This solidifies the fact that these ghosts are “real” (at least in the world of the narrative) since they have been noted by other people then just Rip, and have similar stories of interactions/observations between the Dutch ghosts and members of the town.

This moment provides an example of an existentialist dilemma in the form of dissociative dread toward his understanding of self. Rip’s confusion is so strong that it causes him to doubt the nature of his own being.

This is a moment defining real fear towards his current predicament.

These Dutch ghosts are part of the history of the area but are also tangible forces that drive the plot. Rip can physically interact with these ghosts as if they were normal people, the only thing that proves odd is that they do not speak. Regardless, they are ghosts that are more like echoes of a time past that can be encountered, rather than being antagonistic like the ambiguous forces that Poe presents in his works.

This build up provides a sense of apprehension, with Wolf detecting some sort of danger and the odd way that Rip’s name was being called through echo. This does not stop him from proceeding onward to make his chance meeting with the company of Dutch ghosts. 

A loose connection to Poe within the realm of alcahol playing a part in altered mind states.

The assumption that one has come under a spell or some other form of witchcraft would be a real fear for people of the time. Many believed the early superstitions, and while they acted as explanations for things they could not explain, they acted as warnings and preventive measures for certain behavior. Stories of ghosts and witches could be used to keep people away from dangerous territories, or provide lessons about needing to be more attentive to the possible dangers found outside of the safety of civilization. Irvings other works (like Legend of Sleepy Hallow) highlight the impact that fear can has on the mind.

This is a light bit of foreshadowing, noting that the dog has a sense for danger. It comes up again when Rip is about to encounter the Dutch ghosts.

Rip as a character is surprisingly similar to Irving in his mannerisms. Though it is not as widely known, Irving had a similar aversion to labor due to a massive amount of anxiety brought on by the failure of his brother’s businesses after the Revolution. The fear of the state of the new nation was noticeable in how drastically the economy was shifting, which was one of the deciding factors that pushed Irving into writing and publishing. It was a way to secure some financial stability and support for his family’s livelihood while also avoiding ventures that could, at any moment due to the young nation’s “growing pains”, could fail and lead to ruin (Kopec).

Most of the early American folklore has been lost to time, since many of these stories were told mainly by word of mouth alone. Irving was one of the first to solidify local folklore in his works, practically starting the genre of “campfire narratives” in literature. His short piece of horror fiction, Legend of Sleepy Hallow, is what pioneered the American Gothic form of literature, which would be later built upon by writers like Poe.

The annotations below are focused on the themes and language of American gothic horror and the connection to another text located here.

Associated Sources in MLA Style:

Badenhausen, Richard. "Fear and Trembling in Literature of the Fantastic: Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Black Cat'." Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 29, no. 4, 1992, pp. 487-498. EBSCOhost.

Bann, Jennifer. "Ghostly Hands and Ghostly Agency: The Changing Figure of the Nineteenth-Century Specter." Victorian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Social, Political, and Cultural Studies, vol. 51, no. 4, 2009, pp. 663-686. EBSCOhost.

Kopec, Andrew. "Irving, Ruin, and Risk." Early American Literature, vol. 48, no. 3, Nov. 2013, pp. 709-735. EBSCOhost.

Norton, Mary Berth. "Witchcraft in the Anglo-American Colonies." OAH Magazine of History, vol. 17, no. 4, July 2003, pp. 5-9. EBSCOhost.

Here is a distinct fear of the gallows, something the narrator has told us he is condemned to for his crime at the beginning of his tale. The fear outlined in this sentence represents the narrator’s true fear, the fear of facing what he has done. The gallows are an object for delivering punishment through the death of the criminal. The narrator constantly faced fear, guilt, and anger but fails to address their effects throughout the story. He instead chooses to run away from these emotions by burying them in alcohol or just remove them from his life with violence. This is the only moment that causes the narrator to seize up and deliver short hyphenated statements, which to a reader would sound quick and manic. This fear is an existential fear of closure and finality, now that the narrator has own death it shows through the text a moment of vulnerability (Badenhausen 492-493).

Here the replacement cat (and possible paranormal force) acts upon the plot by revealing the narrators misdeeds. Like Irving’s Dutch ghosts, this mysterious cat is integral to the story for without their influence the main characters would be unaffected. Again, this cat provides another confusing instance of possible paranormal power by somehow ending up inside the wall. The narrator hated the creature so much, how could he have missed it as he bricked up his wife’s corpse? It either had managed to avoid detection to hide itself within the wall, or had some greater power that allowed it to appear there as it had in the tavern. 

This is the point of no return, where the narrator goes from mere killer of beast to full villain with manslaughter. He is unmoved by killing the thing that prevented him from taking out his anger again, she had interrupted his control and for that she died.

Just like the mark on the wall, this is another stange occuance that could be related to the paranormal. This cat appears out of nowhere and specifically targets the narrator. It could be seen as an antagonistic force, a manifestation meant to spell the narrator’s downfall. Again, Pluto’s name is referenced, calling back to the idea of death and relating it to this new cat. Its lack of an eye is an intentional narrative decision by Poe, but in the world inside the text is strangely coincidental to be near identical to Pluto, almost unsettling so. What is interesting about this cat is that the white tuft of fur it sports “develops” the image of the stockade. Either an outside force is at work on the cat’s fur, or the cat itself is a doppelganger (a supernatural creature that morphs its own body to match another’s appearance) of sorts.

This odd occurrence might be attributed to something paranormal. As the narrator later explains, it is physically possible for flesh remains to leave burn impressions on surfaces. However, the corpse of the cat would have to have been resting against the wall for that impression to develop, and the chances of that happening to produce such a haunting representation is highly improbable. Perhaps there was some sort of other force at work and it made possible the author’s explanation or something else entirely. Whatever the case, it remains unknown, but a reader can confirm that within the world of the narrative because it is a tangible remnant viewed by multiple people and not just the narrator.

The narrator never seeks to remedy his situation, only to run from it or drink it away.

These are the common themes Poe tends to play on throughout his body of work, which are tied to very personal and emotional moments. A healthy human mind is capable of a vast array of different feelings, each meant to inform thought via bodily sensations and responses. If the narrator can comprehend the emotions, but does not associate them to his crime, is it an effect of alcohol? Could it be something darker, something stemming from a broken mind? 

This is not a "physical" sprit like those in Irving's works. In this case, "spirit" embodies the “feeling” or the “quality of” what it is referencing. The spirit of perverseness would be something of a compulsion, something internal that forces negative action and/or thought.

This is a bit of plain faced foreshadowing. Pluto is the Roman equivalent of Hades, the god of death and overseer for the underworld. The name calls upon the imagery of darkness and death, which no doubt plays into the narrative throughout.

The concept of the witch played a large role in the development of colonial America, and the superstitions surrounding witchcraft are usually connected to larger outside forces that were difficult to explain or comprehend. Disease, injury, misfortune, and other tragic events that would occur were often blamed on fellow townsfolk that had preexisting issues or disagreements with others (Norton 5-6). Due to the empiricist model of thought, perception defined reality, so all that was required to prove someone was capable of witchcraft was to “experience” the effects. If someone said they saw a person turn into a cat, it was taken as proper testimony to the event.

It is interesting that the wife holds this belief, yet the narrator downplays it. Perhaps that is a veiled critique of these old superstitions.

Poe was a known alcholic, so it is interesting how he comments on it a being a "disease" with this narrator character. Perhaps there is more self-inserted introspection involved then his usual themes of guilt, sadness, and loss noteable in his other works.

The annotations below are focused on the themes and language of American gothic horror and the connection to another text located here.

Associated Sources in MLA Style:

Badenhausen, Richard. "Fear and Trembling in Literature of the Fantastic: Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Black Cat'." Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 29, no. 4, 1992, pp. 487-498. EBSCOhost.

Bann, Jennifer. "Ghostly Hands and Ghostly Agency: The Changing Figure of the Nineteenth-Century Specter." Victorian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Social, Political, and Cultural Studies, vol. 51, no. 4, 2009, pp. 663-686. EBSCOhost.

Kopec, Andrew. "Irving, Ruin, and Risk." Early American Literature, vol. 48, no. 3, Nov. 2013, pp. 709-735. EBSCOhost.

