Analyse the last sentence, from the first paragraph of chapter five in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and describe how the language used builds the...

The last sentence the first paragraph (chapter five of Mary
Shelley's Frankenstein) is as follows:

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I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it
breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its
limbs.

This description of the
creature's first breath, first movement, is meant to horrify the reader. Shelley, as denoted in
the 1831 preface to the novel, stated that she desired to frighten her reader in the same way she
was frightened when her nightmares created the "student of unhallowed arts" and his creation.

The sentence is filled with descriptive language: dull, yellow,
hard, convulsion, agitated. Given that Shelley does not provide a complete description of the
creature (limiting it to the height (around eight feet) and superficial elements of the yellow
eyes, stretched skin, white eye sockets, and black lips), readers are left to create their own
picture of the creature. Shelley's lack of a concrete description allows readers to create the
most horrific image of the creature (limited only by their own imagination and creativity).

The atmosphere is, therefore, heightened given the limited nature
of the description provided. Readers are already aware of Victor's
fear.

It was already
one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt
out.

Therefore, not only is the scene
set to be dark and dreary, the image of the yellow eye peering out from the shadowed room adds to
the already frightening scene.