The House of Usher As Phantasmagoria
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Spirits of the Age: Ghost Stories and the Victorian Psyche
SPIRITS OF THE AGE: GHOST STORIES AND THE VICTORIAN PSYCHE Jen Cadwallader A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English and Comparative Literature. Chapel Hill 2009 Approved by: Laurie Langbauer Jeanne Moskal Thomas Reinert Beverly Taylor James Thompson © 2009 Jen Cadwallader ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT JEN CADWALLADER: Spirits of the Age: Ghost Stories and the Victorian Psyche (Under the direction of Beverly Taylor) “Spirits of the Age: Ghost Stories and the Victorian Psyche” situates the ghost as a central figure in an on-going debate between nascent psychology and theology over the province of the psyche. Early in the nineteenth century, physiologists such as Samuel Hibbert, John Ferriar and William Newnham posited theories that sought to trace spiritual experiences to physical causes, a move that participated in the more general “attack on faith” lamented by intellectuals of the Victorian period. By mid-century, various of these theories – from ghosts as a form of “sunspot” to ghost- seeing as a result of strong drink – had disseminated widely across popular culture, and, I argue, had become a key feature of the period’s ghost fiction. Fictional ghosts provided an access point for questions regarding the origins and nature of experience: Ebenezer Scrooge, for example, must decide if he is being visited by his former business partner or a particularly nasty stomach disorder. The answer to this question, here and in ghost fiction across the period, points toward the shifting dynamic between spiritual and scientific epistemologies. -
UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations
UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The Lyric Forms of the Literati Mind: Yosa Buson, Ema Saikō, Masaoka Shiki and Natsume Sōseki Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/97g9d23n Author Mewhinney, Matthew Stanhope Publication Date 2018 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California The Lyric Forms of the Literati Mind: Yosa Buson, Ema Saikō, Masaoka Shiki and Natsume Sōseki By Matthew Stanhope Mewhinney A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Japanese Language in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Alan Tansman, Chair Professor H. Mack Horton Professor Daniel C. O’Neill Professor Anne-Lise François Summer 2018 © 2018 Matthew Stanhope Mewhinney All Rights Reserved Abstract The Lyric Forms of the Literati Mind: Yosa Buson, Ema Saikō, Masaoka Shiki and Natsume Sōseki by Matthew Stanhope Mewhinney Doctor of Philosophy in Japanese Language University of California, Berkeley Professor Alan Tansman, Chair This dissertation examines the transformation of lyric thinking in Japanese literati (bunjin) culture from the eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. I examine four poet- painters associated with the Japanese literati tradition in the Edo (1603-1867) and Meiji (1867- 1912) periods: Yosa Buson (1716-83), Ema Saikō (1787-1861), Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902) and Natsume Sōseki (1867-1916). Each artist fashions a lyric subjectivity constituted by the kinds of blending found in literati painting and poetry. I argue that each artist’s thoughts and feelings emerge in the tensions generated in the process of blending forms, genres, and the ideas (aesthetic, philosophical, social, cultural, and historical) that they carry with them. -
Phantasmagoria: Ghostly Entertainment of the Victorian Britain
Phantasmagoria: Ghostly entertainment of the Victorian Britain Yurie Nakane / Tsuda College / Tokyo / Japan Abstract Phantasmagoria is an early projection show using an optical instrument called a magic lantern. Brought to Britain from France in 1801, it amused spectators by summoning the spirits of ab- sent people, including both the dead and the living. Its form gradually changed into educational amusement after it came to Britain. However, with the advent of spiritualism, its mysterious na- ture was re-discovered in the form of what was called ‘Pepper’s Ghost’. Phantasmagoria was reborn in Britain as a purely ghostly entertainment, dealing only with spirits of the dead, be- cause of the mixture of the two notions brought from France and the United States. This paper aims to shed light on the role that phantasmagoria played in Britain during the Victorian period, how it changed, and why. Through observing the transnational history of this particular form of entertainment, we can reveal a new relationship between the representations of science and superstitions. Keywords Phantasmagoria, spiritualism, spectacle, ghosts, the Victorian Britain, superstitions Introduction Humans have been mesmerized by lights since ancient times. Handling lights was considered a deed conspiring with magic or witchcraft until the sixteenth century, owing to its sanctified appearance; thus, some performers were put in danger of persecution. At that time, most people, including aristocrats, were not scientifically educated, because science itself was in an early stage of development. However, the flourishing thought of the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century altered the situation. Entering the age of reason, people gradually came to regard illusions as worthy of scientific examination. -
