a debauched (full of sin) life / Sin is not seriously bad but Faustus is blasphemous to the Pope and God / P37 'Faustus hath bequeathed his soul to Lucifer'.
Mankind is reminded of duties by a virtuous character / Good Angel and Old Man are the virtuous characters that want Faustus to repent / P33 'Sweet Faustus, leave that exercrable art' and P53 'Never too late, if Faustus can repent'.
Falls back into his old ways lead by vice (immoral and wicked behaviour) / Tempted again by Helen and the Seven Deadly Sins / P103 'Come Helen, come, give me my soul again' and P53 'O, this feeds my soul!'
Despair and offered suicide / Faustus offered dagger to stab himself / P99 'MEPHISTOPHELES gives him a dagger...FAUSTUS prepares to stab himself'.
Nick of time, mercy / Only tries to fully repents in last soliloquy / 'P113 'I'll burn my books' and P101 'call for mercy and avoid despair'.
Mankind returns to God / This never happens to Faustus as he goes to hell. Mephistopheles drip feeds Faustus with what hell is like making it sound okay. After signing the pack, the description of hell worsens.

Top 5 Magical/Supernatural Moments From Doctor Faustus

Mephistopheles appearing in Act 1 Scene 3 for the first time.
The show of the Seven Deadly Sins during Act 2 Scene 3.
Lucifer's appearance in Act 2 Scene 3.
Summoning of Alexander The Great for the Emperor during Act 4 Scene 1.
The ending where Faustus is getting dragged into eternal damnation in Act 5 Scene 2.

Historical Context to Doctor Faustus

Some of the Elizabethan audience would have been sceptical towards the supernatural powers in Doctor Faustus.
The magic in the play would have been viewed by the Elizabethan audience as evil (with attempts of magic also being evil). This made clear that Faustus is turning to the dark side and transgressing.
The Elizabethan's beliefs towards magic and the supernatural would have believe it to be completely true. Therefore, this play would have been much more terrifying to an Elizabethan audience than to the modern day audience.
Lots of people were accused of witchcraft during the Elizabethan time period. Therefore, the audience would have been cautious of Faustus.
The play Doctor Faustus was written at the time of a reformation: Catholicism was dying out with the majority of the audience being Protestant.
Faustus uses Latin, which is the language of the Catholic Church, to conjure up Mephistopheles.
The scene where Faustus mocks the Pope is Marlowe criticizing the Catholic Church which the audience (being Protestant) will enjoy watching.
The setting of where Faustus lives in the town of Wittenberg This is the same place and university Martin Luther, the monk who led the reformation, was studied and taught.
Catholicism was banned so it was okay to laugh at it.

Who is the Victim in Doctor Faustus?

Faustus

He is a victim to Lucifer an Mephistopheles.
He was tricked by Mephistopheles to how horrible hell actually is.
He is a victim of himself from the last soliloquy, 'curse thyself'.

Mephistopheles

He is a victim to Lucifer.
Act 1 Scene 3 P21 has the quote that Mephistopheles is, 'deprived of everlasting bliss'. The audience will, therefore, feel sorry for him.

Pope

He is tricked by Faustus.
The Elizabethan audience would have not seen him as a victim due to the reformation.

Old Man

He is killed by Mephistopheles for trying to make Faustus repent.
He suffers harm/death for the good of mankind and God.

Robin and Rafe

Robin and Rafe are transformed into animals in Act 3 Scene 2, 'transform thee into an ape and thee into a dog'.

Knight

Knight becomes a comical victim for Faustus making horns grow onto his head.

Horse-Courser

Victim because his horse turns to hay and he loses money to Faustus.
Audience will not see him as a victim as enjoy seeing the Horse-Courser getting tricked.

Is Faustus a Victim or a Martyr?

Victim

Victim to Lucifer and Mephistopheles - damnation is his fate.
Suffers at the very end, 'Ah, Mephistopheles!'.

Martyr

Faustus dies in what he originally believed in. He believes in the quest for further knowledge and dies requiring it.
He tells the scholars, at the end, to save themselves, P109 'come not unto me, for nothing can rescue me'.

Ultimately, Faustus is not a martyr because he tries to repent at the very end.

Is Mephistopheles a Villain or Victim?

Villain

Works as an agent to dam Faustus.
Intent on getting Faustus' soul.
Provides distractions when Faustus wants to repent (such as Helen and the Seven Deadly Sins).
Offers a dagger to Faustus (P99) - suicide will send him straight to hell as it is a sin.
Servant to Lucifer.
Writes the contract with Faustus and brings him the candle to melt Faustus' blood.

Victim

Dammed by Lucifer already.
Will never experience heaven.
Tries to warn Faustus P21 'leave these frivolous demands'.
Honest (but vague) about hell.
'Ah, Mephistopheles!'. He is a follower to Lucifer. But, there is more to the relationship between Faustus and Mephistopheles: Faustus calls him 'Sweet Mephistopheles'. They had been together for 24 years.
Mephistopheles and Faustus are actually quite similar characters. They are both dammed, both proud spirits, both intellectually intelligent and are both victims to Lucifer.

Faustus as a Tragic Hero

Has a fatal flaw: a desire for power and knowledge that leads him to damnation.
He experiences a reversal of fortunes which the audience can see will happen except Faustus who forgets that he will be dammed until the very end.
The audience will feel pity for him at the end because, ultimately, Faustus is good deep down.

Faustus as a Romantic Hero

He is on a quest for knowledge (Romantic heroes are often on some sort of quest).
Intuitive (Romantic heroes are often intuitive).
Becomes alienated from society (Romantic heroes are somehow rejected by society or are non-conventional in their ideas and way of life).

Faustus can be seen as a tragic and romantic her but more romantic. He has a tragic flaw (being his transgression) which ultimately means that after realising what he has done, the audience will feel pity and fear for him.

Doctor Faustus is a Gothic Text

I would recommend reading The Key Gothic Themes & Elements From Frankenstein, Doctor Faustus and The Bloody Chamber to understand better what makes a text Gothic,

The study is the dark setting used throughout Doctor Faustus as is dimly lit by candles.
Source of light fails such as when the stars disappear.
There are omens and ancestral curses such as when Faustus sells his soul to the devil and kisses Helen, cursing himself to hell.
There is magic and supernatural behaviour.
There is death, decay and darkness which is represented as the devil.
There are evil deeds which lead to the downfall of the character (Faustus signs the contract).
There are horrifying events such as when Faustus' leg comes off or the ending when being dragged into hell.

Doctor Faustus Interpretations

In the play, the deadly sin 'Lechery' is seen a a women, in the Greenwich Theatre Production 2010 (directed by Elizabeth Freestone), Lechery is a man in women clothing. This could provide the point that both men and women are capable of lechery.
In the play, the devils (on P37) should have given Faustus, 'crowns and rich apparel) when they didn't in the production.
The production has much more humour with Mephistopheles making the audience like him more.

Thanks for reading and be sure to check out my articles on English Literature AS and the rest of A2.

In Gothic texts, it is the men who are demonised. The women are simply passive victims of male ambition. To what extent do you agree with this assessment of Gothic fiction?

2013-05-27T10:41:00.000+01:00

The idea of women in Gothic texts being the passive victims due to the ambitions of men can be illustrated in Frankenstein where the protagonist is Frankenstein who indirectly kills his female loved ones for his transgression. For Dr Faustus, the lack of any significant female characters displays the abundance of a gender for passive victims: it can be seen that Faustus is the victim to demonising Lucifer and Mephistopheles. For The Bloody Chamber, with Carter being a feminist, the women are sometimes demonised such as in The Lady Of House Of Love as well as the men such such as during The Bloody Chamber. Either way, for the text to be Gothic a threatening character needs to control a weaker and more passive character in order to provoke a fear from the audience (for Dr Faustus) and reader (Frankenstein and The Bloody Chamber).

Remember to never copy any material on the internet such as this when writing your own essay.

