Message to the Future

Poetry Analysis and Connection to "The Hunchback"

      I chose the poem “A Frog’s Fate” by Christina Georgina Rosetti because it discusses the theme of fate that is present through The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. In both pieces, the characters are fated for an ill future. Quasimodo is fated to be an ‘unfortunate creature” (Hugo) due to his deformed appearance, Frollo believes he is fated to love La Esmeralda which causes him to be “tortured by the specter of his own damnation” (Hugo), and the frog is fated to be hit by the wagon as it “Ran him down, his joys his cares”(Rosetti 14). The quote “The Waggoner strode whistling on. Unconscious of the carnage done” (Rosetti 23-24) also relates to the preface of The Hunchback where the author found the word “fate” engraved on the wall in Notre-Dame. The author hadn’t known who had written it or what sort of situation had occurred there but it shows how the author was just as oblivious to the effects of fate as the driver of the wagon was in “A Frog’s Fate”. The characters of boy pieces do not believe in free will and therefore do not fight against their situations. This can especially be observed in the scene where Frollo is watching a spider catch a fly in its web. The fly is fated to by caught and he therefore must “let fate take its course!” (Hugo).

      In addition, I also chose the poem “Brittle Beauty” (also known as “The Frailty and Hurtfulness of Beauty”) by Henry Howard because it describes the illusive nature of beauty and asks the ultimate question: what is beauty? Howard describes beauty as “Slipper in sliding, as in an eele’s tail” (7). This transitory essence that beauty gives off relates to how Sister Gudule feels about her fate. Her beautiful baby girl was stolen and replaced by an “abominable monster” (Hugo). That moment of beauty she once had slipped away and was replaced by ugliness. The poem also describes how beauty is “False and untrue, enticed oft to treason” (Howard 9). This relates to the characters of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame because Frollo is described as an extremely educated, powerful aristocrat on the outside but is cold and lustful on the inside. On the other hand, Quasimodo is depicted as a “deformed ape” (Hugo) but has one of the kindest souls in the entire novel based on his actions of saving others and his unfailing loyalty to even those who have treated him the worst. Both the poem and the novel describe how beauty is not always what it seems.

Close Reading of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Passage

            Less is more. This commonplace phrase describes many different aspects of life: cooking, fashion and even cosmetic treatments. However, one of its main origins was through its use in literature. Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is one example of a piece reflecting this common ideal. Throughout this passage, Hugo uses purposeful fragments, formalistic language and a copious amount of expressive punctuation to describe the emotion and inner thoughts of his characters.

This passage represents a portion of the dramatic monologue that Frollo is delivering. He is addressing Jacques during his speech, but Frollo is more speaking to himself than to his companion. He is revealing elements of his character such as his strong belief in Fate and his unwillingness to participate in free will, which would otherwise not be directly divulged to the reader without the use of a dramatic monologue. In addition, Hugo utilizes the use of a stream of consciousness. The speaker’s lack of ending punctuation in a quote such as this: “You did not see the subtle spider’s web, spread by destiny between the light and you; you flew into it, wretched fool, and now you struggle, with crushed head and torn wings, between the iron antennae of Fate!“ (273) shows his non-stop thought process. Frollo is attempting to justify his actions towards La Esmerelda while working through his though process and basing his actions on the spider and the fly.

The use emotion and descriptive detail can cause even the smallest of occurrences to become memorable. For example, “You flew toward knowledge, toward the lights, toward the sun; you only wanted to reach the pure air, the broad light of eternal truth. But rushing toward the dazzling window which opens into another world, a world of brightness, intelligence, and knowledge-blind fly! . . . You did not see the subtle spider’s web” (272). Hugo is describing the sun and air as knowledge and truth and using formal language to describe something so miniscule as a fly becoming caught in a spider’s web. This elevated language suggests determination and is eventually what leads Frollo into using fate as an excuse to trap La Esmerelda. Eventually, he will draw her into his web of destruction because that is the way he thinks Fate intends it to be.

