Blog, Literary Bios

Biography: Author Robert Bloch

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Author Robert Bloch’s most famous work has now been transformed into a successful film franchise and a successful television show. Both of these sources showcased the delusions, murderous tendencies, and maternal issues of one Norman Bates. The world knows Psycho (1959) for its many incarnations (films and TV shows); however, its author is just as well known, Bloch, as it stands, is not necessarily a one-trick pony in the literature and writing field.

Robert Bloch’s Early Life

Robert Bloch was born Robert Albert Bloch Chicago, Illinois, on April 5th, 1917. His father was a bank teller and his mother was a social worker. As a child, he weathered the normalcy of suburban life and attended grammar school. A late night screening of 1925’s Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney, Sr., sparked his immediate interest in writing fiction.

Bloch’s Publishing Career

Bloch, much like many of the writers in the mid-1900s, used turn-of-the-century writers as inspiration, who had largely published in pulp magazines. Bloch was hugely inspired by Weird Tales, which featured the likes of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. In fact, Lovecraft and Bloch started a correspondence that resulted in Bloch’s inclusion into the Lovecraft Circle—a group of popular writers at the time—even though he was the youngest of the troupe.

At this time, Bloch sent along his submissions to the Weird Tales but did not see immediate fanfare until other publications started taking notice of his work. Weird Tales followed suit. As stated by the Wisconsin Historical Society, “Weird Tales initially rejected Bloch’s submissions until similar publications began to pick up his stories. He quickly became one of the magazine’s most popular authors.”

Nevertheless, Bloch’s relationship with other writers helped expose him to a community of like-minded artists. John O’Neil, writing for Black Gate, wrote that, “Bloch gradually expanded his correspondence to Clark Ashton Smith, August Derleth, and others …” This would lay “the groundwork for what would eventually be known as the Cthulhu Mythos. Together, they built on Lovecraft’s work, kicking off a tradition that is still very much alive today” (O’Neil).

Bloch’s Later Career and Death

After publishing stories over the next decade, author Robert Bloch wrote his first novel in 1947, and would publish 50 more over the course of his career, including the mainstay psychological-horror novel Psycho, and 50 screenplays and 400 short stories. He was also the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the World Fantasy Award. Additionally, he served as “president of the Mystery Writers of America.”

Goodreads states: “Robert Bloch was also a major contributor to science fiction fanzines and fandom in general. In the 1940s, he created the humorous character Lefty Feep in a story for Fantastic Adventures.” Furthermore, he also “worked for a time in local vaudeville,” and “wrote 3 stories for Star Trek.”

Author Robert Bloch died at 77 years old in 1994.

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Types of Conjunctions: Correlative Conjunctions

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Connecting and showing relationships between ideas can be difficult in writing. As always, it just comes down to using the right words. Sometimes, the right words are apart of a few different types of the same idea. There are three main types of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and correlative conjunctions.

What is the Purpose of a Conjunction?

Conjunctions really only have a few purposes. One of which is to join two ideas together (coordinating conjunctions), and provide additional details or insight (subordinating conjunctions). Correlative conjunctions have their own functions as well, which is to provide counters and correlation

Correlative Conjunctions

A correlative conjunction operates in much the same way as a coordinating or subordinate conjunction, except that they offer a counter or comparative analysis. Furthermore, these conjunctions occur as complementary pairs that operate in parallel structure.

Lastly, correlative conjunctions should be used together exclusively. That is to say, if you say “neither,” then you should say “nor.” As such, the relationship created by these conjunctions enable writers to have greater flow and control of their writing.

Further examples of this type of conjunction include:

  • both…and
  • neither…nor
  • as much…as
  • whether…or
  • not only…but also
  • as…as
  • no sooner…than

Some examples in context:

  1. “We have been both mad and sad at seeing the decline in modern cinema.”
  2. They neither wanted help nor did they require comfort in these times.
  3. Whether you eat the food or starve, we are still paying the bill.
  4. Either we all do this together or we don’t do it at all.
  5. It was not only a voracious animal, but also a excessively violent monster.

Additional examples can be found here.

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Mary Shelley’s The Last Man: A Gothic Sci-Fi Journey

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Mary Shelley has an impression on this blog, as her most famous work is easily referential. That is to say, the convenience of referencing Frankenstein: Modern Prometheus as an exemplar for gothic-horror novels is practical. However, throughout her career, Shelley published more novels that stayed within the same science fiction/grounded-in-realism genre. In the The Last Man buy Mary Shelley, the author explores these themes once again.

Summary of The Last Man by Mary Shelley

Shelley’s The Last Man tells the story of Lionel Verney. Lionel is an orphan and works as a shepherd. and his friends and family. After meeting Adrian, the former prince of England, Lionel encounters a wider world of knowledge and intellect. After the return of a war hero, Raymond, and the marriage of Lionel’s sister, Perdita, to the former, the story ramps up.

Raymond is killed in an explosion in the plague-ridden city of Constantinople. In response to this, Perdita flings herself from the homeward vessel and drowns herself at sea. No doubt from a broken heart. Afterward, a plague breaks out, and the survivors tread through an apocalyptic England until only Lionel remains. The novel explores the themes of love, loss, and survival.

Book blurb

From the back of the book: “Her 1826 novel, The Last Man, reflects Shelley’s fears about civilization and the shortcomings of human behavior. The narrarator discovers a prophetic manuscript, written in 2100 by the last survivor of the twenty-first century apocalyps, which recounts how a deadly plague spread throughout Europe and the world. The scribe, Lionel Verney, describes a world that is both fantasy, and a reflection of Shelley’s reality. She used this novel to scrutinize the machinations of politics and philosophy, and reflect upon pitfalls of human behavior—selfishness, brutality, pride—that she saw in the world around her” (Shelley).

Critical Response to The Last Man

Reception to the book is either ecstatic or (hyper) critical. On Goodreads, it has a rating of 3.36 with a majority of readers giving the book three stars out of five. Some reviewers have pointed out the timeliness of the novel in the wake of the pandemic. Likewise, others have pointed out the “poetic” prose and execution of the story itself. Less favorable reviews have critiqued the pacing and likened the book to reading a “telephone book” and finding the experience disappointing.

