The Man in the Mask

Opening theme -Webber

Leroux's creation finally comes to life.

AP Question Answers

The Mystery of the Yellow Room

1.       The word “atone” refers to:  A. Mlls Stangerson disobeyed her father previously; which she explains within this prose and then the word in context means to make amends with her father.

I.       Correct: Mlls Stangerson trying to make amends with her father.

II.      Incorrect because Jean Roussel does not care about anything except for getting Mlls Stangerson back or taking revenge on her leaving him; he does not care about getting reconciled.

III.       Incorrect because Mlls Stangerson’s father does not have a name for her to live up to as far as one can tell from the prose.

IV.      Incorrect because the definition of “atone” is either to make amends or to live up to, not to love.

V.      Incorrect because Mlls Stangerson does want to forget about her disobedience; however that is not what “atone” means.

2.       This prose includes all of the following except: D. Metaphor because the whole purpose to this prose is for Leroux to allow Rouletabille to explain how the mystery summed up and why everything happened.

I.      Incorrect because there are examples of elevated diction such as: “resuscitated” and “succumbed”.

II.      Incorrect because there is a wide variation of sentence structures throughout this prose.

III.       Incorrect because the “Louisville home” is being personified.

IV.      Correct: Metaphor

V.      Incorrect because hyperbole is an exaggeration and Leroux uses words such as: “condemned” and “demanding” to illuminate how important these situations may be.

3.       The use of polysyllabic diction is used to emphasize Leroux’s attitude towards the characters of the novel. Which of the following are examples of this elevated diction? The Answer is iv because both I and II include words that are elevated and polysyllabic such as: “Succumbed”, “outwitted” and “scoundrel”.

                                I.            “He was outwitted and would have succumbed had it not been for the genius of Rouletabille.”

                              II.            “The scoundrel pretended…”

This choice is incorrect because beautiful and charming are everyday words used in any situation, nothing truly elevated about them, or polysyllabic; they are on the lower syllable side of all the polysyllabic words to choose.

                            III.            “The first hours of their union in their beautiful and charming Louisville home.”

                                                               i.      I

                                                             ii.      III

                                                            iii.      II

                                                           iv.      I and II

                                                             v.      II and III

4.       What does Mlls. Stangerson plan to do if her father finds out about her running away with a past suitor? The correct answer is V. This statement is obviously stated in the prose.

                                I.            Incorrect because she does not say she will cry

                              II.            Incorrect because she wants her father to forgive her as if he knew; not to kill her father

                            III.            Incorrect because Jean Roussell, her past suitor is the problem and she has no way of killing him.

                            IV.            Incorrect because she does not want to live without her father or Robert Darzac

                              V.            Correct: Commit suicide

5.       The segment of: “all this she had confessed to Robert Darzac…that he still loved her.” Serves to: III because the entire prose talks of the crime and how the solution makes sense.

                                I.            Incorrect because there is no foreshadow what is to come, as this is the end of the mystery.

                              II.            Incorrect because there is both no way to tell that the audience previously knew any of this and this is all being explained; makes no sense to explain something twice.

                            III.            Correct: Provide an explanation to the horrendous acts that caused such a mystery to be solved.

                            IV.            Incorrect because Mlls. Stangerson may have wanted to repent her sins and be forgiven, however that is not what that specific section is centered on.

                              V.            Incorrect because Mlls. Stangerson got over her other lover who turned out to be the an enraged violent man.

AP Question Answers

Poem

1.       The Correct choice is B. The context before these lines uses the word “dungeon” this word provides the audience with the negative relationship the Soul feels towards the body.

a.       Incorrect because the Soul is not literally bolted to the Body, knowing that this entire piece is full of metaphors and is an allegory because the soul and the body don’t really speak with each other.

b.      Correct: a metaphor of illuminating how the Body is binding the Soul inside.

c.       Incorrect because there are no literary devices to support that there is foreshadowing going on and the body and soul do not seem very hopeful through the tone.

d.      Incorrect because the Soul is explaining how the Body is binding and confining it from being it’s true form and they are metaphorical handcuffs

e.      Incorrect because the Soul and the Body are not agreeing throughout this poem and it reinforces the Soul’s frustration and anger of being stuck in the Body; not it’s love towards it.

2.       The word “Employs” refers to the Soul’s devotion to preserving its greatness in hopes that one day it many no longer be confined to the body.

a.       Incorrect because this poem has nothing to do with giving someone a job.

b.      Incorrect because the Soul is taking this role upon themselves not putting a job upon someone.

c.       Incorrect because the Soul just cares about itself and is not using a care as a legit tool, just a concept, so it can have hope.

d.      Correct: Devoting all the Soul’s care into preserving itself.

e.      Incorrect because the Soul’s care is very focused on one thing; wanting to be freed from the body’s bounds; therefore it has no parts underneath it.

3.       The Soul and the Body conversing establishes all of the following except: C. The body doesn’t feel as though it has the opportunity to be free, in thought, to make its own decisions.

a.       Incorrect because this statement is true based on the Body confining the Soul, therefore, control over the Soul.

b.      Incorrect because the Soul does lack freedom, as the body confines it from being free.

c.       Correct: The Body’s ability to do what it desires.

d.      Incorrect because the Soul’s constriction on the decisions of the Body is there; the body cannot think for itself.

e.      Incorrect because the Soul has set the Body up for future struggles it may face; the only problem the body has with this is that it feels like it never got to witness these struggles and its life was lived for it by the Soul.

4.       “And ready oft the port to gain,/ Am shipwreck’d into health again” is an example of a: D Metaphor because the Soul is not truly shipwrecked it only feel this way and says that to describe its feelings.

a.       Incorrect because a simile compares two things using like or as and this quote does not.

b.      Incorrect because a hyperbole is an over exaggeration of something and this is not exaggerating.

c.       Incorrect because alliteration is when there are multiple words in the same sentence with the same starting consonant.

d.      Correct: Metaphor

e.      Incorrect because onomatopoeia is used to describe something normal through one sensory details.

5.        The imprisonment that the Soul is feeling from the Body is illuminated though both I and II, therefore the answer is V.

a.        “What magic could me thus confine/ Within another’s grief to pine?”

b.      “Constrain’d not only to endure”

Both of the above answers are correct because they both deal with the Soul being confined in the body and unable to move forward because it is stuck inside the body.

c.       This choice is not correct because it is the Body saying that it is going into an abyss of it’s own and it wishes that it could live a free and happy life like in the dreams it dreams of in that specific place. “That mine own precipice I go;”

Therefore:

                                                               i.      I -incorrect

                                                             ii.      II -incorrect

                                                            iii.      III -incorrect

                                                           iv.      I and III -Incorrect

                                                             v.      I and II -correct

Theme shows through; "Down once more/Track down this murderer" -Webber

MOST IMPORTANT!
This song is: "Down once more/Track down this murderer"
Director: Andrew Lloyd Webber
-This anger the Phantom shows towards Raoul is expressed along with his dark side being unable to budge. The Phantom sings:

"This face - the infection which poisons our love ... This face, which earned a mother's fear and loathing ... A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing ... Pity comes too late - turn around and face your fate: an eternity of this before your eyes!

CHRISTINE:This haunted face holds no horror for me now ... It's in your soul that the true distortion lies ... 

PHANTOM:Wait! I think, my dear, we have a guest!Sir, this is indeed an unparalleled delight! I had rather hoped that you would come. And now my wish comes true - you have truly made my night!

RAOUL:Free her! Do what you like only free her! Have you no pity?

PHANTOM:Your lover makes a passionate plea! 

CHRISTINE:Please Raoul, it's useless!

RAOUL:I love her! Does that mean nothing? I love her! Show some compassion ... 

PHANTOM:The world showed no compassion to me!"(Phantom of the Opera Cast/ST Lyrics)

"The mirror/angel of music" -Webber

"The mirror/angel of music"
Director: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Based off of Gaston Leroux's novel
-This scene illuminates the phantom's darker side, and Christine's oblivious state to his evil ideas when she hears his voice.