SOLTYSIK, the Fall of the House of Usher Sp2as
“The Fall of the House of Usher” and the Architecture of Unreliability Abstract: This chapter examines what many scholars consider the most accomplished and representative of Poe’s tales, “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1939). After a brief overview of the main axes of interpretation in the story’s reception history, I propose an analysis of the tale’s main narrative strategy, the unreliable narrator, which I argue is typical of Poe’s short fiction in general. Linking this device to the unstable architectonics of the house in the story, the chapter shows how the unreliability of the narrator lies at the heart of the text’s ability to choreograph active reader participation. I will also historicize the specific kind of unreliable narrators that Poe favors – those lacking a moral conscience or ethically-informed perception – in the context of antebellum debates about slavery. Keywords: Edgar Allan Poe, Usher, unreliable narrator, antebellum, conscience, reader participation, slavery, race “The Fall of the House of Usher” occupies a singular place in the Poe canon. Considered by many critics as his best and most representative short fiction, the story appears in countless anthologies and collections. It is considered foundational for the American Gothic as well as more specifically the Southern Gothic.1 Despite its ubiquity and popularity 1 among critics and readers alike, the meaning of “The Fall of the House of Usher” has proved uniquely elusive. Poe’s ability to create an undercurrent of suggestiveness is nowhere displayed more masterfully than in this story, and few texts have generated so many and such divergent readings. -
The Oedipus Myth in Edgar A. Poe's "Ligeia" and "The Fall of the House of Usher"
Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1996 The ediO pus myth in Edgar A. Poe's "Ligeia" and "The alF l of the House of Usher" David Glen Tungesvik Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Tungesvik, David Glen, "The eO dipus myth in Edgar A. Poe's "Ligeia" and "The alF l of the House of Usher"" (1996). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 16198. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/16198 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Oedipus myth in Edgar A. Poe's "Ligeia" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" by David Glen Tungesvik A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Major: English (Literature) Major Professor: T. D. Nostwich Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 1996 Copyright © David Glen Tungesvik, 1996. All rights reserved. ii Graduate College Iowa State University This is to certify that the Masters thesis of David Glen Tungesvik has met the thesis requirements of Iowa State University Signatures have been redacted for privacy iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ... .................................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 "LlGEIA" UNDISCOVERED ............................................................................... 9 THE LAST OF THE USHERS ......................................................................... -
The Tragic Sense of Life by Miguel De Unamuno
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tragic Sense Of Life, by Miguel de Unamuno This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: Tragic Sense Of Life Author: Miguel de Unamuno Release Date: January 8, 2005 [EBook #14636] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAGIC SENSE OF LIFE *** Produced by David Starner, Martin Pettit and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team TRAGIC SENSE OF LIFE MIGUEL DE UNAMUNO translator, J.E. CRAWFORD FLITCH DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC New York This Dover edition, first published in 1954, is an unabridged and unaltered republication of the English translation originally published by Macmillan and Company, Ltd., in 1921. This edition is published by special arrangement with Macmillan and Company, Ltd. The publisher is grateful to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for supplying a copy of this work for the purpose of reproduction. Standard Book Number: 486-20257-7 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 54-4730 Manufactured in the United States of America Dover Publications, Inc. 180 Varick Street New York, N.Y. 10014 CONTENTS INTRODUCTORY ESSAY AUTHOR'S PREFACE I THE MAN OF FLESH AND BONE Philosophy and the concrete man—The man Kant, the man Butler, and the man Spinoza—Unity and continuity of the person—Man an end not a means—Intellectual necessities -
Introduction
