Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 2K views

    Critical Analysis of 'Hymn To Intellectual Beauty' by P

    Uploaded by

    Hamna Khan
    Shelley's poem "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty" explores the concept of a natural spiritual energy that underlies all of existence. He sees this force as an invisible power greater than the sum of its parts, influencing all life on Earth. While it flows throughout the universe, this spiritual essence remains elusive. Shelley presents his artistic works as a tribute to this "awful loveliness" from which all life originates. Through the poem, Shelley aims to establish his own interpretation of this spiritual energy, challenging the bleak views of the church at that time.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Critical Analysis of 'Hymn To Intellectual Beauty' by P

    Uploaded by

    Hamna Khan
    2K views2 pages
    Shelley's poem "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty" explores the concept of a natural spiritual energy that underlies all of existence. He sees this force as an invisible power greater than the sum of its parts, influencing all life on Earth. While it flows throughout the universe, this spiritual essence remains elusive. Shelley presents his artistic works as a tribute to this "awful loveliness" from which all life originates. Through the poem, Shelley aims to establish his own interpretation of this spiritual energy, challenging the bleak views of the church at that time.

    Original Title

    Critical Analysis of 'Hymn to Intellectual Beauty' by P

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Shelley's poem "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty" explores the concept of a natural spiritual energy that underlies all of existence. He sees this force as an invisible power greater than the sum of its parts, influencing all life on Earth. While it flows throughout the universe, this spiritual essence remains elusive. Shelley presents his artistic works as a tribute to this "awful loveliness" from which all life originates. Through the poem, Shelley aims to establish his own interpretation of this spiritual energy, challenging the bleak views of the church at that time.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    2K views2 pages

    Critical Analysis of 'Hymn To Intellectual Beauty' by P

    Uploaded by

    Hamna Khan
    Shelley's poem "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty" explores the concept of a natural spiritual energy that underlies all of existence. He sees this force as an invisible power greater than the sum of its parts, influencing all life on Earth. While it flows throughout the universe, this spiritual essence remains elusive. Shelley presents his artistic works as a tribute to this "awful loveliness" from which all life originates. Through the poem, Shelley aims to establish his own interpretation of this spiritual energy, challenging the bleak views of the church at that time.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Critical Analysis of 'Hymn to Intellectual Beauty' by P. B.

    Shelley

    'Hymn To Intellectual Beauty' by Shelley is a self-reminder that at the core of every essential
    form or emotion whether it is love, beauty, truth or even grace, there lies a mystic element or a
    spirit that can not be conceived physically but only felt. This abstract mysteriousness according
    to Shelley, is an invisible power that can never be reduced to the indviual parts but is rather
    greater than the whole.

    In the poem Shelley deduces inspiration from natural existences, like the heavenly bodies, the
    sky and the pure human relations like friendships and family. By the way of this inspiration he
    tries to encapture in his verses, the spirit that lies at the heart of the universe. He states that this
    spirit influences all aspects of life and life forms on Earth and is never constant but rather keeps
    flowing to and fro, like something that is all encompassing and yet elusive.

    Shelley's tone in the poem gradually, becomes 'wishful' as he wishes for mankind's immortality.
    He believes that if only the 'spirit of beauty' had been a constant presence in the universe,
    human beings like gods would have also been immortal and omnipotent.

    Shelley in the poem relates to various instances from the past where this 'spirit of beauty' had
    been alloted several names from time to time and was subjected to superstitious beliefs. He
    condemned these beliefs and said that the natural spirit does not reside in myths or
    superstitioons but rather it is the universe's 'natural phenomena'.

    In his poem Shelley presents his entire life and works of art and poetry as a tribute to the fluid
    natural spirit, which he calls the 'awful loveliness' from which life originates.

    In the 'Hymn To Intellectual Beauty', Shelley has tried to establish a unique interpretation of the
    natural spiritual energy. In a way, it can be seen as his attempt at enhancing the bleak concepts
    of the church of his time. In the poem Shelley talks about the essence of beauty and how for
    him there has never been a separation between his being and the inspirational essence or the
    'shadow' of nature.

    The structure of this poem is similar to the traditional Christian hymns but with a mystic twist that
    highlights Shelley's belief that at the core of the entire universe there is an elusive natural spirit.
    The spirituality that we find in the tone of the poem is perhaps reflective of Shelley's spiritual
    and mystic beliefs that were not so common in his time as per the church's strict ideas about
    nature. Regardless of the clear contention that can been seen between Shelley's beliefs and the
    church's beleifs in the poem, it is obvious that Shelley has still employed a lot of Christan
    vocabulary. Religious jargon like, hymn, grace, consecrate,vale of tears, God, heaven etc. are
    in abundance in the poem and can be labelled as ironic. Through out the poem there are also a
    lot of allusions to biblical incidents like the allusion to the 'inconstant wind', that have further
    enhanced the ironic nature of the poem.
    The rhyming scheme through out the poem is 'abbaaccbddee' and a lot of alliteration can also
    be seen. Most of the end rhymes are full and the tone throughout the poem remains mystic and
    spiritual.

    Submitted by Hamna Latif Khan.

    You might also like