Melisa Taylor



Melisa Taylor

ENG 4 HONORS

WUTHERING HEIGHTS JOURNAL

PREREADING:

Bronte's Poems

Consider these poems by Emily Bronte.

1 - What is their tone?

2 - What is their subject matter?

3 - Using what you know of Wuthering Heights so far (that it is a love story that spans generations), what predictions can you make about the course of the novel?

4 - What major events can you see forming already in these poems that may come to play in the novel?

We will come back to these poems later in our study of this book, but keep your predictions in mind as we read.

Remembrance

by Emily Jane Bronte

Cold in the earth -- and the deep snow piled above thee,

Far, far removed, cold in the dreary grave!

Have I forgot, my only Love, to love thee,

Severed at last by Time's all-severing wave?

Now, when alone, do my thoughts no longer hover

Over the mountains, on that northern shore,

Resting their wings where heath and fern leaves cover

Thy noble heart forever, ever more?

Cold in the earth -- and fifteen wild Decembers,

From those brown hills, have melted into spring;

Faithful, indeed, is the spirit that remembers

After such years of change and suffering!

Sweet Love of youth, forgive, if I forget thee,

While the world's tide is bearing me along;

Other desires and other hopes beset me,

Hopes which obscure, but cannot do thee wrong!

No later light has lightened up my heaven,

No second morn has ever shone for me;

All my life's bliss from thy dear life was given,

All my life's bliss is in the grave with thee.

But, when the days of golden dreams had perished,

And even Despair was powerless to destroy,

Then did I learn how existence could be cherished,

Strengthened, and fed without the aid of joy.

Then did I check the tears of useless passion --

Weaned my young soul from yearning after thine;

Sternly denied its burning wish to hasten

Down to that tomb already more than mine.

And, even yet, I dare not let it languish,

Dare not indulge in memory's rapturous pain;

Once drinking deep of that divinest anguish,

How could I seek the empty world again?

The Night is Darkening round me

by Emily Jane Bronte

THE night is darkening round me,

The wild winds coldly blow ;

But a tyrant spell has bound me,

And I cannot, cannot go.

The giant trees are bending

Their bare boughs weighed with snow ;

The storm is fast descending,

And yet I cannot go.

Clouds beyond clouds above me,

Wastes beyond wastes below ;

But nothing drear can move me :

I will not, cannot go.

Enough of Thought

by Emily Jane Bronte

written Feb. 3, 1845

"Enough of Thought, Philosopher;

Too long hast thou been dreaming

Unlightened, in this chamber drear

While summer's sun is beaming -

Space-sweeping soul, what sad refrain

Concludes thy musings once again?

"O for the time when I shall sleep

Without identity,

And never care how rain may steep

Or snow may cover me!

"No promised Heaven, these wild Desires

Could all or half fulfil;

No threathened Hell, with quenchless fires,

Subdue this quenchless will!"

- So said I, and still say the same;

- Still to my Death will say -

Three Gods within this little frame

Are warring night and day.

Heaven could not hold them all, and yet

They all are held in me

And must be mine till I forget

My present entity.

O for the time when in my breast

Their struggles will be o'er;

O for the day when I shall rest,

And never suffer more!

"I saw a Spirit standing, Man,

Where thou dost stand - an hour ago;

And round his feet, three rivers ran

Of equal depth and equal flow -

"A Golden stream, and one like blood,

And one like Sapphire, seemed to be,

But where they joined their triple flood

It tumbled in an inky sea.

Down on that Ocean's gloomy night,

Then - kindling all with sudden blaze,

The glad deep sparkled wide and bright -

White as the sun; far, far more fair

Than the divided sources were!"

- And even for that Spirit, Seer,

I've watched and sought my lifetime long;

Sought Him in Heaven, Hell, Earth & Air,

An endless search - and always wrong!

Had I but seen his glorious eye

Once light the clouds that 'wilder me,

I ne'er had raised this coward cry

To cease to think and cease to be -

I ne'er had called oblivion blest,

Nor stretching eager hands to Death

Implored to change for lifeless rest

This sentient soul, this living breath.

O let me die, that power and will

Their cruel strife may close,

And vanquished Good, victorious Ill

Be lost in one repose.

What songs do you know that are romantic? Look for the lyrics to two or three love songs you know and find the romantic aspects of each, according to the noted below. In what significant ways do today's romantic lyrics differ from Bronte's romanticism?

