Analysis Of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein

Analysis Of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Possibly one of the very best works of literature of all time is the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It is a worldwide known book, and there have been countless film adaptations, sequels, and retellings of it. As one reads this novel he or she will more than likely be able to relate to the story or the characters in some way or another. It makes a great analysis project also. Things that readers are likely to find when researching this book are the interesting way Shelley came up with the idea of the book, the differences in film adaptations and the actual novel, the view of both science fiction and horror in the book, the relationship between creature and creator, the different interpretive levels the story has to offer, and the way Shelley related a lot of the topics of the story to the political community. A very interesting topic to research when it comes to this novel is how it actually came into existence. The tale began to form in the year 1816 as a result of a ghost-story-telling session between Mary Shelly, her husband, and a couple friends when the Shelleys were in Switzerland. They decided to have a contest to see who could write the scariest story in one weekend. It took her a few days to get inspiration, but she eventually got her waking dream. She said that what terrified her would terrify others, and she needed only to describe the specter which had haunted her midnight pillow. The story and its monster-hero eventually became such a well known and popular subject for film and stage that many acquaint themselves with the creature before even reading the book itself. Most first-time readers shockingly discover that the monster remains unnamed throughout the whole book, and the creators name is actually Frankenstein. The novel can be difficult for modern readers to understand, with an older form of language and a plot that has less action or suspense than expected. Usually readers discover a much more intimate view into the lives of Victor and his creation than they would with the movies. Frankenstein is a novel thought of as both horror and science fiction. Although the reader is more than likely horrified and disturbed by the events that happen, Victor Frankensteins creature is not born by magic or the supernatural but by scientific principles. It is true that it is terrifying to think the morbid events in this story, but they are done in the name of science. For example, Victor gathers the dead body parts, but he is doing it to have supplies for his experiments. The very core of this story is the intensely bitter relationship between Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Victor creates the creature but is afraid of it after doing so. He completely rejects it and doesnt even give it a chance to show if its good or evil. Victor just automatically assumes that its an evil monster. At one point in the story the creature tells Victor to remember that he is Victors creature and that he ought to be his Adam, but instead Victor treats him like the fallen angel. This shows that the creature feels hurt by the way his creator is acting, and therefore may not be a monster. Perhaps Victor Frankenstein is the actual monster here. When one is reading Frankenstein the novel intends the reader to see Victor Frankenstein as stealing creative fire from heaven in order to make a creature, who most people call a monster. One of the only reasons this creature is even referred to as a monster is because of what Hollywood has done to the story. In spite of the creatures crimes, he is as much angel as he his monster. The traditional movies dont show the true side of the creature or the creator. There is a significant difference in Hollywoods depiction of this relationship between creator and creation and the original story. One way to measure the distance in Mary Shelleys daemon and Hollywoods monster is to try to imagine the film monsters being self-educated by reading Miltons Paradise Lost. The original creature does exactly that, and actually receives a great education. Unlike Victor, who has lack of imagination, the creature has great sensibility. As a matter of fact, critics normally agree that Victor and his creation are two halves of the same being, somehow divided against itself. This is how most critics believe the confusion came about in Hollywood giving the creature the name Frankenstein. Readers realize that, in the actual novel, the creatures sympathy far surpasses Victors. Frankenstein exerts a very strong hold on the readers imagination because it works on so many different interpretive levels. Beyond its appeal as a gripping tale of morbid horror, it is also a myth of technological arrogance showing what happens when man attempts to rival the laws of God and mother nature. Victors is the tale of an out of control ego whose drive for power is self-destructive in the end. From another point of view, it is the exploration and creation itself, both creative act and psychical birth, posing questions of responsibility and consequence. At a psychological level Frankenstein and the creature may possibly represent two combined aspects of a broken psychic whole, with the creature enacting murderous desires that Victor simply ignores. The novel also treats societys sin in blocking out disturbing aspects of human nature that challenge us to second guess what we conceive as monstrous. Is it that it resides with the creature, or does it reside with the denial of l ove that he wants? The story of the way Victor treats his creation remains part of a tale that has just as strong a message against humans acting outside rational thinking now as it did two hundred years ago when Mary Shelley wrote the novel. It can be directly compared to an irresponsible father refusing to take responsibility for their children. As strange or comical as it may seem, this process can actually be compared to how some of fathers are when it comes to sexual intercourse. He was engulfed in the idea of