The poem “Dear Dr. Frankenstein”, by Jericho Brown, is a direct comment on Frankensteins creation of his monster, and the realistic implications of his work. The structure was almost rant-like, with no strong punctuation patterns until the end. The majority of the poem was filled with commas, and fragmented sentences between stanzas. It goes on for several stanzas with out any breaks, giving it a conversational flow. The frequent use of periods at the end of the poem add strength and emphasis to the finale. The claims made towards the end essentially are the main declarations. This structural pattern in similar to that of Mary Shelley’s writing. She is very descriptive, and uses minimal punctuation in times of expressed emotions or of natural images. Alternatively, she will use stronger punctuation while attempting to communicate an important message.
Brown uses negative word choices to communicate the distain and lack of control while creating the monster. He says that the creature, “May have a thief’s thumb”, or, “…a murderer’s arm” to signify that one has no idea how wretched a being they may be constructing. There is no knowledge of the origins, and these suggestions of “thief” and “murderer” are both negative. The biblical reference to “Adam”, “Eve”, and “god” may be a connection to Frankensteins god complex as he created the creature. However, God created his beautiful creatures, and Frankenstein created his wretched one.
The last stanza holds the most important of messages. Despite the fact that god created Adam, nothing he said would be tamed by god. Similarly “No science. No design.” would alter the control that Frankenstein had over this creature. It was an important message to Frankenstein, almost a lesson, in the statement that, “Nothing we erect is our own,”. This is meant to communicate that no matter the power one thinks they hold, and no matter the brilliance of the design, ultimately this creature will act on their own volition.
There are obvious connections to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, such as the reference to the creature and the “…science of building men…”. Additionally, there are structural mimicries, as well as a similar themes. The most notable connection is the argument that “Nothing we erect is our own,” which could be an answer to the debate of whether or not Frankenstein is responsible for the destruction of his life and of those around him. If the creature does not belong to Frankenstein, it could be argued that the creature acted on his own volition, and therefore the deaths that occurred were entirely his fault.