1. THE MODERN PROMETHEUS Mary W. Shelley
FRANKENSTEIN
THE MODERN PROMETHEUS
Mary W. Shelley

2. Speakers Robert Walton – in his letters to his sister
Victor Frankenstein – as he’s aboard Walton’s ship, he tells his of the events that led him to be where he is now and to have crossed paths with Walton
The creature (Adam) – Victor’s creation

3. Literary Allusions
Greek mythology – the story of Prometheus and his creation of mankind. What similarities are found between the events of the story of Prometheus and of Frankenstein?
Coleridge – The Rime of the Ancient Mariner What similarities are found between the characters, events, and themes of Rime and Frank?

4. Victor Frankenstein’s Interests/Goals
Agrippa, Magnus, Paracelsus, and galvanism
Fascination with lightening
Cheating death – a noble goal
Creating life – a goal that shows Victor’s hubris and leads to his ruin

5. Gothic Elements Secluded environs Storms Night
Castles/ castle-like homes
A sense of the grotesque and
eeriness

6. Romantic Elements
Doing something and/or going somewhere never done/touched by man

7. Frankenstein and Romanticism
Elements of the Romantic Period found in the novel include “the emphasis on the impossible, the magical, and on freedom [as well as] the continued journey into the unknown, in science and exploration, and with the disarray of the world” (Yahoo Answers, 2010).

8. Victor’s Romantic Nature
“Victor Frankenstein is a Romantic character to the extent that he reflected the romantic writers’ emphasis on a new way of seeing [the world and everything in it]. The Romantics believed that it was individual and collective visual imagination that would create a new understanding of the world and[‘therefore,] lead to a more perfect version of human beings and the societies in which they lived. Victor is [also] the ultimate dreamer preoccupied by otherworldly concerns and unattainable ideals” (Smith, 2011).

9. Additional Romantic Elements
“Romanticism suggests [that] nature plays an important role” (Smith 2011). In Frankenstein, this is found in the vividly described settings, in the reoccurring storylines about the balance (or imbalance) of life and death, and the importance of electricity (as with the oak tree scene).
Smith (2011) also states, “Frankenstein is clearly a novel about romantic [ideals] striving against the customary boundaries or limitations placed on our existence.” This is first seen in “the obvious example of Victor pushing against his limitations as a human being by striving to play a God-like role by making the Creature.”

10. The Creature – “Adam” – and Romanticism
“The Creature that Victor [creates] is engaged in his own struggle to experience [a] sublime connection with his environment and with other living beings. The Creature makes multiple attempts [at this] before he [finally] realizes that he is different from them. Almost all of his efforts are in vain” (Smith, 2011).

11. Works Cited
Smith, N “Elements of Romanticism in Frankenstein by Mark Shelley.” Literature Fiction. ArticleMyriad com/elements-romanticism-frankenstein/.
Yahoo Answers “What are 3 Elements of Romanticism in Mary Shelley`s Frankenstein?” Education and Reference com/question/index?qid= AAGztLy.