Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

In Ozymandias Shelley creates a sublime effect by illustrating the decaying grand statue of Ozymandias. While it stands alone in the desert the statute represents the once great ruler who sat on top of the world with all the power to go with it. Edmund Burke’s sublime aesthetic is articulated in this poem through the legacy of power that has long been forgotten, except for the decaying representation of the king, which is the statute. Ozymandias is not only about the power of nature as Burkes theory of sublime suggests. It is about the power the artist and sculptor of this statute had to withstand time. The artist created this statute to represent the power and might of the king Ozymandias, and despite the decaying state it is in still was able to survive the wreckage of time. There is a power struggle between the artist that created the statute to withstand the wreckage of time and the monarch who the statute is of. The statute that was created by the artist outlived the monarch and has still withstood time. With Shelley’s depiction of the “great work” that is the statute; one pictures a megalithic structure that is overwhelming to the viewer yet awe inspiring at the same time. With the image of the statute being a “wreck, boundless and bare,” the reader gets an image of this statue as beautiful but also pitiful and horrifying as well. It is clear that no matter how powerful a ruler may be he cannot beat the power of nature and that is what Shelley is proving with this poem. The king thought he would forever live with as the sculpture created to represent his reign was to stand forever; the truth is the sculpture is not stronger than nature. Just like the ruler died and withered away eventually so will the decaying statue.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Lines 322 – 326)

“The thick black cloud was cleft; and still

The Moon was at its side:

Like waters shot from some high crag,

The lightning fell with never a jag,

A river steep and wide.”

Edmund Burke’s idea, or definition, of the word “sublime” is evident in many pieces of literature during the period best known as the Romantic Era. An example of this is evident in the work of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the poet of his rather uncanny poem titled, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” The beauty and grandeur of nature that Burke finds to be sublime is seen in the lines of Coleridge’s poem. To begin, in the first line, “The thick black cloud was cleft,” there is an obvious sense of astonishment. Astonishment is defined as “the state of the soul, in which all its motions are suspended, with some degree of horror” (75). An image of a thick, black cloud would leave its spectator motionless and in fear of what is to come truly capturing what is described as astonishment. This feeling of astonishment, according to Burke, is “the effect of the sublime in its highest degree” (75).

An additional cause of the sublime is the “greatness of dimension,” which is too a powerful cause of the sublime, according to Burke. This is directly seen in the reference to the moon, in line 323. The magnitude of the dimensions contribute to the powerfulness, and that cannot be argued in this instance. Even so, Burke surprisingly says that an inclination has a greater force in the effect of the sublime (75). The moon at any angle, has a significant inclination based on the position of the spectator. The same could be said about the aforementioned “thick black cloud”. Therefore, the cloud and the moon, both out of human touch, contribute to Burke’s idea that the “greatness of dimension” is a powerful cause of the sublime.

According to Burke, terror too is in all cases, the ruling principle of the sublime. Terror is something that can be witnessed in a countless number of things, including animals or in nature itself. Nature capturing terror is seen in line 325, of Coleridge’s, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. The lightning that is being referenced to instills fear, which is an apprehension of pain or death. Lightning does exactly that because of the power it has to create pain, damage, or kill, all of which are products of terror. Sublime, for Burke, is seen in feeling or emotions, dimensions, and terror. All of these things are seen in Coleridge’s lines, but all on a larger scale that is nature. Nature is depicted in this instance as something that creates an overwhelming or terrifying feeling; However, at the same time, it shows the power and beauty in the potential that nature possesses and as a result, creates the sublime.

“We are as clouds that veil the midnight moon;

How restlessly they speed, and gleam, and

quiver,

Streaking the darkness radiantly! Yet soon

Night closes round and they are lost for ever:” (Lines 1-5)

“To whose frail frame no second motion brings

One mood or modulation like the last.”  (Lines 8 & 9)

Percy Shelly’s poem “Mutability”, embodies Burke’s theories on the sublime by invoking a dark aesthetic on the notion of change and impermanence. However, this darkness or negativity is juxtaposed by the vast range of possibilities in life. Percy personifies humanity as “clouds that veil the midnight moon”. Imagery of an obstructed moon, an important source of light to many, creates a sense of unease that the night/darkness naturally brings. Yet we streak “the darkness radiantly!”. This radiance illuminates the sublime environment with a freeing sense of wonder and hope. The line that follows “Night closes round and they are lost for ever.” returns back to the theme of mutability and is a reminder that life is a roller coster of experience and emotion.

