The Narrator bursts into the poem, Christabel, part 1, in numerous places. The first time we see an intriguing insertion by the Narrator is on Line 13: "Some say she sees my lady's shroud." This is interesting because there is no mention of the Narrator's "lady" or her death anywhere else in the poem. The only lady that dies in the poem is Christabel's mother. The fact that the Narrator mentions this lady raises the question of who the Narrator really is. He makes this allusion by describing the actions of the old "mastiff bitch." The dog is thought to be able to detect spirits. This reference is again brought up when Christabel is bringing Geraldine to the castle. At that point, the loyal dog growls at the women. The Narrator interjects with questions as to why the dog would react this way to its master's daughter. (Lines 140-148) The Narrator uses these questions to raise the awareness of the reader, forcing the reader to see that there is something amiss with the situation at hand. By asking questions, the Narrator forces the reader into the dramatic situation, giving an insight to the situation that the characters do not have. It is a very effective and captivating way of bringing the reader into the story.

The most intriguing interjection of the Narrator is the Conclusion of Part I. Here the Narrator becomes a character who was asleep, "Dreaming that alone, which is-" and who feels a great pain at having done so. (line 283) It appears that he is dreaming about this young praying woman. This is very intriguing because it is told as truth, but is now being vaguly called a dream. It is almost as though he is admitting that he is dreaming of this woman, and feels a horrible sense of guilt for having done so, because he follows line 283 with "Oh sorrow and shame!" (line 284). This almost is an apology for his dream. However, he soon goes back into the dream, almost as though he can not help himself. In fact, he simply is retelling the tale that he has already told. It is almost as though he is trying to tell what his dream was and is showing that the words that he uses can not describe the scene that he dreamed. He can not recapture the vision that he dreamt, and he feels a shame that his words are not enough. This is bizarre because the Narrator originally tells the tale to us. So this retelling is intriguing. The point that he can't quite reach the lyrical beauty of the original dream is very subtle. His struggle with words becomes apparent in line 277, when he says "Her face ­ oh call it fair, not pale!" as though he is searching for the perfect words to describe her face, but cannot find it. This is an interesting paradox within the poem. The conclusion becomes almost convoluted as it tells of the two women sleeping. The images are odd, like the tingling feet of a sleeping limb. This is an uncomfortable image that makes the reader feel that Christabel is uncomfortable. This discomfort is not present in the original part of the dream. This is an intriguing use of the Narrator within a poem. He appears to be demonstrating how insufficient language actually is at showing the original vision that the writer has had. He does this by interjecting the telling of the poem within the outer, most descriptive poem.

Katie Sharp