Frankenstein portrays women as being domesticated and weak. For this reason, they are the stereotypical passive victim when against a more powerful and wicked creature (being the monster). Caroline is described ‘as a fair exotic is sheltered by the gardener’. By comparing Caroline to that of an exotic plant makes clear that she needs to be cared for more in order to survive. As well as this, it could also confirm the role of a women in the novel. With the majority of the setting being in the French Alps where it is extremely cold, icy and dangerous, from Shelley comparing Caroline to an exotic plants makes clear that she (and women) have no role in the transgression for knowledge as an exotic plant would not last long at all at the North Pole. Even though Shelley was a feminist, she brings the point forward that women are passive to men’s actions: the transgression for knowledge.

However, it is not just the passive female characters that portray the men as demonised. Even though the monster was born innocent, ‘a grin wrinkled its cheeks’, the neglection as a parental figure from Frankenstein and the neglection of humanity makes the monster become vengeful. Therefore, there is a desire or ‘ambition’ from the monster which the reader will assume is male considering the characteristics women characters are given contrast against that of the monster. The female characters such as Elizabeth and Justine do not provoke the monster in anyway to deserve to die. It is Frankenstein that provokes the monster which makes him threaten Frankenstein, ‘I will be with you on your wedding night’. Therefore, in the case of Frankenstein, the men are demonised and this is displayed most vividly from the monster killing Justine and Elizabeth who would not and, more importantly, could not have influenced the monster in anyway to make him in anyway vengeful to themselves.

In The Bloody Chamber, Carter questions gender roles by reversing the roles of characters in her short stories such as The Lady Of The House Of Love (LOHOL). However, the demonised Countess is only wicked and threatening because of her sexual frustration, ‘I smell the blood of an Englishman’. The Countess is compared to the giant in the tale Jack and the Beanstalk. This makes the reader see her as a fierce and powerful character. Even though the words are copied exactly from Jack and the Beanstalk, the mention of ‘blood’ could suggest her sexual hunger for a male virgin. This outcry from the Countess is then followed by ‘One hot, ripe summer’ which leads into an Aryan-like description of the English soldier. To use the word ‘ripe’ gives the impression that the soldier is sexually active and ready to lose his virginity making him seem even more appealing to the Countess. Therefore, the Countess in this short story has become demonised leaving the soldier to become the victim (who isn't passive as he does end up killing the Countess - Carter’s stories rarely have a passive victim in them).

On the other hand, The Bloody Chamber features the men as the demonised character with the women being the passive victim. The Marquis was based on the infamous Marquis de Sade who wrote the book ‘120 days in Sodom’. Therefore, the reader will inherit a sense of fear for the newly-wed young girl who seems to have married a psychopath. He describes his torture chamber key as the ‘key to my enfer’. Some might say that by describing where the key leads to, he is trying to provoke the girl’s curiosity so that while the Marquis is away, she will go and look into his torture chamber. This brings the point forward that the Marquis might have wanted the girl to look into the torture chamber so that he has an excuse to kill her along with his other wives. The problem is that the girl is not a passive victim. Carter installs a plot device being that the girl rings her mother, ‘I telephoned my mother’. This is the action from the girl that saves her life as it is the mother who kills the Marquis. Therefore, at first, the Marquis and the reader could have foreshadowed the fate of the girl considering the fate of the Marquis’ last wives. However, this girl is not a passive victim. This makes clear that the demonisation of the Marquis is ultimately what caused his death.

There is a deficiency of women in Dr Faustus making it difficult to come to a conclusion whether it is the women that are passive victims. Putting this aside, it is clear that Lucifer and Mephistopheles are the demonised characters: they are always in power and the most dangerous. This is why Faustus looks to transgress. One of his requests is to have power and domination, ‘I’ll be great emperor of the world’. Faustus can sense the demonisation of Mephistopheles which encourages him to transgress further: he wants to share this wickedness with Mephistopheles. However, in essence, Faustus turns out to be the closest character to a victim. Faustus’s actions mean nothing in the play because whenever he repents, Lucifer and Mephistopheles easily manipulate Faustus so that that the dark arts, once again, ‘cheers my soul’. However, in the play, there is no passive victim. Faustus requests the presence of Mephistopheles and signs the contract for his soul too. The actions of the demonised characters were not because of Lucifer and Mephistopheles’ ambition too: they want souls to ‘enlarge his kingdom’.

