![]() The epigraph she chose for the title page of Frankenstein is a quotation from Paradise Lost, and appears in Book X, lines 743–744 (shown here). Mary Shelley found inspiration in Milton’s epic poem about the biblical story of humanity’s creation, temptation, and eventual fall from grace. John Milton, Paradise Lost: A Poem in Twelve Books (London, 1763) Like Robert Walton’s trip to the far north in Frankenstein, Parry’s voyage was ultimately unsuccessful, and resulted in the wreck of the Fury. The search for a “Northwest Passage” from the Atlantic to the Pacific inspired multiple expeditions, including the one seen here in 1824–1825, led by Captain William Parry aboard the two ships Hecla and Fury. Throughout the Age of Exploration, ships sailed to the corners of the Earth, seeking both scientific and commercial gain. Sir William Edward Parry, Journal of a Third Voyage for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific (London: John Murray, 1826) Mary Shelley was especially taken with the myth of Prometheus, a Titan who created man from clay and rebelled against Zeus by giving fire (i.e., civilization) to humanity. Ovid’s masterpiece has inspired many great writers and artists over the millennia, including Dante, Chaucer, Titian, and Shakespeare. In it, he chronicles the history of the world through the lens of mythology, starting with the Creation and ending with Julius Caesar. Roman poet Ovid wrote the epic narrative poem Metamorphoses (“Book of Transformations”) at the start of the Common Era. Ovids Verwandlungen (Vienna: Alberti, 1791) The rhyming play Prometheus Unbound focuses on the events following Prometheus’s his release from captivity by Heracles. ![]() ![]() Mary’s husband, Percy, began writing his own version of the myth in 1818, the same year Frankenstein was published. Both Victor and Prometheus sought godlike powers of creation both faced punishment for their misguided actions, with Victor experiencing the loss of all his loved ones and Prometheus facing perpetual physical torment. Mary Shelley subtitled Frankenstein “The Modern Prometheus,” tying Victor’s violation of the laws of nature to the Greek myth described by Aeschylus. Both stories are set on ships sailing through frozen seas and offer a cautionary tale about the peril of disturbing the natural order.Īeschylus, Prometheus Bound and Percy Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, illustrated by John Farleigh (New York: Limited Editions Club, 1965) Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, illustrated by Gustave Doré (New York: Harper & Bros., 1878)Ĭoleridge’s lengthy Romantic-era poem, first published in 1798, features prominently in Mary Shelley’s work, with Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein quoting or referencing it.
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