Believing in fate causes a person to simply accept what has come to them therefore, saying little to change their circumstance. In the quote, “Poor dancer! Poor fated fly! Master Jacques, leave it alone-it’s fate! Alas, Claude, you are the spider! Claude, you are also the fly! . . . Master Jacques! Let the spider alone!” (273), Frollo speaks in short bursts filled with emotion to emphasize his want and his need to ensnare La Esmerelda. Hugo’s use of short fragments with copious punctuation affirms Frollo’s strong belief in fate and his future plans. Short fragments in dialogue also contribute to how a character is perceived. In this case, Frollo shows his eager determination and his inability to stay calm when contemplating his desires.

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is considered a piece from the Romantic era. This era is depicted as a literary, artistic and intellectual movement that was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution. The quote above not only describes Frollo’s views on fate, but it uses formal language and expressive punctuation to address Hugo’s commentary on society. The Industrial Revolution, which spurred on Romanticism were two movements that provided an escape from reality and an opportunity to take one’s future into one’s own hands. However, Hugo is explaining how “wise men come from afar to dash their heads against you” (274) and try to change their life without the effects of fate.

             Although less isn’t always more, it most definitely is when it comes to literature. Through the use of purposeful fragments, formalistic language and a copious amount of expressive punctuation, the emotion and inner thoughts of characters can be more simply and purely articulated.

Literary Criticism Analysis

Literary Criticisms

      The criticism by Frank T. Marzials relates to the explanation of my topic because it thoroughly describes the themes and vivid descriptions of Hugo’s writing. He analyzes the type of world that the characters live in which greatly affects their how they life their lives and the morals they believe in. “Victor Hugo’s world in ‘Notre Dame’ is as a world seen in fever-vision, or suddenly illumined by great flashes of lightning. The medieval city is before us in all its picturesque huddle of irregular buildings. We are in it; we see it: the narrow streets with their glooms and gleams, their Rembrandt effects of shadow and light” (Marzials). Because Marzials sees the setting of this novel as very bleak and gloomy, but in a dark and ornate fashion, he discusses the city’s hidden beauty. From afar, Paris at this time may seem like “a horror of darkness and evil deeds” (Marzials), but from within the novel, the audience is able to see how beauty, both visible and unseen, can greatly affect the decisions of an individual.

The critical essay by Scott Yearsley titled “Sexuality In Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris” is significant to my explanation because sexuality combines both beauty and desires that affect the life of an individual. For example, Frollo’s intense desires for La Esmerelda, spurred from her beauty, cause Frollo to make rash decisions, which he believes to be caused by fate. In addition, the belief that Quasimodo has no beauty caused him to experience intense feelings toward his bells because he “has never experienced true compassion” (Yearsley). This lack of compassion and a sexual nature affects Quasimodo’s actions, especially around La Esmerelda. He respects and honors her wishes while Frollo invades her privacy. La Esmerelda’s beauty causes different experiences for both characters, thus altering their decisions and thoughts while contrasting them greatly.

The critical approach titled “Book Review - The Classics - The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo ‘What makes a monster and what makes a man?’” greatly influences my explanation because it discusses the time period from which the book was written and how those characteristics affected the novels creation. Hugo believed that “Romanticism, rather than finding itself in the subjects of antiquity, stressed the importance of individual interpretation and the profound marriage of imagination and emotion” (Literary Corner Café). In addition to using these Romantic ideals, Hugo also believed in listening to the past. That is why he chose to set The Hunchback of Notre-Dame in a medieval time period and make Notre-Dame the center of it all. Thus bring into discussion important ideals of the Romantic period such as fate and the effects of beauty.

       The critical essay titled “Victor Hugo 1802–1885” describes Hugo’s early life and the experiences that affected his work. I found this essay to be essential for the explanation of my topic because all of his past experiences are the hindrances and the influences that affected his writing. For example, his work titled Les contemplations is divided into two poems. “‘Autarefois’ celebrates innocence, youth, love, and creation, while ‘Aujourd'hui’ reveals Hugo's grief over the drowning death of his daughter Léopoldine in 1843” (enotes). This example can specifically contribute to the loss of Sister Gedule’s daugher in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Hugo reflects his own occurrences onto his characters which therefore advance not only how hindrances and influences affect himself, but his characters as well.

