Wednesday, February 13, 2013
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.
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
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Analysis and Connection to
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
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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.
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"A Frog's Fate" Poetry Analysis
“A Frog’s Fate” by Christina
Georgina Rosetti
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Analysis and Connection to
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
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| 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.
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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!’
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
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Semantic
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Structural
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Cultural
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“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)
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“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).
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“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)
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“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)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Beauty Close Reading Structure Chart (Hugo 205-211)
"However, Paquette's child had more that was pretty about it besides its feet. I saw her when she was only four months old; she was a love! She had eyes larger than her mouth, and the most charming black hair, which already curled. She would have been a magnificent brunette at the age of sixteen! Her mother became more crazy over her every day. She kissed her, caressed her, tickled her, washed her, decked her out, devoured her! She lost her head over her, she thanked God for her. Her pretty, little rosy feet above all were an endless source of wonderment, they were a delirium of joy! She was always pressing her lips to them, and she could never recover from her amazement at their smallness. She put them into the tiny shoes, took them out, admired them, marvelled at them, looked at the light through them, was curious to see them try to walk on her bed, and would gladly have passed her life on her knees, putting on and taking off the shoes from those feet, as though they had been those of an Infant Jesus."
‘The tale is fair and good,’ said Gervaise in a low tone; ‘but where do gypsies come into all that?’
‘Here,’ replied Mahiette. ‘One day there arrived in Reims a very queer sort of people. They were beggars and vagabonds who were roaming over the country, led by their duke and their counts. They were browned by exposure to the sun, they had closely curling hair, and silver rings in their ears. The women were still uglier than the men. They had blacker faces, which were always uncovered, a miserable frock on their bodies, an old cloth woven of cords bound upon their shoulder, and their hair hanging like the tail of a horse. The children who scrambled between their legs would have frightened as many monkeys. A band of excommunicates . . . [Chantefleurie] was very much frightened by the Egyptians, and wept. But her mother kissed her more warmly and went away enchanted with the good fortune which the soothsayers had foretold for her Agnes. She was to be a beauty, virtuous, a queen. So she returned to her attic in the Rue Folle-Peine, very proud of bearing with her a queen. The next day she took advantage of a moment when the child was asleep on her bed, (for they always slept together), gently left the door a little way open, and ran to tell a neighbor in the Rue de la Séchesserie, that the day would come when her daughter Agnes would be served at table by the King of England and the Archduke of Ethiopia, and a hundred other marvels. On her return . . . The child was no longer there, the place was empty. Nothing remained of the child, but one of her pretty little shoes. She flew out of the room, dashed down the stairs, and began to beat her head against the wall, crying: 'My child! Who has my child? Who has taken my child? . . . During her absence, a neighbor had seen two gypsies ascend up to it with a bundle in their arms, then descend again, after closing the door. After their departure, something like the cries of a child were heard in Paquette's room. The mother, burst into shrieks of laughter, ascended the stairs as though on wings, and entered.--A frightful thing to tell, Oudarde! Instead of her pretty little Agnes, so rosy and so fresh, who was a gift of the good God, a sort of hideous little monster, lame, one-eyed, deformed, was crawling and squalling over the floor. She hid her eyes in horror. 'Oh!' said she, 'have the witches transformed my daughter into this horrible animal?' . . . It was the monstrous child of some gypsy woman, who had given herself to the devil . . . La Chantefleurie flung herself upon the little shoe, all that remained to her of all that she loved. She remained so long motionless over it, mute, and without breath, that they thought she was dead” (205-211).
Linguistic
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Semantic
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Structural
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Cultural
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Examples
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“The tale is fair and
good” (208).
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“Instead of her pretty
little Agnes, so rosy and so fresh, who was a gift of the good God, a sort of
hideous little monster, lame, one-eyed, deformed, was crawling and squalling
over the floor. She hid her eyes in horror” (210).
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“My child! Who has my
child? Who has taken my child?” (210)
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“‘The tale is fair and
good,’ said Gervaise in a low tone; ‘but where do gypsies come into all that?’
‘Here,’ replied Mahiette. ‘Oned
day there arrived in Reims a very queer sort of people. They were beggars and
bagabonds who were roaming ober the country, led by their duke and their counts’”
(208).
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Analysis
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This simple quote suggests
to the audience that the following information, given later in the passage,
will be in the form of a story. This form includes description, setting,
dialogue, etc. In addition, this style was used to inconspicuously insert
foreshadowing into the story If the author had merely described the story
himself, it wouldn’t be nearly as memorable and therefore fail to create a
memorable foreshadow for the audience.
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This quote depicts how
even though beauty is short-lived, the characters will o almost anything to
obtain it and stop at nothing to shun the opposite. It is understandable that
the woman is upset by the loss of her daughter, but instead of caring for a
child who is under such a similar circumstance, all she can do is turn away
in revulsion.
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In this example, the
repetition and dialogue are used to emphasize emotion. Repetition of “my
child shows the disbelief that the woman feels after loosing her daughter.
Dialogue is especially used to emphasize emotion because it can show the
audience how a person is truly feeling by what they say during stressful
situations and their interactions with others.
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The Hunchback of
Notre-Dame is
considered a piece from the Romantic era. Throughout the period of
Romanticism, new ideas were spurred from stories of the past. Therefore, this
passage is written in the form of a frame narrative to emphasize how the actions
of the past affect our future and that history repeats itself.
