Frankenstein

This week in English Literature we read the story Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Considering that I had only ever seen the Mel Brooks movie prior to this, I was in for quite a surprise. The story in the book was worlds away from any modern interpretation of Frankenstein that I have ever seen referenced in any modern day book or show.

I found myself feeling a lot sorrier for the monster than for Victor. Overall, I found Victor to be very selfish and week. The monster was thrust into a situation that he new nothing about, and then abandoned. He tried to make the best of it, but could find no love or compassion from anyone simply because he looked different. I could see this driving anyone to seek vengeance.

Romantic Poets

This week in my English Literature class we are studying some of the Romantic poets: Byron, Percy Shelley, and Keats. I enjoyed all of the poems that we studied but one of them spoke to me more than any of the others. That poem was Lord Byron's "When We Two Parted". The poem made my unspeakably sad. It is always so sad to think of two people who are filled with this joy and love and care so deeply for each other. Then, at some point, that love turns to hatred or even worse, indiffence. It is painful to think you can love someone and share with them so deeply, only to then have them gone from your life. The hole that they leave behind is painful and hard to fill.