The Modern Prometheus
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Myth prose
Greek myth-Prometheus is a Titan who stole
fire from Zeus and gave it to humans.
Punishment: Zeus had him tied to a rock and
an eagle ate out his liver every day, only to
have it grow back to be eaten again the next
day.
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William Godwin- father; political philosopher;
Believed in the perfection of a race and had
no propensity toward evil.
Rousseau- education liberates the personality
Locke- mind is a blank slate at birth
Percy Shelley- husband; “Prometheus
Unbound”-a four-act play from Prometheus’
point of view (this would be a great source!)
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Natural science- a naturalistic approach to
the study of the universe, which is
understood as obeying rules or laws of
natural origin.
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa- German
magician, occult writer, alchemist. "All things
which are similar and therefore connected,
are drawn to each other's power."
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Paracelsus- Renaissance physician, botonist,
occultist, astrologer, and alchemist. Believed
the universe was formed by three spiritual
substances: Mercury, Sulfur and Salt (tria prima)
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The tria prima also defined the human identity.
Sulfur embodied the soul, (the emotions and
desires); Salt represented the body; Mercury
epitomized the spirit (imagination, moral judgment,
and the higher mental faculties).
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Famous epic poem by Milton
Centers on the Fall of Man: the temptation of
Adam and Eve by Satan, and their expulsion
from the Garden of Eden.
Attempts to justify God’s foundational, all
knowing, all loving, all powerful nature.
Epigraph:
Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould me man? Did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me?
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Why is Frankenstein called The Modern
Prometheus?
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You may use your questions and your journal.
Your response should be at least two
paragraphs. Please organize your thoughts
with a thesis statement, evidence, and a
concluding thought.
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In Paradise Lost, Milton describes hell as “a
region of dark flame; it is darkness visible.”
How does the setting of the Mer de Glace and
the polar ice fields represent the underworld?
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You may use your questions and your journal.
Your response should be at least two
paragraphs. Please organize your thoughts
with a thesis statement, evidence, and a
concluding thought.
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Frankenstein uses the following quote as an
epigraph:
"Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould Me man? Did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me?” – Paradise Lost
▪ Explain why Shelley uses this as the epigraph.
(epigraph-a quotation at the beginning of a book, chapter, etc,
suggesting its theme )
"epigraph." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th
Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 20 Apr. 2011. <Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epigraph>.
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"Like one who, on a lonely road,
Doth walk in fear and dread,
And, having once turned round, walks on,
And turns no more his head;
Because he knows a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread.“
 – excerpt from Rime of the Ancient Mariner
 How does this excerpt connect to
Frankenstein?