Question

1. Reread the following passage from Frankenstein page 93:

"Now all was blasted: instead of that serenity of conscience which allowed me to look back upon the past with
self-satisfaction, and from thence to gather promise of new hopes, I was seized by remorse and the sense of guilt,
which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe."
What tone does the diction create in the above passage? [RL.4]
A. hopelessness
B. certitude
C. sadness
D. hostility

Answer 1

The passage from Frankenstein page 93 creates a tone of "hopelessness" through its diction.

The speaker's use of words such as "blasted," "remorse," "guilt," and "intense tortures" conveys a sense of despair and anguish, suggesting that the speaker is overwhelmed by negative emotions and experiences.

This tone of hopelessness is reinforced by the speaker's reflection on the loss of "serenity of conscience" and the absence of "new hopes," indicating a profound sense of desolation and futility.

The diction in the passage thus serves to evoke a mood of bleakness and despondency, reflecting the speaker's inner turmoil and the themes of remorse and existential crisis in the poem.