creating this creature. He was overwhelmed with the process leading up to giving it life, but when the creature came alive Victor realized what he had done and refused to have anything to do with it. This leads to a very popular question about the book. Is the creature the monster for killing and causing so much trouble over wanting to be loved, or is Victor Frankenstein the monster for not loving and taking responsibility for what he has done? Now, if one does a close analysis of this novel there is actually a lot to that the reader can see. In Victors attempt to create life in his laboratory, he makes a somewhat frightening being. At the same time the being has great sensitivity and intellect. After Victor does this deed, he considers his actions to be a crime against mankind. He thinks that he has crossed the boundaries of forbidden intelligence, and he realizes that he failed to take responsibility for what he has unleashed upon the world. In consequence, Victor Frankenstein places himself, and his creation, beyond all possibility of forgiveness and redemption. Its true that the reader can tell the Victor Frankenstein apart from his creature, but can be difficult to tell what to make of them. Victor Frankenstein is a young man who comes from a nurturing family, and the creature is something completely different than human. Sure hes made from human, but they were dead human parts. Hes simply made up of dead body parts that were brought to life by an electric current and the brilliance of a very curious student. The question remains as to the true essence and nature of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. It is hard to speak of them separately. The creature is Victors daemon and is type of manifestation of his subconscious personality. Victor probably never imagined how the birth of his creature would turn out or what consequences would result from it. There are actually ways that Victor Frankenstein and his creation can be compared to a plant, however this will require some explanation. There are basic properties that plants must have. The plant is an organism, starting as a seed, with the entire thing being greater than the sum of all of its parts. In its natural state, it grows and manifests. It evolves spontaneously from some type of internal source of energy. Its structure is organic whereas a machine is just a combination of things whose parts can be substituted. From a physical point of view, Victor Frankenstein is clearly a human being. The son of Alphonse and Caroline Frankenstein. While growing up, he is intelligent, sensitive, and a very responsible person who starts his education at the University of Ingolstadt. He has a huge enthusiastic love for the natural sciences. However, its this enthusiasm that eventually brings him to his own downfall as he becomes seduced by his own personal abilities to surpass the rest of the scientists that came before him. This all begins at the very moment he gives life to the creature he has assembled together. Starting from his creatures creation onward, Victor Frankensteins mental and physical well-being are terribly interrupted and continuously become increasingly unstable as he is aggravated and just sickened by the deed he has done. The most important thing, though, is Victors belief and overwhelming fear that he must not ever tell what he has done. So, he vows to never tell another soul of his doin gs, and can never again act ethically. Victor Frankenstein forfeits his integrity as a result of his experiment and the transgressions that it implies. Victor becomes more and more speechless and it gets harder for him to even communicate with others. As a very extreme result of his lack of integrity he is unable to testify during Justines trial, and he becomes responsible for her undeserved execution. In the creatures case, he is a manufactured being who was put together from body parts that Victor Frankenstein went around collecting from grave sites and crypts. The creature is made up of dead matter that is missing an organizational plan, and Victor has no idea of how or whether the disparate parts will even work. Victor Frankenstein just learns as he gets further into the construction of his being and makes adjustments as needed. The creature is being condemned to loneliness and he is rejected by all who look at him, but he is very sentient. The creature develops amazing language skills and eventually convinces Victor Frankenstein that he is obligated to at least create him a female companion. The creature agrees with Victor that he will go out into the wilderness away from all civilization forever with his wife, as long as Victor will create her for him. Its almost like the creature has stolen Victor Frankensteins powers of articulation and surpassed him as well. We really dont have any evidence of Victors previous rhetorical skills. The monster plays with the readers sympathies and, although one probably wouldnt uphold him for the crimes of murder and all of the chaos that he has caused, the novel allows you to understand the motives that drives him to do those horrendous acts. In the moments when the creature acts out of love and desire to be a part of the human civilization, the creature acts with integri ty. So basically, the monsters possession of human characteristics appears to be because of Victor Frankensteins dehumanization, blurring the distinctions between the human and mechanical being. Mary Shelley could have very well titled her work à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“One Catastrophe after Another.