Impressions

I like Mary Shelley’s ideas, but I am not a huge fan of her writing. I find that she suffers from Gothic-fever in the worst way. Slow builds are nice, but so are evenly paced stories with exciting climaxes. Bram Stoker’s Dracula has an interesting form (epistolary), excellent build, and a third act that explodes the slow-burn novel. Yet, not all writers approach the genre the same, but The Last Man by Mary Shelley shows the adroitness and technique of the writer. Nonetheless, this story intrigues me, which is why I have a copy.

Works Cited

Shelley, Mary. The Last Man. Digireads Publishing. March 24, 2020. Print.

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Gothic Horror and Dark Magic in ‘The Haunted Palace’

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Through the power of dark magic and malevolence, warlocks seek to do harm and/or destroy the world. At least according to literature and the movies. They also appear in various media and in many forms. These forms include sexy preppies at vampire schools, to horrible Euro-centrists of menacing power. Similarly, they are cunning, crafty, and pure evil. Of course these are only stories. The Haunted Palace (1963) and its relationship to the fictitious inspirations that include Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven and H.P. Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

Summary of The Haunted Palace

The Beginnings of Terror

In literature and folklore, the warlock is a witch counterpoint for the male gender. The warlock in The Haunted Palace goes by the name of Joseph Curwen (Vincent Price). He is menacing and maniacal. When confronted by a mob of unhappy village-goers, curses the entirety of the lively throng.

“As surely as the village of Arkham has risen up against me, so shall I rise from the dead against the village of Arkham,” Curwen tells the unhappy group of vigilantes. “Each one of you! … all of you and your children and your children’s children shall have just cause to regret the actions of this night. For from this night onward, you shall bear my curse.”

Vincent Price, practically a Gothic horror fixture, like some kind of cobwebbed candelabra, plays both the warlock Curwen and Charles Dexter Ward. Charles Dexter Ward is an amiable counter to the warlock.

Meanwhile, Debra Paget plays his dutiful wife who is disturbed at Price’s change from a caring husband to somebody with a vile attitude of vengeance. Roger Corman, king of shlock, presents a Gothic-fueled amalgamation of horror tropes throughout the film. These include Lon Chaney Jr., phony-looking frogs, foggy streets, webbed hands, and curses from Vincent Price warlocks.

The Curse of The Haunted Palace Lives!

And curse he does. Through his magic, the people of Arkham become abominations of a sort. Some of them truly turn into monsters. In monsterdom, they wait for their time to, again, punish Joseph Curwen. Although, that will truly take years and years to actuate. As the tagline tells us, revenge does not happen overnight: “A warlock’s home is his castle…Forever!”

Still, we should all know not to play games with magic, but warlocks don’t understand this lesson. The villagers come to the conclusion that Curwen has been mating the women of Arkham with terrifying monsters of olde, creating some kind of super race of human-hybrids.

In the end, the villagers burn his Gothic castle down, and they bring him to justice…or is he? With a glint in Vincent Price’s eye, the audience is left unsure.

Relation to “The Haunted Palace” poem

The writers of the film The Haunted Palace (1963) based the movie on an Edgar Allan Poe poem published in 1863. The poem tells the tale of a beautiful palace that is gorgeous and admired.

In stanza one, Poe writes: “In the greenest of our valleys/ By good angels tenanted,/ Once a fair and stately palace—/ Radiant palace—reared its head.
In the monarch Thought’s dominion,/ It stood there!/ Never seraph spread a pinion/ Over fabric half so fair!”

The palace is a comely locale, and revered for is radiance and angelic presence. However, this all comes to an end.Stanza five describes an image of desolation after a fall from grace.

Poe writes:

“But evil things, in robes of sorrow,
Assailed the monarch’s high estate;
(Ah, let us mourn!—for never morrow
Shall dawn upon him, desolate!)
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.”

The Haunted Palace film captures this idea in a microcosm. As Poe narrates a palace of unforeseen beauty, it seems much larger in verse. In the film, it is really just Vincent Price, Debra Paget, and Lon Chaney ambling around a Gothic set. But the turn from kindly man to maniac is there and yet the palace is always evil.

Relation to Lovecraft’s Short Story

The film also injects some Lovecrafian ideas into the mix through the author’s own story, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

Lovecraft’s story tells the tale of the titular Charles Ward as he is taken over by the ancient warlock Curwen. He deals with this issue for digging too deep into the black magic that sent the warlock to his grave.

Much like the film, the warlock is eventually defeated by a horrible monster. Everybody involved is better for it in the end.

Meanwhile, the creature that appears at the end of the film is a Cthulhu doppleganger. It is supposed to be an immense monster of extraordinary power, but does look like a tiny miniature. Nevertheless, the tragedy of madness is far more apparent in this film than say a Lovecraft text, as the characters battle one maniacal maniac in a Corman-style visual extravaganza. Lovecraft uses the tradition of Gothic pacing to illuminate the creeping horror of the warlock’s misdeeds.

Analysis

Thus, The Haunted Palace is a combination of two related authors, if only through their specific disciplines. Poe, who was a progenitor of Gothic horror, and Lovecraft, who was the progenitor of weird fiction. The combination of the two influences is sublime when linked together on screen.

Plotting in The Haunted Palace is two-fold. It is the story of ancient horror and monsters from the dark infecting the population. Yet, it is also the story of revenge, and how no crime can be left unpunished even in death.

Moreover, Lovecraftian horror certainly had a resurgence in recent decades with a large section of the population either becoming familiar with the projections of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft or finally realizing his influence on our culture and media.

For instance, Mandy (2018) has a great sort of cosmic horror influence that infiltrates the film at its very edges. No, monsters don’t explode from the darkness terrifying the characters on screen, but the slow nature of the film speaks to a weird-fiction tradition, and the violence of it emerges supreme. We don’t ever see a monster (biker cenobite maybe), but we can feel the malevolence of something weird going on behind the scenes. Even though the monsters are very much twisted, albeit human.

