Compare & Contrast the Theme of Horror in Frankenstein and Macbeth
Michelle Cardwell
English Literature – Understanding Literature
Compare & Contrast the use of ‘horror’ in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
The gothic horror genre is a favourite for many readers. We love the suspense and mystery, the desperation, the doom and gloom, the claustrophobia, even the blood. But most of all we love the fear - the feeling we get that gives us pathos with the protagonist that keeps us on the edge of our seats and propels us to turn the page. How do Shelley and Shakespeare provoke our reactions when reading Macbeth (Shakepeare,1606) and Frankenstein (Shelley, 1818)? When comparing and contrasting the two texts an awareness of the different formats is necessary: Macbeth is a play and Frankenstein a novel written in the epistolary format. In a novel the use of descriptive language, often including metaphor “her hair was the brightest living gold” (Ch I, pg 35) or simile “one vast hand was extended , in colour and apparent texture like that of a mummy” (Ch 24, pg 204) enables the reader to visualise the scene. When Victor Frankenstein is describing the monsters ‘birth’ he tells us:
“it was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out” (Chapter V, pg 59)
In a play, the scene will be set by a director. We take clues from the dialect regarding environment, “so foul and fair a day I have not seen” (I, 3, 36), we know the battle is won so foul must refer to the weather. Thoughts are conveyed through asides “Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor: The greatest is behind” (I, 3,115-116), Macbeth has thoughts which he cannot share with Banquo, but Shakespeare needs to make the point that the seed is planted. Another contrast between the two works is the date; In Elizabethan times the genre of horror was not referred to. The works of authors such as Shakespeare, Sackville, and Webster were referred to as ‘Tragedies’ although they had many gothic elements. They were
English Literature – Understanding Literature
Compare & Contrast the use of ‘horror’ in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
The gothic horror genre is a favourite for many readers. We love the suspense and mystery, the desperation, the doom and gloom, the claustrophobia, even the blood. But most of all we love the fear - the feeling we get that gives us pathos with the protagonist that keeps us on the edge of our seats and propels us to turn the page. How do Shelley and Shakespeare provoke our reactions when reading Macbeth (Shakepeare,1606) and Frankenstein (Shelley, 1818)? When comparing and contrasting the two texts an awareness of the different formats is necessary: Macbeth is a play and Frankenstein a novel written in the epistolary format. In a novel the use of descriptive language, often including metaphor “her hair was the brightest living gold” (Ch I, pg 35) or simile “one vast hand was extended , in colour and apparent texture like that of a mummy” (Ch 24, pg 204) enables the reader to visualise the scene. When Victor Frankenstein is describing the monsters ‘birth’ he tells us:
“it was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out” (Chapter V, pg 59)
In a play, the scene will be set by a director. We take clues from the dialect regarding environment, “so foul and fair a day I have not seen” (I, 3, 36), we know the battle is won so foul must refer to the weather. Thoughts are conveyed through asides “Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor: The greatest is behind” (I, 3,115-116), Macbeth has thoughts which he cannot share with Banquo, but Shakespeare needs to make the point that the seed is planted. Another contrast between the two works is the date; In Elizabethan times the genre of horror was not referred to. The works of authors such as Shakespeare, Sackville, and Webster were referred to as ‘Tragedies’ although they had many gothic elements. They were
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