"Angel of Music" -Webber

"Angel of Music" scene:

Director: Andrew Lloyd Webber

Based on: Gaston Leroux's novel

"The Phantom of the Opera" 1925 (Silent Film)

Original silent film:
Director: Carla Laemmle
- from Gaston Leroux's original novel

AP Answers: Poetry

1. II.
2.IV.
3.III.
4.IV.
5.V

"A Dialogue Between the Soul and the Body"

ANDREW MARVELL

SOUL

O who shall, from this dungeon, raise

A soul enslav’d so many ways?

With bolts of bones, that fetter’d stands

In feet, and manacled in hands;

Here blinded with an eye, and there

Deaf with the drumming of an ear;

A soul hung up, as ’twere, in chains

Of nerves, and arteries, and veins;

Tortur’d, besides each other part,

In a vain head, and double heart.

BODY

O who shall me deliver whole

From bonds of this tyrannic soul?

Which, stretch’d upright, impales me so

That mine own precipice I go;

And warms and moves this needless frame,

(A fever could but do the same)

And, wanting where its spite to try,

Has made me live to let me die.

A body that could never rest,

Since this ill spirit it possest.

SOUL

What magic could me thus confine

Within another’s grief to pine?

Where whatsoever it complain,

I feel, that cannot feel, the pain;

And all my care itself employs;

That to preserve which me destroys;

Constrain’d not only to endure

Diseases, but, what’s worse, the cure;

And ready oft the port to gain,

Am shipwreck’d into health again.

BODY

But physic yet could never reach

The maladies thou me dost teach;

Whom first the cramp of hope does tear,

And then the palsy shakes of fear;

The pestilence of love does heat,

Or hatred’s hidden ulcer eat;

Joy’s cheerful madness does perplex,

Or sorrow’s other madness vex;

Which knowledge forces me to know,

And memory will not forego.

What but a soul could have the wit

To build me up for sin so fit?

So architects do square and hew

Green trees that in the forest grew.

"The Burden of Time"

FREDERICK GEORGE SCOTT

Before the seas and mountains were brought forth,

I reigned. I hung the universe in space,

I capped earth's poles with ice to South and North,

And set the moving tides their bounds and place.

I smoothed the granite mountains with my hand,

My fingers gave the continents their form;

I rent the heavens and loosed upon the land

The fury of the whirlwind and the storm.

I stretched the dark sea like a nether sky

Fronting the stars between the ice-clad zones;

I gave the deep his thunder; the Most High

Knows well the voice that shakes His mountain thrones.

I trod the ocean caverns black as night,

And silent as the bounds of outer space,

And where great peaks rose darkly towards the light

I planted life to root and grow apace.

Then through a stillness deeper than the grave's,

The coral spires rose slowly one by one,

Until the white shafts pierced the upper waves

And shone like silver in the tropic sun.

I ploughed with glaciers down the mountain glen,

And graved the iron shore with stream and tide;

I gave the bird her nest, the lion his den,

The snake long jung~le-grass wherein to hide.

In lonely gorge and over hill and plain,

I sowed the giant forests of the world;

The great earth like a human heart in pain

Has quivered with the meteors I have hurled.

I plunged whole continents beneath the deep,

And left them sepulchred a million years;

I called, and lo, the drowned lands rose from sleep,

Sundering the waters of the hemispheres.

I am the lord and arbiter of man --

I hold and crush between my finger-tips

Wild hordes that drive the desert caravan,

Great nations that go down to sea in ships.

In sovereign scorn I tread the races down,

As each its puny destiny fulfils,

On plain and island, or where huge cliffs frown,

Wrapt in the deep thought of the ancient hills.

The wild sea searches vainly round the land

For those proud fleets my arm has swept away;

Vainly the wind along the desert sand

Calls the great names of kings who once held sway.

