On Author Bram Stoker - Research Paper Example

? Research on Bram Stoker Bram Stoker, world renowned for his gothic novel Dracula, was an Irish short story novelist. As an Bram Stoker symbolizes the gothic novel genre in English Literature. The usage of history and supernatural factors provide rich flavor of gothic elements to his works in general. Besides, his interest in occultism deeply influenced his literary career as the author of horror novels. His interest in science and medicine helped him a lot to be far ahead of his contemporary writers. For instance, he made use of European history, especially the life story of Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler, to frame the character Count Dracula. To be specific, the amalgamation of history, imagination and horror raises the novel Dracula to new heights of readership, and the novelist to popularity. Thesis statement: Bram Stoker’s writing style, with unique themes, symbols, metaphors, imagery, and character types, is symbolic of the Gothic horror genre in English Literature (special references to the novel Dracula). Short biography Bram Stoker was born in the year 1847, Clontarf in Ireland. His childhood was not so happy because he was forced to be bedridden due to sickness. Sue L. Hamilton states that Bram Stoker’s experiences (say, sickness) in his childhood helped him to be imaginative and creative as a writer (Hamilton 8). When he entered the Trinity College, he was able to overcome the past troubles. For instance, he proved himself as brilliant in athletics and academics. After graduation, Stoker entered the Irish Civil Service and remained as a civil servant for the next 10 years. His entry to the civil service did not hinder him to make progress in his literary career. Besides, his relation with Henry Irving helped him to be in the limelight of Lyceum Theatre in London and his contribution to drama criticism was noteworthy. But Stoker was not ready to give up his ambition to be a writer and he decided to write novels. As pointed out, ill health in childhood and family influence in the early stages of life deeply influenced him and he was attracted towards horror novels. Carol A. Senf opines that Bram Stoker’s curiosity in learning science and horror maybe deeply rooted in his family background (Senf 50). For instance, one can easily identify that Stoker’s novels represent the horror (Gothic) novel genre in English Literature. Some of his novels are: The Snake's Pass (1890), Dracula (1897), Lair of the White Worm (1911), etc. After the marriage with Florence Balcombe in the year 1878, Stoker moved to London and worked as the manger of Lyceum Theatre, London. In London, Stoker was able to be in the elite circle of writers. This relationship with writers like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle helped him a lot to fulfil his ambition to be a writer. Meanwhile, Stoker decided to conduct a world tour and visited the United States of America. The world tour boosted Stoker’s craftsmanship as a writer. For instance, in the United States of America, Stoker was able to meet Walt Whitman, one of his favourite writers. Besides, the American tour inspired him to select the same nation as the background of later works. Generally, Bram Stoker’s short stories and other novels apart from gothic novels are less appraised by critics. For instance, the novel Dracula is praised as one of the most important gothic novels in English Literature. Due to stereotyped characterization and less importance given to vividness, Stoker’s other works are generally less accepted. In addition, the high content of melodramatic elements that can be seen in Stoker’s novels and short stories reduce the scope of vivid characterization. But the craftsmanship shown by Stoker in describing places proves his craftsmanship as a novelist and short story writer. Bram Stoker passed away in 1912. Bram Stoker’s life history and his journey from Scotland to England are noteworthy because his profession as a theatre manger did not harm his ambition to be a writer. Instead, his profession boosted his ambition to be an imaginative and noteworthy writer. To be specific, the history of gothic horror as a separate genre of writing in English Literature cannot avoid the contributions of Bram Stoker. Summary of the novel Dracula As pointed out earlier, the Novel Dracula published in the year 1897 represents the gothic horror genre of novels in English Literature. The novelist did not attempt to visit the places mentioned in the novel. Instead, he researched folklore tradition of Europe for years, especially the vampire stores and myths. This helped him to collect the Mythical tradition of remote places in Europe. But he did not forget to inculcate scientific knowledge and innovation in his novel. If not, the novel maybe considered as an imaginative tale based on myths and folklore which prevailed in Europe for centuries, i.e. the myths based on vampirism. In general, the inculcation of psychology, science, history, folklore and myths provides proper balancing to the novel. The novel mainly deals with the journal entries and other sort of communication between the protagonist (Jonathan Harker) and his lady love (Mina Murray). Within this context, one can easily identify the fact that the novelist is interested to connect facts with fantasy. The story begins with the description of Jonathan Harker’s journey from England to Carpathian Mountains. Historically, the Castle of Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler is situated in Carpathian Mountains. Rosemary Guiley makes clear that Bram Stoker adopted the name Dracula from the name/ nickname of Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler (Guiley 199). This Castle is made use by the novelist as the background of his novel. As a solicitor from England, Harker’s duty was to meet Count Dracula and to initiate a discussion upon a real estate transaction. Later, Harker came to know that he had become Count Dracula’s prisoner. Gradually, he came to realize the fact