Certainly, there are a host of other modern-ish films that have made strides in wearing Lovecraft on their sleeves: Event Horizon (1997), In the Mouth of Madness (1994), The Cabin in the Woods (2011), and so forth.

Other films, meanwhile, directly take Lovecraft’s ideas and try to make it their own, such as The Color out of Space (2019), Dagon (2001), and From Beyond (189). All of which walk the line of interpretation of the author’s work for film.

Conclusion

The Haunted Palace is a lovingly-crafted film. One that features a lot of attention to detail. The streets at night appear dangerous, the civilians are mutated, and the villain is both evil and menacing, with an Igor-level assistant as well.

Even the crescendo of the film is dramatic and violent, when the villagers once again storm the castle to destroy the evil within. They start a great fire and are enjoined by devastation as the castle burns to the ground.

It lives exceptionally in the tradition of Poe and Lovecraft.

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Rory Power’s Wilder Girls: A Shocking Survival Tale

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“I think I’d been looking for it all my life
a storm in my body to match the one in my head.”
― Rory Power, Wilder Girls

Stories where people are trapped in an environment and must escape or succumb to whatever pursues them are always at the top of my list. The Thing, directed by John Carpenter, is one of my favorite films of all time and features a of group of scientists isolated in a snowy science lab and threatened by a protean enemy. Violence and madness ensue. In this post, we are going to analyze Wilder Girls by Rory power.

Summary

To begin, the book is set around the Raxter School for Girls, where the entire facility has been put on lockdown due to a mysterious disease known as the Tox. As such, they have been on lockdown for 18 months, and the girls in the school struggle to survive as they wait for a cure to arrive. However, they dare not venture into the woods around the facility as the Tox has made it too dangerous to brave. One girl, Hetty, must break the quarantine and venture into the woods to save her friend Byatt, which uncovers unsettling truths about their existence at the school.

Critical response

Reviews for Wilder Girls by Rory Power are as follows:

Kirkus Reviews: “This gritty, lush debut chronicling psychological and environmental tipping points…weaves a chilling narrative that disrupts readers’ expectations through an expertly crafted, slow-burn reveal of the deadly consequences of climate change….Part survival thriller, part post-apocalyptic romance, and part ecocritical feminist manifesto, a staggering gut punch of a book.”

Publishers Weekly: “Electric prose, compelling relationships, and visceral horror illuminate Power’s incisive debut…[and its] environmental and feminist themes are resonant, particularly the immeasurable costs of experimentation on female bodies, and the power of female solidarity and resilience amid ecological and political turmoil.”

Additionally, on Goodreads, Wilder Girls holds a 3.46 out of 5 stars based upon 83,294 ratings and 15,121 reviews.

Moreover, five-star reviews state that the book was “super weird, kind of gross,” but they “totally loved it.” Also, other reviewers stated that it was loaded with “eeriness, otherworldly dread, and baseline panic.”

At the same time, one-star reviews state that the book had “no plot” or “character development.” Similarly, other reviewers state that it is a “big no-no” when the book is compared to a classic, such as Lord of the Flies, which clearly has some parallels in children trapped in a youth society.

Trigger Warnings

Other reviewers cite the trigger and content warnings from the author’s website:

  • Graphic violence and body horror. Gore.
  • On the page character death, parental death, and animal death (the animals are not pets).
  • Behavior and descriptive language akin to self harm, and references to such.
  • Food scarcity and starvation. Emesis.
  • A scene depicting chemical gassing.
  • Suicide and suicidal ideation.
  • Non-consensual medical treatment.

Any one of these triggers could certainly keep somebody from wanting to engage with the text, but they might also draw others into the narrative.

Impressions

A book about a fight for survival with unknowable horror seems to be right up my alley. I enjoy that the book seems to try to step outside of the common people-trapped-in-a-spot-and-have-to-survive story. It also uses some modern realities to punch up the plot (plagues, quarantines, and the like). Upon reading the synopsis, I thought of the film Quarantine, which haunted me for years. I also thought about “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe. I think in reading initial reactions, there seems to be some overlap in Wilder Girls, too.

Blog, Writing Craft

The Power of Anacoluthon in Writing and Speech

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Often, how we speak differs from how we write. Sometimes, we do not even realize it is happening. For instance, humans use asides and segues to shift between ideas. Anacoluthon in writing is just that. It can be an abrupt change, or a shift to a different idea. Writers use this in dialogue and argumentation to move between ideas to shift or obfuscate meaning.

Anacoluthon Defined

Whereas anaphora works through repetition, anacoluthon is defined as an inconsistency in a grammatical sentence. They are made to “shift in an unfinished sentence” unintentionally or with purpose. In other words, anacolutha is a break in sentences, or a movement from one idea to another, though they can be unrelated.

More often than not, it is used in rhetoric as a means of persuasion. Or, sometimes, it is simply a grammatical mistake. In this way, it mimics real-world speech patterns, as humans are apt to shift between ideas midsentence. Additionally, anacoluthon is used in poetry and verse to show a splintering in ideology. It shows the break in structure to steer the reader toward a significance.

Examples

A well-known example of Anacoluthon comes from King Lear by Shakespeare. The example here appears in one in this passage. He writes: “I will have such revenges on you both, / That all the world–I will do such things, / What they are, yet I know not.”

Take notice of the break in thought. First, it is about revenge. Then, the reader can sense the frustration of the speaker. Suddenly, the narrative changes. The anger and rage of the speaker comes through and not only does it shift between ideas, but it also shows us the temperament of the character.

Similarly, it is often used in stream of conscience writing to indicate the swerving of ideas. James Joyce employs this roundly in his novel Ulysses. Franz Kafke utilizes anacoluthon in his book The Trial as well.

Conclusion

Anacoluthon is used in every day speech, yet we don’t acknowledge it. If you are like me, you speak in asides. As in, I was doing this (and also this), and here is the outcome. These types of speech patterns happen often. Recognizing anacoluthon then allows you to add it to your own dialogue, enriching the reading experience. So, stop the next time you are having a conversation, and consider your asides. Maybe that is just what your next chunk of dialogue needs.

