Durham E-Theses All that faith creates, or love desires: Shelley's poetic vision of being Morris, Lorraine Anne How to cite: Morris, Lorraine Anne (1999) All that faith creates, or love desires: Shelley's poetic vision of being, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4602/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk u All that Faith Creates, or Love Desires": Shelley's Poetic Vision of Being A thesis submitted in March 1999 for the degree of PhD to the University of Durham By Lorraine Anne Morris (Department of English Studies) The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the written consent of the author an information derived from it should be acknowledged. 2 4 AUG 1999 Abstract This thesis explores the nature of creativity in the poetic vision of Percy Bysshe Shelley. "Poetic vision" is chosen for its complex connotations, which include creative imaginings, dreams and intimations of futurity. I examine questions that Shelley raises concerning perception, existence and the fabric of reality. To develop a conceptual framework that has an ontological basis, I draw on the theories of two twentieth-century non-dualist thinkers: David Bohm, who combines science, philosophy and art, and the existential thought of Martin Heidegger. I also investigate ways in which literary expression and life become interwoven and suggest that this reciprocity is explicable through a dynamically creative vision of existence. In Chapter One Shelley's reflections on the creative capacity of poetic visions to influence states of being, and his holistic apprehension of existence in On Life, provide the thesis with a conceptual paradigm which is in contradistinction to the Cartesian schism between mind and matter. A Defence of Poetry is contrasted with Peacock's The Four Ages of Poetry to show that the contention between the two writers' visions springs from questions relating to being. Shelley's declaration that the poetic impulse is central to life is examined in the light of Heidegger's notion of the poetic as disclosing being and Bohm's quantum concepts of creativity. In Chapter Two Alastor is interpreted as a poem which raises questions about existence and I provide a counter-approach to critical positions of scepticism. Heidegger's concepts of "Being- in-the-world" and "Being-towards-death" provide the basis for an existential analysis of the Poet's impassioned quest. A comparison between the Poet's dream of his feminine counterpart and Shelley's own vision of his ideal beloved reveals connections between artistic vision and human experience. In Chapter Three on Laon and Cythna. poetic vision is shown to operate from a metaphysical basis of thought, passion, and the human will to enact a radical transformation in consciousness. The poem's investigation of freedom is linked to Heidegger's concept of being absorbed in the "they." Chapter Four continues my extended reading of Laon and Cythna. Shelley's notion of creativity collapses the demarcations between imaginative vision and the physical world. Here his view of reality is contrasted with the psychological investigations of Jean Piaget. The poem's vision of human empowerment is compared with Peacock's fatalism in Ahrimanes. Chapter Five investigates challenges to Shelley's optimism. Julian and Maddalo is the major poem interpreted in a chapter where the keynote is the contention between theories about the nature of reality and their validity to human life. Shelley's anxiety about communicating visions of despair is analyzed with regard to the Maniac's tragic predicament. Chapter Six interprets Prometheus Unbound as a dramatic engagement with the spiritual, imaginative, emotional and sensuous planes of being. Existence is seen to be poised on a mobile nexus of thought and emotions. Asia has a dynamic role and, through consideration of her journey with Panthea to Demogorgon, I examine Shelley's complex negotiation between free will and determinism. Spinoza's monism is discussed in relation to "Love's Philosophy." In Chapter Seven on Hellas. "Thought", "Passion", "Will", "Reason" and the "Imagination" are shown to have creative powers which determine futurity. Questions about the structure of reality are explored in the drama's dynamic interchange between the magician-like Ahasuerus and the Turkish tyrant Mahmud. Dreams are given significance as avenues of perception to realms beyond conscious experience and in relation to unfolding the future. Finally, in Chapter Eight Shelley's ideas about poetic creativity are explored through