Paradise Lost Background & Context
Who is the author of Paradise Lost?
John Milton
Who is the author of Frankenstein?
Mary Shelley
Who is the largely viewed as the primary antagonist in Paradise Lost?
Satan
Who is Frankenstein?
Victor Frankenstein, the scientist who creates the monster.
What is the setting at the beginning of Paradise Lost?
Hell
How many books Paradise Lost contain?
12
What is the subtitle of Frankenstein?
The Modern Prometheus
Who volunteers to sacrifice Himself for humanity's redemption in Paradise Lost?
The Son of God
What is the name of Victor’s best friend who enjoys nature?
Henry Clerval
What plan does Satan make regarding the fate of mankind? How does he execute that decision?
Satan decides to corrupt humanity. He disguises himself as a serpent and tempts Eve to eat an apple from the Tree of Knowledge.
What primary event (also considered a larger theme) is explored in Paradise Lost?
The Fall of Man
What literary structure does Mary Shelley employ in Frankenstein?
Nested frame narrative
Who recounts the War on Heaven to Adam and Eve? (...but mostly Adam)
Raphael
Which character’s letters frame the entire novel? Who are they writing to?
Captain Robert Walton; he is writing to his sister, Margaret.
What happens to Adam and Eve at the end of Paradise Lost?
They are banished from Eden but given hope for redemption.
What is the main purpose of Paradise Lost, as stated by John Milton?
*Hint: It's a direct quoted line from Book I
"To justify the ways of God to man."
What inspired Mary Shelley to begin brainstorming ideas for Frankenstein?
A ghost story competition with friends including Percy Shelley and Lord Byron. (After some writer's block, she then had a dream that provided her inspiration)
Which fallen angel assists Satan in his rebellion against Heaven, often doing Satan’s “dirty work” and acting as his right-hand man?
Beëlzebub
Who is wrongly accused of the murder of William and what is their punishment?
Justine; she is executed
In Frankenstein, who is the first person to fall victim to the creature’s violence?
William Frankenstein
What poetic form and meter is Paradise Lost written in?
An epic poem written in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter)
What historical event or shift does Mary Shelley critique through her portrayal of scientific experimentation in Frankenstein?
The Industrial Revolution (will also accept Scientific Revolution)
What are the names of the figures who guard the gates of Hell? What is their relationship to Satan?
Sin and Death;
Sin was Satan's "lover" or "mistress" in Heaven, causing her eternal punishment.
Death is their lovechild, making Death Satan's son.
What is the term to describe something written in the form of a letter?
epistolary
Name three texts that are alluded to in Frankenstein.
Possible Answers: Paradise Lost, the Bible, Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Percy Shelley’s “Mutability,” The Greek Myth of Prometheus
Note: There are others not listed here; these are just the most obvious. I will possibly accept other answers if textual support can be provided.