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Victor Frankenstein is in love with his own disastrous history and thinks about his creation all the time. The night of the creation is actually the fateful event to which all the other catastrophe in the story follows. So much hardship follows people in this tale, but Victor Frankenstein is the chief victim. Not only does he have to live with the fact that he created what he thinks is a hideous monster, but he also has to live with the fact of knowing that he is responsible for all of the grief that has fallen on the world from his creation. Upon reading and examination, one can see that this novel is deeply interested in a certain kind of social union; the political community. The book was written in 1818 which was the time period between revolution and reform. Mary Shelleys novel raises discussions and theorizations of the political community. In her novel Shelley engages with certain political debates by depicting characters who endeavor to attach themselves to others, like the creature. On Montanvert, Victor Frankenstein declares that there can be no community among enemies. This voices Shelleys belief that hostility and alienation are unavoidable characteristics of the human condition. It also draws some attention with the books preoccupation with building new communities. All of the characters in Shelleys novel long for companionship, whether it be longing for a father, longing to be married, etc.. So one of the principal tasks the story sets for the characters is the building of social community. In contemplating new communities on new terms, Mary Shelley uses her creature to interrogate the basis and boundaries of certain social groups. The creature, in a sense, represents a version of a man, put together by carefully picked out body parts, just as government is carefully assembled of different people. The creatures origins, however, meant that he is unaffiliated with others. He is looked at as a person but not a citizen. He isnt naturalized nor socialized with any certain community. He is the novels main community seeker. Because the creature is self-dependent and is related to no one he must seek out membership in different groups that dont rely on ties of intimacy, ancestry, or memories as a necessity for inclusion. However, what is very intriguing about Mary Shelleys novel is that she chose to stage the creatures searches for community and acceptance around the most intimate of social groups, family. Normally, it may seem that family groups are not candidates for trying to find acceptance because they are usually defined by special obligations and attachments. Choice has virtually no role in a familys organization, but Shelleys representative households are not solely private unions; instead, they are mobile and joinable. She uses family unions and the fact that the creature is an outsider to think through the problems of the value of affiliation, heredity, and sentiment as the basis of political commonality. Starting around the second half of the novel Mary Shelley further explores alternatives to familial bases for communal ties through Victor and the creatures relationship. Victor is not given the option of living in a creature-less world. Him and his creation are unable to flee from each others presence. They must confront the task of figuring out how to live in the same world together. They eventually meet on the Alpine slopes. It is there where they form the compact of Victor creating the female companion for the creature, as mentioned earlier. The compact here didnt last, but it actually is a crucial point in the book. It sets up brand new principles of connectivity with certain characters who normally disagree deeply with one-another. The creature begins to suspect that Victor Frankenstein cannot be entrusted to be a loving parent. He then presents himself to Victor as a person who has been deeply injured by Frankensteins doings; in doing so, the creature blames Victor for his act ions. The agreement reached at Montanvert produces a reality effect in the story. It is the moment when the characters different opinions and interests meet on a common political world. If one looks only at the surface it will appear that the creature solicits Victor mainly because he is a father figure when they meet. He refers to Victor Frankenstein as his creator and his natural lord and king, and to himself as Frankensteins own creature. Victor does not argue against these facts. He actually admits that he is the author of the creature. Victor admits that he is the one who has authorized the creatures existence. Back at the laboratory right before he created the creature, he was talking about how his new species would bless him as its creator and source. He was really looking forward to giving the being life. Even though Victor was horrified when the being actually came to life, he now seems willing to be moved by something like paternal care. Frankenstein agrees to hear the creatures story because he felt that it was his duty as creator to render the creature happy before complaining of his wickedness. Victor suddenly has a small amount of compassion for the cr eature that he has given life, he is prepared to render him happy by sympathizing with the creature and accepting his wish to just be heard out. However, a closer look of this scene shows the creatures true intent to appeal to Victor Frankensteins paternity as more strategic than sincerity. The creature seems to only coax Victor into temporarily forgetting his hatred in order to hear what the creature has to say. He placates Victor to buy some time in order to tell his story. In other words, he intends to soften Victor up before he makes the request that may very well decide their fates. The creatures tactic is very strategic. He has every reason to be wary of affective ties. What the creature already knows at this time is that sympathy isnt always given to other people, even if they deserve it. He learned this through the way people have treated him when he done good to them. It is clear that Shelley was making a reference to political strategy here. They get you to think of the sympathies and get your vote, just like the creature is getting Victors sympathy to coax him into making him a companion. So, after reading this it is very apparent that there are very many different things to look into when reading Frankenstein. When looked at closer the reader can get a deeper view of the lives of the characters. One may even be able to compare his or her own self to the story. Either way, Frankenstein is arguably one of the very best pieces of literature of all time.

