Vampyres and Werewolfes. Legend, classical literature and the Twilight series

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, University of Frankfurt (Main), language: English, abstract: The supernatural has always had a strong appeal with human mankind. In the folklore of nearly every society, tales about supernatural beings can be found making this fascination universe. Supernatural creatures have also been protagonists of books, comics, music and movies for centuries haunting the audience´s dreams in the nights (Stanfield, p.1). Among all of them, vampires and werewolves seem to be the most enduring having made their way straight into the 21st century. Today, Vampires and werewolves are everywhere with the Twilight series leading the way. The release of the four books by Stephenie Meyer can be seen as a major reason for the new hype about the supernatural beings in our time. It is the most popular series for children since Joanne K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels. In 2008, 'Eclipse' the third book of the Twilight saga ranked even higher than 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' pushing Joanne K. Rowling down to the second place of the bestseller list. The success was tremendous not only with young people but with an audience of all ages making the Twilight series the most commercially successful work on Vampires in the beginning of the 21st century (Anatol, p.1). But how are Vampires and werewolves portrayed by Stephenie Meyer and how do these supernatural creatures differ from their ancestors in myth and classical literature? Within the paper this question will be analyzed. Therefore, the history of the Vampire as well as the Werewolf legend will be traced back. The portrayal of Vampires and Werewolves in classical masterpieces of English literature as well as in the Twilight series will then be compared to the myth and to one another. In the end, the results will be interpreted.