{"id":484,"date":"2022-12-16T05:03:59","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T05:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/education\/?page_id=484"},"modified":"2023-03-27T06:55:40","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T13:55:40","slug":"e212-questions-shelley-spr-2011","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/e212-questions-shelley-spr-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"E212 Questions – Shelley – Spr. 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

EMAIL<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0SYLLABUS<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0POLICIES<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0| QUESTIONS<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0|\u00a0PRESENTATIONS<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0JOURNALS<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0PAPER<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0EXAM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDefence of Poetry\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.  On 838-39, how does the metaphor of the \u201cAeolian lyre\u201d figure (838-39) in Shelley\u2019s theory about poetic inspiration and expression\u2014how does Shelley develop this metaphor beyond its simplest level, thereby offering a complex analysis of the concept \u201cexpression\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.  On 839-42, how does Shelley define poets\u2014what qualities do poets have, and what do they do for their fellow human beings?  How were those who best wielded the poetic faculty vital to the earliest societies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.  On 843-44, how does Shelley address the difficult issue of how we may judge the excellence of a given poet?  On 843, he makes the famous statement that \u201cA Poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds\u2026.\u201d  In the surrounding commentary, how does he more fully explain the relationship between poet and audience, poet and literary history?  On 844, how does the issue of \u201cmorality\u201d figure in Shelley\u2019s analysis of poetic value?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.  On 845-46, while explaining why he thinks poetry is necessary, Shelley writes, \u201cwe want the creative faculty to imagine that which we know.\u201d  Shelley was certainly no despiser of science or philosophy, but in what sense do his remarks here criticize the tendencies of modern scientific practice, and somewhat deflate the claims of philosophy to ultimate wisdom?  In addition, what does he imply is responsible in modern times for denigrating both individual imagination and any sense of community?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.  In Plato\u2019s Ion,<\/em> Socrates argues that inspiration is a direct transmission of emotion from the gods to the poet to the reader or listener.  Is that the way inspiration works according to Shelley?  Explain, with reference to his \u201cfading coal\u201d metaphor on page 846, and his remarks more generally on 846-47, culminating in the sentence at 847 bottom, \u201cPoetry redeems from decay the visitations of the divinity in man.\u201d  (A few other metaphors to consider, time permitting or if you are presenting on this question, occur on 846, \u201cthe colour of a flower which fades and changes,\u201d and 847, \u201ca wind over a sea.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

42.  In the Norton selection from The Statesman\u2019s Manual<\/em> (488-90), Coleridge suggests that symbolic utterances bridge the gap between mind and matter, subject and object, and that a symbol \u201cparticipates in the Reality which it renders intelligible\u201d (488).  Is Shelley\u2019s view poetic language as optimistic as Coleridge\u2019s?  Are there differences between the two authors on this key issue?  Consider Shelley\u2019s claims on 847, final paragraph through 848\u2014\u201dpoetry,\u201d he writes, \u201cpurges from our inward sight the film of familiarity which obscures from us the wonder of our being\u201d and \u201ccreates anew the universe,\u201d etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6.  On 850, Shelley concludes with a stirring declaration: \u201cPoets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.\u201d  To judge from the surrounding content on this page and elsewhere in \u201cA Defence of Poetry,\u201d he isn\u2019t simply arguing that we should pay more attention to poets.  Explain the paradox involved in his claim, and try to unpack its complexity as a statement about the value of poets and poetry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7.  General question: are Shelley\u2019s definitions of poets and poetry based more on expression than inspiration?  Is there a conflict between claims about a poet\u2019s \u201cinspiration\u201d and claims about the social function of poetry?  Why or why not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMutability\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

8.  In this poem Shelley describes the inconstancy of human emotions and aspirations, even of life itself.  To what extent is the sentiment in this poem a comment on poetry\u2019s potential to transform the individual and the community?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo Wordsworth\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

9.  Shelley laments Wordsworth\u2019s withdrawal from the revolutionary optimism of his early poetry.  How, if at all, does this poem comment on the present power of Wordsworth\u2019s early work to inspire and transform a reader\u2019s sense of self and community?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMont Blanc\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10.  How does the speaker describe the mind\u2019s relationship to the material world?  How does he connect the mind\u2019s processes and natural process, if in fact he does connect them?  And is the mind an active, creative power, or does Shelley describe it some other way?  Explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11.  In what sense might Mont Blanc be said both to invite and to challenge interpretation, based on the way the speaker responds to the sight of the mountain in the middle and latter sections of the poem?  Moreover, what promise does the mountain hold forth, and for whom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12.  How do Mont Blanc\u2019s glacial movements, combined with the elements, compare with or offer insight into the workings and durability of human civilization?  In other words, how does the speaker reflect upon nature in such a way that he is also reflecting on human desire and achievement?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOzymandias\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

