London Poetry - Notes on the Poems

William Blake – London

Blake is walking through London and comments on what he sees and hears. He sees nothing but despair and hears the sounds of repression. The Chimney sweepers cry chastises the Church which is black with both pollution and corruption and the blood of the soldier stains the palace walls (metaphorically). The night time is a terrible place with the cursing of prostitutes that corrupts the new-born baby and sullies (with stds) the marriage hearse.

• All natural features submit to being chartered (i.e. owned by others and mapped)
• Blake’s repetition of chartered and mark (first one meaning analyse and second one meaning indelible prints) emphasises the structure and rigidity of the city.
• The repetition is also restrictive and oppressive.
• Blake does not simply blame a set of institutions or a system of enslavement for the city's woes; rather, the victims help to make their own "mind-forg'd manacles," (heavy iron chains that are created by the mind) more powerful than material chains could ever be.
• The poem has more movement than the others – Blake is inviting us to travel with him.
• The dominant sense is sound – we hear all the people crying out.
• The oxymoron “marriage hearse” at the end tells us that even the next generation of Londoners are not surviving.
• All the speaker’s subjects are known through the traces they leave behind : the cries, the blood on the palace walls.
• The layout is simple and rhythmic, almost like a nursery rhyme. Makes the horrors described sound even worse.
• The cry of the chimney sweep and the sigh of solider become the soot on the church and the blood on the palace walls.
• Likewise, institutions of power--the clergy, the government--are rendered by synecdoche (i.e. the clergy are referred to as “Church” and the monarchy by “palace”)
• The city’s oppressors do not appear in the poem
• The language is blunt, not figurative (except for one metaphor)
• He is making a point about London being a prison.
• Blake’s poem is passionate and angered, full of emotion as opposed to Evans’ and Wilde’s that are dull or seek to mask the truth.
• It is about the people and Blake was a resident of London and in the streets – would he see the surroundings?


Wordsworth – On Westminster Bridge

Wordsworth is stood still on Westminster Bridge in London early in the morning. He is marvelling at how the city is ‘wearing’ the morning and is stunningly beautiful. He expresses surprise that the city is so still and quiet that it almost seems asleep.

• The poem is laid out in a sonnet with an octet and a sestet. It is an iambic pentatmeter with ten syllables a line.
• In lines 1 through 8, which together compose a single sentence, the speaker describes what he sees as he stands on Westminster Bridge looking out at the city.
• He begins by saying that there is nothing "more fair" on Earth than the sight he sees, and that anyone who could pass the spot without stopping to look has a "dull" soul.
• He is extremely emotive with words such as “touching”.
• He personifies the city by saying it wears the “beauty of the morning” and also having a “mighty heart” and everything within the scene is personified.
• It refers to visual imagery such as “bright and glittering” making it seem jewel-like.
• He was a Romantic which means his love for London contradicts his own love for nature, yet he still finds nature in London.
• Wordsworth is relaxed but passionate.
• He exclaims “Dear God” as if he doesn’t believe what he is seeing.
• It is extremely calm with words like glideth and silence.
• He is looking at London from the outside in.
• Wordsworth himself was returning home from France at the time (consider this)
• Likewise, institutions of power--the clergy, the government--are rendered by synecdoche (i.e. the clergy are referred to as “Church” and the monarchy by “palace”)
• “Mighty heart” could either be a personification of the city or the people within it – although he does refer to the people of London he says “the very houses seem asleep”.
• The octave presents the beauty of the city through Wordsworth's eye. The sestet presents the reflective mood which it evokes in Wordsworth as he admires the beauty described in the sestet.
• "The City now doth like a garment wear" The clothing imagery may be used to emphasise the temporary nature of the beauty of the city for he is admiring this beauty before the city has gotten busy and before smoke fills the air.
• Consider whether there is a contrast implied between the momentary hushed stillness of the city and its usual bustling activity implied, even though not actually stated.
• He even goes so far as to suggest that no "valley, rock, or hill" has been so beautifully lit by the early morning, which, considering Wordsworth's preference for rustic figures and nature, surprising.
• The penultimate line of the sonnet half-answers questions. The beauty of the city is that it is sleeping. There are no people just buildings.
• As opposed to the city, which is ‘lying still’, the natural parts of the landscape, the sunlight, the ‘valley, rock, or hill’ as well as the river are now active, they dominate over the sleeping city, as is emphasized by the rhyming words hill – at their will – lying still.


