Shelley’s Negotiation of Metaphysics

• Thesis title in Czech: Shelleyho vyjednávání metafyziky
• Thesis title in English: Shelley’s Negotiation of Metaphysics
• Key words: Shelley|metafyzika|poezie|Romantismus
• English key words: Shelley|metaphysics|poetry|Romantism
• Academic year of topic announcement: 2018/2019
• Thesis type: diploma thesis
• Thesis language: angličtina
• Department: Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures (21-UALK)
• Supervisor: prof. PhDr. Martin Procházka, CSc.
• Author: hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept.
• Date of registration: 03.12.2018
• Date of assignment: 03.12.2018
• Administrator's approval: not processed yet
• Confirmed by Study dept. on: 05.12.2018
• Date and time of defence: 10.09.2020 09:00
• Date of electronic submission: 19.08.2020
• Date of proceeded defence: 10.09.2020
• Submitted/finalized: committed by student and finalized
• Opponents: Mgr. Miroslava Horová, Ph.D.

Guidelines

This thesis aims to understand Percy Bysshe Shelley’s attitude towards the role of the poet in a society as an usher of progressive change. To do this it examines his metaphysics, chiefly his contact with the doctrines of idealism, which crystallised at the dawn of his life by means of his intimate relationship with the works of Plato, the early engagement with French materialists, Joseph Priestley & a later one with Lucretian materialism, and his deep entanglement with the first modern proponent of anarchism, William Godwin – who could be described as a perfectionist by some or as utilitarianist by others. By doing that the thesis seeks to shed light on how these doctrines influenced Shelley and how he conversed with and critiqued them, revealing the intricacies of his work because, in Shelley’s philosophy, the nature of differentiation between the two, that is between materialism and idealism, is notoriously problematic. These connections are not seen as mere intellectual exercises of Shelley, and they should illustrate how his view on the means of instigating change in the world through his role of a poet (a poet who was born into the world of violent social upheaval, which he is the unrecognised legislator of) and understanding the world evolves; it was the ultimate Truth in being after all that Shelley sought, rebelliously toppling any tyrannical principle that would stand in its way, rejecting authoritative orthodoxy which ultimately led him to a unique questioning of the nature of reality itself.
The beginning of the thesis serves to engage with Shelley’s early contact with materialist doctrines, their fast repudiation in their pure form and his later critique in “Cloud” and response to them. Next, Shelley’s subsequent engagement with revolutionary[1]thought is going to be investigated; while England 1819 engages directly in events like Peterloo Massacre and is more socially engaged for it, The Mask of Anarchy or Queen Mab deal with the themes of tyranny and some like The Revolt of Islam are outspoken about the terms of equality. They tend to conceptualize progress exactly as individual change from which the change in the world will follow; through exacting his will the poet is able to instigate change; therefore, we may speak of a noteworthy idealist undergrowth that will have flourished later in dealing with Plato proper, but Godwin’s perfectionism is apparent, too. The influence of Godwin’s doctrine and the concept of ‘Necessity’ is going to be investigated. Lastly, the crystallization of Shelley, the revolutionary, and the image of the form of societal change will be illustrated on Prometheus Unbound.
Philosophical idealism that states that in life, there a world of ideas underpinning the tangible world is a facet connected to Shelley’s later infatuation with Plato. Shelley’s relationship to Plato will be mulled over, and some of the important terms and concepts which were expanded upon from Plato by Shelley like mimesis and the role of a poet in society will be discussed to provide an understanding of Shelley’s Platonic view and the poet’s scepticism. The wavering in his view on materialism is mentioned, showing turmoil in Shelley’s stances, ultimately foreshadowing the topic of blending of materialism and idealism. A Defence of Poetry will be the considered the marker of a solidifying of Shelley’s metaphysical roots and the poems Alastor, “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty,” “Mont Blanc,” “To a Sky-lark” will serve to illustrate his mix of metaphysical approaches and diversions from Platonic doctrine. Finally, The Triumph of Life is considered in terms of an apparent irreconcilability of the real and the ideal but attempted to explicate in terms of Lucretian materialism.

Introduction
Materialist-inspired Notions
Shelley’s Atheism in “Necessity of Atheism”
“Liberty”
Critique of Materialism; “The Cloud”
Perfectionism: Harnessing Intellect and the Exercise of Its Powers
Against Tyranny: England 1819, The Mask of Anarchy, The Revolt of Islam
Godwin, Perfectibility of Man and Queen Mab
The Concept of “Necessity”
Prometheus Unbound as an Answer to Revolution
Idealism
Shelley’s Engagement with Plato and His Influence
Scepticism and Idealism: Conversation with Plato
The Role of a Poet in Society
Mimesis
“Communions with an Unseen Power”
Shelley’s Inner Turmoil: “On Life”
A Defence of Poetry: A Compromise in Strict Metaphysical Views
Alastor, “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty,” “Mont Blanc,” “To a Sky-lark”: Truth Embodied – Diversions from Platonism
Mature Shelley
Apparent Irreconcilable Distance of the Ideal and the Real: The Triumph of Life as an Expression of Lucretian Materialism
Conclusion









[1]The word revolutionary (and those related) refers throughout the thesis to Shelley’s pursuit of change in people’s minds (with poetic license what we call ‘change of heart,’ too) from which he believed the changes in material world will follow.

References

SOURCES:
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