Yea, Nineveh and Babylon the great

Are fallen -- like ripe ears at harvest-tide;

I set my heel upon their pomp and state,

The people's serfdom and the monarch's pride.

One doom waits all -- art, speech, law, gods, and men,

Forests and mountains, stars and shining sun, --

The hand that made them shall unmake again,

I curse them and they wither one by one.

Waste altars, tombs, dead cities where men trod,

Shall roll through space upon the darkened globe,

Till I myself be overthrown, and God

Cast off creation like an outworn robe.

AP Questions: Prose

The Mystery of the Yellow Room

1.       The word “atone” refers to:

                                I.            Mlls Stangerson trying to make amends with her father.

                              II.            Jean Roussel becoming reconciled.

                            III.            Mlls Stangerson trying to live up to her father’s name.

                            IV.            Jean Roussel’s love for Mlls Stangerson.

                              V.            Mlls Stangerson wants to forget about her disobedience.

2.       This prose includes all of the following except:

                                I.            Elevated diction

                              II.            Syntax

                            III.            Personification

                            IV.            Metaphor

                              V.            Hyperbole

3.       The use of polysyllabic diction is used to emphasize Leroux’s attitude towards the characters of the novel. Which of the following are examples of this elevated diction?

                                I.            “He was outwitted and would have succumbed had it not been for the genius of Rouletabille.”

                              II.            “The scoundrel pretended…”

                            III.            “The first hours of their union in their beautiful and charming Louisville home.”

                                                               i.      I

                                                             ii.      III

                                                            iii.      II

                                                           iv.      I and II

                                                             v.      II and III

4.       What does Mlls. Stangerson plan to do if her father finds out about her running away with a past suitor?

                                I.            Cry

                              II.            Kill her father

                            III.            Kill Jean Roussell, her past suitor

                            IV.            Run away again

                              V.            Commit suicide

5.       The segment of: “all this she had confessed to Robert Darzac…that he still loved her.” Serves to:

                                I.            Foreshadow what is to come.

                              II.            Remind the audience of what was previously explained.

                            III.            Provide an explanation to the horrendous acts that caused such a mystery to be solved.

                            IV.            Show how Mlls. Stangerson wanted to repent her sins and be forgiven.

                              V.            Explain how Mlls. Stangerson  got over her other lover. 

AP Questions: Poetry

“A Dialogue between the Soul and the Body”

1.       Lines 3-6 serve to

                                I.            Explain how the Soul is literally bolted to the Body.

                              II.            illuminate the metaphor of how the Body is binding the Soul inside.

                            III.            A form of foreshadowing on how the Body will forever bind the Soul.

                            IV.            Show imagery about how the Souls has hands and feet shaped handcuffs.

                              V.            To reinforce the Soul’s love of being in the Body.

2.       The word “Employs” refers to

                                I.            Giving someone a job.

                              II.            Putting a job upon someone.

                            III.            Using a care as a tool.

                            IV.            Devoting all the Soul’s care into preserving itself.

                              V.            The Soul’s care has parts underneath it.

3.       The Soul and the Body conversing establishes all of the following except:

                                I.            Control over the Soul.

                              II.            The Soul’s lack of freedom.

                            III.            The Body’s ability to do what it desires.

                            IV.            The constriction on the decisions of the Body.

                              V.            The understanding that the Soul has set the Body up for future struggles.

4.       “And ready oft the port to gain,/ Am shipwreck’d into health again” is an example of a:

