Melissa Emanoilidis's blog

Week Seven Response - Upstaging the Author: Illustrating Tragedy in One Act

Submitted by Melissa Emanoilidis on

This week, when analyzing Oscar Wilde's Salome, illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley, I was very drawn into the representation of woman and the incorporation of the moon. When looking at the image that Patricia had presented, "The Woman in the Moon", it provided me with some initial insight on the meaning behind the two figures. While it is clear to see that one of the figures is a man because is he presented nude, the other figure is fully clothed, which can cause room for speculation that perhaps this is a woman.

Week Six Response - Illustrated Detective Fiction

Submitted by Melissa Emanoilidis on

In the popular Sherlock Holmes series image, text and context worked together to convey character interactions that help the reader to better understand the scene. When looking specifically at the story The Adventure of the Speckled Band, the black and white illustrations held several similarities that displayed the crime scenes and characters. They worked together to also show perhaps the social class of the characters, family life, and the race. The illustrations all depict specific moments in the narrative, allowing readers to better understand expressions and reactions to the scene.

Week Five Response - PICTURING POETRY IN CONTEXT: GOBLIN MARKET

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What interested me this week when exploring Goblin Market once again was the wide range of variations of the text. I specifically focused on the illustrations that were done by George Gershinwitz in "The Chlldren's Rossetti," Christina Rossetti and Illustration. I learned particularly in my edition that the themes were originally aimed for children, but due to their erotic themes they were then more marketed towards adults. This surprised me due to the common assumption that picture books would be produced for a younger demographic.

Week Four Response - Picturing Poetry in Context

Submitted by Melissa Emanoilidis on

Specifically looking at The Moxon Tennyson (1857) that contained the illustrated image by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, it was quite dark to me. The image looked quite medival while Lancelot finds the Lady’s dead body and stands over her. This particular image helped me with better understanding the innocence that the Lady carries. The symbolism of her purity and femininity is shown here through the setting. The water and swans show her delicance as well as her body being placed so graciously.

Week Three Response - Image/Text/Context: Analyzing Christmas Past, Present, and To Come

Submitted by Melissa Emanoilidis on

What particularly interested me the most about annotating Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol was reading the textual version of the story. When reading the graphic novel, I was able to visualize what events were happening but was not even as much of an in-depth analysis of the text. This way, I was able to consider specific sentences and words that were used in a deeper way, allowing me to see more characterization, themes, and settings. This method of reading the text also helped me understand John Leech’s illustrations.

Week Two - Reading Victorian Illustrated Books in Context

Submitted by Melissa Emanoilidis on

            I was surprised when exploring through the Victorian Illustrated books in class to find the variety of genres that they can expand to. Specifically, for the book I focused on, The House of Joy, I was intrigued to find out that it focused on adult fairytales, which is something that I would assume to be most likely intended for a younger audience, if produced today. It was interesting to see that each story began with an illustrated image, which improved my reading experience by placing a picture to help support my vision of the characters and setting.

Week One Response - September 10th

Submitted by Melissa Emanoilidis on

Today, being reintroduced to Victorian literature in the form of Illustrated books was refreshing as an English major. I am looking forward to furthering my knowledge on literature during this particular time period, and especially to be joined once again with Lorraine Janzen for another semester. What particularly intrigued me about today's introduction is how we will be able to analyze numerous Victorian Illustrated texts through different lenses.

Week One Response - September 10th

Submitted by Melissa Emanoilidis on

Today, being reintroduced to Victorian literature in the form of Illustrated books was refreshing as an English major. I am looking forward to furthering my knowledge on literature during this particular time period, and especially to be joined once again with Lorraine Janzen for another semester. What particularly intrigued me about today's introduction is how we will be able to analyze numerous Victorian Illustrated texts through different lenses.

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