14 Nisan 2014 Pazartesi

Beowulf

Beowulf
King Hrothgar of Denmark, a descendant of the great king Shield Sheafson, enjoys a prosperous and successful reign. He builds a great mead-hall, called Heorot, where his warriors can gather to drink, receive gifts from their lord, and listen to stories sung by the scops, or bards. But the jubilant noise from Heorot angers Grendel, a horrible demon who lives in the swamplands of Hrothgar’s kingdom. Grendel terrorizes the Danes every night, killing them and defeating their efforts to fight back. The Danes suffer many years of fear, danger, and death at the hands of Grendel. Eventually, however, a young Geatish warrior named Beowulf hears of Hrothgar’s plight. Inspired by the challenge, Beowulf sails to Denmark with a small company of men, determined to defeat Grendel.
Hrothgar, who had once done a great favor for Beowulf’s father Ecgtheow, accepts Beowulf’s offer to fight Grendel and holds a feast in the hero’s honor. During the feast, an envious Dane named Unferth taunts Beowulf and accuses him of being unworthy of his reputation. Beowulf responds with a boastful description of some of his past accomplishments. His confidence cheers the Danish warriors, and the feast lasts merrily into the night. At last, however, Grendel arrives. Beowulf fights him unarmed, proving himself stronger than the demon, who is terrified. As Grendel struggles to escape, Beowulf tears the monster’s arm off. Mortally wounded, Grendel slinks back into the swamp to die. The severed arm is hung high in the mead-hall as a trophy of victory.
Overjoyed, Hrothgar showers Beowulf with gifts and treasure at a feast in his honor. Songs are sung in praise of Beowulf, and the celebration lasts late into the night. But another threat is approaching. Grendel’s mother, a swamp-hag who lives in a desolate lake, comes to Heorot seeking revenge for her son’s death. She murders Aeschere, one of Hrothgar’s most trusted advisers, before slinking away. To avenge Aeschere’s death, the company travels to the murky swamp, where Beowulf dives into the water and fights Grendel’s mother in her underwater lair. He kills her with a sword forged for a giant, then, finding Grendel’s corpse, decapitates it and brings the head as a prize to Hrothgar. The Danish countryside is now purged of its treacherous monsters.
The Danes are again overjoyed, and Beowulf’s fame spreads across the kingdom. Beowulf departs after a sorrowful goodbye to Hrothgar, who has treated him like a son. He returns to Geatland, where he and his men are reunited with their king and queen, Hygelac and Hygd, to whom Beowulf recounts his adventures in Denmark. Beowulf then hands over most of his treasure to Hygelac, who, in turn, rewards him.
In time, Hygelac is killed in a war against the Shylfings, and, after Hygelac’s son dies, Beowulf ascends to the throne of the Geats. He rules wisely for fifty years, bringing prosperity to Geatland. When Beowulf is an old man, however, a thief disturbs a barrow, or mound, where a great dragon lies guarding a horde of treasure. Enraged, the dragon emerges from the barrow and begins unleashing fiery destruction upon the Geats. Sensing his own death approaching, Beowulf goes to fight the dragon. With the aid of Wiglaf, he succeeds in killing the beast, but at a heavy cost. The dragon bites Beowulf in the neck, and its fiery venom kills him moments after their encounter. The Geats fear that their enemies will attack them now that Beowulf is dead. According to Beowulf’s wishes, they burn their departed king’s body on a huge funeral pyre and then bury him with a massive treasure in a barrow overlooking the sea.

