The Great Writers From The Romantic Era - 1389 Words

It is arguable that William Wordsworth had a great influence on many of the great writers from the romantic era, and it is evident that his definition of the sublime â€Å"mind to grasp at something towards which it can make approaches but which it is incapable of attaining† did in fact influence Mary Shelley’s writing of Frankenstein (Wordsworth, â€Å"From Enlightenment† 84) From the picturesque images of Mount Blanc and Lake Genva, to the frozen North Sea, it feels like Wordsworth’s hand is guiding Shelley’s pen as the foundation for the novel is laid down, and it is this presence of the sublime that makes Frankenstein the masterful piece of art it is with adding in the sublime. With adding in the sublime Shelley was able to create a world of†¦show more content†¦The immediate impact of this statement can be felt throughout the novel, giving Frankenstein a good undertone of the sublime that last throughout the whole story. Whenever the s tory is about to take a turn for the better of worse, or just a very climatic scene, a moment of sublime is there to ease the reader into the horrors and beauties they are about to encounter. Just as the calm before the storm when Victor’s innocent bride dies, the reader is overcome with vivid images of Wordsworthian sublime, â€Å"The moon had reached her summit in the heavens and was beginning to descend† (Shelley 153) Shelley uses images like these of the sublime, so that the reader can easily see these moments are used to foreshadow the death of Elizabeth. As well as using it to foreshadow, Shelley also uses moments of Wordsworthian sublime, when crafting the natural environment of the novel. So much so that Shelley even uses lines 77-84 from â€Å"Tintern Abbey† when describing Clerval’s reaction to the beauty of nature. Whether the opening statements, the masterfully crafted middle, or the mystifying end, one can clearly see the influence of Wordswo rth’s definition of sublime intertwined throughout Shelley’s writing of Frankenstein. Furthermore, It is best to look at the evils that lurk