Songs:

After learning about each of the characteristics of Gothicism and Romanticism, AS YOU READ the novel, make a list of at least three examples of each characteristic as you find them in the novel. This should be documented in the following format.

|Characteristic |Example |Pg # or Chap # |

| | |(specify) |

|Romanticism |We meet Heathcliff, as Mr. Earnshaw calls him. As a street | ? |

| |urchin, he is forced to live day by day by any means. However,| |

|1) An interest in nature and in the simple, |his integration into the Earnshaw family is a rude awakening. | |

|uncivilized way of life. The natural way of |What should be a civilized world with a new loving family | |

|life. Eventually this would lead to the cult|greets young Heathcliff with animosity and bitterness through | |

|of the noble savage. |the relationship that develops with Hindley. | |

| | | |

|Romanticism | | |

|2) An interest in scenery, especially that | | |

|which was wild and untamed. | | |

| | | |

|Gothicism - Setting in a Castle. |Wuthering Heights - The Earnshaw’s estate | |

| |Description: | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|Gothicism - Setting in a Castle. |Wuthering Heights - The Earnshaw’s estate | |

| |Description: | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

Romanticism

The word romanticism is a general term that has many meanings. It evokes all kinds of interpretations. Most commonly, however, it refers to a movement in literature. Responses to the movement range from disgust to enthusiastic approval.

Many hold to the belief that the Romantic Movement really began in Britain and reached its height with the works of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, Byron, and Sir Walter Scott in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. This is open to debate, but quite early in the eighteenth century there is a definite shift in sensibility and feeling in literature which, with hindsight, we call the Romantic Movement. Aspects of romanticism which began to emerge at that time and which can be called defining aspects of the movement are:

1) An interest in nature and in the simple, uncivilized way of life. The natural way of life. Eventually this would lead to the cult of the noble savage.

2) An interest in scenery, especially that which was wild and untamed;

3) An interest in the natural order of things, natural religion;

4) Human moods associated with nature. Nature interpreted in a subjective way.

5) A belief in the importance of spontaneity in thought and action. The child in the man;

6) A strong belief in the power of the imagination;

7) The importance of the individual over the group. Scorning of convention and an emphasis on personal expression.

The long-term effects of romanticism on literature are like its interpretation, a matter open to debate. Some critics believe that it brought in too much subjectivism and disorganization, while others believe it was a step towards greater creative freedom for writers.

Romanticism was a movement mainly referring to the group of poets in England in the early 1800s, such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, and Byron. In general, these writers had a great affinity with nature (trees, rivers, and so on). Wordsworth often wrote about how one could go out into the woods, think deeply, and eventually "see into the life of things." In general, Romantics believe that children are wiser than adults because children are more in touch with their emotions, whereas adults fill their lives with much intellectual baggage. Romantics want to experience and examine deep emotional experiences, and frequently they can do this by going out into nature, for example, and climbing Mont Blanc.

Gothicism

1. Setting in a castle. The action takes place in and around an old castle, sometimes seemingly abandoned, sometimes occupied. The castle often contains secret passages, trap doors, secret rooms, dark or hidden staircases, and possibly ruined sections. The castle may be near or connected to caves, which lend their own haunting flavor with their branchings, claustrophobia, and mystery.

2. An atmosphere of mystery and suspense. The work is pervaded by a threatening feeling, a fear enhanced by the unknown. Often the plot itself is built around a mystery, such as unknown parentage, a disappearance, or some other inexplicable event. Elements 3, 4, and 5 below contribute to this atmosphere.

3. An ancient prophecy is connected with the castle or its inhabitants (either former or present). The prophecy is usually obscure, partial, or confusing. "What could it mean?" In more watered down modern examples, this may amount to merely a legend: "It's said that the ghost of old man Krebs still wanders these halls."

4. Omens, portents, visions. A character may have a disturbing dream vision, or some phenomenon may be seen as a portent of coming events. For example, if the statue of the lord of the manor falls over, it may portend his death.

5. Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events. Dramatic, amazing events occur, such as ghosts or giants walking, or inanimate objects (such as a suit of armor or painting) coming to life. In some works, the events are ultimately given a natural explanation, while in others the events are truly supernatural.

6. High, even overwrought emotion. The narration may be highly sentimental, and the characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, and especially, terror. Characters suffer from raw nerves and a feeling of impending doom. Crying and emotional speeches are frequent. Breathlessness and panic are common.

7. Women in distress. As an appeal to the pathos and sympathy of the reader, the female characters often face events that leave them fainting, terrified, screaming, and/or sobbing. A lonely, pensive, and oppressed heroine is often the central figure of the novel, so her sufferings are even more pronounced and the focus of attention.

8. Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male. One or more male characters has the power, as king, lord of the manor, father, or guardian, to demand that one or more of the female characters do something intolerable. The woman may be commanded to marry someone she does not love (it may even be the powerful male himself), or commit a crime.

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