Macbeth a tragic hero Essay

A Tragic Hero is a common figure in many of Shakespeare’s works. A Tragic Hero is usually a figure of royalty, fame or greatness. This person is predominately good, but falls from prominence due to personality flaws that eventually lead to self-destruction. Macbeth’s major flaws are his ambition and impressionability. Due to their flaws, a Tragic Hero’s actions are often atrocious and cause them to battle with their conscience after their desires have been accomplished. These battles with their conscience evoke empathy from the audience. A Shakespearean Tragic Hero will always lose their life in the end of the play as a result of re-establishment of what is good in the play. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the title figure of the play can be seen as the Tragic Hero. There are many factors which contribute to the decline of Macbeth. The three main factors which contribute greatly to Macbeth’s degeneration are the prophecies which were told to him by the witches, Lady Macbeth’s influence and ability to manipulate Macbeth’s judgment, and finally Macbeth’s long time ambition which drove his desire to be king. Macbeth’s growing character decays from a noble man to a violent individual. When the play begins, Macbeth’s greatness is already established. Macbeth has already earned the title of Thane of Glamis and will soon become the Thane of Cawdor. The fact that he has these titles demonstrates to the reader that Macbeth is good and an important figure of responsibility. He is also addressed as â€Å"Valiant cousin, worthy gentlemen.† (Shakespeare 1:2 26), â€Å"Brave Macbeth, well he deserves that name.† (Shakespeare 1:2 18) and as â€Å"Worthy Thane.† by King Duncan. They way in which he is addressed by the influential members of his country further informs the reader that Macbeth is respectable. However, after Macbeth interacts with the three witches, his curiosity is stirred by their prophecies, especially their prediction that he will become king. He commits murder in order to fulfill their prophecy and then returns to the three witches a second time for reassurance. The three witches, with the aid of three apparitions, then revealed to Macbeth in Act 5, Scene 1 the following prophecies: Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff! Beware the Than of  Fife!†¦Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Be bloody, bold and resolute. Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth†¦Be lion-mettled, proud and take no care who chafes, who frets or where conspirers are. Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him. (Shakespeare 4:1 80-107) Because of these predictions, Macbeth believes that no one can harm him. However, this is a false sense of security. Macduff, who was born by a Caesarean section and therefore was not born of woman, ultimately killed Macbeth, thus revealing that the witches predictions were only half-truths. Macbeth’s good nature is increasingly defeated by one of his major flaws-ambition. His ambition and desire to become king leads Macbeth to take rash and sudden actions that are immoral. This includes ordering the murders of his friend Banquo and his son and Lady Macduff and her children, as well as personally handling the murder of King Duncan. His ambition is also displayed by his willingness to kill anyone who threatens his power. Macbeth is largely influenced not only by the three witches, but by Lady Macbeth as well. Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to murder the king, Duncan. She helps plan out the murder and even offers to do it herself. When Macbeth changes his mind and decides not to carry out Duncan’s murder, Lady Macbeth questions his masculinity and love for her. [We will proceed no further in this business.] †¦From this time such I account thy love. Art thou afeard to be the same in thine act and valor as thou art in desire? Woudst thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting â€Å"I dare not† wait upon â€Å"I would†, like the poor cat I’ th’ adage?†¦When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than you were, you would be so much more than a man†¦They have made themselves and that their fitness now does unmake you†¦ (Shakespeare 1:7 34-62) After Lady Macbeth accuses him of acting like a coward, he agrees to continue with Duncan’s murder. Macbeth is a prime example of a Shakespearean Tragic Hero. He is represented as a good man who, through his major character flaws- ambition and impressionability- falls from grace. After struggling with his conscience over the evil deeds he had committed throughout the play, Macbeth is killed and the rightful heir to the throne is restored to power.

