“The everlasting universe of things
Flows through the mind, and rolls its rapid waves,
….”
This opening lyric from Percy Shelleys Mont Blanc expresses passion for the vastness of both nature and the human mind. “Everlasting,” as an adjective is redundant when describing the known universe, however its definition as a noun gives it an omnipotent conjunction. There are other aspects in this poem that reference an omnipotence, Line 54 questions the presence of God in dreams, line 60 places nature above God and the fifth stanza suggests a inhabiting God. But the early lines above, “The everlasting universe of things,” is Shelleys sublime measurement that describes the vastness of the mind of men. As per Burkes, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (1757) the sublime is easily identified by the “greatness of dimension.”
This vastness of mens mind is further identified as the poems passion; the thoughts flow allegorically through in this natural setting. Astonishing are the rivers, fields, ravines and paths here and this further supports Burkes definition of the sublime. Burke adds that perspective from high above, one that looks down on the subject can support grand scale, “…we are more struck at looking down from a precipice, than looking up at an object of equal height.” Starting the poem above the picturesque mountain establishes Mont Blanc as having enormous capacity.
This sublime description of the mind of men can be astounding as the poem establishes a vast mental measurement where the reader associates the subject with himself. This is an additional feature in Burkes understanding of the sublime.
-Chris Hennessy