Ultimately, the passive victim only appears in Frankenstein being Justine and Caroline because they are the only characters in the three Gothic texts that are stereotypical domesticated women that have nothing to do with the plot of the story directly. They have been dragged into the plot by Frankenstein because of the creature he made. The Bloody Chamber does have some temporary passive victims throughout the short stories. However, the tendency is for the roles to become reversed so that the demonised character becomes passive and vice versa such as in The Courtship Of Mr Lyon and The Bloody Chamber. Looking at Dr Faustus, the only passive victim may only be the Pope who, due to no fault of his own (and possibly the fact that there was a reformation at the time this play was written), he has been criticized and mocked. However, a main theme through the Gothic texts is that each one always has a demonised character to create a sense of fear and even panic to the audience/reader which is extremely important for a Gothic text.

‘Faustus is the sole architect of his own demise’. To what extent do you agree with the view that Faustus is fully responsible for his own tragedy?

2013-05-23T20:29:00.002+01:00

Dr Faustus is a play that explores the consequences of transgression: hell. Therefore, it can be deemed that the Faustus’ tragedy is because of his transgression for the dark arts. At the start of the play, during Faustus’ soliloquy, he has no other disruptions of influences which leads him to say, ‘magic that hath ravished me’. Therefore, it can be seen that Faustus is fully responsible for his own tragedy. On the other hand, it can also be seen there are other characters that contribute to his tragedy being Mephistopheles and Lucifer who want his sole to ‘enlarge his [Lucifer’s] kingdom’. However, Faustus was ‘graced with doctor’s name’. Faustus’ intelligence should have warned him against the risk of transgression. As well as this, there are other characters such as the Old Man and Good Angel which try to lead Faustus to repent. This helps to identify Faustus’ tragic flaw who should have acknowledged the risk of eternal damnation much more unlike the audience of the time the play was written which would have strongly believed in heaven and hell.

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Faustus’ thrive for knowledge was the fatal flaw and consequence to his tragedy and therefore can be deemed his own fault. When first introduced to the dark arts, Fastus states, ‘this cheers my soul!’ Even before the influences of Mephistopheles and Lucifer, Faustus illustrates a strong passion for the dark arts which has not been provoked by anyone. It is Faustus that seeks the assistance of Cornelius and Valdes for a deeper understanding of the darks arts - not the other way around. For this reason, it can be seen that Faustus’ tragedy was his own fault: at the start of the play, he makes clear his intentions: to transgress. If he did not show these intentions for the necromantic books that are ‘heavenly’, Faustus would have most likely not become damned forever in hell.

On the other hand, other characters such as Mephistopheles entice Faustus into thinking that the consequence of damnation are not as bad as people might as first think. When asked what hell is like, Mephistopheles describes that, ‘this is hell, nor am I out of it’. The vague description of hell by Mephistopheles will give Faustus the impression that hell can be compared to that of living on Earth. However, what Mephistopheles means is that hell is the abundance of God which, if experienced, is eternal pain. The fact that Faustus has not ‘tasted the eternal joys of heaven’ makes him believe that hell cannot be that bad. This, therefore, gives Faustus an incentive to transgress towards his tragedy. The consequences of his actions, from Faustus’ perspective, is insignificant. However, as we learn at the end when Faustus’ time is up, ugly hell, gape not’, the vague description of hell is an understatement. When Faustus actually sees hell, he realises that it is far worse than Mephistopheles ever described it as. For this reason, Mephistopheles contributed to the damnation of Faustus. Although he did tell Faustus to ‘leave these frivolous demands’ making clear that Faustus’ demands are not worthy of damnation, if Mephistopheles truly wanted Fastus to not sign his soul to the devil, he should have told Faustus the true horrors of hell. With this statement, some Christians will say on the contrary that it is Mephistopheles' job to bring souls to hell. Therefore, if he turned away souls such as Faustus, Lucifer will be extremely angry: Mephistopheles tried to hint to Faustus as much as possible to not damnate himself without getting into too much trouble with Lucier.

There are characters in Dr Faustus which try to lead Faustus away from damning himself such as the Good Angel and Old Man. Throughout the play, the Old Man acts as a moral consciousness to Faustus, ‘I see an angel hover o’er thy head’. The Old Man always gives Faustus the chance to repent and at times, Faustus is close to repenting but is then enticed by shows such as the seven deadly sins, ‘O, this feeds my soul!’, and Helen. However, what makes Faustus the architect of his own demise is the fact that he wanted Mephistopheles to get rid of the old man, ‘that base of crooked age / That durst dissuade me from thy Lucifer’. At this moment in the play, the audience will truly gain the impression that Fastus is a lost soul: has wants to get rid of the only good thing that is preventing him from damnation. It wasn’t Mephistopheles who first gave the idea of torturing the Old Man. It was Faustus and for this reason, it makes clear he was responsible for his own tragedy: he was using Mephistopheles’ power for hellish reasons.

Ultimately, I believe Faustus is the sole architect of his own demise. Even though there are characters that want Faustus to become damned such as Mephistopheles, the evil angel, ’Faustus shall ne’er repent’, the reason for these characters wanting Faustus to become damned is because of Faustus’ original thrive for magic and dark arts. The first soliloquy of Act 1 Scene 1, I deem, to be the most important part of the whole play. Unaffected by no other characters, the audience will realise that Fausts wants to transgress even before having the temptations Lucifer and Mephistopheles. Faustus makes clear his intentions here too, ‘Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man’. This makes clear that even before reading the necromantic books, Faustus wants to become more than just a man - he has a large ego. For this reason, I believe Faustus is fully responsible for his own tragedy. It is his fault for finding an interest in the dark arts at the start of the play. It is his fault for summoning Mephistopheles. It is his fault for becoming enticed by evil spirits towards hell. It is his fault for becoming eternally damned.

“In Gothic texts the lines between the human and animal kingdoms can be blurred.” Explore the relevance of this view with two texts that you have studied.

2013-05-23T20:27:00.001+01:00

With Gothic texts usually evolving around death, sorrow and misery, it makes clear to introduce the aspect of the animal kingdom to the human world in order to create a far more powerful Gothic atmosphere. In The Bloody Chamber, Carter introduces the animal kingdom in order to create vagueness between humans and animals: deep down, we all have animalistic behaviour which stems down to our instinctual behaviour. On the other hand, in Frankenstein, Frankenstein can be seen to be a doppelgänger to the Monster making clear that Shelley wants to juxtapose the two kingdoms (if the Monster is from the animal kingdom). However, in different parts of each text, Shelley and Carter can both be seen to create clear and blurry distinctions between the two kingdoms to create a different symbolism towards each separate kingdom.

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In Frankenstein, the line between the human and animal kingdoms is made vague from the appearance of the Monster and, because of this, is then concurred further when we first gain an idea of the Monster's personality. Captain Walton is the first to see the Monster and describes it as, ‘the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature’. The description of the Monster’s first sighting is ambiguous creating tension to what the Monster actually is. Although he resembles a man at first sight, we anticipate the ‘gigantic stature’ is an abnormal quality which puts the Monster further towards the animal kingdom. From this, it is clear the Monster’s appearance possesses qualities from both kingdoms. However, Frankenstein, when he has created the Monster, uses ‘horror’ many times to make clear his shock of the Monster’s appearance. Planned to look like a human, Frankenstein has misjudged the creation of the Monster making him become increasingly animalistic looking fearing his personality and behaviour will be as shocking as his appearance. Yet, when the Monster first opens his eyes to life, ‘a grin wrinkled his cheeks’. This links in with Joe-Jacques Rousseau’s theory of noble savage that every living being is born as a metaphorical blank page. Although the reader now perceives the Monster to be bad from the description Frankenstein has given him of being as a, ‘catastrophe’, because the Monster has no memory of anything from just being born, he is ultimately innocent and pure. This makes the connection that every living creature will have started as a blank page no matter what it looks like or what background its parents have had: the human and animal kingdom is blurred because at the start of every life be it human or animal, we are all a blank page ready to be filled with experiences that crafts us into the people we are today.