Norton, Mary Berth. "Witchcraft in the Anglo-American Colonies." OAH Magazine of History, vol. 17, no. 4, July 2003, pp. 5-9. EBSCOhost.

Rough paraphrase: “Get this through your heads! An idiot, male or female, is the hardest thing to convince to change their mind. It is better to have someone that completely surprises you now and again with his or her ideas, instead of someone who remains so stubbornly close-minded they cannot feel good or bad about it.”

This is the closing “emotional punch” required to grab a reader, perhaps even agitate them. as long as it draws attention, it can be an effective tactic to illustrate the point the author wishes to make. With an approach that is both emotional and even mildly condescending, this is the form of editorial form Fern is talking about women needing to apply themselves to throughout the body of her own editorial.

WORK CITED:

Gelly, Christophe. "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes Stories: Crime and Mystery from the Text to the Illustrations.” Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens. Volume 73: Issue No. 1 (2011), 107-129. JSTOR.

Hodgson, John. “The Recoil of "The Speckled Band": Detective Story and Detective Discourse.” Poetics Today. Volume 12: Issue No. 2 (1992), 309-324. JSTOR.

Metress, Christopher. “Thinking the Unthinkable: Reopening Conan Doyle's "Cardboard Box." The Midwest Quarterly. Volume 42: Issue No. 2 (2001), 183. JSTOR.

Pratt-Smith, Stella. “The other serpents: deviance and contagion in "The Speckled Band." Victorian Newsletter. Volume 113 (2008), 54. JSTOR.

The third and final part of the Holmes formula. Holmes returns back to Baker Street with Watson, where he tells Watson (as well as the reader) how he came to the conclusions he did.

This explanation of how Holmes came to his conclusions are fairly flawed. In conjunction with the issues with the snake, Hodgson writes, "The appeal of Sherlock Holmes, after all, comes from his method and his skillful application of it. Holmes is the master reasoner, diagnostician, interpreter: he not only sees (Watson can do as much), he makes sense of what he sees, thanks to his vast store of useful, if often esoteric, knowledge and his highly developed powers of inference. But in "The Speckled Band" Holmes makes nonsense of what he sees; here, to a degree unmatched elsewhere in the canon, his method is not merely shaky, but overtly and devastatingly flawed."

This is one of the plot holes in "The Speckled Band". Hodgson writes in his article, "Snakes don't have ears...can't survive in an airtight safe. There's no such thing as an Indian swamp adder. No snake poison could have killed a huge man like Grimesby Roylott instantly."

Both men were doctors who were convicted of murder by poison. Dr. William Palmer was executed on the 6th of August 1824 in Stafford, Staffordshire. Dr. Edward Pritchard was executed on the 28th of July, 1865 in Glasgow, Scotland.

The various exotic pets that the doctor has around the house serve to make the manner feel alien to the rest of the town, bringing the foreign feeling of imperialism from India to Surrey. It makes the grounds seem dangerous and inaccessible, distancing Helen and her father from everyone else.

According to the OED, breaches means " A disrupted place, gap, or fissure, caused by the separation of continuous parts; a break.' Gaped means "Of material objects, wounds, etc.: To open as a mouth; to split, crack, part asunder." With the manor grounds in such disrepair, it was easy for Holmes and Watson to gain entrance.

This part is showcasing Holmes' remarkable ability of deduction, reasoning, and inference. His assistant Watson, who is also an extremely educated and smart man, did not notice many things that Holmes did during their walkthrough of the manor. This is a hallmark of detection fiction, showing that the main character is highly intelligent, smarter than the normal person.

According to the OED, scruples means, "A thought or circumstance that troubles the mind or conscience; a doubt, uncertainty or hesitation in regard to right and wrong, duty, propriety, etc.; esp. one which is regarded as over-refined or over-nice, or which causes a person to hesitate where others would be bolder to act." Sherlock is worried by the amount of danger that may face Watson by joining him in the manor.

Conan Doyle has peaked the reader's interest at this point in the story. He has laid out all of the clues and they seem to not add up to much. However, Holmes has formed a hypothesis and believes he knows the answers. In Metress' article in the Midwest Quarterly, he writes, "Why does Helen's room contain a vent that connects, not with the outside and fresh air, but with another room? Why does the room have a bell-rope that is unconnected to a bell? Why does the room contain a bed that is bolted to the floor? What can all this mean? Although Sherlock Holmes assures Helen Stoner in the first section of the tale that "There is no mystery," now, in the second section of the tale, there is nothing but mystery. Thus, what is "inconceivable" at the beginning of this and all other tales--"that all united should fail to enlighten"--is not only conceivable but highly probable."

The sentiments expressed by Walton mirror those proposed by Anthony F. Badalamenti in his article, "Why did Mary Shelley Write Frankenstein?" (http://search.proquest.com/docview/756918789?pq-origsite=summon)

In the article, Badalamenti cites Shelley's estranged relationship with her parents as a possible driving force for the novel's creation. Shelley's birth-mother died soon following her delivery. Her father later remarried to Mary Jane Clairmont who, "showed little regard for young Mary’s gifts or for the breadth of her interests" Furthermore, Badalamenti says, "Mary saw her stepmother as distancing her father from her and as coming between them." This distance ultimately left a thin hope for connection through the craft that Shelley and her biological parents shared: writing. In Badalamenti's words, "Mary Shelley was deeply attached to her parents’ works, the one deepening her tie to her father and the other among her few means of knowing her natural mother."

Considering Shelley's experiences, Walton's thoughts could demonstrate how, despite trying to close the gap between her creators through common interests, her parents' emotional and physical absence made it impossible to reach them. In that sense, Walton's angst would be an expression of Shelley's as well: lamenting the inability to share success or grief with another.

Badalamenti, A. F. (2006). Why did mary shelley write frankenstein? Journal of Religion and Health, 45(3), 419-439. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10943-006-9030-0

Further Reading:

"Why did Mary Shelley Write Frankenstein?" - Anthony F. Badalamenti (http://search.proquest.com/docview/756918789?pq-origsite=summon)

Badalamenti, A. F. (2006). Why did mary shelley write frankenstein? Journal of Religion and Health, 45(3), 419-439. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10943-006-9030-0

"Strangers and Orphans: Knowledge and mutuality in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" - Claudia Rozas Gomez (http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=93864b1c-c2de-488e-9f82-3e3ebeb47ee9%40sessionmgr107&vid=1&hid=125)

Gómez, Claudia Rozas. Strangers and orphans: Knowledge and mutuality in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Educational philosophy and theory 45.4 2013: 360-370. Blackwell Publishing. 09 Dec 2016.

"Frankenstein: A Child's Tale." - Marshall Brown (http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=ad64c71d-93fd-40c6-b899-57e627ea0a05%40sessionmgr4009&vid=0&hid=4112&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHVpZCZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=12672272&db=aph)

Brown, Marshall. "Frankenstein: A Child's Tale." Novel: A Forum On Fiction 36.2 (2003): 145-175. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.

"Can Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein be read as an early research ethics text?" - Hugh Davies (http://mh.bmj.com/content/30/1/32.full)

Davies, Hugh. "Can Mary Shelley's Frankenstein be Read as an Early Research Ethics Text?" Medical Humanities, vol. 30, no. 1, 2004., pp. 32-35doi:10.1136/jmh.2003.000153.

Hugh Davies cited this passage in his article, "Can Mary Shelley's Frankenstein be read as an early research ethics text?" (http://mh.bmj.com/content/30/1/32.full)

In the article, Dvies uses this passage as a counter-argument against assertions that Frankenstein is solely a cautionary tale. In Walton's words, he provides an example of how scientific research can be intended for positive outcomes. Davies's intention with this claim is to demonstrate that Shelley viewed scientific discovery is from a dual perspective and did not set out to solely condemn or praise to pursuit of knowledge, but to emphasize the need for moderation.

Davies, Hugh. "Can Mary Shelley's Frankenstein be Read as an Early Research Ethics Text?" Medical Humanities, vol. 30, no. 1, 2004., pp. 32-35doi:10.1136/jmh.2003.000153.

