Oil and Blood

Jamie McKendrick's dramatic monologue is from the perspective of what we believe to be, Dracula. Immediately, we are lured into a false sense of security, or we see how Dracula is persuading his victim to be lured into it. He innocently alerts the victim that "it's only me", which has a reassuring tone. This is ironic, as we know from the novel that Dracula is not meant to be an innocent character, yet the subtle hints of reassurance add to the subtle creepiness of the poem. He describes himself as a "sloth", a creature not be feared, and explains how he is "padding down the wall". The sound of "padding" resembles sounds made by cats, or maybe a rabbit, small creatures again not to be feared.

Throughout the first stanza, menace appears to be disguised as seduction. He "aches"for the hollows of her neck, which along with the sentimental language of "sweetheart" and the sensual movement of "lifting one knee" creates a slow, sexual tone, yet with an undertone of menace; a mix which is the epitome of the Gothic.

Other Gothic tendencies of the poem are the references to light and dark, good and evil. He uses words such as "dark" and "disturb" in the same line as "sweetheart" and "dream"; the connotations attached to each word bringing completely contrasting images of good and evil. Again, he immediately contrasts the "paradise" of sucking her blood to the "hell" of waiting, again raising the theme of heaven, hell, and good and evil.

The sounds and rhythm of the poem, especially in the first stanza, tend to create a hypnotic rhythm, which aids the theme of sensuality. Each line has 10 or 11 syllables, which helps create the hypnotic rhythm, and the actual sound of the words helps this. Lots of "o" sounds slow down the tempo of the poem; "only", "sloth", "hollows", and also plenty of alliteration somehow enhances the hypnotic, sensual tone; "tall twilight", "nard and nightflowers", "dark disturb... do you dream". This sensuality however, seems to be lost in the second stanza, when Dracula's attention is diverted from his victim to Van Helsing, who is about to interrupt him. Gone are the soft, sensual sounds, to be replaces by insults such as "bony eunuch", harsh alliteration and imagery; "sharpened stumps", and seemingly nasty substances; "oil and blood". The way Dracula describes Van Helsing as "striding" upstairs contrasts with he, who pads along the wall. To stride seems much more intimidating than to pad, which suggests that Dracula is attempting to appear less imposing, and therefore less dangerous than Van Helsing. By making him into this imposing character carrying weapons, he is attempting to switch roles, making himself the "good guy" and Van Helsing the "baddie", despite our prejudice against him.

..............Last Lesson

So, last lesson we looked at a poem which was written from the perspective of Dracula. The poem hinted that Dracula was planning to suck the blood of another victim; the sexual language suggesting it was a women. We looked at the themes of sex and threat.

HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE HE'S A VAMPIRE!?!?!?

Evidently, Dracula oozes strange and disturbing qualities, seen from the moment Harker lays eyes on him. He is "without a single speck of colour about him anywhere", an indicator of his deathly nature. His clothing, entirely in black, symbolises death and mourning.
Dracula's striking strength for a man of his age is repeatedly referred to; his "strong" face, "astonishingly vitality", his "broad and strong" chin, "firm cheeks" and "protuberant teeth" all create this image of supernatural power in such an old man.

An animalistic element is also illustrated through Harker's description. His "peculiarly sharp white teeth" connote canine qualities, and nails "cut to a sharp point", unmistakably resemble claws. Animals with sharp teeth and claws usually represent power and threat, an attribute reinforcing the strength of his appearance previously.

So along with, safe to say, surprising strength and animalistic qualities, the supernatural is thrown into the mix of his appearance, which would make any normal person scream VAMPIRE and scram. His hand was "more like the hand of a dead than living man", obviously showing something is a bit suspicious. The teeth again, are the attributes which suggest vampire. Teeth which protrude over the lips foreshadow Dracula's tendency to use them to suck the blood of others with. This idea is revisited when Dracula's "rank" breath make Harker shudder and feel nauseous. The concept that something is making Dracula's breath rank suggests it is something inside of him that is foul. Not only could it be what he has been eating, or "drinking", but it could suggest the dark, horrible power within Dracula.

Chapter 3: Interpreted as a dream by someone who knows nothing about interpreting dreams

"Dreams, in Freud's view, were all forms of "wish-fulfillment" — attempts by the unconscious to resolve a conflict of some sort, whether something recent or something from the recesses of the past."
So, chapter three if interpreted as a dream must represent, almost like a metaphor, the conflicts in Harker's unconscious; thoughts and feelings of experiences which have collected in his unconsciousness and are shown through a dream. However as according to Freud these dreams are distorted and warped, we have to almost 'decode' the dream to see what it represents.

At the beginning of the chapter, Harker realises he is "a prisoner" trapped inside the castle. Dreaming of being trapped coincides apparently with being trapped within your mind, in Harker's case, being held captive by his own stubbornness; to stubborn to lose his Victorian scientific mindset and grasp hold of all the hints of the supernatural surrounding him, warning him to the sheer danger he is in and the true nature of Dracula.

Proceeding this is his talk with Dracula about the history of Transylvania, which if dreaming the conversation, could be Harker's unconsciousness finally grasping hold of all the hints and warning him that Dracula is a vampire. Despite his scepticism of the supernatural previously, subtle hints are woven into the conversation; Dracula talking about historical battles "as if he had been present at them all" hints at his immortality, and how "anything on which he laid his hands" he could "crush it by main strength" suggests the inhuman strength of a vampire. Harker seems distant to these notions, yet his unconsciousness is subtly revealing them in a dream.

The obsession with science in the Victorian era could be projected through Harker's 'dream'. His comfort in the crucifix is pragmatic; "conveying memories of sympathy and comfort" rather than religious, even when the supernatural is blatantly present, with mentions of "the devil" from Dracula. Reinforcing Harker's classic Victorian obsession with science is his use of shorthand to try and confuse Dracula, his unconscious showing how in face of the supernatural, Harker would always try and battle 'magic' with science.

