Anthony P, Séverine B, Ariana W, and McKennah C

Medium: Literature

Alone by Edgar Allan Poe

This poem by Edgar Allan Poe doesn’t talk about a certain monster, instead it captures a dark creepy emotion through the description of the weather and the poem’s glum vocabulary. Using juxtaposition in the different descriptions creates contrast and makes the poem seem even darker. For example, it talks about an “autumn tint of gold” which is a pretty and calm description, but in the next line down it talks about “lightning in the sky.” This clever use of words and depiction gives the poem a more unambiguous creepiness than Frankenstein.

Medium: Art

The picture by Shel Dorf  appears with darker hues. The monster appears more sorrowful and depressed. The artist uses softer lines on the monster’s face, nothing pointy. Some parts of the painting blur together. The picture evokes the emotion of pity for the poor creature. The painter makes him seem so defenseless and tries to portray the monster as more humanlike than he actually is.

Medium: Music

“Lovesong” by The Cure

The tone of this music is a bit melancholy, though perhaps not as much as one would expect of gothic rock.  Rather than sounding heavy or extremely dark, the song sounds like a lot of other late ‘80s  rock songs.  The synthesizer throughout the song helps give the tone of the late ‘80s, while the guitars and bass in the song sound more dark but still contain ‘80s elements. The singing is the most despondent portion of the song, though the lyrics themselves are not so gloomy.  In fact, if they weren’t sang in a minor key, they would likely be regarded as happy.  The song overall sounds sad with a bit of happiness, a mood that’s immediately set by the Amadd9 chord heard at the beginning of the song.

 

Similarities Paragraph:

In each medium, Frankenstein is described by light and soft tones at first and are quickly followed by dark and sullen tones that depict the emotions of the story. Nature is also used heavily in these mediums, especially in literature, to exemplify the importance of nature as well as emotion to Romantics. Some of the lighter tones show the innocent and kind side of the creature on the inside, and the darker tones in the mediums portray the evil and harmful aspects of the creature that are seen by others. Isolation and the feeling of loneliness are commonly used in the mediums by showing a solitary subject or describing the feeling.