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shall then will

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milky  #384786  Wed, 27 Jun 07 10:43 AM
And what is the implied difference between shall and will here, in Frankenstein, if any?

In one part of the book:

Quote:
Beware, for I am fearless and therefore powerful. I will watch with the wiliness of a snake, that I may sting with its venom. Man, you shall repent of the injuries you inflict.

Devil, cease; and do not poison the air with these sounds of malice. I have declared my resolution to you, and I am no coward to bend beneath words. Leave me; I am inexorable.

It is well. I go; but remember, I shall be with you on your wedding-night.

I started forward and exclaimed, Villain! Before you sign my death-warrant, be sure that you are yourself safe.


Then, a few sentence later:


Quote:
I would have seized him, but he eluded me and quitted the house with precipitation. In a few moments I saw him in his boat, which shot across the waters with an arrowy swiftness and was soon lost amidst the waves.

All was again silent, but his words rang in my ears. I burned with rage to pursue the murderer of my peace and precipitate him into the ocean. I walked up and down my room hastily and perturbed, while my imagination conjured up a thousand images to torment and sting me. Why had I not followed him and closed with him in mortal strife? But I had suffered him to depart, and he had directed his course towards the mainland. I shuddered to think who might be the next victim sacrificed to his insatiate revenge. And then I thought again of his words --

I will be with you on your wedding-night.

That, then, was the period fixed for the fulfilment of my destiny. In that hour I should die and at once satisfy and extinguish his malice. The prospect did not move me to fear; yet when I thought of my beloved Elizabeth, of her tears and endless sorrow, when she should find her lover so barbarously snatched from her, tears, the first I had shed for many months, streamed from my eyes, and I resolved not to fall before my enemy without a bitter struggle
  
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Hume said that if we had perfect or complete descriptive knowledge of reality, we could not, by reasoning, derive a single valid "ought".
MrPedantic  #385526  Thu, 28 Jun 07 11:51 PM

I think I would take it as a stylistic choice. Where the phrase first appears, it is direct speech: the words are uttered in the voice of the creature; the "sh" of "shall" suggests "forceful utterance".

In the second example, the "will" links in with the w of "word" and "wedding night": the effect is of "troubled reflection".

MrP

  
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Anonymous  #385643  Fri, 29 Jun 07 08:24 AM
 MrPedantic wrote:

I think I would take it as a stylistic choice. Where the phrase first appears, it is direct speech: the words are uttered in the voice of the creature; the "sh" of "shall" suggests "forceful utterance".

In the second example, the "will" links in with the w of "word" and "wedding night": the effect is of "troubled reflection".

MrP

Hm, interesting take. Thanks.

  
Teleostomi  #389757  Mon, 09 Jul 07 10:24 AM
 MrPedantic wrote:

I think I would take it as a stylistic choice. Where the phrase first appears, it is direct speech: the words are uttered in the voice of the creature; the "sh" of "shall" suggests "forceful utterance".

In the second example, the "will" links in with the w of "word" and "wedding night": the effect is of "troubled reflection".

MrP


Hi MrP, thanks for helping me also in LGC! (I'm meow there)

Could you or anyone explain a bit more about the colored parts?
  
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MrPedantic  #390076  Mon, 09 Jul 07 11:54 PM

Hello T.,

By those parts I meant:

1. The "sh" noise in "shall" can be uttered with particular force. (By contrast, it's difficult to utter a "W" forcefully.)

2. The W sounds suggest that the speaker is disturbed or anxious, after considering the past.

(I thought I recognized you at LGC, but wasn't quite sure!)

All the best,

MrP

  
milky  #390197  Tue, 10 Jul 07 08:17 AM

<1. The "sh" noise in "shall" can be uttered with particular force. (By contrast, it's difficult to utter a "W" forcefully.)>

But "will" is uttered forcefully daily. One only has to lengthen the W.

  
Teleostomi  #390239  Tue, 10 Jul 07 10:37 AM
Thanks a lot, MrP!
(I thought MrP in WRF might be you, but haven't been sure.Smile [:)])
  
MrPedantic  #390547  Tue, 10 Jul 07 11:01 PM
 Milky wrote:

<1. The "sh" noise in "shall" can be uttered with particular force. (By contrast, it's difficult to utter a "W" forcefully.)>

But "will" is uttered forcefully daily. One only has to lengthen the W.

Well, it was only an impression; perhaps fanciful.

MrP

  
MrPedantic  #390549  Tue, 10 Jul 07 11:05 PM
 Teleostomi wrote:
Thanks a lot, MrP!
(I thought MrP in WRF might be you, but haven't been sure.Smile [:)])

That's me too, I'm afraid! (I'm not very inventive when it comes to screen names.)

All the best,

MrP

  
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