Similarities Between Frankenstein And The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

When compared to the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein morphs from a unique ocean of ideas to a small stream inspired by its precedents. Shelley does not try to hide this fact. Instead, she uses multiple allusions throughout the novel, which consequently elevates the novel, but also accredits Coleridge. From their narrative frame to their moral, both works have similarities beyond their mere romantic philosophy. The Ancient Mariner is introduced, starting from the second letter of Robert Walton to his sister. Walton uses him as an example of misery and wrong choices, comforting his sister that he “shall kill no albatross,” and thus shall not “come back… as worn and woeful as the ‘Ancient Mariner’” (Frankenstein.6). Walton’s journey becomes extremely similar to that of the Ancient Mariner and his crew, as his ship faces the same fog, ice, and rime. These allusions establish the mood of the story by drawing a dreary atmosphere, without Shelley having to describe it. …show more content…
The similarities in the mysterious, adventurous themes of both Coleridge’s poem and Shelley’s novel, are partly established by the similarities of their narrative frames. We vicariously experience Frankenstein through Walton’s letters, in which Victor Frankenstein tells his story, which also includes his monster’s own autobiography. Meanwhile, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner is told by a seemingly omniscient narrator, who talks of the Ancient Mariner, who narrates his crew’s story. These three dimensional narrations, add great freedom to the writer. The reader, however, gets an opinionated story, since it is not told directly as it