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Exploring the Bildungsroman: Lessons in Personal Growth

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Stories in which a young person must learn a lesson in order to grow as a person are pervasive in most cultures. These stories feed into the overall cultural experience of growing and thriving in society. And, they help us learn something new. Yet, they go much deeper than that, as to grow and evolve as a character, one must go through the challenges and triumphs related to coming of age.

What is Bildungsroman?

To begin, the word “bildungsroman” comes from a German word that means “novel of education” or “novel of formation.” According to sources, these novels are a “class of novel that depicts and explores the manner in which the protagonist develops morally and psychologically.” Apparently, this term was coined by Karl von Morgenstern through his lectures on the “Essence and History of the Novel” in 1820 (Trott).

Still, others define it as a “regulated development within the life of the individual is observed,” and in, “each of its stages (has) its own intrinsic value … The dissonances and conflicts of life appear as the necessary growth points through which the individual must pass on his way to maturity and harmony” (Trott). In other words, the problems the character faces in a novel contribute to their growth as an individual.

We also know these stories as “coming-of-age” stories, which are extremely ubiquitous in our society, as the themes present in these types of stories appear in numerous animated and indie-flicks.

Characteristics of Coming of Age

These are some of the characteristics of a bildungsroman—but not all. Hopefully, this is more of a guide as to what to look for when you read a coming-of-age story.

  • The character learns a lesson
  • There is a moral or ethical development
  • Identity building
  • Losing one’s innocence
  • A journey of some kind

Examples

In Literature

  • To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) by Harper Lee
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain
  • The Catcher in the Rye (1951) by J.D. Salinger
  • The Portrait of an Artist (1916) by James Joyce

In Film

  • Star Wars (1977)
  • The Hunger Games (2012)
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
  • The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Conclusion

To sum up, a bildungsroman tells the tale of somebody coming into their own. It’s an important story, and one that has been around for many years. As you can see, there are many in Western media, but that stretches farther back in history. Thus, by understanding this idea (and the conventions of the genre), we can internalize the makings of timeless stories to use as our own.

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The Complexity of Heroism in Literature

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While epic poetry gives us a plethora of heroism in literature, authors like Baroness Orczy explore a unique portrayal of heroism in The Scarlet Pimpernel. It is a story that interlaces elements of adventure, espionage, and sacrifice. Likewise, authors of verse, like George William A.E. Russell write about heroism in their own way with similar shades of color … and honor. In this post, we will examine how authors describe heroism during The Reign of Terror and WWI, which shows us how heroes use action and sacrifice.

Heroism and Pimpernel

The Price of Heroism

In the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel, Sir Percy Blakeney, the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel, stands as a hero whose bravery goes beyond societal norms. His identity as a foolish aristocrat and French rescuer during the Reign of Terror shows a bit of heroic complexity. Furthermore, the narrative suggests that heroism comes in unexpected forms. Sir Percy’s public persona as a dandy deceives those around him. In fact, he is using this silliness and foppishness to give the impression that he is incapable. Furthermore, the Scarlet Pimpernel’s plans and ability to outsmart Chauvelin and the French authorities shows a brave hero. Examples include the elaborate rescue operations, such as the one at the Chat Gris inn.

George William A.E. Russell and Heroism in Verse

Heroes and Mortality

Yet, heroism in literature is comes in many different forms. Let’s continue by delving into a poem by A.E. titled “The Last Hero.” Russell wrote this poem during WWI and attempted to typify a type of hero that was falling in battle every single day. AE’s poem explores this idea within the framework of mortality and life’s cyclical nature. The narrative begins with the solemn act of laying the hero to rest.

AE states, “We laid him to rest with tenderness; / Homeward we turned in the twilight’s gold.” This poignant beginning sets the tone for a reflection on the hero’s departure and the inevitable passage from life to death.

The poet contemplates the nature of existence, and they show the idea that “All the story of earth is told.” In other words, there is a sense of completion, as if the hero’s life was the entirety of the human experience. The hero’s departure is the end of a metaphorical chapter, showing the finite nature of mortal lives and mortal stories.

Heroic Virtue

An important moment, and one that suggests heroism of a specific sort, occurs when AE writes, “great deep heart like the hearts of old.” The poet tells us there is a connection to ancient heroism and virtues. These ideas harken back to a time when heroes were revered for embodying ideals that transcended the mundane. In the context of WWI, we can see how heroes were cut down in droves. Thus, there was more difficulty showing reverence when wholesale slaughter was the name of the game.

Furthermore, “the twilight’s gold” adds a melancholic yet beautiful hue to this imagery, emphasizing the fading light of the hero’s life as it merges with the oncoming night. Similarly, “a bitter remembrance blows in each face,” indicates the sorrow and nostalgia that accompany the passing of a hero. That is to say, these words reflect a profound sense of finality, suggesting that the hero’s life, like the day’s story, has reached its conclusion. This bitter remembrance handles the weight of loss.

Likewise, the dust, symbolic of mortality, and the twilight, representing the transitional period between day and night, add layers of meaning to the portrayal of heroism. “The Last Hero” deals with the theme of heroism, mortality, and the nature of life. As the author states, heroism is more than just doing heroic things. It is also taking part in the human condition, sacrifice, and honoring the past.

Conclusion

Heroism in literature, it seems, though similar across writing styles, means more than bravado and machismo. It can show us how heroes like the Scarlet Pimpernel is capable of great deeds of action and sacrifice. Heroism also shows us how somebody can be soft and caring, and they can still change the world for the better. What is more, those that wish to sacrifice themselves in wartime is expounded upon differently when considering the sacrifice of young soldiers during wartime. Readers can definitely see the difference, but it still resonates the same.

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Understanding Satyrs: The Goat-Men of Greek Mythology

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How is it that living the life of excess is so much fun, yet it’s so bad for you? The existence of fanciful goat men in Greek Mythology is a fun dynamic in this way. Those pan-flute playing, wine-drinking, pot-bellied satyrs of lore that dance and prance to Dionysian tunes in a grove in a great big circle leave a strong imprint in the minds of readers. But where do these creatures come from? And, what do they mean symbolically? Is it all just wine and merriment? Understanding a little bit about more about our goat friends of lore, can help us make sense of Greek Mythology and our own vices.

