Dracula 1st Post, Kianat Zamir, Period 3 Connector
This song is by Sirenia and it’s called “In My Darkest Hours”. I thought this comprised a pretty strong resemblance to Dracula. In chapters 1-7 we learn that Jonathan Harker has gone to meet Count Dracula and is held captive at his tower. He did not know that he was meeting Dracula, but the time he spends with him begins to get him suspicious. He fears Dracula and the time he is forced to spend with Dracula at his tower is probably the darkest time of his life thus far.
In your opinion in what ways can this song connect to the book Dracula and what do you think ‘winter’ and ‘morning star’ can mean when put in context with the book? Do you believe that Jonathan Harker is at the start of his darkest hours, or is he already facing them (meaning the time that he spends with Dracula)?
In My Darkest Hours
In my darkest of hours
I yearn for the light my life devours
winter’s at hand
In search of a key, a door, an endHear my voice, don’t quail inside the void
nor fear the sound of winter
Winds aroundin my darkest of nights
I yearn for the dawn to bring me alive
How to ascend?
While you hold the key that shield my end
Hear my voice, it’s calling on the dawn
Ascend to fall, but never to withdraw
nights…I hold them inside
I stand to fall, giving in on life as a whole
Winds of time…won’t mend my somber mind
I can’t deny that I’m on a closing way downMorning star
…shining from afar
your radiance diminish every day now
Evening star…you’ve lost your stalwart
Your skies endark
like my mind, my soul and my heartCome take my hand
and lead me on towards the end
The darkness in me
devours the strength I craved for all these years
These feelings I have never shown remain unknown
I really don’t know if I’m that strong…
These secrets I have held inside through all my life
I guess I’ll shield them till I die…
-Kianat Zamir
Sorry, felt like being colorful today!
Category: Connector 3 comments »
March 22nd, 2009 at 10:06 am
Well I can definitely tell you this much: The morning star is obviously Mina. She is the one that Jonathan thinks of the most and she is the symbol of hope for him. If he did not have her to think about, Jonathan might have given up as soon as he realized his was captured and caught.
The night on the other hand could be a great many people or even the Dracula castle itself. It is the object that holds all of the terrifying things in itself. Though Dracula might be the eclipse of the moon and make the night purely black, the night is already the castle which is housing the horrors that are vampires. Though this may be incorrect, you asked for my opinion and my opinion is what you have gained.
For your final question, I believe that he is in the middle of his darkest hours and has not yet faced the horrors ready to appear and harm. He should be more prepared than he is right now because thoughts of his fiance will not be able to distract even the strongest person from the pains of his death.
There is my response for you. I like the colors!
-Jenni
March 22nd, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I would say that the song describes Mina’s longing to see Jonathan again. She describes in the book how her life seems so empty without him. The darkest hour is probably the time that Jonathan spends with Dracula. I think the Jonathan is the morning star. Mina feels that as the days go by, she is feeling farther away from Jonathan. At this point in the story, I’m not sure what the winter nights might represent. Maybe they could represent another character or a certain struggle that will come at the end or the start of a journey. I don’t want to answer this yet. I want to read more and then make a comment.
-Brandon
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:45 pm
The first ‘verse’ or section of the song describes him being locked in the tower, and looking for anyway to get out. I connect the second section to Harker, calling out to Mina. He is saying “Hear my voice” I’m trying to reach out to you but I am locked up. The next part is like the winter nights that he has to go through. They are long, and cold, and he wants them to stop. I think that I relate the morning star to the day that he gets out of captivity. The next part, I can see where Jenny and Brandon say that it is Mina. He is refering to the morning star as a person. Either way, it is not related to the tower, he is longing to see something else, anything than these long winter nights. The song ends in a sad tone. He doesn’t know if he will be able to see Mina before he dies, or get out of being locked up. This is obvioulsy not the song’s meaning, but relating it to “Dracula” you can see the connection.
I think this was a very good connection to the text. This song really describes what Harker is going through while being locked up. The question you said about his darkest hours..I think that he is about to face them. He is learning a lot about Dracula, and can see that he is in for a treat. I think that Dracula will enjoy this ‘treat’ more than Harker.
-Dan