13 Nisan 2014 Pazar

Frankenstein

Frankenstein
In a series of letters, Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole, recounts to his sister back in England the progress of his dangerous mission. Successful early on, the mission is soon interrupted by seas full of impassable ice. Trapped, Walton encounters Victor Frankenstein, who has been traveling by dog-drawn sledge across the ice and is weakened by the cold. Walton takes him aboard ship, helps nurse him back to health, and hears the fantastic tale of the monster that Frankenstein created.
Victor first describes his early life in Geneva. At the end of a blissful childhood spent in the company of Elizabeth Lavenza (his cousin in the 1818 edition, his adopted sister in the 1831 edition) and friend Henry Clerval, Victor enters the university of Ingolstadt to study natural philosophy and chemistry. There, he is consumed by the desire to discover the secret of life and, after several years of research, becomes convinced that he has found it.
Armed with the knowledge he has long been seeking, Victor spends months feverishly fashioning a creature out of old body parts. One climactic night, in the secrecy of his apartment, he brings his creation to life. When he looks at the monstrosity that he has created, however, the sight horrifies him. After a fitful night of sleep, interrupted by the specter of the monster looming over him, he runs into the streets, eventually wandering in remorse. Victor runs into Henry, who has come to study at the university, and he takes his friend back to his apartment. Though the monster is gone, Victor falls into a feverish illness.
Sickened by his horrific deed, Victor prepares to return to Geneva, to his family, and to health. Just before departing Ingolstadt, however, he receives a letter from his father informing him that his youngest brother, William, has been murdered. Grief-stricken, Victor hurries home. While passing through the woods where William was strangled, he catches sight of the monster and becomes convinced that the monster is his brother’s murderer. Arriving in Geneva, Victor finds that Justine Moritz, a kind, gentle girl who had been adopted by the Frankenstein household, has been accused. She is tried, condemned, and executed, despite her assertions of innocence. Victor grows despondent, guilty with the knowledge that the monster he has created bears responsibility for the death of two innocent loved ones.
Hoping to ease his grief, Victor takes a vacation to the mountains. While he is alone one day, crossing an enormous glacier, the monster approaches him. The monster admits to the murder of William but begs for understanding. Lonely, shunned, and forlorn, he says that he struck out at William in a desperate attempt to injure Victor, his cruel creator. The monster begs Victor to create a mate for him, a monster equally grotesque to serve as his sole companion.
Victor refuses at first, horrified by the prospect of creating a second monster. The monster is eloquent and persuasive, however, and he eventually convinces Victor. After returning to Geneva, Victor heads for England, accompanied by Henry, to gather information for the creation of a female monster. Leaving Henry in Scotland, he secludes himself on a desolate island in the Orkneys and works reluctantly at repeating his first success. One night, struck by doubts about the morality of his actions, Victor glances out the window to see the monster glaring in at him with a frightening grin. Horrified by the possible consequences of his work, Victor destroys his new creation. The monster, enraged, vows revenge, swearing that he will be with Victor on Victor’s wedding night.
Later that night, Victor takes a boat out onto a lake and dumps the remains of the second creature in the water. The wind picks up and prevents him from returning to the island. In the morning, he finds himself ashore near an unknown town. Upon landing, he is arrested and informed that he will be tried for a murder discovered the previous night. Victor denies any knowledge of the murder, but when shown the body, he is shocked to behold his friend Henry Clerval, with the mark of the monster’s fingers on his neck. Victor falls ill, raving and feverish, and is kept in prison until his recovery, after which he is acquitted of the crime.
Shortly after returning to Geneva with his father, Victor marries Elizabeth. He fears the monster’s warning and suspects that he will be murdered on his wedding night. To be cautious, he sends Elizabeth away to wait for him. While he awaits the monster, he hears Elizabeth scream and realizes that the monster had been hinting at killing his new bride, not himself. Victor returns home to his father, who dies of grief a short time later. Victor vows to devote the rest of his life to finding the monster and exacting his revenge, and he soon departs to begin his quest.
Victor tracks the monster ever northward into the ice. In a dogsled chase, Victor almost catches up with the monster, but the sea beneath them swells and the ice breaks, leaving an unbridgeable gap between them. At this point, Walton encounters Victor, and the narrative catches up to the time of Walton’s fourth letter to his sister.
Walton tells the remainder of the story in another series of letters to his sister. Victor, already ill when the two men meet, worsens and dies shortly thereafter. When Walton returns, several days later, to the room in which the body lies, he is startled to see the monster weeping over Victor. The monster tells Walton of his immense solitude, suffering, hatred, and remorse. He asserts that now that his creator has died, he too can end his suffering. The monster then departs for the northernmost ice to die.

Persuasion

Persuasion

Persuasion, Sir Walter Elliot'un en sevdiği kitap Baronetcy'den aktarıldığı gibi Elliot ailesinin kısa bir geçmişiyle başlar. Elliotların saygın, tanınmış ve toprak sahibi bir aile olduğunun farkındayız. Leydi Elliot, Sir Walter'ın karısı on dört yıl önce öldü ve eşini üç kız çocuğu ile bıraktı: Elizabeth, Anne ve Mary. Hem Elizabeth hem de Anne bekardı, fakat en genç olan Mary, Charles Musgrove adında zengin bir adamla evliydi ve yakınlarda yaşar.. Sir Walter aileyi büyük bir borç batağına sürükledi. Güvenilir bir aile danışmanı olan Lady Russell, Elliotların harcamalarının düşürülmesini önerdiğinde, Sir Walter dehşete düştü. O sade bir hayat geçirmenin katlanılmaz olduğunu düşünüyordu. Elliotlar, başka seçenekleri olmadığı için, masraflarının daha kolay karşılayabilecekleri bir eve taşınmaları gerektiğine karar verdiler. Aile mülkü olan Kellych Hall'ı kiralamak istiyorlardı.