Criminal court cases are held very similar to that of the United States criminal court cases. There is one judge and an appointed jury. The jury in Victor's case came to a unanimous decision that he was innocent.

It seems that the aristocratic party tended to favor those of high rank and often freed them disregarding any factual evidence (European Romantic Review). Mary Shelley may be suggesting that Victor's privileged rank may be the reason he was set free.

Marshall Brown suggests that the sentiments expressed in this speech, intended to be directed at Walton, may extend to the reader as well. In his article, "Frankenstein: A Childs Tale," (http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=e8f7b0dc-662f-4ccc-8ec1-8c2ebfa5d291%40sessionmgr4008&vid=0&hid=4112&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHVpZCZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=12672272&db=aph) he asserts that Shelley's novel is a monster in itself. He expresses, "Frankenstein, then, is just as horrible as it seems. It plays with our sensibilities, like a child's game from the loser's perspective." That is to say, the reader is made to sympathize with the Creature and know what it feels like to be abandoned and misunderstood. Brown asserts that the Creature can be read as a neglected child-figure. Without proper education, it becomes impossible to fully blame him for his crimes. As Brown puts it, "it invalidates the moral questioning supporting ideological readings. In other books murder and mayhem may be subject to restorative justice or redemptive religion, but Frankenstein has a dark abyss at its core."

The Creature's speech may then serve the purpose to call any notions of black-and-white morality that the reader may hold. Considering that Shelley's novel as a whole holds the capacity to unsettle its reader with this same line of questioning, Brown goes on to extend the title of "Monster" to not only the Creature, but the very text itself.

Brown, Marshall. "Frankenstein: A Child's Tale." Novel: A Forum On Fiction 36.2 (2003): 145-175. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.

Claudia Rozas Gomez addresses this passage in her article, "Strangers and Orphans: Knowledge and mutuality in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." (http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=93864b1c-c2de-488e-9f82-3e3ebeb47ee9%40sessionmgr107&vid=1&hid=125) In the article, Gomez compares this sentiments to Victor's, the connection being that they both view knowledge in over-simplified terms in which, "the role of the learner is to obtain the knowledge or make the discovery, and then pass it on to others. It is not to engage or reflect critically in any way. Neither Victor nor Walton considers any negative outcomes of their respective quests. There is no expectation that the outcome could be anything other than what they have imagined it to be."

Not considering the ramifications of his scientific accomplishment led Victor to create a monster. Considering Walton and Victor's similar goals of advancement and discovery, it could be asserted that there would've been comparable ramifications were Walton to have continued his journey and succeeded. Victor's aborted second creature can then be seen as a strong parallel to Walton's aborted journey.

Gómez, Claudia Rozas. Strangers and orphans: Knowledge and mutuality in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Educational philosophy and theory 45.4 2013: 360-370. Blackwell Publishing. 09 Dec 2016.

Here, Walton makes a direct reference to poetry and quotes Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." This further solidifies Walton's lack of formal education and shows his knowledge of poetry, instead.

Without Walton's letters acting as a framing device, this scene would not have been possible. Walton's framing allows us to feel sympathy for the Creature. As stated earlier, if the story were told from Victor's point of view, the story would characterize the Creature as a monster. Victor is never able to see the Creature admit his guilt for destroying Victor and his family. Therefore, Walton is important to give truth to the story and show the Creature for who he really is: someone who is lonely and remorseful.

Here, Walton seems to fully be accepting the danger that he has put his crew in. It becomes clear that Walton doesn't know what he is doing and he cannot help his crew. He got caught up in his books and thought that he could accomplish this journey, much like how Victor got caught up in his alchemy books and thought that he could create life. However, Walton must face the consequences of putting his crew in danger, as Victor faced the fact that he put his family in danger. Both also ultimately put themselves in danger.

Earlier in the novel, in Walton's first set of letters, he says something very similar. Walton states, "And now, dear Margaret, do I not deserve to accomplish some great purpose? My life might have been passed in ease and luxury, but I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path." This shows that Walton and Victor are similar in the sense that both believed that they were destined for something greater.

Britton says that "sympathy determine's the novel's frame structure... As the frames open... each shift in both perspective and genre is simultaneous with an experience of sympathy." Walton frames the sympathy for Victor, who frames the sympathy for the Creature, who frames the sympathy for Safie's story. As Walton states here, this story is told with "an appearance of the simplest truth." As each character frames another character's story, we are able to see each story as being true. Without this framing device, the story would be told from one person's perspective and it would have been biased. This story naturally would have been told from Victor's perspective and he would have painted the Creature to be a monster. However, Walton frames everyone's stories and allows us to see the truth. As Britton states, "As those frames close, and as the text returns to its outermost level and original epistolary form, the impossibility of sympathy silences each voice and concludes each frame."

Britton, Jeanne M. “Novelistic Sympathy in Mary Shelley's ‘Frankenstein.’” Studies in Romanticism, vol. 48, no. 1, 2009, pp. 3–22. www.jstor.org/stable/25602177.

As scholar Jeanne M. Britton points out, thus far, Walton has been the "letter-writer and first-person narrator." Walton accepts Victor onto his ship and feels an immediate sympathy for him, and as stated earlier, Walton seems to find a much-needed friendship in Victor. As Victor begins his story, the novel switches to his perspective. We then hear the Creature's story and within that narrative, we also hear Safie's story. Britton says, "The process by which the monster can identify with Safie and, in the act of transcribing her letters, adopt her voice marks the limit of the simultaneous experience of sympathy and shift in perspective that allows Walton to speak for Frankenstein and Frankenstein to speak for his creature. But by generating this transcription of letters, the desire for a sympathetic experience that seems within reach also produces a physical document that attests to both the truth of the monster's tale and the narrative and novelistic functions that sympathy performs." Walton's letters frame the whole novel, but Victor's narration also frames the Creature's story, which frames Safie's story. Each of these frames gives us a new story and gives us a complete picture of the characters in this novel. If the story were told from one point of view, there would be no truth to the story, as it would be completely biased. Walton is our unbiased framing device.

Britton, Jeanne M. “Novelistic Sympathy in Mary Shelley's ‘Frankenstein.’” Studies in Romanticism, vol. 48, no. 1, 2009, pp. 3–22. www.jstor.org/stable/25602177.

Here, Walton is expresses his loneliness by saying that communicating through paper is not enough. He wishes that he had a friend who could "sympathize" with him. He wants someone with similar tastes and someone who is "cultivated as well as of a capacious mind." OED defines "capacious" as "able to hold much; roomy, spacious, wide." Walton wants a companion who shares his ideologies and is of the same mind. He seems to be saying that he is all of these things, "gentle yet courageous," "cultivated," and has a "capacious mind." Therefore, he wants someone like him whom he can talk to. This becomes important when Victor boards the ship and the two become friends. Victor seems to be everything that Walton has wanted. Therefore, Walton seems to be foreshadowing the fact that he and Victor resemble each other. He so desperately wants an educated friend to share his thoughts with, and he gets this in Victor. The fact that Walton sees Victor of being worthy of being a friend suggests that Victor does indeed have these qualities and that Walton sees him as "cultivated." OED defines "cultivated" as "of a person or society: improved by education or training; refined." Only someone with Walton's background of having a neglected formal education would find Victor to be "cultivated."

Here, Walton may be accepting that he doesn't actually know what he is doing. He needs to hire a ship and sailors, all of whom will hopefully know what they are doing more than Walton. Walton seems to accept that he might not be successful in this journey and that "If [he] fail[s], [his sister] will see [him] again soon, or never."

Walton acknowledges that his formal education has been neglected and that he is "more illiterate than many schoolboys," but this doesn't seem to deter him from his journey. He seems to think that reading the books from his uncle's library is enough to teach him how to man a ship and find the Northern Passage. However, it later becomes clear that he was perhaps just reading poetry and that this will not be enough for him to complete this journey. Poetry does not give you the knowledge that you need to complete a journey like this. Walton's poetry resembles Victor's alchemy books that seem to encourage him to attempt to create life. Both characters seem to be reading fiction and accepting it as truth.