INTRODUCTION It is hard to imagine a more universal topic than death. Since the beginning of life, death has been its companion; yet it is always the living who must determine the meaning of life’s elusive and silent counterpart. Remembrance is not just a coping strategy for dealing with a loss of life – commemoration and other cultural expressions connected to death in art and literature reflect a society’s norms, ideals, developments and changes. The meaning placed on death is dependent on and determined by surviving family, friends, communities, nations and civilizations, and the survivors’ cultural backgrounds. Death is a defining factor in many aspects of our social interactions and perceptions of the world, and its representation. Its function and status change over time, reflecting societal, cultural and even technological and scientific advancements. Death: The Cultural Meaning of the End of Life was the second LUCAS international graduate conference and aimed to explore the different ways in which conceptualizations of death — from classical antiquity to the modern age — have transformed our understanding of this universal topic. The conference, which took place in January 2013, was organized by Odile Bodde, Maarten Jansen, David Louwrier and Jenny Weston, all PhD researchers at LUCAS, and included nearly fifty speakers from various European, North American and Asian universities. Framed by keynote lectures by art historian Joanna Woodall (The Courtauld Institute of Art, London) and philosopher Rosi Braidotti (Utrecht University), the conference featured a diverse range of subjects and fields, including history, classics, film and photography, art history, literature, cultural anthropology and political science, and covered the period from the Roman Empire to the near future. -
Usher Curriculum Connections California Content Standards Kindergarten Through Grade 12
San Francisco Operaʼs THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER Gettyʼs Usher House and Debussyʼs La Chute de la Maison Usher Curriculum Connections California Content Standards Kindergarten through Grade 12 PHYSICAL EDUCATION MOVEMENT Walking, dancing, jumping, balancing, leaping, lifting, etc. Ex. Move your body in different ways using the example of each character. Choreograph stage fights for appropriate scenes in opera. Explore ways to keep stage fighting safe. PHYSICALITY OF PERFORMING Endurance & strength, posture, breathing techniques. How do you make someone appear to be crazy? What movements and facial expressions? How much emotion do you think is put in to a central role? Act out the scene where Madeline is revealed to Roderick. What goes into portraying a real, well-known person, such as Edgar Allan Poe? TEAM-BUILDING Cooperative games encourage collaboration and build trust. Play number games, where students have to gather in groups of two, three, and so on. The object is to get together as quickly as possible. They can also be instructed to create pictures with their bodies, or move in unison. Construct relays around relationships between characters. Explore the famous sextet. What are the key elements of making a successful sextet between the singers, conductor and orchestra? Construct a venn diagram of important aspects necessary for a successful performance for both an opera company and a sports team. Explore how you would integrate all the elements of making an opera…where would you start? How would you layer? How would you all work together? Construct a mini-opera in your classroom. SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER Curriculum Connections . -
The House As Mirrors in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher"
The Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities 2013 Official Conference Proceedings Osaka, Japan The House as Mirrors in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" Ya-Ju Yang National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan 0239 The Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities 2013 Official Conference Proceedings 2013 iafor The International Academic Forum www.iafor.org 301 The Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities 2013 Official Conference Proceedings Osaka, Japan Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”1 is a story about an anonymous narrator who is invited to a childhood friend’s ancient house where there are his friend and his sister, suffering from both physical and mental illness, devoured by a doomed implosion of the sullen tarn. Poe draws on the emerging Gothic novel preoccupation and reveals his own investment about the forceful environment in “Usher.” However, the deterioration of the house mirrors another interpretation of the tragedy of the Ushers. By linking the decay and corruption of the Usher mansion to the Ushers’ tragedy, I confirm that Poe imaginatively explores the function of the environment surrounding the Usher mansion and, moreover, expresses the ecological influence on his writing. In order to demonstrate Poe’s knowledge and interest in the omniscient uncontrollable power in the surrounding of the house, I will briefly examine Martin Heidegger’s dwelling ecological theories. The symbolic natural surrounding is responsible the family for the final ends in three gradual corruptions, the corruption of the house, of Madeline’s sudden death and of Roderick Usher’s mental problem. Within this context, I will trace the environmental theme in “Usher,” showing how the story illustrates Poe’s recognition of the influential ecological power. -
Graduate Conference