      The critical essay by Richard B. Grant is important to my explanation because it talks in depth about the metaphor of the spider and the fly whose subject is prevalent throughout the novel. In The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Claude Frollo has a moment of epiphany where he relates fate, specifically the fate of himself and La Esmerelda, to a spider ensnaring a fly in its web. This metaphor is very important to my explanation because it is one of the main examples of how fate can control one’s life. After all, Grant believes that “the individual fates of the separate characters are all expressed with the same images interlocked in intricate patterns” (Grant). If Frollo hadn’t seen the spider, he might not have made the decisions that he did because he thought fate was controlling his life. 

"Brittle Beauty" Poetry Analysis

“Brittle Beauty” (also known as “The Frailty and Hurtfulness of Beauty”) by Henry Howard

Analysis and Connection to The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Brittle beauty that nature made so frail, Whereof the gift is small, and short the season, Flowering today, tomorrow apt to fail, Tickle treasure, abhorred of reason, Dangerous to deal with, vain, of none avail, Costly in keeping, passed not worth two peason Slipper in sliding as is an eel's tail, Jewel of jeopardy that peril doth assail, False and untrue, enticed oft to treason, Enemy to youth: that most may I bewail. Ah, bitter sweet: infecting as the poison, Thou farest as fruit that with the frost is taken: Today ready ripe, tomorrow all to-shaken

The poem “Brittle Beauty” (also known as “The Frailty and Hurtfulness of Beauty”) by Henry Howard uses pastoral language and similes to describe the transitory nature of beauty.       Pastoral imagery and similes both allow the reader to make comparisons in order to see the true nature of the subject. Howard describes beauty as “flowering today, tomorrow apt to fail” (Howard 3). This automatically sets the tone of the piece and describes the author’s true feelings about beauty: that fact that it is all about instant gratification. The piece then continues by using similes to compare beauty to “the fruit that with the frost is taken” (Howard 14) and as “infecting as the poison” (Howard 13). These similes continue to express the meaning that the author is attempting to convey. Beauty is illusive and will never satisfy someone forever. It is enjoyable for a certain time, such as the flowers in spring as the pastoral language suggests, but then it is inevitably ruined, just like fruit left out in the frost.       "Brittle Beauty" continues to describe the illusive nature of beauty by asking the ultimate question: what is beauty? Howard describes beauty as "Slipper in sliding, as in an eele’s tail" (Howard 7). This transitory essence that beauty gives off relates to how Sister Gudule feels about her fate. Her beautiful baby girl was stolen and replaced by an "abominable monster" (Hugo). That moment of beauty she once had slipped away and was replaced by ugliness. The poem also describes how beauty is "False and untrue, enticed oft to treason" (Howard). This relates to the characters of The Hunchback because Frollo is described as an extremely educated, powerful, aristocrat on the outside but is cold and cruel on the inside. On the other hand, Quasimodo is depicted as a "deformed ape" (Hugo) but has one of the kindest souls in the entire novel based on his actions of saving others and his unfailing loyalty to even those who have treated him the worst.       Through the use of pastoral language and similes, “Brittle Beauty” relates to The Hunchback of Notre-Dame as it depicts how beauty is not always what it seems.

 

"A Frog's Fate" Poetry Analysis

“A Frog’s Fate” by Christina Georgina Rosetti

Analysis and Connection to The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Contemptuous of his home beyond The village and the village-pond, A large-souled Frog who spurned each byeway Hopped along the imperial highway. Nor grunting pig nor barking dog Could disconcert so great a Frog. The morning dew was lingering yet, His sides to cool, his tongue to wet: The night-dew, when the night should come, A travelled Frog would send him home. Not so, alas! The wayside grass Sees him no more: not so, alas! A broad-wheeled waggon unawares Ran him down, his joys, his cares. From dying choke one feeble croak The Frog's perpetual silence broke: - "Ye buoyant Frogs, ye great and small, Even I am mortal after all! My road to fame turns out a wry way; I perish on the hideous highway; Oh for my old familiar byeway!" The choking Frog sobbed and was gone; The Waggoner strode whistling on. Unconscious of the carnage done, Whistling that Waggoner strode on - Whistling (it may have happened so) "A froggy would a-wooing go." A hypothetic frog trolled he, Obtuse to a reality. O rich and poor, O great and small, Such oversights beset us all. The mangled Frog abides incog, The uninteresting actual frog: The hypothetic frog alone Is the one frog we dwell upon.

