... lack of light, 'black drizzle' and 'the death of the sun'. There is also a metaphorical darkness in that the city's physical bleeds into the mood and the life, where 'crust upon crust of mud' is added to daily, where dogs are 'undistinguishable' and 'horses, scarcely better'. This ... quot;urban gothic", and this opening passage has all the qualities of the classic Gothic forms, only updated for the times. Weather is used to create atmosphere, mud, waters, people falling over themselves and each other, it is the great modern city and its horrors. He moves from th...

• Word Count: 1875
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... . In common with the gothic tales, Frankenstein made use of the correspondence between theme, character and setting. One of the chief elements in the novel is the use of atmosphere to create mood. The icy mists of the Arctic and the bleak windswept Alpine glacial fields are linked to the spiritual and social isolation of the Creature and its Creator. Not unlike Victor ... an imaginary and spectacular change in the human environment- (Oxford Companion to English Literature, p. 876). Mary Shelley read and relied on the most recent findings and theories of science to create her tale. She re...

• Word Count: 2302
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate