Literary Portrayal Of The Slavic Vampire - 2383 Words

Jan Perkowski is a Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia. Aside from teaching courses on vampire mythology and folklore, he also researches Slavic mythology and Russian language. Perkowski has contributed many works towards vampire mythology and folklore, and â€Å"in studying the Slavic Vampire† he â€Å"devised an outline of analysis to be applied to individual accounts of Slavic vampires† (Stern). This allows for students to deconstruct the Slavic vampire to see how it may differ or strongly relate to the stereotypical vampire that the contemporary audience knows today. Today’s stereotypical vampire is commonly thought to die from a wooden stake piercing the heart or from the burning heat of the sun (Guà µmundsdà ³ttir). Physical characteristics are oftentimes extremely pale with a long nose, paired with sharp canine fangs that enhance the vampire’s unearthly, ghastly mien. The historical portrayal of the folklori c and legendary vampire is often grotesque. The uncertainty and fear of a disastrous and mysterious disease otherwise called as the Black Death spread across Europe in the mid-14th century (Benedictow). The looming, ominous plague clouded over Europe as swarms of rats carrying the bubonic plague spread throughout the city streets like a tsunami crashes into New York City, waves weaving intricately along and in-between the skyscrapers, looking for the next open space they can swell into. The lack of knowledge in regards to the origin of