13.  The traveler suggests that the statue\u2019s sculptor intended his work to express the cruelty of Ramses II.  The sculptor and time\u2019s ruinous effects appear to have issued their sentence against the Pharaoh, but in what sense has he defeated them both\u2014what statement do the ruins still make about human history and human nature?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOde to the West Wind\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

14.  Describe the structure of this poem.  How does the interlocking Dantean terza rima<\/em> verse form suit the poem\u2019s subject and aims?  (If you know some Italian, read a few stanzas of La divina commedia<\/em> out loud to get the best possible sense of how terza rima<\/em> flows.  Allen Mandelbaum\u2019s translation is also very good, although it abandons the rhyme scheme to capture something of the movement in English.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15.  With regard to the first three stanzas, what are the West Wind\u2019s powers?  What effects does it have on nature and the poet?  In what way does it embody both danger and hope?  How is the operation of Shelley\u2019s West Wind different from natural forces in Wordsworth and Coleridge (or Blake, or Keats)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16.  Alternately, concentrate on other kinds of nature description in the first three stanzas of \u201cOde to the West Wind\u201d\u2014what qualities, what potential, do Shelley\u2019s descriptions draw from the natural world\u2019s processes and its beautiful or sublime objects?  One possibility would be to consider how the \u201corganic metaphor\u201d operates in \u201cOde to the West Wind,\u201d making sure to address both this metaphor\u2019s positive, uplifting dimension and its darker implications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17.  In the fourth and fifth stanzas, how does the speaker characterize his relationship to the Wind (both in the past and in the present)?  How does that relationship involve deep affinity and, in a sense, strife (if that is the right term)?  What assistance does the speaker ask of the West Wind? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

18.  When in the final stanza the speaker prays to the Wind to scatter abroad his words and thoughts like \u201cwithered leaves\u201d (line 64) and \u201cashes and sparks\u201d (line 67), what is he implying about poetic language?  Is he certain that the West Wind will grant his prayer?  What burden does he place upon his utterance with regard to his personal hopes and those of \u201cmankind\u201d?  How, more generally, might we apply Shelley\u2019s theories in \u201cA Defence of Poetry\u201d about inspiration, expression, and poetry\u2019s value, to \u201cOde to the West Wind\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo a Sky-Lark\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

19.  Why can\u2019t the poet define the skylark?  How does the bird exceed the capacity of human language to describe its qualities or the qualities of its song?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20.  What is the purpose of the similes that the speaker employs in place of direct definition?  Do they adequately describe the skylark?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21.  What is the relationship between the skylark and physical nature?  What is the source of the bird\u2019s song?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22.  What prevents the speaker (and us) from singing as the skylark does?  Why is the skylark\u2019s song better than even the best productions of human genius, language, and emotion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23.  In what sense might this poem (like many other romantic lyric poems) be said to efface the act of writing in favor of the spoken word?  Why would a poet do that, whether consciously or otherwise?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

24.  At the poem\u2019s end, does the speaker seem confident that his words can have the same effect on future readers as the bird\u2019s pure song has upon him?  Why or why not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edition: <\/strong>Abrams, M. H. et al, eds.  The Norton Anthology of English Literature.  <\/em>8th ed.  Vol. D.  New York: Norton, 2006.  ISBN Package 2 (Vols. DEF) 0-393-92834-9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cDefence of Poetry\u201d 1.  On 838-39, how does the metaphor of the \u201cAeolian lyre\u201d figure (838-39) in Shelley\u2019s theory about poetic inspiration and expression\u2014how does Shelley develop this metaphor beyond its simplest level, thereby offering a complex analysis of the concept \u201cexpression\u201d? 2.  On 839-42, how does Shelley define poets\u2014what qualities do poets have, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"wf_page_folders":[43],"class_list":["post-484","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4686,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/484\/revisions\/4686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wf_page_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_page_folders?post=484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}