Criticism And Romanticism In Helley's Prometheus Unbound

The life of a dominant king who got lost in the things of the world, resulted in him losing focus on his destiny through power and time. It is a battle between man and the natural world he faced. Percy Shelley’s poem, Ozymandias, demonstrates that no matter the position one holds, in time, power can be arrogant and ruling, but cannot ultimately last for an eternity.

From the beginning of time until now the limitless pursuit of knowledge reveals man’s weakness. Modern society provides humans with a wide variety of sources on how to gain knowledge, both good and evil. The thirst for forbidden knowledge beyond what man can essentially handle, causes a tragic life. The protagonist in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley exemplifies the behavior of the ideal man grasping for more knowledge than he can truly bare; in turn this knowledge becomes tarnished. Shelley eludes to the Greek myth of Prometheus allowing the reader to delve deeper into the general theme that those who pursue an insatiable desire for knowledge, if not tamed,

In order to illustrate the main theme of her novel "Frankenstein", Mary Shelly draws strongly on the myth of Prometheus, as the subtitle The Modern Prometheus indicates. Maurice Hindle, in his critical study of the novel, suggests, "the primary theme of Frankenstein is what happens to human sympathies and relationships when men seek obsessively to satisfy their Promethean longings to "conquer the unknown" - supposedly in the service of their fellow-humans". This assertion is discussed by first describing the Promethean connection. Thereafter, the two forms of the myth, Prometheus the fire-stealer and Prometheus the life-giver are reviewed in the context of Shelly's use of the myth in her novel

Mary Shelley’s story of internal turmoil, the cruelty of altering the laws of nature, and the consequences of redefining the laws of nature is a harrowing one, known widely by many audiences, yet it is never the nature of the characters that is discussed, only the outcome. Shelley’s deliberate use of different character foils portrays the deeper connections and themes in her 1818 novel, Frankenstein. The creation and presence of Frankenstein’s monster directly foils the character of Victor Frankenstein himself, illustrating overarching themes of self inflicted isolation and internal conflict, exposing the dangers and consequences of complete and total narcissism, and revealing a truth many still refuse to accept: we, as humans, are capable

My thought on this comes mostly from the subtitle, The Modern Prometheus. It makes sense to me because Prometheus was a demigod, one of the Titans, and thought he knew better than Zeus who believed that man was not ready for the gift of fire. Prometheus went beyond his station and disobeyed the King of Gods to return fire to the earth. He was brutally tortured as punishment until Hercules saved him. Victor Frankenstein acts as Prometheus, going against higher powers to reach his goal. His desire is fulfilled and ends horribly, leaving Frankenstein tortured and despaired over the death his actions caused. Also, as a little tidbit, Prometheus was associated with science and culture which makes him and Frankenstein even more similar. Nature could be considered Zeus in this situation because it is the one being tricked and made a mockery of. Robert Walton would be Frankenstein's Hercules since he rescued Frankenstein from his torment.

Everyone is going to die. This is no secret to the audience of the Greek play Agamemnon. Rather than surprising us with the murders that befall at the hands of vengeance, the Greek playwright uses this common story to display the underlying theme that one must first suffer before they can reach the truth. To understand the significance behind the story of Agamemnon, one must understand the passions and how they relate to the human person, Zeus’s law of suffering into truth, and Aeschylus’s motives for writing Agamemnon and how he reflects Catholic teaching.

Hesiod’s Theogony has transcended generations, delivering to vast audiences the traditional stories of the Greek gods as well as ancient Greek conceptions of the world. One particularly well known aspect of the Theogony, the section that tells the tale of Prometheus, is unique in that it has little intrinsic worth; its value is in its ability to enhance other stories and conceptions. Across the globe, people know well the story of the one who deceived Zeus and stole fire for man, but few recognize its role in Hesiod’s work as a whole. The story of Prometheus serves two primary purposes for Hesiod and his audience. First, it solidifies Zeus’s position as king of the gods, providing one of the first characterizations of his temperament, and

