Frankenstein Syllabus

Poetry Explication Project and Frankenstein
(Note: all page numbers refer to the Dover edition)

Mon 11/17 Computer work time. All classes Siebel 0218

Tue 11/18 Computer work time. 1st: Siebel 0218, 3rd: PC Lab, 4th: Various Labs
Paraphrase of poem due

Wed 11/19 Percy Bysshe Shelley, “England in 1819” and “Ozymandias” (Packet 37, 39). Vocab: tempestuous, visage, colossal. Can you find a specific argument in “Ozymandias”? Read the poem carefully several times, and consider what point Shelley might be attempting to make with this story.

Thu 11/20 Computer work time. 1st: Siebel 0218, 3rd: PC Lab, 4th: Various Labs Wiki format and rough draft of entry due to group / turn in skeleton of analysis section to Ms. Linder

Fri 11/21 Independent reading and book talks.

Mon 11/24 Introduction to Romanticism & Frankenstein. Read William Wordsworth “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” (Packet 38) and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, note and Author’s Intro (pp. iii-x) . Vocab (Frankenstein): eponymous (iii), dilate (v), mortifying (vii),. In “I Wandered,” what role do the daffodils play in the speaker’s life when he first sees them, and afterward?

Tue 11/25 Read Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, Letters 1-IV, ch. 1-2 (pp. 1-23). Vocab: fervent, satiate (1), inure (2), poignant (11) divine (verb, 18), predilection (20). In “Letter I,” Walton mentions his former desire to become a poet. He names certain poets he had hoped to be compared to. Which poets does he name, and what might this aspiration tell us about Walton?

Thanksgiving Break

Mon 12/1 In Class Reading Day--Frankenstein, chaps. 3-7 (pp. 23-54). Vocab: repugnance (25), abstruse (29), precept (31), tumult (35), diffident (44), salubrious (45). We hear the name Frankenstein for the first time in this section. In what context? Why now? How this moment important? Why does Victor decide to build a man (instead of, say, a dog)? Why a huge man? What is strange and/or surprising about Victor’s life in the hours, days, and months after he successfully brings the creature to life? Generally speaking, what impression do you get of Victor Frankenstein?

Tue 12/2 Frankenstein, chaps. 8-10 (pp. 54-70). Vocab: obdurate, ignominy, perdition (58), efface (62), sublime (64), ascent, precipitous (66), odious (70). Characterize the creature’s speech during his conversation with Victor. What do you notice about the way he talks and/or the things he says? Does his speech surprise you and, if so, how?

Wed 12/3 Frankenstein, chaps. 11-12 (pp.70-81). Vocab: slake (71), inclemency (74), disconsolate (75), exhortation (79). Where does the creature finally find shelter? What does he observe in this place, and why does it please him so much? Assign sublime scrapbook

Thur 12/4 Frankenstein, chaps. 13-16 (pp. 81-104). Vocab: diffuse (82), scion (84), abject (84), consummation (87), expostulate (89), sagacity (93), respite (100). As the creature learns about human society and history, what things bother him? What view of human culture(s) does the story of the DeLaceys and Safie seem to offer the creature? Why do you think he refers to his feelings toward the DeLaceys as “innocent, half-painful self deceit”? In Chapter XVI we learn that the creature has killed one person, and caused the death of another. Who, and how? As the creature finishes his story, what demand does he make of Victor Frankenstein, and why? View scenes from Frankenstein (1930)

Fri 12/5 Independent reading and book talks.

Mon 12/8 Computer work time. All classes Siebel 0218
Complete second draft due by end of class

Tue 12/9 Frankenstein, chaps. 17-18 (pp. 104-14). Vocab: concede (104), abhorred, enjoin (108), guise (110), sedulous (111). What does the creature promise in exchange for Victor granting his request? How does Victor initially respond to this demand and these promises?

Wed 12/10 Frankenstein, chaps. 19-20 (pp. 114-27). Vocab: expedite (118), sophism (121), insuperable (123), sanguinary (126), mutable (126). Where does Victor go to create a mate for the creature? Why do you think he chooses this area? How is the process different for Victor this time than last time? What are some of Victor’s specific apprehensions about creating a female creature? View scenes from Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Thu 12/11 Frankenstein, chaps. 21-22 (pp. 128-43). Vocab: precarious (133), dissipate (133), torpor (134), erroneous (136), consternation (137), conjure (check context, 138). What impression do you get of Elizabeth from her letter in this section? Does it coincide with the view of her that Victor has given us? How does Victor interpret the “wedding day” threat? What do you think the creature is planning?

Fri 12/12 Book talks and independent reading. No reading journal entry required this week.
Final draft of poetry project due in class.

Mon 12/15 Frankenstein, chap. 23-end (pp. 143-66). Vocab: lour (146), acme (146), physiognomy (148), gibe (153). What vow does Victor Frankenstein make in this last section of the book, and what actions must he take to fulfill it? What significance does his journey have, aside from its necessity in carrying out his vow? (Consider where he goes, how he gets there, what he experiences along the way – do these things seem to have symbolic or thematic importance?) Choose what you think is the most important or interesting passage in Frankenstein. Begin Young Frankenstein (1974; Dir. Mel Brooks; 106 min) Sublime scrapbook due.

Tue 12/16 Young Frankenstein continued

Wed 12/17 finish Young Frankenstein / 2nd quarter exam review

Thu 12/13 & Fri 12/14 Exam days—English II exam, Friday AM