                                I.            Simile

                              II.            Hyperbole

                            III.            Alliteration

                            IV.            Metaphor

                              V.            Onomatopoeia

5.        The imprisonment that the Soul is feeling from the Body is illuminated through which of these quotes:

                                I.             “What magic could me thus confine/ Within another’s grief to pine?”

                              II.            “Constrain’d not only to endure”

                            III.            “That mine own precipice I go;”

                                                               i.      I

                                                             ii.      II

                                                            iii.      III

                                                           iv.      I and III

                                                             v.      I and II

"The Mystery of the Yellow Room" Passage

“The young woman in her despair tried to commit suicide. She failed in

this, and was forced to rejoin her aunt in Cincinnati, The old lady was

overjoyed to see her again. She had been anxiously searching for her and

had not dared to tell Monsieur Stangerson of her disappearance. Mathilde

swore her to secrecy, so that her father should not know she had been

away. A month later, Mademoiselle Stangerson returned to her father,

repentant, her heart dead within her, hoping only one thing: that she

would never again see her husband, the horrible Ballmeyer. A report was

spread, a few weeks later, that he was dead, and she now determined

to atone for her disobedience by a life of labour and devotion for her

father. And she kept her word.

All this she had confessed to Robert Darzac, and, believing Ballmeyer

dead, had given herself to the joy of a union with him. But fate had

resuscitated Jean Roussel--the Ballmeyer of her youth. He had

taken steps to let her know that he would never allow her to marry

Darzac--that he still loved her.

Mademoiselle Stangerson never for one moment hesitated to confide in

Monsieur Darzac. She showed him the letter in which Jean Roussel asked

her to recall the first hours of their union in their beautiful and

charming Louisville home. "The presbytery has lost nothing of its charm,

nor the garden its brightness," he had written. The scoundrel pretended

to be rich and claimed the right of taking her back to Louisville. She

had told Darzac that if her father should know of her dishonour, she

would kill herself. Monsieur Darzac had sworn to silence her persecutor,

even if he had to kill him. He was outwitted and would have succumbed

had it not been for the genius of Rouletabille.

Mademoiselle Stangerson was herself helpless in the hands of such a

villain. She had tried to kill him when he had first threatened and then

attacked her in The Yellow Room. She had, unfortunately, failed, and

felt herself condemned to be for ever at the mercy of this unscrupulous

wretch who was continually demanding her presence at clandestine

interviews. When he sent her the letter through the Post Office, asking

her to meet him, she had refused. The result of her refusal was the

tragedy of The Yellow Room. The second time he wrote asking for a

meeting, the letter reaching her in her sick chamber, she had avoided

him by sleeping with her servants. In that letter the scoundrel had

warned her that, since she was too ill to come to him, he would come

to her, and that he would be in her chamber at a particular hour on

a particular night. Knowing that she had everything to fear from

Ballmeyer, she had left her chamber on that night. It was then that the

incident of the "inexplicable gallery" occurred.” (P.208-209)

"The Phantom of the Opera" Passage

“This scene was described to the examining-magistrate by the

count himself, who did not see Raoul again until that evening,

at the Opera, a few minutes before Christine's disappearance.

Raoul, in fact, devoted the whole day to his preparations for

the flight. The horses, the carriage, the coachman, the provisions,

the luggage, the money required for the journey, the road to be

taken (he had resolved not to go by train, so as to throw the ghost

off the scent): all this had to be settled and provided for;

and it occupied him until nine o'clock at night.

At nine o'clock, a sort of traveling-barouche with the curtains of its

windows close-down, took its place in the rank on the Rotunda side.

It was drawn by two powerful horses driven by a coachman whose

face was almost concealed in the long folds of a muffler.

In front of this traveling-carriage were three broughams,

belonging respectively to Carlotta, who had suddenly returned to Paris,

to Sorelli and, at the head of the rank, to Comte Philippe de Chagny.

No one left the barouche. The coachman remained on his box,

and the three other coachmen remained on theirs.

A shadow in a long black cloak and a soft black felt hat passed along

the pavement between the Rotunda and the carriages, examined the barouche

carefully, went up to the horses and the coachman and then moved away

without saying a word, The magistrate afterward believed that this

shadow was that of the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny; but I do not agree,

seeing that that evening, as every evening, the Vicomte de Chagny

was wearing a tall hat, which hat, besides, was subsequently found.

I am more inclined to think that the shadow was that of the ghost,

who knew all about the whole affair, as the reader will soon perceive.

They were giving FAUST, as it happened, before a splendid house.

