My Featured Novel

I. About the Novel:The Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera (French: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in Le Gaulois from September 23, 1909, to January 8, 1910. It was published in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierre Lafitte.  The novel is partly inspired by historical events at the Paris Opera during the nineteenth century and an apocryphal tale concerning the use of a former ballet pupil's skeleton in Carl Maria von Weber's 1841 production of Der Freischütz. It has been successfully adapted into various stage and film adaptations, most notable of which are the 1925 film depiction featuring Lon Chaney and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical.

Works Cited （参考文献）

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom_of_the_Opera

II. Versions of the Novel in the Mass Media

Movie version

The Phantom of the Opera is a 2004 British film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux. It was produced and co-written by Lloyd Webber and directed by Joel Schumacher. It stars Gerard Butler in the title role, Emmy Rossum as Christine Daaé, Patrick Wilson as Raoul, Miranda Richardson as Madame Giry, and Minnie Driver as Carlotta Giudicelli.

The film was announced in 1989 but production did not start until 2002 due to Lloyd Webber's divorce and Schumacher's busy career. It was shot entirely at Pinewood Studios, with scenery created with miniatures and computer graphics. Rossum, Wilson, and Driver had singing experience, but Butler had none and so had music lessons. The Phantom of the Opera grossed approximately $154 million worldwide, despite receiving mixed to negative reviews, which praised the visuals and acting but criticized the writing and directing

 

The Song of the movie:Think of Me

Theater version in Nagoya

Works Cited （参考文献）

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom_of_the_Opera

III. About the Author

Gaston Leroux

Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux (6 May 1868– 15 April 1927) was a French journalist and author of detective fiction.

In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel The Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, 1910), which has been made into several film and stage productions of the same name, notably the 1925 film starringLon Chaney, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical. His novel The Mystery of the Yellow Room is also one of the most famous locked-room mysteries ever

IV. My Reaction

A. Reaction Point - protagonist

• main character
• Eric is called the Phantom of the opera and the angel of music in the central character in this novel. It can be said that Eric's romance story.
• He has a very tragic life in the novel. I thought I saw his  kindness in the scenes he let Christine. He thinks he has a complex on his face and thinks that it is because of his face that she dose not like it, but in fact, he thought there was a problem inside of him.

B. Reaction Point -character

• the persons or things that are the focus of the plot
• Christine Daaé: A young Swedish soprano singer at the Paris Opera House with whom "The Phantom" falls in love

           Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny: Christine's childhood friend and love interest.

          

• I think Christine and Raoul were tied with great love. Christine decided to marry Eric and she kissed him because it is a manifestation killing love for Raoul. In the end, I think that it was good for them to be connected.

C. Reaction Point - cartharsis

• release of emotion
• On the roof of the opera house, Christine tells Raoul that Erik abducted her. Raoul promises to take Christine away to a place where Erik can never find her. Raoul tells Christine he shall act on his promise the next day, to which Christine agrees. She, however, has pity for Erik and will not go until she has sung a song for him one last time. Neither is aware that Erik has been listening to their conversation and that he has become extremely jealous.
• This eavesdropping leads to kidnapping Christine. It is just a moment when the feelings of Eric exploded. I think it was full of shocks to what was betrayed by Christine and jealousy of Raoul

D. My General Opinion

Eric is unloved ,not for only love distorted. I sympathized with such loneliness,sadness.
I watched both the movie and theater,but reading the novel was fun.
I encourage this novel to many people.

My Featured Song

Count On Me by Bruno Mars

If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea,

I'll sail the world to find you

If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see,

I'll be the light to guide you

Find out what we're made of

When we are called to help our friends in need

You can count on me like one two three

I'll be there

And I know when I need it I can count on you like four three two

You'll be there

'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah

Whoa, whoa

Oh, oh

Yeah, yeah

If you tossin' and you're turnin' and you just can't fall asleep

I'll sing a song

Beside you

And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me

Everyday I will

Remind you

Ooh

Find out what we're made of

When we are called to help our friends in need

You can count on me like one two three

I'll be there

And I know when I need it I can count on you like four three two

You'll be there

'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah

Oh, oh

Yeah, yeah

You'll always have my shoulder when you cry

I'll never let go

Never say goodbye

You know you can

Count on me like one two three

I'll be there

And I know when I need it I can count on you like four three two

And you'll be there

'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah

Oh, oh

You can count on me 'cause I can count on you

I. About the Song

"Count On Me" was written by Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine, while production was handled by the same three under their alias, The Smeezingtons. The song was recorded at Larrabee Recording Studios in Hollywood and Levcon Studios in Los Angeles, with Levine being responsible for engineering it at the latter studio. The track was mixed by Manny Marroquin and assistants Christian Plata and Erik Madrid. Levine and Mars played and recorded all of the instruments on the track. Stephen Marcussen mastered the recording at Marcussen Mastering in Los Angeles. "Count On Me" was issued to contemporary hit radio and adult contemporary radio on November 7, 2011, in Australia by Atlantic Records and Warner Music Australia as the fifth single.