The Bloody Chamber deliberately blurs the boundary between the two kingdoms because Carter uses the animals as a symbolism for the sexuality for humans. This is made clear in The Courtship Of Mr Lyon where Beauty is used as a negotiation tool for her father stealing a rose from the Beast’s garden. Beauty is described as ‘Miss Lamb, spotless, sacrificial’, presenting Beauty which an animalistic vulnerable nature. Beauty is in the control of the Beast because she is his prey. The sexual imagery is present is this quote with ‘spotless’ demonstrating that Beauty is a virgin with ‘sacrificial’ meaning she is willing (or more obliged) to have sex with the Beast as a sacrifice for her father, ‘she would have gone to the ends of the earth for her father’. Therefore, from a human perspective, Beauty is a young girl who’s virginity has been used to satisfy the Beast. From an animal perspective, though, she is a prey to the Beast that has been laid to the Beast by Beauty’s father as an offering. This offering of tender young meat makes the Beast look like he is a God receiving a sacrifice empowering the Beast. Either way, the sexual imagery from describing humans as animals makes clear the line between the kingdoms is vague at best and is kept this way to aid the transformation from kingdoms both Beast and Beauty make at the end, ‘Mr and Mrs Lyon’ which also happens many times in The Bloody Chamber such as with The Werewolf, ‘no longer a wolf’s paw, but a hand’.

The kingdoms of the human and animal worlds can be seen to contrast in both texts due to the raw and unfinished nature the animal kingdom is given. In The Bloody Chamber (the story, not text), the women is described as, ‘bare as a lamb chop’. Again, Carter creates sexual imagery relating to the exposure of the women with the connotations of a lamb being of innocence and virginal purity. However, to use a metaphorical simile which describes a women as raw meat makes clear that she is not ready to lose her virginity and needs time to mature. This animalistic imagery can also be seen to be in Frankenstein too. The Monster is conveyed as also raw and unfinished with many of his dead body parts being constructed out of proportion, ‘his yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath’. The Monster cannot be seen as human because physically, although stronger, his body is dead and deformed. This highlights that the Monster does belong to the animal kingdom. However, the definition of ‘animal’ can vary. In The Bloody Chamber, it is clear Carter refers to animals being normal living creatures. In Frankenstein, ‘animal’ refers more to subhuman.

There are times in Frankenstein where the animal kingdoms are made to look like the human kingdom. In Frankenstein, the narration of the Monster is in a highly educated fashion: typical of the 1800s, ‘A strange multiplicity of sensations seized me’. An element which differs humans from animals is that humans are far more intelligent with a far greater depth of knowledge. The way the Monster speaks brings him closer to the human kingdom. This point is supported by the complex emotions the monster experiences which would not happen to a creature of the animal kingdom, ‘I will be with you on your wedding night’. The Monster has learnt to revenge the destruction of Frankenstein’s second creation for the Monster. From this, it explains that although the Monster is ultimately overpowering and visually an animalistic creature to be feared, deep down, he is human - afterall, he was made up of human body parts. The ending to Frankenstein is where the reader will truly see the Monster as human. The Monster regrets the actions he has done and is willing to punish himself to stop future pain and suffering for both himself and humanity, ‘I have murdered the lovely and the helpless...I shall collect my funeral pile, and consume to ashes this miserable frame’. An animal’s instinctive behaviour is to survive. Above everything, an animal knows it must survive. The Monster’s moral conscience has taken over any instinctive behaviour it possessed making clear that the Monster was born into the human kingdom and died into the human kingdom too from possessing the traits of a human.