Defining Satyrs

Satyrs have a close relationship with the god of wine, Dionysus, as they played him music and entertained him with their general carousal; but their appearance is really what matters, as it is often their most striking feature in visual depictions—regardless of their unrestrained behavior.

As stated by some sources, satyrs have the following appearance:

  • They are part-man and part-horse or donkey
  • They have curly heads and prominent beards.
  • They have stubby noses.
  • They have long, thin ears.
  • They prance about wagging their lofty tails.
  • In some early iterations, they were predominantly horse-like.
  • The Greeks conflated satyrs with the god Pan.
  • The eventual melding of Roman culture with the satyr created goat-like characteristics, perhaps due to fauns.

As it stands, satyrs are half-man, half-goats who are a wee bit portly around the midsection and spend most of their time playing music, eating food, and drinking wine. They are both mystifying and alluring in appearance. Truly, what is more awesome than seeing a minotaur with its horned head and rippling muscles? Well, a sardonic goat person of course.

What do They Symbolize?

Many beings in Greek mythology are symbolic representations of something (love, earth, night, air, etc.) or are the personified version of some element that needs explaining. For instance, while Zeus is the king of the gods, he is also the symbol of lightning, thunder, storms, and power. Satyrs aren’t much different, but some creatures are more…symbolically diminutive in nature.

Most interpretations have satyrs embodying the righteous party dude, replete with cups of wine and desire for sexual pleasure (or any pleasure for that matter). They are hedonism personified.

As Pantheon states of satyric appetites, “… (they desire) every kind of sensual pleasure, whence they are seen sleeping, playing musical instruments or engaged in voluptuous dances with nymphs.”

In a modern sense, we can view them as avarice, greed, sloth, envy…you name it. They are the wanton, animalistic side of humanity, while also embodying the fanciful, whimsical expression of humanity. These competing qualities create a complex view of satyrs, but most people and monsters in Greek Myth are, in fact, very complicated beings, expressing different emotions, fears, flaws, and characteristics.

Satyrs in Pop Culture

There are a litany of satyrs in pop culture, as there is an enduring element of the goat men’s character.

  • Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia
  • Philoctetes (Phil) in Disney’s Hercules
  • Grover Underwood in Percy Jackson
  • The Dancing Satyrs in “The Pastoral Symphony” in Fantasia
  • Satyr in the Service of Pan in Stephen King’s “The Lawnmower Man”

In all of these iterations, the satyr is a creature of merriment, cheer, and self-indulgence. They veer from violence to downright indulgence.

Conclusion

What do satyrs of Greek Mythology offer people in modern times? Perhaps the most likely lesson is the ills of hedonism and being a trickster. While the satyr is often symbolic of layabouts and pranksters, their real power comes from showing their flaws in clear daylight. Humanity sees these flaws and knows to err on the side of morality and ethics. The human impulse is a danger to avoid, as impulsive humans create problems for themselves and others. To engage in slothery is to engage in the worst aspects of the human spirit–even if winebags are pretty cool.

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Morgan le Fay: History, Witchcraft, and Female Empowerment

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Women with power do not have to consort with the devil in order to obtain positions of authority. That should be a given, but according to some retellings of Arthurian legend, that simply can’t be the case. For instance: Morgan le Fay. Le Fay is either the most nefarious character in Arthurian legend, or she is a simple heroine maligned by fragile beliefs of patriarchal dominance. What is more, by analyzing Morgan le Fay’s character, readers can understand her relation to medieval society as a healer and harbinger of evil. Additionally, readers can understand how Morgan le Fay’s character shows that women were maligned throughout history regardless of their deeds.

A History of Morgan le Fay

Origins

Morgan le Fays’ appearances through history are just as enigmatic as the character itself. In one way, she has ties to Morrigan from Irish mythology and “the mari-morgans of Breton folklore.” As stated by Jessica Hines in “The Literary History of Morgan le Fay,” her relationship to the “divine mother goddess of ancient Gaul” Modron.

Perhaps the first literary appearance of Morgan le Fay occurred in Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth in 1150. In this incarnation, le Fay had both shape changing and healing powers, aiding King Arthur after the enemy wounded him. In 1165, she would appear in Erec by Chretien de Troyes as Arthur’s sister. Her appearance changed somewhat in later years as she reflects a hostile villain against the king and queen. No doubt, le Fay’s transmogrification came about with changing attitudes to supernatural powers outside the church. It also changed due to attitudes toward a woman’s place in medieval society.

Connection to Witches and Witchcraft

Morgan le Fay’s history inevitability coincides with the history of witches and witchcraft. Her symbology as a powerful woman of nature undoubtedly lent itself to this image. By appearing as a powerful female with magical powers of healing and nature, her visage is that of one that stands as a contrast to King Arthur in Arthurian legend. In fact, through her embrace of naturalistic powers and healing abilities, she plays the role of tertiary practitioner.

At the height of witchcraft trials and wrongful executions (1500-1660), witch hunters burned (or hanged) innocent women for many reasons. This was during what was called “The Great Hunt.” Witch hunters accused upwards of 80,000 people and they saw to the murder of at least half of them. Consorting with the devil was a major cause of concern for many societies and maintaining the status quo was likewise important. Thus, accusations of deviltry in communities carried with it grave promises and prompted factually-dubious investigations. Yet, accusations were time-consuming and expensive, so not every accusation went to court. But, the rumors of witchcraft certainly existed which was damning enough for the social structure of a village.

Nevertheless, comparing Morgan le Fay in literature to witches, we find parallels to other women of lore and history.

Joan of Ark being one of them.

Witches of History

Joan of Ark and Anne Boleyn

National Geographic states that St. Michael convinced Joan of Ark, a medieval peasant, to fight against the English for the French. In battle, “she helped liberate the city of Orleans, invigorating the French troops’ morale.” However, after the English took her hostage, they burned her at the stake in 1431 for witchcraft.

