ALLUSIONS The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

EXPLANATION I am going to unexplored regions, to the land of mist and snow, but I shall kill no albatross; therefore do not be alarmed for my safety or if I should come back to you as worn and woeful as the 'Ancient Mariner.'" Letter 2 page 11. This quote shows that Walton will not do anything that will anger nature and promises his safety. Like one who, on a lonely road, Doth walk in fear and dread, And, having once turned round, walks on, And turns no more his head; Because he knows a frightful fiend Doth close behind him tread. Chapter 5 page 62 The poem shows that there is a fiend lurking behind him; Shelley eludes the poem to parallel the mariners cursed life w/ Frankensteins. The mariners curse is that he must wear the albatross on his head and wander the earth telling his story, while the rest of the crew dies around him. This is similar to Frankenstein; everyone he loves dies around him and tells his story to Walton. The parallel shows the error in Victors ways by making his monster, since by comparison it is the same as shooting the pure albatross. Therefore the allusion emphasizes Victors faults and foreshadows the deaths of all whom Victor loves. We rest; a dream has power to poison sleep; We rise; one wandering thought pollutes the day; We feel, conceive or reason, laugh or weep, Embrace fond woe, or cast our cares away; It is the same: for, be it joy or sorrow, The path of its departure still is free; Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow; Nought may endure but Mutability. Chapter 10 page 115 This emphasizes how Victor is unable to escape the horrors of his creation, and how it interferes with any uplifting experience he might have. For right as Victor starts to lose himself in the joys and beauty of the natural world, the creature appears and poisons this cheery atmosphere. Shelley thus uses this

POSTIONING OF READER Frankenstein doesnt take responsibility for his actions and how tragic events will follow. They also serve as subjects of philosophy for the characters as they liken themselves to the characters within those other works of literature.

Mutability

Shelley alludes to this part of the poem Mutability, by Percy Shelly, because it describes how a thought, whether good or bad, can immediately take hold and shape anyones feelings.

The Sorrows of Young Werther

Lives

Ruins of Empire

poem to explore Frankensteins state of mind, and also foreshadows the return of the creature. This change from happy to horrified stresses how Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow and we can assume that moods will continue to change, for Nought may endure but Mutability. I can hardly describe to you the effects of these books In the Sorrows of Werther, besides the interest of its simple and affecting story, so many opinions are canvassed, and so many lights thrown upon what had hitherto been to me obscure subjects, that I found in it a never-ending source of speculation and astonishment. Chapter 15 page 154-155 This allusion demonstrates the pain and agony by the monster due to the lack of affection. Werther falls in love with a girl who is already engaged and must live without ever being able to be loved the way he loves. He cannot live with this situation, but in lieu of taking the life of his lover or her fianc, he opts to take his own life. The creature knows little on how to convey his feelings of pure loneliness to his creator. This allusion is the perfect manner in which the creature can express his feelings. It also shows that the creature knows he can opt to end life and that he sympathizes with others, one of the most unique human qualities. "...they consisted of Paradise Lost, Plutarch's Lives, and the Sorrows of Werther." Chapter 15 page 154 Lives pairs Greek and Roman leaders to shed light on their common virtues or flaws. It was written by Plutarch to explore the importance of character, or morals, in the lives of famous men, and it is one of the books that the monster learns to read from. The allusion to this series of biographies is important to the novel because it determines the basis for the monster's moral fibber. As the monster himself says, it helps him develop "the greatest ardour for virtue" andabhorrence for vice." This allusion is also significant because it highlights the monster's initial tendency towards virtue and peace. He was in fact once caring and peaceful, but his condition and treatment lead him to vice. "'The book from which Felix instructed Safie was Volney's Ruins of Empires'" Chapter 13

The creature is now showing how human it really is, and this emphasizes how inhumane Frankenstein is acting towards his creature.

Tintern Abbey

page 142 In Frankenstein, the monster learns English through Volney's Ruins of Empires. This is significant because the first thing that the monster experiences when he is born is confusion and abandonment, both unpleasant feelings. And the first thing that the monster learns is English through a book that describes the failures and faults of empires. It's interesting to note that the monster that was supposed to be a wonderful creation of life that Victor devoted all of his time to, was abandoned and began his life with very unpleasant experiences. Its also interesting to note that Victor's life growing up was absolutely wonderful. He had the perfect example of what it takes to be a good parent, but he does exactly the opposite of what a nurturing creator should be like. "The sounding cataract Haunted him like a passion: the tall rock, The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood, Their colours and their forms, were then to him An appetite; a feeling, and a love, That had no need of a remoter charm, By thought supplied, or any interest Unborrow'd from the eye." Chapter 18 page 193-194 Wordworths Tintern Alley is a poem that describes the beauty in nature. Nature seems to be a recurring theme in this novel as well. Victor escapes to the mountains to lift his spirits when he is feeling sad about the deaths of William and Justine. The monster also feels better when spring arrives after a cold and miserable winter. During the time of Romanticism, nature was often embraced and written about to relate to love and beauty.

Mary Shelleys use of Tintern Alley reflects the ideas of romanticism in the novel as well as advances the theme of the uplifting spirit that nature provides.