Directions: Read the Following Information, and Answer the Questions

Name: ______Date Due: ______

Vocabulary

Prologue:
1. fervent (adj): passionate, glowing
2. inexorable (adj): relentless; unyielding
Chapters I-II:
3. pittance (n): a small amount; a trifling
4. progeny (n): children, descendants; offspring
Chapters III-IV:
5. prognosticated (v): predicted on the basis of present indications
6. zeal (n): eagerness; enthusiasm
Chapters V-VI:
7. fetter (v): restrain, tie up
8. perversity (n): abnormality; difference
Chapters VII-VIII:
9. tedious (adj): long and tiring
10. conjecture (n): an conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information
11. perdition (n): a loss of one’s soul; utter loss or destruction
Chapters IX and X:
12. abhorrence (n): a feeling of repulsion; disgusted loathing
13. impetuous (adj): acting quickly and without thought or care
Chapters XI-XII:
14. impervious (adj): incapable of being penetrated, allowing no passage
15. assuage (v): to satisfy or appease
16. purloined (v): stolen / Chapters XIII-XIV:
17. squalid (adj): extremely dirty and unpleasant, esp. as a result of poverty
Chapters XV-XVI:
18. deprecate (v): to express strong disapproval
19. imbued (v): filled with; inspired
20. sagacity (n): sound judgment; wisdom
Chapters XVII-XVIII:
21. machinations (n): evil plotting; secret schemes
22. acquiesced (v): accepted something reluctantly but without protest.
Chapters XIX-XX:
23. languid (adj): slow and relaxed
24. dissuade (v): persuade (someone) not to take a particular course of action
25. sophisms (n): a plausible but mistaken argument
Chapters XXI-XII:
26. livid (adj): furiously angry
27. repugnance (n): intense disgust
28. erroneous (adj): mistaken
29. politic (adj): seeming sensible and judicious under the circumstances (bonus word)
Chapters XXIII-XXIV:
30. invective (n): an abusive speech; violent attack with words
31. purport (v): to claim or profess the main idea
32. rankle (v): (of a comment, event, or fact) cause annoyance or resentment that persists.
Lesson 1 / Chapters/pp.
“Context: Introducing Frankenstein” / N/A
Handout 2: “British Romanticism”
Objectives: / 1. define and describe British Romanticism
2. summarize the myth of “Prometheus”
3. define the elements of the Gothic genre
4. discuss the connections between the novel and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

Directions: Read the following information, and answer the questions.

The literary movement called British Romanticism officially began in 1798 when William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge published the first edition of LyricalBallads and revolutionized English poetry forever. Familiar as she was with Percy Bysshe Shelley and other Romantic poets, Mary Shelley was greatly influenced by the ideas fundamental to Romanticism, concepts that are quite evident in Frankenstein.

Romanticism stresses emotions, powerful feelings and values them above reason or logic. In fact, in Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth defined poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” This does not mean that the Romantics could not be logical; they just saw emotion as a higher ability.

Romanticism also places a strong value on nature in its wild state. In Romantic works, we often find that mountains, lakes, trees, and the sky have a restorative, healing power on the human mind, soul, and heart. On the other hand, Romantics distrust technology and science, which are essentially efforts to control nature.

Romanticism is often linked with ideals behind the American and French Revolutions near the end of the 1700s. Romantics extol the common man and woman above the nobility; they often glorify the simple lifestyle of country people.

Sometimes there is a mystical or supernatural aspect to Romanticism. In this way, Romanticism can be linked with the genre referred to as the Gothic Novel, which also developed in the second half of the eighteenth century. Gothic novels are characterized by haunted houses, eerie events, shrieks in the middle of the night, and often by frightened young women charged with the care of vulnerable children.

(Answer the questions on the following page.)

Handout 2: “British Romanticism”

1. What are four emphases of British Romanticism?

2. Based on this passage, what would be the opposite of a Romantic?

3. Imagine that a person inherited five acres of primal forest in Colorado. What would a Romantic do with the land? What would the opposite kind of person do?

Six Elements of Romanticism

Belief in the ______and ______
Love of (______for) ______
Interest in the ______
Interest in the ______
Looks at the world with more than reasonable ______
Faith in ______and the ______of the ______

Elements of Gothic Literature

______(haunted houses or castles with secret ______, ______, and other mysterious ______)
Supernatural ______or ______(ghosts, vampires, ______, giants)
______or ______
______in ______
______
______
Intense ______

Supplemental Reading / Chapters/pp.
“Context: Introducing Frankenstein”
Handout 5: “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

Directions: Read Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s long narrative poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Answer the following questions.

1. In Part 1, why is the wedding guest agitated? What shocking statement does the mariner make at the end of the section?

2. In Part 2, what is the mariner’s punishment for his “crime”?

3. Summarize Part 3 in 1-2 sentences.

4. What does the mariner emphasize in Part 4?

5. Summarize Part 5 in 1-2 sentences.

6. In Part 6, where does the mariner land? What does he want to do?

7. What do we find out about the mariner in Part 7?

8. Reread the last four stanzas. What theme statements do you see? (Hint: 3)

*Watch for connections between this poem and the novel.