The poem “A Frog’s Fate” by Christina Georgina Rossetti uses imagery and a sense of hyperbole to describe the effects of fate and one’s unwillingness to try and change them.       Imagery allows the reader to see, smell, touch, taste and hear the surroundings that they read about to better understand the message of the piece. Rossetti uses both tactile and auditory imagery to describe the characteristics of “so great a Frog” (Rosetti 6). The description of “His sides to cool, his tongue to wet” (Rossetti 8) make the vision of the frog much more realistic, especially when the audience encounters the auditory imagery of his “dying choke [and] one feeble croak” (Rossetti 15). Both types of imagery contribute to the sense of hyperbole that Rossetti gives to the poem. There are many examples of formalistic and elevated language such as “‘ye buoyant Frogs, ye great and small, /Even I am mortal after all!’” (Rossetti 17-18) which assign such ornate language to simply describing a frog being run over. This shows the Frog’s unwillingness to fight against his circumstance. Rossetti chose to write the Frog a brave end when he chose to accept his fate; similar to many of the characters in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.       "A Frog's Fate" discusses the theme of fate that is frequently present throughout The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. In both pieces, the characters are fated for an ill future. Quasimodo is fated to be an "unfortunate creature" (Hugo) due to his deformed appearance, Frollo believes he is fated to love La Esmerelda which causes him to be "tortured by the specter of his own damnation" (Hugo), and the frog is fated to be hit by the wagon as it "Ran him down, his joys, his cares". (Rosetti 14). The quote "The Waggoner strode whistling on./Unconscious of the carnage done" (Rosetti 23-24) also relates to the preface of The Hunchback where the author found the word "fate" engraved on the wall in Notre-Dame. The author hadn't know who had written it or what sort of situation had occurred there but it shows how the author was just as oblivious to the effects of fate as the driver of the wagon was in "A Frog's Fate". The characters of both pieces do not believe in free will and therefore do not fight against their situations. This can especially be observed in the scene where Frollo is watching a spider catch a fly in its web. The fly is fated to be caught and he therefore must "let fate take its course!" (Hugo).       Thus, through the use of imagery and a sense of hyperbole, the poem “A Frog’s Fate” by Christina Georgina Rossetti relates to The Hunchback of Notre-Dame as it describes the effects of fate and one’s unwillingness to attempt to and change them.

The Spider and the Fly Close Reading Structure Chart (Hugo 273-274)

“Dom Claude, lost in his own thoughts, was not listening. Charmolue, following the movement of his eyes, saw that his stare was fixed on a large spider's web, which hung like a tapestry in the window. Just then, a giddy fly, looking for the March sun, flew into the net and was entangled. It’s struggles aroused the huge spider, which suddenly bounded from his central cell, and with one lurch caught the fly, which he bent in two with his fore-feelers; then with his hideous sucker he attacked its head. ‘Poor fly!’ said the kin’s attorney of the ecclesiastical court, and he raised his hand to save it. The archdeacon, as though awakened from sleep, held back Jacques’ arm with convulsive violence.

‘Master Jacques,’ he cried, ‘leave the fly to fate!’ The attorney turned about quite terrified. He felt as if his arm had been seized by iron pincers. He haggard, fiery eyes of the priest remained fix on the horrible little group, the fly and the spider.