Walton seems to be using this journey to find the Northern Passage as a way to make up for a lost childhood of sorts. He spent his childhood reading about these voyages from his uncle's library and feels "regret" that his father had forbidden him from "embark[ing] in a seafaring life." Earlier in this letter, he also states that he will "commence this laborious voyage with the joy a child feels when he embarks in a little boat." Walton doesn't seem to be accepting the dangers of this journey and is simply fulfilling a childhood dream of his. Beck also attributes these quotes to Walton's immaturity.He also states that Walton resembles Victor because, "in their 'scientific' explorations, they are both driven by the same kind of prelapsarian (Miltonic) fantasy and by the same kind of absolutionist utopian desire: to start afresh from a point in time before the Fall, to find a shortcut out of history and thus to become benefactors of mankind." Victor does this by trying to create life, while Walton fails "to create a permanent Paradise of his own by literary means," and instead decides to embark on this journey and attempt to return to his childhood innocence.

Beck, Rudolf. “‘The Region of Beauty and Delight’: Walton's Polar Fantasies in Mary Shelley's ‘Frankenstein.’” Keats-Shelley Journal, vol. 49, 2000, pp. 24–29. www.jstor.org/stable/30213044.

In his article "‘The Region of Beauty and Delight’: Walton's Polar Fantasies in Mary Shelley's ‘Frankenstein,’” Beck characterizes Walton as being someone with a "boyish immaturity," with the desire to "(re-)enter Paradise" and live as a poet again. Beck points out that Walton's formal education was neglected and that he turned to books as a source of knowledge. This included books of poetry and suggests that Walton's idea of the real world has been altered by the books he has read. As stated in an earlier annotations, Beck suggests that Walton's image of the North Pole comes from Milton's Paradise Lost. Therefore, it doesn't seem as if Walton completely has a hold of reality. Much like Victor, he seems to be slipping, as far as education goes. Victor held his alchemy books dearly to be the truth and Walton seems to be doing the same for books of poetry. Books seem to give people their paradise, or even their reality, in this novel.

Beck, Rudolf. “‘The Region of Beauty and Delight’: Walton's Polar Fantasies in Mary Shelley's ‘Frankenstein.’” Keats-Shelley Journal, vol. 49, 2000, pp. 24–29. www.jstor.org/stable/30213044.

Scholar Rudolf Beck attributes Walton's imagined North Pole to be a reference to Milton's "Paradise Lost." He says, "There can hardly be any doubt that Walton's vision of a 'country of eternal light,' and even more specifically, his idea of a permanently visible sun with its 'broad disk just skirting the horizon and diffusing a perpetual splendour,' corresponds directly to Milton's special-case 'prelapsarian astronomy." Beck attributes this to Walton's lack of a formal education. Walton seems to have learned much of what he has learned on his own from books. This relates him to both Victor and the Creature. Victor studied alchemy on his own, which gave him the "knowledge" he needed to create life. However, the Creature actually reads "Paradise Lost" in the novel and this is where he gets his ideas about a creator and needing a partner in life. All of these characters seem to be doing their own "research" and learning which may lead to their downfall.

Beck, Rudolf. “‘The Region of Beauty and Delight’: Walton's Polar Fantasies in Mary Shelley's ‘Frankenstein.’” Keats-Shelley Journal, vol. 49, 2000, pp. 24–29. www.jstor.org/stable/30213044.

Husband of Mary Shelley who is the author of Frankenstein. (562).

Richards, Irving T. “A Note on Source Influences in Shelley's Cloud and Skylark.” PMLA, vol. 50, no. 2, 1935, pp. 562–567. www.jstor.org/stable/458158.

sublime is thought of as the excitement that comes from fearful events.

A deep red color.

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/crimson?s=t

The cloud protects the earth and all that is on it from the suns harmful rays and from the moon. It is protecting the creation under its care. https://letterpile.com/poetry/Summary-of-The-Cloud-1820-by-Percy-Bysshe-Shelly

Her refers to the moon. The stars are like the children of the moon.

A strong body of water

http://www.yourdictionary.com/torrent#americanheritage

Describes the sky.

The edge of a mountain that sticks out.

http://www.yourdictionary.com/crag

The cloud protects the earth and all that is on it from the suns harmful rays and from the moon. It is protecting the creation under its care. https://letterpile.com/poetry/Summary-of-The-Cloud-1820-by-Percy-Bysshe-Shelly

The cloud changes and morphs over time but never disappears or can be destroyed. Its life cycle is one that is never ending but rather changing.

https://letterpile.com/poetry/Summary-of-The-Cloud-1820-by-Percy-Bysshe-Shelly

circular.

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/orb?s=t

cheerful, positive

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/sanguine?s=t

The cloud is not inclusive to just plants and animals. People experience the effects of the cloud as well.

Taylor, Beverly. “SHELLEY'S PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE AND THEMATIC CONCERNS IN ‘THE CLOUD.’” Interpretations, vol. 12, no. 1, 1980, pp. 70–75. www.jstor.org/stable/23240551.

The talk of storms in the poem is thought to be influenced by Robert Herrick's The Hag.

Richards, Irving T. “A Note on Source Influences in Shelley's Cloud and Skylark.” PMLA, vol. 50, no. 2, 1935, pp. 562–567. www.jstor.org/stable/458158.

The cloud is represented as an authority or mother figure taking care of the earth by bringing fresh water. Shelley is also scientifically backing up the cycle a cloud goes through by using weather to describe it.

Taylor, Beverly. “SHELLEY'S PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE AND THEMATIC CONCERNS IN ‘THE CLOUD.’” Interpretations, vol. 12, no. 1, 1980, pp. 70–75. www.jstor.org/stable/23240551.

During this time, scientists were studying electricity and were fascinated with idea of it being the source of life.

According to author Robert D. Butterworth, critic Thomas Hood was very concerned with the Poor Law and it's operations involving the prisons and work houses. The authorities of these facilities would ensure the dehumanization of its workers, who were already humiliated in having no choice but to go there (Butterworth, 432). This dehumanization stemmed from family separation, lack of free expression, and long work hours with much limitation on meals since the authorities were cheap about the costs. The dehumanization is shown in the two children within the folding of the ghost who appear hideous and show animal-like behavior. They represent the poor class that seem so frightening because of the ignorance of those with higher status, like Scrooge, who neglected them as people, sparing no provisions or donations when needed.

According to Tara Moore, author of Starvation In Victorian Christmas Fiction, the novel by Dickens conveys the role food plays in determining the ethnic and class identity of the Cratchit family (Moore, 498). Compared to the list of foods a family of should typically have at Christmas dinner, the Cratchits had the minimal amount, with goose, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, and pudding. This exploited their low class status as the wife and kids all stayed home to prepare the meal throughout the day. However this meal was still sufficient for the whole family as they found the power of joy to be within themselves and their love for each other rather than in the manifestations of the holiday itself.

The Ghost of Christmas Present suggests that Scrooge should acknowledge those who mean well by him and credit them for their work under his authority. Dickens lived in a society where businesses would attempt to lessen the obligations owed to those would did their work (Sullivan, 934). Referring back to the novel, we see this idea conveyed through Scrooge's commentary on the justice that he thinks the prison and work place provide for the poor, lower class. The reference along with the Ghost's suggestion also parallels how Scrooge treats his clerk Bob Cratchit, paying him low wages for as much work as he has Bob do for him. Yet Scrooge never seems to feel obliged towards Crachit regardless.

In reference to the birth of Christ in the manger. Christmas was to bring much merriment as the birth of Christ brought joy to the world.

Plenty's Horn refers to a cornucopia, a large horn shaped object overflowing with produce. It symbolized an abundance of nourishment, particularly associated with giving thanks and being joyous. This is the same kindness the Ghost of Christmas Present bestows upon those in the town who were quarreling on the way to church, returning joy to their soul.