Ultimately, the lines between the human and animal kingdoms are blurred: in both cases of Frankenstein and The Bloody Chamber, the boundaries are blurred so that humans can take some of the traits of animals the reader will stereotypically view (such as to be aggressive, instinctive or fundamental). The Bloody Chamber uses the animal kingdom to help with symbolising sexuality that when sexuality appears in The Bloody Chamber, it comes across more as a fundamental job to do than to gain pleasure from. When the kingdoms contrast, it is to create a clear difference between the two sexes with usually the woman becoming the more powerful figure such as in The Lady Of The House Of Love, The Bloody Chamber, The Courtship Of Mr Lyon and The Erl King. The human kingdom (being the woman) overcomes the animal kingdom of the man to become the more powerful of the two kingdoms at the end of the short stories. This brings to light that overall, the human kingdom to The Bloody Chamber will always overpower the animal side which mimics that of Frankenstein too. If the Monster was viewed from the animal kingdom, the human kingdom overpowers the animal kingdom. However, the underlying fact is that the Monster contains more traits from the human kingdom than the animal kingdom. The complexity of the plot cannot have come from any creature from the animal kingdom. For this reason, there is no boundary between the human and animal kingdoms in Frankenstein because Shelley simply does not make the Monster animalistic enough to be viewed from the animal kingdom. With The Bloody Chamber, the boundaries frequently crossover, due to the transformations from kingdoms, to illustrate that deep within every human, there is an animalistic nature.

How Far Can We See Women In ‘The Bloody Chamber’ Victims Of Circumstances Or The Martyr?

2013-05-23T20:22:00.003+01:00

The women in The Bloody Chamber can be viewed as victims and martyrs. However, it depends most on what short story that is being related to. In The Courtship Of Mr Lyon, the women is transformed from that of a victim to a potential martyr. She, ‘Beauty’, is described as, ‘(P48) Miss Lamb, spotless, sacrificial’. Here, Beauty is viewed as a sacrifice to the Beast such as an offering which has come from Beauty’s father for taking the rose. Therefore, at the start, Beauty is viewed straight away as a victim: through no fault of her own, she has become a tool of negotiation for her father with a dangerous creature (being the Beast). However, as we progress through the short story, the gender roles reverse with Beauty becoming more powerful and the Beast becoming more timid and weaker. At the end of the short story, Beauty is named as ‘Mrs Lyon’ alongside Mr Lyon who has transformed to a human from Beast. Beauty has not a martyr because she has not suffered, died or sacrificed herself for a further belief. As well as this, she has not been victimised at the end. Instead, she has been empowered with more animalistic and masculine features concluding that at the end of The Courtship Of Mr Lyon, Beauty cannot be seen as a victim or a martyr.

How Far Can We See Dr Victor Frankenstein As A Victim Of Circumstances Or A Martyr?

2013-05-23T20:21:00.001+01:00

Frankenstein can be seen as both a victim and a martyr ultimately due to the creation of the Monster. It was his creation of life that caused him to become a victim and martyr. At first, we will see Frankenstein as a victim for the way he is found by Captain Walton, ‘(P27) generally melancholy and despairing’. As well as making clear Frankenstein is in a bad state when first found, it also creates tension and drama for why he is in this condition. It can be seen that Frankenstein cannot be a victim too at the end of Volume One but more of a coward, ‘(P81) My tale was not one to announce publicly; its astounding horror would be looked upon as madness by the vulgar’. This is Frankenstein's excuse not to reveal the Monster which the reader will view as wrong: the innocent are dying because of Frankenstein's cowardice. Therefore, although Frankenstein does suffer harm and death, ‘I will be with you on your wedding night’, ultimately, it is because of Frankenstein's mistakes that cause him to become a victim. Either way, the reader will find it difficult to sympathise with Frankenstein seeing that he could have stopped the Monster’s ‘rampage’ very early on.

As well as this, Frankenstein can be seen as a martyr too. Although Frankenstein makes lots of mistakes towards his creation, in the end, he makes the right choice, ‘(P171) tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged (being the Monster’s partner)’. Frankenstein, being a clever scientist, will know the consequences of bringing false hope to the Monster. Therefore, it can be see that he has sacrificed himself for the better of humanity. This brings the point forward that Frankenstein died for humanity. He was tempted to save himself by creating a fellow creature for the Monster. However, he decides that he should not be the creator of further suffering for the innocent such as William, Justine and Elizabeth. Instead, he suffers a terrifying fate which ultimately prevents the monster form potential breeding. However, since he had enraged the Monster from giving him false hope, the revengence caused more terror than if he had just created the second creature. Therefore, it is still up for debate whether Frankenstein was a martyr or not.