Despite this overwhelming ride, the “Night closes” and the radiance of the sun replaces the illuminating clouds. I argue that Percy believes mutability is freedom, when no two moments are the same, when “no second motion brings One mood or modulation like the last.” That is what keeps us going through the darkness or uncertainty in life.

“It is the same! For, be it joy or sorrow

The path of it’s departure still is free;

Man’s yesterday may ne’er be like his morrow;

Nought may endure but Mutability” (Lines 10-14)

These lines remind me of the quote “nothing is permanent but change”. To Burke sublime moments in life are the most profound because it peaks our our awareness of the “untamed power of the natural world” which includes our own power as conscious beings.

That deep-brow’d Homer ruled as his demesne;

Yet never did I breathe its pure serene,

Till I heard Chapman speak out lout and bold:

Then I felt like some watcher of the skies

When a new planet swims into his ken;

(lines  6-10)

In describing what sublime is Edmund Burke explains the sublimity of words. Burke explains “….words have as considerable a share in exciting ideas of beauty and of the the sublime….”  We can see this in Keats poem “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer”  when Keats compares the feeling of reading Chapman’s Homer to the sublime feeling of watching the skies and viewing a planet (lines 6-10). Burke explains that specific words need to be use to cause the”three effects” in the mind for the words to be consider sublime. To Burke describing a scene can produce a picture in the mind, but it does not have an “affection” to the soul. Burke expresses “if words have all their possible extent of power, three effects arise in the mind of the hearer.”  These three effects are sound, picture and “affection of the soul produced by one or by both of the foregoing.”

Keats has these three effects in the lines 6-10 when describing the feeling reading Chapman’s Homer gave him. He painted the picture of sky watching and associated the feeling with the feeling a person gets when watching the skies and seeing something never seen before, a new planet, this feeling creates an “affection of the soul” therefore making these lines in the poem sublime.  Although sky watching and reading Chapman’s Homer are different from each other, Keats is able to draw this comparison of the two to explain in words the feeling he felt.

“England in 1819” by Percy Shelley

“Golden and sanguine laws which tempt and slay;

Religion, Christless, Godless-a book sealed;

A Senate, Time’s worst statute, unrepealed,

Are graves, from which a glorious Phantom may

Burst, to illuminate our tempestuous day” (Lines 10-14)

Burke defines the sublime as something that is compelling and a great sight to behold. It may not always be conventional, but it does hold our attention the way a piece of a valuable artifact would. However, in Shelley’s poem, there is an undertone of irony when talking of the sublime. It has been defeated by the beautiful; the unnatural creation of mankind.  Since the sublime is supposed to come of as terrifying and overwhelming, Shelley makes a point of stating that England is currently without religion (11). In religion, there is always a supreme being, one who knows and judges all. A being so powerful that he cannot be explained in terms of physical appearance, but his will and might have been demonstrated over the course of history. This being is none other than God himself, and is the perfect example of the sublime. God cannot be conquered, nor is he to be challenged. For a better word, he is omnipotent, an intangible trait of anything sublime. Without such a power to control the monarchy, England is lost.

But perhaps there is hope. In Lines 13-14, Percy hints at a Phantom coming forth from the “graves” of the once celebrated forms of faith and ridding the crippled country of the ones who disable it. It is plausible that the Phantom is the ghost of England, coming forth to be born again. The Phantom probably represents the people who have suffered too long at the hands of an abusive king and wish for reform. In the last line of the poem, Shelley wishes to have the Phantom shed light on the state of disarray that England finds itself in. In doing so, Shelley himself sheds a whole new light on the poem. Perhaps England is a sublime. Even the country is being driven to nothing, there is still something that has inspired the poet to write about it. It is not beautiful, it is in a horrendous condition. England is in darkness and not the happiest place in the world. However, Shelley has demonstrated his “untamed power of the natural world” through his poem and gives not only himself but his reader hope for a change.

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.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (lines 185- 189)

“Are those her ribs through which the Sun

Did peer, as through a grate?

And is that Woman all her crew?

Is that a DEATH? and are there two?

Is DEATH that woman’s mate?”

Upon, sighting the ghastly crew that swiftly approached the Mariners ship, he was immediately placed in awe. A ship that was a harbinger of death appeared, and despite the fear the mariner felt he couldn’t help but question what his eyes were seeing. His constant questions invoke an idea of astonishment and wonder. Aspects that Burke finds to be of the utmost importance when faced with insurmountable amounts of fear. For Burke, anything that we fear inspires the idea for curiosity and perhaps even envy.