The Faubourg was magnificently represented; and the paragraph

in that morning's EPOQUE had already produced its effect, for all

eyes were turned to the box in which Count Philippe sat alone,

apparently in a very indifferent and careless frame of mind.

The feminine element in the brilliant audience seemed curiously puzzled;

and the viscount's absence gave rise to any amount of whispering

behind the fans. Christine Daae met with a rather cold reception.

That special audience could not forgive her for aiming so high.

The singer noticed this unfavorable attitude of a portion

of the house and was confused by it.” (P. 149-150).

"A Dialogue Between the Soul and the Body" Poem Analysis

In Andrew Marvell’s lyrical poem “A Dialogue between the Soul and the Body”, Marvell’s use of punctuation, metaphor, and his form of melodic diction contributes to the overall flow of the piece, with a constant regurgitation about how the body and soul work together or apart; to achieve the explanation of emotion’s play on the mind.
Marvell has each new stanza as the opposite point of view. First it’s the SOUL then it’s the BODY, this pattern continues on throughout in order to show both points of view on how they react to each other. Marvell’s use of metaphors are mainly when the mind is talking, it feels as though it is trapped inside the body, “With bolts of bones, that fetter’d stands [I]n feet, and manacled in hands” (3-4). The word “bolts” as well as “manacled” both give off a negative connotation, while his hands and feet are not really bolted or handcuffed this is how he feels. Then moving forward it seems that the “soul [is] hung up, as ‘twere, in chains” (7), alluding to the soul feeling like he cannot take control of the actions and that he is just the brain and heart of the operation. The body believes that the “physic yet could never reach” (31) because “The maladies thou me dost teach” (32). He cannot obtain what he wants because the soul is holding him back by teaching him about the hurt and troubles of illness before letting him learn them on his own through experience. This experience can only be gained by the body or soul overtime, but seeing as the soul has his own mind and emotions, he never experiences the feelings he wishes he could.
The complication between the mind and the emotions play into this poem through the body and the soul’s conversation because even when the soul wants something done the body thinks it’s hopeless, as from his own perspective, “wanting where its spite to try [H]as made me live to let me die.” (17-18). The word “spite” in this instance is adding to the idea of hopelessness because the body is saying that it’s pointless to want something, only to explain on the next line that if you try and want something you will be happy for a moment, then be crushed the next. Marvell’s use of diction for this specific quote illuminates how bitter his tone is towards the soul because the soul and the body hardly work together throughout this poem. However, at the end the body sort of comes to a realization that the soul has “buil[t him] up for sin so fit”(42). As he sins he sees the emotional toll the soul puts upon the body, but it has prepared him. Now as time goes on and he grows up, the body relates his life in the metaphor that, “So architects do square and hew [G]reen trees that in the forest grew” (43-42), all he is saying here is that trees grow organically, but architects build things, and in this case the architect is building the tree; the architect symbolizes the soul, while the tree symbolizes the body. The body sees he is being shaped into whatever the soul wishes to shape him as because in his inability to make his own mistakes and learn from them, the soul knows too much and the body is practically being made by design.
The theme that I have connected to this poem and my two novels is emotions effect on rationality. As is shown throughout The Phantom of the Opera the Phantom is jealous of Raoul because he is in love with Christine and the phantom thinks she should only be his, even though she doesn't really love the phantom. This jealousy over powers what is right and contributes to the phantoms horrendous actions upon the members of the opera house. His Emotions get the best of him and cause him to be the villain, when he really only loved Christine and his underlying goal was to have her love him too. I used Marvell's poem because he talks about how the body and the soul don’t work together because knowledge can shape a person’s view of life, while wants, hopes, and emotions can make a person ill, or as he said, “The maladies thou me dost teach; [W]hom first the cramp of hope does tear.” (32-33) The phantom is unable to see the hope of having Christine as his own, because he had such a horrible past and the only world he knows is one of pain. His lack of hope mixed with his awareness of the lovesick state contributes to his emotion-filled actions.
For The Mystery of the Yellow Room jealousy is said to be the emotion that is causing the murderer to come after Mlls Stangerson. They had a past together where they loved each other but her father didn't approve. Most likely the murderer has the mid set that if he couldn't have her, the no one could, because coincidentally this murder mystery began to occur after Mlls Stangerson said that she would marry Robert Darzac. The connection to Oldfield's poem is when she brings up that emotions must be equal with reasoning in order for a person to be rational about a situation, which the murderer is not. however, Mlls Stangerson is lucky that Joseph Rouletabille is able to have his "heart and head/ Try[ing] to share a bed" (Oldfield) so that there is a smart and reasonable person able to solve the mystery that is threatening her life.

