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Romanticism in Frankenstein.

Okay, so I have to produce an essay on romanticism and how it is used in the novel Frankenstein. And uhh...

I don't know how I should answer this.

Reply 1

LinaHearts

Hey is this gcse or a level :smile:

i ask because i can help with gcse but no way can i help with a level XD

Reply 2

realistpotato

Original post by LinaHearts

Hey is this gcse or a level :smile:

i ask because i can help with gcse but no way can i help with a level XD

uhh, im in yr 9, dunno if that counts as GCSE or not :s-smilie:

Reply 3

LinaHearts

that's good because i quit English after gcse.
I would start by defining the term romanticism
google defines this as
"a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasising inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual."
As the definition states it was popular in the Victorian era because of the rapid industrialisation of the country which led to people holding a very idealistic and fantasy view of nature and the countryside and of poetry love and art etc (basically they believed nature to be good and technology and cities to be bad)
You can see this in the book, technology is criticised and shown as unnatural, while nature is glorified. Basically just describe that. State why this was such a popular opinion and how it influenced the story and you should be fine :smile:

So for example the influence of romanticism is show in Frankenstein's pursuit of progress and science in which he crosses many boundaries and it is this that eventually leads to his downfall, this can be seen as a romantic criticism of the rampant industrialisation occurring in Victorian England at the time suggesting that much like Frankenstein's irresponsible pursuit of knowledge the author believes industrialisation may prove harmful. In this way Romanticism has influenced both the plot and tone of the book.
:P if you want to go extra you could talk about Mary Shelley's other romantic works, her husband for example was a romantic poet. :P You could use that as a bit of background to show how romanticism has influenced her personally
Anyway its been a while since iv'e read the book so sorry if iv'e forgotten something important but i hope that helps :wink:

Reply 4

PoeMilton

To begin with, try reading up about romanticism in general: Wikipedia will likely serve you well, as will this series of videos on the topic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnSmGFmP8qU&list=PLhyKYa0YJ_5AuEhpcGAo4ngmSDKuFgZZx

I suggest starting from the second video.

Then, if you can, you will, I expect, have to read the book itself.
Once you have done so, try breaking down the essay as follows:

1) How does the Aesthetic of the period manifest in this novel?
2) How does it's epistolary nature reflect literary trends of the time?
3) How does it reflect the broader goals of the Romantic Movement?
4) Focus, in particular, on the subtitle (The new prometheus). How does it reflect upon the attitude towards Doktor Frankenstein? Did the romantics view him as heroic for having brought the dead to life? (This will let you convince the reader you are not swayed by stupid cliches like Frankenstein as being only a cautionary tale about the ills of meddling with nature).