From “Mont Blanc” by Percy Shelley
Lines 136-145
Its home
The voiceless lightning in these solitudes
Keeps innocently, and like vapour broods
Over the snow. The secret Strength of things
Which governs thought, and to the infinite dome
Of Heaven is as a law, inhabits thee!
And what were thou, and earth, and stars, and sea,
If to the human mind’s imaginings
Silence and solitude were vacancy?
Percy Shelley’s poem “Mont Blanc” encapsulates Burke’s definition of the sublime and invokes the aesthetic of the sublime in which it illustrates the powerful force of nature. The description of Mont Blanc resembles Burke’s definition of the sublime because of the astonishing vastness of dimension. The utilization of “voiceless lightning” is an example of the passion caused by the sublime and helps the reader understand the poem more by triggering his/her imagination. The “voiceless lightning” also relates to Burke’s statement, “If words have all their possible extent of power, three effects arise in the mind of the hearer. The first is sound; the second the picture… the third is, the affection of the soul produced by one or by both if the foregoing” (77). The choice of words evokes the keen sense of astonishment in the reader that Shelley perceives as he views the mountain. “Voiceless” is one of the inferior effects of the sublime which causes admiration, whereas “lightning” evokes astonishment and terror in the reader. The two words complement each other to help the reader experience a moment where Shelley realizes that the force and vastness of nature influences and governs the human mind. The “voiceless lighting” can act as a metaphor for the thoughts or imagination in human minds; the lighting represents the power of the human’s imagination and thoughts, whereas “voiceless” represents our inability to express those thoughts. The sublime comes back into play in the next sentence with the use of fear. The “voiceless lighting,” or inexpressible thoughts, broods in one’s mind “as vapor broods over the snow.” This excerpt of the poem also reflects on Burke’s thoughts as it makes the reader think about the power of nature and the sublime, and what Mont Blanc would be if one doesn’t have any imagination.
