Diction
OVERALL
• In general, Mary Shelly’s diction is intensely descriptive. Like a
good ghost story, vividly expressive word choice forms the
basis of the reader’s horror.
• “Delighted and surprised, I embraced her; but as I imprinted
the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of
death; her features appeared to change, and I thought that I
held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud
enveloped her form, and I saw the grave worms crawling in the
folds of the flannel” (56).
OVERALL (CONT.)
• In the beginning, the diction is optimistic and cheerful.
• As Victor matures, the diction shifts to become more gloomy.
ROMANTIC OR GOTHIC?
• Descriptions of nature and childhood use positive, glowing
diction.
• “Their icy and glittering peaks shone in the sunlight over the
clouds. My heart, which was before sorrowful, now swelled
with something like joy; I exclaimed– ‘Wandering spirits, if
indeed ye wander, and do not rest in your narrow beds, allow
me this faint happiness, or take me, as your companion away
from the joys of life’” (96).
ROMANTIC OR GOTHIC? (CONT.)
• On the other hand, much of the diction is morbid and
depressing, suggesting a gothic.
• “A fiendish rage animated him as he said this; his face was
wrinkled into contortions to horrible for human eyes to
behold” (125).
MONSTER
• “As yet I looked upon crime as a distant evil; benevolence and
generosity were ever present before me, inciting within me a
desire to become an actor in the busy scene where so many
admirable qualities were called forth and displayed” (127).
• “The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had
entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish
rage and gnashing of teeth. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal
hatred and vengeance to all mankind”(121).
ANALYSIS
• The creature’s diction cast him as a very perspicacious
character.
• The creature’s narrative switches from positive diction
(kindness and gentleness) to negative diction (hellish rage and
gnashing of teeth).
• Imagery and diction relating to hell: hellish rage, gnashing of
teeth, eternal hatred.
• This helps to reinforce the concept of the creature’s descent
from innocence and goodness to distrust and disillusionment
VICTOR
• “All was silent again, but his words rang in my ears. I burned
with rage to pursue the murderer of my peace and precipitate
him into the ocean. I walked up and down my room hastily and
perturbed, while my imagination conjured up a thousand
images to torment and sting me” (147).
ANALYSIS
• Victor’s diction is marked by the use of scientific sounding
words and formal constructions.
• Also, note the use of “burned.” Words which relate to fire are
a used extensively in Frankenstein, usually to describe extremes
of emotion.
• Not as much in this quotation, but often Victor uses vague,
wordy diction with many qualification.
WALTON
“I wish to soothe him; yet can I counsel one so infinitely
miserable, so destitute of every hope of consolation, to live? Oh,
no! The only joy that he can now know will be when he
composes his shattered spirit to peace and death. Yet he enjoys
one comfort, the offspring of solitude and delirium: he believes
that, when in dreams he holds converse with his friends and
derives from that communion consolation for his miseries or
excitements to his vengeance, that are not for the creations of his
fancy, but the beings themselves who visit him from the regions
of the remote world”(207).
ANALYSIS
• Walton’s diction in this quotes displays mood swings in his
speech. While words such as “soothe” and “counsel” show
that Walton views Frankenstein as a friend, he also looks
down upon the man as crazy and hopeless. In a sense, this
dichotomy mirrors the way Frankenstein influences Walton, at
once urging him onward to the North pole and serving as an
example of the dangers of reckless scientific ambition.
CONCLUSION
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Vivid descriptive diction (what a surprise!)
Romantic and Gothic themes
The monster: intelligent, clear diction
Frankenstein: overly scientific
Walton: mood swings