European Romanticism

The new appreciation of history led to the creation of historical novels which are thought to be invented by Sir Walter Scott. About the Same time English Romantic Poetry had reached its peak with works by John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley. A notable novel made as a result of the Romantic fascination with the supernatural is the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. In the later second phase of Romanticism it was less universal and began to focus more on the individual nations culture and history and began to examine the struggles of extraordinary individuals. Art in the Romantic era was greatly influenced by nature because of its uncontrollable raw power and potential for ... ... middle of paper ... ...ver the previous thought process of strict formal rules and reason.

Frankenstein is one of the first science fiction books of paranormal fear, Frankenstein was a quick accomplishment upon its secretly discharge in 1818. The" frantic" researcher Victor Frankenstein and his creation bother its followers with alarm of the unidentified and force of natures powers. Lets look closer to see into the character of Victor Frankenstein, the position of investigative experimentation and the confused settings of nature in which the story create, confirm Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein , a for example of both Romantic and Gothic picture in nineteenth century British Literature. Around the time Mary Shelley was conceived (1798), her spouse's popular forerunners, Wordsworth and Coleridge, distributed Lyrical Ballads With a Few Other Poems which is an early sample of Romantic writing. Shelley's father, William Godwin , was an imperative political rationalists of the first Romantic era ,it is clear that Shelley herself demonstrated deference for Wordsworth, Coleridge, and particularly The Ancient Mariner" , she even joined a section from The Ancient Mariner in Frankenstein.

The possibility of a society transformed by individuals seemed less believable. Mary Godwin suffered from this disillusionment, but for different reasons. In his essay on Frankenstein, George Levine discusses the dream Godwin had which inspired the book: "The dreams emerge from the complex experiences that placed young Mary Shelley, both personally and intellect... ... middle of paper ... ...such ideals. In the case of Frankenstein, his aspiration for supernatural powers and knowledge created a monster who tormented him until the day he died. He sought a fame greater than his nature would allow and, while his monster knew nothing but a desire to be accepted and reunited with his creator, Frankenstein's own "overreaching" ambition was met with disillusionment.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a gothic science fiction novel written in the romantic era that focuses on the elements of life. The romantic era was sparked by the changing social environment, including the industrial revolution. It was a form of revolt against the scientific revolutions of the era by developing a form of literature that romanticize nature and giving nature godliness. This element of romanticized nature is a recurrent element in Frankenstein and is used to reflect emotions, as a place for relaxation and as foreshadowing. Frankenstein also includes various other elements of romanticism including strong emotions and interest in the common people.

The role of the imagination in Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein is a vital when defining the work as Romantic. Though Shelley incorporates aspects that resemble the Enlightenment period, she relies on the imagination. The power of the imagination is exemplified in the novel through both Victor and the Creature as each embarks to accomplish their separate goals of scientific fame and accomplishing human relationships. The origin of the tale also emphasizes the role of the imagination as Shelley describes it in her “Introduction to Frankenstein, Third Edition (1831)”. Imagination in the text is also relatable to other iconic works of the Romantic Period such as S. T. Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria in which he defines Primary and Secondary imagination.

The Many Romantic Elements of Frankenstein Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein exhibits many gothic elements, but most would argue that it is more of a Romantic novel considering its idea of true inspiration. Victor Frankenstein takes only his love for knowledge and science, and creates life. Although it ends up disappointing him and becomes the ruin of Victor, this monster came from much creativity. To create something from absolutely nothing is a most inspiring thing, classifying it as a romantic. Frankenstein is composed of many elements of romanticism, such as supernatural being, emotions produced by the characters of the story, and the effect of nature.

Victor clearly shows us his personal struggle with the fact that his life used to be so beautiful and now the complex ways of his life have become a misery. Much like the other Romantic novelists and poets of time period. Shelley shows the main characters emotions and relationships in order to highlight personal experience and personal thoughts. This style is a common element of the British Romantic novelist. In the blog, Elements of Romanticism in Frankenstein, posted by Nicole Smith, she writes, “The Romantic Poets were always seeking a way to capture and represent the sublime moment and experience, the more personal the moment had been the better” (Smith).

Mary Shelley, with her brilliant tale of mankind's obsession with two opposing forces: creation and science, continues to draw readers with Frankenstein's many meanings and effect on society. Frankenstein has had a major influence across literature and pop culture and was one of the major contributors to a completely new genre of horror. Frankenstein is most famous for being arguably considered the first fully-realized science fiction novel. In Frankenstein, some of the main concepts behind the literary movement of Romanticism can be found. Mary Shelley was a colleague of many Romantic poets such as her husband Percy Shelley, and their friends William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge, even though the themes within Frankenstein are darker than their brighter subjects and poems.

The most apparent extraordinary element in Frankenstein is the concept of galvanic creation. Shelley invites us to believe that Victor can bestow life to the inanimate monster. This achieved by stressing the power and enticement (None but those who have experienced them can conceive of the enticement of science... ... middle of paper ... ...ng the extraordinary I responded in favour of the monster and in disfavour of Victor. In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley invites us as readers to accept the extraordinary. In accepting this invitation my response to the major characters in the novel, Victor and the monster, changed noticeably.

Neo-classicism, governed by reason, attempted to establish certain standards in the lives of Europeans. The backlash during the Enlightenment, in which traditions were beginning to be scrutinized negatively, also fed into much of the ideals during this period. Romanticism emerged as a sort of continuation of the Enlightenment; not in questioning political ideology but in praising irrationality through imagination. Regarded as the “Age of Sensibility,” Romanticism is very well known for the emergence of guiding oneself through emotion rather than reason. First expressed in the Enlightenment by writers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, this era saw an increase in the interest of nature and the wish for a return to a “simpler” society.