An appraisal of the contemporary view of Shelley's poetry.
Institution: | University of Tasmania |
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Department: | |
Year: | 1964 |
Keywords: | Shelley; Percy Bysshe; 1792-1822; Shelley; Percy Bysshe; 1792-1822 |
Record ID: | 1032543 |
Full text PDF: | http://eprints.utas.edu.au/20137/1/whole_KruseAxel1965_thesis.pdf |
The contemporary attitude to Shelley may be considered as a combination of two sharply opposed points of view: a tradition of disapproval and a tradition of extravagant admiration. Disapproval of Shelley has been greatly influenced by the early criticism of T.S. Eliot, The claim is that Shelley is a heretic whose work suffers from emotionalism and incoherence. F.R.Leavis adds to this tradition the argument that faults in Shelley's style reflect faults in character and morality. He argues that Shelley is an unimportant Romantic poet. Shelley is intensely emotional, his theories are not profound, and his style suffers from obscurity and unstable rhetorical devices.