Wilde – Impression Du Matin

Wilde appears to be describing a scene by the Thames as it changes through the dawn. He is describing the end of the night, the rise of pollution, the waking of the people and finally the prostitute.

• It is a deceptive poem – whilst being extremely descriptive and evocative on the outset it has an ambiguous meaning continued within.
• The colourful imagery is descriptive and deceptive.
• The stanzas are simple but despite a fairly simplistic rhyme scheme, the poem makes heavy use of enjambement, altering the meanings depending on which parts are emphasised. Possibly representing London itself as it is not what it seems.
• Time passes in the poem, moving from night to day with “Thames nocturne” to the “daylight kissing”.
• The senses also change from sight to sound to sight.
• It refers to the pollution as a yellow fog which immediately puts the bridges and houses into shadow (at the time the Industrial Revolution has reached its peak and the pollution is remaining high) and only St Pauls stands out in the poem – referred to by a simile like a bubble.
• The St Pauls reference could refer to the religious building standing away from the pollution. Consider possible purity or else the use of the word ‘looming’ hinting at the power of the Church.
•
• Stanzas 1 and 3 are fairly positive but stanzas 2 and 4 are fairly negative highlighting the duality of London.
• The prostitute at the end is colourless and referred to as wan which contrasts the beginning colours. Her description is a striking contrast to the colourful imagery of her surroundings. This could be a subtle point about social commentary.
• Also in the fourth stanza is the questionable use of "loitered" as opposed to the grammatically correct "loitering," possibly implying she is not loitering of her own accord, it is something society has forced upon her.
• It becomes clear that "Impression" is not a plea to the reader to appreciate nature.
• The poem at the beginning is influenced by another work by a man called Whistler but the influence is only in the first stanza.
• "Impression du Matin" is a deceiving poem, sucking the reader in with a lovely description of a river, something that most of us are familiar with, and ending surprisingly with social commentary regarding prostitution.
• There are constrasting images throughout – especially at the end with “lips of flame and a heart of stone” which could be a metaphor for London itself.


Evans - In a London Drawing Room

Evans is writing her poem in a drawing room (so a fairly nice place in London). She is describing what she is seeing from the window or what goes past the window. She sees the pollution taking over the city and the sameness of the houses beyond. She sees the effect the pollution has on the city and that due to the surroundings the people do not wish to stop and look at their surroundings and appreciate beauty because there is none. The people themselves are hurrying around, all appearing the same and London itself seems to be a prison punishing people with nothing to look at, no colour or happiness.


• She is talking about the view she sees from her window.
• Sounds miserable and depressing. Like it’s describing at oppressive place (one reader called it a regime)
• Evans main issues with London are: the oppressive pollution with no chance of the sun cutting through it; the constant sameness of the surroundings where no one can see anything new; the people who have nothing to look at and do not wish to stop and people are simply hurrying around with nothing to please them
• The last line can be interpreted as wistful – hoping for colour, warmth and joy.
• Whilst there is imagery the similes and metaphors are negative such as the “prison-house and court” reference as well at the fog being referred to as hemp.
• There is movement in the poem but it is dull and slow.
• The entire poem is in blank verse and with constant ten syllable lines throughout, although enjambement is used to make the lines run on from each other.
• Evans doesn’t appear to blame anyone for the people’s punishments.
• She is actually not “in” the poem; she is looking at London as an outsider (inside the drawing room).
• The mood is bored and uninterested, which reflects the subject matter’s feelings. This is completely contrary to Wordsworth’s view.
• No bird can make a shadow as it flies refers to the sheer amount of pollution and fog and the sun unable to get through.
• The verbs such as “cutting” sound harsh and the houses are referred to as “like solid fog”.
• “Multiplied identity” is that the people in the carriage are all the same and of one identity – individuality appears to be squashed or leeched out (consider the effect the surroundings has on removing individuality).
• Remember what was happening to Evans that made her come to and leave London.