"The Burden of Time" Poem Analysis

Throughout Frederick George Scott’s poem “The Burden of Time”, Scott’s use of personification, hyperbole and pastoral language indicates how a life is built through the knowledge a person gains overtime, rather than getting stuck being unable to live up to a higher power; God.
Scott exemplifies the ability mankind has to create an amazing world through hard work and time. Specific examples of Scott’s piece express that he is able to personify nature’s elements with overall a pretty positive connotation. One for instance, when the speaker “gave the deep his thunder; the Most High [K]nows well the voice that shakes His mountain thrones.”(11-12), the audience sees the ocean as a person, it’s just as important as the humans on earth, according to this line. The emphasis of this personification is so that nature can also grow in experience, just as in the smaller picture: people grow every day. As well as the larger picture: God made the world one step at a time.
Scott’s writing style is unique in this poem because it reads as if it is a detailed story. The speaker says that they “hung the universe in space” (2), this is almost a connection to hanging a picture on the wall just because he chose to use the word “hung”. This goes on throughout the poem in its entirety because when the speaker brings up creating anything Scott chooses his verbs to be at the beginning of the line causing the
perspective of the listener to change as now instead of just seeing the mountains or the seas the listener sees how those things came to be. When he “capped earth’s poles with ice to South and North”, the action of capping shows how much larger he is in retrospect of the entire universe. This highlights the concept that in order to move forward in time one must fully understand their past because the past makes the future throughout time, as well as time helps those learn from their successes and their mistakes.
Time is prevalent throughout Frederick George Scott’s “The Burden of Time” as we see how God created everything but, everything started out as one small thing, and slowly but surely things kept getting added and eventually became The World. Connecting this to The Phantom of The Opera, the Phantom's past plays an important role in how he never learns how to let go. His only form of escape is through murderous acts and taking revenge on those who have made his goals unattainable, but he needs this escape because instead of time helping to heal his wounds it continuously reminds him of his past, therefore causing them to fester. Specifically in the poem when Scott mentions that "[O]n plain and island, or where huge cliffs frown, [W]rapt in the deep thought of the ancient hills" (Scott), we see that he is explaining how the world is being created from the object made before, the past. One cannot move forward without the past, which is why the Phantom cannot act more rational because he had such a harsh past.
This theme of time is less obvious throughout The Mystery of the Yellow Room, however it is still there. As the woman was severely injured in the beginning of the novel and then throughout the rest of the book a man named Joseph Rouletabille is said to be the investigator. He writes down all of the evidence and looks for clues to figure out how the man got into the yellow room if there was only one way in. He is also trying to find him because he is trying to murder Miss Stangerson. Throughout all of this there are multiple pieces to the puzzle that include times of when things occur such as when he asks, "At what time, M. Jacques, did M. Stangerson and Mlle Stangerson enter the laboratory?' 'At six o'clock."(45). This is only important because in order to figure out the sequence of events to solve the mystery Rouletabille must figure out how time plays a role in each action that took place before and after the murder. In Scotts poem the lines "[T]he hand that made them shall unmake again, [I] curse them and they wither one by one" (Scott), he is actually talking about the hands of God creating and being able to take away the creations, however this can be connected to Leroux idea of putting things together piece by piece. In order to figure out how everything came to be and how the murderer has gotten away with his actions the investigator must take the entire puzzle apart so that he can put it back together and find the solution.