The flat top guitar that we often recognize today continues to be the most popular form of the acoustic guitar. This guitar was created in the United States by Christian Frederick Martin. The X-braced guitar Martin developed was able to handle stress put on its more modern steel strings. Orville Gibson is credited for creating the archtop guitar. The F-holes, or the violin-like sound holes, arched top and back with an adjustable bridge, were the main design features that gave the guitar increased volume and tone. Early in the 20th century, the electric guitar was created by an engineer named Adolph Rickenbacker, who at the time was the vice president of the National Guitar Corporation, though it was not until the 1940, that Les Paul created, and is often credited as being the true inventor of the solid body electric guitar. By the 1950's the electric guitar came into its own with innovations that are often associated with it today such as, the power chords, effect pedals and cranked amplifiers. This model of guitar would take over modern music, as it is featured in numerous genres and sub-genres of popular music.

In Lindner's Jane, Rathburn is a musician who plays the electric guitar (p. 8, Lindner). In the YouTube series, The Autobiography of Jane Eyre, Rochester (Adam J. Wright) serenades Jane (Alysson Hall) by playing his acoustic guitar (6:07, "Dischordant,"Ep: 50). In Bronte's Jane Eyre, however, Rochester played the piano while singing (pgs.243-245, Norton 4th Critical Ed.). The parallels between the hypotext and the hypertexts is that the two Rochester's and Rathburn are featured playing an instrument, despite the difference in time periods from when the works were published. The differences, however, is the type of instrument used. Bronte's Rochester plays a piano, which is arguably an older instrument compared to the acoustic and electric guitar.The Autobiography of Jane Eyre's Rochester plays an acoustic guitar, whereas in Jane, Rathburn plays an electric guitar. The instruments used by these two characters represents an update of today's contemporary society, in that guitars are accessible and not cumbersome. They are also easier to learn, without requiring numerous practice sessions. The piano in Jane Eyre's setting is more appropriate, because learning to play the piano during that time meant one has amiable qualities that include patience and a natural artistic skill. These same qualities that were appreciated in the Victorian Era, are transferred on to the more updated instrument that is more accessible and has remained wildly popular for decades, the guitar.

Bibliography

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2016.

Hall, Alysson/Jane Eyre. The Autobiography of Jane Eyre. "Dischordant-Ep: 50." YouTube, 14 Dec. 2013. Web.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlXCwNMQpbU&list=PL3NxAiyc-89HP3wHV2y5mbwi2TidvocKZ&index=54

Lindner, April. Jane. Poppy: Hachette Book Group Inc., 2010.

Information Source: Marquart, Scott. "History of the Guitar: Acoustic to Electric, Ancient to Modern." stringjoy.com. String Joy. 18 Oct. 2016. Web. Date Accessed, 31 Oct. 2019. https://www.stringjoy.com/history-of-the-guitar/

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