Othello Quotes Location

“Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away” To what extent is the outcome of the play down to Othello’s actions and to what extent does he fit Aristotle’s model of a tragic hero?

Introduction - Summarise Othello’s actions and the nature of tragedy

Othello did not choose Iago to be his officer
Act 1 Scene 1 11-13
End of Act 3 Scene 4

Othello murders Desdemona
Act 5 Scene 2 6-10

Othello being too old and black for Desdemona
Act 3 Scene 3 – 230-240
Act 1 Scene 3 95-100

Othello is too trusting
Any quote about honest Iago
Act 3 Scene 3 – 120-140

Sacking of Cassio
Act 2 Scene 3 – 230

Gullible
Act 4 Scene 1 – Beginning of – Iago’s graphic imagery
Act 3 Scene 3 – Any of it really

Anger
Act 3 Scene 3 – 475-480
Act 4 Scene 1 – 230

Too Trusting
Act 3 Scene 3 – 120-140


Iago plans it
Act 1 Scene 1 – 40-45
Act 1 Scene 3 – 365 – 385
Act 2 Scene 1 – End of

Desdemona and Cassio
Act 3 Scene 3 – 1-20
Act 3 Scene 3 – 60-73

Roderigo
Act 2 Scene 3 – 335-345
Act 4 Scene 2 – 171-235

Cassio’s Drinking
Act 2 Scene 3 11-45

Emelia and the handkerchief
Act 3 Scene 3 – 290 – 301
Act 5 Scene 2 221-228

Brainwashes
Act 3 Scene ¾ - Any of it

Desdemona’s naivety
Act 4 Scene 2 – 148-150
Act 4 Scene 2 - 40-46
Act 3 Scene 3 - 60-75

Conclusion
This is where you decide what you feel the biggest factor in the outcome of the play is.

Tragic Hero – You can either:
Integrate this throughout your essay with references to Othello’s character
Or devote a few paragraphs at the beginning or end of the essay concentrating on the subject.

London Poems

In a London Drawing Room

The sky is cloudy, yellowed by the smoke.
For view there are the houses opposite
Cutting the sky with one long line of wall
Like solid fog: far as the eye can stretch
Monotony of surface and of form
Without a break to hang a guess upon.
No bird can make a shadow as it flies,
For all is shadow, as in ways o'erhung
By thickest canvass, where the golden rays
Are clothed in hemp. No figure lingering
Pauses to feed the hunger of the eye
Or rest a little on the lap of life.
All hurry on and look upon the ground,
Or glance unmarking at the passers by
The wheels are hurrying too, cabs, carriages
All closed, in multiplied identity.
The world seems one huge prison-house and court
Where men are punished at the slightest cost,
With lowest rate of colour, warmth and joy.
Mary Ann Evans - 1869
Glossary
ways: streets
hemp: thick fabric
unmarking: without seeing
court: the courts of law


Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802.

Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

William Wordsworth

Glossary

Domes, Theatres and Temples
1. Domes, Theatres and Temples – Literally the Domes of St Paul, Theatres of Haymarket and Drury Lane, and Temples meaning Churches.
2. Domes, Theatres and Temples can also refer to the Classical Geek and Roman love of outdoor performance places.
Mighty Heart: People of London
Onto the fields: Fields that surrounded the city.
Smokeless Air: It is morning.
Ships, Towers: the ships on the river, the towers of Parliament .

1.
Dorothy Wordsworth in her Journal July 31, 1802, described the scene as she and her brother left London, early in the morning, for their month-long visit to Calais: "It was a beautiful morning. The city, St. Paul's, with the river, and a multitude of little boats, made a most beautiful sight as we crossed Westminster Bridge. The houses were not overhung by their cloud of smoke, and they were
spread out endlessly, yet the sun shone so brightly, with such a fierce light; that there was something like the purity of one of nature's own grand spectacles."