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Lesson 1 / Chapters/pp.
“Introducing Frankenstein”
Handout 3, “A Modern Prometheus”

Read the story of “Prometheus,” and answer the questions.

1. With what did the Roman writer Ovid credit Prometheus?

2. How, according to myth, did Zeus’s and Prometheus’s attitudes toward humans differ?

3. What gift did Prometheus give mankind? Why was this gift important?

4. What was Prometheus’s punishment?

5. What does the story of Prometheus have in common with the biblical story of the Tower of Babel?

6. What does the subtitle of the novel foreshadow about the character of Frankenstein?

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Characters

Name

Notes/quotes

Robert Walton

Victor Frankenstein

the creature

Henry Clerval

Elizabeth Lavenza

Alphonse Frankenstein

William Frankenstein

Justine Moritz

Caroline Frankenstein

De Lacey

Felix, Safie, and Agatha

Mr. Kirwin

M. Waldman

M. Krempe

Ambition and Fallibility (hubris):

Notes:

Quotes (with citation):

Revenge

Notes:

Quotes (with citation):

The Quest for Knowledge

Notes:

Quotes (with citation):

Lesson 2 / Chapters/pp.
“Mary Shelley’s Framing Device” / Preface, pp. 12-26
Handout 4, Part A: “Robert Walton’s Letters”

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Directions: Review the four letters at the beginning of the novel, and answer the following questions.

1. What is Robert Walton’s ambition? Why has he chosen this goal?

2. What does he sorely miss?

3. Where is he (geographically)?

4. What two strange figures doe he mention in his fourth letter?

5. How does Walton respond to the stranger?

6. What does the stranger mean by the comment, “Unhappy man! Do you share my madness?”

*The novel will end with Walton’s letters to his sister—hence the “frame story.”

Lesson 4 / Chapters/pp.
“Creating a Monster” / 4-10, pp. 45-91
Handout 10, “Frankenstein’s Mental State”

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Directions: Record passages from chapters 7-10 that provide insight into Frankenstein’s mental state of mind. Then record passages that address how he experiences nature as a restorative power. Focus on embedded quotes that are correctly cited.

1. State of mind (fear, anguish, remorse, despair, guilt, etc.):

2. Power of nature:

Lesson 5 / Chapters/pp.
“The Creature’s Story” / Chapters 11-17, pp. 92-133
Handout 13, “The De Lacey Family”

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1. What elements of Romanticism are evident in the portrayal of the family?

2. Why does the monster provide services for the family? What does he want?

Lesson 5 / Chapters/pp.
“The Creature’s Story” / Chapters 11-17, pp. 92-133
Handout 14, Paradise Lost

Read the summary of Book 1 of John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Then answer the following questions.

1. In the tradition of epic poetry, Milton invokes a muse to help him compose his poem. For him, it is the Spirit of God, the “Heavenly Muse” who created the Earth. What special help does he request?

2. What ambition does Satan cherish?

3. After nine mortal days, Satan lies vanquished. What gives him even more pain?

4. Describe what he sees. What positive qualities of life are missing here?

5. How does Satan see himself? What does he boast that he is able to do?

6. Satan is conscious that he will never die. What does he hope to do?

7. Beelzebub, less dominant, offers a “What if…” question. What is it? How does Satan respond?

8. Reading Paradise Lost deeply influences the creature who has suffered the pain of rejection. He finds in the richness of its pages some sustenance to bear him up in his misery. Write a paragraph in which you explain the epic’s powerful impact on the creature.

Lesson 6 / Chapters/pp.
Characterization
Protagonist and Antagonist

Choose one side, and defend it with thoughtful analysis and examples from the text.

Protagonist: Victor Frankenstein
Antagonist: the creature / Protagonist: the creature
Antagonist: Victor Frankenstein
Lesson 6 / Chapters/pp.
Characterization
Character Foils

These three characters are fixatedonexploring the world around them and acquiring new knowledge; but there are some key differences. Use the charts to explore character foils in the novel.

Walton and Frankenstein / Walton and the creature
Frankenstein and Clerval
Lesson 8 / Chapters/pp.
“Misery Loves Company” / N/A
Handout 19, “The Monster’s Misery”

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Directions: Carefully read the following lines spoken by Frankenstein’s creation; then complete the exercise.

“I gave vent to my anguish in fearful howlings. I was like a wild beast that had broken the toils, destroying the objects that obstructed me and ranging through the wood with a stag like swiftness. Oh! What a miserable night I passed!” (chapter 16)

“The agony of my feelings allowed me no respite: no incident occurred from which my rage and misery could not extract its food.” (chapter 16)

“I am alone, and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me.” (chapter 16)

“I have endured toil and misery…. I have dwelt many months in the heaths of England and among the deserts of Scotland. I have endured incalculable fatigue, and cold, and hunger; do you dare destroy my hopes?” (chapter 20)

“No guilt, no mischief, no malignity, no misery, can be found comparable to mine.” (chapter 24)

“I shall die, and what I now feel be no longer felt. Soon these burning miseries will be extinct.” (chapter 24)

Select 3 quotes and prepare quote IDs using the following questions as a guide. Why is the quote significant? Write your responses in paragraph form.

