Author Chad Schimke : SHELLEY

Showing posts with label SHELLEY. Show all posts

Thursday, July 2, 2020

FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER

TWO CENTURIES OF FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER - Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, the novel, was anonymously published by Mary Shelley in 1818. Her name appeared in the second edition. Two years earlier 18 year old Mary rented a Swiss villa, along with her husband, the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Their guests included: Lord Byron, also a poet, and his mistress/ Mary’s stepsister, Claire Clairmont. John William Polidori, author of The Vampyre and vampire fiction pioneer, also joined them. They summered on Lake Geneva taking the boat out on the water, discussing ideas, writing stories, and telling ghost stories late into the night. Long spells of incessant rain kept the guests captive inside the villa. Lord Byron encouraged them to write a ghost story. That evening was particularly restless, and the young wife couldn’t sleep. Mary was visited by a reanimated corpse, in a waking dream, a creature so compelling she put him in writing. The byline refers to Prometheus, a mythological creature, who formed humans from clay, which provided them with fire. In Shelley's Gothic science fiction/ horror story, scientist Victor Frankenstein creates an unnamed monster from pieced together collected cadavers. Henceforth referred to as Frankenstein’s Monster, a hideous abomination. When he can’t socialize in human society, he exacts his due from Dr. Frankenstein, leaving the reader unsure who to root for. Just because he’s different, he is chased by villagers carrying flaming pitchforks. Hammer Horror produced 7 films with the character, but the best studio to film the role was Universal Pictures. Don’t miss the 1931 pre-code version, starring Boris Karloff. His look is what comes to any reader’s mind, recalling the name Frankenstein. I credit Shelley with the creation of Gothic horror, and for its influence on speculative fiction to this day. She preceded Edgar Allen Poe (The Black Cat, 1843) by two decades. John William Polidori (The Vampyre, 1819) is said to have inspired Sheridan Le Fanu (Carmilla, 1872), who in turn inspired Bram Stoker (Dracula, 1897). The stories written by these men, forebearers of genre, moved into a space created by an 18-year-old girl named Mary.

http://www.chadschimke.com/2020/07/frankensteins-monster.html

https://www.chadschimke.com/2019/06/mary-shelley.html

https://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2012/10/frankenstein.html

https://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2012/10/frankenstein-by-mary-shelleymp3.html

https://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2015/07/frankenstein-1931.html

https://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2015/07/frankenstein.html

https://www.chadschimke.com/2012/10/frankenstein-or-modern-prometheus-by.html

Saturday, June 1, 2019

MARY SHELLEY

MARY SHELLEY - Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin’s mother died only 11 days after her birth. In her later writing, death would become a pervasive fixture of Mary’s life. She was born to her father William Godwin, an anarchist and atheist, and her mother Mary Wollstonecraft, a radical feminist for the time. When her father remarried, she had a difficult relationship with her stepmother. Percy Bysshe Shelley, an influential Romantic poet, began a romance with Mary in 1814 while he was still married. When they returned to England from travels in France, she was pregnant with his child. After his wife’s suicide they married, and Mary also endured the death of their premature daughter. One historic day at the age of 18, Mary rented Swiss villa with her husband, joined by Lord Byron and his mistress/ Mary’s stepsister, Claire Clairmont. They were accompanied by John William Polidori, the creator of the vampire fiction, and author of The Vampyre. The group wrote, canoed on Lake Geneva, and talked late into the night. It rained incessantly, which forced them to remain indoors. So they gathered around the fireplace, telling tales of German ghost stories. Lord Byron, a well-known Romantic poet in his own right, urged everyone to write their own ghost story. Each morning, upon being asked what she came up with, Mary couldn’t articulate a new idea. But on one particular sleepless night, she was haunted by a waking dream, wherein she was paid a visit by a reanimated corpse. At first she thought it would be a short story, but her husband encouraged her to develop a novel. Frankenstein--or, The Modern Prometheus--was published in 1818. During their marriage she edited and promoted her husband’s writing. But after Percy drowned in a sailing accident, she devoted herself to a career as an author. She died at the age of 53, most likely from a brain tumor.

http://www.chadschimke.com/2020/07/frankensteins-monster.html

https://www.chadschimke.com/2019/06/mary-shelley.html

https://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2012/10/frankenstein.html

https://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2012/10/frankenstein-by-mary-shelleymp3.html

https://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2015/07/frankenstein-1931.html

https://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2015/07/frankenstein.html

https://www.chadschimke.com/2012/10/frankenstein-or-modern-prometheus-by.html

Sunday, November 19, 2017

HORROR FICTION

HORROR FICTION – There are 2 main horror fiction sub genres, with further delineations and specificity. Classic slasher, serial killer and gore--undiluted by any paranormal or fantasy element--features a psychopath/s on a murderous killing spree. These always take place in a conventional world but flexibility happens at times with alternate timelines/ histories. Supernatural horror covers everything else: a creature, supernatural entity, monster, ghost, etc. These stories take place in a conventional world with the monster inserted. Or in an imagined world built from pure fantasy. Either variety (slasher or supernatural) can be told from the point of view of the killer/ monster, the victim or both. Obviously, some stories blend both elements. As part of speculative fiction (supernatural, fantasy, superhero, science fiction, horror, etc.), supernatural horror features worlds with fantasy or futuristic elements. Classic slasher is closely related to crime and thrillers, but the focus is on the act of terror itself, not the crime and investigation elements.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 1818

A scientist develops a technique to impart life into a non-living humanoid, pieced together from collected parts.