In this essay I am exploring power and control through language structure and characterization in Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley and The Tempest written by Shakespeare.  Power is the ability and capability to do something and can be placed as use to control or take advantage of someone or a certain event. Mary Shelley was inspired to write this Gothic novel due to a night of German ghost stories were being told by Lord Byron, her husband and friends. Lord Byron’s proposal of the ghost stories was the spark of the commencement of Shelley’s imagination for the Gothic novel. This event occurred through a night of thunderstorms that was continuous for days and lead them to stay in the house. Mary Shelley at the time desired to write a novel ‘ which would speak to the mysterious fears of nature and awaken a thrilling horror’. she wrote Frankenstein with a theme of the ‘Romantic movement’ which was a strong overflow of strong and powerful of emotion, power and control was presented through the romantic movement in Frankenstein, also through  the main character ‘Victor Frankenstein’ who was suffering a depression. He visited the Switz Alps called ‘Mont BLanc’. This encounter was where he recuperated and gained control due to the magnificent serenity and the sublimity he experienced through this encounter with nature. Mary Shelley intended to introduce The Romantic movement to emphasize what nature can cause sublimity to be used as a therapy for those who suffer from depression.

 

However in the 17th century around the year 1609 the white Europeans who travelled sailed towards the Americas, there were 500 colonists on board. Suddenly they had a major shipwreck which changed the course of their sailing. The change of direction took them to one of the Islands in the Bermuda’s due the great disaster struck from an immense storm. This Island was seen as the Devil’s Island. This was mentioned by Ariel in the script, when telling Prospero what she has done to the ship. There was such thing as the old world and the new world back in the 17th century. The old world seen a civilization that had gone through the industrial revolution, the old world had made a lot of discoveries. The old world was certain countries in Europe that were claimed to be civilized. By being civilized is seen as going through a stage of development considered to be more advanced, in this case the old world had gone through the industrial revolution. The new world was a metaphor given to the Americas, in terms of the new world they had not gone through a stage of development such as the industrial revolution. This was due to the fact that the Americas were full of natives. This takes it into conclusion that the old world desired to colonize the old world as they had a lot of riches, but also to enable them to go through the stage of development. Shakespeare used the old world and the new world and presented them Prospero and Caliban. Shakespeare presented the old world through Prospero as he was a white European from Milan that was part of course due to an immense storm and caused him and his daughter to end up in one of the islands of the Bermuda. Caliban was a seen as the new world as he was a native uncivilized unlike Prospero.

 

In chapter 2 of Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein was exposed to a scene of terrific bright lights that commenced the spark of his curiosity towards science. It was known as the lightening scene.” The thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heaven. I remained, while the storm lasted, watching it progress which curiosity and delight”. This quote activated Victor Frankenstein’s curiosity, this encounter with the scene had him questioning himself about science. The lightning scene took control over Frankenstein to proceed him into the enriching of knowledge. Enriching himself with knowledge enabled him to gain power as he gained knowledge that certain people weren’t aware of. ” I never beheld anything utterly destroyed”, he describe the oak tree as ‘utterly destroyed’, by him using this exaggeration of speech he has emphasized his astonishing encounter with the source of the nature that is so destructive, this was a scene that he was had never beheld a witness with this supernatural experience. Mary Shelley is trying to say about how power and control that Mother Nature obtains a source power that no human being could obtain, Victor’s encounter with the lightning caused him to envy nature’s power and lead him to seek and discover how to obtain it so that he could use it to create and take away life. Mary Shelley was inspired to write the lightening scene, she wanted to write a novel ‘which would speak for the mysterious fear of our nature and awaken a thrilling horror- one to make the reader dread to look around”.

 

In the tempest Prospero Miranda’s father had enslaved Caliban due to the fact that Caliban attempted to rape Prospero’s daughter. Prospero was infuriated to witness this happening to his daughter even though Prospero and Caliban were equal since Caliban taught him how to survive in the remote island they ended up in, she as exchange taught him how to speak in a very eloquent form of language. Caliban broke the inequality between him and Prospero. When he attempted to rape his daughter.”I mine own cell, till thou didst seek to violate the honour of my child’ ‘Prospero emphasized here anger and Caliban’s action as ‘violation’ of their relationship and her ‘honour’ by attempting to rape his daughter. Propero’s anger led him to use his power within his magic and her books to enslave Caliban, as he stands higher status due to how civilized he is, he easily took power with his magic controlling Caliban and his island, this is how power and control was present in Act 1 Scene 2 he grew frustration to know that he attempted to make Caliban into a civilized human being, From being a native who has not been through the industrial revolution to one who has been through the industrial revolution. The scene the act 1 scene is link with the social historical context in the 7th century the white Europeans sailed to the America where most of the world richest were found. As they got there they encountered that there was a lot of native that weren’t yet civilized as they hadn’t gone through the industrial revolution. The white Europeans colonized parts of the Americas and brought up the Law for those who try dishonour the queen will be enslaved or hung.

