The poem “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” written by Coleridge and the book “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly have a deeper connection then many may think. Both stories have many differences and similarities through the setting, theme, and characters. In these reads, both touch the same theme in a poetic way. In “Frankenstein” and “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” links to romanticism, the supernatural that merges the relationship between nature and human beings with no normal events that occur. Both Frankenstein and Mariner are two men who seem to be cursed and submerged in pity and guilt by the deaths they think they have caused to happen; due to their own selfishness. In “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” the mariner feels guilty for killing the
Affection blossoms day by day for most relationships, but not all. While some people remain joyful and pleased in their relationships, Frankenstein and his creature in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Prospero and Caliban in The Tempest by Shakespeare once showed these characteristics, but conflicts began to grow that turned into complete hatred. As a result of the disputes, it identified how the creators are similar, how the creation of the creatures are comparable, and how the relationships between the creator and the creature in each story are related.
Mary Shelley alludes to literary text, intellectual history, and her personal life in order to deliver the theme with literary style, to develop the characters’ background, and to emphasize the universality of the story. Literary texts such as Paradise Lost, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and the myth of Prometheus induces a sense of how commonplace the story of Frankenstein could be. Intellectual history adds to that effect by emphasizing the story with logic. Similarities to her personal life such as her childhood and marriage exemplifies her point. The external references in the novel serve to represent the Gothic and Romantic Movements and to encourage the readers to relate the situation to their own lives.
Frankenstein is Mary Shelley’s famous, fictional work in which a man unravels the secret to creating life. The main character in this story is Victor Frankenstein. Throughout the novel he grows from a young, innocent boy into a vindictive, vengeful man. He oversteps the bounds of science by becoming the creator of a being that never should have lived. In the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, written by Samuel Coleridge, a man, much like Victor, takes the role of the main character. The ancient mariner, by killing the albatross, violates the laws of nature and has to repent for his crime. These two characters are very similar but they also vary in several key ways.
In the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, it has similarities to Frankenstein with structure. In Frankenstein, through careful reading, it is shown how The Rime of the Ancient Mariner has influenced Mary Shelley’s novel. The structure of both the novel and the poem are situated similarly. As well as the end of the novel is similar to the poem. The structure of Frankenstein is laid out to follow The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Also the poem has significance to each character in the novel, Walton his love for exploration and voyaging. For Victor it is his ambitions and wisdom. For the Creature, it is his wisdom as well and telling of his tale. The poem gives the reader a better understanding of the creature and allows the reader to see where the
This quote shows The Mariner 's outlook on nature in the beginning of the poem. The Mariner refers to the creatures of the sea as "slimy things," which obviously has a negative connotation. However, once Coleridge teaches his character the lesson of the inherent beauty in nature, the Mariner learns that all creatures are beautiful. In Shelley 's piece, which also has this theme, it seems that Frankenstein really never learns this lesson, while the creature does seem to grasp this concept.
To be an individual, there must be a unique sense of one’s self to feel complete. Without this sense of one’s self, the mind takes a dangerous path and finds negative things to evoke the desired feeling of completeness. When this sense of one’s self is altered, it brings disdain and guilt to the individual. This disdain and guilt are evinced in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, as well as Frankenstein. Frankenstein’s monster (The Creature) was an intelligent being that could think on his own, and developed feelings and thought processes.
In the last chapters of the book and the letters written by Walton, Victor assumed the inhumanity that the monster portrayed. Just as the monster had haunted Victor until marriage, seeking revenge for the distress that Victor has caused. Victor carries this obsessive feeling to get revenge at the monster for murdering his loved ones. Many of the character motives in Frankenstein can also be found in another Romantic story, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. The mariner in the story has similar characteristics as the monster does in this story. The Mariner shoots the albatross that brings good weather. However later in the story, readers learn why he did it and how it impacted the overall outcome of the story. This is similar to the murders that the monster makes, which also seem to be very random and impulsive. However, the monster tells Victor his reasoning for his actions, just as in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In conclusion there is a very broad theme of character motives present in the novel. By understanding the motives that both the monster and Victor made makes the reader understand this novel a lot
Mary Shelly’s depiction of Victor Frankenstein and Shakespeare’s illustration of Othello show the similarities and difference how tragic heroes fall by their tragic flaws in different ways. Throughout the novel, both characters made a flawed mistake which led to their misfortune and tragedy. Shelly illustrates Frankenstein as a recalcitrant scientist who was fascinated by the secret of life. He creates a monster to life, and refuses to admit to anyone the horror of what he has created. In the other hand, Othello is a general trusted by many of his companions. He was manipulated by his friend Iago, who accused Othello’s wife Desdemona having an affair with Cassio. Othello kills his wife, and committed suicide after finding out Desdemona’s
A multitude of signs illustrates similarities between the Frankenstein’s creature and Mary Shelley. These indications show that the novel may be an autobiography. However, the novel shows a lot of the characteristics of science fiction. The novel can be a real description or fiction narrative, but not both. An informed opinion about this controversy requires the evaluation of relevant critics. Sherry Ginn uses “Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein: Science, Science Fiction, or Autobiography?” to adequately argue that the novel Frankenstein is based on Shelley’s experiences and fears, that it is not an autobiography, and that it has all the characteristics of a science fiction narrative.