According to the article Retelling of A Christmas Carol even though Charles Dickens was poor when he was young, at the time of writing Carol he was ashamed to be part of such lower class and thus prided himself among reaching out to his now fellow middle class citizens. Angered by pirates, who called themselves artistic collaborators and re-originated his novel, Dickens eagerly desired to take full authorship of his work (Davis, 112). However such pirates, filled with greed and vulgarity, were able to confront Dickens, suggesting that his writing was not a way to escape his cruel past. Dickens spoke on preventing the copyright of British works by American publishers which made hims seem self-serving in the eye of the American media, as the so called pirates who were copying his novel came forth as his collaborators and were able to reach the lower class by way of cheaper illustration, popularizing Dickens's novel even more (Davis, 113). The vulgar nature of the pirates, and Dickens's supposed obsession with authorship and royalties place them parallel to the free-and-easy sort of gentlemen in A Christmas Carol, like Scrooge, who deem it necessary capable of any endeavors they decide to carry out. The similarities convey Scrooge's selfish behavior, supplying charity to the labor house and prison which he he supports, instead of also giving donations for the poor, which in this case could be deemed indirect manslaughter, as the prison and workhouse conditions were of ill status.

References for further reading:

1. Butterworth, Robert D. "THOMAS HOOD, EARLY VICTORIAN CHRISTIAN SOCIAL CRITICISM, AND THE HOODIAN HERO | Victorian Literature and Culture | Cambridge Core." Cambridge Core. Cambridge University Press, 2011. Web. 09 Dec. 2016. https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1060150311000076.

2. Davis P. Retelling A Christmas Carol. American Scholar [serial online]. Winter90 1990;59(1):109. Available from: Historical Abstracts, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 9, 2016.

3. Moore, Tara. "STARVATION IN VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS FICTION | Victorian Literature and Culture | Cambridge Core." Cambridge Core. Cambridge University Press, 2008. Web. 09 Dec. 2016. https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1060150308080303.

4. Sullivan, Barry, A Book that Shaped Your World: Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (October 1, 2013). Alberta Law Review, Vol. 50, No. 4, 2013; Loyola University Chicago School of Law Research Paper No. 2013-024. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2369511

Another possible piece of evidence for a feministic theme. Most of the female poets and authors succeeding Barbauld can be attributed to furthering the feminist wave and coincidentally, women gained suffrage in Britain less than a century after the publication of Goblin's Market.

Goblins are characters of British and Germanic folklore as well as Latin and Greek mythology. They are considered evil and characteristically mischievous across most interpretations. Below is a painting titles "Little Goblins" by Goya. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Goblin

This can be interpreted as Rossetti making the villains of the poem more child-friendly. Another interpretation is that much like the biblical demons, the goblins take on facades to make them seem more likeable.

Another example of sexual reference. The night is often related to passion as well as of functioning in a sexual profession. Purchasing fruits in the moonlight is also unusual, perverting the interaction with the goblins further.

http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/crossetti/scholl.html

The poem is often described as being inappropriately for children, lines like this which are examples of alliteration, give the poem a dancing quality which makes it child-friendly. Much like there is little to no direct reference to Christianity, there are no direct sexual references, only interpretations.

This is one of the only few instances of a reference to Genesis. It is inverted only to rhyme with the next line. It's important to note that one of the only uses of this term is said by Laura, the one afflicted for eating the fruit. Even then, the term Forbidden Fruit isn't used in the bible. It is more of a cultural metaphor for the situation in Genesis and sources of temptation in general.

http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1977&context=etd

These lines sound akin to a refractory period after sex, which furthers the sexuality interpretation of this poem.

Rebirth, perhaps furthering the religious sub-tone.

Perhaps Rossetti placed apples first in the list in order to evoke images of the book of Genesis. Most religious interpretations arise from this and the theme of temptation is applicable to the character of Laura. However, the procession of fruits and the lack of direct christian reference in the poem can lead to other interpretations.

Everett, Glenn. "The Life of Christina Rossetti." The Victorian Web. N.p., 1988. Web. 09 Dec. 2016. http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/crossetti/rossettibio.html.

Farhana, Jannatul. "Revolutionary Poetic Voices of Victorian Period: A Comparative Study between Elizabeth Barrette Browning and Christina Rossetti." English Language and Literature Studies 6.1 (2016): 69. Web. http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ells/article/viewFile/57703/30859.

Mihajlovic, Randi, "Queering the Spheres: Non-Normative Gender, Sexuality, and Family in Three Victorian Texts" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. Paper 974. http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1977&context=etd.

In the second half of this stanza, our narrator describes the image of an unsightly oak tree.

Throughout this stanza (80), Browning continues to describe the image of the half dead horse, as well as the orator's own befuddlement and dread toward the apparent validity of its actual existence. In other words, we see our orator begin to question what he see's. We will see this theme of madness continually being referenced and strengthen through the remaining progression of the poem.

This three lines of stanza 75 personify the sudden image of a sickly horse.The description contains striking parallels to the well-known Medieval Age Horses of the Apocalypse myth. In particular, the apocalypse horse of Famine. This makes sense considering the previously described wasteland. The image further amplifies the reader's personification of both the wasteland and Browning's overall Medieval theme of the poem.

These two final lines of stanza 45 are just the orator's realization and distinct description of the coming dawn. The orator makes note of the reddish colored sky being "pulled away" by the surrounding wasteland. It should be noted that Browning's probable, intended vision was one similar to the exampled photograph.

As the poem finalizes, we get a visual scene of Roland crying out upon his, somewhat "forced" discovery of the Dark Tower. Yet we (the reader), are left with an eerie and ambiguous sense of negative capability as the poem immediately concludes and questions are raised ragarding Roland's looming madness.

One of the key themes of this poem is the use of illusion through landscape. This plays further into Roland's (our narrator) mental stability, as we get the impression he sudden comes across a somewhat "random" river.

Browning means to compare Roland's vision of the Dark Tower to an illusion, much like the famed "desert mirage", as in darkness, he sees a sudden flash of light.

The poem opens with our narrator, Roland, irritated at the intentional wrong directions given to him by a "hoary cripple, with malicious eye." Lines 5-6 see Roland imaging the old man's glee, leading Roland astray with dishonest directions.

Roland is hearing spectral voices of lost adventures and old friends upon his (supposed) discovery of the Tower. But one must raise an eyebrow to these voices's actual existence. It is here, withing the last stanza of Browning poem, that one could strongly argue Roland's sanity, and the validity of his discovery. However, Browning does not distinctly verify Roland's mental condition, and brilliantly leaves the reader with a sense of subjective interpretation.

Browning makes a beautiful allegory here following the supposed discovery of the Dark Tower by Roland, our narrator. In his moment of utter disparity, much like a sailor at sea trapped in a raging storm, who finds land as his ship begins to break apart, Roland spies the Dark Tower.

A tempest is a massive storm (usually occurring at sea), while the word "elf" here implies something of trickery or mischievous.

Suddenly, our narrator spies what (might be) the Dark Tower!

Our narrator and protagonist is clearly, aimlessly wondering about in the labyrinth of mountains. Yet just as he continually approaches the edge of defeat, he finds a sudden "click" of inspiration, pushing him forward. Browning is never clear as to what this inspiration actually is, purposely aiding to the subjective interpretation of the reader.

In this stanza, our narrator, continuing on his quest to seek the Dark Tower, suddenly comes to a change in scenery, as he exists a wooded area into a mountainous region. What's interesting here, is that he doesn't actually realize the dramatic change in topography; once again implying questionable elements of his mental stability.

Our narrator, struggling with the will to continue his quest/journey, sees a black bird (mostly likely a crow or carrion), which he interprets as the devil's guide. This vision, of a demonic black bird, again raises the question of our narrator's sanity. As readers, we begin to wonder if our protagonist realizes his own mental instability, as he willing pursues his "cursed" quest.

According to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), "Apollyon" is another name "given to the Devil or destroyer."

According to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), the word "palsied" is described as something "paralyzed" or "deprived of muscular energy or power of action; rendered impotent; tottering, trembling."

Here, again, Browning mixes descriptive language and subliminal allegory to personify the destruction of nature. This theme is an underlying motif within the poem, as deforestation and natural pollution at the hands of a rapidly growing industrial England, and their associated effects on the surrounding land/nature are becoming serious issues within both England and Europe in the second half of the 19th Century. In addition, our narrator makes a comparison to this destructive theme and earth itself to a "fool who finds mirth"(happiness/joy) in making something, only to "mars it" (destroy it).

Browning is making an interesting comparison here. Our narrator, upon continuing his travels, see the remains of war machines/engines, to which effects he parallels to an agricultural harrow, tearing the earth's soil like "men's bodies out like silk." Browning specifically references silk for two reasons; both its delicacy and fluidity, both of which are applicable to human physicality and disposition.