‘Oh, yes!’ continued the priest, in a voice which seemed to proceed from the depths of his being, ‘that’s the symbol of everything. She flies, she is joyous, she is just born; she seeks the spring, the open air, liberty: oh, yes! But let her come in contact with the fatal network, and the spider issues from it, the hideous spider! ‘Poor dancer! Poor fated fly! Master Jacques, leave it alone-it’s fate! Alas, Claude, you are the spider! Claude, you are also the fly! You flew toward knowledge, toward the lights, toward the sun; you only wanted to reach the pure air, the broad light of eternal truth. But rushing toward the dazzling window which opens into another world, a world of brightness, intelligence, and knowledge-blind fly! You did not see the subtle spider’s web, spread by destiny between the light and you; you flew into it, wretched fool, and now you struggle, with crushed head and torn wings, between the iron antennae of Fate! Master Jacques! Let the spider alone! Thou went flying towards learning, light, the sun. Thou hadst no other care than to reach the open air, the full daylight of eternal truth; but in precipitating thyself towards the dazzling window which opens upon the other world, --upon the world of brightness, intelligence, and science--blind fly! Senseless, learned man! Thou hast not perceived that subtle spider's web, stretched by destiny betwixt the light and thee--thou hast flung thyself headlong into it, and now thou art struggling with head broken and mangled wings between the iron antennae of fate! Master Jacques! Master Jacques! Let the spider work its will!’

‘I assure you,’ said Charmolue, who was gazing at him without comprehending him, ‘that I will not touch it. But release my arm, master, for pity's sake! You have a hand like a pair of pincers.’

The archdeacon did not hear him. ‘Oh, madman!’ he went on, without removing his gaze from the window. ‘And even couldst thou have broken through that formidable web, with thy gnat's wings, thou believest that thou couldst have reached the light? Alas! That glass farther on, that transparent obstacle, that crystal wall harder than brass, which separates all philosophies from the truth, how could you have passed through it? O vanity of knowledge! How many wise men come from afar to dash their heads against you! How many systems come buzzing to rush pell-mell against that eternal window!’”

	Linguistic	Semantic	Structural	Cultural
E x a m p l e s	“You did not see the subtle spider’s web, spread by destiny between the light and you; you flew into it, wretched fool, and now you struggle, with crushed head and torn wings, between the iron antennae of Fate!” (273)	“You flew toward knowledge, toward the lights, toward the sun; you only wanted to reach the pure air, the broad light of eternal truth. But rushing toward the dazzling window which opens into another world, a world of brightness, intelligence, and knowledge-blind fly! . . . You did not see the subtle spider’s web” (272).	“Poor daner! Poor fared fly! Master Jacques, leave it alone-it’s fate! Alas, Claude, you are the spider! Claude, you are also the fly! . . . Master Jacques! Let the spider alone!” (273)	“Alas! That glass farther on, that transparent obstacle, that crystal wall harder than brass, which separates all philosophies from the truth, how could you have passed through it? O vanity of knowledge! How many wise men come from afar to dash their heads against you! How many systems come buzzing to rush pell-mell against that eternal window!’” (274)
A n a l y s i s	This quote represents a portion of the dramatic monologue that Frollo is delivering. He is addressing Jacques during his speech, but Frollo is more speaking to himself than to his companion. He is revealing elements of hes character such as his strong belief in Fate and his unwillingness to participate in free will, which would otherwise not be directly divulged to the reader without the use of a dramatic monologue. His lack of punctuation demonstrates a stream of consciousness because he is trying to justify thoughts based on the actions reflected by the spider and the fly.	This quote depicts Frollo’s true feelings about fate and the amount of free will people have. Based on the amount of emotion and descriptive detail used to describe something as small as a spider and a fly to show that Frollo is using fate as an excuse or a play in order to trap La Esmeralda. Eventually, he will draw her into his web of destruction because that is the way he thinks fate intends it to be.	In this quote, Frollo speaks in short bursts filled with emotion to emphasize his want and his need to ensnare La Esmeralda. Frollo does not want someone meddling with the life of the spider and the fly because he does not want someone meddling in his own life, as he believes fate will gibe him what he wants. The audience can imply that Frollo will act on his desires based on his emotion in passion fro something so miniscule as he relates it to his own life.	The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is considered a piece from the Romantic era. This era is depicted as a literary, artistic and intellectual movement that was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution. The quote above not only describes Frollo’s views on fate, but Hugo’s commentary on society. The Industrial Revolution, which spurred on Romanticism, were two movement that provided an escape from reality and an opportunity for one to take the future into one’s own hands. However, Hugo is explaining how “wise men come from afar to dash their heads against you” (274) and try to change their lives without heeding the effects of fate.