Facts about Frankenstein and Gothic Literature

1. 06

   Frankenstein draws heavily on the Prometheus myth, earning the novel its subtitle The Modern Prometheus, which Shelley included in the original 1818 publication.

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2. 05

   Among Gothic literature's defining features are sublime landscapes, decaying architecture, and psychological terror, all prominently employed in Frankenstein.

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3. 04

   The creature in Frankenstein is never given a name in Shelley's novel, a detail that has fueled extensive literary debate about identity and monstrosity.

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4. 03

   Shelley wrote Frankenstein during the famous 'Year Without a Summer' of 1816, when volcanic ash from Mount Tambora darkened skies and prompted a ghost story competition at Villa Diodati.

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5. 02

   Gothic literature as a genre traces its origins to Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, published in 1764, decades before Shelley's Frankenstein.

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6. 01

   Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, published in 1818, is widely regarded as a foundational text of Gothic literature and an early example of science fiction.

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