Frankenstein Context Flashcards
Who wrote paradise lost
John milton, was about the fall of man
What character relates to paradise lost
The monster
Quote from paradise lost
“I ought to be thy adam but rather i am the fallen angel”
The modern prometheus
Prometheus stole fire from zeus and gave it to humankind and zeus nailed him to a mountain and had an eagle eat his liver everyday as an eternal punishment.
What is shelley’s didactic message via the modern prometheus?
Shelley uses this perhaps to warn humans of rapid scientific advancement
Robert Mclure
British explorer stuck in ice for 4 years in the arctic.
The sublime was created by…
Edmund Burke
Rime of the ancient mariner
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, man shoots an albatross and his ship becomes cursed.
What was Shelley’s intention of the intertextual reference to Rime of The Ancient Mariner?
To warn of the dangers of attempting to usurp nature.
Shelley’s childhood
Mary wollstonecroft was a proto-feminist ‘a vindication on the rights of women’ and her father was a political philospher, william godwin.
What did Mary and Percy Shelley face?
They faced ostracism due to their relationship, constant debt and the death of their premature baby daughter.
Tabula Rasa
The theory that everyone is born with a ‘blank slate’, nature vs nurture argument. Created by John Locke
What quote can we link to the Tabula Rasa?
‘Innocent and helpless creature’
Physiognomy
Pseudo- science, persons character determined by their outward appearance. Popular in the 19th century.
What authors made use of physiognomic description?
Hardy, Dickens, Oscar Wilde.
Galvinism: Luigi Galvini
Investigated the effect of electricity on dissected animals in the 1780’s and 90’s.
Aldini: Giovanni Aldini
The nephew of Galvani, ran electric current through deceased criminal George Foster in 1803.
When was first blood transfusion performed because of Aldini?
1818
Grave Robbing
18th and 19th century, people stole bodies and sold them to the med schools in London and Edinburgh.
When was the Murder Act passed?
1752
The industrial revolution
Period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840.
Shelleys life
Her parents hoped for a boy.
Father rejected her because of her relationship with already married Percy Shelley.
What did Shelley dream 4 days after Clara died?
She har revived her.
The French Revolution
Began in 1789 as a result of food shortages and exploitation.
Did the romantics support the FR
yes, as they believed it would alleviate some of the suffering of the poor, they later abandoned the cause as it descended into violence and corruption.
What book did Mary Shelley’s father write?
‘An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice’
The sublime is the belief that…
Nature possesses the most powerful emotions within people.
What did John Locke write?
Essay concerning human understanding, 1689