As some sources stated of accusations, “maleficium” or sorcery, “prompted a wide array of suspicions.” Accusations typically included dying or diseased livestock, blighted crops, aggressive storm, feuds, rivalries, or something political in nature. What is more, Anne Boleyn, the unfortunate wife of Henry VIII, could not provide him with a male child. So, the court found her guilty of “adultery and treason,” and the king saw her beheaded. Later, accused of “being an 11-fingered witch.”

Link to Morgan le Fay

What these women have in common with Morgan le Fay is her power and her place in society. As Mark Twain writes derisively of feudal society and its related ills to the Gilded Age, we also find his wit in comparing le Fay to what used to be sorceresses in the 1500s and 1600s–witches. She is cunning, evil, shrewd, and quick to murder. And she focuses on torture as a means of extracting crucial evidence. When Morgan le Fay needed to become a frontline character in Arthurian legends, she became more malicious, violent, and vengeful. Those practicing witchcraft, too, went from healers to vile vagrants and connivers.

Witches as Devil-Worshipping Healers

Witches as healers predate the long-standing synonymy of witches and the devil–even though modern interpretations are far more feminist and favorable to witchcraft as empowerment. Then, their reputations became blackened by society when it was necessary. Perhaps, the spread of male-dominated religions ruled out “female deities” who had long “Trained in the sacred arts” and “became known as wise women.”

The transformation to devil-worshipper happened to real women just as Morgan le Fay’s transformation happened ot her fictionalized self.

“Centuries later, this fear of witches spread to Europe … when the plauge decimated Europe by killing one in three people … Amid the panic, many attributed their misfortune to the Devil himself–and his suposed worshippers.”

Of course, when hysteria takes off (like The Dancing Plague of 1518 [Choreomania]) it is impossible to stop and the stories keep building, from allegations of late-night rituals, to sacrificing infants, to naked dancing and sexual promiscuity. As it stands, any person with authority would look at torturing and murdering the innocent as the work of a sorceress or witch as well.

Traditional Views of Morgan le Fay

With many interpretations, Morgan le Fay comes off as evil in comparison to her brother King Arthur, and often is the cause of his undoing, as she mothers their incest-child, Mordred. However, in earlier texts, Morgan is actually a helper and healer of Arthur in Avalon (and in one account the ruler of Avalon), where she holds the house and tends to her brother. For instance, Le Fay’s appearance in Monmouth’s Vita Merlini (1148) is as a healer and helper to Arthur.

Later writings, such as the Vulgate Cycle (1215-1235) characterizes her as a malevolent force capable of great black magic which both harms people and hides her true age.

In Morgan le Fay: Origins and Evolution, researcher Andrea Whyland writes that Morgan’s change in the Vulgate Cycle shows that she is no longer a background player, but an active participant of the story. She states: “Morgan now lives in a castle, instead of the Otherworld of Avalon. Her magical powers suddenly became tools used for evil or manipulative purposes. This stands opposed to her history healing which is seen in earlier works. From this point forward, Morgan also plays more of an integral role in the sequence of events.”

Additionally, Morgan becomes a sexual being, attempting to seduce and capture Lancelot on multiple occasions. Her sexuality and penchant for magic aligns her with a certain amount of “witchiness.” This extends beyond the early cycles she appears in and into the 1600s. At this time, where women with power were viewed as evil, harassing hags. As such, in later writings (“Suite du Merlin” and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”), Morgan conspires against the heroes from Merlin to Arthur to exact revenge for love lost and to shame the entire Round Table.

Appearance in Popular Culture

In Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Morgan le Fay is a variety of things: she is smart, she is a talker, she is interesting, and she is charismatic.

“She caused us to be seated,” states Hank Morgan, the protagonist, “and then she began, with all manner of pretty graces and graciousnesses, to ask me questions. Dear me, it was like a bird or a flute, or something, talking.” (Twain).

However her reputation preceeds her.

“… for I knew Mrs. le Fay by reputation, and was not expecting anything pleasant,” Hank states. “She was held in awe by the whole realm, for she had made everybody believe she was a great sorceress. All her ways were wicked, all her instincts devilish. she was loaded to the eylids with cold malice.”

And it is shortly after her kind introduction that she reveals herself, her true self, by stabbing a man with a dagger who dared to accidentally touch her. Her duality is almost Elizabeth Bathory-levels of wickedness. A ruler with literal skeletons in her closet.

Conclusion

Le Fay has endured a history of change and manipulation. However, there is one thing that has remained consistent–the spirit of her character as feminine power. Granted, often that power is perceived as evil or overbearing. Yet, by looking at her ability as a sorceress and a healer, readers find a character rife in autonomy and agency. These two qualities are important. The society contemporary to her interpretation may perceive that as evil or untoward, but from modern perspectives, Le Fay has proven resilient and capable of standing up to male-dominated legends of yore.

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Explaining Concrete and Abstract Nouns

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We must understand the fundamentals of English grammar if we want to craft excellent sentences. We also have to know what things in life (and language) are perceptible and which things are more like ideas that can be interpreted by an individual. This is the difference between a concrete and an abstract noun.

Concrete Nouns

Nouns constitute people, places, and things, and they are often defined in terms of whether there is something to see or touch. Houses, blankets, and cars are these types of nouns because they are concrete. We can see and touch them, taste them, hear them, and smell them.

Any and all nouns that we acknowledge with our senses are qualified as concrete nouns.

Examples include:

  • Teacher
  • Bike
  • House
  • Stars
  • House

Abstract Nouns

Abstract nouns, meanwhile, are the opposite of concrete nouns in that they are more like ideas than real things we can hold in our hands. Drive, spirit, and ambition are all abstract nouns because while they are things, they are intellectual things that we have to quantify through vague or arbitrary definitions, which means we cannot use our senses to engage with them. Rather, we think about them and define them with our minds.

Examples include:

  • Courage
  • Loyalty
  • Friendship
  • Fear
  • Peace

Conclusion

Defining these two types of nouns helps us understand our language and the parts of speech a little better. Understanding if something is concrete or abstract helps us understand how we interact with it in life, and that helps us identify varying characteristics associated with the particular noun (and what modifiers and descriptors we will or won’t use).

