by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797 - 1851)
I collected the instruments of life...
Language: English
I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark into the lifeless thing at my feet. It was already one in the morning: rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my lamp was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull, yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard. How to describe my emotions...? How delineate the wretch? Yellow skin scarcely covering muscles, arteries; hair a lustrous black, and flowing; teeth all pearly whiteness. I had chosen these features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God!
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797 - 1851), no title, from Frankenstein, chapter V [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by David Evan Thomas (b. 1958), "A Ghost Story", 1994 [mezzo-soprano and piano], from Moonlight on a Midnight Stream, no. 4. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Dave Evan Thomas
This text was added to the website: 2006-06-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 97