Romantic and Gothic Forces in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Sometimes considered one of the first science fiction novels of supernatural terror, Frankenstein proved itself an instant success when released anonymously in 1818. The mad scientist Victor Frankenstein and his creation provoke readers with the fear of the unknown and the power of natures forces. A deeper look into the character of Victor Frankenstein, the role of scientific experimentation and the intricate settings of nature in which the story evolves, prove Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein , a worthy example of both Romantic and Gothic representation in nineteenth century British Literature.
When Mary Shelley was born (1798), her husband's famous predecessors, Wordsworth and Coleridge, published Lyrical Ballads With a Few Other Poems which is an early example of Romantic literature. According to Wordsworth's Preface, "The poet considers man and nature as essentially adapted to each other, and the mind of man as naturally a mirror of the fairest and most interesting properties of nature" (Anderson 606). But, Wordsworth and Coleridge were not the only ones to share this and other Romantic ideas. Shelley's father, William Godwin , "was one of the leading political philosophers of the first Romantic generation" (Anderson 741). And is obvious that Shelley herself showed "admiration for Wordsworth, Coleridge, and in particular The Ancient Mariner" ( Drabble 372), for she included a passage from The Ancient Mariner in her novel Frankenstein.
It was these poets Wordsworth, Coleridge and others who helped shape the ideas and thoughts known as Romanticism. "Romantics saw and felt things brilliantly afresh. They virtually invented certain landscapes . . . ...
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Mary Shelley’s world renowned book, “Frankenstein”, is a narrative of how Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant chemist, succeeds in creating a living being. Although Frankenstein’s creation is benevolent to begin with, he soon turns murderous after being mistreated by humans. His anger turns towards Frankenstein, as he was the one who brought him into the world that shuns him. The Monster then spends the rest of the story trying to make his creator’s life as miserable as his own. This novel is an excellent example of the Gothic Romantic style of literature, as it features some core Gothic Romantic elements such as remote and desolate settings, a metonymy of gloom and horror, and women in distress.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven are two of the greatest composers ever to write music. Both men lived in the early 18th and 19th century, but their music and influences are still felt today. The men faced similar experiences, yet they both lead very different lives. All together the pieces that these men composed amounts to over 300 published, and unpublished works of art. The people of their time period often had mixed feelings about these men, some “complained that Mozart’s music presented them with too many ideas and that his melodies moved from one to the next faster than audiences could follow, yet the ideas themselves seem effortless and natural, clear and unforced.” (Bonds 210-211) Beethoven’s criticisms ranged from ‘genius’ to grim dislike. Mozart and Beethoven were influenced by things going on around them such as: love, nature, and the Enlightenment.
Death pervades Hamlet from the introductory part of the play. The ghost of hamlet the king announces the notion of death and it costs. Hamlet has a young attraction with death; he was advised by his friends that looking for the ghost is a wrong thing because the ghost is an ominous omen for Denmark and the greater subject of the fitness of the entire state. It is a noticeable indication of the rottenness of the state produced by Claudius killing to his brother. However, Hamlet’s fascination with death was excessive, which means that he was ready to lose everything to follow the ghost. Hamlet’s grief was greater than Claudius and his mother and that made him more obsessed about death.
Women have faced gender wage discrimination for decades. The gender pay gap is the difference between what a male and a female earns. It happens when a man and a woman standing next to each other doing the same job for the same number of hours get paid different salaries. On average, full-time working- women earn just “77 cents for every dollar a man earn.” When you compare a woman and a man doing the same job, “the pay gap narrows to 81 percent (81%)” (Rosin). Fifty-one years ago, in order to stop the gender gap discrimination, Congress enacted the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The act states that all women should receive “equal pay for equal work”. Unfortunately, even in 2014 the gender pay gap persists and even at the highest echelons of the corporate; therefore, the equal pay act is a failure.
Pay equity programs attempt to address the undervaluation for work traditionally or historically done by women. Pay equity (also referred to as “comparable worth”) programs require a gender-neutral analysis of comparative work. A variety of very different jobs are compared based on a composite of the skill, effort and responsibility of a job and the conditions under which the job is generally done. The comparison determines the relative worth of those jobs to the achievement of a firm’s objectives, under the proposition that equal contribution merits equal compensation. Where female-dominated jobs in the workplace are found to be of equal or comparable value to male-dominated jobs but paid below the level of the male jobs or payline, then all employees in those female-dominated jobs are entitled to receive pay equity adjustments.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a gothic science fiction novel written in the romantic era that focuses on the elements of life. The romantic era was sparked by the changing social environment, including the industrial revolution. It was a form of revolt against the scientific revolutions of the era by developing a form of literature that romanticize nature and giving nature godliness. This element of romanticized nature is a recurrent element in Frankenstein and is used to reflect emotions, as a place for relaxation and as foreshadowing. Frankenstein also includes various other elements of romanticism including strong emotions and interest in the common people.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published in 1818 during the Romanticism era. Romanticism describes the period of time from the late 18th century to the mid 19th century. This period was seen as a response to the Enlightenment; overall there was an increase in the desire to understand the world in an objective matter (lecture). Though Romanticism is commonly viewed as a literary and artistic movement, Mary Shelley gives evidence on the development of Europe in a historical sense through her novel, Frankenstein. Through the motifs and personal experiences of her characters, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein gives insight on scientific development, emerging roles of women, and how the individual is viewed the
The choral writing and texture as well as the lack of counterpoint or difficulty to distinguish it resemble hymn passages which were incorporated into the concerto – particularly in the opening fifteen measures of the second movement, played by the string
Abrams, M.H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1993.
Classical music is known to aid students in learning new information as they attain a “heightened emotional state, making them more receptive to information (Engel). Franz Joseph Haydn was one of the few great classical composers. The “Father of Symphony” began building his legacy from early endeavors to working for a wealthy family who later sets out on his own continuing to strive.