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‘The Island of the Blue Dolphins’ by Scott O’Dell Review

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The Newberry Medal winner The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell is an interesting book. It pits the will of a young girl against many dangers in an isolated setting. The struggle for survival in this text captures an intense narrative about making difficult choices at a young age. Sometimes, young-adult fiction can miss the mark with young people’s lives–and sometimes they can be visceral. Throughout The Island of the Blue Dolphins, we see a coming-of-age story about survival and being at ease with your circumstances.

Summary of the Blue Dolphin

The Island of the Blue Dolphins is about Karana (Won-a-pa-lei), a Nicoleno girl who lives alone on an island off the coast of California. Karan lives alone on the island after her people engage in a battle with Russian fur hunters. Karana takes to her new life by adapting to the island without her community while battling feral dogs. The story revolves around her struggles and her reticence to be rescued.

Back of the Book

From the book: “In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. Once, Indians also lived on the island. When they left and sailed to the east, they leave a young girl behind. This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. But while she waited, she kept herself alive by building shelter, making weapons, finding food, and fighting her enemies, the wild dogs. It is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.”

Critical Response

Most critics and reviewers praise the novel. It is a Newberry Medal-Winning classic, along with a Hans Christian Andersen Medal. On Goodreads, the novel has 108,363 five-star reviews. Reviewers write that its lessons in survival and readability are beneficial. One reviewer wrote: “Karana’s remarkable story is not to be missed. A story that is enjoyable for adults as it is for older children!”

However, the book also has 10,168 one-star reviews, with reviewers stating that the book relies on stereotypes of Indigenous Americans. Additionally, reviewers have pointed out the “two-dimensional” characters. They also stated that the reader should see far more growth in the main character over 18 years.

Impressions

Negative reviews aside, I had a recent thought about The Catcher in the Rye as a book that I still can not really get behind, even though I read it precisely when I should have read it as a young person. I may be a phony, but I can see how the appeal of this book has waned in the new era of social understanding.

The development of this character over the course of the novel is an important plot construct to note. She seems to be a living, breathing character who is quiet industrious and capable of success. As a coming-of-age story, it shows the reader how somebody from a different background and different view of life and change into somebody capable of surviving on their own. The Island of the Blue Dolphins creates understanding. That is really important for a book.

On the blog, I have looked at a few novels about survival that stand as great testaments to children’s literature. These novels include Hatchet and a few others. I think I will give this book a reread at some point to just take in the multimodal accompaniment that this novel has created, from movies to critical responses in print.

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Greek Mythology Origins, Chaos, and Gaea

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Where does one start with the origins of Greek Mythology? After all, it can be difficult to understand the difference between myths, legends, and tall tales. Perhaps at the creation of everything is the only place to start. Greek mythology really begins with Gaea and move ahead from there in a linear fashion, a little at a time.

A Prelude to Mythology Origins

If you are new to Greek mythology, all you have to know is a couple of things:

  1. Myths are used to help explain the world. They answer the why question using fantastical elements (magical weapons, monsters, and heroes);
  2. Personification is when we give human characteristics to nonhuman subjects;
  3. Before the start of the world, there was only emptiness and Chaos.

Putting the World Together in Darkness

According to Greek Myth, in the beginning of the world, the vacant void of space existed everywhere. Chaos personified, made of void, mass, and darkness, reigned in this vacuum.

Though, sooner or later, the void began to fill as Gaea emerged from this nothingness. She appeared on her own, created by Chaos, along with her two siblings. Those siblings are Tartarus and Eros, who were the deities of the Underworld and Love, respectively.

More gods were to follow (created by Chaos), including Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), who together created Aether (Light) and Hemera (Day). Nyx, too, created a family on her own, including: Moros (Fate), the black Ker (Doom), Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), Oneiroi (Dreams), Geras (Old Age), Oizus (Pain), Nemesis (Revenge), Eris (Strife), Apate (Deceit), Philotes (Sexual Pleasure), Momos (Blame), and the Hesperides (the Daughters of the Evening).

All the same, Gaea in Greek myth is an important deity. She was “described as the giver of dreams and the nourisher of plants and young children.” In time, she created the universe and Earth as we know it, giving names and gods to the things that shape our world, such as Uranus (the sky), Ourea (the mountains), and Pontus (the sea).

Everything in Greek mythology needed some kind of name or characteristic so that it fit within a narrative. For example, the mountains are not just rocks, but a character named Ourea. They are the child of the primordial progeny of Gaea. Now, being personified, we as listeners or storytellers can learn something about the world, and, more specifically, about the mountains.

On Greek Mythology and Personification

It is important to note, and as mentioned, that Greek Myth focuses on personifying elements and objects to give life to their stories. After all, the Earth is quite a character, and tying that into something like the creation myths of a culture is important work. Gaea can get into trouble, or it can be a seething tempest that is up to hear with its husband. By creating these personified character, the Greeks were able to not only share wonderful stories, but they could also explain their world. Gaea, though factoring heavily into a creation story, gives life and purpose to the Greek people.

Conclusion

Gods take on many different forms in the origins of Greek mythology. They can either be humans or simply forms with names ascribed to them. This is an important fact to understand. For the Greeks, all things in the world needed some kind of personification to answer that why question.

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Psycho by Robert Bloch: Understanding Inspiration

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Author Robert Bloch was an important writer in the history of the horror genre. He is also somebody who contributed a great deal to multiple formats of writing—short stories, screenplays, etc. Psycho (1959) by Robert Bloch, is a mainstay of the horror genre and has spawned multiple movies and television shows.  By examining this landmark novel and its source of inspiration, writers can see the true nature of inspiration.

‘Psycho’ by Robert Bloch Summary

Psycho details the story of Norman Bates, who is a caretaker at an off-the-beaten-path motel in Fairvale. His mother dominates his life, who refuses to let the young man out of her peremptory grip. They argue about the failing motel, whose business has been recently rundown by the relocation of a nearby highway. 