Evlerini kiralamak için mükemmel bir kiracı buldular; Amiral ve Bayan Croft, model evliliği olan zengin ve iyi huylu Deniz Kuvvetlerine mensup insanlardır. Bay Walter, Amiral'in iyi görünüşlü bir adam olduğundan rahatladı.Ortanca kız olan Anne Elliot, Crofts'larla tanıştıkları için çok mutlu oluyor çünkü sevdiği adam Mrs. Croft'un erkek kardeşidir. Sekiz yıl önce Yüzbaşı Frederick Wentworth'le evlenecekti ama Lady Russell, Yüzbaşı Wentworth'ün yeterince yüksek bir mertebede olmadığına onu ikna etti ve Anne bu ilişkiyi durdurdu. Crofts'larla beraber Yüzbaşı Wentwor'u tekrar gereceği için çok heyecanlıydı.

Sir Walter, Elizabeth ve Bayan Clay (ailenin dul, biraz daha alt sınıf bir dostu) Bath'a gidiyordu. Anne kız kardeşi Mary ile Uppercross Cottage'ta iki aylık bir süre boyunca kalmaya devam ediyordu. Mary sık sık şikayet eder ve Anne kız kardeşinin endişelerini dinlerdi. Uppercross'ta, Anne Musgrove ailesini kesinlikle hoş buluyordu. Bay ve Bayan Musgrove'un üç yetişkin çocuğu vardı: Charles (Mary'nin kocası), Henrietta ve Louisa. Anne, hane halkının hareketli doğasına ve Musgroves'in çocukları için açık şevkine hayret eder. Yakında haber, Kaptan Wentworth'un denizden döndüğü ve kız kardeşiyle birlikte Kellynch'te kaldığı geliyor. Kaptan Wentworth, Bay Musgrove ile arkadaş olur ve Uppercross'ta günlük ziyaretçi olur. İlk önce uzun bir süre sonra onu tekrar görmek endişe uyandırır, ancak ona karşı gerçekleştirdiği eylemler sadece müstakil ve naziktir. Henrietta ve Louisa Musgrove'a daha çok vurulmuş görünüyor. Anne, Kaptan Wentworth'un sonsuza dek kaybettiğini düşünerek istifa eder.

Yüzbaşı Wentworth, arkadaşlarının Harvilles'lerini ziyaret etmek için Lyme'ye bir gezi önerir. Onlar oradayken, iyi görünümlü bir beyefendi Anne'i alır; Daha sonra bu adamın Anne'nin kuzeni Bay Elliot ve Kellynch'in Sir Walter'ın varisi olduğunu keşfederler. Grup sahilde sabah yürüyüşüne çıkmaya karar verir. Louisa Musgrove kötü bir düşüşe ve bilinçsiz çaldı. Anne düz bir başkan tutar ve elinden gelen her şeyi yaparak Louisa'ya bakar. Doktor Louisa'nın iyileşeceğini belirler ancak birkaç ay boyunca Lyme'de kalması gerekecektir. Kaptan Wentworth Louisa'nın düşüşünden kendisini sorumlu tutuyor ve Musgrove ailesine yardım etmeye çalışıyor. Anne, Bay ve Bayan Musgrove'un küçük çocuklar için bakım yapmalarına yardımcı olmak için Uppercross'a geri döner. Birkaç hafta sonra, Lady Russell ile birlikte kalmaya çalışıyor.