that Count Dracula is not a normal human being, but a vampire. During his imprisoned life in the Castle, Harker experienced a number of paranormal incidents. Somehow, the protagonist managed to escape from the Castle in Carpathian Mountains. With the help of Professor Abraham Van Helsing, Mina, Harker and Quincey decided to destroy Count Dracula. But Mina was under the spell of Dracula. Meanwhile, Count Dracula came to realize that he cannot survive in England and decided to return to his Castle. When Count Dracula was returning to his Castle, Abraham Van Helsing, Harker and Quincey conducted a fierce attack. This leads to the death of Count Dracula and Mina escapes from the vampire’s control. The novel ends with a brief description on the happy married life of Harkers (Jonathan Harker and Mina Murray). The plot of the novel mainly deals with the history of Transylvania and Carpathian Mountains. But this does not restrict the novelist from accepting characters from America (Quincey Morris) England (Jonathan Harker) and other parts of Europe. Besides, the direct involvement of the narrator is limited to an extent in the novel because the novel is filled with diary entries and letters. The summary of the novel Dracula makes clear that the craftsmanship shown by the novelist by inculcating history, myth, folklore, vampirism and historical facts proves its importance in the gothic horror genre in English Literature. The writing style made use by Bram stoker 1. Author’s diction Bram Stoker’s writing style in the earlier stages of his literary career was deeply influenced by dramatic criticism. For instance, his profession as a manager deeply influenced him to follow the formal style of writing. Later, when he started to write novels and short stories, his writing style underwent rapid change. For instance, the inculcation of melodramatic elements and the characteristics of gothic horror can be seen in Bram Stoker’s writing style, especially in the works like Dracula and Lair of the White Worm. 2. Syntax The syntactic structure that Bram Stoker did follow is simple but powerful. For instance, in the novel Dracula, the syntactic structure is simple and formal because most of the chapters are in the form of Journal entries and personal letters. Through these Journal entries and personal letters, one can easily identify the simple but powerful syntactic structure made use by the author. 3. Themes Almost all the themes made use by Bram Stoker is related to the gothic horror genre, scientific thought, history and human psychology. Besides, Stoker was an excellent writer skilled in describing places with minute details. In addition, Stoker was in fond of travelling and it deeply influenced his themes. His habit of researching for details helped him inculcate different themes in his works and his novels are the best examples for the same. 4. Symbols In Bram Stoker’s works, one can easily identify a number of symbols which represent gothic horror genre. For instance, the religious icons used by the characters in the novel Dracula (Garlic flowers, the Christian Cross etc), are symbolic of Christian faith. Besides, the symbols which represent Count Dracula (wolves, bats etc) are symbolic of vampirism. 5. Metaphors In his works, Bram Stoker used the history of Europe and the belief in supernatural elements. For instance, the metaphorical representation of vampirism can be seen in the novel Dracula. Another work by Bram Stoker, which represents the human belief in supernatural elements, is Lair of the White Worm. Besides, the attempt by Count Dracula’s lovers (in the Castle) to seduce Jonathan Harker metaphorically represents promiscuous sexuality. The novel Dracula, especially the character Jonathan Harker metaphorically represents the loss of faith and the attempt to regain the same by any means. 6. Imagery Bram Stoker is well known for imagery which represent Gothic horror genre. For instance, the elements of writing that represent gothic imagery, is cunningly inculcated by Stoker in the novel Dracula. One can easily identify the work Dracula is full of legal imagery, which represents the protagonist’s profession as a solicitor. Glennis Byron states that the novel Dracula can be considered as one of the best examples of the transformation of Victorian gothic horror from vampirism to travel narration (Byron 122). In short, the imagery made use by Bram Stoker in his works is symbolic of Gothic horror but he manipulated the same to criticize the British society during the Victorian Age. 7. Character types The character types that can be seen in Stoker’s works can be classified into two: good and evil. The works revolve around the attempts of good characters to defeat the evil. For instance, the story of the work Dracula revolves around the attempt of Jonathan Harker and his friends to defeat Count Dracula. In short, Stoker’s characters can be broadly classified into good and evil. Summing, the brief biography of the author Bram Stoker makes clear that he was able to balance his professional life and literary career. The deep influence of his childhood experiences and memories attracted him towards horror stories and helped in his literary career as one of the prominent writers of gothic fiction. The novel Dracula represents the conflict between scientific reasoning and human belief in supernatural elements. Furthermore, the novel represents the victory of faith in God over evil. Bram Stoker’s writing style is symbolic of the transformation of Victorian Gothic horror from vampirism to epistolary genre in English Literature. References Byron, Glennis. Dracula: Bram Stoker. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 1999. Guiley, Rosemary. The encyclopedia of vampires, werewolves, and other monsters. New York, NY: Infobase Publishing, 2004. Hamilton, Sue L. Masters of Horror. Minnesota: ABDO, 2007. Senf, Carol A. Science and social science in Bram Stoker's fiction. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. Read More

 

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