Frankenstein: One of the Most Popularized Monsters in History

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For all these years, the name “Frankenstein” has become one of the most popularized monsters in history. He epitomizes everything but happiness and joy, and moreover portrays all things evil, wreaking havoc and tragedy. But what makes tragedy, tragedy? According to Aristotle in his Poetics, “Tragedy, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; [it is portrayed] in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; [it takes place] in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its katharsis of such emotions” (Manus) There are three main qualities found common in most Tragic tales: Plot, Character and Catharsis. As conceived and written by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein is obviously more than a horror story. It is a tragic tale of Victor Frankenstein narrating his attempt to usurp the role of God: a hubris that leads to his downfall. Frankenstein possess all the quintessence of a tragic tale and through Victor Frankenstein, we are able to see these qualities metamorphosis as the story progresses.

According to Aristotle, the plot is one of the most crucial elements of a tragic play. The plot must carefully intertwine the three stages of a play: beginning with the incentive moment, climax, and ending with a resolution in which all conveys a cause and effect chain as the story progresses. Furthermore, the plot must also either be simple or complex, which most often depends on the magnitude of its events. A simple plot possess catastrophe that acts as a turning point in the story while a complex plot contains both a reversal of fortune, or also called as the peripeteia, and the recognition or the change from ignorance to knowledge, which is also called the anagnorisis. The peripeteia often occurs when a character produces an effect opposite to that of his or her intention and often leads to the anagnorisis....
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