If chapter three is a dream, then the incident with the three female vampires may be a dream within a dream; "I must have fallen asleep", and in that case Harker's unconsciousness will be in hyperdrive. One interpretation may see the erotic succumbing of Harker to the three women as purely a male fantasy of three beautiful women dominating one man, which any Victorian male would probably dream about. However there are other reasons why Harker's unconsciousness may provide this dream.

The dream depicts human sexuality as something to be feared, and even condemned, as the dream has the shocked tone of a guilty confession. By being lured by these three women (who immediately resemble the irresistibly of the mythological Greek sirens, who fatally lure men to them), Harker is almost masochistic, as he is full aware of the danger being "kissed" by one of them brings. Sexual desire is described as "wicked", and along with the "longing" brings a "deadly fear". This could be showing Harker's typically Victorian fear of sexuality, yet at some points he doesn't seem at all fearful of his sexuality. He waits in "languorous ecstasy" to be "kissed" by the vampire, showing he is not fearful, however this "delightful anticipation" is agony for him, therefore he knows it is wrong.

Not only this, but female sexuality could be seen through Harker's dream not be feared, but to be despised, as it is both "thrilling and repulsive". If Harker is unconsciously dreaming erotically of women, maybe he secretly desires for them, but knows society at the time deemed it "repulsive"? Whatever the reason, it is clear that Harker does feel guilty, as when he imagines women in the room "sad for their men folk away in the midst of remorseless wars" his unconscious brings forth the image of his fiancee, Mina, ignorant to the desire Harker feels for the vampires. Therfore even right at the start the dream foreshadows guilt with what is about to happen.

The fact that Harker is on the brink of consciousness in his dream at the time he encounters his sexuality suggests reduced responsibility, and that his unconscious is deeming sexual desire irresponsible and weak.

Reasons why chapter 1 is so very dull

Stockers use of versimilitude: suspending disbelief

The note at the beginning of the novel claims the text is 'simple fact'. The technical language claims the proceeding work is a collection of non-fiction texts that has been put into order; initially leading the reader to believe it is true and suspend belief.

Chapter 1 begins as any normal journal would, with normal, bland entries; complaining about train punctuality and meals, all of which could be real. The mention of familiar, real places such as 'London', 'The British Museum' and the 'Carpathian Mountains' sets the story firmly in reality; there is no course for disbelief. Even the mention of the only fictional place, 'Castle Dracula, is defended by claiming it isn't on any 'Ordinance Survey maps'- which it isn't- again smoothly turning fiction into having the appearance of reality.

Our narrators sceptism of anything partially supernatural is also addressed, by refering superstition to an 'imaginative whirlpool', disregarding the supernatural and creating a normal, believable (or not unbelievable) character.

The stress of reality is reinforced, as when Stoker subtly drips hints of the supernatural and fear; women crossing themselves and the supersitions surrounding St Georges Day, Harker considers it all 'ridiculous'. This undermines any sense of the supernatural, and so calling still for no disbelief.

Even when describing the very supernatural events in the coach driven by a wolf controlling vampire, Stolker still insists on claiming reality, as Harker stresses how he was not drunk and in a fit state of mind, warning the reader although it may sound odd, your disbelief is still suspended.

Doctor Faustus as a Gothic Text

So, I thought the best way to do this was to look at all the elements of the Gothic we wrote down at the beginning of the year, and then go on the internet to look up some more aspects of the Gothic which could be relevant, and then see if Doctor Faustus fulfills these elements.
Probably the most prominent aspect of the Gothic is that all the action takes place at night, which is definatly true in Doctor Faustus. He conjures Mephastopheles in "the gloomy shadow of the earth", and then is taken to Hell at midnight.

The aim of the Gothic is to induce fear in the audience, which Faustus' last scene visibly does. Faustus' panic and the suspense of his final speech while he waits for his impending doom would inflict fear; added the combination of "thunder and lightening" and a variety of devils dragging a man to Hell, this scene could be said to arouse fear. Lucifer's physical appearance according to the text is scary also, as he "look'st so terrible", clearly scaring Faustus, and therefore us.

However, Faustus's mocks Mephastopheles and Hell (Hell being to the audience, the scariest thing of all) throughout the play, this could undermine the fear factor of the play. The threat of entering a place where people are "tortured and remain for ever" should induce fear to the audience, however Fautus immediatly banishes all fear by claiming "hells a fable". If Faustus isn't scared throughout the play, why should the audience be? Unless Marlowe is playing on the mindset of the audience using dramatic irony, as they know what Faustus fate will be, even if he doesn't, so they can watch the play with the suspense hanging over them which would induce fear.

There is a fascination with the past, as many Ancient Greek references are used throughout the play, the "waxen wings" of Icarus, a Greek Myth, and the appearance of Helen of Troy. Also, the repetative use of Latin shows a fascination with medieval past.

The supernatural is an important element of the Gothic, and this theme surrounds Doctor Faustus. Necromancy, Devils, magic (turning invisible), Heaven and Hell are all aspects of the supernatural, and all drive the plot, therefore Fautus complies with this element of the Gothic.

Sexuality can be seen as an element of the Gothic, and although it is not a major factor in Doctor Faustus, Marlowe still manages to squeeze in a desire for Helen of Troy, who is raised by dark forces, again proving how Doctor Faustus is a Gothic text.

The Gothic tends to also try and unveil the the horrific aspects of human nature. Nothing can be more horrific than selling your soul to the devil for power, allowing yourself to descend to Hell for a few years of power, another Gothic tendancy of Doctor Faustus.