In the popular stories of Frankenstein, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and Tintern Abbey the corresponding authors are able to portray a gloomy sadness and the affects the solitude in their literature. Authors Mary Shelly, William Wordsworth, and Samuel Coleridge have continued to maintain a respect for nature within their writings. Wordsworth and Shelly are able to convey, through their descriptions, a strong and uplifting happiness of spirit in Frankenstein and Tintern Abbey. These writings during the Romantic Period bring a sense of loneliness to the characters and overall attitude of the literature. In these three works of text, nature has a strong and progressive hold on the plot of each story.
Mary Shelly (1797-1851) does a fabulous job of incorporating loneness and nature within the same description. Shelly depicts this in letter four of Frankenstein, “Last Monday (July 31st), we were nearly surrounded by ice, which closed in the ship on all sides, scarcely leaving her the sea-room in which she floated. Our situation was somewhat dangerous, especially as we were compassed round by a very thick fog. We accordingly lay to, hoping that some change would take place in the atmosphere and weather” (Shelly 19). Shelly explains how loneness can often occur in nature. While on the ice the author can attest to a strong desolate feeling. The quote also leads to the fact that nature can also bring a positive outcome. Without the imprisoned feeling of ice surrounding the boat, Victor would never have been found in the icy barren waters outside the pole. Shelly defends the positives of nature and stresses the possible up side to loneliness.
Samuel Coleridge (1772-1834) demonstrates the idea of gloomy sadness, also on the open ocean. He expressed the miserable state of the crew on board the ship, “Day after day, day after day, we stuck, nor breath nor motion; as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean. Water, water, everywhere, and all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink” (Coleridge 115-120). The two examples from Mary Shelly and Samuel Coleridge explain how nature can play a crucial role in the development of attitude of the characters in the literature.
Mary Shelly expresses happiness through the transition from season to season. She shows how events and moods can differ during the four seasons, especially the opposites of winter and summer. During the summer, good happenings tend to occur. While during the winter a more of a negative occurrence is favored in her writings. This idea is depicted when Victor becomes sick early in the novel, “By very slow degrees, and with frequent relapses that alarmed and grieved my friend, I recovered. I remember the first time I became capable of observing outward objects with any kind of pleasure, I perceived that the fallen leaves had disappeared, and that the young buds were shooting forth from the trees that shaded my window. It was a divine spring; and the season contributed greatly to my convalescence” (Shelly 51). The seasons of nature affects how Victor is able to strive his way back to good health in the spring. William Wordsworth (1770-1850) uses the influence of nature to uplift the spirit of his characters, “How oft, in spirit, have I turned to thee,O sylvan Wye! thou wanderer through the woods, how often has my spirit turned to thee” (Wordsworth 58-61)! In this case, Wordsworth utilizes the scene of a forest to embody happiness. In both instances the authors apply nature to happiness and stress the idea that feelings change with seasons.
It is safe to say that the writings of Coleridge, Shelly, and Wordsworth are rounded around the idea of nature. They use nature to depict happiness, sadness, and loneness. The Romantic Era is clearly evident in that loneness is the main theme in most works of literature. These writings are just a few of the examples of how authors use nature to develop the plot, the characters, and the overall mood of the stories.
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