According to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), a "harrow" is defined as "a heavy frame of timber (or iron) set with iron teeth or tines, which is dragged over ploughed land to break clods, pulverize and stir the soil, root up weeds, or cover in the seed."

According to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), a "furlong" is described as "the length of the furrow in the common field, which was theoretically regarded as a square containing ten acres."

These two stanzas portray our narrator's interpretation following the grimly remains of a battle. As he questions each side and their represented motives', he compares the battle to a watery prison, where participants fought with hatred/resentment against their enemy. Browning makes a comparison to such resentment, by paralleling the ancient religious struggle between Christians, Muslims ("Turks") and Jews.

According to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), the word "mew" is defined as a "place of confinement, a cage, or a prison."

                              Works Cited 

ArtUK. Robert Fowler, 2010, http://artuk.org/discover/artists/fowler-robert-18531926. Accessed 21 Nov. 2016.

Baker C. & Clark D. L. “Literary Sources of Shelley’s The Witch of Atlas”. PMLA. 56:2, 472-494. JSTOR.

Bio. Mary Shelley Biography, 2016, http://www.biography.com/people/mary-shelley 9481497#related-video-gallery. Accessed 21 Nov. 2016.

Britton, J. M. “Sympathy in Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’.” Studies in Romanticism. 48:1 (May, 2009). JSTOR.

Fleck, P. D. “Shelley’s Notes to Shelley’s Poems and ‘Frankenstein’.” Studies in Romanticism. 6:4 (August, 1987). JSTOR.

Goulding, C. “Percy Shelley, James Lind, and The Witch of Atlas.” Notes and Queries. 50:3 (September 2016), 309-311. JSTOR.

Hogle, J. “Metaphor and Metamorphosis in Shelley’s ‘The Witch of Atlas’”. Studies in Romanticism. 19:3 (1990), 327-353. JSTOR.

Shelley’s Ghost. Shelley, draft of The Witch of Atlas, http://shelleysghost.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/the witch-of-atlas-draft#Description. Accessed 21 Nov. 2016.

Shelley, M. Frankenstein. 2008. Project Gutenberg’s Frankenstein. Web. 9 December 2016.

According to Fleck from Boston University, in his article “Mary Shelley’s Notes to Shelley’s Poems”, Mary divided Percy’s poems into two categories for this publication , the purely imaginative and the ones that “spring from the emotions of the heart” saying: “[Mary] Shelley wrote ‘Shelley gave the reins to his fancy, and luxuriated in every idea as it rose…there is a sense of mystery which formed essential portions of his perception of life—a clinging to the subtler inner spirit, rather than to the outward form’…Mary saw in [the Witch of Atlas] Shelley’s preoccupation with the operations of the human mind” (Fleck, p. 229). This “preoccupation” seems obvious through the reading of this poem. Not only is the imagery and description very imaginative, Percy also focuses on the learning power of dreams and sleep as a reflection of mankind and how dreams effect the human mind. His "visionary rhyme" is much more than that.

This is the Witch's attempt at creation. She uses the elements (fire and snow) and "liquid love" to create her new being. It is beautiful, and graceful, and full of "perfect purity". In stanza XXXVII, the creature is described as having wings and seems to be more angel than demon.

This stanza highlights the destruction her creatures can cause. While they are beautiful and loyal, they are draining the springs, destroying mountains, and consuming the ocean and the Witch states that this "may not be" and that she cannot keep loving them until they both die. This is her first experience with the disaster of playing god.

This poem was published in 1824 in the larger work Posthumous Poems. The first published edition was edited by Percy's wife and fellow author Mary Shelley. Percy Shelley is said to have written the poem in only 3 days, during a journey through Italy. Oxford University has pages of the original draft of this poem, including images of sailors and boats drawn by Shelley. The images may be depictions of the Witch's river journey later in the poem.

This is another example of the Witch playing god. With specific mortals, she takes them after death and puts them into and type of unaging sleep. She then writes dreams on their brains. They aren't bad dreams; she seems to be righting the wrongs of life in death. One example is, line 623 "The miser in such dreams would rise and shake Into a beggar's lap;". In this line, the Witch seems to be taking from the rich to give to the poor, even if it is just in a dream. Despite her good intentions, is it okay for her to play god?

This, I think, is a reference to her creature. Previously, the creature was described as being "sexless" and containing the gracefulness of both genders. A hermaphrodite is an "an individual in which reproductive organs of both sexes are present" or "an organism, as an earthworm or plant, having normally both the male and female organs of generation" (Dictionary.com).

In these lines, like the other descriptions of sleep, Shelley uses where the humans are sleeping to describe them. The Witch sees the princes asleep alone under gems, the priests asleep in rows like "all were educated to be so", and the peasants in their huts, the sailors on the waves, and the dead in "dreamless graves". Shelley, again uses sleep to described the factions of society. We are all the same in sleep, but where we sleep can represent who we are awake. These was some of my favorite lines in the poem.

In the following stanzas (LXI, LXII, LXIII, LXIV, and LXV) the Witch, through her journey as a star, sees all "all the shapes of sleep". Shelley, interestingly, represents the varied states of man all through their images of sleep. He represets innocence through the sleeping twins, sadness by the "lone youth" who cries in his sleep, love through the lovers, and the "calm old age". Shelley also represents the dark side of humanity and the Witch describes those as "distortions foul of supernatural awe". By showing the bright side of humanity through examples and only stating the dark, Shelley is showing that the light is stronger and more important to recognize.

Shelley decides to comment on the intelligence of the "the Image" in line 368: he states, "[the dreams] had aroused [warm tears and sweet sighs] from that full heart and brain". The image or creature, is an intelligent and feeling being. This is an important aspect to note about her creation. This puts the creature more in line with humans than with animals.

In these lines, the Witch is likened to Mother Nature. In previous lines, she seems to have control of many elements ("time, earth, and fire") and scrolls of previous ages that most "tremble to ask what secrets they contain" (line 193-200). Describing her this way connects her with an understandable images, but also lends to her mysteriousness. These lines (217-224) lend to the Mother Nature image; she has control over the seas, the rocks, and the trees through her "satellites" or nymphs. All the world is her's and she has given a kingdom to each of her companions. It seems that they only ask to "live for ever in the light of her sweet presence" remaining in her world seems to be payment enough for them to continue their role (line 223-224).

Once again, the author longs to be in his homeland, which is presumably India, considering the next battle. According to these lines the speaker's father died due to war and he was left to his selfish uncle. He is experiencing a lot of bitterness, clearly.

The speaker seems to be extremely racist and aggressive. By incorporating the word "take," there are assumptions of rape, or at least aggression. And he never specifies which race he considers to be "savage," but by the way he refers to the rest of the east, he could mean an eastern culture, which he still desires to go to. According to http://search.ebscohost.com.pitt.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=aph&AN=95462829&scope=site, Victorian writers often wrote about the dominance and control men had over women.

According to the textbook, China at this time was considered a "static, unprogressive country." Here, he compares British life once again to eastern culture, and this reference of the East is a form of Orientalism. This scholarly journal talks a lot about Tennyson's love for orientalism and why, exactly, he found use for it in his pieces. Since the speaker wants to be somewhere else, it would seem like he would glorify the East--but not China. The speaker thinks poorly of China, obviously, and there is some racism throughout the piece.

According to the Literature Network, "Psyche is supposed to symbolize the human soul made immortal through love."

("Ode to Psyche." The Literature Network. Jalic Inc. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.)

According to James Bunn, Keat's "flip" of subject and animating power, he created a an intriguing and purposeful introduction to his Great Odes. Ode To Psyche, however, gets much less credit than it deserves.

In this poem, "there is no animating power" and "his subject is the animating power itself."

(Bunn, James H. "Keats's Ode to Psyche and the Transformation of Mental Landscape." ELH 37.4 (1970): 581-94. JSTOR. JSTOR. Web. 8 Nov. 2016.)

