Oxford English Dictionary defines a castle as “A large building, typically of the medieval period, fortified against attack with thick walls, battlements, towers, and in many cases a moat.”. Most people could have guessed that this was the definition of castle, having seen one themselves. But the second definition the dictionary gives us is “A magnificent and imposing old mansion.”. This definition strikes rather a different tone. The main words to pay attention to here are “magnificent” and “imposing”. Anyone can define anything, but something becomes an archetype when it is given descriptive words.
The reason I chose castles as my archetype is because castles are more than piles of rock and brick. They are a place that gathered notoriety depending on who lived in them, what battles were fought around them, and how long they stood. Castles weather centuries of humans coming and going, and the tales they tell are buried deep in their history. A castle is an integral part in many British Literature stories, whether it represents something or is just there for shelter.
Castles are a statement in most works of British Literature, and they can be found even in other works. These majestic structures aren’t just something to be waved away, but something to be examined. A castle is a story waiting to be told, and during this blog, I hope to look more in depth at castle(s) in a single British Literature story.
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