Vampire Lore
'The Vampyre' was written at a time when Europe was in upheaval, having just experienced the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. This can be detected in a slight xenophobia present in the story, evident in the distrust of the continent. Whereas Britain is depicted as a country of aristocracy, enjoying themselves frivolously but harmlessly (until Lord Ruthven's entrance), the countries visited by Aubrey and Ruthven on their travels are shown to be places containing endless ancient ruins to be discovered, populated by a superstitious people (particularly Ianthe's family, complete with "the supernatural tales of her nurse") that believe in such ridiculous notions as "the living vampyre". Europe is portrayed as being mysterious and, later, dangerous, with the unexpected and violent attack in the Greek hills. This view would seem to be more Aubrey's than the author's, however, for, as the story develops, each of the rural Greeks' portentous worries comes to pass. Rather than ultimately showing the superstitions to be baseless and ludicrous, Polidori in fact confirms it all, especially with the final, melodramatic and very conclusive statement that: "Aubrey's sister had glutted the thirst of a VAMPYRE!"
Perhaps the most prominent word in the text, however, is 'eye'. This is written a remarkable 22 times. Its repetition serves to anchor it in the mind, creating an impression of being watched, and that observation is important. This supports the foreshadowing of the story: as mentioned before, if one is being attentive whilst reading 'The Vampyre', most of the important plot developments can be predicted before they happen. It also highlights Aubrey's blindness to Ruthven's true identity in the face of all the evidence (albeit somewhat circumstantial, but still relatively strong). This is especially ironic considering the statement on page eight that "Aubrey's eye followed him in all his windings", which it clearly does not. The creation of the tense, expectant atmosphere is also achieved through the language, which serves to create a sense of dread surrounding Ruthven. When we are first introduced to the character, we are told of his "dead grey eye" and "of the deadly hue of his face", and later (but before Aubrey realises he is inherently evil) he is described as "this fiend" (importantly, upon the introduction of the 'vampyre' myth, the creature is also described as a 'fiend'), "something supernatural" and "an evil power". Other language in the story serves to heighten the frightening nature - for example, the word 'monster' is used six times, 'supernatural' three times, 'horror' seven times. The language serves to complement the events themselves, almost subliminally affecting the reader. This can most clearly be seen when Aubrey enters the hovel in the storm. The "heavy rain", "echoing thunders" and "blue forked lightning" sets the scene nicely, and the scene is further set up by the "entangled forest", "dead leaves", "dreadful shrieks", "exultant mockery of a laugh" and "utter darkness", every word carefully chosen to elicit the best response of terror. Also contributing to the atmosphere and general sense of fear in the text is the use of various horror staples and established elements of vampire myth. Anybody with even the slightest knowledge of the horror genre, or of vampire lore will recognise elements in the story which add to the tension. The hovel in the woods is a frightening enough image in itself, but the melodramatic storm acts as a form of pathetic fallacy, reflecting the emotions involved in the events through the pounding rain, the crash
Some common words found in the essay are:
Lord Ruthven's, Lord Ruthven, Aubrey Ruthven, Bram Stoker's, Vampyre' English, Vampyre' Ruthven, VAMPYRE Foreshadowing, Revolutionary Napoleonic, Whereas Britain, , 'the vampyre', grey eye deadly, lord ruthven's, aubrey's sister, deadly hue, grey eye, eye deadly, evil power, dead grey, dead grey eye, eye deadly hue, living vampyre, 20th century,
Approximate Word count = 1602
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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