According to Leon Waldroff, Keats likely was able to sympathize with the mortality of Psyche. He was constantly reminded of his mortality (less than five months prior to writing this poem - his brother passed away). It becomes clear that he envies her given immortality. Could he potentially be envious of her love? Is that was immortalized her? It seems to fit the poem.

(Waldoff, Leon. "The Theme of Mutability in the "Ode to Psyche"" PMLA 92.3 (1977): 410-19. JSTOR. JSTOR, May 1977. Web. 8 Dec. 2016.)

According to the International Journal of Scientific and Research publications, "John Keats and his neighbor Fanny Brawne fell deeply in love and got engaged in 1819." This poem was also written at the end of April 1819. Potentially a reason as to why there is use of Cupid and Psyche's love.

(Kumar, Sanjai, and Suman Singh. "A Few Lines on the Odes of John Keats." International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications 2.10 (2012): 1-3. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications. ISRP Inc., Oct. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.)

Piece was also a term referring to a woman or girl during Renaissance times, only later did it acquire a negative connotation. However the word piece could also be a reference to how the count wished to control the woman the painting was of.

Crowder, Ashby B. "The Piece in Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess"" Notes and Queries. Oxford Journals, 27 June 2012. Web. 7 Dec. 2016.

Seahorses carry the symbolism of being calm, peaceful, friendly, generous. By saying that he tamed the seahorse, Browning shows how the Duke has destroyed and twisted all that was good in nature.

The Duke asks these types of questions throughout the poem to the Count whose daughter he wishes to marry. These questions are so short and clipped that they really sound more like commands. Browning did this to display the Duke's unbending, serious attitude. He deliberately directs his guest's attention to certain things at certain times.

It is believed that the Duchess in the poem refers to Lucrezia de' Medici. The Duke is believed to be her husband Duke Alfonso II. Browning and his wife Elizabeth Barrett moved to Italy after they had to run away from Elizabeth's father to get married, so the fact that he chose these very real people into his poem makes sense.

These lines display the count's jealousy. His jealousy of the natural is further proof of Browning's dislike of Renaissance Humanism. The Duke's jealousy and dislike of the natural twists his wife's purely innocent activities into something darker and more sexual. Her actions challenge his orders and therefore his manhood.

Browning specifically uses words like "she" to describe the painting of the Duchess rather than "it." Many believe that this has something to do with Brownings own views on Renaissance Humanism. The Duke and Duchess are certain juxtapositions. She is pleased by everything, especially the natural. The Duke however is pleased by very little, except the painting; an artificial representation of the real. Domhnall Mitchell states in a scholarly review of the poem that lines such as these display Browning's unhappiness with Renaissance Humanism. He goes on to state that browning considers this Humanism "a philosophy that elevates man to the center of the universe displaces what is natural in man and, by extension, devalues the uniqueness of man as a creation of God." And that all of this can be seen in the distinction between what pleases the Duke and what pleases the duchess.

Mitchell, Domhnall. "Browning's My Last Duchess." Explicator 50.2 (1992): 74. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Dec. 2016.

Joshua Adler brings to light the fact that Browning finishes the poem the way that he starts it, with a piece of art. This creates the frame of the poem. The outer frame is clearly focused on the problem human kind has with the materialistic, while the inside focuses on issues socially.

Adler, Joshua. “Structure and Meaning in Browning's ‘My Last Duchess.’” Victorian Poetry, vol. 15, no. 3, 1977, pp. 219–227. www.jstor.org/stable/40002116.

In Hodgson's article for Poetics Today, he writes, "Holmes is the master reasoner, diagnostician, interpreter: he not only sees (Watson can do as much), he makes sense of what he sees, thanks to his vast store of useful, if often esoteric, knowledge and his highly developed powers of inference." Having studied and examined all of the information gathered from the house, Holmes has come up with a plan to deal with Helen's problem.

According to the OED, dummy means, "A counterfeit object made to resemble the real thing, as a sham or empty package, drawer, etc. in a shop, made as though containing goods; a substitute used to mark or occupy a space in an arrangement of articles." The bell to the housekeeper is a fake, which adds to the peculiarity of Helen's case.

Conan Doyle describes a place that is grand, yet in great disrepair. It adds to the sense that Dr. Roylott has hidden himself away and cares little for the outside world. It also adds to the ominous sense of the case, almost looking like a haunted house.

According to the OED, lichen means, "One of a class of cellular cryptogamic plants, often of a green, grey, or yellow tint, which grow on the surface of rocks, trees, etc"

This is when the story moves into its second of three distinct parts as per the Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes formula. In his article, Metress writes "The middle part of the story, which takes place beyond the rooms at Baker Street, introduces a series of details about the mystery, and introduces them in such a way as to increase our fear that our lives are being thrown into disorder."

According to the OED, a trap is, "A small carriage on springs; usually, a two-wheeled spring carriage, a gig, a spring-cart."

Holmes and Watson take a train from Waterloo, London to Leatherhead.

According to Britannica.com, the Doctors' Commons was a self-governing teaching group of lawyers specializing in civil law located in London.

Dr. Roylott is trying to intimidate Holmes with his size and strength. However, Homes himself is also quite strong despite his appearance. His intellect, combined with his strength keeps him from being fearful of Helen's father.

According to the OED, a crocus is "A genus of hardy dwarf bulbous plants, family Iridaceæ, natives of southern and central Europe, the Levant, and Western Asia, and commonly cultivated for their brilliant flowers, which are usually deep yellow or purple, and appear before the leaves in early spring, or in some species in autumn. The autumnal species, C. sativus, yields saffron." Homes is sidestepping answering Dr. Roylott's questions about what his daughter is doing at his house by answering with completely different responses.

Capital of Indian state of West Bengal

Years of practicing medicine in the sun and climate of India has caused him to be aged and leathered. His distrust of people around him have given him a gaze that looks hyper-vigilant and aggressive, like an old hawk or eagle.

According to the OED, a hunting-crop is, "a straight whipstock with a leather loop for insertion of a thong or lash." His attire, combined with the rash and abrupt entrance he made into Holmes' home suggests he rushed there on a horse in a fit of anger.

According to the OED, gaiters are, "A covering of cloth, leather, etc. for the ankle, or ankle and lower leg."

According to the OED, a frock-coat is " An opening, an open space between portions of solid matter; a gap, cleft, chasm, or hole."

According to the OED, aperture means, " An opening, an open space between portions of solid matter; a gap, cleft, chasm, or hole"

According to the OED, cruelly means, "With indifference to or delight in another's suffering" and used can mean, "To have sexual intercourse with. In early use also: †to keep (a concubine)." In Gelly's article, he writes "Holmes has to rescue a woman who is morally and physically abused by her husband (in the latter case) or her stepfather (in the former). The aggression often involves a sexual connotation, as in The Speckled Band for instance, where Dr Roylott of Stoke Moran intends to kill Helen Stoner (his stepdaughter) through secretly introducing a deadly snake in her bedroom, so as to prevent her marriage which would mean the loss of an important part of his income."

Reading is a large town in England, not far from London.

The gypsies were another aspect of imperialism and distancing from English society that Dr. Roylott embarked on. They were looked upon by Helen and their neighbors as foreign and dangerous. In Pratt-Smith's article, she writes, " As Edward Rochester's disguise in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre (1847) suggests, being of Eastern European and Asian origin, gypsies symbolized that which was foreign, exotic, and mysterious. The gypsies' tents in the garden enact a reversed and specifically Eastern colonization, a contamination by the multiple, uncontrollable, and transient racial and cultural elements of the British Empire."

According to the OED, speckled means "Covered, dotted, or marked with (numerous) speckles or specks; variegated or flecked with spots of a different colour from that of the main body; spotted." Band means "A strip of any material flat and thin, used to bind together, clasp, or gird." This cryptic message lends itself to the title of the story as well as giving a significant clue to Holmes about the mystery.

