Frankenstein
The monster has escaped from the dungeon
where he was kept by the Baron,
who made him with knobs sticking out from each side of his neck
where the head was attached to the body
and stitching all over
where parts of cadavers were sewed together.
He is pursued by the ignorant villagers,
who think he is evil and dangerous because he is ugly
and makes ugly noises.
They wave firebrands at him and cudgels and rakes,
but he escapes and comes to the thatched cottage
of an old blind man playing on the violin Mendelssohn's "Spring Song."
Hearing him approach, the blind man welcomes him:
"Come in, my friend," and takes him by the arm.
"You must be weary," and sits him down inside the house.
For the blind man has long dreamed of having a friend
to share his lonely life.
The monster has never known kindness ‹ the Baron was cruel --
but somehow he is able to accept it now,
and he really has no instincts to harm the old man,
for in spite of his awful looks he has a tender heart:
Who knows what cadaver that part of him came from?
The old man seats him at table, offers him bread,
and says, "Eat, my friend." The monster
rears back roaring in terror.
"No, my friend, it is good. Eat -- gooood"
and the old man shows him how to eat,
and reassured, the monster eats
and says, "Eat -- gooood,"
trying out the words and finding them good too.
The old man offers him a glass of wine,
"Drink, my friend. Drink -- gooood."
The monster drinks, slurping horribly, and says,
"Drink -- gooood," in his deep nutty voice
and smiles maybe for the first time in his life.
Then the blind man puts a cigar in the monster's mouth
and lights a large wooden match that flares up in his face.
The monster, remembering the torches of the villagers,
recoils, grunting in terror.
"No, my friend, smoke -- gooood,"
and the old man demonstrates with his own cigar.
The monster takes a tentative puff
and smiles hugely, saying, "Smoke -- gooood,"
and sits back like a banker, grunting and puffing.
Now the old man plays Mendelssohn's "Spring Song" on the violin
while tears come into our dear monster s eyes
as he thinks of the stones of the mob the pleasures of meal-time,
the magic new words he has learned
and above all of the friend he has found.
It is just as well that he is unaware --
being simple enough to believe only in the present --
that the mob will find him and pursue him
for the rest of his short unnatural life,
until trapped at the whirlpool's edge
he plunges to his death.
Literary Analysis
This literary analysis was generated with AI and may contain interpretive differences. Provide your analysis in the comments section.
Summary
Edward Field reimagines the Frankenstein story from the monster's point of view, turning a familiar horror figure into a lonely, vulnerable being who longs for companionship. The poem follows his escape from captivity, his frantic flight from hostile villagers, and his brief, astonishing refuge in the home of a blind old man who cannot see his appearance and therefore meets him with ordinary human generosity. In that shelter, the monster experiences for the first time the warmth of welcome, the pleasures of eating, drinking, smoking, and learning simple words associated with kindness.
The poem builds from fear to tenderness and then to deep irony. Each small lesson from the blind man becomes a triumph for the monster, who is moved less by the objects themselves than by the feeling of being treated as a person. Yet the closing movement undercuts this moment of hope: the monster's innocence cannot protect him from a world that judges by appearance, and the reader is left with the tragic knowledge that his newfound happiness is temporary. The central tension lies in the contrast between inner goodness and outer ugliness, between the possibility of human fellowship and the violence of rejection.
Theme
- Outsiders and social rejection - The monster is feared because he looks different, and the villagers' violence shows how quickly a community can turn appearance into guilt.
- Compassion and human connection - The blind man becomes a rare source of acceptance, proving that kindness can create belonging even for someone treated as monstrous.
- Appearance versus inner nature - The poem repeatedly separates the monster's ugly form from his gentle heart, challenging the assumption that outward form reveals moral truth.
- Language as a path to humanity - The repeated lessons in words like eating, drinking, and smoking show how language can become a tool of intimacy, comfort, and self-discovery.
- Tragic innocence - The monster's trusting response to the blind man makes the ending more painful, because his goodness cannot shield him from the violence waiting outside.
- The cruelty of mobs - The villagers function as a collective force of blindness and fear, contrasting sharply with the old man's individual act of grace.
Literary Devices
- Free verse - The unrhymed, flexible lineation gives the poem a storytelling ease while also allowing the emotional shifts to feel immediate and conversational.
- Repetition - The repeated word patterns around eating, drinking, and smoking emphasize the monster's childlike learning and the blind man's patient teaching.
- Irony - The blind man cannot see the monster's face, so he is the only character who responds to him as a friend; this creates a sharp contrast between sight and moral insight.
- Dramatic perspective - By closely following the monster's experience, the poem invites sympathy and reverses the usual horror-story alignment with the pursuers.
- Juxtaposition - Violence, music, food, and tenderness are placed side by side, intensifying the poem's contrast between brutality and care.
- Allusion - References to Frankenstein, Mendelssohn, and the mob of pursuers place the poem in dialogue with the broader gothic tradition while reshaping it into a humane retelling.
- Sound imagery - The monster's grunts, slurps, and deep voice make him seem physically alien at first, but they also help reveal his desire to participate in ordinary human life.
Symbolism
- The dungeon - The place of confinement suggests exclusion, imprisonment, and the world's refusal to allow the monster freedom or dignity.
- The blind man - He symbolizes moral vision, the ability to recognize humanity without relying on surface appearances.
- Bread, wine, and cigar - These simple offerings stand for welcome, fellowship, and initiation into ordinary social rituals.
- Mendelssohn's "Spring Song" - The music suggests renewal, beauty, and the brief promise of emotional rebirth in the monster's life.
Tone
Edward Field's tone is compassionate, ironic, and quietly sorrowful, as if he is determined to rescue the monster from the usual role of villain while still honoring the tragedy built into the story. The mood moves from menace to tenderness and then to melancholy, leaving the reader with a deep sense of pity for a creature who finally receives affection only when it is already too late to save him.
Historical Context
Edward Field's poem belongs to a modern literary habit of revisiting classic myths and novels from unexpected angles. Instead of repeating the gothic horror of Mary Shelley's story, it turns the monster into a figure of social exclusion and emotional need, a perspective that fits twentieth-century interest in sympathy for outsiders, antiheroes, and the wounded self.
The poem also reflects the freedom of postwar free verse, which often favored colloquial speech, narrative clarity, and ironic reimagining over formal pattern. Its humane revision of a famous horror tale shows how modern poetry can use older literary material to question prejudice, cruelty, and the easy habit of confusing appearance with identity.
Similar Poems
- The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock - T. S. Eliot
- The Tyger - William Blake
- Mending Wall - Robert Frost
- Disabled - Wilfred Owen
- Sonnet 130 - William Shakespeare
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