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Beauty Close Reading Analysis Chart
Passage #2 From
Novel (Hugo 205-211)
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Analysis of Close
Reading
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"However,
Paquette's child had more that was pretty about it besides its feet. I saw
her when she was only four months old; she was a love! She had eyes larger
than her mouth, and the most charming black hair, which already curled. She
would have been a magnificent brunette at the age of sixteen! Her mother
became more crazy over her every day. She kissed her, caressed her, tickled
her, washed her, decked her out, devoured her! She lost her head over her,
she thanked God for her. Her pretty, little rosy feet above all were an endless
source of wonderment, they were a delirium of joy! She was always pressing
her lips to them, and she could never recover from her amazement at their
smallness. She put them into the tiny shoes, took them out, admired them,
marvelled at them, looked at the light through them, was curious to see them
try to walk on her bed, and would gladly have passed her life on her knees,
putting on and taking off the shoes from those feet, as though they had been
those of an Infant Jesus."
‘The tale is fair and
good,’ said Gervaise in a low tone; ‘but where do gypsies come into all
that?’
‘Here,’ replied Mahiette.
‘One day there arrived in Reims a very queer sort of people. They were
beggars and vagabonds who were roaming over the country, led by their duke
and their counts. They were browned by exposure to the sun, they had closely
curling hair, and silver rings in their ears. The women were still uglier
than the men. They had blacker faces, which were always uncovered, a
miserable frock on their bodies, an old cloth woven of cords bound upon their
shoulder, and their hair hanging like the tail of a horse. The children who
scrambled between their legs would have frightened as many monkeys. A band of
excommunicates . . . [Chantefleurie] was very much frightened by the Egyptians,
and wept. But her mother kissed her more warmly and went away enchanted with
the good fortune which the soothsayers had foretold for her Agnes. She was to
be a beauty, virtuous, a queen. So she returned to her attic in the Rue
Folle-Peine, very proud of bearing with her a queen. The next day she took
advantage of a moment when the child was asleep on her bed, (for they always
slept together), gently left the door a little way open, and ran to tell a
neighbor in the Rue de la Séchesserie, that the day would come when her
daughter Agnes would be served at table by the King of England and the
Archduke of Ethiopia, and a hundred other marvels. On her return . . . The
child was no longer there, the place was empty. Nothing remained of the
child, but one of her pretty little shoes. She flew out of the room, dashed
down the stairs, and began to beat her head against the wall, crying: 'My
child! Who has my child? Who has taken my child? . . . During her absence, a
neighbor had seen two gypsies ascend up to it with a bundle in their arms,
then descend again, after closing the door. After their departure, something
like the cries of a child were heard in Paquette's room. The mother, burst
into shrieks of laughter, ascended the stairs as though on wings, and entered.--A
frightful thing to tell, Oudarde! Instead of her pretty little Agnes, so rosy
and so fresh, who was a gift of the good God, a sort of hideous little
monster, lame, one-eyed, deformed, was crawling and squalling over the floor.
She hid her eyes in horror. 'Oh!' said she, 'have the witches transformed my
daughter into this horrible animal?' . . . It was the monstrous child of some
gypsy woman, who had given herself to the devil . . . La Chantefleurie flung
herself upon the little shoe, all that remained to her of all that she loved.
She remained so long motionless over it, mute, and without breath, that they
thought she was dead” (205-211).
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In
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Victor Hugo is able to show the shallow nature
of his characters and how their pasts can come to repeat themselves through
the use of a frame narrative and dialogue.
The style of this particular passage is that of a frame
narrative. “The tale is fair and good” (208) suggests that there is relevant
information within the story that will be important later on in the novel. In
this particular story, description, dialogue, setting etc. are all used
because they relate very similarly to those same characteristics of the
novel. Therefore, this story, told by one of the characters, is used to
inconspicuously insert foreshadowing and irony into the story. If the author
had merely described the story himself; it wouldn’t have been so memorable
and would have failed to create a notable foreshadow/ironic effect. This
technique emphasizes how a story is presented can have a major affect on how it
is perceived.
In addition, through the use of a frame
narrative, the author reveals to the audience the true nature of his
characters. The quote, “Instead of her pretty little Agnes, so rosy and so
fresh, who was a gift of the good God, a sort of hideous little monster,
lame, one-eyed, deformed, was crawling and squalling over the floor. She hid
her eyes in horror” (210 reveals how even though beauty is short-lived, the
characters will do almost anything to obtain it and stop at nothing to shun
the opposite. It is understandable that the woman is upset by the loss of her
daughter but instead of caring for a child who is under such a similar
circumstance, all she can do is turn away in revulsion. The use of a frame
narrative creates a sense of irony and therefore reveals the shallow nature
of the characters.
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is
considered a piece from the Romantic era; a time depicted as a literary,
artistic and intellectual movement that created new ideas by studying those
of the past. That is specifically one of the reasons this passage is written
in the form of a frame narrative. Based on the quote, “‘the tale is fair and
good,’ said Gervaise in a low tone; ‘but where do gypsies come into all
that?’ ‘Here,’ replied Mahiette. ‘One day there arrived in Reims a very queer
sort of people. They were beggars and vagabonds who were roaming over the
country, led by their duke and their counts’” (208) the passage is written in
this form to emphasize how the actions of the past affect our future and that
they can repeat themselves.
Therefore, through the use of a frame
narrative and dialogue, Hugo is able to show the shallow nature of his
characters and how their pasts can come to repeat themselves.
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The Spider and the Fly Close Reading Analysis Chart
Passage #1 From
Novel (Hugo 273-274)
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Analysis of Close
Reading
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“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!’
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!’”
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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.
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