London

I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every Man,
In every Infant's cry of fear,
In every voice: in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear

How the Chimney-sweeper's cry
Every blackning Church appalls,
And the hapless Soldier's sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.

But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot's curse
Blasts the new-born Infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.

William Blake – 1794 (From Songs of Innocence)


Glossary
Blood on Palace Walls: Reference to wars with France and soldiers protesting about their conditions (there was also graffiti).
Chartered:
1. The first chartered involves the legal mapping of the streets, for a street to be mapped it must be chartered.
2. The second chartered refers to the ownership and the monopoly of companies on parts of the River Thames
Harlot: Prostitute
Mark
1. The first mark is a verb
2. The second mark is a noun
Plagues: STDs

William Blake


Impression du Matin

The Thames nocturne of blue and gold
Changed to a Harmony in grey:
A barge with ochre-coloured hay
Dropt from the wharf: and chill and cold.

The yellow fog came creeping down
The bridges, till the houses’ walls
Seemed changed to shadows, and St. Pauls
Loomed like a bubble o’er the town.

Then suddenly arose the clang
Of waking life; the streets were stirred
With country wagons: and a bird
Flew to the glistening roofs and sang.

But one pale woman all alone,
The daylight kissing her wan hair,
Loitered beneath the gas lamps’ flare,
With lips of flame and heart of stone.


Oscar Wilde - 1881


A Description of London

Houses, churches, mixed together,
Streets unpleasant in all weather;
Prisons, palaces contiguous,
Gates, a bridge, the Thames irriguous

Gaudy things enough to tempt ye,
Showy outsides, insides empty;
Bubbles, trades, mechani arts,
Coaches, wheelbarrows and carts.

Warrants, bailiffs, bills unpaid,
Lords of laundresses afraid;
Rogues that nightly rob and shoot men,
Hangman, aldermen and footmen.

Lawyers, poets, priests, physicians,
Noble, simple, all conditions:
Worth beneath a threadbare cover,
Villainy bedaubed all over.

Women black, red, fair and grey
Prudes and as such never pray,
Handsome, ugly, noisy, still,
Some that will not, some that will.

Many a beau without a shilling,
Many a widow not unwilling;
Many a bargain, if you strike it:
This is London! How’d ye like it?

John Bancks (Circa 1739)

Othello Essay Guide

“Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away” To what extent is the outcome of the play down to Othello's actions and to what extent does he fit Aristotle's model of a tragic hero?


Introduction
This should be a mini-discussion of the essay question itself – designed to be a summary. Possible points to BRIEFLY summarise –
- Othello’s actions
- Othello being destined to fail
- Other actions and factors (e.g. Iago and other characters)

Example:
“The quote “Like the base Indian” is Othello referring to himself after he has killed Desdemona, which is one of the outcomes of the play itself, along with Othello’s suicide. However, it is not only Othello’s actions that result in this outcome; there are other factors such as Iago and the nature of the play that lead to this.

Main Body of Paragraphs should answer the question with paragraphs about:
- Othello’s actions in killing Desdemona and ordering the death of Cassio
- Othello’s actions in trusting Iago’s views over his own wife
- Othello’s actions is marrying Desdemona, knowing that it would cause issues and friction
- Iago’s actions in setting up the plot
- Roderigo’s actions in attempting to kill Cassio
- Desdemona’s marrying Othello and refusal to let the Cassio issue drop.
- Emelia’s finding of the handkerchief and not questioning handing it to Othello

- Aristotle’s criteria for a tragic hero – Othello is destined to fail from the start.(How does he meet these criteria – and if he does, does this mean that his actions are meaningless as they are destined to happen anyway)


Highly Technical Example:
Whilst not being an action, it can be argued that Othello’s being black has a large impact on the play’s outcome (this relates the point to the question). Throughout the play he is referred to as the “Moor” and his skin colour is referred to even at the end of the play such as Emelia calling him “you the blacker devil!” after the death of Desdemona (Quotation evidence – yes you can use to, and there is a short snippet afterwards that tell you roughly where it came from). Elizabethan audiences would not expect a black character to succeed, and it could be said that the outcome of the play is inevitable. (An explanation of why this answers the question set and also includes a comment on audience reaction)