Descriptive Essay - Original Writing - 978 Words

â€Å"Faster,† said Felatina, with an assured air of command. Obediently, Blondie increased his speed and – I noticed – his pleasure. His mouth was opening soundlessly now, another sign of his enjoyment I knew so well. He was breathing heavily too. Felatina kept him rowing and rowing, to the point where I thought he was going to spray his love juice. However, the potion was working well and although he showed all the physical signs of being close to orgasm, the actual event was not happening. I smiled at Marianna as we giggled about what kind of sensation that must be for a man. â€Å"I cannot wait for Hunky to be fit enough to row...† I laughed. Felatina stopped Blondie and slid the hoop off his penis, telling him to stand. He rose from the seat a†¦show more content†¦He was powerless to resist as she used the device to pull him into an X–shape. His balls were now available for anyone to touch and he had no way of stopping them. â€Å"And just to show him who is in charge...† teased Felatina. Blondie felt a gentle pull on his penis and looked down. His rock hard erection was being slowly eased forward so rather than pointing upwards it was pointing towards us. He fidgeted uncomfortably. â€Å"I will not move it too far,† said Felatina, â€Å"Pulling beyond a certain angle can cause a lot of pain and this evening is about pleasure.† She adjusted the wheels slightly, allowing his penis to straighten up, his legs to move back together, and his arms to lower. Immediately, he covered his penis again. Felatina produced a large feather and smiled. Blondie looked nervous, while we all laughed in anticipation. She turned a wheel and Blondie’s legs were pulled wide open. He tried to keep his hands in front of his manhood as she turned another wheel. Slowly but surely he was forced to reveal himself again. As soon as he was back in the X–position, she stepped forward. Blondie laughed, squirmed, writhed, and fidgeted as she stroked his bare balls with the feather. It was lovely to watch. His penis throbbed and jerked as the tickling went on. I turned to Marianna and we giggled as we speculated about how much Blondie was enjoyingShow MoreRelatedDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1110 Words   |  5 PagesI don’t know how I got to where I am, but I’m here now, and I have to win if I want to live. I am in a game, and in order to live, I have to escape. That’s the thing, though: I don’t know how to escape. I was running for my life around this old house that looked like it came straight out of a horror movie. I doubled over and held my head in pain as I saw the static, which meant it was coming. I was being chased by what looked like a person but in no way acted like one. Just as it was about to appearRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1102 Words   |  5 PagesIt is on days like this when we stop to think about our life. Small drops of rain begin to dapple the cobblestone pavement as people whip out their umbrellas for cover. I continue sauntering down the busy street, relishing the feeling of a light shower. Moving with the mass of pedestrians, I stop at a crosswalk where I wait for the stoplight to turn green. A flower shop employee across the street scurries to bring in the numerous bouquets and close the doors as rain starts rolling down the displayRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing914 Words   |  4 PagesDreamy I thought. Standing on the corner is a young guy with a smile. I see him here almost every day, so I linger for a while. He tells me his name, and I tell him mine. I m Ester, what s your name? I enquired. My names David .,He replied. We end up talking for a while and I asked him if he had ever left this city. He tells me of all these stories of the places where he s been, the distant lakes and mountains, and in valleys oh so green. I can see it in his eyes, he really has beenRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing974 Words   |  4 Pages I was used to moving round, having a mother who liked to travel more than making roots was something I had gotten used to. Still, I had never gotten used to the loneliness of an empty house when she was out exploring, or the feeling of leaving behind someone who could have meant something to me. Our most recent move was Oregon. It was pretty, and I didn’t mind it, but it was much different than Florida. Not only was it opposite sides of the country, it felt as if it were opposite worlds. InRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1012 Words   |  5 Pageshave plenty of time in the next month to think about my feeling in regards to Kendrick. I needed to finish up the article and get it off to my editor. I should be able to get it done by tonight and send an email in the morning. I was thinking of writing my next article about the sea life around the Scottish coast. Since our salmon dinner last evening I thought I would do a piece about the commercial salmon farming that began in Scotland in 1969. In 2002 over 145,000 metric tons of farmed AtlanticRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1561 Words   |  7 PagesThere’s something I need to say and what follows may not be something that you’d expect, it won’t be heartening or uplifting. If you remember today, I told you about going somewhere I wanted to go to†¦ I’m not sure if you believed and accepted what I now confess as untrue; it is partly. I needed to pull away emo tionally†¦ from you. You must have had fathomed that some degree of formality had seeped between us. Born of habit, formulaic greetings had become a routine. You presume that I’m