shall then will

What is the implied difference between shall and will here, in Frankenstein, if any?

In one part of the book:


"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:



"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."

The difference between "shall" and "will" always has been a rather complex issue, at least in idiomatic British usage. I think we Americans mostly (but not completely) ignore the difference, always using "will" except in fixed phrases ("I shall return" -- "will" is perfectly possible as well) and occasionally in polite requests ("Shall we go?"). I'm sure there are exceptions, but "shall" is basically uncommon in American English.

So for me, there's no real difference in these examples. Mary Shelley was a British author, though, not to mention that this was a 19th-century work, so maybe there is some kind of difference in her usage. I'm sure M56 will come along and set me straight or something. ;)

- Kef

''I will drown, no one shall rescue me'' ;)

is different than

''I shall drown, no one will rescue me''

Well, Kef, last week I talked to an American from Dallas around 55 years old(on the phone). He had an American accent. After that, we kept communicating via emails. I must say that he used "shall" than "will" in his writings. For example:

1. But rest assured, it shall be corrected.

2. Your receipt shall be delayed a bit.

3. I shall get those books to you as soon as possible.

I read this on answers.com; it seems about right to me:

Shall and will



Shall and will are both modal verbs in English primarily used to express the future.


Practical usage
Before studying the more technical discussion following, readers seeking a guide to the simple usage of shall and will may safely follow this guideline:

Common, general or colloquial usage: Will is used with all persons (I / we; you; he/she/it, they). Shall is much less commonly used, but is often used in first-person offers (e.g. "shall I start the engines?", "shall we meet you there?") and occasionally for emphasis e.g. "he shall do it".

In traditional usage, one normally uses will and shall as follows:

Singular Plural
First I shall we shall
Second you will you (all) will
Third he, she, it will they will

In traditional usage, however, one can express emphasis by using the other form, e.g. I will, he shall.

The distinction is easily learnt but the traditional usage is uncommon and in practice rarely taught or used.

Sorry! The table didn't format very well. Here it is again:

First person Singular: I shall
First person Plural: we shall

Second person Singular: you will
Second person Plural: you (all) will

Third person Singular: he, she, it will
Third person Plural: they will

<I read this on answers.com; it seems about right to me:>

Matt, that covers simple usage, but it doesn't go far enough.

Can it expalin the thread question here?

<< ''I will drown, no one shall rescue me'' ;)

is different than

''I shall drown, no one will rescue me'' >>

Indeed... they're not completely interchangeable, even in American English, but an American would normally say, "I will drown; no one will rescue me".

In the sentences that Pos gave, though, I see no practical difference, particularly in the sentence, "I shall/will be with you on your wedding night."

<< Well, Kef, last week I talked to an American from Dallas around 55 years old(on the phone). He had an American accent. After that, we kept communicating via emails. I must say that he used "shall" than "will" in his writings. >>

There are Americans who use "shall" in those ways, I'm sure, but I *think* this is just idiosyncratic usage. In other words, it's an individual's quirk. I could be wrong...

- Kef

Doctor: "You will live !"
Patient: "What???"
Doctor: "You shall live!"
Patient: "That's much better!"

''I shall drown, no one will rescue me'' >>

can we use GOING TO forms in this sentence?

<< Doctor: "You will live !"
Patient: "What???"
Doctor: "You shall live!"
Patient: "That's much better!" >>

Both sound unusual to my American ears. I would say something like, "You're going to be all right!"

<< can we use GOING TO forms in this sentence? >>

You can say "I'm going to drown", but "no one is going to rescue me" sounds odd. It would be better to say "No one is rescuing me!", or "No one wants to rescue me!", or "No one is coming to rescue me!", as that is what the speaker intends.

- Kef

<Indeed... they're not completely interchangeable, even in American English, but an American would normally say, "I will drown; no one will rescue me". >

Really? Wow, it sounds as if the person is choosing to drown and demanding no one save him.

That's what the "No one shall rescue me" version means.

But I spoke too hastily. I don't think an American would normally say "No one will rescue me" either -- it's possible, but perhaps not the first choice of words that is likely to leap to mind. What I really meant was that an American would still recognize the difference between "No one shall rescue me" and "No one will rescue me": the first is a sort of command, while the second is more likely to be a declarative statement.

- Kef

<Doctor: "You will live !"
Patient: "What???"
Doctor: "You shall live!"
Patient: "That's much better!" >

With "shall" the doctor obliging the person to continue living?

>>Both sound unusual to my American ears. I would say something like, "You're going to be all right!"<<

Agreed - "You're going to be alright" or "you're going to be okay" sound much more like the sort of usages that one would hear in Real Life here than "you will live" or, even moreso, "you shall live".