Metaphor in Frankenstein

Frankenstein describes, using the image of playing a piano, the moment that his obsession entirely overcomes him. Frankenstein is represented by the piano, which produces sound by depressing keys that then strike chords in the piano’s interior. An outside force—Waldman’s words—causes Frankenstein’s “keys” to trigger, and now he is filled with nothing but the echoing sounds of his ambition: “I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.”

Here, the churchyard, often considered a beautiful and religious place, is stripped of such associations and depicted as food for worms. This metaphor emphasizes not only the death and decay of human life, but also Nature’s power; the human body, once deprived of life, is fed on by worms, which are part of Nature’s work of art.

In this metaphor, the creature compares his feelings to a stream. He lets himself be “borne away” by them, suggesting the idea that his feelings are as uncontrollable as nature.

Shelley cleverly describes the dawn in deadly language: “the night passed away.” This mordant metaphor is fitting, considering that Frankenstein went to sleep fretting over the possibility that his creature might do harm to his beloved Elizabeth. In another instance of the pathetic fallacy, Frankenstein’s psychological state determines the description of the outer world.