How to describe an emotion? Happiness, sadness and fear are simply words that we associate with certain “feelings”, observable by bodily functions: red cheeks, tears, goosebumps, production and distribution of certain hormones. As human beings, our emotions are manifested in the form of art, but when our chosen medium is through language, how accurate are our descriptions of the actual substance of the emotion? So we can do our best with our words, but it is also the silence between them that speaks. Words limit us to what we can describe and therefore we are unable to explore what is beyond the limits of our awareness. In his poem Christabel, Samuel Taylor Coleridge uses the void between his lines of imagery to haunt his reader with supernatural powers, witches, and the darkness characteristic of Gothic poetry. He uses intrigue, manipulation, and rhetorical questions to describe emotions and feelings to his reader without having to experience them, describing the supposedly "indescribable." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayChristabel is emotionally inclusive, in the sense that it involves the reader using increasing curiosity, confusion, and fear that gives her sympathy for the main character as she becomes perplexed and weakened by the events of the story. Christabel ventured out of her bed late at night, into the dark woods. She is innocent, impressionable, because “she kneels under the immense oak and prays in silence”. The use of the imagery of the "huge oak tree" coupled with the "silence" of her prayers is effective, the contrast between the grandeur of the tree and the little girl praying beneath it, a beautiful and haunting image, speaks through this, warning his reader of Christabel's helplessness. In this way, Coleridge uses the silence of the woods to help his reader. focus on, away from the woods, and on the girl who will be changed for the worse. The poet continues, and in doing so he further emphasizes Christabel's naivety. She hears "dark" moans in the forest, at the first sounds he hears. » mentions since the introduction of its main character. The use of the word "dark" should in itself be indicative of the danger that is about to befall Christabel, but she cannot see it here, Coleridge again uses the contrast of imagery to describe the innocence of Christabel. “gloomy” is cold, without charm. However, when he talks about Christabel, he emphasizes her “ring curl” and “lovely lady’s cheek,” indicative of her purity and childlike aesthetic. Christabel seems dramatically out of place, a gentle child in the harshest and loneliest environment, but surprisingly unafraid of the dark. Coleridge uses this contrast to worry the reader. Unease seems to be a typical focus of many Gothic poems, keeping the reader anxious by keeping them uncertain of the plot and outcome of the stories they tell. What makes this poem emotionally inclusive is the way Coleridge makes the reader feel more and more like Christabel throughout. his writing of his history. Throughout the first half, Christabel is very active; even if she allows herself to be manipulated by Géraldine, she speaks, makes her own decisions, and is consistent in these decisions. Her innocence is an integral part of her character, as frustrating as it may be for the reader as we watch her take an increasingly dangerous path to the supernatural. This way the drive is separatedfrom her, with the advantage of the outside point of view. However, the further Coleridge takes the reader, the less we can understand ourselves, the more perplexed we become. By the end of her poem, the reader may also feel cursed by Geraldine, unable to make a decision about how we would have done things differently. Being disconcerted is a strange feeling, of being out of control, confused. Coleridge manages, with atmospheric atmosphere, to make the reader feel the same way Christabel feels, without resorting to blatant confusion as poets like Eecummings do. Instead, he uses the things he can't say to upset the reader's power, the balance between the characters and ourselves. It destroys us, until we can no longer decipher a clear message. On several occasions in Christabel, Coleridge confides in us half-secrets. When Christabel first hears the moaning in the woods, he says, “but what it is, she cannot say.” The use of the word "it" implies that there is something inhuman about these sounds, indicating a possibility of threat to Christabel - but then he introduces the seemingly human Geraldine. Later in the poem, in Christabel's room, Geraldine undresses in the light of the moon. Leaving aside the homoerotic sexual connotation, Coleridge suggests a sort of mark on Geraldine's chest which was "a sight to be dreamed of, not to be told of!" ” Here the word “dream” is effective because it presents evidence that a part of Geraldine is something of supernatural origin, somehow supernatural and “dreamlike.” Interestingly, Coleridge also uses the word "dream", as the word "nightmare" would usually be used for a frightening sight, implying that Christabel did not care about the sight of Geraldine naked. However, the cruelest half-secret of all occurs at the climax of this poem. Christabel takes a turn for the worse, under Geraldine's curse, "she stood in a dazed trance." Coleridge then writes the most unforgivable tease: "She said: and more she could not say: For what she knew she could not say, O'er-mastered by the mighty spell." » And again: "I thought she had no power to say anything else to Augh: the spell was so powerful. Christabel has experienced something that she cannot verbalize, and somehow that simple fact is enough to help the reader understand what she is feeling. As mentioned above, we are now just as upset by these events as she is; we too, “mastered by the powerful spell”, unable to put into words or even understand what happened. Without having to explain it, the narrator locks away information about the fate through Christabel's silence. Once again, Coleridge uses a lack of words to describe what only silence can: the fear of the unknown and the power it has to reduce humans who can be so arrogant as to think we exist. as the highest beings in this world, in powerless points. , Coleridge leaves us stunned, as if “in a dizzying trance”. Throughout Christabel, Coleridge asks more questions than he answers. When Christabel enters the castle with Geraldine, her wolf moans angrily in his sleep - which is apparently out of character -. and Coleridge asks "What can happen to the mastiff female dog?", leaving the question hanging, unanswered and full of suspense. After entering Christabel's room, the two girls talk about Christabel's late mother, whose spirit is nearby. using his “power” to “ask you to flee”. He..