"Tintern Abbey" in Frankenstein

Throughout Frankenstein, Mary Shelley included several textual references to help convey the mood of the story to the audience. One of these textual references is an excerpt from the poem “Tintern Abbey,” written by William Wordsworth. Through her father, William Goldwin, Shelley was exposed to Wordsworth’s work and was acquainted with him during her life. Shelley’s purpose in including this passage from “Tintern Abbey” is to highlight the contrasting personalities of Henry and Victor, and to tie in the theme of Man/Science versus Nature. The excerpt, placed on page 139-140 in chapter eighteen as Victor and Clerval embark on their journey to England, is as follows:

“The sounding cataract
Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock,
The mountain, and the deep gloomy wood,
Their colours and their forms, were then to me
And appetite; a feeling and a love,
That had no need of a remoter charm,
By thought supplied, nor any interest
Unborrow’d from the eye.” – Wordsworth.

 At its core, “Tintern Abbey” is a recollection of Wordsworth’s connection with nature, and, on a greater scale, man’s connection with nature; however, it is also a recollection of his change in attitude towards nature.  The excerpt used by Shelley is surrounded with Victor’s description of Henry, and more particularly, how close he is with nature. “The scenery of external nature, which others regard only with admiration, he loved with ardour.” (Shelley, 135) Much like Wordsworth’s younger self (as exhibited in the first section of his poem), Henry loves nature for what it is. He embraces the “external” beauty of nature, but has “no need for a remoter charm.” Victor, on the other hand, is more representative of Wordsworth’s later self, seeking solitude, refuge, and meditation in nature. Victor can therefore be considered a foil of Henry through his connection with nature. Similarly, Wordsworth’s present self serves as a foil to his past visit to the grassy slopes of Tintern Abbey. One could assume that in addition of simply being foils, Henry could also symbolize Victor’s younger self, at a time when he admired nature and the Alps simply for their beauty, and not the solitude and refuge they provide. Solitude is an important theme in both “Tintern Abbey” and Frankenstein. The last line in the first stanza of “Tintern Abbey” draws a clear connection to solitude in Frankenstein, found both in the creature and Victor. “Or of some Hermit's cave, where by his fire the Hermit sits alone.” Wordsworth.  This line is particularly representative of the scene in Frankenstein in which the creature has wandered into the woods alone, and first discovers fire. Like a hermit, the creature is secluded from the human world, and discovers the natural world alone and unperturbed. In retrospect, it is evident that Mary Shelley chose to include a portion of “Tintern Abbey” in Frankenstein due to the clear similarities found between the narrator of the poem and diverse characters in the novel. I would recommend anyone who has read Frankenstein to research and read “Tintern Abbey” because the poem provides greater insight into what Mary Shelley aimed to portray through her characters.