For the ancient mariner he repeats DEATH twice, but whats more the entire word is capitalized to emphasize the importance of what he is witnessing. The mariner states DEATH as a singular being, but it doesn’t mean there is only one. As stated “Is that A DEATH? and are there two?” the mariner questions what he believes to be the manifestation of death, and with the idea of being more than one suggests that perhaps every man has his own ownership of death. Whichever the case it is clear that the Mariner, although frightful what lay before him, could not help but be in wonder of sights unknown to him. Especially, since he is to be met with his eventual demise.

And in regards to the woman it is clear that she is rather horrific in sight with skin as white leprosy and ribs of which can plainly be seen. Yet, the mariner refuses to look away and instead continues to stand in awe of the creature that stood before him. This is a rather important as there have been other instances of which the mariner chose to look away from awe-inspiring scenes. Such as when he witnessed the now rotting ocean, “I looked upon the rotting sea, and drew my eyes away” (lines 240-241).

in these lines, it is clear that Coleridge in writing the Rime of the Ancient Mariner was fascinated with the idea of the sublime. Especially, in consideration of the supernatural as most things supernatural do invoke fear, but also an intense curiosity to know what lies before them. For Burke this is quite a true sentiment for anything that society may consider to be an object of terror. As in this state of terror we are also in the highest point for astonishment.

From Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale”, Lines 51-54:

“Darkling I listen; and, for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call’d him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;”

According to Burke, “Greatness of dimension is a powerful cause of the sublime”, and the sublime is “founded on pain.” These lines epitomize his stipulations. On its own, “Death” is as vast a subject as you can get. It is unknown, and therefore infinite, leaving every aspect of itself solely to the imagination. It adheres to Burke’s principle that astonishment and terror lie at the heart of the sublime. That Keats is in love with death indicates that he is indulging the pain that comes with it, deriving delight from pain and terror. The short BBC Radio video posted on the blog mentions that one derives some pleasure from the terror of the sublime, and I think Keats’ love of death is an encapsulation of this idea. Burke also writes, “the great ought to be dark and gloomy.” I don’t think there’s anything darker and gloomier than sitting around in the dark (“Darkling I listen”) and pining for death.

Burke also acknowledges that the vast can go in both directions, the infinitely vast and the infinitely small: “as the great extreme of dimension is sublime, so the last extreme of littleness is in some measure sublime likewise.” Compared with the vastness of Death itself, Keats’ own quiet breath seems minute. He is yearning for death like for a lover: “Call’d him soft names in many a mused rhyme/To take into the air my quiet breath.” It seems in these two lines that Death, the vast darkness, will engulf “my quiet breath”, which will be all that is left of him. The air in this line feels like a vast, sublime concept while the breath is on the opposite end of that spectrum. Together, these two extremities form what Burke would define as the sublime. Imagining one solitary, quiet breath escaping into an infinite void of darkness is at once vast, gloomy, and indicative of Keats’ own pain.

“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone/Stand in the desert…Near them, on the sand,/Half sunk, a shattered visage lies…” -“Ozymandias” by Percy Shelley, lines 2-4.

Although this is an atypical response to the notion of the sublime, I believe what Shelly is writing about can be categorized by the idea. Seemingly, the sublime is in reference to an object in nature or a natural event. Here, I have equated an ancient monument with the sublime. The sublime is always something awe-inspiring, oddly beautiful, all-encompassing, and profound. Ozymandias’ monument is all of these, as seen through Shelly’s interpretation. Right off the bat, Shelly uses the words “vast” and “desert,” which puts us into this giant world of sandy nothingness. Then, we see this huge, broken, antique statue. You could only imagine traveling in the desert and coming upon this monument, which not only changes the landscape of the land, but also provides a sort of marker as to how small you are within the whole desert (adding to the idea of being overwhelmed). Shelly also calls the monument a “colossal wreck” (line 13) which further points to the sublime; something unconventional, and not “normally” beautiful can still be aesthetically pleasing. The all-encompassing size and grandeur of this monument, in my opinion, directly relates to the story (footnoted) of the grandiose King Ozymandias, and makes it that much more gigantic and important. Something interesting, which occurs in the poem as a whole, is the broken face juxtaposed to the in-perfect-conditon inscription on the pedestal. Why is it that the face and body are broken, yet the message remains intact? Perhaps this is completely “out there,” but could it be that this is a remark on poetry and writing? It is clear that Shelly was an avid writer, so this comparison of the body and the words could mean that Shelly knows that the body is disposable, it can easily go away, but words can remain through the test of time, which is truly monumental.

-Michelle Arp