The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen
Arthur Machen’s novel “The Great God Pan” published in 1890, sparked controversy among the press who criticized the short novel as appalling and perverted because of the sexual content as well as the degenerate technique the story uses (Lovatt 34). Yet, the novel has redeemed its status as a classic horror because of the supernatural belief that informed Machen’s main writings. By extension, the novel uses fantasies that are mysterious and supernatural to tell the tales through wonder and terror. Most significantly, Machen utilizes the first line of each stanza of the 1862 poem by Elizabeth Barret (A Musical Instrument) to produce the title of the novel. Seemingly, the horror following the supernatural accounts
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Most notably, the book is a creepy narrative that illustrates the consequences and the horrors of a medical experiment performed to examine the sources of the human brain. A fatal and a horrific scene engulf the story when the young woman dies in the experimenting laboratory. From a structural perspective, The Great God Pan is a concoction of twisted tales that Machen writes out of his time nearly against the age. Following his avoidance to describe the primitive horrors, he believed that once a mystery was revealed the intrigue and the surprise of the mystery were destroyed. In addition, the literary works of weird fiction attest to the worlds of scientific rationalism and the mystical experience to understand the contemporary and the modern world. Indeed, the crudity of the early novel has attracted the interest of several modern readers who associate with Arthur Machen’s name (Lovatt 25). In spite of the narrative’s over-reliance on the coincidences, the author introduces many of the themes and the methods of the author to make the story a gripping reading experience. Essentially, the tale is told from several perspectives but expresses the unconventional operation of the
Kempe, Margery. The Book of Margery Kempe. Ed. Sanford Meech and Hope and Emily Allen. London: Oxford UP, Early English Text Society 212, 1940; rpt. 1961.
Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print
the feeble cry, 'The horror! The horror!' and the man of vision, of poetry, the
Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market” and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of The Ancient Mariner are the two works that will be discussed in this essay. This essay will explore the different cultural background of both texts along with the authors. Both texts were written in different time periods, the Victorian Period (1837-1901), and the Romantic period (1800-1850). Both periods had their different features and requirements, which will be discuss and tied into the works of both authors throughout the rest of this essay. Throughout the Romantic and Victorian period, symbolism and the supernatural were two features that were common; which both appeared in Rossetti’s and Coleridge’s work. Supernatural can be a distinction to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature. The supernatural and symbolism that appeared in works of Rossetti’s and Coleridge’s tend to show various similarities in the culture, and period surrounding each work. A comparison between these two authors will give a crucial explanation.
In the short stories The Circular Ruins and The Secrete Miracle, the reader is lured into a false sense of reality, by impressive detail and accurately described people and places. None of which, at first, appear to be abnormal, fictitious, fantastical, imaginary, or physically impossible. The author provides these precise and realistic descriptions to create a connection between reader and protagonist. In The Circular Ruins, he tells of a solitary man with no clear recollection of his life, yet resolute and determined to a...
stories holds a large impact on how they later develop as individuals. While Baldwin’s piece demonstrates the ignorance from society which is projected onto him from Swiss villagers, it shares both similarities and differences to the attitudes demonstrated in Hurston’s piece influenced by her surroundings. Being that it is difficult to escape the past and the events that have brought strength through triumph, it is important to focus one’s attention on the present and into the future. Although the past determines who an individual is, the future determines who an individual will become.
Stylistically, the book is arranged in rotating chapters. Every fourth chapter is devoted to each individual character and their continuation alo...
Greenblatt, Stephen, eds. The Norton Anthology English Literature. 9th ed. Crawfordsville: R.R. Donnelley & Sons, 2012. Print.
There were two principle views concerning imagination, the Victorians and the Romantics, who didn’t accept each other’s ideas about imagination. But, despite their clashes on the status and views of imagination, the Romantics and Victorians share similar ideas through different angles of perspective, which we could assume are linked in part to their era. The long poem, named Goblin Market, written by Christina Rossetti shows the contrast between the ideas of Romanticism and the Victorian image of imagination while utilizing the same motifs. Goblin Market centralizes its theme on the Victorian approach towards Imagination as being a destructive, alien force that leads to grave and fatal consequences. Nature is seen as a demonic force that leads to death, as well as the clear distinction of the imaginative creatures, consisting of the goblins, being portrayed as satanic and evil. In addition, throughout this tale we see how the imagination is constantly blamed for leading to unfortunate situations, while the Romantics would consider the imagination to be doing the person good even if it leads the person astray on a path of death and destruction. Thus, Rossetti’s text demonstrates the Imagination having satanic nature, which portrays imagination as intoxicating and deadly. Also, the author displays her disapproval of nature by demonstrating Laura’s rejection of nature as her enlightenment, whereas the Romantics would do otherwise. The Romantics have different views of the imagination than the Victorians. They consider imagination as a divine force and a pathway to a higher experience and spiritual truth in any form. The Romantics consider that their perc...
The setting for this novel was a constantly shifting one. Taking place during what seems to be the Late Industrial Revolution and the high of the British Empire, the era is portrayed amongst influential Englishmen, the value of the pound, the presence of steamers, railroads, ferries, and a European globe.
Christina Rosetti’s poem “Goblin Market” has elements of Christianity and sexuality; however, the Christian elements outweigh and are more influential than the sexual elements.
Jorge Luis Borges’ thought provoking and fantastical literature stems from his philosophical mind. His stories, especially “Death and the Compass”, focus on labyrinths and identity. Borges fascinates his audience with his analysis of reality. He combines fact and fiction to create the perfect genre of mystery. His characters’ conquest for the unknown defines his use of detective fiction.
Writers during the ‘Dark Romantics’ period took a close, in-depth look at the flaw in human nature. Authors such as Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville, use feelings, imagination, and nature to show a different vision of the individual than that of the Transcendentalists. The work produced by the ‘Dark Romantics’ suggests that human beings are not divine. Poe’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart,’ Hawthorne’s ‘The Birthmark,’ and Melville’s ‘Benito Cereno’ all support this idea by showing the dark side of humanity through their characters’ evil doings.
Through realistic literary elements of the novel and the themes of individuality, isolation, society and being content versus being ambitious, readers of Robinson Crusoe can relate to many experiences that Crusoe faced. Crusoe’s story represents the genre of the middle class; it is the narration of middle-class lives with the help of realism elements and prominent themes that reflect on middle-class issues and interests. Crusoe represents mankind in the simplest form, he stands on middle ground no higher or lower than any other. He represents every reader who reads his story; they can substitute him for themselves. His actions are what every reader can picture himself or herself doing, thinking, feeling or even wishing for (Coleridge and Coleridge 188-192)