What negative words does the creature use to describe himself?
What does the creature see as the source of his misery?
What if Frankenstein had completed his second creation as the creature requested? Would the misery of the first creature have ended?
Does the creature deserve pity?

Quote # _____

______

Quote # _____

______

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Quote # _____

______

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Lesson 9 / Chapters/pp.
“Themes in Frankenstein” / N/A
“Hubris”

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Consider the following quotes. Is hubris Victor’s fatal flaw? Write your thoughtful response below.

“What had been the study and desire of the wisest men since the creation of the world was within my grasp.”
“…but my imagination was too much exalted by my first success to permit me to doubt of my ability to give life to an animal as complex and wonderful as man.”
“Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world.”
“A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would own their being to me.”
“No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs.”

Does Victor Frankenstein show hubris? Does he give thought to the implications of his actions? Justify your response with text evidence.

Lesson 9 / Chapters/pp.
“Themes in Frankenstein” / N/A
“Revenge”

In Frankenstein, what's the relationship between revenge and tragedy?

Who starts the revenge cycle, the monster, or Victor? Does it matter who started it? Who finishes it?

How does revenge give both the monster and Victor a purpose in life?

Read the following statement. Agree? Disagree? Why?

Victor's desire to avenge William's death ultimately brings about the deaths of Henry, Elizabeth, and his father. Victor is therefore morally responsible for these tragic events.

Lesson 9 / Chapters/pp.
“Themes in Frankenstein” / N/A
“The Quest for Knowledge”

Is the search for knowledge a good thing or a bad thing?

1. Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of Shakespeare, wrote a famous play called DoctorFaustus. In it, the main character, Faustus, becomes bored by the ordinary pursuit of knowledge and commits himself to seeking the forbidden knowledge of the black arts. The long-term consequence is the loss of his soul. Where is the boundary between legitimate and forbidden knowledge? Why would any knowledge be forbidden?

2. The creature seeks knowledge through observation and reading. Does his learning help or harm him? Explain.

3. In the light of the novel as a whole, what do you think Mary Shelley is saying about the human pursuit of learning? Phrase your response as a theme statement.

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Lesson 10 / Chapters/pp.
“Poetic Connections: Shelley and Wordsworth” / N/A
Handout 24, “Percy Bysshe Shelley: ‘Mutability’”

Directions: Mary Shelley has Victor Frankenstein quote lines included in a poem written by the man who would later become her husband. Read the poem, and complete the close reading questions.

Mutability means the quality of being changeable. Caterpillars, on their way to becoming butterflies, display a great deal of mutability. An easy way to remember mutability is to think about a word it sounds like, mutant. A mutant is someone who has been changed, irrevocably, so mutability is the ability to change.

1. Explain the simile in the first stanza. What does it emphasize about human beings?

2. Explain the significance of the simile in the second stanza.

3. Note the parallels in the third stanza. What is Shelley saying?

4. According to the poet, we can only be sure of one thing. What is it?

5. What reasons might Mary Shelley have had for including the last two stanzas in Frankenstein?

6. Paraphrase the last stanza in your own words. What is the significance?

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Lesson 10 / Chapters/pp.
“Poetic Connections: Shelley and Wordsworth” / N/A
Handout 25, “Tintern Abbey”

Directions: Read the poem and answer the questions.

Lines 1-22:

1. Where does the reader picture the poet standing in relation to the Wye and Tintern Abbey?

2. What emphasis on wilderness is there in this section of lines?

3. What mood do the details establish?

Lines 22-49:

5. What effects do the “feelings of unremembered pleasure” have on the reader?

6. Has the mood changed here? How?

Lines 49-111:

7. Back in the “joyless daylight” of the city, the poet sense benefits from his time in the woods. What are they?

8. What differences does the poet note about his reactions to the wilderness in the past and in the present?

Lines 112-end:

9. What does the poet say about the value of his sister as a companion? What does he hope for her in later years?

10. Why is this poem significant (to the novel)?

Frankenstein Socratic Seminar

Directions: Select three of the following questions and answer them thoughtfully. Find one to two quotes (properly cited) to support your answers.

1. Even as a child, Victor Frankenstein is an avid seeker of knowledge. What is ironic about his studies of Agrippa? Are those studies harmful to him? Why or why not?

2. Victor gets into major trouble when he goes off to college at Ingolstadt. What is wrong with his pursuit of knowledge and skills? Is Mary Shelley implying that higher education is dangerous?

3. The creature seeks knowledge through observation and reading. Does his learning help or harm him? Explain.

4. In the light of the novel as a whole, what do you think Mary Shelley is saying about the human pursuit of learning? Phrase your response as a theme statement.

5. Is the quest for knowledge a good thing or a bad thing? How does ambition play a role in this quest?

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