ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


Good vs. Evil Videos 12 videos

The Crucible
79847 Views

The Salem Witch Trials in the 17th century. The Red Scare in the 1950s. Little to no evidence that witches/communists were anywhere close to taking...

The Crucible Summary
69523 Views

The broken-hearted Abigail takes her revenge. You might never want to break-up with someone again after this video, so make sure the next person is...

The Lord of the Rings
8315 Views

One video to rule them all. One video to find them. One video to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. Or something like that. The Lord of...

See All

Dracula Part 2: Vlad the Impaler 5351 Views


Share It!


Description:

Vlad the Impaler was an appropriately named guy, until he went on tropical vacations. Then, he went by Vlad the Imtanner. For some facts that are actually true, check out this video.


Transcript

00:01

We speak student!

00:07

Dracula

00:09

Vlad the Impaler

00:11

a la Shmoop

00:13

So as I was researching

00:16

the background for Dracula,

00:19

I came across a lot of references

00:22

to Vlad the Impaler.

00:24

And, from my reading, Vlad the Impaler

00:27

would find victims for various reasons,

00:30

and it was unclear as to why he would impale people.

00:33

[ evil laugh ]

00:34

But what he would do is stick

00:36

a post in the ground with a pointy tip,

00:39

and a few guys would swing the poor person being impaled.

00:42

It would go through their chest

00:44

and not kill them.

00:45

[ pained groan ]

00:46

That was, I guess, a sport

00:48

- or something that he did just to... - A spectacle.

00:51

Lawn decorations in 15-whatever.

00:54

[ moan ]

00:57

Was Vlad the Impaler the inspiration for Dracula?

01:00

Oh, yeah. So part --

01:02

I mean, the novel goes into --

01:04

When the novel goes into a little bit of

01:05

the extensive biography

01:08

of Count Dracula, since he's hundreds of years old...

01:11

[ aww ]

01:12

Part of it is that he's

01:14

not just a nobleman,

01:15

but he comes from this very aristocratic clan.

01:19

That was part of the repulsion of the invasions of the Ottoman Empire,

01:23

so in modern day Turkey.

01:24

So the person --

01:26

The vampire, I should say, Count Dracula,

01:29

always had this sort of basis.

01:30

And his clan was noted for

01:33

being a very militaristic, warring clan.

01:36

Vlad the Impaler, I think,

01:39

is one of the sort of

01:41

the stories in the firmament

01:44

from where Dracula takes off.

01:47

Got it. Makes sense.

01:49

[ whoop ]

01:51

Was Vlad the Impaler the inspiration for Dracula?

01:58

[ evil laugh ]

Related Videos

The Importance of Being Earnest Summary
123037 Views

They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...

The Giver Summary
105892 Views

Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...

Invisible Man (Ellison)
1818 Views

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
1255 Views

Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...

Quotes: A fool's paradise
293 Views

Find out the meaning behind "a fool's paradise."