Another Example
It is actually Iago who causes the most action in the play, with the most notable action being Iago’s declaration to cause trouble from the start (your point which answers the question). He tells Roderigo that “I follow him [Othello] (square brackets add in references for the audience if it is unclear in your quote) to serve my turn upon him” (Your quotation that reinforces your claim in your point). This shows that even before Othello have come on stage, Iago is planning to take action to ruin him, which happens at the end of the play with Othello losing his wife, job and his life. (An explanation of how this impacts on the outcome of the play)
Basically, every paragraph in this should be a single argument towards the essay question – therefore you should have one point per paragraph. You can link your arguments to other points in your essay in your COMMENTS but your focus and structure in each paragraph should be:

- What actions (Othello’s or others) cause the outcome?
- Where is there evidence of this?
- How does this evidence show the outcome/action/features of Aristotle tragic hero?

Additional Points
- If you find other arguments for the question that aren’t in this list, do not hesitate to include them. This is YOUR argument and personal response counts for quite a lot (i.e. if you want to point out that Iago’s actions go beyond revenge then feel free)
- Plays are written about in the present.

Conclusion

- This is where you ‘look back’ over your essay and decide what you feel the most important action in deciding the outcome of the play, this maybe agreement with the natural nature of tragedy being Mad Death Scene™ or it maybe the agreement that Iago is just a nasty piece of work who is out to get Othello from day one.

Wuthering Heights Context

Emily Bronte was born on July 30th 1818 at Thornton, Bradford in Yorkshire, fifth child of the six children. Her mother died of cancer in 1821. In 1824 she attended the newly opened Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge. While there along with her sisters Maria, Elizabeth and Charlotte they suffer the harsh regime, cold and poor food. In June 1825 Emily and her sisters were finally taken away from the school for good.

Emily and Anne write poetry and stories for their imaginary world of Gondal. Few survive, but they worked together on poems and the Gondal sagas into the 1840's

In July 1835 she enrolled at Miss Wooler's school at Roe Head Mirfield which lasted for 3 months, returning to Haworth in October.

In September 1845 Charlotte inadvertently discovers Emily's poems. Emily is angered by the intrusion into her private writings. Her sister convinces her to collaborate on a book of poems. About this time it is thought Emily started to write Wuthering Heights.

In November 1848 Emily's health was poor. Charlotte Bronte writes that her sister has difficulty in breathing and pains in her chest. On 19 December 1848 Emily Bronte died at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. She was 30 years old. On 22 December she is laid to rest in the family vault in Haworth church.

Emily Brontë has been cast as Absolute Individual, as Tormented Genius, and as Free Spirit Communing with Nature.

The Bronte's father was a withdrawn man who dined alone in his own room; their Aunt Branwell, who raised them after the early death of their mother, also dined alone in her room. For three years Emily supposedly spoke only to family members and servants.

Their brother Branwell, an alcoholic and a drug addict, went through mad ravings with threats of committing suicide or murdering their father, his physical and mental degradation, his bouts of delirium, and, finally, his death.

Almost everything that is known about Emily comes from the writings of others, primarily Charlotte.

Often Wuthering Heights is used to construct a biography of Emily's life, personality, and beliefs. Edward Chitharn equates Emily, the well-read housekeeper of the family home, with Nelly based on the similarity of their roles and the similarity of their names, "Nelly" being short for "Ellen".

The illnesses of Catherine, who stops eating after Edgar's ultimatum, and of Heathcliff, who stops eating at the end, is used as proof of Emily's own illness; support for this is found in the tendency of all four Brontë siblings not to eat when upset.

Katherine Frank argues that Emily had a hunger "for power and experience, for love and happiness, fame and fortune and fulfilment?". An interpretation of this could be that several of her characters are desperate for passion, romance and affections from others such as Hareton (from Heathcliff), Young and Elder Catherines, Heathcliff, Isabella.