During the time Conan Doyle wrote this story, British Imperialism around the world (specifically in Africa and India) was intensifying. Dr. Roylott seemed to get caught up in the idea of it, becoming domineering and aggressive towards society and his daughter. In a 2008 article in Victorian Newsletter, Stella Pratt-Smith writes, "Roylott's mysteriously erratic behavior means that the family's pastoral Surrey household is far from being an idyllic British home; instead, it is a distorted version of that idyll and one bearing a distinctly colonial character. Dominated by the unpredictable raja-like figure of their stepfather, the estate becomes his personal fiefdom, British-owned yet separated from the British community and its social mores. Helen refers to it as "the plantation," where she and her older sister are isolated from society and only "occasionally allowed to pay short visits" to a maiden aunt (562). Ostensibly, although an English space, it is Orientalized as a place of Purdah, where the domestic ideology is effectively taken to extremes and turned in upon itself. (1) At the same time, rather than the estate's external space providing the domestic sanctuary of a safe English garden, it is a disrupted landscape, peopled by bands of gypsies whom Roylott invites to live there."

This whistle, explained later int the story is used to have Dr. Roylott's venomous snake enter Julia's room to bite and kill her. However, this is one of the several flaws in reasoning/reality in this Holmes story. Hodgson writes in his article, "Snakes don't have ears, so they cannot hear a low whistle".

This is a typical setup for a Holmes adventure. In his article "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes Stories: Crime and Mystery from the Text to the Illustrations", Christophe Gelly writes, "To a modern reader, an important part of the stories seems to rely on a recurring pattern in which Holmes, the representative of British Victorian civilization, is asked to rescue or protect a member of the fair sex who is persecuted, most often by a man. For instance, in The Speckled Band or in the serially published novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes has to rescue a woman who is morally and physically abused by her husband (in the latter case) or her stepfather (in the former)."

Almost every one of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes adventures follow a structured and organized plot. According to an article written by Christopher Metress in The Midwest Quarterly in 2001, "Holmes's celebration of reason is not only confirmed by Conan Doyle's tales, but it also gives them their unique configuration. While Conan Doyle occasionally experimented with his design, the essential shape of a Sherlock Holmes story runs as follows. The stories begin in Baker Street...." This is seen when Helen Stoner comes early in the morning to ask Holmes and Watson for their help.

This is a case that was never in any other Sherlock Holmes story.

This sort of deduction and reasoning is what draw many readers to Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries. In an article for Poetics Today, John Hodgson writes that "The appeal of Sherlock Holmes, after all, comes from his method and his skillful application on it. Holmes is the master reasoner, diagnostician, interpreter: he not only sees )Watson can do as much), he makes sense of what he sees, thanks to his vast store of useful, if often esoteric knowledge and his highly developed powers of inference."

This is a Biblical reference, regarding a location in the land of Israel. Joshua 10:12 explains what this allusion means: "Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, 'O sun, stand still at Gibeon, and O moon in the valley of Ajalon.'"

The part that says "for mine I knew not" suggests that the speaker did not associate much with his mother. According to Tennyson's biography, found on https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/lord-alfred-tennyson, Tennyson's father raised his brothers and him and educated them. Perhaps the speaker, or Tennyson himself, feels estranged from his mother and very distant from her.

Obviously, right here, the speaker admits that women are lesser than men and that everything a woman feels, a man can feel as well. The following lines suggest that a woman matches up with moonlight--femininity, yet a dimmer light--while men match up with the sun. And as women equal water, men equal wine--water that has been transformed.

The speaker wants so desperately to return to a time when he didn't feel so broken-hearted. In the Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature, there are passages about this poem and one of them discusses the speaker. Tennyson went on to write a sequel called "Locksley Hall Sixty Years After," proving that the speaker is just a young boy. In addition, the older persona feels much more at peace and accepting of his past. However, the present speaker questions everything and feels the world has wronged him. He wants so badly to go back to a time when he was eager, when he anticipated the future and was so full of optimism. Perhaps it took awhile for him to accept his fate and is looking back, years later.

(http://go.galegroup.com.pitt.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=upitt_main&id=GALE|A148920631&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon&userGroup=upitt_main&authCount=1)

This refers to the battle of Assaye. This can be found on https://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/battle-assaye. On September 23rd, 1803, the Mahrattas (a Hindu confederacy) were defeated by the East India Company. Here, the speaker's father faltered in this battle.

shocked

The middle of the day

Test annotation!

According to the OED, a "plash" is "an area of shallow standing water, a marshy pool, or a puddle.

According to the OED, the word "pad", in this specific textual context, is slang for "a track, a beaten trail, or a path."

According to the OED, "Tophet" is "the proper name of a place near Gehenna or the Valley of the Son or Children of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where, according to Jer. xix. 4, etc., the Jews made human sacrifices to strange gods. Later it was used as a place for the deposit of refuse, and became symbolic of the torments of hell." Additionally, it was known as the place of punishment for wicked souls following death and a place of eternal fire (hell).

The French spelling for the word "circus" and implies a circular space or natural amphitheater.

Our narrator is using his spear to wade through the river and as a result, is imagining it getting stuck in a dead man's hair/beard.

Our orator is stating his fear of stepping on a corpse in the river ("dead man's cheek").

According to the OED, the word "forded" implies "to cross or wade." Our narrator is thus wading/crossing the river.

This stanza, in its entirety, is an allegorical reference to the River Sytx (Greek term for "hate" or "detestation") which was the river in Greek mythology located in the underworld and often symbolized the boundaries between life and death, Earth and the Underworld. This allegorical reference also plays into the setting's theme of depression, death, and decay while additionally symbolizing our narrator's mental (as well as physical) progression into the "underworld" or madness.<br> I found this image to be fairly similar to my own personification of this particular setting.

The remaining text in this stanza continues to elaborate of the history of Giles. By using contextual clues (as the orator never fully elaborates) we can summarize that Giles was hung for acts of treason. What's interesting is our orator's specific mention of Giles honesty, increasing the text's ambiguity toward Giles's condemnation as a traitor. We get the sense that our orator feels that Giles was wrongly murder.

According to the OED, the word "throng" is described as something in "oppression; distress, straits; trouble, woe, affliction or danger." In contextual sense, the word is again emphasizes the dark, depressive setting seen by the poems speaker.

According to the OED, an "alder" (also known as River Birch) is a "European tree, common on riverbanks and damp woodland across the northern hemisphere, having rounded toothed leaves and bearing male catkins and woody female cones."

According to the OED, the word "congenial" is described as someone or something "partaking of the same genius, disposition, or temperament."

Another word for an owl.

Again, we see our orator witness familiar faces; this time in the form of Giles, a fellow knight.

Although it is never specifically stated by the orator, we can use contextual clues to hypothesize that Cuthbert was a friend/comrade of our narrator. Additionally, we get the sense that Cuthbert has long been deceased, increasing the narrator's confusion at his vision.

Throughout history, alcohol and military have been closely related. For example, both Greece and Rome gave their military legions wine before a major battle to increase their courage and moral.

A variation in the spelling of the word "cloud."

"to burn or reduce to ashes" (OED).

Browning makes reference here to the Bible, in specific, to the book of Revelations and the famed prophetic fire that will engulf the world upon the return christian prophet.

"with irritable discontent or bad temper" (OED).

This sentence literally translates to "hardship or poverty", "inactivity", and "an expressive feeling of annoyance, embarrassment, ill-humor or pain" (OED).

"to reproduce or multiple" (OED).

The word "spurge", described by the OED as "one or other of several species of plants belonging to the extensive genus Euphorbia, many of which are characterized by an acrid milky juice possessing purgative or medicinal properties."

The word "cockle" was a word used in Old English to describe the flower under the scientific name of Agrostemma Githago.

"Not noble in respect of birth, position, or reputation; of low birth or humble station" (OED). In context with the sentence, Browning uses the word to describe a scene of nature as "lowly" or "inelegant".

This phrase is most likely in reference to the "mark time" tempo of a military march, emphasizing the orator's decision/claim to begin his march/journey.

"nothing"

Abbreviation for the the word "over."

According to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), the word "pledged" (adj) can be described as "promised."

According to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), the word "leer" can be described in this specific context as "a side glance or, a look or roll of the eye."

This is simply just an obscure contextual spelling of the adverb "freely."

According to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), the word "obstreperous" is defined as "noisily" or with a "clamorous" (loud, persistent shouting) action.

The word "acquiescingly" is the adverb form of the word "acquiescent", which, according to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) is described as "someone or the nature of accepting something without protest." So in context, the word describes the orators' willingness toward following the cripples' direction ("point").