In act 1 scene 2 Caliban experiences fear and terror as spirits haunt him down at night. ‘‘Sometimes like apes that mow and chatter and after bite me”. At night the spirits appear as apes which ‘mow’ at him, mean the ape like spirits try to cut his up by biting him. The spirits ‘chatter’ at him meaning the spirits whisper in his ear. These spirits are been present through Ariel who Prospero used his power by using magic to cause Caliban to become scare by using fear, terror and torture to control Caliban and get what he wants .Shakespeare is portraying power through Prospero’s demand to Ariel, but also Shakespeare has shown it through Ariel as it has the physical power to transform into a ghostly spirit that has the characteristics of ‘ape’ trying to bite him.

In chapter 4 in the Frankenstein book Victor Frankenstein penetrated deep into science, his obsession drove him to penetrate deep into the science of anatomy. He wanted to know how living things lived and died.” I became acquainted with the science of anatomy: but this was not sufficient; I must also observe the natural decay and corruption of the human body”. By Victor Frankenstein emphasizing the insufficiency of the knowledge he acquainted was not enough to reach his satisfaction of knowledge .Mary Shelly is suggesting that by Victor’s desire and obsession is presented control, Mary Shelley has expressed control through his obsession that was taking control over him. This led him to lose communication with his step sister and his father because his obsession has had him so controlled that it has distracted him from what was much more important. His aim was to make a new race of creature. He knew what he had to do to acquire the knowledge that would enable him to have the power and for him to be successful in commencement a whole new life. Mary Shelley was inspired to write this scene as she uses Galvanism (the use of lightning) to commence the creatures life in Frankenstein. Galvanism was the theory that the use of an electrical current sent through a body could bring a dead body back to life, this theory was present in the mid-17th century. Doctor Aldini was a scientist to take this theory into practical where his sent a current through a dead body and cause its leg to twitch and its eye to open. This source of power in the Aldini experiment was only used as knowledge of power that could also be used to control the commencement of life and death.

In chapter 9 was where Frankenstein had made his journey to the Switz Alps presented as ‘Mont Blanc’. His journey to the Switz Alps was to seek recuperation. His exploration and interaction of the scenes of the Switz Alps enabled him to experience the sublimity of it which was the intense emotions that overcome any other mental state due to its intensity. ‘‘These sublime and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolations that I was capable of receiving”.  The word ‘ magnificent’ in terms of the quote enables the reader to comprehend that what he was seeing through his eyes was a majestic and beautiful panoramic view enabled him to recuperate. Mary Shelley is trying to say that the sublimity of nature had the power to help people recuperate from a depression and other types of mental illness, but also she mentions that the sublimity enables people to regain control of their emotions and metal state. The word ‘consolation’ used in the text is form of recuperation for Victor. ‘Consolation’ is a certain experience that enables sadness or depression to fade away. Mary Shelley was inspired to write about ‘The Romantic Movement'(which was the beauty of Mother Nature that enabled people to experience the sublime) in her work. She portrays the Romantic Movement in this chapter by portraying its power through the sublimity and how it enabled Victor to recuperate.

In Act 2 Scene 2 in The Tempest was where Trinculo encountered Caliban in the middle of a storm,” A fish; a very ancient and fish like smell” This quote helps the reader understand how Caliban was presented to Trinculo in his encounter with it. Caliban was seen as a fish. Also Stephano encounters Trinculo and Stephano. Trinculo wanted to take him back to England and sell him to get money.” These be fine things, an if they be no sprites. That’s a brave god, bear celestial liquor. I will kneel to him”. Caliban had first tried liquor and he had described it as ‘celestial’, celestial is a word that has a definition as something observed in Astronomy out in space, therefore emphasizing that the liquor was something unearthly to Caliban as it was his first try of it. This led him to admire the presence of the marvellous and unearthly liquor and kneeling down to Stephano offer a place as his God. Shakespeare is trying to suggest that the present of the liquor was presented as power, Stephano used the Liquor to control Caliban to show them around the island. The social historical context of the scene was that the old world had invented liquor, once the new world came in contact with liquor it was unearthly.

In Frankenstein I have learned that this novel was written from a Gothic background. Mary Shelley used abusive language through a creature to express power and control. In The Tempest power and control is shown through magic and how civilized the characters are.