The Turn of the Screw (opera) used in the lesson scene have been examined in more detail for their paedophilic innuendos. The line "The ceremony of innocence is drowned" sung by Quint and Miss Jessel is taken from the poem "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats. Notes Cited sources Other sources The Turn of the Screw (opera) The Turn of the Screw is a 20th-century English chamber opera composed by Benjamin Britten with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, "wife of the artist John Piper, who had been a friend of the composer since 1935 and had provided designs for several of the operas". The libretto
The Turn of the Screw by the governess have been studied by theorists of fiction interested in the power of fictional narratives to convince or even manipulate readers. The imagery of "The Turn of the Screw" is reminiscent of gothic fiction. The emphasis on old and mysterious buildings throughout the novella reinforces this motif. James also relates the amount of light present in various scenes to the strength of the supernatural or ghostly forces apparently at work. The governess refers directly to "The Mysteries of Udolpho" and indirectly to "Jane Eyre", evoking a comparison of the governess not only to the character of Jane Eyre,