Another interpretation of Wuthering Heights has been that nearly all the characters in some way are deprived of love and passion - something that Emily may have wished for herself and basing the only main character in the novel who is accepted by everybody (Nelly) on herself - could reveal her longing for love.

There is also the argument over jealousy between her and her siblings. Emily and Anne separated from Branwell and Charlotte during their adolescent writings to create their own imaginary world. Charlotte is also the only sister to marry and their brother Branwell is also a failed writer who committed adultery. It can be argued that these issues were replicated in the relationships of Wuthering Heights.

Similarly, Emily's poems are used to interpret her novel, particularly those poems discussing isolation, rebellion, and freedom.

Quotes Chapter 10

Henry Jekyll's Full Statement of the Case

Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years of reflection, and began to look round me and take stock of my progress and position in the world, I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of me.

With every day, and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two.

If each, I told myself, could be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable; the unjust might go his way, delivered from the aspirations and remorse of his more upright twin; and the just could walk steadfastly and securely on his upward path, doing the good things in which he found his pleasure, and no longer exposed to disgrace and penitence by the hands of this extraneous evil.

For two good reasons, I will not enter deeply into this scientific branch of my confession. First, because I have been made to learn that the doom and burthen of our life is bound for ever on man's shoulders, and when the attempt is made to cast it off, it but returns upon us with more unfamiliar and more awful pressure. Second, because, as my narrative will make, alas! too evident, my discoveries were incomplete.

The most racking pangs succeeded: a grinding in the bones, deadly nausea, and a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death. Then these agonies began swiftly to subside, and I came to myself as if out of a great sickness. There was something strange in my sensations, something indescribably new and, from its very novelty, incredibly sweet. I felt younger, lighter, happier in body

There was no mirror, at that date, in my room; that which stands beside me as I write, was brought there later on and for the very purpose of these transformations.

And hence, as I think, it came about that Edward Hyde was so much smaller, slighter and younger than Henry Jekyll. Even as good shone upon the countenance of the one, evil was written broadly
and plainly on the face of the other. Evil besides (which I must still believe to be the lethal side of man) had left on that body an imprint of deformity and decay. And yet when I looked upon that ugly idol in the glass, I was conscious of no repugnance, rather of a leap of welcome. This, too, was myself. It seemed natural and human.

I made my preparations with the most studious care. I took and furnished that house in Soho, to which Hyde was tracked by the police; and engaged as a housekeeper a creature whom I knew well to be silent and unscrupulous. On the other side, I announced to my servants that a Mr. Hyde (whom I described) was to have full liberty and power about my house in the square; and to parry mishaps, I even called and made myself a familiar object, in my second character. I next drew up that will to which you so much objected; so that if anything befell me in the person of Dr. Jekyll, I could enter on that of Edward Hyde without pecuniary loss.

Henry Jekyll stood at times aghast before the acts of Edward Hyde; but the situation was apart from ordinary laws, and insidiously relaxed the grasp of conscience. It was Hyde, after all, and Hyde alone, that was guilty. Jekyll was no worse; he woke again to his good qualities seemingly unimpaired; he would even make haste, where it was possible, to undo the evil done by Hyde. And thus his conscience slumbered.

Now the hand of Henry Jekyll (as you have often remarked) was professional in shape and size: it was large, firm, white and comely. But the hand which I now saw, clearly enough, in the yellow light of a mid-London morning, lying half shut on the bedclothes, was lean, corder, knuckly, of a dusky pallor and thickly shaded with a swart growth of hair. It was the hand of Edward Hyde.


Between these two, I now felt I had to choose. My two natures had memory in common, but all other faculties were most unequally shared between them. Jekyll (who was composite) now with the most sensitive apprehensions, now with a greedy gusto, projected and shared in the pleasures and adventures of Hyde; but Hyde was indifferent to Jekyll, or but remembered him as the mountain bandit remembers the cavern in which he conceals himself from pursuit. Jekyll had more than a father's interest; Hyde had more than a son's indifference.