Journal of the GRADUATE CONFERENCE The Journal of the LUCAS Graduate Conference was founded in 2013 to publish a selection of the best papers presented at the biennial LUCAS Graduate Conference, an international and interdisciplinary humanities conference organized by the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS). The peer reviewed journal aims to publish papers that combine an innovative approach with fresh ideas and solid research and engage with the key theme of the LUCAS, the relationship and dynamics between the arts and society. SERIES EDITOR Jacqueline Hylkema EDITORIAL BOARD Linda Bleijenberg Anna Dlabačová Odile Bodde Erin Downey Janna Houwen Jenneka Janzen Adrian Lewis Sara Polak The Journal of the LUCAS Graduate Conference, ISSN 2214-191X, is published once a year, on 1 February, by Leiden University Library (Witte Singel 27, 2311 BG Leiden, the Netherlands). COPYRIGHT © Journal of the LUCAS Graduate Conference, 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior and written consent of the Series Editor. DISCLAIMER Statements of fact and opinion in the articles in the Journal of the LUCAS Graduate Conference are those of the respective authors and not necessarily of the editors, the LUCAS or Leiden University Library. Neither Leiden University Library nor the LUCAS nor the editors of this journal make any representation, explicit or implied, in respect of the accuracy of the material in this journal and cannot accept any responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. WEBSITE For more information about the journal, please see our website at http://hum.leiden.edu/lucas/jlgc Journal of the GRADUATE CONFERENCE contents 2 Foreword Joanna Woodall, keynote speaker LUCAS Graduate Conference 2013 4 Introduction Editorial board JLGC-02 12 Perpetual Corporeality: Affect Theory and Posthumous Photographs of Children in Nineteenth-Century America Sarah M. -
The Anthropomorphization of Houses in Film
The Anthropomorphization of Houses in Film Kelli M Johnson Department of Film Studies Primary Thesis Advisor Dr. Melinda Barlow, Department of Film Studies Committee Members Dr. Shira Segal, Department of Film Studies Bryan Jonas Erickson, Department of Writing and Rhetoric 4 November 2013 University of Colorado at Boulder 2 Abstract Often times in film, houses have been categorized as a part of the set design or production design. They are purposefully furnished and decorated according to the director’s vision. Filmmakers, scholars, and critics recognize the importance of the setting and its decorations. However, let us consider the possibility that a house is more than the set design; it is a character. The characterization of a house can be both literal and implied. There are the houses that come alive like, as in Monster House (Gil Kenan, 2006) and houses whose character is subtler in its presence, as in The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932) or The Haunting (Robert Wise, 1963.) The house as a character is neither static nor flat, but dynamic and complex. In order for us to understand the complexities of the house, this thesis will explore the major foundation stones of any character in film: costuming, physicality, the mind of a character, and its personalities. Like a human being, each house has a unique characteristic and personality. To name a few of the many, a house can be a murderer, a seductress, a femme fatale, or an isolated being. Its personality is structured around the foundations. The exterior is representative of the character’s physicality. -
Catalogue Essay
Phantasmagoria by Gary Nickard images gain their power to haunt. In accordance with these thoughts Hirsch’s phantasmagoria functions as just such a haunting – each photographic image is deliberately crafted – selectively focused and lit Robert Hirsch’s installation World in a Jar: War & Trauma is a collection in all or part of its image field – to underscore the spectral power of its of eight hundred black-&-white photographs, each “sealed safely ghostly nature. away” in its own glass jar with a black lid and displayed in a serpentine pattern upon a fifty-foot arch-shaped pedestal. The photographs are an Marx stated in the opening of his Communist Manifesto (1848) that “a enormous array made largely from portions of appropriated historical specter is haunting Europe – the specter of Communism.” He was on to images that have been re-energized to bring forward a litany of horrors something about Europe being haunted, however he mistook the nature from the wars and traumas of the past three centuries. Hirsch has stated of the ghost. The ideology that Marx helped to spawn was only one that, like many members of his generation, he is haunted by such images. manifestation of this disturbance and, as the catalyst for the rise of the As a result he has assembled a phantasmagoria emblematic of a history reactionary ideologies of Fascism and Nazism, it now appears that the where, as Karl Marx observed ghost he saw was the same evil that lies at the core of all such totalitarian in The Eighteenth Brumaire of ideologies. When viewing Hirsch’s phantasmagoria, one feels awestruck Louis Napoleon (1852): “the by the cold penumbra of the evil that dominated the events of the past tradition of all dead generations two hundred years, which is why the images in his installation transfix weighs like an nightmare on with such chilling power.