     Prometheus, the Titan of Greek mythology, was considered to be the most important Titan ever in all the myths. He helped the human race tremendously in his efforts to sustain an easier lifestyle. Mankind had great respect for him because of his advantages and gifts or abilities he gave them. Also, his battle against Zeus as a result of his love for man was very much appreciated. Prometheus was one of the most interesting Greek mythology figures in his time. He was a very kind, loving, generous, and courteous god to mankind. This can be seen through many events in his life including a particular myth that the reader will acknowledge in this research paper.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; Or, Prometheus Unbound analyzes the relationships that develop between creation and creator. The novel is somewhat autobiographical and incorporates many of the feelings, thoughts, and sentiments that Shelley was undergoing at the time. Through her life experiences and her novel, Shelley explores the role of the mother figure and postulates that through the creation of the Monster, Victor Frankenstein usurps the role of mother to detrimental results.

Shelley’s novel faces the task of creating a notable message that her audience will appreciate. In order for Shelley to effectively signify that mankind must be able to demarcate the attainment of knowledge, she takes her novel to an extreme. Shelley writes, “Frightful must it be; for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavour to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world” (Shelley 40) in order to stress Victor’s extravagant notions. As Joseph Kestner, professor of Romantic and Victorian literature, puts it, Victor positions himself as the head of all hierarchies in denying God as the sole creator of man. The intention of the author for placing Victor at such a high position

Moving forward to the “Prometheus myth,” the similarities between the stories are a bit more difficult to identify, but not impossible. There are also comparisons between characters of the myth and of Frankenstein. Again, the creature is the focus of these comparisons, as he can be said to similar to the Titan, Prometheus. Each character tries to offer their assistance to humanity, but only receives punishment in response to their actions. For Prometheus, Zeus, otherwise known as Jupiter in Roman mythology, seeks what he thinks is retribution for the Titan disobeying his direct order of not granting the humans with fire. Zeus creates the “perfect” woman, Pandora, and sends her to Prometheus and his brother, Epimetheus. Pandora disobeys one of the only requests given to her: do not open the box she was given. Instead of adhering to the instructions, the woman lets her curiosity get the better of her, causing all kinds of horrors to be released into the world, which then had “the bottom

Remembered for its classic scene of ‘ITS ALIVE’ and a monstrous figure rising from a gurney, Frankenstein (or the Modern Prometheus) by Mary Shelley can be considered as the world’s first terrible book-to-movie adaptation. And in this translation, it seems that we have lost what Frankenstein’s true core message was; a cautionary message to modern science.

Prometheus, a titan who brought fire to man, was alluded to hundreds of years later through Frankenstein, a scientist who brought a corpse back to life. With Prometheus being explored in the works of Hesiod and Aeschylus, and Frankenstein illustrated in Mary Shelley’s work- both ultimately illustrate how going beyond the norm threatens culture, balance and authority. In other words, the process of crossing the threshold is critical to an individual being extraordinary, though their contributions may be initially viewed as negative and unwanted.

The ambiguity of the myth of Prometheus lies in its interpretation. The Greek myth surrounds the creation of man and the part Prometheus played in it. Prometheus (meaning forethought) and his brother, Epimetheus (meaning afterthought), were given certain tasks by Zeus after they fought on Zeus' side in the war with the Titans. As a reward for their loyalty, Zeus gave Epimetheus the responsibility of creating the animals and distributing their qualities, for example, strength, speed, and stamina. Prometheus, on the other hand, was given the task of creating man. Prometheus molded man out of clay, giving them the ability to walk upright so that they could be closer to the heavens and the Gods. Since Epimetheus was extremely rash in his dispersion of the traits and qualities to the animals, when it came time for Prometheus to give some to man, there were none left. So, Prometheus gave man fire, and taught him how to grow food, and how to make objects, such as tools.

According to Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle (1995), In Percy Bysshe Shelley’s famous sonnet ‘Ozymandias’ (1818), the poem tells us about readers and reading. The poem is related to the acts of reading. The sculptor reads the face of the king, the traveller reads the inscription the narrative ‘I’ listens to the tale, and we read the poem. The poem not only can be read, but also tells us an allegory. It brings up a crucial question of how we can know if our interpretation of reading a literary text is valid and engages with other questions such as who this traveller who reads the inscription is and who the ‘I’ who listens to is, etc. Such questions are examined by the writers to summarize the developments in literary criticism