his poems to Jane Williams. Whilst composing these lyrics Shelley used the figure of Rousseau, in the Triumph of Life, to suggest a reciprocity between art and life. I examine the similarities between Rousseau's fictional creation of Julie in La Nouvelle Heloise and his subsequent love for Sophie d'Houdetot. Shelley's lyrics to Jane Williams communicate desire at different levels of conscious awareness, from trance-like mesmerism to overt invitation. Contents Contents Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Preface Chapter 1: Shelley's "Poetry of Life": Encountering a Poetics of Being Chapter 2: Alastor: Philosophical "Questionings" and Self-Consuming Passion Chapter 3: "Immortal Hopes": Laon and Cythna's Epic Vision of Freedom Chapter 4: "A Tale of Human Power" : Vision and Reality in Laon and Cvthna ii Chapter 5: "Love Sometimes Leads Astray To Misery": Julian and Maddalo's Darker 144-169 Vision of Being Chapter 6: Reading "His Written Soul": Shelley's Promethean Engagement With Being 170-207 Chapter 7: Unveiling the "Unborn Hour": Shelley's Creative Vision of futurity in Hellas 208-245 Chapter 8: Shelley's "Enchanted Heart": Love Lyrics to Jane Williams 246-296 Bibliography 297-309 Ill Acknowledgements I am indebted to the University of Durham for granting me a two year Research Award. My research has been thoughtfully supervised by Professor Michael O'Neill whose depth of knowledge, dedication to Shelleyan scholarship and interest in new critical perspectives are exemplary. Michael's inspiration, encouragement and guidance have had an incalculable influence on my PhD. More specifically, I owe Michael my gratitude for his care and patience in reading the final drafts of this thesis. In the Philosophy department I am thankful to Professor David Cooper who has advised me on the complexities of Heidegger's existentialism and other philosophical perspectives. In our meetings David's philosophical reflections and friendship make days at Durham enjoyable. I would also like to thank Professor David Knight for his animated insights into the life and work of Humphry Davy and nineteenth-century science. In relation to English, I thank Dr. Hugh Haughton at York University for his thoughts on Romantic autobiography. I also thank Simon Kilner whose help with quantum holistic processes of spirit, mind and body have been both therapeutic and insightful. I extend my thanks to Maggie Sparke whose spiritual guidance has given me hope in difficult days. I am extremely grateful to James Morris who has continued to support me financially throughout this thesis. Most importantly I thank my beloved daughter Sarah who has lived with the presiding spirit of Shelley for the last ten years and is soon to follow her interest in chemistry with a bilingual MChem in Sheffield and France. iv List of Abbreviations Works by Percy Bysshe Shelley: BSM I The Bodleian Shellev Manuscripts. Vol. I. "Peter Bell the Third" and "The Triumph of Life." MSS. Shelley adds. c. 5 and adds. c. 4. Ed. Donald. H. Reiman. New York. Garland; 1986. BSM TV The Bodleian Shellev Manuscripts. Vol IV. MS. Shelley d. 1. Ed. E B Murray New York: Garland, 1988. BSM XIII The Bodleian Shelley Manuscripts Vol. XIII. Drafts for "Laon and Cvthna." MSS. Shelley adds. e. 14. And adds. e. 19. Ed. Tatsuo Tokoo. New York; Garland, 1992. BSM XVII The Bodleian Shellev Manuscripts Vol. XVII. Drafts for "Laon and Cvthna " MS Shelley adds. e. 10. Ed. Steven E Jones. New York: Garland, 1994. CP The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe SheUev. Vol. II. Ed. Neville Rogers. Oxford: Clarendon, 1975. AH citations refer to line numbers unless otherwise indicated. HN The Bodleian SheUev Manuscripts. Vol. XVI. The "Hellas" Notebook. MS Shelley adds. e. 7. Ed. Donald H. Reiman and Michael J. Neth. New York. Garland; 1994. JMN The Bodleian Shellev Manuscripts. Vol. XV. The "Julian and Maddalo" Draft Notebook. MS. Shelley adds. e ll. Ed. Steven E. Jones. New York: Garland, 1990. Julian The Complete Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Ed. Roger Ingpen and Walter E. Peck Julian Edition. 10 vols. 1926-30 London: Gordian, 1965 LS The Letters of Percy Bysshe Shelley. 2 vols. Ed. Frederick. L. Jones. Oxford: Clarendon, 1964. MYR Fair-Copy Manuscripts of Shelley's Poems in European and American Libraries. The Manuscripts of the Younger Romantics: Shelley, vol. VTII. Ed. Donald H. Reiman and Michael O'Neill. New York: Garland, 1997. PN The Bodleian Shellev Manuscripts Vol. IX. The "Prometheus Unbound" Notebooks. MSS. Shelley e. 1, e. 2, and e.