Works Cited （参考文献）

Count On Me (Bruno Mars)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_On_Me_(Bruno_Mars_song)

II. About the Songwriter:Bruno Mars

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and choreographer. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age and performed in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood. He graduated from high school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career. After being dropped by Motown Records, Mars signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 2009.

In 2009, he co-founded the production team The Smeezingtons, responsible for the singles "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy. He featured on the hooks for both singles, becoming recognized as a solo artist. His debut studio album Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010) included the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade", as well as the number-four single "The Lazy Song". His second album, Unorthodox Jukebox (2012), peaked at number one in the United States. The album spawned the international singles "Locked Out of Heaven", "When I Was Your Man" and "Treasure". In 2014, Mars lent his vocals to Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk". To date he has sold over 100 million singles and albums worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. Mars has landed six number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 since his career launched in 2010, attaining his first five faster than any male artist since Elvis Presley.

Mars has received many awards and nominations, including four Grammy Awards, and was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2011. In December 2013, he ranked number one on the Forbes 30 under 30 list. Mars is known for his stage performances and retro showmanship. He is accompanied by his band, The Hooligans, who play a variety of instruments such as electric guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, drums and horns, and also serve as backup singers and dancers. Mars performs in a wide range of musical styles.

Works Cited （参考文献）

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Mars

IV. My Reaction

A. Reaction Point - theme

• 定義　the central idea of a song`s lyrics
• 例 Cause that's what friend are supposed to do.
• 略 With this phrase, I thought that the relationship to accept and respect each other is friendship.In PV, men were white and women looked like Asian, but it surely crosses and says "Count on Me". I interpreted that friendship is not only a feeling but also a message that we can build over the country and sex.

B. Reaction Point - song chorus

• 定義　the section of a song that is repeated
• 例　You can count on me 123. I'll be there.
• 略 This phrase is used six times in the lyrics.It shows that Bruno Mars is the message that you want to tell the most in this song.As mentioned above, this is a theme of friendship.I think that the strength of the feeling of"I want you to rely on me." is very interesting.

C. Reaction Point - song verse

• 定義　sections of song lyrics that don't repeat
• 例　You"ll always have my shoulder when you cry.I'll never let go never say goodbye.
• 略 This part is placed before the chorus of the last stage.Because the sound is half a tone high, I think it plays an important role just before enriching this song itself. Also, when connecting rust, it is very interesting to deliberately serve.

D. My General Opinion

This song is a song that he wrote a friendship, but it is a song that also listen as a message to the lover.The presence of people coming out to this song don't know what can be integrally many people in life.When important people showed up someday, I want to listen to remember this song.
Also, this song has less modesty overall and feels familiar lyrics because it is a song to a close friend, but I can interpret that it is a song with a line of sight from above too. I was wondering why I was doing this wording.

My Featured Poem

How Do I Love Thee?
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everybody's

Most quiet need,by sun and candlelight.

I love thee freely,as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely,as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs,and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

with my lost saints, I love thee the breath,

Smile,tears,of my life! and if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

I. About the Poem

How Do I Love Thee? is a 1970 American comedy-drama film directed by Michael Gordon. It stars Jackie Gleason and Maureen O'Hara and is based on Peter De Vries's 1965 novel Let Me Count the Ways

Works Cited （参考文献）

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Do_I_Love_Thee%3F

II. About the Author

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent English poets of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime.

Works Cited （参考文献）

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Barrett_Browning

IV. My Reaction

A. Reaction Point - Theme

• 定義 Theme is the central idea of a work of literature.
• 例 The theme for this poem could be that there are many, many different ways to love someone.
• 略 I don't know the best way to love someone.

B. Reaction Point - rhyme

• 定義 the relation of long and short or stressed and unstressd sylables.
• 例 Correspondence in the sounds of two or more lines is used.
• 略 I thought it 's very interesting the rhyme of the depth and breadth.

C. Reaction Point - hyperhole

• 定義 exaggration
• 例 Right and Praise are made bigger
• 略 I understood what the writer tell us.

D. My General Opinion
I love this poem because many interesting expression is used in it.

Self-introduction

Hello classmates,

My name is  Yu Yamaguchi. I major in Department of Arts and Letters at Kyoritsu Women's University.
My course is English British American Literature.  My literary interest is British literature.  I like Shakespeare and Jane Austen. In particular, I love Charlotte Bronte. I want to read more British literature from now on.
 Thank you.