Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Walpole and Shakespeare
While Walpole shows a great command of Gothic literature with the use of ghosts, floating objects, and misplaced and misguided passion; I couldn't help but notice multiple ties with his work and that of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet, much like Manfred, has a great grief upon losing his father at the beginning of the play. Both of these deaths appear to be similar in nature, but in Manfred's case his son was merely killed in a strange turn of events and not murdered. While both deaths are unnatural, I believe Manfred's son gets the short end of the stick with the "helmet that fell from the heavens." There are also great parallel's between the female characters of these works; most notably with Manfred's wife and Hamlet's mother. Each of these women appear to be solely guided by their husband's will, and not that of their own. Hippolita, while loving her Lord husband greatly and truly, bends to his every will. Even if it ends with his divorcing of her, which contrasts with her devout religious beliefs. Hamlet's mother merely marries her brother-in-law after and seemingly short mourning period for her dearly departed husband. Both texts rely heavily on the use of phantasms and spirits, with the odd shot of misplaced passion and the death of a fair maiden. Of course, Shakespeare originated various tropes with which author's use greatly to their advantage. My thought was that the works were much too similar for my taste.
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I totally agree with you Wanderlust. Particularly in his use of the supernatural. While Shakespeare used supernatural elements in Hamlet, through the ghost of his father in the opening; most his works depends on magic, prophecy, and ghosts to advance the plot. Macbeth, Richard III and Julius Caesar all use the ghost of a character who never had the opportunity to repent or were unjustly taken the afterlife. The use of prophecy in Otranto is purposeful in giving a sense of foreboding and direction to the unfortunate events that would come to pass. Prophecy seems to a theme in tragedies as Richard III relies on this, as well the use of dreams to communicate these predestined fates. Other creepy elements of the supernatural also pop up in Otranto, like when the statue of Alfonso starts to bleed from the nose or the manifestations of Manfred’s ghost through the portrait.
ReplyDeletei found this post totally agreeable. I believe that the use of supernatural forces makes Walpole the author he is. He uses these forces a great amount and the mood of the story depends on it. Like this novel depended on the use of the Prophecy. Great post.
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