The World Is Too Much With Us, By Mary Shelley

Romantic Period Ideals At the end of the 18th century, the Romantic Period started to change how authors and artists created their works. The Romantic Period began after the French Revolution, and it influenced how these authors and artists viewed the world. New ideals were being formed, which included topics such as nature, individualism, and emotion. The views on humanity and rationalism were also changed, and many authors were expressing these new perspectives in their writings. During the Romantic Period, numerous works reflected the ideals of the period, and these include “The World Is Too Much with Us” by William Wordsworth, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. To begin with,

In the book, Victor Frankenstein is a scientist that has given life to a creature through electricity, but abandons it immediately due to its scary appearance. As a result, the creature becomes vengeful and tries to ruin Victor’s life when he is outcasted from society. Victor then experiences many personal struggles, and is faced with the decision of hurting himself or possibly destroying the world when the creature asks him for a female companion. At first, Victor complies to try and save his family and friends, and while building it he says “I looked towards its completion with a tremulous and eager hope, which I dared not trust myself to question but which was intermixed with obscure forebodings of evil that made my heart sicken in my bosom" (Shelley 164). Victor is seen struggling immensely with his decision, and he has conflicting feelings towards the female creature. There is no good option for Victor, so he must decide what is more important to him. Moreover, Victor was experiencing internal struggles when he realized his creature had murdered his brother William, and he says “I considered the being whom I had cast among mankind, and endowed with the will and power to effect purposes of horror, such as the deed which he had now done, nearly in the light of my own vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave, and forced to destroy all that was dear to me”(Shelley 149).

First, the ideal of nature over any material objects is seen in “The World Is Too Much with Us”. The narrator is angry with humanity for giving up nature for worldly things, and wants to return back to simpler times when nature was idealized. Additionally, the book Frankenstein demonstrates personal turmoil with the character of Victor Frankenstein. Victor faces many struggles, from having to choose between making a female creature and satisfying his monster or risk harming the family he has left by refusing, to feeling guilty after his creature murdered his brother. Through these events, Victor is left feeling incredibly distressed and conflicted. Furthermore, the Romantic ideal of spirituality is included in the poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. Once the sea mariner is finally able to pray, his curse is simultaneously broken, and he is forced to tell his story to others that need to hear it. For eternity, the sea mariner must go around to teach people about how everyone should love living things as much as God loves them, and the wedding guest was one example. In closing, the new ideals that were formed in the Romantic Period had an impact on many authors and artists, and these ideals can be seen as evident inspiration in their