a close friendRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1387 Words   |  6 PagesI was wearing a beautiful blue dress with sapphire gems all around the chest area as I entered the ball with Ciel and Sebastian. I took a good look around here, the hallway was lined with gold. There was a servant ready to escort us to the ball room. Hello, come this way. He said, walking forward. Wow, this place is so fancy! I exclaimed, looking around. It s fake gold. Ciel bluntly replied, bringing my hopes down. I sighed. Ciel sounded like he wasn t in a very good mood. Ciel, lightenRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1287 Words   |  6 Pages In the morning, Caireann woke me up. She stood above my bed, shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes, looking at her. Then I looked across the room to her empty bed. Andy s empty bed sat in the corner. I swallowed, climbing out of bed. Sleep well? Caireann asked me, starting out the door. Yeah, I said, going over to our small dresser. I had the bottom two drawers. Andy had the middle two, and Caireann had the top. I pulled open the drawers, pulling on a colorful tank top and a grayRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1345 Words   |  6 PagesLater that night, I was behind the wheel of my G-Wagon with Melissa in the passenger seat. She didn’t feel like driving since she was on the road all day and I understood so I didn’t mind when she asked me to. I had been tight-lipped. She kept eyeballing me as if she detected that something was bothering me but I just kept singing to my India Arie as if I was carefree. â€Å"So are you going to tell me what’s going on or no† Melissa said disrupting my own personal concert. I stopped singing and tookRead MoreDescriptive Essay - Original Writing1085 Words   |  5 PagesI WAS SITTING IN a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster. It was just after dark. A blustery March wind whipped the steam coming out of the manholes, and people hurried along the sidewalks with their collars turned up. I was stuck in traffic two blocks from the party where I was heading. Mom stood fifteen feet away. She had tied rags around her shoulders to keep out the spring chill and was picking through the trash

Simple Cueillir Verb Conjugations in French

There are many useful verbs in the French language. Among those is  cueillir, which means to gather or to pick. Its an irregular verb and you will have to commit the verb conjugations to memory rather than rely on a pattern. A quick lesson will show you how to conjugate  cueillir  and  use its present and past participle. Conjugating the French Verb  Cueillir Verb conjugations allow us to change the verb to match the tense or mood of a sentence. In English, we use -ed and -ing endings to do this, though its more complicated in French. That is because we need to change the verb for every tense and mood as well as each subject pronoun within those. Cueillir  is an  irregular verb  and it does not follow one of the common verb conjugation patterns. This makes learning it more of a challenge. However, you can apply what you learn here to similar verbs such as  accueillir (to welcome)  and  recueillir (to collect). Consider practicing this small group together to make learning each a little easier. For the simplest conjugates of  cueillir, begin by identifying the verb stem of  cueill-. Then, match the subject pronoun to the present, future, or imperfect past tense to learn the correct verb ending. For instance, I gather is je cueille and we will gather is nous cueillerons. Subject Present Future Imperfect je cueille cueillerai cueillais tu cueilles cueilleras cueillais il cueille cueillera cueillait nous cueillons cueillerons cueillions vous cueillez cueillerez cueilliez ils cueillent cueilleront cueillaient The Present Participle of  Cueillir The  present participle  of cueillir  is formed by adding -ant  to the verb stem. This gives us  cueillant.  Its a verb, of course, though its also used as an adjective, gerund, or noun in some circumstances. The Past Participle and Passà © Composà © The  past participle  of  cueillir  is  cueilli. This is used to form the common past tense known as the  passà © composà ©. To use it, begin with the subject pronoun, then conjugate the  auxiliary verb  avoir  before attaching the past participle. For instance, I gathered is jai cueilli and we picked up is nous avons cueilli. More Simple  Cueillir  Conjugations There are more conjugations of  cueillir  that you should know, but here were focused on the most basic. At first, concentrate on the simple forms above, then you can add the following verb forms to your vocabulary. You will find the subjunctive and conditional verb moods useful when the action of gathering is somehow questionable. These two are quite useful in conversation. In contrast, the passà © simple and imperfect subjunctive are primarily literary forms. While you may not use them yourself, being able to at least recognize them is a good idea. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Passà © Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je cueille cueillerais cueillis cueillisse tu cueilles cueillerais cueillis cueillisses il cueille cueillerait cueillit cueillà ®t nous cueillions cueillerions cueillà ®mes cueillissions vous cueilliez cueilleriez cueillà ®tes cueillissiez ils cueillent cueilleraient cueillirent cueillissent The imperative verb form is used for direct and often assertive commands and requests. When using it, skip the subject pronoun: use cueille rather than tu cueille. Imperative (tu) cueille (nous) cueillons (vous) cueillez