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Mary Shelley's |
FRANKENSTEIN | |
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Literary Allusion is a writer's comparison of his or her characters to characters in other well-known works of literature. The value of allusion lies in its ability to garner much information in only a title or a character name. By alluding to a work with which everyone is familiar, all of the connotations of the one work are transferred to the new one. Shelley uses many literary allusions in Frankenstein, referring mostly to Milton's Paradise Lost and the biblical account of Adam and Eve. The story of Adam and Eve, especially Milton's version, is one that is very well known in Western culture. It is one of the fundamental stories of Western culture. By using that particular story, Shelley was hoping to get as many people as possible to bring the back story of Paradise Lost to Frankenstein. Shelley wanted the idea of the proud and inquisitive creature being cast out, as well as the idea that being cast out was a horrible thing. "But Paradise Lost excited different and far deeper emotions. I read it...as a true history. It moved every feeling of wonder and awe, that the picture of an omnipotent God sparring with his creatures was capable of existing. I often referred the several situations, as their similarity struck me, to my own..."
JOHN MILTON'S PARADISE
LOST Paradise Lost was originally published in 1667 in ten books; a second edition followed in 1674, redivided into twelve books (in the manner of the division of Virgil's Aeneid) with minor revisions throughout and a note on the versification. The poem concerns the Judeo-Christian story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton's purpose, stated in Book I, is "justify the ways of God to men"[1] and elucidate the conflict between God's eternal foresight and free will. In the early nineteenth century, the Romantics began to regard Satan as the protagonist of the epic. Milton presents Satan as an ambitious and proud being who defies his creator, omnipotent God, and who wages war on Heaven, only to be defeated and cast down. Indeed, William Blake, a great admirer of Milton and illustrator of the epic poem, said of Milton that "he was a true Poet, and of the Devil's party without knowing it." [2] Some commentators regard the character of Satan as a precursor of the Byronic hero.[3] Milton worked for Oliver Cromwell and the Parliament of England and thus wrote first-hand for the Commonwealth of England. Arguably, the failed rebellion and reinstallation of the monarchy left him to explore his losses within Paradise Lost. Some commentators say that he sympathized with Satan in this work, in that both he and Satan had experienced a failed cause. Milton incorporates Paganism, classical Greek references and Christianity within the story. The poem grapples with many difficult theological issues, including fate, predestination, and the Trinity.
PROMETHEUS Another obvious literary allusion in Frankenstein is its subtitle: "The Modern Prometheus." Prometheus was a Greek god who was in charge of giving out gifts to the various creatures on Earth. He gave out speed and instinct and such. By the time he got to mankind, he was out of gifts. He decided to go against his orders and gave man fire (symbolic of knowledge). The other gods were angered by his disobedience ([partly because now man was too godlike). Prometheus' punishment was that he was chained to a rock. Every day a vulture came and devoured his liver. Every night the liver grew back to be devoured the next day. In several obvious ways, this ancient Greek story is very closely connected to Frankenstein.
Prometheus was the son of Iapetus who was one of the Titans. He tricked
the gods into eating bare bones instead of good meat. He stole the
sacred fire from Zeus and the gods. Prometheus did not tell Zeus the
prophecy that one of Zeus's sons will overthrow him. In punishment, Zeus
commanded that Prometheus be chained for eternity in the Caucasus.
There, an eagle (or, according to other sources, a vulture) would eat
his liver, and each day the liver would be renewed. So the punishment
was endless, until Heracles finally killed the bird. Prometheus is known
to be one of the most interesting characters in Greek Mythology.
Want to learn more? John Milton's Paradise Lost e-text
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