Emaciated with defeat. Bags of pain underneath his eyes. And an evil thought seared as an image within the retina of his eyes. This is a man, not one man, but two men who never knew what they were doing because the time to step back and look at their actions was never given. Victor Frankenstein and the Ancient Mariner embodied what it meant to be the common man, until they defied nature.
The romantic period was characterized by a marked withdraw from the techniques of the literary period and ideas, that introduced more rational and scientific in nature. Romantic poetry and prose, by contrast, was intended to express a new and visionary relationship to the imagination (Fitch). The romantic poets were always seeking a way to capture and represent the sublime moment and experience (Fitch), the more personal experience, the better. In many romantic poems the authors and their writing are identical. This is one of the ways Shelly embraces the literary period and at the same time matches the specific romantic ideal. She takes Frankenstein and describes him not by her personal experience or in her own voice, but yet she still is still characterizing a single quest to achieve the sublime. Victor Frankenstein’s quest was to make a creature out of raw
Indeed, Shelley’s several allusions to Coleridge’s poem and the parallel plots that Frankenstein’s tragedy shares with the mariner’s tale are intentional references meant to expose her warning purpose. The mariner’s tale is a mirror image of Frankenstein’s—identical yet backwards. The mariner is punished for killing a Christ figure, Frankenstein is punished for vitalizing a demon—both offenses concern the illegitimate use of a godly prerogative and a disregard for the sanctity of life. Captain Walton—the warned—of course, is also a mariner; however, he sails north and the Ancient Mariner—the warner—sailed south. Walton himself is the first to allude directly to the rime saying that he goes “to the land of mist and snow,” yet he swears that he shall “kill no albatross” nor, says he, shall he return “as worn and woeful as the ‘Ancient Mariner’” (33). His vows are ironic, however, because he is saved from that ancient fate only by listening to Frankenstein’s tale which warns him against his hubristic quest for knowledge. Toward the end of the book, Captain Walton weighs his chance for discovery and glory against the lives of his men noting, “It is terrible to reflect that the lives of all these men are endangered through me. If we are lost, my mad schemes are the cause” (181). Happily, Frankenstein’s mariner-like caution proves effective for the captain who heeds the warning and turns back. The second-person
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a complex tale of an old seafarer, was written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and published in 1798. According to the Longman Anthology of British Literature, the work first appeared in “Lyrical Ballads”, a publication co-authored with William Wordsworth (557). The ancient mariner’s journey provides for such a supernatural tale, that all who must hear it, specifically the wedding guest in the poem, are enthralled. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the mariner’s tale is the obvious themes of sin and redemption. By using the story-within-a-story method, Coleridge gives the audience a tale that resembles a very Christian-like voyage from one theme, sin, to the final theme, redemption. Throughout his poem,
Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, references many other works of literature in her renowned book. To name a few of the referenced works there were John Milton’s Paradise Lost, the Greek “Prometheus myth”, and the widely known poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. Each of these allusions gave a new meaning to Shelley’s story, affecting how each of the readers interpreted her words.
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” are similar pieces of works because they both emphasize the consequences of defying laws of nature. Both of the stories are told in a third person point of view and in a series of flashbacks. In Frankenstein, Robert Walton tells the majority of the story and in “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” it is told by the wedding-guest. The protagonist of both stories challenge nature and get punished for their mistake. Shelley and Coleridge both do a masterful job incorporating romanticism and Gothicism s into their works.