14 Questions
What is the main purpose of Shelley's essay?
To prove that poetry is essential and concerned with the permanent and the universal
What does Peacock argue about poetry in his essay?
Poetry has no place and no achievements in an age of science and technology
What is the principle of imagination, according to Shelley?
The principle of synthesis
What does Shelley compare reason to in his essay?
The instrument to the agent
What do poets do, according to Shelley?
They are the legislators of the world
What does Shelley say is the relationship between reason and imagination?
Imagination is more comprehensive than reason
According to Shelley, what is a poet's primary role in relation to language?
To give expression to what he perceives through his imagination
What does Shelley mean by saying that language itself is poetry?
That language has the power to evoke emotions and create beauty
What is the result of a poet communicating his perceptions to his society?
It gives life to language and helps people perceive the true, the beautiful and the good
What is the role of poets in relation to civil society, according to Shelley?
They are the institutors of laws and the founders of civil society
What is the significance of a poet's vision of the future, according to Shelley and Wordsworth?
It enables them to transcend time and place and participate in the eternal, the infinite, and the one
What does Shelley mean by saying that poets 'behold the future in the present'?
They have a certain vision of the future that guides their thoughts and actions
What is the relationship between a poet's perceptions and his expression, according to Shelley?
His expression is a direct reflection of his perceptions
What is the significance of a poet's ability to 'apprehend the true, the beautiful and the good', according to Shelley?
It is a means of guiding people to discover the true, the beautiful and the good
Study Notes
Shelley's Defense of Poetry
- Shelley responded to Thomas Love Peacock's essay, which argued that poetry has no place in an age of science and technology.
- Shelley asserts that poetry is essential, concerned with the permanent and universal, and that poets are the legislators of the world.
Reason and Imagination
- Shelley differentiates between two classes of mental action: reason and imagination.
- Imagination:
- Mind acting upon thoughts to color them with its own light
- Principle of synthesis
- Concerned with universal forms and similitudes
- Reason:
- Mind contemplating the relation between thoughts
- Principle of analysis
- Concerned with the relations of things and differences
- Shelley describes the relationship between reason and imagination as inseparable, with imagination being more comprehensive.
Poets and Poetry
- Poets are:
- Authors of language and music
- Qualified to see the true, beautiful, and good through imagination
- Use language to express what they perceive, giving them pleasure or "highest delight"
- Poetry:
- Language itself is poetry
- Poetry gives life to language, making it useful for human intercourse
- Poets are also:
- Institutors of laws
- Founders of civil society
- Inventors of the arts of life
- Teachers who draw people closer to the beautiful and true
- Prophets who behold the future and guide people towards order and moral laws
This quiz is about Percy Bysshe Shelley's essay that defends poetry as a vital and essential activity in an age of science and technology. It responds to Thomas Love Peacock's essay that argues poetry has no place and no achievements.
Make Your Own Quizzes and Flashcards
Convert your notes into interactive study material.
Get started for free
