Literature is powerful and influences people of all ages, backgrounds and life experiences. As an audience, we are placed in these stories, thinking and feeling with the characters and experiencing as they do. The novel The Secret River by Kate Grenville, James McAuley’s poem Because, and the 2011 film adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, all present strong symbolism and imagery which exceed the test of time. Classic and canonical texts transcend time through the aesthetic qualities of symbolism and imagery, which capture audience attention while developing tension to create powerful and enduring messages.
Kate Grenville's influential novel, The Secret River, published in 2005, is canonically recognised for its enduring messages …show more content…
Brontë’s classic writing is valued for the creative use of symbolism and imagery which engages audiences throughout time. Surrounding the life of young, heroin Jane Eyre, the film often displays vast, barren landscapes to portray her loneliness and desperation. Shadowy figures of men, namely Mr. Rochester, suggest their forbidden love and danger of their relationship. Metaphors for Jane’s desire for freedom are conveyed through images of her looking out of closed windows, encapsulating the cold and dreary atmosphere Brontë wished to portray. Manipulation of light and colour reveals sensitivity in characters, romance is seen through soft lighting and pale colours to provide a nostalgic mood. Brontë’s gothic elements are evident in scenes where blue fog creates ghostly atmospheres, enhancing mystery and heightening audience tension. These features of visual imagery combined with enduring elements of Jane and Rochester’s relationship, emotionally involve the audience. The tension generated through Jane’s attraction to a dangerous man is based on pity and naivety. “It feels as though I had a string tied here under my left rib where my heart is, tightly knotted to you in a similar fashion.” (1:17:25). The metaphoric use of a string implies manipulation of their forbidden relationship and attraction, the romantic elements creating tension between the two and therefore enhancing audience focus. Tension and mood are effectively used in Jane Eyre to create atmospheric scenes, as well as symbolism and imagery to create classic text which transcends
Kate Grenville's influential novel, The Secret River, published in 2005, is canonically recognised for its enduring messages …show more content…
Brontë’s classic writing is valued for the creative use of symbolism and imagery which engages audiences throughout time. Surrounding the life of young, heroin Jane Eyre, the film often displays vast, barren landscapes to portray her loneliness and desperation. Shadowy figures of men, namely Mr. Rochester, suggest their forbidden love and danger of their relationship. Metaphors for Jane’s desire for freedom are conveyed through images of her looking out of closed windows, encapsulating the cold and dreary atmosphere Brontë wished to portray. Manipulation of light and colour reveals sensitivity in characters, romance is seen through soft lighting and pale colours to provide a nostalgic mood. Brontë’s gothic elements are evident in scenes where blue fog creates ghostly atmospheres, enhancing mystery and heightening audience tension. These features of visual imagery combined with enduring elements of Jane and Rochester’s relationship, emotionally involve the audience. The tension generated through Jane’s attraction to a dangerous man is based on pity and naivety. “It feels as though I had a string tied here under my left rib where my heart is, tightly knotted to you in a similar fashion.” (1:17:25). The metaphoric use of a string implies manipulation of their forbidden relationship and attraction, the romantic elements creating tension between the two and therefore enhancing audience focus. Tension and mood are effectively used in Jane Eyre to create atmospheric scenes, as well as symbolism and imagery to create classic text which transcends