Shelley's Poetry

Shelley's detractors since Hazlitt have noticed a division in the 'self' of his poems. A few of his admirers offer an alternative view of the poems as symbolical pointers to a non-linguistic reality transcending passion; This reading of Shelley's major poems and critical prose finds the adverse case more convincing.

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Shelley's detractors since Hazlitt have noticed a division in the 'self' of his poems. A central reasoning core fears the passions surrounding it and distrusts the language expressing it. A few of his admirers offer an alternative view of the poems as symbolical pointers to a non-linguistic reality transcending passion; most miss the point, justifying their admiration by referring to the poems' systems of thought. This reading of Shelley's major poems and critical prose finds the adverse case more convincing.