Robert Gray’s poem ‘Flames and Dangling Wire’ is a didactic poem in which the reader is warned of the consequences of humanity’s devastating overindulgent materialism. Gray makes heavy use of allusion, symbolism and imagery, but also uses irony and personification to emphasize and develop his warning. The most effective technique implemented by Gray in ‘Flames and Dangling Wire’ to warn the reader is imagery. The city is described as being ‘driven like stakes into the Earth’, symbolizing the merciless and violent imposition of humans on their world. This is also ironic, as humans themselves are a part of the earth and nature, yet are destroying it for their own ends.
Victor’s desire to “renew life in death”, in fact, to play God, foreshadows the eventual creation of his monster which reinforces Shelley’s warning that science will pervert nature. Although his guilt of transgressing the limitations of nature is encapsulated through the metaphor “remorse extinguishing every hope”, Victor is still capable of praising the sublimity of nature, describing his natural surroundings as “serene, majestic, divine”. The use of positive imagery in conjunction with nature’s ability to provide Victor “the greatest consolation capable of receiving”, exemplifies the deep connections that Victor shares with nature. Thus, Shelley replicates the values of romanticism by illustrating nature’s potential power over science. As we reach the context of Scott’s sci-fi film Blade Runner, the spread of urban sprawl has ridden the world of its natural beauty.
Grendel's frustration is not simply a matter of loneliness; he also cannot choose between his hatred of humanity on the one hand, and his admiration of man's accomplishments on the other. The novel ends where its inspiration, the epic Beowulf, begins--with the arrival of the mighty Geat soon after one of Grendel's bloodier rampages. Grendel, we know, is doomed to die by Beowulf's hand. In Grendel, Gardner makes that death a matter of great philosophical
Shelley draws from the characteristics of gothic fiction influenced by The Romantic Movement, through employing sinister connotations that forebode Victor’s downfall, “…the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out…” This portrays the reality that the value of creating life is unattainable, which is furthermore explored in Blade Runner, as Scott presents a world in which technology has eliminated the defining features of humanity. Shelley also alludes to The Promethean Myth and the symbolism of oppressing fire, “…the glimmer of the half-extinguished light…” to emphasise the danger of attaining knowledge beyond accepted boundaries. Shelley’s admonition of excessive knowledge is explored additionally within Blade Runner. Blade Runner is dominated by capitalism and social hierarchy, therefore mirroring the values of the 18th century context of Frankenstein. Scott, influenced by the gothic-novel features in Frankenstein, has employed the style of
Though there is the dark side of nature, the rain, it has already been discussed. The monster reflects on the strength of nature saying, “I felt sensations of a peculiar and overpowering nature; they were a mixture of pain and pleasure.” Nature’s “good side” is acting as the mother of all and carries out divine actions. Every time Victor is embracing the beauty of a mountain or lake, his anxiety is relieved. Victor points out that, “The very winds whispered in soothing accents, and maternal Nature bade me weep no more.” Shelley uses Victor to associate nature as a caring mother. The monster receives Nature’s aid when he is first out on his own, as objects sheltered him and streams provided him with drink.
Having observed, in John Updike’s rendering, that the whole animal Kingdom is under the reign of mortality; we now see all of Nature as suffering fading and extinction as well. This poem is brief and very beautiful. It is fitting, in view of the relative importance of man compared to the importance of Nature, to make it shorter. The tone is gently uplifting and appropriately conducive to meditation, in view of the content, which is the theme of these two poetic works combined: we are a fallen species on a polluted planet where nothing gold/good is incorruptible or remains untainted, and if it did, it would still be
A lie fuelled by propaganda which drowned the desperate amongst a green sea of choking gas. It is from these experiences that my poem ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ was inspired. At war, you will be degraded to ‘beggars’ and ‘hags’ and you will be hacked away so when you are at your most vulnerable, the gas attacks will send you into a desperate panic for clean air. The quickened pace stimulated by repetition and punctuation of the ‘Gas! GAS!
Blade runner & Frankenstein NOTES: • Both focus on the “eyes being the windows to the soul” • Both show the importance of nature • Both questions that we as humans should be asking ourselves such a “what is social justice” and “should humans play god” • The power of nature depicted in Frankenstein is juxtaposed with the dystopian world of BR and the lack of nature. • Many of the characters find peace in nature for example, victor Frankenstein says “These sublime and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of receiving”. • There are parallels to victor FS, his greed for knowledge and the creation of his monster. Greed without consideration of the consequence of one’s actions is a key concern raised in BR and FS. • The meaning of what it is to be human is raised greatly in both texts.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1992) express their growing concerns of the destructive consequences of alienation and the suffering that results of this. Influenced by the rapid growth of technology and environmental concerns of their composing times, they illustrate their concerns from different perspectives. Both texts explore the suffering of the environment when one isolates themselves or neglects the natural world. Shelley who was heavily influenced by the principles of Romanticism and was personally exposed to writers and poets who believed in the sublime and rejuvenating power of nature, focuses on the suffering that can occur when one isolates themself from the natural world. It is when Victor
This novel was written during romantic times and because Mary Shelley was a romantic writer, and was in favour of nature and God. She makes references to nature and God e.g. life, sky, etc, to promote her romantic ideals. Although the monster is hideous it is still Shelley’s hero. Chapter 4 becomes extremely preoccupied with Victor’s obsession with galvanism; a belief which is thought to be that you can ‘infuse life, into inanimate body’.