Yes, I preferred the elderly and discontented doctor, surrounded by friends and cherishing honest hopes; and bade a resolute farewell to the liberty, the comparative youth, the light step, leaping impulses and secret pleasures, that I had enjoyed in the disguise of Hyde. I made this choice perhaps with some unconscious reservation, for I neither gave up the house in Soho, nor destroyed the clothes of Edward Hyde, which still lay ready in my cabinet.

Instantly the spirit of hell awoke in me and raged. With a transport of glee, I mauled the unresisting body, tasting delight from every blow; and it was not till weariness had begun to succeed, that I was suddenly, in the top fit of my delirium, struck through the heart by a cold thrill of terror. A mist
dispersed; I saw my life to be forfeit; and fled from the scene of these excesses, at once glorying and trembling, my lust of evil gratified and stimulated.

A moment before I had been safe of all men's respect, wealthy, beloved--the cloth laying for me in the dining-room at home; and now I was the common quarry of mankind, hunted, houseless, a known murderer, thrall to the gallows.

Hyde in danger of his life was a creature new to me; shaken with inordinate anger, strung to the pitch of murder, lusting to inflict pain. Yet the creature was astute; mastered his fury with a great effort of the will; composed his two important letters, one to Lanyon and one to Poole; and that he might receive actual evidence of their being posted, sent them out with directions that they should be registered.

The powers of Hyde seemed to have grown with the sickliness of Jekyll. And certainly the hate that now divided them was equal on each side. With Jekyll, it was a thing of vital instinct. He had now seen the full deformity of that creature that shared with him some of the phenomena of consciousness, and was co-heir with him to death

The hatred of Hyde for Jekyll was of a different order. His terror of the gallows drove him continually to commit temporary suicide, and return to his subordinate station of a part instead of a person; but he loathed the necessity, he loathed the despondency into which Jekyll was now fallen, and he resented the dislike with which he was himself regarded. Hence the ape-like tricks that he would play me, scrawling in my own hand blasphemies on the pages of my books, burning the letters and destroying the portrait of my father; and indeed, had it not been for his fear of death, he would long ago have ruined himself in order to involve me in the ruin. But his love of me is wonderful; I go further: I, who sicken and freeze at the mere thought of him, when I recall the abjection and passion of this attachment, and when I know how he fears my power to cut him off by suicide, I find it in my heart to pity him.

Robert Louis Stevenson Context

Stevenson's parents were both devout and serious Presbyterians, but the household was not incredibly strict. His nurse, Alison Cunningham was more fervently religious. Her Calvinism and folk beliefs were an early source of nightmares for the child; and he showed a precocious concern for religion.

At University Stevenson was moving away from his strict upbringing. His dress became more Bohemian but more importantly, he had come to reject Christianity.

In January 1873, his father came across the constitution of the LJR (Liberty, Justice, Reverence) club of which Stevenson with his cousin Bob was a member, which began "Disregard everything our parents have taught us".

Questioning his son about his beliefs, he discovered the truth, leading to a long period of dissension with both parents.

Stevenson had long been interested in the idea of the duality of human nature and how to incorporate the interplay of good and evil into a story.

One night in late September or early October 1885, Stevenson had a dream, and on wakening had the intuition for two or three scenes that would appear in the story.

"In the small hours of one morning," says Mrs Stevenson, "I was awakened by cries of horror from Louis. Thinking he had a nightmare, I woke him. He said angrily, 'Why did you wake me? I was dreaming a fine bogey tale.' I had awakened him at the first transformation scene ..."

Stevenson re-wrote the story in three to six days, allegedly with the assistance of cocaine. According to Osbourne, "The mere physical feat was tremendous; and instead of harming him, it roused and cheered him inexpressibly". He refined and continued to work on it for four to six weeks afterward.

Its success was probably due more to the "moral instincts of the public" than any perception of its artistic merits; it was widely read by those who never otherwise read fiction, quoted in pulpit sermons and in religious papers.

Quotes and Complete Texts

For a complete text go to:

http://www.online-literature.com/stevenson/jekyllhyde/

You can search this text as well - so if you know one of the words in the texts, you can search for it and it will find all the examples of that word.

Why does Stephenson Explore Duality.

