Exploring Monstrous imagery
Exploring Monstrous Imagery English 1010
Background: As you learned through our exploration of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, paying attention to sensory details sight, sound, and touch can help viewers/readers better understand an artists work. In addition to sight, sound, and touch, smell and taste can also give viewers different perspectives of any artwork. When readers read a particularly descriptive text and pay attention to sensory details within it, they, too, are able to better understand and negotiate meaning with that text.
Prompt: Write a well-developed essay in which you compare and contrast how sensory details can help readers of both The Scream and Frankenstein gain a better understanding of the “texts.”
Audience: You instructor and classmates, who (for the purpose of this assignment) have neither seen the Munch painting nor read the Shelley text.
Required Sources:
1. Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893
2. Except from our text, Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelley, 1818
3. One outside source that you have selected during our class time – it can be from our Monsters text book/articles.
To complete this assignment:
So What? As you think about the prompt, ask yourself the following question: So what? What is the significance of knowing that paying attention to sensory details can help readers/viewers better understand texts and artworks? You must answer this in your essay.
Summary/Description: Since your reader has neither seen the painting nor read the text, you must first describe the painting and summarize the text excerpt before you start to the sensory details from both as evidence (examples) for your argument. Remember: you will introduce each source when you first use it in your body paragraphs.
The analysis: As you compare and contrast to your reader about how sensory details affect a readers interpretation of both artworks and texts, you must explain how and/or why, specifically, certain sensory details do so in relation to the two works.
NOTE: Online (or print-based) descriptions and/or analyses of The Scream and Frankenstein should not be consulted since you will be evaluated on what you experience in the painting and text and why you think those details are relevant. Any evidence of using others’ opinions about this specific painting may significantly reduce your grade.
Length: 750 words
Style: MLA format
Include at least one direct quote from an outside source
Include a Works Cited entry (and page) for your external source.
You will need to listen to this audio about the “scream”: https://www.moma.org/multimedia/audio/325
and read or listen to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (narrated by dan stevens, after you have selected “Start Listening”, you may scan to chapter 5 by clicking the “Chapters” link in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen):
https://stories.audible.com/pdp/B00FQRCM9O?ref=adbl_ent_anon_ds_pdp_pc_cntr-5-1
