Symbolism When reading any piece of literature, understanding why the author chose the words he uses is very important. Through different techniques the author will choose words that have an underlying meaning. While it's critical to read and understand words directly from the page, it's equally important to analyze and understand exactly what they mean. To fully understand any literary work you must use external sources to understand the environment and culture in which the author lived, as well as contextual clues in your reading. Specifically, this article will examine Bram Stoker's Dracula and Mary Shelly's Frankenstein through different interpretations. Themes and symbolism are two of the most important aspects that authors use to convey deeper meanings and are vital to the reader's full understanding of literature. Bram Stoker's Dracula is a literary classic that has survived through the ages. Dracula became a famous villain in countless films and was an inspiration for many others. What many people may miss about this book first written in 1897 is the purpose and symbolism behind this famous vampire. To begin to understand the symbolism and theme of the text, you must first understand a bit of the context of the Victorian era in which Stoker lived. Named after Queen Victoria from 1837 to 190, this era was a time of "...sexual moralism, domestic propriety and imperialist ambition" ("Dracula and the Fears of Victorian England"). Due to these ideals and a declining economy, tensions were rising in the working class. Things like sexual deviance or being improper were seen as a threat to proper Victorian society. Dracula and his mini... middle of paper... had sworn revenge on the creature's death, the creature was overcome with sadness as he had been the only person he shared any kind of relationship with. This ending leaves us with the underlying theme of the importance of relationships and the fact that revenge doesn't always leave us satisfied. Through reading and carefully analyzing literature we can find underlying meanings and symbols to better understand the text. Dracula and Frankenstein are two excellent examples of horror stories featuring famous monsters that, through theme and symbolism, can actually come to mean so much more. The simple story of a vampire can turn into a depiction of the Victorian era versus the modern era, and Frankenstein nature versus science. Analyzing themes and symbolism in literature will bring out the full meaning of the text, as well as make reading more fun.