Noel sonrasında, Lady Russell ve Anne, Bath'taki Elliot ailesinin geri kalanına Anne'in dehşetine kadar katılmaları gerektiğine karar verdiler. Efendim Walter ve Elizabeth onunla ilgilenmiyor, ama Bath'a gelmesinden memnundular. Bath'ta resmi olarak bir zamanlar uzlaşmış amcası Sir Walter ile barış içinde bulunan kuzeni Bay Elliot'a tanıtıldı. Her ne kadar Bay Elliot'un ani özürleri için verdiği motivasyonları sorarsa da onu hoşa düşüren bir beyefendi olarak kabul eder. Bay Elliot, Anne'den olağanüstü derecede minnettar ve yakında karısı olmaya çalıştığını açıkça belli ediyor. Bath'ta iken Anne yakınlarda dul bırakılan ve zor zamanlara düşen eski bir okul arkadaşı Bayan Smith ile tekrar tanınıyor. Bayan Smith'den Anne Bay Elliot'un gizli geçmişi hakkında bilgi sahibi; Bayan Smith'i kötü muamele gördüğünü ve Anne ile evlenmeyi, Kellynch baronetcy'nin tek mirasçı olmasını sağlamak için evlenmeyi planladığını öğrendi. Bay Elliot, Bay Walter'ın Bayan Clay ile evleneceğinden, bir oğlu olmasından ve dolayısıyla unvanından mahrum kalmasından korkuyor. Sir Walter'ın varisinin kalmasını sağlamak için plan yapıyor. Anne bu haberi duymaktan korkuyor.

Crofts, iki angajmanın haberi ile Bath'a gelir; Henrietta kuzeni Charles Hayter ile evlenecek ve Louisa, iyileşmekte iken Lyme'de görüştüğü Yüzbaşı Benwick ile evlenecek. Anne, Kaptan Wentworth'un Louisa'ya söz vermediğinden ve bir kez daha özgür olduğunda çok sevindi. Kaptan Wentworth yakında Bath'a varacak. Sekiz yıl önce olduğundan çok daha zengin bir adam ve Sir Walter gönülsüzce onu sosyal çevrelerine kabul ediyor. Wentworth kıskanç büyür, çünkü Anne kuzenine Bay Elliot'a bağlı olduğunu düşünüyor. Yine de Anne'ye, onun için gerçek, sürekli ve sürekli sevgisini anlatan bir aşk mektubu yazıyor. Anne heyecanlanıyor ve meşgul oluyorlar. Bay Elliot, Anne ile evlenmeyi planladığı için şaşkına döndü. O ve bayan. Clay Bath bırak; Birlikte oldukları söylentileri vardır. Sir Walter'ın istasyonunun altında evleneceği herhangi bir tehlike artık yok. Efendi Walter ve Lady Russell, Anne ve Yüzbaşı Wentworth arasındaki evlilik için onay verirler.

Peter Pan

Peter Pan


Peter Pan opens in London, in the home of the slightly eccentric, but typical, Darling family. Mr. and Mrs. Darling worry about paying the bills, and cut corners to make ends meet. Hence the childrens’ nurse, Nana, a Newfoundland dog who cares for Wendy, John and little Michael as they sleep, watching them protectively from her kennel in the nursery.

But who is this Peter Pan of whom the children speak? Surely he must be a figment of their imagination, appearing only in dreams? Yet to Mrs. Darling, the name brings with it a nagging sensation of youthful memories, long since muddied by adulthood.

One evening Mrs. Darling dreams of a place called the Neverland and a strange boy who never grows up. Startled, she awakes to find him before her. Mrs. Darling’s cry alerts Nana who barges into the room and slams shut the window; the boy narrowly escapes through it, leaving behind his trapped shadow.


Peter returns for his shadow and this time meets Wendy, who sews it back on for him. The cocky but lovable Peter invites Wendy, John and Michael to the Neverland, teaching them to fly and guiding them over the oceans to this fantastical realm of fairies, mermaids and redskins. There, Wendy enthusiastically takes up the role of chiding but loving mother to Peter and his young companions, the lost boys, in their underground home.

But not everything is perfect in the Neverland. Capt. James Hook, an educated but dastardly pirate, is Peter Pan’s archnemesis and is set on his destruction. He is hampered in his dreadful course only by his fear of a crocodile that once ate one of his arms and now wants the rest of him. Hook knows when the crocodile is near thanks to the ticking clock in its belly.

While Wendy contends with the jealousy of the Pan-possessive fairy Tinker Bell, Peter and the boys have plenty of blood-soaked adventures, and even daringly rescue the redskin princess Tiger Lily from Hook’s men. But eventually Hook succeeds in capturing all the children except their everyoung leader. It is up toPeter Pan to rescue his friends, dispatch the pirates and settle things once and for all with Capt. James Hook.
While Mr. and Mrs. Darling remain inconsolable and heartbroken, their “gay and innocent and heartless” children become so ensconced in their adventures that they begin to forget their family. But it is only Peter Pan who never grows up; in the end, Wendy, John, Michael and the lost boys find their way home. It will be for future generations of lucky children to keep Peter company in the Neverland.