After his mother murders Mary, a woman who is on the run for stealing cash from her real estate client, Norman disposes of the body. Afterward, he continues caring for the motel…and its aging matron. After the woman’s sister, Lila, Marion’s ex-boyfriend, Sam, and a private investigator, Arbogast, come looking for the now deceased woman, Norman’s mother strikes again. This time, she kills Arbogast with a razor while the former two are out investigating. 

After further inquiry by Lila and Sam, some revelations occur. First, Norman’s mother has been dead for years, and Norman spent time in a mental institution. Second, Lila finds the corpse of Ms. Bates in the fruit cellar, Norman attacks her. Horrifyingly, he is is wearing his mother’s clothes. Luckily, Sam stops Norman. The explanation given is that Norman turned into his mother after a bout of matricide in which he poisoned her and her lover out of jealous rage. Confined to a mental institution for life, Norman psychologically transforms into his mother. There, he deigns to prove that he wouldn’t dare even hurt a fly. 

How Inspiration Informs Our Novels

The Gein Inspiration

Inspiration can be a tricky thing to conjure. You may have to be in the exact right mood. Or, maybe you have to be lying in bed in the morning, or maybe you have to be taking a shower…or perhaps you are just out mowing your lawn. Regardless, inspiration will come smack you right in the head with a great idea. 

Whatever it is that works for you, works for you. 

The story of Ed Gein inspired the story behind Psycho (1959) by Robert Bloch. Gein also has a relationship with multiple personality disorder and murder. For instance, he had murdered two women and set himself about crafting a skin suit after his own mother’s heart. In this case, inspiration came from real-life scenarios. Additionally, it comes with some past stories of Bloch’s earlier works that also dealt with multiple personalities and grim situations.

As written by Galaxy Press: “In this regard, Robert Bloch’s protagonist, Norman Bates, was much like Gein. Bloch realized, ‘I’d discovered how closely the imaginary character I’d created resembled the real Ed Gein both in overt act and apparent motivation’.”

Bloch wrote Psycho over a six-year span in Weyauwega, Wisconsin. As Bloch later stated, he based Psycho on a “situation rather than any person, living or dead…” 

As Shane Nyman writes in an article for Post Crescent: “Living only about a 35-minute drive from Plainfield, the already-accomplished Bloch read about the discoveries at the Gein family farm when it hit the papers in 1957. Two years later, the world was introduced to Norman Bates.”

Bloch’s Version of the Story

And, yet, Bloch also disputes the claims of his immediate knowledge of the incident. He wrote in his 1993 memoir that he knew “very little” of Gein at the time of his writing, only realizing the connection years later when writing an essay about Gein. He soon realized that there were lots of similarities between his novel and the case. 

I think, in this way, inspiration was a sort of parallel thinking in the ether. It was the right time and place for the story to happen, and so was the Gein case. It’s horrible to think, but lots of murders occur and books are written at the same time. Some of them build traction with the public and some don’t build traction at all. It’s an Overton Window of sorts where whatever is happening in the zeitgeist propels a story to success. Yet, two sources of inspiration can happen in tandem. 

Conclusion

Regardless of how you are inspired—whether by true crime events now or later—inspiration can bring forth interests that we already have and allow them to proliferate on the page. Bloch loved true crime, such as Jack the Ripper and Lizzie Borden, so it makes sense that inspiration came to Robert Bloch for Psycho in the form of his interests. 

He was also devoted to strange fiction and tales of the macabre, which even featured his mentor’s death:

The Library of America states that: “One of the stories Bloch wrote while (H.P.) Lovecraft was alive featured Lovecraft as a character, killed by a monster. Weird Tales required Bloch to get the victim’s permission before publishing the story, and Lovecraft authorized Bloch ‘to portray, murder, annihilate, disintegrate, transfigure, metamorphose, or otherwise manhandle the undersigned in the tale entitled THE SHAMBLER FROM THE STARS’.”

In so many words, find your inspiration where your love is at, whether that be stories like Psycho by Robert Bloch about killers in the Midwest, or stories where you yourself are doing the killing.  

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The Profound Connection of Love and Poetry

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There’s a million poems and poets out there. Additionally, there are an infinite number of themes. In this way, poetry and love are forever intertwined. Love is hard to describe, and poetry always finds the words–maybe it’s the exceptional person wielding the pen who makes it look so easy and not the form after all. Yet the question remains as to why poetry seems to be in league with love. There are a couple of poets whose unique looks create an understanding between the two topics: Carl Sandburg, and Emily Bronte.

Viewing the world through Sandburg and Bronte

Poetry and love with Carl Sandburg

Poetry can invoke a very romantic language, as poetry fits so perfectly for pining after somebody. Additionally, just observing the folly of love or the “give and take” of romance can so perfectly obfuscate meaning in an interesting way. Take for instance, Carl Sandburg‘s poem “Offering and Rebuffing,” which so delicately plays with love and feelings toward love.

Sandburg writes: “I could love you/as dry roots love rain,” Sandburg writes. “I could hold you/as branches in the wind/brandish petals./Forgive me for speaking so soon … Love is a fool star” (Sandburg). There’s some cynicism there, which is probably warranted when it comes to love. Cynicism and love are also a perfect pair for the lovelorn. Though, not all poems are so cynical and many actually give us keen insight into how relationships operate on some level.

Poetry and love with Emily Bronte

For instance, Emily Bronte’s “Love and Friendship” invokes the duality of marriage and love when we get our most sour. “Love is like the wild rose-briar,/Friendship like the holly-tree–/The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms/But which will bloom most constantly?” Bronte’s poem reminds the reader that marriage is a partnership between two friends even if love can seemingly fizzle out sometimes. Only through poetry can we really see this complexity of love in a different way.

Conclusion

Readers must thank the elucidating powers of poetry because poems have a way of conveying the most difficult feelings. Love is certainly one of those difficult feelings, but poetry adeptly explains the mystery of sparks igniting in our brains. So, whether the holly is dark or the roots dry, sometimes it’s just nice to have an explanation to the most complicated things in life … if only to make our feelings just a bit more clear.

Reading, Writing, and Reciprocity

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Reading, Writing, and Reciprocity

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