Frankenstein Coursework Essay Title and Brief Guide

Question: How does Mary Shelley make the description of the monster waking in chapter five powerful and dramatic? Explain the background to the novel, the context of the chapter and the consequences of the experiment.

The Frankenstein essay is worth 10% of final English literature mark and 5% of final English Language mark.
It is submitted for both parts of the course.

You will be assessed on:
• Your knowledge of the story
• Your ability to express your ideas
• Your use of quotations
• Explore context (Shelley’s life, 19th century inventions, medicine, religion etc)
• Ability to analyse the language of chapter 5 (say how Shelley builds up tension)
...as well as how you deal with the complex ideas and issues raised by the book.


Basic Plan
Introduction
Say what you will do in this essay. Say how the novel was first written. Say how Mary Shelley’s life might have inspired her to write the novel.
Set the novel in context: Mention what was happening in science at the time which might have influenced her. (Galvani, Davy…)
Now focus on chapter 5. How does chapter 5 fit into the rest of the novel? Try to keep this concise!

Main Body
This is where you need to do some language analysis. It is also here that you can pick up most marks. How does Shelley set the scene? How does she describe the monster and make it tense and eerie? What is Victor’s attitude to the monster? What are the consequences of the monster waking up?
Try to also deal with themes and ideas in this part.

Conclusion
Say whether you think Shelley’s descriptions in Ch5 were effective in creating tension and describing the monster? What do you think is message of the book?