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Jacob Ellsworth
Mrs. Carter
AP Literature and Composition
12 December 2014
A Musical Account of Frankenstein
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is one of the earliest and most well-known horror stories in
history. In this novel, Shelly uses a frame story structure to describe the tragic tales of the two
main characters: Victor Frankenstein and his Monster. These characters and their stories cannot
only be described through the use of diction in literature as Shelly does, but can also be
explored on a much deeper level through the use of music. The songs "Deep Shadow" by TTL,
"All I Want" by Kodaline, and "Exit" by U2, work as prime examples of how the events and tone
of a story can be described simply through the use of music and lyrics.
The song "Deep Shadow" by TTL may not have any lyrics, but it is still very effective at
describing events in the novel through its use of tone and symbol. The song starts with a
melody played on bells which sound much like one would imagine a children's toy xylophone to
sound. This light and somewhat creepy melody is then overrun by a chorus of heavily distorted
and dissonant synthesizer sounds and a heavy, driving drum beat. Because of these features,
this song is perfect to describe the scene in the book where Justine is executed. On page 95,
Shelly writes, "Could the demon who had (I did not for a minute doubt) murdered my brother
also in his hellish sport have betrayed the innocent to death and ignominy?" Shelly emphasizes
the fact that both Justine and William were innocent, but still tragically killed by the Monster. In
"Deep Shadow", the bells at the beginning symbolize the innocence of Justine and William. As
the dark and dissonant synthesizer and drums come in and overrun the bells, it is symbolized
that death has overrun their innocence. The dark, sad, and tragic tone of the song can also

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symbolize Victor's emotional pain after the deaths, as he "passed a night of unmingled
wretchedness." (Shelly, 95)
As "Deep Shadow" describes the problems in Victor's life, "All I Want" by Kodaline is an
almost perfect example of the problems in the Monster's life. The song describes someone who
is lonely and desperate for a companion using the lyrics, "All I want is, and all I need is, to find
somebody, to find somebody." It also describes the person's frustration toward someone who
had abandoned him saying, "But if you loved me, why'd you leave me?" The first quote perfectly
describes the Monster's desire for companionship, and to be accepted by someone else. Shelly
describes this on page 128, as the monster is watching the villagers and says, "I longed to join
them, but dared not." Later in the book, the Monster even demands Victor to create him a
companion, saying, "You are to create a female for me with whom I can live." (Shelly, 174) The
second quote describes the Monster's anger towards Victor for abandoning him, which is told
when the Monster says, "He had abandoned me, and in the bitterness of my heart I cursed
him." (Shelly, 156) This song also has a dark and desperate tone which describes the feelings of
the Monster all throughout the novel.
Another song that describes a scene from the novel is "Exit" by U2. This song describes
a man who is about to commit a murder, using the lyrics, "Hand in the pocket, finger on the
steel, the pistol weighed heavy, his heart he could feel, was beating, beating, beating, beating,
oh my love, oh my love, oh my love, oh my love." This is a perfect representation of the scene
in the novel after Victor and Elizabeth are married, when Victor was "anxious and watchful" as
he prepared to battle the Monster and "grasped a pistol" which was hidden under his cloak.
(Shelly, 240) The song builds until the last time the line "oh my love" is repeated, when it
crashes into a loud and intense instrumental section. This flawlessly describes the scene when
Victor "heard a shrill and dreadful scream" and found Elizabeth's "lifeless and inanimate" body
"thrown across the bed, her head hanging down and her pale and distorted features half

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covered by her hair." (Shelly, 241) Later in the song, the singer states that "the hands that build,
can also pull down." This shows that as Victor was building the monster he was pulling down
everything that he loved. The tone of this song is dark, frustrated, and desperate, which
perfectly describes the tone that Shelly creates in this scene of the Novel.
While these three songs were probably not originally written to represent Frankenstein,
they can be used very effectively to describe different events that occurred throughout the novel.
Through the musical use of lyrics, symbol, and tone, these songs take the meaning of
Frankenstein to a whole new level.

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Works Cited
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Maurice Hindle. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus.
London: Penguin, 2003. Print.
TTL. Deep Shadow. ZerOKilled Music, 2012. MP3.
Kodaline. All I Want. B-Unique Records (UK), 2013. MP3.
U2. Exit. Universal-Island Records, 1987. MP3.