1. New psychological ideas of having two sides: our ID which is our hedonistic, impulsive, primitive side, our SUPEREGO which aims for spiritual, psychical and social perfection and our EGO which seeks to please the two.
2. Victorian London and Edinburgh having polarity between rich and poor.
3. Impressions of the poor being small, unevolved and animalistic.
4. The rich townhouses VS the poor slums in both Edinburgh and London.
5. The scientific revolutions vs the traditional old ways.
6. The mystery of the new discoveries vs the knowledge already acquired.
7. Evolution of humanity being accepted.

Jekyll and Hyde Dualties

How does Stevenson do it

1. The changes in Mr Utterson's character
2. The setting - in the front and back of Jekyll's house, Cavendish Square and Soho.
3. The language:
- scientific, clinical language of the murder case and then the romantic flowery language of the maid.
- The changes in Jekyll's language as he becomes more despairing.
- Changes in Hyde's and Jekyll's dialogue
4. Good actions of Jekyll and the evilness of Hyde.
5. Appearance of Jekyll and Hyde.
6. Acting morally and avoiding scandal (Utterson)
7. Jekyll appearing to do good work but no taking responsibility for Hyde's actions.
8. Lanyon's dismissal of Jeykll's discoveries as “unscientific balderdash” (rational man of science) contrasting Jekyll's language
9. Jekyll and Lanyon both leave letters which records everything they have seen and done but insist that these records not be opened until after their deaths - suggesting a reliance on reputation.
10. Jekyll’s guilt and Hyde’s apathy/indifference
11. Hyde's appearance and actions - but his furnishings and dialogue are quite refined.
12. Jekyll's repression and Hyde's outright actions.
13. The fog and mist symbolising Jekyll's hidden identity.

Added 14th December 2009
14. Chapter Two - Duality of Utterson's rational thoguhts and reporting but with a supernatural dream sequence.
15. Jekyll's house is a mansion with "a great air of wealth and comfort" that is secretly connected to the doctor's laboratory. The laboratory front (chapter 1) appears run down and neglected, and can be entered through the mysterious door described in the first chapter. we learn later that the laboratory is in fact where Dr. Jekyll undertakes his transformations into Mr. Hyde.
16. Chapter 4 - Utterson appears immediately when summoned by the police, and provides them with a great deal of information in order to find the murderous Edward Hyde. However, he stops short of telling the police of the connection between Hyde and Dr. Jekyll.
17. Utterson loyally protects his friend throughout, in contrast, Jekyll lies to Utterson, defending Hyde with a fake letter. (Chapter 5)
18. Lanyon's belief in logic and sound science is proved wrong and the supernatural starts to take over.
19. Mirroring of Chapter 1 with Chapter 7 (they start in the same way)
20. Chapter 7 contrasts chapter 8 with lack of action and lots of action.
21. The religious work that Jekyll held in great esteem that has been, "annotated in his own hand with startling blasphemies."
22. Even after witnessing death and highly strange events, Utterson wishes to delay involving the authorities in an attempt to save face.
23. Although Lanyon is very detailed in what he witnessed that night, he does not provide an explanation of how such a transformation could occur, or how Jekyll's scientific experiments advanced and progressed to this point.
24. The contrast between third and first person narrative.
25. In his letter, Jekyll clearly states that he felt no guilt about Hyde's actions, as "Henry Jekyll stood at times aghast before the acts of Edward Hyde, but the situation was apart from ordinary laws, and insidiously relaxed the grasp of conscience. It was Hyde, after all, and Hyde alone, that was guilty." To the reader, this explanation seems ridiculous, because Hyde is in fact part of Jekyll, and a being that Jekyll created.
26. The noble Utterosn lives but Jekyll/Hyde dies.

Jekyll and Hyde Essay Question

“My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring.” How and why does Stevenson explore the theme of duality in “The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde”?

Introduction

- What was Victorian England like at the time (e.g. changes, society, social conditions)
- Summary of why Stevenson explored it (e.g belief in new inventions, seeing Edinburgh's poor/rich, losing his faith in God)
- What kinds of things you will look at from the novel (presentation of character, settings, plot)