When I read Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus 15 years ago, I knew I was reading a masterpiece. I had read many classics already, but this was probably the first that truly intrigued me and made me want to examine what I was reading more deeply, seeking to understand the why behind the text rather than simply enjoying it as an entertaining story. A Gothic science fiction novel about the committing of a sin against nature, told in the Romantic language of Mary Shelley’s time, was absolutely fascinating to me. I loved how it sent chills down my spine. It awed me in a sort of dreamily haunting way.

This Promptober, however, is not about Frankenstein. Rather, it is about a closely related poem that is referenced in the novel. In Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley quotes an excerpt from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Like one, that on a lonesome road

Doth walk in fear and dread,

And having once turned round walks on,

And turns no more his head;

Because he knows, a frightful fiend

Doth close behind him tread.

This passage appears after Victor spends the early morning hours pacing following the animation of his creation, the daemon. With these lines, Shelley establishes the tone of inescapable paranoia and dread that drives the story. When we read Coleridge’s poem in its entirety, we can see how closely it parallels the novel. Focusing on dread, desolation, and spiritual agony, the poem is steeped in a sense of relentless, inescapable doom.

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Read The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and consider how the poem’s rhyme scheme works alongside its story to make it hauntingly memorable.

How does Coleridge use the Mariner’s experiences to create a sense of dread, isolation, and inescapable consequence?

What do you notice about the poem’s rhyme, rhythm, and recurring sounds, and how do those elements affect the way you read or remember particular lines?

How do the poem’s rhyme and rhythm work alongside its disturbing subject matter to create a haunting effect?

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One of the most fascinating things about poetry is the relationship between what we hear and what we feel. Writers do not have to rely on the meaning of their words alone to create an impression. Rhyme is often associated with songs, nursery rhymes, and lighthearted verse. Its repetition can make words easier to remember, give a poem a satisfying cadence, and create a sense of familiarity. Yet rhyme, rhythm, repetition, and other sound devices can also reinforce a poem’s atmosphere, emphasize an image, or make a particular phrase difficult to forget. In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge tells a haunting story through remarkably musical language, drawing readers forward through recurring rhymes, rhythmic patterns, and memorable lines. The result is a poem whose haunting quality comes not only from what it tells us, but also from how it sounds.

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With this concept still fresh in your mind, let’s see where it takes you. For the next four days of Promptober, write a short story, poem, reflection, collection of thoughts, scene, or anything else the following words inspire:

October 18th – sea

October 19th – bird

October 20th – ship

October 21st – man

Interpret them literally or let them take you somewhere unexpected. And if you decide to share what you write, I’d love to see it! Share your work on Facebook or Instagram and tag @paigeturnerblogs. You can also use #paigeturnerblogs and #themodernfolio so we can find your work and follow along with Promptober.

May your words find their rhythm and your stories leave their mark!

Paige Turner